iHealth blood pressure iPod dock: another sort of Apple to keep the doctor away
January 4, 2011 No Comment
Back in March 2009 at the iPhone OS 3.0 debut event , Apple’s Scott Forstall pointed out medical devices specifically as one of the more interesting class of peripherals that could leverage the new custom app interface capabilities. And while it’s certainly an interesting concept — keeping tabs on your general health from the comfort of your own home — we haven’t really seen it catch on (only a couple of products come to mind). That isn’t stopping iHealth; the company’s blood pressure dock, available today from its online store (we’re told it should be filtering through Apple’s own channels later this month) ties in with a specialized iPhone / iPod touch / iPad app to monitor and track blood pressure from the comfort of your home, where theoretically there shouldn’t be a stranger in a white coat making you extra nervous. In our brief time with the device, the interface seemed fairly intuitive and the whole process simple and not at all intimidating. The cost of entry is $99.95 for the hardware; the free app should be hitting iTunes today. Press release after the break. Gallery: iHealth Blood Pressure Dock hands-on Gallery: iHealth Blood Pressure Dock press photos Continue reading iHealth blood pressure iPod dock: another sort of Apple to keep the doctor away iHealth blood pressure iPod dock: another sort of Apple to keep the doctor away originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Here are some facts we know about this subject: This is a tablet called the Multimedia Novel, built by Pandigital. It’s very much like another Multimedia Novel tablet Pandigital sells at CVS for $214, except now it’s $280 because there’s a 3G radio inside. We really disliked the 7-inch version . It’s on AT&T but it’s contract free — you pay as you go. The 9-inch screen is resistive, which sucks even if there’s contract free AT&T on it. That’s just our opinion, though. Android 2.0 is the OS. Barnes & Noble’s Nookbook Store is pre-loaded. You can’t access the Android Market by default. There’s an unspecified 800MHz ARM11 processor running everything. It’s probably slow. The 800 x 480 resolution will probably make your eyes bleed at this size. But hey, it’s cheap. Gallery: Pandigital’s Multimedia Novel gets AT&T 3G Continue reading Pandigital’s Multimedia Novel gets AT&T 3G, still cheap Pandigital’s Multimedia Novel gets AT&T 3G, still cheap originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Silicon nanoscoops to combine Li-ion’s energy with supercapacitor power, make your electric car go vroom
January 4, 2011 No Comment
Look, we don’t know much about “science.” We know it’s a controversial subject, and we always try to steer clear of that sort of hot-button-issue stuff. Still, “science” can do some good in the world, you know, now and then. Some “scientists” at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have happened upon a “strain-graded carbon-aluminum-silicon nan oscoop anode” (whatever that means) that basically combines the advantages of long-lasting Lithium-ion with a supercapacitor’s rapid fire oomph — a common theme , but undoubtedly a noble one. Specifically, Li-ion’s superb (and ever-improving ) Wh/kg and supercapacitor’s great W/kg. Now, don’t ask us how — again, “science” — but the upshot should be faster charging and better performing electric cars, that can still manage a good amount of mileage. Hopefully we get more spectacular exploding laptops as a side bonus. Silicon nanoscoops to combine Li-ion’s energy with supercapacitor power, make your electric car go vroom originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 06:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Vizio bringing 21:9 Cinema HDTV to CES with 2560 x 1080 resolution, all our hopes and dreams
January 4, 2011 No Comment
Vizio actually teased a 21:9 TV at last year’s CES , and one year later it’s ready to deliver: the Vizio Cinema HDTV LED LCD is here. The TV handles a 2560 x 1080 resolution in a 21:9 aspect ratio, just like that 21:9 Philips display we’ve been drooling over for the past couple of years, and comes in 50-inch and 58-inch flavors. Details are still pretty scarce, since all we have right now is a teaser page, but we doubt there’s much more going on here. Basically, ultra-wide CinemaScope-style movies on a set that will likely be much cheaper than Philips’ offering — and more likely to show up at your local Costco. We look forward to the full announcement later this week. Also: buying one. [Thanks, Kacy] Vizio bringing 21:9 Cinema HDTV to CES with 2560 x 1080 resolution, all our hopes and dreams originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Shocker! Media addicts suffer withdrawal symptoms, just like real addicts
January 4, 2011 No Comment
…and we’re all media addicts, aren’t we? A recent study conducted by the International Center for Media & the Public Agenda (ICMPA) certainly seems to indicate that this is indeed the case. The premise was pretty straightforward: students at twelve universities around the world were instructed to abstain from using all media for twenty-four hours. The results were somewhat predictable: across the board, going without television was somewhat easy to do, while abstaining from text messaging and instant messaging brought on withdrawal symptoms: “When I did not have those two luxuries,” wrote one student, “I felt quite alone and secluded from my life. Although I go to a school with thousands of students, the fact that I was not able to communicate with anyone via technology was almost unbearable.” According to Dr. Roman Gerodimos of the University of Portsmouth both psychological and physical symptoms were reported by the young techno-junkies. Shocker! Media addicts suffer withdrawal symptoms, just like real addicts originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Spriiing Smile Android phone hits Thailand by way of Sweden with China’s help
January 4, 2011 No Comment
Did a Thai company we’ve never heard of just make the best-looking portrait QWERTY Android phone to date? We might not jump the gun that quickly — but it’s definitely up there. Spriiing Design (yes, three i’s) is launching its Smile model in Bangkok on January 18th and the rest of Thailand thereafter, featuring a 3 megapixel camera, 512MB of ROM, 256MB of RAM, microSD expansion to 16GB, and a 2.6-inch QVGA display along with 3G support on the 900 and 2100MHz bands paired to a 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7225 core atop Android 2.1. In other words… yeah, this pretty low end fare. More interestingly, though, the handset was apparently designed in Sweden and manufactured by Huawei — in fact, it’s got “In connection with Ideos ” silkscreened on the back, and Ideos is the brand that Huawei’s been pushing this year for its Android-powered gear. Small world, ain’t it? Follow the break for Spriiing’s video teaser. Update: Turns out this puppy is on sale in Australia, too, through Boost Mobile (yep, there’s a Boost Mobile there). Thanks, Matt! Gallery: Spriiing Android phone hits Thailand by way of Sweden with China’s help Continue reading Spriiing Smile Android phone hits Thailand by way of Sweden with China’s help Spriiing Smile Android phone hits Thailand by way of Sweden with China’s help originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Samsung’s new 9 Series LED-backlit 3DTV goes for asymmetric beauty with a Touch of Color
January 4, 2011 No Comment
We might already be here at CES in Las Vegas, but that isn’t stopping Samsung from doing some very last minute teasing. The Korean maker of everything electronic has released a few teaser images for its new flagship 9 Series LED-backlit 3DTV. This new panel features a striking asymmetric design, with the stand offset to the far right, and a metallic construction accented with a (hopefully tasteful) Touch of Color . No further details or specs are available as of yet, but mysteries like that don’t tend to hang around for too long in this city and at this time of the year. Samsung’s new 9 Series LED-backlit 3DTV goes for asymmetric beauty with a Touch of Color originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 01:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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LG just exhausted 1,000 words to announce its new range of smart appliances built around Thinq technology. Unfortunately, for all the hyperbole there’s not much detail about the appliances themselves. We do know that Thinq features smart grid, access, diagnosis, adapt, and food management capabilities. At the center of Thinq is the concept of an intelligent WiFi grid built around a smart meter enabling home owners to schedule the oven cook time, washing machine cycle, and refrigerator defrost at the most cost-effective or convenient times. Smart Access allows homeowners to control and monitor appliances from outside of the home and, better yet, control LG’s HOM-BOT robotic vacuum cleaner to clean or remotely view the house and even feed the dog. LG’s smart refrigerators can count and display the number of times the door is opened and alert home owners when the door is ajar. Alerts can also be scheduled when the ice-maker is switched off or the washing machine is off balance or a load is finished. LCD displays on LG’s Thinq appliances show daily, weekly, or monthly reports detailing each appliance’s energy consumption. Naturally, you can access daily totals from your smartphone or tablet as well. New Smart Diagnosis features include downloadable diagnostic information and the ability to hit a few buttons on the appliance to emit a series of tones to assist LG technicians troubleshooting problems over the phone. The food management feature works by dragging and dropping food icons around the LCD display or by using built-in voice recognition. Unfortunately, the inventory must be managed manually making this feature pretty useless for all but the most obsessive of home owners. All the appliances are software upgradeable with the ability to download new features like pre-programmed recipes and advanced wash cycles. It all sounds very intriguing but we’ll have to see it demonstrated live before we’re convinced of its usefulness. Until then we’ve got a few pics of the user interface and one of washer and dryer pair in the gallery below. Gallery: LG Thinq links your home appliances with WiFi Continue reading LG Thinq linqs your smart appliances with WiFi and smartphone apps LG Thinq linqs your smart appliances with WiFi and smartphone apps originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 01:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …AMD launches Radeon HD 6000M series, endows them with HD3D and EyeSpeed skills
January 4, 2011 No Comment
AMD might have let the Radeon HD 6500M and 6300M out a little early, but today marks the formal launch of its new, second-generation DirectX 11 mobile chips, the HD 6000M family. The new arrivals are the HD 6900M / 6800M in the gaming-centric high-end (offering up to 1.3 teraFLOPS of compute power), the HD 6700M / 6600M in the upper midrange, and the HD 6400M to provide mainstream users with all the discrete graphics loving that they desire. The 6000M range introduces AMD’s new HD3D hocus pocus, which will allow apps, games and other media to present themselves in 3D to you — provided devs care to make them so — while EyeSpeed is a marketing name for a set of technologies designed to improve video streaming and gaming performance by taking on more tasks with the GPU. You’ll care about that if you’re a big online media consumer and you’ll also want to know that AMD has an exclusive on hardware acceleration for DivX video. Full press release awaits after the break. Continue reading AMD launches Radeon HD 6000M series, endows them with HD3D and EyeSpeed skills AMD launches Radeon HD 6000M series, endows them with HD3D and EyeSpeed skills originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …AMD announces first Fusion chips: 10+ hour battery life with DirectX11 graphics
January 4, 2011 No Comment
Is this real? Is this happening? It’s been over four years since AMD and ATI completed their $5.4 billion merger with the promise of Fusion hybrid CPU / GPU chips, and after what’s seemed like nearly endless delays , the company’s delivering here at CES 2011. And it’s delivering in a big way — the first Fusion chips are a direct assault on Intel’s Atom and the netbook market, offering what AMD says is better CPU performance, vastly better GPU performance with DirectX11 support, dedicated 1080p HD video processing and HDMI out, and “all day” battery life that can hit 10 or more hours. There are four total chips in two families built around the new ” Bobcat ” CPU core to start: the ” Zacate ” E-Series for mainstream laptops, AIOs and small desktops will have an 18W TDP and come in the 1.6GHz dual-core E-350 and the 1.5GHz single-core E-240, while the ” Ontario ” C-Series for HD netbooks and “other emerging form factors” will clock in at 9W TDP and come in the dual-core 1.0GHz C-50 and the single core 1.2GHz C-30. The ” Llano ” A-Series designed for mainstream laptops will offer up to four cores and arrive later this year. We’re expecting to see a number of systems based around the E-Series — the Lenovo X120e and HP Pavilion dm1 have already been announced — and we’re anticipating quite a flood in the days ahead, which we’re more than eager to test out. AMD’s making some serious claims — it says “Fusion processors are, quite simply, the greatest advancement in processing since the introduction of the x86 architecture more than forty years ago” — and if can deliver on its performance promises, it’ll pretty much turn the entire netbook market upside down. What’s more, the company says tablets and other embedded devices are coming in the first half of 2011, so things could get seriously interesting. PR after the break. Continue reading AMD announces first Fusion chips: 10+ hour battery life with DirectX11 graphics AMD announces first Fusion chips: 10+ hour battery life with DirectX11 graphics originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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