Cobra brings radar detection to the iPhone and reckless endangerment to the app store
December 10, 2010 No Comment
It was bound to happen sooner or later: an unholy marriage between an iPhone (or second gen or later iPod touch) and a radar detector. As seems most fitting, the peeps at Cobra are behind this one, and we must say that if this is your thing, the premise is pretty interesting: the handset, running a free app from the company, connects to the iCobra fuzz buster via Bluetooth and alerts the driver to things like cameras, commonly identified speed traps, rough intersections, and more. Suggested retail is $170, but we’ve seen it making the rounds for the $100 mark. Race your way to your favorite e-tailer to see for yourself. Cobra brings radar detection to the iPhone and reckless endangerment to the app store originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 11:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Canon’s latest midrange SD4500 point and shoot — known as the IXUS 1000 HS in Europe — has scored a “Recommended” review by the folks at Photography Blog thanks largely to its excellent image quality (particularly with night shots) and the presence of a big 10x zoom lens packed inside its Elph body. The testers were concerned, though, with the camera’s poor 150-shot battery life, 36mm not-so-wide-angle setting and minimal physical controls — which may drive experienced users loco from excessive button mashing. Its $299 price tag is also precariously close to the beloved Canon S95 , which offers significantly better performance for only $70 more. Still, if your budget is rigid and size is key, the SD4500 should suit you and your pockets nicely. To read the full review by the folks at Photography Blog , thanks. Canon SD4500 IS reviewed: gets recommended despite some glaring faults originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Solid-state lasers are fine, durable and reliable and all that, but what if you want something a little softer, maybe a little more conforming to your needs and moods? Or, what if you want something that can beam light in all directions at once ? Then you need to go liquid, baby, liquid. That’s what Slovenian scientists (and diacritic wunderkinds) Matjaž Humar and Igor Muševič have done, creating, in their words, “3D microlasers from self-assembled cholesteric liquid-crystal microdroplets.” Various layers of fluids form what’s called a Bragg-onion optical microcavity, including embedded crystals not unlike those that flip the tiny switches in an LCD . These blobs are self-assembled chemically and, when a little laser is applied to them, can create a 3D image by shining their light in every dimension simultaneously. Well, not every one — you know the Fifth Dimension can only be seen if you let the sunshine in. World’s first 3D microlaser created, has a gooey Bragg-onion center originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 10:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Let’s face it, the daddy of all motion-controlled gaming is the humble art of air guitar . There’s no question about it, creationists and evolutionists all agree, the genesis of our modern craze for motion sensitivity was your uncle rocking out to Jimmy Page’s face-melting solo in Stairway to Heaven . Now that we’ve got the history lesson out of the way, someone’s gone and programmed Kinect to recognize the fine craft of your air strumming and deliver concordant chords in response. Excellent! Continue reading Kinect meets its maker with new air guitar hack (video) Kinect meets its maker with new air guitar hack (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 10:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We know, it’s a bit odd to see the Jawbone name attached to something other than a Bluetooth headset or speaker, but Aliph is forging into the application game with a new voice messaging service for iOS. Called Thoughts, the software is basically like text messaging or instant messaging with voice. The free audio-based messaging iPhone app, which should be hitting the App Store today, lets you send short audio recordings to either a single contact or a group with a tap of a button. We got a chance to check it out at the D: Dive into Mobile conference this week and found the whole thing to be a really great way to circumvent voicemails or longer texts — all you have to do is tap the name of your contact and then leave a short voice message. There’s absolutely no ringing or waiting. If and when that contact responds it appears as a threaded message, and if you’re in an area that isn’t conducive to listening to those thrilling messages, there’s also a transcription feature. The app should be hitting today, but if you need more details before tapping install, hit the break for the full press release and a short promo video. Continue reading Aliph gets into the app game with Jawbone Thoughts voice messaging Aliph gets into the app game with Jawbone Thoughts voice messaging originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 09:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’re no strangers to the futuristic catch-all idea of ‘ self-healing ‘ — it’s one of the basic tent poles of many conceptions of tomorrow. That said, researchers are currently hard at work at Arizona State on a material that — you guessed it — can detect when it is damaged and, of course, heal itself. Though we sound a bit incredulous, the science is pretty simple here, and the progress on the project is very real. The material uses what the researchers are calling ‘shape-memory’ polymers and have a fiber optic network embedded within them which acts as the damage sensor as well as the heat delivery system. The polymers return to a pre-defined shape when heated to a certain temperature, and, when damage is detected, an infrared laser sends light through the network to the damaged area, triggers the shape-memory, and commands the area to repair the crack or tear — regaining up to 96 percent of its original strength. The so-called autonomous adaptive structures are part of a long-term research into shape-memory healing which could impact long-term developments of implantable medical devices , for instance. A video of the shape recovery process is after the break. Continue reading Shape-memory polymer knows when it’s hurt, fixes itself Shape-memory polymer knows when it’s hurt, fixes itself originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 09:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Epson and Thinxstream making PrintJinni wireless printing app available for free
December 10, 2010 No Comment
No doubt sensing a little heat from Apple’s own AirPrint , Epson and Thinxstream have now announced that their PrintJinni wireless printing app for iOS devices will soon be available completely free of charge — a permanent price drop, mind you, not simply a holiday promotion. Unfortunately, you can’t grab it for free just yet, as it will still demand the regular $6.99 until the App Store processes the price change, which is apparently expected to happen before the end of the month. Head on past the break for the complete press release. Continue reading Epson and Thinxstream making PrintJinni wireless printing app available for free Epson and Thinxstream making PrintJinni wireless printing app available for free originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 08:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Full version of Google Docs now works on iPad, but you can still go mobile if you want
December 10, 2010 No Comment
The big G just revamped its mobile device interface of Google Docs to make it closer to the full-fledged experience you get when editing from a proper computer — you know, something that probably has a keyboard, a big display, and a price that didn’t come with any two year agreements. Now that top shelf interface is also available on one of those devices that fits somewhere in-between those two segments: the iPad . Users of Apple’s tablet can opt into the desktop version for big-time editing of spreadsheets and documents and, while Google still recommends using the mobile editor, if you want full power it’s yours. Full version of Google Docs now works on iPad, but you can still go mobile if you want originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 08:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Microsoft said to be planning second Windows Phone 7 update for MWC in February
December 10, 2010 No Comment
Coming this February, at a Mobile World Congress near you, from the company that popularized the Service Pack : a second major update to Windows Phone 7 . The observant among you will already be leaping out of their seats to point out that the first WP7 update hasn’t even been delivered yet, but it seems like Microsoft’s calendar stretches beyond the next month and the company’s already churning away on enhancing and improving its rebooted mobile OS. Such is the scuttlebutt coming out of WinRumors , and it’s kind of hard to argue with the postulation that Steve Ballmer wouldn’t be keynoting MWC in 2011 without something significant to announce. Word is that users will be getting added customization options for their phones, while developers will gain an extra few API hooks and controls that will ideally lead to more sophisticated apps in WP7′s future. Sounds good to us, now how about some landscape love, Microsoft? Microsoft said to be planning second Windows Phone 7 update for MWC in February originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 07:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Apple engineer uses Lego to rebuild ancient Greek mechanism, will surely try to patent it (video)
December 10, 2010 No Comment
The Antikythera Mechanism is what you call truly old school technology. Argued to be the world’s oldest known computer, this ancient Greek invention was used some time circa 100BC to calculate and “predict celestial events and eclipses with unprecedented accuracy.” Skipping past the two millennia in which it lay lost on a sea floor somewhere, the Mechanism has now been recreated by an Apple software engineer by the name of Andrew Carol, who has lovingly pieced 1,500 Lego Technic blocks together, creating 110 gears and four gearboxes in total. Each box is responsible for performing one piece of arithmetic, and when the resulting machine is fed with appropriate calendar data, it spits out a (hopefully accurate) prediction for the next time a solar eclipse should occur. All well and good, but we’re really just amazed by the beauty of those gears working. Check them out after the break. Continue reading Apple engineer uses Lego to rebuild ancient Greek mechanism, will surely try to patent it (video) Apple engineer uses Lego to rebuild ancient Greek mechanism, will surely try to patent it (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 06:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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