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| Blog Alert for Engadget, Sep 8, 2011 Posted: 09 Sep 2011 01:08 AM PDT New Posts to Engadget on Sep 8, 2011: ------------------------------------------------------------------ Just in time for play-by-play tweets about the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, Auckand has instituted a fully-integrated WiFi network across its Link public transit system. According to officials, buses and some trains will get the free internet treatment, giving passengers up to three 30 minute sessions a day between September 1 and October 31st. Powered by Tomizone and sponsored by Localist, the network promises 2 - 6Mbps downloads and is based on point-to-point links around town using fiber assets for backhaul. If that wasn't enough connectivity, CallPlus and Slingshot are dishing out some gratis WiFi of their own with an additional thousand hotspots sprinkled throughout the city. Hopefully, the added infrastructure will mean WiFi access par excellence year round for maximum non-Rugby related tweetage. Check out the full PR after the break. [Thanks, Scott]Continue reading Auckland [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ Well, it looks as if Sprint's going to miss tomorrow's launch date for the BlackBerry Curve 9350. A representative of the Now Network confirmed the news to us today, stating that the phone will not arrive until next month due to "unexpected circumstances." While the company has yet to announce a new target date, the anonymous tipster who initially outed the story tells Phone Arena to expect an October 2nd arrival. Seeing that Sprint already sells two BlackBerry models that are appreciably better than the Curve 9350, we hope you won't lose sleep over the revelation. Still, if you've got a personal grudge against touchscreens, you'd best reset that countdown timer, starting... now.Sprint's BlackBerry Curve 9350 will be delayed until October originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Phone Arena | Email this | Comments ------------------------------------------------------------------ You, kid, have got what it takes. The LG E510 -- also known as the Univa -- may be the apprentice of the massively-popular Optimus One, learning the tricks of the trade and mastering the art of winning the hearts of millions across the globe. Norwegian site Mobili nabbed some quality hands-on time with the new device and gave it high marks. The Univa is rumored to feature an 800MHz CPU and Adreno 200 GPU, 512MB of RAM, a 3.5-inch HVGA display, a 1,500mAh battery, and will come with Android 2.3.4 installed. The spec sheet isn't enough to stand up to the Droid Bionics and Nexus Primes of the world, but it's certainly capable of holding up the lower end of LG's Android lineup for the next year, likely picking up right where the aging Optimus One left off. The device still isn't official, which means this is all pure speculation for now, but undoubtedly the manufacturer has something in [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ What Dexim's tiny AppSpeed Monster Truck lacks in actual car crushing prowess, it makes up in Apple device compatibility -- and that's gotta account for something, right? The little RC car can be controlled by users' iPhones, iPads or iPod touches, with the help of the company's iOS app, utilizing the devices' built-in accelerometer for 360 degree control of the Monster Truck. The car will be available for $69. As for the app, that will be offered for free through iTunes. Video and PR after the break, break, break.Continue reading AppSpeed Monster Truck is controlled by your iPad, iPad, iPad (video)AppSpeed Monster Truck is controlled by your iPad, iPad, iPad (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 23:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Dexim | Email this | Comments ------------------------------------------------------------------ Long before Yelp, there was Zagat -- a point-based restaurant rating guide, compiled from the best (or worst, depending) crowdsourced reviews. Today, Google has acquired the brand and plans to integrate Zagat's now expanded shopping, eating, drinking and hotel tips into both search and maps. For gastronomes, travelers and locals, that means crowdsourced tips for superb noms and activity recommendations from around the world. Sounds great, guys, as long as your new found friendship helps us find the best bacon-flavored ice cream cone, we're all for it.Google acquires Zagat: good news for foodies, bad news for Yelp? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 23:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | The Official Google Blog | Email this | Comments ------------------------------------------------------------------ It's saving most of the details for the Frankfurt Motor Show next week, but GM subsidiary Opel has now offered up the first glimpse of its all-electric One Euro Car, which seems bound to turn a few heads on the show floor. The car's name comes from the company's promise that the it will consume just one Euro's worth of energy (or about $1.40) for every 100 kilometers, though there's no indication of a price for the car itself other than that it'd be "affordable" -- if it ever goes into production, that is. Otherwise, the company's only saying that it will boast a top speed of 120 kilometers (or 75 miles) per hour, room for two, and a total weight about a third that of a modern compact car.Opel shows off all-electric One Euro Car concept originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Autoblog Green | Email [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ Ciao bambini! Motorola just lifted the veil on its latest ruggedized phone, the Wilder, which is destined for Italian shores later this month in all its underpowered glory. The GSM dual-band phone packs a 2.8-inch QVGA display, a two megapixel camera with 15fps video, and 5MB (yes, MEGABYTES) of on-board storage -- so it's not going to be blowing anyone away with lightning-fast performance. Moto is rather light on specs, with no mention of processor speed, OS, or 3G support, but there's nothing here to imply that this thing has been sprinkled with even the slightest amount of Google dust. However, we do assume it's powerful enough to run pre-loaded Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and YouTube apps, and browse the web with Opera Mini. There's also a secondary notification display, expandable storage (up to 32GB), and some embedded games like Tetris and Need for Speed. The Wilder may only be [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ Updates can be somewhat of an addiction to the Android faithful -- just peep those XDA forums. And even though this particular Google upgrade isn't exactly the Ice Cream Sandwich of our Autumn dreams, it's still a noteworthy bump to the oft-used Maps app. Bundled up in version 5.10.0 are two minor, but useful tweaks that'll display your four and five star rated Places, as well as letting you tack a photo onto your review. We managed to download the update directly to our phone, but last we checked, the web-based marketplace still hadn't refreshed with the latest offering. Make sure to hit the source link below to keep your Gapps up to snuff.Google Maps update adds top-rated reviews, photos to Places originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 21:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink AndroidCentral | Email this | Comments ------------------------------------------------------------------ Yesterday was the big day for Sony's 4K projector (still no exact price, but reps mentioned it would be sub $25k -- we know you can afford that) and the US debut of its funky 3D helmet, but now that the CEDIA show floor is open we stopped by its booth and got our hands on a couple of other treats. In one corner we've got its Google TV hardware, updated with a near-release upgrade to Honeycomb and showing off some highlighted apps picked by Google. Over in the other, we have its new SMP-N200 streamer. Check the gallery for a few snaps of us pawing the SMP-N200 (smaller than a bread box, way bigger than a Roku 2) and after the break, a live demonstration of Google TV running Honeycomb -- it's not much, but consider this a taste before Google delivers the Market and other goodies around the end of this month. Gallery: Sony CEDIA 2011 boothContinue reading Sony brings new media streaming [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ Using your phone's GPS to guide you down city streets can sometimes be a harrowing experience, especially in signal blackspots (or when there's a mild breeze). Fortunately, there's a fancy new solution -- for some of you at least. High Fidelity Position is an app specifically for Samsung Mango phones that supercharges the GPS module with two upgrades to help positioning. The first leverages the on-board accelerometer and compass to help the Windows 7 device orient itself on congested city streets. Second is that it will now access GLONASS -- Russia's equivalent to GPS -- pinpointing your location to within a few feet. When installed, the app is only visible in the settings menu, where you will need to activate it. We can also expect to see more of GLONASS in the future, since Russia's imposing import taxes of about 25-percent on any device that's incompatible with the Soviet standard, [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Robopocalypse is coming -- just not in the way you'd feared. DreamWorks and Twentieth Century Fox have joined movie-making forces to reanimate Daniel H. Wilson's fictional (for now) literary account of a future, robot-helmed doomsday. The studios have thrown some guy named Steven Spielberg behind the lens of this cinematic cautionary tale, and plan to scare the bejeezus out of us all when it premieres July 3, 2013 -- that's if we make it past the Mayan end of the world. No casting was mentioned in the project's announcement, so we'll continue to cross our toes in the hopes a certain daytime show couch jumper and film star-turned-pilot don't join in on the blockbuster fear-mongering.Continue reading Robopocalypse coming soon to a theater near you, Spielberg to smother it in PGRobopocalypse coming soon to a theater near you, Spielberg to smother it in PG originally appeared on [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ Just last week Vestel was busy showing of its BitTorrent Certified Television, and now the company's teaming up with Extent to deliver Android games to your boob tube -- and it's doing so by playing off your love of a bottomless buffet. Described as "the world's first all-you-can-eat Android TV game subscription service," GameTanium allows users of Vestel's Smart Box set-top box to access a suite of TV-optimized games in the comfort of their living rooms, using their Android phones as controllers. What's more, the service lets them switch between their PC, cellphone, tablet or TV without ever losing their place in a game. The service will be debuted at this week's IBC, but if this announcement has left you hungry for more, there's always the Golden Corral. Full PR awaits you and your belly after the break.Continue reading Vestel, Extent bring Android games to TVs, with 'all-you-can-eat' [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ Hear this nerds? Windows 8 will ship with Hyper-V virtualization software integrated into the OS. Until now Hyper-V was limited to Microsoft's server products, but now consumers (whether they care or not) will be able to fire up virtual machines without the need to download VirtualBox or some other VM software suite. Now, the average person probably won't care too much, but power users will be thrilled. And, if virtualization can be integrated seamlessly to enhance security (through sandboxing) and compatibility with legacy apps (say, via an included XP license), it could be a huge boon to casual users -- even if they don't realize it's there. For more details about Hyper-V from the Windows 8 devs, including a nice demo video, check out the source link.Windows 8 will deliver Hyper-V virtualization tech to all, power users rejoice originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ If executed properly, Muve Music could be a pretty nifty idea. But up until now, the all-you-can download music service from Cricket Wireless has been offered on the Samsung Suede featurephone... and that's it. Fortunately, the Samsung Vitality will come to the rescue as the prepaid carrier's first smartphone to provide the beats. We've seen this device before as the Admire, which runs on Android 2.3, has a 3.5-inch HVGA (480 x 320) display and is powered by an 800MHz CPU. The phone also includes a 3.2 megapixel cam, 1,600mAh battery and a 4GB microSD card. It may not sound all that tempting, but the price could turn a few heads: the Vitality will be available for $200 -- that's sans contract, folks -- and requires a $65 plan which will hook you up with unlimited data, voice and music. Sounds like this Muve Music feature has sprung back to life. Follow the break for the full press [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ This pico projector is more than meets the eye. Underneath that bland, plastic exterior the Tursion TS-102 is actually a dual-core Android computer. That pair of 624MHz cores is pushing the surprisingly outdated Eclair through a lamp that can project an 800 x 600 image up to 100-inches in size at 20 lumens. While you can hook the TS-102 up to another device, there is no need to. It's capable of displaying media stored on the internal 8GB of flash or on a microSD card, and you can navigate apps with the integrated touchpad. Tack on a WiFi radio and an 80-minute rechargeable battery and you've got the makings of a pretty awesome little toy. You can order your own now on Amazon, but the luxury of owning your own pocketable, big-screen computer (and the bragging rights that go with it) will set you back a steep $449.Tursion TS-102 is an Android computer disguised as a pico projector [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ Not to be outdone by Seagate's 4TB GoFlex Desk, Hitachi's G-Technology unit has now unleashed a jumbo-sized external HDD of its own, with the 8TB, dual-drive G-RAID. Demoed at this week's IBC conference in Amsterdam, the company's new storage house consists of two 4TB drives nestled within an aluminum enclosure, each of which clocks in at 7,200 RPM. Configured for OS X, the G-RAID also sports a Thunderbolt port that offers transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps, though it can also support Windows with some simple reformatting. G-Technology will begin shipping its 4TB drives in October (with eSATA, FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 ports), whereas its "4TB-based" Thunderbolt-equipped drive won't hit the market until Q4 -- though it's still unclear whether either model will ship as single drives, or as a two-headed, 8TB beast. Pricing remains a mystery for the moment, but you can find more details in the [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ JVC first brought 4K home with its $175k DLA-RS4000 and now it's back with four new models with greater than HD resolution at much easier to swallow prices. You'll note the term used is "with 4K precision", because strictly speaking these don't project over 4,000 pixels of horizontal resolution, coming in at a still impressive 3,840 x 2,160 resolution. While this is still about four times the number of a standard HD image, it's less than say, Sony's VPL-VW1000ES. Filling in the difference is JVC's e-Shift technology, which was originally developed for its 8K projector. It works by creating two 1080p frames, with one shifted down diagonally and alternated at 120Hz to create the effect. The scheme is not far off from the old wobulation technology featured in some "1080p" DLPs once upon a time, but this time there are no moving parts as it's all being done electronically. Shown off with [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ We know, we know -- you're anxiously awaiting the public launch of iTunes Match, but what if you're one of those people? You know, the crowd that dips their toes into both Google and Apple offerings. It's clearly not as blasphemous as you may have been led to believe, as the fine folks in Google's mobile department have just produced an iOS-specific web app for Google Music Beta. For those who've forgotten, Music Beta was launched a few months back at Google I/O, giving audio archivists the chance to upload 20,000 of their favorite jams into the cloud; now, as you might imagine, it ain't just Android users tapping into those libraries. Predictably, the Music Beta iOS web app enables iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users to login to their accounts and stream at will, and if you're down to give it a go, the download link is just below -- you'll need to have been accepted previously into the [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ First rule of expensive electronics 101 is don't get'em wet. For the Japanese, however, a waterproof gadget option's a welcome value-add to time spent soaking in that ofuro. We first got a sneak peek at DoCoMo's H2O-resistant LTE Fujitsu tablet just last week, and now the company's making the announcement official. Joining the Arrows Tab LTE F-01D on the carrier's new 4G Xi (read: Crossy) network is our good Samsung friend, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 LTE SC-01D. Both slates are set to hit the operator's Japanese airwaves next month, with Sammy's bowing in early October and Fujitsu's model landing a few weeks later. While we're already privy to all the internal guts and glory of the former tab, we finally have some spec confirmation on the Arrows. The 10.1-incher boasts a WXGA display, dual-core processor running Android 3.2, 1.3 megapixel front-facing / 5 megapixel rear camera setup, up to [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ You're certainly not alone if you think that the current airport security process is far from ideal. AOptix hopes to streamline and speed up security procedures by replacing manual boarding pass and ID checks with a biometric kiosk called e-Gate. The new system, which verifies passenger identities by matching an iris scan with a boarding pass, just received (IATA) approval, and is currently being tested in three airports around the world. It's not as slick as a similar concept we saw earlier this summer, but e-Gate could be implemented with a trusted traveler program, creating special lanes for pre-approved frequent fliers -- similar to the US Customs Global Entry system in place today. We don't see it replacing X-ray machines and check-in interviews, but it could remove human error from the equation -- at least when it comes to verifying your identity. Jump past the break for the full [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ You remember the first time you saw Back to the Future II, don't you? We all dreamed of a world filled with hoverboards and self-lacing shoes, and now Nike's made the latter a reality... sort of. Marty McFly's favorite high tops are now called the 2011 Nike MAGs and look just like the kicks in the movie, though it appears that you'll have to lace 'em up the old-fashioned way. They'll only be on sale during a ten-day period starting tonight at 8:30PM Pacific Standard Time, and no amount of flux-capacitation can score you a pair if you miss that window. 150 sets of shoes will be auctioned on eBay's Fashion Vault each day (sorry, US bidders only), and all the net proceeds will go to The Michael J. Fox Foundation to further Parkinson's research. Not only that, all the money made will be doubled through matching contributions. Nice job, Nike, now about those hoverboards...Continue reading [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ Synrgic may not be a brand name that resonates with mobile-obsessed statesiders, but that's no reason to shrug off the nascent electronics maker's efforts. Known primarily for its tablet PCs in China, the company is purportedly gearing up for a launch of its first ever smartphone -- the T100. According to a leaked shot over on Chinitech, the handset'll pack a spec list that runs neck and neck with the heavy hitting phones we've seen flood the global marketplace. Sporting a 4.3-inch 960 x 540 display, the device runs an undisclosed version of Gingerbread on a dual-core 1.2GHz Tegra 2 processor, packs 1GB RAM, up to 32GB of internal storage (due to an omitted microSD card slot), and 1.3 megapixel front-facing / 5 megapixel rear camera set-up capable of 720p video capture. There's also an HDMI and USB port, ample 1500mAh battery, WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G GSM / WCDMA frequencies on board. If [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ New projectors quietly slip on to shelves almost every day, but Epson's new PowerLite Pro Cinema 6010, and updated Home Cinema series certainly caught our attention. They combine 1080p images with active 3D tech for a price that home theater builders shouldn't immediately dismiss. The flagship Pro Cinema 6010 and Home Cinema 5010 lines can output 2,400 lumens while maintaining a contrast ratio of 200,000:1. Both also include the ability to convert 2D content to 3D on the fly. The primary difference between the $4,000 6010 and $3,000 5010 (the wirelessHD-equipped 5010e will run about $3,500) is the included accessories and options: like ceiling mounts, 3D glasses and additional lens modes. The budget 3010 ($1,600) and 3010e ($1,800) models sport a more modest 40,000:1 contrast ratio and 2,200 lumen rating, but do have a pair of built-in 10W speakers. Oddly, only the 3010 package will [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ Tim is back in NYC, Brian is back in the US and gdgt's Peter Rojas is back on the podcast. So, so many reasons to celebrate another Thursday evening edition of The Engadget podcast, tonight at 5PM ET!
Update: Aaaaand, we're done! We'll have the recording up tomorrow if you missed out!Continue reading The Engadget Podcast, live at 5:00PM ET!The Engadget Podcast, live at 5:00PM ET! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments ------------------------------------------------------------------ OK, so the Level 10 GT was a significantly more practical than its BMW designed fore-bearer, but it lacked a bit pizzazz that the OG version brought to the desk. The Snow Edition restores some of its gaudy flair by slathering its accents and protrusions in glossy white paint. In fact, it looks quite a lot like the version we spotted in NVIDIA's booth at Computex in May. The roughly $280 case isn't for the casual system builder, but DIYers who cherish style, silence (HotHardware called it, "easily one of the quietest full-sized ATX cases") and expandability it's a small price to pay. Or, to put it in colloquial terms, this is a bad-ass enclosure. Check out the source link for a thorough review.Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition adds even more flair to an already audacious case originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ A certain type of "hairy" bacteria may just be the answer to cleaning up radioactive spills. Scientists at the University of Southern California found that under certain circumstances, Geobacter sulfurreducens could make metals like uranium less soluble -- essentially turning the metal into hard droplets rather than being absorbed. Researchers discovered that by lowering the bacteria's temperature, it caused hair-like pili to extend, which enveloped the poison uranium and ultimately reduced it through long-range electron transfer. The breakthrough could help deplete sources of uranium or other radioactive isotopes where bacteria normally can't survive -- like from the Fukushima nuclear plant that devastated Japan earlier this year. Scientists believe they've only scratched the surface with this development and are optimistic about the future of bacteria "electromicrobiology," which we [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ Shiny, happy people staring at iPad 2s? Why, it must be the power of inductive charging, or just hyper-enthusiastic marketing. Revealed at CEDIA 2011, Dana Innovations' recently announced LaunchPort system takes the convenience of wireless charging and slaps it on your wall. Of course, there's the regular ol' option to have your Apple slab recharge from a flat top surface, but then you'll be missing out on the 360 degree pizzazz. The price of this fancy doesn't come cheap either, with both the wall- and base-mounted options costing $200 each, plus the $150 for the mandatory PowerShuttle sleeve and the $10 pre-order fee. Now, how badly do you need to show off that Jony Ive-designed tablet? Skip past the break to witness overacting at its finest.Continue reading LaunchPort wirelessly charges iPad 2, infects users with glee (video)LaunchPort wirelessly charges iPad 2, infects users with [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ We've seen 3TB hard drives trickling onto the market for the better part of a year, but it's only now that we're seeing more UEFI-equipped motherboards that can actually handle all that storage capacity. So, the benchmarking wizards over at HotHardware decided now would be a fine time to pit a few of 'em against each other, rounding up models from the likes of Western Digital, Seagate and Hitachi and subjecting them to a grueling battery of 28 tests. We'll leave it to you to peruse the scores, but suffice to say the Seagate Barracuda XT swept about half the benchmarks, and notched a close second the rest of the time. But is it worth spending an extra $30 over Western Digital's consistently trailing Caviar Green? We'll leave that to you and your wallet.Western Digital, Seagate and Hitachi square off in 3TB hard drive roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:48:00 [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ You may have suspected that something was up after Viewsonic failed to meet its promised "early Q2" ship date for the Boxee-powered TV it showed off at CES, and you would have suspected correctly. GigaOM is now reporting that Viewsonic has indeed ditched its plans for the device, apparently due to a combination of high costs and a lack of interest in Smart TVs from customers. It is still keeping its options open for further down the road, however, noting that it will "stay involved with the various technology developments and consider them in the future as they become available."Viewsonic abandons plans for Boxee-powered TV originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Electronista | Email this | Comments ------------------------------------------------------------------ Well, you don't see this too often. A new phone dubbed the Smart Bar is set for sale in Japan on September 22nd that combines the retro styling of a candybar with a modern 3-inch touchscreen. We're undeniably intrigued by the numerical keypad (for obvious reasons), and the WVGA display sports an admirable pixel density of 311ppi, although the rest of the specs are decidedly mundane. The handset is manufactured by Huawei and features an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 SoC, 512MB of RAM, a 5 megapixel camera and Gingerbread. There's also support for 802.11n (which allows tethering for up to five simultaneous devices), Bluetooth 2.1 and IrDA. It features 3G support on the 2100 and 1700MHz spectra, along with tri-band 1900 / 1800 / 900MHz GSM capability. The Smart Bar will sell for approximately ¥29,800 ($385), where fans of vintage fusion may select from black, white and brown variants.Smart Bar [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ Viewsonic has been at the low-cost Android tablet for some time now, and it showed no signs of letting up on that effort at IFA last week, where it debuted its new ViewPad 7e. If that managed to pique your interest, you'll be glad to know that the device is now available for pre-order for $199.99 (though there's still no promised ship date). That will buy you a 7-inch screen, a 1GHz Cortex-A8 processor, Android 2.3 for an OS, 4GB of built-in storage, a microSD card slot for further expansion, and even a mini HDMI port that will let you output full 1080p video. [Thanks, Peter]Viewsonic's $200 ViewPad 7e Android tablet now available for pre-order originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Amazon | Email this | Comments ------------------------------------------------------------------ Temper that excitement. This isn't the rumored quad-core, Kal-El running Transformer 2. Still, ASUS is doing its best to port the tab buzz to the enterprise set with its quietly introduced Eee Slate B121. Unlike its tablet PC bretheren, this business-minded slate runs Windows 7 Professional atop an Intel Core i5 processor, and comes loaded with the security tweaks necessary for the corporate road warrior: like Computrace LoJack for remote location and data wipe, and a Trusted Platform Module microchip that stores encrypted data. Also tacked on to the $1,500 12.1-inch package are a Bluetooth keyboard and Wacom Digitizer stylus. As for the specs, well, there's a 1280 x 800 LED Gorilla Glass display, 4GB RAM, 64GB of storage, dual USB 2.0 ports, mini-HDMI out, SD card slot and 2 megapixel front-facing camera. No official word on exactly when this biz-friendly tablet'll be available, but [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ Scientists at Penn State would like to release tiny spiders into your blood -- no, it's not the premise for a new horror movie, but rather, it's a medical breakthrough. The spider-like machines are less than a micrometer wide (just so you know, a red blood cell is around six to ten micrometers), and are designed to travel through veins delivering drugs and a little TLC to damaged areas -- not a totally new concept, per se, but even minor advancements can open up all sorts of new doors for troubled patients. Made of half gold, half silica, these microspiders are self-propelled by a molecule called the Grubbs catalyst, which scientists can control directionally using chemicals. Although still in the preliminary phases, lead researcher Ayusman Sen hopes to one day attach the creepy crawlers to nanobots, which could maneuver through the body to detect tumors, helping the immune system and [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ You've heard of pianists, flutists and organists, but have you heard of Thereminists? The title, originally applied to players of another hands-free instrument from the 1920s, has been repurposed for those who can manipulate invisible sounds in a 3D space called an Audio-Haptic Navigation Environment (AHNE). By tweaking a Kinect sensor and using the OpenNI framework and OSCeleton, researchers at the SOPI Research Group at Media Lab Helsinki were able to create an AHNE "proof concept" called "Tension." Outfitting a volunteer with sensor-laden gloves with a small vibration motor for haptic feedback, they were able to create "music" -- add a pinch of Pitbull, and you're looking at the world's next great mellow anthem. Check out the full music video after the break.Continue reading Audio-Haptic Navigation Environment makes music the hands-free way (video)Audio-Haptic Navigation Environment [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ We really, really love gadgets, but nothing brings us greater joy than to see our readers unbox a new toy, especially when it can help improve your experience at school. So this year we're giving away bags -- 15 of them, in fact -- each filled with 20 amazing prizes. Each winner will score a laptop, tablet, a killer camera, and even a new dual-core cell phone, along with plenty of other awesome items. We'll be choosing one commenter from each of our back to school category pages, and one from our main contest announcement, so if you meet the qualifications listed on each post, simply leave a comment to be eligible to win. You won't be penalized for commenting more than once on each post, but it won't help your chances, either. And since we'll be randomly selecting one commenter from each post, enter at each of the 14 pages linked to here, along with this page to boost your odds. We'll [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------ Just hours before the 2011 NFL season kicks off, the ESPN and the NFL announced a new eight year extension for Monday Night Football that runs from 2014 to 2021 and most notably to us, includes a provision for 3D broadcast rights. The new deal covers items from new studio programming (beginning this season) to availability of games on the WatchESPN mobile app to the Pro Bowl we still won't watch. According to the LA Times, the pricetag for ESPN -- before it's passed on to the cable / satellite company and eventually ends up on your bill in a rate increase -- is around $1.9 billion per season, up from $1.1 billion previously. While this should help quell ideas that ESPN 3D might be axed after its removal from U-verse, the bad news is it could still be a ways off, as we're told 3D broadcasts are expected when the extension takes effect in 2014. Sadly, 3D early adopters are probably used [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------
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