Archive for October, 2008
Filed under: Robots
Our favorite robot-obessed entity on these fine internets, RobotsRules, has put out a fairly disturbing video entitled “Vadersapien” as a purported followup to last year’s “Elmosapien.” What at first might be perceived as a harmless way to enjoy halloween with robots and bit of Vadery goodness quickly devolves into the dark exploration of a mind turned sour by the constant companionship of robots. We’re positive [insert name of favorite sci-fi novelist] tried to warn us of this day, but there’s really no preparing for a product of so much psychological disruption. It’s after the break, of course.
Continue reading Vadersapien has little to do with Darth, much to do with a troubled childhood
Vadersapien has little to do with Darth, much to do with a troubled childhood originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Oct 2008 23:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
October 31, 2008
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
We keep waiting for “wireless” contact charging pads to blow our minds and revolutionize the way we use gadgets, but perhaps we’re just being idiot optimists. Or perhaps not. We’re seeing great possibilities with this latest implementation of WildCharger’s tech, the TouchCharge Kit from Psyclone for Xbox 360 controllers. The kit includes a rechargeable battery pack with the appropriate contacts and of course the charging pad. If you need to keep four controllers charging simultaneously, the $69-per setup pricetag might put this out of reach, but the Federal Reserve wouldn’t be dropping interest rates right and left if it didn’t want us racking up hundreds of dollars in consumer debt for game peripherals, right? EB Games has this up for pre-order now, should ship on December 15th.
[Thanks, Ken C.]
Psyclone’s TouchCharge Kit for your 360 controller finally puts WildCharger to good use originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
October 31, 2008
Filed under: Displays
E-ink displays, whether they be a couple-inches or a couple-feet across, hold a lot of potential, but in the four and a half years we’ve been covering the tech it hasn’t exactly made huge progress. Nothing spurs innovation like a little competition, and Sharp (which has dabbled in the e-ink before) is looking to provide just that with a new display type also able to hold an image sans-power. Few details about its construction are known, except that it’s based on LCD tech and can be manufactured on current production lines. In other words: it should be cheap. Current sizes are 1.7-, 2.4-, 6.1-, and 14.1-inches, with the largest two available in either monochrome or 8-color flavors, and the biggest offering a passable resolution of 1030 x 606. There’s no indication of when these will be readily available, but they are currently on limited tests as inventory tags in an Osaka grocery store — where even supermarkets are apparently cooler than ours.
Sharp shows off memory-capable, e-ink fighting LCDs originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
October 31, 2008
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
The Wii Fit might have some competition brewing, if Men’s Fitness magazine is a publication worthy of the public’s trust, that is. The details are vague, to say the very least but, here’s what we “know”: Dave Kushner, executive producer at EA Sports, told the magazine that the company is planning an ‘unnamed fitness game’ with a ‘new peripheral’ which will connect the Wiimote to the player’s body, enabling all sorts of newfangled measurements, movements, and exercises barely dreamed of before. Sounds totally awesome, right? Well, if and when it materializes, we’ll be sure to rush to the store, buy one, then sadly rue its unused, guilt-inducing existence every day thereafter.
[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]
EA plans a Wii Fit-slaying exercise game? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Oct 2008 02:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
October 30, 2008
The Nokia N85 looks set to make an appearance in the US pretty soon, with a third version of the N85 making it past the FCC hurdle recently. Two previous versions already made the cut - one without 3G support and another supporting 3G (WCDMA 900/1900/2100) networks. This approved third version will see the WCDMA V (850MHz) band in the new RM-334 model, and will be available as a full 7 band capable phone with 850/900/1800/1900 GSM and 850/1900/2100 WCDMA. It will be interesting to see how much this new N85 will cost.
Add a comment | From: Nokia N85 Passes FCC Hurdle | Visit Ubergizmo | Good deals
October 30, 2008
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
We’ve all been waiting patiently for Windows Mobile 7 to drop since the crust of the Earth was still cooling, and it this point, Windows 7 proper could theoretically beat it out of the gate. What’s a perpetually delayed platform to do, then? Come up with another stop-gap measure, of course. Windows Mobile 6.1 was designed to plug some short-term holes in 6, and it’s looking now like there could be a 6.5 waiting in the wings to plug a few more. Nothing has really been revealed about the mysterious, heretofore-unknown version, but Motorola CEO mentioned it in passing during the company’s earnings call today while discussing the fact that 6.1 really hasn’t been able to keep pace with Apple in the “user experience” department. Would it be totally naive of us to hope for a little Xbox Live Anywhere in there?
[Via CoolSmartPhone]
Moto CEO casually name drops Windows Mobile 6.5 in conference call originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
October 30, 2008
Filed under: Displays
As showcase displays push to 150-inches and beyond, we won’t blame you if you missed Shinoda’s surprisingly lightweight (7.9-pounds) 125-inch curved plasma when it was first unveiled back in May. Especially since it manages a rather paltry 960 x 360 pixels from that trio of joined, 1-meter wide (1-mm thin!) flexible plasma panels. The fact that it’s going production in April/May of next year is certainly notable, even if the first applications will be limited to digital signage. Baby steps, right?
Shinoda’s 125-inch curved plasma to hit assembly lines by May, all 7.9-pounds of it originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
October 29, 2008
Philips isn’t exactly the first name that comes into the mind where MP3 players are concerned, but they’re still hanging tough in that department with the GoGear 2940 being the latest device to be launched from their stables. Nothing groundbreaking about this squarish MP3 player here, although it does come with a color OLED display that works wonders if you’re going to tote around your favorite sized-down photos. Oh yeah, having color album art for your MP3, WAV and WMA files won’t hurt either. Other features of the GoGear 2940 include an integrated equalizer, USB 2.0 connectivity, voice recording capability and a built-in FM tuner. No idea on pricing or availability though.
Add a comment | From: Philips GoGear 2940 Now In Technicolor | Visit Ubergizmo | Good deals
October 29, 2008
Filed under: Digital Cameras
Nikon Coolpix P6000 reviewed, not all that cool originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
October 29, 2008
Call us crazy, but we’re thinking the OLED battle is totally on. With the novelty of Sony’s XEL-1 behind us and the lust for bigger screen sizes completely consuming our minds, we’re drooling at the mere thought of a 25-inch OLED panel that checks in at just 1-millimeter thick. Taiwan’s Chi Mei EL was caught showing off the long-awaited display at the FPD International exhibition in Japan (last year’s image shown), where it explained to onlookers that the marvel featured a native resolution of 1,366 x 768 and was capable of displaying 16.7 million colors. Regrettably, there was no mention of an expected release date, but we’ll be watching at CES 2009 just in case (one of our) wildest dreams come true.
[Via OLED-Display]
CMEL shows off 1mm-thick 25-inch HD OLED panel originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
