Hasta La Gadget!

If you thought Sony’s economic woes and unprecedented layoffs would bring an end to Sir Howard Stringer’s reign at Sony, think again. It’s Sony president, Ryoji Chubachi, that will step down in April leaving Sir Howard to take over the presidency in addition to his current roles as chairman and CEO. Chubachi will become a vice chair while Stringer takes direct control of Sony’s core electronics division. Don’t let us down Howie.

Update: Additional details have emerged following a Sony press conference. Sony electronics will be organized into two main groups: (1) the Networked Products and Services Group, lead by PlayStation boss (and our buddy) Kaz Harai, will consolidate Sony’s PlayStation console, VAIO PCs, Walkman audio products, new mobile products and Media Software and Services to ensure a common platform with access to the PlayStation Network, and (2) the New Consumer Products Group, under Hiroshi Yoshioka, that will unite Sony’s Bravia televisions with its digital imaging, home audio, and video business. All of which reports direct to Stringer.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Sony’s Howard Stringer consolidates power as president resigns originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 02:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We knew this day would come, and at last we’ve been faced with 56+ minutes of webOS-related video that we could barely keep our eyes open for. Palm Software CTO Mitch Allen did a rundown for an O’Reilly webcast detailing the structure and paradigms of webOS, and then went ahead and built a simple little app using TextMate and Safari. While we’re sure some JavaScript fanboys out there will have a field day with this, there weren’t too many juicy tidbits in there for us mere mortals. It did seem like Palm’s still working on the whole app DRM situation — exacerbated by the fact that webOS apps aren’t really executables — so it sounds like Google isn’t the only one. What is clear is that the barrier for entry to app development here is stunningly low, and we suppose we’ll all find out soon enough exactly what sort of awesomeness and terror that will mean for us end users. Video is after the break.

[Via Palm Pre en español]

Continue reading Palm finally manages to bore us to tears with webOS Mojo SDK tutorial

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Palm finally manages to bore us to tears with webOS Mojo SDK tutorial originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 01:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Imagine this — one day, with enough steroids, your pet hamster actually could power your home by just running on its wheel. Georgia Tech researchers have discovered ways to “convert even irregular biomechanical energy into electricity,” and it’s demonstrating the finding by showing off jacket-wearing rodents that are game to run. According to the institution’s Zhong Lin Wang, the minuscule nanogenerators “can convert any mechanical disturbance into electrical energy,” which theoretically means that power can be driven by simple, irregular mechanical motion such as the vibration of vocal cords, flapping of a flag or the tapping of fingers. As with most of these university discoveries, there’s no telling how soon this stuff will be pushed out to the commercial realm, but at least they’ve found something to keep the rats busy during the off hours.

[Via news:lite, thanks Charles]

Continue reading Jacketed hamsters demonstrate movement-powered nanogenerators

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Jacketed hamsters demonstrate movement-powered nanogenerators originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While many pico projectors are still in the oven, quite a few of the early ones have made their way out. We know, 720p versions just have to be around the bend, but since when did you start ditching the first-gen and just waiting around? Check Mark’s question:

“What is the best currently available pico projector? I’m looking for one that supports the greatest number of image / video formats, has the best brightness and contrast ratios, reasonable on-board storage, is good for still and moving images, and has the longest rechargeable battery life. Are there any projectors on the horizon that promise to be sufficiently better than the currently-available models to warrant me waiting for the next wave?”

Go on, early adopters — help this guy out. Do you dig your current pico PJ? Has it lived up to the hype? After sharing your input, feel free to toss us an inquiry of your own at ask at engadget dawt com.

Filed under: Ask Engadget, Displays

Ask Engadget: Best first-wave pico projector? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In the unlikely event that you needed a few final shreds of evidence to be convinced that the CDMA version of the BlackBerry Pearl flip — the 8230 — is real, feast your eyes on this heavy reading. Just-approved FCC documents show a device outline that can only be described as that of a clamshell, and sure enough, the SAR report indicates CDMA and EV-DO on the 850 and 1900MHz bands, so yeah, if this isn’t the 8230, we can’t imagine what it’d be. The timing on this development really couldn’t be any better since we’re expecting it to hit both Verizon and Telus in the near term, so quick show of hands: who’s buying?

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

BlackBerry Pearl 8230 flips its way into the FCC’s heart originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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