Hasta La Gadget!

Using nanotech coating, Bandai has created Aqua Dance, a self-perpetuating interior product that generates endless balls (yes, balls) of water endlessly cascading down its surface.

With the Adesso WR coating developed by Nikka Kagaku Co. Ltd., water beads up and behaves more like mercury than H2O. Aqua Dance uses this technology to put a new spin on the old “home mini-fountain” idea by constantly feeding new water in through the top to watch it slide, bounce off of obstacles, drop into holes, and break into tiny little pieces as it makes its way down the tray.

Aqua Dance uses the same coating as the Aqua Drop (shop link) handheld maze that came out last year (videos below).

While the case design could stand to be sleeker and more stylish, it’s a great way to show off otherwise boring technology in consumer-friendly and fun ways. As a lifestyle product, the focus is to promote relaxation by controlling the drops and watching the water move. When released in March, the Aqua Dance will be available in “Moon Night” and “Rainy Day” colors.

We first caught wind of an updated Dell Studio 15 when drivers for a 1555 model with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics popped up on Dell’s support site, and surprise — Dell Singapore’s gone and posted specs and pricing. The 1555 gets more than just a GPU boost to a 512MB 4570, it’s also scoring a new 15.6-inch WLED 1366 x 768 screen, so you can actually watch some of that high-def media at an appropriate res. The basic config nets you all the new stuff plus a 2.4GHz P8600 Core 2 Duo, 3GB of RAM and a 250GB drive for S$1,599 ($1,044), which is actually a pretty stellar deal — let’s hope this bad boy makes it Stateside, and soon.

[Thanks, Karthik]

Filed under: Laptops

Dell Studio 15 with HD screen and Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics lands in Singapore originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VUDU made some pretty big waves with its Blu-ray-rivaling HDX downloadable format, and now it’s pushing the envelope once again by becoming the first on-demand service to actually sell (as in, for keeps… on your box, anyway) HD and HDX movies. Starting today, all VUDU owners can browse a growing library of for-sale high-definition flicks, and it should be noted that both HD and HDX titles will sport the same price tags (between $13.99 and $23.99). Initially, only around 50 films will be available, all of which are from top independent studios. Magnolia Picture’s Man on Wire, which just so happened to take home an Oscar this year, is in that group of 50 along with FirstLook Studios’ Transsiberian and War, Inc.. Better still, VUDU intends to make future releases available for purchase day-and-date with the DVD release, and we can only hope that major studios get with the program and follow suit. Full release is after the break.

Continue reading VUDU first on-demand service to sell HD and HDX movies

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

VUDU first on-demand service to sell HD and HDX movies originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As convergence becomes a desirable route to take in gadgetry, easier access to its various features has become an aim for MIT’s Brandon Taylor and Michael Bove. These two decided it would be useful to expand device’s capability to sense what it’s going to be used for and change interfaces like how a phone’s screen dims during a phone call. What they came up was a “bar of soap” device – a basic gadget with an LCD screen on the front and rear, a three-axis accelerometer and 72 sensors to keep track of where the users’ fingers are positioned.

Like what it was designed to do, the gadget can change its interface based on how the user holds it – PDA, cell phone, remote control, game controller and camera are some of its possible modes. By testing the prototype of the device on 13 users, it was determined that it would work better if it’s optimized for each user rather than as a generalized gadget. This means that if ever the technology becomes widespread, we could see devices that could be customized and hence be more personalized than the gadgets we commonly see today.

Engadget Chinese managed to score some face time with MSI’s new X-Slim X340 at a pre-CeBIT press event today, and we’re seriously impressed — just like the Atom-based X320, the X340 weighs just 2.8 pounds with a four-cell battery and 1366 x 768 13.4-inch screen, but it’s got more horsepower with a ULV Penryn chip and GMA4500 graphics with HDMI out. Not bad, especially if this thing comes in under $1000 like we’ve heard — we’ll keep an eye out while you check out the rest of the pics in the gallery.

Filed under: Laptops

MSI X-Slim X340 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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