Hasta La Gadget!

Last year it was flexible displays that made a splash. Now flexible speakers are set to debut.

Engineers at the University of Warwick have created a flat, flexible speaker that is lightweight and just 0.25 millimeters thick. And they say it could be commercially available by the end of the year.

The flexible speakers are almost paper-like but pack in a punch and can deliver audio that is powerful enough for public spaces, cars and homes.

"This is a truly innovative technology," said Steve Couchman, CEO of Warwick Audio Technologies, a spin off company from University of Warwick in a statement. "Its size and flexibility means it can be used in areas where space is at a premium."

Conventional speakers take an electric signal and generate a varying magnetic field that is used to vibrate a mechanical cone.  The vibrations produce the requisite sound.

The flat, flexible speaker technology takes a flexible laminate, which when excited with an electrical signal vibrates to produce the sound. The flexible laminate is made of a number of thin, conducting and insulating materials.

The arrangement also allows for highly directional and accurate sound, say the researchers. The speakers would be ideal in public places such as passenger
terminals since the sound quality does not deteriorate as much as
conventional speakers, claims Couchman.

The flat speakers are relatively inexpensive to manufacture, say the
researchers, and can be printed with design or concealed inside
ceilings.

The technology was first developed by Duncan Billson and David Hitchens, professors at the University of Warwick with early trials using just two sheets of tin foil and an insulating layer of baking paper to product the sound.

The researchers say their company is currently negotiating with commercial
partners to introduce the product.

See also:
Flexible Displays Closer to Reality

Photos: University of Warwick

Lenovo’s KIRF-tastic OPhone hasn’t exactly been all that camera shy since it first dipped its toes into the Android waters in December, but it’s now proudly showing itself yet again, and giving everyone their best glimpse yet at its China Mobile branding. What’s more, while we’ve already heard that the phone is on track for a launch this quarter, the talk now seems to be that a release could be just around the corner, with some speculating that it’ll roll out immediately after China Mobile’s other Android handset, the Dopod G2 (a.k.a. HTC Magic). Hit up the link below for a few more pics, including a closer look at the phone’s slightly familiar-looking UI in action.

[Via ModMyGphone, thanks Neerhaj]

Filed under: Cellphones

Lenovo’s Android-powered OPhone shows itself again. Launch imminent? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The rest of the mobile industry might be gearing up for CTIA to start, but Apple’s phone elves are toiling away — iPhone OS 3.0 beta 2’s just been released to developers, along with the go-ahead to start developing for push notifications. Thankfully, beta 2 also apparently includes a number of stability and performance enhancements, which will hopefully make our tester phone tolerable again — we’ve been restarting beta 1 basically every day since we sacrificed it to the hands-on gods. Devs and beta testers know what to do to snag the upgrade, let us know how it goes!

Filed under: Cellphones

iPhone 3.0 beta 2 released, push notifications are a go originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The first time I bought into this this whole digital 3D thing was a 2006 showing of “Superman Returns” on an IMAX screen. In the scene, various objects floated around the screen and seemingly, right in front of my face. For me, this was the first time 3D had lived …

WiBrain’s M1 has seen a pretty rocky road to launch since it first arrived on the scene way back last summer, but it looks like the company is finally moving forward with it, and reportedly kicking the UMPC into production. Despite its extended stay in prototype form, however, there doesn’t appear to be too many changes to the device, with it still packing a 4.8-inch 1,024 x 600 touchscreen, along with an Atom Z520 processor, up to 1GB of RAM, a max 16GB SSD, and all the connectivity options you’d expect, plus some (presumably optional) HSDPA. The one big change from the early prototype is the slide-out QWERTY keypad, which now opts for some membrane-style keys that could make an already difficult typing situation even tougher. No word on a price or expected release date just yet, but it seems likely that it’ll remain a Korean exclusive, at least initially.

[Via jkkmobile]

Filed under: Handhelds

WiBrain M1 UMPC gets more real, but still not completely real originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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