Hasta La Gadget!

You don’t typically get this close to your phone unless you’re about to put it against the side of your face, but hey, we figure a little intimate time with a device you use this much can’t hurt, now, can it? Here we’ve got one of the first high-def hands-on experiences of Motorola’s latest Android set, the MOTOROI, loaded with a Korean ROM in preparation for its upcoming launch on SK Telecom. As if on cue, the very first thing the user tests is the browser’s multitouch support, revealing that performance could be an issue here — even on the phone’s OMAP3 core — but the good news is that the presence of Blur doesn’t seem to cause the home screen to stutter like we’ve seen on the CLIQ and DEXT. All things considered, the odd hump on the bottom right edge doesn’t seem as dramatic in the reals as it does in press photos, which we’d say is a good thing — particularly considering the latest talk that we’ll see this sucker launch all over the world over the next few months. Follow the break for the full video.

[Thanks, Omar]

Continue reading Motorola MOTOROI demoed on video in very cozy quarters

Motorola MOTOROI demoed on video in very cozy quarters originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This one’s pretty cute (or evidence of a completely uncreative healthcare industry). Researchers at the University of Melbourne and Singapore General Hospital’s Department of Physiotherapy have run a battery of tests on the Wii’s Balance Board, and found it to be somewhat useful in testing patient’s balance and equilibrium, medically speaking. Current medical equipment used to test these skills is very expensive, heavy, and in short supply. The Balance Board, on the other hand, runs about $99. The Wii accessory was tested on 30 patients, and found to be about as good as the expensive force platforms usually used by doctors… which is great news for Nintendo — this product has seemingly endless real-life applications — but rather embarrassing for the makers of medical equipment, no? Hit the source link for a fuller look at the story.

Wii Balance Board: decent for measuring equilibrium, medical study says originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As the Year of the Tiger approaches (February 14th this year), Chinese workers look forward to their week-long holiday — a nightmarish time for foreign vendors who’ll struggle to get hold of anyone in the country. Sadly, this wasn’t the case for Wintek — screen supplier for Nokia, Huawei and Apple. The Taiwanese company’s East China factory ground to a halt last Friday morning, while about 2,000 of its 10,000 workers went on a five-hour protest over a rumored bonus cancellation for the second year in a row. On top of that, workers also criticized Wintek for using n-hexane — a banned substance used for cleaning LCDs — which they claim caused the death and paralyzation of several workers last year. Factory officials and Chinese health authorities don’t deny that n-hexane was used, but they say it wasn’t responsible for either the deaths or the paralyzations. Now, the good news: Wintek has promised that workers will get their bonuses, and further said that the factory hasn’t used n-hexane since August — complete with proof that current n-hexane levels are lower than safety regulations require. Let’s hope things get better between management and workers from now on. One more picture and video of the protest after the break.

Continue reading 2,000 Wintek workers go on strike over bonus payments, may affect Nokia and iPhone production

2,000 Wintek workers go on strike over bonus payments, may affect Nokia and iPhone production originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gizmodiva.com: The you and me wall clock is great for couples in a long distance relationship. Keeping track of each others time is the key to make a relationship work in such cases and the ‘You and me wall clock’ is only helping as it keeps track of other time zones too. This clock comes with a total of 6 different blank spare hands and a marker; which means if you are seeing different people in different countries then this is the best thing to have ever happened to you provided you don’t confuse yourself and mess things up. Don’t expect any colors other than bright, hot pink and nothing less than $54.95 can get you the ‘You and Me’ wall clock.

You and Me Wall Clock for long distance relationships! [Gizmodiva.com]

As anyone who’s seen the last Engadget Show knows, we were incredibly lucky to have Google’s Erick Tseng as our guest. Erick is product manager of Android at Google, and he’s one of the sharpest, brightest, funniest guys around — it was great having him on the show, and I sincerely hope we see a lot more of him as time goes by. It’s obvious that Android is in capable hands.

Of course, the problem with having someone as funny, sharp, and bright as Erick on the show is that they tend to come in extremely well-prepared, and Erick was no exception — he’d read the many comments where you all asked for solid answers regarding the state of multitouch gestures on Android, and he had his answers ready and polished to a high shine. Like we’ve been hearing for months now, Erick told us that Android now supports the recognition of multiple touch inputs — the basic definition of “multitouch” — and that the real issue is actually how multitouch is implemented. It was a fascinating exchange that I encourage you to watch, but here’s the main quote:

When people say ‘why doesn’t Android have multitouch?’ it’s not a question of ‘multitouch’… I want to reframe the question. We have multitouch — what people are asking for is specific implementations in the UI that use multitouch, like pinch-to-zoom, or chording on the keyboard.

That’s a solid, respectable answer, and it was delivered with confidence, poise, and charm. There’s just one problem: it’s not actually an answer, because the semantics don’t matter. No matter how you look at it, the lack of “specific multitouch implementations” is still a huge issue with Android — one that’s become a growing distraction.

Continue reading Editorial: Google’s multitouch dilemma

Editorial: Google’s multitouch dilemma originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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