Hasta La Gadget!

Yes, Kondo KHR-3HV, you were our choice for robot of the year, and we see you’re celebrating by going out and getting yourself some new gear. We like your taste. Inside that fancy new backpack is a 32-bit Samsung ARM CPU running at 200MHz, powerful enough to handle Linux and things like onboard image processing and object recognition. It also supports WiFi, meaning Kondo can beam what he sees wirelessly and become a roving security guard — a very small and non-lethal security guard, but a guard nontheless. This kind of tech (shown off in a video below) will set you back ¥60,000, or about $660, and yes that’s just for the backpack. (The bot itself goes for somewhere north of the $1,300 range.) So congratulations again on your victory, 3HV — just don’t let it go to your webcam.

Continue reading Kondo KHR-3HV robot celebrates Engadget Award with a new Linux backpack (video)

Kondo KHR-3HV robot celebrates Engadget Award with a new Linux backpack (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but it looks like the lovely Spring Design Alex has quietly missed its ship date. Back at CES the word was Febuary 22nd and, after spending a little quality time with the thing, we’ve been counting the days. Here we are on February 23rd and the only thing up for sale at the Spring Design website is a “coming soon” note, and we already have more of those than we know what to do with. Even more discouraging, the Borders site is still listing only Sony Readers up for sale. We’ve reached out to Spring Design to see what’s up, so hang onto your pulp until we get a response.

[Thanks, Matthäus]

It’s February 23rd, do you know where your Spring Design Alex is? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now here’s a spec sheet maven’s dream: MSI has just announced its new Wind Top all-in-ones, and the top model brings every modern spec you can think of. Full HD resolution, 3D capabilities with 120Hz refresh rates, Intel processors up to Core i7, and even multitouch adorn its list of goodies. The new flagships will be known as the Wind Top AE2420 in the 24-incher category and AE2280 in the 22-inch class. They’re joined by a selection of high-efficiency machines, such as the AP1920 and AE1920, which promise to cut down the electricity bills for “environmentally-minded business users.” That’s still hardly scratching the surface, though, as MSI is really preparing a small army of AIOs to display at CeBIT, and you can bet the house we’ll be there to touch and ogle at their latest and greatest.

MSI converges everything with 24-inch 3D HD Wind Top all-in-one originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tiny, pocket-sized cameras are wonderful, especially if they are the Canon S90, a stunningly capable camera for its size. The let you take great pictures at any time, but disappear into your pocket when you don’t need them.

The problem is that they can be too small. Holding a little compact while twisting its knobs and dials can be like snapping a picture with a slippery fish as it tries to slither free of your fingers. The answer is a grip, something that camera makers have allowed to wither to nothing more than a vestigial fin on most modern cameras.

This is why we love the Custom Grip for the S90 from Richard Franiec. Franiec makes custom parts for a small number of cameras, and all of them look like they could have come from the original maker. The grip is a good example:

[It is] individually 3D CNC machined from a solid block of aircraft-grade aluminum before being glass-bead blasted, black-anodized and nickel-sealed for durability and good looks.

The grip sticks out enough to wrap your fingers around, but still stays 1.5mm lower than the lens, so it shouldn’t affect pocket-ability. Neither should it affect your pocketbook: the grip is just $33. It sticks onto the body using a sheet of adhesive film, and stays attached permanently. You can, we are told, remove it without damaging the camera’s finish.

I’d like one of these for my Lumix GF1, which despite its bigger body is still a wriggling eel of a camera. As it is, I’m going to fix it up with some Sugru, the silicon silly-putty which has been sitting on a shelf here since I ordered it back in December 2009.

Canon S90 Custom Grip [Lensmate]

See Also:

• Canon's Svelte S90 Will Make Camera Geeks Swoon

The Nokia Research Center has another tech tease that gives us a glimpse into one of our many possible mobile computing futures. The so-called, Explore and Share concept starts by placing an N900 onto a “writer” that’s tethered to a PC at a retail store. At that point, the PC recognizes the handset and serves up a number of options to the purchaser. For the purposes of the demo, an unnamed Finn selects an album that downloads to the handset in less than 10 seconds. Less than 10 seconds, wirelessly! If we assume that the 18 track Bruce Springsteen album is somewhere between 100MB and 200MB then we’re looking at a 10MBps to 20MBps transfer rate. Nokia doesn’t admit to what tech it’s using, referring to it only as “a new radio technology.” It’s certainly not NFC which tops out at 424kbps, or Bluetooth 3.0 + HS which tops out at 3MBps. It also negotiates much faster than WiFi (though that could just be editing trickery). It’s closer to Wireless USB’s real-world data rates of around 15MBps or TransferJet‘s 375Mbps effective throughput. Or as a long shot, maybe Bluetooth 4.0 which targets 60Mbps (theoretical) transfer rates. Regardless, it’s fast so we have to agree with Nokia when it deadpans: “Sounds great. Doesn’t. It.” Check out the action after the break.

Continue reading Nokia’s Explore and Share concept uses super fast, mystery wireless

Nokia’s Explore and Share concept uses super fast, mystery wireless originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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