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

Kondo KHR-3HV robot celebrates 2009 Engadget Award with a new Linux backback (video)

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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Modular Power Strip with Ejector Slots

multi-tab-power-strip-by-soon-mo-kang

The Multi-Tab Power Strip is a modular plug-extender with – of course – a nifty gimmick. The concept design comes from Soon Mo Kang, and immediately makes me wonder why so many power-strips power-strip designs are concepts. Why doesn’t somebody just make them already?

The strip comes in blocks, and the idea is that you buy just the ones you need. Each block hooks up to the next one into what could presumably be a very long strip indeed. All the blocks have an icon on top so you know what is plugged into it without having to follow the cord back through the tangles to its source.

It’s good looking and practical, which is already enough. But if you press down on one of those top-plates, it turns into a lever and pops the plug out of its socket. This might seem trivial, as you can always yank a plug from the wall by its cable. Power strips, though, move when you do this, and they’re also usually tucked away where getting a grip is tricky.

If anyone does take this to market, I’d buy one. But then, I’d buy any snazzy power-plug. It’s an obsession. I even have an app on my iPod Touch called PowerPlug, which details the different sockets from around the world.

Tab The Power Strip [Yanko]

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It’s February 23rd, do you know where your Spring Design Alex is?

It's February 23rd, do you know where your Spring Design Alex is?

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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Project Natal coming in October, says Jonathan Ross (video)

As unexpected sources of tech news go, UK television presenter Jonathan Ross is pretty high up there. But lo and behold, the man’s had a chance to spend some quality time with Microsoft’s Project Natal setup and while he’s not altogether impressed with the current state of it, his note on when it’s coming out is the one thing nobody has known for sure yet. “Got until October” may mean an October release, or it may imply they can work on it through October in time for an early November release (something we heard earlier), but altogether we find this both credible and logical considering the natural urge to try and get the latest gaming tech in well before the holidays. Need more convincing? Skip past the break to see the Wossmeister having a whale of a time with that balloon-blocking game that’s embarrassed many a journalist already.

Continue reading Project Natal coming in October, says Jonathan Ross (video)

Project Natal coming in October, says Jonathan Ross (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI converges everything with 24-inch 3D HD Wind Top all-in-one

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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Get 3 classic Command Conquer games for free

If you can get past the chunky, dated graphics and annoying installation requirements, these real-time strategy titles are a blast from the past. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://news.cnet.com/8301-13845_3-10457726-58.html” class=”origPostedBlog”The Cheapskate/a/p

Custom Grip Makes Canon S90 Almost Perfect

s90-grip

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]

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Polaroid PoGo instant digicam on sale next week, toilet graffiti will never be the same

We still don’t have the European or US release dates for the Polaroid Pogo instant digicam but they can’t be far behind the February 26th date just announced for Japan. Looks like we might see a price cut too, given the ¥10,000 (about $110) price in Japan compared to the $199 price announced at CES. Of course, you still have to shell out for the ZINK instant photo paper 10-packs scheduled to run for $4.99, or $12.99 for the 30-pack variety. As a camera, it’s not much with its 5 megapixel sensor, SDHC storage, weak-sauce LCD, and 0x optical zoom as we discovered during our hands-on. What it lacks in specs, though, is made up for by its novelty. 2-inch by 3-inch photo stickers in 60 seconds? Urban ego tagging just got a brand new playbook.

Also announced is a bevy of forgettable budget shooters, including the 12 megapixel t1235, 12 megapixel i1237 with touchscreen LCD, and 9 megapixel a930. Lady GaGa must be so proud.

Polaroid PoGo instant digicam on sale next week, toilet graffiti will never be the same originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

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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World’s Lightest Hockey Helmet Explains Hockey Hair

s19-z-shock-helmet

It seems fitting that, as Olympians caper about on the ice up North, a review hockey helmet turned up in the Gadget Lab mail today. The lid is the brand new Easton Stealth S19 Z-Shock.

For the uninitiated (me), the point of hockey seems to be getting into a fight. And with those big sticks around, it makes sense to have some protective headgear. The S19 manages to be both tough and light. It weighs 325 grams (11.5-ounces), which the blurb says is less than a cup of coffee (the shipping box had an empty Starbucks cup inside to make the point), and giving it a hard squeeze didn’t deform it at all.

The innovation comes from the one-piece construction, which bonds a polycarbonate shell with an expanded polypropylene foam to make a single piece. We’ll have to test things out, but it sure feels light and stiff in the hand.

Shoving it onto my big head (there is an adjustment band, but I had to let it out beyond maximum) I discovered a few new things about hockey. First, you can’t play in glasses. I was hoping to test the S19 out on the mean courts of bike polo, but it is so tight my spectacles won’t fit inside.

Second, you get one chance at pushing your bangs out of your eyes, and that’s before you put the helmet on. After that, they’re stuck there, dangling over your face and impossible to brush away. If you have long hair, it’s better to get just the front and perhaps the top trimmed short. And this, ladies and gentlemen, concludes the obligatory hockey/mullet joke.

The S19 will be in stores in May, for around CDN$200 (US$170).

S19 Helmet [Easton]