Hasta La Gadget!

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from James’ best bud, who would love to own an EVO 4G… if not for that 8 megapixel camera that’s strictly against protocol. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“I have a friend who’s taken a job in a security field and the employer doesn’t allow cameras on cellphones. He’s currently happy with an iPhone 3GS and would definitely consider an Android device but is having trouble finding a decent phone with no camera. The only caveat is that for whatever reason he doesn’t want a BlackBerry. Does anyone else make a decent smartphone sans camera? Thanks!”

This is a fairly common question, actually, and despite the fact that few phones are made any more sans a camera, many organizations refuse to allow them. We’d hate for your friend be stuck with a dumbphone, so here’s hoping our readers can drop some knowledge below. Otherwise, we suggest he / she just mail in a two-week notice — Sent from their iPhone, of course.

Ask Engadget: best smartphone without a camera? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 May 2010 22:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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These days, it’s the Pandora making waves in the world of handheld emulation, but GamePark’s GP2X could arguably be credited with starting the whole phenomenon. John Grayson recently decided that the original simply wasn’t keeping up with the times, however, and decided to swap out a joystick for a more traditional D-pad. Moreover, he yanked those weak AA batteries and shoehorned a pair of PSP Li-ion cells in there instead, boosting his SNES play time to just over four hours on a full charge. Thankfully for you, neither tweak seems all that difficult to implement, and the sub-10 minute clip waiting after the break does a rather outstanding job of giving you the play-by-play. So yeah, scram!

Continue reading GP2X gaming handheld modded with D-pad, PSP batteries (video)

GP2X gaming handheld modded with D-pad, PSP batteries (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 May 2010 20:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you want the dish on what’s happening with mobile displays, Lee Woo-jong, VP for marketing at Samsung Mobile Display, is as good a person to ask as any. The chap has been telling the Reuters Global Technology Summit that his company has finally gone into the black with its AMOLED production line, and that its research projects a 50 percent jump in smartphone shipments in 2010 relative to 2009. This is expected to boost demand, which is already exceeding supply, for high-quality displays. Samsung says shortages might be experienced all the way until next year, but has reiterated its belief that AMOLED is the future with a $2.15 billion investment into expanding its production lines, while also predicting a 30-fold growth in shipments of such displays by 2015. Every handset out there looking like the Wave? We could learn to live with that.

Samsung’s AMOLED division is now profitable, expects major smartphone growth in 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 May 2010 20:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japan hasn’t had a lot of time to get used to the PlayStation 3’s Torne digital TV tuner since it launched in March, but it’s already getting an update which will add a few more DVR features to improve the experience. Coming in June, v2.00 will enable MPEG-4 AVC compression to squeeze HDTV recordings by as much as 3x their original size as opposed to just copying the original MPEG-2 stream even while playing a game, plus the ability to start watching a program and fast forward/reverse while it’s still recording and update the user’s PSN status. The free update will be issued in June, until then Torne fans can argue with European and Australian PlayTV owners about whether or not their new features are better than Facebook integration while the U.S. sits out like the ginger kid of a previous marriage it is.

PS3’s Torne digital TV tuner / DVR adapter gets 2.00 software update next month originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 May 2010 19:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fireflies in a jar are a wonderful childhood memory for many of us. Not surprisingly, it’s one of the things that Tom Padula missed when he moved from the Midwest to Silicon Valley nearly two decades ago.

So in the spirit of Silicon Valley, Padula decided to create electronic fireflies: lightweight, inexpensive, solar-powered bugs. At night, the fireflies flash a light on and off for about two hours, then switch off to recharge in the next day’s sunlight.

“I built about 20 and hung them in the backyard, on branches and bushes,” says Padula. “Bliss.”

About the size of a quarter, the electronic fireflies have a rechargeable battery pack. The batteries are charged each day by six tiny solar cells. At dusk, they come alive with a fading on-and-off pattern.

“The slightest breeze moves them around, and the motion combined with the light is mesmerizing,” says Padula, who will be selling his digital lightning bugs for $10 apiece at the fifth annual Maker Faire Bay Area, which will be held this coming Saturday and Sunday, May 22 and 23, in San Mateo, California. The annual event, put on by O’Reilly Media, is a celebration of DIY culture, arts and crafts, and will likely draw more than 70,000 attendees, organizers say.

Padula’s fireflies weigh 0.2 ounces (7 grams) and are attached to an 18-inch monofilament line. Six solar panels charge NiMH batteries, and a microcontroller drives the LED. The units are dipped in epoxy for weather resistance.

“All the real work happens in the code, from determining ambient light level, to controlling the LED intensity and keeping track of how long the pattern has been active so as to turn off after two hours, like real fireflies do,” says Padula.

Originally, Padula assembled each device by hand but now contracts it to a shop in Nevada.

Padula says he initially created the electronic fireflies for his enjoyment but after encouragement from friends and family, he hopes to make a business out of it.

See below for a closer look at the firefly.

Photos: Leslie Dunscomb