Hasta La Gadget!

Amazon has an important message about the latest Kindle–it is eBook reader of choices for pretty ladies in swimsuits everywhere. Apple iPads, meanwhile, are strictly the domain of the sort of dudes who wear t-shirts while sitting beside the pool.

I’m pretty sure that’s the message I’m supposed to be taking away from this latest Kindle ad. Oh, also the thing is cheaper than the kind of sunglasses that pretty poolside ladies by–honestly, if you’re going to spend more than $139 on pair of glasses, you can’t probably afford an iPad and a beach umbrella, right?

Sorry, I know. I’m not really approaching this from the right angle–but let’s be honest, I’ve got a lot more in common with the dude in the t-shirt in the above commercial. But, then, this commercial isn’t for me.

It’s for all of the pretty ladies watching who think it would be fun to get an expensive piece of electronics and sit within cannonball splashing distance. Not that it would be a huge deal if you got a little water on it. Just make sure that the glasses don’t get wet.

See the above robot? He was programmed to feel pain. Doesn’t look like he’s enjoy himself, does he? This is the direction we’re moving in however. Scientists at the University of California are working on something they have named “e-skin.” The stuff uses crystalline silicon, making the artificial skin touch-sensitive.

Can screaming fiery robots be far behind?

We’re probably jumping the gun here. Messing with machines isn’t actually on the researchers’ plates for the time being. At the moment, the main goal of the new technology is the ability for machine to distinguish the fragility of objects.

“Humans generally know how to hold a fragile egg without breaking it,” UC Berkley professor Ali Javey, said in statement. “If we ever wanted a robot that could unload the dishes, for instance, we’d want to make sure it doesn’t break the wine glasses in the process. But we’d also want the robot to be able to grip a stock pot without dropping it.”

It’s about time we got a dish washing robot that doesn’t totally suck at its job. What, after all, are restaurant owners supposed to do when robotic diners can’t pay the bill?

Also on the proverbial plate is the possibility of adding sensitivity to prosthetic limbs, though, in order to achieve that, the skin would have to be fused to nerve endings.

Augmented reality demonstrations may be pretty common these days, but this so-called “Twinkle” interface developed by some researchers Tokyo University and Keio University takes a different enough approach to still turn a few heads. That’s done thanks to the combination of a pico projector and a camera, the former of which projects a character onto any surface, while the latter is used along with some image processing software to identify objects the character can interact with. That’s further backed up by an accelerometer that detects movements the camera can’t, and the researchers say that the system can not only recognize specific objects like the ones on the board pictured above, but everyday objects as well — letting you put your LittleBigPlanet skills to use on your desk, for instance. Head on past the break to check it out in action.

Continue reading Twinkle augmented reality interface promises to make your world a platformer

Twinkle augmented reality interface promises to make your world a platformer originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 10:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia has been kicked around as of late, both in terms of sales and perception. The culprits, it seems, is fairly clear for executives at the Finnish company: Apple and Google. Cupertino was firmly in the company’s sights at the kick off of this year’s Nokia World in London.

“We’re not going to apologize for the fact that we’re not Apple or Google or anybody else,” Niklas Savander, the company’s EVP told a crowd at the event, “we’re Nokia and we’re unique.” Savander took a direct jab at Apple, highlighting the iPhone 4’s much publicized reception woes, saying of the company’s N8 handsets, “they perform, day in, day out–no matter how you hold them.”

The executive was also quick to call one Google’s much celebrated services out by name, saying, “Contrary to popular perception, Nokia–not Google–is the leader in mobile navigation. functionality quality and reach. Ovi Maps is far, far less hungry than the Google service. Why? Because it’s optimized for mobile use.”

Savander also took the opportunity to point out that, while his company hasn’t been a media darling like Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android, Nokia is still a sales leader. “In the past quarter,” he told the crowd, “people bought far more Nokia phones than Apple and Android combined. On average, people buy 260,000 new Nokia smartphones every day–that’s more smartphones sales than any other company by far, period.”

We would’ve never figured on Verizon carrying over the “Curve 3G” name from this phone’s GSM counterpart, considering all of its older Curve models have already had EV-DO — but branding consistency trumps logic in this case, we suppose. Given what we know about the GSM model, you can probably guess the specs: 2 megapixel cam and BlackBerry OS 5 with upgradeability to 6 are both in the cards, though interestingly, Verizon’s official specs just list 802.11b/g for WiFi — there’s no mention of 802.11n, which the current Curve 3G has under the hood. Regardless, perhaps the best feature is the price: $29.99 on contract after a $100 rebate, making it one of the most affordable brand new smartphones on the market — assuming BlackBerry OS is your cup of tea, of course. It’ll launch in business sales channels this Thursday, while in-store availability for us lay folk follows “in the coming weeks.” Follow the break for the full press release.

Continue reading BlackBerry Curve 3G launching on Verizon for $30

BlackBerry Curve 3G launching on Verizon for $30 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 09:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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