Hasta La Gadget!

Never heard of Thales? Consider yourself schooled. Thales has been kicking the tires in the in-flight entertainment market for over a decade now, but there’s no question that its latest innovation is the one that could take it the next level. Shown recently in Long Beach, the Touch Passenger Media Unit (TouchPMU) is one of the most intriguing uses of Android yet. The idea here is to use the 3.8-inch handset / controller in order to both view content and control what’s happening on one’s headrest television. The control itself is powered by an ARM Cortex processor and sports a capacitive touchpanel (800 x 480 resolution), support for Flash and 3D graphics. There’s no telling when this stuff will actually be available on commercial flights (or when legacy airlines will ditch their World War II-era fleet), but it’s safe to say that we’re eager and ready for the future. Oh, and just in case anyone at Thales felt like resting on their laurels, it seems that Panasonic also has an Android-based IFEC system that it’s showcasing, and a video of that just so happens to be waiting after the break.

Continue reading Thales, Panasonic demo Android-based in-flight entertainment systems (video)

Thales, Panasonic demo Android-based in-flight entertainment systems (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 05:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sharp has just taken the veils off its bold new e-reader devices, dubbing them both Galapagos in honor of the evolution the company believes they represent. The 5.5-inch Mobile version (pictured above) has a delightfully dense 1024 x 600 LCD screen, while its 10.8-inch Home sibling offers a very decent 1366 x 800. There’s 802.11b/g WiFi on both, while the littler slate is also enriched with a navigational trackball. Sharp’s emphasis here really seems to be on the cloud-based ecosystem it’s creating for these “terminal” devices — 30,000 newspapers, magazines and books have been lined up for its planned December launch and an “automatic scheduled delivery” facility will help you get at them as soon as the latest issue’s ready for consumption. Sadly, we should note that this is specifically tailored to suit the Japanese market, which makes an international release seem somewhat unlikely. For a size comparison between the two tablets and the full press release, jump past the break.

Continue reading Sharp announces Galapagos e-reading tablets: 5.5 and 10.8 inches, getting e-bookstore in December

Sharp announces Galapagos e-reading tablets: 5.5 and 10.8 inches, getting e-bookstore in December originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 03:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer is adding some new tech, from 3D support to Nvidia’s latest GPUs, to its Aspire and Timeline laptop lines.

The name of certification firm TÜV Rheinland may not ring a bell, so allow us to jog your memory: these are the guys that outed the GSM versions of the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus prior to their announcement earlier this year. Hence, the interwebs are paying pretty close attention this evening now that we’ve found US and Canadian certifications for Palm models P102UNA and P102EWW (first unearthed by homebrew hub WebOS Internals), which — following Palm’s typical model numbering convention — would correspond to North American GSM and CDMA versions of some new device, respectively. To put things in perspective, the P101UNA was unearthed in the certification database on January 23rd and announced for AT&T on March 22nd, so we could reasonably still have a couple months’ wait on these… or a couple days. No way of knowing yet how Palm plans to play this. There’s also a listing for a new “inductive battery charger,” which would certainly imply a new Touchstone — which may or may not still bear the Touchstone name.

On a related note, we’ve received a slew of new webOS 2.0 screen shots — and while some of them look familiar, our eyes were drawn to the sexy new “classic” and flip-style digital clocks. Important? Not necessarily, but sometimes it’s the little touches that count. Hit up the gallery for the full show (and don’t forget our first batch from a few weeks back, while you’re at it).

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

WebOS 2.0 gets fresh round of screenshots; new Palm phones and Touchstone certified? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know who may have been a bit inspired by NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang‘s GPU muscle? Acer! Okay, that’s not exactly what happened, but Acer does have quite a few new laptops that tap the graphics-chip maker’s latest. First up are the 15.6-inch AS5742G and 17.3-inch AS7745, which still have the same design and Intel Core 2010 CPU options as the previous models, but now have the brand spankin’ new GeForce 400M GPUs along with Optimus technology for automatically switching between the integrated and discrete graphics options. Both will be available for less than $800, though there’s no word on exact availability of the mainstream machines. Those a bit too 2D for ya? There’s also the Core i5-powered, GeForce GT 420M-packing Aspire AS5745DG, which is one of the first machines to have NVIDIA’s updated 3D Vision. The IR receiver is integrated into the 120Hz LCD’s bezel and it supports 3DTV Play, which lets you reap the laptop’s 3D benefits on a larger 3DTV. For $1,000 (active shutter glasses included!) that’s not a bad deal, but don’t get too excited about ordering one today — it’ll hit e-tailers in late October. Oh, and there’s one more! The 18.4-inch Aspire AS8943G has been updated with a Core i7 quad-core processor, 8GB of RAM and ATI’s newest Mobility Radeon 5850 graphics for $1,499.99. That’s a lot to digest, but hit the break for the press release if you’re up for even more details on all the new rigs.

Continue reading Acer Aspire AS5745 and AS7745 pick up NVIDIA Optimus, Aspire AS5742G nabs some 3D Vision

Acer Aspire AS5745 and AS7745 pick up NVIDIA Optimus, Aspire AS5742G nabs some 3D Vision originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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