First the 2018 World Cup and now this. An Intel press event in Moscow was reportedly the site of some new MeeGo device reveals. Mail.ru’s Anton Spiridonov was on hand and managed to spot Intel Atom-based phone the Hi/Lo Vibrant (we haven’t heard of the company, either) and a tablet of some sort, both equipped with the Linux-based OS. Not much else is known save for what appears to be a 5 megapixel camera labeled as such on the back. More pics below.
Yeah, I’m no fan of Live Nation/Ticketmaster either, but if you’re going to pay those exorbitant fees anyway, at least now you can do it wherever, whenever.
You can thank today’s guest Natali Del Morris for the clever show title that incorporates two of Jeff’s favorite things: Angry Birds and Hanukkah! Actually, only one of those statements is true.
Topics for today include the arrival of Angry Birds Seasons, Mark Zuckerberg’s upcoming interview on “60 Minutes,” Michael Jackson’s new song release, the top searches in Yahoo Search and Microsoft Bing, a Playboy external hard drive, and a 3D porn channel launching in France. The rundown is packed today, so enjoy the show!
If you’re as obsessed with Angry Birds as Wilson, you’ll be happy to hear that Rovio, maker of the top-selling smartphone game, plan to release a console version for PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii next year. For non-players like Natali and me, here’s the gist: the video game tests your accuracy with a slingshot; it’s one of the most popular smartphone games right now, with more than 36 million downloads as of November.
Even better, Rovio will also release Angry Birds 2, a follow-up to the original game that will feature more of the same characters but with even more pigs to shoot with a slingshot. No word on whether Angry Birds will support motion control on those consoles, but if you can’t wait another year, the holiday expansion pack titled Angry Birds Seasons is now available for your addiction in the App Store.
(Credit: Playboy)
It’s going to be a lot harder to hide this from your partner/parents/roommates, but imagine holding 56 years of Playboy magazines loaded onto an external hard drive. That won’t mean much to the kid with a hundred gigs of bootleg skinema buried in a system sub-folder, but surely some of our listeners remember analog porn and will appreciate the entire Playboy catalog in a 2.5-inch portable enclosure!
And while we’re on the subject, you should also check out the FleshDrive, a similar peripheral for the more “selective” consumer, and France’s new 3D on-demand porn channel.
Just after the break we wish a very happy birthday to Richard from Atlanta, who sent us this video voice mail!
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BMW Group’s Designworks USA — where have we heard about those folks before? Ah, yes, that’s the crew that’s responsible for Thermaltake’s Level 10 PC case, and we’re desperately hoping that this concept has an equal (or greater) level of success in the open market. The subway car you see above is purportedly 97.5 percent recyclable, with an aluminum chassis, vivacious hues and a ridiculously spacious interior. It’s being labeled the Siemens Inspiro, and it’s on track to show up in Warsaw’s Metro Warszawskie just over a year from now. No word on where to sign up for conductor dutie, though.
Attention iPhone owners: we have found possibly one of the coolest gifts under $25 for you. If you’ve ever strained to hear the sound on a YouTube video, or have ever tried to jam out to your tunes via your iPhone’s included speaker, you know how hard it can be to really get good audio. The Bone Horn Stand uses design elements from gramophones of the past, and brings a simple concept to the age of the iPhone. Simply stick your iPhone into the stand, and voila — the sound is automatically louder by 13 decibels.
The Bone Horn is made out of silicone — and that’s it. There are no batteries needed, and no adapters to plug in. It’s simply the trumpet-shape of the horn that amplifies the sound from your phone. Science!
Besides working as a way to boost your volume, the Bone Horn also acts as stand. You can prop your phone into a vertical or horizontal position.
The Bone Horn Stand fits the original iPhone, iPhone 3G/3GS, the iPhone 4. It comes in beige, black, and green, and sells for $24.95 at the Cyberguys.com.
RIM clearly plans to use the Swedes’ talent to beef up future versions of the BlackBerry user interface, which despite the addition of touchscreen tech in the last year still seems clunky and quaint compared to iOS, Android and Windows Phone 7. That could make future BlackBerry phones — not to mention the upcoming Playbook tablet — a whole lot more exciting.
That got us wondering: What might the future, TAT-enhanced BlackBerry UI look like?
We have no idea, but if these concept videos produced by TAT are any indication, we’re guessing your next BlackBerry might have:
A touch- and motion-sensitive UI that reponds to your body’s movement as well as your fingers on the screen
Eye-tracking technology to provide enhanced 3-D effects
A slicker, easier-to-manage interface for switching between multiple apps
Eye-popping 2-D and 3-D visuals
What do you think the future holds for BlackBerry? Let us know in the comments.
This page: TAT’s vision of the “Future of Screen Technology” video (also embedded below) includes some pretty eye-popping examples of touchscreens embedded into every aspect of daily life. A man wakes up and checks the news on a stretchable screen that starts out iPhone-sized, but which he pulls on to make it nearly iPad-sized. A woman brushes her teeth while reading headlines and checking her calendar on a touchscreen mirror. A man composes a sport publication on a translucent touchscreen display whose images he can flip around, so coworkers on the other side of the screen can see them. Cool stuff!
Ah yes, the future! It’s nice when it arrives on your front doorstep… or on your iPod. It’s even nicer when you ask for something and then you get it: a few months back, we drooled over Dentsu London’s light extrusion tech demo and humbly demanded its App Store release. Now, app in hand, we’re busy running around our houses trying to become some sort of half-baked Jenny Holzer. It’s called Penki, and it takes your text / symbol input and turns it into 3D-flavored imagery via long-exposure photography. Sounds bodacious, right? But, as we all know, the future isn’t perfect — read on for the full account of our shiny journey into the third dimension.
We’ve seen a few Apple 3D patents before, but this latest IP portfolio addition shows Cupertino has clearly been thinking differently. At its core the system involves a screen, projector, sensor, and a 3D imager, which work together to allow multiple viewers to perceive 3D images from nearly any position in a room without glasses. This flexible autostereoscopic 3D effect is achieved by tracking user’s positions and projecting pixels onto a reflective, textured surface that then bounces separate images into the left and right eye. Virtual interaction methods with the 3D projections are also described in the document, implying the technology has aspirations beyond passive viewing.
Speaking of aspirations, Apple’s approach clearly seeks to fix many common 3D issues at once. The most obvious is literally taking 3D glasses of the picture — which we firmly support. On the flip side, the design addresses common faults with current glasses-free options too such as: ghosting and narrow viewing angles, while still keeping commercial viability in mind. That sounds magical to us, but considering the patent was filed back in 2006, we still expect 3D to be handled the old fashion way for quite a while to come.
While we’re on the subject of patents, a handful more popped in by way of Apple related to keyboard backlighting. Think multiple colors, individually lit, customizable by the user or automated based on environmental conditions and you get the gist. Hey, if it means a return for the Bondi Blue late 90’s iMac design (with bright, matching keyboards), then we’re excited. But it doesn’t.
Who is 2010’s tech person of the year? Is it Mark Zuckerberg, the world’s youngest billionaire, who helped transform Facebook into a global juggernaut, donated absurd amounts of money to charity, and was the basis for the year’s most critically acclaimed film?
What about Steve Jobs, who turned the tech world on its head yet again with the introduction of the iPad, which kickstarted the consumer tablet market?
Maybe it’s Meg Whitman, or Carly Fiorina, who both parlayed CEO jobs at prominent tech companies into much-publicized bids for office in California.
I would like to throw my support behind another candidate–that’s right, Justin Bieber (OMG, et al). The 16-year-old Canadian pop singer earned a top spot in tech headlines this year, thanks in no small part a seemingly permanent spot atop Twitter’s trending topics.
Bieber made a name for himself after his young mother began uploading videos of her son performing song covers. He quickly built up a legion of absurdly loyal–and intense–fans who have grown up on social networking. As various social networks reveal their year-end lists of hot topics, the point is made all the more clear: 2010 was the year of the Bieber.
After the jump, check a round up of our Bieber coverage from 2010.
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