Hasta La Gadget!

As expected, Cisco held a quick CES presser today to launch its connected TV initiative, which it’s calling Videoscape. It’s pretty ambitious stuff — Cisco’s goal isn’t to kick out a single consumer-focused set-top box, but rather to build out an entire video network architecture in conjunction with service providers that allows customers to view any authorized content on any device on any network. That means that in addition to the actual Videoscape set-top box for your TV, there will also be apps for everything from Android and iOS to game consoles and Macs and PCs — in the end, Cisco thinks your standard premium cable subscription will serve content everywhere, negating the need for supplemental services like Hulu and Netflix. There’s also a Videoscape Media Gateway that can serve up local content across all your devices — the company demoed sharing a quick Flip video with family members just by plugging the camera into the Gateway.

Obviously rebuilding entire cable systems around pervasive content delivery won’t be easy — Cisco says “video is the new voice” when it comes to disruptive industry shifts — and the only partner announced today is Telstra. To really gain momentum the company will have to sell its vision to huge companies like Comcast and Time Warner, who are already working on their own projects. We’ll see what happens — it makes sense for a networking provider like Cisco to take this sort of end-to-end approach, but there’s a lot of action in this space right now, and we don’t think anyone has the luxury of time.

Cisco announces Videoscape IPTV platform and products originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You may think that the ATM you’re using is perfectly normal. After all, it may even be in the bank building. And you cover your hand while typing your PIN, anyway, just in case there’s a hidden camera. Well, think again. More »

Not satisfied with the smattering of LTE products announced at CES thus far? Why not build your own with Bug Labs‘ modular components? Yes, the open-source hardware manufacturer has teamed with Verizon to offer pre-certified wireless modules once again, though this time they take advantage of the new LTE hotness rather than Verizon’s EV-DO network. No word on when we’ll be able to sign up to prototype our own phones nor how much they’ll cost, but know that even just the base platform will slurp $500 out of your wallet. PR after the break.

Continue reading Bug Labs gets cozier with Verizon, announces LTE module for speedy DIY devices

Bug Labs gets cozier with Verizon, announces LTE module for speedy DIY devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung, taking it easy at CES? Not a chance. Hot on the heels of a smorgasbord of new HD gear comes a five-pack of new cameras. Three of ’em are situated in the company’s growing DualView line, which places a display on the front that makes self-portraits entirely easier to snap. The ST700 point-and-shoot includes a 16.1 megapixel sensor, 5x optical zoom, dual image stabilization, a 3-inch touchscreen on the rear, a 1.8-inch screen on the front, 720p movie mode, an ISO range that tops out at 3200 and a $279.99 retail price. The PL170 ($199.99) is also equipped with a 16.1 megapixel sensor and a 5x optical zoom, but the screen on the front is stepped down to 1.5-inches and the feature set is scaled back. The PL120 is the lowest-end of the new DualViews, with a downsized 2.7-inch rear LCD and a $149.99 price point.

In related news, the WB210 (shown above) and PL210 are also debuting today, with the former touting a 12x zoom lens, a 22.4mm thick body and a 14 megapixel sensor. The PL210 goes with a 10x optical zoom, 27mm wide-angle lens, a 3-inch rear LCD and a 14 megapixel sensor. These are slated to go on sale next month for $279.99 and $199.99 in order of mention, and the full releases are waiting for your eyes just after the break.

Continue reading Samsung’s CES 2011 camera lineup: DualView ST700, PL170 and PL120 / WB210 and PL210

Samsung’s CES 2011 camera lineup: DualView ST700, PL170 and PL120 / WB210 and PL210 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft’s Surface still isn’t for consumers, but it’s getting a whole lot wilder. We just saw the next generation of Surface, which has infrared “pixel sense” detection in each pixel, meaning instead of multiple single points of touch, the screen can image your entire hand in all its detail. This should allow for some pretty wild UI improvements, but Microsoft’s primary demo was the tried-and-true rippling water effect. The technology was developed in conjunction with Samsung, and measures four inches thick — it’s obviously not going into your next tablet. Under the hood is an AMD CPU / GPU combo. The wildest part, however, is pictured above: placing a piece of paper with writing on it on top of the screen / sensor lets you “scan” the contents of that piece of paper. Microsoft showed us a demo of a bank application that lets you swipe a mailer up against the screen and have it be detected and read by the screen. As for a release, there’s no word on when this is coming out, but Microsoft says it will be cheaper than the current generation of Surface when it does. We asked about the potential for this sort of technology in smaller form factors, and were told it only scales down to around 24-inches, and we really get the feeling that Microsoft doesn’t have any plans to bring Surface to Joe Consumer any time soon.

Microsoft shows off next generation of Surface, has per-pixel touch detection originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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