Hasta La Gadget!

“Facetime on wheels” has been used to describe this particular telepresence robot known as Double, and just to get an idea on the kind of potential it has in the market, we are looking at a cool $1 million worth of pre-orders in just three weeks of its announcement. David Cann, the founder and CEO of Double Robotics said, “It’s a Segway for your iPad.” Basically, when you hook up an iPad to your Double, it will function as a roving telepresence device (although not on Mars). Sporting a sturdy aluminum base, urethane and plastic wheels, the Double comes with custom control systems and iOS software so that you can drive it around remotely, carry out video chats with whoever it encounters, and also help you see what the camera on your iPad picks up.

Seems to be the ideal device for one who wants to send in a “body double” for inspection purposes, and if it is capable of all-terrain movement, it would be extremely useful in investigating dangerous areas such as a collapsed mine or being of use to the military in gathering intelligence. Not only that, it helps you attend a meeting when you are unable to be there physically, although I believe that we would be more comfortable with a holographic representation like how the top Umbrella Corporation management meet instead of talking to an iPad.

Each Double unit will have a starting price of at least $1,999, and that excludes the price of the iPad, of course.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Shimi the personal robotic DJ, Fujitsu explores software robot to tackle college entrance exams,

RWC announced today in Japan not one but two Android 4.0 Tablet that are also fully fledge capable PNDs. While technically similar, both models comes with Android 4.0, a 7” 800×480 screen with a Cortex A5 Dual Core CPU at 1.2GHz with 512Mb of RAM, 8GB of Storage, microSD/SDHC support, HDMI out, WiFi, Drive Video Recording and GPS, both models comes however with some slight difference including a Digital TV Tuner for the RM-XRAD700TV (Picture above) or a waterproof IPX5 body for the …

It is an open secret that Bethesda has had issues with the Dawnguard DLC for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, so much so that it has yet to hit the Sony PS3. The issues might even be too large for Bethesda to resolve, but that does not mean the company has stopped working on it. Sony too, would want to help Bethesda out, with Sony VP Adam Boyes informing Kotaku that Sony has dispatched a team to work alongside Bethesda in order to fix the issues that plagued the PS3 version. Adam said, “We have a big, broad dev support team that works closely with Bethesda. Everyone involved is trying their best to get this stuff working.”

Hopefully this synergy would mean whatever issues that plague the PS3 Dawnguard DLC will soon be weeded out, although there is no commitment to any time frame as expected. Xbox 360 owners have been rocking to Hearthfire for a week already with Dawnguard being available for over a month, making me wonder whether some PS3 owners might just decide to make the jump over to the Xbox 360 platform after waiting for so long.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Skyrim Dawnguard DLC arrives on PC but not PS3 as Bethesda is not satisfied with its performance, Hearthfire trademark filed, possible name for next Skyrim DLC?,

Sony rolled out its first head-mounted 3D visor last fall, and announced the HMZ-T2 followup recently at IFA 2012. Now in Japan it has revealed few more details about the changes it’s made this time around as well as a release date and pricing. Scheduled to hit shelves on October 13th, the HMZ-T2 features all the upgrades we’d heard about: lighter total weight, redesigned head strap for improved comfort, ear buds instead of headphones plus 24p cinema support and a “Clear” panel drive mode for fast moving content. While we still don’t have a US price the Japanese damage is 70,000 yen ($894), a 10,000 yen ($127) boost over last year’s model which cost $799 in the US. Sony Japan has also put together an “Institute for Immersive Pleasure” Facebook page , and plans to show it off again at the Tokyo Game Show. Check out our hands-on impressions from IFA here, we’ll let you know when there’s more release information for other regions.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Wearables, HD

Sony reveals HMZ-T2 head-mounted display pricing, launch date and features in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 00:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Wallet was officially launched last year, and word has it that prepaid cards for Google Wallet has been discontinued. This means early adopters who reside outside of the US will be affected, as they no longer have any means to increase the amount of funds to the app. The effect is not immediate, as the entire process will take place over the next few months. This was done as payment card information has been moved from the device to Google’s cloud, so that customers are able to use just about any credit or debit card. When you compare that to the previous iteration, the Google Wallet app could only support Citi’s MasterCard and Google’s own prepaid cards.

For those living outside of the US, you have until October 17th of this year to spend your remaining balance. Once the calendar hits October 18th, the cards will disappear from the app completely, so whatever balance you have left would be as valuable as the kind of “banana money” that the Japanese printed in some of their conquered territories in South East Asia during World War 2.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Credit or debit card? It does not matter with Google Wallet that goes to the cloud, Google acquires TxVia in an effort to expand Google Wallet,