It’s almost spring. Okay, maybe that’s pushing it a little bit, but you’re starting to think about ditching the puffy coat and snow boots in favor of shorts and sandals. You can plan your seasonal purchases on Svpply’s new Android app. More »
NFC has always struck me as one of those things that everyone says is going to get really big next year, and the growing number of smartphones and tablets that come bearing support for the standard is proof that at least a few people care about it. But what if you want to experience the NFC lifestyle but your gadget(s) of choice don’t play nice with it? Enter Spain-based Sistel Networks, and its vWand stylus.
Put very simply, the vWand is part capacitive stylus, part Bluetooth-friendly NFC adapter — once it’s linked up to your tablet or smartphone of choice via Bluetooth you’ll have a pen that’s capable of reading from and writing data to NFC elements.
The vWand is a chubby little thing, but it’s not overly heavy thanks to its lightweight, plasticky (but comfortable) body. A pair of LEDs ride high on the vWand’s shaft to let the user know when it’s on and ready to scan, and a more-than-adequate chunky capacitive nib (not entirely unlike the end of Wacom’s Bamboo Stylus) allowed me to doodle to my heart’s content in Paper for a few moments. The real magic happens on the other end though — tapping the vWand’s butt to a set of preset NFC tags at the vWand booth prompted the connected Android tablet to fire up the messaging app, bring up the dialer, or load particular web pages.
As neat as the vWand concept sounds, chances are you won’t be linking this up to your iPad or Galaxy Note anytime soon. At this stage it’s meant mostly as a b2b device, and Sistel Networks is looking to pick up traction in a slew of fields ranging from healthcare (think doctors scanning NFC-enabled wristbands or something) to retail and logistics though company representatives didn’t completely rule out the notion that consumers would one day be able to buy one too. In fairness, the vWand certainly makes sense as a tool to be used in those lines of business, but that doesn’t keep me from wanting one just to muck around with.
Our first ever Expand event is around the corner, this March 16-17 in San Francisco. In addition to oodles of interesting speakers, there’ll be shiny sights to see: robots, retro games, of course gadgets galore and a few surprises we haven’t even unveiled yet. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to record said sights with your own state-of-the art camera?
Show us you can shoot an awesome photo of your favorite gadget, and you could win a Samsung Galaxy Camera! We described it thusly:
“Samsung’s Android-powered Galaxy Camera is a bit of a wild card, marrying Google’s Android Jelly Bean OS with a 16-megapixel camera – heck, it’s even got a 4.8-inch 1,280 × 720-pixel (308 ppi) touchscreen display… the entire back consists of that 4.8-inch screen, edge-to-edge…”
Check out our full review for all the details and specs.
Want a chance at nabbing this bad boy for your very own? Step 1 is to Like the Expand Facebook page. Step 2 is to use the entry form on our Facebook page to submit a photo you’ve taken of your favorite gadget, title the photo and give a short description about why it’s your chosen top device. Team Expand will judge entries based on creativity, style and skill. Show us why you deserve a new camera!
Good luck, and may the best shot win — you have until this coming Monday, March 4 at 5pm EST to get your entry in. To be eligible to enter, you must be 18 years of age and a U.S. resident (please peruse the full rules).
Filed under: Announcements, Meta, Samsung
I’ve probably watched too many James Bond movies, but a personal submarine sounds pretty cool, no matter what. While this started out as a concept a couple of years ago, it’s actually available for purchase now.
The EGO was designed by the Korean firm Raonhaje and they claim it the “world’s first compact semi-submarine.” This boat gives passengers the opportunity to observe underwater life via an enclosed core that’s always submerged under the water. I guess you’ll also be able to see sharks coming without having to put on your scuba gear. The upper deck of the boat allows passengers to enjoy the surface of the water as well.
It’s powered by twelve 8-volt marine batteries, and run for four to eight hours on a single charge.
You’ll have to contact Raonhaje in order to get a price for your own semi-submarine, and you can also try it out if you’re in Korea or there’s a dealer nearby.
[via The Awesomer via HiConsumption]
The Aurora Lamp is simple. It can either sit on a table or hang from the wall with just one screw. More »
Corning’s Willow Glass impressed the tech world with its extremely flexibility and slimness when it debuted this past summer. The 2012 debut may have been a tad premature as a new report is saying we could expect consumer products equipped with a Willow Glass to appear in at least three years.
The report is coming from Bloomberg who interviewed Corning Glass Technologies president James Clappi, speaking to him in regards to the Willow Glass. Clappin originally had hoped their Willow Glass would be made available in consumer products this year, but consumer companies have yet to come up with products that would make full use of the screen. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Doesn’t Have Plans To Build Retail Stores, i-Mate Has Plans For A Windows 8 Phone Product,
You can try as hard as you want, but a set of adamantium claws are never going to spring forth from your hands. Nor will you ever be able to control the weather, fly, teleport, or read someone’s mind. The closest you’ll ever get to being a real-life X-Men is mastering this set of steel throwing cards like Gambit, minus the fireworks and bō. More »
As we reported yesterday, Facebook and Microsoft have indeed announced plans for the acquisition of Microsoft’s Atlas ad server to Facebook. The rumors have been flowing for a few months now, so today’s announcement isn’t all that surprising, and with Facebook wanting to bolster its advertising prowess, this acquisition isn’t too crazy.
Facebook says that the acquisition will help advertisers keep track of their ads on the social network, as well as what sort of returns they are getting with them. Facebook says that marketers have been struggling to understand “how their efforts across different channels complement and strengthen each other.” This results in marketers adopting “siloed marketing strategies for each channel, leading to poor and inconsistent end-user experiences.”
However, Facebook says that Atlas is one of the only solutions to that problem. Atlas has capabilities that allow for marketers to get a “holistic view” of their advertising performance, which in turn will allow them to do a much better job at targeting audiences, and will give them a “deeper understanding of effectiveness.”
However, Facebook plans to also improve Atlas’s capabilities and they want to enhance the current tools available to advertisers on both desktop and mobile. Facebook’s end goal is to make Atlas “the most effective, intuitive, and powerful ad serving, management and measurement platform in the industry.”
Facebook acquisition of Microsoft Atlas confirmed is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Is this really happening, again? Why, yes, it is. Following up on its massive MDR-X10 bass-pumping headphones from last year, Sony and Simon Cowell have introduced the MDR-X05. As you might take from the name, the cans are basically a smaller addition to the series, packing 40MM drivers (down from 50) and a few more color options (red/black, red/red, white/silver, red/silver and black/silver) — some of which do the headphones more justice than the silver/red colorway we got our mitts on previously. As far as we can tell, by the way, these are very likely a re-badge of the MDR-X400 headphones for the American market. As you’d expect, the cans fold flat for storage and feature an iDevice-compatible inline remote and mic.
Gallery: Sony MDR-X05 hands-on
Unlike the X10, the tangle-proof flat cabling isn’t removeable and connects using both earcups, but the connections seem robust enough to handle a good bit of torture. Because the same materials and finish are used on the X05 as the X10, the headphones feel virtually the same in-hand — a bit plasticky, but solid overall. The headphones may be smaller, but they still manage to feel nearly as cosy and isolate a fair amount amount of external noise as their bigger brother, mostly because they’re packing the same style of plush memory foam earpads wrapped in synthetic leather. As far as sound quality goes, the bass push on these is just as smooth and open-sounding as the X10, but the high-end is noticeably harsher — we definitely felt the need to turn on “treble reducer” in our iPhone’s EQ settings. If you’re bass-hungry ears are interested, the X05 headphones are up for pre-sale at Sony’s online store for $200 (100 less than the X10), but the smaller discount won’t make them look any less loud on your ears while you’re out and about. You can expect ’em to hit shelves March 22nd. For now, find more details in the press release after the break.
Source: Sony
AT&T has announced the latest 4G LTE expansion news. This latest includes new markets in Nebraska and Texas as well as expansions in previously existing markets in Arizona, Connecticut and Texas. Diving right in with the new markets, those include Lincoln, Nebraska as well as Lubbock, Texas and Austin, Texas with the latter including parts of Marble Falls, Burnet, Bertram and Round Mountain.
Moving over to the expansion in existing market and we begin with the Phoenix area. This coverage will now include parts of Avondale, Goodyear and Litchfield Park. Next up is dealing with Hartford County Connecticut which now includes parts of Avon, Bloomfield, Enfield, Farmington, Granby, New Britain, Simsbury, Suffield, West Hartford, Windsor and Windsor Locks. Last in terms of the expanded coverage deals with the Corpus Christi area in Texas. AT&T notes that 4G LTE coverage is now available in parts of Port Aransas, Mustang Island, Portland, Gregory, Odem, Five Points, and Bluntzer.
Bottom line, this is just another piece of the AT&T LTE network being filled out. We suppose those in any of these listed markets will be rather happy that they can make the move from 3G to LTE. This of course means that if you are in any of those areas and not carrying a handset with LTE support, now may be a good time to start considering that next upgrade — which hopefully you will be able to get sooner rather than later.
Otherwise, AT&T is still touting themselves as having the nation’s largest 4G network. It was said that this now offers coverage for 288 million people. Remember though, the AT&T 4G network is actually comprised of 4G HSPA+ and 4G LTE connectivity so speeds may vary depending on which you have. Also worth noting, AT&T allows “most” smartphone users free access to the 32,000 plus AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots across the country.
[via AT&T]
AT&T flips the 4G LTE switch in a handful of additional markets is written by Robert Nelson & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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