Hasta La Gadget!

So when can you get your very own slice of Google future? Perhaps sooner than you thought. The company’s just outlined a competition that will put its Glass device in the hands of non-developer types. Using Twitter or Google+, you’ll need to outline what you would do if you had the device — we’re guessing they want to see some big ideas. Applications need to be less than 50 words and tagged with #ifihadglass. Media-wise, you can include photos and even a short video to support your application. Alas, for now at least, the process is only for those over 18 and is currently US-only. The deadline is February 27th and winners will be made a Glass Explorer — quite the title. Those lucky few will still have to preorder their own Glass Explorer Edition ($1,500 plus tax) but there’ll be special pick-up sessions held in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Until then, Google’s offered up a whole new gallery of images to help you imagine how you might look with its high-tech wearable.

Update: Google’s crafted a meatier video for the UI within Glass. We’ve embedded it after the break, but it better outlines how image capture, translation, directions, voice-controlled messages and (naturally) web searches are likely to behave on those frames.

Filed under: Wearables, Google

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Source: Google+, Google Glass

Android smartphone users in the Asia-Pacific area will soon be able to get a small pocket protector from Aiptek that is designed to work with their Android devices. The projector is called the Aiptek MobileCinema A50p. The projector comes with an integrated MHL cable making it plug-and-play compatible with Samsung, HTC, and LG mobile devices.

The projector uses DLP technology and has energy-saving RGB LEDs rather than a traditional bulb. Those LEDs promise up to 20,000 hours of lifetime and provide 45 lm of maximum brightness. The resolution of the projector is 640 x 480 and it can throw an image of up to 60-inches diagonally.

A resolution of 640 x 480 is a low for a 60-inch image, but it may be better than watching on a small screen for some users. The projector offers a contrast ratio of 1000:1 and no software is required to project media using the device. Power comes from an internal rechargeable battery good for 120 min. of use.

The projector requires a projection distance of 20 cm to 200 cm. The little projector measures 132 x 71 x 15 mm and weighs 170 g. The device has manual focus and features a micro HDMI and USB output. The projector also has an internal speaker for improved sound.

[via Aiptek]

Aiptek MobileCinema A50P heads to Asia-Pacific users is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple has pushed out a new Java update to address the malware loophole that saw hackers attempt to extract data from the company, stripping out the Apple-provided browser plugin in the process. The update, which follows Apple’s confirmation that a “small number” of its systems had been compromised by an unknown hacking group, basically removes the Java applet plugin from all browsers on an OS X 10.7+ machine.

If the user subsequently wants to access Java applets, they’ll see a “Missing plug-in” warning in the page; clicking that will go to Oracle, to download the newest official version. In the process, the update also removes the Java Preferences application, which Apple says is no longer required.

The malware response follows the identification of several loopholes in Java, one of which allows the hackers to compromise some of Apple’s own systems. “Multiple vulnerabilities existed in Java 1.6.0_37,” the company writes in its security alert, “the most serious of which may allow an untrusted Java applet to execute arbitrary code outside the Java sandbox.”

A Java flaw is believed to have been at the root of Facebook’s hack incident earlier this month, with the social network’s own systems targeted. Oracle itself documented the problem back at the start of February, reacting to security warnings which saw several firms recommend all Java implementations be shut down as a precaution.

Apple maintains that “there was no evidence that any data left” the company, and has pushed out the new update as both a standalone patch and via the Software Update tool in OS X.

Update Java warns Apple after Mac hack is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Nissan has announced a new small car that’s packed with some interesting technology. The small car is called the Nissan Note and will be the first car model to launch using Nissan’s new Safety Shield technology. Safety Shield technology uses Nissans Around View Monitor system to enhance the drivers field of vision.

Nissan promises that its new Note has technology and features that are useful in day-to-day driving allowing the driver to feel safer and more secure. The Note has technology that Nissan says is typically only found in premium luxury car models and the technology is coming to the small car sector for the first time. Safety Shield is comprised of three advanced safety systems.

Those advanced safety systems include Blind Spot Warning, Lane Departure Warning, and Moving Object Detection. Nissan combines those technologies with its Around View Mirror giving not only additional protection for the occupants of the vehicle, but also for pedestrians around the vehicle. The vehicle will launch in the UK where Nissan hopes the safety technology will help reduce automotive/pedestrian accidents the claim about 34,000 lives each year.

The Around View Monitor uses four separate cameras arrayed around the car that show images on a 5.8-inch dashboard mounted screen. The car is powered by an efficient line of available engine and transmission options with CO2 outputs as low as 95 g/km. The base engine is a 1.2-liter unit producing 80 ps and 110 Nm of torque. Nissan also offers a more powerful 1.2-liter DIG-S engine producing 98 PS and 142 Nm of torque. The car will also be available with a turbo diesel engine in the European market. Nissan expects the Note to go on sale in Europe in the fall of 2013.

[via Nissan]

Nissan Note will be the first car to use Safety Shield technology is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple’s iPhone 5 took the smartphone top spot in worldwide sales in Q4 2012, according to new figures, and together with the iPhone 4S pushing the Samsung Galaxy S III into third place. In fact, 1-in-5 smartphones shipped worldwide in the last quarter of 2012 were either iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S models, Strategy Analytics claims, crediting healthy subsidies, broad availability, and the appeal of the latest Apple handset’s larger screen for the improvement in demand. The results are a turnaround from Q3 2012, where Samsung’s flagship ruled the roost.

In Q3, the Galaxy S III came in top, with 18m shipments; the iPhone 5, which had only been on sale for part of the quarter, contributed just 6m shipments. However, while iPhone 5 demand has surged – up to 27.4m units shipped in Q4 2012 alone, the research firm says – iPhone 4S shipments also increased, up over a million units, to 17.4m.

“Global demand for the Galaxy S III appears to have peaked” Strategy Analytics concludes, pointing out that the specter of the Galaxy S4 sequel is already upon us. That device is believed to be waiting in the wings for a March 14 reveal, though the specifications of the phone are hotly contested.

Meanwhile, rumors continue to persist around a low-cost iPhone, though Apple executives have been quick to try to squash the speculation.

Nonetheless, it’s certainly Apple and Samsung’s world when it comes to smartphones at the moment, with the two firms together holding more than half of the overall market. That presents a significant issue for rivals like HTC, who will find it increasingly different to raise their own products, such as the recently announced HTC One, above the noise.

iPhone 5 grabs Q4 2012 top spot as GS3 drops to third place says research is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.