Hasta La Gadget!

Looking for an “upscale fashion shopping experience” in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan or Belarus? Solidoodle’s got your back. The company is set to launch 3D printing stores in those areas, featuring its low cost 3D printers and “lifestyle” items created on said devices. The Russian store is set to be the first to open this summer. The company also used its press conference today to announce plans to sell printers in Brazil, Canada, Korea and Japan, as well as a join initiative with Georgia Institute of Technology’s Mars Society to test the devices in “harsh environments like Mars” (places like Utah, apparently). More info on the announcements can be found in an exceedingly enthusiastic press release after the break.

Filed under: Peripherals

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Art is a product of creation. Guns are a tool of destruction. Mexican sculptor Pedro Reyes brings these two opposing forces into harmony with his unique and inspiring work.

A computer-generated Audrey Hepburn swoons over an Italian gentleman in this cute commercial.

(Credit: Sean Hepburn Ferrer, AMV BBDO, Luca Dotti)

No one can play Audrey Hepburn as well as Audrey Hepburn.

Through the magic of computer-generated imagery, the Galaxy chocolate company — known as Dove outside the U.K. and Ireland — has brought the deceased movie star back to life for a lovely one-minute commercial by ad agency AMV BBDO and visual-effects company Framestore.

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The agency’s first attempt at creating an authentic-looking Hepburn failed. The group cast a woman with similar eyes to the iconic star, and through face-scanning technology, digitally captured 70 face muscle movements as well as high-resolution textures from the double.

After extensive filming in an idyllic coastal town in Italy, animators tried to compile the double’s eyes with a CGI visage of Hepburn, only to end up with subp… [Read more]

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We caught up with Greg Sullivan — senior product manager of Windows Phone — for an early morning chat during Mobile World Congress. He was kind enough to give us an update on the state of Microsoft’s mobile OS, which has apparently experienced a four-fold increase in sales since version 8 launched last fall and is taking share away from Android in the UK. We discussed the delightful user experience provided by lower-end Windows Phone 8 handsets like Nokia’s Lumia 620 and asked how Microsoft plans to satisfy power users at the higher-end of the spectrum who are still missing critical features such as proper notifications, quick settings and CalDAV / CardDAV support (to name a few). It’s clear that the company’s aware of these shortcomings and is working to remedy most of them in a future release. We also talked about the ecosystem, what Microsoft is doing to improve app quality, how it meshes with Windows 8 / RT and whether the company is looking to expand its partnership beyond existing device manufacturers. Look for our full video interview after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft

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Apple's iPhone 5 makes use of aluminum and ceramics.

(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

Holdouts expecting a larger version of the iPhone this year will have to keep on waiting, a new report says.

Citing sources, Japanese Apple-news site Macotakara says such a device is instead slated for next year, and will use plastic instead of aluminum for its body.

Macotakara says the device will sport a polycarbonate plastic enclosure much like the one found on the MacBook and iBook before it. Other rumored details include a 4.5-inch screen, which would be half an inch larger than the one found on the iPhone 5 and iPod Touch; Apple’s usual home button; and a $330 price tag that would be a little less than half of the average selling price of the iPhone 5 (without carrier subsidy).

As MacRumors notes, Macotakara has had a mixed rumor scorecard, but it had accurate information about Apple’s latest batch of iPods, some two months before they were officially unveiled.

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<... [Read more]

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