Hasta La Gadget!

A healthy stream of leaks in the last several months indicated that the latest version of Jelly Bean was right around the corner, and at its press event today Google pulled back the curtain on Android 4.3. Unsurprisingly, the latest software will debut on the new Nexus 7, which was also announced on stage. In addition to shipping with that tablet, the software will be available as an over-the-air update for the Nexus 4, Nexus 10, Galaxy Nexus and first-gen Nexus 7 today. No word on when the larger world of Android devices will receive the latest version, though.

The new software adds a restricted profile feature, which lets parents control what content children can view. According to Hugo Barra, who demoed the OS on stage, apps act differently depending on a given user’s restriction settings, and the new feature also blocks in-app purchasing (we know how disastrous that can be for unwitting toddlers). Beyond that, the newest version of Jelly Bean adds Bluetooth Smart technology, and there’s support for OpenGL ES 3.0, enabling improved details in graphics. A Unity game demo showed us how 3D objects can cast shadows on themselves, along with the ability add lens flare.

Perhaps the sweetest feature of all, though, is Netflix streaming in 1080p — that in and of itself could leave non-Nexus owners more than a little jealous. This goody comes thanks to a new set of DRM APIs to take advantage of HD content on the Nexus. Also on board are Bluetooth AVRCP, dialpad autocomplete, and easier text input. Click through to the source for more info from the Android dev blog, and make sure to follow along with our liveblog.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Google

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Source: Android Developers Blog

Google formally unveiled the newest iteration of its Nexus 7 tablet at today’s press conference in San Francisco. Turns out, this past week’s leaked spec and grainy product shots (and last night’s pretty-darn-clear ones) were dead on: this thing is freakin’ sweet.

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It seems like just 10 weeks ago that Google was reporting a total of 900 million Android activations. Well, now the company’s back, once again outdoing itself with some fresh figures. Today, we’re hearing that more than 70 million Android tablets have been activated to date. Meanwhile, Google has surpassed 50 billion app downloads in the Google Play Store across all Android devices, and there are now more than a million applications available in the store. Additionally, the company claims that in the first half of this year, one in two tablets sold worldwide was an Android product. With no way of confirming that figure ourselves, we’ll stand on that tablet activation figure, as it represents a pretty sizable jump for Google: at the end of 2012, tablet activations were still somewhere below 40 million. That’s all for now as far as stats go. We’ll leave you to gawk at that super tempting new Nexus 7.

Filed under: Tablets, Google

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I love all things Space Invaders. I’m just a sucker for anything featuring those 8-bit aliens. I also love to read, so these adorable Book Invaders are perfect.

These fun bookmarks were created by Elod Beregszaszi and they are ready to land inside your favorite books, with you in charge of the invasion and giving orders about which page to assault.

Sadly they are out of stock at the moment, but they were too cool not to share. Hopefully they will be back in stock soon and we can buy some. I would buy one of each. Space Invaders are no good unless you have a small army.

[via it8bit]

3D printers generally have a pretty large footprint, so it was likely only a matter of time before someone decided to work on shrinking one to the point of portability. Just, well, because. Meet Bukito: a “take it everywhere” extruder 3D printer which has already doubled its original Kickstarter funding goal of $54,000 with 10 days still left to run on the campaign.

The printer has a handle up top for carrying it from place to place, and can apparently continue printing even when being held upside down or at an angle, although that’s not entirely advised by its creators. Weight is sub-2kg, with aluminum used for the frame. And just in case you had any doubts about its portability the creators have shot a video showing the printer being hoisted aloft by an octocopter while still printing.

Being small enough to be portable, the printer obviously isn’t going to be spitting out massive objects. Build volume is 125 x 150 x 125mm, with a nozzle size of 0.5mm. The metal extruder design can apparently handle the following materials: PLA, ABS, MABS, Nylon, Laywood (although they say you may need a different platform to handle some, which they will be including with the shipping product). Print resolution is 50 microns on the X/Y axis and 100 microns on the Z.

What’s the point of a portable 3D printer? We’re not entirely sure that’s massive mileage in the concept but of course it does mean you can more easily take the printer round to friends, your work, school and so on. Also there’s the shrunken price factor to consider, which may be what’s most attracting backers here. Creator Deezmaker’s early bird offer of 75 pledges of $549 to bag a Bukito have all gone, but there are still a few pledge options at $599 (or more).

A circa $600 price-tag means the Bukito is a lot cheaper than high end 3D printers like the Makerbot Replicator 2.0, which costs circa $2,199 (but will of course turn out a far superior end product), and a little more expensive than Pirate3D’s Buccaneer ‘affordable’ 3D printer, which has a price-tag of around $350.

As well as its relatively low price, the Bukito’s apparently rugged portability may be attracting interest — since, with 3D printing still a nascent tech, having a carry-handle on top gives the impression that it’s robust enough to handle a bit of user misuse/trial and error too.