Hasta La Gadget!

Yet another player is joining Meta, Japan’s Telepathy One, China’s (allegedly real) Baidu Eye, and big Google’s Glass at the face-mounted AR table. GlassUp, the newest kid in town, claims precedent on the concept. Google just shrugs and pays its legal retainer.

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First of all, as contemplated here before, and as we all learned from the The Great Virtual Boy Tragedy of 1995, it could be, it just might be, that aside from early adopters, the geek elite, and a tiny slice of industry – nobody really wants the PIA of having AR in their glasses. Plus, there’s also the ongoing debate on how unusable and silly AR glasses would be in actual human life.

Something to consider.
Okay, on to the new:

GlassUp, Heads-Up, Read-Only
Yep, another competitor jumps into an as of yet non-existent market: Venice, Italy-based GlassUp’s angle is to Bluetooth its way into a user’s smartphone and display email, SMS, Tweets, Facebook notifications, etc. as they arrive. If developers get hip, other possibilities include translations, directions, and location-specific info displayed in real time as one arrives at a given waypoint.

With zero subtlety, GlassUp promotes their product as:

• “Receive only.” No photos or videos involved, no privacy issues. (As opposed to? -Ed.)

• The projection is Monochrome (currently green, but we may switch to amber).

• Longer battery life (Than? -Ed.)

• GlassUp projects the information close to the center of vision, with less strain to the eye of the wearer. (Whereas those other guys make you look up and to the right. -Ed.)

CEO Francesco Giartosio and co-founders claim to have begun work on their AR glasses two years ago, about two months before Google went public with Glass. Should their indiegogo crowdfunding campaign prove successful ($41,169 of $150,000, 20 days remain), they hope to come to market around February of next year – ahead of Google Glass, and, at $399, hitting a much more realistic price point for the average individual or bulk-buying corporate consumer.

Possible Legal Problems & Precedential Issues & Stuff
It’s unclear if “GlassUp” is an attempt at drafting off of Google’s marketing campaign, or if it’s been there all along (maybe it was “VetroUp?”). In any case, if, for example, one has an invention in their basement that only 3 people know about, and they’re calling it “1234,” but then one of the largest, most powerful corporate entities in the history of humanity invents something similar, gets patents and trademarks, and years before anybody hears of your stuff, happens to name their product “123,” then one’s kinda hosed.

But, Google does occasionally surprise, and they might Don’t Be Evil and simply concede that the word “glass” is like, you know, common, and that it’s also part of the word “eyeglasses,” which is also like, you know, common; indifference, pity, or straight-up common sense could prevail. Or, Google could decide to lawyer the name “GlassUp,” perhaps even the whole product, out of existence.

People do love an underdog story, so should Google go aggro, at least GlassUp will get a pile of publicity. Either way, for Sig. Francesco & Co., using the word “glass” is kinda win-win.

More images & video below:

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Reno J. Tibke is the founder and operator of Anthrobotic.com and a contributor at the non-profit Robohub.org.

VIA: Mashable; indiegogo
Visuals: GlassUp

So, you have decided to pick up a spanking new iPad mini for yourself, and want to take all the necessary precautions to ensure that it remains as scratch free as possible, at least until the next generation iPad mini arrives, so that you can sell off your current iPad mini at the highest price possible? That is definitely a thought, but I prefer to look at gadgets this way – it is always best to maximize its purpose, and if it involves using said device without any protective case or screen protector so that it will not sully the efforts made by the device’s designers, then so be it, never mind the fact that there is the very real possibility of me introducing the concept of scratches to my shiny new device. Well, the New Trent Airbender Mini sort of brings the best of both worlds, and it also ups the productivity ante for iPad mini owners, too.

Basically, the New Trent Airbender Mini has been touted to be the ideal portable case solution for those who want maximum protection for their iPad mini, regardless of where they are, whether they are at home, in the office or in the great outdoors. The outdoors? Yup, that is correct, this bad boy will come with a shock and splash resistant case, thanks to a rubberized exterior which will ensure that all openings are properly plugged, all the while offering full-body protection to the iPad mini without hindering usability.

Not only that, it comes with the convenience of a removable iPad mini case that has an integrated screen protector, ensuring that scratches and smudges will never get to your beloved iPad mini, all without sacrificing on touch screen sensitivity. Sporting an ultra low-profile, built-in keyboard, it will hook up to the iPad mini via Bluetooth, ensuring you can type out all those documents in a jiffy, with great ease and comfort. If you are interested, the New Trent Airbender Mini can be yours for $39.95 a pop.

Press Release
[ New Trent Airbender Mini now available copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Rovio recently announced a sequel to its Angry Birds Star Wars game, and the Finnish company was on hand to demo its latest title here at Comic-Con. Coming to Android and iOS on September 19th (and to consoles a month later), the app features more than 30 playable characters and — most notably — works with Hasbro-designed “Telepods.” If you’ve heard of Skylanders — not to mention Hasbro’s zAPPed line of add-ons for iPad games — the concept will be quite familiar: the Angry Birds Star Wars 2 Telepods give players access to additional characters and superpowers.

To get started with the Telepod figures, we simply had to place them (attached to their plastic stand) over the demo iPad’s camera. The tablet recognized the characters in just a second or two, and then we were able to play with new birds and their associated abilities (hint: more explosions). Rovio’s VP of marketing Philip Hickey says the Telepod collaboration with Hasbro allowed the company to make even Jar Jar Binks’ character interesting — and we have to admit, that’s quite an accomplishment. The Telepods will be available in stores for about $20 shortly before game launches in September.

The live-action telepods may be the upcoming title’s most novel feature, but that doesn’t mean the game doesn’t have several software-based goodies as well. You can choose to play on the dark side (“on the pork side,” as it were), and there are new two-player cooperative and two-to-four-player multiplayer modes. Be sure to check out our video hands-on after the break to see the sci-fi birds in action.

Filed under: Gaming

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The Galaxy S 4 Zoom offers a point-and-shoot style camera attached to the body of a smartphone, but if you’re wanting something with robust camera sensor that can be removed when you don’t need it, you’re not going to find it sadly. However, it’s rumored that Sony will be releasing a camera lens attachment with the same specs as the RX100 II that was recently unveiled.

According to Sony Alpha Rumors, two anonymous sources say that Sony will be releasing such an accessory at some point in the future, and while it’s essentially a clip-on lens, it packs a 20.2-megapixel Exmor RS sensor with a Carl Zeiss lens that uses your smartphone’s display as a viewfinder.

This basically means that the attachment is its own camera, but it needs a few more functions in order to take photos, and this is where the smartphone comes in to offer a viewfinder and change around settings for taking optimal photos. The lens also has a built-in battery, WiFi, and NFC. We’re not sure exactly how it will communicate with your smartphone, but we’re guessing it’ll use one of these wireless protocols listed.

It’s unclear whether the camera attachment will only be compatible with Sony’s Android devices or if it’ll work with all smartphones using an adapter, but we’re guessing that Sony might keep it exclusive to Sony devices at least for a little while.

The attachment does seem a little far-fetched, but sources say that they’re pretty confident that Sony will release it soon. As for a price tag, that’s not yet discussed, but seeing as how the RX100 II costs $750 (with the lens most likely being a big part of the cost), we’re guessing the attachment won’t be cheap.

SOURCE: Sony Alpha Rumors

Sony RX100 II camera lens attachment tipped for smartphones is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
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It had a rough start, but Apple Maps has come a long way from what it was at launch. And the push isn’t over. Apple just picked up a little startup called "Locationary" that specializes in hyperlocal results; you can bet that’ll trickle down into Apple Maps soon.

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