Hasta La Gadget!

The Verge is reporting that Nokia is planning to launch a new proximity sensor to tie in with its Lumia range, which will combine NFC and Bluetooth 4.0 to track items from your phone. You may never lose your keys again.

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Right now Google Glass sits at the apogee of geeky, wearable technology.  Last month, interviewing a Glass-wearing Robert Scoble, Newsnight’s Jeremy Paxman memorably debunked it in his opening question as “that thing on your head. ” Getting non-techie people to view Glass as anything other than ludicrously geeky is going to be an uphill fight for Google.

Arguably, though, even more of a blocker to Glass adoption is people viewing the technology as the epitome of creepy, thanks to its built-in camera. Sure a digital eye sited at eye-level lets you share a nice view of that mountain you can see from your hotel window. But in more everyday scenarios, it also lets you video your fellow humans as they go about their business, and that privacy intrusion is inevitably going to cause some friction. Throw in the whole NSA PRISM surveillance fallout and stuff like this is inevitable.

Add to that, even though Google has banned (even more creepy) facial-recognition apps on Glass’s Mirror API, it’s possible to envisage a workaround that leverages Google’s Hangouts feature — which shares real-time field of vision — to get around the bar. Marco Vanossi, co-founder of GeoPapyrus, pointed out this workaround to TechCrunch — and demonstrates how it can be made to work in this video, creating a Hangout with a robot assistant called Dexter that then analyses what the Glass wearer can see.

“You can share your camera view through a Google Hangout and the content in it (people, objects, places, barcodes, qrcodes) can be analyzed and identified,” he tells TechCrunch. “As a result, information can be overlaid on top of it and shown back on your screen. This means that the Hangout app, built and distributed by Google on every Glass device, could be used to violate its own privacy rules.”

All of which suggests there may be room for an eyeless Glass-style product that preserves privacy by being receive-only — and therefore can’t be accused of spying. Enter GlassUp. GlassUp is a prototype pair of augmented reality specs that does not include a camera. It’s currently seeking funds to start manufacturing on Indiegogo. The glasses are designed to allow the wearer to receive text-based messages and updates overlaid over the central portion of their field of vision — so while they intrude on the wearer’s vision, they can’t be accused of intruding on the privacy of the people around them.

GlassUp’s creators envisage a typical use-case being a pedestrian or a motorbike rider wanting to navigate handsfree and without having to stop every few yards to consult a map/smartphone. Or a tourist wanting to get info about the historical landmarks they are seeing pushed to their eye-line as they explore a new city. Other imagined use-cases include for cooks or warehouse workers needing info as they work.

The device is basically a second screen output for a smartphone, connecting via Bluetooth, that’s worn as a heads-up display. It has a monochrome projector to display text updates, helping to extend the battery life of the device. The creators say they intend to release some apps themselves, but also plan to release an API for Android, iOS and Windows Phone to allow developers to extend its functionality.

Having intentionally stripped back the hardware of GlassUp to remove privacy concerns its creators have also shrunk the cost. The price tag for the device starts at $299 — considerably cheaper than the Google Glass Explorer’s hefty price tag of $1,500.

GlassUp’s creators are hoping to raise $150,000 on Indiegogo and have so far managed to reach just over half their goal, with 11 days left on the campaign. However, an update on their crowdfunding page notes that they will deliver products even if they fail to achieve their funding goal — thanks to unnamed investor backers. GlassUp is due to go on sale from February next year.

TechCrunch’s Steve O’Hear contributed to this story

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.

Keyboards haven’t changed much in the last, oh, few hundred years or so. You play a note by hitting and releasing it, use a pedal to sustain and change volume through the high-tech means of “bashing harder.” TouchKeys wants to give you much more control with its touch sensitive, DIY stick-on overlays that can even sense multi-touch. While similar to what we’ve seen recently with the Roli Seaboard (which has rubberized keys that let you bend notes), TouchKeys can be added to most keyboards and would let you do even more, in theory. Similar to a smartphone screen, it senses up and down or side-to-side finger movements with up to three touches, all of which can be mapped mapped to different sounds or effects. For instance, you can create a vibrato by shaking your hand side-to-side, move up and down to bend notes, use multi-touch pinch and slide to change midi mappings, or play different sounds by multi-tapping.

Most of the kits sold will be DIY, meaning they’ll come as self-installed peel-and-stick keys and sensors that fit standard-sized keyboards, starting at £330 for 25 keys. You’ll also have to open up the keyboard to tuck in the narrow controller, but the company said it hasn’t seen any models that don’t work yet. If you’re not inclined to futz around, you’ll be able to buy a limited number of pre-installed kits starting at £660 with a Novation Impulse 25 keyboard. TouchKeys is looking for a relatively modest £30,000 as its funding goal, so if you’re looking for the latest musical edge, hit the source.

Filed under: Peripherals

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Via: Gizmag

Source: Kickstarter

If you spend most of your day working at a desk, that generally means that you’re spending most of your day sitting in a chair. While that might seem great, especially if you have a rather comfortable chair, it’s not the best thing in the world for your body. That is why standing desks have started to become more and more popular in recent years.

UpWrite is a new adjustable-height desk that tries to be as versatile as you are. Whether you want to sit down, stand up, or even run on a treadmill while doing your work, this desk will accommodate you. The desk measures 60” x 30” and can reach a maximum height of 50.5 inches (if you choose to get the wheel kit, that will give you an extra 3 inches). Now if you’re worried about how difficult it might be to raise and lower the desk’s surface, you’ll be happy to know that there is a simple controller that you can use to set the height, and the desk will raise and lower itself.

This particular desk has one more trick up its sleeve. The top of the desk is actually one large whiteboard. Need to take a quick note, or draw something out as you’re thinking about it? No need to scramble around for some paper, just use a wet or dry erase marker and go to town on it. Unfortunately, the cost of this desk is going to turn heads for the wrong reasons. The $1,149 price tag isn’t terrible, when you consider that it automatically adjusts to the height you select. However, that does mean that the desk will cost more than the computer you’re using with it (for most people, at least).

Source: ChipChick

 
[ UpWrite desk adjusts to your height, and acts as a whiteboard copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

You’d think a carrier takeover funded by the proletariat would have to be hostile, right? Heck, no. Canadian Valya Michael loves Mobilicity, all the way from its headquarters down to its little cell towers, and he fears a serious loss of commercial competition if the embattled company should fail. So he’s started a $400,000,000 campaign (in the northern currency, that is) to buy it out, clear its debts and invest in better coverage and customer service. We have no idea what Indiegogo, Mobilicity or the telecoms regulator will do if the funding target is achieved, but they all have plenty of time to draft a response seeing as the current total stands at $213. Meanwhile, the fate of that other big Indiegogo project seems almost as uncertain.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Via: The Next Web, @WhatTheBit

Source: Indiegogo