Until now, ASUS hasn’t had much competition in dockable Android tablets. Sure, we’ve seen the odd model from Lenovo and other companies, but for the most part, “Transformer” has become one of those words like “Kleenex” — you know, the kind that refers just as much to a category as a specific brand. Nonetheless, HP is throwing its hat in the ring. The SlateBook x2, only the company’s second Android tablet, is a 10-inch slate that competes on price as much as performance. For $480, the keyboard dock comes included, and the tablet itself boasts some top-notch specs, including a 1,920 x 1,080 screen and a Tegra 4 processor. And, of course, in addition to being a keyboard, that dock has a built-in battery of its own, promising to extend the total runtime to up to 12.5 hours. So is it good enough that you’ll remember not to call it a Transformer?%Gallery-slideshow88713%
Before coming on board at Apple, Sir Jonathan Ive was designing and pitching toilets as part of consultancy outfit Tangerine.
It appears the man, who has since designed the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad (to name a few) sees an opportunity to put a dent in the drinking cup industry as well.
In an interview alongside fellow Apple Senior Vice President Craig Federighi (who leads Apple’s software teams) with USA Today, Ive noted that he’d “like to design cups” if he were not designing gadgets for Apple.
The casual remark came at the end of a rare interview with the two execs, who also spoke with Bloomberg and are pushing the benefits of the internal collaboration within Apple since its top-level reorganization last October.
At the Tokyo Game Show today, Shuhei Yoshida announced that Sony will soon launch a library of PlayStation 3 titles via its Gaikai cloud-gaming service. Yoshida also confirmed that the games will be available to play on the PS4 — as previously rumored — as well as on the PS Vita and Vita TV. Given that the PlayStation 4 won’t natively support PS3 titles when it launches stateside later this year, the cloud-based options should come as a huge relief to those looking to pick up the company’s latest console and, you know, have something compelling to play. Look for this service to hit the US in 2014 — no word yet on when it will launch in Europe.
The Internet of Things — like true mobile wallets or Internet-connected coffee makers — is on the horizon. It awaits us, a world where all of our devices are connected and communicate with each other in some sort of futuristic circle of life.
But as with any major shift in technology, we’re certainly not there yet. For those of us who are growing impatient, might I introduce you to the Gecko, a new Indiegogo project that’s meant to “make your smartphone smarter.”
The idea here is that the accelerometer-equipped Gecko connects to your smartphone via low energy Bluetooth to help you monitor the various things in your life, as well as bring gesture controls and triggers to your smartphone.
With Gecko, the connectedness isn’t built into the devices themselves but can rather be applied to objects in the home through these accelerometer- and Bluetooth-based tags.
The device itself is packed with a TI CC2541 SoC, removable coin cell battery with a year’s worth of juice (depending on usage), as well as a buzzer and LED light for alerts.
So, to start, you can use a hand-held Gecko to control the music on your phone, or to trigger the camera to snap a picture or shoot a video. With the accompanying Gecko app, you can even trigger multiple photos taken at set intervals. The Gecko comes with four available gestures, including turning it to the left and right and shaking it once or twice.
Meanwhile, the Gecko can also be used as a tracking or monitoring device. Tag your front door to get alerts when it’s opened or closed. Tag a pillbox to get a reminder when you or a loved one hasn’t taken their medication at the scheduled time that day. Tag your pet to get an alert when it leaves a 100-foot radius. Hell, tag your kid to make sure they don’t wander off, either.
You can even find your phone if it’s paired with a Gecko, as long as you haven’t lost the Gecko. (But in that case, you should really work on being more organized.)
The project just recently went up on Indiegogo and has about 40 days to reach its $50,000 funding goal. That’s plenty of time for this well-designed, clever little venture, and a hat-tip from the Woz doesn’t hurt either.
Steps are taken every day bringing us closer to the Internet of Things. We’ve seen this with Samsung’s TecTiles and NFC-friendly tags that trigger reactions in your phone, but even more so with devices like the Nest learning thermostat and the Lockitron smart lock.
With the end of summer and the start of the school year also comes Oscar season! And this fall offers up plenty of heavy hitting films by, for, and about women – a welcome change from summer’s testosterone-fueled superhero bonanza.
This autumn look for films from a relative plethora of female directors including Kimberly Peirce, Lynn Shelton, Nicole Holofcener, and Diablo Cody. Also among the goodies is the promise of a sweeping lesbian love story for all time with the Oct. 25, release of Blue is the Warmest Color.
Here are our picks for fall movies to watch out for. If you want us we’ll be at the center of the theater on the aisle (easy access to the restroom) with our big bag of popcorn.
MUMBAI, India — Police in India’s financial center of Mumbai have filed charges against four men and a juvenile in the gang rape of a photojournalist that fueled further debate about women’s safety after a fatal assault in New Delhi sparked mass protests.
The 600-page charge sheet filed in a magistrate’s court lists details of the attack last month in Mumbai, citing 86 witnesses and DNA evidence, the Press Trust of India reported Thursday. It said a separate charge sheet was filed with a juvenile court against the minor boy.
Take a look around you—because you will never forget where you were the day you heard about the Champagne Massacre of ’13. Yesterday, Wednesday September 18 at around 2:30 pm, a truck filled to the brim with bubbly fell over, split open, and got I-395 in Connecticut absolutely wasted.
Nineteen young men died playing football in 1905. Another 137 were seriously injured. Football has always been a violent sport, but calls to make the game less brutal were widely mocked at the turn of the 20th century. Satirical magazines of the time warned that the football players of the future would become effeminate dudes, bowing to each other on the field. The new rules would include, "No pinching, no slapping, and hug easy…" Sound familiar?
WASHINGTON — In one moment, with one statement, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) managed Wednesday to accomplish what House GOP leaders, Republican senators and the Wall Street Journal editorial page had failed to do for months: Persuade rank-and-file House Republicans that shutting down the government in an attempt to defund Obamacare was simply impossible.
On Wednesday, after House leaders said they’d go forward with the defund strategy Cruz had been pitching with ads on Fox News, his response boiled down to ‘Thanks, you’re on your own.’
“Harry Reid will no doubt try to strip the defund language from the continuing resolution, and right now he likely has the votes to do so,” Cruz said in a statement. “At that point, House Republicans must stand firm, hold their ground, and continue to listen to the American people.”
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