It’s little over a week now before Apple almost certainly holds their next event for the release of the 5th generation iPad and the 2nd generation iPad mini, and today a set of images has appeared of both of these tablets’ shells, clear as day. These images give us the most high-definition look we’ve had […]
What’s faster: A bullet or the fungus Pilobolus? The folks over at Earth Unplugged are back to give us a rare look at one of the fastest things on the planet, which—surprising as it may seem—is none other than this poop-loving fungus.
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Don’t look now, but Pantech just managed to combine five hot smartphone trends in one device. Its new, 5.9-inch Vega Secret Note centers on a fingerprint reader that hides personal info. However, that’s just the start of a feature list that includes seemingly every major trick we’ve seen in the past …
When you think of Disney, most typically think of animated movies and theme parks, but Disney also has a research arm that looks into all sorts of future technology. Researchers at Disney have created an interesting and very cheap power generator that uses pieces of paper. This won’t create enough power to run your computer, but it does generate enough electricity to make LEDs glow, make sounds, or turn on an e-book display.
The generator uses sheets of conductive Teflon to create an electrical charge as users rub, touch or tap its surfaces together. Circuits are then able to take advantage of that electric charge and harness it to create power for small electronic devices.
The researchers say the generators are extremely cheap and convenient to produce. Such generators could to add interactivity to just about anything you can think of. Disney sees the potential for such generators to be used to power interactivity in books, papers, magazines, posters, and a number of other places.
Researcher Ivan Poupyrev said, “This simplicity leads to countless applications enabling interactivity everywhere and anytime. My overall goal is to make the whole world interactive, and creating ubiquitous power supplies is a key step in that direction.”
[via French Tribune]
Is it any surprise that the design offices of Mattel’s Hot Wheels division are stocked full of actual vehicle designers? After all, why spend a year of your life working on perfecting a sedan’s bumper when you can churn out countless hot rods, dragsters, and supercars? The folks at Cool Hunting got a sneak peek at what goes into designing Hot Wheels toys, and not surprisingly, it looks like a pretty wonderful gig.
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Android users, how would you like 30 live TV channels to be available on your phone or tablet at any given time or place? If that sounds like you, then happy Thursday.
Aereo, the company that streams live television and DVR service to iPhone, iPad and desktop users across the country, is today announcing that Android users will be able to join in on the fun starting on October 22.
Android users who are running Android 4.2 or higher on their phone, tablets, or “phablets” will soon be able to join the public beta, allowing them to surf between 30 channels and record the shows of their choosing from anywhere. And if that weren’t enough, Android users have the option to access Aereo through their Roku boxes to get a real life TV experience for a fraction of the cost of a cable bill.
See, Aereo works by streaming live OTA signals to your connected devices over the internet, using tiny antennas that function in the same manner as rabbit ears on a TV set. Since those signals are free (with a couple partnership exceptions), Aereo can charge a low rate of $8/month for 20 hours of DVR or $12/month for 60 hours of DVR storage to the end user.
Obviously, this displeases many broadcast networks, who are arguing that Aereo is illegally reproducing their content. However, Aereo argues that it’s using the same fundamental process of rabbit ears on a television, except users are individually renting them out from a remote location.
The legal battle has continued across the country, beginning in New York and most recently migrating to Utah. In each case, however, Aereo has been deemed legal and allowed to continue operating. So breathe easy, future Android Aereo users, your time will soon come.
Here’s what founder Chet Kanojia had to say in a prepared statement:
We know consumers have been waiting a long time for an Aereo Android app and today, we’re happy to announce its release later this month. At Aereo, we believe consumers should have more choice and control over how they watch television and a big part of that is expanding the universe of devices that they can use to access Aereo’s technology. This year, our focus has been on growing our footprint across the country. It’s been an exciting year for the Aereo team as we’ve expanded beyond the east coast and into the south and west. Our future is bright and we remain as committed and passionate as ever to creating innovative and simple to use technology for our consumers to access live TV online.
Aereo service is currently available in New York City, Boston, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Miami, Houston and Dallas, with expansion continuing on throughout the year.
Remember that supposedly affordable relative of LG’s Optimus G Pro that surfaced online at the beginning of the month? Well, it’s now official and as suspected, it’s called the G Pro Lite. It’s no flagship, with a 5.5-inch IPS display at 960 x 540 resolution, dual-core 1GHz Mediatek processor …
When most people think of Hammacher Schlemmer, they probably think of zany inventions like the golf cart hovercraft or the hot tub boat. But true loyalists to the 160-plus year-old mail order catalog company know that the real magic happens where you’d least expect it.
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Here’s how to cut down on the noise in your Twitter feed without unfollowing interesting people.
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LG has gone official with the new LG G Pro Lite smartphone. The smartphone features a 5.5-inch screenwith a resolution of 960 x 540, and it has some of the same hardware found in the LG Optimus G Pro. We reviewed the LG Optimus G Pro in May. One of the key features is the […]
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