Hasta La Gadget!

Anyone who has watched TV in Japan has seen Softbank’s TV commercial series – The Shirato Family – starring a white Japanese dog called “Otosan”. Otosan means “Dad” in Japanese and he is the gruff by loveable character who always seems to be confused and grumpy about what is going on around him.
Now, Otosan has his own DJ/rap smartphone app. Pick the character from the Shirato family, choose the words they should say, mix it and have fun. This app is …

Patents, we love ’em. When else do we get to peek directly into the idea-pantry of big companies like Sony. On the shelf today is this application for an “Input device, system and method,” which as mundane as that sounds, actually appears quite the contrary. The flat, tablet-like illustration is described as having six-axis motion sensors, joystick controls, and illuminated edges that “provide a similar functionality to that of the illuminated ball of the Playstation move.” So, this would work not only as a physical surface (it has touch sensors too), but also as a motion tracking device in conjunction with the EyeToy. That’s not all, though, as there are plenty of references to a pair of stereoscopic cameras “of a type typically found in mobile phones and other compact devices” at each end of the touch surface — allowing it to create depth maps. The result described in the application is an area above the “EyePad” where objects can be recognized, and perhaps incorporated into a game. We’re not making that leap, either, as it’s Sony itself which refers to existing controllers of “systems or entertainment devices such as the PlayStation 3.” Of course it would be a leap to connect it to, say, a forthcoming announcement. While this all sounds really exciting, we can’t help feeling like we’ve heard that product name somewhere before..?

Filed under: Gaming, Sony

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Via: SlashGear

Source: EPO

Pulse has clearly been working hard at polishing off those iOS and Android applications, but it doesn’t look as if the reading service is slowing down its maintenance efforts anytime soon. Via blog post, Pulse announced today that it’s now letting users browse through their favorite social feeds within the app, with account support added for Tumblr, Flickr, YouTube, Instagram and, of course, Facebook — much like Flipboard’s been doing for a while now. To go along with that, though, the application’s photo and video viewers have both been on the receiving end of a minor makeover, which should make for a much better canvas when looking at those pics or vids posted on some of the aforementioned social networks. Never a bad time to be more social, right?

Filed under: Internet

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Pulse

This past November, Google announced an update to its YouTube Android app that would allow users to stream videos from their mobile device to their Google TV device, adding a new layer of connectivity between your smartphone and TV. Not only that, but it also made it possible for multiple users to add videos to a queue which allows for everyone to get a chance to show off their favorite videos to one another. This feature will soon be rolled out to non-Google TV devices with CES attendees getting a glimpse next week.

At CES next week, Google will be bringing that feature to Smart TV devices manufactured by LG, Panasonic and Sony. Later this year, Google will be extending its the feature to other Smart TVs manufactured by Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Toshiba, Vizio and streaming media-boxes by Western Digital and more.

As of now, no official release date for the initial roll out for the Smart TVs made by LG, Panasonic and Sony, but seeing as they’ll be available to check out at next week’s CES, we’re sure an official release it just weeks away. Otherwise, if you have a video game console or Google TV device, then you already have this feature and are probably enjoying it right this minute.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Toshiba Develops Lytro-Like Smartphone Camera Sensor, Snappgrip for iPhone adds a camera grip to your smartphone,

Dijit NextGuide, the “hyper-personalized” TV guide for the iPad , was launched a couple of months ago and today the company rolled out a few new features to improve the user experience.

According to the compnay, The guide works with traditional digital TV providers like Direct TV (including DVR interaction), but also with online video services like Netflix, and most recently with Amazon Instant Video and Prime Instant video. It basically unifies the web and TV content in one nicely designed iPad app, and adds a social layer to the traditional guide. It can track what your friends like and propose entertainment accordingly.

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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Dijit arriving on the iPad, 3M to introduce Augmented Reality Post-It app,