Hasta La Gadget!

For those of you hoping that Viliv’s aesthetic excellence will somehow make magic out of the 4.8-inch flip MID form factor, you might want to look away right about now. We too were hoping that Viliv could somehow sprinkle fairy dust on the errors of something like the UMID mBook BZ, but sadly the N5 is no such MID. It’s good looking, to be sure, and might even be better constructed than UMID’s entry, but it has the same squint-inducing 1024 x 600 display and aggravating optical mouse pad holding it back. In reality, both of these little computers are more akin to “observing” what it’s like to have a full computer running on an impossible form factor, instead of anything appropriate for actually using that computer.

Perhaps the CE-based Viliv HD5 PMP will find a truer calling. We saw the slate unit pumping out some HD video at a steady clip, and its hardware is certainly refined — if only just a little chubby. Unfortunately, none of the buttons were working, so we couldn’t hop out of the video and see what the rest of the player has to offer. At least it’s not Windows XP under there, daring us to use it. Videos of both devices are after the break.

Continue reading Viliv N5 MID hands-on, HD5 PMP makes a cameo

Viliv N5 MID hands-on, HD5 PMP makes a cameo originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s our third year visiting with Fulton Innovation and the eCoupled wireless power booth at CES, and once again there’s significant progress to be seen — this time in the form of actual shipping products like the Case-mate Hug and the Dell Latitude Z. Fulton’s really pushing the industry standard angle with eCoupled — it’s a founding member of the Wireless Power Consortium, which is just a few months away from finalizing a standard based on eCoupled called Qi. Qi’s going to be backed by some pretty big names: Motorola, Nokia, RIM, Energizer, Duracell, Samsung, and Philips are all members of the WPC, along with several others, and the goal is for all this stuff to seamlessly play together. Fulton had some pretty hot demos to show off of the standard in action, including a Toyota Avalon interior with functional spots for two phones, a GPS, a Bluetooth headset, and a netbook, a slick first-class airline seat with a charging table, and a hotel room with several power points — including a slick motorized dock built into the desk for the Dell. Our favorite demo, however, was a wall sconce: an eCoupled point in the wall was used to power a light fixture, which was then swapped for a digital photo frame. Nifty stuff, indeed.

Still, the big challenge for Fulton and the WPC is going to be actually shipping a bunch of these products this year — standards are nice, but without gear in hand they’re meaningless, and the rival PowerMat crew has been making a pretty big push of its own. We’ll see what happens in the next few months — and how much has changed at CES 2011. Check a couple videos after the break!

Continue reading Wireless power takes another baby step at CES 2010 with Qi standard

Wireless power takes another baby step at CES 2010 with Qi standard originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Every January, the consumer electronics industry (and those of us who write about it for a living) descend on Las Vegas for the undisputed Champion of American trade shows. CES has come to mean many things to many people, and let’s be honest here — most of us are a little conflicted. After all, this event is our raison d’etre, and while there is plenty of geeky fun to be had, Las Vegas and the milieu of consumer electronics in general can be creepy and unsettling — at least as creepy and unsettling as a city that feels the need to simulate the New York City skyline within spitting distance of the Sphinx.

What’s this have to do with gadgets and gadgetry, you ask? Well, you may think you know all there is to know about CES — you’ve pored over the keynotes and the hands-ons, and you’ve guffawed at the KIRFs and Crapgadgets. But there is more to this tale, dear readers. So sit back, relax, and click past the break for our thoughts and impressions on the other side of CES.

Continue reading Parts of Darkness: The other side of CES

Parts of Darkness: The other side of CES originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CES is Engadget’s biggest event of the year, but for the most part we don’t have any requirements on what editors should bring other than “a laptop” and “a camera.” That means there’s usually quite an array of devices and tools on hand — and every year we try some new things that make an immediate impression. We threw out some basic gear statistics in our annual CES wrap-up post, but we also wanted to highlight some super-useful new tools we brought to Vegas with us this year. Some of it is state-of-the-art expensive, some of it is brain-dead simple, but all of it helped us rock out our biggest CES ever. Read on!

Continue reading Engadget’s gear of CES 2010

Engadget’s gear of CES 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Philips’ 2006 spin-off Liquavista hasn’t exactly had a lot to show for itself since it earned its independence, but things seem to finally be coming together for the company, which had a suite of e-paper displays to demonstrate at CES last week, a show that was absolutely chock-full of e-readers. Our very own spin-off, Engadget Spanish, got a chance to peruse the company’s suite of offerings, including a prototype device called Pebble. It’s a lovely, thin reader that’s unfortunately not intended for production — at least not yet. The video after the break shows displays that not only redraw far more quickly than existing production screens, but also mix in RGP effects and even multi-color backlighting. It’s good stuff; you’ll want to check it out.

Continue reading Liquavista’s monochrome and color e-paper displays get demonstrated (video)

Liquavista’s monochrome and color e-paper displays get demonstrated (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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