Hasta La Gadget!

Until now, one field has been safe from robotic interference: collecting money on the street. Not for long. A space already overcrowded with guitar playing hippies, dogs in bandanas, and children carrying bright orange UNICEF boxes has a new force to reckon with. It’s Don-8r (pronounced “donator,” for those who don’t speak robot), programmed expressly to collect change and be adorable. University of Dundee student Tim Pryde created the coin-fueled robot to help raise money for charity. It’s taken a few spins around the school’s campus and has already mastered the three Ps of money collection: politeness, persistence, and performance — the latter accomplished via color changing lights in its orb-like head. Video of Don-8r doing its thing after the break.

Continue reading Don-8r the panhandling robot set to make the homeless obsolete (video)

Don-8r the panhandling robot set to make the homeless obsolete (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 07:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In 2008, designer Thomas Thwaites decided to build a toaster from scratch-and not the “from scratch” that would land him in Home Depot for a couple of hours. He was interested in the seemingly magical process that turns what we pull out of the earth into the stuff that litters our houses. So Thwaites decided to take on the toaster, and what followed was an adventure that illuminated just how far removed our everyday items are from the raw materials that go into them. More »

So we all know that Apple’s suing Samsung alleging myriad IP infringements, but you may not know what all the fuss is about. On one hand, the lawsuit is surprising because Apple gets much of the goodies it needs to build its iconic iPhones, iPads, and Macs from Sammy, and common sense dictates that you don’t bite the hand that feeds you. On the other hand, however, folks in Cupertino don’t take too kindly to copycats, and while it’s hard to put a dollar value on the brand equity Apple currently enjoys, this lawsuit shows it’s valuable enough for Apple to risk upsetting its relationship with Samsung and jeopardizing its supply chain. Having given the court docs a good read, here’s our rundown of what’s going on.

According to Apple’s complaint, phones from Samsung (particularly the Galaxy S variety) and its Galaxy Tab are eroding the efficacy of Apple’s carefully crafted brand. That brand is built, in no small part, upon the trade dress (aka the appearance and packaging) of its iDevices and its trademarked iOS icons, and Apple has spent over two billion dollars on advertising from 2007-2010 to stake out a little space in everyone’s brain that associates the iPhone’s looks and its progeny’s derivative forms with Apple. It’s worked quite well too, as Apple revealed (for the first time) in its complaint that it has sold over 60 million iPod touches, 108 million iPhones, and 19 million iPads total. Problem is, Apple views the Galaxy devices, their TouchWiz UI, and packaging — with their Apple-esque appearance — as illegal infringers on its hard-earned mental real estate, and it’s suing Sammy to stop the squatting and pay for its IP trespassing ways.

Of course, Apple isn’t just dragging Samsung to court for cashing in on the iPhone image in our hearts and minds — Jobs and company have accused Sammy of infringing several of their patents, too. Apple asserts that TouchWiz and the Galaxy S infringe upon its iOS home screen and iPhone 3G design patents. Additionally, the complaint says Samsung has run afoul of several Apple utility patents for: the iOS instant messaging interface, the “bounce back” effect you get upon scrolling too far in a list or window, control and status widgets, UI status windows that disappear a set time after being opened, and scrolling and ellipse multi-touch gesture recognition. In light of these alleged mass IP infringements, Apple’s asking the court for preliminary and permanent injunctions to take Samsung’s Galaxy devices off the market, in addition to the usual request for punitives, triple damages and lost profits. We’ve already heard that Samsung will “respond strongly” to Apple’s show of legal force, but time will tell if Sammy’s strong response comes in, or out of court. Those looking for a full breakdown of Apple’s legal claims can hit the more coverage link below.

Apple sues Samsung: here’s the deal originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It looks like that funky Acer netbook with the dented lid that we spied at MWC wasn’t a one-off. The company just released the Aspire One 722, an 11-inch mini with the same aesthetic (and a likely successor to the 721). Like the D257 we saw in Barcelona, its lid is made of molded plastic, sculpted to resemble a series of ripples. Spec-wise, it has the same innards as the more staid-looking Aspire One 522, pairing AMD’s netbook-class 1GHz C-50 Ontario processor with Radeon HD 6250 graphics. But the 722 improves on the 10-inch 522 with higher 1366 x 768 resolution, two speakers instead of one, and rated battery life of up to seven hours — a boost over the 522’s six-hour max. No word yet on pricing or availability, but for now you can content yourself with some official press shots.

Acer releases Aspire One 722 netbook, tries to make molded plastic happen originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At CScout Japan we try hard to uncover some of Tokyo’s best kept secrets, hidden amongst the winding, narrow unnamed streets that sprawl all over the city. Omotesando Koffee, in a quiet and unassuming backstreet of the upscale fashion district of Omotesando, is one of these hidden gems. Located down a nondescript side road it took us a while to find the old Japanese house which houses the coffee shop, but it turned out the search was more than worth it.

Stepping into the small courtyard of the old, creaky wooden house sets the tranquil tone for the whole design concept of the recently opened coffee space. Strikingly minimalist, a square steel frame sits inside what was previously a traditional style Japanese room. Hanging from the box structure that makes the counter, a stylishly designed solo logo hangs, and is the exact opposite of the modern day ultra branded, chain coffee shops that line our high streets. In fact it is precisely the minimalist design of both the shop space and the products that inversely make more of an impact on the customer and leaves you with a lasting impression of the shop.

We managed to have a chat over our particularly well brewed coffee with Eichii Kunitomo, who with 10 years of barista experience is the man behind Omotesando Koffee. Eichi told us that the square design was based on a kiosk box store idea and the concept is similar to a temporary pop-up-shop. The steel frame currently occupying the room will move to another location after a year in the old house which, sadly, is due to be torn down next year. The square, box like structure is able to be taken out as a whole and redesigned depending on their next location, customizing it too fit whatever space they move to next. By adding on items such as fabric, a backdrop or even a roof onto the kiosk box, he plans on moving from space to space each time maintaining the kiosk box shape but opening up with fresh new designs that reflect the spaces they occupy.

It is clear that Eichi has a distinct passion for coffee and how it should be enjoyed. To go with the meticulously brewed coffee customers can also enjoy original sweets made on site and designed to compliment different beverages. The logo and sweet’s packaging are designed by the talented folks at Eding:Post who aso had a hand in the art direction of the interior, meaning the whole concept carries through beautifully from shop to product. Once again impacting more visually than the bold and logo emblazoned fast food coffee shop chains.

The shop also features some great innovative but simple ideas, such as the coffee filters printed with the shop information on and the small square dish made out of the waste coffee beans.

The design and concept is a good example of the great new work coming out of Tokyo at the moment. Blending new concepts with clear, and clean designs which also build on traditional themes and influences. We will definitely be back to sip another cup of perfectly brewed coffee in one of the nicest spaces we have been in for a while.

Omotesando Koffee is open 10am-7pm, check their site for a map on how to find them and give yourself plenty of time!

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