Hasta La Gadget!

We spend hundreds of hours on board a variety of airplanes each year, most often en-route to a trade show or product launch event, but occasionally we have a rare opportunity to hop on board military aircraft, to test out unrelated products, or, even more unusually, to take a seat behind the yoke. Sadly that’s not what we’re doing today — well, not exactly. We are taking a closer look at the F-35 fighter jet at Lockheed Martin’s Fighter Demonstration Center just outside our nation’s capital, but, being in the middle of a corporate complex, there’s no actual Lightning II on hand. We were able to take a simulated ride, however — this isn’t your ordinary 4D sickness-inducing amusement park thrill. The F-35 is by far the most advanced Lockheed jet to date, with updated radar, all-internal weapons, improved tracking systems, 360-degree infrared coverage with a visor readout, and a full-stealth design, not to mention the incredibly capable glass cockpit powered by more than 9.3 million lines of software code, and an overall smoother experience for pilots that could end up spending shifts of 12 hours or longer in flight.

The F-35 has already seen plenty of field time in the US, with more than 500 flights already in 2012, and it’s set to make its way to the UK armed forces next week and the Netherlands later this year, but while the aircraft is quite familiar to the pilots tasked with flying it, the public hasn’t had an opportunity to experience Lockheed’s latest airborne warrior. We flew a simulated mission within a grounded duplicate of the flyable F-35 cockpit, and the capabilities and improvements are quite clear — you definitely don’t want to encounter an F-35 from a previous-generation aircraft. The dual 8 x 10-inch touch-enabled displays combine to give you 8 x 20 inches of real estate, with dedicated modules for the weapons systems, targeting, and navigation easily accessible — you can also move them to different panels depending on your current objective. A pair of joysticks at the left and right side provide direct access, letting you move a cursor to track enemy crafts or ground-based targets as well, and a very slick heads-up-display mounted in the helmet provides infrared mapping and instrument readouts. Overall, it seems to be an incredibly powerful system. Unfortunately, the mock-up on display here isn’t accessible to the public, but you can join us for a behind-the-scenes look just after the break.

Continue reading Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter cockpit demonstrator hands-on (video)

Filed under: Displays, Misc. Gadgets, Transportation

Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter cockpit demonstrator hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 15:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Having already unveiled an entire set of HD, LCD televisions back at last year’s CES, the next obvious step for Philips would be to work its way up the entertainment ladder and take the wraps off of its flagship Series 9. Fortunately for us (and you), though, a recently leaked document’s giving us an early peek of what we can expect from the manufacturer as it tries to re-invade living rooms all over the globe. According to the revealing docs, Philips will be adding the 9707 and 9607 Smart TVs to its Series 9 repertoire, offering viewers a choice between a relatively large 46-inch or a more colossal 60-incher — both reportedly “very thin.” Additionally, the intelligent couple’s said to be loaded with 3D Max features, a 1200Hz Perfect Motion Rate system, and both are expected to be powered by the outfit’s Perfect Pixel HD processing technology. Needless to say, given its Smart TV status, it’s safe to say it’ll come with the usual WiFi capabilities as well as a number of apps to pick from. If curiosity is taking over you, such exposing documents can be found at the source below in PDF form.

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment

Philips’ unannounced Series 9 flagship TVs get exposed by leaked document originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Less than a year after it was originally unveiled, Wacom has announced an updated version of its largest interactive pen display, the Cintiq 24HD Touch that, as the name implies, expands its touch functionality beyond just single finger taps. Like your smartphone, you can now perform multi-finger gestures for panning, zooming, and rotating your artistic creations. More »

Oh, to sit in a darkened room all day and get paid to do art. No phone calls, no stress, and no technology except for a PC and a brand new $1,999 Wacom Cintiq 22HD tablet display (and maybe also a pair of equally well-engineered Beyerdynamics). Alas, only our Distro magazine crew get to live like that — the rest of the Engadget team must make do with spec sheets and quick hands-on impressions, which are precisely what you’ll find after the break.

Continue reading Wacom announces Cintiq 22HD pen display, we go hands-on (video)

Filed under: Displays, Peripherals

Wacom announces Cintiq 22HD pen display, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft has already expressed its fondness for Perceptive Pixel’s gigantic capacitive touchscreens, which became apparent during a live demo at the company’s Windows 8 presentation at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, but now that friendship has become a bit more official. During Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference keynote in Toronto this morning, Steve Ballmer announced that Perceptive Pixel would be coming in-house, with Microsoft acquiring the display maker. The move seems to be in line with the company’s recent shift to hardware manufacturing, beginning with last month’s Surface introduction and its reinforced commitment to the recently renamed PixelSense smart table solution — MS has just seized an opportunity to get a bit more hands-on. Full (limited) details are in the press release after the break.

Continue reading Microsoft to acquire Perceptive Pixel, pair up with 82-inch touchscreen manufacturer

Microsoft to acquire Perceptive Pixel, pair up with 82-inch touchscreen manufacturer originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jul 2012 10:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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