Hasta La Gadget!

While many of us already have tablets like the iPad, the futuristic vision of people walking around with digital notebooks taking notes with a stylus never really came to be. With Sony’s upcoming E-Ink tablet, this could finally be a reality.

Currently being shown in prototype form, the new tablet features a large 13.3″ (A4 Size) drawing surface, and is ridiculously thin. In fact, it’s just 6.8mm thick (almost 30% thinner than a current-gen iPad). The tablet features a 1600×1200 resolution screen, using E-Ink’s new Mobius screen technology. This new tech sandwiches the electrostatic film between plastic layers instead of glass, which cuts down on thickness and weight, and makes the display material flexible. In addition, Sony says the plastic screen will be more durable than glass versions – though I have to wonder how long well it will hold up to stylus pressure over time.

Photo: DigInfo

The display is designed for taking notes, data entry, and creative tasks. While the black and white display isn’t as responsive as LCD screens, it’s definitely faster than other electrostatic screens, with exceptional battery life. In fact, Sony says the tablet can go up to three weeks without a recharge. Another benefit of course is the ease of reading the screen in daylight and workplace lighting.

Sony plans on releasing a commercial version of the tablet at some point later this year.

[via DigInfo & New Launches]

One of the things you may not expect to see at CES is wristwatches. Despite that fact, it’s not uncommon for companies to show up with geeky timepieces claiming to be the “world’s first” or “world’s most” this or that. This year a company called Central Standard Timing has unveiled what it claims to be the world’s thinnest watch called the CST-01 (The CST stands for “Central Standard Timing“.)

The CST-01 watch is only 0.80mm thick. That means it’s thinner than a credit card. It uses E Ink electronic paper display to help achieve this feat. The patent-pending design is assembled by laminating the flexible watch components into a 0.5mm deep pocket etched into a single piece of flexible stainless steel. That flexible piece of stainless steel holds the display and acts as the watch bracelet.

Power for the watch comes from an embedded Thinergy Micro-Energy Cell that promises to charge the watch in just 10 minutes using an external dock. Thanks to the energy efficiency of the E Ink display, that charge is enough to power the watch for an entire month. One other unique feature is that you actually set the time on the base station, which cuts down on the need for buttons or a touchscreen on the watch itself.

The makers of the CST-01 are currently raising funds for production on Kickstarter, and you can pre-order one before February 22 for $129(USD). The watch is expected to ship in Q2 of 2013.

Hiding in the back of the SIGGRAPH Emerging Technologies demo area — exactly where such a project might belong — is a dark wood chair that looks anything but innocent. Created by a team at the University of Electro-Communications in Toyko, Chilly Chair, as it’s called, may be a reference to the chilling feeling the device is tasked with invoking. After signing a liability waiver, attendees are welcomed to pop a squat before resting their arms atop a cool, flat metal platform hidden beneath a curved sheath that looks like something you may expect to see in Dr. Frankenstein’s lab, not a crowded corridor of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Once powered up, the ominous-looking contraption serves to “enrich” the experience as you consume different forms of media, be it watching a movie or listening to some tunes. It works by using a power source to pump 10 kV of juice to an electrode, which then polarizes a dielectric plate, causing it to attract your body hair.

After signing our life away with the requisite waiver, we sat down and strapped in for the ride. Despite several minutes of build-up, the entire experience concluded in what seemed like only a few seconds. A projection screen in front of the chair lit up to present a warning just as we felt the hairs jet directly towards the sheath above. By the time we rose, there was no visual evidence of the previous state, though we have no doubt that the Chilly Chair succeeded in raising hair (note: the experience didn’t come close to justifying the exaggerated reaction you may have noticed above). It’s difficult to see how this could be implemented in future home theater setups, especially considering all the extra hardware currently required, but it could potentially add another layer of immersion to those novelty 4D attractions we can’t seem to avoid during visits to the amusement park. You can witness our Chilly Chair experience in the hands-on video after the break.

Continue reading Chilly Chair uses static electricity to raise your arm hair, force an ’emotional reaction’ (hands-on video)

Filed under: Household, Science

Chilly Chair uses static electricity to raise your arm hair, force an ’emotional reaction’ (hands-on video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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