Fujitsu dual-touchscreen concept phone hands-on

Back at Mobile World Congress in February, the mobile UI gurus at TAT showed off their interpretation of a dual-screen phone interface using TI’s powerhouse OMAP4 testbed. Seemed a little pie-in-the-sky at the time, but frankly, the concept device being shown off by Fujtisu at CEATEC this week — created with TAT’s involvement, it turns out — seems virtually ready for production. Or the hardware did, anyway; the software was spartan by comparison, obviously designed to call out a few key use cases where having two giant, glorious 960 x 480 displays right next to each other might come in handy. We were shown browser and email list scrolling across both displays — boring, if not obvious — but what really piqued our interest was a cool photo sharing feature whereby you fling photos you want to share from a gallery on the bottom display to a list of contacts on the top one — very TAT, if we do say so ourselves. Both displays can be rotated between portrait and landscape, creating either a nicely-sized clamshell or a gigantic flip, not an uncommon shape among Japanese phones. Indeed, given the form factor, the entirely-Japanese interface, and Fujitsu’s history, we’re sure this was designed entirely with the Japanese domestic market in mind — and we wouldn’t be at all surprised to see it show up in a retail capacity there within a year or so. Follow the break for video.

Continue reading Fujitsu dual-touchscreen concept phone hands-on

Fujitsu dual-touchscreen concept phone hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 00:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skype lands Cisco’s Tony Bates as new CEO

It may sound fairly bland on paper, but the potential implications here are notable. Tony Bates, who was seen as a major player within Cisco reporting directly to CEO John Chambers, has just left to take over the CEO role at Skype. Cisco’s own blog affirmed that Bates was leaving “to pursue another opportunity,” and The New York Times has it that Joshua Silverman is stepping aside to make room for Mr. Bates. He’ll arrive just in time to make a serious push for an IPO, grab more profit from its blossoming user base (which largely doesn’t pay anything to make Skype-to-Skype calls) and possibly “make a deeper push into carrier and enterprise markets,” as GigaOM puts it. Frankly, we’d be interested in seeing if any leftover synergies (yeah, we said it) could lead to a Skype-enabled Flip Video camcorder. Bates would obviously have great contacts with Cisco in order to make it happen, and honestly, it’d be a win-win for both parties. Crazier things have happened, right?

Continue reading Skype lands Cisco’s Tony Bates as new CEO

Skype lands Cisco’s Tony Bates as new CEO originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 15:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GE goes rugged with Flip-esque DV1 HD camcorder

It’s tough for yet another Flip-like camcorder to stand out these days, but GE might just stand a better chance than most with its new DV1 model, which adds a waterproof, shockproof enclosure to the familiar form factor. It also doesn’t look to cut too many corners when it comes to specs, with it boasting full 1080p recording and 5-megapixel stills, a SD card slot for storage, HDMI out, a 2.5-inch display and, of course, an integrated USB connector. No indication of a price just yet, but you’ll apparently be able to pick this one up next month in your choice of gray, orange or green.

GE goes rugged with Flip-esque DV1 HD camcorder originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 02:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlackBerry 9670 series clamshell earns FCC love

At first, we thought we were looking at the back of yet another standard design Bold or Curve — but check out that nice, fat hinge up top. Indeed, we have every reason to believe we’re looking at the long-rumored BlackBerry 9670 clamshell here, and the test reports confirm the presence of 802.11b / g / n and dual-band CDMA in this particular version — in other words, it’ll almost certainly be coming to either Sprint or Verizon. Given what we’ve seen of this little monster so far, we’re going to need to reserve judgment until we play with one; RIM’s BlackBerry Developer Conference is next week, and we wouldn’t be shocked if it showed up there. Here’s hoping!

BlackBerry 9670 series clamshell earns FCC love originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 14:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scosche freedomMIC for Flip Video cameras is the wireless microphone add-on for Real Americans

Freedom. Justice. Microphones. We’re pretty sure you can find all of those in the constitution, or inside the pure essence of eagle tears, or in Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” played backwards. Scosche understands, and that’s why they’re unveiling the freedomMIC add-on for Flip Video cameras. It’s one of those new FlipPort-compatible accessories that we’re sure we’ll be seeing plenty of now that Cisco’s new wave of cameras are out for public consumption. The mic itself offers a pretty neat solution to the perennial problem of sucky Flip audio: you plug the receiver base into the bottom of the Flip and hand the wireless lapel mic to your subject. Conveniently, you can start and stop recording with the microphone itself, and a 4 hour rechargeable battery should get you through the most trying of interviews or impassioned YouTube monologues. The mic will be out in “late December” for $100.

Scosche freedomMIC for Flip Video cameras is the wireless microphone add-on for Real Americans originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Joby’s Gorillapod Video breaks cover at Photokina, complete with swivel arm

Joby has pretty much set the standard for portable, flexible, curious looking tripods, and while it has evolved over the years to include support for bulky DSLRs, it hasn’t really made the same strides to cover the burgeoning pocket camcorder realm. Until today. Here in Köln, the outfit used Photokina as a launching pad for their newest portable tripod, the Gorillapod Video. For all intents and purposes, this is a classic Gorillapod with an omni-directional positioning video head, an extension arm for pans and tilts and magnetic feet for connecting it to your nearby barn. There’s a small button on the head that allows the swivel arm to collapse for even easier travel, and during our moments with it here on the show floor, we were duly impressed with how it held the pocket camcorder strapped on top of it. It’s available to order right now for $29.95, with shipments expected within the next fortnight. You know the drill — gallery’s below if you’re craving more.

Continue reading Joby’s Gorillapod Video breaks cover at Photokina, complete with swivel arm

Joby’s Gorillapod Video breaks cover at Photokina, complete with swivel arm originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 07:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blue Microphones Intros Flip Camera Mic

bluemikeyflip.jpg

Hot on the heels of a new Flip Camcorder from Cisco/Pure Digital, Blue Microphones–a company probably best known in many circles for its low-cost podcasting mics–has introduced a new accessory specifically for the device that has become synonymous with the pocket camcorder space.

The Mikey for Flip plugs directly into the bottom FlipPort-enabled Flip cams. The device features two condenser capsules, which provide “professional-quality stereo recording,” according to Blue. The mic has two volume settings (Loud and Automatic), an input for additional mics, and a slot for a tripod.

The mic uses one AAA battery, rather than drawing power directly from the Flip itself. The Mikey will run $69, and Blue will give press a sneak peak at this year’s CES.

The thing looks like it’s about a third the size of the Flip cam itself, so, even with Blue’s claims that the device is lightweight (the battery will certainly add some, but not a lot of weight to the setup), it will ultimately detract from the portability of the Flip–which has always been one of the device’s biggest selling points.

That said, sound quality has long been a concern with the camcorder. If your video requires more than the base sound quality, the Mikey will likely prove a good option.

Flip updates UltraHD and MinoHD, rolls out new Designed for Flip accessories

With pocket HD camcorders multiplying by the dozens (most with 1080p functionality), we were starting to think Flip, er Cisco had fallen asleep at the wheel (or the Slide!), but the category pioneer has finally gone and updated its core Flip MinoHD and UltraHD lines with some much-needed features. Starting on the lower end, the 4GB Flip UltraHD is now just $149 –it’ll capture one hour of 720p video at 30fps. That’s a great price, but it’s certainly the least interesting of the bunch — the more notable additions are baked into the $199.99 8GB UltraHD, which is 20 percent slimmer with a new rubber casing and finally (finally!) gained image stabilization. Flip’s still not playing the raw specs game, though — the 8GB Ultra shoots 720p/60 video, which Cisco says maximizes video quality while keeping file sizes easier to share. Sure — we don’t think a 1080p/30 mode would have overly complicated things, but Flip’s all about one-button simplicity, after all.

The 8GB Ultra also sports a new FlipPort expansion port, which is the centerpiece of the “Designed for Flip” accessory program. All kinds of things can plug into the FlipPort; highlights of the launch lineup include a Scoshe wireless microphone, an iGo pico projector, and a SeaGate portable hard drive / storage extender. Cisco tells us the FlipPort will hit the other Flip models over time, and that it’s expecting tons of Designed for Flip accessories — beyond those for the new FlipPort, there will be a Bower magnetic wide angle lens and loads of new cases. It’s an interesting sort of complexity to offer on a camera otherwise almost aggressive in its simplicity.

The MinoHD line also nabs the new image stabilizer and 720p/60 video mode — the new silver 4GB MinoHD will retail for $179.99, while the matte black 8GB MinoHD will run $229.99. All the new models can be ordered on Flip’s website today, and if personalization if your thing, each can be customized with different designs or an uploaded picture of your own. We can’t say there’s a lack of new stuff, and while we’re still a bit confused by the absence of 1080p recording and a still shot mode, there’s something to be said for the company’s studious focus on simplicity. Whether 720p/60 video can hold up to the competition’s 1080p is still a giant question mark, but we just got our review models and we’ll let you know how things go later this week. Until then, enjoy some of the beauty shots below as well as the full press release after the break.

Continue reading Flip updates UltraHD and MinoHD, rolls out new Designed for Flip accessories

Flip updates UltraHD and MinoHD, rolls out new Designed for Flip accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP V5020u camcorder does 1080p in style

HP‘s just outed a new camcorder, the 1080p loving V5020u. Among its other attractions, this camcorder boasts full HD 1080p video recording at a resolution up to 1920×1080, a built-in gyroscope for image stabilization, 10x digital zoom, a 5 megapixel sensor, a motion detector, a 2-inch LCD, and an SDHC slot for extra storage capacity. This bad boy, which we think is pretty good looking, will be available in October for $159.

HP V5020u camcorder does 1080p in style originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia Star Trek Communicator is simply awesome, sadly just a prototype (video)

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Nokia had a little product placement going on in the latest Star Trek movie, you know that already. But did you also know that those crazy Finns made a few never-released prototypes for a most bodacious tie-in handset? That “Starfleet Communicator” above is said to be one of only 14 units built by Nokia, intended to simulate the iconic voice comms devices of the original TV series. Hardware-wise, it’s based on the somewhat less exciting N76 and comes with an external LCD and a trifecta of lights on its front, both protected by a big and heavy brass grill. It’s a fully functioning phone, too, replete with preinstalled chirps when flipping it open. Check it out on video after the break!

[Thanks, Randall]

Continue reading Nokia Star Trek Communicator is simply awesome, sadly just a prototype (video)

Nokia Star Trek Communicator is simply awesome, sadly just a prototype (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 10:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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