Hasta La Gadget!

It’s been quite a month for leaks and the announcement of new cameras by various manufacturers. This week, a pair of new Olympus interchangeable lens compact cameras leaked as well. A few scant details of the cameras were also offered along with the leaked photos.

The black camera you see is said to be called the E-PL5, with the silver camera called the E-PM2. As you can clearly tell, both offer interchangeable lenses and look very similar. At first glance you could almost mistake them as two different colors of the same camera. However there are slight differences, such as the black camera having a knurled knob on the top, likely a manual control of some sort.

Rumor has it that both cameras will use the same sensor as found in the Olympus E-M5. The cameras also should have the same image processing engine called TruePic VI. Both of the cameras are also said to have touch screens on the back. The silver camera is said to sell for €399 (~$523 USD) with the black camera going for €599 (~$785 USD). Both prices reportedly include 14-42 mm kit lenses. Expect more details in the coming weeks.

[via 43rumors]

I’m huge fan of wireless charging for smartphones and other devices. The problem with wireless charging is that there are multiple wireless charging formats on the market and they’re not all compatible. That means you could purchase a case for your iPhone that would work on one charging base, but not the other.

Three of the most common wireless charging technologies on the market include inductive coupling, magnetic resonance, and Qi technology. Now, a company called Fulton Innovation has announced a new wireless charging breakthrough called Adaptive Resonance from their eCoupled line. This technology allows a single charging plate to support the charging of devices using any of the three methods at the same time.

The charging plate also allows the devices to maintain charging as they are moved around on the charging plate. That means you can scoot the devices around and they’ll still have power.

I like the idea of this technology, as it eliminates problems with incompatibility, and makes wireless charging just that much more practical.

Back in June, we talked about the Shimi smart musical robot based on the Android platform. The device has now hit Kickstarter with plans for coming to the iOS platform. The developers say Android users shouldn’t worry, an Android version will still be coming.

If you don’t remember this little robot, it’s an audio dock that nods its head and taps a little robot foot to the beat of your music. The project is seeking $100,000 and so far has over $18,000 pledged with 28 days to go. The developers say that the $100,000 will be used to move from the Android-based prototype to the iPhone version.

Some of the loot collected will also be used for redesigning components of the little robot for low-cost and durability. The money raised will also create tooling and parts to enable mass production of the Shimi. A pledge of $149(USD) towards the project will get you one of the first commercially available Shimi bots.

As you probably already know, GPS technology is pretty much useless once you’re inside of a building, so companies are working on ways to provide directional and navigational information while indoors. One very promising technology has been demonstrated by Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).

The technology uses visible light communication (VLC), pedestrian dead-reckoning (PDR) and map matching algorithms to determine the location and direction an individual is facing while indoors. In this demonstration video, we see a subject walking through a mall, and a 3D model of the same location closely replicating the individual’s location and direction.

It doesn’t look like it’s accurate down to the inch, but it’s pretty impressive compared to traditional GPS systems. It’s hard to tell or if the location sensors are placed throughout the building or carried by the individual, but it looks like all he’s carrying is a tablet to control the application, and it’s possible that the sensors are only in the tablet itself. It seems to me that the tablet has an application with a pre-rendered map onboard, and it’s using the tablet’s camera and the lights throughout the space to determine its relative position. Guess it wouldn’t work in the dark then.

It’s not clear if or when this technology will make its way into our lives, but it sure would be cool to be able to find your way around malls, office buildings and indoor stadiums so you can find your way around and your friends can locate you too.

Having a phone that can easily switch between SIM cards is very convenient, especially if you travel a lot. Usually, you’d have to manually take out a SIM card and insert another one in its place, unless you’ve got one of those off-market phones with mulitple SIM slots. The thumbsUp! case makes this process easier, if you happen to have an iPhone.

No official iPhone has had a dual-SIM card functionality, which is probably one of the reasons why thumbsUP! released its Dual SIM Card case. The case allows you to carry two SIM cards at the same time. You can switch cards simply by powering down your phone and flipping a switch on the back of the case. It supports micro as well as normal-sized SIM cards. It appears to connect into the iPhone’s SIM slot on the side and then provides its own switching mechanism.

The Dual SIM Card case sells for £29.99 (~$48 USD) and works for the iPhone 4/4S. If you’re planning on upgrading to the new iPhone that will be announced this week, you might want to wait until a compatible case is released.

[via Ubergizmo]