Hasta La Gadget!

We were pleasantly surprised with what Motorola offered in its smallest new smartphone. With a responsive dual-core S4 processor and a battery that went the distance, the RAZR M is looking like a strong prospect for Verizon, landing at $99 (after a $50 rebate) on a two-year contract. To celebrate it launching today, Motorola’s even cooked up a quick ad to go with the launch — we’ve added it after the break. Visit the Verizon link below to place your order.

Continue reading PSA: Motorola Droid RAZR M arrives on Verizon today, priced at $99

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

PSA: Motorola Droid RAZR M arrives on Verizon today, priced at $99 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cached away for over a century, the world’s first color moving pictures have been shown for the first time yesterday, according to the National Media Museum in the UK. The celluloid, shot by inventor Edward Raymond Turner in 1899, was actually in black and white and it was only through a curator’s research that its colorful significance was also unearthed.

When the footage was first shot, each frame was run consecutively through red, green or blue gels, and the process needed to be reversed during projection to reveal the color. Fortunately, a blueprint by the inventor of how to do just that was also found, allowing the institution’s team to replicate the process digitally to produce the final footage.

This type of color gel processing didn’t take off in the early 20th century due to the mechanical complexity, and it would have been inferior to a chemical process since each frame carried only one-third of the full color information. Still, it required a clever mind to dream it up, with an equally big brain to uncover it and finally give Turner his due. See the video below the break for the stunning un-retouched, non-hand-colored results.

[Image Credit: National Media Museum]

Continue reading World’s oldest color film footage discovered in museum archive (video)

Filed under: Cameras, HD, Alt

World’s oldest color film footage discovered in museum archive (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 08:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic wasn’t one of the quickest out of the gate with a 3D projector, having only unveiled the PT-AE7000 in the middle of last year, but it’s making up for lost time with a follow-up. The PT-AE8000 puts most of the focus on that extra dimension through both a 20 percent brighter 3D picture and motion interpolation for the stereoscopic image. Fine-tuning is equally new through picture balance and monitor tools that help perfect the color and parallax effects before any 3D movie gets started. Traditionalists in love with 2D get their fill, too: a new 220W lamp produces deeper reds, a more visible 2,400 lumens of brightness and (with the help of plates and filters) an even higher 500,000:1 contrast ratio. We’ve confirmed with Panasonic that the AE8000U should cost the same $3,499 as the AE7000 when it reaches stores between late September and early October, which makes the new projector a tempting prospect if you’ve been holding off until now.

Continue reading Panasonic PT-AE8000U projector touts brighter, smoother 3D for king-of-the-hill home theaters

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD

Panasonic PT-AE8000U projector touts brighter, smoother 3D for king-of-the-hill home theaters originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 05:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve all seen (and probably used) QR codes at some point. And, handy as they are for quick linking to apps, or value added content etc, there’s usually not much else going on. Unless you’re one of the team at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, that is, who have created a tiny version of the quadrilateral-codes that could be used to spot counterfeit money. The invention uses nanoparticles combined with blue and green fluorescent ink, and can be sprayed onto surfaces such as glass, plastic film, or of course, pictures of American presidents. The nano-code remains invisible until placed under a near-infrared laser, making it ideal for helping spot legit bank notes. The creators say they have done significant wear tests, which suggest that it’s durable, but they also accept that eventually criminal technology could eventually catch up, in the constant cat and mouse game between mandated money producers and forgers. Whether there’d be links to the Benjamin Franklin Wiki page is unclear.

Continue reading New ‘nano-code’ could help fight banknote forgery by embedding invisible QR-style ciphers

Filed under: Science, Alt

New ‘nano-code’ could help fight banknote forgery by embedding invisible QR-style ciphers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 00:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ping, Apple’s foray into music-centric social networking, hasn’t seen much in the way of updates since it was announced two years ago, and now the folks in Cupertino are set to shut it down on September 30th. Struck with the sudden urge to sign-up for the service and take it for a spin before it goes offline? You’re out of luck. Visiting the network’s home in iTunes reveals that Cook and Co. are no longer accepting new members. From here on out, you’ll just have to find other avenues to keep tabs on what tunes are playing within your social circles.

Filed under: Internet, Software

Ping going dark on September 30th, no longer accepting new members originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 20:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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