Hasta La Gadget!

Verizon isn’t just releasing its variant of the HTC One today — it also has a treat for fans of the oft-neglected QWERTY slider smartphone. The carrier has just launched the once-rumored LG Enact, which hides a landscape keyboard underneath its 4-inch WVGA screen. As you might gather from the display, though, this device is no flagship. The combination of a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a 5-megapixel rear camera, a VGA front camera and 8GB of expandable storage puts the Enact at the low end. What’s more, it’s also stuck on Android 4.1. When LG’s new device costs $20 on contract, however, it’s inexpensive enough that many fans of hardware keys can afford to take a look.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Verizon, LG

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Source: Verizon (1), (2)

Sure, we hear about DARPA’s robots all the time, but they’re not the only things keeping the agency busy. Take CBMEN, for example — a DARPA project that’s goal is to create a private ad-hoc data network for the military, and it’s recently completed initial field testing. CBMEN, or Content-Based Mobile Edge Networking, allows soldiers to share images and other info without a traditional mobile internet connection. Each device loaded with the CBMEN software will automatically blast data to other hardware within reach via WiFi, cellular and radio frequencies — no intermediate infrastructure required. Early trials of the tech using Android smartphones and Army Rifleman Radios were deemed successful. We don’t know if CBMEN will ever be available to civilians, but seeing as DARPA mentioned its potential use in disaster response operations, it’s not entirely impossible. Before anyone else can test drive the nebulous network, though, it first has to ace the second phase of field testing that aims to make it more efficient and secure.

Filed under: Cellphones, Networking, Internet

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Source: DARPA (1), (2)

What do the Lumia 920, Surface Pro, Velodyne LIDAR, NovAtel GPS and Jetta TDI wagon all have in common? They’re all essential parts of the next generation Nokia Here collection vehicle. When Here was announced last fall, we checked out v1.0 of the car which featured an elaborate but clunky set of sensors and cameras. That’s also when Nokia announced it was acquiring Earthmine, a Berkeley-based 3D-mapping company. Nine months later, we’re seeing the results of this collaboration with v2.0 of the collection vehicle. It’s a simpler and more advanced setup which provides much improved image quality. Nokia recently invited us to take ride in a next generation Here car — check out the gallery below then hit the break for our video and breakdown of the technology. %Gallery-slideshow73223%

Filed under: GPS, Transportation, Mobile, Microsoft, Nokia

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Post-Pebble‘s $10.2 million Kickstarter record, the smartwatch launches keep on coming. And coming. And coming. And coming. And probably coming next month, in Samsung’s ‘Galaxy Gear’ case.  The latest wrist-affixed contender to step up for a slice of smartwatch pie is called Omate TrueSmart, and is the creation of a New York based startup.

Omate Kickstarter campaigned launched yesterday — and has already blasted past the initial $100,000 funding target, with $144,000+ and counting. Not bad going for such a nascent yet crowded space.

So what’s the big deal about Omate? Notably it’s not just a smartphone accessory but includes a 3G radio so if you add a micro-SIM it can be a standalone mobile phone in its own right. Assuming you want to talk into your wrist. And even if you don’t it can function as a phone companion, using the on board Bluetooth 4.0 or Wi-Fi.

Omate also runs a relatively up-to-date version of Android, v4.2.2, skinned with a wrist-friendly UI of course, so that means four icons on the screen at once — although the platform is also open and hackable, according to its creators.

Running Android potentially means access to lots of apps — albeit, most are clearly going to need to be customised to fit its 1.54 inch screen (it’s up in the air whether Omate will have access to Google Play, at this point). The device will apparently come with a “full set of pre-qualified Android applications”, according to the listing, with no specific list as yet. Although “social media messaging” is mentioned in the listing and there’s a Facebook screenshot so that’s one heavy hint.

The Kickstarter campaign also mentions generic “sports apps”, and activity tracking is clearly a focus for Omate’s creators — likely so they can tap into the quantified health trend. The watch includes GPS — so would presumably be able to crunch basic activity data such as distance, pace etc. Add to that, it’s water-resistant (IP67) and dust-resistant so should take some rugged, outdoor use. 

Also on board: a 5MP camera so you can snap up-nostril shots of yourself running to share to your social networks, presumably (Skype videocalling apparently won’t be supported).

The watch is powered by a dual-core 1.3GHz chip. Memory is 512MB with 4GB of storage, expandable by microSD up to 32GB.  There’s no word on battery life if you’re actually using the watch but its 600 mAh cell is apparently good for up to 100 hours on standby. Eking decent battery life out of a wrist-mounted device remains a core challenge for smartwatches. The smartest smartwatch in the world is only going to be as useful as its useful battery life is long.

The Omate’s price tag is around the $199 mark, with all $179 early bird pledges gone and only a few remaining at the $189 level. Its makers rather ambitiously reckon they will be ready to ship the first batch to backers come October.

With all this talk of a golden iPhone you may have been expecting something terribly bling. But this leaked image, published by Japanese website Weekly Ascii, claims to show off the new "champagne" iPhone and it… it doesn’t look that bad.

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