Hasta La Gadget!

Samsung has been quiet on the subject of its second-generation Galaxy Beam and the Galaxy Ace 2 ever since they showed together in Barcelona this February, but the two just reemerged as close buddies for an initial launch in East Asia. The Galaxy Beam receives the grandest introduction, as it’s coming to Singapore on July 7th followed by a more nebulous mid-July release for Taiwan residents. Those craving tiny, dual-core TouchWiz will have no choice but to flock to Singapore and pick up an Ace 2 at the end of the month. There’s no word on where else they’ll go on their respective world tours, although the cash outlay is strictly in the middle of the pack: we’re looking at S$648 or NT$16,900 ($513 or $566) off-contract for a Galaxy Beam, while its more diminutive cousin carries a S$438 ($352) price tag on similar terms.

Samsung Galaxy Beam, Galaxy Ace 2 resurface, get proper launches in Singapore and Taiwan originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jul 2012 04:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are waterfall screens, but what if you’d like your display to be a little more… pristine? Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a display that hits soap bubbles with ultrasonic sound to change the surface. At a minimum, it can change how light glances off the soap film to produce the image. It gets truly creative when taking advantage of the soap’s properties: a single screen is enough to alter the texture of a 2D image, and multiple screens in tandem can create what amounts to a slightly sticky hologram. As the soap is made out of sturdy colloids rather than the easily-burst mixture we all knew as kids, users won’t have to worry about an overly touch-happy colleague popping a business presentation. There’s a video preview of the technology after the jump; we’re promised a closer look at the technology during the SIGGRAPH expo in August, but we don’t yet know how many years it will take to find sudsy screens in the wild.

Continue reading University of Tokyo builds a soap bubble 3D screen, guarantees your display stays squeaky clean (video)

University of Tokyo builds a soap bubble 3D screen, guarantees your display stays squeaky clean (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 20:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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