Hasta La Gadget!

ZTE isn’t ready to show you its new phablet, mini-projector-and-WiFi-hotspot combo, BlueWatch smartwatch, and other fresh gear its prepared for CES 2014 quite yet, but that’s not going to stop … Continue reading

For those who have ever worked with hooking up a laptop to a projector or TV screen when it comes to making a presentation, the experience might not be a pleasant one. It is more often than not the issue of guessing which cable you should use, or the right input button to push, as well as setting the correct resolution so that your eyes will not suffer in the long term or otherwise, that raises up the blood pressure. What if there was an easier way of doing things, especially for the uninitiated? This is where the Prijector comes in handy, having the privilege of being the first wireless presentation device for conference rooms that will be able to handle common projection problems that so many have encountered over the years when setting up a presentation.

The Prijector is available already as at press time, where it will hook up directly to your TV or to any other projector of your choice. This would ensure that folks will be able to perform a presentation sans wires from any laptop or mobile. Apart from that, it will also play nice with a myriad of operating systems, including running on the Mac or PC, while being able to handle projection from both iOS and Android smartphones or tablets, now how about that? Apart from that, the Prijector will also be able to double up as a guest wireless hotspot, so that those seated near it will be able to get some surfing in the safe way without requiring a password to access the network.

All it takes to achieve instant and wireless presentation would be a simple click of the ‘Share’ button from any laptop or mobile device, and from the sounds of it, it will not be too difficult at all, even for the first time user. Sporting a Plug & Play methodology, the Prijector will connect to either TV screens or projectors via HDMI or VGA. Once connected, instructions on screen will being to help you share your presentations in no time at all. Expec the Prijector to retail for $199 a pop.

Press Release
[ Prijector the wireless presentation device copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

While Sony was content to toy with radical designs for the PlayStation 4’s controller, it turns out Microsoft took a more conservative approach when building the Xbox One’s gamepad. GamesBeat scored a look at the controller creation process and discovered that Redmond was reluctant to tweak the Xbox 360 controller at all since it considers the hardware “best-in-class.” After some pressure from Zulfi Alam, Xbox’s general manager for accessories, Ballmer and Co. decided to explore what changes could be made, and invested over $100 million throughout the course of the effort.

Despite the firm’s aversion to rocking the proverbial boat, it still wound up with more than a few unconventional prototypes — some of which packed built-in displays and cameras. One of the strangest versions included a cartridge for emitting smells, and another featured a built-in projector that could throw out visuals reminiscent of illumiroom. Ultimately, the wackier iterations gave way to the traditional kit that’s heading to stores, as the adventurous features drained battery life too quickly or the company’s “core base didn’t appreciate them,” according to Alam. While we wouldn’t have expected the Xbox One to usher in the age of smell-o-vision, we can’t help but wonder what that future would have looked smelled like.

Filed under: HD, Microsoft

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Source: GamesBeat

NEC has announced a new digital cinema projector that uses a laser light source rather than a traditional lightbulb. The projector is called the NC1100L Digital Cinema projector and it’s aimed at art houses, mobile cinemas, University theaters, and public buildings. NEC says that the laser light source is able to deliver 2K DCI-compliant cinema […]

With gadgets like the Oculus Rift and Google Glass, it’s looking like the future of displays is going to be a war for space on our faces. Here’s one more promising invention that may make you wish you had several pairs of eyes and foreheads. castAR glasses can not only beam stereographic 3D to your eyes a la Oculus Rift, they can also project 3D video to the real world.

castAR is the invention of Technical Illusions, a company setup by former Valve employees Jeri Ellsworth and Rick Johnson. The two are videogame industry veterans with decades of software and hardware expertise between them. Their device can display hologram-like videos and images in 3D using two micro-projectors and a retro-reflective sheet.

Aside from acting as a display, the sheet is also required for motion tracking. A camera in the middle of the glasses tracks infrared markers on the sheet to deduce the wearer’s head position and orientation. The wearer’s perspective is properly adjusted as he moves around the sheet, as if you were looking at a physical object from different angles.

The wand shown several times in the video is a controller designed to work with the glasses. It has buttons, a trigger and a joystick, and it can also track its own position. As you saw in the video the controller is used to interact with the projected images, increasing the illusion that there really is something in front of you.

What I find most exciting are the RFID add-ons. You can get an RFID tracking grid that can track RFID tags. The tags can do anything from summoning a figurine into the game – similar to Skylanders – or displaying stats. But there’s also an add-on with called an RFID Base. The base is essentially a tiny computer that can control other hardware. For example, as Technical Illusions mentions in its Kickstarter page, you could have an RFID Base with red LEDs and a tiny smoke machine. Stick a dragon figurine on top of that base and your game can trigger the base to become a glowing, smoke-belching monster. If that doesn’t make you support castAR I don’t know what will.

Pledge at least $189 (USD) on Kickstarter to get the castAR glasses plus the retro-reflective sheet.

[via Reddit]