Bluetooth speakers all start to look the same after a while, so whenever I come across a wireless speaker that breaks the mold, it makes me happy that industrial designers haven’t given up the good fight. For instance, I really like the look of these colorful new speakers from JBL.
The JBL Spark looks a bit like a see-through megaphone, offering a distinctive style as well as functionality. Each speaker has two 40mm full-range driver, with 76Hz to 20kHz frequency response range. The speakers offer Bluetooth connectivity, and an inline volume control, mounted on its fabric-covered cord.
JBL hasn’t confirmed a release date yet for the Spark speaker, but it should be available soon for $129 (USD). Keep an eye out on their website for more details.
The Qualcomm Vuforia Augmented Reality platform is just one of many impressive technologies that the San Diego based company has in the works, and this week we they showed off a brand new addition. We’ve seen Vuforia in the past, making magazines and books come to life on our mobile devices, but at Uplinq they […]
Yep, the rumors were spot-on. At the 2013 IFA trade show, Sony revealed two of the most unusual cameras you’ll ever see. The Cyber-shot QX10 and QX100 Lens Cameras pack all of the necessary hardware inside a tiny cylinder, save for a viewfinder. Why? Because the two point-and-shoot cameras are meant as an upgrade for people who use their smartphone as their main camera. Now their phones can just be viewfinders, or even ditched altogether.
Remember the WVIL camera concept that appeared in 2011? The QX cameras are a lot like that. As Sony Alpha Rumors leaked a couple of weeks ago, the QX100 (seen above) has the same lens and 20.2mp CMOS sensor as the beloved RX100 Mark II camera while the QX10 (below) shares the lens and 18.2mp sensor of the WX150 point-and-shoot. Both cameras have their own battery and a slot for a microSD, microSDHC or a Memory Stick Micro card.
As you’ll see in the pictures and videos below, Sony is pushing these cameras together with the newly introduced Xperia Z Android smartphone. In fact, Sony is selling a plastic case that makes it easier to attach the QX cameras to the Xperia Z. Makes you wonder about the other Sony device in the images eh? It’s safe to assume that both the Xperia Z and the mystery device support NFC, which is the easiest way to pair the cameras to a phone. But the QX cameras can also be used with other Android phones and even iOS devices via the Sony PlayMemories app and a Wi-Fi connection.
To be clear, both QX cameras can be used on their own, but if you can afford either camera chances are you also have an Android or iOS device. If so, you can use the cameras’ clamp to attach them to your mobile device. Then get the PlayMemories app so you can use your device as a viewfinder, like so:
But as was imagined with the WVIL, you can keep a QX camera detached from your mobile device to make it easier to shoot from odd heights or angles…
…or to include yourself in the shot:
Then you can view, save or upload the photo or video on your mobile device using Sony’s app. The cameras will stay connected to your mobile device up to about 30ft., but the connection will likely be cut off if there are walls or other thick objects between the two devices.
Here’s Sony with more about the QX100 and QX10:
The cameras seem like great ideas for casual users, but they do have a couple of tradeoffs, most notably the way they connect to a smartphone. If you’re fortunate enough to have an NFC enabled phone, connecting to the lens cam is as easy as touching the two devices together, which automatically authenticates and connects them via Wi-Fi. However, if you don’t, you’ll have to manually connect them via Wi-Fi. It’s not clear if this creates an AdHoc Wi-Fi network between the phone and the lens, or if it requires a Wi-Fi infrastructure connection to be available. I’d assume it’s the former, which would mean your smartphone will be temporarily disconnected from any live Wi-Fi connections while connected to the camera. Then there’s the process of taking pictures with the camera. I have not tested either of the cameras, but David Pierce of The Verge did. Skip to about 0:40 in The Verge’s hands-on video below and you’ll see what I’m talking about:
Not exactly smooth, eh? Then again, unless you have the Nokia 1020 the QX cameras are significantly better than your phone’s cameras. Ultimately that should be their main selling point. You can pre-order both the QX100 and QX10 from Sony’s online store or from Amazon. The QX100 costs $500 (USD) (its big brother, the RX100 costs $750) while the QX10 costs $250 (the WX150 costs $400).
A computer-operated car developed by Carnegie Mellon University saw its first run yesterday as it gave a Pennsylvania Congressman a ride to the airport. The driverless Cadillac SRX is the product of five years of work by researchers, and could kick off a whole new era of transportation.
What is in your dream kitchen? What would you put in your kitchen renovation if you could update your kitchen today? Today’s kitchen technology is pretty amazing by traditional kitchen standards. What is available today in futuristic kitchen technology? Check out some amazing stuff and see what you should dream about in your kitchen of tomorrow!
Remember that ole Amy Winehouse refrain: "they tried to make me go to rehab, I said no, no, no!"? While there’s drug detox centers for those addicted to drugs, do centers for Internet addiction exist? The answer is yes, and they’ve been around for a while. In my 2009 post, "Internet Rehab For NetAddicts" post, I researched one such center located in SE Fall City, Washington that followed the same principles as drug rehab centers.
Because people’s skin gets wrinkled and because people’s eyes get worse and because pop stars people have never heard of are somehow already insanely popular, it’s common for adults to gripe about the kids these days. A lot of that talk eventually leads to how today’s kids only know smartphones and iPads and YouTube and Facebook. They don’t go outside! They don’t play in the street! They should have grown up like us!
JBL has unveiled a new set of USB-powered speakers called Pebbles. The speakers have an interesting design that looks a lot like a snail shell – enough like a snail shell to make Gary the Snail jealous.
The JBL Pebbles speakers have their odd looking snail shell style because they’re designed to be laid flat on their side or stood on the flat bottom section vertically. Inside the snail shell cases are a pair 50 mm drivers. Some room inside the case is also used for a bass reflex zone to help improve low-end response.
The speakers have a built-in DAC which supports 16-bit 48 kHz audio – this allows the speakers to skip over your computer’s built in audio circuitry, feeding a digital signal directly to the speakers. Audiophiles hoping for 24-bit quality may be disappointed, but for most of us the speakers should provide plenty of audio quality.
The speakers are USB powered so they need no external power adapter, and have an extra 3.5mm audio input for other devices. The Pebbles are available in black or white each with orange USB cables and orange accents on the bottom. The speakers will start shipping in Japan this month for approximately $60(USD).
The folks from Qualcomm don’t have a track record of making their own hardware, but today they shocked everyone at their annual Uplinq developer event and announced the Toq smartwatch. Powered by a 2.1-inch low power Mirasol display, they promise it can last for days, and is always on. Below we have plenty of pictures, […]
A couple of years ago we looked at a couple of film cameras that you had to assemble before you could use them. The Bigshot camera is just like those cameras, except it’s digital and has a companion website that includes a lot of related information. The idea is to introduce people of all ages not just to photography but to technology in general.
The Bigshot digital camera kit comes with all of the parts and tools you need to build and process your photos, including a screwdriver, a micro-USB to USB cable and a pair of 3D glasses. That’s right, once you’ve put it together you can use the camera to take 3D images as well as panoramic shots to go with the normal mode. The camera has an internal battery that you recharge using the cable, but it also has a dynamo and a hand crank so you can power it yourself. It also has a free software for processing and sharing images.
But as I said earlier, the kit is only half of the Bigshot’s appeal. Its website has dozens of pages of helpful and easy to understand articles related to the camera. There are pages explaining the science behind the parts, an assembly guide and more. The articles make it a lot easier and fun to learn while you assemble and use the camera.
You can order the Bigshot camera from its official website for $89 (USD). I wish Ben Heck or some other modder would release a similar kit for a gaming device.
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