When it gets cold, it’s not so easy to use your smartphone. Even though you can eventually get it to work after trying a couple of times, eventually you end up frustrated enough to simply pull off your gloves. While there are plenty of touchscreen-enabled gloves on the market these days, most of them are made out of synthetics – which aren’t the warmest or most stylish materials. These leather gloves will allow you to keep your hands toasty warm while using your touchscreen device – and look good doing it.
The Mujjo Leather Touchscreen Gloves are made from Ethiopian lambskin, which has been treated for wind and water resistance. They have “nanotechnology” integrated into the leather to make them touchscreen compatible, emulating the conductivity of human skin. There is also a leather strap on the heel to tighten them around your wrist.
The gloves sell for €129.95 (~$169 USD) from Mujjo.
For those of you who live in places where there are four seasons, you know that winter is a time of merriment for some, while others hate wearing layer upon layer of clothes, in addition to having to deal with taking off that glove each time you have to type out a reply to a text message, perhaps this is why there is a growing support for voice input that translates speech into text. Well, perhaps there is an alternative material which could be used to fashion gloves that are friendly for touchscreen display use, and Mujjo’s got your back this time around with a pair of next generation touchscreen gloves. Basically, you are able to make use of your touchscreen without taking off your gloves, now how about that?
Based in the Netherlands, Mujjo, an online start-up who has quite a spin on high-tech conductive gloves, and it enables the wearer to “use all fingertips, knuckles and even the heel or the palm of the hand”. Basically, it does not matter now when you put on the Mujjo, as you will then be able to operate a touchscreen device. In previous seasons, touchscreen winter gloves have always enabled the wearer to operate screens with just a single one or two fingers from each hand. Mujjo’s spanking new touchscreen gloves will be able to provide the wearer with additional options for use, as all the entire areas of the glove are now usable.
It does not matter if you are using a Nokia Lumia, an iPhone, a HTC, LG or Samsung smartphone, the Mujjo gloves would still work with it. Mujjo’s touchscreen compatible winter gloves will play nice with all of the other capacitive touchscreen devices, and how does this magic work? Mujjo gloves were made out of high-quality silver-coated nylon fibers that have been knitted into the fabric of the glove. This particular silver-coated nylon fibers enable the gloves to be conductive and logically speaking, are touchscreen compatible!
You can pick up the Mujjo Touchscreen gloves for €24.95 per pair, and they arrive in a couple of unisex sizes – Small/Medium and Medium/Large, where regardless of the size, they are made of stretchable fibre.
If you’ve been shopping around for a new car, it’s understandable that the Ford Fiesta might not be at the top of the list. However, today Microsoft and Ford are giving us a reason to take a second look at the 2014 Fiesta, announcing that it will come equipped with MyFord Touch. This isn’t exactly the same MyFord Touch we’ve seen in other vehicles, as it will make use of a new 6.5-inch touchscreen.
That’s exciting enough, but Microsoft and Ford have also made a few improvements to SYNC. This includes “more natural” voice recognition, which means that you’ll no longer have to say things like “Radio” or specify the genre when you tell the system to play music. Instead, you’ll be able to simply say the frequency or Sirius name of the station your after, which is a pretty handy tool to have on board.
Add streamlined Bluetooth connectivity and improved navigation controls that make it easier to enter the address of your destination, and you’ve got a new version of MyFord Touch that’s worth getting excited about. Of course, we’re sure that new 6.5-inch screen will make on-screen navigation easier in general, so that’s something to consider too if you’ve been thinking about getting a connected car.
Sadly, this new technology is a little while off, as it will be making its debut in the 2014 Ford Fiesta, which won’t be arriving until next year. The good news is that the Ford Fiesta is a pretty affordable car all things considered, so you shouldn’t have to break the bank just to get a car that has a pretty cool feature in MyFord Touch. We’ll undoubtedly be hearing more about this as the 2014 Ford Fiesta gets closer to release, so keep it here at SlashGear for additional details.
Google is reportedly planning a Chromebook of its own, pushing out a Google-branded touchscreen notebook to follow its Nexus-brand smartphones and tablets. The Chrome OS laptop would be made by Compal, according to the China Times, with the finished product apparently set to ship by the end of 2012.
Two new Chrome OS laptops have debuted in recent weeks, with Acer chasing the budget end of the market with its $199 A7, while Samsung’s Series 3 is only a little more expensive at $249. Although both running Google’s operating system, the two models take different approaches to the underlying hardware: the A7 sticks to Intel’s Atom chip, whereas the Series 3 uses a more frugal ARM-based processor for longer runtimes.
It’s unclear which footsteps Google might follow in with its own machine, with no hardware specifics revealed. Given the company has experience already with ARM chips in the Nexus range, however, and the more impressive battery life such processors generally allow, that would perhaps seem the more likely choice.
Google has apparently ordered around 20m units of the new, unnamed Chromebook, which it’s suggested may be a more tentative move so as to gauge interest in the platform. Alternatively, it could be to seed units with developers, as Google did initially with the Atom-based Cr-48.
Scientists and researchers around the world are always investigating better ways to help children learn important subjects like math and science. A group of researchers at Durham University has been working for the last three years on a project to design and develop the classroom of the future. The project is called SynergyNet and hopes to help children learn mathematics more efficiently.
The location is referred to as the “Star Trek” classroom because it replaces individual desks with futuristic communal desks featuring a multitouch surface. All of those desks are linked to a main “smartboard” used by the teacher. The desks allow students to work collaboratively on solving problems in ways that traditional pen and paper are likely to limit.
According to the researchers working on the project they have found that 45% of students who use the high-tech classroom increased the number of unique mathematical expressions they created after using the system. In contrast, only 16% of students who used the traditional paper-based method increased the number of unique mathematical expressions they created.
The system has a way to go before it might show up in classrooms around the world. Some notable holdbacks at this point are the cost of the system and the complexity of maintaining it.
The larger of the two big-hitters in the Acer Aspire S7 series Ultrabooks sits here on our desk like a high-powered glass-covered knife, ready to bring the best we’ve seen in touchscreen-toting Windows 8-optimized notebook action to the market. This machine has been delivered to our doorstep in its most powerful configuration, all $1,649 USD of it – complete with a 3rd Generation (Ivy Bridge) Intel Core i7-3517U Processor clocked in at 1.9GHz. The 13.3-inch display here is a beastly Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution widescreen CineCrystal LED-backlit bit of technology with 10 finger touch and a 16:6 aspect ratio. Now we’ve got to see if this is enough to match up with that price – or if after all is said and done, the price will be the last of your thoughts in this next-generation experience!
Hardware
This machine works with a set of two USB 3.0 ports, one micro-HDMI-out port, a combo headphone/mic jack, and a DC-in jack for your power cord. On the right you’ve got a dual memory card reader for SD and MMC, and also included in the box you’ve got a couple of adapter cords, one made for VGA output, the other allowing you to use an Ethernet cord (USB to RJ-45). The camera up front is a 1.3 megapixel HD webcam able to pick up 1280 x 1024 for video chat, the battery inside is a 4-cell lithium polymer at 4680mAh, and you’ve got 4096MB DDR3 dual-channel memory (4GB onboard memory) as well as Intel HD Graphics 4000 to keep that massively dense display high-powered.
This machine works with Optimized Dolby Home Theater v4 audio enhancements with two built-in stereo speakers and high-definition audio support. There’s also a built-in digital microphone for use with your video chat adventures, and under the hood you’ve got a lovely 256GB SSD drive as well. The touchpad is what Acer calls their “ZoomPerfect” unit with single and multi-finger scroll action – that’s up to 5 fingers to scroll, pinch, rotate, flip, and the like.
Weighing in at 2.86 lbs / 1.3kg and measuring in at 17.2″ W x 3.58″ D x 10.67″ H (437mm W x 91mm D x 271mm H), you’ll find this mix of metal and glass to be a joy to use – and to look at. When you open it and feel the unique edges around the touchscreen as well as the Gorilla Glass top, you’ll find yourself dually impressed. This machine is an Acer triumph without a doubt in its hardware build – the aesthetics alone make this easily one of the most beautifully full-looking notebooks on the market – and not just in the Windows 8 category.
The machine folds down to a thinness that’s straight up surprising, making it opening it for the first time an experience that may very well have you skipping the pleasantries and kicking your pocketbook out immediately. But you’ll want to take heed: there are some drawbacks to such a thin beast with a display that’s both touch-capable and incredible sharp, not to mention bright as you could possible want it to be. Battery life – as I’m sure you’re wondering about – will betray you if you’re expecting to go more than 4 hours at full-blast high-action video streaming and interactive touchscreen gaming.
But if you’re a realist and never go anywhere with your notebook computer without a power cord anyway, you’re going to have a bit more difficult a time finding reasons not to want this machine. Of course the price is always going to be a factor here in our present when it’s above $1,600 USD. That’s a massive price for a computer, especially if you only plan on using it to impress your friends and surf the web. That’s not what this computer is made for.
Instead you’re going to want to focus on what you get for the price. Acer has created a masterpiece for the Windows 8 generation. This is the computer Steve Ballmer should be carrying around to show off what Windows 8 can do – it’s that slick.
Peruse the rest of the reviews of this machine as they appear popping up across the web over the next few weeks and see where the low points are – you’ll find many folks saying the price is prohibitive while the rest suggest that the battery life in any notebook should be 6 hours or more. First you should know that we’ve gotten 5+ hours out of the device on multiple heavy-use occasions – great by your average user’s standards. Next you’ll be glad to hear that standby time for this notebook is undeniably great – Acer assures that with “Acer Hybrid Standby Technology” you’ll be able to get 80 days of standby power: that’s intense, and we’ve not seen any evidence yet to suggest they’re telling us anything less than the truth there with months of up-time. These “low points” are completely forgivable for what Acer is presenting here in the Autumn of 2012.
Software
The 10-finger touchscreen you’re working with here includes some software enhancements – most of them aesthetic – that make your Windows 8 experience the best we’ve seen thus far. You get tiny momentarily-visible transparent dots wherever you tap the screen, and as you move your fingers around, you get ghostly trails from your fingertips, allowing you to instantly understand how your tips are touching and moving. Having used several touchscreen PCs before the dawn of Windows 8, we can safely say that this is a major leap forward in real-world usability, without a doubt.
Have a peek also at our full Windows 8 review to see exactly what we’re dealing with here, with a few additions that include mostly new apps and security measures from Acer. You’ve got Acer Theft Shield, Acer Cloud, Acer Backup Manager, ePower Management, and eRecovery Management, and a whole lot more. For the most part, Acer’s additions to the basic Windows 8 build include connections to their own ecosystem – most of which are entirely positive and worth the effort you’ll be using to attach yourself.
System – Acer Aspire S7-391
Manufacturer
Acer
Product Type
Notebook
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 8 (64-bit)
Motherboard
Acer Storm
Processor
Intel Core i7-3517U
Processor ID
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9
Processor Frequency
2.39 GHz
Processors
1
Threads
4
Cores
2
L1 Instruction Cache
32.0 KB
L1 Data Cache
32.0 KB
L2 Cache
256 KB
L3 Cache
4.00 MB
Memory
3.82 GB DDR3 SDRAM 666MHz
FSB
99.8 MHz
BIOS
Insyde Corp. V2.05
You’ll be using your touchpad here in combination with the touch screen, but you’ll be able to use one or the other exclusively if you’re up for it. There’s an on-screen touch keyboard you can use if for some reason you want to move your hands up 4 inches above your perfectly capable physical keyboard, and the touchscreen isn’t necessarily required, so to speak, for anything if you don’t want to. You also get a Bluetooth mouse with the package if you’re feeling like some standard plastic mouse action – it’s standard, and certainly usable, but not a whole lot more than that. The physical keyboard also uses the computer’s light sensing abilities to keep your eyes happy, with backlighting activating as the atmosphere dims.
If you have trouble with “setting up” your computer, you can refer to the included “Setup Poster” included in the box, or you can use your Wireless Setup Card too – Acer has made the process simpler than ever before here – strange since the process includes no more than a few button taps and maybe even a connection with password to your wireless network. Important point here is that it’s simple enough for your parents to do themselves – really!
Have a peek at our standard benchmarking results here with Geekbench and feel the power – it’s a top of the line experience whether you’re cruising through your newest massively power-hungry game or viewing your favorite HD feature film.
Benchmark Score – Acer Aspire S7-391
Section
Description
Score
Total Score
Windows x86 (64-bit) – Microsoft Windows 8 (64-bit)
Integer
Processor integer performance
6089
8100
Floating Point
Processor floating point performance
11149
Memory
Memory performance
7016
Stream
Memory bandwidth performance
6638
Sound
The speakers on this machine are good enough for a personal computing experience and accurate even up to their loudest positions. Acer isn’t messing around with the external speaker sound quality here, with two Acer 3DSonic stereo speakers backed up with sound enhancements by Dolby. The fans on this machine, working with Acer TwinAir cooling technology, can get a bit louder than we’d like to hear on a regular basis. It’s not an issue unless you’re working with high-powered gaming or hours and hours of streaming video, and the trade-off is a rather pleasant lap experience – we’ve not felt anything hot going on yet.
Unique Touchscreen Experience
This machine has a hinge that allows it to fold back to 180 degrees – that means you’ll be able to go flat against a table, keyboard and touchscreen included. If you’ve used a machine that folds back further than this, you’ll find yourself feeling a bit limited by the flat-stop. If you’ve only ever used a notebook that folds back to 45 degrees, on the other hand, you’ll be surprised by how often you’ll want to push that screen back further, and further, and further. The viewing angles on the display are also near-perfect, making any angle look as great as the next (unless you count the high-gloss reflection-intense glass, of course).
This will also be a new experience for those of you used to using a tablet computer exclusively, as it really does combine the notebook and tablet experiences into one. If you’ve ever found yourself tapping your notebook screen after extensive tablet use, you’ll fall right in line with the S7′s experience. Windows 8 and the developers optimizing their applications for touchscreen action here in the first Windows 8 wave of app upgrades make this touch-and-tap combination one we’re really, truly enjoying. Working with the Aspire S7 will make you want to convert to this new universe – it’ll make you want to change and be assimilated.
Wrap-Up
This machine is Acer’s best effort yet. It’s an Ultrabook that makes the Windows 8 experience an enjoyable one – and on a personal note, it’s the first in many moons that’s made certain Apple-exclusive family members of mine think about trying a switch (having seen it at Thanksgiving, of course). You’ll certainly have to weigh the benefits of having this top-class machine in your position against the amount of cash you’re going to have to dish out since it’s certainly not the most budget-minded beast on the market, but after that, it’s all smooth sailing.
As with all of our reviews of products large and small, this is not the end of the review – let us know if there’s anything else you’d like to know about the machine and we’ll do our best to let you know what we know! We’ll continue to test this machine into the future and will let you know if anything ground-shattering changes our experience in any grand way – meanwhile feel free ask any and all questions you may have and make requests to your heart’s content!
Look at this doofus talking about the Israel crisis while shuffling cards on a giant touchscreen. I don’t speak French, but Mario Aguilar says he does and, at the end, this guy says “I am a complete piece of shit, I hate myself.” Well, he doesn’t really say that, but he’s probably thinking it. [The Next Web] More »
While the humble touchscreen has become the standard interface for most smartphones, and capacitive displays make it a painless experience, the folk at start-up Qeexo think things could still be improved. It’s developed a technology called FingerSense that could add even more functionality. Essentially, by using a small acoustic sensor, it measures the vibrations as objects tap the screen, and can tell the difference between them. So, for example, a knuckle tap could be used for “right-click.” The tech is able to spot the difference between materials, too, so even when no finger is involved, it can register input, a great assistance to those with longer fingernails. The fun doesn’t stop there, though, with the demo video after the break showing a Galaxy SIII with a modified display, able to register stylus input, even without official support for it. More input options can never be a bad thing, and if nothing else, it could certainly make those GarageBand drumming sessions a little more interesting.
While I’ve kind of been able use my iPhone while wearing my motorcycle gloves, it’s never been a perfect way to use any touch-based device. That’s why Freehands has come up with a waterproof glove that will allow you to use your smartphone and media players to your heart’s content. Unlike other gloves with capacitive tips, the Freehands lets you use your actual fingertips to interact with your gadgets in the wintertime.
Freehands’ Soft Shell Glove is perfect for hitting the slopes this winter. This glove is fully insulated for ski and snowboard maniacs, and is made out of a movement-friendly material with a suede thumb, grippy palm and fold back fingertips so that you can access all of your device’s functions. The back has a small pocket for a hand warmer and an adjustable web strap as well as a cord lock to keep everything in place.
These gloves also won’t break the bank since you’ll have to pay $45(USD) to get yours directly from Freehands.
The premium compact camera you’re about to experience is the Olympus XZ-2, coming in hard with a 12.3 megapixel 1/1.7” BSI CMOS sensor, an ultra-bright zoom lens at 28-112mm equivalent f/1.8-2.5, and a 3-inch touchscreen on the back with full tilting action. It’s not the camera you’re going to buy to blow up your family’s eyeballs with fashionability on the outside – it’s the compact high-class shooter that’s going to make the difference on the inside. What we’re seeing here is a premium experience at a relatively low price considering the quality of the output, that’s for certain.
Hardware
This camera measures in at 113 x 65.4 x 48mm (without protrusions) and weighs 346g (including battery and memory card), coming with an exchangable grip that’ll be provided with accessories sooner than later and a lovely removable clip up top for your microphone, bright lamp, or whatever else you want to jam into it. There’s also a pop-up flash light that you can trigger with a physical switch or allow you pop up automatically when it’s needed.
The lens that this camera works with is a lovely Olympus i.ZUIKO DIGITAL 4x wide optical zoom ed at 6-24mm focal length and 1:1.8-2.5 aperture. Focal length equivalency to 35mm here is 28-112mm, and it’s entirely non-replaceable. The majority of the camera’s body is made of black metal and, in addition to the traditional buttons up top and on the back, you’ve got a hot-key switch and button up front that you can tell to do basically anything – quite handy!
This little monster keeps both its SD card slot and battery compartment in one place so you’re not messing with several different doors. There’s a plastic door on the right of the device that holds your micro-HDMI port (type D) and your USB 2.0 port – and that’s combined V and USB output, mind you, and the whole beast is able to work with Eye-Fi cards as well as FlashAir for wireless connectivity.
The LI-90B lithium-ion battery will last you several photo sessions at least, though working with video for hours will leave you with that – the display’s to blame for such a thing here. Unfortunately you do have to use the display to see what you’re taking photos or video of, as there is no option to turn it off entirely. You can work with the device’s Sleep Mode, on the other hand, which turns the whole thing off after 1, 3, or 5 minutes of inactivity.
The touchscreen is ready for full-on tilt action for your down-low and up-high photography needs galore. Pull it out and tilt it up if you need to take a photo under your desk, or pull it out and tilt it down to take a photo over the fence into your neighbor’s yard – once you’ve had such a display, you’ll never be able to go back to a flat, unmovable dinosaur. Your ability to touch the display to take photos and make adjustments remains regardless of the angle of the display – if you were wondering.
Software
The user interface you’ve got here works with a combination of physical keys and the touchscreen, but you do not need to use the touchscreen at all if you do not want. On the other hand, you do need to press the physical “on” button to be able to even begin using the touchscreen – after that though, feel free to just tap away.
While some options are buried rather deep in the menu, the most-used items are right up near the top where you need them, and essentially anyone is going to be able to make the basics happen. Make no mistake, though, this device is not for beginners. You certainly can just switch the whole machine over to Auto and have at it, but making precise adjustments here isn’t a “dummy-proof” situation.
That said, we’ve had little to no trouble getting to each of the featured items we wanted to try out, and the most common shooting modes and environmental changes were extremely easy to access.
Video and Photo Samples
First what you’re going to see is a simple showing of the camera’s video-capture abilities in a rather simple situation with both light and dark, far and near subject matter. Pay attention to how quickly the device focuses on the objects at hand and the adjustments to lighting conditions for a basic idea of how high quality your average video is going to be.
Then have a peek at a collection of shots of the same object showing off the effects and special abilities of camera. Note that these are all of the same metal door we had a look at in the basement and in the dark back in our camera comparison between the Nokia Lumia 920 and the Samsung Galaxy S III – this is also a good opportunity to see how well this Olympus camera handles low light in many different modes – and with odd effects turning the whole party upside-down.
Then have a peek at a set of shots in many different sorts of environments with high-quality HD output. Note that in the most basic sense, this camera has shown itself to be every bit the beast that Olympus claims it is, taking high quality photos and video with great ease. Colors appear to be as accurate as any of the highest-quality cameras we’ve tested at the price range and size we’re working with here, and no abnormalities have been discovered in any way.
Wrap-up
This device presents a collection of abilities that make it a camera worth picking up if you’re a photo enthusiast who wants to get into the big leagues without paying monster amounts of cash for high-quality photo gear. At £479.99 / $599.99 and available in any color just so long as its black, this is just the little beast you’re going to want to toss in your backpack or purse.
The touchscreen interface is simple and there when you want it, but you’ve got all the physical buttons and controls you could possibly want or need if you’re not all about the touch. The user interface is simple the understand, adjustments are simple, and the output is great in the end – and best of all, it’s an major name-brand camera so you know they’ll stick with it as far as accessories go – latch on!
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
