Hasta La Gadget!

In addition to unveiling all those laptops, HP just announced a boatload of peripherals. Of the bunch, the most compelling might be the NFC-enabled Touch to Pair Mouse, which, as the name suggests, can be paired with another device simply through tapping. (Good thing lots of computers currently have NFC, right?) If, by chance, you don’t have NFC on your laptop — and you probably don’t — the mouse will function just fine as a regular old Bluetooth device. Look for it in November for $39. Elsewhere on the wireless mouse front, HP announced the X6000 (pictured), which has four-way tilt scrolling and can be used on most surfaces, including glass. That arrives this month for $59. Finally, if your tastes are a bit simpler, there’s also the Wireless Mouse X4500 and X5500, which will be available this month for $29 and $39, respectively.

Beyond mice, HP also trotted out the $29 Wireless Classic Desktop keyboard, along with the $49 Wireless Elite v2. For audio lovers, there’s the HP Portable Bluetooth Speaker, which will go on sale next month for a cool $79. Eighty bucks (or thereabouts) will also get you a 90W universal power adapter that claims to be compatible with most notebooks. It also has a built-in USB port, allowing you to charge a mobile device at the same time. Rounding out the list is the Webcam HD 4310, an $89 shooter capable of 1080p video, autofocus, autoexposure and three-way video calling. All that in more digestible form in the PR after the break.

Continue reading HP unveils first NFC-enabled mouse, various other PC accessories

Filed under: Peripherals

HP unveils first NFC-enabled mouse, various other PC accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is how the New England office (blue) of Dealer.com is connected to the company’s California office (orange). Either that, or this is actually a shot of Aperture Science Laboratories, with webcams included as props to throw us off.

If you think about it, webcams already accomplish 50% of a portal’s job. They let two parties peer into each other’s space as if they were in front of each other regardless of the actual distance between them. The other half is mostly just lighting, and that bit about actually being able to walk through the portal.

[via Reddit]

Microsoft, objecting to a web standard promoted by its competitors? Get out. While Firefox, Opera and now Chrome have implemented WebRTC on some level for plugin-free VoIP and webcam chats, Microsoft doesn’t think the existing, proposed standard is up to snuff for linking with existing devices or obeying “key web tenets.” It’s suggesting a new CU-RTC-Web standard to fix what it claims is broken with WebRTC. Thankfully, the changes are more technical improvements than political maneuvering: Microsoft wants a peer-to-peer transport level that gives more control as well as to reduce some of the requirements that it sees holding the technology back as of today. There’s no doubt an economic incentive for a company that wants to push Skype in the browser, but the format is already in front of the W3C and could become a real cross-platform standard. If other W3C members are willing to (slightly) reinvent the wheel, Microsoft’s approach could get Chrome and Internet Explorer users talking — no, really talking.

Filed under: Internet

Microsoft no fan of existing WebRTC standard, proposes its own to get Skype onboard originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logitech has launched a new webcam, but the TV Cam HD is intended to sit on top of your big-screen television rather than your computer display. Supporting Skype calls over WiFi or ethernet connection, the TV Cam HD promises up to 720p HD widescreen video and crystal-clear pictures thanks to Carl Zeiss optics, along with a four noise-canceling microphone array and digital pan/tilt/zoom control.

Connectivity, beyond the WiFi b/g/n and ethernet, includes HDMI to make hooking up to the screen more straightforward. The camera also has an integrated speaker, though that’s only used as a ringer if the TV is turned off and a call is coming in.

You also get access to Skype apps, and there’s voicemail if you’re not around to answer the call. Logitech throws in a remote control, too, with straightforward directional keys, zoom buttons, back and home.

It’s not a new idea – Samsung showed off its Android-based inTouch standalone Skype webcam earlier in the year – but it could come in handy for those wanting video calls without a laptop involved. The Logitech TV Cam HD is up for pre-order today, priced at $199.99.

Logitech TV Cam HD puts Skype on your HDTV is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Most tours of Chinese factories at least give workers a heads-up that they’ll be on camera. Not so the exposé that HP inadvertently gave one of its Swedish customers. Reddit user Malplace opened a new laptop to find that a 3-minute webcam video of the factory floor at HP’s contractor, Quanta, was sitting in Windows’ My Documents folder. If you’re looking for scandal from the footage, though, you won’t find it here: Chongqing Manufacturing City’s staff are shown dutifully moving the assembly line along in what looks like fair conditions, if exceptionally repetitive. The instance is most likely just a rare gaffe during testing at a manufacturer that pumps out millions of HP PCs every quarter, so we’ll cut Quanta some slack. It’s still a rare glimpse into a side of technology that’s considered off-limits for much of the buying public.

Continue reading HP laptop comes with webcam standard, peek at Chinese factory as bonus (video)

Filed under: Laptops

HP laptop comes with webcam standard, peek at Chinese factory as bonus (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Jul 2012 03:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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