Just 45% of drivers ever pair their cellphones with their cars’ Bluetooth hands-free calling modules. Even fewer people use Bluetooth every time they get in the car. That’s the result of anonymous data collection done by General Motors and OnStar on Bluetooth-equipped Chevrolets, Buicks, Cadillacs, and GMC trucks. As a result, GM created a new website, Handsfree, with specifics on how to pair a phone with their vehicle.
Perhaps the worst, and least repairable, shortcoming of touchscreens is their failure to act as viable game controllers. Keyboard-equipped smartphones alleviate that pain a little (particularly if you pair them with a Game Gripper), but ultimately we’d all prefer real controllers for our real games. Such was clearly the thinking behind the homebrewed setup here, which combines an HTC EVO 4G — with Android and an NES emulator inside — with an Arduino board, a BlueSMiRF Bluetooth module, and a classic NES control pad. The result might look like a mess of wires, but who cares when you can rock Super Mario 3 the way Nintendo surely intended?
Continue reading NES controller pressed into service to Android overlord (video)
NES controller pressed into service to Android overlord (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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As absurd as it might seem to dock a 9.7-inch tablet atop what amounts to a glorified boom box, let’s be real: the iPad’s meek speakers are easily outclassed by its ability to swallow gigabytes worth of music and high-quality video content. Sure enough, iPad-compatible docks are quickly becoming a thing now, and Philips is jumping head-first into the market with its Fidelio DS8550. Oh, but there’s more than meets the eye here — it’s not just a speaker with a giant slot in front for a 30-pin connection, you see. You can either connect the iPad to let it charge and get a direct audio connection or roam with it and let it talk back to the dock over stereo Bluetooth, which was demoed to us as an awesome option for gaming — as long as the Fidelio is within a few yards of you, games really become a more immersive experience when you’ve got thick, booming bass and virtually limitless volume nearby, and we found that you really don’t notice that the sound is coming from “somewhere else.”
The DS8550 also packs a handle on back and an internal battery, allegedly good for up to five hours of use off the grid so you’ll be able to kick it old-school with the Fidelio slung over your shoulder in the subway station. The unit makes use of a unique spring-loaded pivot on its 30-pin connector, which Philips says allows you to connect any iPod, iPhone, or iPad without needing the typical adapters — the device just sort of rests on the connector and the surrounding concave section of the speaker mesh. Check out a few more shots in the gallery!
Filed under: Handhelds, Home Entertainment
Philips Fidelio DS8550 iPad speaker dock hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mojowijo is a teledildonic accessory for the Nintendo Wiimote, which is somewhat ironic given the console’s family-friendly reputation. The device, currently in private beta, is very simple: You hook the hardware components to two Wiimotes. Wiggling and thrusting on the first remote are detected and sent via Bluetooth to a nearby PC (you don’t need the actual Wii itself).
From there, your movements are sent over the internet and reproduced by a vibrator on the other Wiimote, allowing a remote partner to enjoy your stimulations. Amusingly, the product page touts these teledildonics as just one possibility: the others are sharing the game with someone in the same room, or using the device on yourself. This last seems absurd, a little like riding a bike and steering it using a couple of sticks. It would obviate the need for sitting on your arm until you can’t feel your hand, though.
You can sign up for the beta now, and you’ll get a prototype device to test. The signup page asks for an awful lot of personal details, though, so it might pay to be wary before jumping in, especially as the product shots are just computer-renderings.
If this does take off though, we can see all manner of possibilities, including the inevitable professional services like those seen in FaceTime porn.
Introducing Mojowijo – Share the mojo with anyone in the world [Mojowijo via SF Weekly]
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That weekend leak of Galaxy Tab accessories was apparently not done flowing. The same source is today dishing the dirt on a pair of highly intriguing extra bits for Samsung’s upcoming tablet. Firstly, the Bluetooth pen acts both as a stylus for the Galaxy Tab and a sort of wireless remote control. It’s compatible with other devices, meaning it can be used to control voice calls you receive on your cellphone. The second tidbit is no less thrilling: a USB adapter that promises to turn the Tab’s dock connector into a standard-issue USB port. You don’t need us to explain how handy a trinket that could be for the multimedia maven on the move. It’s worth pointing out, however, that both these accessory leaks show what looks like an earlier hardware prototype of the Galaxy Tab, so we may be looking at slightly dated information. All such uncertainty and questions should be resolved come September 2.
Samsung Galaxy Tab accessories may include Bluetooth stylus and USB adapter originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Usually, I have no problem declaring something is dumb beyond words or not. This one has me stumped though: Wavetooth, Brando’s waterproof Bluetooth headset.
With the traditional Bluetooth headset, you had to be careful where you took your phone. Now with Wavetooth, which is certified waterproof up to 3 meters, or a little under 10 feet, you can easily go swimming while still yammering on the phone with your best friend. Or relax in the bath and listen to music without worrying about anything getting wet.
Wavetooth works with the iPhone and any Bluetooth-enabled smartphone (which is practically every phone on the market nowadays).
The Bluetooth headset comes comes with a special bag that holds your smartphone and keeps it dry. The material is thin and specially designed so that the it doesn’t interfere with the headset communicating with the device. You don’t even need to take the phone out of the case – special “Touch Functionality” lets you control the iPhone by pressing on the case surface.
Wavetooth claims 13 hours talk time and 240 hours standby time before needing a charge.
Priced at $57 and available now on Brando, it’s a little pricey. But for people always on the go, Wavetooth extends where you can use your phone.
The Navigator 905BT wireless mouse from Genius might be the perfect thing for that back-to-school shopping list.
The latest wireless mouse from Genius is Bluetooth enabled and connects wirelessly to both PCs and Macs instantly. What’s that? You don’t have Bluetooth connectivity on your computer? The mouse comes with a Stick-N-Go mount that you can plug into the USB port, and voila! 905BT is connected to the computer.
This latest Navigator gives you a range of up to 10 meters, or approximately 33 feet. This would work great for presentations since you can walk around the room and not be limited to standing in front of the PC.
The “Flying Scroll” – or the ability to scroll in eight directions using the scroll wheel – is available. Even more interestingly, Genius is bundling the Navigator 905BT with a 60-day free trial of Norton Symantec anti-virus software.
Available in royal ruby or cold silver, the mouse is priced at $32.99 and is available now at various retailers.
We’re living in an age of multiple connected screens, where even our media-savvy televisions demand some occasional typing to search for a videogame, TV show or Netflix rental. Problem is, typing (more like hunting and pecking) with a game controller or remote control is a pain in the butt — and that’s the world into which the TiVo Slide is being born.
The TiVo on-screen software keyboard has been semi-affectionately dubbed “the Ouija Board input” from the way users slid and hovered the remote over each letter to search for titles. As TiVo added more and more text-dependent features, Ouija-hovering got more and more obnoxious. With recent software updates, Premiere and Series 3 users can use a USB keyboard or mouse, or a wireless device with a USB Bluetooth dongle. (That’s actually how the Slide connects.) But for one-stop remote/keyboard shopping, the Slide is your guy.
It solves a few technical problems that have haunted keyboard-style remotes for years. The slide interface is one: We’ve gotten so used to handheld devices that almost nobody wants to use a keyboard for everything. The bigger deal may be Bluetooth, which, among other nice things, performs the essential task of letting you use the keyboard sideways. It also lights up in the dark — there are other TiVo remotes that do this, but typing text with your thumbs makes this feature pretty much essential.
Yes — you have to type with your thumbs. If you’ve used a smartphone hardware keyboard like most BlackBerries’ (or a slide-out like the Droid’s), this is familiar stuff. If your typing skills are optimized for a keyboard, or you’re not much of a typist to begin with, it’ll take some getting used to.
It’s surprising, actually, that we’re not seeing more innovation and experimentation in alt-keyboard devices. There’s nothing sacrosanct about the QWERTY keyboard layout other than that it’s what most typists in the English-speaking world have come to expect. Most people know that it appeared on early Remington typewriters because it kept the keys from clashing; if a rifle maker knew anything, it was precision-manufacturing a device not to jam.
But whether it’s hardware or software, we don’t have to worry about keys jamming on keyboards now. And yet, even swiping, chording and hovering software keyboards use the QWERTY layout. Why not try an alphabetic keyboard — something designed for people who don’t do much typing at all? The last time I checked, relatively few people with TVs sit in front of a computer most of the day.
Or, if you’re targeting experts and speed freaks, why not try a version of the Dvorak layout?
Dvorak is an alternative keyboard configuration patented in 1932 and named for its inventor, August Dvorak. If QWERTY is the MS Windows of keyboards, Dvorak is the Mac. What its adherents lack in numbers, they make up in devotion. In “Seven Reasons to Switch to the Dvorak Keyboard layout,” Red Tani of WorkAwesome makes a good case:
In QWERTY, only 32 percent of keystrokes are on the home row. Which means most of the time, typists’ fingers are either reaching up for the top row (52 percent) or down for the bottom row (16 percent). So not only does QWERTY do nothing for typists, it actually hinders them.
Dvorak further increases typing speed by placing all vowels on the left side of the home row, and the most commonly used consonants on the right side. This guarantees that most of your strokes alternate between a finger on your right hand (consonant) and a finger on your left (vowel). Alternating between fingers from either hand is faster — just imagine texting with one hand or drumming with one stick.
On a tiny mobile device, DVORAK could be comparatively even faster. More comfortable, too.
QWERTY beat out DVORAK because typists who’d learned the first were faster and more accurate using that layout than on the second. It’s a classic example of what economists and other social scientists call path-dependence and increasing returns: An inferior technology can beat a superior one if it’s adopted early and widely enough to lock out the competition.
So maybe somewhere out there is a new kind of phone/remote controller-sized keyboard that blows the QWERTY keyboard away. The trouble is, most of us would be better off typing with something else, if they were giving superior machines away. The new TiVo remote acknowledges that this is the world we live in.
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Photos: TiVo.com, Wikipedia
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Welcome to Engadget’s Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we’re here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. On the menu today are a handful of fun yet practical gadgets, but feel free to check out our Back to School hub for more recommendations in other categories.
Continue reading Engadget’s back to school guide: Fun stuff!
Engadget’s back to school guide: Fun stuff! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A new, soon to be released case for the iPad comes with a built-in Bluetooth keyboard that will effectively turn the tablet into a netbook. The leather folio-style case has an ingenious design that lets flips between three configurations. Closed; open with the iPad in normal, touch-screen use and open, propping up the iPad with the keyboard flat in front of it.
The keyboard itself is made of silicone and will therefore be squishy and very likely unresponsive. It has a home button along with all the media controls you’d expect, and will go into sleep mode to save batteries after ten minutes of non-use. The battery, must be charged separately from the iPad (although you can use your iPad’s charging cable to do it) and will give up to 45 hours of use on a charge.
It looks kind of neat, if you really want such a bulky thing. I prefer Apple’s Bluetooth keyboard as it is small enough to sling in your bag, but separate so I don’t have to carry it with the iPad all the time. In fact, I bought the Apple keyboard but almost never use it. Like Wired.com NY bureau chief John C Abell, I find I actually prefer typing on the iPad’s screen. The auto-correct along with the big keys means I actually type faster and more accurately on that than I do on a “real” keyboard.
Doubtless there are plenty who rightly disagree, and for them, this case exists. It’ll cost you sixty British Pounds Sterling ($93), or likely less when it makes its way to a US outlet.
KeyCase iPad Folio with Integrated Bluetooth Keyboard [Gearzap via Apple Insider]
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