Hasta La Gadget!

Okay, that might not be a chameleon — we’re not the reptile experts we wish we were — but NTT DoCoMo claims it is. Regardless, we were pretty impressed with this little setup NTT DoCoMo had going in the R&D (that is, not-for-production-just-yet) section of its CEATEC booth. The crown jewel of the setup is a small glasses-free 3D display — obviously intended to mimic the size and style of display you’d see on a phone — with stereoscopic cameras just above it to detect the presence and position of an attached stylus. As you move the stylus toward a point on the display, the cute little beast lashes its tongue out in the direction of the tip, and a surprisingly strong haptic kick is generated inside the stylus through an inductive coil to mimic the effect of the tongue hitting you. It’s pretty obvious that something like this would have neat implications for mobile gaming… but like everything in NTT DoCoMo’s R&D department, it’s going to take a while to get to retail — and even when it does, it’ll very likely be Japan-only. Follow the break for video.

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo’s touchable 3D display prototype seamlessly integrates haptics, chameleons

NTT DoCoMo’s touchable 3D display prototype seamlessly integrates haptics, chameleons originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 09:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wireless charging gear compatible with the Qi standard should be hitting shelves any minute now, but NTT DoCoMo’s charging base at CEATEC has a completely unnecessary (and completely awesome) trick up its sleeve to set itself apart from the crowd. The prototype — developed in concert with Sanyo and bearing the Eneloop brand — gives you some visual indication that a compatible gadget has been detected by displaying a ring of blue LEDs that converges around the device to be charged once you set it down. It’s a neat effect… and you can see it unfold on the video after the break. No indication on whether NTT DoCoMo will actually be bringing its own branded Qi charger to market, but clearly, these products are nearly production-ready.

Continue reading Qi charger prototype from Sanyo and NTT DoCoMo seeks out, ruthlessly charges stuff

Qi charger prototype from Sanyo and NTT DoCoMo seeks out, ruthlessly charges stuff originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Say you’re in New York… or Tokyo. You have absolutely no idea where you are, where you need to go, or where the closest Starbucks is. Sure, you could look at the mapping app on your AGPS-equipped handset, but where’s the sci-fi in that? Leave it to Japan’s NTT DoCoMo (in partnership with Olympus) to whip up a wearable augmented reality solution that’s nearly small enough (and reasonable-looking enough) for individuals with an ounce of self-respect to use, and we’ve had a chance to check it out here at CEATEC this week. Follow the break for impressions and video!

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo’s AR Walker is augmented reality at its finest (video)

NTT DoCoMo’s AR Walker is augmented reality at its finest (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 02:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s with some surprise that we pen, finger to key to screen, praise for a 3D display — particularly one that is glasses-free (the staff is still a bit divided, for example, on Nintendo’s 3DS screen). But here we go. Toshiba’s 20-inch Regza 20GL1 3D set was on hand at CEATEC, and it’s actually a set we could see ourselves comfortably watching for a given span of time. Viewing angles are none too shabby, the refresh rate doesn’t visibly distract or inherently cause headaches, and at 720p, you can actually get an enjoyable image. The 56-inch concept conjured up a worthy picture as well, but then again, it’s a prototype with no immediate purpose other than causing attendee awe at this point. If we had to fault it, we’d say that the viewing angles where you see two distinct perspectives (see the picture above for an example) are too wide, which means you’d have to be really careful about where you sit on the couch if you were to buy something like this for your den.

Also on hand was a notebook, which at this point just didn’t cut it. Perhaps it’s just too early in development, but what was saw had minimal depth and an unfortunately low resolution / perceived refresh rate; when the video loop it was playing switched to the Windows 7 UI, it looked grainy and extremely difficult to read — undoubtedly the side effect of trying to use a display designed for permanent 3D use in 2D mode.

That leaves us to talk about 12-inch 12GL1, and what can we express other than disappointment? The 466 x 350 resolution (yes, that’s less than standard definition) is just awful, you can lose the 3D effect moving marginally to the left or right, depth is not pronounced, and medium-to-fast pace footage just doesn’t work. For all the warm-yet-cautious approval we give to the 20GL1, its little brother is quite the black sheep, especially at ¥120,000 ($1,443). Not that ¥240,000 for 20 inches is a bargain, but at least you’re getting a quality screen… and for once, you don’t actually need additional eyewear to enjoy it. Decidedly two-dimensional snapshots and video taken from an almost pitch-black showroom (i.e. very not optimal) can be found below.

Continue reading Toshiba Regza GL1 3D preview: no frills, no glasses, some issues (video)

Toshiba Regza GL1 3D preview: no frills, no glasses, some issues (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 08:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pureness? At a list price of $1,000, it’d be hard to forget — but with a monochrome see-through display, the whole transparency thing was little more than a novelty on a phone that served little practical purpose. TDK might have the solution with its new transparent QVGA OLEDs, available now to manufacturers in monochrome and in a lovely color variant by the end of the year. At two inches, they offer 200ppi pixel density and are more secure than you might think: the light only shines in one direction, so you actually can’t see any data from the back even though you can still see through the display. At a glance, the display’s didn’t seem as vibrant as the best AMOLEDs on the market, but then again, these are passive matrix — and you can really tell in our videos after the break where the refresh scans stand out. Guess that’s the price you pay for transparency, right? We’ve also got some video of the 3.5-inch flexible OLED screens TDK’s got on hand; they’re not transparent, but considering the long, narrow resolution, we can’t help but think they’d make for amazing wristwatches (or high-tech glowstick replacements at raves).

Continue reading TDK’s see-through and curved OLED display eyes-on (video)

TDK’s see-through and curved OLED display eyes-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 02:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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