Hasta La Gadget!

Okay, two words, sounds like… wait, it’s one word? Okay, two words in one. First word, three letters, sounds like “arm.” Oh, it is “arm.” Okay, second word. You’re typing. Typing on keys. It’s keyboard. It’s not a keyboard? No, it is a keyboard. The word isn’t “keyboard?” Really? Maybe “keypad?” It’s “keypad!” What the heck is an ArmKeypad? Turns out it’s NEC‘s attempt at letting us control our portable devices using charades-like gestures, which we first heard about last week. You can tap your arms in different places to control volume or skip tracks, even clap your hands if you’re happy and your want your PMP to know it. The system relies on a wrist-borne accelerometer that detects the impacts and, while the video below looks a bit goofy, that’s far better than fumbling with your smartphone while sucking wind on your thrice-weekly runs. And, it’s certainly far simpler than the projected Skinput. NEC expects to have this tech built into a watch-like device sometime within the next two years. That watch had better have a calculator.

Continue reading NEC’s ArmKeypad lets you play charades to control your media player (video)

NEC’s ArmKeypad lets you play charades to control your media player (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Diginfonews (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments

Gadget Lab Notes is an eclectic roundup of gadget news briefs and intriguing products that catch our eye.

In the Future, Why Walk When You Can Wheel Around on the Peugeot XB1?
The XB1 is a cross between those hovercrafts from Wall-E, a robot, and a silver Honda Civic. The fully electric tri-wheeled concept vehicle would include GPS and smart phone integration, and top out at 35 km/hr. If the slew of recent concept bikes, trikes, and scooters are any indication, it looks like future humans won’t have much use for their legs.

Peugeot XB1 [Yanko Design]

Now That The iPad 2 Is Available, Let’s Move On To Some iPhone 5 Rumors
What would iPad 2 launch day be without some fresh iPhone 5 rumors? This time in the form of mold engineering diagrams. The images, from iDealsChina, show a slightly larger display (edge to edge) and essentially the same form factor as the iPhone 4. The design appears to match a photo of the bezel that they also released. Although the renders could be phony, it’s worth noting that the site has a track record: they previously leaked accurate renderings of the 4th gen iPod Nano before its release.

China’s Latest iPhone 5 Rumors [iDealsChina via Macrumors]

GroupMe Texting Service Is Poised to Get Big at SXSW
Group texting service GroupMe, which lets you easily send texts to a group of people regardless of carrier or phone model, looks like it may be a breakout hit of SXSWi. Having used it at this year’s CES, I can attest to its awesomeness. It’s an efficient way to deliver a message to a group of friends or colleagues. Watch out if you have a limited texting plan though—add a couple of drinks to the mix, and you could wake up to dozens of ah, colorful, messages just waiting to be read (that is, unless you were the sender).

GroupMe [GroupMe via FastCompany]

Get Your Race On With an iPhone Steering Wheel Speaker
Similar to the Wii steering wheel wiimote, this circular speaker has a place in the center where you pop in your iPhone 4. Two external speakers add some audio oomph to your game play, while the circular shape makes steering in racing games a bit more fun and realistic.

iPhone 4G Steering Wheel With Speakers [Focal Price via Ubergizmo]

This Is Not The Droid You’re Looking For: R2-D2 Hacked With an Xbox 360 and Projector
On second thought, this fun mod, which includes luminous blue LEDs, a speaker, and an Xbox 360 as a brain, might be the droid you’re looking for after all. The built-in projector displays images 15-50 inches away, and R2’s hull includes touch-sensitive buttons and auxiliary hookups for other input devices (like a Wii or Playstation) if you just want to use the projector. R2 also has HDMI out and optical audio out.

Star Wars R2-D2 Xbox 360 [Instructables via Dvice]

Don’t Arm Wrestle Your Opponent If They Are Wearing the x-Ar Exoskeleton Arm
The x-Ar Exoskeleton Arm is designed to provide arm support, particularly for those who constantly have to lift or transport heavy objects. The x-Ar attaches to the arm at the wrist with a cuff and uses steadicam-inspired technology so that arm movement is not hindered, just made more powerful. I hope these are available to rent before the next time I have to move.

x-AR [Equipois via Crunchgear]

There are headphone amplifiers, and then there’s Fiskar’s 88. Designer Edouard Urcadez took the liberty of utilizing the Fiskar brand on this here concoction, which features an unorthodox form factor, larger-than-life volume / tone knobs, an array of rear outputs and a Made in Finland badge. There’s no theoretical specifications to simmer on, but the inclusion of speaker outputs leads us to believe that we’re looking at a dual-stage amp or one with far more power than most headphone pushers. We’ve never actually seen an inanimate object cry for production, but we’re going to stare at the image above a bit longer just in case. There’s a first time for everything, right?

Fiskar’s ’88’ headphone amplifier concept touts bombastic knobs, oodles of style originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 06:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Slashgear  |  Yanko Design  | Email this | Comments

We’ve seen some pretty interesting and insanely unique watches in our time, and just when we thought we’d seen it all, artist Olivier Demange whips up this timepiece concept — dubbed Konect — that packs a wide range of features and looks futuristic while doing so. Embedded in this Tron-esque gadget watch is a Bluetooth radio that’ll act as a receiver — yes, you can finally fulfill your lifelong dream of using your watch to communicate (only if you’ve strapped a paired BT headset to your skull). You’ll also find proper controls for music playback, a button to answer and end calls, a removable USB stick, and well, a way to tell the time. Judging by the renders, we’d say finding out when it is might take more than a second or two, but you can be sure that we hope to see this thing on our wrists sometime. Check out the concept in video form below the fold — and yes, we know, House!

Continue reading Konect USB watch concept is awe-inspiring, hard to tell time on (video)

Konect USB watch concept is awe-inspiring, hard to tell time on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gizmodo  |  Tokyoflash  | Email this | Comments

We’ve been teasing you with images of this see-through beauty since Sony announced plans to bring its translucent mirror to the A77. Unfortunately, we’ve still yet to get our dirty paws on its hard shell, but we’re happy to live vicariously through Pocket-lint’s hands-on of Sony’s clear-bodied Alpha camera. According to its post, the concept DSLR is based on a heretofore unidentified mid-range camera that touts an Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor and “fast continuous autofocus.” The camera is slated for a late 2011 release, but chances are it won’t come with that sweet transparent body. So soak it up while you can, because this could be the last you see of the crystalline casing — hit the source link for even more eye candy.

Sony’s see-through Alpha DSLR gets the hands-on treatment, probably won’t get a launch date originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 03:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Pocket-lint  | Email this | Comments