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Continue reading Head-mounted webcam gets, records funny looks

Head-mounted webcam gets, records funny looks originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We can’t count the number of times that we’ve longed for our Insert, Home, Page Up, Delete, End and Page Down buttons to be replaced with an angled slab of plastic, but obviously we’re in a pretty small minority. Matias has just issued its USB 2.0 keyboard + smartphone stand, which essentially carves out a slice of keyboard real estate for your phone to sit, though no passthrough USB cable / iPhone dock connector is provided for charging. The purpose? To put all of your mobile apps right at your fingertips, because keeping said phone on your desk is just completely and utterly unacceptable. Oh, and did we mention that the layout itself is nothing special? If you see something we don’t, feel free to part with your $49.95 and smile while thinking “I told you so.”

Update: Documentation about the keyboard indicated that “custom keypad and trackpad apps” could be loaded on to “control your Mac,” which certainly makes this more appealing, but unfortunately details on that are scant.

Matias makes room for your smartphone on an otherwise vanilla keyboard originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Our dreams of an actually useful wearable computer have still yet to materialize, but the second-generation Kopin Golden-i concept — now inconspicuously Motorola-branded — is an interesting attempt. It’s based around a head mounted, magnified SVGA LCD that is meant to be “glanceable” while the user remains aware of their surroundings. The Windows CE-chugging, OMAP3530-powered computer onboard is voice controlled and also motion sensing (for cursor control), and can hook up with other devices over Bluetooth, WiFi and USB. Of course, it remains to be seen if software can make something like this truly usable, but it certainly looks like the hardware is all there — and the form factor isn’t pure tragedy either. Check out the Charbax-infused video demo of the device after the break.

Continue reading Motorola shows off Kopin Golden-i wearable computer

Motorola shows off Kopin Golden-i wearable computer originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Nokia Research Center has another tech tease that gives us a glimpse into one of our many possible mobile computing futures. The so-called, Explore and Share concept starts by placing an N900 onto a “writer” that’s tethered to a PC at a retail store. At that point, the PC recognizes the handset and serves up a number of options to the purchaser. For the purposes of the demo, an unnamed Finn selects an album that downloads to the handset in less than 10 seconds. Less than 10 seconds, wirelessly! If we assume that the 18 track Bruce Springsteen album is somewhere between 100MB and 200MB then we’re looking at a 10MBps to 20MBps transfer rate. Nokia doesn’t admit to what tech it’s using, referring to it only as “a new radio technology.” It’s certainly not NFC which tops out at 424kbps, or Bluetooth 3.0 + HS which tops out at 3MBps. It also negotiates much faster than WiFi (though that could just be editing trickery). It’s closer to Wireless USB’s real-world data rates of around 15MBps or TransferJet‘s 375Mbps effective throughput. Or as a long shot, maybe Bluetooth 4.0 which targets 60Mbps (theoretical) transfer rates. Regardless, it’s fast so we have to agree with Nokia when it deadpans: “Sounds great. Doesn’t. It.” Check out the action after the break.

Continue reading Nokia’s Explore and Share concept uses super fast, mystery wireless

Nokia’s Explore and Share concept uses super fast, mystery wireless originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mercedes has just announced its latest “research vehicle,” the F800 Style, and as concepts are wont to do, it intersperses some extremely ambitious goals with plenty of viable and forthcoming improvements. The two powertrain options touted by the company represent this best. On the one hand, there’s a perfectly reasonable PHEV setup that will generate north of 400bhp combined grunt and offer an 18-mile range when abstaining from gas power. On the other, there’s an electric drive with fuel cells system that will get you a spectacular 375-mile cruising range — if only it’d make it to real products, which seems highly unlikely right now. All the same, as the company’s premium sedan concept, the F800 Style represents the direction of Mercedes’ future designs, both in its external styling and in the internal focus on becoming friendlier to the environment. We can find little reason to object to either. Check out a couple more pics after the break, then hit Autoblog for more details.

Continue reading Mercedes-Benz F800 Style teases us with fuel cells, aggressive new look

Mercedes-Benz F800 Style teases us with fuel cells, aggressive new look originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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