Jabra has long been considered one of the industry leaders when it comes to providing mobile communications accessories. Their Bluetooth headsets exist in such a wide range, it has often been said that there was something for everyone in Jabra’s lineup. When I look for a Bluetooth device, I want something that is light on […]
The antique Thunderbird parked outside on my street right now will run, approximately, forever. Unlike my Honda Civic Hybrid, which will be in the scrapheap before my baby daughter hits college. Why? Because the gadgetization of cars is ruining them. More »
Earlier this year, Pioneer, known for its wide array of electronics ranging from car navigation systems to home theaters, opened a showcase plaza in a fascinating looking building located in the heart of Ginza, one of the more upscale, luxurious shopping districts in Japan. We took a trip to Ginza to find out the latest technology that Pioneer has to offer to the public. The shop’s tagline, “Wanna See The Future?” clearly demonstrates Pioneer’s aim at establishing the newest hi-tech product innovations aimed at enhancing consumers’ lifestyles. Rather than merely showcasing their newest technology, visitors are encouraged to fully experience and interact with the digital products on display.
The Pioneer Plaza is spread out over three floors, each dedicated to a specific theme. As we walked into the first floor, out of the vast lineup of home electronics, the first thing that immediately grasped our attention was the Sound Cocoon. With beautiful alternating color lighting and an extremely cozy sofa, this intimate egg-shaped sound enhancement space was designed to provide ultimate comfort and relaxation for its users. It uses Pioneer’s Acco built-in amp system that can play music from any portable audio device, as well as online radio. With three speakers placed in strategic locations inside the cocoon, the intention was for a “peaceful environment in which the music blended in with the air and embraced the user.”
Our eyes then led us to the Floating Vision, which is an AR hologram monitor that allows users to encounter a 3D experience with their naked eye. What was particularly cool about this product was that it used an infrared sensor that allowed users to interact with the various characters displayed on the screen, introducing a new type of user interface programming. The screen is surrounded by a sensor-embedded frame that extends out about 10cm. It’s possible to virtually touch and manipulate objects, draw pictures, and interact with characters inside the screen just by making the actions in the field of the sensors.
The Floating Vision was made for personal home entertainment allowing users to connect a computer to the unit through a USB cable which then turns the product into a second display, offering a variety of applications. With a downloadable software program called FV_Tool, users can easily create their own hologram display by using visual files of their choice. Going one step further from digital photo frames, the technology makes it possible to upload any personal photos which can then be displayed in holographic 3D and interacted with, such as poking the hologram would “frighten it” and cause it to duck.
Pioneer also integrated the use of Felica with this technology to provide visitors with information about the store and their newest products. Deviating from the existing Felica information providers that merely generate a sound when applied, this particular device offers users with a variety of 3D visuals, adding a little “extra touch.”
Although still in production and not yet for commercial use, the Cycling Computer, attachable to bicycles and other motor vehicles such as mopeds, uses its built-in GPS system to collaborate with Pioneer’s audio and navigation technology. Shaped like a smaller version of an iPhone, the Cycling Computer was not only intended for navigation purposes but for entertainment as well. With a unique sensor that calculates the speed and amount of revolution of the wheel, the user is notified of the distance that they have traveled, their heart rate, and how many calories have been burnt off. Music and animations are played accordingly to different speeds and cycling style. Pioneer is planning to release applications for this device as soon as it hits the market, which would enhance the users’ experience, such as a navigating app that displays the most scenic routes to their destination.
The rest of the 1st floor was decorated with a number of other products that demonstrated product innovations aimed at space conservation, such as an ultra thin speaker, and a new type of thin LED lighting device that further reduces the use of electricity and has features such as its ability to bend, making it easily adjustable to any sort of placement.
As we reached the second floor, we were greeted with a beautiful arrangement of earphones and headsets which visitors could plug into their own portable audio player and try on, each with a unique concept and feature.
The rest of the floor was dedicated to Pioneer’s Carrozzeria car navigation series, which fully utilizes AR as well as the idea of using smartphones as navigators. Its AR Scouter Mode uses a built in camera to display front and rear view images that provides drivers with route and road information onto the actual navigation screen. Landmarks like gasoline stations and convenient stores, distance between cars, directions, and other information are displayed in real time above the front view image, providing drivers with a much easily visible guidance. With the newest UI (user interface) technology it acts as an iPod and DVD player, television, and built-in bluetooth system. This touch-panel navigator has other cool features such as a voice command search system and an added “Eco Navigator” that takes displays a route in which the driver would use the least amount of gas, calculating the weight and size of the car.
With similar brand spaces such as Shiseido’s Total Beauty Facility, there seems to be a general move towards a more effective utilization of store space, deviating from the traditional shop-and-go stores seen throughout Japan. Brands are leaning towards a more interactive orientation by providing customers with product demonstrations and allowing them to fully experience their products and services themselves.
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In just a few days, HP’s first TouchPad units will be showing off their webOS sexiness on retail shelves across the U.S. — and then heading quickly to the U.K., Ireland, France, and Germany. Canadians (yours truly included) will be able to pick up their 9.7″ slabs on July 15th. HP has done a good […]
With electricity on the mind of the citizenry, we’ve been seeing a tremendous amount of effort going into launching and relaunching products to solve potential problems or simply calm nerves.
Aqua Power System Japan (APSJ) has just announced an updated version of their NoPoPo (No Pollution Power) Aqua Battery, which as its name reads, runs entirely on water and any other type of liquid, including urine, coke, and even saliva. It is the first ever completely eco-friendly water battery that is both rechargeable and recyclable. Rather than a battery, the company likes to refer to it as a “small electric generator,” given that it can be recharged or “refilled” up to 5 times.
The battery’s body is composed of a sponge, which absorbs the liquid inserted by a dropper (that comes with the batteries) and causes a chemical reaction to occur, generating electricity for whatever intended use. The battery can also be fully charged by simply soaking it in water for 3-5 minutes, which would prove to be convenient in many situations.
What we found the most interesting, was that this was able to be powered by absolutely any liquid, ranging from beer to saliva, although the effect would slightly differ accordingly. I personally would much rather consume the beer myself, and slightly hesitate at the idea of knowing that my personal electronics are powered by my own saliva. However, these batteries are said to have an expected shelf life of 20 years, and a life span of about five hours if powering a standard LED light. At a cost of $2 per battery, this would certainly come in handy at times of emergencies such as energy shortages and natural disasters. Although the NoPoPo currently only comes in the AA size, APSJ sells adapters making it possible to convert it into different sizes, broadening the types of appliances the battery could be used for.
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This article was written on January 22, 2007 by CyberNet.
Million Dollar Monday
Suzuki is changing the way that you’ll be seeing your movies! There’s no need to go to a theater,with the Suzuki Drive-In Home Theater Concept Car. The XL7 Flix is perfect for any movie enthusiast who just can’t get enough. This concept car puts your movie entertainment into your own hands. Check it out:
The XL7 Flix features a clamshell roof. Drive to the perfect location like the park, beach, or wherever you prefer to watch your movies, and the clamshell room opens up. It opens to a moonroof which serves as a 40 inch movie screen, right from your very own car.
This could revolutionize camping trips, and there’d be no need for outdoor theaters (the few that exist anyways). It uses a powerful digital projection system so that you can project your movies to just about any surface, like buildings, billboards, or of course, the 40 inch movie screen.
The picture above shows what the view would look like from sitting in your entertainment system on wheels. It includes a high definition DVD player with an integrated hard drive for AV storage, along with a professional THX/SDS theater quality sound system.
Checkout those pivoting quarter window speakers! To top off this entertainment system, there are 4 bucket seats that each pivot 180 degrees so you can have the perfect view(although, they don’t exactly look comfortable for a long road trip).
Talk about your own private screening room on wheels! This Suzuki XL7 Flix concept car is taking you to the movies!
News Source: Auto Motto
Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com
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This article was written on August 21, 2006 by CyberNet.
If you don’t consider yourself an “average Joe” rather you consider yourself living the life of luxery, Nokia’s luxery brand of phones called Vertu will be the perfect “communication instrument” (the average joe calls it “cell phone”) for you. From sapphires and crystal to rubys and diamonds, this phone is nothing but average. To top it off, it’s made piece by piece entirely by hand.
I went to their website to get the details and I was impressed. They offer a variety of styles and colors to satisfy all of your needs. There are white and yellow gold options available with diamonds. Yes, diamonds on a cell phone. Vertu also offers an array of colors like red, blue, yellow, and the list goes on. For comparisons, Nokia will sell millions of phones in a years time while Vertu will sell only thousands. It’s a completely different ball game and quite the different consumer Vertu aims their product at.
How would you like a keypad made with ruby bearings? Along with the ruby keypad bearings, Vertu phones also have silicone moldings under the leather on each corner that protects the phone from wear and tear. The phones also have a strong sapphire crystal and titanium surface that gives the phone some extra protection.
A phone such as this will cost at the least, several thousand dollars (and the demand is on the rise). For such a high cost, I’d expect it to last for more than the 2.5 to 4 hours of talk time that it currently has. While there’s not a whole lot of talk time, it does have an estimated 270 hours of standby time. It also has a fairly large user memory capable of storing around 1000 entries.
According to LuxuryLaunches.com, Vertu is expected to release another phone within the next month which is expected to sell well. You can find retailers of the Vertu phones all over the world in the United States, Canada, UK, France, and some countries in Asia.
Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com
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This article was written on May 02, 2008 by CyberNet.
Ever since Post-it notes became popular in the 1980′s by 3M, no one has really managed to modernize them. I guess that saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” applies here. There’s never been any reason to try and come up with something better because Post-it notes just work! While it works, MIT must have thought there were ways to improve it and make it a little more modern because they’ve reinvented the Post-it note with something else called “Quickies.” As you can imagine, coming from MIT it’s all about the electronics involved.
TFOT Gives a good explanation of what Quickie is all about, and they also had some great pictures as well:
A newly-written Quickie is a simple Post-it note, which is scribed on a sensitive pad that allows the computer to capture and store the written information. This is done using commercially available digital-pen hardware, which translates the movement of the pen on the surface of the paper sticky note into digital information. The data can be viewed at any time through the Quickie software, which stores the sticky notes as images and converts the hand-written notes into computer-understandable text using available handwriting recognition algorithms.
Take a look at the video below and you’ll get a great idea of what the Quickies are all about:
After watching the video, I have to admit that it is impressive how text messaging and adding appointments to a calendar are so simple to use. And of course each note has got RFID embedded into so that they’ll be easy to locate, but is that what people are looking to do with their post-it notes? I noticed in the comments of the video that someone said, “one word, over-engineered” They pointed out how it’s simply not practical. While it’s definitely a cool concept, I think post-it notes are popular because they’re simple and they aren’t digitized.
Do you see this as something that could actually be useful? Or is this not what you’re looking for a post-it note to do?
Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com
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Ross Rubin contributes Reserve Power, a column focused on personal perspectives and products.
They come from across the country to a conference room at Telebrands, the Fairfield, NJ-based infomercial marketer that serves as the arbiter in the TV show Pitchmen. It was Inventors Day, an event that the company holds around the country about every six weeks. Those who submit the best ideas to inventorsday@telebrands.com are invited to present. At stake, the chance to design Telebrands’ next hit product and become a millionaire. And all that stood between them and fortune was a convincing pitch to the judging panel (made up of CEO A.J. Khubani, his wife Poonam Khubani, and marketing advisor Don Braca) and a permanently installed five-foot long model of a PedEgg — invented by the Telebrands CEO in ’97 — signed by company well-wishers.
Continue reading Reserve Power: When inventor meets informercial, Part 1
Reserve Power: When inventor meets informercial, Part 1 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Jun 2011 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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This article was written on February 20, 2008 by CyberNet.
One of the things that I was pretty disappointed with at CES this year was Microsoft’s “future” segment. It’s where they often give us a glimpse of what to expect 10 or 15 years from now, and when watching it I normally find myself giggling like a little kid in a candy store. This year they really didn’t put much thought into it.
In the comments yesterday Bill pointed out a video that is brought to you by the same people that created the “what’s it like to work at Microsoft” video, who happen to be Microsoft employees themselves. The video I’m about to show you is more like what I expected to see come out of Gates’ CES presentation this year. It focuses on how everything will be seamlessly integrated in the future, and really sparked some excitement in the technology side of my brain (which occupies 95% of my brain).
Watch the three-minute video and let me know what you think:
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