Jul 19

Toyota Turns Kids Into Backseat Drivers

Posted in: apps, gaming, gps, mobile, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS, Today's Chili, Toyota, Toys

Sitting in the backseat of a car while your parents are taking you somewhere can be a bore for a young, energetic child. As a parent, having a jittery son constantly pestering you with questions like “are we there yet?” definitely tests tests your nerves. Toy Toyota, Toyota’s new division that aims at creating innovative projects directed towards families, has worked with Party, a new creative super-group set up by some of Japan’s leading creative artists to develop an interesting iPhone app that allows children to join in on the driving experience.

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The “Backseat Driver” uses GPS to let kids follow their “daddy car” in their “my car,” driving along the same path as their parents are in real life. Given the ability to steer left and right, users are awarded points when making correct turns and passing through landmarks and famous sites which appear as little objects on the road. The rarer the landmark, the more points that are rewarded, which can then be converted into unique designs for the car in a “garage.” Users can then share with friends and family their customized car and travel routes via Twitter, showing off the “cool” places that their parents had taken them, including the new candy store down the road.

backseat-driver-toyota-garage

The video below is an ad launched by Toy Toyota introducing this new app, available for free download on iTunes. It is interesting that the ad uses their Prius, their iconic hybrid vehicle, closely tying into their CSR activities.

backseat-driver-toyota-view

Innovative apps like the Backseat Driver prove to be a great way of keeping the kids entertained on a long road trip. Although I’m not particularly sure if children at this age would have a Twitter account, if Toyota believes this young generation to be intact with the SNS trend, this would certainly be a huge marketing opportunity for sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Toyota seems to be heavily invested in CSR activities, evident in their announcement today to create several new in-house schools in the Tohoku region (where the 3/11 disaster struck) to train junior high school students the basics of manufacturing before actually hiring them.

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Jul 13

Smartphone App Measures User’s Brainwaves

Posted in: apps, Gadgets, gaming, MARKETING IDEAS, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS, Robots, Smartphones, Today's Chili

KDDI R&D laboratories has successfully created one of the first integrations of mobile gaming and neural science. Introduced at today’s International Modern Hospital Show , this app’s ability to measure the amount of concentration and meditation occurring in the brain while the users perform simple tasks or are heavily indulged in their video game, truly grasped our attention.

KDDI-neural-activity-gaming-app

The user first wears a headband-like headset embedded with tiny sensor chips that detect neural activity in the human brain. A paperclip-like device is then attached to the ear, which acts as a stabilizer to ensure that everything is “balanced” and also as a pulse detector. The app is downloadable for smart phones, and in this case, the Android was our first test device. Three different games were introduced to us and for each, the amount of neural activity going on in the brain was measured. As can be seen below, the games are fairly simple, but require a fair amount of attention. After 30 seconds of play, the app displayed a chart graphing both concentration (focused-state) and meditation (relaxed-state) levels. A diagram also appeared, representing the different areas of the brain that was most used during that span.

The device can be used in other situations as well. Users can focus for around 30 seconds on something that they are passionate about or evokes a particular emotion. The app then displays a graph of the user’s brain activity relating to the amount of focused attention during that period for analysis.

nerowear-KDDI-Brain-game-Smartphone-App

Although still a concept and not on shelves yet, KDDI’s new technology can be seen as a stepping stone towards more interactive neural technology made available for the general public. We can see this type of neuro-wear being implemented not only in people’s daily lives, but in advertising and marketing as well. It would be a great advancement to see this technology being used to detect what sort of ads prove to be the most effective by measuring the amount of generated interest by the consumers.

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Jul 13

Report: Touchscreen demand to grow by 90-percent, led by mobile, tablet markets

Posted in: app, business, capacitive, gaming, market, mobile, money, research, tablet, tablet pc, TabletPc, Today's Chili, touch, touchscreen

This just in: people really like touchscreens, and their tastes aren’t going to change anytime soon. That’s the takeaway from a new report from market research firm DisplaySearch, which predicts that revenue from touch panel sales will hit the $13.4 billion mark by the end of this year, before soaring to nearly $24 billion by 2017. Shipments of capacitive touch displays, in particular, are expected to increase by 100-percent over last year, accounting for a full 70-percent of all tactile revenues. The mobile market still accounts for most of this industry-wide growth, but demand for touch-based tablets is accelerating considerably, with more than 72 million panels expected to ship this year, and 100 million projected in 2012. Jonesing for more numbers? Better gallop past the break to get your hands on the full PR.

Continue reading Report: Touchscreen demand to grow by 90-percent, led by mobile, tablet markets

Report: Touchscreen demand to grow by 90-percent, led by mobile, tablet markets originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 06:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 12

Ballmer: Microsoft will launch Xbox Music this fall (update: not true)

Posted in: console, gaming, kinect, Microsoft, steve ballmer, streaming, Today's Chili, xbox

Steve Ballmer revealed a new service yesterday that should be, ahem, music to your ears when it starts spinning this fall. During Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in Los Angeles, the Windows chief mentioned Xbox Music — a MS-branded music streaming service, with over 11 million songs and Kinect compatibility. That last feature will let you shout your music selections across the room, and could result in some pretty gnarly sibling battles whenever music tastes don’t match. Unlike the console’s current last.fm offering, we can only hope that Music will support multitasking, allowing you to settle those musical differences in the virtual boxing ring as the beat goes on, rather than on the living room floor.

Update: The Business Insider editor who reported the quote tweeted a correction and updated the article, explaining “No new Xbox Music service coming this fall. Just voice command to existing service. ‘Xbox. Music.’ Correction posted.”

Ballmer: Microsoft will launch Xbox Music this fall (update: not true) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Joystiq  |  sourceBusiness Insider, Twitter (correction)  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 12

Xbox 360 pops up in Win 8 code, console game compatibility coming to the PC?

Posted in: Games, gaming, PC, rumor, rumors, Today's Chili, Windows, windows 8, Windows8, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360
Xbox 360 Reference in Win8 Code

It’s no secret that Microsoft is planning on integrating Xbox LIVE into Windows 8, but rumors are now swirling that Xbox 360 games might actually be playable on the next version of Redmond’s OS. References to “XBOX_360_SYSTEM_CRASH” have been found in the kernel code — an odd bit of text to show up in software that’s not designed to run on the 360’s PowerPC CPU. There are, of course, other, more mundane possibilities — like the ability to remotely control your console to trigger update and game downloads, or to receive notifications from the machine on your desktop. But, if Microsoft is bringing Xbox titles to the PC, it would only serve to solidify Windows as the platform of choice gamers. Guess we’ll just have to wait bated breath to see what Ballmer has to tell us in January.

Xbox 360 pops up in Win 8 code, console game compatibility coming to the PC? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 12

Half of Xbox 360 Units Sold to Buyers Who Didn’t Own Xbox 1

Posted in: Apple, gaming, Microsoft, playstation, Screenshots, Today's Chili, xbox, xbox 360, xbox live

This article was written on January 19, 2007 by CyberNet.

Going along with our recent poll, here’s another question for you.  How many of you that own an Xbox 360, also own or owned at one point the original Xbox?  According to Chris Satchell of Microsoft, he’s saying that so far, 10.4 million Xbox 360 units have been sold.  But, even more interesting is that he says over half of those have come from people that never owned the original Xbox. Are any of you Xbox 360 owners previous Playstation owners? Satchell says, “There’s lots of new people coming in, which kind of surprises you.  What we’re actually finding is that our customer set is broadening, which we think is important.”

If that’s true, and half of those 10.4 million units were sold to those who weren’t original Xbox users, that says something. Dead Takahashi of San Jose Mercury News interviewed Gates and asked how his plan for 360 was working. Gates says, “It’s working perfectly.  We wanted to be the guy with the small box that costs less.  We wanted to have the most games.  We wanted to play to our software strength, and tools and online.  We wanted to swap positions with Sony.  We wanted to not be a year late, not be a bix box, not be a more expensive box. How are we doing on that?”

Well, let’s see. They wanted to be the guy with the small box that costs less. Check. Most games? Well, considering the 360 has been out for over a year now, of course there are more games than those made specifically for Playstation 3. Are they playing to their software strength, tools, and online? Absolutely. Xbox Live has 5 million users and it’s growing! At CES, Gates and Robbie Bach announced the move of Xbox Live to Vista this year, and an IPTV service for US Xbox 360 owners.

In the same interview with Takahashi, Gates admits that Microsoft did fail in terms of lack of software, price, and size with the original Xbox. It was bigger, cost more, and when it came to software, the Playstation 2 blew it out of the water. When Gates says, “We want to swap positions with Sony” I think just maybe, they could be well on their way with that.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Jul 11

AMD announces the Radeon HD 6990M, has some pointed words for NVIDIA

Posted in: AMD, gaming, GraphicsCard, NVIDIA, Today's Chili
Here are five words you’ve heard before: “the world’s fastest notebook GPU.” Why, NVIDIA made just that claim two weeks ago, when it touted the GeForce GTX 580M as the nimblest card this side of Pluto. Not so fast, says AMD. The outfit just unveiled the Radeon HD 6990M with DirectX11 and HD3D support, and it insists this is the speediest GPU on the block — specifically, up to 25 percent faster than any other GPU that’s been announced to the public. And yes, AMD’s well aware of that 580M. Just like NVIDIA came out swinging, making pointed comparisons to the Radeon HD 6970M, AMD’s got some fighting words of its own: the company says the 6990M can whip the 580M in the benchmark AvP and games such as Batman Arkham Asylum, Dragon Age 2, Shogun 2, BattleForge, Left 4 Dead, Metro2033, Wolfenstein MP, The Chronicles of Riddick, and ET: Quake Wars. We don’t need to remind you that these numbers merely represent the story each company wants to tell. Still, you get the idea: these are the top-of-the-line cards each has to offer at the moment, and they’ll likely be competing for space in your next gaming rig.

As you can imagine, the 6990M joins other Radeon HD cards in supporting the company’s Eyefinity technology, as well as GPU app acceleration. Let it be known, too, that while the 6990M supplants the popular 6970M as far as performance claims go, AMD tells us the 6970M will still be available for the foreseeable future. Speaking of availability, the 6990M will be offered in the Alienware M18x — right alongside NVIDIA’s 580M. Additionally, you’ll find it packed inside Clevo’s P170HM and P150HM. And you didn’t think we forgot about specs, did you? Head on past the break to find the full PR, along with a handful of technical details straight from the horse’s mouth.

Continue reading AMD announces the Radeon HD 6990M, has some pointed words for NVIDIA

AMD announces the Radeon HD 6990M, has some pointed words for NVIDIA originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 10

iMAME4All gains experimental support for iCade, iOS gamers gain infinite happiness

Posted in: Android, gaming, Google, ipad, iPhone, ipod touch, IpodTouch, Software, Today's Chili

Guess what, emulation junkies? iMAME4All, a staple amongst retro iOS gamers, can now support iCade. Thanks to one Todd Laney, there’s now a 3.5MB download that’ll bring the joys of iCade to a relatively commonplace MAME application (and vice-versa). We’re told that the best way to use these two is in fullscreen portrait mode, and after tapping the option button (and selecting “Options), the onscreen controls will fade out and the iCade buttons will appear. Looks like that Benjamin you just saved up now has yet another reason to be spent.

[Thanks, Jim]

iMAME4All gains experimental support for iCade, iOS gamers gain infinite happiness originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 23:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 09

Crescent’s Immersive Digital Entertainment VR: it’s like a Virtual Boy that you wear

Posted in: gaming, Today's Chili, video

From what we’ve gathered in the video just below the break, the graphical capabilities aren’t terribly impressive on Crescent’s Immersive Digital Entertainment VR system, but really — who cares? It’s a motion gaming solution… that you wear. On your head. When placed in the proper scenario, it gives gamers a full 360 degree space to interact in, with an array of HD motion capture cameras making the virtual reality that much less virtual (and in turn, that much more reality). Hard to say if this thing will ever have a life in the commercial realm, but yeah, we’d buy one.

Continue reading Crescent’s Immersive Digital Entertainment VR: it’s like a Virtual Boy that you wear

Crescent’s Immersive Digital Entertainment VR: it’s like a Virtual Boy that you wear originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jul 2011 10:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 08

U.S. anti-streaming bill could be major blow for gamers

Posted in: Games, gaming, Today's Chili

  Electronic Consumers Association head Hal Halpin has spoken out on Bill S.978, the so-called “Anti-Streaming Bill” introduced in the U.S. Senate during the current session, saying “it’s very concerning.” Additionally, Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson has chimed in with a developer’s response to the controversy. The problem, Halpin claims, is that the legislation currently […]

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