Hasta La Gadget!

Folks, today might be the day when you start to notice how ancient our smartphones have become, even if they only came out in last few months. Blame Else (formerly Emblaze Mobile) for its confusingly-named First Else, a phone “built from scratch” over the last two years and now powered by Access Linux Platform (ALP) 3.0 — a mobile OS thought to have quietly died out since our last sighting in February. Until today’s London launch event, the last we heard of this Israeli company was from October’s Access Day in Japan where it previewed the Else Intuition OS, which we like to think of as inspired by Minority Report. While it’s still too early to tell whether the First Else — launching in Q2 next year — will dodge the path of doom, we were already overwhelmed by the excellence of the device’s user experience, both from its presentation and from our exclusive hands-on opportunity. Do read on to find out how Else is doing it right.

Continue reading Emblaze’s First Else unveiled in London, promises to be a game-changer

Emblaze’s First Else unveiled in London, promises to be a game-changer originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Up to this point, I had never let my two young children listen to music through headphones. Maybe it’s because their hard-of-hearing daddy is paying for all the hundreds of hours he spent rocking out with his Walkman and, later, iPod, cranked to 11.

But the Disney Princess Headphones Jr. for Kids ($19.95 list) actually softened me up to the idea. The headphones fit my 2-year-old daughter perfectly in both size and style—very pink, cushy, and comfy, with glamorous pictures of Cinderella, Belle, and Aurora on each side (what more could a toddler girly girl want?). But the best part is the volume control; the loudest level is softer than even I would have sanctioned. And there’s a big instant-mute button, too. Very handy.

Post by Stephanie Chang

Roborover ($69.99 list), the newest toy robot from WowWee, is not quiet. But kids (recommended ages 6 and older) are sure to have a blast with it. With its tread wheels, flashing lights, and seemingly never-ending patter, Roborover will more than match the energy and imagination of any child. Adults, on the other hand, are going to want to keep the robot’s remote control handy, or at least know where the off-button is when all that activity goes into overdrive.

WowWee dubs the Roborover an “exploration buddy,” and it’s certainly tricked out to take on uncharted territory—even if that just means underneath the kitchen table. The robot is made of yellow hard plastic with black trim. Instead of feet, it has tread-based caterpillar tracks, and it’s equipped with headlights (turned on and off by the Headlight button on the remote). Roborover’s tread wheels allow it to drive over objects up to a 15-degree gradient, or about an inch high. If it falls forward about 45 degrees, Roborover can still continue moving on its treads and talk, but the remote doesn’t function in this position. There are two LED eyes and a mouth. The cap on Roborover’s head? Just there for decoration.