Hasta La Gadget!

The “works with iPhone” stamp has taken a whole new meaning for Pioneer as it’s just added two new Blu-ray players due in May featuring iControlAVR app support baked in. You won’t be taking advantage of the VSX-1020’s (VSA-1020 in Japan) 3D compatibility with the BDP-330 or higher end BDP-LX53, but owners will enjoy return of last year’s well-received Precision Quartz Lock System with the addition of YouTube streaming and RSS feeds. Taking advantage of the Apple tie-ins will require hooking up to the network and a WiFi dongle is extra, check out the screens from the remote app after the break and decide on your own if physical buttons (or only being able to bring a touch interface to certain discs) was just too much of a hassle.

Continue reading Pioneer shows off iPhone remote controllable Blu-ray players

Pioneer shows off iPhone remote controllable Blu-ray players originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Step aside Sharp, Hitachi has a parallax barrier 3D display all its own that likewise doesn’t require special glasses to view. While not as bright (400nits vs. 500nits) or big as Sharp’s 3.4-incher, Hitachi’s contribution brings a 3.1-inch IPS panel to mobile 3D devices pushing the same 480 x 854 pixels and 1,000:1 reported contrast. While the image above won’t make much sense outside of Japan, here’s the gist: a series of vertical slits in the IPS LCD directs light to the right and left eyes to give the 3D effect — no special glasses required. Remember, both Hitachi and Sharp have a long, and sometimes dubious, relationship with Nintendo so don’t be surprised to see either (or both) announced as partners when Ninty unveils its 3DS handheld console at E3 in June.

Hitachi 3.1-inch 3D IPS display is another Nintendo 3DS contender originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 06:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hiroshi Ishiguro (or his evil android twin, one) is back in business, and nearly four years after his Geminoid HI-1 startled youngsters everywhere, the Geminoid-F has arrived to consternate the grown-ups. Shown off this weekend in Osaka, Japan, the lifelike lady you see above (pictured left, just in case you were wondering) was designed to mimic human facial expressions that are fed in to its internal computer. The rubberized face has a rather insane amount of flexibility, enabling it to pull off subtle gestures that have thus far been impossible to replicate on a robot. Sly grins, angry glares and totally-fake smiles are all possible now, with developers hoping to have these in hospitals and the like in the not-too-distant future. Currently, copies of the humanoid are expected to sell for around ¥10,000,000 ($105,780), though it’ll likely be robotics research organizations doing the majority of the buying. Hop on past the break for a video that’s guaranteed to leave you stunned — and while we’re not fluent in Japanese, we’re pretty sure someone asks if they “can rock that bad Larry on their dome.”

Continue reading Hiroshi Ishiguro’s Geminoid-F humanoid mimics Earthlings, is definitely the beginning of the end (video)

Hiroshi Ishiguro’s Geminoid-F humanoid mimics Earthlings, is definitely the beginning of the end (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Masters is just about a week away from being broadcast to you in glorious 3D, meaning American viewers with the necessary equipment (and a Comcast subscription) will get a taste of live 3D in the very near future. Japanese viewers will have to wait a little bit longer, until May 16, for the broadcast of the Asakusa Sanja Festival. One hour of the programming will be broadcast in 3D and is tentatively (and humorously) titled “3D broadcast first try!” This will cover what’s said to be the climax of the festival, celebrating three men who founded the Buddhist temple in the Asakusa district with a parade, Shinto shrines, and, new this year, goofy glasses.

[Photo credit: Torsodog]

First live 3D broadcast to rock Japanese airwaves on May 16 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After Softbank announced the HTC Desire and DoCoMo began pushing its very first Android smartphone (Xperia X10), Japan had big hopes for AU’s press event today. An EVO perhaps, or maybe something more from this once proud home of the original superphones? Unfortunately, Engadget Japanese let out a collective meh in response to a 5-inch IS01 handheld from Sharp running Android 1.6 on a Snapdragon processor and measuring 83 × 149 × 17.9mm and 227g. While it looks like the classic Japanese eDictionary, the IS01 is meant to be used as a general purpose MID with a 5-row QWERTY, Sharp-built “New Mobile ASV” multi-touch capacitive display pushing a 960 x 480 pixel resolution and a 5.27 megapixel auto focus camera on back with a 0.43 megapixel jobbie up front for video calls. Rounding out the specs are 802.11 b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, microSD slot, 1Seg mobile TV tuner, IrDA, 4GB of internal storage, and Qualcomm 3G CDMA data. Look for it to ship in October while a developer friendly version (JN-DK01) should be available in May.

Sharp IS01 Snapdragon-powered 3G MID introduces AU to Android originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 03:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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