Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve seen LED-laced dresses before — though sometimes we’d rather we hadn’t — but this one here is almost refined enough for us to consider wearing. Stitched together using conductive embroidery, hundreds of LEDs are connected to a CO2 detector and react to its input with anything from a slow pulsating glow to a blinking signal of doom. No mention of Morse code messages, unfortunately, but this is run by an Arduino chip — which means programming malleability (read: near-limitless possibilities) should be built in. Just know that when you see the next Bond girl communicating with Daniel Craig via her haute tech outfit, we had the idea first. A closeup of the dress and processor awaits after the break.

Continue reading Diffus pollution dress is turned on by CO2, prefers a clean environment

Diffus pollution dress is turned on by CO2, prefers a clean environment originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You’re smart right? Then you probably know that all those low-priced, off-brand digital photo frames with laughably poor instruction manuals and confusing user interfaces so aggressively hocked during the holidays share one common trait: poor displays. Unfortunately, most shoppers won’t figure this out until they’ve brought the unit home. Fact is, you have to pay a little extra to get a decent 8- to 10-inch panel. And really, what’s more important than the display on a digital picture frame? So check Samsung’s new 800P 8-inch frame. It features an LED-backlit 800×480 pixel panel, 2GB of internal storage (plus microSD expansion), Bluetooth 2.0, support for video and music playback, and Samsung’s second generation UI and panel-making expertise. On sale now in Korea for 199,000 of the local stuff or about $159 of the almighty dollar whenever it heads west.

Samsung 800P digital photo frame: because quality matters originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 02:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blu-ray and the Cell processor are back together again, now that Toshiba has jumped on the format and is ready to release its first Cell TV, the Regza 55X1, in Japan December 10. Just making it in 2009 as promised, the path to launch has cost this initial release the 4K resolution screen we’d hoped for, with a 1080p LED backlit display hooked to the aforementioned Blu-ray DVR, 3TB HDD and slick 3D GUI for navigating all sorts of content from the internet or recording from as many as 8 tuners at one time. Also pushed back? Some video on-demand services, but we’re pretty sure that at this point a few software updates on the way isn’t holding back anyone from the “ultimate entertainment machine.”

Update: Our friends at Engadget Japan just pinged us to inform that Blu-ray was also one of the features left on the cutting room floor. Without that, our ¥1,000,000 is staying firmly in our theoretical Japanese wallet — Toshiba, let us know how v2 works out.

Toshiba’s Cell TV delivers a slightly-less ultimate eight tuner DVR experience December 10 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The path back to LCD leadership for Sharp begins at its just opened Sakai City manufacturing facility. Being a 10th generation facility means it can roll out more and bigger displays, producing six 60-inch LCDs from each glass substrate, 60% more than older 8g facilities. Check out the pics for a peek at where 72,000 substrates per month will be made, delivering those slim LED backlit televisions getting so much love, along with solar panels (also being installed on the roofs for that extra green vibe that’s in vogue these days) and a few of the more than 100,000 energy efficient LEDs lighting the factory itself. Whether your closest HDTV purchase is a turkey fueled memory from last weekend or yet to come, bargain hunters and AV fans alike can appreciate an eyeful of the robots and testing equipment slicing, dicing and stamping screens headed for shelves nearby, whether bearing an Aquos brand or any number of other nameplates.

Inside Sharp’s new LCD factory, we can see our next HDTV from here originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you ask us, one of the best things about London is its theater scene. Turns out, however, that not every person who appreciates good theatre speaks the Queen’s English — we know, it’s shocking to us as well. To serve those unenlightened souls, a new AirScript wireless translation gadget is being trialed at the Shaftesbury in central Londonium. Designed by Show Translations and built by Cambridge Consultants, it combines a simple WiFi-enabled device with an LED-backlit screen and a dude in the background who feeds live subtitles over the air. The pleasure of said dude’s services will be a steep £6 ($10), which you might scoff at now, but imagine yourself attending a show in Tokyo or Beijing and suddenly the price becomes a lot more justifiable. Eight languages are available so far (American English is presumably still in the works), with translations done by professionals rather than machines, and all that remains now is to see whether this multilingual birdie flies or flounders.

AirScript translator beams live theater subtitles over the air originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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