Hasta La Gadget!

If you asked us to design our ideal Android phone, it might well end up looking like LG’s Optimus Black. The handset that was once known under the codename “B” features a clean, elegant and exceedingly thin exterior, which is garnished with a 4-inch IPS display capable of generating 700 nits of brightness. There’s the usual litany of added features, too, like a 5 megapixel shooter with the ability to record 720p video, a special G-Key for motion controls, and Wi-Fi Direct for peer-to-peer file transfers. Of course, looks and headline features are just the tip of the iceberg that is user experience, so if you want to know about the mountainous whole, join us after the break for a deep dive with LG’s latest Android phone.

Continue reading LG Optimus Black review

LG Optimus Black review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 11:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What’s that in the sky? A bird? A plane? Oh, it’s just some junk floating around in space, posing major threats to our military’s spy satellites. To help keep an eye on it, engineers at DARPA, MIT and the Air Force have unleashed a new $110 million telescope that’s been in the works for nine years now. The new Space Surveillance Telescope (SST) is capable of delivering wide-angle views of the Earth’s firmament thanks to a curved CCD. This allows for a massive 3.5m aperture and f/1.0 exposure settings, capturing more light in a day that your average scope can in a week. As part of the Air Force’s Space Surveillance Network (SSN), the telescope’s primary task will be to look out for any microsatellites, meteors or other alien droppings moving at the same speed at which the Earth rotates. The system developed its first images earlier this year and the Air Force may eventually place SSTs all over the world, creating a 360-degree surveillance blanket and going a long way toward keeping our spycraft warm, cozy, and safe from galactic hazards.

Continue reading DARPA’s new Space Surveillance Telescope will keep our satellites safe from interstellar debris

DARPA’s new Space Surveillance Telescope will keep our satellites safe from interstellar debris originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How do you get laypeople excited about LED lighting? Make it pretty, of course — that’s what Panasonic Electric Works is doing this week at Salone del Mobile 2011, in Milan. Working with designer Ferruccio Laviani, the firm has built an interactive installation out of upcoming products and prototypes, inviting visitors to explore “new dimensions of spatial lighting with LED and OLED.” The gimmicks aren’t bad; guests can peek through transparent OLED panels, interact with a spacial sensor controlled light wall, and learn about the products that make up the exhibit in a special “technical zone.” Featuring a theme dubbed “piano-forte,” the exhibit seeks to associate dynamic lighting with 18th century musical sensibilities, promising to make everyone a “virtuoso” of lighting — it’s a bit heavy handed, but the results sure are easy on the eyes. Don’t fancy a trip to Italy just to soak in artsy LED beauty? No worries, just hit the concept video at the break.

[Image courtesy of designboom]

Continue reading Panasonic gussies up LED prototypes, invites you to play (video)

Panasonic gussies up LED prototypes, invites you to play (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 09:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Although this is not the first time we’ve seen an efficiency increase in blue OLEDs, it’s worth noting that their proposed cap of productivity up to this point was a lowly five percent. It’s exciting to learn, therefore, about a breakthrough by professor John Kieffer and graduate student Changgua Zhen from the University of Michigan, which has resulted in them successfully increasing azure diode power efficiency by 100 percent. The duo, accompanied by some bright minds in Singapore, manipulated performance controllers by rearranging OLED molecules in a computer model, improving material characteristics. In simple terms though, we’re still looking at a measly ten percent efficiency, so we’ll see where they take it from here.

Scientists improve blue OLED efficiency, don’t promise everlasting light originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 20:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading DIY business card displays your info via persistance of vision, fails to impress Patrick Bateman (video)

DIY business card displays your info via persistance of vision, fails to impress Patrick Bateman (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 10:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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