Hasta La Gadget!

The parts of the Nintendo 3DS layed out for all to see

Gadget Lab Notes is an eclectic roundup of gadget news briefs and intriguing products that catch our eye.

The Nintendo 3DS Gets Dissected By iFixit
The guys at iFixit announced that the 3DS is “the most camera-laden device we’ve ever taken apart,” with two cameras used for 3D recording and one for displaying 3D images. The motherboard features a Nintendo 1048 0H ARM CPU and a Fujitsu MB82M8080-07L, among other chips, and two LCD layers are used to create the parallax display that results in 3D footage when viewed from the right distance. The 3DS got a repairability score of 5/10, which means it’s not too impossibly difficult to tear apart.

Nintendo 3DS Teardown [iFixit via the Giz]

Thanko’s EARINALM Earphones Have a Built-In Alarm
If you’re taking a nap on the bus or the train, you may prefer falling asleep to your tunes rather than to the random bustle going on around you. But then how do you know when to wake up? Thanko’s EARINALM earphones solve that problem with a built-in alarm clock on the remote control. When the alarm sounds, its ringing will replace your music. It’s available for 2980 Yen, about $36.

EARINALM Earphones [Thanko via Akihabara News]

Japenese Human-Shaped Mobile Phone Is Designed to Relay Voice and “Human Presence”
Japanese researchers have created a mobile phone robot called Elfoid. Shaped like a palm-sized pseudo-human and covered in a “skin-like” outer layer, it’s designed to transmit both voice and “human presence,” which is done by mimicking the speakers head and upper body movements. They hope that by making the phone feel like the person you’re speaking with, you’ll feel closer to them (as opposed to being creeped out that you’re dialing your friends and loved ones on a voodoo doll-like skin phone that’s wiggling in your ear).

Mobile Phone With Human Touch and Elfoid, A Pocket-Sized Android

Zero Xu Is The First Street Motorcycle With a Swappable Battery Pack
Zero’s Xu electric motorcycle is the first model to get juice from a removable, exchangeable power pack. The integrated charger powers up the pack in 2 hours, but an optional standalone charger can quick-charge it in about half that time. The Xu, which starts at $7,995, is definitely designed more for short-distance commuting than cross country treks: it only has a 30-mile range.

Xu [Zero via Designboom]

OLED Display and Camera Are Combined in Bi-Directional OLED Prototype
The Fraunhofer Institute’s prototype bi-directional panel intersperses CMOS photoreceptors between AMOLED pixels so that the display can display and observe objects at the same time. Such technology could be used in wearable displays, or give your smartphone or tablet screen additional functionality as a scanner.

Bi-Directional OLED Microdisplay [OLED Info via Slashgear]

The Looksoflat Lamp has an almost two-dimensional appearance

Gadget Lab Notes is an eclectic roundup of gadget news briefs and intriguing products that catch our eye.

Looksoflat Lamp is Like A Flattened Version of Pixar’s Luxo Lamp
The Looksoflat Lamp looks like it’s been flattened by a steamroller. It sheds a thin, rectangular area of light using LEDs (the only light source slim enough to fit inside its frame). Not too much else known about the lamp, except that it’s “coming soon.”

Looksoflat [Looksoflat via Oh Gizmo!]

Lenovo and Tobii Team Up To Create The World’s First Eye-Controlled Laptop
The forward-looking thinkers at Tobii and Lenovo envision a future where hand-swiping based motion controls are just too much work. Solution: Notebooks with built in eye control sensors. Twenty Windows 7 running prototypes were developed, and although the technology won’t be appearing in homes for at least a few more years, the eye control-based experience is already extremely accurate and well developed.

World’s First Eye-Controlled Laptop [Tobii via Engadget]

Panasonic Debuts Blu-Ray 3-D Home Theater Systems and Slim Bar Speakers
Today, Panasonic introduced three new Blu-ray 3-D home theater kits, the SC-BTT770, SC-BTT370 and SC-BTT270, which feature iDevice docks and use Cinema Surround Plus technology for optimal movie theater-style surround sound. And to make sure you’re comfortable with your 3-D viewing experience, a 3-D Effect Controller lets you adjust image depth. The SC-HTB520 home speaker system is encased in reflective, stainless black mesh that’s dust and fingerprint resistant. It supports Stream Out for 3-D image signals, is Audio Return Channel (ARC) compatible, and comes with a wireless Down Firing Subwoofer.

Panasonic 3D Speaker Bar and Blu-ray 3D Home Theater Kit [Slashgear]

Verizon CFO Says It’ll Switch To Tiered Data Plans As Early As This Summer
Fran Shammo, Verizon’s CFO, said that Verizon will be implementing a tiered data plan in the not-too-distant future—as early as this summer. The plans will be based on speed, consumption, or a combination of both. The company waited to initiate this plan because it didn’t want to scare off potential iPhone 4 buyers.

Verizon Will Move to Tiered Data Plans This Summer [BGR]

Teeny Tiny Brando Wireless Router Fits Into Your Pocket
Measuring 6 cm long and 1 cm high, Brando’s EagleTec Nano Size Wireless N-Router makes even your iPhone look fat. It can provide a 150 Mbps data transfer rate for multiple users. It also supports auto IP address assignment for devices and 64/128-bit WEP, WPA and WPA2 wireless data encryption.

EaglTec Nano Size Wirless N-Router [Brando via Crunchgear]

Folding Mobile Phone Concept Awkwardly Combines Smartphone and Tablet
The 360 Compact Folding Mobile Phone Concept reminds me of one of those foam play mats from preschool, except with touchscreens on each face. Theoretically versatile, this dual jointed flip phone could lay flat with all 3 screens displaying information, or be propped up to provide an angled viewing and typing surface.

360 Compact Folding Mobile Phone Concept [Yanko Design]

Future Verizon phones might rely on a web connection to place calls.

Verizon wireless is preparing a new calling service that uses the new 4G data network to initiate voice and video calls. Unlike traditional VoIP web phone services, Verizon’s internet calling feature would be tied to a person’s phone number rather than a username or e-mail address on a service such as Skype, CNN’s Mark Milian reports.

The webphone service will be called VoLTE — an acronym that plays on the name of the 4G network, LTE, which stands for Long Term Evolution. Verizon’s 4G LTE network began rolling out December 2010.

Verizon may opt to transition to web calls slowly by adding VoLTE-compatible phones to its offerings gradually, according to CNN. The hope is for VoLTE to replace the traditional infrastructure that cellphones use to place calls.

Web-based mobile phones have not seen wide adoption in the consumer market, largely because available VoIP services offer inferior, tinny call quality compared to phone calls placed with a traditional cell signal.

If brought into fruition, the VoLTE service would address a limitation of current Verizon smartphones, which cannot simultaneously place a phone call and transmit web data. VoLTE would theoretically enable web calling and internet use at the same time.

Verizon plans to demonstrate VoLTE on an LG smartphone at next week’s World Mobile Congress, according to CNN.

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Intel’s quick response to a chip flaw illustrates how much is at stake in the rollout of a new CPU.

Codenamed “Cougar Point,” the flawed chip is part of the chipset supporting Intel’s second generation Core series of processors, codenamed “Sandy Bridge,” which were released in early January. Intel announced yesterday that it had discovered a design flaw in the chip and immediately halted shipments of the affected products.

“The chip passed all of our normal quality assurance and customer-QA programs,” said Chuck Mulloy, corporate communications director for Intel. But after Intel received returns from “a handful” of customers about 10 days ago, the company began retesting the chips with intensified stress, simulating the impact of use at high levels over a three-year period.

“The root cause was discovered after the additional stress testing,” Mulloy told Wired.com, “and once we discovered that, the fix was apparent.”

Affected products containing the Cougar Point chips have been shipping since Jan 9, and Intel has shipped an estimated 8 million chips needing replacement. Approximately 500,000 finished systems contain Cougar Point chips, Mulloy said.

Intel manufacturing plants are currently in the process of correcting the design flaw in affected Cougar Point chips, which requires a new mask spin on an outer layer of metal on each chip. Since the fix is applied to an outer layer of metal rather than one more interior to the chip, Mulloy says correcting the flaw is much less difficult.

Intel expects first fixed products to be out of the factory by the end of February, and to be back to full production volume by April.

Intel’s quick handling of the situation most likely comes from a willingness to avoid a repeat of an earlier chip-recall nightmare. The company suffered a massive PR hit in 1994 after the discovery of the Pentium FDIV Bug, which the company initially dismissed as a relatively rare problem found in extremely rare cases (calculations pointed to a 1 in 9 billion chance of error, according to Intel).

But the nonchalance of Intel’s response combined with multiple news outlets picking up the story created a public outcry, forcing the company to offer replacements for the flawed chips. It cost the company a reported $475 million in pretax earnings.

Even with a quick-fix response, Intel will pay a high price for the Cougar Point recall. The company estimates a $1 billion net loss for the first quarter of 2011 after calculating for lost revenues and expenses associated with repair and replacement.

The fallout is spreading to other hardware manufacturers, too. Samsung is currently offering refunds for all of its computers equipped with the Sandy Bridge chipset, according to Bloomberg. NEC may push back the release dates of four new planned PC models as well.

Hardware manufacturers Acer and Lenovo have both promoted hardware to come in 2011 that utilizes the Sandy Bridge chipset. But Acer’s plans for a new line of Sandy Bridge–powered tablets haven’t been affected, Acer spokesperson Kelly Odle told Wired.com. Lenovo’s most-recent generation of IdeaPad laptops and IdeaCentre desktop PCs — both of which contain the Sandy Bridge chipset — may be affected by Intel’s design flaw, Lenovo spokesperson Ray Gorman told Wired.com in a statement.

The problem originated as a design error in the chip’s serial-ATA (or SATA) port.

“On day one or two of using a device with the chip, you won’t see a problem,” Intel’s Mulloy said. “But two or three years out, we’re seeing degradation in the circuit on ports 2 through 5. We’re seeing a failure rate in approximately 5 to 20 percent of chips over a two- or three-year period, which is unacceptable for us.”

Photo: Intel’s Sandy Bridge Chipset/Courtesy Intel

See Also:

• Intel Moves to Squish Pentium Bug
• Tablets, Dual-Core Phones and 3-D Cameras: 2011’s Hottest Gadget Trends
• Acer to Phase Out Netbooks in Favor of Tablets
• Podcast Predictions: Tablets, High-Powered Processors and 3-D to Dominate CES
• Intel Beefs Up CPUs With Graphics Power — and Content Protection
• Intel Touts ‘WiDi’ for Connecting PCs, TVs

2011 marks the second year that the annual Apple-centric trade show Macworld must go on without Apple.

The conference, which starts Wednesday, is smaller than it once was — and its biggest celebrity speaker is C-list comedian Sinbad — but it’s still alive and kicking. For app vendors, makers of iPhone and iPad accessories, and OS X software vendors, it’s still a good way to get in front of a crowd of eager Mac addicts.

After Apple announced that 2009 would be its final Macworld, 2010’s trade show saw major shrinkage. The exhibitor show floor was reduced from two halls into one at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. About 400 vendors exhibited in 2009, and that number dropped to about 250 in 2010. Major stalwarts from previous years, such as Adobe and Canon, will not be found on the show floor this year.

However, this year’s Macworld has seen growth of about 10 percent more exhibitors than last year, and the number of registered attendees is up as well, according to Paul Kent, general manager of Macworld.

“We’re happy we’re able to report growth in exhibitors and total attendees,” Kent said. “Growth is good.”

It was a tradition for several years for Apple to kick off Macworld Expo with a “Stevenote,” where the turtleneck-attired Apple CEO would introduce new products. On the show floor, attendees could try the newest Apple gear or gaze through glass at the latest Ives-designed fetish objects.

But Apple said in late 2008 that it was pulling out of Macworld because of increased traffic at its 250 retail stores worldwide, which made it unnecessary to do trade shows.

“Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers,” Apple said in a statement that year.

Macworld Expo was first held January 1985 in San Francisco, and was subsequently hosted twice a year on the East and West coasts. Apple pulled out of the East Coast show in 2003, which struggled on for a few more years before it died. Apple cited the same reasons for bowing out then: Growing traffic at retail stores.

2011’s Macworld show largely focuses on Apple’s hottest sellers: the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. The majority of exhibitors at the show are showing off mobile accessories or apps.

“Macworld kind of mirrors Apple’s profit mix,” Kent said. “This year the show’s one-third Mac OS products and two-thirds of pad, pod and phone products.”

Macworld is also featuring a handful of keynote speakers, including comedian Sinbad (pictured), tech musician Zoe Keating and gadget-repair expert Kyle Wiens of iFixit.

“Sinbad fits the bill for our feature presenters, because he’s a celebrity who relies on technology to express inspiration,” Kent said. “It’ll be entertaining and info-taining and thought-provoking.”

Wiens said Apple geeks should attend his talk to take a peek at the insides of Apple gear and competing products such as Samsung’s Galaxy Tab to learn about trends in industrial design.

“Macworld last year went great, so I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be better this year,” Wiens said. “I think last year was the big question mark — is it still going to be sustainable [without Apple]? And I think it clearly was.”

Wiens noted, however, that large companies, such as Adobe and Canon, weren’t on the exhibitor list this year, even though they’ve shown up at Macworld in years past.

“All those big companies need to come back, he said. “I’m optimistic long-term, and I hope that they do.”

The Macworld conference, where attendees can take Apple-related workshops, kicks off Wednesday. The Macworld Expo show floor, where attendees can check out exhibitors’ gadgets and accessories, opens Thursday.

Disclosure: I previously worked for Macworld magazine, whose parent company owns the Macworld trade show.

Top photo: Laughing Squid/Flickr
Sinbad photo: jcrawford3505/Flickr

See Also:

• Macworld Already a Bummer, With Or Without Apple
• Macworld Expo 2010 Caters to Apple Fans — Without Apple
• Apple’s Big Macworld Announcement Is a Big Disappointment
• Jobs Won’t Appear at Macworld — 2009 to Be Apple’s Last Show
• Apple Says Farewell to Macworld, Hello to the Big Time