iPhone 3GS prototype scooped up at airport, now on eBay

Seriously folks, what’s up with these prototype iPhones falling out of nondescript white vans and ending up on eBay in the shadiest of manners? Just months after we saw an original iPhone prototype (ancient OS included) pop up on The ‘Bay, now we’ve got one of the world’s first iPhone 3GSs on there as well. According to the highly ranked eBay seller, the “guy” he “got it from” actually stumbled upon it at an airport, and rather than doing the nonsensical thing of hitting up lost and found, he decided to make the most of the sudden opportunity. According to the new owner, an Apple Genius has confirmed that it is an iPhone 3GS, but due to its prototype nature, they can’t help him get past the “Connect to iTunes” screen. In other words, it’s an incredibly rare brick. If that sounds like just the thing to complete your collection, you can visit the road to overpaying through the read link below.

[Via ElectricPig]

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iPhone 3GS prototype scooped up at airport, now on eBay originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OLED mini projector prototype for mobile phones using a series of lenses developed

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute — partnered with project HYPOLED — have created an OLED mini projector prototype for mobile phones. Unlike many previous iterations of similar technologies, this new prototype doesn’t need an additional illumination system, instead relying on a lens system to project images produced by an OLED onto a screen or wall — making it both smaller and more energy efficient. The prototype currently displays a monochrome image with a brightness of 10,000 candelas per square meter, and color images with a brightness of about half of that. The lenses are also made of glass at this point, though cheaper and simpler plastic ones are in the works. No word on when we might see these prototypes hitting the streets in actual projector phones, though.

[Via Gizmag]

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OLED mini projector prototype for mobile phones using a series of lenses developed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Maria Sharapova models Bluetooth-enabled Sony Ericsson prototype dress

Sony Ericsson’s official spokesperson, Maria Sharapova, was on hand recently to unveil a student-designed prototype of a Bluetooth-enabled dress. The iridescent scales that run up one side of the dress move and light up when the phone rings, enabling its owner to know about calls even in noisy places (so says the dress’s maker, Georgie Davies). Yes, it’s just a prototype for now, but it’s a pretty cute dress, so hopefully we’ll see these hit the streets at some point in the (nearish) future.

[Via Switched]

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Maria Sharapova models Bluetooth-enabled Sony Ericsson prototype dress originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CrunchPad Prototype Peeks Out Again

crunchpad_main_photo_2

A new video that surfaced briefly promises that CrunchPad, the inexpensive tablet from Web 2.0 personality Michael Arrington, will be ready this year “for sure.”

The video, which has since been removed from YouTube’s site, showed the unboxing of a CrunchPad that looked very similar to the photographs of the device that were out in April.

“This was not a sanctioned or official video, nor is it even very interesting. It’s just the last prototype being taken out of its box,”  wrote Arrington. “It’s certainly not the launch prototype, which doesn’t actually exist yet.”

Arrington first wrote about the idea of a tablet in June last year. He talked of a touchscreen device that would run Firefox and maybe Skype on top of a Linux kernel. The tablet would have low end hardware, a single power button, a headphone jack, a built in camera for video, low end speakers and a microphone. The CrunchPad would also come with Wi-Fi, 512 MB of memory, 4 GB solid state hard drive and no keyboard. All this for a promised price tag of $200.

The latest video was shot at a TechCrunch party last week and showed CrunchPad partner Fusion Garage doing the unboxing, says Arrington on his blog. Beyond the candy colored packing and a rather slick-looking device, the latest peek didn’t offer anything new.

But it has led to questions about whether the CrunchPad can live up to its $200 billing. Based on its specs and overall production, it could end up being priced closer to $400, says James Kendrick at the jkOnTheRun blog. And we are inclined to agree. Though the CrunchPad promises low end hardware and a Linux-based kernel, the touchscreen display, the Wi-Fi chips and solid state hard drive should all add up to a much higher price point that what Arrington is willing to let on.

Another problem that the CrunchPad doesn’t seem to have solved yet. Messy fingerprints on the screen. The unboxing video showed a device whose screen was smudged with grubby fingers.

See also:
Web 2.0 Mogul Michael Arrington Creates New Web Tablet

Photo: Crunchpad Prototype


Researchers ditch DLP, develop OLED panel-based mini projector

Looking for a way to differentiate among the ever-expanding niche of pocket projectors, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering (IOF) of Germany are working on an OLED panel-based mini projector, using static optical systems and not the usual reflective system à la DLP. Currently being shown at SID Display Week 2009, the decidedly green picture (seems to be the norm with OLED prototypes these days) forms via a 6-inch VGA screen from 30 to 50 centimeters away, and the machine itself takes up just about ten cubic centimeters of space. Despite all the faith, there’s still the rather nasty problem of luminance, which the scientists estimate needs to be about four or five times as bright as current levels — but hey, you gotta start somewhere, right?

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Researchers ditch DLP, develop OLED panel-based mini projector originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Elektrobit Moorestown MID reference design is more like it

We’re kinda-sorta coming around on the MIDs now that we’ve gotten a chance to play with Moblin 2.0, but it’ll take some great hardware to really convince us (or hell, anyone) — like this promising first Moorestown reference design from Elektrobit. Yeah, it’s not quite the amazing mockup device that Intel’s been showing off for a couple years, but it’s still pretty attractive, and it’s actually pretty small at just a half-inch thick with a four-inch HD screen. You’re also looking at HDMI out, either WiMAX or 3G mobile broadband, and voice capability. Sadly, none of this will ship until Intel delivers the Mooretown chips, so we won’t be able to do anything except sniff vapor until 2010.

[Via Linux Devices]

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Elektrobit Moorestown MID reference design is more like it originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First working CrunchPad prototypes a few weeks away

Michael Arrington’s little experiment with consumer electronics is about to get real. The image above is the “near-final industrial design” of the man’s CrunchPad with “first working prototypes” expected in another few weeks. Changes include a display now flush with the bezel and an 18-mm overall thickness thanks to the switch from plastic to aluminum. Inside we’ve got a Linux-based OS that boots direct to a Webkit-based browser. Michael says that the next public appearance will be at a special press event in July. However, as a man (in)famous for leaking other people’s details ahead of official announcements, we wouldn’t be surprised to see his vision of the ultimate couch computer make its way to the Internets before the big unveiling.

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First working CrunchPad prototypes a few weeks away originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Sony’s PS3 motion controller in action

In case you missed it yesterday, video of Sony’s PS3 motion controller prototype has made its way to YouTube. It’s not an ordinary Wiimote, it’s not as mind blowing as Microsoft’s Natal, it’s, well… it’s something in between. And it’s not available until 2010 so this is as close as you’ll get for awhile.

Continue reading Video: Sony’s PS3 motion controller in action

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Video: Sony’s PS3 motion controller in action originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Jun 2009 06:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung slaps “production-ready” label on 14.1- and 31-inch OLED TVs

Samsung’s been kicking around its 14.1- and 31-inch OLED TVs since CES 2008, but it seems as if things are turning for the better at SID this week. In a press release outed today, Sammy told the world that it’s exhibiting “production-ready” AMOLED TV sets, though the sizes are the same as the ones we’ve seen before. The 31-incher really has our attention, with it being the planet’s first OLED with a Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) display, a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, a color gamut of over 100 percent NTSC and an 8.9 millimeter slim enclosure. So, when does “production-ready” morph into “in production?” Bueller?

[Via OLED-Display]

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Samsung slaps “production-ready” label on 14.1- and 31-inch OLED TVs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s 400-disc BDP-CX7000ES Blu-ray Mega Changer reportedly coming soon

There’s no doubt that Sony has a 400-disc Blu-ray Mega Changer on the cooker — heck, we saw the thing last year at CEDIA — but up until now, there’s been no indication of its nearness to market. According to a vague Swiss product page and a report from Sony Insider, however, the launch date is indeed drawing near. If hunches prove legitimate, the BDP-CX7000ES will allow 400 of your favorite BD flicks to sit within a single console, and we’ve every reason to believe that this one will support BD-Live and actually load films with some amount of haste. You know, very much unlike the 200-disc HES-V1000 that’s already out there. As of now, it’s looking like the unit will run right around $2,300, placing it squarely in rarefied air and ostensibly out of reach for the vast majority of home theater junkies.

[Via Sony Insider]

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Sony’s 400-disc BDP-CX7000ES Blu-ray Mega Changer reportedly coming soon originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 May 2009 04:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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