Hasta La Gadget!

MSI has snuck a couple of new tablets into Computex, which we’ve naturally dug up, dusted off, and covered in fingerprints. The WindPad Enjoy 10 is a 10-inch Android Gingerbread slate with relatively humble specs — 1024 x 768 resolution, 4GB of storage, 512MB of RAM, and a 27.3WHr battery — but also a very modest asking price of $299. It comes with a 1.2GHz ARM Cortex A8 (single core) processor that’s said to be able to play back 1080p video, and at least one of the dual 2 megapixel cameras should be able to record in 720p as well. Its smaller sibling, the Enjoy 7, spans 800 x 480 pixels across a 7-inch expanse and has a smaller 17.3WHr battery, but is otherwise identical. We’re promised an even lower price point for this smaller tablet, with both Enjoy models expected to begin mass production in July and hit the States in earnest either that month or soon thereafter. Releases in Europe and other nations are also planned shortly after the US gets a first bite of these intriguing Gingerbread concoctions.

MSI specifically pointed out to us that it preferred Android 2.3 over 3.0 for its broader compatibility and better stability. Alas, neither slate is licensed to access the Android Market, but the pre-production units we looked at had an APK installer on board and MSI promised to figure out a workaround to let you obtain apps. It wasn’t terribly clear how that’d be done, but at least the company has it in mind. As to build quality, the 795g Enjoy 10 felt great in the hand, its curvy and thin body proving easy to handle. We can’t really comment on the actual construction as what we were shown were early pre-production mockups designed to just give us a taste rather than the full enchilada. Weighing in at 395g, the Enjoy 7 features a similar penchant for curviness and, on a less happy note, glossiness. Both are smear magnets with a high sheen finish on the front. The metal backs are more demure, though. Check out the Enjoy 10 on video after the break.

Continue reading MSI brings sub-$300 Enjoy 7 and Enjoy 10 Gingerbread WindPads to Computex, we go hands-on

MSI brings sub-$300 Enjoy 7 and Enjoy 10 Gingerbread WindPads to Computex, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 May 2011 23:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ah, another possibly vaporous, yet intriguing addition to a long line of haptic patents and prototypes. Today’s offering: a KDDI smartphone mockup (utilizing Kyocera display technology) promising to render sensation through multiple layers of applied touchscreen pressure. Imagine depressing a camera shutter on a touchscreen, and you’ve got the idea. KDDI only had a screen sporting two haptic layers on hand when they demoed the prototype at Wireless Japan this week, but Kyocera reportedly told Akihabara News that the technology is capable of up to seven layers of tantalizing touch. Neat. Maybe we’ll get a few authentic haptic touchscreens on the market and do away with all the vibrational fakery we’ve been seeing.

KDDI haptic smartphone prototype promises up to seven layers of touch, only shows off two originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 May 2011 07:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monitoring sleep patterns usually involves a hydra of sensors that keep track of brain activity, muscle movements and heart rates, but a startup called Nyx Devices has developed a new night shirt that can evaluate the quality of a user’s slumber by analyzing only breathing patterns. The form-fitting Somnus Sleep Shirt is embedded with two sensors that keep track of a person’s overnight breathing and transmit this information to a small data recorder, which slides into the lower corner of the nightie. When a user wakes up, he or she can upload their stats to Nyx’s website, where they can generate more detailed analytics and log their caffeine and alcohol intake to find out how all those martini lunches affect their snoozing. Co-inventor Matt Bianchi, a sleep neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, thinks the Somnus could help patients suffering from insomnia, who often have difficulty determining how much shuteye they actually get. It’s worth noting, though, that this exclusively respiratory approach is still considered experimental and Nyx still has to conduct a few at-home tests before bringing the shirt to market next year, hopefully for less than $100. Until then, we’ll just keep tossing and turning in our Spider Man jammies. Stroll past the break for an appropriately soporific video.

Continue reading Somnus Sleep Shirt watches while you sleep, won’t be creepy about it (video)

Somnus Sleep Shirt watches while you sleep, won’t be creepy about it (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 11:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reports are trickling in that Google has begun shipping the CR-48 to eager testers who’ve thus far been empty-handed after signing up for the units back in December. Could it be? Is the plucky prototype Chrome OS laptop getting a stay of execution after being declared all dried up back in March? That’s pretty unlikely, given the impending release of the Samsung and Acer netbooks that we saw announced during Google I/O. It seems a lot more plausible that the company is just exhausting the supply, so if you signed up late last year and haven’t received one yet, we wouldn’t recommend holding your breath.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Google’s CR-48 apparently shipping again, doing the prototype death rattle originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 May 2011 09:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another week, another look into the wild, mysterious world of Mirasol. We met with the company for an extended period here at SID 2011, and while the smartphone concept shown above was certainly intriguing, it’s the behind-the-scenes story that truly piqued our interest. If you’ve kept even a loose eye on display technologies, Qualcomm’s Mirasol branch has no doubt caught your eye — in fact, the company seemed overwhelmingly sure that it’d ship consumer products soon after we met with ’em at CES 2010. Yet here we are, nearly 1.5 years later, without a single Mirasol product available on the open market. It begs the question: why? We found out. As the story goes, Mirasol’s been shipping displays to partners for years, and it really did have confirmation that partners would be punching products out onto the market soon after 2010 began. But then, the iPad happened.

No, seriously — that’s the story. Apple’s sudden and calculated tablet launch caused Mirasol’s stable of partners to “reevaluate” their launch strategies, and that reevaluating led to the shelving / delaying of every single promising product in the pipeline. One angle in particular seemed to catch everyone off guard; prior to the iPad’s launch, most companies (and consumers, for that matter) reckoned that people wouldn’t even consider reading on an LCD. Digital bookworms would want E Ink, or better still, a colorized alternative like Mirasol. Come to find out, people actually don’t seem to mind reading on LCDs, and in fact, they seem downright appreciative of the extra functionality baked into modern day tablets. As you can imagine, all of that spelled trouble for a display technology like Mirasol. So, where do we sit today? Read on to find out.

Continue reading Mirasol showcases 4.1-inch smartphone concept at SID 2011, promises ‘converged e-reader’ this year (video)

Mirasol showcases 4.1-inch smartphone concept at SID 2011, promises ‘converged e-reader’ this year (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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