Hasta La Gadget!

We expressed our excitement when we first heard about Getaround, the personal car rental service that enables users to rent out their autos by the hour or day, and at TechCrunch Disrupt the service has officially gone live for drivers outside the Bay Area. The company also announced an accompanying car kit that allows potential renters to unlock their temporary ride using just an iPhone app, at which point they can access a physical key inside. The company says it functions just like any other keyless entry device, and can be set up in as little as five minutes. Worrisome owners should also know that when you offer up your ride you get full insurance coverage from the Getaround folks, so all liabilities are transferred to the individual behind the wheel. Renters get rated by car owners so there’s definitely an incentive to keep things neat and tidy, though we’d totally get downrated for neglecting to return the seat to its original position. Be sure to check out the demo video at the via link, you’ll wish you thought of this yourself.

Getaround car sharing service goes live, rent out your ride with an iPhone app and car kit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 08:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With the PSN finally back up, it’s time for important things — you know, messaging your buds for a Black Ops pwning spree or hitting up Netflix. Hyperkin’s Remotext for PS3 wants to help you get back into action with its hybrid remote / controller / chatpad. It features a slide-out Blu-ray remote panel, QWERTY keypad — better positioned than SONY’s offering — and two analog nubs with a near-complete set of gaming controls. There’s no sign of rear triggers, and Bluetooth connectivity is absent too, but it does come with a wireless USB receiver and rechargeable battery so you’re not left scrounging between the couch cushions for AAs. Although we’re doubtful it’ll prove functional for gaming, it could be appropriate for PS3s that spend more time sitting at the movies than getting their Move on. The DualShock 3 shouldn’t have much to worry about, but we’ll find out at E3, when the Remotext will be officially showcased. There’s no word on pricing or availability yet, but if you’re dying for more in the meantime, a press release is beyond the break.

Continue reading Hyperkin’s PS3 Remotext weds Blu-ray remote with keypad controller, DualShock 3 frets

Hyperkin’s PS3 Remotext weds Blu-ray remote with keypad controller, DualShock 3 frets originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 May 2011 10:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You’ve got to hand it to Tokyo’s University of Electro-Communications, the school’s researchers have presented some truly unique methods for interfacing with our electronics — fake finger sliding, a head-mounted video display, a thing that makes it feel like you’ve got insects on your palm, and, of course, the old kissing machine. A few recent inventions have expanded the latter trend, giving us creative new ways of getting intimate with our machines. There’s the tickle interface, for one, which beams images from a connected smartphone creating the illusion that the person on the other end is tickling your palm — made all the more real by tactile vibration hooked up to the rear of the device. And then there’s the older, oddly-named Sense-Roid, sort of a clunkier version of the Hug Shirt, which, among other things, lets you “hug yourself.” Both are demonstrated in a pair of videos after the break. Whatever you do, don’t miss the second one.

Continue reading Tokyo school takes Facebook Poking to a creepy new level (video)

Tokyo school takes Facebook Poking to a creepy new level (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 May 2011 16:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We don’t want to slight these three new Blu-ray players from Mitsubishi — they’ve got all the latest features that the kids are clamoring for, like 3D Blu-ray, BDXL, AVCREC, and VOD support. However, sometimes accessories are the most fascinating part of a product, as seems the case with this dual-faced remote — not entirely unlike the ones we’ve seen from Samsung and Boxee. One side controls the TV and the other does the DVR, while a built-in sensor lets the system know which side you’re using. The DVR-BZ450, DVR-BZ350, and DVR-BZ250 are pretty much identical, save for internal storage, which ranges from 500GB to 2TB. All are due out in Japan on May 31st — no word on when the rest of the world will be able to get our hands on the latest technology for losing two remotes at the same time.

Mitsubishi Blu-ray players have BDXL, 3D support, and a two-faced remote originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ever been to Vanuatu? Neither have the vast majority of the world’s inhabitants — particularly those who simply can’t function off the grid. For ages, the island archipelago has relied on sluggish, unpredictable satellite connections for eBay bids and liveblog following, but it looks as if fares to the blossoming nation are about to head even further north. Around this time next year, the Pacific Island destination will be connected to the real internet, thanks to an undersea optical fiber backbone cable linking it to nearby Fiji. Interchange and Alcatel-Lucent will be working to lay and operate the 1,230 kilometer cable system, which will “link directly into the high capacity Southern Cross Cable between Sydney and Hawaii.” At first, the system will be equipped to handle 20Gbis/sec — a figure that dwarfs the country’s current capacity by 200x. In time, that should creep up to 320Gbit/sec, enabling your future vacation videos to hit YouTube in record time. Total cost? $30 million, or a drop in the bucket compared to the economic boom that’s bound to transpire.

Continue reading South Pacific’s Vanuatu grabbing fiber internet connection, sidesteps ‘remote’ stereotype

South Pacific’s Vanuatu grabbing fiber internet connection, sidesteps ‘remote’ stereotype originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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