Feb 28

TI-Nspire graphing calcs get full color displays, 3D, WiFi, and new OS

Posted in: texas instruments, ti, Today's Chili, wifi
It’s been a good year or so since the TI-Nspire line of graphing calculators got a refresh, but that was nothing compared to what the company’s planning for this year. Possibly responding to changing times (or the Casio Prizm), the new Nspire devices are getting a WiFi dongle for communication with TI-Navigator workstations, a 16-bit (320 x 240) full color display, and a number of new functions, including the ability to load images and analyze images for such things as curve fitting functions and regressions. Perhaps even more exciting, the new Nspire OS 3.0 features 3D functions — and, yes, the original grayscale TI-Nspire models will be able to upgrade to the new OS when it becomes available this spring. Tech Powered Math is reporting a mid-April release date, for an MSRP of $165. Totally psyched? We bet you are! See the PR after the break for more info.

Continue reading TI-Nspire graphing calcs get full color displays, 3D, WiFi, and new OS

TI-Nspire graphing calcs get full color displays, 3D, WiFi, and new OS originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 21

TI-Nspire calculator: yes, it plays Doom

Posted in: game, gaming, texas instruments, ti, Today's Chili, video, VideoGames

Sure, folks have ported games over to the good ol’ number cruncher for ages, but getting a fully rendered classic like Doom to run on a calculator is a different feat altogether. The folks over at omnimaga have successfully moved a beta version of nDoom (a reworked version of the original id Software’s FPS) over to a Texas Instruments TI-Nspire and — with all things considered — the game runs shockingly smooth. As of right now, the only proof of concept is the video you see above, with a tragic crash bringing all things dangerous to a dismal halt. We’re looking forward to a fully working version of nDoom because, you know, video games and calculators are two things close to our nerdy hearts.

TI-Nspire calculator: yes, it plays Doom originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 02:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 16

Bookeen shows off FMV on a standard E Ink Pearl display (video)

Posted in: e ink, e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, texas instruments, ti, Today's Chili, video
Bookeen shows off FMV on a standard E Ink Pearl display (video)

The details are few with this one but really it’s the highlights that matter here: Bookeen has managed to get smooth full-motion video to play on an E Ink Pearl display. Yes, the same sort that delivers agonizingly slow refreshes on the latest Kindles and such. It’s a simple H.264-encoded clip (the same one with the chubby rabbit you’ve probably seen a dozen times before) played on a TI OMAP3621 processor. Power consumption in this mode is said to be no more than a non-backlit LCD, which is quite frugal indeed. No word on which actual readers this will debuting in, but according to E-Ink-Info.com it will be “available on the next-gen e-readers to appear soon.” Check out the demo embedded below.

Continue reading Bookeen shows off FMV on a standard E Ink Pearl display (video)

Bookeen shows off FMV on a standard E Ink Pearl display (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 15

Pathpartner demos 720p HD Skype videocalling using Android and OMAP 4 (video)

Posted in: 720p, Android, Google, GoogleAndroid, hands-on, mwc, mwc 2011, Mwc2011, skype, texas instruments, ti, Today's Chili, video, VoIP

Putting Pathpartner and Ittiam right beside one another may not have been the best idea if these two were hot-headed, but shockingly, they were treating each other with a great deal of respect within Texas Instruments’ MWC booth. All jesting aside, the former’s 720p HD videocalling solution is aimed at an entirely different market than that of the latter. Rather than arranging for a four-way video conference, Pathpartner has concocted an Android app that enables 720p video calling over Skype — you know, that VoIP application that you’re already obsessed with. Currently, the company’s working with Skype in hopes of getting it ‘Skype-certified,’ and like Ittiam, it’s also chatting with a number of handset makers in hopes of getting it embedded on the phone’s software stack from the get-go.

Alexy Mathew Joseph, the company’s senior technical lead, was on hand to showcase a demo running on a pair of OMAP 4-based development boxes, and the low-bitrate technology that he has helped create enabled smooth, high-def streaming of the call. We should mention that this particular demo was done over an Ethernet network, but he affirmed that it would operate on 3G and 4G networks as well. Also of note, the new software is capable on running on more than just TI equipment, though he wouldn’t elaborate other than saying that NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 was a platform he hasn’t tested on just yet. Just think — 720p Skype videocalls could be hitting your phone prior to the dawn of 2012, and the carrier’s have to be weeping at the mere mention. Vid’s past the break, per usual.

Continue reading Pathpartner demos 720p HD Skype videocalling using Android and OMAP 4 (video)

Pathpartner demos 720p HD Skype videocalling using Android and OMAP 4 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 23:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 15

LG Optimus 3D’s OMAP 4 benchmarked, pulls ahead of Exynos and Tegra 2

Posted in: benchmark, dual-core, galaxy s ii, GalaxySIi, LG, NVIDIA, samsung, tegra, tegra 2, Tegra2, texas instruments, ti, Today's Chili

Which dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 system-on-a-chip rules the roost? It’s probably too early to tell, but if you’re looking for a preliminary verdict, AnandTech has benchmarked all three of them now. Texas Instruments’ OMAP 4430, NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 and Samsung’s Exynos 4210 went head to head in a gauntlet of browser and graphical benchmarks, and it looks like the LG Optimus 3D’s OMAP 4 came out on top, boasting minor but significant improvements practically across the board. Good news for the BlackBerry PlayBook, no? Oh, and if you’re wondering why the iPhone 4 and Atrix 4G fall behind their older brethren in the image above, remember that they both have to render images at a higher screen resolution. More graphs at our source link below.

LG Optimus 3D’s OMAP 4 benchmarked, pulls ahead of Exynos and Tegra 2 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 21:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 15

Ittiam shows off four-way 720p HD video conferencing using Android, OMAP 4 (video)

Posted in: Android, demo, hands-on, mwc, mwc 2011, Mwc2011, texas instruments, ti, Today's Chili, video, VoIP

Being Mobile World Congress, quite a few software vendors found themselves tucked into corners of bigger booths, eager and willing to showcase their latest work. Ittiam is one of those companies, relying on Texas Instruments’ OMAP 4 platform to power its new HD video conferencing system. The demo shown here at MWC involved a foursome of TI development boxes, but the underlying platform was most certainly Android 2.2. Anil Kumar, the manager of Ittiam’s video communications division, noted that the system would work just fine on Gingerbread and Honeycomb, enabling up to four devices (smartphones, tablets, whatever) to link up and enjoy a multi-faced call over a standard 3G network.

Of course, the demonstration that we were shown used an Ethernet network for maximum stability, but the low-bitrate technology would allow bearable results on 3G networks (and better-than-average results on a 4G network). We were told that the company is in talks with “numerous” phone makers, in hopes of getting their VCS software integrated onto Android devices by the year’s end — think Qik, but for video conferencing — but he couldn’t hand out any specifics. Head on past the jump if you’d like to see a demo (and hear an awful lot more).

Gallery: Ittiam shows four-way 720p HD video conferencing using Android, OMAP 4

Continue reading Ittiam shows off four-way 720p HD video conferencing using Android, OMAP 4 (video)

Ittiam shows off four-way 720p HD video conferencing using Android, OMAP 4 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 15

Texas Instruments shows off minuscule nHD Pico projector chipset, USB-powered prototype

Posted in: mwc, mwc 2011, Mwc2011, pico projector, PicoProjector, projector, prototype, texas instruments, ti, Today's Chili

Can’t say we really expected to see Texas Instruments’ DLP group here at Mobile World Congress, but it’s hard to deny just how mobile these things are becoming. In fact, the company came to Barcelona to (re)unveil its thinnest, smallest optical engine to date: the nHD Pico. It’s small enough to fit into just about anything — phones, slates, tiny projectors and the rear of your cranium should you choose to embed it there. As for specs? It’s sporting a 640 x 360 resolution, a contrast ratio greater than 1,000:1, a true RGB LED wide color gamut and reliance on a low-power Pico DPP2601 / 2607 ASIC / processor. TI was using a newly launched Acer device (the C20, if we’re being precise) to showcase the chip, and on-site representatives noted that other outfits are developing new kit with this guy in mind. In related news, another gem was on display that hasn’t quite made it to market yet. The palm-sized nugget you see above is a full-on pico projector, designed to be powered entirely via USB. There’s no built-in battery in this one, and no one would confess as to which company (or companies) were gearing up to ship a branded version of it later this year. That said, it’s most certainly on the way, and you can bet we’ll be keeping an eye out for it. Peruse the gallery’s below at your leisure, of course.

Gallery: Texas Instruments USB-powered pico projector at MWC 2011

Gallery: Acer’s nHD-based pico projector at MWC 2011

Texas Instruments shows off minuscule nHD Pico projector chipset, USB-powered prototype originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 06:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 14

CUPP crams ARM inside of a MacBook Pro, makes it run Android with a button press (video)

Posted in: arm, chrome os, ChromeOs, hack, hacked, hands-on, Linux, macbook, macbook pro, MacbookPro, mwc, mwc 2011, Mwc2011, NVIDIA, open source, opensource, operating system, OperatingSystem, os, tegra 2, Tegra2, texas instruments, ti, Today's Chili, ubuntu, video
CUPP’s original prototype wasn’t exactly gorgeous, but the premise was sound — couple an ARM platform with an x86 CPU in order to give consumers the ability to run a desktop OS and a low-power OS such as Chrome OS or Android. It’s a tactic that has far-reaching potential. Imagine this: you’re on a flight attempting to finish up a document, but you only have ten percent of your battery remaining. On a standard desktop OS (like Window 7 or OS X), that’ll get you around 15 to 20 minutes of life; if you were instantly able to sleep that OS after saving your most recent copy on the hard drive, boot up Chrome OS and finish it there, you’d magically have at least an hour of usage time remaining. The fact is that ARM platforms require a fraction of the power that standard x86 systems do, with a demo unit here at MWC proving that a sleeping Windows 7 machine actually consumed more power than a typical ARM system that’s running. The company has shown off a beast of a machine before in order to prove that it’s concept was legit, but here at Barcelona’s mobile extravaganza, it brought something special: a modified MacBook Pro with a TI OMAP-based daughter-board module sitting in place of the optical drive. In theory, a battery similar to that found in the machine above could power an instance of Chrome OS or Android for 20 to 30 hours, just to give you some numbers to nibble on. Care to see how it all panned out? Hop on past the break for a few impressions along with a video.

Gallery: CUPP’s modified MacBook Pro does Android, Ubuntu at MWC 2011

Continue reading CUPP crams ARM inside of a MacBook Pro, makes it run Android with a button press (video)

CUPP crams ARM inside of a MacBook Pro, makes it run Android with a button press (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 14

LG Revolution gets Fulton inductive charging back, HTC and Samsung handsets joining the party soon

Posted in: charger, charging, hands-on, HTC, LG, mwc, mwc 2011, Mwc2011, peripheral, samsung, texas instruments, thunderbolt, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw, Wireless

We’ve just swooped our way through the Fulton Innovation stand here at MWC and found, sat next to the familiar light-up cereal box, a peculiar version of the Verizon LTE network-riding LG Revolution. Thicker than its CES-announced counterpart (by only 1.5mm, if the Fulton reps are to be believed), this Revolution features a Qi wireless charging-compatible back, which happens to go very nicely with a Verizon-branded inductive charging station. You can scope those out in the gallery below. We’re told the back cover that makes this possible will be available as an accessory in the next 30 to 60 days, but the excitement for us was in hearing that Samsung also has an unannounced handset that will feature a similar add-on, which will be landing in the same timespan. While at the stand, we were also shown the back cover of an HTC Thunderbolt — we weren’t told the Thunderbolt will be making like the Revolution and getting its own chunky wireless charging adapter, but don’t be surprised if it does.

Gallery: LG Revolution and Verizon inductive charger at MWC 2011

Continue reading LG Revolution gets Fulton inductive charging back, HTC and Samsung handsets joining the party soon

LG Revolution gets Fulton inductive charging back, HTC and Samsung handsets joining the party soon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 12

LG Optimus 3D has dual-core 1GHz OMAP 4 CPU, video codecs up the wazoo

Posted in: camera, dual-core, LG, mwc, mwc 2011, Mwc2011, optimus, texas instruments, ti, Today's Chili, video

LG’s been mighty stingy with details about its 3D smartphone, but some very promising ones have just trickled out of Barcelona ahead of Mobile World Congress — in keeping with the company’s theme of doubling everything, the LG Optimus 3D will ship with a dual-core 1GHz TI OMAP 4 chip. Considering that we’ve seen that particular SOC drive three screens, we’re guessing that a single 4.3-inch stereo display (yes, 4.3-inch is confirmed) will be old hat, and we’ve certainly seen the included PowerVR SGX540 graphics throw around some weight in many a Galaxy S. Raw specs aside, though, the Optimus 3D has a feature that we’ve been waiting on in Android for a while: LG says it will have “four times more video decoders than competing designs.” Admittedly, that probably means it will still only recognize about eight video formats in total, but as long as we can play the vast majority of our anime music video library without re-encoding the lot, we’ll promise to only grumble occasionally. Deal? PR after the break.

Gallery: LG Optimus 3D has dual-core 1GHz OMAP 4 CPU, video codecs up the wazoo

Continue reading LG Optimus 3D has dual-core 1GHz OMAP 4 CPU, video codecs up the wazoo

LG Optimus 3D has dual-core 1GHz OMAP 4 CPU, video codecs up the wazoo originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Feb 2011 22:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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