Hasta La Gadget!

We’ll be honest — we weren’t the biggest fans of SYNC from the onset, but that had more to do with its insistence on playing Run DMC on our request for Naughty By Nature during a cross-town CES run than anything else. Now, Ford remains one of the few automakers that actually bothers to update their navigation systems on a consistent basis, and while SYNC is still far from perfect, it’s getting a rather significant update today. The introduction of MyFord Touch brings the amount of commands that SYNC understands up to 10,000 — that’s a pretty big jump from 100, where it began. Following in BMW’s footsteps, Ford is also integrating voice control technology from Nuance, which allows drivers to speak “more naturally” to the system rather than having to memorize a few hundreds first-level snippets. Unfortunately, we still think voice control within vehicles is too slow; much like Windows Vista, there are simply too many confirmation prompts, too many forks in the decision tree and not enough of an overall benefit to chose it over handling things with your digits. Feel free to disagree and pick this up on your 2011 Ford Edge, but be sure to view the video past the jump before getting all hot and bothered.

Continue reading Ford’s SYNC learns 100x more voice commands, integrates Nuance technology

Ford’s SYNC learns 100x more voice commands, integrates Nuance technology originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Exactly how many eBook stores do we need? Depends. If you own a dedicated e-reader then one is all you get. Own a tablet or smartphone and the world of eBook stores is pretty much yours for the taking through competing apps. Borders looks to be taking a hybrid approach by offering up the $150 Kobo, $120 Aluratek Libre (available July 20th), $170 Sony Touch, and $150 Sony Pocket eReaders and today’s launch of a self-branded eBook store powered by Kobo’s catalog of more than 1.5 million titles — “thousands” of which are free and available in a variety of formats including ePub (primarily) and PDF. Borders also has desktop PC and Mac apps ready for download in addition to a few apps listed as “coming soon” for both Android and BlackBerry devices — these join the apps already released for Apple’s iOS. It just went live so why not hit the source and have a browse.

P.S. Funny enough, there’s not a single mention of Spring Design’s Alex on Borders’ new site. Funny sad, not ha ha.

Update: The Android and BlackBerry apps are now live.

Continue reading Borders’ Kobo-powered eBook Store now live with 1.5 million titles, Android and BlackBerry apps (update)

Borders’ Kobo-powered eBook Store now live with 1.5 million titles, Android and BlackBerry apps (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 07:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So, you just sprung for a multitouch-enabled Battalion CZ-11, eh? Too bad there’s hardly any software out there for you to take advantage of. Er, was out there. iBuyPower — a company most often associated with new hardware — has just flexed its software muscle by creating a new system that will enable any game to played via multitouch, regardless of whether the game’s creators gave it so much as a thought. Magic, which is short for Multitouch Advanced Gaming Interface and Control, is a proprietary piece of code designed specifically for the company’s own touch-enabled laptops, and it works by linking a multitouch gesture to a command the game already understands, emulating multitouch commands by mapping keystrokes or mouse clicks. Best of all, it’s available now as a gratis download, and we have little doubt that the hackers in attendance will have this working on Dells, Alienwares, Lenovos and HPs before you can spin around twice and add another smudge mark to your LCD.

Continue reading iBuyPower’s Magic makes any game playable through multitouch (video)

iBuyPower’s Magic makes any game playable through multitouch (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Jul 2010 16:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Kawasaki and Mouri Laboratory at Gifu University in Japan are researching and developing a touch interface which, combined with 3D displays, could offer a new way to simulate the touching of objects. HIRO III is a haptic interface robot which can provide realistic kinesthetic sensations to the user’s hand and fingers, while the 3D display provides the visual experience. Possible applications include medical diagnostics training, but for now, HIRO III is still in the lab. Interestingly, we’ve seen a very similar — albeit more scholastic — take on the same idea very recently. Hit the video below for a fuller look at this one.

Continue reading 3D displays and haptic interfaces come together in HIRO III

Filed under: Displays, Robots

3D displays and haptic interfaces come together in HIRO III originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve just been tipped off on a couple feel-good items for EVO 4G owners that should end your Friday on a bright note:

• The glass separation issues are real, but said to be super minor and have no effect on the usability of the phone apart from a nearly imperceptible “give” to the touch. That said, HTC has made some assembly changes that should reduce or eliminate the problem going forward, and it’ll keep an eye on the situation.
• This is really interesting: the screen sensitivity problems are also real and are apparently far more prevalent in arid climates, but it can be fixed with a software patch alone. That patch will be rolling out to EVOs soon.

See? Told you it was feel-good news. More on this stuff as we get it.

HTC has fix in the works for EVO 4G screen sensitivity; separation problems are minor originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 22:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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