Jun 13

Nintendo 3DS has resistive touchscreen for backwards compatibility, what’s the Wii U’s excuse?

Posted in: 3ds, controller, e3, nintendo, nintendo 3ds, Nintendo3ds, screen, speculation, Today's Chili, touch, touchscreen

In case it somehow snuck in under your radar, E3 just happened. The LA-based gaming extravaganza is where Nintendo introduced its next generation of home console, the Wii U, also served as the location where our buddies from Joystiq caught up with Hideki Konno, the company’s 3DS hardware chief. When queried as to why the 3DS uses the same, nowadays archaic, resistive touch technology as in the original DS, Mr. Konno answered candidly that “it’s all about the backwards compatibility. We have to play DS games on this and we want to make sure they work.” Not an unreasonable assertion by any means, however those same Joystiq sleuths also determined pretty conclusively that the Wii U’s bodacious 6.2-inch controller also uses a resistive touchscreen — could the primeval tech be getting recycled again for similar reasons? Nintendo’s made no announcements about game compatibility on the Wii U beyond confirming that it’ll play all Wii titles, but this at least it gives us some extra food for rumination (and speculation) while we wait for the new console’s 2012 release.

Nintendo 3DS has resistive touchscreen for backwards compatibility, what’s the Wii U’s excuse? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 07:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 05

Champtron’s 65-incher can recognize two-finger touch, make for a decently spacious second screen (video)

Posted in: 1080p, hands-on, multitouch, Today's Chili, touch, touchscreen, video

If you can never have enough screen real estate while working, you might want to give Champtron’s 65-inch behemoth a look. It’s a 1080p Sharp panel imbued with the ability to recognize two touch inputs at a time — which can be fingers or “any” other sort of stylus — which should prove pretty damn useful when you’re trying to Photoshop a little extra sheen atop Steve Ballmer‘s glorious dome. As an added bonus, the dimensions of this screen make the Windows 7 UI extremely finger-friendly. Hell, it borders on being fist-friendly when exploded to a 65-inch size. See video of this champ after the break.

Gallery: Champtron’s 65-inch multitouch display at Computex 2011

Continue reading Champtron’s 65-incher can recognize two-finger touch, make for a decently spacious second screen (video)

Champtron’s 65-incher can recognize two-finger touch, make for a decently spacious second screen (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Jun 2011 15:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 01

Gemini’s FirstMix USB DJ controller now available for novice mixers

Posted in: audio, itunes, Music, price, Software, sound, Today's Chili, touch, usb, video
Seasoned DJs have plenty of ways to hone their electronica acumen, but for less experienced audiophiles, Gemini has just unleashed FirstMix — a USB-based controller designed to help the everyman get in touch with his inner Pete Tong. The device’s layout is simple enough, with two scratch wheels, rotaries and a cross fader. All you have to do is connect the panel to your laptop, select the tunes you’d like to mash up from your iTunes library and use FirstMix’s touch-sensitive jog control to scratch the night away. To help you get started, Gemini will ship its new controller with MixVibes’ Cross LE DJ software, but it’s compatible with Virtual DJ and other mixing programs, as well. If you’re interested in taking FirstMix for a spin, you can find one at retailers like Musician’s Friend, for about $100. Otherwise, you could just head past the break for a demo video, along with a full press release.

Continue reading Gemini’s FirstMix USB DJ controller now available for novice mixers

Gemini’s FirstMix USB DJ controller now available for novice mixers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 27

Engadget Podcast 241 – 05.27.2011

Posted in: barnes and noble, BarnesAndNoble, droid, Google, mango, motorola, nook, podcast, podcasts, sony, Today's Chili, touch, touchscreen, twitter

It’s all about doing new stuff, right? This week, we’re doing a lot of new stuff: paying for soda pop with our cell phones, reading books on E Ink displays, and waiting for Duke Nukem Forever. OK, well maybe none of those things are actually new, but we’re doing them in new ways this week, kind of. Listen to the podcast, is all we’re saying.

Host: Tim Stevens
Guests: Brian Heater
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: 10yr – Regulate

02:30 – Kobo unbuttons for $129 eReader Touch Edition, we go hands-on (video)
03:52 – Barnes & Noble announces new touch-enabled Nook for $139 (video)
13:43 – Barnes & Noble selling Nooks for $99 on eBay
18:03 – Live from Microsoft’s Windows Phone VIP preview event!
22:00 – Windows Phone ‘Mango’ search offers location-specific results, app integration (video)
29:36 – Windows Phone Mango and Bing Vision hands-on
32:05 – Live from the Google Wallet press event!
33:50 – Google Wallet mobile payment service, Google Offers announced
35:16 – Google Wallet vending on Nexus S hands-on
43:21 – Droid Incredible 2 review
48:53 – Spotify and Facebook partner up, send Europe a friend request?
50:55 – Sony makes good, doles out identity protection activation codes for PSN and Qriocity users
51:28 – TweetDeck and Twitter, together at last
54:00 – Duke Nukem Forever goes gold, will meet promised June deadline (really!)

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Contact the podcast

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Engadget Podcast 241 – 05.27.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 May 2011 15:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 23

Kobo unbuttons for $129 eReader Touch Edition, we go hands-on (video)

Posted in: e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, hands-on, impressions, Today's Chili, touch, touchscreen, video

Kobo today kicked off Book Expo America with the launch of a new six-inch, one-button touchscreen e-reader — named, appropriately enough, the Kobo eReader Touch Edition. Priced at $130 — $10 cheaper than Amazon’s Kindle — the pocket-sized device strives for a reading experience more akin to that of old timey paper books, courtesy of a Zeforce infrared touchscreen, new Pearl eInk technology, and a freescale i.MX507 processor for faster page turning. Click on through for more details and our impressions of this little reader.

Gallery: Kobo eReader Touch Edition Hands-on

Continue reading Kobo unbuttons for $129 eReader Touch Edition, we go hands-on (video)

Kobo unbuttons for $129 eReader Touch Edition, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 10:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 20

Mutewatch now in production, set to silently manage your day by July (video)

Posted in: Today's Chili, touch, touchscreen, video, watch
We first caught wind of Mutewatch AB’s eponymous sort of anti-watch — a personal vibrating time management wristband, equipped with a hidden touch-activated LED display — when it became available for pre-order back in August. It seemed unique, but back then we had no idea of how it looked in action or when we might finally get one strapped onto our wrists. It’s a mystery no more, as the Swedish suite has just released a heavily stylized (and totally rendered) video showcasing the Mutewatch’s various touch-enabled functions. Also in tow, a press release announcing retail availability in July. Although our cellphones can do pretty much the same thing as this spendy $259 timepiece, we can’t hide our geeky (and guilty) lust for one. You can check out the video for yourself past the break, but be warned: a moderate case of GAS — Gadget Acquisition Syndrome — may occur after viewing.

Continue reading Mutewatch now in production, set to silently manage your day by July (video)

Mutewatch now in production, set to silently manage your day by July (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 May 2011 07:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 18

Toshiba’s in-cell integrated 7-inch capacitive LCD ditches touch layer, extra girth (video)

Posted in: capacitive, hands-on, LCD, monitor, multitouch, samsung, screen, Today's Chili, Toshiba, touch, touchscreen, video

Samsung’s Super AMOLED may have beat Toshiba to the in-cell capacitive touch punch, but we’re still happy to see other LCD panels dropping unnecessary layers. Featured in a GPS mock-up, Toshiba’s 7-inch 1024 x 600 R&D display touts 10-point multi-touch over 38,400 sensors — that’s one touch sensor for every four pixels. It may not be the first LCD to abandon the standard touch layer for integrated capacitive support, but we wouldn’t shy away from a tablet or embedded screen featuring this 1mm wonder. We’ll have to wait though; Toshiba’s in-cell tech is still in R&D, with no word when or if we might see it in commercial devices. Check out the video after the break for a quick hands-on.

Gallery: Toshiba’s 7-inch integrated capacitive touchscreen concept at SID 2011

Continue reading Toshiba’s in-cell integrated 7-inch capacitive LCD ditches touch layer, extra girth (video)

Toshiba’s in-cell integrated 7-inch capacitive LCD ditches touch layer, extra girth (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 18:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 12

ZeroTouch ‘optical multi-touch force field’ makes a touchscreen out of just about anything

Posted in: interface, LED, screen, Today's Chili, touch, video

The rise of tablets and smartphones has made the touchscreen a rather ubiquitous interface, but they aren’t everywhere quite yet. A group of students from Texas A&M intend to change that, however, with the invention of ZeroTouch: a seemingly empty picture frame that lets you turn any surface into an interactive touchscreen. It might not look like much, but ZeroTouch is packing a series of pulsing LEDs and infrared sensors that turn that blank space into a highly sensitive surface. Basically, the strategically placed LEDs cover the open area in a sheet of invisible light. When a hand or stylus enters the picture (or lack there of), those beams are interrupted, providing cues to a piece of software that tracks the object’s movement — and boom! You’ve got a touchscreen. Of course, this isn’t the sort of thing that’s going to make it to market anytime soon, but you can check out ZeroTouch rocking the rippling water effect in the video below.

Continue reading ZeroTouch ‘optical multi-touch force field’ makes a touchscreen out of just about anything

ZeroTouch ‘optical multi-touch force field’ makes a touchscreen out of just about anything originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 May 2011 17:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink NewScientist  |  sourceInterface Ecology Lab  | Email this | Comments

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May 06

Editorial: A less tactile future, and how to avoid it

Posted in: Today's Chili, touch

For the past few weeks, I’ve been doing most of my typing on a Matias Tactile Pro 3 — a mechanical keyboard that’s much like the original Apple Extended or IBM Model M keyboards, in function, if not appearance. If you’re not old enough to remember those, that means it relies on mechanical key switches instead of the rubber membrane used by most keyboards these days. You feel, and hear every key press — and, after you’ve used one for a while, you’ll be much more aware of the mushy alternative hiding under other keyboards, and likely find them quite unsatisfying.

Mechanical keyboards have seen a slight resurgence as of late among gamers, who value their accuracy, but they mostly remain a niche product for folks like me — writers who might also happen to collect manual typewriters, or coders who honed their skills to their familiar clickety-clack sound in the 80s and 90s. I bring this up because it’s not just keyboards that have gotten less “tactile” in recent years, but computing and consumer electronics in general — and that includes cellphones.

Continue reading Editorial: A less tactile future, and how to avoid it

Editorial: A less tactile future, and how to avoid it originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 May 2011 14:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 02

BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 (Bold Touch) official

Posted in: BlackBerry, breaking news, cellphone, research in motion, ResearchInMotion, RIM, smartphone, snapdragon, Today's Chili, touch

We’ve seen it photographed, videotaped, and even, briefly, up on RIM’s own website. Now it’s up there to stay, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 (aka the Bold Touch) have been made official as RIM kicks off BlackBerry World in Orlando. As expected, the phone packs a 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor that has only a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen with a 287dpi pixel density to worry about. On the back is a five megapixel camera and inside is 8GB of internal storage (with microSD expansion) and NFC circuitry. At 10.5mm it’s RIM’s thinnest handset yet, featuring a stainless steel circumference and a fiberglass back, while up front of course it makes room for a full QWERTY keyboard. The 9900 supports HSPA+ connectivity to get its 4G on, while the 9930 is the world variant, adding dual-band CDMA and quad-band GSM to the mix, and both do 802.11a/b/g/n along with Bluetooth 2.1. Both, quite naturally, include the new BlackBerry 7 OS, including a faster browser and voice-activated search. Another picture and full specs are listed after the break, which will have to do you until this handset releases sometime in the summer, meaning this could be your next great beach accessory for those working vacations.

Update: Full press release and more images after the break.

Continue reading BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 (Bold Touch) official

BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 (Bold Touch) official originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 May 2011 08:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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