Hasta La Gadget!

Honestly, while Apple’s Magic Mouse is a bit of a pioneer in its application of a multitouch surface on a “regular” tracking mouse, it’s not exactly easy or comfortable to perform multitouch gestures with it. Plus there’s the little problem of no official driver for Windows. Speedlink’s Cue mouse looks to be solving at least one of those problems, maybe even both. The wireless 1000 dpi optical mouse is naturally PC-compatible, with software to allow you to configure your own gestures, and it has a somewhat flatter and more extensive touch surface than the Magic Mouse, which might make gestures a bit more doable. Basically, it’s somewhere in between the Magic Mouse and the Magic Trackpad, minus the hyperbole, and plus clear demarcation of right and left click. It’ll retail for €40 when it ships in November (about $56 USD).

Speedlink Cue does the multitouch hybrid mouse thing originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember when Displax teased us earlier in the year with a polymer film that could take any conventional LCD, plasma or RPTV and turn it into a touchscreen? Yeah, well now that very technology is shipping to Average Joes and Janes like yourself your good pal Jim. Starting nowish, the outfit’s customizable Overlay Multitouch will be heading out to screens ranging from 32- to 103-inches in size in order to add multitouch capabilities to a screen that previously hated even the thought of being groped. Of course, with a starting tag of €1,300 ($1,805), we get the impression that most of the orders (at least initially) will be coming from corporations looking to jazz up their boardrooms. In related news, the company is also debuting a 42-inch Windows 7-based multitouch table that can detect up to four independent touches at once. The Oqtopus uses a specific kind of optical technology that allows bare fingers, styluses and even gloved hands to operate it, but with a starting price of €4,500 ($6,250), we’re guessing your own personal Santa is already signaling “no.”

Displax Overlay Multitouch turns your LCD or plasma into a touchscreen, demands a pretty penny originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 09:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Runners love to tell you about their post-workout highs, but they rarely mention the mid-workout delirium that comes when muscles deprive your brain of blood, leading to doubts about how long you’ve been running, what your target heart rate should be, and indeed how to get home again. Garmin’s updated Forerunner 410 (above) can help you out with all those things, and the larger touch bezel means oxygen-deprived cardio hounds can easily scroll through data describing things like pace and heart rate, even when it’s raining — or you’re sweating excessively. Once back home and showered this $325 watch automatically syncs to a USB dongle via ANT+, uploading data to Garmin Connect, just like its predecessor the 405. Then there’s the $300 210, pictured below, a follow-up to this spring’s 110 and providing a more simple display of real-time distance and heart rate without a bunch of other confusing data. Both models will be on display at the upcoming Chicago and New York City marathons before pacing themselves into stores this fall.

Update: The 410 can indeed help you find your way back home thanks to a simple navigation mode that will direct you from one waypoint to the next. Great for finding new routes — or new tactical insertions.

Continue reading Garmin updates GPS watch line with Forerunner 210 and 410, data-craving runners rejoice

Garmin updates GPS watch line with Forerunner 210 and 410, data-craving runners rejoice originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 11:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What do you get when you combine the N8‘s HDMI output, its 12 megapixel camera, and your trusty old TV set? As Anssi Vanjoki might say, you get a big new smartphone. Nokia’s research labs have thrown up a neat little “prototype” app called Plug and Touch, which enhances the N8’s already famed HDTV friendliness with the ability to recognize touch input. This is done by positioning your aluminum-clad Nokia about five feet away from the display and letting its camera pick up your hand’s gestures and touches, essentially resulting in a massively enlarged Symbian^3 handset device. Naturally, it’s not terribly precise at this stage and there are no plans for an actual release, but it sure is a tantalizing glimpse of what may be coming down the pipe. Video after the break.

Continue reading Nokia’s Plug and Touch turns your HDTV into a giant N8 (video)

Nokia’s Plug and Touch turns your HDTV into a giant N8 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You can’t afford a proper QWERTY keyboard on your phone, much less a expansive multitouch slate. What to do? Well, if a UK startup named InputDynamics has its way, you’ll just tap on any surface of your handset. The company’s developed a piece of software called TouchDevice that uses a phone’s embedded microphone to analyze the acoustics inside, reacting to your finger’s impact on the surface with a touchscreen-like input on the device. New Scientist reports that’s not all, as the algorithms can also be fine tuned for detect scratches and swipes for scrolling and zoom, and the company’s in talks with “tier-one handset manufacturers” to license the program even as we speak. You’ll forgive us if we’re a bit skeptical, though — if this truly requires only software and works on any surface, why not release an app to tap the backs of our Droids, BlackBerrys and iPhones?

InputDynamics makes dumbphones smarter with tap-to-touch tech originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Sep 2010 10:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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