Hasta La Gadget!

Samsung’s RF4289 “smart fridge” has just been dated and priced. Remember, this is the WiFi connected refrigerator with LED lighting and 28 cubic feet of storage that we first peeped back at CES in January. And with an 8-inch LCD touchscreen, Samsung provides quick access to “kitchen relevant applications” like Google calendar, Weatherbug forecasts, Epicurious recipes, AP news, Pandora music, and Picasa photos. You can also leave notes for the family or tap out a quick tweet should the compulsion arise. The wireless touchscreen is available on both the RSG309 side-by-side and RF4289 four-door french door models, but only the latter has received an end of May US launch date. Just keep in mind that the suggested $3,499 retail price is exactly $500 more expensive than Samsung’s existing 28 cubic foot french door model, the touchscreen-less RF4287. Instead of shelling out a premium for what amounts to a novelty, maybe you should consider dedicating an entry-level BlackBerry PlayBook to the kitchen or pick up a fridge-friendly iPad 2 instead.

Samsung’s RF4289 WiFi ‘smart fridge’ gets a dumb $3,499 price originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 07:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We first heard of the wonders of silver ink back in 2009, but it wasn’t until earlier this year, with talk of 3M’s new capacitive touchscreens, that we experienced its real-world potential for display technology. Well, it looks like 3M’s not the only name in the Ag game, in fact Tokyo-based Toray Industries recently announced the development of a transparent conductive film that ditches the traditional ITO (indium tin oxide) for silver wire. In order to produce this new material, a layer of Ag wires, measuring several hundred nanometers, is applied to a polyester (PET) film by way of a wet method. The result, the company said, is a more flexible, durable, and transparent film that is well suited to touchscreens of just about any size — what’s more, it decreases dependence on rare earth metals. There’s no word yet on when the film will appear on real-deal devices, but we’ll definitely keep an eye out for the silver screens. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading New silver-packing transparent conductive film could mean more durable touchscreens

New silver-packing transparent conductive film could mean more durable touchscreens originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 04:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Last week’s Switched On discussed how some next wave notions from a decade ago were trying to reinvent themselves. Here’s one more. Surging smartphone vendor HTC is seeking to bring back an input method that many wrote off long ago with its forthcoming Flyer tablet and EVO View 4G comrade-in-arms: the stylus.

A fixture of early Palm and Psion PDAs, Pocket PCs and Windows Mobile handsets, slim, compact styli were once the most popular thing to slip down a well since Timmy. Then, users would poke the cheap, simple sticks at similarly inexpensive resistive touchscreens. After the debut of tablet PCs, though, more companies started to use active digitizer systems like the one inside the Flyer. Active pens offer more precision, which can help with tasks such as handwriting recognition, and support “hovering” above a screen, the functional equivalent of a mouseover. On the other hand, they are also thicker, more expensive, and need to be charged. (Update: as some have pointed out in comments, Wacom’s tablets generate tiny electromagnetic fields that power active digitization, and don’t require the pen to store electricity itself.) And, of course, just like passive styli, active pens take up space and can be misplaced.

The 2004 debut of the Nintendo DS — the ancestor of the just-released 3DS — marked the beginning of what has become the last mass-market consumer electronics product series to integrate stylus input. The rising popularity of capacitive touch screens and multitouch have replaced styli with fingers as the main user interface elements. Instead of using a precise point for tasks such as placing an insertion point in text, we now expand the text dynamically to accommodate our oily instruments. On-screen buttons have also grown, as have the screens themselves, all in the name of losing a contrivance.

Continue reading Switched On: Pen again

Switched On: Pen again originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Apr 2011 19:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We understand that it’s hard to take two steps rather than one, but a solid list of specifications isn’t going to make the BlackBerry Bold Touch (Dakota) look any less last-decade. For whatever reason, RIM’s design department seems to be stuck in an era where last-generation is the new next-generation, while it’s internals team has seemingly managed to escape. For those who couldn’t disagree more regarding the exterior, you’ll likely be elated to know that the impending handset will boast a blisteringly fast 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor, 8GB of internal storage, 768MB of RAM, a microSD expansion slot, 5 megapixel camera and a 35-key backlit keyboard. You’ll also get a microscopic 2.8-inch LCD with a woeful 640 x 480 resolution, Bluetooth 2.1, a 3.5mm headphone jack, A-GPS, dual-band 802.11b/g/n WiFi and a 720p movie mode. So, one down, one to go — time for a reread, is it RIM?

Update: Seems as if the faucet’s still flowing, with a full specs list popping up for the BlackBerry Torch 9860 (Monza) as well!

[Thanks, bighap]

Full specs leak for BlackBerry Bold Touch, 1.2GHz Snapdragon can’t overcome ugly originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are video tutorials and leaked presentations still not enough to convince you of the BlackBerry Bold Touch’s existence? Well, if not, you can thank BGR for getting its real live hands on an honest-to-goodness prototype, which it says looks even better than the renders. The site also reports that the touchscreen is plenty responsive, which could help induce users to move their thumbs from the optical trackpad for navigation. It also reiterates a BlackBerry World launch, so if things stay on track we’ll be getting our own hands on one in just about one month’s time — we know you can’t wait.

BlackBerry Bold Touch prototype photographed, leaves a good impression originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 15:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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