Creative Labs might want to get some white gloves, because we recognized its fingerprints on the HanZPad, a Chinese tablet platform which just landed at the FCC. Using its own ZiiLABS division’s ZMS-40 ICS optimized SoC (system on chip), the thinnish 7.95mm tab looks to have meaty specs with a quad-core ARM 1.5GHz processor, 1280 x 800 10-inch IPS display, 1GB RAM and microSD slot allowing up to 64GB of external storage. On top of Android 4.0 support, Creative will be developing its own OS for the device, which will be distributed through OEMs and its own channels. While currently tapped for the Chinese market, Creative’s weighty US presence may suggest it’ll eventually reach across the Pacific — if it does, let’s just hope it leaves the smudges behind.
Creative HanZpad hurdles FCC, will deliver ICS and quad-core goodness to China originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 03:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Seen here looking suspiciously like the silhouette of Bat Boy wielding a Green Lantern power ring to return to the Matrix or some shit, a drawing of a monkey plays with his virtual arm. Because monkeys can do that now. They’ve always wanted to, and now they actually can. *dodges virtual turd* I saw that, Diddy Kong!
A brain implant that allows monkeys to move an avatar’s arm and feel objects in a virtual world has been demonstrated for the first time.
The animals used the device to control the arm by thought alone, and feel the texture of the objects it touched through electrical signals sent directly to their brains.
Researchers built the system as part of a major effort to help paralysed people regain the use of their arms and legs, feeling the objects they touch and the ground they walk on.
Without any sensation of touch, it would be easy for people to crush or drop objects they were trying to grasp, or misjudge the terrain underfoot and stumble, the scientists said.
Now I know what you’re thinking, “OMG, how can I use this for sexual gratification?!” But if you could get your mind out of the smut-gutter for one second you’d realize the much more significant ramifications of this project: knowing what it feels like to have more than two arms and legs. RAWR, LOOK AT ME — I’M ANT-MAN AND I’M HERE TO RUIN YOUR PICNIC.
Monkeys use mind control to move a virtual arm and experience touch [guardian]
Thanks to Samantha, who controls her virtual arms the regular way: with an XBox controller. Awh shishi girl, what’re we playing?
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I had the opportunity to use a Fitbit Ultra, the successor to a glorified pedometer that has become oddly popular and addictive to a certain subset of non-torpid technophiles. To be clear, the desire to measure your days in terms of steps taken is an old one (there is heard tell of an old Chinese tradition of walking 10,000 steps a day to reach health and prosperity), but the Fitbit does this in a decidedly 21st century fashion.
The device connects wirelessly to a small base-station/charger and records the steps taken as well as, when the device is strapped to your wrist, a fairly spotty rendition of your sleep patterns. A small OLED readout tells you current stats including calories burned, distance travelled, and steps taken. It snaps to your clothing like a clothespin and lasts about a week on a single charge. When you approach the base station the device sends its stats to the Internet where they are compiled and presented as handsome charts and graphs of current activity.
I gave the Fitbit a try early on in its creation and found it slightly lacking, especially in that it broke in half after a bit of use. I found the thought of measuring my every step as slightly disconcerting, a sort Prufrockian measure of one’s day, existence reduced to blue numbers on a little piece of plastic. However, as I began testing the $ 99 Fitbit Ultra, a slightly upgraded version that adds a stopwatch and altimeter for measuring stair climbs, I began to warm to the device’s charms.
This is why I’m fat
Call me a sucker for simplicity, but the thought I could improve my fitness by strapping a little thinger to my pants and walking around is fairly compelling. Wearing it for a while I noticed that I was decidedly sedentary and even my bursts of exercise that I attempt of an evening barely pushed me past the 5,000 mark. I also saw that some folks I knew were literally walking circles around me, hitting the high 20Ks while I was piddling around in 3K by the time I went to bed. I turned off Fitbit’s automatic Twitter notifications because they were quite embarrassing.
The new Fitbit is slightly more accurate than the old version and seemed to measure other exercises better including more aerobic activities like floor workouts and running. You can feasibly trick the thing into counting biking as an exercise (a process that delightfully pads the stats) but that’s not why this product exists. In short, it’s there to tell you you need to get off your butt and walk.
You can then track your progress using the online dashboard (here is mine so you can follow my exploits). If you’re really into it, you can add food consumed as well as blood glucose levels. The dashboard also tracks your sleep by telling how much you toss and turn at night.
I have a few beefs with Fitbit, though. First, I’ve not been able to trust the device after it cracked oh so long ago. To be fair, the first versions were made of chromed plastic and could have suffered some structural problems but I’ve been overly careful with this new model. Second, if you’re not careful, you will lose the little thing. The Fitbit slipped off my pants just as I was totally getting into a long run and it now remains, unloved, pining away for my hips in the dark and cold of the Brooklyn streets. To avoid this, they recommend women attach them to their sports bras, an option that while potentially possible given my pectoral girth was not applicable in my current attire. The best place to put it – on a pocket – is also the most potentially lossy. Also the Fitbit is quite small so once it’s gone it’s gone.
If you’re willing to accept that your Fitbit may disappear on you and that you’re essentially measuring out the steps until your imminent demise, this may by the statistical-gathering tool for you. If you’re a hardcore runner, biker, luger, or anything else, this is probably not the best device. A sports watch with GPS and heart-rate monitor would be far superior. However, if you’re just now realizing you spent most of the 2000s playing WoW and reading ebooks, you may want to pick one of these up if only because you can treat your daily walks like dungeon runs and your daily records like wizardly achievements.
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Verizon’s LTE lineup will soon be expanding like a balloon. With this week’s launch of the Motorola Droid Bionic and eventual release of the Samsung Stratosphere and LG Revolution 2, 4G shoppers will soon have options aplenty to choose from; why not throw another one into the mix? The LTE-enabled Pantech Breakout — which passed through the FCC as the Apache — now has some higher-quality renders, courtesy of PocketNow. While most of the phone’s specs are in line with the HTC Thunderbolt and Samsung Droid Charge, it differs by offering a smaller 4-inch WVGA display, Pantech’s custom Android UI and a 10-device mobile hotspot. There’s still no word on pricing or release date, though we were expecting to see the device come out last week; we can’t think of many people completely devastated by the delay, but it will at least provide much-needed variety to Verizon’s arguably stale 4G setup.
Verizon’s Pantech Breakout rendered, is four inches of LTE goodness originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Sep 2011 22:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Phone cameras still have a ways to go to catch up to the awesome capabilities of your standard DSLR, but the handset captured in the image above would certainly get them headed in the right direction. International phone review superstar Eldar Murtazin snapped a few shots of an as-of-yet unnamed HTC device running Windows Phone. It sports a look very similar to the HTC Trophy, although this particular gem is capable of capturing images at 12 megapixel resolution — comparable to the Nokia N8. We can tell from Eldar’s tweets and images, however, that it’s gone one step further by adding support for pictures in RAW format. We’re still waiting to get more information about this device, but for now we invite you to enjoy the images above and below.
Continue reading Mystery HTC Windows Phone sports 12 megapixel goodness, RAW support
Mystery HTC Windows Phone sports 12 megapixel goodness, RAW support originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 May 2011 07:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Nintendo 3DS users will soon have another way to extend their system’s notoriously limited battery life, thanks to Hyperkin’s new 3DS Powerplus. Slated for release this summer, the 2.2-ounce accessory slips on to the back of the console without obstructing the 3DS’ cartridge port, SD card and game controls, while adding an extra 1800mAh to the device’s standard 1300mAh battery. The Powerplus also features an enhanced grip, as well as an LED indicator that can give you an idea of how much gas you’ve got left in the tank. Hyperkin says its $ 19.99 appurtenance will more than double your 3DS’ battery life, but, as we learned from Nyko, seeing is believing. Head past the break for an extra image of the Powerplus, along with a full PR.
Continue reading Hyperkin 3DS Powerplus covers your handheld in battery-extending goodness
Hyperkin 3DS Powerplus covers your handheld in battery-extending goodness originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 May 2011 08:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sometimes having a computer monitor and a separate HDTV are just too much for your feng shui to handle, and Mitsubishi is here to enhance your qi with its MDT231WG all-in-one monitor. No, not an all-in-one in that it has a PC built in there, but rather it’s intended to serve double-duty as a computer monitor and an HDTV. Its 120hz refresh rate and 5.5ms response time mean it’ll keep up with Call of Duty, while its 178-degree viewing angle, 5000:1 contrast ratio IPS panel, and integrated 2.1 channel sound system means it should do a decent job at movie playback. And, with a combined power output for all three speakers of 11 watts you won’t even have to worry about waking the neighbors. Right now this is looking like it’ll only be hitting the Japanese market and, while Mitsu hasn’t announced a price yet, we found one for pre-order at ¥118,000 — just over $ 1,400 and a small price to pay for finding your perfect spot.
Continue reading Mitsubishi MDT231WG monitor is 23-inches of 120hz gaming goodness and movie magic (video)
Mitsubishi MDT231WG monitor is 23-inches of 120hz gaming goodness and movie magic (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 10:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Well, it was only a matter of time — first the leaked press shots of this elusive HTC Spark (although possibly misidentified as the Mondrian back then — note the shinier earpiece in the leaked AT&T ad), and now the real thing is in the hands of some lucky hardware tester. Fortunately for us, this guy also happens to have a naughty friend over at xda-developers. As you can see, HTC Hub is alive and well, but otherwise there’s not much info coming out of these photos. Regardless, feel free to head over to the source link for more eye candy — you’ll need to register first, though, so we’ve grabbed a few shots below to get things going.
[Thanks, Adam]
Gallery: HTC Spark leaked in the wild, shows off plentiful of WP7 goodness
HTC Spark leaked in the wild, shows off plentiful of WP7 goodness originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Samsung S2 external hard drive line just got a bit more interesting. Not only are they a bit slimmer, the latest models rock USB 3.0 connectivity and just so that extra bandwidth doesn’t go to waste, 7,200 RPM hard drives as well. The drives come loaded with some random back up and security suites. So far the line is only announced for Euroland, but chances are we’ll see them here in the states before too long.
Props to CrunchGear
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Great news, Internet. The Windows 7 HP Slate isn’t dead. According to HP’s site, the Slate is very much alive — all 8 variations of it — and it seems like the HP will indeed put it head-to-head against the Palmpad like I thought.
Don’t too excited just yet. These models are anything but official as they were simply found on some random HP product listing. However, the brief description — embedded below — should make some people’s day. It seems like the original HP Slate complete with Windows 7, 8.9-inch screen, dual cameras, and — this is new — some sort of stylus/pen input.
What’s in the box Headphones
Summary
No matter where you are or what kind of fun you’re in the mood for, the HP Slate 500 is all you need. Exclusive HP software gives you access to photos, videos and everything on the Internet with just a touch, while Windows® 7 Premium gives you the power to do what you want. The unique design and 22.6 cm (8.9″) screen put the full Internet in your hands, while two cameras (video and still) let you capture life as it happens or participate in web conferencing. Adjust the screen orientation to fit your content and use the pen to write or draw as if on a piece of paper. Whatever you want to do, the HP Slate 500 helps you do it – and makes it more fun too.
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Legal Disclaimer The information contained in this document is subject to change with or without notice. Hewlett Packard makes no warranty of any kind with respect to this information. Hewlett Packard specifically disclaims the implied warranty of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Hewlett Packard shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or other damage alleged in connection with the furnishing or use of this information.
There are currently eight different model numbers listed for the Slate, which could mean a few different things. First of all, HP is notorious for mutli-model platform lines, with tiny differences between each model like storage capacity, 3G modem, and software pack. Or they could be destined to different retailers, who often force manufacturers to use different model numbers in order to cut down on competitive price matching. Or there could be multiple series with a few models heading to the consumer market and the others meant for enterprise users.
However, the inclusion of model numbers seem to say pretty clearly that this platform is alive and slowly working its way through HP’s massive product development pipeline.
So HP’s plan is to out two totally different tablets, eh? The webOS Palmpad and the HP Slate 500 running Windows 7. Things are going to get interesting. [via PC World]
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Props to CrunchGear
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