CrunchGear |  |
- NEC’s “Thermo Mirror” Measures Your Temperature Without Physical Contact
- Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Arnold Schwarzenegger The Legacy Watch
- Report: Sony’s PSP2 To Be Unveiled Next Week, PSP Phone To Follow Next Month
- SARTRE Road Trains Continue Testing
- Low-Cost Cherrypad Android Tablet Not So Low-Cost Anymore
- Analog: A Melancholy Photographic Tribute To Darkrooms And Enlargers
- Concept ZIP Jacket Lets You Control Your Media With Clothes-Related Gestures
- Video: Tesla Model S On The Road
- Designer Gas Cans Are Haute Couture, Haute Octane
- Apple COO Tim Cook Dismisses Android Tablets As “Bizarre”
- Apple Will Sell Their 100 Millionth iPhone This Year
- Rumor: White iPhone 4 Finally Coming February 27th?
- Buy a Verizon Phone Recently, But Want The iPhone? Verizon Has A (Not Very Good) Deal For You
- FCC Approves Comcast-NBC Universal Merger, Critics Warn Of ‘Dire’ Consequences
- Final Fantasy XIII Gets A Sequel, Because You Couldn’t Get Enough Of The Original
- LittleBigPlanet 2 Review Round-Up: Pretty Much Universal Acclaim
- Thief Tunnels Into GameStop, Does What One Does In That Situation
- HP webOS Tablet Leaks, Looks Like An HP-ifed iPad
- Ekocase: Ecologically Sound iPad Cases For All (Plus A Contest)
- The Steve Jobs Action Figure, Now With More Ninja Action!
| NEC’s “Thermo Mirror” Measures Your Temperature Without Physical Contact Posted: 19 Jan 2011 04:47 AM PST
NEC subsidiary NEC Avio has developed a thermometer [JP] that measures the user’s temperature without them having to touch the device. As the world’s first device of its kind, it captures your temperature via a built-in infrared sensor and integrates a desktop mirror (hence the name “Thermo Mirror”). All you need to do is to look at the mirror and your temperature will be measured automatically, and when it detects someone who is feverish, an alarm goes off.
For the Thermo Mirror, NEC Avio used technology the company developed for airports and similar places that identify sick travelers that way. This more affordable model is targeted at companies and organizations that want to prevent infected people from entering their buildings. In Japan, NEC is already selling the Thermo Mirror in two versions (prices: $1,200/$1,460), but there’s no word yet from the company regarding a possible international release. Via Kaden Watch [JP]
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| Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Arnold Schwarzenegger The Legacy Watch Posted: 19 Jan 2011 04:35 AM PST  Audemars Piguet and Arnold Schwarzenegger don't have an official relationship, but AP has made a few limited edition watches for him, including the popular T2 and End of Days watches. Both sold out rather quick. But those two watches don't wholly define that Austrio-Swiss love affair. It goes deeper... To celebrate the man-watch love Audemars and Arnold shared, AP will release a new limited edition of 1,500 watch set called "The Legacy." As I mentioned, the full name of the watch will be the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Arnold Schwartzenegger The Legacy watch - and it is a beautiful thing.
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| Report: Sony’s PSP2 To Be Unveiled Next Week, PSP Phone To Follow Next Month Posted: 19 Jan 2011 03:24 AM PST
Sony’s PSP may not have been as successful as the Nintendo DS, but it did pretty well overall (if you don’t count the ill-fated PSPgo): in September last year, sales reached 62 million units worldwide. But the PSP is six years old now, and it’s about time for an update. And if a report by Bloomberg today is to believed, Sony will unveil that update, perhaps called the PSP2, on January 27. While nothing substantial is known about the next-generation PSP, we’ve spent quite a few posts on the PSP Phone that Sony is currently preparing. According to the report, Sony will officially unveil the handset next month, during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (February 14-17). Bloomberg is citing two anonymous sources with knowledge of Sony’s plans so take the report with a grain of salt. But the timing would make sense, as it would mean that Sony tries to steal some of Nintendo’s thunder before the 3DS hits stores in Japan in the last week of February (followed by other markets in March).
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| SARTRE Road Trains Continue Testing Posted: 18 Jan 2011 06:00 PM PST
I wonder why the lead truck has to be so damn big?
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| Low-Cost Cherrypad Android Tablet Not So Low-Cost Anymore Posted: 18 Jan 2011 05:30 PM PST
Mobile Magazine has gotten hold of the specs for the new Cherrypad (unconfirmed at the moment), and the improvements actually put it in the running… well, not with the Xoom or iPad, but certainly with the Galaxy Tab. It’s getting a higher-res 7″ screen (1024×600) and a capacitive touchscreen, replacing the lower-res resistive screen of the old version. It’s also getting dual cameras with flash and 8-16GB of onboard memory (plus MicroSD slot). Android 2.2 is what it’ll probably ship with. Most importantly, perhaps, there’s a new 1GHz Cortex A8 CPU with 512MB of RAM, HDMI out, and a GSM antenna. That makes it a relatively modern, all-purpose tablet. The price, please? Apparently “in the $300-$400 range” — unfortunately for them, that doesn’t undercut the far more well-known Nook Color, and may even get direct competition from the iPad, depending on what happens over the next month. At any rate, it should get an official announcement in a few weeks, and we’ll keep you posted.
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| Analog: A Melancholy Photographic Tribute To Darkrooms And Enlargers Posted: 18 Jan 2011 05:00 PM PST
There’s an interview with the artist over at Wired, along with some links to related projects. Check it out.
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| Concept ZIP Jacket Lets You Control Your Media With Clothes-Related Gestures Posted: 18 Jan 2011 04:40 PM PST
The idea (if you can glean it from the well-shot, but rather overdone demonstration video above) is that you would control your media machine by interacting with the jacket itself: zip up to turn the volume up, zip down to turn it down, and tug on the retractable HoodieBuddie-like earbuds to prevent them from bouncing all over the place.
Of course, arbitrarily tying together two actions like that results in trouble: what if you’re getting warm, but the song is quiet? I’d have designed it so it only affects your volume when you’re pressing a button on the zipper piece itself — or maybe just give up and decouple the two functions, and install some sort of handy, understated controls on the cuff of the jacket, or the collar. So, Jennifer, consider my suggestions. The next video you can do at my place. It’s very picturesque. Bring that lady. [via CNET]
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| Video: Tesla Model S On The Road Posted: 18 Jan 2011 04:15 PM PST
If you’re looking for more Model S love, we got a bunch of shots of a nice red one at CES. I actually like the silver color better, though. The Model S is set to be Tesla’s break-out vehicle; despite lots of media attention, limited production facilities (read: every one made by hand) have limited Roadster sales to around 1500. But Tesla hopes to sell a hundred times that number of the far more practical four-door sedan you see here. Availability isn’t really announced, though. There’s a bit more info at the Tesla blog.
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| Designer Gas Cans Are Haute Couture, Haute Octane Posted: 18 Jan 2011 03:58 PM PST
[via Neatorama; image: GirlX]
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| Apple COO Tim Cook Dismisses Android Tablets As “Bizarre” Posted: 18 Jan 2011 03:31 PM PST
Apple’s iPad is a hit. The company sold 7.3 million iPads in the December quarter of 2010, a 75 percent increase from the previous quarter. But judging from all the Android tablets announced at CES, it is about to face an onslaught of competition. So far, though, Apple COO Tim Cook has “no concerns” with the tablets that are out there today, and goes so far to call current Android tablets “bizarre.” On today’s Apple earnings call, Cook characterized the competition as falling into two buckets: Windows-based tablets, which are “big, heavy and expensive” and suffer from “weak battery life,” and current Android tablets, which are “scaled-up” smart phones. Here is his response to the question, based on MG’s notes:
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| Apple Will Sell Their 100 Millionth iPhone This Year Posted: 18 Jan 2011 02:49 PM PST  Being phone geeks, we at MobileCrunch HQ like to keep pretty close tabs on how many iPhones are floating around out there, if only because the idea of selling millions and millions of anything blows our collective mind. As of September of last year, the iPhone grand total was riiiight around 73.5 million. Apple has just announced the numbers for their 1st fiscal quarter of 2011 (which, confusing terms aside, ran from September 25th to December 25th, 2010) — and all in all, the company managed to churn out roughly 16.24 million iPhones. That brings the total up to just shy of 90 million (as in around 89.75 million).
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| Rumor: White iPhone 4 Finally Coming February 27th? Posted: 18 Jan 2011 12:57 PM PST
Sound the alarm! The White iPhone 4 (which, according to legend, is woven from the finest unicorn hair and is visibile only during the new moon) might actually, seriously, for-real-real be coming soon.
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| Buy a Verizon Phone Recently, But Want The iPhone? Verizon Has A (Not Very Good) Deal For You Posted: 18 Jan 2011 12:54 PM PST
December. It’s a month of celebration, giving, and smart phone buying. Unfortunately, it’s also the month before January, which is when Verizon finally announced that they are getting the iPhone 4. So, what are all those would-be iPhone owners who unknowingly snatched up other handsets in December supposed to do — wait? Nonsense. Looking to ease the pain of that buyer’s remorse, Verizon’s set up a deal aimed specifically at those folks (but heads up: there are probably better options.)
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| FCC Approves Comcast-NBC Universal Merger, Critics Warn Of ‘Dire’ Consequences Posted: 18 Jan 2011 12:30 PM PST
Not only does LittleBigPlanet 2 come out today, but the FCC approved the merger between Comcast and NBC Universal. Will the two companies use their combined powers for good and not evil? A healthy skepticism may be in order. The merger cleared the FCC with a 4-1 a few moments ago. The merger was initially announced in late 2009, but its approval was held up because the FCC wanted to ensure that the merger wouldn't wreak havoc with things like consumer choice when it comes to content consumption. The Free Press, the watchdog group that criticized the FCC for passing only a "lite" form of Net Neutrality, has similar misgivings with regard to the merger.
Harsh words, to be sure. Comcast is expected to host a press conference at 4pm ET to "to discuss the Federal Communications Commission's and Department of Justice's clearance of the Company's joint venture with General Electric related to NBC Universal." We'll see if the company will address any of these concerns.
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| Final Fantasy XIII Gets A Sequel, Because You Couldn’t Get Enough Of The Original Posted: 18 Jan 2011 12:00 PM PST
Whatever the case, this winter they’ll be putting out Final Fantasy XIII-2, a direct sequel to XIII with an “evolved” combat system and new story. I can’t get excited about this, personally. I lost all interest in XIII after hearing about what kind of game it was, and the last time I played a Square sequel, it was Final Fantasy X-2, which was just pure garbage (and I liked X a lot). Will you buy? Square-Enix sure hopes so.
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| LittleBigPlanet 2 Review Round-Up: Pretty Much Universal Acclaim Posted: 18 Jan 2011 11:30 AM PST
It's probably fair to say that LittleBigPlanet came out of nowhere to become the early face of the PS3. You'll recall that the system didn't have the smoothest of launches, completely overshadowed by the Wii back in 2006, but then this odd little platformer and its troupe of sackboys appeared. What, a PS3-exclusive game worth playing?! Has the world gone mad? (No.) Which brings us to today, January 18. The game's sequel, LittleBigPlanet 2, comes out today in North America (and over the next few days elsewhere), and I thought I do one of my quick little review round-ups. To call this game beloved would be something of an understatement. Edge magazine
IGN
I'm trying to find "negative" comments about the game, but it's not easy; people love it. My guess would be that if you're not keen on searching out homemade levels then some of the allure isn't there, or if you're not happy with the idea of a sequel in the first place (angry Internet marks calling it "DLC-on-a-disc)", but that's about it. The following excerpt contains some hedged language, so there's that. Eurogamer The level design is never anything short of robust, and, while this is still nowhere near as tight a platform game as Nintendo’s strongest output, at its best it’s really good. The palette of objects and ideas is richer than in the first game, and you’ll encounter a greater range of environmental hazards than before…. Even if you have no interest in creating levels yourself, LittleBigPlanet 2 merits its existence, not only because of the potential novelties its users will create with the vastly improved toolset, but also for the stronger, more refined single-player campaign. Strip away the relentless good looks and the generous open-source playpen, and the bare, underlying platformer’s shortcomings may hold it back from classic status. But as a package, as a concept, as an unfinished story, LittleBigPlanet 2 is a world apart.
And one more for good measure, from Destructoid, because I've always liked the name of that site. At the very least the review isn't glowing (I'm trying to find some balance with these round-ups). Destructoid
So again, the game, while perhaps not as immediately charming the second time around, is certainly still worth a punt if you want something more from your gaming than fragging strangers over and over again.
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| Thief Tunnels Into GameStop, Does What One Does In That Situation Posted: 18 Jan 2011 11:12 AM PST
He also did not have to fill out a survey online to win a $500 gift card, mostly because he had already stolen more than $500. The break-in occurred on January 4, according to the Greeneville Sun. The best part? Get this:
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| HP webOS Tablet Leaks, Looks Like An HP-ifed iPad Posted: 18 Jan 2011 11:00 AM PST
It’s kind of hard to write this up without drawing the iPad comparison. Not only do the renders physically look like the current iPad — sans the home button at least — but the specs line up with what most assume are going to be on the next iPad build. There’s a set of speakers, front-facing camera, and a micro-USB port, which will no doubt handle the charging and file transfer duties. But the one place where this tablet sets itself apart is where it counts most: The OS. We’ve said all along that webOS just feels like a tablet OS, so it’s a bit comforting to see the operating system alive and well on the renders. There’s a new, sorry, iOS-like dock at the bottom, but the cards seem unchanged. Presumably multiple cards can still be dragged together to make the clever Stacks, too. Engadget reports that there will be two models of the upcoming tablet, a 9-inch codenamed Topaz and a 7-inch going by the name Opal. At least the Opel will have multiple variations including a WiFi-only model, then at launch, one for both AT&T 3G and Verizon LTE networks, with an AT&T LTE version scheduled for July 2012. Prices weren’t mentioned, but the slates are apparently on tap for later this year as production will not start until June. Too late? Perhaps, but HP is the type of company that could pull off a sort of coup months after the iPad 2 and Honeycomb tablets launch. Now, about that February event. Where does the line start?
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| Ekocase: Ecologically Sound iPad Cases For All (Plus A Contest) Posted: 18 Jan 2011 10:58 AM PST
Ekocase, not to be confused with singer Neko Case, makes green iPad cases out of bamboo and paper, turning your iPad into a cross between a finely bound book and a Moleskine. It is so eco-friendly, in fact, that it is made almost entirely of recyclable materials including a nylon strap that can be reused in future projects. I mean check this out:
That’s right: you can grow your own replacement parts. Ekocase sent us two monogramed sample cases and we’d like to offer them to a lucky reader or two. Simply comment below and I’ll pick a winner tomorrow at noon. The cases, which cost $54 for orange and $64 for other colors, are available now. They’re offering CG readers a super special discount, though, right here.  
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| The Steve Jobs Action Figure, Now With More Ninja Action! Posted: 18 Jan 2011 10:22 AM PST
Steve Jobs isn’t taking a leave of absence for medical. He’s clearly on hiatus to up his ninja xp. This action figure proves it with its interchangeable arms featuring ninja stars, the iPhone death grip, and a white iPhone. Of course the rest of Jobs’ outfit is there too complete with Levi’s jeans, trademark black turtleneck, and New Balance sneakers. Okay, technically, this isn’t called the Steve Jobs Action Figure. In a feeble attempt to avoid Apple’s own ninja lawyers, the clever folks over at M.I.C. Gadget named it The Phenomenal Pineapple CEO Action. The figure’s Apple base even features a removable “bite” just in case the owner wants it to look a little more like the real deal. $90.
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I posted about these 
This man, one Steven Paul Archer of Greeneville, Tennessee, cut through a metal storage area to access the drywall and studs of a GameStop game store next door. He then proceeded to cut through the drywall and entered the GameStop after hours. He was able to steal $288.55 in cash and $5,342 in merchandise and, for once, he wasn’t asked if he wanted to join that damned GameStop savings club nor did he have to accept a subscription to Game Informer that “pays for itself.”
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