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NEC Wants To Turn Your Arms Into A Remote Control

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 04:41 AM PST

Have you ever tried pushing buttons on your music player while you’re out jogging or reaching for your cell phone when you’re stuck in a crowded train? It’s not a nice experience and a problem that NEC is trying to solve with a new system [press release in English] that is supposed to let you control consumer electronics by tapping your arm.

NEC explains:

These technologies consist of compact acceleration sensors that are worn on each wrist and enable users’ arms to function as virtual control panels. When a user taps an arm, the sensors determine which area of the arm received contact. These areas are separated into 7 sections that each correspond to a virtual input switch that can be used to operate an electronic device.

The operation of conventional information-processing equipment requires users to stop their current activity and take action on an independent switch.

So if you’re jogging and listening to music at the same time, for example, the idea is to tap your left arm with the right hand (or vice versa) in order to pause a track or skip to the next one

NEC says that the technology works with any Bluetooth-enabled device, adding that they are trying to bring their system to market in one or two years.

In the meantime, I wonder what will happen to their cool battery-less remote and brain-signal powered remote controls.

Necono: Cat-Shaped Digital Camera (Video)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 04:02 AM PST

A digital camera that’s shaped like a cat? That’s what Tokyo-based Superheadz announced today with the so-called Necono [link in English]. The Necono is being marketed as “No longer a camera, more like a pet.”, but it is a fully-functioning camera.

Superheadz offers a lot of information in English on the product page, but for 15,750 yen ($191 currently), it seems only users who know Japanese can actually pre-order the device (all the others can ask specialized stores like Tokyo-based Rinkya to assist them).

The Necono is a simple point-and-shooter with a 3MP CMOS sensor that lets you shoot and store pictures (plus AVIs in 640×480 resolution) on microSDHC/SD cards. At 10×3×3cm, the Necono itself is pretty small and light (40g).

You might want to wait until May or June though, which is when Superheadz expects to be ready to offer the NECONO DIGITAL CAMERA with a cute monitor (see below).

Finally, a quick demo video:

Via Akihabara News

CrunchGear Week in Review: Wild And Wonderful Whites Edition

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 12:00 AM PST

World Record: The iPad Is The Only Camera With A Lower Resolution Than Its Display

Posted: 06 Mar 2011 12:12 PM PST

I think we can all admit that the iPad’s camera, while welcome, is pretty much just bad. I took issue with the iPod touch’s camera, wondering where Apple can even find such a low-resolution sensor these days, but Jack Deneut at Nelso makes the interesting observation that on the iPad 2, it produces a dubious honor: it appears to be the first camera with a lower resolution than the display it’s attached to. Where is your Jobs now?!

Why Apple didn’t spring for a half-decent camera, I don’t know — better sensors only cost pennies more these days. It’s better than no camera at all, and these tiny sensors are all pretty bad, but still.

Fly Or Die: The iPad2, ecoATM, and SocialEyes

Posted: 06 Mar 2011 09:02 AM PST

Last week was about the other tablets, but this week was all about the iPad 2. You’ve read all the posts and previews, but will it fly as high as Steve Jobs says it will? And what, if anything could kill the iPad 2? Watch this episode of Fly or Die to find out.

Crunchgear editor John Biggs and I also discuss the prospects of two new startups that just launched this week at DEMO, ecoATM and SocialEyes. The ecoATM is a kiosk that takes your old cell phones and recycles them for cash. SocialEyes, which I covered earlier this week, brings your Facebook friends into a multiple-party video chat experience.

Read more…


800 Swiss ETA Movements Stolen From Watchmaker In Porrentruy

Posted: 06 Mar 2011 08:39 AM PST

Thieves took a a cache of Buran-signed 800 ETA movements from a watchmaker in Porrentruy, Switzerland. They included some 2824-2 and 7750 movements. The 7750s are used in chronographs.

ETA movements are become increasingly more rare as the company’s owner, the Swatch Group, is cracking down on their international distribution. This cache, while small, could be work up to $800,000 depending on the quality and type of movement.

Watchmaker Torsten Nagengast is asking folks to keep an eye out for Buran-branded movements in the wild.
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