CrunchGear |  |
- Video: The Sense-Roid Is A Robo Jacket That Lets You Hug Yourself
- Japan Gets Three New PSP Value Packs Next Month
- Daily Crunch: Scope Edition
- Want To Play With A TouchPad? Get Thee To Best Buy (Or Wal-Mart)
- Sony Officializes Its New Z Series Laptops, With Quasi-Light Peak-USB Port
- On-Ramp’s Super-High-Range WiFi Could Go 40 Miles – At 50 Bytes Per Second
- Nikon Displays Mysterious Prototypes At French Exhibition
- Smartfish Pouchpad For The Traveling Mouse Lover
- Acer’s Chromebook Arrives This Month – 3G Version Soon
- DIY All-Terrain Roomba
- Super Talent’s RC8: Thumbdrive Looks, SSD Power
- Sweet-Looking Bike Tool Roll Made From My Favorite Material, Waxed Canvas
- Dodocase Puts Out Some J. Crew Exclusive iPad 2 Cases
- Apple To Samsung: If You Copy Us, We Won’t Let You Build Our Chips (So There!)
- Remember When: Your Commodore 64 Was A Satellite Descrambler?
- SocialBicycles Bike Sharing Is Now A Kickstarter Project
- Meet The Sexiest Mobile Drive I’ve Ever Seen: Lacie’s Porsche Design P’9220
- Glasses-less 3D MP3 Player For The Masses
- Macbook Air Sell-Outs Point To Upcoming Refresh
- Thanko Starts Selling The USB Butt Cooler Cushion (Ver. 2)
| Video: The Sense-Roid Is A Robo Jacket That Lets You Hug Yourself Posted: 28 Jun 2011 03:04 AM PDT
I am aware we have covered the Sense-Roid, a robotic device that lets you hug yourself (don’t ask), last week already. But now our friends over at Diginfonews in Tokyo went out and shot a professional video that shows the tactile communications apparatus in action and explains it in more detail (and in English). The Sense-Roid is essentially a mannequin wearing a jacket covered with tactile sensors, vibrating motors and a set of artificial “air” muscles – all to give you the sensation of hugging someone (or yourself). I am not really getting the concept, but the makers of the Sense-Roid say it could be used as part of a therapy. The Sense-Roid was developed by researchers from Japan's University of Electro-Communications, the same institution that gave the world the online kiss transmission device last month. Here’s the video:
|
| Japan Gets Three New PSP Value Packs Next Month Posted: 28 Jun 2011 12:24 AM PDT
The PS Vita is coming relatively soon, but Sony Japan today announced [JP] something nice for all users still in need of a PSP: a total of three new PSP value packs. The bundles will include a PSP in Piano Black, Vibrant Blue, or Blossom Pink – and they might be the last ones you can get, at least before the Vita goes on sale.
Apart from the PSP itself, buyers also get a pouch, a cloth, a Memory Stick Duo (Mark 2) with 2GB capacity, an AC adapter, and a battery pack.
Compared with previous PSP value packs, the summer versions are $25 cheaper: the bundles will cost just $220 when they hit stores in Japan on July 28.
|
| Posted: 28 Jun 2011 12:00 AM PDT
Nikon Displays Mysterious Prototypes At French Exhibition
|
| Want To Play With A TouchPad? Get Thee To Best Buy (Or Wal-Mart) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 08:05 PM PDT
No sign of that 7-inch version we heard about, though. Anyway, keep your eyes open come July: we’ll have a full review up as soon as we’re reasonably sure we know what to think of the thing. [via Engadget]
|
| Sony Officializes Its New Z Series Laptops, With Quasi-Light Peak-USB Port Posted: 27 Jun 2011 06:45 PM PDT
Perhaps most interesting is the combination Light Peak and USB port on the side there. We heard this was happening, but it didn’t show on the S series, so we weren’t sure what to expect. Sony isn’t exactly clear about it, as it’s only referred to obliquely (instead of the flagship feature it should be) while introducing the Power Media Dock2 accessory:
So yes, it’s both USB and Light Peak. But is it Thunderbolt, or is it some extra-proprietary thing? Sony refers to it as “an optical cable” and not Thunderbolt, which may in fact be a trademarked and patented Apple interpretation of the Light Peak interface. So what’s this exactly? It’s not entirely clear. The port isn’t even labeled.
Apparently the Dock (or Dock2, rather) VGA, HDMI, an optical drive of one type or another, and some USB ports — in addition to being an external Radeon 6650M 1GB GPU. But nowhere is direct Light Peak accessory connectivity mentioned — so my guess is that the Z is only using Light Peak as a way to connect to this dock, and not (or not yet, anyway) as a standalone device interface. The laptops look sexy with their angular design and carbon fiber build, and their cool “sheet battery” is also an option. No pricing, and USA availability isn’t confirmed, but we should hear more later this summer. Here’s the full press release from Sony Europe:
[via Akihabara News]
|
| On-Ramp’s Super-High-Range WiFi Could Go 40 Miles – At 50 Bytes Per Second Posted: 27 Jun 2011 06:08 PM PDT
The reason for the project is a need on energy grids to constantly monitor the state of distant grid nodes. Wired communications aren’t always practical, and the noisy, high-speed cellular networks are too crowded. On-Ramp decided to use wi-fi frequencies, but at such low power that it’s impossible to tell what’s being transmitted… without their proprietary chip. They’ve set up a test network around San Diego over the last couple years since their launch, covering 4000 square miles with just 35 transmission points. The limit of the devices on the network is about 50 bytes per second. That doesn’t sound like much — and it isn’t. But for transmitting a few numbers and identifiers it’s more than adequate. They call it “Ultra-Link Processing,” and while it’s not the only “smart grid” communication tech out there, its range, low power requirements, and fresh design make it an attractive option — worthy of a $2.1 million grant from the Department of Energy, anyway.
|
| Nikon Displays Mysterious Prototypes At French Exhibition Posted: 27 Jun 2011 05:00 PM PDT
[via Nikon Rumors]
|
| Smartfish Pouchpad For The Traveling Mouse Lover Posted: 27 Jun 2011 04:30 PM PDT
Only $15 at Smartfish. Get one, even though it looks like robot food.
|
| Acer’s Chromebook Arrives This Month – 3G Version Soon Posted: 27 Jun 2011 04:00 PM PDT
|
| Posted: 27 Jun 2011 03:31 PM PDT The All -Terrain Roomba isn’t brand new but recent updates have made it a formidable opponent to stairs, lumps of dirt, and other obstacles that stand between you and a completely clean Martian surface. The DIY kit uses a modded Roomba and unique chassis to offer stability and impressive speed to this little robot.
|
| Super Talent’s RC8: Thumbdrive Looks, SSD Power Posted: 27 Jun 2011 03:30 PM PDT
Here are the test results from their announcement video:
Looks mighty speedy! The aluminum casing hides a full SSD architecture, with 8 flash channels and a real live Sandforce controller. It’ll come in 25, 50, and 100GB flavors. Prices aren’t set yet, but Super Talent said it’s going to be more like SSD than USB drive prices. Tom’s Hardware says the 50GB version will cost $110, which actually seems a bit low to me. We’ll let you know when this
|
| Sweet-Looking Bike Tool Roll Made From My Favorite Material, Waxed Canvas Posted: 27 Jun 2011 12:54 PM PDT
At $38 (plus $6 for shipping), I’d say it’s a pretty good deal. [via Cool Material and The Awesomer]
|
| Dodocase Puts Out Some J. Crew Exclusive iPad 2 Cases Posted: 27 Jun 2011 12:30 PM PDT
You can order one online or head over to the 5th Ave flagship store to check one out in person. The J. Crew version costs $79.95, a $20 premium over the vanilla Dodocase.
|
| Apple To Samsung: If You Copy Us, We Won’t Let You Build Our Chips (So There!) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 12:14 PM PDT
Just a couple months ago, Apple and Samsung were basically BFFs. Of course, they were still competitors, but their relationship was symbiotic. Samsung produced the A4 chips that run Apple's iPhone 4 and the A5 chips found in the iPad 2, and in return, Apple became Samsung's largest customer, providing the South Korea-based company with millions of dollars in revenue. But the seas have grown rough between Cupertino and Seoul, with the two phone makers tied up in a massive patent war over all-too-similar product designs. A few harsh words were thrown back and forth, and as the suits progress, the tension between both companies has finally reached critical mass. The bond of BFF-hood has seemingly snapped like a twig, as Ars Technica reports that Apple will pull the multi-billion dollar rug out from under Samsung, and choose Taiwan SemiConductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to produce the A6 chip.
|
| Remember When: Your Commodore 64 Was A Satellite Descrambler? Posted: 27 Jun 2011 12:10 PM PDT
So Karateka or the World Cup: your choice.
|
| SocialBicycles Bike Sharing Is Now A Kickstarter Project Posted: 27 Jun 2011 09:55 AM PDT
Kickstarter from Social Bicycles on Vimeo. We first wrote about SocialBicycles when it was just a student project in New York. Now it’s going totally legit with a new website and Kickstarter project that promises to bring real bike sharing to the Windy Apple. Pledges of $25 or more get a free sharing account plus a credit while $50 gets you a T-shirt. For $500 you get “a 2 hour bike ride around New York” with the founders. “We can talk bikes, technology, and start-ups. BYOB(ike) or if the timing is right we can ride Social Bicycles!” A real treat, to be sure. The SoBi system works with tablets and smartphones. You “rent” time on the bike and receive a PIN code to unlock a bike near you. When you’re done riding around you park and lock the bike and register its location with the server, thereby allowing others to use it after you. This seems like an excellent opportunity, also, for the burgeoning snarf population in Williamsburg as you can locate any recently-ridden bike in the city. We need non-central bike rental in New York. Bikes are too often stolen and too often destroyed by the great jaws of this wicked city and to be able to hop on a bike in Manhattan, ride a few blocks, and then park the old girl anywhere would be a godsend.
|
| Meet The Sexiest Mobile Drive I’ve Ever Seen: Lacie’s Porsche Design P’9220 Posted: 27 Jun 2011 09:00 AM PDT
I got a chance to play around with Lacie's newly announced Porsche Design P'9220 mobile hard drive and one thing is certain: this little 5-inch hard drive is one sexy beast. If we're judging this book by it's cover, I'd give the Porsche P'9220 a ten, hands-down. It has this nice brushed metal aluminum finish, sharp lines, and even sharper corners (seriously, be careful), and is light/small enough to fit in a back pocket. The drive measures in at 2.8in x 0.6in x 5.1in, and weighs just 240g (half a pound). In terms of compatibility, computers with a USB 2.0 port running Windows and OS X are all supported. It comes in both a 500GB model and a 1TB model, meaning that if you opt for the big guy you'll have room for 120 hours of HD video, 1,200 hours of standard video, 260,000 songs, or 300,000 pictures. If math isn’t your forte, the 500GB model offers half the storage space of its big brother. The Porsche P'9220 offers support for both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, and right on the box Lacie offers up stats on file transfer speeds. According to Lacie, using USB 3.0 you can reach speeds of up to 5Gb/s, while a USB 2.0 connection can reach speeds of 480Mbps. I ran a couple of test transfers myself over the USB 2.0 connection to see if that held up: a 733MB movie took an average of 23 seconds to copy over to the drive, while a 5.36GB file took 2 minutes, 24 seconds. The drive comes with its own USB 3.0 cable, and setup with this little looker was a breeze. Just pop it in, and launch the Lacie Setup assistant. The whole process took a minute, tops. The Porsche P'9220 also comes with Lacie's complete software suite, including password protection, automatic backup, 40 percent power saving capability, and secure online storage with Wuala. The Lacie Porsche Design P’9220 hit shelves today with a price tag of $104.99.    
|
| Glasses-less 3D MP3 Player For The Masses Posted: 27 Jun 2011 08:30 AM PDT
It has 4GB on-board storage, an SD card slot, and a 8-inch 1280×768 lenticular display. While I doubt it will look as exciting as the above image demonstrates, I suppose it’s a nice way to get some 3D action in of an evening.
|
| Macbook Air Sell-Outs Point To Upcoming Refresh Posted: 27 Jun 2011 08:28 AM PDT
Another day, another sold-out Mac product that points to a refresh. This time Best Buy is the culprit, noting that current MBA notebooks are not shipping from its stores. This usually means that a refresh is coming within the next few days and is most probably a minor upgrade of little interest to the average user but that will piss people off who just bought an MBA in the last week to no end.
|
| Thanko Starts Selling The USB Butt Cooler Cushion (Ver. 2) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 08:10 AM PDT
Temperatures neared the 40 degree Celsius mark around Tokyo over the weekend – reason enough for Thanko to start selling the so-called USB Hinyari Cushion Ver. 2 [JP], which essentially is a USB-powered cooler/cushion for your butt. The Tokyo-based crap gadget maker has offered a very similar item last summer, and apparently that cushion sold well enough to be updated this year.
The new version is “more compact” (395×500×30mm) but still works the same way: just plug it into your computer’s USB port, sit on it, and let it cool your behind through the built-in fan. In Japan, Thanko is selling the USB Hinyari Cushion Ver. 2 for $16. If you're seriously interested, ask import/export specialist (and Thanko partner) Geek Stuff 4 U to get one for you.
|
HP’s webOS tablet, the 
Back in the old days, in Europe, TV selection was pretty limited. When they started offering satellite, you had a few free channels and a few paid channels but enterprising hackers figured out how to decode all of the channels using a breakout cart and the C64′s super processor. The resulting solution cost about $120 way back when and saved a bunch of Euro-hackers quite a bit of money.
| You are subscribed to email updates from CrunchGear To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment