CrunchGear |  |
- Smarbo: Toshiba Announces Roomba Competitor
- Handroid: Japanese Company Shows Advanced Robot Hand (Video)
- Logitech Introduces Surprisingly Useful New iPad Accessories
- Daily Crunch: Click Roll
- Nikon Updates Its Coolpix Line With New High-End And Rugged Point And Shoots
- Sony Updates Alpha And NEX Line With NEX-5N, NEX-7, A65, A77
- Fukushima Robot Operator’s Blog Deleted – Internet Steps In
- Former HP Global Gaming Head Rahul Sood Talks About Acquisitions, Brands, And Palm
- MakerBot Takes $10 Million In Funding From Foundry Group, Angels
- Failbook Phone: AT&T Already Looking To Ditch The HTC Status, Says Source
- LaCie Adds Some Polish To Its NAS Units With “NAS OS”
- The Asus Transformer Is Now Available For $349 At Walmart
- CineSkates: Roller Skates For Your Camera
- Stop! You’re All Mad! WebOS Is Better Than Android!
- Nintendo To Revamp 3DS Hardware, Downplay 3D?
- kandenchi: Designer Mouse That Looks Like A Battery
- Winning To Lose: HP’s Hardware Sales Were Strong But That’s Not Where The Money Is
- Lenovo ThinkPad Honeycomb Tablet Up For Sale, Shipping Soon
- AliveCor Turns Mobile Devices Into Low-Cost Heart Monitors, Raises $3 Million
| Smarbo: Toshiba Announces Roomba Competitor Posted: 24 Aug 2011 03:13 AM PDT  The Roomba just got new competition from Japan: Toshiba has announced [JP] a new cleaning robot today, the so-called Smarbo (which is probably short for “Smart Robot”). Just like its US counterpart, the Toshiba robot is primarily intended for use in households. Toshiba built quite a few features into the robot, for example two CPUs (details unknown), a camera, and a set of 38 sensors (gyro, acceleration, range detection etc.). The company says that the Smarbo cleans an area of 100sqm in about 90 minutes and that electricity costs stand at just 2 yen ($0.03) for a room of that size. Just like the Roomba, the Smarbo circumvents objects in its vicinity and returns to its charging station automatically after it’s done. Buyers can program the Smarbo in certain ways. For example, if they want a small area within a room cleaned thoroughly, they can choose the “spot mode” to make the robot circle only in a 1.5×1.5m square and then return to the charging station (see below). The Smarbo is sized at 355×355×93mm, weighs 3.7kg and works at 52dB. Toshiba is planning to start selling it in Japan (where the Roomba is available, too, by the way) on October 1 for $1,175 (including a remote control and the charging station).
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| Handroid: Japanese Company Shows Advanced Robot Hand (Video) Posted: 24 Aug 2011 01:06 AM PDT  Japan-based tech startup ITK has brought us one step closer to the Robocalypse. Roboticists around the world are working on manufacturing “sensitive” hands for robots suitable for touching humans or handling breakable objects, a problem that’s notoriously difficult to solve. ITK is now throwing their hat into the ring with Handroid a new model that seems to be one of the most advanced robot hands out there. Sporting five fully movable fingers, the Handroid looks a lot like the hand Arnold Schwarzenegger uses in Terminator 2. Operators can control each finger remotely (the Handroid can mimic the operator’s movements), for example in environments where it’s too dangerous to use human hands. At 740g, the Handroid is very light, prompting ITK to look into possibilities to develop a prosthetic hand that could be controlled by brain waves or cerebral nerves. ITK plans to commercialize the Handroid in about two years for about $6,500 per unit – a very low price for such a device. Via Robonable [JP]
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| Logitech Introduces Surprisingly Useful New iPad Accessories Posted: 24 Aug 2011 01:00 AM PDT  I've never really been a fan of all the special add-ons and accessories sold alongside electronics. In my opinion, a nice solid case is as far as phone/tablet accessories should go. But at a meeting with Logitech recently, a couple of iPad accessories definitely caught my eye. Both are very different in nature — one's for gaming while the other is more of a utility device — but the reason they caught my eye is because of the added value they will bring to the tablet itself. There are plenty of funky attachable speaker bars and camera lenses you can slap onto your iPad, but in all seriousness, how often will you actually use those things? Maybe you'll bust out a speaker bar for a party, or put the lens in your pocket before heading off on vacation, but that's really the extent of it. The new offerings from Logitech are for every day use, and will likely make a difference in the length of each iPad session, as well as the activities performed on the slate. So without further ado, let me introduce you to the latest iPad accessories from Logitech. Logitech Fold-Up Keyboard for iPad 2 This thing is pretty damn nifty. It's basically a two-in-one iPad 2 stand and Bluetooth keyboard dock, and works well with Apple's smart cover. Though Logitech wouldn't recommend it, it would probably protect against some minor falls and bumps (in conjunction with the smart cover), too. It also charges over USB, so you can stop worrying about how many times you'll have to switch out batteries. When closed, the keyboard shuts off automatically to save power. When open, it automatically switches on and connects to the iPad. What's more is the Fold-Up Keyboard is actually a full-sized keyboard — so not only are you breaking free of the touchscreen typing frustration we've all experienced, but you actually get a comfy physical keyboard roomy enough for two man hands. The only real problem I have with this keyboard dock is that it's bulky as a baby's diaper. Thin and light, thin and light, thin and light. That's what Apple, and just about every tablet/smartphone maker out there, is all about. Logitech's Fold-Up Keyboard, while super functional, doesn't really follow in the same thin and light vein. The pricing isn't all that attractive either, come to think of it. Logitech's Fold-Up Keyboard for iPad 2 has an MSRP of $129.99 and should be available across the U.S. and Europe in September. Logitech Joystick for iPad We've seen a few odd joystick-style contraptions of late, but none quite as thought out as Logitech's. If you've ever played a game on your iPad that requires a joystick or a D-pad, you understand where I'm coming from when I say losing sucks. Not because I or you or anyone else lacks the skill to beat the game, but because paying attention to the game and to your finger placement makes it feel unfair. Logitech's Joystick solves those problems pretty completely, without adding any heavy junk to your tablet. It connects to the iPad with suction cups, and is super light. Its spiral design makes sure the thumb pad always returns to the center position, finally offering some tactile feedback on the iPad. The Logitech Joystick for iPad has an MSRP of $19.99 and should be available in the U.S. and Europe beginning in September. Logitech designs and manufactures computer and electronics peripherals such as mice, keyboards, speakers, and remote controls.
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| Posted: 24 Aug 2011 01:00 AM PDT  Here are some of yesterday’s stories on TechCrunch Gadgets:
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| Nikon Updates Its Coolpix Line With New High-End And Rugged Point And Shoots Posted: 23 Aug 2011 11:17 PM PDT  It’s been a camera-ish day today. Canon released its new Powershot cameras early this morning, Sony just updated its Alpha and NEX lines, and now here we have a bundle of Nikons just coming out. Do they plan it like this, to make things difficult for us bloggers just trying to relax on a warm Tuesday night? Well, let’s get on with it. I’ll make it quick for you. Some of these are actually quite decent. First up, we’ve got the P7100, successor to the P7000. This is the top-end compact camera for Nikon, popular among photographers as a quickie back-up. It’s substantially the same (10.1 megapixels, 7x zoom, 640×480 LCD, 720p video), but adds a few new features. You’ve got an updated image processor, new on-screen interface, and the ability to zoom while recording video. The body has gained a dial on the front, bringing the total dials on this thing up to six, if I’m not mistaken. The LCD also tilts now, but it doesn’t rotate. It’s an improvement, but not a big one — and that sensor needs a boost. If Canon’s next G-series ups the ante, Nikon’s going to be left behind — the way they left Canon behind last year with the P7000. It’ll cost $500 in September. Next, the AW100. This is your rugged point and shoot, able to go 33ft underwater, survive a drop of five feet, and resist temperatures down to a “frigid” 14°F. The back-illuminated sensor produces 16 megapixels at up to 3200 ISO, and will record 1080p video. You’ve got a 5x zoom on the front and a 3″ 480×320 LCD on the back. My favorite part: it’ll record movies at 60, 120, or 240fps. That’s some solid slow motion, though I assume it reduces the resolution. The bad news? This mother will set you back $380 come September. That’s more than any rugged point and shoot I’ve used, though to be fair it does sound better than any rugged point and shoot I’ve used. Next you have the vast assortment of S-series cameras. I’ll forgo the details (available here) and give you the nicknames I’ve assigned them: S1200pj “The one with a projector you’ll never use” – $430 (!) S100 “The skinny one with the OLED touchscreen, and apparently you hold it vertically?” – $300 S8200 “The rich kid’s camera with the nice screen and 14x zoom” – $330 S6200 “Good enough” – $230 What’s the take-away? These are all a bit expensive, really, but if you have cash to spare, the AW100 strikes me as the best deal for a take-everywhere camera. Plus it does super slow motion, which is even more fun than it sounds. I’d wait for Canon’s response to the P7100 (i.e. the G13) before committing, if you’re okay with that. More information should be available over at Nikon’s Coolpix site soon.
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| Sony Updates Alpha And NEX Line With NEX-5N, NEX-7, A65, A77 Posted: 23 Aug 2011 10:00 PM PDT  It’s been difficult to avoid news about Sony’s new line of digital cameras these past few months. Leak after leak has exposed body designs, lenses, sensor sizes, and other specs. They’re all official now, though, and while I won’t subject you to a case-by-case analysis of which rumors were on and off, I will say they were mostly on the money. The new gear looks very promising, as well. Let’s take a look at the new camera line. I’ll try to be concise; camera spec comparisons tend to drag on, and if you want to compare closely, a dedicated photo gear site will have the whole shebang for you to peruse at your leisure. This will be a summary. The $600 NEX-5N and $1200 NEX-7 get articulating LCD screens, and the NEX-7 gets a new 24MP APS-C sensor (the 5N is 16MP APS-C). Both now record full 1080p at 60, 30, or 24fps, or 640×480 at 30, but no 720p. The 7 also has a sweet built-in 1024×768 OLED EVF, one of the headline features of this whole line. It also has more manual controls on the body: two dials up top for controlling aperture and so on. Apart from the megapixel difference, they have mostly the same capabilities feature-wise, though of course those capabilities will be more easily accessed on the 7. If you want the EVF but don’t want to pay the big bucks you can pick up the FDA-EV1S, which seems to have the same specs as the 7′s, for $350. The NEX-5N will be available next month, and the NEX-7 will ship in November. The $900 A65 and $1400 A77 get 1024×768 EVFs as well, and both take 24MP photos. The A77 has a better burst rate, more autofocus points, higher ISO capability, and its LCD is more adjustable. The flash is better, wider, and faster. On the body, the A77 has a rear dial (an indispensable feature for pros), and a joystick instead of a circular d-pad. That may be a bit too concise, but without delving into details, those are the main differences. The cameras will be available in October. My opinion? Well, if you insist. These are some really convincing specs. If I wasn’t already invested in Canon to the tune of… I’d rather not say… I’d be jumping on these. The NEX-5N, though, doesn’t seem very compelling to me as a premium model without those top dials or the EVF. If it had just one, it’d be a more realistic buy. As it is, I think the NEX-7 might live up to its $1200 price. It’s too bad that nice Zeiss lens on it isn’t more compact, though, it’s a waste of a slim body to put such a beast of a lens on there. As for the SLRs — if you can live without the rear dial and don’t rely too much on multiple autofocus points or flash (i.e. how I’ve been shooting for years), the A65 is definitely the better buy. You’re getting substantially the same body, the exact same sensor, and 80% of the features of the A77… and losing four ounces off the weight into the bargain! We’ll try to get these into our hot little hands for review soon. In the meantime, I think that NEX-7 just became my new object of desire.
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| Fukushima Robot Operator’s Blog Deleted – Internet Steps In Posted: 23 Aug 2011 05:04 PM PDT  An anonymous blogger known only as S.H. has been posting detailed daily descriptions of the robot-based disaster response effort at Fukushima. The blog included technical details and personal anecdotes, but nothing sensitive to national security. In early July, however, the blog was discontinued and later deleted altogether. The videos S.H. had uploaded to YouTube were made private. The origin of this purge is unknown, though it’s certainly conceivable that higher-ups felt the blog was too revealing and asked that S.H. take it down. You can’t delete something from the internet without anyone noticing, however, especially a blog like this, full of interesting and timely information related to the ongoing reactor containment efforts. So when it disappeared, IEEE Spectrum took it upon themselves not only to save a cached version of the blog, but to translate it and republish it. It’s a powerful demonstration of the durability of internet-based media — and an interesting read in its own right. The blog is a mix of technical commentary and the normal human aspect of the job. Here are a few excerpts, to give you the flavor (formatting mine to save space): Today, along with charging the batteries of the robots, it was my turn for training. I did operate them a little yesterday, though. The training takes place in a low radiation outdoor area, but we wear full radiation protection clothing and gear, which diminish my thinking abilities. Ordinarily, I'm not good at thinking (LOL). The training is designed to replicate as close as possible the actual task. First I tried to open a heavy steel door (with a common round knob). They said that I was the first person to succeed in opening a door with such a knob, in fact. Today we went and used two PackBots to measure the radiation levels on the first floor portion of the No. 3 nuclear reactor building where the Warrior cleaned (decontaminated) yesterday. The first one who got up to go to the bathroom, Mr. S, said, "Hey, there's someone else here. Who's that?" So I got up to look, and there was someone sleeping on the tatami floor. . . I looked at his face and didn't recognize him. I woke him, asking, "Who are you? Are you in the right room?" He was kind of confused as well. You get the idea. There are pictures of the operating environment, the bots, and so on. All in all, a valuable record of the recovery and cleaning effort around the reactors. One commenter at IEEE who works with the same robots has already mentioned he found some useful information — from an abridged, incomplete translation! While I can understand that this kind of thing should also be shared within the operator’s official environment (reports and such), this blog was clearly a non-destructive outlet for unofficial information. The pictures and video were also retained: The blog disappeared in July and as yet no one has commented. Interestingly, it doesn’t really signify whether it was shut down voluntarily or because of pressure from S.H.’s supervisors. The fact is that because it was worth something to someone, the deletion of this content was out of their hands. It’s a form of internet archaeology. In fact, a site by that name was formed to enshrine the kitch goldmine that was Geocities. And while that was a bit of a lark, the principle applies equally to more serious content, like S.H.’s blog. Content that manages to disappear from the internet is usually pretty meritless. Truly sensitive information, like that released by Wikileaks or black hat hackers, is nearly impossible to eliminate completely. What is the endgame here? Polarization. If official government programs have to worry about their workers’ personal blogs, they may simply forbid them from having them at all. On the other hand, to satisfy the thirst for real-time information and “transparency,” more official channels for this kind of data will have to be set up. Will these channels be closely regulated? Yes. Will they be as revealing and interesting as blogs like S.H.’s? No. Will they be better than what we had five years ago? Probably. There will always be a demand for deep-undercover anonymous bloggers and the like, but the methods to suppress and the methods to create are in a constant arms race. Sometimes you’ll be able to get it from the tap, but sometimes you’ll have to get it bottled, as it were. In the meantime, if you’re at all interested in the cleanup effort or practical robotics in general, do check out the entries IEEE has translated. If you speak Japanese, you can see some of the posts mirrored here, and the Google cache is still partially intact.
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| Former HP Global Gaming Head Rahul Sood Talks About Acquisitions, Brands, And Palm Posted: 23 Aug 2011 05:03 PM PDT  Curious to find out the possible thinking behind HP’s recent actions, we began to look at the parallels in past behavior by tech giant HP. The most interesting example comes from VoodooPC, one of the first high-end gaming PCs for the mass market. Led by Rahul Sood, HP bought VoodooPC in 2006 and the last product to come out of that branch was launched in 2009. In short, we wanted to know if HP really was where good ideas go to die. Mr. Sood was kind enough to answer a few questions. TC: We at TC have been talking about how great VoodooPC was. We all loved the hardware and I remember unpacking the boxes and hearing the drums. It was consumer done right. I also think there are a lot of parallels between Voodoo and Palm in this case. Do you agree? Rahul Sood: I appreciate the kind words, and I know my friends at HP will also appreciate them as well. Let’s just say if you’re going to make a strategic acquisition, no matter how large, you need to have patience to blend cultures and allow the companies to mutually flourish. It’s been less than a year since I left HP – and about 1 year since the Palm acquisition was announced. One year goes quickly in a large organization. It takes the average person 8 months to “on board” themselves into a new organization. I think these acquisitions should be protected by people who can effectively blend cultures and who can curate a vision that people can rally around. …and did I mention patience? If you don’t have patience you risk blowing up the strategy. Yes there are plenty of parallels between Palm and Voodoo that could be drawn. If future Rahul could go back to 2006 Rahul I would have some good advice for him — but believe it or not I still would have gone through with the deal, but I would have managed it differently. TC: What could have HP done to save the TouchPad? Anything? RS: I find it interesting that the TouchPad went from a total failure to selling out just by changing the price. It proves that there is a market, somewhere between $100-$300 for this product. It also brings up some fundamental business rules that go back to the days of Sun Tzu; “When strong, avoid them. If of high morale, depress them. Seem humble to fill them with conceit. If at ease, exhaust them. If united, separate them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise.” In the case of the Touchpad HP tried to go head to head with Apple, probably not the right approach, especially since they launched it when it wasn’t fully baked. Either way, you should not go head to head with Apple, there’s no need to. They could disrupt the market at a lower price to gain significant adoption of webOS, and then work to build some back-end recurring revenue via applications, partnerships, search, shopping, etc. They could eventually turn up the heat and scale the business by open sourcing webOS and building a solid app model that caters to their enterprise customers. There’s plenty of ways the TouchPad could have become a success – but it takes time, patience and vision to figure it out. TC: Where is HP headed? Do you have any idea? Will they go the IBM route? RS: By “IBM route” I assume you’re comparing HP PSG to Lenovo (or what once was IBM’s PC business). I disagree with this widely quoted comparison. So if they choose to go “the IBM route” HP risks missing the winning formula of IBM and they could end up forgetting about the consumer and focusing on the enterprise. In my opinion catering to the “enterprise” is such an old school way of thinking. Companies should cater to people, and the enterprise will follow, because real people run the enterprise. RIM is having a tough time because the competitor that displaced them is catering to real people.. not Wall Street… not the enterprise. I also find it telling that an officer of the company was quoted on CNBC yesterday saying, “HP’s board of directors will make the final decision in the best interest of our shareholders”. I believe if you build beautiful products that excite your customers then shareholders will ultimately benefit. I believe if you cater to shareholders then customers will suffer. So if you ask me where HP is heading, I would tell you listen to what the leaders are saying and try to make sense of it. I think they have giant problems to solve, lots of complex internal issues, and when you’re under stress you sometimes overlook things. TC: It’s amazingly frustrating to see good products give up the ghost. How did you feel about Voodoo? Do you miss the brand? RS: I still have a Voodoo tatt on my leg. I have Voodoo branding throughout my home. Voodoo will always be a part of me, it was once a huge part of HP’s strategy and I can’t help but feel bad about it. Yeah I miss the brand, the people, the culture. …but I made the right decision to move on, I was too emotionally attached to it. I love Microsoft’s entertainment business, it’s such a fun place to work. It reminds me of Voodoo in many ways. TC: What does a company need to be successful in branding and consumer sales? RS: A company needs to know who they are and where they came from. They need leaders who dream about their products and experiences creating the vision with people who dream about rows and columns supporting them. They need to establish a clear vision and strategy that people understand and can rally around. They should live, eat, breath, sleep the brand – and they naturally become evangelists for it. The successful brands establish a soul, the brand becomes a living breathing entity within the DNA of the organization. They also need great people. The best of the best… Finding and retaining these people is difficult — especially when you are in the Valley. Never has there ever been a better time for cool start-ups to get their juice. The acceleration for growth on tech start-ups is so slick that we’re seeing companies go from 0 to hundreds of millions or billions in valuation in less than 5 years. It’s unbelievable. So the talent pool for great “Tech DNA” is getting smaller and smaller – and the Valley is easily the most competitive area on earth for attracting and retaining great talent. Think about it, you’ve got Facebook, Google, Apple, Zynga, then you’ve got companies who haven’t upgraded their facility in decades. As a college grad you can go to Facebook or Google and work in a beautiful inspirational environment — it’s hard to compete. As companies mature, people start to look elsewhere to expand their horizons. HR and Recruiting could be one of the most important strategic functions of any business in the tech space….and yet in some cases they are probably the area that get the least investment because they are setup with the wrong charter. This is why I find Microsoft fascinating. Microsoft is the oldest, most established tech company, they have done a great job of keeping up with the times. You should check out our facility in Seattle… It’s pretty sick… TC: Can you buy Palm and run it for all of us? You have that kind of cash, right? RS: I think HP should open source webOS. I think the vision of breaking up HP is cloudy at best. I did ask HP many times to sell Voodoo back to me, even came up with a couple of proposals. If they open sourced webOS and gave me back Voodoo then we might have something. Maybe Arrington can pull some strings and we can go into business together? I would like to end by saying that HP treated me with the utmost respect. I was super stoked when we were building cool products like Voodoo ENVY and HP Blackbird and helping to shape HP’s overall strategy. I was sad to leave the company, but I was left with little choice. I’m very happy where I am now. Microsoft’s entertainment business is such a cool place to work — I mean really cool. I would encourage your readers to check my latest post on HP, I’m going to write a series of them in the next week or so.
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| MakerBot Takes $10 Million In Funding From Foundry Group, Angels Posted: 23 Aug 2011 02:49 PM PDT  MakerBot Industries, creator of home 3D printers, has announced a total of $10 million in funding from a number of investors, the bulk coming from Foundry Group. Also included in the round were Bezos Expeditions, True Ventures, and RRE, along with a dozen or so angel investors. The company started in 2009 with around $75,000 in seed money, and since then has put together and sold some 5200 of their compact fabrication machines. We saw them in action at the very first TechCrunch Disrupt NYC, and since then they’ve been a regular feature on this blog. MakerBot also just added Brad Feld to their board, and are now hiring. The hardware space is a difficult one to bootstrap in, but founder Bre Pettis thinks we’ll be seeing plenty of hardware startups over the next few years. While services and software tend to offer quicker scaling and consequently more immediate returns, there’s still a place for devices and accessories in the world, especially if they’re unique. MakerBot’s capabilities are impressive, but with competition from fabrication-by-mail services like Shapeways, the barrier for entry to their self-powered 3D printing world is still quite high. The home fabrication business is changing as well, and competitors (not to say imitators) will see the opportunity to iterate on MakerBot’s design and offer more speed, materials, and so on. That said, the ability to obtain a microwave-sized rapid prototyping machine for under a thousand dollars is one of these signs of the times we tend to unfairly play down. It’s absolutely amazing that this is possible in the first place, but the business realities may not allow it to grow at the rate the tech industry tends to find exciting. More details about the funding, as well as links to the various angels involved, can be found over at MakerBot’s blog. Foundry Group is a venture capital firm focused on making investments in early-stage information technology, Internet and software startups. Their passion is working alongside entrepreneurs to give birth to... MakerBot Industries is a Brooklyn based company that creates affordable, open source 3D printers.
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| Failbook Phone: AT&T Already Looking To Ditch The HTC Status, Says Source Posted: 23 Aug 2011 01:10 PM PDT  Surprise! Even a clever little gimmick like a dedicated Facebook button can’t save a bad phone from an early demise. After just 36 days on the shelves, a trusted source close to AT&T tells us the carrier is already prepping to ditch HTC’s so-called “Facebook Phone”, the Status. The reason? The thing just isn’t selling. Since the initial tipster came forward, we’ve confirmed with multiple sources that sales of the Status are considerably lower than anyone expected. AT&T declined to comment. To say we foresaw the Status’ fate would be something of an understatement. The Status originally launched as the ChaCha back at Mobile World Congress, where I pointed out that ChaCha (the real-time answer company) likely wouldn’t take too kindly to the name — and sure enough, ChaCha turned around and filed a lawsuit against HTC within the week. When AT&T announced plans to carry the device (now renamed Status), we predicted it wouldn’t succeed due to a lack of interest… and here we are, just over a month post-launch, hearing that the death knell is being prepped for a ringing. For what it’s worth, even Facebook has never seemed all that interested in HTC’s efforts. Mark Zuckerberg phoned it in with HTC’s original announcement, providing a short, generic video in lieu of an actual appearance. Even with a fair amount of time spent at Facebook HQ, not once have any of us here at TechCrunch seen a Facebook employee carrying a Status. They all seem to use iPhones. Update: AT&T has now agreed to go on record with a comment, saying “The HTC Status is a great product and our plans for it to be part of our portfolio haven’t changed.” HTC Corp, (TAIEX: 2498) produces smartphones running the Android and Windows Mobile operating systems for themselves and as an OEM to other manufacturers. Since launching its own brand in... AT&T is the largest provider of both local and long distance telephone services, and DSL Internet access in the United States and the second largest wireless service provider in...
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| LaCie Adds Some Polish To Its NAS Units With “NAS OS” Posted: 23 Aug 2011 12:19 PM PDT  Backing up data is getting more and more important, since although much of our critical stuff is in the cloud, we’re all generating so many pictures, videos, documents and so on that it’s wise to keep a local copy. Many people use external drives to back up, which is fine, but if you want any automated stuff, or server capabilities, you have to update to a network-attached storage system, and they aren’t all that user friendly. LaCie has updated their devices with a pretty new operating system they call NAS OS, which they hope will make backup and serving easier. Let’s just take a quick look. Here’s your little home screen. A bit cluttered, I’d say, could use a few larger buckets for easier operation by non-enthusiasts. But there’s plenty of at-a-glance info there: Capacity, share and service management: The main changes aren’t super major, but worth having. Better RAID support, works on Lion, scheduled up/down time, centralized multi-device backup management, and of course the shiny new interface. Unfortunately only three devices are eligible to upgrade right now, the Network 2 series d2, 2big, and 5big. More information over at LaCie.
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| The Asus Transformer Is Now Available For $349 At Walmart Posted: 23 Aug 2011 10:22 AM PDT  Remember when the Asus Eee Pad Transformer was the hottest thing since Laserdisc? Remember when it was hailed as an iPad killer with its fancy IPS screen, low price and sweet name. Autobots, unite! Well, Walmart is currently selling it for $350, which puts it at the low-end of the Honeycomb tab price scale. Jokes aside, it’s actually a great deal for an Android tablet. The model in question is of course the entry level 16GB WiFi model. It sports a fair amount of inputs/outputs, a great 10.1-inch IPS screen and dual cams. The build quality is actually quite nice. This doesn’t feel like a $350 although someone at Walmart clearly disagrees. The tablet doesn’t seem to be any sort of special sale. Shipping is only $.97 and at $349, this is the lease expensive of the mainstream Honeycomb tablets. Wally’s World sells the Acer Icona Tab A500 for $398 and the 8GB Toshiba Thrive for $398. Spend more and get less, eh. Looking for an Android tablet and the ThinkPad Tablet is too pricey? Opt for this instead.
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| CineSkates: Roller Skates For Your Camera Posted: 23 Aug 2011 09:37 AM PDT  Have you ever wanted to recreate the kitchen scene in Goodfellas from a very low angle with Lego characters? Well, here’s your chance to create your own diminished steadicam shots using a GorillaPod tripod and four wacky little wheels called CineSkates. These wheels allow for slow tracking shots, “worms-eye” views, and smooth rotations. You can also pan across a scene with the wheels. The wheels fit on the GorilliaPod Focus, a tripod made for DSLRs. The creator has partnered with Joby to offer the GorillaPod tripods at a considerably discount (or you can just get the wheels).
Obviously you’re limited by the height of the tripod but you could grab some cool “orbiting” footage of interview subjects or sculpture. For $275 you get the full kit including the GorillaPod Focus and the ballhead. $150 just gets you the little skates. They need $20,000 to fund this project, so budding Kubricks had better act quick. The next project will consist of a much larger tripod with real wheels as well as other camera products.
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| Stop! You’re All Mad! WebOS Is Better Than Android! Posted: 23 Aug 2011 07:48 AM PDT  Don’t listen to the masses. Buy the TouchPad (if you can find one) and enjoy webOS. It’s an amazing OS killed off by natural selection, like a beautiful peacock with a rare and debilitating reproductive problem. It has the swankiness of iOS, the multitasking of Android all built by the folks that started it all, Palm. The Internet is being overran by Android nerds. Don’t listen to them. The TouchPad was doomed from the start. Tablets, outside of the iPad, are a niche device that attempt to justify their existence by replicating notebook functions on a slate form factor. They just don’t make sense without a robust app marketplace. A consumer can buy an iPad and never touch the web browser because of the sheer amount of useful and fun apps. That’s not the case with Android, BlackBerry, or webOS devices. These platforms, while fully functional and vibrant as any smartphone OS, did not prep for the transition to a 10-inch, thus the weakest of them will die an early death from poor consumer acceptance. Unfortunately this early death doesn’t make any of the TouchPad’s competitors stronger. Android won’t benefit for this, but you still can. The TouchPad is a fine device. The platform is more consumer friendly and operational in a tablet than Android right now and it has the pleasing user experience of webOS. We have never had any issues with webOS. We just couldn’t recommend it over the iPad. John’s official review of the TouchPad states, “WebOS and the Palm TouchPad are nearly perfect, an excellent amalgamation of everything that was ever right about Palm. But is even perfection, in this market, enough? Without a strong app base and some work on performance issues, the TouchPad may be the most beautiful dead-end we have seen yet.” Yep, that properly describes the TouchPad: a beautiful dead-end. Some of Android’s faithful saw the TouchPad fire sale as an extraordinary opportunity. Here’s a dual-core tablet with an amazing 10-inch screen for only $100. Let’s all buy it and then put Android on it, they said. Great, but you, as curious onlooker not exactly sure how to flash a device or rebuild a kernel are better off with the stock webOS. There’s currently a $1500 bounty for the first stable Android TouchPad build. The goal right now isn’t even Honeycomb but rather Android 2.x, which further supports my plea to keep the original tablet OS installed. The hacking cause might have gotten a free turn as what appears to be a Qualcomm prototype actually running Android 2.2.1 Froyo was supposedly installed on a TouchPad bought at retail. I never thought HP would kill the TouchPad this fast. I figured the first generation of TouchPads were just to test the market and then HP, the mammoth PC maker, would out a proper second generation. But HP decided they didn’t want to be a mammoth PC maker anymore and axed their resource-sucking webOS hardware division. This departure then puts the pressure on the BlackBerry PlayBook as the under-performing tablet platform. Sprint already gave the tablet the stink eye and decided not to carry the 4G flavor. At least the Playbook has lasted longer than the TouchPad’s 49 day lifespan. We’ve always said the TouchPad is a fine device and it’s an amazing deal at $99. Most of those are already gone and currently, the going price on eBay is just north of $300. (the same price as a refurb iPad) If you can find one though, buy it and enjoy webOS. There are a couple hundred apps available and there will likely be more coming from dedicated devs in the coming weeks and months. Think of it as a gadget of old: You buy it, take it home, turn it on and it works the same from day one. That’s the TouchPad now and it’s totally worth of $100. Just remember, for most people, webOS is better than Android on a tablet but besides in this case of porting, it doesn’t matter anymore, does it?
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| Nintendo To Revamp 3DS Hardware, Downplay 3D? Posted: 23 Aug 2011 07:38 AM PDT  Nintendo’s recent 3DS price drop seems to have accomplished the goal of moving more units, but rumor has it that Nintendo’s higher-ups aren’t too pleased with the floundering portable as a whole. Among other things, Nintendo is supposedly considering a new hardware revision for the 3DS that downplays its 3D capabilities That sounds a bit counterintuitive, but internal sources have told French gaming site 01.net that Nintendo is aware of the problems they’ve had convincing customers that the 3D display is safe to use. Nintendo has publicly stated that children under 6 should not use the 3DS with the 3D mode turned on, which has stymied the adoption rate among the younger set. If this report proves to be true, then Nintendo may radically tone down the 3D angle, and will have to shift gears completely when it comes to their branding and marketing strategies. Future hardware plans aside, Nintendo also reportedly thinks they’ve shot themselves in the foot due to a crucial hardware oversight on the 3DS: the lack of a second analog stick. Engineers are apparently working day and night to to create an inexpensive analog stick add-on that they believe will improve gameplay. Nintendo has also reached out to a group of hand-picked developers to create games that leverage the dual stick layout. The mechanics of the analog stick add-on escape me, and 01.net doesn’t elaborate, but it raises a few questions: will it have to be removed every time the 3DS is closed? How is it going to attach to the console? Will it be worth a damn? Nintendo is backpedalling hard here, but at least they’re recognizing their shortcomings and trying to make the experience better. If the new 3DS comes to fruition, Nintendo will likely draw the ire of gamers who picked up the current model on the cheap, but they’ll just need to grin and bear it if the model is more in line with their vision.
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| kandenchi: Designer Mouse That Looks Like A Battery Posted: 23 Aug 2011 07:35 AM PDT  Japanese accessory maker Elecom announced [JP] the kandenchi today, a wireless mouse that’s designed like a battery. The 2.4GHz device, developed in cooperation with Tokyo-based design company nendo, can be connected to your computer via USB. Technically, the kandenchi is really a conventional three-button mouse and compatible to Windows XP/Vista/7 and Mac OS X 10.5 and up. Here’s how buyers would use the mouse (Elecom is using only promotion pictures that show people holding the mouse with the right hand, but I suppose this works for lefties, too): Elecom plans to start selling the kandenchi in Japan in October for $65. Ask specialized online stores like Geek Stuff 4 U if you’re interested but live outside Japan.
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| Winning To Lose: HP’s Hardware Sales Were Strong But That’s Not Where The Money Is Posted: 23 Aug 2011 06:43 AM PDT  If you look carefully at why HP bailed on consumer electronics and PCs, there are a few clear and simple reasons. The primary one? HP was number one in sales but – at least by Amplicate’s arguably loose methodology – number seven in mindshare. In the end, it looks like it was better to let someone else flog the hardware while HP did what it always did best: tell businesses how to spend money in tech. So who is taking over for HP? Well, according to a Digitimes report, it looks like HP will be handing the keys to their brand over to Samsung, much as IBM did when it partnered with Lenovo to sell laptops and PCs. Samsung has tapped Quanta, Compal, and Pegatron – three mainstream hardware vendors – to examine the possibility of outsourcing orders. The Digitimes piece focuses on netbooks, but it’s clear that this move would make Samsung’s products cheaper and allow the company to ramp up in order to take over HP’s 40 million-unit-strong business and maintain its own lucrative trade. So we’ve established motive, we’ve established some culprits, but we haven’t established timing. Why now? Why so suddenly? Gruber nails it:
Whether HP goes to Samsung, Sony, or Asus is immaterial. What’s important to note is that Asian hardware manufacturers own the market and folks like Dell and HP saw the writing on the wall. Why compete in low margin hardware when you can sell the brand and let it live on – or not – at another manufacturer. Samsung would kill to have HP’s U.S. sales numbers. The problem, however, is that HP commands no respect in the marketplace. This is where the IBM/Lenovo comparison breaks down. The ThinkPad line was historically a workhorse, considered by many to be the apotheosis of the fleet laptop. If you were a business traveller in the later 90s/early to mid aughts you wanted a ThinkPad and begrudgingly accepted a Dell or and HP. Aside from the Dell Dude, who has ever been excited to get a major name laptop from those companies? Alienware Area 51, maybe. Dell Inspiron, not so much. So HP sheds a shackle and, with Samsung’s manufacturing power, that shackle becomes another link in that manufacturer’s golden chain. HP sunsets itself over the next decade, receding out of the dog-eat-dog world of hardware sales and it becomes as charmingly quaint as an IBM consultant in his pinstriped wool suit and white shirt. Why play in the messy, cyclical world of hardware, full of fickle, complaining consumers when you can take in $500 million for a tax system in Arizona. When this recession is over, organizational spending will pop like a cork and HP will be primed to take a drink.
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| Lenovo ThinkPad Honeycomb Tablet Up For Sale, Shipping Soon Posted: 23 Aug 2011 05:28 AM PDT  Lenovo’s ThinkPad Tablet is meant for business types, but it just might be the best Honeycomb tablet available right now. It was announced late last month alongside the consumer-oriented IdeaPad K1 and the Windows version, the P1. Well, Lenovo is finally ready to take your credit card in exchange for a place in the shipping line. The tablet starts out at $499 for the 16GB, WiFi-only model and climbs to $669 for a 64GB flavor — 3G mobile broadband will not be available until October. The ThinkPad Tablet comes dressed in appropriate digs; it looks like a ThinkPad tablet should. The lines are streight, the style all business, and there’s even a little red nub on the optional $30 active digitizer stylus. The rest of the tablet is a standard affair and built around a Tegra 2 platform. There’s a full size 3-in-1 SD card reader, full size USB host, micro USB port, mini HDMI, dual cams, and an IPS screen protected with Gorilla Glass. The only thing missing from the ThinkPad Tablet are the fun apps. Lenovo loaded this tablet with apps suits will like and Update: My bad. The ThinkPad Tablet does come with Netflix. Bonus! Lenovo Group Limited, an investment holding company, engages manufacture and distribution of IT products and services. It offers laptops, desktops, workstations, servers, batteries and power, docks and port replicators,...
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| AliveCor Turns Mobile Devices Into Low-Cost Heart Monitors, Raises $3 Million Posted: 23 Aug 2011 04:53 AM PDT  AliveCor, developer of a low-budget electrocardiogram (ECG) recorder that works in conjunction with a variety of mobile platforms (including iPhone, iPad, and Android devices), has raised $3 million in Series A funding, the company announced this morning. The financing round was led by Burrill & Company along with Qualcomm, acting through its venture investment arm, Qualcomm Ventures, and the Oklahoma Life Science Fund. AliveCor’s credit card-sized wireless device is capable of turning iOS and Android smartphones and tablets into low-cost heart monitors that can be used by patients at home and by physicians and other healthcare providers in a clinical setting. See video below for a demo of the iPhone version. Note that the device isn’t for sale yet – AliveCor’s products haven’t yet been cleared as a medical device in the United States. It’s also unclear exactly how much it will cost, but earlier coverage by the Wall Street Journal mentioned a $100 price point. The company says it will now use the capital to complete clinical studies currently ongoing at the Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center, pursue those necessary regulatory approvals, and gear up for commercial launch of its electrocardiogram recorder. AliveCor has developed a device that will turn any smartphone into a clinical-quality electrocardiogram (ECG) recorder.
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