Archive for August 31st, 2009

Continue reading Toyota develops breathalyzer ignition-interlock, BJ McKay promises to hack it

Filed under: Transportation

Toyota develops breathalyzer ignition-interlock, BJ McKay promises to hack it originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Researchers at the University of the West of England have snagged a grant to fund the building of a whole new type of robot — a non-silicon, biological plasmobot, built using plasmodium, a vegetative type of slime mold. The mold, which is commonly found living in forests and gardens, is, according to researcher Andy Adamatzky, a “naturally occurring substance with its own built in intelligence,” which is capable of carrying out complex tasks, like figuring out the shortest path between two points — all on its own. The aim for the plasmobot will be for it to sense objects, span them in the shortest way possible, and carry tiny objects along pre-determined routes, controlled by light and electromagnetic fields. The plasmobot should also be capable of complex “number crunching power,” enabled by parallel inputs and outputs. Long-term uses could include using the bots within the human body to deliver drugs to specific targets. Though much of this is still purely theoretical (and extremely complicated), we look forward to the day when we’re all covered in mold, don’t you?

Filed under: Robots

English scientists set out to build first biological robot using mold originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

It’s sort of interesting that China is where all the Android action seems to be going down lately, but here we are, staring at the LG GW880 — essentially the company’s first Android phone. Of course, “Android” in this case means China Mobile‘s custom WiFi-less OPhone platform, which means we’ll probably never see this guy outside of the Middle Kingdom, but it’s a fair look at what LG’s handset designers think an Android set should look like: 3.5-inch WVGA touchscreen, 256MB RAM, GPS, and a five megapixel camera. Honestly? We’re hoping LG has grander plans for those other Android phones it has planned for this year — we’ll just have to wait and see. Hit the read link for a few more shots in the meantime.

[Via Slashphone]

Filed under: Cellphones

LG GW880 leaks out, runs Android on China Mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Canon’s seemingly imminent EOS 7D DSLR may still not be fully official just yet, but there’s certainly no end to the leaks these days, with the camera’s complete video specs only the latest to surface. Assuming this latest rumor is on the mark, it looks like you can expect to get your choice of 24, 25 or 30 fps video at full 1080p, or 50 or 60 fps at 720p, along with an external mic, full manual controls (though not continuous focus, it seems), some in-camera editing options and, of course, and HDMI out port for some big screen viewing. What’s left to know? A price and release date, for starters — but hopefully Canon itself will clear those details up (and confirm the rest) before too long.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Canon EOS 7D video specs get detailed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

We figured the suits over at T-Mobile USA were on some of that good stuff when they slapped an almost comical $350 (on contract) price tag on HTC’s Touch Pro2, but evidently said “stuff” has made its way into the halls of Overland Park as well. After months of watching evidence mount, Sprint has finally come clean and admitted that HTC’s EV-DO Rev. A-equipped superphone is coming to its network, and with it will come access to Sprint TV as well as NFL Mobile Live and NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile apps. The smartphone will go on sale September 8th, though you’ll have to pony up $349.99 (after a $100 mail-in rebate) in order to secure one on a two-year contract. We’re all about that 3.6-inch WVGA tilting screen, but with Palm’s Pre selling on this very network for a full $150 less, we’re thinking this one won’t appeal to many outside of the WinMo faithful.

Continue reading Sprint follows T-Mobile’s lead, wants $350 for HTC Touch Pro2

Filed under: Cellphones

Sprint follows T-Mobile’s lead, wants $350 for HTC Touch Pro2 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Remember that time you installed Windows XP before it even hit the market? Remember how your AGP video card would only display a maximum resolution of 800 x 600 and your audio card would only emit bleeps and bloops? Ah, those were the days. Quite a bit has happened since XP landed to wash away the awful stain that was Windows ME, though it’s still no shock to hear that new operating systems leave more than a few applications broken. Over the past few days, we’ve seen oodles of gripes from across the web from loyal Mac users who just can’t believe Snow Leopard has borked their favorite software, but we’re wondering how things have been on your machine. Have you realized that your Optimus Maximus no longer boogies with OS X 10.6? Are you bummed that iStat pro isn’t giving you the details it used to? What kind of hell has broken loose since you threw caution in the garbage and updated your machine?

Filed under: Software

Snow Leopard: what’s broken (or working) for you? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops

Intel rumored to be launching new Core i5, i7 processors September 8th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Displays

Researchers developing OLEDs as cheap as newspapers? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The ASUS Eee Keyboard has been delayed a couple times since it first made our hearts race at CES, but it looks like those rumors of an October launch might actually come true: the new-age C64 has just arrived at the FCC for a little government work. Interestingly, the test reports indicate the presence of a UWB radio in addition WiFi and Bluetooth, so it looks like we’ll see the planned wireless HDMI model even after the spec pretty much hit the skids earlier this summer. We’ll see how it goes — and if we get that interesting Moblin version alongside the Windows edition when this thing eventually ships. Fingers crossed!

Filed under: Desktops

Eee Keyboard tantalizingly within reach at the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Nikon’s D300s has been filtering out to select retail locations for a few days now, and judging by the box that just arrived on our doorstep, we’d say Nikon (just barely) kept its promise of having these things out by the end of August. The semi-pro body is significantly more sturdy and somewhat heavier than our in-house D90, though the rear LCD sure looks awfully similar. We’re planning on giving the 12.3 megapixel CMOS sensor and 720p movie mode a go, but for now, feel free to peruse the gallery below to see exactly what a penny under $1,800 gets you in the DSLR world these days.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Nikon D300s unboxing and hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments