Archive for October 17th, 2009

There are three things in this crazy world that scare the living daylights out of us: poor battery life, scratched screens, and seven-foot tall she-bots wielding Pres like concealed weapons. This, it seems, was the nightmarish scenario facing Madrid as it launched Palm’s first webOS-based phone this week.

Chris: “I’m being treated well, but please, it’s imperative that you buy this phone as expediently as possible.”
Richard Lai: “My other toy is the Pre.”
Ross: “It says if we don’t do exactly as it commands, the Spiders from Mars will return and destroy us all.”
Darren: “Geordi La Forge and I are like this.”
Josh T.: “So far they have treated me well, but I fear that could change at any moment. If you comply with their demand for 300 pairs of leather pants, they say I will be released unharmed.”
Thomas: “Sir, I assure you, this is exactly how they do it in America.”

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Caption contest: Palm strikes a pose in Spain originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been far, far too long (read: four months) since we’ve heard a peep from the gentle souls over at Pixel Qi, but it looks like the long, heart-wrenching wait for the hybrid display that’s bound to revolutionize Western civilization is nearing an end. According to the startup’s CEO herself, Mary Lou Jepsen, the primetime-ready 3Qi display should make its glorious debut on an undisclosed tablet to be announced next month. For those out of the loop, this transflective display contains both e-ink and LCD properties, one for outdoor reading scenarios and the other for multimedia viewing. The amazing part is that toggling between the two is as simple as flipping a switch, which obviously means great things for battery life on whatever device it’s shoved into. We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for more, but do us a favor and cross your fingers for good luck. Toes too, por favor.

[Thanks, Tom]

Filed under: Displays

Pixel Qi e-ink / LCD hybrid display to debut on tablet next month? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The “there’s a map for that” ad was a pretty aggressive way to broadside AT&T and the iPhone, but it looks like Verizon’s just getting warmed up. We’re hearing that the carrier will be kicking off a major new campaign this evening during the Yankees-Angels game that’ll feature “a very different look and a whole new attitude,” calling out the “iDevice” (their words, not ours) for all the things it can’t do. That’s a bold offensive for a carrier that historically has lacked breadth and depth in its smartphone lineup, but with the big new Android releases coming down the pike, this might be perfect timing — and a strong implication that we can seriously put those endless Verizon iPhone rumors to bed for a little while.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Verizon asks ‘if the iDoesn’t, what does?’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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tweetmeme_source = ‘engadget’;

Remember the Square iPhone Payment System we told you about back in August? If you’ll recall, the device — which involves an iPhone app and associated dongle — enables an iPhone or iPod touch to become a kind of mini credit card reader, allowing payments to be taken on the spot, no matter where you are or how big (or small) the transaction may be. When we’d first reported the device, word on the street was that it was only being alpha tested around New York City, and there wasn’t much else to say. Now, we may have a little more insight on just where this device is headed, and who’s behind the project.

Jack Dorsey, the man who all but built Twitter in a matter of two weeks, has been working on a half-secret start-up project since around May. His new venture — dubbed, funnily enough, Squirrel — is based around the concept of using the iPhone as… yep, a portable, personal cash register; essentially the exact device which Square has created. And that’s no accident. In the images we ran of the Square system, you can see a domain name on a receipt: squareup.com. Squareup.com is the domain of the Square System (obviously), and a casual investigation into the site’s WHOIS profile reveals registrant info that points to an office in San Francisco, and a contact email address which reads… billing@paybysquirrel.com. Square, squirrel, square… are you getting it? So the cat, er, squirrel appears to be out of the bag. Now the question is whether or not Dorsey and co. can turn this fairly obscure piece of tech into the kind of firestorm which Twitter has become — and who knows, maybe there’ll even be a business model this time.

[Thanks, Little Birdie]

Filed under: Cellphones

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s Squirrel project revealed… as the Square iPhone Payment System originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oftentimes a picture shouts a thousand words. Other times it belts out precisely a dozen. Straight from Verizon Wireless’ official Twitter account comes this, a confirmation that the Palm Pre we knew was coming to Big Red, well, is coming to Big Red. If you can hold off through the tempting holiday rush, you’ll find Palm’s first-ever webOS device on VZW “early next year.” Huzzah!

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Filed under: Cellphones

Verizon confirms: Palm Pre hitting Big Red “early next year” originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 11:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An electromagnetic black hole — which sucks in the light surrounding it — has been built at Southeast University in Nanjing, China for the first time. The device works like cosmological black holes in that it has gravity which is intense enough to bend the surrounding space-time, causing any matter in the neighborhood to spiral inward and create the hole itself. The earth-built ‘black hole’ for microwave frequencies is constructed of 60 annular strips of meta-materials (yes, that’s the stuff of invisibility cloaks). Each strip is an intricately etched circuit board which seamlessly and smoothly connects to the strips next to it, creating both a shell and absorber section to the device. When an electromagnetic wave hits the device, it is trapped and guided through the shell region toward the core, where it is absorbed. The device, which was created by Tie Jun Cui and Qiang Cheng, converts that absorbed light into heat, meaning that future possible applications could include new ways of harvesting solar energy. Hit the read link for a fuller description of this truly bad dude.

Filed under: Science

First electromagnetic ‘black hole’ built on earth, nobody raps about it originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s not that Garmin doesn’t love the nuvi 1450 — we’re sure it loves each and every one one of its GPS units equally in their own special way or somesuch — but it did release the device without so much as a press release or other typical fanfare. Bummer, but the 5-inch, 480 x 272 resolution touchscreen has now been unearthed and doesn’t look too bad for its $449.99 price tag. Battery lasts up to three hours without charge and includes optional cityXplorer software for public transit listings and ecoRoute for fuel-conscious drivers. Available now if you’re itching to take it with you on the next road trip.

[Via Slashgear]

Filed under: GPS

Garmin’s nuvi 1450 GPS makes small, quiet blip on retail map originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You could also say it’s just the square root of 39,996, or maybe the circumference of a circle that’s 63.66 units in diameter, but that’s just plain silly. Alternatively, you could just save $30 and buy the chunkier model that still plays UMDs.

[Via Joystiq]

Filed under: Gaming

PSP Go is $200 at Fry’s this weekend… err, ‘$249.99 before $50 savings’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 06:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The just-unveiled medals for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver certainly break with a few conventions in terms of appearance, but it looks like they also contain a few surprises that aren’t immediately apparent — namely, they’re all made at least partly from recycled circuit boards. Of course, the circuit boards have also been recycled beyond recognition, but each of the medals do apparently sport a one of a kind design, not to mention some considerable heft (weighing between 500 and 576 grams apiece). Sure, it’s not enough to make a dent in the e-waste problem, but it’s a heckuva way to kick start a trend.

[Via Technabob]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

2010 Olympic medals include material from recycled circuit boards originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 03:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember the good old days with your virtual pets on your keyring? Well, how about an injection of life that actually roams around inside your phone? Some dude in China had this exact idea — probably inspired by the waterproof LG GD900 Crystal in a fish tank — and popped open the hollow keypad of his own Crystal, slapped in two unfortunate little neon tetras, squeezed in some water and snap! There’s no mention on how long the poor things can survive in there for, but chances are PETA will be after your backside well before something goes wrong. We also went through the warranty paperwork, and honestly, we think this gentleman might be in a fishy area here. Video of the mod after the break, if you dare.

Continue reading LG GD900 Crystal makes a very portable fish tank, PETA magnet

Filed under: Cellphones

LG GD900 Crystal makes a very portable fish tank, PETA magnet originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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