Lenovo release a new Android smartphone called Lenovo LePhone with build-in 1GHz Qualcomm SnapDragon processor inside and Android OS 1.6.
The features of Lenovo LePhone likes 3.7-inch touchscreen with 480×800 pixel resolution and touch panel below the display, smart keyboard/case accessory which can be convert into clamshell phone with QWERTY keyboard.
Also this Lenovo LePhone support wi-fi, GPS, bluetooth, WCDMA and also 2 camera with resolution 3M pixel and the front for video calls. The price is not available yet and will be available this February or March 2010.
I can’t think of a single game that will make old men thirsty more than Golf. All of that hitting a ball, getting into a go-cart and hitting it again while talking on your bluetooth device is bound to take a lot out of you. So this electronic drink caddie is perfect to bring along.
Maybe you can fill it with Ensure. Great way to quench your thirst on the golf course, right from your golf bag. It looks like a real club head and shaft and features an insulated cooler that sits in the side compartment of your golf bag.
It’s made of durable, high-density plastic and holds 54 ounces of your favorite beverage. Hot or cold. It will keep the temperature for up to five hours. Just $99.95.
You’re a skydiver, and want to record POV video, but are tired of clunky, low-fi cameras. You’re a hang-glider pilot, and want to share with you 80 year-old Mom the thrill of flying. You’re a sail boarder, but you’re bff is scared of getting eaten by sharks. You know what you need? You need to be a Snow Crash gargoyle!
“It’s not exactly like being a gargoyle. Remember when you gave me shit about spending all my money on computer stuff?”
“Yeah?”
“I decided I wasn’t spending enough. So I got a belt-pack machine. Smallest ever made. I’m walking down the street with this thing strapped to my belly. It’s really cool.”
[Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash]
Okay, well, maybe not quite yet. But VHoldR is trying to get you there with their new selection of accessories for the (extreme sports) gargoyle wannabe. VHoldR is offering a waterproof case, handlebar mount, vented helmet mount, and a lens kit to their accessory line-up for their ContourHD and recently released ContourHD1080p models. The waterproof case gives you sail boarders (and hang glider pilots who flop into the ocean instead of landing on the beach) the confidence to know that, while you may be wet, your cam isn’t.
So if these are needs you share, go on over to the VholdR web site and check their stuff out. Because we all want to live in the Metaverse a little bit, don’t we?
This guest post is by Jeff Scott, founder and publisher of 148Apps, a blog providing fanatical coverage of everything iPhone and hopefully soon, the Apple tablet.
While we still don’t know the name of the new tablet device; could be iPad, iTablet, iSlate, iCanvas, or an extension of the MacBook name. But what we do know, due to many recent leaks on the announcement coming from Apple next week, the tablet is being targeted as a gaming device.
Connections with the device and gaming started when the Wall Street Journal reveled that Apple had been working with Electronic Arts purportedly to have games available to demo for the device reveal on January 27th. What games EA will be presenting, we don’t know. This follows earlier reports that Apple had been in contact with “select developers” to create apps to showcase on the device. At that time we were unable to find anyone to admit to working with Apple for the Tablet launch.
Then in the last couple days came indications from many gaming related publications small and large that they had been invited to the special Apple event on 1/27. This shows a clear push by Apple to have the device covered in the games press, pointing to gaming as a major target for the device.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the Apple tablet as a gaming device.
Hardware
The tablet device is expected to have a stronger processor than the iPhone 3GS which will make it well suited for games. But it’s also expected to have a screen resolution of at least 640×800 since it will also have a larger screen. This means that the device will have to work harder to put graphics on the screen with 4 times or more the resolution of the iPhone. An upgraded graphics co-processor will help with that to some extent — as will extra RAM. I think we can expect all of those.
Form Factor
The tablet is expected to be rather large compared to the iPhone. Rumors range from a 7″ to 11″ screen. My bet is on 2 models — one at the low end and one at the high end. The smaller one targeted at gaming and the larger for more general use.
Imagine if your iPhone had an 11″ screen — roughly 9 times the size of your current iPhone. Picking up that device and moving and tilting it to control an accelerometer based game. Similar in size to lifting and tilting your laptop to control a game. It would get tiring, quickly. Especially for us lazy Americans.
Moving an 11″ device around quickly to play a twitch game makes little sense, really. Not to mention the potential for damage to the device and it’s surroundings. Think of all of the stories and pictures we saw of the Wii controller being thrown into TVs, windows, and faces. It will be that same story all over again. But this time you are throwing around a potentially $1,000 device not a $45 controller.
On the other hand, a 7″ device, roughly 4x the size of the iPhone wouldn’t be nearly as bad. Still rather large for a portable gaming device, but much more workable.
Operating System
All indicators are pointing to the tablet running an expanded version of the iPhone OS 4. We can assume the major new features of that OS will be resolution independence and support of more hardware varieties. Much as OS X has been created to work on different platforms, processors, devices.
The expanded iPhone OS will likely include an update to the way you view the installed apps on the device. Having a 4×5 grid on an 11″ screen wouldn’t be too appealing.
I expect we’ll see iPhone OS 4 beta released to developers quickly. It’s expected to be a fairly big change to allow it to support the tablet. It’s early release to developers will give them extra time to update their apps before the general release.
Data Connection
I think we can say that Wifi connectivity is a given. The question is will there be some form of cellular data connectivity with AT&T or Verizon? I think it’s likely — but I really hope it will be optional and not required to purchase the device. I really don’t relish the idea of paying AT&T (or Verizon) an extra $60-$100 a month to use another device.
Another option, while a long shot, is be that it will tether to the iPhone in your pocket utilizing it’s data network. That is once AT&T finally support tethering that is. I find this much more appealing and hope it will be an option.
Expect connectivity and cloud services to be a major push for the tablet. Mobile Me has been moving further that way with each revision. Apple also recently bought LaLa, a cloud music service. Many see iTunes going toward the cloud and the tablet would be a great device to take advantage of that.
We might even see an officially supported social gaming network from Apple like XBox Live from Microsoft. And I don’t think it’s out of the question to think Apple might jump-start this by buying out one of the networks already created, it’s not very likely.
Interface / Game Controls
We can assume that there will be no joysticks or control pads on the device. That would be very non-Apple. Apple has committed heavily to multi-touch control and we expect to see more of that for the tablet. And for games, that’s pretty good news.
While many prefer hardware controls, developers of iPhone games have made great use of multi-touch as controls for games. Here’s an example of TouchGrind — one of the games with the most interesting and unique interfaces on the iPhone — running on a Mac and utilizing the multi-touch trackpad on that laptop.
The advantage of a large multi-touch screen becomes instantly clear after seeing that video. While the iPhone is limited by hardware to 5 simultaneous touches on the screen, realistically it’s more like 2-3 to provide good control without obscuring the whole screen. With a larger screen, you are presented with more options for multi-touch.
Unfortunately, this also exposes the main issue with multi-touch, obscuring the screen. This is multiplied when you have a larger screen. Notice in the above video that the game uses the trackpad as the multi-touch device not the screen. When you touch the screen, you obscure parts of the display. With an iPhone, it’s just your fingers in blocking parts of the screen. With a larger device, your whole hand gets in the way obscuring even larger parts of the screen.
There have been some rumors floating around about the potential for a touch sensitive back on future iPhone devices – similar to the top of the Magic Mouse. And there have been insiders quoted stating that we will be shocked at how we interact with the tablet. Putting two and two together, it’s not out of this world to think that the tablet might be the first device with a multi-touch sensitive back. Another possibility, as seen in the Palm Pre and other mobile devices, an area on the front, apart from the screen, that can be used as a touchpad.
While I’m sure the accelerometer will be included in the device — as it will be required to be compatible with some iPhone apps and games. It doesn’t make as great of a method to control games in a large device. As mentioned earlier, the thought of quickly moving around a large, expensive device like this, is rather scary. Not to mention that the games on the iPhone that use the accelerometers are tuned for the movement of a small device — moving a larger device will make all of these games seem a little off until they are tuned.
iPhone Apps on a Tablet
It is pretty certain at this point that the tablet will run iPhone apps and games, hopefully unmodified. It’s possible that they will need to be certified to work on the device though — much the same process we had with OS 3 and apps being certified to work with that new version of the iPhone OS. Compatibility with the tablet will likely be the biggest factor of the iPhone OS 4 certification.
The Games
Using games designed for a 320×240 screen on and increased screen size brings up issues. One of them being that if the game display is just scaled up to fit the screen, the graphics will look rather chunky. Most games use sprites sized specifically for the screen size of the iPhone. Up to this point that has always been 320×480. The tablet will have a larger screen resolution and require new graphics to take full advantage of that for full screen apps without scaling. This isn’t something that’s easy or quick to change. It could take a lot of work depending on how many different raster graphics there are in the games.
3D games are less effected as they can scale. But they will still take some work and updated graphics to be properly tuned to the larger screen size. Some of the textures used for the 3D objects may need to be upgraded for instance. And performance will most certainly need to be tuned for the larger screen size.
Multiplayer Games
While there have been a few instances of simultaneous multiplayer games on the iPhone, the small screen makes it difficult. A device with a larger screen will make that experience much more compelling. Both traditional games, like board games, and arcade games could take advantage of the larger screen and increased multi-touch capabilities to support multiplayer games.
Imagine a high resolution Scrabble, Chess, Checkers, etc. game on the tablet device where you can play either simultaneous multiplayer on a single device or across multiple devices.
Beyond traditional games, a first person shooter could use the device split screen and allow multiple players to compete in the same game.
Tablet Games Demoed
With all of the games press invited Wednesday we know that we will see some games demoed on the new device. For early demos Apple generally sticks with large developers — ones they can trust with keeping secrets — when choosing who to demo a new device. We heard previously from a developer who had 3 days, sequestered at the Apple campus, to develop a demo of in-app purchasing before the press event for iPhone OS 3.0. They will also occasionally throw in a small developer if the risk is worth it for a really good demo.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Apple has been working with EA to create a games demo for the tablet. We can say pretty certainly that EA will show one or more of their games at the event. First guess is that it will be something we haven’t seen from them yet, not just one of their games updated for the new device. Apple likes to make a big splash with the demos at press events.
Another possibility is that we will see Mirror’s Edge. When Mirror’s Edge was first shown late last year, it looked fantastic and was one of the first games EA had really developed specifically for the iPhone. We heard recently from EA that Mirror’s Edge had been delayed at the last minute. That along with the story of EA working with Apple to demo the tablet raises a red flag and makes it a candidate to be shown Wednesday. Apple is known for asking developers to delay apps to be shown at large press events like this. Perhaps EA delayed the game to tune it properly for the tablet.
Another possibility is World of Goo. After contacting 2D Boy over a year ago looking for info on World of Goo for the iPhone we’ve been in contact occasionally. They announced a running prototype in October for World of Goo for the iPhone. At that time they said I should contact them in a month for more details as the game needed to be tuned. Since then they have been silent and haven’t responded requests for info. Another red flag raised — perhaps Apple contacted them and asked them to work on a tablet version and required them to be quiet on the whole thing. World of Goo could make a really good multi-touch game.
I’m have sent 2D Boy this theory and await their response. Even a ‘no comment’ would be good news for this theory.
Apple and ngmoco:) have had a pretty close relationship with ngmoco:) demoing at multiple different Apple press events. That and ngmoco:) also been rather quiet lately. That might indicate they are working with Apple and we may see something from them on Wednesday.
iTunes Account Sharing
Currently, you can authorize up to five desktop machines under a single iTunes account. This means that those five machine are authorized to play any protected content that account purchases. And, those five machines can sync to as many iPhone OS devices as you wish. So you can have an iTunes Account and all apps purchased on that account, shared amongst every member of your family – no matter how large that family is.
But, will that licensing model extend to the tablet? It makes sense for Apple to extend the license to the tablet as it will help them for sales of the new device. If you can have the same apps on your iPhone as your tablet without paying extra, that will make people happy. I don’t relish the thought of having to purchase apps for the iPhone and re-purchasing for the tablet to use them there.
But it can also be said that the tablet is more of a computer than the iPhone. And most software for desktop computers is licensed per machine. There could be some push back from developers on this. But initially I think we’ll see that it will be able to work with all of the iPhone apps you have already purchased.
Game Prices
As we all know, the prices for games on the iPhone are unbelievably low. Low even compared to other mobile platforms and especially so compared to the other mobile gaming devices.
Will Apple find a way to drive prices higher for apps on the tablet? While we expect the tablet will be seen from an App Store perspective as just another iPhone OS device — like the iPod Touch — it’s possible that Apple will segment certain tablet apps. Perhaps we’ll see multiple versions of the same games — some for the iPhone that work on the tablet — and extended versions just for the tablet.
Another possibility is that the rumored premium app store will actually be for expanded tablet apps. We may see expanded apps — apps to take advantage of specific tablet hardware like the increased screen size — segmented and at higher price points on a premium app store.
There are a lot of possibilities on what the tablet could be. But no matter how it comes out, we know Apple is going to push it, much like it has the iPod Touch, as a gaming device. How successful it will be is up to the app developers.
All of our questions will be answered soon. I for one am very excited for the announcements on Wednesday. While I don’t consider myself a hard-core Apple fan boy, I am very excited to see this new Apple creation and what it will mean for mobile gaming.
Gefen has released a new wireless HDMI video/audio 60GHz extender that allows uncompressed full HD 1080p video to be transmitted wirelessly from the source to HDTVs. You get both a receiver and sender, featuring multimedia antenna technology that allows the 1080p HD video signal to be sent over a maximum distance of 30 feet.
The LEDs in front let you know what’s going on with power status, pairing activity and the strength of the wireless signals. The system supports CEC protocols and allows you to upgrade the firmware via an RS232 serial port. An IR remote is included.
Aside from HDTVs, the Gefen HDMI extender also has a DVI connection for computer monitors with resolutions up to 1920×1200. The system is available now for $1,000.
Apparently, it’s DIY Sunday here at Crunchgear. Here’s another little project for you to do, using an inexpensive digital picture frame and some steampunk aesthetic to create a pretty sweet looking clock.
The creator of this project built a custom frame, upholstered it, added some custom brass accents, and then set the whole thing up to advance one image per second, based on a series of pictures that she created using some images from flickr. The end result is a really nice looking clock that would look great in an airship or steam powered car. She’s nice enough to include instructions, as well as the source code required to reprogram the frame, and a link to the original flickr art used to show the time.
The HTC HD2 smartphone will be getting a new accessory soon that will double the device’s battery life and allow it to stand up on it’s own in portrait or landscape orientation for when you watch videos. The HD2 Extended Battery will be offered by Clove, a UK electronics retailer.
It’s not a case, which makes it a bit unusual. It’s basically a thicker battery with an integrated flip-out kickstand. It will cost users about $73 when it ships in February.
No word on whether or not we will see this one in North America.
Endless Ideas has introduced its first WiFi-enabled e-Book reader called the BeBook Neo. The device is powered by a Freescale processor and offers a 6-inch E-ink display with a Wacom touchscreen. Some other features include 512MB of internal memory, a microSD card slot that will give you up to 16GB, USB port, 3.5mm headset jack and WiFi so you can access Google and Wikipedia.
And also a range of third-party e-Book stores is supported. It plays nice with most popular file formats. The BeBook Neo will cost you £279.99 or roughly $453. It’s available for pre-order now.
This is a joint review from Thomas and Dan. Dan’s comments are in black, and Thomas’ are in blue italics.
Dan – Thomas was kind enough to send me his Blackberry Bold 9700 a few weeks ago. I have an AT&T branded version of the phone. His phone, however, had one distinct advantage over mine — because it is on T-Mobile it has a truly inexpensive international calling and data plan available. So I brought it to Las Vegas with me for CES and then carried it with me to the wedding I attended in Cabo. Because the connecting flights the trip included for different airplanes, numerous packing and repacking and everything in between. Such a situation is prime for carelessly losing or harming one’s electronics — especially if you’re carrying a lot with you. Taking someone else’s phone is nerve-racking at best. There are too many possibilities for it to be damaged or lost and this was on my mind much of the time I was using his phone. I’m certainly glad that I brought it with me as it worked perfectly from Mexico but I do wish that I had had one of these Otterbox Defender cases with me during the trip. There’s no question that would have allowed me to be less concerned about damaging Thomas’ phone. Yes, once again Otterbox has released a case that offers the delicate electronics of today smart phones a remarkable degree of protection with little or any loss of functionality.
If you thought the tape format was deader than a cassette tape, think again. At least two companies are still playing with magnetic tape. IBM and FujiFilm have spent the better part of three years in order to achieve a new record in areal data density on linear magnetic tape.
They have results, having successfully recorded data onto a dual-coat barium ferrite prototype magnetic tape at a density of 29.5 billion bits per square inch. That’s 39 times denser than current magnetic tapes. Neither company has announced when this will be available.
It’s great for companies that need to store massive amounts of data.
Looking for something a little different to jazz up your living room? iTables ought to do just that. These iPod-shaped tables are designed by Italian artist Mirko Ginepro for Milan Design Week. iTables are all custom made to order.
Just like a real iPod there is even storage inside for books, magazines, whatever. Your guests will think you are making a real art statement if you lay out all of your Apple gear on the table.
Just like a real Apple product, these are overpriced and short on capacity. If interested, you can contact the company directly for more details.
The old Game Boy Advance cartridges don’t get used as much as before. Now they find themselves in the backs of closets practically forgotten. Well thankfully one person is giving those old cartridges some use once again. Instead of jamming them into your Game Boy, you’ll be plugging these into the USB port of your computer. Then while it’s not in use it can just hang from your keychain thanks to the built-in keychain ring.
As of now you can find these in 3 different versions. There’s the Mario Vs. Donkey Kong, Super Mario Advance and Metroid Fusion. All except for Super Mario come with 4GB of built-in memory. However, Super Mario actually has 8GB. For those worried about the brand name of their memory, these were created using Kingston memory. The 4GB drives can be purchased for $39.99 through Etsy, whereas the 8GB is priced at $49.99.
If you consider yourself a true Star Wars fan, then you will want to check this out. Bigbadtoystore.com is offering an item that will geek up your mail delivery/reception. This R2D2 mail box is available for pre-order on the site for $38.99. A collector’s edition will cost you an additional $2.00.
It just sits there and doesn’t really do anything, but who cares? It’s cool. At least until your neighbors steal it. They don’t say how big it is, but for that price it is obviously on the small side.
If you have a thing for engines, then this Desktop V Twin Engine is the best way to keep it always on your mind while you’re at your desk. It’d be great for those that enjoy working on engines but are actually in an office job all day long. That or it would endlessly torture you by keeping your real love on your mind all day long while you’re doing tediously dull tasks. On the bright side it’ll give you something to play with on your lunch break.
The fully functional engine runs on butane. When you have a full tank of it, the engine will run for about ten minutes. It’s as loud as a kitchen blender and is optimally balanced to keep the vibrations to a minimum. The German engine features two aluminum 1 ½ cc cylinders and stainless steel exhaust pipes. To get it started just fill it up with the required butane and turn the solid brass flywheel. An electrical impulse will then be sent to the two spark plugs that will in turn ignite the fuel within each cylinder. Since the engine is so exposed you’ll get to watch the movements of the valve rods, crosshead and crankshafts. You may want to keep this in a well ventilated room though, since despite that it does have a non-toxic exhaust it will still probably have a little bit of fumes. The engine is a bit pricey for those interested in it, it will cost you $1,000 through Hammacher Schlemmer.
This just may be the most awesome Gameboy mod ever. The steampunk Game Boy. The ultimate in Victorian handheld gaming. Sure it looks awesome, but the modder also added a pro sound mod which increases the the output and changed the red LED light for an orange one.
It took only a week to complete the project, even though it looks like it took much longer. Awesome job. It looks like it was dug up from an archeological site.
Apple’s announcement of their tablet is a few days away so manufacturers are trying to get their versions out first. And so DigitalRise has released the S1 Slate, a cheaper version of its multitouch X9. Most of us will likely still wait a few days to see what Apple’s has, but here’s a look at what this $630 tablet offers. It does look nice.
Some specs include an Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard disk, 10.2-inch display at 1024 x 600 resolution, 3000mAh lithium-ion battery, 1.3 megapixel webcam, Wi-Fi and Windows 7. Is it an Apple tablet killer? Doubt it, but we will know soon.
The TI Chronos has been a bit of a hackers darling recently, but this has to be the coolest application of it I’ve seen so far. Rather then getting an RFID tag embedded in your hand, program your watch to use a pre-programmed combination of taps to activate the wireless door locking system.
The inventor created this locking system using the TI development kit, some basic electronics, and the Chronos watch. The watch uses a 128 bit AES key encryption, and requires that you know the pre-programmed tap code before it will open the door. This is more secure then RFID, which just opens based on proximity. I love this project, the only potential issue I could see would be someone mugging you and stealing your watch, leaving you unable to open your door (unless you have a key with you).
Everki recently supplied me with the Beacon Laptop Backpack w/Gaming Console Sleeve to review. Since school started back up, I have spent the past few weeks using it as my main gear bag. I am pleased with the style and ruggedness of the backpack with daily use; I am able to comfortably carry all of my gear and it is comfortable and looks great.
Some people aren’t worried about being prepared for emergencies. Either because it never occurs to them or they think it’s silly attempting to prepare for every little disaster. However, for those that are making an attempt to get something to make themselves feel a little more secure in the world, there is this Life Gear Personal Safety Device. It’s not as cool as some of the self defense gadgets, but it is much more practical since it has devices to help you with more issues than just being attacked.
It can be powered by 3 alkaline batteries or a DC inlet with an optional wall adapter. When the alkaline batteries run out of juice, it has a hand crank to get it up and running again. All that cranking keeps the flashlight, emergency radio, emergency cellphone charger, a flasher, directional compass, and a 130 decibel siren. All of those devices could come in extremely handy should you find yourself stranded somewhere. The best part about it is that it’s very affordable. One of these will cost you $18.99 through Amazon.
Apparently, it’s DIY Sunday here at Crunchgear. Here’s another little project for you to do, using an inexpensive digital picture frame and some steampunk aesthetic to create a pretty sweet looking clock.
