Latest Technology Advice: Electronics

Showing posts with label Electronics. Show all posts

Showing posts with label Electronics. Show all posts

iRoom iDock is the world’s first motorized, in-wall iPad dock

6:09 AM

We've seen iPad docks that mount an iPad on a wall, on a car dashboard and on a fridge, but the iRoom iDock is the first we've come across that mounts an iPad in the wall. Featuring a motorized docking system that automatically opens and closes thanks to a proximity sensor, the iRoom iDock is flush-mounted to the wall, which means you'll need the services of an electrician to connect the unit to your home's electrical system.

The motorized dock can be triggered by a proximity sensor that detects when you're nearby so it automatically opens up ready for iPad insertion or removal. The door will close automatically after ten seconds and if you don't like the idea of the unit constantly opening and closing as you pass the proximity sensor can be disabled.

rammu

Electronics, Tablet

Increasing Processor Efficiency By Matching Power With Demand

9:24 PM

For decades, chipmakers strove to develop the fastest and most powerful chips possible and damn the amount of electricity needed to power them, but these days raw grunt isn't the only consideration. As more and more devices go mobile and these devices become more and more powerful, chipmakers must also take the energy efficiency into account.

Harvard graduate student Wonyoung Kim has developed and demonstrated an on-chip, multi-core voltage regulator (MCVR) that he says could allow the creation of "smarter" smartphones, slimmer laptops and more energy efficient data centers by more closely matching the power supply to the demand of the chip.

rammu

Optimus Pad Up For Pre-Order in Japan on March 15

7:13 PM

If the 7-inch display on HTC's Flyer is not quite big enough, but Samsung's 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab is just a little too big, then LG's Optimus Pad could just fit the bill. Said to offer more comfortable one-handed portability, the Tegra 2-powered tablet with stereoscopic cameras is about to make its public debut in Japan.

The Optimus Pad from LG (otherwise known as the G-Slate) benefits from an 8.9-inch, 1280 x 768 resolution, 15:9 aspect touchscreen display capable of full 1080p HD playback. There's a high definition webcam to the front and a pair of 5 megapixel cameras facing rear, the latter being able to shoot stereoscopic 3D images and video – although users will need to connect the device to a 3DTV via HDMI or to the web via YouTube 3D to share the results.

rammu

Electronics, Mobile Technology

NEC Unveils Contactless Fingerprint Scanner

7:09 PM

Biometric authentication technologies have been around for a while now and, if truth be told, vary considerably from the useless Flash drive at the bottom of my drawer that has only ever recognized my fingerprint once, to something a bit more dependable.

NEC has now developed an identification system that is able to register the ridges of a fingerprint and the finger vein characteristics without any sort of physical contact. For the past few years, NEC has held the top spot in a number of fingerprint and face recognition evaluations undertaken by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

rammu

iPad 2 Doesn’t Have SD Card Slot or High-Res Display After All?

7:06 PM

The iPad 2 is going to be announced on March 2, and there have been rumours abound of a Retina display (or at least higher-res than the original iPad) and an SD memory card slot. Apparently those features have been nixed due to “engineering issues”, although some argue that neither were in the picture in the first place.

The source of the rumour said that we can expect an identical screen to the first iPad, more RAM, a new processor, and a camera on either side. There’s also a vague possibility of a lightweight carbon-fiber body, but that’s not locked-down right now.

rammu

Xtreamer Announces Prodigy Media Player

7:04 PM

Xtreamer's media players have received much praise from us in the past, and there's a good reason why they enjoy popularity in the enthusiast circles. Its product may not be available officially in India, but that hasn't stopped the audio/videophiles and enthusiasts from getting one from the grey markets and forum group orders.

After launching an Apple compatible version of their popular Xtreamer media player, it has been followed up with the announcement of the nifty Xtreamer Prodigy. The upcoming Prodigy maintains quality with the Realtek 1185 engine at its heart, and it has a slew of features and connectivity options up its sleeve.

rammu

AOC Launches Aire Black Range of Monitors

6:59 PM

Although the AOC brand name isn't big in India, it is synonymous with good value-for-money displays for computer enthusiasts and system builders here. The Taiwan based display manufacturer has launched a new Aire Black range of slim LED backlit monitors that promise aesthetics both in form and function. In fact, the glossy piano-black Aire Blacks claim to count themselves as one of the world's slimmest display panels.

That's a vague claim indeed, but the displays look quite svelte nonetheless. The range will be available in sizes of 20-inch (e2043Fk) for $129 (Rs. 5,900 approx.), 22-inch (e2243Fwk) for $149 (Rs. 6,800 approx.) and 23-inch (e2343Fk) for $179 (Rs. 8,100 approx.).

rammu

Xoom 4G Upgrade Could Take More Than Six Days

6:50 PM

Users will have to send their Motorola Xoom tablets away for a week in order to upgrade them to 4G, Verizon Wireless said this week. The Xoom, the first device to run Google’s Android Honeycomb OS for tablets, works on Verizon’s 3G network and became available on Thursday.

When Motorola announced the tablet last month, it said users would be able to upgrade it for use on Verizon's 4G LTE network. At the time, Motorola didn’t say how it would manage such an upgrade.

rammu

Eye Implant Contains World's First Millimeter Scale Computing System

9:20 AM

Researchers from the University of Michigan have created what they claim is the world's first millimeter-scale complete computing system, designed as an implantable eye pressure monitor for glaucoma patients.

Incorporating a microprocessor, pressure sensor, memory, thin-film battery, solar cell and wireless radio with an antenna that can transmit data to an external reader device, the device is just over one cubic millimeter in size. The scientists see it as the next step in the evolution of ever-smaller and more efficient computers.

rammu

Huawei Ideos S7 Slim cheap tablet in hands-on photos

8:35 PM

We heart Huawei for bringing Android in on a budget on phones like the Ideos, so it warms our tablet-loving cockles to see it trying to do the same thing for Android tablets with the Huawei Ideos S7 Slim.

The S7 Slim has a 7-inch, 800x480-pixel capacitive touchscreen, similar in size to the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the HTC Flyer. And, like the Galaxy Tab, the S7 Slim is still stuck on an older version of Android, 2.2 Froyo.

The HTC Flyer uses a heavily customised version of Android 2.4 Gingerbread. Other Android tablets coming out this year, such as the Motorola Xoom, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and the LG Optimus Pad, use Android 3.0 Honeycomb, which Google designed specifically for tablets, rather than smart phones.

rammu

The 10 Hottest Products From The Mobile World Congress 2011

8:20 PM

This past week, mobile enthusiasts converged on Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the largest exhibition of its kind.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (aka Galaxy Tab 2)

Samsung came out swinging with the follow-up to its well-received Galaxy Tab. The 10.1-inch slate will be powered by Google's Android 3.0 operating system and will feature a dual-core CPU and two webcams. Customers will have a choice between 16GB and 32GB of storage.

rammu

Apple May Delay the Release of Apple iPad 2

8:34 AM

Apple iPad 2: Every one are eagerly weighting for the release of Apple’s next generation ipad, which is named as Apple iPad 2. There was news that Apple may delay the release Apple iPad 2. But, Apple has not officially announced any information about Apple iPad 2.

Earlier, it was announced that Apple will release iPad 2 by April, 2011. But, not there was news the release of Apple iPad 2 may be postponed to June, 2011. Apple iPad 2 is having many interesting features. Apple iPad 2 may have Intel’s Light Peak technology, using this technology people can use single optic fibre for universal connection such as HDMI, DVI, USB and DisplayPort.

rammu

Motorola Xoom Coming to Verizon February 24

8:21 AM

Verizon Wireless on Tuesday announced that it will start selling the Motorola Xoom on February 24. The tablet, which was named PCMag's best tablet of CES, will be available for $599.99 with a two-year contract or $799.99 without a contract.

Wireless 3G data will run $20 per month for 1GB, and the Xoom will be upgradeable to Verizon's 4G LTE service for free in the second quarter. Reports about the Xoom release date circulated earlier this month when the Facebook page for a Grand Rapids Best Buy said that the device would be released on February 24. Best Buy later said the information was posted in error and pulled the post.

rammu

Samsung Galaxy S2, Tab 10.1 to Stream TV from Set

8:09 AM

Samsung has apparently confirmed that the Galaxy S 2 and Tab 10.1, both announced at Mobile World Congress, will be able to talk to Samsung TVs over a secondary tuner to stream video to the portables. Currently supported TV models include the D7000 and D8000, with more likely coming in the future.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 runs Android 3.0 Honeycomb, has a 2 megapixel camera on the front and an 8 megapixel shooter on the back, is powered by a dual-core 1 GHz processor, and the display clocks in at 10.1 inches and 1280 x 800 pixels. Check out our hands-on here for the full tour.

rammu

Top 5 Upcoming Slates of 2010 and 2011 Tablet

10:23 PM

We’re definitely living in the era of portable devices and the concept of desktop is become obsolete real fast, but we’re really past the whole netbook craziness. Tablets are the new way of getting around and taking your content, info, contacts and social networks with you, wherever you are. IntoMobile has a nifty piece on the top 5 upcoming tablets of 2010 and 2011, that we’ll dissect in the following lines.

BlackPad

We’ve heard tons of rumors about RIM’s very first tablet, but nothing solid till now. Speculations claim it’ll be called the BlackPad, it’ll feature BB OS 6 and possibly serve as a companion for BlackBerry handsets. Its specs should include a 1 GHz CPU, a back and front camera, support for Flash 10.1 and a display that should be about 7 to 9.7 inches.

rammu

Take A Multi-Touch Break with Touchscape's 47-inch Coffee Table

7:55 PM

We've seen huge multi-touch tables and displays being used in medicine and for exhibitions, but now you could start seeing such things when you take a coffee break. With a 47-inch display, the Touchscape Multi-Touch Table uses the company's patented multi-touch technology to deliver full 1080p high definition touchscreen interactivity for cosy one-on-one business presentations, student/teacher learning collaboration, sharing photo or video collections or unique gaming applications.

At the heart of the sleek, CNC-machined high density acrylic coffee table is a 3.4GHz quad-core Phenon processor which provides the power needed to run the system, with able support from 4GB of memory. There's 180GB of storage, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB and Ethernet, and a 3G option is also available.

rammu

Zebronics Introduced 7-inch New Digital Photo Frame

8:48 AM

Zebronics, which recently unveiled its media player Cinema 4.3, has now launched a new digital photo frame called Artifice.

The new device comes with a 7-inch LCD display with 480x230 pixel resolution. Users can access photos via USB flash disk, SD, MS, MMC card. It can be connected through USB2.0 to other electronic devices for photo sharing, data transfer and printing photos.

The rotational zoom in and out function enables better photo viewing. It can display clock and calendar when the viewer is not in the mood of viewing slide shows of pictures.

rammu

LeapPad Explorer tablet for children

8:40 AM

If we needed any proof that 2011 is going to be the year of the tablet, CES and MWC have given us what we need. But why should all the tablet fun be had by the adults, as kids surely deserve their own touchscreen distraction too? Happily, Leapfrog has announced a multi-functional edutainment tablet for children ages 4 and up.

The device has a collection of creativity tools – including a built-in camera, video recorder, microphone and animation studio – to allow kids to fully express themselves, and it will be backed up by an extensive learning library available at launch.

rammu

HTC Introduced Flyer Tablet has 1.5GHz CPU and 7-inch

7:23 PM

At the ongoing Mobile World Congress 2011, HTC Corp. is expected to announce a much rumoured tablet computer. Branded as HTC Flyer, the tablet will have 7-inch touchscreen display and a 5 megapixel camera at the back as reported by Seattle Times. Packing 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU, HTC Flyer is packed in aluminium housing. Sporting new HTC Sense UI, the Flyer tablet will run Google Android 2.4 update and is upgradable to Android 3.0 Honeycomb.

HTC Flyer appears to be a real competitor of Samsung Galaxy Tab. Bearing a 7-inch display that supports 1024x600 pixel resolution, Flyer houses 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The Flyer comes with 32GB on-board storage and will feature HSPA+ network support.

rammu

HP Introduced TouchPad, 9.7-Inch Capacitive Touch Display

7:09 PM

The TouchPad is an exciting reveal for HP, but how does its hardware compare with the current and future competition? Let's dive in to find out.

Hardware

First the display. The HP TouchPad's 9.7-inch capacitive touch display has a resolution of 1,024x768. That matches the resolution of the current Apple iPad, but is trumped by the Motorola Xoom's announced 1,280x800 resolution. In person, the TouchPad delivers a pleasant picture, but we were unsure whether the screen uses an IPS panel like the iPad or a TN panel like most tablets. An IPS panel would provide much better, clearer viewing of the screen at off angles.

rammu