Archives for March 2010

Google Street View Cover the Whole UK (well, 96%)

March 11, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Google [GOOG] have now updated the UK maps with 96% coverage of the UK in Street View. There’s just a few streets missing as of now, but generally the whole UK is covered.

This allows Google Streetview users to view almost any street in the UK from the eyes of cameras that have been mounted on cars for the last 18 months or so and immerse themselves in to the streets around them (or anywhere else).

Google came under fire though due to Streetview with some people believing it was too obtrusive. However, most people feel it’s quite a cool feature to have and I have to admit it’s an impressive undertaking to get the whole of the UK covered. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tech News

Cisco Flip Cameras to be Announced Next Month

March 11, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Cisco are rumoured to be preparing for the next generation of Flip handheld video cameras to be announced. It is expected that an announcement will be made next month.

Right now we do not know what the specs of the new cameras are. The specs have been leaked over to a Business Insider writer but as they cannot be verified yet he hasn’t posted them just yet.

Features that we might see is a better lens, larger screen (maybe widescreen to fill the device), 1080p recording and perhaps a wireless connection built in. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Camera Gadgets

JooJoo Gets a User Interface Upgrade before Launch

March 11, 2010 by 1 Comment

The JooJoo was scheduled to launch a few weeks back originally set for an end of February launch. We then heard it was being pushed to late March. This extra month has given the JooJoo creators a chance to fix issues with the capacitive touchscreen as well as give the user interface a little overhaul.

Previously the user interface looked quite basic with line art covering a solid colour background. The new UI has been spruced up to give the icons a more rendered look along with wall paper that can be customised.

Gestures have also received a few changes with the JooJoo now using a swipe to access the home screen from what was previously a pinch gesture. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Laptops

Portable Computers as Powerful as PS3 to arrive in 3 Years

March 11, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Imagination Technologies are responsible for creating the PowerVR chip that runs in phones such as the iPhone, DROID as well as others. They believe that in three years time they will have a chip that will bring the power of Playstation 3 graphics to pocket sized devices.

The reason they actually believe (or know it) is due to the fact that the chip is already being designed and due to waiting for licensing, and bringing the chip in to publicly available phones (which takes 3 years) they know that 720p HD will be available with an output to TV that has PS3 capable graphics. Perhaps mini screens will also be cable of 720p at that time too. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tech News

Apple iPhone App Magnets from Jailbreak Toys

March 11, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Check out these cool looking App icon fridge magnets that come from a company called Jailbreak Toys.

Each set has 18 magnets that comprises a set of almost all default applications such as an iPod icon along with email, weather, calendar, settings to name a few. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

Verizon 4G Handset Promised for Summer 2011

March 11, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Verizon are going to be launching 4G services starting sometime in the middle of 2011. The new LTE handsets will have data connections that run faster than 3G and be capable of giving users fast access to file downloads on streaming video.

Devices that could use the services were on show at CES this year, so there’s already interest in this area by phone manufacturers. One of them at the show was an NVIDIA device that could decode 1080p which would be ideal for fast access. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Motorola switches to Microsoft Bing on Android based Phones

March 11, 2010 by 2 Comments

Last week we heard that AT&T were getting rid of Google apps from their Android based phones, in particular the Motorola Backflip that was going to be using Yahoo! search instead.

We are now hearing that Google apps are now being replaced by Motorola to other phones and that a new global alliance with Microsoft [MSFT] has been formed that will bring MS Bing services to their Android powered phones. The switch will give users a choice rather than restricting them to just one search and mapping feature.

“We believe that consumer choice is one of the most critical components to ensuring a rich and seamless client experience,” said Christy Wyatt, corporate vice president of software and services, Motorola Mobile Devices. “Motorola and Microsoft have enjoyed a longstanding collaboration and the addition of Bing services to our Android-based smartphones in China is another important step in empowering our end-users.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

iKat Augmented Reality App

March 10, 2010 by Leave a Comment

iKat is quite a cool looking Augmented Reality application that requires no real-world prompt to function correctly. Normally when augmented reality is used a place card is held up with an image on it which the phone can then lock on to and replace with the 3D rendered model. In the case if the iKat it just takes a quick scan of what the camera is looking at and can figure out where to place the 3D object.

The iKat application is basically just a cat that walks across a keyboard when holding the phone up to it, but the idea behind it is really what we are interested in here.

“Based on Zenitum’s D-Track engine, we are working on markerless mobile augmented reality application, iKat. You are breeding a virtual kitten on the phone. The kitten can be mixed into real world using AR. Since no markers or image targets are needed, you need to recognize the space in front of the camera for creating the appropriate space for your kitten.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

Warpia Easy Dock Wireless Monitor Connector

March 10, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The Warpia Easy Dock is a USB gadget that allows you to connect your netbook or other similar device up to a desktop monitor. The device comes in two parts with one being the transmitter and the other being the receiver which is attached to a monitor or projector. The pair are able to transmit images with a resolution of up to 1400 x 1050 pixels making it ideal for presentations where wireless connectivity to a projector is needed.

The Warpia Easy Dock is compatible with various operating systems which includes Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Computer Gadgets

Phantom HD Gold High Speed Digital Video Camera

March 10, 2010 by 1 Comment

The Phantom HD Gold is a high speed digital video camera that carries a hefty price tag of $118,000 putting it in to the professional end of the market.

The camera has a resolution of 2,048 by 2,048 and at that high resolution it is capable of capturing video at 555 frames per second. Although high speed cameras are available for just a few hundred dollars that can capture at over 1,000 FPS, they certainly can’t do that at anywhere near the 2k by 2k resolution and often tend to drop down to double digit pixels.

This particular camera is also capable of capturing images up to 100,000 frames per second when the resolution is dialled right down to just 16 by 8 pixels. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Camera Gadgets

Quirky Cloak Apple iPad Case

March 10, 2010 by 6 Comments

Various iPad cases are available here. On to the Quirky…

As the Apple iPad launch date draws nearer, more and more accessories are becoming available. The last one we mentioned just a few days ago was the Vers Wood iPad case. Next on the list is a case built by Quirky that is called the Quirky Cloak.

The Quirky Cloak is designed to look sleek and provide enough protection to keep your iPad safe within. It is built from non-slip rubber and has a durable plastic hinge on the edges.

The iPad slides in the top of the casing and once inside is held firmly by a friction grip. The Quirky Cloak is designed in a way that allows the iPad to sit on a surface in landscape mode, or stand up with a kick stand in portrait mode. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

Pioneer DreamBook Lite Netbook Launched

March 10, 2010 by Leave a Comment

There doesn’t seem to be a week pass where a new netbook is announced, especially with the likes of ASUS launching new Eee PC’s every week it seems. Pioneer are now launching their DreamBook Lite which has a 12.1 inch screen and runs either a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor or a slightly faster Intel Atom N470 running at 1.83GHz.

The 12.1 inch screen is LED which we should see benefit from that in terms of a clearer image. For connectivity it has Wireless that can connect up to 802.11b/g/n networks as well as a bunch of ports on the side including USB 2.0 and a wired LAN port.

The DreamBook Lite comes with a 4 cell battery although if you go for the optional 6 cell battery the netbook can achieve about 10 hours of usage between charges. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Laptops