Latest Gadgets, Tablets and Smartphones
A new technology has been developed that lets you easily capture the surrounding area as a 3D model that you can navigate around.
The device comes in the form of a backpack that is loaded with several sensors and cameras that capture a building as you walk through it. Textures are captured with a camera and the 3D model is created from other sensors.
The company envisage that the whole world will be available in 3D if this backpack can be created and used. [Read more…]
The bar for game quality has just been raised by iD software. John Carmack yesterday demoed a test version of Rage for the iPhone that is capable of running at 60 frames per second. A quote says that this version is able to “kill anything done on the Xbox or PlayStation 2.”
The demonstration (video below) uses the id Tech 5 engine and although running on the iPhone 4 in the demo, it is said to run comfortably on all older iPhone models.
Rage will launch as a “show-off” style game according to Kotaku, and a larger fuller game is due out next year. [Read more…]
The Motorola DROID 2 launched just yesterday and already iFixit has it’s hands on one to teardown. The teardown was put online yesterday and shows all of the insides of the DROID 2 and what is different to the original DROID that launched last year.
The new DROID 2 has a 1GHz processor along with wireless 802.11n for connectivity. Both these enhance the user experience on the device by allowing it to run more smoothly and connect faster where wireless n technology is available to connect to.
Although there are differences between the two models, there are also a lot of similarities. Motorola seems to have opted to keep anything that wasn’t complained about and fix the things that were complained about such as the keyboard and processor that have both received upgrades. [Read more…]
The R2-D2 limited edition Motorola DROID 2 was spotted yesterday over at the Star Wars convention in Orlando. Along with seeing the new smartphone there, the launch date was also revealed to be September 30.
The image above shows the device from a couple of angles. We have seen a similar picture before (just yesterday), so it’s good to confirm with different pictures that it is the real deal. [Read more…]
Apple [AAPL] released iOS 4.0.2 and iOS 3.2.2 to fix the PDS flaw in the iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, iPod touch (newer generations) and the iPad. This problem has it’s good and bad sides. The good side is that once upgrading you are safe from any malicious exploits, but on the down side, the iPhone jailbreak doesn’t work any more if you upgrade.
One other problem is for those who own early generation iPhone hardware that cannot upgrade to iOS 4 and specifically 4.0.2. The older iPhone is still prone to this attack. Apple hasn’t made a fix for the people who own the older iPhone which leaves them a little open to attack.
To make your original iPhone safe you’ll need to jailbreak it which is kind of ironic. Once jailbroken a new app can be downloaded via Cydia that seals the security hole and essentially adds the same protection that iOS 4.0.2 adds. [Read more…]
Microsoft [MSFT] is pushing Bing Maps quite a lot recently. Scobleizer is reporting that they will be flying planes over every inch of the US in the next 18 months to capture high resolution imagery. The problem with doing that is that the images need to be stored somewhere.
All the images are sent to a location in Boulder, CO. where they are edited, processed and stored on a five petabyte storage unit… that particular unit is a mobile shipping container, the sort that sits on a large truck. Robert Scoble managed to get a look inside one of the mini datacenters to see exactly what it was like in there. Due to the storage facility being squeezed in a container, it makes it very loud inside. [Read more…]
Comex, the developer of the iPhone 4 Jailbreak (JailbreakMe 2.0) has posted the source code of the said jailbreak.
The source code was released right after Apple [AAPL] launched the iOS 4.0.2 and iOS 3.2.2 updates that blocked and prevented the jailbreak from working.
The exploits that comex used to jailbreak the iOS could be used for other purposes, including delivering malicious payloads to grab control of iPhones, iPads , and iPod Touches. All that would be necessary is for hackers to dupe users into visiting a malicious Web site or persuading them to click on a link in an e-mail or text message.
Google [GOOG] has updated the Voice Search application for those running Android 2.2. The new version gives users more control over their smartphone by using their voice.
Examples of what the new changes can do include the ability to send a text message or email by voice. You can also tell it to call a local restaurant or navigate to the closest book store. If you want to make a note of something you just hit the mic button and say “note to self, remember to buy cheese” and a note is created saying just that.
Another one: Navigation. Say “Navigate to Rockefeller Plaza”, and it will bring up the navigation app and drive you to the destination. Then, finding music on your phone, which will go out on the internet and grab music to play back on an app on your Android phone. Once you find a result, it’ll come back and show you which apps support this music feature, and you can pick one to play (like Pandora).
The Motorola DROID 2 is available as of today. However, if you want the R2-D2 model, you’ll need to wait a little longer before you can purchase one. We heard yesterday that the Star Wars specific model wasn’t shipping till September.
The image above (and larger below) shows what many believe is to be the Motorola DROID 2 R2-D2 limited edition.
The new limited edition model is expected to be unveiled today at the Celebration V show. We’ll keep an eye out to see if that is the case and get some pictures uploaded. [Read more…]
When Steve Jobs announced the iPhone 4 a few months back, a jenga style game was demoed that showed us all what the gyro was good for. This game is called Gyroblox and is available to download from the iTunes store.
The game is described as follows…
Gyroblox 4 is a demonstration of the gyroscope based on physics.
Gyroscope + accelerometer provide 6-axis motion sensing to camera.
Retina display 960-by-640 resolution is supported.[Required Device Capabilities]
Gyroscope, Accelerometer, OpenGL ES 1.1
With the release of iOS 4.0.2 last night, it raises the questions of jailbreaking and unlocking the new version. From what we understand, iOS 4.0.2 uses the same baseband as 4.0.1 and can therefore be unlocked. However, you need to be able to jailbreak your iPhone to apply the unlock which is where the problem is now since Apple [AAPL] closed the security hole that jailbreakme.com used to jailbreak the phone.
The current iPhone 4 jailbreak was broken with the iOS 4.0.2 update which means that if you want a jailbroken iPhone 4, you’ll need to leave it on 4.0.1 or on previous versions. The same goes for the iPhone 3GS.
However, if you updated your iPhone 3G to iOS 4.0.2 then you are still in luck as you can still use Redsn0w to jailbreak your iOS 4.0.2 iPhone 3G. [Read more…]
Sprint [S] is launching the Samsung Epic 4G on August 31 with a price tag of $250 after a $100 rebate.
The new smartphone is Sprint’s second 4G Android device to be launched. Technical spec wise, it has a 4 inch Super AMOLED screen that is of the capacitive touch variety. It has Android 2.1 (we expect it will be updated to Android 2.2 shortly after launch) and it runs the 1GHz Samsung Cortex A8 processor.
The camera on the Epic 4G is 5 megapixels and is capable of capturing video at 720p HD. An LED flash is also included. [Read more…]
