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Finally, I can solve a Rubik’s Cube
To solve the Rubik's cube, all you need is a slightly expensive connected cube, and time to kill.
Amazon is having a sale on all of its Fire TV streamers
Amazon has dropped prices across its Fire TV range. These aren't the lowest prices ever, but it's a consistent cut across the board, making it a good time to buy in if you're updating your TV setup. First up, the second generation Fire TV Stick which packs in Alexa voice remote, HD and on-remote volume controls, which is the feature we didn't even know we needed in the Fire Stick's original form. Amazon's got this on offer for $25, instead of the usual $40. The Fire TV Stick 4K version, which supports Ultra HD and Dolby Vision, also has a solid 15 bucks off, on sale now for $35 instead of $50.
Apple TV+ is now available on more Amazon Fire devices
If Apple is serious about claiming a piece of the streaming pie with Apple TV+, it's going to have to make sure its customers can access it without having to fork out for a bunch of new gear. That's why, overnight, Apple made the platform available on a number of new Amazon Fire devices.
Inside Apple's redesigned 'cube' store in New York City
Just in time for the launch of the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, Apple is finally re-opening the doors to its flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Better known as "the cube," the iconic 77,000 square feet space has been closed for renovations since 2017, but Apple is ready to let customers back in starting this Friday. Before it opens to the public tomorrow, though, we got a sneak peak. And frankly, it doesn't just feel renovated, it feels like a completely new store, especially underground, where everything is brighter and more spacious than before.
Amazon Fire TV Cube review: Alexa still needs work as a TV guide
Update: While we originally planned to do a deeper dive into the Fire TV Cube, several days of testing didn't reveal much more about the device. We've updated our first look with a new conclusion, and have assigned it a review score. When you consider the popularity of Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa and the company's Fire TV streamers, it was really just a matter of time before the folks at the Everything Store decided to mash them up. In fact, Amazon already has, sort of: The company started down that path last year by giving Echo devices the ability to pass commands along to a Fire TV or Fire TV Stick. With the new Fire TV Cube, though, Amazon is trying to break down the wall between Alexa and the content you want to see altogether.
Smart Cube turns any drawer into a Bluetooth-controlled lockbox
One of the latest devices to go from crowdfunding to CES is this Bluetooth-connected lock from Smart Armor. The Cube uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to pair with your phone, and can unlock whenever it's in range (or from further away, if you have a Bluetooth router or other device to control it). Simply mount the device in a drawer or box that you'd prefer remain closed to prying eyes, fingers or other appendages, and it can tighten closed. Even if someone tries to tamper with the device, it will send out an alert. Mounted with double-sided tape, it can stand up to 100 pounds of force, or owners can mount it with the provided holes.
Polaroid sues GoPro for copying a design patent
C&A Marketing Inc., the company that produces the Polaroid Cube, has filed a lawsuit against GoPro for releasing the Hero4 Session camera. On what grounds? Well, the two cameras look almost identical. Both are shaped like a cube with rounded edges, and even though the Session is able to shoot better quality video and is slightly larger than the 1.4-cubic-inch Cube, C&A is insisting that GoPro has infringed on the design patent that it received in May this year, preventing any other camera from copying the Cube's unique look. GoPro had filed a patent related to its square camera's design in March, but that specifically covered the camera's housing.
Polaroid's tiny Cube camera now packs WiFi
The Polaroid Cube, released last year, is nowhere near matching the quality of a GoPro. Still, this pocketable camera can be a good accessory for those times you can't, or won't, use a smartphone to take pictures. Today, Polaroid is announcing Cube+, the successor to its tiny, square-shaped camera, featuring an 8-megapixel sensor, compared to the 6 megapixels found on the original model. Most notably, however, is the addition of WiFi support, which lets users control the camera from an iOS or Android device -- you can use the companion app as a viewfinder, or to edit and share photos. It will be available in August for $150 in a variety of colors, including hot pink and a green that glows in the dark.
Patent reveals GoPro's working on a 'square profile' camera design
GoPro doesn't make square, cube-like cameras, but if it did, the picture (after the break) is probably what they'd look like. The image comes from a patent granted to GoPro today. The protection covers a "Camera housing for a square-profile camera," rather than a camera itself (makers of square cameras, your time to check is now). Sifting through the claims, the patent mentions how the square housing would allow a camera to be mounted in numerous orientations (thanks, geometry!) regardless of how you mount it. There are identical openings on three of the sides also, to provide access to ports (like you can with the current "Frame" mount) in any orientation.
First-person puzzler Magnetic: Cage Closed is like Portal, cubed
Guru Games isn't afraid of having their recently-announced game, Magnetic: Cage Closed compared to Portal. In fact, that's where it started: a school project designed as an homage to both Valve's famous, meme-producing first-person puzzler and lesser-known horror/suspense film, Cube. Magnetic takes place in an alternate history version of the 1960s, where inmates sentenced to death can be sold for scientific testing. Such is your fate, as you are a prisoner charged with testing the D27 Magnetic Propulsion Device – or, in simpler terms, a magnet gun.
IRL: The Polaroid Cube is a tiny camera that leaves you wanting more
Gone are the days when you had to carry a hefty camera to capture life's best moments. For the most part, we have smartphone makers to thank for that, aided by steady improvements to imaging sensors. At the same time, though, a number of other manufacturers have made it their mission to build ever-smaller cameras -- all to make snapping photos and taking videos a much easier feat than it was before. Polaroid, a company known for all-things-imagery, did exactly this with the Cube, an itty-bitty camera that measures just 35mm (1.4 inches) square and weighs in at 45 grams (1.6 ounces). Naturally, when you think of cameras that come in small packages, GoPro's Hero line instantly comes mind, but the Polaroid Cube isn't meant to compete with those. Instead, this $99 shooter is aimed at casual users. If it's high production value you're after, then, you'll need to look elsewhere.
Microsoft built a life-size interactive cube powered by Kinect
Third-party developers have grown very fond of building neat stuff with the Kinect, so it's no surprise that Microsoft itself would create projects using this technology. Enter the Cube, a five-sided, Kinect-powered box which can interact with people around it -- the company describes it as a "canvas for a new kind of creative expression" and a "technological sculpture that's a venue for new types of interactive art." You can dance, or make other random body gestures, in front of it and the Cube will project that image onto one of its panels, in a rather colorful way, no less; think of it as what you would see on a game like Just Dance, but minus the layer of flashy outfits. Microsoft's Cube isn't all about the Kinect, however. Inside, there are also five computers and five projectors which, paired alongside a total of four new Kinects, are what make the magic possible. You can watch the Cube in action after the break.
Polaroid's cute Cube camera lets you record video just about anywhere
You can stick action cameras in many places, but they're still not that portable; you probably won't (or can't) shove one in your pocket in case you want to document an adventure. You can certainly try that with Polaroid's new Cube camera, though. While its building block-like design is a little bit cutesy, it also lets you record 1080p wide-angle videos seemingly anywhere -- a built-in magnet lets the Cube cling to any metal surface, and even the mounting kits are tiny enough to come along on many trips. The cam depends on microSD cards for storage and only lasts for 90 minutes of video on a charge, but that still means that it can handle a quick mountain bike expedition or a few laps around the racetrack. Just be patient if you like the notion of cuboid movie capture. Photojojo is taking pre-orders for the $100 Cube today, but it won't ship until late September.
Google's new Chrome experiment lets you remix the Rubik's Cube
Sure, you could spend a while trying to solve the Rubik's Cube in Google's new Doodle, but that may get a little dry. Google was clearly prepared for that eventuality, though: it has just launched the Cube Lab, a Chrome experiment that lets you build your own internet-based puzzle. So long as you're good with modern web code, you can produce a unique Rubik's Cube with its own artwork, effects and even logic. The 808 Cube is all about music-making, for instance. Even if you're not a programmer, it's worth checking out the ready-made Lab examples to have some fun. We just wish we'd had this when we were kids -- it would have kept us playing with Rubik's Cubes long after the original got buried in the closet.
Everything is black and white with VisionEck on PS4
Developer VizionEck announced its black-and-white game for PS4 today, which is also called VizionEck. If that's not confusing enough, it also offered a minimalistic trailer with shifting dichromatic shapes, barely sussing out just what the eck the game is. Lead developer and founder of Michael Armbrust described the gist of VizionEck on the PlayStation Blog, revealing that the game is technically a first-person shooter (Right? We totally thought so too!). Though Armbrust insists the mysterious trailer contains lots of "secrets and game features" hidden in its frames, he says players control a cube known as a Ranger, whose health is indicated by the brightness of its outlines. The multiplayer-focused game seemingly pits players against one another as they can blend in with other cubes, or the black backgrounds as their health is depleted and their cubes go dark, working to take others out. Armbrust noted in the blog's comments that the game does contain single-player modes and that the developer is looking into using Project Morpheus for VizionEck. He also confirmed via the game's Twitter that VizionEck is "exclusive to PlayStation." [Image: VizionEck]
Staples is launching an in-store 3D printing service
First it sold select 3D printers in stores, then it sold print-by-mail services in Europe -- now Staples is offering US customers a chance to print objects on-demand and on-site. The company's launch event is focusing on the fun side of 3D printing, serving up action figures and personalized Starfleet officers to walk-in customers, but Staples says it hopes the service will catch the attention of small businesses. Customers will have access to up to seven kinds of printers and six types of materials in store, including the Cube and Cube X models Staples already sells. Larger jobs will be farmed out to 3D Systems -- the company behind the 3D printed guitar we saw at Engadget Expand last year. Don't have the modeling chops to prepare your on 3D-printable file? Staples has that covered too, and is planning to train graphic design consultants to help customers model their vision. Unfortunately, Staples hasn't announced pricing for any of these services yet, but at least the pilot program seems robust enough to give UPS a run for its money.
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: 3D Systems CEO Avi Reichental
The company that helped invent rapid prototyping has been in the 3D printing game for nearly three decades. In recent years, 3D Systems has been making an aggressive play at the consumer market with products like the Cube, CubeX and Sense as one of the driving forces in the desktop 3D printing revolution. January 7, 2014 7:00:00 PM EST Follow all the latest CES 2014 news at our event hub, and check out our full stage schedule here.
Swiss researchers created a cube that can sit, jump and walk (video)
Swiss researchers have created a metallic cube that can "walk" across a surface. Staff at the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich crammed a series of inertia sensors and constantly-spinning rotors (called reaction wheels) into a 15-centimeter cube, dubbed Cubli, that enable the contraption to move around on its own. When one or more of the weighted rotors abruptly stops spinning, the machine sort of jumps on its edge -- all thanks to centrifugal force. Once upended, the rotors act like a gyroscope to maintain Cubli's position. Halt another wheel and things get really crazy: the device defies gravity, tipping up and balancing on one of its eight corners. By repeating these motions in succession, the gizmo uses a series of controlled falls to slowly hop across a surface. In terms of practical applications, the Swiss researchers said this tech could aid in remote planetary exploration, possibly giving the Curiosity rover and its ilk some company. All noble goals, but for now the lab says that Cubli is just a high-tech toy. And that? That's perfectly fine.
UK giveaway: Win a Cube 3D printer courtesy of Cartridgediscount.co.uk
You'd better put that coffee down before you exhale it through your nose. Why? Because thanks to the very kind folk at Cartridge Discount, you could win a 3D printer. A second generation Cube by 3D Systems, to be precise. Not only would this make any tech-lover's Christmas, it solves your shopping woes too -- now you can print those socks for Uncle Alan if you win. Or stock up on bargain toner from Cartridge Discount if you don't. So, undoubtedly this is one heck of a prize for our UK readers (sorry everyone else), but you're likely wondering what you need to do to take part? Well here's the best part, just head past the break, read the terms and conditions (important!), and choose from the assortment of entry methods we've laid on for you. Don't thanks us, thank your lucky stars.
Office Depot starts stocking 3D Systems printers online
Could 3D printing be the future of office supply stores? Staples, for one, has been dipping its toes in those rising waters, offering a limited selection of devices on its site. Office Depot's following suit, making the seemingly logical move of including the third dimension in its printing offering. The chain announced today that it's added 3D Systems' Cube and CubeX to its online store, selling the printers for $1,299 and $2,499, respectively. It's not quite a 3D printing kiosk in every store (who wouldn't want a personalized Star Trek figure while you wait?), but it's always nice to see a company looking to embrace emerging technology.
