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Polaris posts

KDDI Polaris Robot concept -- it's like Rolly, but with a purpose (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 6th 2009 at 9:08AM

Being a Japanese carrier and all, it's no shock to see KDDI with a large presence at CEATEC. What was surprising, however, was the cute little device you see pictured above. Showcased in an "early prototype" form, the recently introduced Polaris Robot looks eerily similar to Sony's befuddling Rolly. Thankfully for KDDI (and all of humanity, really), this creature actually has a purpose. Packed with speakers, an array of wireless sensors and the ability to send video signals to your TV sans cables, the concept docking station is meant to stylishly hold your KDDI handset (lots of 'em will be compatible in due time) and beam a blown-up version of your phone's UI onto your television or LCD monitor. The good news here is that the system actually displays a far more intuitive menu layout on the screen than what's available on your dumbphone, enabling users to flip through schedules, photos, videos and playlists with ease. Technological details -- as well as information surrounding price and release -- were scant, but you can whet your appetite by peeking the video just past the break.

Gallery: KDDI Polaris Robot concept -- it's like Rolly, but with a purpose

Continue reading KDDI Polaris Robot concept -- it's like Rolly, but with a purpose (video)

iida Polaris: Phone meets robot, robot meets Japan (video!)

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 9th 2009 at 3:26AM

While Sony's Rolly is about as useful as, well, a tiny dancing robot, at least iida's Polaris concept doubles as a cellphone plus dock. Beneath the enormity of the flowery product page rests little in the way of specs -- it is just a concept after all, developed in partnership with Flower Robotics. The robot features "learning functions" to monitor your physical condition and suggest recipes and exercise. Failing that, it can also suggest possible medical intervention. The longer he's with you the more attune he is to your well-being. Perfect -- when we're old and infirmed at the end of days, our personal Polaris can represent us at the government mandated death panel. Take a peak at your doomsayer in the videos after the break.

[Via Akihabara News]

Continue reading iida Polaris: Phone meets robot, robot meets Japan (video!)

HTC's Touch Cruise caught on video

by Joshua Topolsky posted Nov 12th 2007 at 9:47AM

Hot on the heels of the official announcement of HTC's Touch Cruise -- the company's new, touch-sensitive, GPS equipped wonder-device -- come these "in the wild" pictures and video from CoolSmartPhone. As you can see, the Touch Cruise is sporting the now-familiar HTC TouchFLO interface, though apparently the handset-maker has updated the picture and video album UI. The site also hosts some shots of the GPS navigation in action, and examples of the updated onscreen keyboard. Check the video after the break, then point your browser towards the read link and see all the shots.

Continue reading HTC's Touch Cruise caught on video

HTC Polaris gets specs leaked, renamed the Touch Cruise

by Joshua Topolsky posted Oct 19th 2007 at 9:58AM

The next step in the HTC Touch line -- the GPS-equipped Polaris -- has been re-christened the Touch Cruise, and has gone and gotten its juicy specs all leaked out to the internet. In addition to having improved TouchFlo capabilities, like rotation and zoom, the new model will sport a quad-band GSM radio (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900), tri-band UMTS (850 / 1900 / 2100), HSDPA and HSUPA data connectivity, a 400MHz MSM7200 Qualcomm CPU, 128MB of RAM and 256MB of ROM, a 2.8-inch, 320 x 240 QVGA display, 3-megapixel camera (plus secondary, 0.3-megapixel camera), WiFi, Bluetooth, and a microSD slot. Apparently, the design of the device hasn't been finalized, though it will likely feature four buttons and a navigation wheel ~~(similar to the pics up above)~~. Mouth watering? Eyes tearing up? We understand. The Cruise is expected by the end of November, so go easy on your credit cards till then.

Update: Thanks to CoolSmartPhone and Smart Mobile Gadgets, we've gotten a proper view of the Touch Cruise, and it's sweet!

HTC to unveil Windows Mobile lineup at upcoming press event?

by Darren Murph posted Sep 25th 2007 at 4:24PM

While Apple chose London to inform the world of the iPhone's international agenda, HTC is reportedly looking to make a few announcements of its own on that side of the pond. According to TheUnwired, HTC will hold two press events on the first two days in October, the first of which will be in the UK and the second in Germany. Best guesses suggest that we'll be learning a bit more about the firm's forthcoming Windows Mobile-based lineup, and we can only hope that the Kii, Omni and / or Polaris are part of the show -- but considering the location and all, we wouldn't bet the farm on hearing too much about the likely US-bound Juno. Hold tight kids, the events get going in under a week.

Humans fend off AI challenge in "milestone" poker match

by Donald Melanson posted Jul 25th 2007 at 1:46PM

It apparently wasn't easy, but a pair of top human poker players managed to narrowly beat a brash young artificial intelligence program yesterday in a poker match scientists had touted as a "milestone" comparable to Garry Kasparov's 1997 bout with the IBM's chess-playing Deep Blue. According to the AFP, the four-round match stretched on until 11pm, with poker players Phil Laak and Ali Eslami ultimately edging out the program, dubbed Polaris, by 570 points. Eslami seems to have been particularly impressed by his competitor, saying that he found playing against Polaris more exhausting than any previous game in his career, adding that "it's already so good it will be tough to beat in future." No word on a rematch just yet, but don't be surprised if you run into Polaris the next time you play a little online poker -- it's gotta recoup its losses somehow.

[Photo courtesy of AP]

HTC preps a few more models (hint: CDMA Touch!)

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 21st 2007 at 2:56PM

HTC's model naming convention has always been just a little tricky to commit to memory, and with this latest batch, it certainly ain't getting any easier. A couple of these we've heard about before -- namely the Nike, Kaiser, and Shangri-La -- but the rest are brand new to us and very exciting. First up, the S640 "Iris" is a CDMA rendition of the Excalibur and Cavalier, tossing in EV-DO rev. A and WiFi atop Windows Mobile 6 Standard. The "Vogue" is essentially a Touch (TouchFLO UI and all) with the same EV-DO rev. A guts as the Iris -- good news for Verizon and Sprint customers, we'd imagine. GSM users have reason to celebrate here too, though, in the form of the "Volans" and "Polaris." These two are upgrades to the Vox and Artemis, respectively, adding in much-needed 3G radios and faster processors. Finally, the P6550 "Sedna" appears to be some sort of industrial device with support for a credit card reader -- though with a 3 megapixel cam and 3G data, we wouldn't mind having one ourselves. Release dates are up in the air on most of these, but our money is on late '07.

[Via The Boy Genius Report]

Update: Crikey, the Shangri-La's slide reveals that the device -- HTC's entry into the UMPC fray -- runs both Vista and Windows Mobile 6. Sound vaguely familiar? [Thanks, Kevin]