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Zune HD 3D games video hands-on

by Nilay Patel posted Nov 11th 2009 at 1:58PM

It took us a tick to get our Zune HD loaded up with those new 3D games that were released this morning, but we thought you might want to check out a quick hands-on. That Tegra chip is no joke -- the graphics in PGR: Ferrari Edition are easily on par with the PSP and quite possibly better, with intricate textures, high-quality reflections, and smooth framerates. The other games aren't nearly as intense, but they're just as smooth. Best of all? They're free -- although you will have to look at a Zune ad while they load. Not the worst tradeoff in the world, but we'd love to see what paid app developers could do if Microsoft would open this beast up. Check the video after the break.

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Saygus VPhone video hands-on

by Paul Miller posted Nov 11th 2009 at 12:49PM

Want to see that new Saygus VPhone in action? Can't get enough QWERTY in your Android? Enjoy videos shot amongst a crowd of screaming trade show attendees? Boy are you in luck. Check out our video hands-on of the handset after the break, and please excuse the noise.

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iPhone vs DROID multitouch keyboard showdown (video)

by Nilay Patel posted Nov 5th 2009 at 6:31PM

I just dashed off this quick video for my Twitter followers to demonstrate that the DROID doesn't have a multitouch soft keyboard, and pretty much instantly realized that I should probably share it with everyone else, since we've been getting a lot of questions about it. Long story short, while Android 2.0 and the DROID's hardware support multitouch, the device itself doesn't do multitouch out-of-the-box, and the soft keyboard suffers mightily for it. Why it's missing is certainly open for debate, but for now just know that no amount of hoping, wishing, or booze is going to make the stock keyboard register more than one press at a time. Don't despair, though -- while I'm not a fan, Chris Ziegler absolutely flies on this same keyboard on his DROID. Videos after the break.

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Flip MinoHD goes premium, we go hands-on

by Nilay Patel posted Oct 14th 2009 at 12:01AM

Flip Video just launched a new "premium" take on the MinoHD -- it's fundamentally the same as the existing MinoHD, but with 8GB of storage, a bigger two-inch screen and an HDMI port, all wrapped up in either a sleek aluminum shell or a personalized design from the Flip website. The 8GB of flash means the MinoHD can now record up to two hours of 720p video, and while there's still no image stabilizer, it's not like that's stopped anyone from loving the MinoHD before. There's also a new version of the FlipShare software, which features an automatic Magic Movie mode that'll trim and edit before shooting your video to Facebook, YouTube and MySpace. We're sure the kids will love it, but we'd rather do things the old-fashioned way. The new premium model will sell for $229, while the original MinoHD remains on sale for $199 and the old-school Mino hangs back at $149. After some time playing around with one, we'd say you're well-justified in dropping the extra $30 here -- the newer case and screen are quite nice, and HDMI-out is nothing to sneeze at. It's still the same MinoHD as far as image quality goes, however, so don't walk into this one expecting any surprises -- and no fancy al-yoo-min-ium case will quell the need for a proper stabilizer in these things. Video after the break!

Gallery: Flip MinoHD goes premium, we go hands-on

Gallery: New Flip MinoHD press shots

Continue reading Flip MinoHD goes premium, we go hands-on

Nokia Booklet 3G hands-on (with video!)

by Paul Miller posted Oct 13th 2009 at 12:43PM

That $599 non-subsidized price still sounds silly -- and $299 with a 2-year $60 monthly contract seems almost more extreme -- but there's no denying that the Booklet 3G is a truly premium netbook. It's light, strong and very elegant, with an aluminum chassis, wonderful keyboard and spacious two-finger-scroll touchpad. Unfortunately, those netbook innards deliver about what you'd expect in the performance arena (almost too slow for web browsing), and NY's AT&T 3G coverage certainly doesn't serve the laptop well (as demonstrated on video after the break). There's also the small matter of the screen: it has a pretty weak viewing angle, particularly from above, and overall just seems a little dim. Nokia's software approach isn't too revolutionary, since the Social Hub -- which offers threaded text messaging over 3G -- is the only exclusive app on the computer, and the Ovi Maps-branded GPS software is still in the works. Overall, the appeal is probably going to be strongest with dyed-in-the-wool Nokia fans and people with a bit of extra cash to burn, but this is an obviously elegant product that doesn't do any sort of disservice to its phone heritage.

Update: Nokia just clarified to us that the demo units at this event were actually from the UK, and therefore don't have US 3G -- which would certainly explain some of the speed issues.

Gallery: Nokia Booklet 3G hands-on

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HP's ProBook 6x45b line handles a spill with aplomb (on video!)

by Paul Miller posted Oct 13th 2009 at 12:20AM

While we don't normally find ourselves terribly jealous of laptops designed for massive rollouts at medium and large businesses, the new ProBook and 6545b (15.6-inch) and 6445b (14-inch) almost have us ready to reassess that assumption. They're pretty boring AMD-powered workhorses on the surface, but HP has reworked the keyboard tray so that it automatically drains spills through the laptop and out through the bottom -- without running past any of the vitals. It's not foolproof, but it's a great first stab at making us all a little safer from accidents -- and hopefully finds its way into consumer lines sooner rather than later. We're similarly jealous of the new energy management software that HP has packed on here, which has a configuration panel that provides battery-squeezing estimates based on various settings, letting a user pick a goal for battery life and set the specs to match. The corporate end of that is an IT app that lets a business actually set its own power consumption goals and constrain user laptops to match -- we don't know how well that would play out in practice, but the delicious string-pulling it entails is enticing. Prices start at $799, and there are naturally configurations as far as the eye can see. Check out a video of the spill-proof-ness in action after the break.

Gallery: HP's ProBook 6x45b line hands-on

Gallery: HP's ProBook 6x45b line press shots

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Hitachi's face-recognizing display turns off, saves power when you look away (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 10th 2009 at 12:31AM

CEATEC is a breeding ground for new innovations, and Hitachi made sure to get its name on the A-list with a simple face-recognizing television that seeks to save power whenever you glance away. Essentially, the prototype plasma on display packs an inbuilt camera that notices when your face is peering at it, and whenever you glance away, a power-saving mode goes into action. Unfortunately, that means that the panel goes black, and while we understand the point here, we can envision such a feature causing all sorts of rage around the house, particularly if you've got a handful of viewers trying to keep watch from a few feet further away than yourself. Hit the read link to have a look at how things work in practice -- here's hoping you can opt for the sound to stay on throughout the blackout, at least.

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Mitsubishi's modular, scalable OLED display goes 155-inches at CEATEC, could go way bigger (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 9th 2009 at 10:24PM

Something tells us that whenever we do round two of our Time Square signage Engadget Show, Mitsubishi's modular OLED display will be amongst the highlights. Aimed at outdoor applications (but obviously ready for your living room), the scalable prototype shown here at CEATEC was 155-inches in size. The wild part, however, is that it could grow infinitely larger -- at least in theory. The whole panel that you notice from afar is crafted from smaller OLED blocks that snap together like a puzzle; the more you add, the larger your screen can be. Unfortunately, resolution is still relatively low and longevity is a definite concern, but if you can manage to stand a few feet back, the result is simply stunning. Hop on past the break for a new take on "immersive."

Continue reading Mitsubishi's modular, scalable OLED display goes 155-inches at CEATEC, could go way bigger (video)

Yamaha's 1mm-thick prototype speaker is made from cloth, highly directional (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 9th 2009 at 8:16PM

We've already heard first-hand how Yamaha can make surround sound emerge from a single soundbar, and now the outfit's wowing again here at CEATEC. It's latest aural innovation was tucked quietly away within its booth, disguised as an advertorial for the show itself. Essentially, the banner you're peering at above is a one millimeter thick speaker that's made from cloth, and it definitely has the potential to revolution billboards and possibly even portable media devices. As you can clearly hear in the video just past the break, the flat sound waves emitted from the cloth cannot be heard unless you're standing directly in front of it; even separate audio files playing back just a few feet away didn't overlap with what we heard coming directly at us. There's no telling if Yamaha will ever take this public, but if it does, there are about forty billion ad agencies in the greater New York area that would like to speak to it.

Continue reading Yamaha's 1mm-thick prototype speaker is made from cloth, highly directional (video)

Funai Eco Scan projector adds multitouch capabilities to your bedroom wall (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 8th 2009 at 6:11AM

Here's hoping every pico projector outfit on the planet is paying attention to what's going down at CEATEC, otherwise they can pretty much forget about competing with what Funai is boasting. Seen here in Japan, this prototype projector utilized a Nippon Signal MEMS scanner and a great deal of top-secret technology in order to actually add multitouch capabilities to whatever surface is lucky enough to receive the projected image. You read right -- if you use this PJ to beam up an image on your bathroom wall, school whiteboard or any other surface, you can count on that surface having multitouch capabilities while the image is live. Once projected, users simply twist and turn the image in order to have it modified in real-time, and while there are obviously far more enterprise-based uses for this than consumer-based uses, there's no denying the awesomeness. Have a peek of the beamer in action after the break, and expect it to go commercial sometime in 2010 (if we're lucky).

[Via Tech-On!]

Gallery: Funai Eco Scan projector adds multitouch capabilities to your bedroom wall

Continue reading Funai Eco Scan projector adds multitouch capabilities to your bedroom wall (video)

Sony and Toshiba demo TransferJet short-range sharing at CEATEC (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 8th 2009 at 5:08AM

TransferJet is still solidly in the "fledgling" stage, but it looks as if a few big time industry players have faith that consumers have a desire -- nay, a need -- for short-range, high-speed sharing. Here at CEATEC in Japan, both Sony and Toshiba were on hand with independent TransferJet demonstrations, and while the actual protocol has been in place for awhile now, it's the supporting cast (read: hardware) that has remained elusive. Toshiba was utilizing a snazzy TG01 and Qosmio laptop in order to showcase just how quickly the two could share information over the air, while Sony had us believing that pretty much everything it'll make for the rest of eternity could support device-to-device sharing. Head on past the break for a peek at the demos, but try not to get your hopes up for seeing this stuff in shipping products anytime in the immediate future, okay?

Continue reading Sony and Toshiba demo TransferJet short-range sharing at CEATEC (video)

Murata Seiko unicycling robot stays upright, wows onlookers at CEATEC (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 8th 2009 at 4:27AM

Murata Seiko, the newly improved unicycling robot that we peeked a few weeks ago, was proudly on stage with her bicycling sibling at CEATEC, and we couldn't resist the urge to swing by and see exactly how amazing her balancing skills were. Sure enough, the bot never once teetering or tottered, and while it didn't scoot around for very long, we were still impressed to see it hold itself up with no human intervention. 'Course, we won't really be wowed until she successfully navigates down a few slops on the way to San Francisco's Pier 39, but based on what we saw in Japan, we'd say that she's well on her way. Check the vid after the break if you're scouting a performance.

Gallery: Murata Seiko unicycling robot stays upright, wows onlookers at CEATEC

Continue reading Murata Seiko unicycling robot stays upright, wows onlookers at CEATEC (video)

Yamaha's singing robot quietly trolls, slyly frightens at CEATEC (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 8th 2009 at 3:19AM

As with most robots that sing, Yamaha's demonstration at CEATEC was nothing short of terrifying. Oh sure, it's sort of impressive that the modified HRP-4C could take requests from a pre-selected list of jams on an iPhone, but after witnessing actual artists perform at Club Quattro in Shibuya, we'd say this chick has aways to go before she's accepted into the blossoming Japan music circuit. Judge for yourself after the break, Simon.

Continue reading Yamaha's singing robot quietly trolls, slyly frightens at CEATEC (video)

Toshiba shows off slate of smartphone prototypes at CEATEC (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 7th 2009 at 11:47PM

The admittedly powerful TG01 has been carrying the flagship banner for awhile at Toshiba's smartphone division, but if a brief look at CEATEC gives us any indication of what's to come, we'd say you can look forward to hearing an awful lot more from Tosh in this here sector. Behind a small glass case, a smattering of smartphone prototypes were quietly sitting pretty in effort to be photographed. Naturally, we took 'em all up on the offer, snapping the K01, K02 and L01 and hosting them in the gallery below. We're told that the lot is actually nearing production, with the K01 packing a 4.1-inch capacitive touchscreen, the K02 a 3.5-inch resistive panel (with an 800 x 480 resolution) and the L01 a 7-inch screen within a MID-like form factor. Each of the three are to be powered by Windows Mobile 6.5, though we wouldn't argue if WinMo 7 ended up being the OS of choice. Video's after the break.

[Via Electronista]

Gallery: Toshiba shows off slate of smartphone prototypes at CEATEC

Continue reading Toshiba shows off slate of smartphone prototypes at CEATEC (video)

Xbox 360's new Zune, Last.fm, Facebook and Twitter features detailed on video

by Paul Miller posted Oct 7th 2009 at 2:19PM

We just got a pretty detailed look at Microsoft's upcoming Dashboard update for the Xbox, which brings with it the Zune Video Marketplace and Last.fm music streaming, along with Facebook and Twitter social functionality. We were most impressed with Facebook, which includes a feature for spotting which of your Facebook friends have Xbox Live -- a great way to grow that friends list and bring a bit of "synergy" to your life. Last.fm was a bit of a downer, since you can't do anything else while listening to the music, but otherwise there weren't many minuses to the presentation other than the lack of a firm release date. Check out Joystiq's full impressions at the read link before, or watch the whole demo on mind-blowing video after the break.

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