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DJI's palm-sized Mavic Mini can fly for up to 30 minutes
DJI's latest drone is its lightest and smallest model ever. The foldable Mavic Mini weighs in at just 249 grams, and comes with a bunch of features designed to make drone flying and aerial photography fun and accessible to everyone, without skimping on quality. And it's so small that you needn't bother getting FAA registration for it, either.
SKULPT is a tiny, feature-packed synth for under $300
Ultraportable, inexpensive synthesizers are everywhere these days, including solid entries from Korg, Roland and IK Multimedia. Now, UK-based Modal Electronics (makers of high-end boutique synths) is looking to enter the category with a new under-$300 synth called SKULPT, which is set to go live on KickStarter July 13th.
Unity makes mobile tools free for small devs
Unity has announced that it's making its mobile game development tools free to use for most independent and small studios. Unity has always been a popular engine both for mobile game development and for cross-platform game creation, but up until now, you had to pay about $800 to actually publish Unity-created apps on the iOS or Android stores. Those basic add-ons have now been made free, so anyone can now download Unity, and then use it to publish an app for iOS or Android without paying a fee for the engine. Unity still has pro versions available for sale to both iOS and Android developers, and anyone making over $100,000 per year with their releases is required by Unity to go ahead and purchase a pro license. So there are still some limits on exactly how this all works, and if your iPhone app does hit it big, Unity still would like its due. But starting off for free should open the door for even more indie devs to get in and try Unity, and make for even more and better games on the App Store.
Acer unveils space-saving ME mini tower and XC desktops for (low) power users
The arrival of Windows 8 is a good excuse for the PC industry to flood the market with so much hardware, consumers will be blinded by so much choice. Acer's jabbing its digits into your eyes with its new lineup of low-end desktops for the casual user. The ME micro towers will take an Intel Core i5 or I7, 2TB HDDs and up to 16GB of RAM. If you don't have anywhere else to stash your smartphone, the chassis comes with a recess desk on top with a USB port for easy charging. Those looking for something a little less demanding can pick up an XC desktop, a space-saving unit that will take an Intel Core i3, a 1TB HDD and up to 6GB of RAM. Prices for the ME begin at $700, while the cheaper XCs will set you back a much more modest $400.
Raspberry Pi credit-card sized Linux PCs are on sale now, $25 Model A gets a RAM bump
The good news is that Raspberry Pi's highly anticipated teeny-tiny Linux computers are on sale now, just barely making the promised February launch window (good thing it's a leap year). The better news, is that the $25 Model A version has gotten an upgrade from the planned 128Mb of RAM to 256Mb matching the Model B, which still throws in an extra USB port and an Ethernet hookup for $10 more. Unfortunately there is some bad news as well, while the Model A is going into production "immediately", cheapskates will have to hold off a little, as the Model B is the only one on sale right now. Built on a Broadcom BCM2835 700MHz ARM11 processor, they're intended as a cheap computing option that require only a keyboard and RCA or HDMI-connected display to give a full desktop experience including gaming and HD video playback . The team also announced it has secured manufacturing and distribution agreements that should guarantee a steady supply, without the previous limitation of 10,000 at a time batches. Need more technical details? Hit the FAQ page below, or put down a few Hamiltons -- they can be ordered directly from distributors Premier Farnell / Element 14 and RS Components -- and find out how it runs (Fedora, Debian and ArchLinux are currently supported) for yourself.Update: It appears the servers of both retailers are completely crushed by traffic at the moment, and we're told RS will ship in the UK only. Good luck in your struggle with that most difficult of questions: Keep mashing F5, or get some sleep and try again in the morning? Raspberry Pi's Twitter account reports Farrell appears to have already sold out, so keep that in mind. A press release and video demo from the BBC follow after the break.
Hiriko: The MIT-backed, Spanish 'folding' EV that wants to make cities bigger
Meet Hiriko, an EV that's the fruit of a collaboration between MIT, Basque businesses and the Spanish government. It might look like the rest of those sci-fi Jetson-style concepts, but it has a few tricks up its wheel-arches. Rather than a regular configuration, the bubble-esque ride has four independent in-wheel motors. Also, when you're ready to park this thing, the back section slides forward, "folding" the cabin up vertically -- a feat the makers claim will see it occupy only two-thirds of the space taken by a Smart ForTwo. Other neat features include a single front-opening door and joystick controls (rather than a plain old steering wheel). There's no details on range, mph and charge speed, but 20 test vehicles are being built at a reported cost of $16,253 each. There's no hint at what this will translate to in sticker price when it goes into production next year, but with the initial trials taking place imminently, it looks like Hiriko (meaning "of the city") could be a feature in your city quite soon.
JTT Chobi Cam Pro is the Napoleon of cheap miniature cameras
Unlike JTT's cutesy miniature DSLR, this new ¥6,000 ($76) Chobi Cam Pro could potentially be used for home monitoring or perhaps even wildlife photography. In addition to recording 12 megapixel stills and 720p motion JPEGs onto microSD, it also has a motion detector that can hold the camera in a state of readiness for up to two months. If nothing happens within that sort of timeframe, you probably failed to camouflage it properly.
Barely visible Bluetooth earphones from Novero spotted at the FCC
Walk along that sparse borderline between Bluetooth headset and pearl necklace and you'll eventually come across a company called Novero. It specializes in vaguely ridiculous bejeweled wireless things, but it has some serious products too -- including these surreptitious little Rockaway earphones that have just been approved by the FCC. They'll cope with hands-free calling, 5.5 hours of stereo music and 250 hours in standby -- plus they weigh just 10 grams. Perfect for any NYC cabbie wanting to flout the rules at 50MPH.
Mini Space Invaders arcade cabinet big on nostalgia, small in size
Always wanted an 80's arcade cabinet for your living room, but the square footage in your studio apartment won't cooperate with your gaming plans? Well, a master mini craftsman has created a seven-inch replica of Space Invaders that can fit on your desktop, coffee table, or bedside stand. It was cobbled together using the guts of a Game Boy Advance, some lilliputian controls, and a custom cabinet coated in shrunken decals that's made of medium density fiberboard. Best of all, thanks to those Nintendo internals, there's an entire arcade's worth of games at your tiny fingertips. Between this and its diminutive Donkey Kong cousin, perhaps mini arcade cabinets are the future of gaming. Video of the little gem in action is after the break.
Super Talent USB 3.0 Express RC8 looks like a thumb drive, acts like an SSD
It seems too much to hope for, but Super Talent insists it has the benchmarks to prove it: a USB 3.0 stick that achieves 270MB/s reads and 240MB/s writes under optimal conditions. Unlike your average joe flash drive, the RC8 boasts a fully-fledged (albeit previous-generation) SandForce SSD controller that permits the simultaneous use of eight channels of NAND memory. In other words, this zippy little thing actually is an SSD, enclosed in an aluminum case that measures 1-inch wide, 4-inches long and 0.3-inches thick. No definitive word on pricing yet, but it was reported at Computex that a 50GB variant would go for around $110, while 25GB and 100GB capacities will also be available. Now, could someone please hurry up and build a Thunderbolt version?
Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini and Mini Pro hands-on (update: video!)
We've just gotten to grips with Sony Ericsson's new compact smartphones, the Xperia Mini and its keyboard-equipped sibling the Xperia Mini Pro, and have a gallery of shots for you below. Hit them up now and we'll have hands-on impressions and video coming shortly. %Gallery-122911% The Xperia Mini has wonderful size when it comes to width and height, but we have to ask: why so thick? The Mini Pro is only slightly thicker despite having a fully-fledged slideout keyboard, so it would have been nice if the keyboard-less Mini was more svelte. Sony Ericsson is clearly going after the pocket- and handbag-conscious demographic here, who might not be all that receptive to the Mini's girth. SE also made some bold claims about the finger-friendliness of the Mini Pro's keyboard, which we were told were backed by usability tests against rival phones. Those trials were isolated to devices "in its size class" (of which there aren't many), but our first response was still very positive, at least once we turned on auto-correct. This will be a matter of personal preference, but we found ourselves enjoying not having to take care of every little slip of the finger. Anyway, settings adjusted appropriately, we bashed away on the Mini Pro rather speedily and would rate it right up there with the BlackBerry Bold 9700 in terms of our typing rapidity. Browser rendering has its flaws, there's a stuttery quality to zooming in and out of a page, but at least it's done quickly and Flash playback seems to work without a hitch. Update: Hands-on video now embedded after the break! Additional reporting by Sharif Sakr %Gallery-122901%
Sony Ericsson announces new generation of Xperia Mini and Mini Pro smartphones
Sony Ericsson has just outed a brand new pair of compact Xperia smartphones. The new Xperia Mini will run Android Gingerbread (2.3) on a 3-inch, multitouch, scratch-resistant display, which comes with Sony's proprietary Bravia Engine with Reality Display. There's a 1GHz processor inside, access to Android Market, and home screen customization with custom shortcuts available in the four corners of the screen. A 30 percent improvement in battery life is also touted, courtesy of a larger cell. SE is also pretty jolly about having the world's smallest smartphone capable of recording video in 720p HD. You'll be able to grab yours in one of four different colors this August. The new Xperia Mini Pro features the same 1GHz processor, 3-inch display, and 1200mAh battery, but it also adds a front-facing camera and that sliding QWERTY keyboard that made the original X10 Mini Pro such a favorite. The new model is coming at some point in the third quarter of this year. Sony Ericsson's launch presentation is still ongoing, but we'll have more details and hands-on pics as soon as we can. Update: Hands-on pics and impressions can be found right here! %Gallery-122891%
World's smallest Donkey Kong cabinet delivers authentic arcade experience for tiny fingers (video)
This, friends, is a work of art. Above is a stunning, fully-functional recreation of the original Donkey Kong arcade cabinet -- and it's only 8.25 inches tall. The accomplished modder Bender posted his handiwork on the Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum and it's sure to wow even the most cynical of folks. At the heart of this build is a hacked up GamePark GP2X Wiz running MAME, but it's the attention to detail, including the printed vinyl decals and light-up marquee, that really pull this (supposedly world's smallest) 1/8 scale project together. Check out the gallery below and the pair of lengthy demo videos after the break. En garde Mr. Heck! %Gallery-122811% [Thanks, Brian]
Samsung's ultrathin 11.6-inch 9 Series laptop appears in Italy, gets hands-on treatment (video)
We told you it was coming, and now it's here: the 11.6-inch little brother to Samsung's ultrathin 9 Series laptop. As we expected, the 900X1A sports a Core i3-380UM processor, 2GB of RAM, and 1366 x 768 resolution, but instead of the anticipated 64GB of memory, it's rocking the same 128GB SSD as its older sibling. We've yet to hear when the new 9 Series will make it across the pond, but it should be available in Europe starting April 1st for €1,200 -- and, if you like 'em small and skinny, you can check out a video of the 900X1A after the break. [Thanks, Marco]
Researchers tout self-repairing multi-core processors
The race for ever-tinier computer chips is on, and barring physical limitations, doesn't seem to be slowing anytime soon -- but with chips, as with humans, the smaller they get, the more fragile they become. A team of researchers called CRISP (Cutting edge Reconfigurable ICs for Stream Processing) is working to create a self-repairing multi-core processor that would allow on-chip components to keep on shrinking, while combating concerns over accelerated degradation. Basically, the team's conceptualized a chip that allows for 100 percent functionality, even with faulty components. With multiple cores sharing tasks, and a run-time resource manager doling out those tasks, the chip can continue to degrade without ever compromising its intended functions -- a process CRISP calls graceful degradation. Once one core fails, the on-chip manager assigns its task to another core, continuing on in this fashion for the complete lifetime of the chip. Of course the technology is still in its infancy, but if CRISP's chips comes to fruition, we could see virtually indestructible processors that make 14nm look bulky by comparison.
Researchers debut one-cubic-millimeter computer, want to stick it in your eye
This as-of-yet-unnamed mini computer was fashioned as an implantable eye pressure monitor for glaucoma patients, but its creators envision a future where we're all crawling with the little buggers. Taking up just over one cubic millimeter of space, the thing stuffs a pressure sensor, memory, thin-film battery, solar cell, wireless radio, and low-power microprocessor all into one very small translucent container. The processor behind this little guy uses an "extreme" sleep mode to keep it napping at 15-minute intervals and sucking up 5.3 nanowatts while awake, and its battery runs off 10 hours of indoor light or one and a half hours of sun beams. Using the sensor to measure eye pressure and the radio to communicate with an external reader, the system will continuously track the progress of glaucoma, without those pesky contacts. Of course, the mad scientists behind it look forward to a day when the tiny device will do much more, with each of us toting hundreds of the computer implants all over our bodies -- looks like a bright future for cyborgdom.
Intel 310 mSATA SSD knows that size matters, fits 80GB into less space than a credit card
Watch out, Toshiba, your tiny SSD modules aren't the only game in town for ludicrously small flash storage anymore. Intel's just announced a new SSD 310 line that offers spectacularly minimal 51mm by 30mm by 5mm dimensions, while retaining X25-class performance (up to 200MBps read and 80MBps write speeds). To give you an idea of what those measurements mean, the industry-standard 2.5-inch form factor, an already diminutive footprint, is eight times larger than these newfangled storage chips. 40GB and 80GB variants of the SSD 310 are shipping out to OEMs already and Lenovo has confirmed it plans to roll these into its next refresh of the venerable ThinkPad laptop line. Prices are set at $99 and $179 (depending on size) when bought in batches of 1,000, though direct sales to end users are predictably off the table for now. Better start saving up for that next ultrathin laptop if you want one.
AMD teases Bobcat Fusion APUs again, delivers Atom-busting performance (video)
A quick refresher: Bobcat is AMD's low-power Accelerated Processing Unit that can handle both computational and graphical duties, Ontario and Zacate are the chips built upon that core, and Brazos is the overall platform that they'll be doing their work on. Clear enough? We hope so. AMD has finally allowed a few tech pubs to get their hands on Brazos-based systems and, along with feedback about their experience, the guys have come back with some added spec notes. There'll be two initial Zacate options, the dual-core E-350 running at 1.6GHz or the single-core E-240 clocked at 1.5GHz, while Ontario will offer 1GHz dual-core and 1.2GHz single-core variants. Let's not forget that both are intended for netbooks and lithe desktop computers before writing them off as too slow -- which would be a mistake anyway as the sites that got a chance to play with the E-350 reported very respectable performance. HardOCP dared to try out Crysis and managed to get it chugging along at a resolution around 720p, whereas Hot Hardware witnessed a 1080p video clip being played back perfectly smoothly alongside an instance of Hyper Pi maxing out the CPU load. Benchmark results will have to wait for another day, but feel free to peruse the links below for a more detailed breakdown of the new architecture.
Nissan New Mobility Concept EV seats two, looks to a more sustainable future (video)
Nissan's Leaf may be the company's one-size-fits-all EV play for the mainstream market, but the company is apparently not content with just the one horse in its electric stable. Unveiled today at its Yokohama HQ, the Nissan New Mobility Concept is a teeny tiny two-person transporter that aims to solve the problems of commuting in high-density urban and tourist environments. You'll notice there's only one seat in the image above and videos after the break, but we're still talking about a proposed design here rather than the finished article. Range is set at 100km (62 miles) and maximum speed is 75kph (47mph), both of which should betray the little doorless vehicle's humble ambitions. Skip past the break to see it gliding around soundlessly inside Nissan's vast halls.
Swiss labs build credit card-sized projector for cellphones, operating rooms, and more
We're used to seeing far-out technology from Swiss firm EPFL, from glider / robots to thought-controlled wheel chairs, and now it looks like a spin-off company of the labs, Lemoptix, has greatly upped the pico projector stakes with one such device that rocks a projector head a mere cubic centimeter, with the whole thing squeezing into an area smaller than a credit card. According to research director Maher Kayal, the device uses "tiny mirrors of less than a millimeter's thickness. Positioned on a silicon (wafer) disc, they reflect red, blue and green laser beams," to project VGA (640 x 480) images onto a surface equivalent to a 15-inch screen. Possible uses range from consumer electronics such as cellphones and PMPs, HUDs for automobiles, and even operating rooms, where medical info can be projected onto the surgeon's work area, reducing the time he spends looking at a screen. There's no telling what the cost will be, but you can look forward to seeing it hit the shelves "early next year."
