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Bird Buddy's latest smart feeder offers a closer look at hummingbirds
Bird Buddy is expanding its line of camera-equipped smart bird feeders with a new model for hummingbirds.
Robotics kit steers kids away from complex code, toward fun projects
You''ve likely come into contact with one of the many wondrous robots with an Arduino brain, but actually building one yourself? That's hard enough for adults, let alone young kids. BirdBrain Technologies, the brains behind the Hummingbird Arduino Kickstarter project (along with Carnegie Mellon University) feels the same way and has just launched the Hummingbird Duo, a robotics Kickstarter project for kids "10 to 110." It's designed to ease the robotics learning curve with two boards: the original Hummingbird kit to help younger kids start making projects, and a "Leonardo" board for when they've gathered some experience. You'll get the same building blocks like LEDs, vibration motors, servers and sensors from the original kit, along with an integrated motor/servo shield and improved connectors on the second board.
Google gives search a new engine and card UI for mobile, reveals new iOS search app
Google's feeling a bit nostalgic lately: in fact, today is the company's 15th anniversary. However, its look at the past is a fleeting thing, and Big G is very much focused on the future. To that end, Senior VP of Search, Amit Singhal just revealed a host of new features for search. First up, tablet and mobile users will be seeing a new card-based UI that's been making its way across all of Google's services, and has defined the look of Google Now since its inception. In addition to providing a consistent brand appearance, the new look arrives in tandem with an improvement to the Knowledge Graph that delivers an easier way for folks to drill down on answers to their queries. For example, when searching for a particular band, a card will pop up at the top with a list of songs that you can scroll from side to side. In another example, search answered a comparison query with an expandable, columned chart card that displayed pertinent info about the two things asked to be compared. Plus, you'll be able to see other cards with web and other results at the same time, instead of needing to navigate between pages to see all the results. In keeping with the updated aesthetics on Android, Google's also rolling out a new-look version of its iOS search app. The new app version will put users directly in a Google Now interface that'll feel familiar to Android users, and brings notifications, reminders and hotwording to Apple-philes. Furthermore, the search app is now cross-platform, so if you add a reminder in iOS, it'll show up on Android and vice-versa.
Butlers, lunar rovers, snakes and airboats: the best of Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute
How was your week? We got to spend a couple of days trekking around the Carnegie Mellon campus in Pittsburgh, PA to check out some of the latest projects from the school's world renowned Robotics Institute -- a trip that culminated with the bi-annual induction ceremony from the CMU-sponsored Robot Hall of Fame. Given all the craziness of the past seven days, you might have missed some of the awesomeness, but fear not, we've got it all for you here in one handy place -- plus a couple of videos from the trip that we haven't shown you yet. Join us after the break to catch up.
Hummingbird is a 'pre-Arduino' for kids (video)
It's an Arduino -- you know, for kids. Or, as BirdBrain Technologies' chief robot design Tom Lauwers put it, a "pre-Arduino." It's never too early to get kids into robot building -- or so goes the thought process behind this nectar-loving kit. At its center is a custom controller that can be used to manipulate a slew of different sensors, motors and lights, a number of which are included in the box. Getting started is extremely simple -- don't believe us? Check the video after the break, in which Lauwers connects two wires to get the whole process underway. The kit's also reasonably priced at $199 a piece. On top of the controller, you get a handful of LEDs, two vibration motors, four servos and light, temperature, distance and sound sensors. The kits are currently available through the company's site (click on that source link). Lauwers tells us that his company (which you may remember from last year's MakerFaire NYC) is working on a slightly more affordable option priced at around $130, which scales back a bit on the in-box components. Check out a conversation with Lauwers -- and a pretty awesome cardboard dragon -- below.
iRiver's MX100 Android tablet spotted in China? (video)
iRiver has spent the past couple of years testing the e-reader waters, but the company may now be ready to plunge into the deeper end of the pool, with its first Android tablet. A blogger in Korea recently spotted the slate, believed to be the seven-inch MX100, during an iRiver event in China. According to the source, it's powered by a 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird core, runs on Android 2.2 Froyo and is equipped with 802.11b/g/n WiFi -- not exactly cutting-edge stuff, but at least it's not Bubble Yum-flavored. There's been no official confirmation from iRiver yet, nor do we have any details on pricing or availability, but you can head past the break to see a semi-recent commercial from LG U+, in which the MX100 makes a brief cameo around the 0:15 mark.
T-Mobile announces June availability for Samsung Exhibit 4G and Gravity Smart
We've heard rumblings that Samsung's Exhibit 4G would be making its way to T-Mob on June 8, but now the carrier has confirmed that the Gingerbread smartphone will be available sometime in June. The Exhibit will join Samsung's Gravity Smart, both featuring grounded sub-$100 price tags (after $50 rebate) when they hit stores. T-Mob is displaying the Exhibit with violet and black finishes, and says you'll see "theoretical" peak download speeds of 21Mbps on the HSPA + handset. As for the Smart, the carrier's first Android-powered Gravity smartphone will launch with 2.2 Froyo, and includes a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, so you'll be sending Group Texts to 50 of your closest friends with four rows of hardware keys. Both phones include 3 megapixel rear-facing cameras with flashes, while the Exhibit adds a front-facing cam as well, so that myTouch 4G girl may be hawking a new smartphone on your TV later this month.
Samsung Exhibit 4G coming to T-Mobile on June 8th?
It wasn't even two weeks ago that we first glimpsed the Samsung Exhibit 4G for T-Mobile in the wild (and spied its FCC footprint). Now it looks like this Gingerbread phone will go on sale June 8th -- if this flyer sent in to TmoNews is to be believed. Still no word on pricing, though we know dealers will pay $325 a pop. To recap, a peek at the filing and unauthorized photos reveals the Exhibit 4G is an HSPA + handset running TouchWiz on top of Android 2.3, with front and rear-facing cameras, an LED flash in the back, and a microSD card slot. The site's sources also suggest the phone will pack a 1GHz Hummingbird CPU and a 3 megapixel back camera, a departure from the speculation we were treated to earlier this month. In any case, it looks like T-Mobile will set the record straight in a matter of weeks.
WiFi Galaxy Tab running on an older CPU than its 3G siblings?
If you bought a WiFi-only Galaxy Tab, you probably assumed you were getting the same seven-inch slate that others have been enjoying since November, just without a 3G radio and burdensome two-year contract. Turns out it's worth poring over those specifications on the rear of the packaging. We've yet to get a confirmation from Samsung, but it appears the company swapped out its Hummingbird processor for an older "1GHz Cortex A8" chip with a slower GPU. The Galaxy Tab carriers have been hawking packs a PowerVR SGX 540, but some folks over at the XDA Developers forums have discovered that its WiFi-only sibling is rolling with the previous-gen SGX530. The specs on the Samsung site also lists Bluetooth 2.1 instead of 3.0 -- yet another significant downgrade. We guess the company had to make some trade offs to hit that $350 price point, but we don't have to like it.
Droid Charge review
We're still shaking our heads and sighing longingly at the performance of Samsung's Galaxy S II, a phone that wowed us in Europe but likely won't be coming to American shores for some time -- and who knows what it'll look like when it does. But don't get too down, dear reader, because here comes another slice of Samsung and this slab has that same 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display tucked in there. It's a little less slim, a little less classy, and a little less quick than Sammy's latest world-conquering wunderphone, but the LTE-equipped Charge is a proper contender in its own right. Read on to see why.
Sidekick 4G review
It's been nearly two years since we last reviewed a T-Mobile Sidekick, and it would be a vast understatement to say things have changed. Then, they were designed by Danger and manufactured by Sharp, and were the messaging phone of choice. Today, following fiasco and failure, the Sidekick empire is in ruins. But good ideas and their originators live on, and several of Danger's brightest wound up in Mountain View, California. Danger's Andy Rubin founded Android, design director Mattias Duarte built Honeycomb (after helping craft the Helio Ocean and webOS for Palm) and now, the Sidekick itself has joined its founders in the house that Google built. In many ways, the Sidekick 4G is a return to form, but in an ecosystem filled with similar Android devices, can it stand out from the crowd? %Gallery-122540%
RadioShack to get T-Mobile Sidekick 4G on April 20th
While T-Mobile's staying coy about the Sidekick 4G's availability, RadioShack went ahead and gave us the final piece of the puzzle: according to one of its latest tweets, said Android phone is heading to the Shack on April 20th. Oh yes, this just so happens to be the rumored date for the G-Slate and G2X as well. Coincidence? Only time will tell, and let's hope that this doesn't end up being an April Fool's joke -- well, at least the Shack would have something to blame if it actually misheard the information over the phone.
DARPA-funded Nano Hummingbird spybot takes flight (video)
We were plenty impressed when we saw the initial tests of AeroVironment's robo-hummingbird -- now officially dubbed the Nano Hummingbird -- but we can't say they quite prepared us for the final product that the DARPA-funded company is now showing off. Not only does the bot look and fly like a real hummingbird (at least if you don't look too closely), but it packs a built-in camera and a downlink of some sort that's capable of transmitting live video. According to the company, the hummingbird's also able to hover for up to eight minutes, reach speeds of eleven miles per hour in forward flight, and remain stable in wind gusts of five miles per hour -- not to mention make a perfect landing. Head on past the break to check it out in action -- it may well be one of the few chances you're actually able to see one in the wild.
Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 preview (video)
Well, would you look at what we found chilling at Samsung's booth here at MWC? Yep, it's that Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 we heard about just the other day, and it's one interesting tablet / media player hybrid. We'd be inclined to call this thing a Streak 5 or Acer 4.8 Iconia competitor, but it doesn't have a trace of cellular or 3G connectivity. We were, however, able to confirm what it does have -- it packs a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, a 800 x 480-resolution display, a 5 megapixel camera with a flash, and a 2500mAH battery. On the software front, it runs Android 2.2 (although it will be upgradable to Gingerbread) and TouchWiz. Oh, and it has the full suite of Google applications (YouTube, Gmail, Google Chat, etc.) and access to the Market. So, what's it like? Well, it looks like an enlarged Galaxy Player (or what is now known as the Galaxy S WiFi 4.0), which really means it looks like Galaxy S smartphone and the Galaxy Tab mashup. The white slippery back clearly looks like our Sprint Galaxy Tab, but the thinner design and rounded edges remind us of a Vibrant or Fascinate. It's really a very "Samsung" device, and we don't mean that in a bad way -- the plastic build feels pretty solid and the screen seemed very high quality. As for performance, it seemed fairly quick and a preloaded video played rather smoothly. We wish we had more information on when this one was going to land stateside, but a rep on hand would only tell us that it will be hitting Korea this month and other countries soon. Check the break for a short hands-on look at this guy and the galleries below for some close up shots. %Gallery-116584% %Gallery-116586%
Enspert Identity Tab E301 and E201 hands-on preview
Android tablets aren't exactly in short supply at CES 2011, but the Enspert Identity Tab stands out -- despite hailing from a manufacturer we'd never heard of before the show. Enspert's got two slick 7-inch slates on the floor, and while the E201 mostly cribs from Samsung's WiFi-only Galaxy Tab -- right down to a 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird chip -- the flagship Enspert E301 pumps up the pixel density with a 1024 x 600 capacitive touchscreen, adds an all-metal case, a mobile DTV antenna, and 3G connectivity. We poked and prodded these tablets all over and got a peek at the full spec sheets, so after you peruse our gallery below, hit the break for details! Update: It seems Enspert isn't new to the Android game at all -- it's actually Inbrics, which renamed itself after acquiring a semiconductor design firm early last year. %Gallery-113487%%Gallery-113488%
Meizu M9 escapes the Great Wall of China, unofficially available for global Android addicts
If you've been closely following Meizu, chances are you would've heard about the wild M9 launch across China from just a few days ago. Sadly, said smartphone maker told us that it has absolutely no interest in reaching out to other countries in the near future, but potential foreign buyers now have an option: Hong Kong-based DealExtreme is offering the 8GB Android Froyo device for $449 -- a $70 markup -- with free shipping. Not a bad alternative to the M9's Hummingbird buddy Galaxy S that goes for about $570 sans contract, and bear in mind that the former is still the first Android phone to sport a 3.5-inch 960 x 640 display. Maybe this is a good time to spend your holiday cash. [Thanks, Dave; original image credit: Getty Images]
Nexus S overclocked to 1.2GHz, runs too damn fast for its Bluetooth to work
Even at its default 1GHz speed, Samsung's Hummingbird is one of the finest mobile processor around, but are you really going to complain about getting the option to crank an extra 200 milion clock cycles out of it? Morfic over on the xda-developers forums has delivered a kernel permitting Nexus S owners to achieve just that, although he still has to fix an issue that disables the phone's Bluetooth capabilities.Still, if you value ludicrous speed over wireless peripherals, the source link is your friend.
Meizu M9 ripped apart, out flies a Hummingbird processor
You've seen Jack Wong's baby from every angle and taken a deep dive through the UI -- now, feast your eyes on the juicy silicon insides. Forumgoers at gadget portal 163.com and Soomal cracked open the Retina Display-wielding device this week, and there's a good bit to see. Sure enough, there's the 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird we were promised, some TriQuint communication chips, and a lot of tiny covers on a fairly stacked little board. Check out our source links for the full teardown; you'll find plenty more pics where this one came from.
How would you change Sprint's Epic 4G?
It's the only Galaxy S variant to offer 4G connectivity, but it's also the only one that requires a $10/month data surcharge to use. That boost in cost will undoubtedly bring higher expectations, and we're eager to hear from early adopters on how their Epic 4G experience has been. For those who skipped over the EVO 4G in order to get this, we're keenly interested to find out if you've been satisfied with the decision. How's that slide-out QWERTY keyboard treating you? Would you have changed up the UI any? Would you have added any of the quirks from those other Galaxy S versions to this guy? Speak loudly in comments below. But not too loudly. More like a stern whisper.
Samsung's YP-MB2 Android PMP spotted again in the wild, inches ever closer to release
It ain't the first time this chef-d'oeuvre has been spotted in the wild, but it's the first time that we're confident in believing the YP-MB2 is legitimate. The smoke that leads to fire is getting harder to duck under, and for all intents and purposes, this here device is a Galaxy S sans cellular connectivity. We're told that a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 1GHz processor, WiFi, Bluetooth, 3 megapixel camera and Android OS will be featured, and it sure feels like it'll be released first in South Korea. Apple may be planning a Fall event for the next big iPod announcement, but at least this go 'round some presumably worthwhile competition will be breathing down its neck. Now, if only we knew a price...
