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Aigo A8 / Leo 14 megapixel cameraphone hands-on (video)
We were wandering the floor at CES just before the end of the show when we stumbled upon this oddly familiar device. It's the Aigo A8 -- née Altek Leo -- an Android cameraphone (more like a phonecamera, really) destined for China Unicom that sports a 14 megapixel autofocus camera with a CCD sensor, xenon flash, 3x optical zoom, and support for 720p HD video recording. Of course, we wasted no time taking this rare beast for a spin, even going so far as to sample the camera. Take a look at the pictures below, followed by more information -- and videos -- after the break. %Gallery-113767% %Gallery-113769%
Best of CES 2011
Maybe, just maybe, you've noticed that Engadget relocated this past week to the City of Sin for CES 2011. Oh yes, we set up camp in a double-wide trailer, liveblogged our hearts out, combed the show floor, and worked our rear ends off to bring you more gadget news than you ever thought possible. It's true, we've written over 720 posts (40 or so about tablets alone!), shot more than 180 videos, and brought you over 350 photo galleries in the last seven days. That's a ton of technology news and products, but naturally, only certain ones have been able to rise above the rest and stick out in our scary collective hive-mind. With that said, we've complied our annual best of list for you, so hit the break and feast your eyes on what are bound to be some of the best products of the new year.
Rullingnet's Vinci tablet is a rugged Galaxy Tab for babies, we go hands-on (video)
As technology advances, so do babies. Seriously, it's amazing how often we see toddlers finding their way round smartphones and tablets these days, but according to Rullingnet founder Dr. Dan D. Yang, a lot of these products or apps are either too predictable or too dull to inspire the younglings, especially her own two-year-old daughter. As such, Dr. Yang came up with the Vinci tablet, which is essentially a seven-inch Android Froyo tablet bundled with educational 3D games, music videos and animated storybooks for ages of three and under. The prototype we saw was actually a Galaxy Tab housed within a rubber frame, but Rullingnet is working with Samsung to produce a similar-looking 1.3-pound device sporting a flush spill-proof housing, an unnamed Cortex-A8 processor, a 3 megapixel camera on the back, and a microSD slot. Wireless components are removed to reduce radiation exposed to children, but parents will be able to install or upgrade apps via the micro-USB port. Expect to see a late Q1 or early Q2 release for about $479. For now, have a look at one of the preloaded games after the break. %Gallery-113839%
Velocity Micro Cruz Watch hands-on preview
We've always liked the idea of having a Bluetooth watch streaming feeds from our phones, because deep down inside, we all want to act like special agents in public. Sadly, there aren't many of these wearables to choose from in the present market. In fact, with the inPulse smartwatch for BlackBerry seemingly stuck in limbo, what we have left is the Europe-only Sony Ericsson LiveView for Android, and maybe something nice from Fossil as well if its concept design gets picked up. To seize this opportunity, Velocity Micro is now working on its own connected Android watch -- currently known as the Cruz Watch -- that's destined for the sub-$200 market in mid-Q2 2011. Here's what we learned about this cool-looking prototype during our exclusive hands-on at CES: in many ways, it's conceptually identical to the LiveView -- it's a watch, it's a Facebook feeds reader, it's a multimedia remote control (for Android's music app and Android-powered TVs), and it can show you incoming caller IDs. While the Cruz Watch may be a bit of a lightweight when it comes to apps, its hardware certainly bests SE's offering in several ways: for starters, it has a full touchscreen that takes swipe and tap gesture inputs (instead of using navigation touch controls on the bezel), and it sports a 1.8-inch LCD instead of a 1.3-inch OLED display. There are also a few software features that we dig, especially with the interchangeable clock face: two analog, two digital; and the incoming call notifier pulls the caller's profile photo from your contact list, which is something that the LiveView can't do. We're told that since this watch is powered by Android 2.0 (and possibly something different on retail units), Velocity Micro might be able to implement app installation in the near future, so we shall see. Video walkthrough after the break. %Gallery-113737%
Verizon iPhone first hands-on! (update: video)
We just got a look at the Verizon version of the iPhone 4. Guess what? It's just like an iPhone 4! There's no custom pre-loaded Verizon software (like VCAST or some such bloatware), just that mobile hotspot tweak in the settings menu. There's also no Verizon branding on the phone, though that's hardly a surprise given Apple's hatred of all logos that aren't its own. The only real physical difference we can find are those tweaked CDMA-compatible antennas running around the edge -- four in all, placed symmetrically and bumping down the volume / mute buttons. Interestingly, the phone is running iOS version 4.2.5, so perhaps that mobile hotspot functionality will make its way over to other iPhones when they sync up on iOS updates. We did try a speed test, clearing the cache and loading various sites simultaneously on the Verizon phone and our AT&T device, and while there were variations in the load times, there were too many external factors to really make a judgment call just yet. %Gallery-113856% %Gallery-113857%
Verizon's iPhone 4 has a CDMA-specific antenna, no other changes made
Would you look at that, Verizon's iPhone 4 has four notches punctuating its external antenna array -- one more than you may find on AT&T's version, with the top notch migrating to the side. Before you all jump on conspiracy theories about fixes and such, Tim Cook has just confirmed on stage that changes had to be made to work on the CDMA network, meaning that for users this is pretty much an aesthetic alteration. Otherwise, you're looking at an almost identical device to what AT&T users have been enjoying since June of last year -- savvy nerds will just be able to tell the CDMA version apart at one glance.
eBay's mobile app strategy shared at CES
When I went to meet up with eBay at last week's CES conference, I went to a booth run not by that company, but by a company called RedLaser. Started by two U of Michigan grads, RedLaser is an eBay acquisition that has released a barcode scanning app for the iPhone that will scan your products and give you back consumer information about them. Rob Veres is the Senior Director of eBay Mobile and General Manager of RedLaser, and he kindly sat down to tell us about the trading site's current apps and future in the mobile space. "We try new things all the time," Veres told me. "In the case of mobile, we had a pretty strong conviction early that mobile was going to be big." And indeed it is -- the eBay app has gone through a few changes and updates since it was released a while ago, but there have been 15 million total downloads of eBay's mobile apps so far. Last year, the company saw a whopping $2 billion in sales come through mobile devices alone. Back in November, the company merged what were two separate buying and selling apps, and that's when the RedLaser technology was added to the main app. Click on to read more about what eBay's up to on the iPhone, as well as see a video of the "See it On" augmented reality feature seen above.
Aiken Labs shows off modular motion-sensing game kit, we give it a swing (video)
If you're looking to get your motion-controlled gaming fix, there are plenty of ways to go -- cameras, electromagnets and accelerometers, for starts -- but most figure you'll buy a single peripheral, a few plastic accessories, and call it a day. That's not the Aiken way. North Carolina startup Aiken Labs wants to sell you a set of tiny boxes that you can stick on any body part or toy you own, each with a full inertial measurement package (three-axis accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope) inside. The boxes connect to a base station over 802.15.4 wireless that doubles as a USB recharging unit for the lot, and you can connect up to eight modules to track 24 degrees of freedom at a time. It's not an elegant solution, to tell you the truth, particularly given the hacked-together nature of the prototype devices we saw on the CES 2011 floor, but we love the idea of simply affixing a box to a helmet to get instant head-tracking support in our favorite PC titles. Inventor Chris Aiken tells us a starter set will ship for about $300 with two sensors and the base station in the second quarter of this year -- additional sensors should run $100 each -- and you can see what it looks like in a video right after the break. %Gallery-113714%
Etymotic EB1 and EB15 earplugs hands-on
Etymotic, a company we've seen here at CES and in the past, has developed a pair of earplugs that protect your hearing against things like loud explosions and gunfire. The EB1 and EB15 Electronic Blast PLG Earplugs, retailing for $449 and $499, respectively, are aimed toward buyers such as hunters, musicians and soldiers -- folks who are exposed to loud noises and need protection. The analog earpieces are powered by a 312 hearing-aid battery and will last three weeks. There's no on/off switch -- just a high and low gain control. High gain is used for environments that require an amplification and the opposite applies for low gain. In other words, if a soldier is out on the battlefield and needs to hear an enemy inside a house, he'd switch to high gain to generate a louder sound. The difference between the plugs is simple: the EB1 is for people who are going to be around one-off noises and the EB15 are for those who are going to be exposed to prolonged noises. We got a chance to test out the plugs on the loud show floor and we gotta say, the difference between high- and low-gain modes is easily recognizable and we feel like these earplugs will make superb head-hole protectors. Plenty of complicated graphs and numbers in the gallery below. %Gallery-113772%
Seen at CES: Blinged-out iPhone and iPad cases
This intriguing (and shiny!) M.C. Escher case was seen in the CES booth of one Lux Mobile last week. The custom case was made with over 18,000 Swarovski crystals and was apparently made in the good old US of A, "one crystal at a time." Pretty snazzy, no? Lux Mobile does carry this case in a standard non-crystal form (and we're told it's a popular model), but that's not nearly as fun. One more note here: the custom-made crystal case on display above costs a whopping $3000 -- just about six times the value of the iPad it's actually supposed to hold. Check out a few more of Lux's blinged-out iDevice cases after the break, including a pink Ed Hardy monstrosity that would keep Jonathan Ive up at night.
ViewSonic ViewPad 10 and 10s hands-on
Wait, doesn't the ViewPad 10 look oddly familiar? Remember when we reviewed the Tegatech Tega v2 back in October? Well, we think it's safe to say that the ViewPad is a rebranded version of the same tablet. ViewSonic swapped some internals and moved to a smaller 16GB SSD, but it's still the same 1.66GHz Intel Atom processor underneath. The tablet dual-boots Windows 7 Home Premium and Android 1.6 (sans MarketPlace access). Both operating systems run smoothly, and yes, you can pinch to zoom. Some inputs on the machine include USB 2.0, mini-HDMI, microSD and 3.5mm headphone jack. The 10-incher also sports a 1.3 megapixel shooter on the front for your video chatting needs. The company says it'll retail for around $629 when it ships next month. %Gallery-113533% The 10's sister, the 10s (also a 10.1-inch slate), is launching later this month. However, this tablet is running a skinned version of Android 2.2 on Tegra 2. On the top of the device you'll find the power button, orientation lock and back button. Don't ask us why the back button is up there -- we're just as puzzled as you are. On the right side, you'll find a hinged door hiding an HDMI, USB 2.0 and Micro SD slot. Don't worry, there's a 3.5mm headphone port and volume rocker so you can awkwardly rock out connected to the giant gadget piece. The 10s is only launching in Europe, Asia and Russia and is said to cost a rounded 430 smackaroos. %Gallery-113534%
Samsung CA750 wireless Central Station eyes-on
We heard a brief mention of Samsung's Central Station during its first press event, but it wasn't until we had a chance to check it out for ourselves on the floor did we really understand how the monitor / wireless docking station worked. Turns out it's thanks to a USB dongle that connects the laptop in question to the rest of the setup. A clever idea, for sure, but we'd definitely need to put it through the ringer before we'd suggest. The 23-inch and 27-inch models are coming in March with prices as-yet unspoken. Enjoy the pictures below! %Gallery-113761%
Real Networks' GameHouse division finds a home on the App Store
On our way around last week's CES ShowStoppers event (where we met up with none other than T-Pain), I was surprised to see that Real Networks had a booth. They were big time back in the days when RealPlayer ruled internet streaming, but these days, I haven't seen much of them around. Turns out they're still kicking, though -- in addition to the streaming services, the company has been running an acquired arcade site called GameHouse (basically the successor to the old RealArcade), and that division has been releasing games on one of our favorite platforms: the iOS App Store. Sure enough, the popular Sally's Salon game is a GameHouse title, and Tiki Towers is another popular title from the company. We were shown two new iPad games from GameHouse -- the first was called Bad Air Day, and it has a pretty nauseous premise. You play as a hotel elevator bellhop with a farting problem, and as your little guy cuts the cheese, it's the player's job to swipe the touchscreen and direct the green gas around. Aside from the bathroom premise, the game has some interesting almost physics-based gameplay, as you need to clear the gas past the customers and into a ceiling fan, or onto a fart fairy who actually likes the smell. The other game we saw was Table Twister, a word game with rotating letter tiles on a table, that requires up to four players to drag the tiles off and create words as quickly as possible. Both were simple, but fun, and they were pretty polished -- GameHouse seems to know what its doing after quite a bit of iOS experience. "Games is a core business" for the company, the representative told us. As I said, I was surprised to see the old familiar Real logo (and those of us who counted on web streaming years ago can still see it spinning in our dreams and/or nightmares) at the show, but it's interesting to know that the company is growing well on the iOS platform.
The Engadget Podcast Show 005: CES 2011 Part 5 - 01.10.2011 (video)
This fifth and final CES 2011 Showcast is multimedia-enhanced. You can order a CD-ROM of the Engadget Podcast Show 005 by faxing $14.99 + shipping and handling to Joshua Topolsky c/o The Little Yellow AOL Man, 9999 Microprocessor Circle, Silicon Valley, USA 99999. Act now and we'll throw in a stress ball that's shaped like the earth and an integrated circuit at the same time. Or just click on any of the hyperlinks listed below! Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, Nilay PatelGuests: Chris Ziegler, Myriam Joire, Darren Murph, Ross Miller, Ben Drawbaugh, Richard Lawler, Thomas RickerProducer: Trent WolbeMusic: Law & OrderZardoz: Nick Criscuolo00:06:56 - Live from AT&T's Developer Summit00:13:01 - Motorola Atrix 4G, HD multimedia dock, and laptop dock hands-on00:24:20 - Razer Switchblade preview: 3G, Intel Oak Trail, almost definitely going on sale00:33:10 - Audiovox to buy Klipsch, we can't help but worry00:35:43 - Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface hands-on with video! (update)00:39:52 - Lady Gaga's Polaroid digital camera, printer, and glasses hands-on00:45:38 - Gateway Media Console with CableCARD and Windows Embedded Standard 7 hands-on00:48:15 - Samsung will offer access to TV, VOD from Time Warner & Comcast on its Galaxy Tab, TVs00:57:30 - Vizio CES hands-on with ultrawidescreen TV, passive 3DTV, OnLive and Android clock radios01:11:30 - LG Thinq linqs your smart appliances with WiFi and smartphone apps01:16:20 - Apple AirPlay devices set to explode in 201101:22:45 - Verizon iPhone: everything you need to know01:32:18 - Motorola Xoom becomes official, headed to Verizon in Q1, upgradeable to 4G in Q2Hear the podcastSubscribe to the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune MarketplaceDownload the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)LISTEN (OGG)Download the videoiPhone/Zune formatted Mobile 3G 720p HDContact the podcast1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget @zpower @tnkgrl @ohnorosco @bjdraw @trixxy @rjcc
4G at CES 2011: AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile make big moves
Traditionally, CES isn't a huge mobile event -- the biggest phone news has historically been saved for MWC in February and CTIA in March -- but that changed in a huge way this week. Looks like 2011 is shaping up to be the year of 4G, and both carriers and manufacturers alike wasted no time jumping on the hype bandwagon with a variety of announcements that promise to make the next few months exciting... and really, really fast. AT&T kicked things off early in the show, but it was just the beginning of a relentless torrent of mobile news that lasted for days and ultimately left us with a pile of devices and network upgrades that should take us at least through the middle of the year. Read on for the recap!
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%
QNX Car concept with PlayBook integration hands-on (video)
Okay, we've seen an iPad on a dashboard. Ready for some in-car PlayBook action? Recent RIM acquisition QNX is all over it, showing off what it calls simply QNX Car. It's a basic reference implementation of some technology that will be running the infotainment systems of cars in the coming years -- though they'll surely look very different than this by then. QNX is showing how it can pull media from multiple sources, like an iPhone, use Message Access Protocol Bluetooth to pull data from a BlackBerry, and even use Terminal Mode to replicate the UI of something like the PlayBook. Plus, the PlayBook was able to change climate control settings in the car. The company is also working on what it's called the Simple UI Protocol. It's basically a lowest-common-denominator smartphone integration -- something like Ford's AppLink that, in theory, will work regardless of the app or the hardware on the car. It's very limited, allowing just two lines of text and a few icons to be sent from the phone to the car, and just two buttons (left and right) to be sent back to the phone as controls. The idea is to remove any aspect of driver distraction and to provide AppLink-like functionality in a standard, non OEM-specific way, which we like. But, it's so limited in scope we're not sure just how useful it would be. See for yourself after the break. %Gallery-113595%
A look at BPG Motors amazing, transforming, self-balancing Uno (video)
One thing we're learning at CES is that the future of transportation is, apparently, pretty weird looking. The EN-V or YikeBike not odd enough? Check out the Uno from BPG Motors, a tricycle that transforms into a self-balancing, two-wheeled... thing. It's gained a wheel since the last time we saw it, a front fork that folds in between the rear wheels and the whole thing starts balancing when you need to go through some tight spaces and then, when it's time to go faster (up to around 30 or 35mph) that wheel pivots out, the whole thing lowers, and away it goes. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to pivot the thing at the show, but we have a video of the transformation after the break along with a little walk-around of the thing. Trust us: you'll want to watch them both. %Gallery-113484%
CES 2011 sees big boost in attendance, CES 2012 scheduled way more sensibly
Good news for people who love bad good news. According to IDG News, this year's Consumer Electronics Show saw around 140,000 people descend upon it, which pretty much destroys the estimate of 126,000 attendees. We're told that around 126,000 humans showed up last year to see Palm introduce webOS 1.4 (and for everyone else to introduce an e-reader), while just 113,000 booked a ticket to Las Vegas for CES 2009. The last time this quantity of Earthlings arrived in the desert to get their geek on was CES 2008, or in other terms, the last year that life as we knew it was halfway normal. There's no question that we felt as if the floor was teeming with people, and the show in general just felt more alive than usual. Furthermore, we're being hit with even more amazing news from the show floor: the official show dates for 2012. Rather than pushing CES up against a pair of holidays in Christmas and New Year's Day, the Consumer Electronics Association has finally seen fit to bump things forward a week. CES 2012 will officially be held January 10th through 13th, and we're guessing that most of the press events will start on the 8th or 9th. Sadly, we weren't able to go three for three with outstanding news today -- the show is still slated to be held in Las Vegas, so we're apologizing in advance to the internationals who will once again wonder how a place overran with neon, grotesque paper cards at every street corner and a public transportation system that only stops once every five minutes could be so highly touted.
N-Control Avenger Xbox 360 attachment gets a CES overview (video)
The scariest looking peripheral at CES 2011? Possibly. But for those looking to gain a split-second edge on the competition, the N-Control Avenger just may be the solution Xbox 360 gamers have been looking for. Announced just a couple of months ago, the company was here in Las Vegas to actually demonstrate a fully functional model. But simply, it straps onto your first-party 360 controller, adding triggers, straps, cables and all sorts of other contraptions that aim to give you improved alternatives to pressing buttons (while freeing your thumbs up to more accurately operate the analog joysticks). Enough talk -- hop on past the break to see how exactly this $60 shell gets down to business. %Gallery-113452%
