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Concept smartwatch uses the whole screen as a joystick
It ain't easy using a smartwatch, especially if you have gigantic fingers. So, a team from Carnegie Mellon University developed a concept smartwatch that turns the whole screen into one relatively big input mechanism. By that, we mean you can pan, twist, zoom, tilt and click the screen by physically moving the watchface -- the whole thing (sans the bracelet) is essentially a joystick. As you can see in the video after the break, the team ported a bunch of apps to show how the technology works. Since the device features several ways to interact with software, it's a lot easier to set the time, scroll down a calendar and navigate a map. And, yes, the technology makes it possible to play Doom quite effectively even on a tiny screen. Now we can only hope that someone with serious design chops comes and transforms this fledgling tech into a smartwatch that actually looks good.
The concept restaurant of the future: iBeacons, motion detection and smartglass service (video)
An invitation to see a "future restaurant" covered in highfalutin tech concepts was shaping up to be a highlight of our week. According to Recruit Advanced Technology Lab's teaser, it was going to encompass smartglasses, augmented reality, gesture interfaces, customer face identification, avatars, seamless wireless payments and more, all hosted at Eggcellent, a Tokyo restaurant that... specializes in egg cuisine. The demonstrations might not have reached the polished levels of the dreamy intro video, but the concept restaurant at least attempted to keep all of its demos grounded in reality. iBeacons through Bluetooth for food orders and payments, iPads that interacted with a conveyor-belt order projection, Wii Remotes that transform normal TVs into interactive ones and a Kinect sensor to upgrade Japan's maid café waitresses into goddesses -- well, at least that's one idea.
Augmented reality concept uses Google Glass to make reading the newspaper more like... reading a website
As part of the Wearable Tech Expo 2014 in Tokyo, the Asahi Shimbun is looking to offer richer content to users still reading its dead tree editions. The 'AIR' concept uses wearable du jour Google Glass to both detect physical markers and display any digital companion content. According to Asahi's Media Lab, the concept's aim is to better broadcast and convey "emotional" content: a picture of Winter Olympics skater Asada Mao gets picked up and Google Glass barrels into a slideshow, alongside a stirring soundtrack. (She had announced her retirement, and apparently her many fans were very upset.)
Mirama hopes to replace your smartphone with a headset, your camera button with a finger gesture
Mirama wants do away with the the camera button on your smartphone. In fact, don't even get the smartphone out to begin with. Its prototype headset lets you frame and take a picture using your hands and its built-in camera. No buttons, no vocal cues, not even a wink. Other gestures, registered by the camera sensor, add the ability to confirm or cancel (thumbs up and down, respectively) while you can even attempt a hand-written message ... if you have the right level of motor control. (Our own gestured penmanship during a quick demo proved we didn't.) The cameras on the left and right, meanwhile, offer a constant stream of what you'd be looking at if you weren't wearing the headset. Gestures (well, your hands) then appear in bright cyan on top of the video feed.
Samsung teases a site dedicated to its design philosophy and latest concepts
A YouTube teaser suggests there will be eye-widening futuristic concepts of floating screens, properly bending smartphones and well, whatever else the company's wizards can imagine.
This wearable Sony concept will let you document your life with photos
Back at CES, Sony unveiled a curious wearable: the Core, a miniscule activity tracker made to slot into accessories, like its SmartBand. At the time, details surrounding this waterproof sensor were scarce, but here at Mobile World Congress, we've gotten more insight into how the tiny tracker fits within the One Sony world. And as you can see above, Sony's exploring ways to pair it with a camera you wear around your neck, so it's always ready to document your day. But, first, here's a little background on the Lifelog app that makes it tick. The Core is effectively useless without Sony's Lifelog, a lifestyle-tracking app for Android the company demoed onstage at its presser and is planning to release to Google Play in March. Think of Lifelog as a curated Facebook feed for your life, but without much effort on your part. It records your locations, communications, physical activity and photos taken and places them in a graphed format, in addition to coaching you with set goals. From what little we've been told about the Lifelog camera concept, it seems users would be able to pair it to a smartphone and then set specific triggers for photo capture, like times of the day or activities. So say you want to record the moments of your daily jog, this concept would handle that automatically and upload the shots to your personal feed. It's the sort of the stuff quantified selfers get all hot and bothered over -- you know, those ardent lifebloggers. But just because Sony's showing off this Lifelog camera concept, that doesn't mean we'll ever see it become a commercial reality. Sony may just be testing the consumer waters or simply showing off its idea of the possible road ahead.
Alcatel's 'smartbook' concept: a laptop powered by a smartphone over the air (video)
At MWC, Alcatel was kind enough to give us a preview of its working "smartbook" prototypes. The idea isn't too far off from Motorola's doomed Lapdock or the first-gen ASUS PadFone, where an Android phone powers an otherwise brainless laptop. What's different with Alcatel's implementation is that instead of having to physically dock the phone somewhere, you hook it up to the laptop wirelessly: video signal over WiFi, and keyboard plus trackpad input over Bluetooth. What's more, the final product will let you use the two screens somewhat independently -- at least you'll be able to see the caller ID on the phone for incoming calls. The pairing process itself is also quite interesting: instead of using an NFC coil, the laptop showcases MediaTek's cheaper Hotknot technology, which involves a little capacitive pad at the bottom right of the keyboard. The signal from the capacitive coupling between the pad and any phone's touchscreen is what helps identify the devices; so in other words, even non-NFC phones can be supported. Update: We now have a hands-on video after the break.
Introducing the iClipboard
I've often wondered if there was a way to make the iPad even more useful. Now I have my answer. OS X + a fashionable metal clip. [Image credit: AndyOnFlickr]
Rinspeed imagines the Tesla Model S as a self-driving 'living room on wheels'
We've seen some pretty amazing concept cars come from Rinspeed in the past, but this one has to be one of our favorites. On display at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show early next month, the XchangE turns the Tesla Model S into a "living room on wheels." The autonomous vehicle will not only drive itself, but is equipped with a 32-inch 4k monitor and reclining seats to make you feel like you're cruising around in a private jet rather than a four-door sedan. The intense luxury doesn't stop at the television. A built-in espresso machine keeps you powered up for the ride, and If you're traveling for work rather than play, the vehicle's "Business-to-Car" platform ensures you not only have access to all the web services you need, but are surfing safely. Perhaps the most absurd addition to the vehicle is "the world's arguably most expensive watch winder," a $44k Patravi TravelTec wristwatch encased in a transparent globe above the car's steering column. When the car is stationary, the globe uses the Tesla's electric engine to wind the stationary watch. It's all just a concept now, but it's one we can't wait to hit the streets in.
Designing a better MagSafe 2 connector
Apple's original MagSafe connector was a simple, but revolutionary new feature for its notebooks. Its T-shaped design also hates being placed in a lap. The straight-out shape makes it difficult to rest a MacBook on a pair of crossed legs without snapping the charger out of place. The second generation of the MagSafe addressed this issue by changing to an L-shaped form factor. Problem solved, right? Well, it was, until the MagSafe 2. For whatever reason, the new, thinner MagSafe 2 connector took a step backward with the lap-unfriendly T-shape. Users on forums across the web weren't pleased with this, and predicted that the change was made so that the company could come out with a "new and improved" L-shaped version at a later date. But rather than wait on Apple to potentially roll out a better MagSafe 2 product in the future, I decided to have a go at designing one myself. Things started modestly, and all I had to work off of was the dimensions of the existing MagSafe 2 adapter. I took those into account and made sure the surface area of the magnetic portion matched perfectly, along with the overall length and width of the connector. After I had the core dimensions in place, it was time to start smoothing a few of the edges and tweaking how far the charger would protrude from the side of a MacBook when plugged in. I used the L-shaped MagSafe 1 adapter as a guide for how thin I could make it. I also added the cord at this point. After adding the materials to the project, I came up with the first version of the adapter, and I thought it looked pretty good. But after walking away for a while and coming back, it struck me just how round the whole thing felt. That would be fine for some of the later polycarbonate MacBooks with their bulbous edges, but not so much for today's Airs and Pros. So I did some additional tweaking. I sharpened a few of the edges and once I did it really started to look like something I could see stuck to the side of my MacBook Air. It's as narrow as the L-shaped version of the original MagSafe adapter, has the exact contact surface of the current MagSafe 2 adapter and doesn't hate your lap. This one is free, Apple.
SOE opens 2014 G.I.R.L. scholarship submissions
SOE has begun its 7th Gamers in Real Life Game Design Competition, inviting aspiring game developers to apply for a possible $10,000 college scholarship and a 10-week job as a paid intern at the studio. To apply, you'll need to be enrolled in an undergraduate program that has something to do with video games, have a 3.00 GPA or higher, be 18 or older, and be a legal resident of one of the 50 United States or District of Columbia. The application includes concept artwork, captions, and an essay. Interested participants need to submit their application by March 19th. We interviewed the 2013 winner, Esther Wu, last October about her experience with the competition, which is worth a read if you're interested in participating.
Check out this amazing re-imaging of the Apple Store and other news from Jan. 30, 2014
While not news, this is just fantastic. Amber Creative, based out of the UK, developed a crazy, cool, unofficial redesign of Apple's online store. The website is responsive, showcasing the best of Apple's products in a slick packaging that makes the current official site look obsolete. Sebastiano Guerriero with Amber posted on Dribbble that the first glimpse of the project a couple weeks ago went viral. The Amber Creative team posted different takes of the project on Behance. As the project description states: "We built this concept on top of a modular UI/UX approach; we used bigger images and less text, thus letting the user attention to focus on the products." What do you think? Would you like to see the Apple Store resemble this concept? Other news from Thursday afternoon includes: A federal judge is furious that the particulars behind a patent-licensing deal between Apple and Nokia wound up in the hands of Samsung executives. The agreement was given to Samsung's outside legal counsel with the stipulation that Samsung itself would never see it. CNNMoney/Fortune posted a list compiled by a reader of similar wrongdoings that Samsung has done since 2004. Apple has released the latest beta of OS X Mavericks 10.9.2 to developers. AppleInsider says that the build continues to focus on Mail, Messages and VPN. Facebook will be launching its latest standalone app, Paper, on Feb. 3 as an iOS exclusive. Paper is an optimized version of your news feed that is viewed through story cards. It'll be interesting to see how those requests to play Candy Crush Saga will be rendered. The mobile personal assistant app Donna is headed for the app graveyard, as members of the team have moved onto Yahoo. Donna had hit the App Store last year and recently underwent a significant redesign, with a price drop to free. The service will shut down once the acquisition is complete. Apple is making sure no .guru address related to its interests fall into the wrong hands. The company has licensed apple.guru, iphone.guru, ipad.guru and mac.guru. Don't be surprised to see these URLs be tied into Apple Genius-related services at some point. Kick back and relax with these features: Rumor Roundup: Still doomed after all these years Equip your virtual soldier with TUAW gear in The Collectables Awesome Safari tip in iOS 7 you probably weren't aware of How to upgrade the memory of the Mac mini (Late 2012)
Smartphone concept incorporates LiFi sensor for receiving light-based data
The lights are now dimmed throughout the many halls of CES, and none are more perturbed by darkness than the folks at Oledcomm. Illumination is the company's specialty, after all; or, more specifically, LiFi technology, which facilitates high-speed data transmission via pulsating light sources (though they appear static to the naked eye). We swung by the firm's booth in Vegas to check out the various demos on display, including a two-way, 10 Mbps link tying a Macbook to a router. What interested us most, however, was a concept smartphone that took instructions from the many lamps scattered around the booth.
ZTE's modular smartphone could make part-swapping a reality within two years
Smartphones with interchangeable parts is the future... or so companies like Motorola and ZTE believe. Both manufacturers are currently working on prototypes of what's known as modular smartphones. Such a device, if it comes to market, will give consumers a few benefits: the chance to customize their phone exactly the way they want, the ability to upgrade specific parts (or modules) of your device without having to upgrade to a completely new version, the option to buy and sell individual modules to others and less electronic waste left over as a result. Neither Motorola or ZTE has exactly kept their efforts a secret, but what we're unsure of is when we can expect to see real hardware show up on the market. Fortunately, ZTE showed off its first concept device (under glass, unfortunately) on the CES floor this week, and reps told us that we should plan on seeing this concept come to fruition within the next two years. The phone, known as the Eco-Mobius, looks a lot sleeker than what we've seen of Ara so far, and is divided into four separate swappable modules for LCD, core (processors, RAM and ROM), camera and battery. This comes in quite handy for enthusiasts of all kinds who want to take advantage of different modules; if you're into photography, you could theoretically take multiple modules with you, each one with its own strengths and weaknesses -- we'd fancy having a macro lens module for specific shots. Perhaps you want to change the size of your screen, depending on whether you're at the office, at home or a party? No problem. Need a stronger battery? Sure thing. In addition to making this kind of phone a reality, its designers are also putting together a platform in which users can buy, sell and trade modules with each other. Hopefully we'll see more of this concept as things come together, but so far we're very curious about how the final product will look down the road. While we wait for the future to catch up with our dreams, enjoy our images below. Joseph Volpe contributed to this post.
Toshiba's 5-in-1 laptop concept debuts at CES with a detachable keyboard
Sure, notebook makers crow about their 2-in-1 hybrids, but Toshiba's brought something to CES that'll humble its competition: a 5-in-1 laptop. The transforming device comes with a slick magnesium alloy case reminiscent of a MacBook, and a 13.3-inch touchscreen. So, just what can this laptop transform into? On the tamer side of things are a run-of-the-mill notebook configuration and tablet mode, the latter of which is achieved by pushing the display all the way back, much like with Lenovo's Yoga line of devices. The next three forms are where things get interesting, and they're made possible by a detachable keyboard and a bit of metal left attached to the screen's hinge, which acts as a stand and houses stereo Harman Kardon speakers. In "canvas" mode, the laptop is lifted from the table at an angle helpful for drawing, particularly handy since the hardware's display packs a digitizer and its top half holds its own stylus. "Presentation/TV" mode is the fifth and final form, which props the display upright. When it comes to connectivity, the laptop sports two USB ports, a microSD slot and a spot to jack in a mini-HDMI cable. Since the hardware's still in concept phase, there's no word on detailed specs, price or when it'll see the fluorescent lights of your local electronics store. For now, you can see it in all of its forms in the accompanying galleries.
Audi's Sport Quattro Laserlight concept officially debuts at CES
Audi teased us with concept drawings of its Sport Quattro Laserlight months ago, and tonight it decided to show off the vehicle in the flesh (or metal and carbon fiber) at CES. Before we wax about the auto's looks, it's important to note the machine's technical details, as they alone inspire a fair bit of awe. The car's titular feature is its headlights, whose laser light can cut through through five football fields of darkness. Aside from the futuristic headlamps, the car's calling card is the combination of electric and gas motors -- the latter of which takes it 90 miles per gallon -- for a whopping 700 horsepower. Simply put, Audi's crafted the Laserlight to look stunning from any angle. From the front, its rectangular beams offer a dose of futurism, and its large grille looks eager to breathe in as much air as possible while tearing through the freeway. From the sides, it's difficult to ignore how the top of the car swoops down into its base, still leaving room for two seats in the rear. From behind, the iconic lights make a return alongside a carbon fiber accent, which can be found as trim in other areas of the hybrid. Of course, there's still no word on price or availability, as the automobile is still in the conceptual stage. To ogle at Audi's Sport Quattro Laserlight yourself, take a peek at the gallery above.
Ford's C-MAX Solar Energi Concept is powered by a roof panel, rolls to CES next week
The tech inside green vehicles continues to improve, and Ford has just announced a concept that looks to push it even further. The US automaker has outed the C-MAX Solar Energi Concept: a vehicle that packs in all of the perks of a plug-in hybrid, but doesn't require that tether to recharge. As the name suggests, a roof-mounted solar panel collects a day's worth of energy needed to churn out the same performance as the C-MAX Energi Hybrid; however, the new Solar Energi model seeks to do so without relying on the ol' power grid. The panel itself houses "a special solar concentrator lens" that acts like a magnifying glass, directing those requisite rays on the rooftop. After rolling around the lot of the LVCC at CES next week, the concept vehicle will be tested by researchers from Ford and Georgia Tech -- who helped develop the panel system -- to see if the C-MAX Solar Energi is indeed viable for production. For now, we'll have to wait to grab a closer look in a few days.
iPhone 6 concept with wrap-around screen has no basis in reality, but it's still gorgeous
We've seen plenty of unsourced chatter about a future iPhone with an edge-to-edge display, but this video from YouTuber ConceptsiPhone pushes things over the edge -- literally. With a screen that bends a cool 90 degrees at the edge, it's one of the user designs least likely to ever actually claw its way into existence, but that doesn't mean it's not dead sexy to gawk at. But this idea isn't all flash; there's plenty of function here as well. Along with the established volume controls, the side of the screen features shortcuts to the built-in flashlight, alarm, calculator and camera apps, along with music controls. It's an elegant solution to controlling some oft-used features more quickly, but the chances of it materializing are about as likely as Apple launching an iWatch twice the size of the goliath Galaxy Gear.
Toyota's FV2 concept vehicle has a customizable LCD surface and you can drive it while standing
Toyota's new one-person EV even managed to draw our attention away from cars that look fit for superheroics, Announced at the Tokyo Motor Show 2013, the FV2 concept practically slaps you around the face with how much future...ness it's been plied with. In its 'parked' state (measuring 90cm high), it looks a lot like a Tron cycle also-ran, but once the door / roof is raised [seen above], this all changes. Once that happens, you can steer (pilot?) the FV2 while standing: by shifting your body weight to the left or right, it'll tend in that direction. The vehicle only carries one, but distributes the weight across four wheels, which are arranged in a cross layout. There's one at the front, one at the back and two primary drive wheels underneath the driver. This pair, alongside the tail section of the FV2, are coated in light-up displays, able to cycle through colors and patterns, although we're not entirely clear what degree of customization you'd get if the concept eventually made it to retail. We know some people's tastes are pretty out there. Accompanying the vehicle, there were several touchscreen displays that allowed you to... cycle through some custom paint jobs. That's not where the technology ends, however, as that raised windscreen will reportedly act as a augmented reality display, offering up driving advice on traffic conditions, soccer scores and the weather. A spokesperson told Engadget that this information could be gleaned from surrounding vehicles and other wireless data points -- well, we're talking about the future, remember? For a closer glimpse at what Toyota thinks the mirai will look like, take a look through the galleries below.
Toyota is taking fuel cells seriously, unveils concept car and reaffirms launch in 2015
Fuel cells are very much back on the energy agenda. It's not smartphones this time, however, but vehicles. From Toyota, no less. The company's fuel cell program is about to bear fruit and it's revealed a sleek, shiny concept design that's promising a range of "at least" 500 km and a refuel time comparable to good ol' gasoline vehicles.The eventual production model car is planned to go on sale in 2015, which would ensure Toyota keeps the promise it made way back in 2010. The blue color scheme and softened design curves are meant to evoke the "key characteristics" of fuel cell cars: turning air into water. There's even a wave motif fuel cap -- it's all about the details. Once filled and plugged into a compatible home, the FCV is also apparently capable of providing enough electricity to power an average Japanese home for over a week (10 kWh). To accomplish this, two high-pressure hydrogen tanks are stored along the undercarriage, but if you're depending on the FCV to function as, well... a car, then you'll be happy to hear that it can carry around three passengers, alongside the early-adopting driver.
