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Synaptics ClearPad 3250 capacitive touchscreen hands-on (video)
In the grand scheme of things, one millimeter may not seem like a lot, but in the smartphone arms race toward ever-slimmer devices, measurements like that matter. Synaptics, best known for building laptop touchpads, has ventured into the capacitive touchscreen realm with a new panel that promises to save exactly that much space: 1mm. But that's only the start. You see, the thinner display profile is the result of Synaptics melding the touch-sensing layer and the display into one, using what it calls in-cell technology, with the result being something roughly comparable to Samsung's Super AMOLED implementation. The benefit of going with Synaptics, however, is that the company's tech is compatible with all display types, meaning that everything from garden variety LCDs to high-density IPS panels can be infused with a bit of touch sensitivity. Additional benefits include extra brightness, as there is one fewer layer for light to get through, and significantly higher sensitivity than on most current generation touch panels. You can see a pretty compelling demo of that on video just past the break. The ClearPad 3250 should find its way to shipping devices over the next nine months, with its current iteration capable of being fitted to screens up to five inches in size and a subsequent model scaling all the way out to eight inches. %Gallery-116638%
Students recreate the civil rights movement in Second Life
Americans celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day this past week to honor both the man and the civil rights movement that he supported. As part of that celebration, a team of doctoral students from Indiana University of Pennsylvania used Second Life to recreate key moments in the civil rights movement as a teaching tool. Players who went through the simulation encountered critical junctures of the movement, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott, King Jr.'s beginnings at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, the 1963 March on Washington, and the Mississippi Freedom School Movement. By experiencing it first-hand in a virtual world, players hopefully gained a perspective on the issues surrounding segregation, integration, equality, voting rights and civil disobedience of the era that are in danger of slipping into distant history. As they moved through the simulation, players were able to take quizzes, look at photos and videos, and make personal choices relating to the movement, such as whether to protest or sit in the back of the bus. While it looks as though the simulation is no longer available in the game, you can watch the two-minute overview of the project after the jump.
Centrafuse leads to iPhone control via touchscreen, carputer dreams come to life (video)
We've seen countless individuals integrate their phone, PMP or tablet into their whip, but for years, we've all been thinking the same thing: "There has to be an easier way." Turns out, there is. One Mr. Romin has seemingly unearthed the solution, which involves a Lilliput FA1042 touchpanel, a Belkin AV dock adapter cable and a critical piece of software by the name of Centrafuse. Working in conjunction, he has enabled his monitor to actually control the iPhone, and when firing up a YouTube video, the content plays back on the big screen while the controls remain visible on the handset. It's a nifty setup, for sure, and we're downright excited to see this rig get installed in a vehicle far too small for American roads in a fortnight or so. For now, catch it working in action just past the break.
Recon details next-gen GPS goggle technology: Android, Bluetooth, endless fantasies
And you thought those Recon-Zeal Transcend goggles from last fall were hot stuff. Truth be told, they still are, but Recon Instruments' plans for the future make the present seem downright mundane. Here at CES, the company has just revealed its next-generation technology, which should be ingrained in its next line of specs. The big news here is that the revised platform will be based on Android, enabling developers to craft apps and in turn, owners to customize their GPS-enabled goggles in ways not previously possible. Moreover, the technology will be available separately from the company's own eyewear, with a "snap fit" version ready made to work with Uvex, Alpina and Briko products. Wearers will then be able to navigate through the interactive LCD in real-time with the use of a wireless remote, and Recon hopes to eventually craft the first pair of goggles with a real-time navigational system. You'll also get Bluetooth capabilities, allowing users to connect with their smartphones and see their music playlists, caller ID and text messages. Head on past the break for the full rundown, and do your best to not get those hopes too high. As if it's not too late for that already. %Gallery-112630%
TUAW's Daily App: Virus Strike
Virus Strike is an intriguing little puzzle game that presents a mix between Dr. Mario and line-drawing games. The idea is that you have little viruses made of various colors dropping down onto the screen, and you can draw a little path on the screen for them to fall down into. Every once in a while you'll have antibodies show up as well, and your job is to guide those antibodies into a virus of the same color. Grouped viruses will all disappear together, so the overall goal is to group up the various colors, then drop an antibody on them when you're ready. The gameplay starts simple but gets frantic. There's a line in the middle of the screen, and if your viruses ever pile up and you touch an antibody to the wrong color, it's game over. The game's free right now, but that price doesn't come with any extras -- there's no social integration or other game modes to play. Still, if you're just on the hunt for a good puzzler experience, it's worth a download. You can check out Virus Strike on the App Store right now.
YouTube options, iPad multitasking animation, Game Center flagging coming in iOS 4.2
9to5Mac has been digging through the brand new iOS 4.2 beta, and they've found a few new features hidden in the mix. First up, the build offers some new YouTube uploading options -- you can now choose to make your uploaded YouTube videos public, unlisted, or private upon upload. Honestly, I've had hit-or-miss luck with uploading to YouTube straight from my iPhone, but it's nice to know the process is being worked on. Maybe we'll have some optimization come along with the new options. Second, as you can see above, the iPad has gotten itself a brand new multitasking animation. Instead of just pulling up whatever app you're switching to, it'll actually spin the windows around (this functionality is already up and running on the iPhone, but now it'll be available on the iPad as well). And finally, last but definitely not least, it looks like iTunes will be getting some Game Center indicators -- you'll be able to see directly from the App Store listing when an app is compatible with Apple's official Game Center features. That last one is a big one, given that Game Center integration seems to be selling games lately. It's unfortunate that we probably won't have any other icons like that. It would be cool to browse the App Store and instantly see whether a game is compatible with OpenFeint or Plus+, or whether it has local or online multiplayer or just leaderboard functionality. But Apple's probably not interested in that other stuff -- it's just selling Game Center integration for now. You can look forward to all of these features in iOS 4.2, which is scheduled to come to the public in November.
Skype said to be prepping 'deep' Facebook integration for version 5.0
The Skype 5 beta might have already wowed us with its crazy 10-person videoconferencing, but apparently there's even more in the company's bag of new tricks. Sources intimate with the matter are reporting that Skype's planning on deploying Facebook Connect in the next version of its software -- meaning you won't need a Skype ID to get your internet telephony on -- while also enabling SMS messaging and voice or video calls to your Facebook contacts. You have to admit, whether you love or loathe either platform, this is an extremely sensible move for both companies to make: Facebook stretches its tentacles out even further, while Skype develops a significant presence on the world's biggest and baddest social network. We're sure there's a good side to this for the user as well.
When Seesmic met Evernote
Evernote has announced Seesmic integration over on its blog -- often while reading Twitter on my iPhone, I'll see people tweeting links to videos or long pages that I just don't have the time to check out over my EDGE connection. In the past, I've favorited the tweets, but that's not an ideal solution, especially since anyone on Twitter can see my favorites (and thus see what I've been reading). Enter Seesmic and Evernote: now, when you see a tweet on Seesmic, you'll be able to send it directly into Evernote, and save it there along with the rest of your clippings and notes on the service. Then, when I go back to my MacBook, I can pull up those saved tweets, and read whatever I missed. There are lots of other uses for a connection like this, I'm sure (and a few other ways to solve my problem -- Tweetie and Instapaper is another solution). But if you're a regular Seesmic and/or Evernote user and are looking for a way to more easily integrate Twitter into the "outsourced memory" that is your Evernote database, it's your lucky day.
Nokia partners with Harman to 'standardize' cellular infotainment
Though Microsoft, RIM and possibly Google are already vying to be the center of the automotive infotainment push, a certain Finnish phone manufacturer says it wants to take charge -- in what seems to be the latest phase of its Terminal Mode initiative, Nokia's tapped infotainment provider Harman to "standardize" the interface between phone and car. Like Harman's last in-dash venture, a touchscreen and physical controls will be the focus, while your handset (rather than an Intel Atom) does the heavy lifting. Connected via Bluetooth or USB, your Nokia will play music, deliver Ovi Maps, respond to voice control and more, with the entire phone display duplicated onto the car's larger touchscreen for easy access and a set of auto-specific apps planned for Nokia's Ovi Store. It all sounds pretty swell, but it's still not clear how the companies intend to standardize anything beyond their balance sheets; we're not sure how much Nokia will appreciate you connecting a Droid to their Ovi-powered car. PR after the break. Update: It appears that this is part of Nokia's Terminal Mode initiative, which -- as some have noted in comments -- we've actually told you about before. Whoops!
Nokia's Terminal Mode spotted in the wilds of the Geneva Motor Show
Those lovely people over at Nokia have furnished us with a few images of what their dashboard integration will look like, as well as the names of a few more partners for the Terminal Mode initiative. Intended to smarten up your car's hardware with the phone's capabilities -- whether that be to play back music, use Ovi Maps, browse the web, or whatever else -- this was announced in partnership with Alpine yesterday, but today we're hearing that Fiat, Harman Becker and Valmet Automotive are also getting in on the fun. The gallery below shows off a mockup from Valmet, which plops your Nokia into a cradle just under the Eva concept's "on" button, and then transfers all the important stuff onto an LCD integrated into the dashboard above. Nokia tells us that each OEM will have their own particular design, so this might not be how they'll all look, but as far as ease of use goes, we don't know how you can improve much on what's being shown already. Let's just hope the software is as effective as the presentation is handsome.%Gallery-87345%
Windows Mobile and Xbox Live coming together, according to Microsoft job ad
The hints were already pretty strong on this one, but now Microsoft has come right out and said it, albeit in a job posting -- the Xbox Live gaming platform is extending beyond the console and specifically onto WinMo phones. Seeking a Principal Program Manager who would be responsible for bringing "Xbox Live enabled games to Windows Mobile," Redmond is particularly interested in "avatar integration, social interaction, and multi-screen experiences." That leaves an awful lot of room for imagination as to how the two modes of gaming will complement each other, but at least we now (sort of) know that it's going to happen. [Thanks, Jessy]
Using aliases to extend Front Row's capabilities
While Front Row's integration with iTunes and iPhoto provides a nice, seamless experience, there are times when your needs demand a not-so-integrated approach -- say, for example, if you have an external hard drive full of videos that you'd like to watch on Front Row, but don't necessarily want to import into iTunes or copy into your Movies. One solution to this is to create an alias that points to said external hard drive or any other folder on your computer or network. For new PC-to-Mac converts, an alias is the equivalent of a "shortcut" on Windows. To create an alias, right-click on the file or folder (in our case, folder) and select "Make Alias." Now, place said alias in the your Movies folder, which is located in /Users/username/Movies. Now, you'll be able to browse and play movies of the folder that the alias points to. And if QuickTime can play the file, then so too can Front Row.
OpenFeint 2.0 brings social discovery to the iPhone
The Aurora Feint folks are at WWDC with the rest of the Mac development world this week, and while out there, not only are they having a party, but they sent out an announcement: OpenFeint 2.0 is out now, and it has some "social discovery" features now included. Their open platform already supported doing things like leaderboards and profiles from directly within iPhone applications and games, but now the new release will also allow users to bring their friends lists in from Facebook and Twitter, update profile pictures of themselves, and both find their friends and figure out what they're playing. The system is free to integrate into iPhone apps and games, and there's a user-based model that costs more at higher levels.OpenFeint isn't the only system attempting to do something like this (be a sort of Xbox Live for iPhone games), but they are certainly the biggest, with more developers jumping into their boat every day. And as is the way with social networks, sometimes being the biggest is just as good as being the best. Look for their features in an iPhone game near you.
Chevy Camaro evidently nabs Microsoft Zune support
You've heard of Chevrolet, right? You know -- that struggling automaker underneath the General Motors umbrella? For those who've long given up their ties to muscle cars in favor of the kid-friendly minivan or Earth-friendly hybrid, you may not even know that a revitalized Camaro is just around the bend. Based on some hands-on time with a production vehicle at an undisclosed dealer, Microsoft's Zune integrates perfectly into the sound system, and said integration is supposedly a standard feature on the car. What's more is that we're told some 27 other GM models will also include Zune support from the factory as they launch in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia through 2011, though details beyond that are scant. Hope they cooked in support for the Zune HD, ya dig?[Via Zune Insider]
Twitter integration could come to OnStar
We know you've been losing sleep just wondering how on earth General Motors plans to get OnStar users to keep on using once their free year is up, but apparently someone up top has been doing a bit more than just mulling. Gearlive received quite the interesting survey from OnStar this week, with a paragraph clearly explaining how Twitter integration would work should it come to the in-car alert / communication system. Essentially, the system could be programmed to read back tweets directed at you and convert your voice to text in order to upload new tweets. Envision this: you tweet that you're headed to Forks, Washington, and you ask your thousands of followers to name a good place to buy garlic. Magical, no?
Microsoft confirms expanded Zune team, new mission
While Microsoft's own post on this newfangled Zune initiative has absolutely nothing to do directly with Windows Mobile 6.5, we wouldn't push that inkling of integration too far away. In fact, Redmond has just that on the brain, with "that" being "integration." Confirming an earlier CNET report, Microsoft has decided to wed its Zune software team with the Connected TV organization (Windows Media Center, Mediaroom) in order to "create a single group focused on creating software and services that enable great entertainment experiences across the PC, TV, mobile phones and Zune devices." Additionally, the Zune device hardware team has joined the mobile communications business group to create a center of excellence in portable hardware, and the priority now is to deliver "new software, services and devices for Zune customers." We like the sound of all this ambition, but please, don't make us wait too long for results -- cool?
PlayStation.com upgrade brings new community features
Not content with redesigning the PlayStation Blog, Sony has revealed further plans to develop the PlayStation web sites, starting with some added functionality coming soon. Both the PlayStation Blog and PlayStation.com will be updated on Monday to allow you to log in with your PlayStation Network ID. Not only that, but a player profile on the sites will show your PSN name, avatar and mini description. Presumably, these will be automatically pulled from your PSN account.You will also be able to check your friends list online and rate and review games in your library on PlayStation.com. The announcement post ends with an instruction to stay tuned for more gamer profile updates to follow before the end of the year. We love to see the PS3 and its various websites becoming more fully integrated. Definitely looking forward to more details about what these upcoming profile updates could entail.
The Daily Grind: Do MMOs need more social networking services?
Web 2.0 is all about giving Joe User more choice, more of a voice, and more opportunities for interaction. User-created content is king, as witness the rise of such sites as YouTube. However, many MMOs are still closed systems -- you can't talk to your gTalk friends within World of Warcraft, you can't post to Twitter from Tabula Rasa, and you can't there's no Facebook integration with Everquest 2.But who cares? Chances are you're too busy playing to care about any of those things anyway. However, as these apps mature, and people find more ways to integrate them with everything else, it probably won't be too long before new MMOs will offer connectivity with them right out of the gate. Will this be a boon or a bother? Do you wish your favorite MMO already had this integration?
Sony looking to stuff Blu-ray recorders in select LCD HDTVs?
Given that Sony has primarily used its PlayStation 3 console to snag market share in the home video sector thus far, it's not surprising to see it branching out now that Blu-ray stands alone. Nevertheless, the next logical step has already been hinted at by Ryoji Chubachi at a recent press event in Taipei. Reportedly, Sony is hoping to "increase the global market share of its BD products from 20-percent currently to 50-percent by the end of 2008," and in order to do so, it's looking to gift select LCD HDTVs with "BD recording functionality." Of course, it was only a matter of time before those DVD / LCD combos became Blu-ray / LCD combos, but giving users the ability to capture broadcast material without an external burner is certainly an interesting twist.[Via Electric Pig]
The Daily Grind: Do we really need greater Web integration?
You hear it all the time, especially when pundits talk about Second Life: how our virtual worlds and MMOs will one day become so integrated with the World Wide Web that you'll be able to check your bank balance from World of Warcraft; you'll order books from within Everquest; you'll chat with AIM friends while still in Pirates of the Burning Sea. Sure, at first glance, it seems like a good, maybe even necessary. But think about it -- when you're playing your favorite game, do you really need to do any of those things? Isn't that the reason you play in the first place, to get away from other concerns?When we're in Second Life, we're engaged with talking and playing with our SL friends. When cutting a swath of destruction through marauding bands of orcs in Lord of the Rings Online, we're miles away from worrying about what our stocks are doing. And just think of how much concentration Puzzle Pirates demands -- do you really want to dilute it with putting together an important email? What does greater Web integration mean to you?
