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We're live from NAB 2012 in Las Vegas!
Three months ago to the day, we were packing up our CES trailer and making a run for the airport, expecting another year to pass before our return to Sin City. But now, as the National Association of Broadcasters' annual trade show has begun overlapping with the consumer electronics market -- from a gear perspective, at least -- we've decided to make our way back to the desert, calling this oasis home for another week in 2012. If you're a high-end camera buff, this is the show for you, with Canon, Sony and RED introducing products that are sadly priced out of reach of photo enthusiasts, but carry mass appeal among professionals with million-dollar equipment budgets, and a need to shoot with the latest and greatest digital devices. It's yet unclear what else we may see at this year's NAB, but rest assured that we'll be scouring the halls of the LVCC, bringing you updates from the floor throughout the week. Protip: Use the 'NAB 2012' for the latest show news and hands-ons.
Nevada is getting serious about driverless cars
We were admittedly cynical last summer, when Nevada's state legislature passed a law regulating the safety of driverless cars. But maybe we shouldn't have been, because it looks like they're actually serious about it. The state has now begun fleshing out its campaign with new regulations for testing these robocars, which, of course, are still very much in their infancy. According to the Associated Press, drivers looking to test a driverless vehicle will have to first purchase a bond worth between $1 million and $3 million, depending on the specifics of their project. The data from each test, moreover, will have to be shared with state officials, and all automated vehicles must have some sort of black box-like device to securely store this information, in the event of a crash. Most interesting, however, is how humans fit into all of this. Under the state's regulations, a passenger is still considered an "operator" of the vehicle, even if he or she isn't driving. They'll be exempt from Nevada's ban on driving while texting, but they won't be able to rely on their robocar as a designated driver -- which is fine, because it's not like anyone drinks in Vegas anyway.
Leaving Las Vegas: Team Engadget departs CES 2012
CES 2012. It's over, but it'll leave a lasting impression on us all. And by "lasting," we mean "eternal." It'll also go down as the most attended CES ever, with more exhibitors and more product launches than ever before. Engadget as a team hit more news than ever before, covered more hands-ons than ever before and just generally sat in awe at the sheer quantity of news that flowed from the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The trends this year? A fair question, indeed. Truthfully, we didn't spot a single category overshadowing the rest, but it's safe to say that LTE, slimmer-than-slim HDTVs and the promise of Windows 8 tablets kept themselves fresh in our mind. We've assembled an array of wrap-up posts to clue those in who couldn't (or would rather not) keep pace with the absolute torrent of announcements from the event, a boatload of statistics to pore over and a final video from the show.On a personal note, I had an absolute blast with the team. From our trailer to our stage within the LVCC, from the raucous Unveiled show floor to the background dings and bloops in McCarran International Airport, the past week (and change) has been truly amazing, and getting this many people who are passionate about technology into a single place is a downright magical experience. We're fortunate and humbled to be able to do this, and despite a near-total lack of sleep and some questionable food choices, we're still as jazzed as ever to fight through crowds in order to get the first shots of [insert gizmo here]. From us to you, thanks for sticking through the madness once more, and here's to another amazing year in consumer technology. We couldn't do it without you, and frankly, we wouldn't want to.So, what's next for us? Well, planning for CES 2013 has already begun, and we'll probably find ourselves at a few Apple events in the near future. Oh, and we'll be bringing you the blow-by-blow from Mobile World Congress in a matter of weeks. We'll sleep, as they say, when we're dead.
Wrap-up: Engadget editors sound off on CES 2012
If you've spent any time on this site since Monday, then you know that we've just reached the end of another very successful Consumer Electronics Show, and are packing up to head home (and rest up) until we get ready to return in 2013. As always, there were plenty on gadgets on hand -- far more than even our enormous Engadget team could capture during four long days on the show floor -- so we've opened up the floor to the entire CES crew. Tim Stevens and Darren Murph chime in just below, but jump past the break to hear from the rest of us. Tim Stevens, Editor-in-chief If this paragraph makes any sense it will be a remarkable thing. It was another insane week in Vegas yet this one felt a little smoother than years previous. I hope you enjoyed our coverage as much as I'll enjoy my next nap. Oh, and I'll never forget those 55-inch OLEDs. Never. Darren Murph, Managing Editor My fifth CES. That's kind of nutty. I'll just say that this CES has proven that the industry is surging, and the hidden gamechangers will surface again in the coming months. Compared to CeBIT 2009 -- which felt hopelessly throttled by the economy -- CES 2012 just felt alive.
Google Maps indoor navigation: yeah, it works at CES
Google Maps 6.0 brought a promise of indoor navigation back in November of last year, but outside of a few dozen airports, transit hubs and retail outlets, we had no idea where it was or wasn't implemented. Turns out, Google (smartly) mapped out lots of Las Vegas before the annual Consumer Electronics Show, as many of our contemporaries have pointed out over at The Sands and Venetian. We also confirmed that indoor mapping worked here at CES Unveiled, and given the dearth of wireless connectivity inside most of Vegas' frequented locales, it's certainly a blessing that we'll be taking advantage of.
Two days in the desert with Apple's lost founder, Ron Wayne
"I have to ask you something," Ron Wayne begins, as we stand to leave his office, signaling the close of our day-long conversation. He takes a slightly dramatic pause, adding, "compared to other people, is my life really that interesting?" This isn't modesty; it's earnestness. Wayne is genuinely curious about what makes his 77 years on earth so fascinating to have warranted my traveling across the country in order to spend a few days in his presence. I answer, honestly, that it's his time with Apple that has made him such a figure of interest. "Oh," he responds. "So it's my brushes with famous people. I'm a footnote in someone else's story." Thirty-five years ago, Ronald G. Wayne helped co-found the Apple Computer Company with two men 20 years his junior, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak -- names that have since become synonymous with the personal computer revolution of the early 80s. For Wayne, however, it was a gig that lasted all of a dozen days, abruptly ending when he marched down to the Santa Clara County Registry Office to have himself stricken from the contract he'd authored. His is a name that pops up every few years or so, shrouded in mystery, the "forgotten" or "unknown" founder of one of the world's most successful companies – and perhaps more infamously, the man who once owned 10 percent of its stock, only to walk away from it all a mere $2,300 richer.%Gallery-141297%
Captain's Log: Incoming messages from the devs... again
Captain's Log, Stardate 65131.6... Hello, computer (and players)! I seem to mention this all the time, but I believe it to be true: The developers working on Star Trek Online are more transparent with their work than the devs of most other games. Whether or not this transparency has been always been a good thing is debatable, though. Still, no matter what one's thoughts on this are, I think we can all agree we like to be "in the know" when it comes to new things in development. This past weekend, a select group of STO players was able to attend another Dine with the Devs event, hosted by yours truly, where transparency was taken to the next level. As I let you all know last week, the second-ever Dine with the STO Devs event coincided with some STO devs' visit to the Star Trek Las Vegas convention. Over 50 players gathered at a local Vegas restaurant to eat, drink and bombard Cryptic's developers with their most burning questions. Because 99.99% of the game's players were unable to attend, I captured the entire event on audio and would like to present you with a basic transcript of the evening's events. So make some food, grab a drink, and get ready to fire up the Holodeck for another edition of Captain's Log. Ensign, warp 10! Auxiliary power to the Holodeck matrices and brace for impact...
Nevada prepares itself for the imminent rise of driverless cars
Driverless cars are still a way's away from hitting the mainstream, but when they do, the glorious state of Nevada will be ready for 'em. This week, the state passed a new law that will require its Department of Transportation to "adopt regulations authorizing the operation of autonomous vehicles on highways within the State of Nevada." More specifically, the DOT will have to cook up a set of safety standards for self-driving vehicles, and designate specific areas in which they can be tested. Invisible drivers immediately hailed the decision as a watershed victory in their ongoing struggle for civil rights.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: hydrogen-powered space plane, Japan's solar surge and urban farms of Ze Future
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Green transportation took off for the stars this week as Inhabitat reported that the European Space Agency has approved of a new hydrogen-powered "Skylon" space plane, and we spotted a hot Star Wars-inspired electric chopper that wouldn't look out of place on the Death Star. We also learned that NASA plans to rejoin the space race with a new MPCV craft fit for deep space flights, while here on Earth we saw GE harness the power of the sun to charge Volt EVs before they hit dealerships. Speaking of solar power, Japan unveiled plans to construct 10 new solar power plants in the wake of the Fukushima Nuclear Crisis, while Switzerland announced that it will completely phase out the use of nuclear power. We also showcased a stunning chandelier made from 500 fluttering photovoltaic butterflies, and we saw Nevada kick-start construction on the US' first molten salt solar plant, which will generate energy long after the sun has set. We also brought you several incredible feats of architecture this week, from a restaurant made from a recycled Soviet airplane in Zurich to an innovative cocoon-like building made from sugarcane that recently won an AIA competition. We also showed how Plantlab is making vertical urban farms a reality, and we spotted a sky-high proposal for an energy-generating city on stilts that would hover over Manhattan. Finally, this week we rounded up some of our favorite eco apps and services that can help you green your consumption.
Toshiba 'Space Chair' ad redefines armchair viewing (video)
There's something wrong when an advertisement is more memorable than the product. Nevertheless, here we have Toshiba's Space Chair ad campaign promoting its new 2010 REGZA SV LCD TV series, Toshiba's first with LED backlight and local dimming. The campaign will later expand to include a second take featuring the Satellite T Series of 11-hour CULV laptops set for introduction in 2010. The ad follows the journey of "an ordinary living room chair" to the edge of space before falling back to Earth where the ground crew relied upon a GPS beacon to locate the craft. A few facts about the shoot: A helium balloon lifted the chair and Toshiba's own IK-HR1S ultra-compact 1080i camera to a height of 98,268 feet above terra firma FAA regulations required that the weight of the rig had to be less than four pounds The chair is made of biodegradable balsa wood at a cost of about £2,500 The rig was launched in Nevada's Burning Man Black Rock desert The temperature dropped to minus 90 degrees at 52,037 feet The chair took 83 minutes to reach an altitude of 98,268 feet and just 24 minutes to fall back to earth Truly amazing stuff. Now buckle up and click through for the show.
Video: Hard Rock Cafe Vegas Strip gets ginormous interactive Rock Wall
We didn't think too much of Obscura Digital's multi-touch hologram when we spotted it last August, but evidently the company has been working overtime in order to outfit Hard Rock's newest cafe with a monstrous interactive video wall. Hard Rock Cafe Vegas Strip is the chain's second venue in Sin City, but it's far and away the one to hit if you're a self-proclaimed nerd. Aside from having access to a number of Microsoft Surface-based installations, you'll also spend a good bit of time navigating the Rock Wall. The 18- x 4-foot touch wall (video after the break) enables up to six guests to simultaneously surf through the outfit's expansive memorabilia collection, with options to zoom and flick through oodles of images. Obscura claims that it just might be the world's highest resolution interactive display available to the public, with a trio of HD projectors beaming the content from behind the glass. Not like you really needed another excuse to add one more HRC shirt / pin / glass to your collection, but feel free to express your gratitude in comments below.Read - Hard Rock's press releaseRead - Obscura Digital's take
Sprint now reselling WiMAX in Atlanta, Portland and Las Vegas
Atlanta, Portland and Las Vegas have been lit with Clearwire's CLEAR WiMAX for varying lengths of time now, but throw a Sprint label on there and you've got a whole new party to attend. In what's easily one of the stranger partner relationships in the business world today, Sprint has just announced that it's reselling 4G services in a trio of markets that have actually had the service for months / weeks / days now. So yeah, nothing really new here -- it's the same 4G waves that Clearwire customers have been enjoying for awhile, but if you're more comfortable waltzing into a carrier store, now's your chance. We'll leave you to the read links below for the specifics, but here's the long and short of it: if you've got a 4G-capable device, you can add WiMAX to your plan for an extra $10 per month on top of your 3G data plan.Read - Las VegasRead - PortlandRead - Atlanta
CLEAR WiMAX goes live in Las Vegas, Samsung Mondi ships to take advantage
Looking for one more excuse to stay inside and avoid that sweltering Las Vegas heat this summer? Good news, gamblers -- Clearwire's CLEAR WiMAX service has officially gone live across 638 square miles in the greater Las Vegas area. By the books, that's serving right around 1.7 million residents, not including the influx of tourists from other WiMAX-equipped cities that will undoubtedly take advantage. To coincide with the launch, Samsung has also announced that its QWERTY-packin', DivX-friendly Mondi -- which we toyed with back at CTIA -- will be available in Vegas-area Best Buy and Clearwire outlets starting August 1st. Said MID arrives with 4G support, WiFi, GPS, 3 megapixel camera, a QWERTY keypad, a 4.3-inch touchscreen, Opera 9.5 and a customizable set of widgets on top of Windows Mobile. The device is supposedly available now through Samsung's website and "select Samsung authorized distributors," but we're having no lucky hunting one down at present time.Read - CLEAR in Las VegasRead - Samsung Mondi shipping
Clearwire sneaks WiMAX into Las Vegas, won't admit it until Summer
Clearwire's been slowly planting its WiMAX seeds around the country, and with nary a peep, it's rolled out the service into the Las Vegas area, designated by the image above. According to a company rep, the "official" launch -- including new store openings and a marketing blitz -- will begin this summer, but for now, it's operational and ready for those in the know. Portland and Atlanta vacationers, you can now watch your online bank account dwindle faster than you ever could before. [Via Fierce Wireless; thanks, Zachery] Read - Clearwire Goes Soft in Vegas Read - Clear coverage map
Gurus develop way to shrink atomic clock... with lasers
The world's most accurate clocks got even more accurate just a few years back, but now a team from the University of Nevada in Reno is looking to make the atomic clock way, way smaller. Housed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado, these so-called "fountain clocks" send out clouds of caesium atoms through a vacuum chamber in a magnetic field; from there, microwaves in the chamber excite the atoms and then emit light as they drop to a lower hyperfine state. All that rocket science aside, the real point here is that all that magic requires a chassis about the size of a modern day refrigerator. Andrei Derevianko and Kyle Beloy have conjured up the idea of "trapping atoms in place using lasers," which would obviously require far less space for the time telling to happen. Just think -- a chicken in every pot and an atomic clock on every wrist.[Image courtesy of PSU]
CC Communications brings HMC / History HD to Northwest Nevada
CC Communications isn't the biggest cable company we've ever seen (one of the smallest, actually), but even it knows that high-def is a must-have in today's competitive programming age. The carrier -- which serves the greater Fallon, Nevada area -- is bringing Hallmark Movie Channel HD and History HD to its OnNow! lineup, moving the grand total up to 39. Get your work week started right by catching these two on December 15th.
AT&T joins the herd, looks to trial bandwidth capping in Reno, NV
During an age where unlimited bandwidth has never been more useful for perfectly legal and entertaining reasons, carriers everywhere are looking to harsh our collective mellow. Following in the frowned-upon footsteps of Comcast, AT&T is gearing up to trial monthly bandwidth caps in Nevada. Starting this month, Reno-area subscribers using the carrier's least expensive DSL service (768k) will be forced to download less than 20GB in a month; the cap amount increases with the speed of the service, topping out at 150GB for the 10Mbps level of service. A USA Today report on the matter even admits that "streaming video services like the one Netflix offers" could indeed push users over the limit without any illegal transfers to speak of. Of note, customers involved in the trial will be able to track their usage via the web, and AT&T will contact them if they surpass 80% of their limit. Should they exceed the threshold even after a grace period, they'll be dinged $1 per gigabyte in overage charges. Awesome.
Mississippi, Las Vegas Apple Stores set to open
Apple plans to open two new retail stores in the US this Saturday, August 30th. One in Ridgeland, Mississippi and another in Las Vegas, Nevada.Apple Store Renaissance at Colony Park (Ridgeland) will open at 10:00 AM. The store is located at 1000 Highland Colony Parkway, next to Williams Sonoma and J Crew. You can find full travel directions here. This will be Mississippi's first Apple Store.Apple Store The Forum Shops will also open at 10:00 AM in sunny Las Vegas, Nevada. You'll find it at The Forum Shops At Caesars, at 3500 Las Vegas Blvd., South. Full travel directions are here. This will be Nevada's fourth store, and the third in Sin City. If you visit either store over the weekend, please let us know! We'd love to see your pictures and stories.[Via ifoAppleStore]
Charter ruffling feathers in Reno, NV / McDowell, NC
Why does it seem that Charter, out of all the cable carriers in the world, finds itself intertwined with so much mischief? The latest forehead-pounding episode is actually a two-fer, with gripes arising from Reno, Nevada and a rural section of North Carolina. In the Silver State, Charter is apparently looking to pull four public access channels to retrieve bandwidth for the launch of 12 new digital channels. The company's George Jostlin proclaims that the "majority of consumers are calling it on a daily basis and asking for more HD / digital programming," but the City of Reno has announced its intentions to sue the provider if an agreement can't be reached on the matter by next Wednesday. Across the country in McDowell County, NC, Charter is catching flack for wanting to strip Marion of its information channel (and combine it with the county's government channel) in order to add three HD stations. We like the intentions here, but seriously, you folks should work on the execution. [Thanks PopWeaverHDTV, image courtesy of TSLPL]Read - Issues in RenoRead - Stirring the pot in rural NC
AT&T launches U-verse in Nevada: Reno and Sparks get first dibs
Hey Nevada, don't ever say AT&T never gave you anything, alright? Said carrier has just launched its fiber-based U-verse services in the state, with Reno and Sparks first on the list to receive 'em. Both locales can get on board with U-verse TV, High Speed Internet and / or U-verse Voice, and while select individuals can order any of the options now, AT&T has assured us that more homes will be reached "on an ongoing basis." As for Las Vegas? Take a guess -- it's just as good as ours.[Thanks, sYn0ptik]
