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Oculus exec Mary Lou Jepsen resigns to create new MRI tech
Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen is well known for her work in pioneering display technology as a co-founder of OLPC, former head of the display division at Google X and lately Oculus VR, which she joined about a year ago. Tonight during the Anita Borg Institute's Women of Vision awards banquet, the founder and former CEO of Pixel Qi capped off a keynote speech by announcing she will resign her post as Executive Director of Engineering and Head of Display Technologies at Oculus. Instead, she will focus on "curing diseases with new display technology," by bringing MRI machines to every doctor' office in the world. It's an ambitious goal, but a peek at Dr. Jepsen's history shows why she's the person to tackle it. For more info on what she might be working on, there's video of a recent TED talk with Dr. Jepsen discussing MRI and fMRI tech, which you can watch after the break.
PixelQi has heavy night, wakes up married to French 'PadPro' tablet
What has Mary Lou Jepsen been up to since 3M's cash injection? It's hard to say, but her sunlight-readable PixelQi panels are still popping up on the odd device -- like this Windows 7 slate from little-known Evigroup. The 10-inch PadPro is aimed at graphics types who are willing to bid adieu to €599 ($800) in return for a pressure-sensitive display, a 1.6GHz Atom processor (no mention of Cedar Trail), 1GB RAM and 160GB hard-drive. They also need to really hate Android.
OLPC outs XO 3.0 tablet at last, will make its debut at CES (update: pictures!)
OLPC's XO 3.0 tablet has been in the works for what seems like forever, and now it's finally ready to be unveiled at CES. Nicholas Negroponte apparently either found the unbreakable screens he was looking for or simply decided the crowds at CES 2012 should get to see the new slate first. It's powered by a Marvell ARM PXA618 SoC that runs Android or Linux and has the same Pixel Qi display seen in other OLPCs. Plus, it has special charging circuitry so it can top up its battery using solar cells and hand cranks like its XO 1.75 sibling -- a particularly useful feature in places where electrical sockets are hard to come by. Unfortunately, pictures of the tablet are still scarce, but come on back next week when we get our hands on one at CES. Until then, check out the PR after the break. Update: We just got pictures of the XO 3.0, and as you can see above, it's coming with a pretty robust cover that doubles as a solar panel for charging the thing. More to come when we see it for ourselves tomorrow.
3M makes Mary Lou Jepsen's dreams come true, showers Pixel Qi with cash
Chances are you've heard plenty about Pixel Qi's super-efficient, transreflective displays. The odds are equally as high that you've never touched one before, either. Well, 3M aims to change all of that and make good on founder Mary Lou Jepsen's continued promises to get those screens out into the consumer wild. Infusing the LCD company with an undisclosed amount of cash, 3M's New Ventures investment arm is betting the combo of its Optical Systems Division's LCD film technology expertise and funding will not only ramp up production of the sunlight-readable color screens, but also innovate uses for it across "...consumer markets as well as digital signage and touch applications." It's a nice shot of confidence for the display maker's much-touted, albeit scarce tech, and could be the financial boost necessary to take Jepsen from underdog to industry heavyweight. We'll keep a close eye out for how this develops. In the meantime, you can jump past the break to read the hyperbolic PR for yourself.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: solar train tunnels, refillable battery goop, and the world's first 3D-printed bikini
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. This week green transportation left fossil fuels in the dust as Inhabitat reported that a record-breaking electric VW Bug rocketed from 0-60 in 1.6 seconds and Team Steam unveiled a space age vehicle that is vying for the title of "fastest steam car on earth." We also spotted the world's first natural gas-powered supercar, while a team of Cambridge students unveiled a sleek solar racer that will attempt to travel 1,800 miles in the World Solar Challenge. Oil fuels also lost more luster as GM's CEO called for a $1 gas tax increase in the US, while MIT unveiled a new type of liquid flow battery that could refuel electric vehicles in a snap. As the summer sun hits its stride groundbreaking solar power projects are lighting up left and right - this week Google unveiled a new solar patent that could make solar energy cheaper than coal, while QSolar rolled out an array of rainbow-hued Kristal panels that can replace windows and walls. Photovoltaic gadgets also had their moment in the sun as Pixel Qi pulled back the curtain on a cheap, efficient solar-powered tablet and a wave and sun-powered seafaring robot received $22 million in funding. Speaking of solar power, this week we applauded the opening of a two-mile-long photovoltaic train tunnel that will provide power to the Paris-Amsterdam high-speed rail line. We were also wowed by Steve Jobs' vision for Apple's new spaceship-shaped clean energy campus, and our Bright Ideas Lighting Design Competition is really heating up, so be sure to vote for your favorite green lamp before the contest ends next week. Finally, we shared 6 great green Father's Day gifts for tech-savvy dads, and as summer gets set to begin we brought you exclusive photos of the recently opened section 2 of New York's High Line park, a beautiful suspended swimmer's oasis in Denmark, and the world's first 3D-printed bikini.
Pixel Qi takes aim at Android tablets with higher-res 10-inch and 7-inch reflective LCDs (hands-on)
We've been holding out hope for Pixel Qi devices for years, ever since we first heard that the OLPC spin-off would begin manufacturing its displays for use by any OEM looking for a battery-sipping LCD. Unfortunately, Mary Lou's LCDs, capable of switching between a sunlight-readable reflective mode and full-color transmissive state, have had limited uptake by some less than desirable partners. Still, the team has returned to Computex with the 7-inch (1024 x 600) panel that was teased in December last year and a new higher resolution 10-inch (1280 x 800) panels offering an 80 percent power savings over conventional LCDs, according to Pixel Qi. In fact, the 10-inch panel consumes just 2.7W in color mode or 0.4W in reflective "eReader" mode. We had the chance to see the new displays up close here at Computex and were immediately struck by the improvement in pixel density on the 10-inch panel. Making the leap to WVGA has been a major boon, as identical images looked sharper and better-defined than on the 1024 x 600 current-gen Pixel Qi display. The brightness on the new screen is lower than on its predecessor, but that's because the company still hasn't finalized things -- we're promised significantly better readability with the backlight off in the final product and brighter pictures when it's on. The 7-incher, originally intended for mass production in the second quarter will now sample in Q3, to be followed by the more pixel-dense 10-inch model, which will hit production in Q4. Scope out the newness in the gallery below or jump past the break for video. %Gallery-124861%
Amazon's Android tablet coming in 10- and 7-inch models with quad-core Tegra power?
We've pretty much accepted that Amazon will release a proper Android tablet in 2011. The details, however, are still unclear. Enter Silicon Valley analyst, Tim Bajarin, who claims to have some inside information from his sources in Taipei. If correct, then we should see Amazon launch a 10-inch LCD tablet before the holidays. He's also heard of a 7-inch model and plans to use NVIDIA's new quad-core Tegra SoC in order to blaze a path into the crowded tablet market. Interestingly enough, Tim's sources say that Amazon wanted to use a switchable "black and white E Ink-like display and a color LCD" hybrid but the two vendors approached (Qualcomm and Pixel Qi?) won't be ready with a suitable display until 2012 or 2013. Of course, Samsung -- the rumored DNA at the core of Amazon's tablet -- has plenty of experience with 10- and 7-inch Android tablets and the decision to go LCD aligns with those rumors of a Fringe Field Switching display reported by DigiTimes earlier this month. So while none of this is verified, at least it gives us something more to chew on while we "stay tuned" for whatever Bezos is cooking.
Notion Ink Adam review
The saga of the Notion Ink Adam is a tale like many we could name -- it's the story of a tiny company struggling to bring a vision to market, facing friction from investors, factories and the march of time itself. The difference is that the Adam captured the imaginations of gadget fiends like ourselves with ideas that were fantastic from day one and are still novel now that it's finally been released, including a paneled UI, full USB host functionality, and of course that Pixel Qi screen. But does the Adam deliver on the promises of unifying form and function with such technology? In two words: Not really. Update: With a new software update, the Notion Ink Adam is slightly better now. If you asked us, we'd definitely still call it beta, but there's progress being made on the UI front. %Gallery-120854%
Clover SunBook offers 'first sunlight ready netbook,' questionable graphic design
When we first made contact with Clover System's SunBook, it was but a glimmer in Pixel Qi's transflective eye, but today, the little guy is ready to step out on its own. Like Notion Ink's Adam, "the first sunlight-ready netbook" packs dual lighting displays, allowing you to shut off LCD backlights while under direct sunlight and cut your power consumption in half. You can also leave both functions on for easy indoor-outdoor transitions. It's sporting a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 CPU, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a 10.1-inch display, 1024 x 600 screen resolution, USB 3.0 as well as WiFi and Ethernet capabilities. So basically, it's a perfectly acceptable netbook (on paper, at least) and it's packing a promising display, but we have to admit Clover's marketing for SunBook leaves something to be desired. In fact, if we hadn't seen this thing at CES we'd advise you to proceed with caution. Being that it's got the Pixel Qi seal of approval, however, we'll leave the decision up to you. You can purchase the sunlight-ready netbook for $795 via Clover's website, handily linked below in the source.
Notion Ink Adams arrive to eager unboxers, first OTA brings new meaning to DOA
Well, would you look at that? Oh yes, that's a real life Notion Ink Adam on some lucky guy's table after being pulled from its fresh packaging. Sure, that's to be expected considering the 10-inch, Android 2.2 tablets were boxed up and shipped out last week, but after the numerous delays, we've got to say it's a true milestone for the India-based company. However, while the unboxing videos and pictures are flowing in -- there are two right after the break for ya -- there's sadly some rain pouring down on the company's parade today. According to the chaps at Android Police, a few people have encountered serious issues with an over-the-air update that was pushed to these new tablets. Apparently, hitting the update button and installing the software has caused the Tegra 2 Adam to stop booting (picture of that sad sight at the second source link). That's surely a FOF situation (frown on face, for those that haven't listened to the recent Engadget podcast), but word is that Notion Ink has stopped pushing out those updates for the time being and emailed customers about the issue. We'll be keeping an ear to the ground on this one, but in the meantime we'll be here waiting for our review unit to arrive so we can show those amateur, wobbly-cam unboxers how it's really done.
Notion Ink Adam ships today
Well, what do you know: Notion Ink just announced that it will begin shipping its FCC and CE certified Adam tablet starting tomorrow today. If you pre-ordered, then you should see your delivery status update soon to the last week of January. That's a lot better than February and much, much better than never which is always the risk when David takes on the Goliaths. Now we'll see how it holds up to real-world usage -- here's hoping for some of that good JooJoo. P.S. For what it's worth, we're still not seeing the shipping version of Adam -- product NI3421A01 with guarantee code Y2G -- in the FCC database. Anyone else? [Thanks, Anthony]
Notion Ink Adam clears FCC, begins shipping 'around Wednesday'
We don't see it in the FCC database yet but Notion Ink's charming Rohan Shravan just penned a post on the company's blog with news that Adam has official clearance from the US government. That's right, after several delays the tiny startup will finally condense its occasionally vapory molecules into a solid slab of shipping tablet starting "around Wednesday" after the hardware receives its FCC tattoo. Remember, Adam was that tablet good enough to earn a Best of CES 2011 honorable mention at an event absolutely flooded with tablets from a who's who of consumer electronics companies. While our first impressions of the production unit were positive, we're holding off on making a final judgement until we've had the chance to perform a full review. Having said that, Adam's final NI3421A01 product code is so nerdy -- the "3421" continues Rohan's tradition of numbering product iterations along the Fibonacci number sequence -- that we're almost tempted to place an order ourselves. Almost. [Thanks, John]
Notion Ink Adam delayed pending FCC certification
Just when it seemed the Notion Ink Adam had escaped the pit of dubious pre-orders and moved onto the glowing preview stage, here comes another hurdle to trip up its 10-inch PixelQi screen. Android Police reports that US buyers have received email notifications that their orders are ready to ship out, except for that little matter of FCC approval. We've yet to see the Adam pass the FCC -- perhaps because it hasn't done so quite yet -- and the tablet will need to have its paperwork in order and be properly labeled before it can be imported into the US. Notion Ink insists that all the red tape will be taken care of "within this week," and that some international orders have already shipped out. We're hoping that's the case -- we'd hate to think of all those poor slates sitting in boxes, instead of getting some sun.
PixelQi demos its 7-inch displays, working on a 9.7-inch version
We had a hunch that PixelQi was going to bring its 7-inch displays to Vegas, and lo and behold we caught a glimpse of the unique transreflective displays today. (For those that have been living under a rock and aren't familiar with PixelQi -- the high contrast 3Qi screens allow for the backlight to be turned off; not only does it save energy, but it's easy to read in natural light.) The smaller, 1024 x 600-resolution displays are, well, smaller than the previous 10.1-inch version. Most of them, however, were just hooked up to demonstration boards. There was one put into a Viliv X70, but again, this was just a PixelQi mod. The bigger story at the PixelQi booth, however, came from its founder Mary Lou Jepsen, who not only promises that production is ramping quite well on both the 7- and 10.1-inch tablets, but that the company is working on a higher resolution 1280 x 800-resolution 10.1-inch display and a 9.7-inch display for a partner. We're not going to read into that too much, but she maintains that they are continuing to work with major companies. She also explained what we have heard before -- that much of the tight supply issues were attributed to the recession and that many companies changed their course after the iPad was introduced to make tablets. Obviously, the current 10.1-inch screen is starting to ship in the Notion Ink Adam, but we're still waiting to finally see the game changing technology in a tablet or laptop from a major manufacturer. With that, we leave you with a bunch of pictures of tablets and netbooks with PixelQi displays that you really can't buy right now but that will certainly make you drool. %Gallery-113184%
Notion Ink Adam hands-on preview (video)
You see that up there? Oh yes, that's the long-awaited Notion Ink Adam, and it's in our hands! Indeed, we got some very intimate time with the 10-inch PixelQi Android tablet this morning, and we have to say despite the doubts we've had, we're incredibly impressed with what this India-based start-up has achieved. With that, we suggest you hit the break for our in-depth impressions of what will soon be one of the most unique Android tablets on the market. %Gallery-112732%
Pixel Qi partners with Chunghwa Picture Tubes to manufacture new transflective LCD models
The characteristic most often associated with Pixel Qi screens -- aside from their prized daylight-readable quality -- up to this point has been scarcity. Hoping to correct that supply shortage, Mary Lou Jepsen's team has today announced a partnership with Taiwanese manufacturer Chunghwa Picture Tubes to, well, produce some picture tubes. Apparently, "the teams have been working together quietly all fall" and now they're ready to make things official, while also announcing that three new panels will be coming to market at various points during 2011. The first of those, a 7-inch screen with a 1024 x 600 resolution, is set to make its debut at CES in early January, with mass production coming in the second quarter of the year. Another note of interest is the tally of three million Pixel Qi displays shipped over the past three years -- let's hope we can double that number through 2011, eh? [Thanks, LifeBringer]
Notion Ink founder claims Adam tablet will go 15+ hours on a charge
The Pixel Qi and Tegra 2-packing Notion Ink Adam has long been one of our favorite pieces of perfectly plausible vaporware, but founder Rohan Shravan's just made a pretty fantastic claim -- he says he's getting a minimum of 15 hours of battery life from his personal tablet and calculates you'll get up to twenty with the 24Wh, potentially user-replaceable battery nestled in its frame. While those are the figures for the $498 transflective version of the tablet and not the $399 juice-gulping LCD, they're still so stellar that they could easily make or break the Adam's sales depending on their veracity. Oh Rohan, please don't let us down.
Pixel Qi announces development of 7-inch screen, provides status update
We just got a status update from one of Pixel Qi's earliest customers, Notion Ink, last week, and we've now finally gotten a pretty significant update on the state of things from the company itself. In addition to announcing that it's completed the first tranche of its Series B funding, Pixel Qi has also revealed for the first time that it currently has a 7-inch screen for tablets and e-reader in development, and that it's set to go into mass production in the first half of next year -- it notes that samples could be available by the end of the year, though. Pixel Qi's Mary Lou Jespen also explained that tight supply and maxed out factory usage combined with the "disruptive" iPad accounted for a number of tablet delays over the spring and summer, but she says that manufacturers have used the downtime to refine their designs into products that are "highly differentiated from the iPad," and adds that Pixel Qi will be announcing additional products using its displays sometime in the future.
How would you change Pixel Qi's 3Qi display?
Yeah, Pixel Qi's 3Qi display is a wee bit more niche than your average superphone, but we just know a handful of you DIYers out there took the plunge on this one. Mary Lou Jepsen's pride and joy went on sale back in July, offering crafty modders the chance to swap their lackluster netbook panel for an E Ink slayer. We were personally thrilled with the results, but we still saw a few things that could've been ironed out given the time, money and technical insight. If you've also taken the leap, we're oh-so-curious to know how you would redesign the dual-mode 3Qi. Make it sharper? A higher resolution? A different size? Something else entirely? No walls allowed here -- get creative down in comments below.
Notion Ink Adam a week ahead of schedule, adds comic book store and replaceable battery 'concept'
If you ask us, the whole Adam tablet is a concept until Notion Ink delivers something other than promises, but things are looking up for the less jaded among you. Rohan Shravan has updated the world on the Adam's latest condition, disclosing a new replaceable battery 'concept' and the addition of a comic book store. We're not sure whether that means the final retail unit will or won't have a user-swappable cell, but at least we now know that both the Pixel Qi- and LCD-equipped variants of the Adam will share one body design. The switch that turns off the Pixel Qi backlight will do the same for the LCD model, saving battery power when you're either downloading or listening to the Engadget podcast. We're also told things are moving faster than originally scheduled and the FCC should get a look at this long-awaited tablet a week early. As to the rest of us? Who knows, but maybe there is a tablet god.
