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LG smartphone boom follows major R&D reshuffling, says analyst
South Korean electronics giant LG came out swinging with its line of Optimus products at Mobile World Congress this year, delivering the 4X HD, 3D Max, Vu and a trinity of L-series handsets. So how does one shop deliver six handsets to the public, you ask? Resources. A recent note to investors from Nomura Securities reveals that in 2011, the Life's Good gang assigned a larger portion of its R&D team to its smartphone division. The report claims that the company had 60 to 70 percent of its 8,000 person research outfit assigned to the Optimus-making arm at the end of last year. That's up from the 20 percent share of a 6,800 person staff it boasted just 365 days earlier. There's no doubt LG will be looking to steal the smartphone thunder of Samsung and HTC in 2012, but is this lineup of products enough? Only time (and sell-through figures) will tell.
Microsoft's SurfaceWare gets you drunk faster than drinks through a straw
It's just a kooky, Surface-related R&D project for now, but Microsoft's SurfaceWare holds the promise of optimizing your time-to-alcohol consumption ratio. Combining software with a level-sensing tumbler, SurfaceWare effectively measures the amount of liquid remaining in your glass. The specialized drinking glasses are fitted with a prism that works in combination with Surface's infrared detecting camera to reflect light as the prism rises above the level of your emptying beverage. Surface will then alert bar staff of your need or automatically purchase another round at just the right time. You certainly don't want to be wasting time in Vegas waiting on your disco fuel. Video walkthrough after the break.[Thanks Divesh J.]
