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Oregon Scientific announces MEEP! Android tablet for Kids, Wile E's ears prick up
While this might not be the first kid-centric tablet we've seen, it's certainly got the coolest name. All we know about the MEEP! kiddie-slate right now is that it's made by Oregon Scientific, has a 7-inch Neonode zForce touchscreen display, WiFi, an SD card slot, a "G-sensor" for screen rotation -- and runs on an as yet unspecified version of Android. The makers claim it's suitable for ages six and up, and parents can monitor and limit web access via an online control panel. We're told that accessories will soon be on their way, including every parent's favorite: musical instruments. The full unveiling will be at the TIA toy fair this weekend. Road-run over the break for the full press release. MEEP! MEEP!
James Trew02.11.2012
Super Meat Boy's super boys explain what it means to go mobile
Yesterday Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes of Team Meat dropped a gigantic, raw bomb on Twitter (gross), announcing their plans to strip down Super Meat Boy and rebuild it completely for mobile touch devices. They were vague on details apart from an intent to create a brand new game in the Super Meat Boy universe, and that they definitely wouldn't use "shitty touch controls."We thought they were being coy, but it turns out they don't know much more about the touchscreen version than we do. It's still in the engine phase of development, McMillen told Joystiq, and they're pretty much winging it, playing with things that work and throwing out ideas that don't -- even if that includes the entire game."I mean, honestly, this is simply a challenge for us," McMillen said. "It's easy to poo-poo a new system because of its horrible use of touchscreen on ported titles; it's harder to attempt to try and figure out a design that works and make something worth checking out."So that's basically what we are doing -- no idea how it will turn out -- but Tommy and I wanted to jump back into dev again with something that isn't going to take a year-plus to make, so prototyping this idea seemed most appropriate and inspired."
Jessica Conditt02.10.2012
Sony patent sketches reveal Wii U-esque controller system, keeps it vague
While Nintendo is darn proud of its attempts to differentiate itself from other console manufacturers with its unusual hardware choices, it looks like Sony also had plenty of touchscreen-toting, TV-connected ideas way back in 2010. These patent sketches explain a handheld device that bares a foggy resemblance to Nintendo's incoming Wii U. The "position-dependent gaming, 3-D controller, and handheld as a remote," would act as the "input to a video game" -- or controller, as we technical types like to call it -- adding in some augmented reality functionality as an overlay to camera input on the device. The PS Vita is already capable of doing most of what's posited above, including the ability to hook up to its older (bigger) brother, the PS3 -- possibly that anonymous box you can see above. If such a mystery device device does appear, at least it looks like Sony's got its bases covered, again.
Mat Smith02.06.2012
Hands on with NuTouch Gloves
iPhone owners who live in cold climates have many solutions for staying warm while using their devices. I've seen gloves with metal dots on their fingers, cutoff gloves with caps that transform into mittens, and gloves with conductive fabric tips designed for use with capacitive screens. The NuTouch Glove line falls into the latter category. Unlike some of their brothers on the market, all five tips are so enabled, not just the forefinger and thumb. Retailing for about US$12, these gloves are unisex, suitable for use with most business and casual wear. In the pair I tested, the tips did not pop out visually as much as the product shot at the top of the screen. So it didn't look as if the gloves were anything other than normal outerwear. The gloves were warm, keeping my hands toasty in sub-freezing weather, but I'd recommend against using them for any sustained, physical hand-centered activity. Like, say, shoveling snow. My first tests involved biking and I found my hands were pretty much rubbed raw by the end of a half hour. Normally, I have to strip off one of my winter gloves to take calls and to interact with RunMeter -- the app I use to track my rides. The NuTouch gloves let me add ride log data on the go, but were just stiff enough to irritate my skin due to the constant pressure. This roughness was not a problem during walking, where I wasn't constantly leaning on my hands, moving their positions over handlebars, and sweating through the gloves. They worked especially well for short dashes downtown and walks between buildings where you sometimes need to pull up a map or send a quick text, especially in the cold Colorado winter. These gloves are a good choice for cold weather touchscreen use -- just remember they're business wear and not meant to be sportswear.
Erica Sadun01.26.2012
Behringer mixers hold iPad inside
The audio mixer company Behringer has announced three new units set for release, and this company has borrowed a little bit of hardware from Apple: they use the iPad as an interface. As you can see above, the new Behringer mixers make full use of both the standard mixer console controls, as well as Apple's tablet, sitting in as a touchscreen-based software mixer. Obviously, the iPad doesn't have the hardware to handle all of those audio inputs, just in terms of the ports needed. But it is a very powerful computer with a bright, beautiful touchscreen that makes it easy to build and distribute software, so it's actually an ideal device for this kind of thing, when used in conjunction with that dock connection. We've seen the iPad used in a number of different industries in this way, from home automation with Savant to plenty of different medical industry uses. Just a few years ago, these companies would have all had to build and design and manufacture their own touchscreens for these products, but with the iPad, there's already a relatively cheap alternative that most sound engineers and other professionals already have access to.
Mike Schramm01.21.2012
Line6 introduces StageScape visual mixer, lets you touch it up to eleven
It might seem like we've gone mixer mad around here, but with a huge music trade-show starting this week, it's no surprise there's a pile of new tech on offer. The StageScape M20d visual mixer from Line 6 being one such example. Of course, we have inputs (12 line / mic, four line-only, and two for USB/SD streaming) and outputs (four XLR monitors, two master) all strummed along by internal 32-bit floating-point processing. What piqued our interest, however, was that seven inch screen you see up there. Rather than fumble over a mash of faders, you thumb the instrument's icon to pull up its parameters. Other features include Kaossilator style X-Y multi-parameter control, and color coded pots -- presumably so you don't kill the guitar solo by mistake. A final flourish is remote control via an iPad, for mid-track sound tweaks -- though you might need one of these. Tap the PR after the break for more info.
James Trew01.20.2012
Microvision's PicoMagic apps bring touch interactive, 3D mobile displays to your pico projector
Microvision unveiled a slew of new tools for pico projector enthusiasts today, with its new PicoMagic platform. Fueled by the company's PicoP Gen 2 HD laser display engine, PicoMagic offers a host of new applications to pico presenters, including two on display at this year's CES -- touch interactive and 3D mobile displays. The former, rather obviously, allows users to manipulate images and icons with their sure-handed fingers on any surface, while the latter, known as PicoP 3D, takes this capability to the third dimension. These PicoMagic apps will be available to Gen 2 HD laser display engine owners by late 2012, but you can find more information right now, in the press release that awaits you after the break.
Amar Toor01.10.2012
NVIDIA announces DirectTouch technology for Tegra 3 tablets, promises a smoother touch experience
You'd think that with Tegra 3 shipping in the Transformer Prime and all, we'd know everything there is to know about the new SoC. Apparently not. NVIDIA just announced DirectTouch, a technology exclusive to its Tegra 3 platform that uses that bonus fifth core for to improve touch detection. So what does a low-power core have to do with the touch experience, you say? Essentially, what's going on is NVIDIA's PRISM Display technology separates color and backlight intensity to save battery life while preserving fidelity. In a demo, the technology looked mighty smooth, though we'll need to get hands-on ourselves and see the technology in action for more than five seconds before we can weigh in on its utility. Billy Steele contributed to this report.
Dana Wollman01.09.2012
Sharp unveils an 80-inch touchscreen for the boardroom
For the corporate types, Sharp is taking its massive Gen-10 1080p LCDs and adding a touchscreen as well as integrating presentation and video conferencing technologies like Skype, WebEx, GoToMetting. There is even a package that includes an optional compact whiteboard PC preloaded with Windows 7 and drivers for the display. The 80-inch touchscreen display will be available in late February for $13,795, but the press release after the break doesn't mention a price for the 60 or 70-inch versions.
Ben Drawbaugh01.09.2012
Intel shows off Nikiski prototype with sprawling touchscreen decking out the palm rest (video)
Is this not the craziest thing we've seen at this year's CES? Behold the Nikiski: an Intel prototype with a see-through touchpad that stretches across the entire palm rest. It's unclear who makes the laptop, but Intel was keen to gush about that sprawling touch panel. Mr. Eden demonstrated some effective palm rejection, so that if your hands brush the touchscreen while you're typing, you won't lose control of the cursor. If this seems senseless, given how spacious trackpads already are, know that this panel doubles as a secondary display that can show webpages and other content when the laptop is shut. It looks like Intel's got it on display here for the press to play with, so we'll be getting hands-on as soon as we can. Update: We snagged a quick hands-on. Hit the gallery for a peek. Update 2: Now with video!
Dana Wollman01.09.2012
Atmel maXTouch S touchscreen controllers promise thinner and lighter devices, reduced display noise
If you're rolling with a smartphone or tablet right now, there's a pretty high chance you've been taking advantage of Atmel's maXTouch technology without even knowing it. The company, which has manufactured touchscreen controllers for a plethora of devices over the last few years, is at CES 2012 to unveil its latest and greatest flagship product: the maXTouch S. Offered in the new lineup is the mXT224S, which focuses on displays between 3.5 and 4.3 inches; the mXT336S, which will be offered for screens between 4.3 and 5.5 inches; and the mXT1664S will take care of devices with anything 10.1 or above. The new line of technology promises to help phones and tablets become thinner and lighter -- the company claims OEMs can reduce a device's thickness by more than one millimeter, in fact -- without sacrificing touch responsiveness or battery life. It also claims to reduce display noise and add stylus support, and will be supported on devices running Android 4.0, Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. Atmel's sampling the new lineup to customers as we speak, and should have production quantities ready to go before the end of the first quarter. Read all the interesting details in the press release below.
Brad Molen01.09.2012
Evigroup drops SmartPaddle Pro price to €699, optional head-tracking feature watches you intently
Are you and all of your friends flocking to buy that thing shown above at full retail price? Exactly. Evigroup's SmartPaddle Pro tablet is now available from €699 (under $900) for the base 10-inch configuration with no GPS, no 3G and a 32GB solid-state hard drive. Additional configurations are available with 1 or 2GB of RAM, and the high-end configuration, which includes 3G and GPS goes for under $1,500. The SmartPaddle Pro, with all the trimmings (including head-tracking), retails for around $1,530. Other specs include a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, five hour run time, mini-HDMI port and capacitive touchscreen, none of which seem to justify the (still bloated) new price tag. Click past the break for the full video, which is apparently set to an Enya album.
Chris Barylick01.07.2012
Unnecto TAPs into dual-SIM market, lets you do double GSM duty with a touch
Heard of Unnecto? Neither have we. But if you're oh-so-important enough to be toting around more than one phone on more than one carrier, you might want to stop, drop (some dough) and TAP -- as the company's latest smartphone is known. This sixth in a line of dual-SIM offerings is the outfit's first to offer touchscreen functionality and packs a quadband GSM radio that should make your globe- and frequency-hopping a little more efficient. No pricing or release details have yet been announced, but if you're really keen to wield this handset, you can just leave all of that tedious busywork to your office-locked assistant. Check the official presser after the break.
Joseph Volpe01.05.2012
Neonode's NN1001 optical touch controller tracks gestures with any object, 'gloved fingers' included
Neonode's name isn't plastered on your spate of gizmos, but if you've purchased a touchscreen-based device in the past year or so, there's a better-than-average chance that it's technology is tucked within. In the run-up to CES, the outfit is introducing the world's first ultra-low power single-chip optical touch controller, NN1001. This guy was developed in cooperation with Texas Instruments, specifically designed to shave costs and increase performance / functionality for smartphones, tablets, e-readers and automotive applications. The device has a scanning speed of 1,000 Hz (latency down to one millisecond) and consumes less than 1mW at 100Hz; better still, it'll track any high-speed multi-touch gesture with any object (including a finger, gloved finger and passive pens). We're told that it'll work in single or multiple configurations to support screen sizes up to 20 inches, but there's no clear view as to what products are lined up to receive it. That said, we're promised an early look of an automotive application at CES, where it'll head into the public world in the latter half of 2012.
Darren Murph01.04.2012
Synaptics promises better touchscreens with SignalClarity and Design Studio 4
Look, we recognize that touchscreens have come a long way in the last few years, but there's always room for improvement. Thankfully, Synaptics agrees and is rolling out an update to its ClearPad capacitive panels. At the heart of the improved system is a technology called SignalClarity, which boosts signal-to-noise ratio for better accuracy and finger separation. The new tech will not only lead to a better touchscreen experience, but it could also help drive down costs since manufacturers would be free to use lower cost components that might normally interfere with a capacitive panel. It'll be a little bit before the next-gen ClearPad makes is debut in a consumer product and chances are you won't see Synaptic brand emblazoned across the packaging of your next smartphone. That's ok though, we know it's in there working hard to keep our fingers happy. Check out the PR after the break for more details.
Terrence O'Brien01.03.2012
FIFA 12 Vita walkthrough is more of a run-, pass- and shoot-through
FIFA 12 producer Matt Prior filmed a walkthrough of the game on Vita, and between the PR catchphrases about how easy its new controls will be, he offers insight into how players will most likely respond to the touchscreen handling. Prior says that most players begin with traditional controls, but once they use the front- and back-screen touch options to switch players, pass and shoot, they never go back. FIFA 12 on Vita is the first title to use the FIFA engine in a handheld, Prior says, and the game truly does look pretty once you peek around all those poking fingers.
Jessica Conditt12.31.2011
ESPN's bowl coverage swaps out the telestrator for augmented reality GameView
We dug into ESPN's use of the Xbox 360 and EA Sports games to power its Virtual Playbook segments last year, but in preparation for this round of BCS bowl games it's upgraded the system with a bit of augmented reality. The new GameView system uses a tabletop 70-inch touchscreen LCD, a copy of NCAA Football '12 and four dedicated workstations to blend everything together and create a simulation for viewers to see the analysts move virtual players around the field. It should at least be more interesting than CNN's previous election coverage implementation, although we're mostly wondering when a combo of Kinect, Surface and old school electronic football will bring the experience directly to our living rooms to play around with. Check out the gallery for a few more screens and expect to see this implemented more during the upcoming big time bowl games -- no, there's no secret code Desmond Howard can input to get a national championship game between two college football teams that haven't already played each other, we asked.
Richard Lawler12.29.2011
XBMC Eden finally makes it to beta, promises HTPC superpowers
Remember that big XBMC update teased back in October? Well, v11.0's multifarious additions are finally ready for a spot of beta testing. These include all-round speed increases, a "vastly improved" default skin, the ability to rollback unpleasant add-on updates, and better hardware support for iOS devices, plus a host of other new features that can only be listed in full at the source link.
Sharif Sakr12.28.2011
PS Vita menu is touch-only
It's entirely possible there's a menu option hidden somewhere in the PS Vita's settings to enable navigation with buttons and analog sticks, but I have yet to find it. In the above video, I demonstrate both the touch-only nature of the Vita interface, and the really nice-looking lock screen.
JC Fletcher12.21.2011
First FIFA Soccer trailer shows you how to kick with your fingers
The first trailer for PlayStation Vita's FIFA Soccer shows off the fancy fingerwork required for you to pretend that you're doing even fancier footwork. In typical Vita fashion, FIFA Soccer takes advantage of the device's tactile options -- players can tap the screen to pass, bonk the rear touch pad to shoot "with pin-point accuracy," and stroke the front screen to perform a free kick. If that doesn't turn you on to FIFA Soccer on Vita, we just don't think anything will.
Jessica Conditt12.17.2011