Gadgetstronics

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 13th 2008 at 11:22AM
Okay, so that was eerily fast. Merely two days after ASUS’ Eee PC 1000H went on sale in Taiwan, the cats over at TweakTown managed to secure a unit and curb their excitement long enough to unbox the thing, snap some photographs along the way and even capture the experience on video. Here’s a hint: it’s an Eee PC, it has a 10-inch display, and it’s leaving its original packaging. Video after the break.

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Filed under: Laptops

The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) in Japan has successfully developed a small box-like display device which is able to conjure up 3D images on a palm, and has dubbed the device gCubik. The gCubik displays 3D images, enabling multiple people to view it simultaneously from various angles with the naked eye, doing away with the need for pesky glasses and the like. This development is made possible thanks to an applied technology of “integral photography method,” a kind of multiple-lens method. lcd panels are used in all three sides, measuring around 10cm x 10cm and being adjacent to each other, giving the illusion as though there’s a 3D object within.

Source: Tech-On

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The Nielsen Company today announced something unexpected at the Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition in Chicago. Apparently, over 9 million people have already bought something from the comfort of their cell phone.

According to Nielsen, those utilizing the ability to buy via website or text message on their phones aren’t the most surprising demographic. They’re mostly men and they’re predominantly between the ages of 25 to 34.

While 9 million people may sound like a lot, it only represents 3.6% of the American cell phone-owning public, with security concerns holding the rest of us back. For the most part, people are concerned that their credit card or other personal information will be compromised if they transmit it over their cell phone.

Others are worried about the amount of time it would take to make a purchase in this manner, and some people are thinking that with cell phone service as stellar as it always is, their purchase might not go through. Of course, there are also the people out there that don’t even have data plans or have no clue how to use their phones.

Nielson compiled the information from a monthly study on 30,000 U.S. phones. Between April 2007 and April 2008, there has been a 73% rise in people visiting a shopping or auction site on their phone. It might be a while before mobile purchasing is the norm, but it’s fair to say that the practice is already taking off.

Read more at Digital Trends

We have reported about some advancements in Pong before, so I figured we should also report about advancements in ping-pong. Okay, that was a weak introduction, but I believe that Robo-Pong 2040 is the best thing to happen to ping-pong since the paddle.

Robo-Pong could easily play the main villain in a Balls of Fury sequel in the ultimate battle of man vs. machine. Robo-Pong wields a gun that fires ping pong balls at its human opponent at varying speeds, and can even do fast chops and shallow spikes. With a top serving speed of 75 miles per hour, Robo-Pong would give Forrest Gump a run for his money. “That’s all I got to say about that.”

Unlike the automatic servers that tennis players use, the Robo-Pong won’t be running out of balls anytime soon. Once the player hits the balls back, they are collected in a net and put back into the shooter.

You can purchase the Robo-Pong off the official site or by calling 877-55-ROBOT. It costs about $700, but you can set up an easy payment plan.

I have included this video below so you can see it in action. Listen closely to the narration, as it makes it sound like you will finally be able to face an opponent as tough and soulless as the Terminator.

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What the rather senior lady on the right is wearing is the JORDY (Joint Optical Reflective Display) advanced magnifier from Enhanced Vision, helping those with low vision to view objects from afar, featuring up to 30x magnification complete with auto-focus capabilities. It isn’t exactly the most stylish of equipment, but hey, if it works, the design refinement will only make things better in future iterations. I can already think of a great way to use this - get a cheap seat at the end of a packed stadium at Euro 2008, and watch as it I was sitting from a grandstand position. Features include four viewing modes (full-color, black and white, high-contrast positive and negative), 30X magnification (50x with the optional desktop), a built-in lighting system, auto-focus and digital zoom.

Source: Gizmag

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Palm has released a new, albeit small firmware update for Alltel Treo 755p users. The new update brings the firmware from version 1.02 to 1.03, which will be reflected as software version “Treo755p-1.03-CDMA” on your phone’s info screen. The update does not offer anything overly exciting, but is still recommended as it does correct a “reset issue that occurs under certain specific and rare conditions.” As always when updating your device, please take some proper precautions and make sure you are backed up first, and of course follow the directions offered from Palm closely.

Read [Update] Via [SlashPhone]

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This is where we call out by names the actions and companies that seem odd, out of touch or just plain straight up smokin crack.  Technology is an odd realm where PR speak doesn’t hold a lot of water if the 1s and 0s don’t line up.  This week sees posturing, positioning and flat out insanity.  Here is what caught my eye this week:

iphone 3G.
I missed this call completely.  I predicted no subsidies, no lower price, multiple models and a build your own adventure.  Why did I blunder so badly?  Easy, Apple is on crack.  White?  Are we headed back to the plasticy white Mac days?  Only one reason Apple included the white color: cocaine is white.  I am not saying Apple has a problem, wait, oh yeah that is exactly what I am saying.

But it is much more than white.  By reducing the price, Apple may have hurt themselves.  Let me explain before you hit the comment button and expound your hate.  There is this hot girl on my block and I don’t have a chance with her.  Now, if I learn she is getting down with 1/2 the guys on the block, well, she becomes less hot (unless you are into that kind of thing).  It has to do with brand power and well, the iPhone has come down a few pegs in my book.  Will it stay cool or become the next Moto?  Shame, crackheads.

Gmail
I like Gmail, but when are we going to get out of beta?  I like new features but lets move on here.  I’ve got far too much invested in my Gmail accounts for them not to be taking this thing seriously.  Back to the lab sends me the signal that this cake is not done baking.  Um, what?  Crikey, I’ve been eating this cake for over a year now, what do you mean my chances of catching salmonella are unusually high?  Time to fish or cut bait.  But don’t you dare cut the bait, so really, just time to fish.  Give us the 1.0 please.

Sprint
Ah, Sprint, we admire your gumption with this whole Instinct thing.  But announcing the same price as the iPhone 3g and your iPhone challenging advertisements seems a bit, well foolish.  Can you do anything without mentioning the iPhone?  Always comparing yourself to the iPhone will keep you down, even if on paper you’re better.  Just look at Rocky vs Drago in Rocky IV, Drago should have kicked his butt, but no.  I see us asking, “Instinct who?” in six months.

Roku
Ok, really, who’s doing the crack on this one?  You intro a player we all want but are not certain enough to order lots?  I’d say you missed your price opportunity if you can’t keep them on the shelves.  A whole lot of crack isn’t going to make that feel better.  6-8 weeks is the latest delay time.  Heck in that time I could have whittled one out of driftwood.  Crack…

Perhaps we’re still hung over from the party out at the WWDC but this has been an odd week.  What did you see that made you say “huh?”, let us know in the comments.

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Sprint has announced that they will be simplifying their pricing plans beginning June 15th. The new plan will be based on the idea of as easy as 1-2-3. Subscribers first choose an individual plan for a single line or a share plan for multiple lines. Next they choose voice only, voice with unlimited messaging or voice with unlimited messaging and unlimited data. Finally, they decide on the number of minutes they need.

Voice-only plans will be offered for as low as US$39.99 a month, which includes 450 monthly anytime minutes. An unlimited voice-only plan will also be available for US$89.99 a month. For US$10 more you can get the “Simply Everything” plan which not only includes unlimited voice and data, but unlimited messaging and other premiere Sprint services.

By giving subscribers only three questions to answer, Sprint has made it a lot easier for people to choose a cell phone plan based on their needs. Just looking at a pricing grid with different plans can be quite intimidating. By asking questions as simple as 1-2-3 Sprint may attract new customers simply based on the fact that nearly anyone can answer three simple questions to point themselves toward the right plan.

Read more from the Sprint press release.

Sprint has announced that they will be simplifying their pricing plans beginning June 15th. The new plan will be based on the idea of as easy as 1-2-3. Subscribers first choose an individual plan for a single line or a share plan for multiple lines. Next they choose voice only, voice with unlimited messaging or voice with unlimited messaging and unlimited data. Finally, they decide on the number of minutes they need.

Voice-only plans will be offered for as low as US$39.99 a month, which includes 450 monthly anytime minutes. An unlimited voice-only plan will also be available for US$89.99 a month. For US$10 more you can get the “Simply Everything” plan which not only includes unlimited voice and data, but unlimited messaging and other premiere Sprint services.

By giving subscribers only three questions to answer, Sprint has made it a lot easier for people to choose a cell phone plan based on their needs. Just looking at a pricing grid with different plans can be quite intimidating. By asking questions as simple as 1-2-3 Sprint may attract new customers simply based on the fact that nearly anyone can answer three simple questions to point themselves toward the right plan.

Read more from the Sprint press release.

We reported back in March that Mozilla was working on Firefox for mobile devices. Now Aza Raskin, Head of User Experience at Mozilla Labs, has thrown together a concept video of how he envisions Mobile Firefox working. The video is pretty comprehensive and includes demos of opening up new tabs (using a giant plus), kinetic scrolling, single touch, and more.

The challenge on mobile was screen space and Aza has come up with some unique ideas, including hiding all navigation buttons and allowing the user to invoke them by going off the screen. The design also tries to minimize how much typing is needed and includes actions at the bottom of the page for digg, map an address, etc..

So far it’s an interesting concept but the biggest issue I have with it is that the concept is being demoed on a pretty large screen–much larger than most mobile devices. I’d like to see this being demoed or prototyped on a normal mobile screen in portrait mode, then we’ll see how well this mobile browser can work.

In the meantime, check out the video below and make sure to click through to the article, which includes a more detailed explanation of why Aza’s making these design decisions.

Firefox Mobile Concept Video from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

Read more at Azarask.in