This crazy looking little fellow is 's robot, and we couldn't want to meet him more -- especially in his updated form. Designed as a home assistance bot, ApriPoco can learn to control electrical appliances using both IR and verbal commands. He's got some fine company in Japan, too, where household robots are starting to take off. As you'll see in the Japanese news report (which is embedded below), there are to help you do the dishes, move furniture, and even robotic to help you get around. Really, the only question that remains for us is... when do we move? Here's to .

originally appeared on on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 04:01:00 EDT. Please see our .

         

Now that the Nintendo 3DS is announced using a parallax barrier display, we bet that many of you were hoping to see a 10-inch 3D tablet or laptop with a similar glasses-less display. Hell, we were... until we actually saw Sharp's prototype here at IFA in Berlin. Unfortunately, the panel at this larger size suffers from some very serious vertical shadows (check the video) unless you're right in the sweet spot and alligned with the barrier's precision slits at a distance of about 20 inches. Even then, it's very hard to maintain your position, and the 3D effect isn't all that dazzling. Fortunately, this 3D (640 x 768) panel also functions in 2D (1280 x 728) mode. Guess a isn't so crazy after all. Wait, yes it is.

originally appeared on on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 01:54:00 EDT. Please see our .

         

According to Apple's UK website, will hit on Wednesday, September 8th. The US website still displays the non-commital "Coming Soon" message, so we'll have to keep our eyes peeled. We're going to go ahead and guess that all those will come to retail that day too... but don't hold us to that one. Like we said, it's only a guess.

[Thanks, Luca]

originally appeared on on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 00:09:00 EDT. Please see our .

         

Google Wave tried to be the next big thing and didn't quite make it, but that doesn't mean that all that effort is going down the drain when Google decided to . Google has promised to keep Wave alive at least until the end of the year, and now the search engine giant has confirmed that it will release most of the Wave code, dubbed "". The code will allow developers to continue the job where Wave left off, and we're really looking forward to seeing what developers will be able to come up with. Who knows, maybe some developer will come up with a cool social networking application that will seriously challenge Facebook?

Permalink: from Hot: , ,

There's something about lasers that seems to appeal to everybody, and now LaserMotive has managed to use a few watts of laser power to keep a 22-gram model helicopter hovering for about an hour. While we can easily think of all sorts of mischief that can be done if we had a more powerful laser, LaserMotive's goal is to power space elevators to lift objects into orbit. Such a move would be useful as traditional UAVs require a lot of power from batteries or fuel, while solar-powered vehicles have limitations for staying in the air for long periods of time. With that in mind, ground-based laser propulsion could be a viable solution to enhance airtime. Check out a video of the laser in action after the jump.

Permalink: from Hot: , ,

Last week we gave the loyalists in attendance a chance to , and this time around we're doing the same for Motorola's best frienemies. The is without question the largest Droid in the family today, and calling it a showstopper on would probably be understating things. Now that it's been on the market a few months, we're curious to know how you early adopters like (or dislike) it. Did the massive screen end up being too large for comfort? Anything you'd tweak software-wise? How's the VZW service been? Might your world change if Android 2.2 ever hits in official fashion? Go on and let us know how you'd alter this behemoth down in comments below -- but give it some real thought first, cool? Cool.

originally appeared on on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:39:00 EDT. Please see our .

         

Now, we don't have any confirmation that the two are one and the same, but we just caught wind of a very intriguing printer on HP's website. The Photosmart eStation C510 is listed for $399.99 and, in addition to usual ink-plastering duties, has a detachable wireless 7-inch TouchSmart control panel for browsing content, printing (of course), and "brows[ing] the latest e-book bestsellers or old favorites." It all sounds well and good, and if you ask us, it rings a very eerily similar chord as the from early August. If so, that'd make this touchscreen an Android 2.1 tablet with "significant" Nook integration for e-reading. Guess we'll just have to wait and see what's under the hood, software-wise. What say ye, HP, how about throwing us a press release yonder?

[Thanks, Julian]

originally appeared on on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:40:00 EDT. Please see our .

         

We haven't spotted this one at IFA yet, but Fujitsu has taken advantage of the show to announce its new LifeBook T580, which it's going so far as to call "slate-beating." That apparently comes from the fact that it's not only a convertible tablet PC, but one with four-finger multitouch. Unfortunately, that's done on a 10.1-inch resistive touchscreen (complete with a stylus that can be tucked away), but the rest of the specs aren't too shabby, and include up to a Core i5 processor, optional 3G and GPS, a promised eight hours of battery life, and plenty of business-minded security measures -- all in a three-pound package. No word on pricing just yet, but you can expect this one to roll out in late November. Head on past the break for the complete press release, along with a quick demo of its multitouch capabilities.

originally appeared on on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our .

     ,     

And here it is, Panasonic's prototype G-series micro-four-thirds shooter with . We caught the pair hanging out at IFA with nary a soul around to take notice. Too bad for them, good for you if you've made the jump to a panny MFT as the lens will ultimately be compatible with your Lumix G micro system... probably -- unfortunately, Panasonic isn't saying which cams will be eligible for the software update. From the sound of it, the whole kit will get official in just a few week at Photokina with a new G-series body playing host to the new 3D lens. Here in Berlin, however, we've got a G2 body with an updated 3D image processing system doing the dirty work. Nevertheless, it was fully functional and produced a reasonable 3D image with plenty of pop that was ready to view on a brand new Panasonic 3D television. Come on, a 3D televsion is nothing without 3D content. Sneaky Panasonic, sneaky.

Gallery:

originally appeared on on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:20:00 EDT. Please see our .

         

We're still trying to figure out exactly what Apple's new is good for, but apparently quite a few people are curious about it: it's already racked up a million users in its first two days. That's just a third of the people who've downloaded iTunes 10, so we're sure the numbers are will grow even faster as more people snag iTunes and the network effect starts to kick in -- and things will get really crazy if Apple and Facebook ever . Just remember: it's a social network... for music.

originally appeared on on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:39:00 EDT. Please see our .

         

Well, what do we have here? Looks like a Logitech beta user was kind enough to (potentially break his NDA and) show off his early grab: the . What follows is a series of blurred photos that'd , but all the same, who are we to critique news? The little unassuming box has HDMI in and out ports, a couple of USB inputs, ethernet, and SPDIF. According to the handler, installation was a "12-step process includes asking the details of your Google account, your physical location, TV, cable box, amp, and more." It works with any Harmony remote, an Android device (in this case, a Droid Incredible), or the packaged keyboard. That latter input , but it seems to be working fine right here: full QWERTY, a trackpad, all the necessary keys for GTV navigation. One more pic of the keyboard after the break, as well a video walkthrough.

[Thanks, Craig]

originally appeared on on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:25:00 EDT. Please see our .

         

That from a few days back? Turns out it was nothing more than the Optimus Chic, one of two Google-powered phones that the company back in early July. They're still not ready to let us touch the damned things here at -- apparently on account of the fact that they're not commercially available yet -- but we got close enough to conclude that you definitely won't be fooling anyone into thinking that you've dropped many hundreds of euros on your phone. You could argue that Huawei set the tone for IFA's small-but-notable mobile presence this year with its introduction of the -- in other words, cheap Android gear -- and both of these LGs look primed to go head-to-head with the Ideos in that arena. Nokia had long been hoping to totally own the smartphone industry in emerging markets by driving into the bargain basement -- but with this latest round of Android releases coming dangerously close to the same price points, we could have an interesting battle on our hands.

originally appeared on on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:28:00 EDT. Please see our .

         

ViewSonic introduceerde op de IFA de en liet tegelijkertijd weten dat ook een 10 i...

Researchers at have recently published a paper on their new type of WORM (write once read many) memory which is even more low powered than the ones that came before it. The new electron-only design of the memory is solution processed, making it low cost as well as it requires no lithography. The device, using ZnO semiconductor to inject electrons into a polymer which is capable of conducting. The electrons are then used to program the memory by permanently lowering the conductivity of the polymer, producing insulation. This result is far lower power densities than previously recorded, by orders of magnitude. The research team believes that it can make further improvements to the device as they continue to work.

originally appeared on on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:01:00 EDT. Please see our .

         

The (truth be told, one of our favorite card-related associations) has a new spec in the works that will almost triple the speed of its SDHC and SDXC cards, according to CNET. The specification, which should be complete Q1 next year, will achieve 300MB per second by adding a second row of electrical contacts on the bottom face of the card, and will be backward compatible with older, slower devices. Although being referred to internally as SD 4.0, brand names for the technology are still being considered -- with UHS-II (the successor to ultra-high speed bus cards) as one possibility.

originally appeared on on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:35:00 EDT. Please see our .