Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Thanko is striking while the iron is hot, or in this case, while the weather is freezing cold. After the warm mouse and mouse pad we saw some time ago, the weird gadget maker Thanko is now hawking a wrist AND a lunch warmer. The wristband connects to your computer via USB and reaches temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius to keep your blood flowing during extra cold days. It has an extended Velcro strap so it fits a range of wrist thickness. The other new Thanko product for the winter is a lunchbox with built-in heater (pictured after the jump). Powered by a USB connection to a computer, the heater is made up of anodized aluminum that’s supplemented with Styrofoam insulation so the heat doesn′t escape while away from a power source like during commute.

Original post by Mariella Moon

Filed under: Laptops

Can you feel it? That tepid urge purging itself into a dew of sweaty anticipation across your forehead can only be attributed to another boxy netbook, this time presented by Epson in teaser format. The MiniNote hits Japan in November packing the usual netbook specs: 1.6GHz Atom with XP riding 1GB memory and 160GB hard disk, WiFi, and a 10.2-inch LCD slinging 1,024 x 600 pixels from bezel to bezel. Hardly worthy of so many exclamation points. That unfortunate silhouette even makes the LaVie Light look sleek by comparison. We can hardly wait to be amused by the spectacle of the unveiling.

[Via Impress]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Displays, Wearables

Vuzix will have you wearing your display if it’s the last thing you do. We spotted the headset maker’s new AV310 Widescreen wearable headset at TGS, and were pleased with the improvement over the company’s previous entries into the head-mounted display market. First, the 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio is a major bonus for, oh, any game that’s come out in the past two years. Second, the headphones hang on cables rather than in fixed locations, promising what we felt was a much more comfortable fit. Picture quality was acceptable at such a short distance, but we’re still not completely sold on the goggle look just yet. Hit the break for a couple more shots.

Continue reading Eyes-on with Vuzix’s iWear AV310 Widescreen wearable display

Read&nbsp|&nbspPermalink&nbsp|&nbspEmail this | Comments

Original post by Joshua Fruhlinger

Filed under: Transportation

While the rest of the world was in some kind of mass coma over the past year, China decided to have a hand at building the highly controversial Emdrive (electromagnetic drive) — an engine that uses microwaves to transform electrical energy into thrust, all in a comparably light-weight, efficient package. The end result could mean 41 day journeys to Mars, not to mention terrestrial vehicle propulsion and satellite applications. Perpetual motion malarkey you say? British scientist and originator of the concept, Roger Shawyer of Satellite Propulsion Research Ltd. (SPR), assures you it’s nothing of the kind, and Chinese Professor Yang Juan concurs. Research headed by Juan at Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) in Xi’an commenced in June 2007, and a thruster now being built based on Shawyer’s theories is scheduled for completion by the end of this year. Meanwhile in the US: cue the sound of crickets.

[Via Wired]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Stephanie Patterson

Filed under: Gaming

According to our main homeboys / homegirls at GameDaily, Microsoft has confirmed that it’s dropping the price of that big, delicious Xbox 360 hard drive from the dizzingly high $179 to a totally thrifty $149. According to a Redmond rep: “We reduced the price of the Xbox 360 120 GB Hard Drive to $149 in conjunction with the recent Xbox 360 console price drop. We believe this offers consumers even greater value when selecting accessories that meet their individual gaming and entertainment needs.” Hey, no need to explain — we like things to be cheaper.

[Via Joystiq]

Read&nbsp|&nbspPermalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Peripherals

It’s not all BlueTrack hysteria for Microsoft today — the company’s hardware division also took the wraps off that Arc Mouse we spotted back in July and the new Wireless Mobile Mouse 3000. The two-part wireless Arc Mouse isn’t just pure fashion — the folding design allows it to flip closed for easy storage and portability, and unfolds to full size when in use. Sadly, it doesn’t get the hot new BlueTrack tech, but uses a traditional optical sensor instead — but the 2.4GHz connection provides a 30-foot range. The Wireless Mobile Mouse 3000 is your basic travel optical mouse, but it’ll get six months out of one AA battery. Both of these should be out this month — the Arc Mouse will come in black and red for $60, while the Mobile Mouse 3000 will come in black and white for $30 — there’ll be some colorful special editions in Target as well. Check the Mobile Mouse 3000 after the break.

Continue reading Microsoft Arc Mouse unfolds into view along with the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3000

Read | Permalink | Email this&nbsp|&nbspComments

Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Cellphones

With Japanese handset sales declining pretty much across the board (thanks, lower subsidies!), it follows logic that the government and Japanese-based handset makers would look internationally to pick up the slack. In a rather vague report, we’re told that the nation is hoping to push its technologically advanced mobiles in other countries, though it’ll have a tough time marketing mobile TV without sufficient infrastructure. One of the token handsets chosen to lead the parade is a Sony-made “wallet phone,” which is only described as having cashless technology built in. Color us (very) mildly enthused.

Read | Permalink&nbsp|&nbspEmail this | Comments

Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Wireless

For better or worse, targeted advertising isn’t going anywhere. Seemingly, it’s not getting any more discrete, either. NEC’s Digital Signage Solution combines a camera, a large display and a FeliCa contactless IC card reader / writer in order to dole out advertisements that cater to certain demographics. The system includes the innate ability to determine “gender, generation and other attributes” of a person in order to serve up advertisements that will cause him / her to spend some dough. From there, the individual can scan their phone in order to access related content on their mobile internet browser. That’s all and fine and dandy we suppose, but how on Earth do you convince busy citizens to stop by and have a look at an otherwise uninteresting flat-panel?

[Image courtesy of NEC]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Handhelds, Storage

Look out! The world’s ugliest UMPCs are all getting the SSD treatment, or so it seems. Just five days after Raon Digital added a 32GB solid state drive option for its Everun S32S Dic, WiBrain has introduced a SSD-equipped B1. Starting today, users can grab one of these devices with an 8GB, 16GB or 32GB SSD packed within, each of which will set you back ₩399,000 ($383), ₩549,000 ($528) and ₩599,000 ($576), respectively.

[Thanks, Jenn]

Read&nbsp|&nbspPermalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: GPS

XRoad has released a few of its GPS units ‘round these parts, but it looks like it’s sticking close to its home base with its latest V7 model, which will apparently be exclusive to Korea. If that doesn’t preclude you, however, it looks like you can expect a pretty decent unit, with the new V7 3rd version boasting a 7-inch 800 x 480 display, all the usual PMP functions, 4GB of flash memory, an FM tuner, a DMB mobile TV tuner, picture-in-picture, real-time traffic information, and a generous 4200mAh Li-Ion battery, to name but a few features. No word on a price or release date just yet, but we wouldn’t expect it to be too far off the $600 or so the previous model demanded.

[Via Navigadget]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Networking

Think you′re getting a decent speed for a decent price on your broadband? Well think again. Kuala Lumpur-based Velchip has just announced plans to create a vast broadband-over-powerline network which will deliver 224Mbps to users in Malaysia for about RM5 (or $1.57) per month. The goal is to connect Mosques across the country, linking together 400,000 houses of worship over existing wiring and delivering service to about 60 million users. The $14 billion project will be rolled out over the next three years, with participation from US satellite company STM Networks. It all makes that $149.95 DOCSIS 3.0 introduction look pretty weak, now doesn’t it?

[Via Slashdot]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Networking

Think you’re getting a decent speed for a decent price on your broadband? Well think again. Kuala Lumpur-based Velchip has just announced plans to create a vast broadband-over-powerline network which will deliver 224Mbps to users in Indonesia for about RM5 (or $1.57) per month. The goal is to connect Mosques across the country, linking together 400,000 houses of worship over existing wiring and delivering service to about 60 million users. The $14 billion project will be rolled out over the next three years, with participation from US satellite company STM Networks. It all makes that $149.95 DOCSIS 3.0 introduction look pretty weak, now doesn’t it?

Update: There was a bit of a mixup over whether this service was coming to Malaysia or Indonesia — we’ve corrected the problem.

[Via Slashdot]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Peripherals

Microsoft is at it again with its boring-as-can-be product names and its terrifically designed computer mice and keyboards. First off is the new Wireless Laser Desktop 7000 (pictured), which Microsoft calls the “little black dress” of peripherals — something we find to be at least a little disturbing. The keyboard and mouse combo include “smoked translucent border” design elements, conveniently-assignable My Favorites Keys, and some rather sleek / thin looks. The keyboard — which we saw pass the FCC in February — is of the Comfort Curve-ilk, the Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 has a horizontal charging station, and both use 2.4GHz wireless tech. The worst news is the price, at $130 when it hits in April. If you don’t need all the fancy, Microsoft also has the new Digital Media Keyboard 3000 (pictured after the break) with some fun media-centric keys for the much more palatable $30 pricepoint. It’ll be out in June.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Paul Miller

BlackBerry service has been restored after a “critical severity outage” knocked out service to North American customers Monday afternoon, Research in Motion (RIM) said Monday night.

RIM statement:

“BlackBerry data services in the Americas experienced intermittent delays on late Monday afternoon (beginning approximately 3:30 pm eastern). Data service levels were restored in the early evening at approximately 6:30 pm eastern. Voice and SMS services operated normally during this time. No messages were lost and message queues began to be cleared after normal service levels were restored. RIM continues to focus on providing industry-leading reliability in its products and services and apologizes to customers for any inconvenience.”

Original post by Chloe Albanesius

While the big news from Microsoft today was their purchase of Danger, they also had one cute, cuddly little software announcement at Mobile World Congress: MSN Direct is now a free software download for Windows Mobile devices.

MSN Direct is the information service that you might remember from Microsoft’s SPOT watches it’s just basically news, weather and stock information, for now. It was unusual when it was being delivered via RF to watches and coffee machines in the handheld world, it has to compete with dozens of other news and information delivery services.

Still, it’s cute. The information pops up in a panel on your home screen, and when you tap on it, it expands, finally launching Internet Explorer for full details. Right now the ‘news′ section only takes information from MSN. But Microsoft wants to make Direct’s development process unusually open to users′ suggestions, and they’re asking people to download the beta and suggest other panels of information they’d like to see. Hey, it’s free.

Check it out at Microsoft’s site. More photos after the jump.

&nbsp

Original post by Sascha Segan