Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Filed under: Robots

We’ve enjoyed watching KIST’s Hubo do crazy things like wear the face of Albert Einstein and ride a Segway, but we haven’t given as much attention to its brother Mahru. Feeling left out, the biped learned to dance with its upper body whilst walking around — an impressive feat, considering it wasn’t all that long ago that scientists first managed to get these things to take five steps without falling flat on their faces. Mahru also releases scents to express its artificial emotions, so you should be able to smell something fishy when it achieves sentience and begins angrily plotting to destroy its creators. Take a gander at a South Korean TV news report after the break.

Continue reading Mahru the robot dances to mask its emotional insecurities

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Original post by Samuel Axon

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Goodie! The long, excruciating wait for more information on Cowon’s exceptionally sleek ̘ PMP is finally over, and two of the more important tidbits you could ever want to know have been revealed. The PMP, which supports a gaggle of file types including Ṃ, OGG FLAC, AAC, WMA, DivX, MPEˊ and WMV (just to fire off a few), will arrive with a 4.3-inch touchscreen, SDHC card slot, 8GB / 16GB / 32GB of internal capacity, an internal speaker, TV output (up to 720p), 10-band custom equalizer, 18-hours of battery life for audio playback (8-hours for video), optional T-DMB TV tuner / e-dictionary functionality and your choice of pink, black or white motifs. The real news? An October 13th ship date in South Korea along with prices ranging from ₩294,000 ($224) for the stripped-down 8GB edition to ₩399,000 ($305) for the 32GB edition with a DMB tuner. Yanks, sadly, will have to wait.

[Via iAudiophile, thanks Ang]

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Original post by Darren Murph

According to Reuters, Skype has become an indispensable tool in teaching South Koreans to speak fluent English. Good English speaking skills are considered the key for success in South Korea.

The article states,”On any given day, students ranging from kids learning their alphabet to adults preparing for job interviews sign in on their Internet messengers, fire up their webcams and wait for English teachers to appear — from faraway continents.”

In fact, according to the article, “South Korea ranks No. 1 in the number of international students in the United States, ahead of more populous India and China, according to U.S. Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.”

Skype, the #1 VoIP software in the world, has become one of the main tools in their arsenal to train students to speak English.

Tags: English, Korea, language, South Korea, speaking, training, voip

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Copyright VoIP & Gadgets Blog

Original post by nafiz

South Korea, who I have criticized several times over their blocking of third-party VoIP providers like Vonage and blocking U.S. military from using VoIP, has announced they plan to allow VoIP on WiBro (wireless broadband). WiBro is essentially the Korean version of mobile WiMax.

So far WiBro has had a slow disappointing uptake. The Korean Communications Commission (KCC), Korea’s broadband and telecommunications regulator, decided to allow WiBro to support VoIP, which could give WiBro the shot it needs.

KCC is also considering granting a license to a company to voice calls over WiBro as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), leasing the networks of KT and SK Telecom.

According to the Korean Times, “Delivering quadruple play services that package broadband Internet, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), cable television services and wireless services is something to think about,” said Yoo Se-joon, president of the Korean Cable TV Association.

Source

Tags: KCC, Korean Cable TV Association, Korean Communications Commission, Korean Times, South Korea, voip, Vonage, WiBro, wimax

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Copyright VoIP &amp Gadgets Blog

Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

It’s a UMPC! It’s a MID! It’s a multifaceted PMP that relies on Windows CE 5.0! Whatever it is, the Nurian Avatar F1 comes touting a 5.8- x 3- x 1-inch chassis and isn’t likely to stray too far from South Korea. The PMP conglomerate not only plays back MPEG1/2/4, DivX, XviD, WMV, OGG and Ṃ files, it also defines words, tunes into mobile TV (DMB) broadcasts and outputs video via the component dongle. You’ll also find a 4.3-inch WQVGA display, USB socket, a built-in equalizer and an integrated mic for good measure. Take a wild guess at the price, chances are you’ll be in the neighborhood (minus the flight to Seoul).

[Via Pocketables]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Pucker up, jet-setters — South Korea’s own KAON Media has a new PMP on the way, and for whatever reason, we’ve found ourselves strangely attracted to what the KM35 has going on here. The “Anywhere TV and Internet” device runs on Windows CE (and handles fresh-out-of-cinema films very well) and features a 3.5-inch 320 x 240 resolution display, 4GB or 8GB NAND flash drive, WiFi, an SD expansion slot, optional FM tuner and your choice of DVB-T/H, ISDB-T or T-DMB TV tuners. Early estimates peg battery life at around 2.5-hours when watching live TV, though there’s no word yet on pricing or worldwide availability.

[Thanks, J. Carter]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: GPS, Portable Video

We’re (so) looking forward to the day when we Americans don’t have to look longingly at the amazing navigation units that pop up every month or so in South Korea, but until that fateful day arrives, we’ll continue drooling courtesy of the Easycar U7. This screen-dominated conglomerate features a 7-inch LCD, DMB TV tuner, 19-millimeter thick frame and an integrated multimedia player / text viewer. All that for just ₩199,000 ($191)? Nah, we’re not envious at all.

[Via Techie Diva]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio, Wireless

Samsung already loosed a 3-channel Bluetooth speaker earlier this year, but apparently, one just isn’t enough. The company has now introduced its YA-SBR510 over in South Korea, which streams audio from BT-enabled players and includes a 3.5-millimeter auxiliary jack for hooking up just about everything else. A tad pricey at €150 ($222), but it’s a total bargain should it come bundled with that oh-so-furry rug. Sammy, care to comment?

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops

It’s with an indescribable amount of stifled jubilation that we bring to you yet another netbook: Raon Digital’s Everun Note. Made official today in South Korea, the previously AMD-branded rig will feature a 7-inch LCD (1,024 x 600), Windows XP Home, your choice of an 80GB hard drive or 12GB SSD, a 1.2GHz AMD Turion CPU, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, integrated WiFi / Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, a 1.3-megapixel camera, an SD / MMC card slot and a decent array of ports for the size. Going by the papers, it’ll last around 2.5 hours when surfing the web, and while a price is eluding us just now, expect it to emerge shortly as it arrives in North America next month.

[Via Pocketables]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Peripherals

For the longest time, Luxeed’s eye-tingling keyboards were only available on the other side of the planet. Now, however, the Dynamic Pixel LED Keyboard is finally for sale on US soil. We’ll spare you the completely irrelevant Optimus Maximus links — after all, this thing only allows you to tweak the colors of each individual key — but those obsessed with lighting up their gaming area without using those boring incandescents will certainly find plenty to love. And yeah, the $199.99 (for the keyboard alone the number pad attachment is another $34.99) price tag is way closer to “manageable″ than that ‘board you really want.

[Thanks, Zarian]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Desktops, Transportation

We genuinely hope you don’t value your dash very much, because a great deal of it will vanish if you opt to install KNGT’s icom MK1.The full-fledged car computer wows passengers and drivers alike with its 6.95-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, on-screen QWERTY keyboard, wireless connectivity and mobile TV (T-DMB) tuner. Furthermore, you’ll find a 40GB / 80GB hard drive, upwards of 2GB of RAM, a few USB 2.0 ports, a 1.6GHz Intel CPU and Windows XP running the show. You know all those threats you made when you were younger about heading out and just living in your ‘79 Riviera? Following through just got a whole lot easier.

[Via Coolest-Gadgets]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Storage

Although Western Digital seems to have the portable hard drive sector all wrapped up, LG’s looking to snag a bit of that market share by introducing a new line of stylish alternatives. Each member of the XD1 family possesses a 2.5-inch HDD with a SATA II interface and a USB 2.0 port, and just in case black isn’t your bag, you can expect a red wine colored version as well. For now, we’ll have to live without a price or release date, but you can look forward to units arriving in 120GB, 160GB, 250GB and 320GB sizes sometime in the future.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Believe it or not, JATY is far from being the first gadget maker to think of stuffing a breathalyzer into something completely unrelated (like a wristwatch), but this do-it-all navigator really has included everything save for the kitchen sink (and an N64 emulator, but you get the point). Specs wise, you’re looking at a 7-inch touchscreen, 533MHz CPU, WinCE 5.0, 64MB of NAND Flash / SDRAM, an SD expansion slot, built-in GPS / T-DMB receivers, USB connectivity, integrated speakers and support for MP3, WMV, OGG, AC3, MPEG1/2/4, DivX, XviD, AVI and JPG formats (just to name a few). Chances are you’ll never see this on US soil, so you’re looking at a flight to Seoul in addition to ₩296,000 ($294) in order to procure one.

[Via Tech Digest]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Bringing an end to the Samsung slush fund probe, a South Korean court has fined Lee Kun-hee, Samsung’s former Chairman and son of the chaebol’s founder, $109 million for tax evasion. A rather favorable decision when you consider that prosecutors sought a seven-year jail sentence and a fine of $347 million. The court said that his crimes did not justify a prison term. Lee, appearing relieved by the decision, apologized again saying, “I’m sorry for causing trouble to the people,” presumably while adjusting his monocle and top-hat from atop his golden chariot.

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Laptops

It’s almost over folks — at least, that’s what we’re continuing to tell ourselves. Anyways, Sammy has decided to follow in the footsteps of practically everyone else in the laptop realm by revealing a few newcomers over in South Korea. Granted, we already knew that a few of these were coming, but now we’ve got actual units with Photoshopped screen savers to prove their existence. Ready? Let’s go. We’ve got the Centrino 2-based 12.1-inch Q210, 13.1-inch Q310, 14.1-inch R460, 15.4-inch R510 / R560 and 17-inch R710 on the consumer side, while the P210, P460, P461, P510 and P560 make up the business crowd. A few more lovely images are waiting in the read link, though no price / release dates accompany them.

[Thanks, Khattab]

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Original post by Darren Murph