We’ve been dying to know more about Microsoft’s Courier tablet / e-book device ever since we first caught wind of it last September, and while our entreaties to Mr. Ballmer went unanswered, we just learned some very interesting information from an extremely trusted source. We’re told Courier will function as a “digital journal,” and it’s designed to be seriously portable: it’s under an inch thick, weighs a little over a pound, and isn’t much bigger than a 5×7 photo when closed. That’s a lot smaller than we expected — this new picture really puts it into perspective — and the internals apparently reflect that emphasis on mobility: rather than Windows 7, we’re told the Courier is built on Tegra 2 and runs on the same OS as the Zune HD, Pink, and Windows Mobile 7 Series, which we’re taking to mean Windows CE 6.
As we’ve heard, the interface appears to be pen-based and centered around drawing and writing, with built-in handwriting recognition and a corresponding web site that allows access to everything entered into the device in a blog-like format complete with comments. We’re also hearing that there will be a built-in camera, and there’s a headphone jack for media playback. Most interestingly, it looks like the Courier will also serve as Microsoft’s e-book device, with a dedicated ecosystem centered around reading. It all sounds spectacular, but all we have for a launch date is “Q3 / Q4″, and we have no idea how much it’s going to cost, so we’re trying to maintain a healthy skepticism until any of this gets official — call us any time, Microsoft. One more pic showing the interface after the break.
Update: We’ve added a gallery of user interface shots — some of which we’ve seen and some of which are new.
Update 2: We’ve just gotten two full-length HD videos of the interface in action. We’ve seen parts of these before, but there’s some new stuff here that’s quite interesting. Check it below.
Continue reading Microsoft’s Courier ‘digital journal’: exclusive pictures and details (update: video!)
Microsoft’s Courier ‘digital journal’: exclusive pictures and details (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Let’s face it: anything that a human can do a robot can do better. Whether it’s
teaching our youngsters, giving
physical therapy to our oldsters, or
reading bedtime stories, robots are coming out on top. Researchers at Osaka University have developed two new devices recently called M3-neony and M3-synchy (“M3″ stands for “man-made man,” while “neony” refers to the word neonate, and “synchy” to synchronized communication). The former is essentially a baby simulator that will be used to test machine learning software designed to shed some light on fine motor skill development. It is equipped with a pair of CMOS cameras for sight and microphones for hearing, gyro and accelerometer sensors, and tactile sensors. And it can crawl! The latter robot was developed to study communication through use with object recognition, speech recognition, and speech synthesis software. On the hardware end, this guy sports a head-mounted CCD
camera, two microphones, a
speaker, and fifteen LEDs (for making the robot blush). Needless to say, these are both very adorable — so much so, in fact, that we might not even notice if they
weaponize themselves. Let’s just say the
future just got a little cuter. And a little deadlier.
Video after the break.
Continue reading M3 robots used to research human development, melt hearts (video)
M3 robots used to research human development, melt hearts (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Whoopsadaisies. Seems Panasonic “accidentally” posted specs and images of its upcoming G2 and G10 Micro Four Thirds cameras to its web site just long enough to be snagged by a few different photog sites. While there’s no denying that the incident occurred (the pics are certainly legit), there’s some speculation at 43rumors that the specifications are still “work in progress” and should be considered only partially correct. Nevertheless, let’s go with what we’ve got keeping in mind that some of this might change. Both cams are said to feature a 12.1 megapixel sensor, touchscreen with touch shutter and touch MF Assist, and ISO 100 to 6,200 sensitivity. The G2 differs with its one-touch AVCHD Lite movie mode (1,280 x 720, 60p) and 3-inch articulating display with live view. The G10 then, offers a “double live view” (LCD and live view finder) glimpse at the action while recording 1,280 x 720p motion JPEG videos at 30fps. However, the leaked spec sheet inconsistently mentions an AVCHD Lite recording format for the G10 as well… so who knows. Panasonic is expected to make an announcement on March 7th; surely you can wait you a few days?
Panasonic leaks own G2 and G10 Micro Four Thirds cams in macro fashion originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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LG is going to release in Korea its LU2300 Android smartphone, which will be compete against Samsung’s M100S and Motorola’s MOTOROI in Korea. LG’s new phone will be powered by the SnapDragon 1GHz processor and features a AMOLED touchscreen and a 5 Megapixel camera with 720p HD video recording.
The LG LU2300 will be loaded with Android 2.1 OS.
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Nokia presents its new C5, a candybar style smartphone from its newly introduced Cseries. The C5 features a 2.2-inch LCD display, a 3.2 Megapixel camera with LED flash, video recording and Full Focus EDOF (extended depth of field) technology, a secondary camera for video calls, Bluetooth and microSD card slot.
The Nokia C5 sports integrated A-GPS receiver and comes with Ovi Map 3.0 pre-installed for turn-by-turn navigation. This new smartphone runs S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2 and comes with applications for messaging and social networking, such as Nokia Messaging for email and IM, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube. C5 has built-in music and video player and offers 3.5mm jack.
Nokia C5 supports dual band WCDMA 900/2100 and quad-band GSM/EDGE networks. It is available in White and Warm Grey and will be released in Q2 2010 globally in Europe, Eurasia, SEAP, China and MEA.
Nokia also announced its new naming scheme:
Nokia naming conventions
C5GLOBAL – This morning’s announcement of the Nokia C5 completes what some of you may have picked up on over the last few months – a shift in Nokia’s device naming convention. There are now four series of devices – Nokia Cseries, Xseries, Eseries and Nseries. Whilst the latter two have been around for a while, and Xseries has been around since last year’s Nokia World, the latest addition of Cseries rounds off the complete set. What’s more, within each series of devices, we’re seeing a new range of numbers, from 1 to 9, each signifying the range of functionality on offer, and the approximate prices of the devices – 1 being the lowest and 9 being the highest.
Today’s announcement of the Nokia C5 joins its similarly named cousins of the Nokia X3 and Nokia X6, both of which were announced at Nokia World last year. As yet, we haven’t seen a similarly named E or N series device and of course, we won’t be commenting on when either of those might be happening.
This new naming convention is designed to make things easier for users, so they can quickly and easily work out where a device sits within the series and beyond that have a clearer idea of what each series does. Nseries remains the flagship and most advanced range of products. Xseries comes next and focuses on social entertainment. Eseries remains focussed on productivity and business whilst Cseries represents the core range of products.
Work on the new naming convention started way back in 2008, when extensive consumer research was done around the subject. The results of this research culminated in a new naming convention being created and first introduced late last year. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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