Nokias bendable future phone

We have seen bendable displays in the past from Samsung, LG and Toshiba, but none of them have really put it into a functional prototype.

Now Nokia had their Nokia World in London and Tapani Jokinen, Head of Design at Nokia showed off their bendable phone and how it would react when you bend it different ways.

The user will control this flexible Nokia Kinetic phone by bending, twisting and even squeezing it. Different bends will result in different functions on the phone and he had a good point when he said that it makes it much easier to use in the cold winters in Finland when you are wearing gloves.

Check out the video:

Pretty cool!

@maniac13

Indie Royale – pay what you like with a twist

Indie Royale is a new video game bundle site with an interesting twist on the pay-what-you-like model. Every two weeks, the site will release a bundle of independent video games. Users can pay the current marked price, but as more users pay the marked price, the price will slowly increase. Paying more than the marked price, however, will bring the price down for everyone by an amount proportional to the extra paid.

The site is a joint venture of the blog IndieGames.com and the digital games distribution network Desura. They describe the site’s raison d’être here:

The point of Indie Royale is to put the spotlight on those indie titles which provide fantastic experiences, but may well have been passed over by a good portion of the mainstream gaming public. If you purchase an Indie Royale bundle, you can be safe in the knowledge that you’re not only getting four brilliant indie games – you’re also supporting worthwhile developers.

It’s a cool idea and I can see myself coming back every couple of weeks to see what’s available. Between Good Old Games, Steam and now Indie Royale, it’s getting far too easy to spend all your pocket money on cool games.

Best FPS Gaming setup in the world

cLast week it went around all the blogs and I don’t know how many times I watched the video below. If I had a cool $650000 dollars laying around I would buy one myself.

 

here is the teaser we saw last week

 

And then the gadget show aired a few days ago in the UK, but unfortunately if you are not in the UK you can’t use their streaming and catch-up services. Luckily they uploaded it to Youtube so if you have a cool 17 1/2 min to spare check out how the best FPS simulator was build

 

Did I say I want one?

@maniac13

One step closer to the HoloDeck from Star Trek

Microsoft Research has given us some cool stuff in the past and they don’t seem to be stopping any time soon.

Today its the HoloDesk, a tool that lets you manipulate virtual 3D objects with your bare hands. Looking through a transparent display, the objects react nearly instantly, rolling from a sheet of real paper into a real cup and falling into shadow if you block the virtual light-source.

Check out the super cool video of it in action:

 

If you haven’t guessed it, there is a Kinect sensor at its heart. Super awesome.

@maniac13

BrandTable – NFC concept that will alter your food court experience

The University of Sydney has a great bunch of interaction design students and one of them is Stephen Davis.

As you all know Amnesia Razorfish is always trying to stay ahead of the curve especially when it comes to new technologies so when Stephen had the idea of the BrandTable we were able to help him out a little.

Together with Publicis Mojo we were able to get him first hand insights into Paypal and Google and what they are planning in regards to mobile payments. We were also able to help him with the build of his prototype that shows how NFC could be used in future.

Check out the video:

 

Here is what Stephen has to say about his creation:

Brand Table is a product designed initially for shopping centre food courts that takes in an order via a mobile device in where item selection and payment will occur.

Security issues: Android facial login apps and Siri on iPhone4s

Using a pin number to unlock your phone each time you use it can be a bit painful, but it protects unwanted people accessing your data and making calls without permission. So what does this mean with new features coming to phones like Siri (voice recognition on iPhone4s) and Facial recognition. Could they make life simpler? Using your face to login is a pretty cool idea but maybe not so secure at the moment as you will see using just a photograph on another phone to bypass the locked screen. We used an App called Visidon to demonstrate how it works and then bypass the unlock completely. (Similar apps are available on a jailbroken iPhone). We also found that using Siri on the new iPhone 4s we could make calls without unlocking the phone.

Watch the video below:

Of course we believe these issues will be fixed at some point – but for now anyone who cares about security /phone usage should be aware.

Google made me hungry for an Ice Cream Sandwich

Today Google and Samsung finally had their Nexus event where they released the next version of the Nexus phone series as well as the announcement of their new iteration of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich.

So let’s start with the phone: Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Obviously it will be running ICS and it will have some very impressive specs:

- a huge 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 1280 x 720

- 1.2 Ghz dual-core processor

- 5 Megapixel rear camera with LED flash

- 1.3 Megapixel front facing camera

- 1080p full HD video recording

- 1 GB of RAM

- Wireless N network

- NFC capabilities

- the usual accelerometer, compass, gyro, proximity sensor

- a barometer

 

and to power it all a big 1750mAh battery

It will be released in November, but so far we haven’t heard any carrier announcement or if it even hit AU shores any time soon. No price yet either.

 

So what about Ice Cream Sandwich?

 

The 360 Ball Camera

Love this idea. Throw the ball in the air and it takes a 360 shot when it reaches the highest point. Wouldn’t it be great to see this technology inside a football as a live stream during the game.

http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/film-grenade.html

360 Ball Camera

Nokia Launches New NFC-Enabled Games

It’s great to see some fun uses for NFC trickling through. It’s taken a while though, with Nokias’ first NFC enabled hand set having hit the market in 2006

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_field_communication#NFC-enabled_handsets

Nokia have also launched an NFC microsite recently which does a good job at explaining what’s possible:

http://europe.nokia.com/nfc

Other NFC references:

NFC trials in the world

http://www.nfcworld.com/list-of-nfc-trials-pilots-tests-and-commercial-services-around-the-world/

cute little story about a small town in Finland

http://www.nfcworld.com/2008/10/28/397/oulu-the-little-city-with-big-ideas/

Visa mobile payment trials in Finland in 2009

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/visa-trials-mobile-payments-in-finland/07589

Title Scream

Simple and cool idea, a collection of 8 and 16-bit video game title graphics.

Title Scream

@danKrause

Do you have Sweden’s safest hands?

Cool idea by Swedish agency Åkestam Holst.

I had to Google translate it from Swedish but still reads well… (article from the agencies blog).

“Sweden’s safest hands”, is a contest in the iPhone, which is organised by the Post. The contest is part of a larger e-commerce campaign that is about to record is the safer choice when you send your packages.

The contest is to carry a digital package a certain distance using an iPhone app. This applies to transport package is as safe and secure as the Post.

42 packages have been packed with secret content to a value between 300 and 5000 dollars. Every day at 6, 12 and 18 released a new package. Do you deliver the package intact before anyone else, you win the contents. You decide where to begin and end, so it does not matter where you live in Sweden.

Download the app and compete on posten.se / safe hands

See contest trailer:

Watch it:

Read full article.

@danKrause