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.
These leaked images of a full size 50 inch Apple Television (not the hockey puck but a full sized TV using gesture controls for the lounge) arrived in our inbox this morning. From what we can tell you will be able to install TV Channels in the same way you use apps on your iPhone.
You can click the images to see the full size pics.
So who has the best interactive walls? Here’s some of our picks below. As we move into a world which is transitioning to devices using the NUI (Natural User Interface) there’s a lot to keep an eye on. If you know any more please post them in the comments.
1.University of Groningen: Pros: Looks awesome, very responsive. Multi-user capable. Cons: You can’t go out and buy one off the shelf. Touch based only?
2. Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect AND Windows Phone 7, working together! Pros: Kinect SDK on the way for PC (fingers crossed) so a very affordable way to develop. Multi user. Facial recognition. Supports second screen in this video. Cons: None. Seriously! SDK pending, this will be the easiest entry point to start building your first video wall.
3. Toyota Vision Multi Touch Wall: Pros: Massive 82 inch screens at high res. Very responsive. Cons: Expensive setup.
4. HD 18 Screen 20 ft Paint Wall with iPad integration. Pros: Very cool. Huge. HD. Responsive. Works with a second screen (iPad) Cons: Looks a bit like a one off application for now. Can’t go out and buy one.
5.Yahoo’s Gesture based Video Wall. http://vimeo.com/19177169 Pros: Looks good, hi-resolution and seems responsive. Cons: Tiled screens. Looks like only one user at a time?
6. Microsoft LightSpace Pros: It’s a true 3D interface for an entire toom. It projects working interfaces onto your arm/ hand. Cons: Early days. Long way to go here (but still very cool).
7. Hard Rock Cafe Vegas: Pros: Multi user. Smooth and responsive. Great content. Cons: Looks expensive?
8. Ring Wall http://vimeo.com/6648869 Pros: It’s a massive 425 square metres in size. Enough room for everyone to play. Cons: With 15 HD projectors we’re betting the ongoing running costs might stack up?
9. The Schematic TouchWall with RFID Pros: It recognises RFID cards allowing you access to personal info. Social integration. Cons: Nothing obvious. This wall is pretty cool.
10. The BendDesk. Pros: It’s horizontal AND vertical. Cons: Not quite wall sized! It’s a prototype so a little rough round the edges.
11. Canon’s big wall – Expo 2010 Pros: It’s looks big and multi user. Cons: We can’t quite tell if this is a ‘smoke and mirrors’ job. This video is more about the camera than the wall itself.
12. HP’s video wall of touch (link): Pros: Nice tight looking tiled screens. Cons Already looking a bit dated compered to the others. Touch only. Touch looks a little laggy.
13. The Giant iPhone – Table Connect Pros: Pretty simple concept. Just plug in your iphone and mount it on a wall! Cons: Do they make a wall sized one yet?
We’re pretty sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of these soon. Please send us any good ones we might have missed! 🙂
I just had a rather interesting experience with a guy from Vodafone Australia looking after the Android Man Social Media comp. The problem – I tried to enter with a photo of Android Man and an iphone:
I went down to checkout Vodafone Australia’s Android Man competition. The game: locate Android Man from his cryptic tweets, take a creative photograph, upload it to facebook and you could win a HTC Desire HD.
My idea for the ‘creative photograph’ was to give Android Man my iphone in the hope that he would give me a shiny new HTC Desire HD in return. However, after I took the shot I was approached and encouraged to delete the shot. The conversation went something like this:
Vodaman: “You can’t take a photograph of Android Man and an iPhone”
Me: “Why not? The competition is take a creative photo. That’s creative”
Vodaman: “I want you to delete the photo of Android Man and the iPhone”
Me: “Sorry mate, it’s user generated content, social media, my phone, my picture and a public space”
Vodaman: “Delete the photo or I can help delete it for you”
Me: “Seeing as you put it so nicely … Sorry I’m not deleting it”
Vodaman: “Look if you upload Android Man and the iphone to the Vodafone AU facebook group it will be removed and you won’t win the competition”
Me: “Fair enough … You know. You sometimes see dolphins here some times. Seriously. I’ve seen one once.”
Vodaman: “Just one?”
Me: “Just once. It was looking for something.”
Vodaman: “Maybe some food?”
Me: “Yeah maybe”
I love social media competitions like this. In fact I helped create The Smirnoff Secret Party Treasure Hunt a few years ago. However, this incident highlights just how important it is that everyone from the ground up is aware of just how transparent social media is. Your people are your brand and they need to know that everything they say and do can be repeated and tweeted and be the make and break of such campaigns.
We love unboxing gadgets! …and the AR Drone from Parrot is GREAT fun. The Drone is controlled via an iPhone app which works by tilting your phone to steer whilst viewing a live video feed through a camera mounted in the Drone. It’s a truly usable Augmented Reality device.
How to buy in Australia: We ordered it from Amazon.com. It took 3 days to be delivered to Sydney from the US and cost just under $350.00 AUD including delivery.
So here it is the unboxing through to a test flight…
Amazon delivers it in a HUGE box…
Slightly smaller, but still big box inside…
The Drone is neatly packed surrounded by protective cardboard.
No unwrapping necessary. It pops straight out. Nothing to assamble.
Battery, battery pack and stickers for the external shell.
It comes with the outdoor shell, and adaptors for Au, UK, US, EU.
Below: Unboxed looking at home in the studio…
Below: @bradyohalloran takes an instagram photo of the AR Drone:
Below: Flight Test: This a video taken from the Drone’s camera in the studio.
Below: We do like the idea of attaching a GoPro camera to the Drone to attain HD video – here’s a nice clip of someone flying the drone pretty high… (you can unlock the altitude sensor in the iphone app allowing you to go up as hi as the wifi lets you).
Below: The Promo Vid for the AR Drone.
Things you should know before you buy:
You get one battery that lasts for about 15 mins flying time. Charger comes with four adaptors incl AUS, UK, US, EU. You need an iphone or ipod touch to control it. You don’t need a wifi network (the Drone creates one). It takes about 5-10 mins to get to grips with the controls. You need a seperate app to record video. Onboard Video is 15fps There is a secondary camera on the bottom of the Drone. You need 2 of them to have a virtual dogfight. It’s much bigger than it looks. It’s a lot of fun.
Last week saw the launch of the free micro-photo-blogging (coined) iPhone/iPod app Instagram, which allows to to quickly share pictures from your iDevice to share with friends through Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr and the application itself. In that time, it has reportedly been downloaded over 100K times.
Instagram works like a streamlined Tumblr, managing the photo snapping, titling and even location tagging through the Foursquare API. In addition to making the whole photo-sharing thing quick and easy, Instagram lets you apply one of a whole bunch of image filters that make your shots look all arty/old and suprisingly not naff.
SMSlingshot is an autonom working device, equipped with a high frequency radio, hacked arduino board, laser and batteries. Text messages can be typed on a phone-sized wooden keypad which is integrated in an also wooden slingshot. After the message is finished, the user can aim on a media facade and send/shoot the message straight to the targeted point. It will then appear as a coloured splash with the message written within. The text message will also be real-time twittered – just in case.
Nex-3 and the Nex-5 both look amazing, sound amazing and hopefully they take amazing shots. Here’s the lowdown:
DSLR-style quality and shooting responses: compact and easy to use with interchangeable lenses.14.2 megapixels Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor, HD 1080i movie, 7.5cm LCD, Sweep Panorama. 16mm lens.
Does anyone own one? Anyone from Sony want to send me one to test?
Update: I’ve been waiting to buy one of these since I blogged it back in January. Well – the wait is almost over. June 15th sees the launch and pricing details of the AR Drone. Sick … as a Parrot. Details here
I’m planning to get one shipped over. Let me know in the comments below if you want to come and have a play with it 🙂
Here’s my original post.
Santa didn’t bring me one, but I wish he had. An iPhone controlled quadcopter drone with onboard cameras … yes really. It says it’s controlled using ‘wifi technology’ so I’m hoping you can’t just fly within a wifi zone. Big brother footage of Sydney coming soon. More here
In my line of work (and because I love it) I come across a lot of cool gadgets and usually (at least if you ask my wife) I spend too much money on them.
So this year I will follow my moms advice and make myself a list.
Usually I start these lists with the least and work my way up to the best, but I want to start with the device I really really want this year.
1. Samsung Galaxy S
I have been using my 8310 blackberry for too long and for a while there I was carrying around 3 devices to do my phonecalls, emails and browsing and gaming, but the Samsung will be able to do all that.
So why do I want it?
for a start I don’t like the iPhone (don’t get me wrong I think it is a good phone for “normal” users), but it just doesn’t do what i want from a phone.
apart from that here is my shortlist on why I want it:
* 4 inch WVGA Super Amoled screen (finally a device i can use outside) * big (as in big capacity) battery – 1500mAh * 16GB internal memory + extendable with micro sd * wireless n * camera capable of 720p video @ 30fps * support of MPeg4, H.263, H.264, WMV, RV, DivX, Xvid and MKV – no more converting movies * Samsung Social Hub – no more opening up app after app after app – I just have it all in one inbox – sweet
2. Tablet
I had a chance to play with the iPad for a few weeks now and I have to say I am not impressed – especially since Apple announced the AU pricing for it today and again, Australia gets screwed – all you really get is a big iPod
Mashable have a really fantastic review of the 3G incarnation of the iPad – it’s a bit long though, so I’m going to shorten it down to only the necessary information (for lazy people) and throw an Australian perspective in at the end to balance out their US-centric complaints.
We haven’t blogged about this here yet, and given all the tablet-like devices we’ve covered over the last couple of weeks (iPad mania? Maybe.) why not add Microsoft’s possible entry into the fray.
The Courier appears to sit somewhere between a smartphone, PDA, the current imaginings of a tablet and… a book. It may sound odd, but if you can see the picture below, you’ll notice just how enticing this might be to certain creative folk, myself included.
Courtesy of Engadget
Notice the menu on the left hand page, sketching. Sure, reading, playing, all of that is great – but for someone who loves to draw, and loves to draw on the go, this is some kind of dream come true. It hasn’t come true yet, but it looks to be on the way. This concept is intended for both touch and stylus, recognising (much like this) that touch is great for some things… but for others, it’s honestly best to have another tool in hand.
Not all fancy new devices have to come in iPad/Slate/Tablet form, and the idea of a digital note/sketchbook complete with camera and mobile web capabilities is a fantastic step into an innovative, digital future. Better yet, it should fit in your pocket.
It’s a network that allows you to attach photos, music text, PDFs, zips, etc to any barcode. Use existing barcodes or generate your own through the site. Think we may be seeing a whole lot more of stickybits.
With the Winter Olympics underway, I thought I would post something fitting. Whether you’re into snowboarding or not, these goggles are pretty cool. The head mounted display gives you a load of information and will tell you how to get to the nearest bar (hopefully). Check them out here
Good old rock, paper scissors. With this t-shirt you don’t need a friend to play. Just stand in front of the webcam and hey presto. I’m now thinking of ideas to build on this. Watch this space Check it out (via)
My iphone ran out of battery last night … pesky thing. I’m too impatient to wait and see if Steve has a solution to this problem so I started searching. Anyway, I stumbled across this piece of innovation: a phone that runs on pepsi … well any fizzy pop.
This little beauty is made possible thanks to a bio battery:
Bio battery has the potential to operate three to four times longer on a single charge than conventional lithium batteries and it could be fully biodegradable. Meanwhile, it brings a whole new perception to batteries and afternoon tea.
“Customers are being faced with increasingly complex buying decisions, especially when it comes to technology and services. As a result, increased pressure is being placed on store associates to provide knowledgeable service to customers. Our Emerging Experiences team used this opportunity to develop a solution to demonstrate how an immersive interactive experience can assist customers and store associates with complex buying decisions in a retail setting.”
Using Windows 7, the Razorfish Touch Framework and NextWindow touch screen technology, Razorfone is another example of how multi-touch experiences are going to become a bigger and bigger part of our lives.
Posted by stephanlange 
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