The Technology Blog

You know, we like to keep the wheels turning here at Engadget (you’ll be seeing even more big turns in the near future), so we thought we’d take a break in the daily proceedings to direct your attention to a few items of interest. Firstly, while you’re probably aware of the Hubs (see the Palm Pre, HTC Hero, and iPhone 3GS iterations), you’ll be pleased to know that we’ve added a video landing page as well. The new hang-out spot is an easy place to casually check recent video we’ve done as well as featured picks, and we think it’s damned handsome too.

Additionally, you may have noticed we’ve been hitting a lot of feature and review content lately — if you want to read through some of the best, you can see some recent reviews here, some nice editorials / columns here, and a slew of gadget porn here.

Finally, if you didn’t already know, you can become of a fan of Engadget on Facebook, and you can follow the site (as well as editors) on Twitter. Here’s a handy list of names:

Team Engadget @engadget

• Joshua Topolsky @joshuatopolsky
• Thomas Ricker @trixxy
• Nilay Patel @reckless
• Paul Miller @futurepaul
• Ross Miller @ohnorosco
• Don Melanson @donmelanson
• Darren Murph @congmasta
• Laura June @laura_june
• Joseph L. Flatley @lennyflatley
• Tim Stevens @tim_stevens

Engadget Mobile @engadgetmobile

• Chris Ziegler @zpower
• Sean Cooper @sean_cooper

Engadget HD @engadgethd

• Richard Lawler @rjcc
• Ben Drawbaugh @bjdraw
• Steven Kim @stevekim

Filed under: Announcements

Engadget video hub, Engadget on Twitter / Facebook, other Engadgety goodness originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aloha, friends! Are you finding your beach holiday experience is missing that certain bit of techno je ne sais quoi? Maybe it’s because your snorkeling exploits are going undocumented, in which case you may look to Liquid Image’s newly unveiled UDCM310. An evolutionary improvement on the previous model, the new goggles feature a 5 megapixel CMOS sensor, software-free USB connectivity and the ability to record 720 x 480 video at 30 fps to a microSD card. Sure, it’s not exactly overwhelming you with shooting options, but it also keeps your hands free for whatever underwater heroics you want to film.

[Via Akihabara News]

Filed under: Wearables

Liquid Image video camera goggles get upgraded specs, Japanese release originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen the Wiimote used to control plenty of wild things, and to be perfectly honest, we’re pretty unimpressed with most of what we see these days. This video, however, made by an Australian with a lot of heavy equipment on hand, is truly awesome. The 15-ton grapples themselves are impressive, elegant pieces of machinery, and using Python to link the Wiimote up as controller via Bluetooth is really just icing on the cake. It’s got a sweet soundtrack, to boot! Video is after the break.

[Via Slashgear]

Continue reading Video: Wiimote controlling a 15-ton grapple

Filed under: Gaming

Video: Wiimote controlling a 15-ton grapple originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We get it. Sometimes, not often, but sometimes when you’re staring into the sad abyss of an empty Tennessee fifth, the idea of initiating an impromptu video conference in total darkness seems mighty compelling. That’s where Samsung’s SCH-W760 with 7.2Mbps HSDPA and front-facing infrared camera can help. It’s available now in Korea and could be the difference between making a solo bed-spin performance or 3- to 6-months served at county for violating your restraining order. The choice is yours for KRW580,000 or about 445 of the green stuff.

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung’s SCH-W760 with infrared video conferencing is ready for your parole hearing originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cisco Systems wants us to believe that video is “the killer app,” but the Web and, indeed, its own product strategy, suggest that shorter-form communication is the key to its future.

Designed for search and rescue missions – which, let’s face it, are only ever one loose word away from “search and destroy” – the SCRATCHbot uses its whiskers to detect disaster survivors in inhospitable or dangerous areas. The Bristol Robotics Laboratory developed the rat-inspired people searcher over the past 6 years and now hopes to find interest for it in underground and underwater projects where vision may be impaired. Far less heroic uses are also being contemplated, such as textile inspection and implementation inside intelligent vacuum cleaners that would be able to adjust their cleaning to the particular surface they sense. Video of the new bot coming to life is after the break.

Continue reading Video: SCRATCHbot hunts like a rat for those trapped like one

Filed under: Robots

Video: SCRATCHbot hunts like a rat for those trapped like one originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It might look like your run-of-the-mill car seat, but Dorel’s Air Protect comes with an extra dose of parental paranoia, or as they call it, side impact protection. Sure, you could protect your child by not driving like a reckless maniac, but where’s the techno-loving fun in that? You’re far better off strapping junior into a pre-inflated airbag, while disregarding the fact your giant SUV is killing the world he is supposed to grow, live and love in. Now that we’ve guilt-tripped you into recycling your soda cans, how about a self-serving video of the crash test after the break?

Continue reading Video: Dorel Air Protect keeps your blow-up children safe

Filed under: Transportation

Video: Dorel Air Protect keeps your blow-up children safe originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Having already given you the AT&T spec sheet and images on this new Nokia, the only things missing are launch date, price, and a bit of video. Well, a janky QIK video just made its way to YouTube claiming that Nokia’s Mako is coming to AT&T in mid-July as the 6790 Surge. It should be “priced pretty well” but those details haven’t been finalized. So if a quick messaging device running S60 beneath a 2.4-inch 240×320 pixel display with HSDPA data and 2 megapixel camera is enough motivation to prompt another mouse-click then by all means, click through for the video overview provided after the break. Stay cool, bye.

Continue reading Video: Nokia 6790 Surge / Mako gets a QIK onto the small screen

Filed under: Cellphones

Video: Nokia 6790 Surge / Mako gets a QIK onto the small screen originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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	Firefox 3.5 arrives Mozilla is saying its new browser is more than two times faster than Firefox 3, but what has us more excited is the support for plugin-free “open codec” video and audio playback		Wii MotionPlus impressions: it works, but so far the games aren’t worth the fuss At first glance it’s a little difficult to understand the necessity of another motion-sensing add-on.
	Pirate Bay acquired by Global Gaming Factory, going legit like Napster We’ll have to wait and see how this pans out but it certainly smacks of a Napster v2 like situation at first blush.	Other news of import Verizon’s BlackBerry Tour coming July 12th, pre-order page now live Microsoft outs educational, inspirational Windows 7 tour videos NVIDIA Tegra smartphone due from a “top five” manufacturer before 2010? Sony placing PS3 slim manufacturing orders for delivery in July?
	Top ten rationales for illegally downloading HDTV shows We’re not saying we’ve ever downloaded anything off the internet that wasn’t 100% on the up and up, or that we’re here to judge those who have.		Video: Palm Pre caught playing with GSM SIM in Vietnam Having the Palm Pre on Sprint might be good for Americans driving their pick ‘em up trucks down the CDMA data highway, but it doesn’t do Europeans (or Palm’s bottom line) any good over in the Old World.
2009 British Open broadcast confirmed in standard def on TNT & ABC Oppo BDP-83 pre-orders now open for all (in North America)		Nokia N97 getting firmware 1.1 on July 1 BlackBerry Tour emerges in Alltel livery for those non-Sprint, non-Verizon types

The Daily Roundup: here’s what you might’ve missed originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re familiar with the emulation scene (and let’s be honest, you are reading Engadget), then you know the name ZodTTD — the brain behind some of the best jailbroken emus for the iPhone, including variations on the PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, and most importantly… the TurboGrafx-16. Now the master-hacker has brought his goods to the Pre, cooking up a version of psx4all on the Palm device, with the aforementioned GBA and TG16 ports on the way! Interestingly, he reports that the performance on the Pre is actually better than that of the iPhone 3GS, and of course he’s hacked access to the keyboard, allowing for (more) proper control of games. There are still kinks that are being worked out (sound emulation, screen scaling, etc.), but it looks like we can expect big things in the near future. We at Engadget know everyone will rest a bit easier tonight knowing that real gaming on the Pre is at hand. We’ll hopefully be getting our hands on a version soon, but for now hit the read link for more info, and check out the full video after the break!

Continue reading The Pre gets PlayStation gaming and more thanks to ZodTTD (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming

The Pre gets PlayStation gaming and more thanks to ZodTTD (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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