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Filed under: Displays

While most manufacturers seem to be working on privacy tech to make LCDs harder to view by anyone not sitting right in front of them, LG is bucking the trend, demoing a prototype that can be read even by those sitting clear over on the back side. Unlike Samsung’s tiny double-sided prototype from early last year, LG’s shows the same image on both sides, but the 15-inch reflective display’s 512 x 384 resolution and 14:1 contrast ratio also reflect just how early this tech is.

[Via Hallu Tech]

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Source: Tim Stevens

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Kyoto-based company Rohm impressed us at last year’s CEATEC with a mega-tiny OLED display but it didn’t rest on its laurels. A larger prototype exhibited this year emitted ambient light at 3,000 to 4,000cd/m² and a brief flash at 100,000cd/m² — that’s respectively 10 and 250 times the brightness of a typical LCD display. But the impressive bit was this: nothing illuminated cast a shadow. Obviously a light like that is a poor match for a haunted house or romantic restaurant, but surgeons use shadowless lamps at the operating table, so there are applications. The short shelf life of OLED materials is still a nagging disadvantage, but as Dr. Eldon Tyrell would say: “the light that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and you have burned so very, very brightly.” Then again, he was talking about cybernetic killing machines, so, maybe not such a great endorsement.

[Thanks, Erik]

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Source: Samuel Axon

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Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals

Imagine this — you, sitting in a dingy airport terminal waiting on your flight with a lifeless laptop and just 10 minutes to spare. You’ve got oodles of spreadsheet work to do before 8:00AM tomorrow, and unless you get it done on this flight, you’re fubared. Toshiba is looking to make said scenario seem like one that’s not so grim, as its prototype SCIB (Super Charge Ion Battery) purportedly has the potential to get 90% full in just 10 minutes. The battery was unveiled at CEATEC 2008 in Japan, though little was known about its eventual availability. Shame development cycles can’t be fast tracked in a similar manner, huh?

[Via UberReview]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops

While the idea of Commodore showing off some early prototype devices isn’t exactly the sort of thing that’d normally get many folks’ hopes up, the never-say-die company looks to have managed to impress the doubters at IFA, where it had a number of intriguing-looking concepts on hand in addition to that soon-to-be-released netbook we saw yesterday. That includes two Pocket PC devices — one with a sliding QWERTY keypad and one that opts for a folding design (pictured above) — as well as a much slicker-looking netbook than the one that is actually going to be released, naturally (check it out after the break). Of course, specs for any of those are virtually non-existent, although there’s apparently some talk that the Pocket PCs could sell for between €100 and €150 (or roughly $220 to $290) whenever they’re actually released. Be sure to hit up the gallery below for plenty more shots courtesy of Engadget Spanish.

Continue reading Commodore impresses with prototypes at IFA, really

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Source: Donald Melanson

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Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops

Intel appears to be firing on all cylinders at IDF. Besides whatever surprised they have planned for tomorrow, the chip-maker rolled out a prototype of a convertible laptop / tablet / MID / UMPC / netbook / super-gadget called the UrbanMax. There’s not much in the way of specs on the device, but as you can see from the photos, it utilizes a combination sliding / tilting screen to transform into any variety of configurations. The display is a resistive touchscreen, though it’s not clear what the guts are made up of here. The whole thing reminds us of a giant Tilt, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. One more pic after the break.

[Via jkkmobile]Continue reading Intel’s UrbanMax slider laptop concept unveiled at IDF

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Source: Joshua Topolsky

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

Around this time last year, we got wind of CCD-based projectors and cameras from Olympus that were outfitted with a curious “axial symmetrical free curved surface lens.” Now, said company is finally providing a few details about its current prototype, which essentially enables 360-degree photographs to be taken. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on perspective), the sensor isn’t quite ready to be pushed out into the world, but as you can certainly imagine, it’ll likely make a B-line for surveillance outfits just as soon as it’s ready.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Rest assured, we’ve seen some seriously sophisticated takes on the famed Post-It Note, but Girton Labs may have the most ingenious twist of all. The Ixp-Note, which is listed as “currently in development,” is little more than a recyclable, reusable Post-It with oodles of intelligence. The device relies on low-cost electronic circuit printing technology, enabling users to select a time / date via the printed scroll in which they’d like to be reminded of whatever they just jotted down on the highlighted strip. When the time comes, an alarm similar to that found in a musical greeting card will sound, jolting the memory of the note holder and potentially saving the day. As it stands, there’s no telling how much each of these will cost, but considering that the battery should last at least a year, you won’t have to have too many spares around, anyway.

[Via Telegraph]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Cellphones, Features, Portable Audio, Portable Video

var digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/Meizu_M8_mini_One_vs_iPhone_fight’; So we finally had the chance to lay palms to Meizu’s M8 prototype. Better yet, we set it up side by side with it’s muse, the Apple iPhone. Let’s be clear, the prototype is not functional by any stretch of the imagination. It simply turns on and then slaps up one of three images representing the home screen, dialer, or media player depending upon which of the three physical buttons you press along the bottom of the main display. The capacitive touch panel does not work at all. While the physical components may or may not be in place, this is clearly a very early engineering sample. Having said that, Meizu claims that the hardware is complete and final — they are only working on their Meizu OS tweaks to the Windows CE 6.0 base. However, the GUI and icon designs are pretty much locked in at this point with only minor changes expected before this hits China this August for a to be determined price. Unfortunately, Meizu is still working on their international deployment strategy (duh, they’re looking to sign up distributors at CeBIT) so they are not willing to commit to any dates or prices. Gotta say, for all our justifiable M8 bashing, the mini One felt good in the hand and the additional hard buttons, 720 x 480 pixel display, 3 megapixel camera and likely el cheapo price tag have once again perked our interests. Still, it’s a long way from it’s original 3G HSDPA and kitchen-sink roots and a bit too late (GSM/EDGE in 6 months, Puh-leeze) at this point to be anything more than a novelty outside of China. Nevertheless, the development lifecycle has been fun to watch. Click through for the main features and specifications expected at launch. Video in a jiffy.

Continue reading Meizu M8 mini One vs. iPhone… fight!

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Source: Thomas Ricker

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