Da Gadgetz

We know, we know -- you're probably still waiting for the Apple tablet that'll never come, but how's about a prototype alternative from said outfit's arch enemy to tide you over? Gizmodo has just let slip details surrounding what was previously a top secret project deep within the lairs of Redmond, but given that this is more of an advanced proof of concept than anything else, we're doing our best to curb our inner enthusiasm about a near-term release. We're told that the folding device could eventually ship with dual 7-inch displays, both of which support multitouch gestures and can also be controlled via a stylus. It should too boast a camera and possibly an inductive charging pad on the rear, though we can't help but be a wee bit frightened by hearing that the user interface is "complex." Essentially, the Courier is a touch-friendly, two-screen tablet that can't let go of the tried-and-true pen input method, and your guess is as good as ours when it comes to purpose. Though, something tells us ASUS might just have the answer. Video's after the break.

The Fueltank from Callpod is one of those items that can be purchased for anyone for any occasion -- holidays, birthdays or just because you want one. This is a portable lithium ion battery that simultaneously charges two small electronic gadgets. Once fully charged, users can expect it to have more than seven times the capacity of most standard mobile phones. The owner's manual states that it's able to charge over 2,000 of today's small electronic devices so I would guess yours would also work. The unit comes with a mini-USB adapter and a coupon to get an addition free adapter at Callpod.com. Additional adapters are available for purchase to make the unit totally customized for your needs.

At the price of a netbook ($300), the first-gen Asus videophone was more for those wanting to video Skype without a PC (think Grandparents). But the navigation was fiddly, so they've now made the 7-inch (800x480) display touch-capable. Asus has also made the interface more icon-based/finger-ready, and improved support for conference calls. We don't know the specs yet, but I'd like to see the first generation's VGA camera and 802.11g upgraded. And if Asus wants to have a shot with this thing, they better look to slash the price by half, too

It's been awhile since we last saw the xpPhone, a quick, quiet demonstration at Computex that left us doubting whether the thing would ever see the light of day outside a packed showroom floor. It seems our doubts are about to be put to rest as ITG, creator of the thing, has thrown up a pre-order page on the phone's website. There's no mention of a price, and indeed you won't be asked to plunk down any cash right now (it's not much of a pre-order), but what's interesting is that it asks you to choose between 3G modules for Vodafone, Orange, or AT&T. That means ITG seemingly has aspirations of a global release for this thing, and while we're not sure how many people are going to want to lug around a MID-sized monster celly with a "super big" 4.8-inch LCD and a weight of nearly a pound, surely some nation in the world has pockets big enough for this.

Z Corporation has unveiled its latest 3D scanner that claims to be the world’s most affordable 3D scanner. It may well be the world’s most affordable, but it is still hugely expensive with an MSRP of $28,900. The scanner is designed to capture 3D data and put the data into a computer.

The scanner is designed for reverse engineering, product design, and other applications. The ZScanner 600 has a resolution down to 0.1mm and XY accuracy of up to 80 microns. The scanner is handheld and very portable and can scan an object in one continuous scan rather than in multiple shots that require lots of post processing to form a cohesive scan.

The scanner also includes the ZScan Lite software that produces a .stl file automatically for importing into a 3D CAD software package and output to a 3D printer. The scanner “paints” the object being scanned with a laser crosshair and the surface is then scanned by the binocular cameras. The software the scanner runs on generates a mesh of the surface on the computer screen in real-time. The object being scanned can be moved during the scanning process. The scanner is available to purchase now.

Philips couldn't decide whether you asked for a Bluetooth mouse, a USB mouse, or a touchpad, so it Frankensteined all three together. What can we say about aptly named "Bluetooth notebook mouse SPM9800/10?" Well, if you need a Bluetooth mouse, you can use it like a Bluetooth mouse. If the juice runs out, plug it in via USB and you have a USB mouse. But the feature that most differentiates this from other, how we say, 'mash-ups,' is that the click wheel has been replaced with a 360°TouchControl sensor, which is essentially a touchpad on the top of the thing. That's right: lift this thing off the table and use the touchpad to move around on the screen. PowerPoint has never been this sexy! Hits the scene in select European markets soon for about $80.

What you are seeing here is the product of AMD's next-gen DirectX 11 graphics cards with an Eyefinity feature that allows you to use multiple monitors as a single display.Specifics on the technology are being kept close to the vest, but a recent demonstration revealed, amazingly, that it runs on only one GPU. it also features several DisplayPort connectors—In this case, six 30-inch Dell displays were configured to run as a single 7680x4800 monitor.

Eyefinity is enabled through a combination of hardware and software being developed by AMD. On the hardware front, AMD's upcoming Radeons will sport between 3 and 6 display outputs of various types, DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, etc. And those outputs will be managed by software currently dubbed SLS, or Single Large Surface. Using the SLS tool, users are able to configure a group of monitors to work with Eyefinity and essentially act as a single, large display.

Maximum PC witnessed XPlane 9 and Far Cry 2 running at full resolution on Eyefinity at 12-20 frames per second. HotHardware notes that an upcoming DX11 racing game, Dirt 2, was played at 7680 x 3200 with "perfectly acceptable frame rates" (although 12 fps is not what many would consider "acceptable"). They also claim that there are plans to integrate CrossFire support down the line and that AMD has partnered with manufacturers to create ultra-thin bezel displays specifically designed for use with Eyefinity. How long we will have to wait and how insanely expensive all this will be has yet to be determined

USB Mosquito Stick Claims You'll Be Malaria-Free On a Laptop Safari. Using an ultrasonic force field, this USB stick vows to protect you from mosquitoes during all those times when you find yourself using a laptop in outdoor situations. It probably doesn't work, like most sound based repellents. This is what OFF spray is for people

Not long ago a motorcycle with a fuel gauge was basically unheard of and even "low fuel" idiot lights were rare. Riders used advanced (and generally inaccurate) mathematics to calculate remaining mileage and, when the engine inevitably sputtered, switched over to a reserve tank that would let them nervously motor along a few more miles. Reva, an Indian company set to start shipping electric cars next year, plans to resurrect that most irritating sequence of events in their two-door NXR -- albeit with a modern spin. Now, instead of reaching down and turning a dial to get to that precious extra juice, drivers will need to call or text Reva HQ. Some overworked customer service agent will then remotely activate the "reserve battery," which surely doesn't even exist, to give a bit of extra range. We pity the fool who runs out of charge somewhere outside of cell range, but not quite as much as the designer who pitched this terrible idea.

Ever drive on the highway and think about how much solar energy is wasted on the asphalt below? Apparently, so has Solar Roadways. The startup was awarded a $100,000 U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) grant this week to prototype its Solar Road Panel–an energy-generating panel made from solar cells and glass that is meant to replace petroleum-based asphalt on roads and in parking lots.The panels, designed by Solar Roadways founder Scott Brusaw, contain embedded LED lights that might eventually act as a “smart” system, providing travel lines as well as timely warnings to drivers about roadblocks and wildlife up ahead. At the same time, embedded heating elements in the panels could prevent snow and ice from building up on the road.Once a prototype is complete, Solar Roadways still has a long ways to go before its technology is commercialized. But if and when it is, Brusaw estimates that covering the entire U.S. interstate highway system with his 12′ by 12′ panels could fulfill the country’s energy needs (based on each panel producing 7.6 kilowatt hours of power each day).

A Swedish programmer, Hans Andersson, has used a Lego Mindstorms NXT kit to develop a robot to solve Sudoku puzzles. The robot first scans the puzzle and uses an optical sensor to map out the puzzle's pre-set numbers and blank squares. The robot scans one line at a time, inching forward a little after each line is scanned.The blurry scanned image is then converted to a black and white binary image to improve the sharpness of the picture. A threshold value calculated by Otsu's Method is used to determine whether each pixel in the image is white or black.



The Otsu Method algorithm classes pixels as either foreground or background, and then determines the optimal threshold that minimizes the intra-class variance. Pixels below the threshold are set to black, and those above are set to white. A thinning algorithm is then used to convert the resulting image of each digit to 1-pixel wide lines. The digits are then examined for features such as their width, and the number and direction of tips on the digit. The digit six, for example, has one tip, which points to the right. Following this procedure for each digit, the robot identifies all the pre-set numbers in the puzzle. Once the puzzle is mapped, the robot solves it and fills in the blank squares. A recursive backtracking algorithm would normally be used to solve puzzles such as Sudoku, crosswords, or other puzzles in which the solution has several candidates. The method carries out a systematic examination of all possible solutions, and abandons and does not re-visit any that are eliminated. The Lego Mindstorms processor is too slow to use a backtracking algorithm and it does not allow for recursive functions, so Andersson had to make sure the calculations were optimized. The result is a little robot that can solve Sudoku puzzles and get them right every time, and in only a few minutes.

Nintendo has come up with yet another idea for an accessory to add to its list of Wii peripherals. This time it's a soft football-shaped controller that is said to simulate the feel and touch of a real ball when playing football simulation games such as the NFL game

Lenovo just announced an updated external ThinkPad keyboard that takes into account all of feedback that was given by its users. The keyboard layout, touch and feel matches the T400s as close as humanly possible. This includes the updates to the now famous “supersized” escape and delete keys as well as the volume and mute buttons. They also removed the touchpad and dedicated numberpad. The keyboard is now spill resistant just like a ThinkPad and there is nice place to store excess cord. They made sure the feet that create inclination have a nice rubber coating so the keyboard won’t slide around on your desk. These details really matter. Collectively, the changes we made allowed us to reduce the price by 40$.

It'd be about a year late according to an earlier roadmap, but Samsung at IFA this week proclaimed its intention to adopt OLED for its laptop lineup as soon as the screens are commercially available -- "probably sometime Q3 next year" said Kyu Uhm, head of Worldwide Sales and Marketing for the company's Computing Division. Unfortunately, the company was mum on any other details. We doubt it'll look much like its 2008 prototype, but we can dream, can't we?

I still can't believe Apple hasn't approved Bluetooth keyboard drivers for the iPhone, but that hasn't stopped user-hacks, or products lining up to be ready. This latest effort modifies actual Apple Bluetooth keyboards, and adds app icons to the keys.

The F-keys have stenciled icons for the standard iPhone tasks (Mail, Safari, etc), and the keyboard letters have logos for some of the most popular iPhone apps. It actually doesn't look too bad, but there's no way to customize the icons.

This weird thing is a 1.2kW electric motor powered, carbon fiber foldable bike called the YikeBike. It's real, unfolds in 15 seconds, and aims to solve the eternal problem of urban mobility, and probably become Woz's favorite new toy.
Folded, the YikeBike only takes 6 x 23.6 x 23.6 inches (150 x 600 x 600 millimeters) and weighs 22 pounds (10 kilograms), so it can be easily carried around. And while its pneumatic wheels may follow an old high wheeler configuration, according to the manufacturer, this thing is designed to be easy to maneuver, and it's equipped with electronic brakes with built-in anti-skid system.Would this thing succeed where the Segway failed? Sadly, at $4900, I have a very bad feeling about it.[ via YikeBike ]

Garmin's cyclist-minded GPS devices have sure come a long way from their earlier, bulkier days, and it looks like the company has now produced one of its sleekest units to date in the form of its new Edge 500 GPS. Like most such devices, this one is primarily intended to track your cycling progress rather than lead you to your destination, and it promises to give you precise data on things like speed, distance, time, calories burned, and even climb and descent information, which is further bolstered by a built-in barometric altimeter to pinpoint changes in elevation. The unit can also sync up with various third-party devices that make use of ANT+ technology, and it can naturally be paired with a Garmin heart rate monitor to keep a close watch on your vitals. Look for the standalone unit to set you back about $250, while the bundle with a heart rate monitor and speed/cadence sensor bumps things up to $350.

MIT engineers are showing off the latest generation of so-called robofish 15 years after they built the first one. The latest incarnation is sleeker, more streamlined and capable of mimicking the movements of a real fish.And it's capable of exploring underwater terrain submersibles can't, said Pablo Valdivia Alvarado, a mechanical engineer at the school.

Some of our sponsors were thinking of using them for inspection and surveillance," Alvarado said. "Since these prototypes are very cheap, the idea was to build hundreds -- 200, 500 -- and then just release them in a bay or at a port, and they would be roaming around taking measurements.

MIT researchers built their first robotic fish, "Robotuna," in 1994. But Robotuna has gone the way of the dinosaur. Alvarado said the new generation -- modeled after bass and trout -- cost only a few hundred dollars and have only 10 parts instead of the thousands used in Robotuna.

Scientists from the RIKEN center in Japan have found a new way to make OLEDs, using electrospray-deposited polymer films, which they say have better characteristics than OLEDs made from spin-coated films. The researchers have used a novel dual-solvent concept to make the electrospray-deposited films smoother than before, thereby enabling the superior devices to be built.