Firefox OS shows up on a mystery phone, we go hands-on



Engadget:

That phone looks like a (firefox)ZTE Blade III with rearanged hw buttons.

what do you think about the laptop/tablet where you can switch between android and windows with a blue button? PRetty cool

This isn't a laptop

Asus crams Windows 8 and Android 4.1 into one gargantuan tablet

Asus Transformer AiO
At first blush, the Transformer All-in-One P1801 looks like a relatively ordinary all-in-one PC, except for one clear distinction: The 18.4-inch display is mounted in a docking shelf.



When you turn it on, this all-in-one's unique approach becomes more evident. The unit runs both Windows 8 and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, an unusual dual-operating system combination; you can switch between the two OSes by tapping a button along the right edge of the tablet. The switch is seamless, and makes hopping between Windows and Android viable. Previously, the largest Android tablet we've seen was Toshiba's Excite 13, at 13 inches.

The Transformer All-in-One's split personality extends beyond its dual-OSes. It also has two processors, another unique find: The docking station contains an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, while the tablet itself also contains Nvidia's Tegra 3 processor.

Pricing starts at $1299 for the Core i5 version with a 1TB hard drive in the base station and 32GB of EMMC solid-state storage in the tablet. Asus plans to start shipping its PC-tablet combo sometime in the first quarter of 2013.



When disconnected from the base, the tablet portion weighs 5.73 pounds—certainly not something you're going to carry about nonchalantly. But somehow, when I held it, the well-balanced unit felt neither unwieldy nor bulky. That might have been due in part to the fact that the display has a convenient pull-out handle that makes it easy to remove. It also has its own built-in stand if you prefer to prop it up directly on a table surface for giving a presentation or watching movies. The tablet portion could come in handy for playing tabletop games and other tabletop-style group apps yet to come.



The 18.4-inch LED-backlit, IPS display supports 10-point multitouch and 1920 by 1080 pixel resolution. My one gripe with it is that it has one of the largest air gaps between the glass and the LCD beneath I've seen in a while. (A large air gap between the screen and its glass covering can increase glare and reduce the display's perceived clarity.)

You can use the tablet on Windows 8 while it's connected wirelessly to a PC base station; however, when you exceed the Wi-Fi range (the range has yet to be finalized) it will switch to being an Android tablet. The base station packs a ton of connectivity, including four USB 3.0 ports.

Tethercell magically turns AA batteries into Bluetooth devices



What happens when you put a couple of SpaceX engineers together with some old-school batteries? You get a new-school approach to battery power. Tetherboard calls the Tethercell "the world's first app-enabled smart battery." Wait, don't fall asleep, this is actually pretty cool.

A Tethercell battery is the size of a regular AA battery, but it holds an AAA battery inside its little case. It also holds a Bluetooth chip inside the case. Think of it as a battery turducken. This means you can use your smartphone to control the battery. Oh the power. You can turn off little Billy's toy guitar when you want to take a nap. You can disable your spouse's remote control when you can't stand another second of mindless channel-flipping. You can even set hours when a device can be used.

Basically, Tetherboard is dragging old devices kicking and screaming into a new age of smartphone control. Take that, Teddy Ruxpin. This could also be a life-saver for parents who unwisely bought their kids Furbies. On a more practical front, the Tethercell could eventually be used to warn you when a battery is about to run out of juice, saving you from your smoke alarm's obnoxious low-battery wails at 4 in the morning.

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When you change out a AA battery for a AAA battery, you will be sacrificing some capacity. Using the Tethercell in a device with multiple batteries helps to minimize this impact to battery life.

Tetherboard showed off a working prototype of the Tethercell at CES 2013. The company is currently talking with investors and tweaking the Tethercells to go into production. Pre-orders should be starting within a few days.

Right now, it costs around $20 for aTethercell battery, but with economies of scale kicking in, Tetherboard hopes to get that under $10. Trust me, it will be worth it just to get that Furby to shut up.

It's a lap top for me. I think galaxy note is a small phone and want.

This device is awesome given that the battery time is on par with small tablets. Thats the best thing I seen at CES this year. When can I buy it? cant wait until I pick it up on a flight while they guy nexy to me pick up his 10 inch mini tablet

Intel's next-gen ultrabook design concept



One of the highlights of Intel's CES press conference was a design concept for an ultrabook featuring the upcoming fourth generation of Intel Core i-series processors.
While concept designs such as this rarely make the transition into shipping products, many of the ideas and details do, and you could very well see something reasonably similar-looking when the next-gen Haswell Intel CPUs make their way into systems.

At the press conference, this slim, white ultrabook, with scooped-out sides and edge-to-edge glass over the display, was easily the closest thing to a buzzworthy new consumer product Intel showed off (also featured were a parade of previously announced laptops and hybrids).

Following the new rules Intel is setting for next-gen ultrabooks (the term Ultrabook is owned by Intel), this 17-millimeter design concept featured a touch screen, which will be a requirement from now on. It was also -- not surprisingly -- designed as a hybrid, with a detachable screen that functions on its own as a standalone Windows 8 slate.



That means the Core i-series CPU and a battery are behind the display, while a second battery is in the keyboard base. Intel says this design concept can run for 13 hours as a laptop, and 10 hours as a tablet, all with a Core i7 CPU.

The 11.6-inch display has what Intel calls a one-finger "special mechanism" for removing it, but it looked a lot like the double clasp in the Lenovo Helix. The difference here is that when the screen is removed, the aspect ratio changes, supposedly to make games and movies easier to interact with from a handheld perspective.

We could very easily never see this particular design concept again, or it could be the basis of a holiday 2013 ultrabook. According to Intel, this, or similar systems, could cost $799-$899.

Get ready to program! Lego's Mindstorms EV3 robots are here

The third generation of Lego's best-selling programmable robotics platform is here, and features more sensors, motors, and flexibility than ever. Plus mobile apps.



The third full generation of Lego's programmable robotics platform, EV3 is aimed at both enthusiasts -- young and old -- and educators, and blows past the previous generation with a long list of new features that add speed and power, intelligent programmability, and more ways to communicate with the robots. Lego expects to begin selling the product, which includes 594 Technic pieces that can be used to make five different robots, this summer at a retail cost of $350. It will also release instructions for 12 additional robots at launch.

Lego released the first version of Mindstorms in 1998, and the second iteration, Mindstorms NXT, almost exactly six years ago at that year's edition of the International Consumer Electronics Show. This year, too, the global toy giant chose CES as the place to unveil Mindstorms EV3. In the interim, countless thousands of kids and adults alike learned to program and build their own robots thanks to Lego, and Mindstorms became the best-selling product in Lego's history, at least as measured by revenue.

In the interim, Lego developed a strong relationship with the enthusiast community and even turned to users to help figure out how the platform could best be used. Because Mindstorms NXT sold more in 2011 than it did upon its initial release in 2006, Lego knows there is still intense interest in the platform. And with Mindstorms EV3, a new generation of children, and plenty more adults are likely to become immersed in personal robotics. And as it did with NXT, Lego once again turned to its users to help develop EV3.

As with the two previous generations of Mindstorms, EV3 is about a simple programming environment designed to let almost anyone create robots that follow directions and carry out specific tasks. The system is built around a series of new sensors, as well as programmable intelligent bricks, each of which is meant to control a different motor, sensor, or screen. The bricks can be programmed to direct how a robot should move, for how long, and how far to go. Lego believes that almost anyone can get a Mindstorms EV3 robot up and running within 20 minutes of opening the box, and can even start programming their robots without turning on their computer.



Each programmable EV3 brick comes with an ARM9 robotic processor, an SD expansion slot and embedded 16MB flash memory, Linux, Bluetooth 2.1, iOS and Android compatibility, a USB 2.0 interface allowing Wi-Fi connectivity, four input and output ports, a Matrix display with a loudspeaker.

On the hardware side, Mindstorms EV3 features three interactive servo motors, two touch sensors, an infrared seeker sensor that can measure distance, movement, and object detection, an infrared "beacon" designed to control the robots remotely from a distance of up to 6 feet, and a color sensor. Up to four bricks can be daisy-chained, and the USB port and Wi-Fi connectivity allow for a wide range of expansion. Mindstorms EV3 is also backwards compatible with all Mindstorms NXT robots, allowing users to utilize everything they bought during the NXT generation with EV3.

Programming environment
Perhaps the most important element of the Mindstorms EV3 platform is its programming environment. While the primary way users can program their Mindstorms robots is to do so in the development interface on their computers, and then download the instructions to the robots, the intelligent bricks also have an interface that allows for simple programming. At the same time, Lego will soon release mobile apps that can be used to design programs for the robots.

Lego knows that the enthusiasts who play with Mindstorms EV3 want to get started right away, so the new version of the platform features motors and sensors that know what and where they are so that the second they are powered on, they appear in the programming interface, ready to be controlled. Similarly, any new motors or sensors that are plugged in will also automatically appear.

The Mindstorms platform has always been about sharing, with users encouraged to upload their creations to a common Web site. And that is more true than ever with EV3. While Lego will release instructions for 17 different robots at launch, it expects users to come up with thousands more unique designs that can be shared among the worldwide Mindstorms community.

Deadly accuracy
In a demo of the product at CNET last month, Lego executives showed off some of the impressive capabilities of the Mindstorms EV3 platform.



For example, a spiderlike robot called Spik3r was able to automatically identify the location of the remote-control beacon and fire little red balls directly at it, hitting it more often than not. Then it charged at the beacon.

With its sensors, another one of the robots was able to detect when someone's hand was in front of it, and when there was, it lashed out. Another demo showed how one of the robots was programmed to weave its way around a small obstacle course, knocking little tires over along the way -- intentionally -- and then hitting a specific color sensor.

Samsung unveils gesture-control TVs

New TVs from Samsung will recognise an expanded range of gestures so people can swipe through on-screen menus in a way that revolutionises the old remote control.

Samsung Electronics Co., the Korean electronics maker that is successfully challenging Apple in smartphones, touts the new user interface as faster and more intuitive than before.

Samsung said Monday that the new interface will be a feature of upcoming smart TVs. In addition, certain high-end Samsung smart TVs sold since last year can be upgraded with an add-on kit - complete with the required quad-core processor - that will be sold separately for a few hundred dollars.



Samsung President Boo-Keun Yoon said the new features are designed to make TV-viewing easy as consumers face more and more choices in what they watch.

"We have developed TVs that respond to people's needs and lifestyles, TVs that know in advance what people want to watch, TVs that have the power to create the ultimate lean-back experience," Yoon said.

At the International CES gadget show, Samsung also introduced an 85-inch "ultrahigh definition" set, in line with rivals that are all rolling out screens with four times the pixels as the current HD. The higher resolution will let TV screens get larger and people to sit closer without a decline in picture quality, though initially the price tag will limit those sets to technology's early adopters.

The new lineup of smart TVs respond to more natural speech and motion, similar to the way the Kinect controller on an Xbox 360 game console allows users to swipe through menus by gesturing in the air. The camera is mounted on top of the screen and can be folded back for people concerned about privacy.

Earlier Monday, LG Electronics Inc. unveiled a new Magic Remote, which acts like a wand that is sensitive to motion and is used to navigate on-screen menus. LG said the new model responds better to natural speech and can be controlled with a single finger. It also lets you change the channels by writing numbers in the air.

Samsung's new handheld remote control comes with a touch-sensitive clickable track pad, which is another way to navigate through viewing options.

Because it is integrated with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, the new interface accepts text input. You have a range of options for typing - through a synced smartphone, a Bluetooth-enabled wireless keyboard accessory, using hand gestures for an on-screen keyboard, or using its voice-to-type software.

Search functions also span Web video apps and live TV, meaning that searches of a show will inform viewers if and when an episode is available on live TV, or if it's available through an app such as Netflix.

Nintendo's Wii U game console does something similar by showing search results from live TV and Web video apps. But by being integrated with the TV, Samsung's universal search function doesn't require the user to change the TV's source input.

And since you can also play some games on its new smart TVs, the new sets from Samsung are acting more and more like mobile computing devices with an extra-large screen.

Utah startup HzO hopes to make your devices waterproof



The days of water and other liquids being the enemy of consumer electronics may be over, if HzO has its way. At CES this week, the Utah-based startup is showing off a solution it claims can counter the often fatal effects of swimming pools, spilled drinks, and rainstorms by making the next generation of smartphones, tablets, earphones, televisions and other consumer electronics virtually waterproof.



HzO’s WaterBlock technology, which was awarded a CES Innovations Design and Engineering prize, uses a nano-coating process to cover the innards of electronic devices with a liquid-repelling film that blocks out moisture without disrupting the products’ functions. It’s applied to the insides of a device and adds no extra bulk or weight and is completely transparent when used on materials including metal, plastic, steel and tin.

At CES, HzO representatives demonstrated WaterBlock to ITProPortal by dunking a Samsung Galaxy S2 into a tank full of beer. The phone was sat in the liquid for a prolonged period of time and, remarkably, continued to work both while submerged and after being removed from the beer.

Though the technology was originally developed to be used by rescue workers, HzO hopes to collaborate with manufacturers large and small to have WaterBlock applied directly during the manufacturing process. Last year, the company hinted at the possibility of collaboration with the likes of Apple and Samsung. While the technology isn’t available for consumer use directly, there’s a good chance it could make its way to mainstream products very soon.

HzO has also said that it foresees its WaterBlock technology being adapted for use in non-electronic products, such as rugs and textiles that equally need to be protected from liquids and other potentially damaging substances.

That's old tech, there have been companies doinng this for a while now, it has even been on UK TV (Gadgetshow) in their stress tests.

And then I found this...

It's a TV in a tablet and RCA is taking it to CES

http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile...to-ces-1122787



RCA has made something for those mobile couch potatoes – a tablet for watching television on the go.
The RCA DMT580D was unveiled Friday, and though it doesn't have a slick name it does do some pretty cool tricks. The device has a dual TV tuner that picks up DTV signals and is compatible with mobile TV provider Dyle.
The tablet has a top mounted telescoping antenna to get those standard over-the-air digital TV broadcasts. Unfortunately, it seems users will have to be stationary to receive those DTV signals, so no watching regular TV while the car's moving.
But users will be able switch over to Dyle TV while they're in motion. And with 130 mobile TV channels offered by Dyle, viewers shouldn't get too bored.
Dyle is free to anyone with the hardware to access it, but the service is only available in about 35 markets at the moment.
It's a tablet too

The new RCA device isn't just a boob tube on the move; it's an Android tablet as well.
First off is the all-important screen. It's an 8-inch HD IPS touchscreen with a 1024 x 768 resolution. The TV tablet also has a Cortex 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal flash memory.
There are front and rear cameras on the tablet for catching reaction shots to horror movies. But RCA didn't spill the beans on camera specifics.
The device is Wi-Fi capable with a host of USB and SD ports, as well as HDMI connectivity.
As for battery life, TV mode is quite the energy hog. The device only lasts through four hours of unadulterated television. Pure web surfing will extend the tablet's life to about 10 hours.
TV to go

The whole package weighs in at 1.4 pounds and will cost around $299. At that hefty price, the TV tablet is reserved for those who really want to catch their SNL while they'are still at the club.
There are those diehard TV fans, so RCA's new TV tablet might be a real hit in some circles. But there are plenty of cheaper tablets that offer better specs, so RCA's new device might have trouble competing with other tablets.
RCA is still being coy with some facts, like exactly when the new tablet will launch. It's most specific launch window for the product is this spring, and will only be available in the U.S.
The TV tablet will make an appearance during next week's CES 2013. Hopefully, a few more details will shake loose during the show.



Man... Who would pay $300 for 2 year old specs with a TV tuner attached when the Chinese have been knocking these out for ages and can be picked up online for cheaper.