Kamis, 17 Maret 2011

What's new on SlashGear.com

What's new on SlashGear.com

Why would anyone watch shows on an iPad from home?

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 03:02 PM PDT

Tell me something: why are so many people I know so excited to watch a movie or television show from their iPad when they're at home?

I know what you're going to say. While your significant other is watching their favorite show in the living room, the iPad (or another tablet) gives you the chance to watch what you want in another room without being forced to sit through another episode of a show you don't like.

I'll accept that. In fact, I know a few people that actually do that. But what I don't (and never will) understand is the practice some people undertake of watching their favorite shows or movies on the iPad when there is a perfectly nice (and unattended) HDTV sitting in the living room.

I bring this is up is because I was presented with this scenario recently when I arrived at a friend's home. I walked in and found my buddy sitting on the couch in the living room watching an episode from the last season of "24" on Netflix.

As one might expect, I had to address this.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Just watching '24' on Netflix," he said.

"You have an Apple TV," I responded. "Why not just watch it on there?"

"Oh, this is easier."

Though I went about my day after the exchange, his response stuck in my mind. So, when I got home, I started to inquire with others to see if they too have watched a film or television show on a tablet, rather than on their HDTV when it was there for the taking. Much to my surprise, many of those I talked to have.

The results of my informal survey make some sense. Many of the major cable and satellite providers let customers watch content from the iPad in their homes. Time Warner Cable recently released the TWCable TV iPad app, and according to that company, demand for the app, which only lets users watch programming in the home, has been quite high.

I don't get it.

The iPad to me is a fine device that can be used for entertainment away from the home. But when I have the opportunity to watch a movie or TV show, I'll choose my television every time. The experience is more comfortable, it's easier on the eyes, and perhaps most importantly, it allows me to be more immersed in the content I'm consuming.

Based on my non-scientific research, however, I'm starting to wonder if I'm alone in my thinking. It seems that the iPad and other tablets have become convenient entertainment tools in the living room.

Even so, I doubt I'll join the proud group of people that use their iPad to watch television shows or movies on their iPads when HDTVs are readily available. I just don't see any reason for it. And as far as I'm concerned, it's nothing more than a drain on my iPad's battery life.

What do you think? Should I join the ranks of those who sit on the couch in a quiet living room to watch movies on their iPad?

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iPad 2 StealthArmor St. Patrick’s Day Giveaway!

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 02:09 PM PDT

Oh so you’d like the back of your iPad 2 covered as well, do you? Well what do you know, we’ve got one heck of another contest for you (the first being a Wrapsol giveaway,) that’s directly in collaboration with StealthArmor, a group that makes no less than super strong back skins for your iPad 2, your iPhone 4, and heck, a whole bunch o’ other items. What you’ll be able to win here is YOUR CHOICE of a lovely green St. Patrick’s Day back for your iPad, iPad 2, or iPhone device!

All you’ve got to do to win a lovely skin from StealthArmor is the following, and make sure to follow all the rules!

RULES

1. Follow our Twitter.
2. Tweet a picture of yourself holding up your iPhone, iPad, or iPad 2 with [the official SlashGear app] downloaded and open on the screen.* This tweet must include the following: @slashgear #armormyidevice http://tinyurl.com/winaskin3 and a link to the photo (using something like http://twitpic.com/.)

3. Contest begins March 17, 2011, at the moment this post is published, and ends at 11AM CST on Monday the 21st of March, 2011.

*This will act as a time stamp, so many sure your screen is tilted so noone can photoshop your screen away from you! Furthermore, the photo must literally show at least your hand holding the device, if not your whole person looking happy and excited into the camera.

We will pick winners at random once the contest is over at 12 NOON Pacific Time, Tuesday the 15th of March, 2011, and announce winners later that day. One winner per household, one person may only win once, winner may not be employed by or in the family of a person employed by R3 media, and we hold the right to disallow ANYONE from winning for whatever reason we deem necessary. You may take and submit as many photos as you like, but only one will be considered for the drawing. U.S. citizens only. This contest begins INSTANTLY! Start taking those photos!

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BMW i3 Caught On Video In Cold Weather Testing

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 01:50 PM PDT

A video has surfaced of the BMW i3 that gives us a first look at the car in action as it is driven around for cold-weather testing in Sweden. The rear-wheel drive i3 slid and drifted all over the track as the test driver sped it around pushing its limits on the icy conditions. The vehicle is due out in 2013 and will be an all-electric city car by the German manufacturer.

The i3 will have a 150-horsepower electric motor driving an aluminum body over a carbon fiber-reinforced passenger compartment. On a full charge the small car has a range of 124 miles and can get up to 90 mph. BMW expects to sell 30,000 units of the premium i3 per year but no pricing information is available yet.

The video looks like the car is pretty fun to drive and has plenty of power for the small body. The BMW i3 will be a pricier alternative for those who want to save the planet while still purchasing a status symbol brand.

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T-Mobile G2X and G-Slate Set To Launch April 20th?

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 01:24 PM PDT

Although no official announcements have been made yet, there are some reliable sources claiming that T-Mobile’s LG G2X and G-Slate are set to launch on April 20th, instead of the originally predicted March 23rd. The source comes from TmoNews, which also says that this date will be confirmed at CTIA later this month.

The LG G2X smartphone—also known as the LG Optimus 2—rocked its benchmark results on its pre-production unit running Android 2.2 Froyo. The G-Slate, LG’s bid in the tablet wars, will be a powerful Tegra 2 device that will be running Android 3.0 Honeycomb and sports some awesome specs including dual-camera 3D video capabilities.

TmoNews does warn that further delays are not beyond a possibility, and we sure are used to them by now when it comes to tablet devices. With Apple’s iPad 2 predicted to still rule the roost this year, its an exciting time to see whether these more powerful competing tablets can shake things up—if only they can all release on schedule.

[via Android Community]

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Raining Methane on Titan, Saturn’s Largest Moon

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 01:03 PM PDT

For the first time, scientists are able to see evidence of rainfall at the equator of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. Except it isn’t water, it’s liquid methane. It is now spring on Titan, and and infrared camera on board NASA’s Cassini spacecraft was able to detect signs of “substantial” precipitation on vast fields of dunes near the equator. Rain on the dunes would sound kind of pleasant if it wasn’t freezing and flammable.


In the image above, you can see a huge white arrow shape, which is the storm blowing across the equatorial region. The precipitation cycle on Titan involves the hydrocarbons methane and ethane, which pool in thousands of lakes around the North and South poles.

Titan’s atmosphere is very hazy and smoggy, and it is usually hard to see anything on the surface, but astronomers believe that the equator of the moon is circled with huge sand dunes up to 9 feet high, half a mile wide, and 50 miles long. The dunes are surrounded by dry river channels, possibly remnants of a wetter climate.

With the data from the Cassini probe, scientists compared images of Titan’s dunes between August 2009 and January 2011. Looking at sudden brightness decreases on the moon’s surface after clouds had passed over the region, the scientists were convinced that the ground was darker because it was wet. Dr. Elizabeth Turtle, a planetary geologist at Johns Hopkins University said, “It may be a case of surface wetting. It wouldn’t take much. A millimeter of rain over this area would have done it.”

According to Dr. Turtle, these findings are evidence that Titan, which is the only moon in the solar system with a dense atmosphere and stable liquids at its surface, has weather patterns that similar to Earth’s. “We are seeing seasonal changes in the weather on Titan and that gives us insights into its climate,” she said.

But researchers don’t know yet how often Titan gets rain. Since the moon is at the outer reaches of the solar system, and orbits very slowly, spring only comes every 30 years.

Titan is interesting as a study to Astronomers and biologists, since the methane clouds and super-chilled hydrocarbon lakes (which can be as big as our Great Lakes) represent a “a great example of pre-biotic chemistry,” similar to Earth’s early atmosphere, according to Dr. Turtle. But temperatures on Titan are too extreme for terrestrial life to emerge. It’s usually a balmy 290 degrees Farenheit below zero on the moon.

[via WSJ]

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Android Loading Websites Faster Than iPhone Report Debunked

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 12:58 PM PDT

Earlier this morning we stated some skepticism over the released report stating that Android’s native phone browser rendered websites 52% faster than on Apple’s Safari browser for the iPhone. It turns out that the companies own CTO pointed out to CNET some of the critical flaws, mainly that the tests were done using UIWebView instead of Safari. The Safari application has benefitted from increased software improvements where as UIWebView is a simple browser that can be embedded into apps and has not benefitted from the latest software enhancements.


We thought the whole thing was suspect when many of their results did not match our own internal benchmarking. It turns out the primary reason for this is that we have been benchmarking websites using Safari not UIWebView. The report also stated only marginal improvements in performance from Android OS 2.2 to 2.3 and iPhone 4.2 to 4.3 which is also not consistent in our tests as we have seen significant performance enhancements on each platform’s latest OS release.

Apple’s official statement on the report stated: “Their (Blaze) testing is flawed. They didn’t actually test the Safari browser on the iPhone. Instead they only tested their own proprietary app, which uses an embedded Web viewer that doesn’t actually take advantage of Safari’s Web performance optimizations, despite this fundamental testing flaw, they still only found an average of a second difference in loading Web pages.”

[VIA CNET]

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PS Squared Smart Mobile Device Concept Design

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 12:52 PM PDT

A design concept for Sony called PS Squared created by industrial designer Hirotaka Matsui, takes on a sleek and angular form. The device looks to be a small-sized tablet featuring a slide out QWERTY keyboard with raised buttons, a thin LCD screen, and PlayStation style D-pad buttons. The design was used in a video by Freescale Semiconductors to illustrate the future possibilities of smart mobile devices and how they can be integrated into all facets of our daily lives.

From the concept pictures and video the PS Squared would feature an ARM processor core and support an Android, Linux, or Windows Embedded CE OS. The screen looks like it can tilt with the keyboard sliding behind the device when not needed. It also looks like there is an SD Card slot as well as USB slot. With the device in portrait mode, the bottom bezel shows a Bluetooth, mail, Wi-Fi, volume, and battery symbols. There is also an additional docking station that performs induction charging rather than plugging something in because the traditional method "causes damage to the port in a long term." The dock has touch sensitive buttons to control your media on the device, as well as a remote with the same buttons.

The dock would let you sync with your computer or TV to stream music, movies, or 3D games between the devices as well as transfer documents. The video shows that the PS Squared could also control your security alarm systems and act as a remote for many of your other devices. This device is aiming to integrate into a technology ecosystem that supports our daily priorities such as social networking, light gaming, entertainment, and work.

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Eton ARCPT300W Safety Hub Features USB Port, Radio

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 12:29 PM PDT

The Eton ARCPT300W American Red Cross Axis Self-Powered Safety Hub is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. The device itself can be powered in three ways: through the hand crank (which powers the Ni-MH battery), using AAA batteries, and AC power. And you can also plug in your cell phone for charging using the hand crank, a very handy thing when the power is out.


The device features a digital tuner with which you can access the AM/FM radio, and all seven channels of the NOAA weatherband. It also includes an LED flashlight, and a flashing beacon red LED light. It also has connectors with rubber gaskets/plugs that will seal out moisture.

Other features:

  • 3.5 mm headphone output
  • USB cell phone charger and AUX-IN input
  • Telescopic antenna
  • DC 5v input
  • Rechargeable NiMH battery
  • Includes USB cable

The Safety Hub is selling for $69.99. Amazon doesn’t provide a date for release at this time. This seems like the perfect addition to any emergency kit. Very well thought out, and provides everything you need.

[via Slippery Brick]

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iPad 2 Wrapsol Giveaway [11 Prizes!]

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 12:00 PM PDT

Behold a big huge contest for all of you that just purchased their brand new iPad 2! We want to give you nothing less than total protection for your newest technological investment, and we’ve got Wrapsol Ultra and Clean screen protectors on our side. In fact, we’ve got 11 sets to give away! We want to get them out to you for free, totally free, not even a little bit of shipping cost, and all we want you to do is “like” us a little bit, and tweet us a little bit. So simple, so easy!

Wrapsol Ultra screen protector film is a wrap that you apply to your iPad 2 to make a durable, scratch resistant armor that, as Steve Jobs himself would be happy to hear, doesn’t compromise the design integrity of the product in any way. This tablet is utterly lovely, don’t cover it up with a big fat ol’ piece of plastic. Cover it up with an invisible, teeny tiny layer of plastic instead! Wrapsol wraps are made of an advanced high strength polyurethane that’s applied with a totally dry process that actively releases bubbles for a perfect one-shot every time.

Each package comes with a custom-cut film (screen-only), microfiber towelette, squeegee, and instructions. Now I suppose you might perhaps want to know how you’re going to get your hands on one of these? All you’ve got to do is the following:

RULES

1. Follow our Twitter.
2. Tweet a picture of yourself holding your new iPad 2 with [the official SlashGear for iPad app] downloaded and open on the screen.* This tweet must include the following: @slashgear #wrapupmyipad2 http://tinyurl.com/4jh34n6 and a link to the photo (using something like http://twitpic.com/.)

3. Contest begins March 17, 2011, at the moment this post is published, and ends at 11AM on Monday the 21st of March, 2011.

*This will act as a time stamp, so many sure your screen is tilted so noone can photoshop your screen away from you! Furthermore, the photo must literally show at least your hand holding the tablet, if not your whole person looking happy and excited into the camera.

BONUS: Our favorite photo, having filled all requirements and been submitted before the end of the contest, will win one of the 11 Wrapsol Ultra screen protectors without having to go in the hat!

We will pick winners at random once the contest is over at 12 NOON Pacific Time, Tuesday the 15th of March, 2011, and announce winners later that day. One winner per household, one person may only win once, winner may not be employed by or in the family of a person employed by R3 media, and we hold the right to disallow ANYONE from winning for whatever reason we deem necessary. You may take and submit as many photos as you like, but only one will be considered for the drawing. U.S. citizens only. This contest begins INSTANTLY! Start taking those photos!

UPDATE: take a look at these two fabulous contestants – they’re doin it right!

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Nokia’s Giant Hamster Wheel at SXSW

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 11:56 AM PDT

Nokia has erected a human-sized hamster wheel at SXSW this year, as part of “The Green Zone” at the festival. The wheel can be used for charging any type of mobile device, and will be up through March 20th. It was created by creative agency 1000heads, and inspired by Nokia’s campaign “it’s not technology, it’s what you do with it” from last year (video, complete with hamster, is included below). But our own Vincent Nguyen was not too impressed.


We hasten to add that this is not SlashGear’s opinion, but Vincent Nguyen’s. He said, “Metaphorically speaking, Nokia is running in a circle, chasing it’s own tail — losing market share doing the same shit expecting different results. Ouch.

And here is the wheel:

Phil Hickey, the Global Digital Marketing Manager at Nokia said, “The Green Zone, Powered by Nokia is our way of delivering even further on our awesome sustainability credentials. The Hamster Wheel, inspired by an invention from our community, is a fun and playful way to add value to the SXSW experience and get the alternative energy message across in a truly interactive way. Also, if you happen to be in the area on St. Patrick's Day, we will have a special guest powering the wheel that will definitely be worth checking out!”

Nokia will also have bikes (more wheels) available for phone charging at the festival.

As promised, here is the video of Nokia’s “it’s not technology, it’s what you do with it” ad, featuring the original hamster wheel.

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First Music Video Shot Entirely Using iPad 2

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 11:52 AM PDT

Now that the next-gen iPad has two cameras with one capable of HD video, why not put it to good creative use. Remedy Films shot an entire indie music video for singer Eddy’s song “Need” using not one iPad 2, but four. One of them even makes a cameo when the singer films herself for a frame within a frame shot.

The 5-minute video took roughly 5 hours to film and 12 hours to edit. Add to that another 8 hours waiting in line at the Apple Store to purchase four of the next-gen iPads. Although the tablets weren’t designed for cinematic purposes, that didn’t stop the production team from treating them to some professional mounts, with one on a steadicam rig, one on a Kessler Crane Cineslider, and another on a hand held rig. The fourth one was held by the singer in a few shots of the video.

We’ve seen music videos and even short films shot using unconventional gadgets before, but this is the first to surface so far using the iPad 2, which was released just one week ago. It will be interesting to see what creative works will come as more people get hold of the device that is currently high in demand and short on supply.

[via TUAW]

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RIM Releases New Facebook Beta Version 2.0 For BlackBerry

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 11:33 AM PDT

RIM today launched a 2.0 beta version of their Facebook for BlackBerry app that’s available for download via the BlackBerry Beta Zone. This new release has a revamped interface and incorporates many new features including an improved news feed, new navigation controls, and support for Facebook Chat.

The improved interface includes easier scrolling through your News Feed without accidentally clicking ‘Like’ or ‘More’. You can also now post photos, add an update, or check in to a Facebook Place directly from your News Feed. A drop-down navigation area has replaced the original static navigation bar to allow for more features. A new notifications bar has also been introduced that’s modeled after the BlackBerry 6 OS ‘Today View.’ Lastly, the Profile interface has been completely revamped into a tabbed layout that allows for viewing of more profile details.

An outline of the improvements as listed from the BlackBerry blog:

· "Always On" Facebook Chat Notifications
· Redesigned Navigation Grid
· New Notifications Bar
· Improved News Feed Scrolling
· Enhanced Profiles
· Added Publisher Functionality
· Updated User Interface

This initial beta release is available only for BlackBerry 6 users. Support for users of BlackBerry 4.6 and higher will be added later. If you are a BlackBerry 6 user, definitely check out the new beta, it seems to be a huge improvement from version 1.0, which was released over three years ago.

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WordPress 2.7 App for iPhone and iPad Squashes Bugs

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 11:32 AM PDT

WordPress posted version 2.7 of its blogging app on Wednesday in the iOS App Store. The update fixes numerous bugs and crashes that plagued previous versions of the app. The updated app also adds a “pull to refresh” feature, allowing users to see the latest comments, posts, and pages on their blogs.


The app lets users moderate and post to a WordPress.com blog, or a self-hosted WordPress site running v. 2.9.2 or higher. Users may need to re-enter site passwords in the app after installing the update, WordPress says.

The WordPress 2.7 app is free, and is compatible with any device running iOS 3.1.3 or later.

[via PC World]

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Tivo Third Tuner Live

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 11:01 AM PDT

We have official word via the Tivo Community Forum that Tivo has activated Third Tuner. The update was included with a software upgrade and “various small fixes”, according to Alex Green, Exective Director, Commercial, TV & Online at Tivo. Read on to find out more about the update.


Third Tuner allows the user to:

  • Record two programs and watch live TV on another channel
  • Record three live programs, or
  • Record three live programs while also watching something you’ve pre-recorded

The boxes were automatically upgraded, so there is no need to download anything.

[via Tivo Community Forum]

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Yup, Apple’s new “If you don’t have an iPhone” campaign is out

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 10:49 AM PDT

“Yup, if you don’t have an iPhone, well, you don’t have an iPhone.” Thus end all three new iPhone commercials Apple released today. The ads show you what you are missing if you don’t yet own the iconic phone. One commercial shows a lightning fast app download on the app store, another praises iTunes and the built in iPod on the phone, and the third shows the wonders of iBooks.
Yup, you can see all three of these commercials after the cut.


The ads appeal to the iPhone envy that some might be feeling, and also portray Apple’s phone as far superior, giving you the impression that if you want a really good phone, it’s your only choice. Quoting the App Store ad, “If you don’t have an iPhone, you don’t have the App Store. So you don’t have the world’s largest selection of apps that are this easy to find and this easy to download right to your phone,” says the ad, while showing the Delta Airlines app being downloaded and used.

As PC Mag pointed out, though, if you don’t have an iPhone, “you also didn’t fall victim to the glitch that kept the clocks on some iPhones from adjusting to daylight savings time last weekend.” But Apple’s marketing has been very effective, as shown by the half-million iPad 2s that were sold in the tablet’s first days in stores. And Apple’s previous “There’s an app for that” ads were also very successful. What do you think, do you like the new ads, or are they annoying? Your answer may depend on what phone you’re carrying around.

Here they are:
App Store:


iPod:


iBooks:

[via PC Mag]

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Sirius XM Releases New iOS App Optimized For iPad

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 10:44 AM PDT

Sirius XM Radio today released an updated version of their Apple iOS app. Designed for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, the Sirius XM Internet Radio app, delivers over 120 Sirius XM channels of commercial-free music, sports, news, talk, and more. This new version is now optimized for the iPad and supports AirPlay streaming to iOS 4.3 devices.

The new interface takes advantage of the larger screen size of the iPad, featuring a visually enhanced channel selection area. You can easily swipe through album art and access artist biographies. With devices running iOS 4.3 you can now easily push audio via AirPlay to an Apple TV or another external audio source. Other improvements include:

* Listen to over 120 channels of SiriusXM Internet Radio and multi-task on the go, even while surfing the web or checking email.
* “Lookaround” to see what is playing on other channels while enjoying the song currently playing. On the iPad, the app features a full-screen display showing currently playing album art and program information for your favorite channels.
* Easily and quickly purchase music available from iTunes heard on SiriusXM, or add favorite songs to the shopping cart integrated into the App, by tagging them for later purchase.
* Save favorite SiriusXM Internet Radio channels for easy access through a “Favorites Channels” function.

The app is free to download from Apple iTunes, but requires a paid subscription for Sirius XM radio. The internet-only plan is $13 per month, while the conventional satellite radio plan is $16 per month.

[via Electronista]

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Multitasking Toaster Plays Tunes While You Toast

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 10:06 AM PDT

This could be a fun and useful space-saving appliance, or it could be one of those items that tries to do too many things and does none of them very well.  But for around $80, we hope it will at least do a good job on the toast. The Breville Radio Toaster features an FM radio as well as an auxilliary input so you can plug in your mp3 player.


Breville does make other toasters, so this could work out ok. As long as you don’t get crumbs in the input jack. Ben Fowler, head of product development at Firebox, said: "We expect the Breville Radio Toaster to be very popular with our customers. It's a quirky, unique kitchen product that'll make a great gift for house proud home owners and couples."

The toaster is made in China, and sells for £50 at Firebox.com in the UK. It doesn’t seem to be available in the US right now. Maybe an item like this would have more appeal in Britain, where folks are more serious about their toast. Other crazy toasters that have been seen across the pond: a toaster with an attached egg poacher, a scan toaster the lets you print a customized pattern on your toast, and a toaster that could toast a graphic of the day’s weather prediction on a slice of bread.

[via The Telegraph]

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Don’t Just Stand There, Do Something: Yoga Traffic Light

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 09:32 AM PDT

At any given moment in a busy metropolitan area, there are lots of pedestrians waiting to cross the street. And of course, most of us could use more exercise. Designer Li Ming has decided to kill two birds with one stone with a new traffic light. The light features an animated figure doing some stretches and exercises.


Li Ming feels that the time waiting at busy intersections is wasted, and that if people are moving, or at the very least, entertained, while they are waiting, then they will be happier. Also, when it is time to cross the street, the animated figure looks both ways, encouraging people to look around before entering the intersection and avoid being smacked by a rouge red light runner. Our friendly animated companion walks “with” you across the street. The light also features a circle that gets fractionally smaller as time elapses to let you know how long you have to cross the street.

More details:

You can see the video here:

[via Yanko Design]

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Wrapsol iPad 2 Application Demo [video]

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 09:10 AM PDT

We’ve got the brand new iPad 2 Wrapsol packs here in the office and we’d just love for you to see how easy (or difficult!) it is to apply them to the device. Thusly we’ve taken a video, and yours truly will narrate you through an application of the tough-as-nails wrap for the display of the iPad 2 in all its glory. Spoiler – one drop and placement and it’s on, essentially perfect.

Take a peek at the video and know that I’ve literally never applied a screen protector such as this before to a device of this size. I’ve used Wrapsol before, but only a couple times and on much smaller handsets. If I had to rate the difficulty level on applying this wrap, I’d give it about a 2, 10 being the most difficult. As far as bubble removal goes, I do really enjoy the little rubber pusher they give you in the set, and I am assured that the bubbles I wasn’t able to take care of will fade after a day or so. Take a peek at the video to see how the process goes:

In the video I mention that I see a wet spray sort of situation going on in the instructions, but what’s actually happening is that the instructions are showing an example of what the original Wrapsol for iPad had to do. This new technology they’ve got going on allows you to apply without any water application at all. No worries!

They do give you a wet napkin sort of deal, and a cleaning cloth so that you can reduce your chances of getting dust between your screen and the wrap, and so you can get your dirty, dirty hands clean.

You can purchase this wrap [at Wrapsol]

NOTE: we’re having a contest SOON with both models of wrap for the iPad 2 up for grabs right here on SlashGear. Stay tuned!

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Burglar Blaster: Motion-triggered pepper spray, for when sirens aren’t enough [Video]

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 09:06 AM PDT

Generally, we advise against filling your home or office with pepper spray, but if you’re particularly paranoid about burglars breaking in and vigorously ransacking your belongings then perhaps this is the gadget for you. The Burglar Blaster is a movement-triggered automatic pepper spray, which – if you don’t shut it off within 40 seconds – will fill a 2,000 square feet space with eye and throat mauling gas.

Video demo after the cut

Battery powered – it’ll apparently last for up to four years on a single set – the Burglar Blaster can be set to give between 0 and 40 seconds grace before triggering, and there’s a warning tone to remind you to slot your key in. After setting, it gives owners 90 seconds to exit.

There’s also a 12V trigger for hooking up other accessories; alarms and lights are suggested, but we reckon most owners will opt for killer attack pigs wearing gas masks and with poison-tipped tusks. The Burglar Blaster is available now, priced at $600.

[youtube q2BU2NiyUrQ]

[via OhGizmo]

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New York Times confirms paywall from March 28

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 08:40 AM PDT

The New York Times has become the latest publication to opt for a paywall, with the news that as of March 28 a subscription will be required to access any more than 20 articles per month. The paper is beginning tests of the digital subscriptions today for Canadian readers – home delivery and International Herald Tribune subscribers get complimentary access – while access to articles reached from Twitter, Facebook or other online routes will be permitted even if you’re over your monthly allowance.

Pricing details after the cut

Access to the main site and smartphone app will be $15 per month, while access to the site and the iPad app will be $20 per month four week period. If you want to access all three, it’ll set you back $35. There’s no way to subscribe to the site only, though the home page, section fronts, blog fronts and classifieds are all subscription-free.

Update: We originally suggested the NYTimes access was per month, but it is in fact per four week period. That means 13 payments of $20/$35 per year, not 12, for a total of $260 or $455.

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Nokia “Harmattan” Maemo 6 device tipped for release

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 08:24 AM PDT

Nokia’s OS policy seemed, although somewhat controversial, pretty straightforward: S30/S40 on the phones, Windows Phone on the smartphones and MeeGo back in the lab working on what comes next. Now, though, it seems Nokia has another product running a different OS in the pipeline for 2011, a Maemo “Harmattan” 6 device “expected to raise the interest of the MeeGo community.”

That’s according to one of the sessions at the upcoming MeeGo Conference, scheduled to take place in San Francisco in late May 2011. Apparently Harmattan “is API compatible with MeeGo 1.2″ but “not exactly MeeGo”; the differences between the two, how apps will be handled and even how Harmattan will be named on Nokia devices are all topics up for discussion.

Maemo was last seen in v5 form on the Nokia N900, but the promised Maemo 6 (aka Harmattan) device was waylaid after Intel and Nokia decided to partner on MeeGo. “The relationship between Harmattan and the MeeGo project is expected to be clarified before the MeeGo Conference” we’re told; Nokia is expected to launch a single MeeGo phone, believed to be the N950, before the end of the year.

[via My Nokia Blog]

HARMATTAN IN THE MEEGO COMMUNITY

Session Summary:

Nokia is working on the release of a product this year, expected to raise the interest of the MeeGo community. It comes with an OS codenamed Harmattan that is API compatible with MeeGo 1.2. Let’s have a look at the peculiarities of Harmattan, and how to overcome them for the benefit of the MeeGo community. There have been discussions on whether community apps packaged for Harmattan should be available at the meego.com Apps catalog, or whether Harmattan should have an own product in bugs.meego.com as a 3rd party open source project. This session is a good chance to explain the discussions and conclusions (if any at that point) around these topics.
Session Abstract:
The relationship between Harmattan and the MeeGo project is expected to be clarified before the MeeGo Conference. No matter what this session will be useful to get a clear idea about frequently asked questions like:

What will be the official name of Harmattan in Nokia products?
Why Harmattan is not exactly MeeGo and what are the differences?
Why MeeGo developers and contributors should care about Harmattan?
What are the opportunities & challenges of hosting Harmattan related open source activities in the MeeGo infrastructure?
Where should Harmattan bugs be filed?
Where should Harmattan community apps be published?
Are Harmattan specific discussions on-topic in forum.meego.com?
More questions are welcome. The idea is to explain the current status of these discussions. If there are items open at the time of the conference this session might be useful to nail down the main points. Eventually a BoF could emerge from it if needed.

This session is targeting a generic community audience and development skills are not required. We will not attempt to go into technical details about the SDK, packaging, etc, since we assume that other sessions will cover this. Our main focus will be the impact of Harmattan in the MeeGo community processes and infrastructure.

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Western Digital My Book Studio Edition II gets 6TB upgrade

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 07:16 AM PDT

Western Digital has boosted the capacity of its My Book Studio Edition II external dual-drive array, with a new 6TB model. Offering a choice of four connection options – eSATA, FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 – the drive can be set in either RAID 0 for maximum capacity or RAID 1 for data redundancy.

The obvious omission is Intel Thunderbolt, with Western Digital missing the opportunity to get the first Thunderbolt-toting external drive on the market (and thus make some 2011 MacBook Pro owners very happy). Still, you do get Time Machine compatibility, and WD throw in some backup software in the box as well.

Interestingly, whereas opening up many external drives will instantly see your warranty evaporate, WD is happy for owners to swap out the internal storage on their own. The Western Digital My Book Studio Edition II 6TB is available now, priced at $549.99.

Press Release:

WD Introduces 6 TB External Hard Drive to Support Increased HD Content Creation by Creative Pros and Mac® Enthusiasts

New My Book® Studio Edition™ II Offers FireWire® Performance and Huge Storage Capacity for Today’s HD Content Productions

IRVINE, Calif., March 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Western Digital® (NYSE: WDC), the world’s leader in external storage solutions, today introduced its My Book® Studio Edition™ II dual-drive storage system with a massive 6 terabytes (TB) of storage to meet the capacity needs of today’s creative pros and Mac® enthusiasts who create, store, edit and archive large HD video and photo files. The new capacity provides users 33 percent more storage than the previous capacity, while maintaining the same footprint.
Combining its extended 6 TB storage capacity and compatibility with Apple® Time Machine®, the new My Book Studio Edition II drive becomes an instant storage solution for a variety of professions including art and design, photography, legal and medical, and a host of other small businesses.
The system offers a quad interface providing maximum performance and flexibility including eSATA and FireWire® 800 when maximum performance is essential, and FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 when system flexibility is most important.
“Thanks to advancements in HD video devices including digital SLR cameras and HD video cameras, the quality and quantity of video content being produced by professionals and enthusiasts alike has grown at an astounding pace,” said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD’s branded products group. “The My Book Studio Edition II drive now available with 6 TB of storage provides creative individuals with the expanded storage and bandwidth they need to effectively shoot, edit, and safely store their video productions without the need to compress their videos or reduce the overall quality of them for the sake of available space.”
Extra-fast Performance and RAID Supported Configurations
Fast eSATA or FireWire 800 interfaces, combined with RAID-supported configurations, will yield the speed and responsiveness users need for a variety of tasks including fast, smooth video editing; rendering complex 3D objects or special effects, and saving/transferring enormous blocks of data in a fraction of the time it once took.
Formatted for Mac computers(1), these new storage systems feature:
Massive 6 TB capacity;
Extra-fast performance with four interfaces (FireWire 800/400, eSATA, USB 2.0);
Cool, eco-friendly operation with WD’s drives with WD GreenPower Technology that consume approximately one-third less power than standard dual-drive external storage systems and efficient convection cooling architecture and power-saving mode and designed without a fan to run quietly;
Automatic and continuous backup software;
User serviceability, enabling the user to open the enclosure and replace the drive inside;
Capacity gauge to see at a glance how much space is available on the system; and,
5-year limited warranty.

Pricing and Availability
My Book Studio Edition II dual-drive storage systems are available now at WD’s online store (www.wdstore.com). MSRP for the My Book Studio Edition II 6 TB drive is $549.99 USD.

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Samsung 55-inch glasses-free 3D HDTV could hit market in 3 years

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 06:56 AM PDT

Samsung has demonstrated a 55-inch glasses-free 3D HDTV prototype which, the company claims, could be commercially ready in just three years time. Shown at FPD China 2011 this week, Tech-On reports, the display actually uses two LCD panels: one for the actual picture, and another, overlaid on top, the optical refraction index of which can be changed to flip between 2D and 3D modes.

In that way it can operate as a lens, splitting the picture being displayed between the left and right eyes of those watching. As with other glasses-free 3D technologies there are a limited number of “sweet spots” within which the picture can be viewed: in the Samsung’s case, that’s nine, with the optimal viewing distance being 2.5 to 6 meters.

As for the underlying panel, that’s running at Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution with 500 cd/m2 brightness and a 4,000:1 contrast ratio. The prototype uses a CCFL backlight, but according to Samsung “we can replace it with an LED backlight unit.” Whether it actually will make it to market is yet to be decided – as is the price it might command – but if so Samsung reckons “it will take about three years to commercialize it.”

[via 3D-Display-Info]

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Dell Inspiron R notebooks get interchangeable lids & Sandy Bridge

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 06:42 AM PDT

Dell has outed its latest notebook range, the Dell Inspiron R series, a set of 14-, 15.6- and 17.3-inch laptops with interchangeable lids. Powered by a choice of Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 processors, the new machines offer up to 13hrs runtime – with the optional 9-cell battery – together with optional Blu-ray and a choice a different SWITCH by Design Studio lid patterns.

RAM is up to 8GB and there’s Intel’s WiDi for streaming 1080p and 5.1 surround sound to a nearby display. Alternatively HDMI 1.4a does the same thing for those still into wires. An HD webcam and USB 3.0 round out the key specs, along with WiFi and optional mobile broadband.

In the US, the Dell Inspiron 14R will start from $579.99, the 15R from $529.99 and the 17R from $579.99, all with black lids. Additional lids will be from $39.99. In the UK, only the 15R and 17R will be available initially, priced from £479 and £529respectively, with extra lids from £29.

Press Release:

Switch Into Spring With The New Inspiron R Series From Dell

· New InspironTM R line expands Dell's leading-edge portfolio of products with 2nd Generation Intel® CoreTM processors

· Inspiron R is fun, stylish and fast featuring the latest technology, a superior entertainment experience, impressive battery life and a new interchangeable lid option

· Just pop.click.switch: New SWITCH by Design Studio lids allow for a new look at any moment

BRACKNELL, UK, March 17, 2011 – The new Inspiron R series joins Dell's expansive collection of laptops and desktops equipped with the latest Intel processors and are fun, stylish and lightning quick. Available today at Dell.co.uk, the new Inspiron R 15- and 17-inch laptops deliver incredible mobile entertainment, high-definition displays and outstanding battery life, but that's just the beginning.

The perfect combination of brains and beauty – the latest addition to the Inspiron family also introduces an innovative new design twist: new SWITCH by Design Studio interchangeable lids that switch the look of Inspiron R laptops with just a pop and a click[i]. The SWITCH by Design Studio collection includes 23 new eye-popping lids sporting vibrant colours and unique designs. Start the day with a Peacock Blue lid, and switch it out for a design-inspired look at night. SWITCH by Design Studio will be available with select lids at launch, with more options introduced in the coming weeks.

But the Inspiron R shouldn't be judged by its cover(s) alone. Packing the latest 2nd generation Intel Core technology, the Inspiron R laptops benefit from sleek form factors, up to 13 hours of battery life[ii] with the optional 9-cell battery and incorporate the latest USB 3.0 technology to make transferring photos, videos, music and other graphics-rich files faster than ever.

Performance? Check! What about the lids? Curated collections carefully selected from Dell Design Studio are coming soon. The contemporary art and graphic designs available from SWITCH by Design Studio and will offer exclusive selections from outstanding independent artists, designers and partners including OPI and Threadless and (PRODUCT)RED™, where a portion of proceeds go to The Global Fund to help fight AIDS in Africa [iii].

"Our Inspiron R models equipped with 2nd gen Intel Core processors deliver the ultimate in entertainment and mobility and because customers value both performance and style, the eye-catching lids are designed to suit your mood or style at any given moment," said Sam Burd, vice president Dell's Consumer & SMB Product Group. "With the Inspiron-R series, we're living up to our heritage of delivering the performance you need to do more, and with SWITCH by Design Studio, you can look good while doing it," Burd added.

Inspiron R: The Dell Difference

With a range of entertainment, storage, productivity and show-stopping design options available on the Inspiron R, Dell makes it easy for people to go online and choose the perfect Inspiron R laptop with confidence, knowing it will be a smart investment that will deliver the ideal technology-by-design for them.

Inspiron R: Key Features

· 2nd generation Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processor options and up to 8GB of memory [iv]

· Weight starting at 2.65kg / 5.84 lbs for the Inspiron 15R[v]

· 6-cell battery included with 9-cell battery options[vi]

· SRS Premium Audio and high-definition video performance

· Intel Wireless Display technology for wireless projection of full 1080p video and 5.1 surround sound to your home theatre for a breath-taking movie-viewing experience[vii]

· Support for Blu-ray 3D movie playback when equipped with the optional Blu-ray drive and connected to your 3D TV (HDMI 1.4 required)[viii]

· Integrated Dell Stage software, providing one-click access to photos, music, videos, social-networking sites, e-books and more

· HD capable webcam

· ChicletTM-style keyboard[ix]

· Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium with option for Professional

· Optional SWITCH by Design Studio lids featuring the new India Collection and designs from OPI, Threadless.com, (PRODUCT)RED™ and various artists

Pricing and Availability

Inspiron R
The new Inspiron R models are available today in the UK on Dell.co.uk

· Inspiron 15R (SWITCH by Design Studio model with black lid): Starts at £479 inc VAT and shipping

· Inspiron 17R (SWITCH by Design Studio model with black lid): Starts at £529 inc VAT and shipping

· SWITCH by Design Studio lids: Start at £29[x]

Press Release:

Switch into Spring with the New Inspiron R Series from Dell

New InspironTM R line expands Dell's leading-edge portfolio of products with 2nd Generation Intel® CoreTM processors
Inspiron R is fun, stylish and fast featuring the latest technology, a superior entertainment experience, impressive battery life and a new interchangeable lid option
Just pop.click.switch: New SWITCH by Design Studio lids allow for a new look at any moment
ROUND ROCK, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The new Inspiron R series joins Dell's expansive collection of laptops and desktops equipped with the latest Intel processors and are fun, stylish and lightning quick. Available today at Dell.com, the new Inspiron R 14-, 15- and 17-inch laptops deliver incredible mobile entertainment, high-definition displays and outstanding battery life, but that's just the beginning.

"Our Inspiron R models equipped with 2nd gen Intel Core processors deliver the ultimate in entertainment and mobility and because customers value both performance and style, the eye-catching lids are designed to suit your mood or style at any given moment"
The perfect combination of brains and beauty – the latest addition to the Inspiron family also introduces an innovative new design twist: new SWITCH by Design Studio interchangeable lids that switch the look of Inspiron R laptops with just a pop and a click1. The SWITCH by Design Studio collection includes 25 new eye-popping lids sporting vibrant colors and unique designs. Start the day with a Peacock Blue lid, and switch it out for a design-inspired look at night.

But the Inspiron R shouldn't be judged by its cover(s) alone. Packing the latest 2nd generation Intel Core technology, the Inspiron R laptops benefit from sleek form factors, up to 13 hours of battery life2 on the Inspiron 15R with the optional 9-cell battery and incorporate the latest USB 3.0 technology to make transferring photos, videos, music and other graphics-rich files faster than ever.

Performance? Check! What about the lids? Carefully selected from Dell Design Studio's curated collections, the contemporary art and graphic designs available from SWITCH by Design Studio offer exclusive selections from outstanding independent artists, designers and partners including OPI and Threadless and charitable partners, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and (PRODUCT)RED™, where a portion of proceeds benefit each organization, respectively3. And new with SWITCH by Design Studio, available today, are four Eastern-inspired designs from the India collection.

"Our Inspiron R models equipped with 2nd gen Intel Core processors deliver the ultimate in entertainment and mobility and because customers value both performance and style, the eye-catching lids are designed to suit your mood or style at any given moment," said Sam Burd, vice president Dell's Consumer & SMB Product Group. "With the Inspiron-R series, we're living up to our heritage of delivering the performance you need to do more, and with SWITCH by Design Studio, you can look good while doing it," Burd added.

Inspiron R: The Dell Difference

With a range of entertainment, storage, productivity and show-stopping design options available on the Inspiron R, Dell makes it easy for people to go online and choose the perfect Inspiron R laptop with confidence, knowing it will be a smart investment that will deliver the ideal technology-by-design for them.

Inspiron R: Key Features

2nd generation Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processor options and up to 8GB of memory4
Weight starting at 4.94 lbs for the Inspiron 14R5
6-cell battery included with 9-cell battery options6
SRS Premium Audio and high-definition video performance
Intel Wireless Display technology for wireless projection of full 1080p video and 5.1 surround sound to your home theater for a breath-taking movie-viewing experience7
Support for Blu-ray 3D movie playback when equipped with the optional Blu-ray drive and connected to your 3D TV (HDMI 1.4 required)8
Integrated Dell Stage software, providing one-click access to photos, music, videos, social-networking sites, e-books and more
HD capable webcam
ChicletTM-style keyboard9
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium with option for Professional
Optional SWITCH by Design Studio lids featuring the new India Collection and designs from OPI, Threadless.com, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, (PRODUCT)RED™ and various artists
Pricing and Availability

Inspiron R

The new Inspiron R models are available today in the U.S. on Dell.com and will be available through Dell's U.S. retail partners in the coming months.

Inspiron 14R (SWITCH by Design Studio model with black lid): Starts at $579.99
Inspiron 15R (SWITCH by Design Studio model with black lid): Starts at $529.99
Inspiron 17R (SWITCH by Design Studio model with black lid): Starts at $579.99
SWITCH by Design Studio lids: Start at $39.9910

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Apple secretly stockpiling new iPad 2 shipments?

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 06:13 AM PDT

Apple has reportedly tweaked its stock management systems and allowed its staff to tell a “little white lie” to customers regarding iPad 2 shipments, all in an attempt to minimize the “utter havoc” behind the scenes in the company’s stores. According to AppleInsider‘s source, Apple staff telling customers that there is no fresh iPad 2 stock on the premises may not, in fact, be telling the truth, as Apple is supposedly holding new inventory for sale the following day.

The misleading comments about when new stock arrived is apparently to ”avert the wrath of customers” desperate for an iPad 2, and who might not take kindly to the suggestion that Apple staff won’t sell them something sitting on pallets in the back room. Previously Apple would attempt to get new supplies out onto the store floor as soon as possible, with some customer reservations getting lost in the process.

Meanwhile, Apple has also changed how it assigns online order references, switching to a randomized system so as to confuse would-be order counters and prevent unofficial sales figures from being calculated. Last year’s original iPad launch saw online order tracking used to figure out how many of the tablets had been sold.

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Android browsing 52% faster than iPhone? Maybe, maybe not…

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 05:40 AM PDT

The mobile browser speed wars continue, and the latest fray comes courtesy of website optimization firm Blaze with claims that Android is 52-percent faster than iPhone, and quicker – in real-world testing – on 84-percent of sites. That’s despite Apple’s much-vaunted Nitro JavaScript engine, new to iOS 4.3 on the iPhone and iPad 2. We spoke to Blaze to find out more about the testing process, and in what ways the company was interpreting the results.

Traditional benchmarking, Blaze suggests, is generally custom-created and doesn’t relate especially well to the real-world. SunSpider and other tools, the company claims, don’t reflect actual user experiences. Instead, Blaze used a homegrown browser wrapper app – available to try from its site – to time loading speeds on 1,000 different sites, loaded onto an iPhone 4, Nexus S and Samsung Galaxy S. The eye-catching “52-percent faster” figure is based on median load times across all of the pages: on iPhone it was 3.2 seconds, whereas on Android it was 2.1 seconds.

The report also points out in the appendix that their tests on both devices were not actually done in the devices browser themselves but rather used the proprietary software Blaze created, noted above, to track the browsers performance.

Nonetheless, Blaze also cites individual site performance, and some of the differences claimed are considerable. WSJ.com, for instance, took 7.5 seconds on Android and 17 seconds on iPhone during its testing. When we repeated the tests using the Blaze timing tool, however, we found an iPhone 4 loaded the WSJ site faster than the Nexus S every time. Blaze CTO Guy Podjarny re-ran the WSJ tests at SlashGear’s request, and found median load times on 18.4 seconds on iPhone and 13.4 seconds on Android; not, he admits, the 10 second gulf previously observed, but “still a clear difference.”

Podjarny concedes that there can be significant differences depending on when you test and with what connection, but insists that there’s more to browser performance than pure JavaScript speed. He describes the Android browser as “smarter in more ways than just JavaScript,” for instance in how it handles image downloads. While the iOS browser seems to download images in the order they appear on the page, the Android browser “seems to use intelligence when choosing which images to download first, trying to download as much from the same server at once as possible.” Meanwhile on Android CSS or JavaScript files, as well as other resources, can be downloaded in parallel, while on iOS, Podjarny says, they happen one at a time.

Interestingly, during the Blaze benchmarking process, the company says it has seen various sites (and benchmarks) that “indicate Nitro is sometimes on and sometimes off.” It’s too early for them to say anything conclusively about it, but Podjarny suggests it maybe be down to memory issues. JavaScript performance alone may be more hyperbole than you’d think, however. Comparing Android 2.2 to 2.3, the JavaScript boost is marginal: an almost 40-percent increase in JavaScript engine performance led to just a 10-percent boost in page load time.

In the end, as Podjarny agreed, the value of benchmarking is always impinged upon by the nature of real-world connections. Blaze used a “fast WiFi connection” at night and during weekends where it could be more confident that network usage was low, but of course that’s not a consistency upon which mobile users can rely on. Stand an iPhone 4 and Nexus S user next to each other and, even on the same cellular network, they could well see different performance from the dumb pipe itself. That’s before it even gets to the rendering engines on either platform.

Podjarny tells us Blaze isn’t conclusively saying that specific sites take longer on one device versus another, but that the testing “does conclusively say which device generally loaded web apps faster.” To that we’d add our own skepticism, both of the inconsistencies in results from Blaze’s software wrapper and the nature of mobile device benchmarking as a whole. We’re also confident that both Apple and Google will continue to polish browsing technologies in the attempt to bring the best possible experience to their users. One thing’s for sure, the battle of the mobile benchmarks is unlikely to go anywhere as manufacturers and software developers compete to brand their offerings “the fastest browsing experience.”

Blaze’s research is available here; we’d be very interested to hear SlashGear readers’ thoughts on it, and how the results match your own experiences with mobile browsing.

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Pentax second-gen Optio RS1500 is customizable

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 05:08 AM PDT

Pentax has announced the new second generation of its cool Optio RS1500 digital point and shoot camera. Pentax claims that the new RS1500 is infinitely customizable with interchangeable lens ring snaps and a removable faceplate system. The camera comes with a range of black snap rings and the camera can be customized in three steps with no tools needed.

The camera comes with a choice of ten skins. The user can also download the personal skin designer from Pentax and use the software to design and then print their own skin to their personal color printer. That means you can take the favorite pics you shoot with the RS1500 and use them as a skin for the camera if you want.

The RS1500 has a 14MP image sensor, a 3-inch rear LCD, and a 4x optical zoom lens. The lens covers 27.5mm to 110mm telephoto range. It is a small and compact camera at about the size of a credit card and can be had in pearl white or silver colors. The camera will ship in April for $149.95.

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Wrapsol improves design of protection films for easy installation

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 04:57 AM PDT

I have used Wrapsol film before and it was already pretty easy to install. The only tricky bit for me was to not fat finger the install and end up with a fingerprint on the adhesive that I have to look at forever. Wrapsol has announced that it has redesigned its film to make the install process easier.

The cool part about the redesign is that it gives you little tabs to hold onto as you install the film so you can align it easier and you don't have to worry about leaving fingerprints behind. The user grabs the little application tabs, presses the film into place, and then peels the tabs off.

The improved application process will be on the Wrapsol ultra and clean protectors for the iPad and iPad 2. The iPhone 4 user can get it on the ultra front, back, side and the clear screen protector films too. The new application tabs will be added to additional products in the coming weeks.

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Soldiers to get individual gunshot detectors

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 04:49 AM PDT

I really liked the flick Red Dawn when I was kid and the things I learned from it include that you can pee in a radiator and as long as you only shoot one time, the enemy can’t find you. That last bit isn't true anymore thanks to a cool new tool that the Army is sending to troops in Afghanistan. The tool is called the Individual Gunshot Detector and it is sort of like radar for gunshots.

Some cities have a similar system that can triangulate where a gunshot comes from so police can respond. The solider system will allow the combatant to know what direction a shot came from so they can take cover rather than trying to figure out where the shot originated as the enemy is lining up the second shot.

The IGD is made by QinetiQ in North America and has four small sensors that pick up the sound of the gunshot and then it displays the position of the shot on a small LCD screen. The Army has 13,000 of these things heading to Afghanistan already. Over the next year up to 1500 of them will be deployed each month.

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