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Posted Feb 5th 2008 4:03PM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Announcements, HDTV
You heard right, we’re giving away a sexy new Philips HDTV over on Engadget HD. For your shot to take home a 42PFL5603D 42-incher of your own, head on over and drop a comment! Want to find out more about the set? Hit up Philips’s video here. Finally, don’t forget about the other HDTV + Xbox 360 combo Old Spice contest we’re running, you can enter both.

Looks like the iPhone isn’t the only product from Cupertino’s stable that has double the memory - it seems that the iPod touch has also gotten the same treatment. Guess the 16GB model will now have a 32GB model to keep it company. Other than the memory bump, everything else about this new iPod touch remains the same hardware-wise. It will ship with the most up-to-date software enhancements, making it user-friendly right out of the box. The 32GB iPod touch will retail for a whopping $499, while the 16GB model stands at $399. Any takers for this new model? [Press Release]

Opera Software announced the commercial release of their new mobile browser, Opera Mobile 9.5. The new browser is marketed toward mobile phones and devices much like its Opera Mini browser and supports Symbian, Windows Mobile and Linux mobile operating systems.

The new version of Opera Mobile 9.5 promises improved performance and faster speed, especially for websites which use JavaScript and Ajax. You can also use the browser to zoom in on content using the Opera Zoom feature. Web sites can even be saved for offline browsing later. Much like its desktop counterpart, Opera Mobile 9.5 is Widget-ready and supports Flash. At the end of the day, Opera Software’s goal is to make your mobile browsing experience as close as possible to your PC browsing experience.

Opera Mobile 9.5 is available as a standalone browser or as a software development kit (SDK) for commercial use. A public beta release of the browser has yet to be announced but considering the success Opera has had with Opera Mini and Opera Mobile browsers in the past, I am sure there will be a lot of users wanting to get their hands on the new browser as soon as it is released as a public beta.

Read more from the Opera Software press release.

On a cold Saturday morning in January, a flash mob of Improv Everywhere Agents descended on New York City’s Grand Central train station and left the entire concourse in a state of complete confusion.

Flash Mob - a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief period of time, then quickly disperse.

What did they do that had everyone so confused? This flash mob of 200+ people suddenly froze in place at the exact same second for 5 minutes in the Main Concourse of Grand Central Station. The frozen poses ranged from people tying their shoes and eating to someone who just dropped a stack of papers. Everyone from tourists to cops stopped in amazement to try to figure out what was happening around them.

My favorite part is the guy trying to drive his garbage cart. He sounds like such a baby when he gets on his radio to call for help.

{Beep} {Beep} {Beep}
“My cart is stuck. People are standing still.
{Sob}
“I need help.”

If the video above doesn’t load, you can view it here.

methodshop

In a move that surprised many technology insiders, Apple has released new and upgraded versions of two products today: the iPhone (in my previous report) and the iPod Touch.

The iPod Touch gets a new 32GB version to go along with the 8GB and 16GB models. From the Apple press release (edited for only the iPod Touch information):

Apple today added new models of the iPhone and iPod Touch which have double the memory, doubling the amount of music, photos and videos that customers can carry with them wherever they go. iPod touch now comes in a 32GB model for $499, joining the 16GB model for $399 and the 8GB model for $299.

Both iPhone and iPod touch feature Apple’s revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface and pioneering software that allows users to find and enjoy all their music, videos, photos and more with just a touch of their finger. All iPhone and iPod touch models include the latest software enhancements announced last month including the ability to automatically find your location using the new Maps application; create Web Clips for your favorite websites; customize your home screen and watch movies from the new iTunes Movie Rentals. Both iPhone and iPod touch feature the world’s most advanced mobile web browser in the world with Safari and great mobile applications including Mail, Maps, Stocks, Weather and Notes.

Pricing & Availability
The 32GB iPod touch is available worldwide immediately for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. iTunes Movie Rentals are available in the US only. iPhone and iPod touch require a Mac(R) with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS(R) X 10.4.10 or later and iTunes 7.6; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 2) or later and iTunes 7.6.

Like I mentioned earlier in my iPhone article, I really don’t think anyone in the Silicon Valley was expecting this development for the product. I mean, there wasn’t even a whisper of what was going on! The Apple Store went down for a bit, and when they came back, new products!!

Now the detractors of the iPod Touch won’t have as much to whine about anymore with the increased storage. Great news for a great product.

[Apple.com via Gizmodo]

Posted Feb 5th 2008 11:59AM by Donald Melanson
Filed under: StorageThose looking for a bit more security than your standard off-the-shelf flash drive has to offer already have plenty of options to consider, and they’ve now got yet another courtesy of Kanguru, which just introduced its new KanguruDefender Pro drive. Available in 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB capacities, and in your choice of red, green, blue, tan and yellow “security colors,” the drive boasts hardware AES encryption, along with a tamper-proof aluminum casing and, of course, password-protection. Kanguru’s also seen fit to throw in a couple of decidedly non-security related measures, including custom printing and engraving (at an added cost, that is). If that sounds like the drive for you, you can grab one now for $65, $85, or $130, depending on the capacity.

Posted Feb 5th 2008 1:05PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Cellphones
While those in London can use SMS to actually find a lavatory, folks passing through Western Finland will be required to bust out their handset in order to relieve themselves in select public restrooms. In an attempt to curb vandalism, the Finnish Road Administration has implemented a system along Highway 1 which requires restroom visitors to text “Open” (in Finnish, of course) in order to let themselves in. The idea is that folks will be less likely to lose their mind and graffiti up the place knowing that their mobile number is (at least temporarily) on file, but it remains to be seen if uprooters will simply take their defacing ways elsewhere or actually excrete in peace.

[Via Switched]

Swedish prosecutors have charged the founders of one of the most popular file-sharing torrent sites - Pirate Bay - with conspiracy to break copyright law.

On the basis that Pirate Bay does not host the ‘illegal’ material, just offering links a la Google to material that already exists on the internet, it does seem like their reputation is going against them as there must be hundreds of sites and blogs across the internet that do the same thing, maybe not to the same level sure.

The files in question are a mix of audio, video and computer game files, including the Cardigans’ record “Don’t blame your daughter” and The Beatles’ “Let It Be”; nine film files, including “Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire” and the Johnny Cash biography “Walk The Line”; and four computer game files, including “World of Warcraft - Invasion”.

Typically bullish the founders Hans Fredrik Neij, Per Svartholm Warg, Peter Kolmisoppi and Carl Lundstroem are saying that even if found guilty (and they face a fine of 1.2 million Kronor, which is around $188,000 US dollars and up to 2 years in jail) it wont effect the service they offer. Gotta love them for their boldness if nothing else!

Via [Telegraph]

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Posted Feb 5th 2008 1:36PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment
Hey, you — about to pull the trigger on a svelte new 1080p Play Big IN82? Hold your horses young buck, as it seems that the aforementioned unit’s successor is just around the bend. Reportedly, the InFocus Play Big IN83 will house Texas Instrument’s DarkChip 4 DLP chip and will feature a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, 5,000:1 native contrast ratio, 10-bit video processing, an HDMI 1.3 input, automatic black level calibration, 1,600 lumens and a three-year warranty. Unfortunately, word on the street pegs this beauty at £3,500 ($6,948), so maybe that soon-to-be-discounted IN82 doesn’t look like such a slouch after all.

[Via AboutProjectors]

Hoping to bridge the gap between camera phones and real digital cameras, imaging innovator Kodak has created a new chip that will help manufacturers slash development costs and deliver true camera functionalities.

Dubbed as the KODAK KAC-05020 Image Sensor, it is the world’s first 1.4 micron, 5-megapixel device that can capture high quality images and videos even in low light conditions. Though 5-megapixel cameras are already available in some expensive smartphones, most camera phones still produce blurry images and videos filled with unnecessary background noise.

“Camera phones and other small-pixel consumer imaging devices often suffer from poor performance, especially under low light conditions. To manufacture sensors that utilize these very small pixels – only two to three times the wavelength of visible light – we needed to challenge everything we knew about pixel and sensor design,” said Chris McNiffe, General Manager of Kodak’s Image Sensor Solutions business. “By completely rethinking the design of the CMOS pixel and leveraging our work with high sensitivity color filter patterns and algorithms, Kodak was able to develop this remarkable new sensor that will enable a level of imaging performance previously unavailable from CMOS devices.”

Thanks to this patented imaging technology it will also deliver other useful features to camera phones that are commonly found in digital cameras such as red-eye reduction, rapid auto-focus, digital image stabilization and facial recognition.

Read [Business Wire]

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