It teased it via blog and previewed it at the Outdoor Retailer show, but Sony saved the full detailing of its new HDR-AS15 Action Cam for this week's IFA show. The company is hoping to win the hearts of skiers, skaters, bikers and other adrenaline hounds with full HD recording with multiple slow motion modes, integrated Wi-Fi capabilities, and dive-ready waterproof casing. Read More
If you’re rich, you fly in a small private jet. If you’re a head of state, however, you might opt for your own 747. Nine such customers have already done so, each purchasing a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) 747-8 from Boeing. Yesterday, the company delivered the first BBJ 747-8 to sport a new optional extra – an eight-person sleeping area, called the Aeroloft. Read MoreCuriosity rolls out, and writes a message on Mars
By David Szondy
August 30, 2012
The NASA Mars rover Curiosity began its mission of exploration this week and as it rolled out, it wrote the place of its birth on the Martian surface. The 4x4-sized unmanned explorer will travel a quarter of a mile (400 m) to an area where it will test its robotic arm and may use its sample-collecting drill for the first time. As it goes along, the treads on Curiosity’s six wheels spell out “JPL” (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) over and over in Morse code. Read More
Sony throws Hybrid AF and apps at the mirrorless NEX-5R
By Simon Crisp
August 30, 2012
Sony has revealed the NEX-5R compact system camera which features a 16.1-megapixel APS-C image sensor, Wi-Fi for easy image sharing, and an impressive burst rate of ten frames per second. The addition of Sony PlayMemories Camera Apps also means users will be able to upgrade the camera’s capabilities by downloading apps to add new functions. Read More
Yesterday, Sony announced an 84-inch TV with the resolution of four HDTVs put side by side – a bounty of over eight million pixels on a single TV display that has come to be known in the industry as “4K resolution.” Not to be outdone, today at IFA 2012 in Berlin Toshiba announced the Quad Full HD, an entire line of 4K televisions with screens up to 84 inches in size. Read More
If you own a dog or cat, you might wonder why people who don’t own one even need a vacuum cleaner – after all, aren’t pet fur and paw-dirt pretty much entirely what vacuums are used to clean up? Well, if that were the case, you’d think that it wouldn’t be so hard to get them to pull the fur out of your carpets and upholstery. That’s where Bosch’s new Zoo'o ProAnimal vacuum comes into the picture. As its vaguely Irish-sounding name implies, it’s optimized for sucking up animal hair. Read More
As rumors around the Web put the debut of the iPhone 5 just a couple weeks away, Korea's LG has just released two new ultra-thin Android-powered smartphones to add to its Optimus lineup – the Optimus G, which based on the latest rumors may well surpass the technical specifications of the upcoming Apple smartphone, and the lower-end Optimus L9, which comes bundled with a few interesting pieces of software. Read More
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb challenges vehicles of all sizes, shapes and makes to tackle thin mountain air, nearly 5,000 vertical feet (1,524 meters) of ascent, and more than 150 turns and corners. Despite being delayed by the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history, and despite a bout of nasty weather, nothing stopped this year's pack from setting 11 records and making it the fastest Pikes Peak hill climb since the race's inception in 1916. Read More
There are ongoing moral and ethical battles concerning the farming and application of human embryonic stem cells in medical research and applications. Without judging any of the viewpoints represented in the fracas, it is clear that the stem cell world would be a friendlier place if the harvesting of embryonic stem cells were not necessary. Toward this goal, Johns Hopkins scientists have developed a reliable method to turn the clock back on blood cells, restoring them to a primitive stem cell state from which they can then develop into any other type of cell in the body. Read More
Trio of Lenovo Ideatab tablets debut at IFA 2012
August 30, 2012
Lenovo has announced three new tablets that are smarter, slimmer and more powerful than their predecessors. Showcased at IFA in Berlin, the S2110A, A2107A, and A2109A Ideatabs are powered by Ice Cream Sandwich, or Android 4.0 if you don’t have a sweet tooth. Geared toward gaming and business uses, the 10-inch S2110A supports a battery-powered attachable keyboard and features a Micro-HDMI port, while the 7- and 9-inch A2107A and A2109A have been designed for casual use and optimized media consumption. All three tablets are 3G compatible. Read More
The Sonic Chair isn't a new concept, it's been offering the public auditory pleasure in museums and libraries world wide since 2007. At this year's IFA the new improved SC02 was unveiled featuring iPad integration and an enhanced amplifier system. The good news, it's finally available to Joe and Jane Public for a mere 8,999 euros. That's without the fancy extras. Gizmag talked exclusively to one of its designers. Read More
Appearing at IFA, Panasonic has unveiled a brand new refrigerator which the company states is the first-ever A+++rated two-door refrigerator – making it the most energy-efficient two-door fridge, worldwide. Named the NR-B55VE1, it consumes 262 kWh/year of electricity, which by our reckoning amounts to a mean power consumption of 30 W. Gizmag was on hand to take a look. Read More
Text messaging has transformed language into a kind of coded parlance that can be puzzling or outright indecipherable for recipients who do not follow SMS trends, which probably started in school patios across the world. In order to help those with difficulties understanding abbreviations and obscure acronyms used in English, British software developer DCML has greated TextGenie, which translates the increasingly cryptic SMS messages the younger generation tends to use. Read More
Last time we heard fom ZAGG, the company had partnered with Logitech to distribute a case for the iPad 2 that functioned as a keyboard. This time, ZAGG is branching out on its own and has revealed its latest, much thinner keyboard cases, the ZAGGkeys PRO and ZAGGkeys PRO Plus, one of which provides a color-changing backlight. Read More
Researchers at the University of Missouri have developed a prototype app that combines a smartphone’s GPS, compass and imaging capabilities to calculate the exact location of distant objects and track their speed and direction. The researchers say the PositionIt app could allow a single off-the-shelf device to replace various pieces of equipment carried by soldiers on the battlefield, or be used closer to home to judge the distance to the green when playing golf. Read More
Wireless charging technology is quickly gaining attention from many mobile device manufacturers, and with good reason. Eliminating the need for a charging cable would offer a huge convenience across the board, and some of the products on the market like LG’s WPD-800 and the Powermat have already drawn quite a bit of attention. Now Intel has stepped up to announce plans for a new technology that will not only allow one mobile device to be charged by another with a built-in charger (such as a laptop), but also won't require the two devices even be touching to do so. Along with Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (IDT), Intel hopes to develop a chipset by early 2013 that will charge a smartphone through a laptop that sits a short distance away. Read More
Canon found itself in a strange position when the Digital Cinema "revolution" became mainstream. Having been a manufacturer of video camcorders for years it was surprised to find everybody wanting to use its still cameras to make movies. After adding a video function for press photographers, film-makers fell in love with the look provided by a large sensor and 24-frames a second. Canon (eventually) responded with the entirely new EOS C300 digital cinema camera nine months ago. Only two complaints with the C300 – too expensive and not 4K. Canon has now addressed those two little problems. Read More
When CDs replaced vinyl as the DJ format du jour, Pioneer established itself as the club standard with classics like the DJM-600 mixer and the CDJ-1000 CD player. Now that there's a whole generation of DJs coming of age who've never owned a CD in their life, Pioneer's latest bit of kit caters for the digital DJ who can't afford something like the XDJ-AERO. Read MoreThree new smartphones join Sony's Xperia range
August 30, 2012
Sony's Kazuo Hirai bounced up on stage for his very first IFA in the capacity of his new role as CEO. Hirai presented the company's new direction, stating: "There have been more changes in the last 10 year than in the previous century's combined... Now is the time for Sony to change. This company cannot stand still." One of Sony's core focus areas to keep it moving is (no surprises here) Mobile, and Hirai announced three new additions to the Xperia range. the Xperia T, Xperia V and Xperia J, all of which will be brought to market over the next few months. Read More
Not to be overshadowed amongst the cameras, tablets and “phablets”unveiled at this year’s IFA, German audio technology vendor Sennheiser has stepped up to the plate and unveiled three new earphone designs: the CX 890i, CX 985 and MX 985. The CX 890i headset sports a glass-like finish and metal detailing in a clear bid to catch the eye of audiophiles who like their music hardware on the minimalist side, while the CX 985 and MX 985 feature a less unusual but still rather striking metal alloy finish. Read More
One of the appeals of tablet computers is that they’re “good to go” – you can just grab them and use them wherever you want. The fact that they’re not particularly real-world-proof, however, takes away from that a little. The same thing could be said about smartphones, which is why so many people now keep their phones in rugged, waterproof cases. Well, Lifeproof’s just-launched nüüd case is like one of those smartphone cases, but for the iPad. It’s not the only such product to ever exist, but it is able to do the job without anything covering the tablet’s screen. Read More
While it may not be likely that one person would need to charge a MacBook and two iPads all at the same time, it’s entirely possible that a group of people (say, a group of people covering an electronics trade show) might need to. If they did, and an AC outlet wasn’t close at hand, a single Sanho HyperJuice2 could apparently do the job. The portable battery pack was just launched at IFA 2012. Read MoreMikey Digital iPhone/iPad microphone from Blue gets released
By Paul Ridden
August 31, 2012
Blue Microphones has followed the release of its Tiki USB microphone with the second of its CES 2012 power trio, the Mikey Digital for iPhone/iPad. The plug-and-play stereo microphone works with most popular recording apps for professional recordings on-the-go. Read More
Affordable, thin and light Lenovo S Series notebooks break cover
By Chris Wood
August 31, 2012
Lenovo has announced a new line of affordable notebook PCs that combine a thin and light construction with Intel's 3rd generation Core i3 and i5 processors. The IdeaPad S Series notebooks are designed to be an affordable alternative to high-end Ultrabooks, while offering more computing power and features than the lowly netbook. Read More
Using the latest-generation Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), which is an advanced system of 64 radio-telescope antennas in northern Chile, scientists at the European Southern Observatory have discovered a simple form of sugar orbiting a small binary star. Known as 16293-2422, that star is only 400 light-years away, and has about the same mass as the Sun. The finding could shed light on how the building blocks of life can originate spontaneously in deep space, even without a planet to support them. Read More
Ask who invented the Internet and you’ll spark off an argument with everyone championed from DARPA to Nikola Tesla. However, two Stanford scientists claim that the inventor may have had six legs, antennae and a taste for disrupting picnics. Professor of biology Deborah Gordon and professor of computer science Balaji Prabhakar say that red harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex barbatus) use the same Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) in foraging that the internet uses to manage data transmissions – making a sort of “Anternet.” Read More
NASA's Dawn probe sets its sights on dwarf planet Ceres
August 31, 2012
The Dawn spacecraft was the first to ever orbit an object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and has been studying the asteroid Vesta since July 2011, revealing unprecedented detail on its distant past and providing astronomers with a better picture of the early history of our solar system. Now, however, it's time to say goodbye – in only a few days' time, Dawn will make its escape from Vesta's gravitational grasp and start a two and a half-year journey toward the dwarf planet Ceres. Read More
It may not appear among Sharp's press releases, but arguably its most compelling stand at IFA this year was dedicated to the new IGZO display technology. Sharp is making bold claims for IGZO: first, that it affords significant energy savings over conventional LCD displays; second, that that the technology could be inside Apple mobile devices in the near future. Read More
Samsung gave journalists attending this year's IFA a treat with an appearance by Victoria's Secret model Angela Bellotte. Hot models on stage with her included theSamsung 75-inch ES9000 LED Smart 3D TVand the ES9500 55-inch OLED TV. Bellotte demoed the gesture-controlled version of Angry Birds that's included on the ES9000, and took part in Samsung's introduction of the new Multi View feature on the ES9500. Read More
Acer has just shown off its new laptop offering, and it is clear that the company had the Windows 8 philosophy in mind when it designed the Aspire V5 laptop. The V5 features a 10-point touch display and a larger trackpad, both of which are designed for better interaction with the features Windows 8 has to offer. Read MoreCreative Cloud: CS6 marks new direction for Adobe
By Darren Quick
September 3, 2012
Along with the various new features to individual applications that mark any full revision to Adobe’s Creative Suite, this year’s CS6 release saw the introduction of a new subscription model called Adobe Creative Cloud. We recently had a chance to chat with Adobe Creative guru Michael Stoddart who walked us through some of the new changes implemented in CS6. Read More
It's a given that anyone in the market for a Ferrari is looking to stand out from the crowd. If you are really concerned about the prospect of having to park next to an identical supercar on your next trip to the shops though, you can always go for some extra personalization. Ferrari has long been aware of this dilemma and late last year ramped up its personalization efforts with the launch of the "Tailor Made" program. Professional golfer and renowned snappy-dresser Ian Poulter has just become the first North American recipient of the fruits of this endeavor, taking delivery of a unique, tartan-trimmed Ferrari FF. Read More
Three-dimensional printers are popping up everywhere these days. Some are small enough to fit in a briefcase and others are large enough to build print houses, but scientists at the Vienna University of Technology are going for the microscopic. Earlier this year, the university built a 3D printer that uses lasers to operate on a tiny small scale. Now they're refining the technique to enable precise placement a selected molecule in a three-dimensional material. This process, called “3D-photografting,” can potentially be used to create a “lab on a chip” or artificially grow living tissue. Read More
When people have a difficult problem they often talk about “shining a light on it.” Creating and controlling high-temperature superconductors has been a problem for scientists and engineers for over two decades. Now, Yoram Dagan, a professor at Tel Aviv University's (TAU) Department of Physics and Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, has made a breakthrough in superconductors by literally shining a light on them. By doing this, he is able to control their properties. Read More
WWII veteran creates bird-friendly wind turbine
September 2, 2012
World War II veteran Raymond Green, an 89 year old resident of Jackson, California, has created a working prototype of a "bladeless" wind turbine which is bird and bat-friendly, and very quiet in operation. Though still in development at present, Green intends his design to be produced in various sizes, from smaller personal versions to much larger turbines which could be implemented in wind farms. Read More
Over the next six months, the United States Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate is releasing a harmless bacterium into the underground train system as part of its “Detect to Protect” program. It’s purpose isn’t to frighten commuters, but to test sensors designed to detect biological weapon attacks. Read More
Despite a number of notable exceptions, such as the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer and Slider, adding a physical keyboard usually requires the outlay of some additional cash on top of a tablet's purchase price. Not so the Archos 101 XS, a 10-inch budget Android tablet that comes supplied with its own combined cover, dock, stand and keyboard in the shape of the very thin Coverboard. The 101 XS the first of a new series of extra slim tablets to be released by the French company and I managed to spend a short time getting to grips with a pre-production unit at the Archos booth in Berlin. Read More
Berlin premiere for Eton BoostTurbine and BoostBloc battery packs
By Paul Ridden
September 2, 2012
Eton came to IFA 2012 to show off its Rukus portable Bluetooth sound system and FRX Series of preparedness radios to Europe's green technology lovers but also treated us to a surprise unveiling of its new Power Boost USB battery packs. As the name suggests, the BoostTurbine sports a hand crank to keep the conversation going even when its own juice is drained. Meanwhile, the largest capacity BoostBloc portable power pack is claimed to be capable of simultaneously charging two smartphones. Read More
Researchers based at Zhejiang University in China have produced a system for controlling a quad-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle with the mind. Dubbed "Flying Buddy 2", the system uses a standard, commercially-availableElectroencephalogram (EEG) headset, a computer and a Parrot AR Drone. The computer processes the data received from the EEG and converts it into control commands which are beamed to the drone via a Wi-Fi connection. Read More
Atari Arcade brings classic games to the Web with HTML5
By Dave Parrack
August 31, 2012
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Atari releasing its first arcade game. The name of that game was Pong, and although the gameplay consisted of nothing more than two paddles moved up and down to deflect a ball to the other side of the screen, it heralded the beginnings of a huge mainstream industry. What better way to celebrate that anniversary and the birth of the modern video game industry than by playing some Pong - and Missile Command, Centipede, and others - directly in your web browser thanks to Atari. With a little help from Microsoft. Read More
Researchers in the U.K. have developed a “magic carpet,” but not of the mythical flying variety. The new device consists of a carpet underlayembedded with plastic optical fibers and electronic sensors that can detect and map a person's walking patterns. With all of us progressing inexorably towards the age when the consequences of a fall can become much more serious than an embarrassing inconvenience, the researchers say the smart carpet is aimed at cutting the roughly 50 percent of hospital admissions in the over 65 age group in the U.K. that are the result of falls. Read More
These days, jet air travel is less of a glamorous Don Draper adventure and often more of a tedious ordeal. The cabin air doesn’t help as passengers suffer sinus troubles and can’t stay warm or cool enough for comfort. At the ILA Berlin Air Show running September 11 - 16, the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP) of Valley, Germany will reveal to the public a new airline seat that provides air passengers with individual climate control that may make even travelling Coach a bit more pleasant. Read More
The Inebriator: An Arduino-powered robot bartender
By Dave Parrack
September 3, 2012
Imagine having your own personal bartender ever-present in your home just waiting to be given the instruction to produce a cocktail of your choosing. While employing a dedicated bartender to be on hand 24/7 is the exclusive domain of the rich, a robot bartender doesn't have to be. Especially for those with a little passion and dedication – oh, and the technical know-how to build one out from the humble beginnings of an Arduino board. This is exactly what a group of amateur engineers have done with the Inebriator. Read More
It will soon be spring on Saturn ... and it will last for the next eight years or so. To celebrate the slow passing of the seasons of the giant ringed planet, NASA has released four real-color images sent back by the Cassini space probe. The images not only show the seasonal changes, but also the mysterious vortex recently discovered at the south pole of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Read More
Fans of Kirby, the rotund pink title character of the popular series of video games from Nintendo, set a bubblegum blowing world record to mark the 20th anniversary of the first Kirby game release. Read MoreHonda develops a more fuel-efficient scooter
By Mike Hanlon
September 3, 2012
With the motorcycle about to pass the automobile as the world's best selling form of motorized transport, Honda is continuing to push the capabilities of the internal combustion engine with the release of two new scooter models - the SH125i and SH150i - capable of 47.4 km/liter (111.5 mpg) and 43.8 km/liter (103 mpg) respectively. To be produced in Italy, the new fuel-injected SH models feature stop-start and a range of low friction technologies. Read More
Accessory specialist Hama has added some bamboo wired and wireless keyboards and mice to its expanding EcoLine range, which already includes "liquid wood" mobile phone cases and laptop cases made from recycled PET bottles. Read More
By any yardstick, Samsung is having a good IFA. With its trio of product announcements, the Galaxy Note II smartphonetabletthingie, the Galaxy Camera, and its range of Ativ Windows 8 devices (not to mention throwing the biggest party in town with its Unpacked event) it's an enormous understatement to say that Samsung made its presence felt in Berlin this year. The Galaxy Note II may be the headline act (more on which very soon), but in our opinion the Galaxy Camera, the EK-GC100, is the most interesting of Samsung's newly-announced gizmos. Having had more than one opportunity to give the thing a try, here are our initial thoughts. Read More
Wood pulp extract stronger than carbon fiber or Kevlar
By Brian Dodson
September 3, 2012
The Forest Products Laboratory of the US Forest Service has opened a US$1.7 million pilot plant for the production of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) from wood by-products materials such as wood chips and sawdust. Prepared properly, CNCs are stronger and stiffer than Kevlar or carbon fibers, so that putting CNC into composite materials results in high strength, low weight products. In addition, the cost of CNCs is less than ten percent of the cost of Kevlar fiber or carbon fiber. These qualities have attracted the interest of the military for use in lightweight armor and ballistic glass (CNCs are transparent), as well as companies in the automotive, aerospace, electronics, consumer products, and medical industries. Read More
NeilPryde Bayamo bicycle targets time trial riders and triathletes
By Darren Quick
September 3, 2012
The partnership between BMW's DesignworksUSA and NeilPryde that began in 2010 with the Alize and Diablo high performance road bikes has yielded its latest design. The third line of frames resulting from the partnership are the new Bayamo and Bayamo+, which take on board concepts developed and tested on the earlier models. Aimed at time trial athletes and triathletes, their creators say the bikes are lightweight and high strength, with “wind-cheating aerodynamics.” Read More
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