Category Archives: Technology

Wireless body monitoring system tracks vital signs, sends to phone

Images, News, science, Technology, , , ,

Clinical trails have begun for Sensium, a wireless body monitoring system that “monitors multiple vital signs, including skin temperature, heart rate and respiration.”  Basically, Sensium is a “disposable digital plaster,” or Band-Aid-like patch, that is applied to a patient’s body.  The patch contains a power source and sensors inside it that track a patient’s health and sends the gathered data to the doctor’s PDA or smartphone.  Sensium is being described as cheap, disposable, long-lasting, intelligent, and efficient way for doctors to keep track of the patient’s health.  What differentiates this product from the current way of monitoring patients is that it allows patients to be much more mobile and free to move around the hospital (compared to the bulky, expensive, and wired methods of today).  Check out the full press release after the break.

[Via Engadget; SingularityHub]

Continue reading Wireless body monitoring system tracks vital signs, sends to phone →

Inflatable seat belts are coming

Cars, Technology, Video, , ,

Have you ever wondered how our protective friend the seat belt could get any safer (and more annoying)?  Ford is answering the call with the introduction of inflatable seat belts:

Ford Motor Company is bringing to market the worlds first automotive inflatable seat belts, combining attributes of traditional seat belts and air bags to provide an added level of crash safety protection for rear seat occupants.  The advanced restraint system is designed to help reduce head, neck and chest injuries for rear seat passengers, often children and older passengers who can be more vulnerable to such injuries.
Ford will introduce inflatable rear seat belts on the next-generation Ford Explorer, which goes into production next year for the North American market. Over time, Ford plans to offer the technology in vehicles globally.

[Via Engadget; YouTube]

The Dubai Fountain is world’s tallest, most expensive

Architecture, Technology, Video, , , , , ,

The Dubai Fountain, designed by WET Design.

It’s “illuminated by 6,600 lights and 50 colored projectors; 900 feet long; shoots water 490 feet into the air; and is synchronized with classical and contemporary Arabic and world music.  It’s located right by the Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building.  Oh, and it cost $217 million to build.

[Via Gizmodo; Wiki]

Motorola Droid and HTC Droid Eris out now on Verizon Wireless

Images, News, Technology, , , , , , , , ,

We already know all about the Droid by Motorola.  Now you can pick it up (or order it online) for $199.99, after a $100 rebate and under the obligatory two-year commitment.  Verizon has stated that tethering (connecting your phone to your computer to gain Internet access) will be made available for Droid customers in 2010 and will add an addtional $30 to the data plan.

If that price is too steep for you VZ is giving you the option to select a similar handset with the Droid Eris by HTC.  Basically it’s a rebranded Sprint Hero (also by HTC) with a few aesthetic and UI changes.  Compared to its older and more sophisicated brother, the Droid Eris runs Android 1.5 (not 2.0), it does not have a physical keyboard, it packs a slower processor (528MHz Qualcomm), and its screen size and resolution is lowered.  It does, however, feature a 3.2-inch capacitive display, 5 megapixel camera, WiFi, 3.5mm headphone jack, 8GB microSDHC card (with expansion up to 16GB).  It will be the first Verizon phone to run HTC’s personalized user interface called HTC Sense on top of Android 1.5.  You can also pick up the Droid Eris now (or order it online) for $99.99, after a $100 rebate and under a two-year agreement.  Take a look at the Droid Eris in the gallery below and peek after the break for the full press release.

Here’s the bottom line: The Droid by Motorola is the next best phone on the market after the iPhone.  If you are in the market for a new cell phone and you are a Verizon Wireless customer, getting the Droid is a no-brainer.  If the Droid’s price and fierce looks are too much for you, saving one hundred dollars and purchasing the Droid Eris by HTC is a worthy sacrifice that can be made.  All in all, the new family of Droid phones is a win for all Verizon customers and finally brings some worthy competition to the current king of smartphones, the iPhone.

[Via Engadget, here & here; Gizmodo, here & here]

Continue reading Motorola Droid and HTC Droid Eris out now on Verizon Wireless →

LG Chocolate Touch is no BL40

News, Technology, , , , , , , , ,

I have some bitter news for you.  Remember those delectable images and videos of the awesomely unique looking LG BL40 phone?  Well apparently that design was scrapped in favor of what you see above (left) because certain “focus groups” did not like the style of the original BL40 (right).  Though it has been released in Europe/Asia, LG has no plans of letting it loose in the States.  Gizmodo has the latest info on the new and no longer desired LG Chocolate Touch:

The LG Chocolate Touch is the latest iteration of the Chocolate line, and brings with it some new music features: FM radio, dedicated key for favorites, Dolby Mobile sound enhancements, and an unexpected and downright weird “Join the Band” feature. Join the Band features a virtual drum kit and scrolling 88-key keyboard so you can tap along with your music. Of course, it also offers Twitter, Facebook and MySpace integration, a 3.2MP camera and one-touch uploading. It’s not a super exciting phone like the BL40, but at least it’s odd enough to be sort of interesting.

The LG Chocolate Touch (VX8575) is available today on Verizon Wireless for $80 after a $50 mail-in rebate.

[Via Gizmodo; Phone Arena]

The impossibly thin Dell Adamo XPS gets official

Images, News, Technology, , , , , , , ,

Dell Adamo XPS.

The specs: LED-backlit 13.4-inch 720p widescreen display, 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo ultra-low voltage processor, GS45 integrated graphics, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 128GB SSD, 20WHr Li-Ion battery, Windows 7.  Connectivity: 802.11a/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, location awareness, DisplayPort, two USB 2.0 ports.  It features a touch-sensitive lid and a unique hinge design.

Measures 13.39 x 10.71 inches and weighs just over 3 pounds.  And it can proudly claim to be the world’s thinnest laptop at 0.4-inches thin.

It will be available to purchase “in time for the holidays” for $1799.  And FYI–this is a computer to purchase for its looks, not for its power (or lack thereof at this price-point).

Check out this beauty of a laptop in the gallery below.  Engadget and Gizmodo got some hands-on time with it, so take a look!

P.S. – The second gallery is pictures of some prototype versions of the Adamo XPS.  The protptypes included far-fetched ideas like a touchscreen trackpad and a full touch-capacitive keyboard.

[Via Engadget, here & here; Gizmodo]

 

Continue reading The impossibly thin Dell Adamo XPS gets official →

Microsoft Courier UI in more detail

Images, Technology, , , , ,

Gizmodo’s got the scoop on how the oft-rumored Microsoft Courier tablet will function.  Some features include finger-swipes and gestures, “clip, tuck, and paste,” and a camera.  The user interface includes Infinite Journal, Smart Agenda, and the Library.  The device will have its own browser, information will stored on “the cloud” (allowing users to edit/share their data on various devices), and it will come with a pen (not stylus) that functions as a drawing tool and has two buttons.  For detailed explanations on all of these features check out Gizmodo’s coverage.  Or just look in the gallery below for some concept screen shots of this tablet-of-the-hopefully-near-future.

[Via Gizmodo]

1 2

Sly photographer creates invisibility cloak from images

Images, photography, Technology, , , ,

This is so cool.  French photographer Fred Lebain went to New York City and took pictures at various locales.  Then he printed out poster-size versions of the images.  He then brought those large prints back to their respective original locations and held them up in front of him.  Lebain seemingly vanishes behind the large image when he holds it up in precisely the right area.

[Via Gizmodo]