Chris Davies - SlashGear

Author Archive for Chris Davies

Apple look to patent audio text messages for iPhone

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Mar 18th 2010 No Comments

We already have push-to-talk and audio MMS messages, but leave it to Apple to try and reinvent – and re-patent – their own system. According to a new patent application made in November 2009, Apple envisage a setup whereby audio notes are transmitted via the voice channel rather than a carrier’s data backend server, thus removing one potential point of overload. The outgoing message could be recorded audio or it could be text automatically converted into audio for transmission through the voice channel.

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IDTI 21.5-inch Full HD touchscreen display for $300

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Mar 18th 2010 3 Comments

Touchscreen displays are slowly making their way into the home, accelerated since Microsoft stepped up their touch functionality in Windows 7, but they’re still expensive. IDTI reckon they have a low-cost alternative, however; their 21.5-inch display responds to pen input and two-point multitouch thanks to a proprietary touch technology, but best of all they’re expecting to launch it with a $300 price tag.

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Video demo after the cut

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Microsoft confirm Copy & Paste in Windows Phone 7 is coming

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Mar 18th 2010 No Comments

With the furore over copy & paste on Windows Phone 7 – or the lack of it – you’d think smartphone users spend their days constantly transferring snippets of text from one app to the other. Still, Microsoft have confirmed that the functionality isn’t going to be MIA forever, and that in fact its absence in the first release of the platform is more one of timing than anything else.

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Gear4 SoundOrb Aurora Review

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Mar 18th 2010 No Comments

If you want to stand out in the increasingly crowded iPod speaker-dock market, you need a gimmick. That might be superlative audio quality, extreme design or some other sort of novelty; in Gear4’s case, they’ve given the SoundOrb Aurora two claims to fame. Not only does it come with a wireless subwoofer, the sub actually lights up in a variety of different colors. So, enough to catch your attention, but does the Gear4 SoundOrb Aurora do enough to warrant a lasting place in your living room? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.

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Teclast K9 dual-screen ereader borrows from Kindle, nook & Alex

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Mar 18th 2010 No Comments

While Barnes & Noble and Spring Design hold their dual-screen ereader legal battle in the US courts, over in China they’re simply getting on with “borrowing” the design concept themselves. Spotted at the Shenzhen EREXPO (“E-Reader Expo”) this week was the Teclast K9, an ereader with the buttons and controls of a Kindle but the dual-displays of a nook or Alex.

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JVC DLA-SH7NLG D-ILA 4K2K projector: 5x Full HD resolution

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Mar 18th 2010 No Comments

Having sat down with JVC’s 4K2K D-ILA projectors before now, we know the company’s range is certainly capable of some impressive optics. Still, you’ll need a particularly deep wallet if you want their latest model: the JVC DLA-SH7NLG packs not one but three 1.27-inch 4K2K D-ILA display devices and dual ultra-high-pressure mercury lamps for a total of 5,000 ANSI lumens of brightness. That’s good enough for 10-megapixel (4,096 x 2,400) images, or five times Full HD resolution.

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Niko N900-based LEGO robot controlled by Twitter [Video]

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Mar 18th 2010 No Comments

The Nokia N900 has already shown itself to be one of the more hack-friendly devices out there right now – we’ve seen it flirting with alternative OSes, unusual controllers and more – and the best part is that the Finnish company themselves are pushing for as much tampering as possible. Currently Nokia is running the PUSH N900 competition in the US, asking teams to come up with unusual ways to implement the Maemo smartphone, and one such project is Niko, a Twitter-controlled robot.

Video demo after the cut

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Verizon HTC Incredible launch in just two weeks time?

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Mar 18th 2010 No Comments

If you’re going to call your phone the “Incredible” then you have to be pretty confident in in its abilities, so we’re really looking forward to seeing what HTC and Verizon have up their collective sleeves. According to the latest rumors – coming straight out of Verizon themselves, apparently – the HTC Incredible is set to arrive in the carrier’s stores in just two weeks time.

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Windows Phone 7 Tablet concept wants 3D calls [Video]

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Mar 18th 2010 1 Comment

We’re still waiting for the first Windows Phone 7 series handsets to go on sale – something not expected until late in 2010 – but that hasn’t stopped the dreamers among us wondering what larger devices based on the platform might look like. Designer Umang Dokey reckons the most obvious application is an 8-inch tablet, complete with a capacitive touchscreen and dual-webcams for 3D chat, and he’s put together the demo video to prove it.

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