Seven demo videos of what looks to be Android Firmware 1.0 after the cut

The reference device was working in a worst-case scenario: primarily, it could not lock onto a 3G signal, and so all the browsing you see is being done at EDGE speeds.  It was also a relatively generic Qualcomm prototype design, with non Android-specific buttons.  That led to a few usability problems, which could be blamed on the hardware design rather than the Android OS.  Finally, although the prototype we were using had a touchscreen, the driver was temperamental and as such we had to use the D-pad to navigate most of the time.

Despite being relatively small, the screen is VGA resolution and Android looks fantastic.  Menus load quickly, and everything seems consistent across apps.  We weren’t allowed to properly load up the IM client, which will out-of-the-box support GTalk, AIM, MSN Messenger and Yahoo! IM accounts, and the browser (which Google have already confirmed is based on the same underlying technology as their recently-announced Chrome desktop browser) did not have the Flash plugin needed to play YouTube videos. 

However, we think you’ll agree that these are evidence that Android is almost ready for prime-time.  None of the Qualcomm people we spoke to knew any information on absolute release dates, but based on our hands-on experience, we certainly don’t doubt that the most recent September 23rd prediction could easily come true.

More information at Android Community.

Live Demo of Android Browser pt.1

Live Demo of Android Browser pt.2

Live First-Look of Android IM Client

Working Version of Quake on Android

Android Phone calling iPhone

YouTube interface on Android Phone (no Flash)

Android Firmware 1.0 (?) Full Settings Menus

Check out the demonstration videos of U-verse Total Home DVR after the cut

Up to four recorded shows can be played back simultaneously, three of which can be HD, while two live HD programs are also being viewed.  Recordings can be scheduled not only on the DVR itself, but over the internet through the AT&T Yahoo! Mobile Remote Access portal either on a PC or cellphone.  Four recordings per DVR are supported, with a total capacity of 37 hours of HD content or 133 hours of SD content per box.

Usability has been improved as well as flexibility.  Shows can now be grouped by series, streamlining playback options, and “soft padding” automatically adds a buffer to the start and end of pre-scheduled recordings to avoid missing any content.

In the future, AT&T plan to integrate the unified control into its non-DVR receivers, allowing users to remotely schedule, pause and control live TV no matter which receiver they are using.

The update will be installed automatically, using customers’ existing equipment.  Total Home DVR is currently being rolled out as a no-cost upgrade to customers in the San Francisco Bay Area; it’s expected to extend to all U-verse TV customers by the end of 2008.

Multiple videos from the event after the cut!

We’ll have to wait to find out those exact details, but Vincent has been spending more time exploring the app functionality on Surface as well as meeting the team members behind the project.  As we’ve said before, the system really comes into its own when working with media; the geotagging video and the photo app demo are particularly impressive.

Microsoft are playing their cards close to their chest with regards the upcoming OS, but their enthusiasm for MultiTouch and the sample apps they’ve been showing speaks volumes about what the software will be able to do.  Vincent tells me he has plenty more video from the event that is currently going through editing and processing, so we’ll be bringing you more hands-on footage later.

Previous coverage on Microsoft Surface here.

Pete Thompson welcomes bloggers to Surface Blogger Day (apologies for the poor light video on this one):

Microsoft Surface Paint demo:

Surface Photo App demo:

Geotagging demo:

Microsoft Surface Team Members:

Check out the exclusive hands-on video with Microsoft’s Surface after the cut

While the glitzy stuff is all very impressive, what’s most interesting to me is the general use of MultiTouch – that’s what gives hints as to how it might be implemented in the Windows 7 OS.  The virtual dial used to browse through multiple photos is particularly neat, and while the ability to zoom and pan with fingers is already in use on the iPhone, it really seems to come into its own on a larger-scale display.

Of course there are plenty of questions: what sort of hardware and minimum spec will recreating this sort of MultiTouch experience in the home require, and what do Microsoft consider the “killer app” to persuade the many doubters that the technology has a place in the home?  This is only day one of the event, and Vincent is promising more video and hands-on photos of what Microsoft have up their sleeves for Surface.

Remember, you can click over to YouTube and select “watch in high quality” to see the full-resolution version

Meet the Microsoft Surface team:

Check out the Wii Fit unboxing video after the cut

Nintendo include the necessary batteries and a copy of the Wii Fit companion game, together with a thin printed manual.  It hooks up wirelessly to your Wii, and when you first start you need to enter your height, tell it whether you’re wearing particularly heavy clothing, and then go through a weigh-in and a test for your centre of gravity.  After that, the software works out your BMI (Body Mass Index) and tells you whether you’re fat or not (Nintendo are keen to point out that this is aimed at adults, and that children’s bizarre and lumpen bodies may not be correctly represented by the calculated BMI).

Tell Wii Fit what weight you want to lose, and how long you’ve got in which to achieve it, and it’ll set you weekly goals and offer up the different exercises.  They’re broken down into four categories: yoga, muscle workouts, aerobic exercises and balance exercises.  Aerobic, for instance, includes a virtual hoola-hoop, a “step” class and jogging on the spot; under balance there’s a particularly tricky game in which you have to guide a virtual ball around a table covered in holes, by shifting your weight on the board.  All the achievements are recorded under your Mii profile, and doing particularly well at a certain activity unlocks new exercises.

We’ve not long had the Wii Fit in the office, but already we’re impressed.  It’ll be interesting to see how long the batteries last, and whether it’s actually a good way to lose weight or more of a gimmick, but – misrepresented BMI aside – anything that gets kids off the couch and moving around has to be A Good Thing.  If it does some good for some lazy tech journalists too, all the better…

We’ll bring you more on the Wii Fit when we’ve put it – and ourselves – through its paces.

Check out a video of the new Yume Neko Smile after the cut!

With a newly patterned ginger and white coat – and very smart Yume Neko looks too – the cat can now demand further attention by squealing “pet me softly” and “give me more, give me more” in Japanese.  Apparently it can giggle, too.  As before, there are numerous sensors hidden beneath the fur which let you stroke, pat and scratch Yume Neko until she subsides into uncontrollable purring.

I’m sure you’ll agree this is better than any stupid 0.76-inch thick notebook Apple could announce.

Sega Toys [via TOKYOMANGO]

There may not be built in WiMAX or cellular broadband, but the MacBook Air is still indecently thin – just 0.76-inches at its narrowest – respectably powered, thanks to an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU in 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz flavors, and features a gesture-sensitive touchpad that borrows from the iPhone’s MultiTouch capabilities.  All in something that weighs 3lbs.

More details on the MacBook Air here

Make sure to check out the entire NAIAS 2008 image gallery.

Thanks for sharing your last day at Microsoft with us, here at CES 2008. Despite all the product announcements, PR people wrestling for our attention and press releases firing out of the fax machine like a gatling gun, we wanted to take a special moment to say thanks for everything you’ve done for the consumer electronics industry. We might not have always agreed with you, we might have occasionally hated your products and even replaced the ‘s’ in Microsoft with a dollar sign, but at least you gave us something to write about.

Hell, we even loved Ctrl+Alt+Del!

Love from SlashGear
x

I really hate watching those stupid anti-piracy ads at the beginning of movies. I think they’re pretty pointless. Either you’ve already bought the movie, and then you’re forced to watch a 30 second ad telling you to not pirate the movie you just bought, or you already pirated the movie, and you’ve already cut out the anti-piracy ad. Either way, you’re not really getting through to your intended audience.

Don’t even try to tell me that gorilla isn’t real. I don’t care if if it’s blindingly obvious that it’s some guy in a monkey suit. I like thinking that somewhere in this world there is a gorilla that can rock out on the drums like that. Kudos to Cadbury for this awesome commercial.

[metacafe]http://www.metacafe.com/watch/790543/monitor_hack_security_system/[/metacafe]

I’m not quite sure just how I would put this to a practical use, though I’m sure some good pranks would be fun. The best part is that it’s a piece of cake to do. Just don’t kill yourself in the process. Those monitors carry some high voltage even when they’re not plugged in!

Basically it’s your average game of laser tag, only instead of getting some kind of sound effect when you get zapped, you actually get zapped. Sounds pretty cool, it gives you even more reason to shoot them before they shoot you!

[via shiny shiny]

Of course they lit it on fire, you couldn’t imagine that someone would stack up that many matches and then just leave it could you? I’m just wondering what this guy was smoking when he decided to do this. Either way, it was pretty cool.

[via woostercollective]

Why are they fighting? My guess is that the two of them showed up at a party and were pissed that someone else wore the same thing. Then they started going at it like two girls at prom wearing the same thing.

[via kotaku]

Is it fake? Nope. The guy just posted the source code for the hack on his website. I highly doubt that someone would go through the trouble of making a fake video, then posting a fake source. People would know right away if it was fake.

I’ll never be able to understand just how the people at the Onion manage to deliver that much humor without cracking a smile. It must take a special kind of person to deliver that kind of news.

[via 9to5mac]

I wish that this guy would give us some step-by-step instructions on how to make one of our own. Unfortunately, seeing that this video is nearly a year old, that’s probably wishful thinking.

Man, I hope this guy makes some more of these, because I found this to be very informative. I don’t know what kind of accent this guy has, but this is hilarious.

As far as I can tell this was shown during the middle of the theatrical release of Gremlins 2. I find it amusing that the woman comes out complaining about how horrible the movie is.

Apparently the owner of the house was tired of getting boxes containing broken merchandise, so they set up a camera to catch the UPS guy mishandling his packages. Next time you get a box with a few dents in it, you’ll probably wonder if it happened on the truck, or on the way to your door.

[via newlaunches]

We all know Keanu Reeves from the Matrix, one of the coolest movies of our time. What is interesting is that I think he actually talks more in this short clip than he does throughout the entire movie.

Remember to keep sending in those videos and I’ll keep putting them up every day. Enjoy!

[via neatorama]

They might be a little late as the Red Rings started quite a while ago, but their video is so good I’m going to go ahead and give them credit for it.

I know things like this have a tendency to inspire cults, but please, don’t do that, just write Microsoft a letter and surely they’ll be kind enough to fix your problem.

G4 makes Red Ring of Death metal music video [via Joystiq]

I would love to know what would possess someone to allow a pile of trash like this to be put on the air. You know a few hundred people had to have seen it before it went on the air. Don’t you think that just one of them could have spoken up and told them that their 8-year-old kid could have came up with something better?

Sorry guys, that’s 30 seconds of your life that you’ll never get back. At least now you’ll be prepared. If ever this commercial were to air while you were watching TV with a friend or loved one, you can spare them by changing the channel.

[via crunchgear]

What weapon would you say is the greatest of all time? Also, remember to send in your favorite clips from around the web. Funny videos are always good, but as long as it’s tech related, it will be considered.

video after the jump..

Remember, send in your favorite videos from around the interweb. They don’t need to necessarily be funny, just something that you think we’d all enjoy.