How many times have you been watching a sci-fi series or movie, and thought “I really wish that piece of tech existed”? We've all done that. But how many of us have actually gone on to create one of those gadgets, just to see if it would be useful? Google's Amit Singhal did exactly that.
Onyx apparently has a smartwatch in the works, and though there aren't a lot of details on it at this point, a prototype has surfaced via the folks at ARMdevices. Though a smartwatch isn't notable in and of itself at this point, the prototype stands out amongst the competition because of its display: a true e-ink offering. Though the refresh speed on the prototype seems a bit too slow for everyday use, there are some obvious benefits to using an e-ink display rather than an LCD.
Japanese tire giant Bridgestone is showing off a revamped model of their prototype Air Free tire at the 2014 Paris Auto Show. First unveiled in 2011, Bridgestone has been working hard to improve their invention, which works by replacing the air-filled rubber donuts of today with a single band of rubber wrapped around resin blades built to absorb shock and support a car's weight. As we can see from the photos, the tires have a similar to look to the spokes on bicycle wheels.
JVC, which recently introduced a couple new rugged cameras during CES, has detailed its 4K efforts, dropping details on a handful of prototype cameras boasting Ultra HD recording. Included among them are a couple of UAVs -- unmanned aerial vehicles, more commonly called drones -- equipped with small 4K cameras.
During the latest launch of their Liquid Z5 smartphone in Taipei, Acer re-confirmed the idea that they'd be moving into the wearables market - and that they'd be doing so soon. Suggesting that they'd shown off a number of wearable devices to some of the company's clients at CES 2014 (behind the scenes, of course), Acer left reporters with precious little solid information on what their devices would be - or when they'd actually be launching on the global market. While earlier rumors suggested Acer's efforts to start with smartwatches, at this point there's been no confirmation - or specific denial - of a variety of products being offered up.
The Taiwan-based company BungBungame has developed a prototype high-end Android smartphone with a target price point of $299, a low price for the specs. The phone is called "Project S" for now. Johannes Knapp of NewGadgets.de tipped us to a hands-on he recorded recently when he visited the company's headquarters.
It would appear that the folks responsible for creating new and exciting products for Microsoft have found their way in to the wearables business this month as a tip arrives on a Windows-based Google Glass rival. This device would be eyewear along the lines of Google Glass, but would aim for not only a head-based unit - Microsoft is apparently looking in to all segments of the wearables universe. This unit was tipped by anonymous users close to the matter speaking with the Wall Street Journal, also cautioning the fact that this Glass rival might never make the mass market.
The 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed was jam-packed with all sorts of racing events, including the infamous hill climb that saw two cars crash. However, those weren't the only accidents to happen over the week. Lamborghini's latest concept, called the Parcour, was demoed on the track and actually ended up crashing, damaging the rear end of the car.
Fans of the odd and the unique at auto shows and conceptual deliveries galore will be glad to hear Ford will be unveiling a new bit of advanced technology that's said to "revolutionize" such deliverables. With a new process for prototyping, personalization, and low-volume production, Ford suggests that they'll be able to create concept vehicles as never before.
At this years' Google I/O developers conference, a Fireside Chat with several members of the core Google Glass team proved to reveal much on not just the future of the device, but its origins as well. While earlier in the day a single slide had been shown depicting a set of six original prototypes of what was then called Project Glass, here lead industrial designer Isabelle Olsson had one key prototype on hand to show SlashGear in the plastic, as it were.
Many people have no idea what was cooking up in Apple's labs when the company was working on the iPhone, but a prototype from 2005 has appeared, and it features a roughly 8.6-inch display with a separate motherboard consisting of USB ports, ethernet, and even a serial port. It was the basis of what iOS devices came to be a couple years later.
We're just a weekend and a couple days away from Sony's big PlayStation event on February 20, and we have a guess at what the company might unveil. Yes, a PlayStation 4 could be in the cards, and we've already seen a leaked photo of the prototype controller, complete with a touchpad. However, there's now a second photo that provides a bit more detail.
