Jamming with Shimon, a socially dynamic band mate

Tired of Guitar Hero? Try jamming with your iPhone or iPod touch and Shimon, an autonomous, marimba-playing, octopus-armed hipster robot.

Gil Weinberg, director of music technology at Georgia Tech, is developing Shimon as a socially dynamic band mate. He says the robot "listens like a human and improvises like a machine" thanks to complex algorithms that allow it to perceive and improvise a groove.
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Hands-on with the Google Nexus One

Thanks to a clandestine meeting with a source, I got a chance to play with and try out the Nexus One. It's basically, from my time with it, Google's Droid killer. It's thin, it's fast, it's better in every way.

My source was very firm about no photography, and I didn't want to jeopardize anything on my source's end, so there are no photos, hence these photos are ones we've already shown you. But, based on all the leaked shots this week, plus the very pretty and very clear one last week from Boy Genius, everyone knows what the phone looks like already. Hell, there's even a complete UI walkthrough today that's on YouTube. So I'm going to focus on the experience, and how it compares to the Droid and the iPhone 3GS.
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Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader arriving for Christmas after all

Customers who placed early orders for Barnes & Noble's Nook e-readers will get them in time for Christmas, the company said Wednesday, despite its statements to the contrary a few days ago.

Got whiplash yet?

On Friday, the retailer told some customers by email that it aimed to get the device to customers by Thursday, Christmas Eve. Those who did not get the gadget in time would get an email notification on Wednesday with a US$100 Barnes & Noble online gift certificate, the company said.

It appears those gift certificates won't be showing up in inboxes, however, as the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that all B&N's Nook shipping orders will in fact be fulfilled. "We're pleased to tell our customers today that we're shipping out all our orders in time," Mary Ellen Keating, a spokeswoman for Barnes & Noble, told the paper.
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Nexus One to go on sale January 5 by invite only?

We know that one of the hottest Google Android phones out there is the one you can't get yet. Well, unless you're a Google employee of course. So the question remains, when will the general public be able to get a Nexus One of their very own? Well, according to the latest rumor, it could be as early as January 5.

A tipster told Engadget Mobile on Wednesday that the Nexus One will be available on that date, but by invite only. The invitations will be sent out by Google but the tipster didn't have any information as to how the company is deciding who to send the invites to and no word on pricing. It seems a little suspect to us, but hey, we know Google likes to pull surprises.

In addition to a possible release date, Engadget Mobile posted full specs for the smartphone:

• Android 2.1
• Support for T-Mobile's 3G bands, quad-band GSM/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
• 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED touchscreen
• 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and video recording
• 512MB RAM/512MB Flash; expandable up to 32GB
• 1400mAh lithium-ion battery

Thoughts?

Originally posted on Android Atlas

7-inch Apple tablet due next month?

Though Macworld 2010 is on February 2010, chatter on the Web is that Apple will not wait for that event to unleash the anticipated tablet PC. According to rumors, the Cupertino company will unveil a 7-inch slate PC in a month's time.

Previously, the speculation was that Apple's device will come with a 10-inch screen, so we don't know if the rumored 7-inch model is a replacement or complement to the former. There is no mention of on the operating system, though industry watchers are expecting the Apple tablet to run on a similar platform as the iPhone instead of the full-fledged Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Still, January is round the corner, so we won't need to wait long to confirm this rumor.

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