Hassle-free wireless data transfer may soon become a reality with the world's first TransferJet-ready chipsets (CXD3267AGG and CXD3268AGW) from Sony. Instead of initiating a cumbersome Bluetooth pairing process or deciphering complicated security settings for a Wi-Fi network, all consumers need do is tap two gadgets together for easy point-to-point connectivity. Imagine playing back photos onto a big screen automatically by simply touching your TransferJet-ready digital camera to a compatible TV for example.
Based on wideband wireless technology, TransferJet offers a high-speed data transfer rate of up to 560Mbps at an effective range of a few cm. That roughly translates to just seconds required to copy a 170MB, hour-long TV program recorded in MPEG-4 format. This short-range wireless system is expected to be implemented into a variety of consumer electronics gear, including handhelds, laptops and home A/V products. The company has further integrated these chips into a compact module for mobile devices, PCI Express mini cards for notebooks and USB connectivity solutions.
Oh, the CrunchPad, one of the few gadgets I would willingly fork out money for. Alas, it's not going to happen. In a rather abrupt turn of events that sent the blogosphere alight, TechCrunch founder and co-editor Michael Arrington announced on a blog post yesterday (US time) that the CrunchPad is no longer.
"The entire project self destructed over nothing more than greed, jealousy and miscommunication," Arrington wrote. Read more »
Researchers in Japan are developing robotic roller skates as a new form of personal mobility.
Toshinobu Takei of Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) demonstrated his "Unit-type Micro-Mobility" device at the 2009 International Robot Exhibition (iRex) in Tokyo this week.
We haven't seen too many gadgets like these, but what with the plethora of prototype personal vehicles like Honda's U3-X unicycle in Japan lately, they aren't surprising.
The prototype skates are actually mechatronic versions of "takeuma", which are old-school bamboo stilts that kids used to play with in Japan before their lives were consumed by cell phones and video games. Read more »
Please forgive me if I take the easy humor route and inject a few "Twilight: New Moon" jokes into my posts over the next few days. I haven't been sleeping well and when that happens I get groggy and tend to go for the easy laugh. The problem is that some nights I just don't get enough sleep (I'm no vampire). I go to bed at different times and always try to wake up at 8am. Read more »
It's a dog-eat-bot race, with Sanyo's Eneloopy mascot mutt giving Panasonic's Evolta mascot robot a run for its money. But whereas the latter risked battery life and limb to show off Panasonic's AA cells' endurance in a harrowing climb up the Grand Canyon, the Eneloopy doggie prefers to play cute and "nosey" with your AA- and AAA-sized rechargeables.