Unicycle-riding girlbot hits the road
Leslie Katz | Sep 25, 2008
If Eve from Wall-E and Rosie the Robot Maid from The Jetsons had a love child... (Credit: Murata Electronics))
Murata Girl, a.k.a. Seiko-chan, can ride forward and backward at 2 inches per second--or idle in place. Tiny sensors tell the bot when it's about to bump into something, and gyroscopes on her back, plus a spinning disc embedded in her stomach, help her stay balanced.
Murata Electronics, an electrical components maker based in Japan, uses Murata Boy to promote science education and advertise its brand. It describes Murata Girl as "active but shy" (she occasionally blushes) and from central Japan, noting that she's programmed to follow her cousin around (no doubt taunting him endlessly for only being able to manage on two wheels). Users can control Seiko-chan via Bluetooth.
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The smart cell key phone
Wayne Cunningham | Sep 25, 2008
This Nissan smart key is also your cell phone. (Credit: NTT Docomo)
This latest effort is being spearheaded by Nissan, Sharp, and Japanese phone company NTT Docomo. Nissan has been offering smart keys in its cars since 2002, and we've gotten so used to them that we don't bother mentioning it in our reviews any more. Sharp designed a phone that would, we assume, work on NTT Docomo's service, and include the functionality of a smart key for a Nissan car.
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Skyfire mobile browser bulks up for open beta
Jessica Dolcourt | Sep 25, 2008
Skyfire, a Mountain View, Calif.,
start-up that competes directly with Opera Mobile browser, announced Wednesday
the opening of its public beta for Windows Mobile phones. This is good news if
you've been waiting months to join Skyfire's private beta program.
In addition to going public, Skyfire has upgraded from version 0.6 to version 0.8, a move that brings significant performance improvements and a more fleshed-out start screen design.
Skyfire's new start screen adds icons for a richer look. (Credit: Skyfire Labs)
Skyfire has introduced SuperBar in version 0.8, a field that combines the address bar and search into one. SuperBar helpfully offers suggestions to complete your query as you type, but unlike Opera Mobile 9.5 beta (which has separate search and URL fields), Skyfire doesn't remember your URL history. Nevertheless, it's one new feature that helps elevate Skyfire from a scrawny mobile browser with potential to one that is a viable browser alternative.
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What works: Five Web 2.0 products I still use
Rafe Needleman | Sep 25, 2008
On most days, I put my hands on two to five new Web 2.0 products. I write up
some of them, but pretty much forget about all of them by the time I wake up the
next day. A few things do stick with me, though. Here's a list of products I am
actually still using, weeks or months after the initial review:
Chrome
Google's new browser. Who needs it? If you have to ask, you haven't used it. (See all our Chrome coverage.)
Why I like it: Very fast. Very stable.
Areas for improvement: Extension support! I would use Chrome full time if I could import my favorite plug-ins, especially the password keeper Roboform. Also, Mac and Linux versions.
Evernote
This note-taking app has finally and completely replaced OneNote for me (it was a slow transition). It's a great place to store all your thoughts. It has a good search feature and it's good with photos--it even OCRs them in the background. Cool new feature: iPhone notes are now geo-encoded, and you can filter your display of notes by location.
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Xbox 360 Arcade hits rock bottom price in Asia
Philip Wong | Sep 25, 2008
If you're still sitting on the fence, do yourself a favor and purchase an Xbox 360 Arcade today. With the latest S$60 (US$40.73) price revision, the HD-enabled console has become ridiculously affordable. This is putting aside its value-added functions which range from being a Media Center Extender for streaming multimedia content from your PC to onboard CD and DVD playback. For S$339 (US$230.14), the package includes a wireless controller, five Xbox Live Arcade games and a 256MB memory unit.
While it's still status quo at S$499 (US$338.76) for the 60GB Xbox 360 Pro, its flagship 120GB Elite kit has received a symbolic S$20 (US$13.58) price cut to S$679 (US$460.96). These new pricings will be effective from October 1 in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. This development is a subset of the recent US revision which saw prices tumbling to US$199.99, US$299.99 and S$399.99 for the Arcade, Pro and Elite, respectively.
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