AUO showcases world's largest Cinema Scope 3D LCD TV, among other three-dee niceties

In case you haven't noticed, FPD International 2010 is just about ready to hit full-swing, and AUO is on hand with a stockpile of new kit. AUO Optronics just so happens to be a fairly substantial panel maker in the grand scheme of things, so people tend to pay attention when they roll out the planet's largest Cinema Scope (read: 21:9 aspect ratio) 3D LCD TV. A 71-inch version of the aforesaid device is on hand for the public to gawk at, as is a 65-inch QFHD 4K x 2K lenticular lens 3D TV. The former boasts a 240Hz double frame rate, LED scanning backlight and optimized parameters for better motion flow, and unlike most three-dee televisions these days, this one works with polarized glasses -- you know, the ones that are dirt cheap, don't require batteries and haven't been known to give people headaches. The latter is a glasses-free solution, but unlike the company's next generation 3D notebook panels, you'll need to be located in one of eight viewing spots to dig the effect. In related news, AUO is also trumpeting a 4-inch 3D interactive touch panel suitable for use with smartphones, portable game consoles and tablets, but unfortunately, no release information is being doled out for any of this stuff. A heartbreaker, really.

Continue reading AUO showcases world's largest Cinema Scope 3D LCD TV, among other three-dee niceties

AUO showcases world's largest Cinema Scope 3D LCD TV, among other three-dee niceties originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 09:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mercedes-Benz SLK gets Magic Sky Control roof, turns transparent at the touch of a button

Put down those iPads, Mercedes owners, and look to the sky. There's a word of wonder up there and, if you had yourself an SLK with the Magic Sky Control vario-roof, you could be looking at it. Well, of course, you could already be looking at the sky if you had an SLK because, you know, it's a convertible. But, let's say you want to do it without actually having to experience nature. Now we're talking. The vario-roof is a glass panel in the center of the SLK's retractable hardtop and now, if you tick the 2000 euro ($2,800) Magic Sky Control option, you can control that sky, tinting the glass panel at will by re-aligning the light-blocking crystals embedded within. It's like a big pixel on an LCD with the whole sun as your backlight and a truly awful dot pitch.

Gallery: SLK Magic Sky Control roof

Mercedes-Benz SLK gets Magic Sky Control roof, turns transparent at the touch of a button originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 10:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why is T-Mobile selling an iPhone cable?

T-Mobile USA has been an oft-rumored darkhorse to help kill off AT&T's iPhone exclusivity in the country -- and for the life of us, we can't think of a good reason that the carrier's corporate stores would be carrying iPhone charge / sync cables now other than in preparation for a launch. It's interesting to note that Deutsche Telekom boss Rene Obermann in part blamed the lack of the iPhone in the States as a driving factor in its third quarter churn rate... a meaningless musing, perhaps, but it could've been a little bit of foreshadowing, too. It's important to note that T-Mobile has carried Nexus One accessories this year, too, so it's not out of the realm of possibility to think that they're just trying to cater to the unlockers who are already using iPhones on T-Mobile -- but then again, we'd argue that the people savvy enough to do that probably aren't shopping for overpriced cables in carrier stores. It's also important to note that T-Mobile literally just took a dig at FaceTime (while blasting AT&T's network in the same breath), so it's hard to say what this means, if anything.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Why is T-Mobile selling an iPhone cable? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 11:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mold Sculptures On an iPad App, Then Print Them With a 3D Printer [Video]

We've already ascertained that 3D printers are cool. But when connected to an iPad, running the Beautiful Modeler app? Consider our collective minds blown. You can mold digital clay into whatever you want, then print it with a 3D printer.

You'll need a 3D printer, obviously—MakerBot's Thing-O-Matic is the cheapest, at $1,225.

It's probably the easiest way to design 3D objects, without mucking around on CAD or other design programs. Actually using your fingertips to bend the lump of clay within the iPad app, turning it into a little object to print out—well, it sounds like a dream come true. Imagine your mom making Christmas tree ornaments this way, or being able to conjure up a little doohicky for sliding under a short table leg, within minutes?

Never have I wanted a 3D printer so much before.

The source code is available to grab from the Interactive Fabrication site now, and cleverly the program actually hooks up your laptop at the same time, so you can see your object's progress there, and model it on the iPad. [Interactive Fabrication via CreativeApplications via FastCo]

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Apple's New Gaming Patent Would Allow iPhone Laser Tag [Patents]

"Interactive Gaming with Co-Located, Networked Direction and Location Aware Devices," sounds dull, but Apple's latest patent is anything but. The tech described would use augmented reality tricks to open up whole new forms of portable gameplay—iPhone guns, anyone?

The gist of the patent is its ability to take advantage of the phone's position-sensing guts—gyroscope, accelerometer, and GPS—to turn your iOS device into a controller that talks to other controllers. Imagine using your iPhone's camera and screen to take aim at a friend, and then nailing her with a wirelessly-transmitted shot. Each phone involved in such a game would know the location of the other, constantly sharing positional data. Also described in the patent are Apple-sanctioned control accessories, allowing you to hold your phone like a gun or steering wheel.

This is pretty radical stuff from a company that's confined its gaming—highly successfully, it should be acknowledged—to whatever can be accomplished through solitary tapping, swiping, and tilting. But this new patent suggests Apple wants to take iOS gaming off of the toilet and subway seat, and out into the open. And we're excited. [TUAW]

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