Jawbone Era sticks an accelerometer in your noise-canceling headset, we go hands-on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/20/jawbone-era-sticks-an-accelerometer-in-your-noise-canceling-head/

With a fantastic Bluetooth headset on the market and a pumpin' portable speaker to blast out jams, how could Jawbone improve their product lineup? Well, we still think a stereo headset might be swell... but that's not what the company delivered today. No, this is the Jawbone Era, the world's first Bluetooth earpiece with a built-in accelerometer for motion-sensing apps, and plenty more improvements where that came from. There's a new version of the company's NoiseAssassin noise-canceling algorithms that adjusts inbound volume and equalization to let you hear better, an extra-large 10mm cone speaker with a larger range of frequencies, two processors, more memory, and an hour of extra battery life compared to the Jawbone Icon, to be specific. With only two motions currently recognized -- a double-tap to begin / end / switch calls and a rapid shake to pair -- the accelerometer's a bit of a gimmick for now, but Jawbone suggests more gestures are probably on the way. In the meanwhile, the other advancements might make the Era worth the price of entry -- which is $130, by the by.

We've spent about five hours with the headset already, listening to music and taking calls, and while the accelerometer seems almost wasted at present, there's no discounting that new 10mm driver and the audio it can pump out. While no substitute for a set of quality dedicated earbuds, it sounded worlds better than the Jawbone Icon's tiny, tinny drum, and playing Pandora tracks we no longer felt an overpowering desire to take it out of our ear -- making a cyborg existence all the more bearable, we suppose. We'll bring you a full review soon, but if you're already sold, you'll find four different Era designs on sale at Jawbone's online store... oh, right about now. PR after the break.

Gallery: Jawbone Era unboxing and hands-on

Continue reading Jawbone Era sticks an accelerometer in your noise-canceling headset, we go hands-on

Jawbone Era sticks an accelerometer in your noise-canceling headset, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Asahi Glass introduces Dragontrail for consumer electronics, puts the Gorilla on notice (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/20/asahi-glass-introduces-dragontail-for-consumer-electronics-puts/

Corning, your scratch-free monopoly is coming to an end. No longer will you hold us hostage with your insanely durable and cunningly marketed Gorilla Glass. Asahi Glass is getting in on the game, introducing Dragontrail -- a name that doesn't quite give us the same connotations of incredible strength but, if you watch the video, you'll see it manages many of the same tricks as Corning's offering. Poking and prodding? Pass. Huge flexes? Bring it. Whacked with a hammer? Easy. The company indicates it's been working on the product for years now and expects sales next year to surpass 30 billion yen -- that's $365 million. For glass.

Continue reading Asahi Glass introduces Dragontrail for consumer electronics, puts the Gorilla on notice (video)

Asahi Glass introduces Dragontrail for consumer electronics, puts the Gorilla on notice (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 08:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iOS 4.3 beta multitasking gestures demonstrated on iPhone, look like a handful (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/20/ios-4-3-beta-mulitasking-gestures-demonstrated-on-iphone-look-l/

If you came along for our most recent podcast you heard us discussing some of the new features uncovered in the iOS 4.3 beta, including multitouch gestures for multitasking like four-finger swipes to go between apps. They seem hugely useful on an iPad but, on an iPhone, sounded like a bit of a handful. Now we have some video evidence, with Antoni Nygaard managing to get them working on his iPhone, along with the lock/mute switch toggle as well. Given these multitouch gestures aren't coming to the iPad (yet) we're guessing it won't be hitting the iPhone either, but we can always hope.

Update: BGR has a little more information on this, including some screenshots if the video below isn't good enough for ya.

[Thanks, Crazyyen]

Continue reading iOS 4.3 beta multitasking gestures demonstrated on iPhone, look like a handful (video)

iOS 4.3 beta multitasking gestures demonstrated on iPhone, look like a handful (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile confirms Galaxy S with 4G, Android-based Sidekick 4G are coming

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/20/t-mobile-confirms-galaxy-s-with-4g-android-based-sidekick-4g-ar/

Whoa, this is kind of out of the blue: on top of the Vibrant 4G that we've already had leaked ad nauseam (though he refers to it as a "Galaxy S 4G"), T-Mobile USA CEO Phiipp Humm mentioned at an event this morning that the company is preparing an HSPA+ Sidekick -- yes, a Sidekick -- albeit with Android slotted in place of the defunct Danger Hiptop operating system. For the record, T-Mobile hasn't had any Sidekicks in its lineup since the middle of last year, though it does own the Sidekick brand -- not Danger / Microsoft -- and would undoubtedly love to bring it back to relevance. Coincidentally, Mister Android himself, Andy Rubin, came from Danger -- so the Sidekick's starting to follow him around. Kind of like... you know, a sidekick. Both products are said to be "coming soon."

T-Mobile confirms Galaxy S with 4G, Android-based Sidekick 4G are coming originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW gets Nokia C7 remote control, James Bond can eat his heart out (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/20/bmw-gets-nokia-c7-remote-control-james-bond-can-eat-his-heart-o/

At CES and the NAIAS in Detroit this year we saw ever more powerful smartphone integration, but nothing like this. Nokia Asia teamed up with two Chinese coders, An Jiaxuan and an unnamed friend, to whip up a C7 app that controls a BMW 1 Series. They said it took them only 20 days to get things ready but we're thinking adding the remote controls to the car itself must have added some further time to that. The result is in the video below, a short test drive that Nokia promises "isn't special effects." See for yourself and let us know if you spot a meatbag driver hiding in there somewhere.

Continue reading BMW gets Nokia C7 remote control, James Bond can eat his heart out (video)

BMW gets Nokia C7 remote control, James Bond can eat his heart out (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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