drag2share: Google introduces Currents: magazine-like news reader for Android and iOS (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/08/google-introduces-currents-magazine-like-news-reader-for-androi/

Google's rumored Flipboard competitor is finally here, and it's ditched the Propeller codename for something a little more appropriate: Currents. The app is available for both Android and iOS -- in tablet and phone-friendly formats -- and delivers a more magazine like reading experience for perusing your consumable content. The free app offers you a swipeable, graphics-heavy way to read material from partners like AllThingsD, PBS, Huffington Post and Fast Company, as well public Google+ feeds and RSS. You can even import your Google Reader subscriptions -- and it all gets cached for offline viewing. Of course, the whole thing is integrated with Google+ too, for quick and easy sharing. For publishers, Google is providing self-service tools for customizing how their content is displayed in the app. You can go download it now in the Android Market and in the iTunes App Store for free but, before you go, check out the video after the break to see it in action.

Update: It looks like Currents is US only for the time being. Sorry international readers, you'll just have to find some other way to shove traditional magazines towards extinction.

Continue reading Google introduces Currents: magazine-like news reader for Android and iOS (video)

Google introduces Currents: magazine-like news reader for Android and iOS (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Rubber Band Macro Lens Fits Any Smartphone [Genius]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5866259/rubber-band-macro-lens-fits-any-smartphone

This is simply genius. Since smartphone cameras don't have lens mounts, attaching a macro or zoom lens usually requires a cumbersome case. But by embedding one in an elastic band, this macro lens can easily be used on any smartphone.

If I had to nitpick I'd point out that the Macro Cell Lens Band does end up covering the iPhone 4's flash, but I never use it for anything other than a flashlight anyways, so I'm ok with that. And since the band can be used on any smartphone, that may not actually be an issue for other users.

For just $15 it's the cheapest and easiest way to add macro capabilities to your phone, and here's to hoping they've got a wide angle and zoom version in the works, or a single band that includes all three. [Photojojo]

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drag2share: Apple Continues Working On Kinect-Like Tracking With Projected Controls and Glasses-Free 3D [Apple]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5866273/apple-continues-working-on-kinect+like-tracking-with-projected-controls-and-glasses+free-3d

File this under cool shit we probably won't see for a long time. Apple just recently filed filed an expanded patent application for a system that would detect hand/head motion around a computer and let you manipulate projected image controls.

There are a whole bunch of systems at work here, and they all sound cool. Hand-controls, such as gestures, would be read with the help of an infrared laser which creates a volume of space (i.e. a 3D box). Anything your hands do within that box can be read and interpreted by the computer. But aside from gestures, how would you make fine adjustments? Apple has a plan for that, too.

The patent doc also talks of a system for projecting virtual images onto surfaces (i.e. your desk) using a system of several projectors and mirrors. These images, "knobs, sliders, buttons, and so forth" would be projected into the volume of space which is being monitored by the laser. You could then manipulate these controls and receive video and audio feedback (since haptic feedback would be impossible... for now...).

The third component of awesome is the glasses-free 3D. Here Apple would employ motorized head-tracking cameras, so that a good 3D image is delivered regardless of where your head is. The camera may also be able to track head or eye motion in a way that would allow you to scroll or zoom without having to use your hands at all. Sign me up for that.

Now, keep in mind this is just a patent filing and there's no telling how this could change and evolve (after all, they filed something similar not long ago). Or it could be scrapped outright. Or it could be integrated into Apple HDTV, delivering a sort of all-in-one XBox Kinectian experience (except they don't have games, yet). Besides, we know that Apple has been looking into holographic multi-touch systems for a while. It seems like they are trying to sneak in late to a game where they currently have no foothold. All that said, none of the technological elements in this recent patent are really outside the realm of possibility—it's just a clever combination of things that exist today. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they have a working prototype in Cupertino already. If you enjoy sifting through the details of patents, here ya go. [Unwired View via SlashGear]

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drag2share: HTC EVO Design 4G review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/08/htc-evo-design-4g-review/

It's no secret that we were downright smitten when HTC dropped 2010's proverbial bombshell: the EVO 4G. A knockout device that served not only as WiMAX's ambassador, but also catapulted us into expansive "superphone" territory with what was then a gargantuan 4.3-inch screen. Since then, however, subsequent EVOs haven't exactly been what we'd call up to snuff. The EVO 3D, while "good," made gimmicky trade-offs that kept it from being the home-run we'd hoped for. And others, like Samsung, who were once an Android wallflower have seriously stepped up their game -- so much so, even Google's repeatedly taken notice.

Where does that leave us with this year's EVO Design 4G? With middling single-core specs and a mid-range $100 on-contract price, things aren't exactly looking up for a device tasked with wielding a torch branded with the EVO's name. Does it pass muster as a device worthy of its ancestry? Or will the GSM and qHD add-ons keep it from diluting its predecessors good name? Well, frankly, there's only one way to find out, and that's to join us as we explore its intricacies past the break.

Gallery: HTC Evo Design 4G review

Continue reading HTC EVO Design 4G review

HTC EVO Design 4G review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:00:00 EDT. P! lease se e our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Activity Book For Young Scientists Encourages Coloring Inside the Cellular Walls [Books]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5866101/activity-book-for-young-scientists-encourages-coloring-inside-the-cellular-walls

Hot on the heels of yesterday's Introductory Calculus For Infants comes another book dedicated to introducing scientific concepts to kids in a fun way so the subjects seem less intimidating when they finally get to school.

The Coloring Book For Very Young Scientists, from Nerdy Baby, fills over sixty pages with puzzles and activities like coloring famous scientists, counting subatomic particles, and a simple board game following a little girl as she studies to get her PhD. Maybe if I hadn't spent my childhood coloring in the A-Team and MacGyver instead, I'd already have a couple of Nobel prizes under my belt. [Nerdy Baby via BoingBoing]

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