Thursday, June 27, 2013

Ambulances Highjack Car Radios To Let Drivers Know They're Coming

Source: http://gizmodo.com/ambulances-highjack-car-radios-to-let-drivers-know-they-589891444

Everyone knows they should pull to the side of the road when an ambulance with its blaring siren approaches. But what if you've got the windows rolled up, the radio blaring, and can't hear it coming? That's not a problem in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where to increase emergency response times, the ambulances actually hijack nearby AM and FM signals to let drivers know they're nearby.

The clever approach isn't illegal, either. A creative agency called Maruri Grey actually worked with the Radio Association of Ecuador to outfit ambulances with low-power broadcast antennas that override all AM and FM stations within a one kilometer radius of the vehicle. So anyone within the vicinity of the ambulance would be alerted it was coming well in advance, reducing the time it had to slow down for traffic ahead to clear.

And even though radio has been replaced by CDs and MP3 players as in-vehicle entertainment, response times for the ambulances was actually reduced by up to 40 percent with the new system. So now we just sit back and wait for pizza delivery drivers to install their own pirate radio transmitters to guarantee a piping hot pie delivered on time. [YouTube via Behance]

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Posted by Augustine at 5:15 AM

Samsung launches 55-inch 'flawless' curved OLED TV in Korea

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/26/samsung-launches-55-inch-flawless-curved-oled-tv-in-korea/

Samsung launches 55inch 'flawless' curved OLED TV in Korea

Just as the rumors foretold, Samsung has announced Korean availability of a 55-inch curved OLED HDTV. Priced at 15 million Korean won (around $13,000) Samsung claims its "Timeless Arena" design eliminates potential for defective OLED pixels. It also reiterates the claim LG made when it launched its own curved OLED model earlier this year that keeping all parts of the screen an equal distance from the viewer makes for a better viewing experience. It also supports features found in other Samsung TVs like multi-view that lets two people watch different things at the same time thanks to 3D glasses, and the Evolution Kit CPU upgrade. There's no word on US availability for its flat OLED HDTVs, but the company also launched its new 65- and 55-inch 4K TVs at the same event.

Update: According to Reuters, Samsung now has no plans to offer a flat OLED HDTV in 2013.

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Source: Samsung Tomorrow

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Posted by Augustine at 5:13 AM

Sony expands high-end Cyber-shot lineup with RX100M2, full-frame RX1R (hands-on)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/27/sony-rx100m2-rx1-hands-on/

Sony expands highend Cybershot lineup with RX100M2, fullframe RX1R handson

Sony's brilliant RX100 and RX1 advanced point-and-shoots will live to see another day. Instead of replacing these two well-received pocket cams, the company has opted to expand the upper end of its Cyber-shot lineup, adding two very compelling new models. First up is the RX1R, a full-frame compact that'll retail for $2,799, the same price last year's model still commands today. In fact, it's nearly identical to 2012's flavor, with the exception of a redesigned sensor, which drops the optical low-pass filter in the interest of sharper captures. Of course, without that component, the camera is susceptible to moire and false color issues, so the RX1R is a better fit for landscape photographers than portrait shooters or photojournalists. It also sports Triluminous Color output through the HDMI port, for enhanced visuals on select HDTVs.

The vast majority of shooters are going to be much more excited about the Cyber-shot RX100M2, though. This "Mark II" variant of the RX100 borrows a few features from Sony's NEX line, which is never a bad thing. Looking at the camera, you'll first notice the 3-inch 1.3M-dot tiltable LCD, which can flip 84 degrees upward and 45 degrees downward. There's also a Multi Interface Shoe for adding on accessories like a microphone, OLED EVF or external flash. Additionally, the USB port is now a Multi Interface Terminal, so it'll work with the RM-VPR1 remote, and Sony added WiFi, NFC, and Triluminous Color output through the HDMI connector. On the imaging front, there's a brand new 1-inch BSI CMOS sensor, boosting sensitivity to the tune of one full stop (we're told ISO 3200 shots are comparable to ISO 1600 on the RX100). The top sensitivity also jumps from ISO 6400 to 12,800, which is pretty fantastic for a point-and-shoot.

As with the RX1, you'll still be able to snag the RX100 for some time to come. And for many photographers, last year's model may be the best pick -- the RX100M2, while a bit more feature-packed, retails for a $100 more than its predecessor, with a $750 MSRP. The RX1R, however, maintains the same pricing as the RX1, at $2,799. Both cameras, which you can check out now in the hands-on gallery below, are expected in stores by the middle of July.

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Posted by Augustine at 5:13 AM

Leef's Bridge USB flash drive lets you share files between your smartphone and computer

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/27/leef-bridge-android-pc-mac-usb/

DNP Leef USB

Sharing files between devices using the cloud is fine, but California firm Leef Technology believes it has a more direct approach: a USB key. Aptly named Bridge, the flash drive lets you copy files from any Android 4.0 or higher device with a micro-USB connector, then transfer them to your Mac or PC by popping out the larger end. It's similar to the micro-USB OTG dongles we've seen at Computex earlier this year, despite the difference in design. You can nab the double-ended peripheral in either 16GB ($18) or 32GB ($28) from Amazon or Leef's website (at the source), and a 64GB GB version will be out in July. Who knows -- maybe that'll finally put an end to the cat video and selfie clutter on your cloud service.

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Source: Leef

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Posted by Augustine at 5:12 AM

Project Anarchy, Havok's mobile game development suite now available at no cost

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/27/havok-project-anarchy-free/

Havok -- the physics middleware engine used by almost every big console and PC game -- announced its start-to-finish mobile game development suite will be available at no cost to developers. Project Anarchy has tools for everything: visuals, physics, artificial intelligence and animation. We say "no cost" instead of free for a reason: Havok expects a few things out of its users in return. It wants to co-market some finished games and for clients to become part of its development community. Currently, that dev community includes folks programming for iOS, Android and Tizen. Microsofties may not be left out, however, as Havok has "flexible business models" for Windows Phone if you ping its sales team. Full details in the links below.

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Source: Project Anarchy

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Posted by Augustine at 5:12 AM

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