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AQUOS PHONE IS14SH: Sharp Integrates Android 2.3 Into Feature Phone Body

Posted: 23 Dec 2011 04:35 AM PST

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It seems Sharp saw good sales when the company launched the so-called AQUOS PHONE THE HYBRID 007SH on the Japanese market, the world’s first clamshell Android phone. Today, Sharp’s AQUOS PHONE IS14SH [JP] went on sale in Japan, and again they squeezed a ton of smartphone functions into a feature phone body.

The obvious target here are customers who want to type on a physical slide-out keypad but don’t want to miss out on the typical specs a Japanese Android phone is offering.

Here are the main features:

  • 3.7-inch LCD touchscreen with 900×540 (QHD) resolution
  • Android 2.3 OS
  • 8MP CMOS camera with HD video recording support (720p)
  • microSDHC card slot, microUSB slot
  • IEEE802.11b/g/n Wifi
  • GPS
  • Bluetooth 3.0
  • 1seg digital TV sensor
  • e-wallet function (NFC)
  • infrared communication
  • size: 56×117×14.7mm, weight: 136g

In Japan, the AQUOS PHONE IS14SH will be marketed by mobile carrier KDDI au, but don’t expect to see this handset outside the country anytime soon.

Stream TV Networks Introduces Ultra-D: Glasses-Free 3D Conversion Tech

Posted: 22 Dec 2011 10:42 AM PST

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The biggest hindrance to consumer adoption of 3D technology thus far has been a lack of content, and price, of course. While I can’t vouch for their price tags quite yet, it would seem that Stream TV Networks has come up with some new 3D technology that could make that whole limited content thing much less of an issue.

How, you ask? Well, for one thing the new Ultra-D tech converts 2D content to 3D. But it gets better. Not only will that content be brought over to the third dimension, but you won’t have to wear any clunky glasses to enjoy it. Ultra-D technology also converts 3D content to autostereoscopic (sans glasses) 3D. It also works with just about any format, from Blu-rays and DVDs to PC games to cable and satellite content, and all the conversion is done in real time.

Stream TV Networks, under the Ultra-D brand, has 3D-capable products coming out for TVs, converter boxes, tabs, PCs of all shapes and sizes, smartphones, and even digital signage and picture frames. The technology also allows for the user to customize the 3D effect, letting users increase or decrease the real-time 3D rendering effect.

Products will be announced at CES, and we’ll be there to keep you in the loop. ‘Til then, pop on those glasses.



Nest Thermostat Teardown Reveals Beautiful Innards, Powerful ARM CPU, Zigbee Radio

Posted: 22 Dec 2011 06:34 AM PST

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The Nest Thermostat is a gorgeous piece of eco-friendly electronics. But like your mom always said, it’s what’s inside that counts. Well then, she’ll be pleasantly pleased to find out that the inside of the Nest is as equally beautiful as the sleek exterior. The $249 thermostat might be costly, but a teardown posted on SparkFun shows the innards of a device worthy of such a price. Not only is it well-built, but the Nest is rocking serious processing power and connectivity options. Silly hyperbole alert: The Nest is a game changer.

It’s clear as you scroll through SparkFun’s pics that the Nest was designed and manufactured with an eye for detail. There doesn’t seem to be a wire or connector placed haphazardly. That’s to be expected. It’s creator, Tony Fadell, oversaw the iPod design and production during the first few years of the product’s life.

The Nest’s main PCB houses a surprising array of chips. The massive one in the center is a Sitara AM37x ARM Cortex-A8 that can run Linux, Android, and Windows Embedded CE and, thanks to a PowerVR core, OpenGL ES 2.0 is also supported. There’s also a ZigBee SoC that’s seemingly currently unused, lending to a theory that Nest has other devices in the works and will use ZigBee for wireless connectivity.

As Fadell explained to Sarah Lacy in a TCTV interview, the Nest learns from user behavior and eventually adjusts the home’s climate control based on previous activity. This requires a far amount of processing power, but the Nest has enough CPU juice to power a smartphone. The extra headroom no doubt increases the thermostat’s reliability while also allowing the company to expand on its feature set in the future.

Nest Labs quickly sold out of the first run. Another batch will hit in 2012 for the same $249 price. I’ll be the first to admit that the thermostat’s high upfront cost likely negates any savings it earns by intelligently adjusting a home’s heating and cooling system. But, and I say this with a smile on my face, I’d gladly throw money away just to hang a thermostat on my wall with enough processing power to outgun many traditional computing devices.

Amazon Stops Hiding Competitors’ E-Reading Apps On The Kindle Fire

Posted: 22 Dec 2011 05:08 AM PST

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Amazon has stopped pretending that a group of e-reading apps it allowed onto its Android Appstore weren’t available on the Kindle Fire. For whatever reason, the company was effectively hiding e-reading apps from companies like Wattpad, Kobo and Bluefire, even though they worked perfectly fine on the low-cost tablet computer.

Confused about why its app didn’t appear for users on the Kindle Fire, which is proving to be quite a sought-after device, Wattpad engaged in conversations with some folks over at Amazon, which apparently led to a necessary change in policy for all makers of mobile e-reading apps.

It’s unclear when Amazon started showing e-reading apps from rivals (including Wattpad’s) on Kindle Fire, exactly, but it seems they started appearing in listings sometime yesterday afternoon. Possibly, this was part of the Kindle Fire update that was delivered earlier this week.

Either way, this is good news for Wattpad, Kobo and other e-reading app developers, who no longer have to educate people on how to sideload their applications on the Kindle Fire.

Update: Wattpad’s Amy Martin points out to me that, while she’s certain that there were multiple e-reading apps in the listings yesterday evening, right now it’s back to Wattpad only. We’re trying to find out what’s up with that.

Last week, The Verge reported that Amazon redirected everyone trying to visit the Android Market website of direct app market.android.com links to its own Appstore.

However, GigaOm’s Kevin C. Tofel reported yesterday that the browsing block is no more.

I don’t consider Amazon to be an evil corporation, but both the hiding of competing e-reader apps and the browser redirection on the Kindle Fire were business practices bordering on downright shady. It is, however, worth noting that Amazon seems to be paying close attention to all feedback and prone to fixing what needs to be fixed rapidly.