Elephantsquared. » game-changer

Microsoft Courier leaked photos and videos

George T — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:48:22 +0000

Engadget got some photos and videos on this new revolutionary-wanna-be product coming from Microsoft this time. Though this is still a concept show-off you have to admit that it is pretty cool. The User Experience/Interface is quite breath taking. I wonder if the final product will look like anything close to this. The sure thing is that Microsoft has taken a few things under serious consideration like the UI part in the last few years. Have you seen the latest Windows Mobile, oh I mean the Windows Phone 7 series?

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Mobile radar research concept by Nokia

George T — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:39:20 +0000

While Apple was announcing the game-changer iPad, Nokia was also letting us peak behind the curtain of future mobile technologies. It’s about a technology named “Mobile Radar” which seems quite promising with endless possibilities.

In the video shown below, you’ll see researcher Jani Ollikainen use his hand to adjust the music player’s volume, without ever touching the hardware. Even with an object in his way (like your pants pocket or even a wood door), the radar works without a hitch. In the second demo, you’ll see fellow researchers Terhi Rautiainen and Risto Kaunisto measure the distance, speed, and direction of a human walking.

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The day after the iPad showed up

George T — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:16:12 +0000

There is so little chance that you haven’t heard of the Apple Event that took place a couple of hours ago. But just in case here is a sum up of the event (in headlines):

Steve Jobs showed up saying they want to kick off 2010 by introducing a truly magical and revolutionary new product.
There was a little talk about the success of the iPod and the iPhone over the last years with some historical and data reference. Plus, saying that Apple is a mobile devices company, that’s what we do.
After wondering if there is room for a third category device in the middle of a laptop and/or a smartphone, Steve just said iPad.
From that time and on it was all about applauding and embracing this new magical thing called the iPad.

We’ve always tried to be at the intersection of technology and liberal arts — we want to make the best tech, but have them be intuitive. It’s the combination of these two things that have let us make the iPad.

iPad’s main features inlcude:

9.7-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip
Wi-Fi + 3G model
3.5-mm stereo headphone jack
Built-in speakers
Microphone

You may find out more about the iPad here. However, as you may have noticed, there a few missing features.

If you ask me, I was getting ready to catch up with the event along with gdgt’s and engadget’s live coverage. I was ready to listen to whatever Steve was ready to say. I mean, we were all ready for the best tablet pc ever, right? Well, the first impression of the iPad was like “hmmm.. it’s not bad”. Not that I don’t think this is an exceptional mobile device. Maybe I was overwhelmed by all the buzz going on about the Apple Tablet. I was waiting for something truly innovative and outstanding.

The User Interface was awesome, as usual in all Apple products. Could be better though. The whole idea of downloading the same apps you download for your iPhone was a bit surprising and also a good way to endorse the power of the iPhone App Store. Everything else seemed to be quite elegant.

Anyhow, Apple’s iPad has definitely killed the netbook market and we are about to witness, as I have said before, a change in personal computing in the years to come shifting the Personal Computer (P.C.) towards the mobile devices.

Don’t forget to check out this real-time look at twitter mentions of terms related to Apple’s product launch earlier today.