Gizmag News - Speed demon: Motorola unveils Droid Bionic 4G smartphone

Welcome to the newsletter for gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine. These are the headlines for January the 6th, 2011. Speed demon: Motorola unveils Droid Bionic 4G smartphone It's all about speed, speed, speed for Motorola in 2011. The new Droid Bionic, unveiled at CES, will be Motorola's new smartphone flagship, with fast dual-core processing and blistering download speeds over Verizon's LTE 4G network, billed as the fastest in America. And speed aside, the new big Daddy Droid packs quite a spec sheet. Read More JOYSTICK-IT adds a physical joystick to tablet-based gaming While touchscreen tablets such as the iPad have proven themselves to be extremely popular gaming devices, games that require a directional input suffer from the difficult to use and easy to lose track of onscreen touch control pads. The JOYSTICK-IT iPad Arcade Stick is a simple accessory that solves this problem by sticking over the top of the onscreen control pad to provide a physical joystick when needed. Read More Sony unveils first ‘Double Full HD’ 3D camcorder plus new projector-packing models Among a slew of new additions to its Handycam line of camcorders unveiled by Sony at CES 2011 were a couple of notable standouts. The first is the HDR-TD10E, which Sony is calling the world’s first “Double Full HD” 3D consumer camcorder that effectively doubles up on a variety of key components, while the second is the HDR-PJ series, which consists of three new models which boast a built in projector. Read More Panasonic unveils ‘tablet-like terminal’ at CES 2011 While the portable form factor of tablet computers makes them ideal for use on the go, as many tablet users have no doubt discovered, they’re also great for doing a spot of web surfing or catching up on friends’ Facebook or Twitter posts while in front of the TV. At CES 2011 Panasonic has announced its entry into the tablet computing space with the VIERA tablet – a device it calls a “tablet-type terminal” specifically designed for just that purpose. Read More Canon announces the tiny XA10 - its smallest ever pro-grade camcorder Canon has announced its smallest-ever professional grade handicam. The XA10 weighs a paltry 820g (1.8lbs) fully loaded, and shoots 1080p HD video in H.264 and the more edit-friendly AVCHD format. Canon is pitching it somewhere between the prosumer market and as a ultra-portable rig for outdoor, action sports, live news and tight-spot shooting at the pro level. But at an estimated retail of US$1999, it's well within reach of the hobbyist that just wants to shoot high-quality home movies. Read More Netgear introduces 3DHD Wireless Home Theater Kit Netgear has announced its 3DHD Wireless Home Theater Networking Kit, a set of high-performance 802.11n wireless adapters designed to transmit HD and 3D HD video throughout your home. The 3DHD kit, which received a CES 2011 Innovations Award, delivers multiple jitter-free 1080p high-definition video streams without additional wiring or cabling. Each 3DHD adapter can be connected to a home theater device with a network port, and features four transmitters and four receivers for 4x4 MIMO connectivity. Read More Pioneer launches text-to-speech tech for drivers, and a booster seat for iPhones Ted Cardenas, Director of Product Planning for Pioneer Electronics , likes smartphones. Much as he likes, them, however, he feels that they’re too small and require too much attention for use while driving. That’s why, today at CES in Las Vegas, he unveiled his company’s new in-dash navigation systems. Pioneer has partnered with Aha Internet Radio to bring online social media services such as Facebook and Twitter to the system, which actually reads drivers their text messages, traffic updates and other text-based information aloud as they’re driving – along with playing a swag of online radio stations via Pandora. Cardenas also presented the Smart Cradle, an earlier-previewed dash-mounted iPhone holder that enhances GPS-enabled apps. Read More Casio's flexible new TRYX adds a twist to camera design Even though cameras have moved from film to digital, their form factor has remained largely unchanged with the familiar configuration of a lens at the front and viewfinder – or now display screen – on the back. At CES 2011, Casio has unveiled a new camera form factor with its TRYX design that shifts the lens and display screen to a side-by-side set up that can be rotated and turned to suit a variety of shooting styles. Read More Motorola shows off XOOM tablet Motorola and Verizon today came out with what is sure to be one of many new tablet computers that we're going to see at CES 2011. Billed as the world's first Honeycomb (Android 3.0) tablet, the specs of the XOOM look impressive with a dual core 2GHz processor (Nvidia Tegra 2) and a 10.1 inch HD display. The 3G/Wi-Fi enabled XOOM boasts two cameras: a front-facing 2 megapixel camera for use during video chat, as well as a rear-facing 5 megapixel camera capable of shooting 720p video. Read More LG home appliances get smarter with THINQ You still have to do your own laundry and cooking, but LG promises its new THINQ technology will make it easier and more economical to manage your home appliances. LG is showing off its latest smart refrigerators, stoves, and washers at CES 2011 and the appliances are loaded with energy-saving, diagnostic, and customization features. You will even to be able to monitor and control your appliances using your smartphone or tablet. Read More New dyes to benefit solar electricity and hydrogen fuel production Researchers have made a two-fold breakthrough in advancing renewable energies with the development of a light sensitive dye which transfers electrons more efficiently than conventional technologies. The new dyes stand to be used in solar electricity generation and in creating hydrogen fuel, which in the past has proven expensive and energy hungry. Read More Intel introduces second generation Core processors Twenty new processors, new chipsets and new wireless solutions - including new Core i7, i5 and i3 processors, Intel 6 Series Chipsets, and Intel Centrino WiFi and WiMAX adapters - were introduced by Intel at CES today. The company brings a host of new features to the combined processor and powerful high definition graphics architecture, including super fast video conversion functionality and the ability to beam content to HDTVs via a new version of Intel WiDi. Collaborations with HD movie providers will also result in user being able to watch previously unavailable content on a PC screen. Read More Say hello (and goodbye) to the biodegradable festival tent We've all seen the photos – the absolute devastation at the end of a festival after the revelers have gone home. A number of organizations are turning this waste into green industry including Vanessa Harden and friends at Do The Green Thing who have designed a biodegradable tent that will decompose post-party and replenish the soil in the process. Read More Joby does it again with clever and gorgeous iPad cover/stand Although Joby has found yet another use for its bendy support technology with the Yogi iPad stand, our eyes were drawn to the company's other release at this year's CES. If you're a fan of origami then you are simply going to love the seriously clever Ori, and even if you just don't get the fine art of paper folding we still think you'll be impressed. As well as spending some of its life as a protective cover, this smart-looking metallic stand can also transform into different structures to provide a variety of viewing possibilities. Read More Lacie's blisteringly quick USB 3.0 FastKey SSD Gizmag is no stranger to USB storage innovations from LaCie so we took the opportunity to have a closer look at the company's FastKey drive on display at CES. The combination of USB 3.0 and SSD technology in a palm-sized form factor is claimed to result in a drive that can transfer small files up to 100 times faster than a hard disk drive connected via Hi-Speed USB. Read More Blue Microphones' Flip Mikey and USB Yeti Pro Blue Microphones has arrived at CES 2011 with two new additions to its high quality recording range. The company's latest desktop microphone, the Yeti Pro, is the first USB unit to combine 24 bit/192 kHz recording resolution with analog XLR output, while the US$69 Mikey external microphone for Flip – which includes a mic input jack – will likely be welcome news for fans of the popular pocket camcorder. Read More If you would like to refer this newsletter to a friend or colleague, please point them at our free subscription page. Please don't try to forward this email, as the formatting is unlikely to remain intact. And don't worry, we don't share email addresses. Please read our privacy policy if you are concerned. 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