The Droid features a five mega pixel camera; comes with a 16 gig SD card, and 3.7-inch 480-by-854 touch screen. With a two-year service contract from Verizon, the phone is $199.99. (Courtesy Motorola)

By Eyder Peralta

Is the Droid really going to dig a nice deep grave for the iPhone?

I'll say this: If I had a Droid instead of an iPhone I wouldn't be jealous of iPhone users, because with all its warts, Motorola's highly anticipated, newest mobile offering is one of the rare, true alternatives to the iPhone.

It impresses, as soon as it comes out of the box. The screen is huge and the Android 2.0 interface, which the Droid is first to sport, is intuitive. One of the nicest perks is that as soon as you click on the preloaded Facebook app, the device asks you if you would like to synchronize your Facebook contacts with your phone. A click and few minutes later, all your friends and their pictures are effortlessly in your phone book. So there's no trying to dig out contacts out of an old SIM card and if your friends are responsible and keep up their Facebook profile, no need to update your records every time someone moves or changes their number.

This is one thing the Droid does better than pretty much anything out there: Information is completely integrated. That is to say that, for example, the Google Maps app seamlessly shows a restaurant's location, user reviews and the menu. It means within that same interface, you can switch to street view for a picture of the front door; you can check where your friends are using Google Latitude and when you're ready, head there using Google Navigator, the search behemoth's entrée into GPS-enabled, turn-by-turn, voice guidance routing.

The camera app lets you send geo-tagged photos to Picasa and the open nature of the Android operating system lets you add apps that allow one click publishing to all manner of sites.

The Droid is most certainly not the prettiest thing. It's a squared, featureless black box with a matte finish and Motorola has inexplicably peppered it with dark gold accents.

The bottom part of the phone stretches just a tad beyond the screen, a stylistic choice that's been extended even to the packaging. But it's weird and makes for strange ergonomics, because it forces the keyboard and screen off-center.

Continue reading "Review: Functional And Powerful, Does Motorola's Droid Deserve The Hype?" >

By Omar L. Gallaga

In the above video from my Digital Savant blog, you can see some of the new features in the Motorola Droid, a smartphone that runs on the Verizon Wireless 3G network and which is trying to steal some thunder from Apple's iPhone.

Our own Eyder Peralta has a Droid he's been using (I just got my hands on one yesterday) and he's posted a review with his thoughts on the device, which hits Verizon stores Friday.

Screenshot: The AutoExec Laptop Steering Wheel Desk promises to make life behind the wheel more productive. (Amazon)

By Bill Chappell

There's a hot personal accessory out -- one reviewer uses it for e-mail; another for sushi. It's being called a timesaver -- even "the greatest thing ever invented." It's called a Laptop Steering Wheel Desk -- and you're forgiven if you haven't heard about it yet.

The platform-like device hooks onto the bottom of your car's steering wheel, putting a flat, useful surface at your disposal.

The laptop desk at work. (Amazon)

Its maker, Mobile Office, suggests you use the Wheelmate Desk to help you write and drink. As someone who devotes a fair amount of time to those two pastimes, I was intrigued.

But then, the company threw in this buzzkill tidbit: "For safety reasons, never use this product while driving."

Even that caveat tucked into the product description hasn't stopped reviewers on Amazon's site from writing about all the ways this new member of the AutoExec line is improving their lives.

Here's a sample -- the review voted Most Helpful by people considering the steering wheel desk:

Amazing! Holds my sheet music perfectly while driving
"This has been a total lifesaver. It allows me to prop my sheet music against the wheel, allowing me to play the guitar with both hands while driving."

But even with positive reviews like that, there are always a few complainers. The 1-star review from K. Healy exposes a basic fault. "Doesn't work on motorcycles!" is Healy's gripe. Even after refitting the device to a motorcycle, Healy complains, "Everytime I lean into the turn my book slides off."

Other reviewers list more conventional (car-oriented) uses: doing crossword puzzles or changing a baby's diaper, for instance. And one scofflaw admits to using it to set up drinks when barhopping with friends.

The Laptop Steering Wheel Desk has been out since 2003, according to Amazon's site. And some early adopters had mixed reviews.

But the steering wheel desk has gained fans in 2009 -- and as it does, Amazon's users have been uploading their own photos to the product's page.

One reviewer also says that the product has proven useful on airliners -- on flights from San Diego to Minneapolis, to be exact. But they didn't post photos to back up their claim, so I can't vouch for that -- or for any of these reviews, now that you mention it.

By Chris Benderev

The Japanese company that designed Sarah Palin's thin-rimmed specs has released a new set of glasses to fight "dry eye." The condition affects gamers, readers and others who stare at screens or pages for long stretches of time, causing a lower than average blinking rate.

Masunaga Optical Manufacturing Co.'s new Wink Glasses feature a tiny sensor that monitors the wearer's eye-blink activity. If the users' eyes go more than five seconds without blinking, tiny liquid crystals cause the lenses to become opaque, fogging vision. The wearer is forced to blink, after which the lenses immediately de-frost.

The high-tech glasses protect customers' eyes from fatigue and dehydration. But, they're not cheap, be ready to shell out $430.

Unwrapping a prototype of the OWLE. (Andy Carvin / NPR)

By Andy Carvin

There's been a lot of buzz in recent months about a startup called OWLE - pronounced "owly" - which announced earlier this summer they were going to sell an iPhone camera mount that lets you attach lens, mics and lighting. The company started taking orders for their first iPhone mount today, but we've been testing one out for a few weeks now.

For those of you who've ever shot video on an iPhone, it's pretty straightforward, but it does pose some challenges. For one thing, it can be hard to maintain smoothness of your video when walking around due to the iPhone's small size and limited weight. Ideally, you'd need a better way of gripping it, and some heft as well, to stabilize your video. Meanwhile, there's no obvious way to attach accessories such as mics or lenses without kludging together your own rig. This is where OWLE comes in.

You pop your iPhone into the back of the OWLE and you're ready to go. (Andy Carvin/NPR)

"We wanted to create the OWLE because we have been doing mobile video and broadcasting for a couple of years, and we have also created other more simple systems for older phones like the Nokia N95," explained OWLE co-founder Graham McBain. "When the iPhone came out we knew we had to make something so we could shoot better video. We prototyped the OWLE by taking another product made for the ipod touch and then modding it to allow for lenses, mics and tripods. We originally just made it for our own use, but after showing some friends and family we realized it might be worth actually making it."

The first thing you notice about the OWLE is its weight. It's heavier than any phone, more akin to a small camcorder. But that's part of the point, because the weight makes it easier to hold steadily, particularly with its two metal grips.

Continue reading "The OWLE: Bringing Stability To iPhone Video Geeks" >

By Clare Foran

We live in the age of Web 2.0, blackberries, ipods and kindles. But when does an ability to effectively use technology become a liability?

As GPS technology becomes more affordable, hikers are increasingly reliant on equipment like SPOT, a hand-held satellite communication device designed for use in remote locations in the event of an emergency.

These devices are capable of sending out a distress call with GPS coordinates so that hikers-in-need can be found by search and rescue teams. Yet, as Matt Scharper, Deputy Chief Search and Rescue Coordinator at the California Emergency Management Agency, explained to Melissa Block on All Things Considered this week, availability of these devices has created a false sense of security leading some hikers to take on challenges they otherwise would not normally attempt.

This technology can be life-saving. Problems arise, however, when you try to define what constitutes an emergency. In many cases, the devices are used by travel-weary hikers who perceive their situation to be much worse than it actually is.

In one case, an inexperienced hiker became alarmed by an impending thunderstorm and activated the device. Any time a distress call is received search and rescue teams set out to respond, often at great personal risk.

As technology improves we all stand to benefit. Yet, it is important to also be aware of potential pitfalls.

By Omar L. Gallaga

The Amazon Kindle is expected to account for 60 percent of the e-book reader market by year's end.

In this week's All Tech Considered, we discuss E-ink, the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook e-book readers and other aspects of the emerging e-books market.

E-books have begun to flourish since a new generation of models began appearing in 2007; Forrester Research recently revised its estimates upward on holiday 2009 sales of the devices.

Last week, Barnes & Noble announced a new device, the Nook, which will be available in November for $260. It has several features to set it apart from Amazon's Kindle including a color touch screen below a standard 6-inch e-ink screen that will display full-color book cover images.

Other links related to this piece:

• Lots of e-book technology was on display at a San Antonio displays conference I attended this summer. You can see a video about future screens (including color e-ink) here.
• A good piece from Wired about the difficulties in bringing color to e-book readers.
• Is the Nook's LendMe feature more limited than customers might like?
• Amazon is preparing a Windows version of its Kindle. You can already read Kindle books on iPhones.
• A massive comparison chart of e-book readers that use e-ink and those that use LCD technology including products from Sony, iRex and others.

Are you curious about e-book readers? Do you already have one? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

By Bill Chappell

If you ask me, geotagging is the next tsunami -- from tagging digital photos to putting barcodes and RFIDs on building walls. As the Web goes more mobile, the barrier between the physical and virtual worlds is being dissolved. But I never knew it would come to tagging a men's room at an airport.

Sure, today's airports are hubs of new technology. And granted, I was at Reagan National, just down from the Pentagon. But I was still surprised to see this little black tracking disk stuck on the wall.

The object in question. The placement seems really passive-aggressive -- blatant, and yet inscrutable... and, cemented. (Bill Chappell/NPR)

My first response was to think of the hi-jinks the kids these days get up to. Maybe some enthusiastic Swedish tech-heads were here, I thought, and embedded this tag to send GPS readers to a diatribe defending Pirate Bay.

Or perhaps it's more esoteric -- part of an underground Tardis movement that half-jokingly tries to keep track of mundane, and yet needed, rooms.

So, I started poking around on the 'net and found a Flickr image just like the one I was considering posting: "I saw this thing -- what the hell is it?"

After more digging, the consensus is that they're RFID (radio-frequency identification) disks that track the rounds made by security guards. They wave a baton over the tag, and it records that they've checked in at the location.

Turns out there's a surprisingly robust news site devoted entirely to RFID (didn't I tell you this was a big deal?). And I found out where you can buy them yourself -- they're cheap!

But I still wanted to know -- where do these things come from? From what I can tell: Shenzhen, China -- a company with the futuristically vapid name of Roxtron.

So, yeah, Big Brother is watching. Or, at least, waiting for some dude to pass by in the men's room and wave a wand at him.

By Jon Foreman

The HTC Pure retails for $199.99 before a $50 dollar rebate from AT&T. Courtesty of AT&T

Recently, I got a hold of an AT&T HTC Pure -- a 3G phone powered by Windows mobile 6.5. The specs were promising: high-speed network, touch screen interface, 5 megapixel camera, apps, radio tuner and an on-screen keyboard.

Because full immersion is required for a proper evaluation, I did the unspeakable: I yanked the SIM card from my iPhone and inserted it into the Pure.

I was now a PC.

But I found out, quickly, that being a being a PC isn't that much fun.

The Pure has two major shortcomings that make it unwieldy, especially for a longtime iPhone user. First, the touch screen isn't terribly sensitive: scrolling and selecting are cumbersome and do not always yield the intended result. The touch screen performs better with the provided stylus, but pulling out the stylus is inconvenient if you are in a rush.

Second, the software is confusing. There are too many sub-folders and too many options. Superfluous steps are required to perform simple tasks. Thankfully, there is one feature buried deeply in the abyss of this OS, which improved my experience impressively: The Touch-FLO 3D interface built by HTC.

Continue reading "HTC Pure Review: In The Mobile World, Being A PC Is Not Much Fun" >

By Eyder Peralta

The HP TouchSmart is available in two models. The 300 ($899) has a 20-inch screen. The 600 ($1,049), a 23-inch screen. Some 600 models connect to the Xbox, PlayStation and Wii through an HDMI or composite video input.(Courtesy of HP)

Something struck me as odd when I went to a media preview of HP's updated line of touch-screen PCs. Ann Finnie, HP's worldwide product manager, said touch screens were all about "consumption." For the most part users, the company has found, don't want any back and forth. All they want is to point and take in.

It struck me as odd because their new TouchSmart 300 and 600, one-piece 20- and 23-inch widescreen PCs, which launched yesterday, look beautiful, futuristic even. So to think of their main, distinguishing capability as simply being enhanced TV sets was odd.

Maybe it was because I saw it in terms of my iPhone, which gets lots of interactive use. Yes, I use it passively, as a music player and as an electronic book. But I'm also constantly taking pictures and video and posting them to Facebook or checking in on Tweetdeck to post updates.

The TouchSmart is surprisingly different; it is a desktop computer, after all. In fact, the full range of touch features -- like pinch-to-zoom -- are only enabled in 20 applications HP has preloaded.

Some of those are very appealing. One serves as a digital recipe box (computer makers have been trying to sell that as a function since the advent of the mass-produced PC!), another lets you create a digital bulletin board out of your pictures. And then there's the Hulu desktop application and the NetFlix app. Both of these turn the TouchSmart into a modern-day TV set.

Continue reading "Touch-Screen PCs Are Cool, But Hardly Usable" >

Corey McCalla, a student team leader, demonstrates the iPhone apps that controls Virginia Tech's Lumenhaus. (Ryan Gibbons / NPR)

By Meg Biallas

Team California's iPhone app helps homeowners monitor electricity, water and weather conditions. (Courtesy of Allison Kopf / Santa Clara University)

The idea of a "smart home" has been around for decades. Just ask Microsoft which, since 1994, has had a laboratory home in which lights and appliances are controlled remotely through smartphones. The ideas have never quite made it into the mainstream, though.

But right by the U.S. Capitol, 20 universities have sprung up small-scale homes they hope might be used in the near future. It's for the 2009 Solar Decathlon, in which teams compete for the most energy-efficient homes. Three of the competing teams have integrated home control panels and smartphone capabilities to help them achieve those goals Microsoft has been hawking for decades.

Joe Wheeler, faculty advisor to the Virginia Tech "Lumenhaus" design team, recruited students from VT's computer science department to develop an app that displays how much energy is being used. The approach with the app, Wheeler says, is part of "envisioning the future" and what Wheeler calls "responsive architecture."

When the public tours the house during the next three weeks, student team leader Corey McCalla will demonstrate how the app shows energy levels of the house. From the iPhone, the user can turn off lights to reduce energy usage. The same goes for water use. Press the water gauge button to view average daily, weekly and monthly water use.

The apps can also perform other basic controls in the house, such as rotating walls, if you want to make more living room space for your guests, turn up the music, or open windows for cross-ventilation. Several of the teams' apps display wind direction and current temperatures -- a digital weather vane of sorts.

Continue reading "Smartphone, Smart Houses" >

By Omar L. Gallaga

The Amazon Kindle might be one e-reader that has strong holiday sales.

An analyst at Forrester Research, Inc., says the firm is revising its outlook on e-book readers. They're predicting stronger holiday sales than had been previously forecast and for that trend to carry over into 2010.

In a blog post on the research firm's Web site, media analyst Sarah Rotman Epps says the company expects 3 million such devices, like the Amazon Kindle and Sony's line of e-book readers, to be sold in 2009. The previous estimate had been 2 million.

Forrester expects sales to double in 2010, reaching 10 million cumulative e-reader sales by end the of next year.

Epps says in a sales forecast report:

This holiday season, eReaders will be one category that's a breakout success. Lower prices, more content, better distribution, and lots of media hype are contributing to faster-than-expected adoption of eReader devices in 2009. We expect sales to double in 2010, bringing cumulative sales of eReaders to 10 million by year-end 2010. If the category expands beyond E Ink-based displays in a substantial way, 2010 sales can easily surpass this projection.

Epps predicts that Amazon's Kindle sales will account for about 60 percent of the market share.

So, what's this about non-E-Ink-based displays? If companies like Apple introduce color-screen devices that can still double as e-book readers, it could introduce a new wrinkle to the market beyond the energy-efficient, black-and-white-screen devices we currently see available.

Of course, color E-Ink is in the works, too. 2010 looks to be a big year for e-books.

Edited to add: One possible reason for the new estimate: Amazon cut the price of its basic Kindle model to $259 recently.

By Bill Chappell

So, I was doing the digital equivalent of navel-gazing -- Googling my own name -- when I came across another Bill Chappell, a guy whose career, like mine, intersects with the world of audio. With one main difference: he translates paranormal phenomena into sounds, and even words.

His Web site is called Digital Dowsing -- from dowsing rods, the sticks used to divine the location of underground water or valuables. And the guy's pretty busy. He builds his own components, and he has apps coming for iPhone/iPod Touch.

The main idea seems to revolve around spirits creating electromagnetic energy and feedback. Devices with names like "The Puck" and "The Ovilus I" detect that energy, convert it into a number -- and spit out a word or phoneme tied to that number. Which seems fair.

This video shows some of the equipment in use, at the spooky Meeker Mansion in Puyallup, Wash:

Those guys are part of a group called the Paranormal Underground. And I gotta say, their patience is amazing. Maybe they're focused on sending out positive vibes to any lingering spirits -- but I think if I was in that room I'd be sending out my own negative energy.

The thing I don't understand is, people keep asking if the spirit wants to play -- to tap on something in the room, or maybe play hide and seek. What if the spirit used to be a real jerk -- say, a 50-year-old jerk? Would speaking to them like they're a child help? I think I'd wear a helmet.

This other video is more pro-level:

It's Adam Blai using the Ovilus at the U.S. Hotel in Hollidaysburg, Pa., to piece together some kind of omnibus haiku. They get bonus points for using night vision -- but I kept expecting to hear words more appropriate to the sound: "Harder, Better, Faster Stronger."

Solar chargers, from top left: Powertraveller Solar Monkey, K3 Wind and Solar Charger, Solio Classic and Novothink Surge.

By Bill Chappell

I've been thinking about solar energy lately. And thankfully, it's more interesting to think about right now than it ever has been. I'm looking for solar chargers -- something light and durable that also works in partial sunlight.

Two things led me to look into all this -- a bike and a boat.

As a cyclist, I rely on my phone to give me both music and a GPS map of my route. And as a newbie sailor, I like the idea of staying in touch -- and using GPS to find my way.

All of that requires some juice, especially when you really get off the beaten path: As you may know, cell phones have a way of emptying their batteries as they desperately look for a network.

Given my needs, I want a charger that is:
1 - Charged up in less than 10 hours
2 - Lightweight -- say, under a pound
3 - Less than 1-2 years old in its design

I found four devices on the Web that, from critics' and users' reviews, seem likely to do what I have in mind. I'll give them a try and follow up with another post later. But if you've already tried them out, share your opinion -- and feel free to suggest other ideas if you've got 'em.

K3 Wind and Solar Charger
This is a pretty nifty and nice-looking little tool. It looks durable, and it's a no-brainer to pair solar and wind in one small device. You can charge it via AC outlet, if you want to give it a boost.
Meant for small devices, like cellphones and cameras, the K3 uses USB and has a compartment to store charging tips. The company claims an output that can charge a mobile phone five times.

The Specs
DC Output: 5V 1A; Maximum Wattage: 5 Watts
Battery Type: Lithium Ion 3.7V cell
Battery Capacity: 4,000 mAh
Dimensions: 3.0 x 9.3 x 3.1 in.
Weight: 10 oz (300g)

Solio Classic
This one scallops out into a flower-petal pattern. Solio's one of the more established companies, and their products have a reputation for being hardy -- on their Web site, their customers have sent pics of the gadgets in all kinds of exotic locales.

They also recently began a BOGO (buy-one give-one) program -- meaning that when you buy it from them, Solio promises to donate a charger and an LED light "to a family who live on less than a dollar a day," according to the company.

The Specs
DC Output: 3V 2A; Maximum wattage: 6 Watts
Battery: Lithium Ion 3.6V cell
Battery Capacity: 1650mAh cell
Dimensions: 4.72 x 1.34 x 2.56 in.
Weight: 5.6 oz.

Novothink Surge For iPhone
This is a charger case with a built-in Apple-friendly 30-pin connector for your iPhone. It includes a USB connector, so you don't have to remove the phone from the case to sync with iTunes. And it can charge itself via USB, as well.

The Specs
DC Output: 5.5V at 1A; Maximum Wattage: 5 Watts
Battery: Lithium Ion 3.7V cell
Battery Capacity: 1,500 mAh
Dimensions: 2.65 x 4.875 x .875 in.
Weight: 2.8 oz.

Powertraveller Solar Monkey
This light and small unit -- it's about the size of a clamshell cellphone -- is very versatile and can be strapped on top of a backpack. It's best to get it with a "Solar Nut" -- a little dongle that regulates the power flow and also stores a charge on its own, helping to bridge the gaps when there's no sun.

It's small and flexible -- but that means it doesn't have as much storage capacity as other units.

The Specs
DC Output: 5V at 200mA; Maximum Wattage: 5 Watts
Battery: NI-MH
Battery Capacity: 150mAh
Dimensions: 4.3 x 0.4 x 2.8 in.
Weight: 11 oz.

The new Sony PSP Go leaves behind the UMD drive that was in previous models of the portable game console. (Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.)

The UMD-format disc, the format of most Sony PSP games. (Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.)

By Omar L. Gallaga

Sony, the company that makes the portable PSP game console, wants its video gaming customers to move forward to an all-digital future. But that transition may not be as easy as the company may like.

The company's PSP Go console, due out Oct. 1, does away with the UMD drive, which played small discs on which most PSP games and movies were stored. The idea is that most gamers will instead buy new games online and download them to the console, eliminating the need for physical media.

However, video game sites are giving Sony a dressing down for not offering an easy way at launch for owners of PSP game libraries to trade up their discs for digital versions of the same software. And Sony's introduction of an unattractive adapter that would add bulk to the PSP Go in order to play those older games (defeating the purpose of a smaller, sleeker device).

On top of that, Sony is pricing the Go at $250 (compared to $170 for the current PSP). Will PSP players upgrade or hold on to their UMD discs? We'll have to wait and see if Sony's digital transition pays off.

By Krishnadev Calamur

The Walkman (remember it?) is making a comeback -- in Japan.

Bloomberg is reporting that for the first time in four years, Sony's Walkman has outsold the iPod in Japan.

Continue reading "Now For Some Ancient History " >

Don't toss that USB drive. Make it a high-tech bookmark! (Omar L. Gallaga / NPR © 2009)

By Omar L. Gallaga

USB drives (or "Flash drives" as we used to call them) made transporting data so easy so quickly that we've already skipped the part where we mourn that we are in a new era in which we take them for granted.

They became cheap and roomier in storage space at a breakneck pace. Now, they are carelessly attached to keychains; they litter our desk. We only ever care about them when data we need is stored in one of them and and the device is misplaced.

If you're like me, you have at least five or six of them, of varying capacities, in junk drawers or in work bags. It's silly to throw them away. But it's even sillier to let them sit around, unused. Here's five things you can do to get more use out of these devices than simply using them to schlep data around or back up your files (BO-RING!).

(Five great ideas after the jump!)

Continue reading "Five Alternate Uses For Extraneous USB Drives" >

The new $299 PlayStation 3 Slim is much smaller than the original game console. It debuts in early September. (Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.)

By Omar L. Gallaga

The above photo is what the new Sony PlayStation 3 Slim looks like, a streamlined version of the company's flagship game console. It debuts in early September for $299 in a pricing move that has been long-anticipated as Sony competes against Nintendo's wildly popular Wii console and Microsoft's Xbox 360.

You can read my thoughts on the pricing situation (which goes into effect today on the older 80-Gigabyte non-slim version) and see a video from the company's CEO about it over on Digital Savant.

Is it just me or does the new design remind anyone of an all-black Trapper Keeper? Don't believe me? Check out this photo.

The Blackberry Tour is available from Verizon Wireless and Sprint for $199 with a two-year contract. (Georgia Rhodes / NPR)

By Ryan Kellett

The Blackberry Tour by Research In Motion is a long-awaited Blackberry update for the Verizon Wireless network. It's billed first and foremost as a 3G "global smartphone" and is most suited to the international traveler, hence the name "Tour."

But it's not only targeted at the international traveler. Last weekend, I walked in to a Verizon Wireless store in downtown Manhattan and every employee had a badge on promoting the new Blackberry device. Splashy ads announced the device's tagline "Take Life With You."

The Tour is certainly a great upgrade for those on Verizon with older Blackberries, but the real question is whether the Tour is right for the growing breed of smartphone consumers. Can the device hold its own against the likes of the iPhone and HTC MyTouch?

Continue reading "Review: The New Blackberry Tour" >

By Laura Sydell

Engineering firm AeroVironment is working on a flying robotic spy that will look like a hummingbird. The company has been awarded a 2.1 million dollar contract from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) program.

The company got the contract after a successful test flight of its wing propelled aircraft. Check it out here:

The aircraft's wings are pretty small and like a hummingbird's they allow it to hover, fly up and down and sideways. The test vehicle is surely not yet a dead ringer for a hummingbird and AeroVironment says the battery life needs to be improved. But, they claim they are on their way to developing a vehicle that will look like a live bird. The NAV program was specifically designed to create vehicles that work in and out of doors and that mimic nature so that they can be used on reconnaissance missions in urban environments. The possibilities of this device are interesting. Imagine sending in a hummingbird to listen in on the conversations of top world leaders. Of course, there are also frightening sides to such an easily undetectable device especially regarding domestic spying.

The impeding death of a DVR can create anxiety for an owner who hasn't watched all the shows it holds. (Clipart.com © 2009)

By Omar L. Gallaga

About a week ago, I began to notice that my digital video recorder was acting strange. There were long, unintentional pauses on recorded shows as I watched them and even some of the live programs I watched were starting to stutter.

"Uh oh," I thought, "here we go." I'd been through this before. I once lost a DVR to a hard drive failure. Hours and hours of unwatched TV shows went with the box. Concerts, episodes of Scrubs, important documentaries I never got the chance to watch because I spent my time on junk like Cheaters instead. Those shows were gone and they weren't coming back. I could chase them down on DVD, but that never really happens. The whole point of a DVR is to have those shows at the ready, all on one spacious magnetic platter.

I'm not a collector. I don't want to curate My Name is Earl seasons.

Once the hard drive starts to go, it's usually too late to do an emergency transfer to VHS or recordable DVDs because the stuttery, pixelated files are often unwatchable. And few DVRs make it easy to transfer the files themselves off to another format. (Yes, we know you can do that, TiVo. Don't look so smug over there with those bouncy antenna.)

It turns out, after a call to my satellite provider, that my issue might have more to do with a misaligned dish bogging down my signal and service than a hard drive problem. That's good because I don't know if I can go though that kind of loss again. Sure, it's nice in a way to let go of hours of TV that will remain forever unwatched, but I've got seven unseen episodes of Nurse Jackie that I'm not ready to say goodbye to just yet.

Edited to add, Saturday August 1st: The receiver had to be replaced today. I lost 24 TV shows and movies with an average of three episodes each. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some mourning to do.

By Wright Bryan

Hiroko Tabuchi at the New York Times offers up a story that asks: Why aren't Japanese handset makers market leaders globally?

It is a puzzle. As the article points out, Japan has been out in front of the crowd on a range of technologies.

Yet Japan's lack of global clout is all the more surprising because its cellphones set the pace in almost every industry innovation: e-mail capabilities in 1999, camera phones in 2000, third-generation networks in 2001, full music downloads in 2002, electronic payments in 2004 and digital TV in 2005.

Japan has 100 million users of advanced third-generation smartphones, twice the number used in the United States, a much larger market. Many Japanese rely on their phones, not a PC, for Internet access.

The Japanese have concluded that their technological innovation has resulted in an unexpected isolation from other markets. They call it the "Galapagos syndrome."

But the article seems to conclude that the root of their problem going forward is an obsession with hardware in a world where it looks like software will be the differentiator.

By Omar L. Gallaga

As promised, here's the video from this week's San Antonio Society for Information Display conference, where a gander at the future of what our screens will look like could be had.

Included in the video above: transparent displays, one-pixel cell phone skins, a wearable curved wrist display, energy-efficient TVs of the future and more. It was really a blast getting to look a few years ahead at the technology that'll soon be attracting our eyeballs.

Note: This post was originally published June 5th.

Edited to add, June 29: A few more things based on today's All Tech Considered conversation:

• We noted a few weeks ago that some of these technologies, especially flexible displays, are coming much sooner than you might expect. They're going into mass production now and we will probably see products roll out with flexible displays by January's Consumer Electronics Show, if not sooner.
• The Society for Information Display's official site. They organize the San Antonio conference I attended this month.
• TV screens go greener.
• More on the future of e-ink.
• 3-D TV in your living room. How soon?

By Omar L. Gallaga

E Ink Corp. showed off a flexible e-book display a few weeks ago at the Society for Information Display conference in San Antonio. Omar L. Gallaga

 

A few weeks ago, I raved about some of the cool display technology I got to see at a conference in San Antonio. When people asked me when we'd start seeing some of these technologies, like flexible e-ink displays, roll out to products we could buy, I was thinking two to five years in the future.

Turns out we might see them much sooner. According to a report from Displaybank, an industry research firm, LG Display is already mass-manufacturing such displays and others are ramping up production later this year or the first half of next year.

Encouraging! What does it mean for us consumers (and those of us biting off our fingernails in the newspaper industry)?

The flexible display market expects applications in concepts of e-newspaper, e-magazine, and e-book to replace newspapers, magazines, and books, focus firstly in the e-paper display. In addition, the market expects various applications not only as bulletin board-use displays such as interior/exterior-use advertisement boards, but also as a mobile communication device.

So start practicing bending screens! (Warning: do not attempt on current, non-flexible screens.)

NOTE: This post was originally published June 19th.

Friday marks the 35th anniversary of the first bar code ever scanned. Motorola, Inc.

 

By Omar L. Gallaga

The illustration above was sent to me as the front of a card from Motorola, Inc. about the 35th anniversary of the first bar-code scanning ever done. It was on a 10-pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit at a supermarket in Troy, Ohio.

It's the kind of press release I'd typically ignore, but I have something of a fondness for bar codes. The first time I ever saw a real bar code scanner in a supermarket, I remember thinking it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen (I don't think I'd seen E.T. yet). The beeps, the rotating cans of chicken noodle soup, my God, the red lasers!

Certainly a game-changing technology. Remember when we had to draw our own bar codes by hand and scan them in ourselves with our eyes until they were bleary and tired? Look how far we've come.

You can read a lot more about the anniversary on Motorola's bar code celebration page or in a New York Times story that ran today. Maybe they got the same card from Motorola.

By Omar L. Gallaga

Verizon's MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot allows you to take your Wi-Fi wherever you go as long as you're in range of the company's wireless network. Verizon Wireless

 

Mentioned in this week's All Tech Considered segment is a product I tried out for several weeks and reviewed over on Digital Savant recently, Verizon's MiFi 2200. It's a very slick little device that allows you to set up a wireless network that up to five devices (mobile phones, laptops, etc.) can access.

It's comparable to other mobile broadband devices you'd normally plug into your laptop via USB or ExpressCard slot, but is a stand-alone device and runs very well on Verizon's wireless network.

Seems we really need our high-speed Internet wherever we go. One hot topic that keeps coming up with Apple's recent iPhone 3G S launch is the issue of "tethering" and how much AT&T will charge when that feature is rolled out in late summer.

Thoughts on tethering and mobile broadband? Please share them in the comments.

Nike+. Mary Altaffer/AP

By Krishnadev Calamur

Even a seemingly low-tech activity like running (put on shoes, go running) has been transformed by technology.

An increasing number of runners are signing up with Web sites such as Nike+, which not only allows you to set goals and track runs, but hooks you up with an online community with which to compare notes. It's pretty similar to this one we wrote about not too long ago.

The Nike sensor costs less than $20, but you can wear them only with certain Nike shoes (definitely not less than $20; some creative runners, however, tape their sensors to their regular running shoes). You also have the option of running with your iPod, a marketing match made in heaven.

The Web site is quite impressive and the graphs with which you can track your performance over time certainly provide certainty to your training goals.

The big question: Does it work?

Continue reading "Running With A Little Help From Technology" >

By Omar L. Gallaga

Are stand-alone GPS devices going to become an endangered (yet easy-to-locate) species? A report from Forrester Research suggests that phone-based navigation will overtake GPS devices by 2013, becoming the primary way we keep from getting lost on the way to the Waffle House.

According to the report:

PNDs (Portable Navigation Devices) are the dominant solution today, but Forrester believes that within five years, phone-based navigation will supplant PNDs as the preferred navigation option. Despite the phenomenal growth of PNDs as a category in the past year, Forrester believes that navigation as a service on mobile phones will outpace built-in navigation systems by the end of 2010 and will eclipse the penetration of PNDs by 2013

That would seem to be lent some credence by Tom Tom's presentation at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference this week, where they showed off turn-by-turn navigation via an iPhone. If the navigation companies are already moving in this direction, it must be true, right?

By Franklyn Cater

In our All Tech Considered conversation today, Omar Gallaga told All Things Considered Co-Host Michele Norris about some of the potential joys and pitfalls of letting your toddler play with your smartphone. But if you have older kids you might relate better to the question - "Should I get my teen or tween a PDA of their own? Maybe it would keep them better organized?"

The San Diego Library has a website that's supposed to help parents make informed decisions about how to let their children interact with technology. In a section on PDAs that the library says is a few years old but still applicable, the site offers a somewhat skeptical view of handhelds for kids.

It allows that PDAs offer students "a fun way to keep track of (and work on) his or her school obligations."

But - "Plenty of avenues for distraction," it says. "One of the goals of the electronics industry is to make the PDA an integrated work and entertainment device."

And, the SD Library points out: "PDAs are also quite fragile--a PDA that is regularly taken into a schoolyard is almost certain to become an expensive paperweight."

Next week, Michele and Omar tackle questions about keeping tabs on your kids' interactions with tech - especially online. Post your questions for them here.

By Omar L. Gallaga

The blog writer's child expresses delight over some of the first-generation iPhone's tastier features. Omar L. Gallaga

 

Today's All Tech Considered segment is about what happens when the youngest kids get a hold of your cell phone. If you're not careful, it's certainly a recipe for disaster (or at least a lot of sound-muffling slobber).

We included some of the stories from readers we received on Sara Sarasohn's original blog post and a follow-up post here.

Some other tidbits: the Leapfrog toy phone/toddler-safe PDA we mention in the piece is called the Text & Learn.

Here's a video of the Toddler Lock app for Android phones.

This toy laptop from Vtech is the one we got our daughter to keep her off my Macbook. We've had mixed results with that strategy.

Lastly, please make sure to protect your phone from crawfish fryers like these.

By Omar L. Gallaga

E Ink Corp. showed off a flexible e-book display, just one of the innovations at the Society for Information Display conference in San Antonio this week. Omar L. Gallaga

 

Many companies who'll be involved in the future of the screens you'll be spending time staring at gathered this week in San Antonio for Display Week 2009, a conference put on by the Society for Information Display.

Giants like Samsung, LG Electonics and 3M were among the companies showing about 6,000 attendees their wares. Not surprisingly, millimeters-thin flat screens in large sizes were hot, whether they were LCDs, sets that use LED technology or the nascent OLED format, which offers incredibly rich colors, but so far has only been available in smaller sizes with a very high pricetag.

What else was hot? Sets that use much less power than traditional flat screens. Flexible displays that may end up being part of foldable cell phone screens, e-book "Paper" or even screens so thin they flutter in the wind (as one mind-blowing small screen in the Samsung booth showed). 3-D screens, some without the need for glasses, continue to creep toward our living rooms. I was also impressed by the PicoP projector, a cell-phone sized accessory that uses lasers to project an image that requires no focusing. It should be out this summer.

You can read my full wrap-up over on Digital Savant where I also have posted quite a few photos. I have a video on the way that I plan to edit soon and I'll share that here later this week.

By Omar L. Gallaga

Movies for rent on Vudu, a service that uses a $150 set-top box and a high-speed Internet connection to bring you its library of films. Courtesy: Vudu, Inc.