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Samsung’s dual-display Windows 8 laptop and other prototypes, hands-on
See that? It’s not your daddy’s flip hybrid tablet — it’s the new dual-display laptop prototype from the fine people at Samsung. The body of the notebook is certainly in the vein of a MacBook Air or ultrabook, with slim metal slides that taper off into a point. The palm rests, meanwhile, are a brushed metal, with black chiclet-style keys above. On the bezel above the screen is a camera.
The magic, however, doesn’t happen until you close the thing, turning on a display on the hood. Yep, it’s yet another attempt to capitalize on Windows 8′s dual-nature. Inside, you’ve got a fully functioning laptop and outside you’ve a touchscreen tablet that, yes, utilizes everyone’s favorite proprietary stylus, the S-pen, and there’s also a rear facing camera on the outside. Perhaps it’s all that functionality packed inside, but this prototype is certainly heavier than your standard ultrabook, and unlike most systems, a lot of that weight is located in the display — we’re sure there’s a fair amount of internals located up there.
This being a prototype, the Samsung rep we spoke with had no clue on what such a device might cost or when it might come to market — or even if this thing will ever see the light of day, so don’t get your dual-hopes up just yet. The hybrid was sitting right next to the 2,560 x 1,440 Series 9 prototype we recently scoped out and in front of a wall of concepts that explore the brave new world of elastic form factors to their fullest. Check out a video and some notes on the other devices after the jump.
Motorola reinvents the TV interface with DreamGallery concept (video)
Motorola is demonstrating how it expects TVs of the future will work with its DreamGallery concept. Powered by the company’s Medios cloud-service, the display is designed to let you browse content as if it was the internet — with bookmarks, personalized recommendations and interactive search tools. Its designed to work across your TV, computer, tablet and smartphone, aggregating Cable, Internet TV and VOD under a single interface that sits behind pull-tabs around the picture. If you’re curious to see if this is easier to use than TiVo, head on past the break to catch your first glimpse.
Honda test house features Smart Home System for controlling energy usage (Video)
The term “smart home” seems to turn up in tech circles every so often, only to fade into the background again without much sign of ultra-connected dwellings becoming a reality. Honda’s at least putting one foot forward, with a just-unveiled test house in Saitama, Japan featuring a system for controlling and monitoring energy usage. The Honda Smart Home System (HSHS) consists of thin-film solar cell panels, a rechargeable home battery unit, gas and hot water supply systems and the Smart e Mix Manager. The latter is the central part of the energy-control system, and it keeps track of all the other components in addition to monitoring the home’s use of power supplied by the grid. In emergency situations, it can also provide electricity via the home battery unit. On the day-to-day level, however, the system is there to let home owners know what sources of power they can kill. Honda also integrates its Japan-only Internavi system for controlling home appliances remotely. The car maker hopes to use the house for extensive demo testing, with an ultimate goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 50 percent. No word on how many decades till we actually call this sort of place home, though. Click on past the break for a look (in Japanese) at the test home’s features.
iOS Projector Speaker Dock Concept
A concept iOS projector and speaker dock has been created by designer Chen Nanyu, which would allow the full range of Apple’s iOS devices to project on to a screen or wall for viewing.
The iOS Projector speaker docks combines a micro projector and speakers to make the unique concept possible for both home entertainment and business presentations.
The iOS Projector is also small enough to be portable allowing you to easily transport it whenever needed.Making sure you never miss out on your favourite streaming media in super wide screen.
Awesome iWatch Concept Re-visualised
iWatch is an on going concept that ADR Studios first visualised back in 2010. Now ADR have updated their design to look a little slimmer and added a few more features, but unfortunately its still only a concept at the moment.
The iWatch concept would be equipped with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and be fitted with 32GB of internal memory. As well as a FaceTime camera allowing you to chat with friends directly from your wrist.
As with other devices the iWatch would enable you to install iWatch specific applications helping you customise and add additional features to your wrist mounted device.
ADR explain that the iWatch would be constructed from polycarbonate, aluminium, Kevlar and PK2, making it very robust and able to take everyday knocks and bumps in its stride.
Perhaps ADR need to head over to Kickstarter to help get this project off the ground, and speak to Apple nicely to get a custom iOS operating system developed. Just don’t expect to see it any time soon in stores.
Samsung Galaxy S3: ecco un nuovo concept
Mentre in rete si parla di S3 in tutte le salse (dall’assenza al MWC, alla presenza di gesture facciali, di pennini capacitivi e di processori diversi), arriva un nuovo concept per il Samsung Galaxy S3. Si tratta forse di uno dei render grafici più vicini alla possibile forma del nuovo top gamma Android di Samsung. Sebbene sia difficile dirlo, questa immagine unisce le forme del Note a quelle del precedente S2 inserendo qualche elemento del Galaxy Nexus.
Purtroppo (o perfortuna?) l’interfaccia grafica non sarà quella mostrata nell’immagine ma ovviamente vedrà la personalizzazione di Samsung con un nuovo Touch Wiz ottimizzato per Android 4.0.
Bordo esterno del display sottilissimo, schermo molto grande ma dimensioni non molto lontane da quelle del Galaxy S2. Processore multi core, tanta Ram e Ice Cream Sandwich. Forse spariranno anche i tasti frontali fisici per la felicità di alcuni utenti.
Fotocamera da 12 megapixel, flash, memoria espandibile, funzionalità vocali avanzate e molto altro. Sarà davvero cosi il prossimo S3?
Kinectic Powered Leaf Mouse Concept
If you tend to go through your mouse batteries in a matter of days or weeks, there are a number of handy induction, and docking style gadgets that will allow you to recharge your batteries during rest periods. But wouldn’t it be great to be able to charge your mouse while you worked.
Designers Lu Hairong and Zhang Xuehui have created a new concept mouse called the Leaf, that does just that using the power of kinetic technology. So rather then lowering your battery usage when moving your wireless mouse around. Using the Leaf mouse concept you can now charge it whenever its moved.
Unfortunately the concept is still just a idea on paper at the moment, but surely there is technology available that would help save the world from discarding a few less batteries. lets hope it makes the jump from concept to production in some form or another in the future.
Sony Vaio Hybrid and Slate tablet concepts showcase new form factors, flexible materials (video)
Black, bezeled and rectangular? That’s pretty much the go-to design for tablets nowadays. But lately Sony’s been straying from the pack and taking a different aesthetic tack, which it recently showcased with the Tablet S and P. On the showroom floor at CES, however, the company had two newer models secured behind glass to give consumers a sense of future form factors. These prototypes — known prospectively as the Hybrid and Slate — fall under the Vaio brand and clearly highlight an exciting direction for the Japanese electronics giant’s impending offerings.
The Hybrid’s most distinctive feature is its marriage of laptop functionality with tablet portability. Sliding the unit up and locking it into place reveals a keyboard in front (shown with a dedicated Windows button) and an expansive speaker grill behind. The company wouldn’t elaborate on the materials used in the enclosure, but that sparkly, copper color manages to toe the line between cheap and space age — a definite contradiction, for sure. At the base of the 11-inch unit is a dock that fits an included stylus, as this tablet is being designed to support touch pen input, in addition to the typical capacitive touch. None of the ports on the device are final, but when and if it ever ships, you can expect the usual array.
For a true glimpse into the next generation of tablet manufacturing, you need only look to Sony’s tablet Slate — the real stunner of this conceptual duo. With its use of a smart, soft touch flexible material — the company refused to elaborate on just what — that extends from the unit’s back for easy table top mounting, it’s easy to see a product like this setting consumers’ interest on fire and nabbing that lust-worthy tech crown. Unfortunately, this particular scifi casing is more than likely a few years off, but it’s good to see the company innovating and attempting to break free from the shackles of ordinary builds. The Slate is also designed to work with a wireless keyboard that shares the same intelligent material and appears to incorporate a touch interface. Click on through the galleries below for a tour of these two proof of concepts and make sure to click on past the break for a brief video tour.
Sharp 8K Super Hi-Vision LCD, 4K TV and Freestyle wireless LCD HDTV hands-on
We got a hint of Sharp’s plans during its CES 2012 press conference two days ago, but really nothing can prepare you for the sight of the company’s 7,680×4,320 resolution 85-inch Super Hi-Vision 8K LCD. No matter how close we got, we still couldn’t see the pixels, and the video reels being demonstrated showed an almost unimaginable level of detail. The worst part of it was, seeing that first almost ruined the experience of checking out the ICC 4K demo at the other end of the booth. We can say this — after seeing Super Hi-Vision there’s really no going back. Make an appointment to see those 33MP broadcasts from the London Olympics now. Also a concept, but packed in a more conventional design, were Sharp’s Aquos Freestyle LCDs. These featherweight flat-screens were also featured in the press conference, and pack wireless HD streaming inside capable of extending up to 98 feet. The 20-incher in the video above even has a battery good enough for two hours of completely wireless 1080p viewing. While Sharp called them concepts, the displays seemed incredibly polished, so check them out in the gallery below because you may see them on shelves someday.
Volvo unveils XC60 plug-in hybrid concept, claims it’s ‘superior to all existing hybrids’ (Video)
Mitsubishi Electric’s EMIRAI concept goes back to the future, refuses to fly (video)
The Jetsons were a lie, people. If you want a flying car, glue a parachute to a Matchbox racer. Automotive companies like Mitsubishi Electric have a distinctly different idea about our auto future, one where we’ll all be driving in a 1980s-by-way-of-2011 Tron roadster with seatback-embedded (glasses-free) 3D TVs and a big ‘ol curved rear projection display. At least, that’s the vision put forth by the company’s EMIRAI concept, shown off at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show. The demo vehicle’s biggest innovation, supposedly on deck for the next decade and beyond, is its biometrically-sensitive interface, which can adjust the position of your seat based on current heart rate and facial temperature. There’s also a driver side touch panel configured to recognize handwriting (Japanese, for now) and dynamically-changing buttons, mounted on the W-shaped “steering wheel,” that rise and fall in correlation to the dashboard’s UI. It’s neat stuff, no doubt, but we’ll let you go ahead and get excited at your own risk. Because until production models hit showroom floors, it’s all still very much promises, promises. Check out the video after the break for a brief peek at the wheels of tomorrow.
Daihatsu Pico concept commuter EV hands-on
Using LEDs to display messages on the back of a car? Looks like we have yet another contender with the same idea, except this time all four sides get an LED panel each. The idea behind Daihatsu’s Pico concept EV is that it can interact with surrounding pedestrians and drivers using messages with matching colors. For instance, the LED belt can issue a red warning on the back if a car is following too closely; or when driving past pedestrians in close proximity (think rascal scooters but with front and back seats), the belt can turn green and indicate that the car’s limited to a safe top speed of 3.7mph.
Other than that, the Pico’s very much just a cute little EV with a driving range of up to 31 miles (with a full two-hour charge), plus a top speed of 31mph. We also dig the touchscreen console inside the car, but with just the two LED bars acting as doors, we sure hope it’ll withstand a bit of rain. Video after the break.
Nissan Pivo 3 extreme agility concept EV hands-on
Nope, there’s nothing wrong with those wheels. As you may recall, this is Nissan’s Pivo 3, the company’s latest concept EV that provides extreme agility using its four oddly pivoted, individually powered wheels. While we couldn’t see this three-seater make sharp U-turns and do automatic parking at the Tokyo Motor Show, our very own Zach Honig managed to get his finger and trouser grease all over it.
Behind those pop-out doors one of the most interesting features we saw was the subtle side-view cameras with accompanying screens, thus reducing the car’s width. Also, it turns out the lone steering wheel handles all four wheels, meaning the driver won’t have to sacrifice too much brain power over multiple controls. That said, we can imagine that even the most experienced drivers may find this car to be a tough animal to tame initially — the lady in Nissan’s earlier demo looked like she had to steer dramatically around sharp corners. But keep the car going straight and it’ll accelerate up to 120km/h (75mph), while on a single charge it can go up to 100km (62 miles). Video after the break.
Evolve Motorcycles shows off $50k Xenon lightcycle, Lithium electric streetbike
This year’s Milan International Motorcycle Show is definitely featuring a healthy assortment of battery-powered two wheeled machines, and now Evolve Motorcycles has two more plug-in designs to add to the list. First up is its Xenon, aka the Tron Lightcycle replica, which is a real bike that you can purchase 32-inch hubless rims, OLED light tape and all for $50,000. It’s even claiming a top speed of 100mph with a 100 mile range on its custom lithium ion battery system, so all you have left to do is regret not grabbing one for $35k on eBay last year. The Lithium however, chooses to keep things more conventional as a streetfighter concept built around a 54hp electric motor that is expected to cost around $20,000 when it actually goes on sale. Check after the break for a pic of the Lithium, or head over to our friends at Autoblog Green for a gallery full of eyecandy featuring both bikes.
This concept wants you to smell it, smell it, Smellit
We admit it: this could just be another highfalutin gadget render that’ll never breathe the polluted whiff of day. But it’s a nice render, which demonstrates a concept called the Smellit: a miniature olfactory factory that’s meant to connect to your PC and bring a “fourth dimension” to video and gaming. Its creator, Nuno Teixeira, even claims he’s found a French company to build the device and show it off at the Lisbon Design Show next week. Now, the principle of a practically-sized scent generator has already been demonstratedby others, but we won’t be convinced until we have to open a window.
20 Innovative (Concept) Tablets We Wish Were Real
It’s been around 1.6 years since the initial release of Apple iPad, and regardless the criticism, the device has achieved tremendous success in the tablet market. It’s so successful until so many great companies have risen up to challenge its realm by designing and releasing their own version of tablet.
While great companies are competing each others by showing off new designs and devices, an interesting phenomenon happened: another group of very talented designers have also implemented their own vision on their tablet design, and these so-called concept tablets have received praises from consumers like, “I hope it’s true!”.
Be it dual screen tablet, fold-able tablet or smartphone powered tablet, in this post you will see concepts which designers combined innovation and art to become something that consumers really thirsts for. Enjoy them and let us know which tablet you hope it’s true!
Mercedes-Benz ed Apple: ecco il concept dell’iPhone Interface Plus (Video)
In un futuro sempre più incentrato sulla tecnologia, e sull’integrazione tra dispositivi elettronici portatili ed automobili, una delle case automobilistiche più prestigiose del mondo, Mercedes-Benz, ha presentato il concept dell’iPhone Interface Plus, un sistema di integrazione tra iPhone e automobile che verrà realizzato a partire dal 2012.
All’IAA Motor Show di Francoforte, Mercedes ha svelato alcune strategie di integrazione di iPhone nelle sue vetture davvero molto interessanti. Il colosso tedesco, infatti, ha intenzione di realizzare un iPhone Interface Plus, che risulta essere una sorta di evoluzione del Media Interface Plus presentato l’anno scorso, a partire dall’estate del 2012.
Grazie all’utilizzo di un’applicazione gratuita scaricabile dall’App Store, l’iPhone potrà essere “perfettamente integrato nell’elettronica dell’automobile”. Il nuovo iPhone Interface Plus permetterà di utilizzare i controlli fisici e un display più grande sul cruscotto del veicolo per controllare e visualizzare i contenuti con la minore distrazione possibile per il guidatore. L’integrazione con iPhone, dunque, sarà totale, e sarà possibile visualizzare il display dello smartphone direttamente su quello interno della vettura, ed ascoltare musica attraverso il sistema audio di bordo, il tutto mentre l’iPhone si ricarica.
Mercedes-Benz’s hydrogen-powered F125! concept slips out ahead of Frankfurt
Ford Evos cloud-connected concept car unveiled at Frankfurt (Video)
The 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show doesn’t kick off until tomorrow, but already Ford’s unveiled the tasty hunk of conceptual automotive design it teased us with a few weeks back. It’s called the Evos, it’s loaded with technology and, while it doesn’t look much like any of the current autos you’ll find down at the local Blue Oval dealer, it’s actually said to be the precursor of a new model that’s coming in just four months time. Join us after the break for more details.
