Inside Sharp's new LCD factory, we can see our next HDTV from here

The path back to LCD leadership for Sharp begins at its just opened Sakai City manufacturing facility. Being a 10th generation facility means it can roll out more and bigger displays, producing six 60-inch LCDs from each glass substrate, 60% more than older 8g facilities. Check out the pics for a peek at where 72,000 substrates per month will be made, delivering those slim LED backlit televisions getting so much love, along with solar panels (also being installed on the roofs for that extra green vibe that’s in vogue these days) and a few of the more than 100,000 energy efficient LEDs lighting the factory itself. Whether your closest HDTV purchase is a turkey fueled memory from last weekend or yet to come, bargain hunters and AV fans alike can appreciate an eyeful of the robots and testing equipment slicing, dicing and stamping screens headed for shelves nearby, whether bearing an Aquos brand or any number of other nameplates.

Inside Sharp’s new LCD factory, we can see our next HDTV from here originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pocket Tool X's Piranha looks like it's a multipurpose animal

How many uses can one tool have? If you think the answer is “never enough,” the Piranha by Pocket Tool X might just be for you. A multipurpose job (which kinda reminds us of a dinosaur’s head), the Piranha boasts a double-ended bit holder, both open and box wrenches, a bottle opener, a nail puller, a scraper, and pry ends — and it’s made of heat-treated S30V Stainless Steel — which means it should be sturdy enough to make it through a few family camping trips. The tool is available for pre-order now, with shipments heading out sometime in December, and for $49 it could be all yours.

Pocket Tool X’s Piranha looks like it’s a multipurpose animal originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fake Nokia iPhone: The Cooli902 as the best of both worlds

When it comes to the ‘real-fake’ phones from China, some of them really make big news. While the OPhone made the news for being the closest clone of the iPhone, I personally liked the Nokia E97 for an awesome design. This time around, we have the “Nokia-iPhone” coming straight from the re-engineering (read copying) department from another Chinese manufacturer, via the supplier EEMOBI.

Dubbed the Cooli902, this handest features the best of both the iPhone and the Nokia N97 worlds. The phone features a capacitive touchscreen powered by an iPhone OS clone. There is also a full QWERTY keypad hidden under the touchscreen, which slides out in the same way as the one in the N97. This QWERTY keypad steals the looks of the N97 while the screen resembles the iPhone. Other details include Bluetooth, WiFi, 2MP camera and a TV antenna.

If the Cooli902 can deliver even 50% of what the iPhone or the N97 can do, it’s worth the buy at $143

[via PMPToday]

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Keepin' it real fake, part CCXLV: the Nokia iPhone

Alright, so iPhone and N97 knock-offs probably aren’t the rarest of gems around these days, but how many handsets do you know that can lay claim to being both? The Cooli902 takes the iPhone’s 3.5-inch touchscreen, spit-shines a pretty realistic iPhone OS clone-job, and then adds the Nokia flavor with a fully fledged QWERTY keypad ripped straight from the heart of the N97. Not only does it open to that familiar angle, it also sports the same layout and what we can only imagine to be the same violent opening mechanism as found on the original Nokia handset. And to think that poor Philippe Starck had to pick between these two phones, when for only $143 we could have had both. More pics after the break, or hit the read link to get your own.

Continue reading Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXLV: the Nokia iPhone

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXLV: the Nokia iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Trek Movie On 4GB USB Stick, Movie Accompanies You Everywhere

Paramount Pictures introduced a completely unique idea of distributing a movie among the people. The super duper hit movie Star Trek is now available on a “Movie on USB” device popularly marketed and sold as the Star Trek Movie On 4GB USB Stick.

The USB Stick makes it easy and convenient to carry your favorite movie wherever you go. You can easily fool people and watch the movie because not many will know that the USB you have plugged in has a movie for you to view.

Star Trek Movie On 4GB USB Stick is available on first come first basis (limited edition) and is compatible with any device certified by DivX like personal computer, Mac and PS3. The movie sits playfully into a 4 GB USB and occupy’s only 1GB of place. The remaining place can be used to put in your important data.

It is an excellent device for easy carrying and using. Just insert the USB and you are all set to watch the wonderful movie. While you have your other important data on the USB along with the movie you can easily switch between movie and your files.

How to check or register a valid IMEI for your mobile

After months of planning and speculation India has banned illegal GSM devices that sport a fake, invalid or no IMEI number. Telecom operators have been directed to disable all such phones. This can lead to panic amongst many china phone users who are not sure about the IMEI of their devices. But here we have a solution. There are 2 ways to validate the IMEI number of your handset and incase your have a bad IMEI; you just need to register one for your handset which would cost Rs 199. Simple, Sweet

Here is how you can verify the IMEI of your handset:

1. SMS "IMEI <15 digit IMEI code>” to 53232 or 57886 (worked from my Vodafone but not Loop Mobile)

2. Internet: Check the same online at numbering plans

(note to get the IMEI no of your device key in *#06#)

In case your IMEI is invaild MSAI comes to your rescue. MSAI is exclusively authorized body in India by GSM Association (GSMA) to perform Genuine IMEI Implant program (GII). You can learn more about GII here.
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Girls get ready to rap your ears with new Sony MDR-370LP Headphones

This new dashing and enduring headphones are for all the girls, so now you all get ready to rap your ears with the Sony MDR-370LP headphones. Girls are very fond of music and these headphones are will render them the best music. It will also suit their personality and will charm up their moods.

Proffering you the four striking and lively colours, these headphones have hit the market before its arrival. This headphone utilizes 30mm of sound driver and has 14-22,000Hz frequency response. With this MDR-370LP headphones Sony has also given the MDR-570LP which comes with the aluminium housing and even the new MDR-770LP is marvellous, but it’s available in black colour. Girls, now it’s your turn to show off the boys and rock with these new Headphones.

Samurai of Kuroda granted a cybernetic upgrade

Looking for a techno spin on the traditional, the Samurai of Kuroda have become assimilated into robot territory. They dance, they drink, they wield a great spear and use it to skewer flesh when you’re not looking — probably. Look for the creations at IREX 2009 and then after at RoboSquare in Kyushu. If you can’t make it out, or want a preview, take a peep for yourself after the break.

Continue reading Samurai of Kuroda granted a cybernetic upgrade

Samurai of Kuroda granted a cybernetic upgrade originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netronix looking to Android, 3G for its e-book readers

Google’s little green man has been getting quite an education lately, popping up in a number of e-book readers (why hello there Nook, Alex, eDGe). Not to be left out, Netronix is reportedly also looking to work with Texas Instruments on assimilating Android into its product line, according to company chairman Arthur Lu (via DigiTimes). Neither are bad trends to follow in this still-infant industry, but the questions remains as to when and how it’ll actually work. Also on the company to-do list? 3G and 3.5G capabilities, supposedly coming sometime in the middle of 2010. Bated breath? Hold it.

Filed under: Handhelds

Netronix looking to Android, 3G for its e-book readers originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple looking to load the iPhone with its own maps offering?

Apple has a new job listing that is making news. Apparently Cupertino is on the lookout for someone who can take its Maps offerings to the next level! According to Macrumors its not natural for Apple to give out the job description in such detail:

We want to take Maps to the next level, rethink how users use Maps and change the way people find things. We want to do this in a seamless, highly interactive and enjoyable way. We’ve only just started.

Currently the iPhone / iPod touch uses the Google Maps which comes in the form of a native app. However Apple had acquired a Map co PlaceBase in July which could now be developing into something that can replace the Google offering.

Apple and Google certainly aren’t the buddies that we knew them to be, with Google entering mobile and telecom space with Android and Google Voice the differences between the two companies has only increased. The rejection of Google Voice app on the app store and Google’s acknowledgement to FCC about the same which proved Apple was lieing, is in itself a reflection of how the relationship between the two silicon valley giants has sored. Apple which enjoyed a number of custom google apps on the iPhone to begin with, now feels the necesity to build its own base. Android certainly gets some more time to catchup if Apple has to take a step back and re-develop the Maps app (though Android already has Google navigation ).

Ps: The maps is a revenue stream for Google (using ads), Apple might look to do the same with over 50 million iPhones and iPod touch in market

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Mysterious iPhone model found in app usage records?

O iPhone3,1, where art thou? Last time we spotted that signature, it was buried in lines of code as part of a beta OS 3.0 firmware build. Now according to data from analytics software inside iBART, the San Francisco-centric transportation app has been host to a new visitor with the aforementioned device identification number. As MacRumors points out, iPhone2,1 was originally spotted in October 2008 and later became the iPhone 3GS about eight months later. Not that it’s necessarily the case Apple will keep to the same schedule — nor should it come as a surprise that the company’s maybe-kinda-sorta looking into a successor to its prized moneymaker — but if you happen to be in the Bay Area and see someone quietly pulling out a sleek touchscreen, it might be in your best interest to make friends.

Filed under: Cellphones

Mysterious iPhone model found in app usage records? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japan's 'Helicopter Boyz' turn the Nikon S1000pj into something much more disturbing

We’re not going to chalk this one up to Japanese culture, the child rearing techniques of show-biz-addled parents, or the craze-inducing effects that come from the integration of a pico projector within a digital camera — this video is too big to have such trite little lines drawn around it. Basically it answers the age-old question of what would happen if you strapped a couple dozen Nikon Coolpix S1000pj cameras to two excitable children and had them work through an incredibly awkward choreography in front of hundreds of their astonished peers. Video is after the break.

Continue reading Japan’s ‘Helicopter Boyz’ turn the Nikon S1000pj into something much more disturbing

Japan’s ‘Helicopter Boyz’ turn the Nikon S1000pj into something much more disturbing originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ultrathin, algae-based batteries could charge things you never thought possible

Somehow or another, we’ve figured out how to send mere mortals to the moon, create (and mass produce) a laptop thin enough to floss with and add multitouch capabilities to a mouse. But for whatever reason, we’re still stuck using AA batteries that last approximately one-fifth as long as you need them to. Outside of a few breakthroughs here and there, the battery industry at large has found a holding pattern that digs at consumers and likely fattens the wallets of those in charge. Thanks to new research surrounding the use of Cladophora (green algae) in a flexible, ultrathin alternative, it looks as if we may finally be onto something good. Researchers purport that these super skinny cells could be placed in areas where batteries are currently unable to go — think of perpetually charged wall sensors, energized clothing or even light-up wrapping paper. Better still, prototypes have shown the ability to hold a significant charge, but unfortunately for us all, no specific production date has been pegged. A boy can dream though, yeah?

Ultrathin, algae-based batteries could charge things you never thought possible originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 02:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony PSPs enlisted as study aids by the Royal Navy

Whoever it was at Sony HQ that decided to pursue “military contracts” as a revenue source, kudos! Mere days after the US Air Force expressed interest in expanding its PS3 supercomputer, we’re hearing glorious Britannia’s Royal Navy has conscripted 230 PSPs into duty as revision aids for its trainee sailors. Loaded with maths and physics materials, the PSPs can be used in a bunk, have familiar controls for the young and mostly male recruits, and are considered pretty tough to break. The underlying reason for this move though is cost cutting: by making the training course more intensive, the Navy is saving on teaching time. Given that the UMD drive won’t come disabled — which is hoped to encourage the sailors to take better care of the device — the future this paints is of marines who’ve spent more time with a freebie handheld console than with a pro instructor, but have a great stable of captured monsters to show for it.

[Thanks, pankomputerek]

Sony PSPs enlisted as study aids by the Royal Navy originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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