Stompy gets off the ground with a Kickstarter: buy a ride on a 2-ton hexabot

In June we were promised a Kickstarter for Project Hexapod's 10-foot tall, two-ton Stompy. We're happy to report that Gui Cavalcanti and his cohorts (James Whong and Dan Cody) at the Artisan's Asylum weren't kidding. This morning the page went live and you can officially pledge your support for rideable six-legged robots. Now that the chassis is 80 percent through the design phase, the half-scale prototype leg (Gimpy) has proven its mettle, and the full-size prototype leg has been designed and the necessary parts ordered, it's time to start lining up funding for the final project. You know how it works: you pledge a certain amount of money and in return you receive a particular level of reward. Don't have much to offer? For just $5 the team will scale the White Mountains and shout your name from the top, while $10 will get you get you something a bit more tangible -- a bumper sticker that reads "my other car has six legs."

[Source: Engadget - Read the full story here]

Multi-user support shows itself in Jelly Bean, but it's definitely not finished yet

Something a lot of us really want to see in Android, is support for multiple accounts on a device. With the ever increasing uptake of tablet use, it would be pretty awesome to be able to have one tablet with a different account for each member of your family. Lord knows, you wouldn't want your kids Justin Bieber apps littering your home screens so being able to give them their own sign in would be positive for all. You do it on your computer, so why wouldn't you want to do it on your tablet. 

Over recent days and weeks since the launch of Jelly Bean, various parties around the interwebs have been diving into the code and really getting into the details. Your average user -- and sometimes average Android Central writer -- wouldn't even know where to begin or what we might hope to see. Thankfully for us the community is filled with those who are never happier than when knee deep in code, and what has been recently revealed is reference to future multi-user account support. It's clearly not even close to being ready for the prime time -- if it was, we'd have it already -- but it is there. And, with a little bit of tinkering, you can see it for yourselves on your Jelly Bean device. 

The key word is tinkering, and the key components are root access and a terminal emulator on the device. Heading into the terminal, you have to enter the command for superuser access, "su", and once you're in you can go ahead and create yourselves a new account. The next command you'll need to enter is:

[Source: Android Central - Click to read the full story]

Detailed Photo and Video Comparison of iPhone 4S and 'iPhone 5' Front Panels

iPhone parts company ETrade Supply posts a detailed comparison [via iPhoneinCanada.ca] of the front panels of the iPhone 4S and what has been claimed to be the next-generation "iPhone 5". As with numerous other leaks, the new front panel shows a taller display and the FaceTime camera being moved to above the earpiece.

The blog post contains a number of images and a nearly 7-minute video comparing the two parts, showing that not only is the new part taller than the corresponding iPhone 4S part but it is also 0.1 mm thinner and offers more light transmittance and more scratch resistance than its counterpart.

ETrade Supply has also taken a close look at the home button region of the front panel, showing that the hole for the home button is 0.3 mm smaller in diameter than the hole on the iPhone 4S, while the margin between the bottom of the panel and the bottom of the display area is 2.6 mm shorter, allowing Apple to significantly increase the size of the iPhone's display while only slightly increasing the overall device height.

This is not the first time the alleged next-generation iPhone front panel has been caught on video, but this new video and photo comparison does offer the most detailed comparison between the part and the corresponding iPhone 4S part we have seen yet.

[Source: MacRumors]

Logitech launches TV Cam HD for living room video chats: built-in Skype, 720p, $200

If Cisco's ill-fated Umi video conferencing system had been more like this, would it have survived? Logitech is about to find out, one way or the other, once its TV Cam HD -- recently spotted at the FCC -- arrives in the US this month. The $199.99 device hooks up to your TV and contains all the processing power needed to run Skype and transmit wide-angle, 720p footage of your couch over WiFi or Ethernet. Unlike the previous TV Cam, there's no need for a Viera Connect HDTV -- anything with HDMI-in will do. The company is banking on the notion that families will forgo the use of their existing mobile devices and laptops in favour of an always-on dedicated system with incoming call alerts, four noise-cancelling mics and a Carl Zeiss lens that "gets the whole family in the video call, so everyone from grandparents to grandchildren can move around naturally." If you're tempted, the publicity video after the break gives a decent overview of the product in action.

[Source: Engadget]

YouTube refines homepage feed, adds highlights option

If your channel subscriptions were starting to get a little unwieldy, you might want to tinker with several new feed options rolling out to the site now. Accompanying bigger thumbnails with more detail, users can now hide individual updates, limit them to new uploads or just unsubscribe directly from their feed. Anything that you've already watched on YouTube is grayed out to avoid unnecessary replays, while a new highlight view should ensure over-zealous videomakers don't squeeze out less prolific contributors -- and make some room for the next wave of (heavily-marketed) YouTube channels.

[Source: Engadget]

Researchers use ambient WiFi radio waves to see through walls

Seeing through walls hasn't been a super hero-exclusive activity for a while now. According to Popular Science, however, University College London researchers Karl Woodbridge and Kevin Chetty have created the first device that can detect movement through walls using existing WiFi signals. While similar tech has required a bevy of wireless nodes, the duo has pulled off the feat with a contraption roughly the size of a suit case.

Much like radar, the device relies on the Doppler effect -- radio waves changing frequencies as they reflect off of moving objects -- to identify motion. Using a radio receiver with two antennas and a signal-processing unit, the system monitors the baseline WiFi frequency in an area for changes that would indicate movement. In tests, the gadget was able to determine a person's location, speed and direction through a foot-thick brick wall. The technology's potential applications range from domestic uses to scanning buildings during combat. Best of all, since the university's hardware doesn't emit any radio waves, it can't be detected. How's that for stealthy?

[Source: Engadget]

Geek Competition Results - the finalists

The results of the Geek Competition were announced earlier today. It now gives us great pleasure to share the three finalists with you here. Click through to see their channels & of course subscribe if you like what you see (I am sure you will). A big thank you to all the companies involved in supplying prizes too.

First Runner-up is houlker199 who wins a Belkin Tri-Fold Folio & PowerPack 4000 (thanks to Belkin).

 Second Runner-up is TechMeOut who wins a Belkin Tri-Fold Folio & PowerPack 4000 (thanks to Belkin).

The Grand Final Winner is TechnologyGadgets who wins the following;
Blackberry Curve 9380 (thanks to Blackberry UK).
Editors Keys SL150 Mic & FCPX Keyboard (thanks to Editors Keys).
White Sennheiser HD228 Headphones (thanks to Purely Gadgets).
Belkin Conserve Surge Protector (thanks to Belkin).

Geek Competition Results

Over the past three months we have been running a very cool competition. Giving viewers the chance to make a video on a particular theme each month, with a winner selected in each round to earn their place in the final. 

I would like to personally thank everyone who entered. It has been a great pleasure watching all your videos, all of which were entertaining in their own individual way. In a way, it is a shame that there can only be three grand final entries. If you were not selected, do not worry, there will be plenty more opportunities in the future… keep making videos… and keep enjoying what you do.

Well, the time has come now. The video below reveals the best from round three, followed by the three videos in the Grand Final and of course the overall winner. I won't spoil anything in this text, other than to say congratulations to the prize winners. There will be a further post later, showing all three finalist videos for you to enjoy.

HP, Acer, Lenovo eye Windows 8 tablets

Hewlett-Packard, Acer, and Lenovo, among others, are expected to bring out Windows 8 tablets using Intel's latest system-on-a-chip.

HP and Acer are working on designs, a source familiar with the vendors' plans told CNET. In addition, details leaked today about a Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2, which will also use Intel's Clover Trail system-on-a-chip (SoC).

These Intel-based Windows 8 designs are distinctly different from Windows RT tablets that will use ARMchips. Windows RT devices use a version of Windows 8 that does not offer backward-compatibility with the millions of existing Windows software programs. Intel-based systems offer that compatibility.

And this is likely just a small sampling of Intel-based Windows 8 tablets slated to hit on October 26, when Windows 8 launches. "We are... tracking more than 20 Windows 8 tablet designs based on our low-power and low-cost Clover Trail Atom SoC in addition to a number of core-based tablets," Intel's CEO Paul Otellini said on July 17.

Laptop-tablet hybrids, or so-called convertibles such as Asus' Taichi, are also expected. Taichi uses a faster but less power-efficient Intel Ivy Bridge chip, the same chip that powers ultrabooks and Apple's MacBook Air.

Throw the already announced Microsoft Surface Windows RT and Windows 8 Pro products into the mix, and it's obvious the market will get crowded quickly.

The ThinkPad Tablet 2 will sport a 10.1-inch IPS 1,366x768 display, weigh in at about 650 grams (1.4 pounds), have a thickness of 9.8mm (0.39 inches), and include an HSPA+broadband option, according to Techin5.

HP, Acer, and Lenovo declined to comment.

[Source: cnet]

iPad Mini display production slated for August, says analyst

The gears could start to turn as early as this month for the production of a smaller iPad.

Production of the 7.85-inch display slated for use on a smaller version of the iPad should begin in August, an analyst told CNET.

"We expect panel production to start in August, with production ramping up to high volumes (more than a million units per month) in the fourth quarter," said Paul Semenza, an analyst at NPD DisplaySearch, in response to an e-mail query.

Semenza said this is DisplaySearch's "understanding of the activity for the 7.85 [inch] panel expected to be used in the iPad Mini."

If this production schedule plays out, it could indicate a late 2012 launch, he said.

Recent reports say the so-called iPad Mini will launch in September.

While the downsized iPad is being characterized as a 7-inch tablet like the Google Nexus 7, a screen size falling between 7 and 8 inches -- such as 7.85 inches -- would likely make the Apple tablet closer to the larger 8.2-inch Motorola Xyboard.

No solid word yet on pricing, though a report claimed it "is likely to sell for significantly less than the latest $499 iPad."

Whatever the exact price is, it's safe to say that the $199 Google Nexus 7 would be seen as a direct competitor to a smaller iPad.

[Source: cnet]

Sony loses $312 million in Q1 2012 amid high restructuring costs

Sony has announced its financial results for the first quarter of its fiscal year, and as expected for a company in transition they don't make for pleasant reading — it managed to lose $312 million off sales of $19.2 billion. Sony actually increased its sales year-on-year by 1.4 percent, attributed to the consolidation of Sony Mobile, but $143 million in restructuring costs caused operating income to slide from $270 million to $79 million. Together with the high yen and unstable situation in Europe, the company has downgraded its operating profit forecast for the year from $2.29 billion to $1.66 billion.

The company's few profitable areas right now are its imaging, components, and music businesses, while the gaming, home entertainment, and mobile divisions are all making losses. The games division in particular was disappointing, with sales falling 14.5 percent and the PS Vita not doing much to stop the business slip into the red. However, despite a decline in sales the TV business is actually bleeding less money than this time last year, possibly due to efforts Sony is making to streamline the category. The imaging division, too, is one of the company's recent success stories with high-end cameras contributing to profits of $160 million. The company claims it is "proceeding steadily with efforts to transform our business structure," but shareholders will no doubt have to be patient.

[Source: The Verge]

IDC: Apple's still king of the tablet hill with 68 percent of the market

IDC's cabal of statisticians, nerds and people who just love spreadsheets have handed down their latest document about the state of the tablet market. Of the 25 million slates shipped in the second quarter, 17 million of them were iPads -- giving Apple 68.2 percent of the market. Samsung came second with 2.4 million devices and Amazon third, although since the Kindle Fire maker doesn't reveal numbers, there's probably some guesswork involved there. Rounding out the top five are ASUS and Acer, although the former should expect to move up a place (or two), depending on the success of the Nexus 7 when Q3's results are released in a few months time.

Top 5 Vendors, Worldwide Media Tablet Shipments, Second Quarter 2012

	2Q 2012 Shipments	Market Share	2Q 2011 Shipments	Market Share	Q212 / 2Q11Growth
Apple	17,042	68.2%	9,248	61.5%	84.3%
Samsung	2,391	9.6%	1,099	7.3%	117.6%
Amazon	1,252	5.0%	0	N/A	N/A
ASUS	855	3.4%	397	2.6%	115.5%
Acer	385	1.5%	629	4.2%	-38.7%
Others	3,067	12.3%	3,668	24.4%	-16.4%
Total	24,994	100%	15,042	100%	66.2&
Unit shipments are in thousands

[Source: Engadget]