Keecker is an Android-powered robot that projects video onto your walls
Sure, you could buy a projector for your apartment, or maybe even a TV; people still use those, we’re told. Or, you could get an Android-powered projector instead. Solving a problem that not many people seem to have, Keecker is a smartphone-controllable robot that moves around your home, projecting video onto the walls. In particular, it runs Android with Google Play access, allowing you to stream from built-in apps like Netflix or YouTube. (Fun fact: the company’s founder, Pierre Lebeau, is a former product manager at Google.) As you can imagine, Keecker also has a built-in speaker, meaning you could use this as a giant music player if you were so inclined.
Some might be disappointed by the 1,280 x 800 resolution (especially with a target price of $4,000 to $5,000), but the 1,000-lumen light is at least bright enough that you can watch even with the lights on. (See our hands-on photos from the company’s CES booth to see what we mean.) The thing is, even with clear picture quality, the robot is kinda big. At 16 inches wide and 25 inches tall it has a relatively large footprint, so it’d be a stretch to argue that this offers any space-saving benefits, per se. If you buy this, it’s going to be because you want the freedom to watch TV on any wall in the house, or because you like the idea of having a projector with streaming apps built in (a better reason to splurge, if you ask us). At any rate, this won’t ship until Q4, so you have plenty of time to think on that — and start saving your pennies.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Robots, HD
Engadget Podcast 377 – CES Day Two – 1.8.14
The finalists for Best of CES 2014 have emerged and Terrence O’Brien, along with Sarah Silbert, kick back to review the merits of these chosen few. While it’s only day two of the main event, the Engadget editorial team have been combing through gadget offerings at CES for nearly a week and sleep deprivation is rapidly descending. Although weary, Terrence, Sarah and a smattering of drop-in guests are keen to share their opinions on these devices, enjoy a refreshing beverage and fill you in on the state of CES so far. Join us for the second edition of the Engadget Podcast, direct from the show floor.
Host: Terrence O’Brien, Sarah Silbert
Producer: Jon Turi
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Filed under: Podcasts
Canopy’s Sensus app enhancing case hands-on
We saw Canopy and its Sensus last year at CES with what appears to be similar hardware, but really isn’t. In our conversation with Sensus’ VP of Software Engineering Joel Stewart this evening, he explained that the company was caught in the iPhone 5 Lightning connector storm and rather than push out a product that would almost assuredly fail, they took time to regroup and even redesign. As a reminder, the Sensus case augments the iPhone’s input by adding input on the back and sides of the case via capacitive touch.
Gone is capacitive input on the case; it’s been replaced by pressure-sensitive pads on the back and down the sides. App choice has improved in some ways due to the pressure-sensitive pads. For example, flipping the case over and putting a cup on the case when the weighing app is running will see the case read out the weight of the cup on it. Follow on for some pics of the new packaging, case and a short demo video.
Filed under: Cellphones
Seven Years Ago Today, Steve Jobs Introduced the iPhone
Today marks the seventh anniversary of the introduction of the iPhone, a presentation that took place as part of the keynote of Macworld Expo 2007 in San Francisco. While the device would not launch until over six months later, that presentation offered the public the first glimpse of what Steve Jobs introduced as three devices in one: a touchscreen iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator.
Today, we’re introducing three revolutionary products. The first one is a widescreen iPod with touch controls. The second is a revolutionary mobile phone. And the third is a breakthrough Internet communications device. So, three things: a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough Internet communications device. An iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator. An iPod, a phone…are you getting it? These are not three separate devices. This is one device. And we are calling it iPhone. Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone.
Late last year, former Apple engineer Andy Grignon, who was in charge of the radios on the original iPhone, gave behind-the-scenes look at how Apple patched together demos for the introduction, with Steve Jobs showing off developmental devices full of buggy software and hardware issues. The iPhone team knew that everything had to go just right for the live iPhone demos to succeed, and they did, turning the smartphone industry on its head even as Apple continue to scramble to finish work on the iPhone.
Apple had actually been interested first in developing a tablet known as “Safari Pad”, but as noted by a number of sources including Steve Jobs himself, the company shifted gears once it became clear how revolutionary the multi-touch interface developed for the tablet could be for a smartphone. Apple’s tablet wouldn’t surface until the launch of the iPad in 2010, three years after the introduction of the iPhone.
Seven years after the famous Macworld 2007 keynote, the iPhone has seen significant enhancements in every area, but the original iPhone remains recognizable as Apple has maintained the overall look of a sleek design with a larger touchscreen and a single round home button on the face of the device.
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Apple’s Lunar New Year Sale Includes Discounts on iPhone and Retina iPad Mini [Mac Blog]
Apple’s Lunar New Year sale kicked off today in several Asian countries, with discounts available on a wide range of Apple products.
Unlike the Black Friday sale in held in the United States and other countries in November, today’s sale includes price cuts on both the iPhone 4s/5c/5s and the Retina iPad mini. Apple does not typically offer discounts on its iPhones, making this year’s Lunar New Year sale somewhat unusual.
Lunar New Year discounts are cash-based rather than gift-card based like the Black Friday sales in the United States. For that reason, the deals are slightly more modest, similar to the cash deals that were available in Europe.
Apple is offering a discount of HK$ 390 off of full-priced iPhones, which equates to approximately $50 off. The iPad Air is available at a discount of HK$ 310 ($40) and the Retina iPad mini is HK$ 230 off ($30). There are also slight discounts available for the iPad mini and the iPad 2, of HK$ 150 ($19) and HK$ 230 ($30).
Macs are also on sale, with a flat discount of HK$ 770 ($99) available on all models. There are also minor discounts available for the iPod nano, the iPod touch, the Apple TV, and several other Apple accessories including headphones, iPhone/iPad cases, and more.
The Lunar New Year sale is one day only in several Asian countries including China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.
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Amazon Appstore overhauls developer portal
The Amazon Appstore today announced that developers now have a brand new portal for which to work and upload apps. Overhauled with a re-designed look and feel, it also focuses on recently introduced features and resources such as compatibility testing and submission.
To learn more about the redesigned portal, and to get a feel for all that’s changed, be sure to check out Amazon’s blog post.
The post Amazon Appstore overhauls developer portal appeared first on AndroidGuys.
The Engadget Show: Behind the Scenes at CES 2014
Can’t be here with us at CES? Unfortunately we can’t give you the cold morning desert air, throngs of slow-moving showgoers or the creeping convention sickness that will overtake us all by week’s end. We can, however, bring you the next best thing: a tour of the show floor and some behind-the-scenes peeks at our CES operations, including a walk through our backstage area and a look at our doublewide trailer (we roll classy here). Join editors Mat Smith and Michael Gorman for a funny-accented mini Engadget Show just after the break.
Hosts: Michael Gorman, Mat Smith
Producer: Benjamin Ahr Harrison
Executive Producer: Brian Heater
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Live from the Engadget CES Stage: Stern Pinball CEO Gary Stern
It wouldn’t be Vegas without some pinball. For the second year in a row, Stern Pinball CEO Gary Stern will be hitting the stage to talk about building machines in the age of the video game.
Filed under: Gaming
Less than 6 hours left to vote for your favorite gadget of CES 2014!
If you haven’t voted for your personal best of CES yet, get on it now! We have a healthy list of our own top choices, but one of our 15 Best of CES Awards will be decided by you. Head to the poll now, and check in later today when we announce readers’ People’s Choice pick along with the rest of the winners.
What was your favorite gadget from CES?
Filed under: Announcements
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: Formlabs co-founder Maxim Lobovsky
The 3D printing field is a big enough story at this year’s show to justify its own section on the CES floor. And while plenty of companies have thrown their hats in the consumer ring, Formlabs has taken a different tact, looking to bring high-quality, near pro-level printing to the masses.
AIVAnet 