Technabob » touch

Logitech M600 Mouse is Hungry for Your Touch but Not for Power

Lambert Varias — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:00:03 +0000

I never got used to Apple’s Magic Mouse, but it seems that many people are keen on the idea of combining the trackpad with a mouse. Microsoft followed Apple’s lead and released their own touch-sensitive mouse, and now Logitech has thrown its hat into the ring as well with the Touch Mouse M600.

Unlike the Apple and Microsoft mice, the M600 does not support multi-touch gestures. Think of it as a basic trackpad in a mouse’s body – you can point, click, scroll and swipe anywhere on its surface. Nothing more, nothing less. The M600 does make up for its simplicity with a practical feature. The M600 can run on either one or two AA batteries. Put one battery in and you’ll be able to mouse around for three months; add a spare one and you’ll get twice the amount. You can think of it as either having the ability to run at half the power or store extra power. Both sound good in my book of good sounding thoughts. One other thing to keep in mind is that Logitech currently lists the M600 as Windows 7 only, so Mac users will need to stick with the Magic Mouse for now.

Point and click to Logitech’s website to pre-order the Touch Mouse M600 for $70 (USD). Yes, batteries are included.

[via SlashGear]

Tokyoflash Kisai Rogue Touch Pocket Watch: For All You Dapper Gents and Dames

Range — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:49:58 +0000

This watch is perfect for the gentlemen, who can’t abide using anything but a proper pocket watch. The Tokyoflash Kisai Rogue Touch Pocket Watch will probably take a bit more time to read than an analog version, but it will sure get some attention from everyone.

The watch is encased in stainless steel and has a futuristic touchscreen interface. It works with a hybrid combination of LCD/LEDs, so it will be easily readable during the night or day. If you need more light, just push a button and the LEDs will flare up to allow you to read the time. The screen locks after 60 seconds and can be unlocked with a swipe. It’s also got an on-screen animation and alarm clock features.

The display isn’t that hard to read. The outer ring shows the hours, while the inner one shows the minutes. My guess is that you could train yourself to read the time with a glance pretty easily. It’s available in red, blue, green, or “natural” LCD colors and sells for $149 (USD) for the next two days over at Tokyoflash. After that, the price jumps up to $169.

Swatch Touch Watches Look Great, Get Rid of Buttons

Conner Flynn — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 22:00:56 +0000

Remember Swatch watches from way back when? Well, the Swiss watch maker has unveiled its very first touchscreen watch called, what else? The Swatch Touch. It is expected to hit retailers next month and they look just as colorful and cool as their old watches.

They have ditched any and all control buttons in favor of a touchscreen and the design is clearly inspired by modern smartphones. The Touch features a large touch-sensitive LCD display with stylized digits that will let users sort through all of it’s functions and features. For instance, you can swipe between displays to view different time zones, access the chrono, set alarms, the timer and beep menus.

To start, these watches will come in six colors: camouflage, pink, purple, black, white and turquoise. They will be available on October 1st for £100 (~$156 USD).

[via T3]

QLOCKTWO Touch Verbal Alarm Clock: Wake Up With the Words

Range — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:00:04 +0000

A while ago, we reported about the QLOCKTWO, a stylish wall clock that used words instead of numbers to show the time. It was somewhat of a big clock, and it was also quite expensive (~$1,100), which is why I kind of like this new, smaller desktop version. This model is is the QLOCKTWO Touch and it’s touch-sensitive and comes packed with LEDs.

The sharp text outlines are easily visible thanks to the bright LEDs inside. You can engage the snooze function by simply touching the clock. The clock is machined from a single block aluminum. It comes in seven different colors, and the front panel is held in place by magnets, so you can switch colors if you get bored. It’s also available in English, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Russian and Spanish.

It also offers an alarm clock mode, which can be snoozed by simply touching the face of the clock. The reading light mode illuminates the entire clock face, switching on all 114 LEDs inside. Get ready to pay for all of this style, because the QLOCKTWO Touch sells for $599 to $650 (USD) at the Biegert & Funk store.

[via core77]

Omnifer Braille iPad Case: Bringing Touchscreens to the Blind

Range — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:05:18 +0000

Have you ever wondered if visually impaired people could use the iPad? Well, thanks to this concept, they might be able to do so, hopefully cheaper than those braille displays that are available (some of them can cost up to $10,000).

Designed by Jayson D’Alessandro, the Omnifer is a concept iPad case design that’s meant to make the iPad usable for the visually impaired, thanks to a built-in braille display.

The braille display would cover up about half of the touchscreen’s surface area when in use. But the clever dual-hinge design would allow it to swing around to the back of the iPad when not in use.

Unfortunately at this time, it’s not easy to make tablets and smartphones easily usable by the visually impaired. Hopefully, prices for these boards and displays will go down to allow them to be used more frequently.

[via Yanko Design]

LED Mood Lights Offer a Touch of Color with a Touch of Your Fingertip

Technabob — Thu, 26 May 2011 03:47:15 +0000

Here’s a cool way to add a little extra splash of color to your room without breaking the bank. These compact LED mood lights let you choose from 256 different colors using a clever touch-sensitive color chart on the side.

You simply use the color selector bar like a color slider on your computer, picking the hue you’re looking for with a touch of your finger.

The little lights each have three 1-watt LEDs, and are powered by a built-in USB rechargeable battery. Battery life is rated at 6 hours on a full charge.

You wouldn’t want to try and read a book by these, but that’s not what they’re designed for. They look like they’d be great as accent lights in a darkened or dimly-lit room, though. The official brightness is spec’d at 150 lumens for each one, but they don’t look quite that bright to me. Still, they look pretty cool to me.

If you remember, a couple of years back Philips introduced their similar Livingcolors LED lights, which allow you to adjust to a color of your choice, but they still cost over $150 each. While these cheap clones might not be quite as stylish or as bright, they sell for just over $14 (USD) each over at Chinavasion, so you could fill a whole room with them on the cheap.

[via 7Gadgets]

Piano Lamp: Play With Your Light

Technabob — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 22:00:38 +0000

This innovative LED lamp has a touch-sensitive surface which lets you turn segments on and off with a touch of your fingertip.

QisDesign’s Piano lamp is comprised of a series of LED bars which resemble large piano keys. As you glide your fingers across the “keys”, the segments illuminate, changing the intensity of the light to suit your mood. Each lamp features a polycarbonate shade, and a stainless steel base.

Here’s a video showing off the Piano lamp in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The Piano lamp is available in both a desk and floor lamp version, with the table version selling for $630 (USD), and the floor model selling for $1650.

Disposable Touch Paper Interface: the Way of the Future?

Range — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:54:00 +0000

If you ever got a chance to watch the short-lived Caprica, they had a technology just like this. Now, it looks like smart paper could soon be upon us, as the Japanese have come up with some interesting research using paper as a touchscreen. Yes, that’s right, run of the mill paper can serve as a touch-based interface. What will they think of next?

This technology was recently showcased by Japan’s Keio University. It will respond to touch input, as well as the curvature and even if air is blown on it. The goal of this particular example was to use this tech to create interactive tickets for events.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

If they can just figure out a way to combine this with some sort of flexible, low-cost display material, smart paper would definitely going to be something cool to have around for things like interactive maps and newspapers.

[DigInfo via DVice]

Mathmos Blob and Flow “Light Pets” have Glowing Eyes

Technabob — Fri, 21 May 2010 12:36:34 +0000

The latest lighting creation from the UK house of Mathmos is definitely unusual. Designed to look like a couple of globby alien heads, Blob and Flow are what Mathmos calls “touch-sensitive light pets.” I just call them “weird, but cool.”

Just plug the shiny zinc alloy duo into your USB port or outlet, and their glowing eyeballs come to life. Touch either one gently, and one of its LED eyeballs will start to “wink.” Another touch, and both eyes will blink wildly, fading between their native color and white light.

The oddball pair will ship starting in mid-June and is priced at £35.00 (appx. $50 USD). you can pre-order them over at the Mathmos site now.

Skinput Uses Your Skin as an Input Device

Range — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:25:07 +0000

CMU researcher Chris Harrison’s Skinput is an amazing new technology. It’s a new interface concept that just makes sense, and to top it off, it’s also pretty darn cool. Input devices haven’t changed much in the last few decades. We still use mice and we still use keyboards. If Harrison has his way, we might just someday be using our own skin as an input device.

Harrison’s concept uses the body to sense touch inputs. When a particular part of the body is tapped, a sensor on the upper arm can detect where exactly the tap originated from, either the fingertips or the forearm. This is done by sensing the vibrations that are generated by each tap.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Once this is paired with a projector, you’ve got a whole new input device: your own body.

Skinput is set to be presented at a conference in April.

[via Core77]

Yantouch Jellyfish LED Lamp: 16 Million Colors Under the Sea

Technabob — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 04:48:44 +0000

This colorful saucer-shaped creature is the coolest lighting fixture I’ve seen in a long time. The Yantouch Jellyfish definitely resembles the body of the gooey undersea creature that it’s named for, but lights up in many more colors than its cnidarian doppelgangers.

The curvaceous lamp is loaded up with bright RGB LEDs that can change to any of 16 million unique colors and brightness levels through the use of a unique touch-panel interface. It actually works sort of like the color palette control you might find in photo-editing and painting software. Check out how it works in the video below:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

In addition to fixed-colors, you can set the Jellyfish to a color flow mode with a variable fade speed between the colors of your choice. And you can switch off the front side illumination, leaving only the Jellyfish’s clear “tentacle” structure which provides a cool backlighting.

When powered off, the Jellyfish maintains a stealthy look, with a sleek black top and white bottom.

While I haven’t found any U.S. retailers for the Yantouch yet, the have numerous Taiwanese and Japanese retailers as well as an French retailer listed up on their website. Pricing in Japan is set at ¥14,800 (appx. $160 USD).

[Yantouch Jellyfish via Impress Watch (translated)]

Elan Smart Remote Offers a Multitude of Multitouch Interactions

Technabob — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 02:35:37 +0000

This interesting new device isn’t just any ordinary remote control. It’s actually a multifunctional RF remote that can be used as a mouse, a joystick, or a remote for your HTPC. And it’s got multitouch support too!

The Elan Smart Remote (model ESR-8020) features a pair of capacitive touch pads, which can be used to interact with any standard PC software. The remote has five modes: mouse, keyboard, joystick, presentation and handwriting recognition. While each pad appears to only sense a single finger press, the pair together can be used to produce Windows 7 multitouch gestures. Flip the remote over, and it’s a full-function AV remote for controlling Windows Media Center apps. Check out the video below to see the Elan Smart Remote in action.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Elan plans on showing off the remote at the upcoming CES 2010 show in Las Vegas. No word on pricing or a release date yet.

Blump It Tablet Interface Tries to Outdo Joojoo

Technabob — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:53:27 +0000

With all the buzz about tablet PCs like the soon-to-be-maybe-released CrunchPad JooJoo and sure-to-be-possible-someday Apple tablet, it was only a matter of time before the market will fill up with a variety of tablets and interfaces vying for a piece of pie in the great tablet landgrab of 2010. The upcoming Blump’it takes a slightly different approach from the others, providing a software interface for touchscreen tablets that’ll work on any operating system, instead of a proprietary hardware device.

Blump’it is designed to provide an easy, fingertip-optimized interface for accessing Internet applications on wireless or 3G-connected touchscreen device. From what I’ve seen so far, it really just looks like a glorified touch menu for your web browser, but maybe I’m missing something.

To make it a bit more compelling, Blump’it is distributing an unbranded “lab” tablet with a 10.2″ LCD touchscreen (1024×600 resolution), running on an Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz CPU and a Linux OS/Blump’it interface combo. The tablet measures in at a rather hefty 24.7mm (.972″) thick, and weighs 950 grams (just about 2 pounds) – with the rechargeable battery pack in place. The tablet includes both 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi and CDMA 3G connectivity – which means that if you’re on a GSM network – you’re out of luck for now.

To see the Blump’it interface and hardware in action, check out this video from the guys at netbooknews… (to cut to the chase, skip ahead to 1:55 for the hardware, and 4:50 for the interface).

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Did you notice the Blump’it virtual keyboard is an AZERTY, not a QWERTY? That’s because the tablet comes from France. I’m assuming you’ll have a choice of keyboards once it’s released worldwide – if not, that sure would be silly. Interested? Blump’it is taking pre-orders for the tablet now at their website for €499 or $699 (USD). If you’re interested in checking out the software interface on your own computer, they plan on releasing a Firefox plug-in sometime in January and you can register for the Alpha here. Rumor has it, they’re also working on a Chrome version.

Dreamtouch: Multitouch Display Counts All 32 of Your Fingers

Technabob — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:41:36 +0000

As I sit here in front of my HP Touchsmart PC, I can interact with many applications using my fingertips, but due to the size of the computer’s 25.5″ display, HP had to go with an optical sensor-based multitouch screen, which is limited to detecting only 2 fingers at a time. Now, a display company has figured out a way to build large multitouch screens that can detect all of your digits at once using a grid of infrared sensors.

Developed by Germany’s Elektrosil and Citron, dreaMTouch can actually detect up to 32 simultaneous touch points on displays as large as 82″ diagonal. The dreaMTouch can even handle all of those tracking points without any worry about such things as your fingers crossing paths – which can be a problem with technologies like the NextWindow touchscreen tech that HP uses in their Touchsmart desktops.

The system is designed to layer on top of existing display technologies, adding a 4mm thick piece of laminated safety glass in front of the screen. Data is then sent to any computer using a standard USB interface.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The dreaMTouch can even detect the size and location of objects placed in the touch area – which means it could be used to build tangible interaction apps like the ones you find on Microsoft’s Surface. Sweet! Plus it interfaces directly with TUIO, a popular open source standard for interacting with multitouch applications.

No word on how and when you’ll be able to get your hands on one of these, so for now, we’ll just have to sit back and wait and live with our primitive old 2 finger multitouch computers. Waaah.

[via Multitouch.nl]

Peregrine Gesture Glove: Not Your Daddy’S Power Glove

Technabob — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:25:31 +0000

Remember those gesture control gloves Tom Cruise wore in Minority Report? Well, starting in 2010, you’ll be able to work similar magic with your fingertips thanks to the new Peregrine gesture glove.

The unusual computer controller features over 30 touch points which can be used to interact with your games and other software like you’ve never done before. Each glove can be custom calibrated to your own unique touch and hand size, and each touch point can be mapped to your computer keys using the included configuration software. Since the glove emulates keys on your keyboard, you can play just about any game with it – although it’s probably best for RTS and MMORPG games. But I’d still like to try playing MAME with one.

The military-grade glove attaches to your computer with a breakaway magnetic connector pod that’s designed to breakaway in case you get too raucous when thrashing around. And since it’s a standard HID-compliant USB device you can use it with Windows, Mac OS and Linux computers without a problem. (though the configuration software is only coming for Windows and Macs).

Check out the videos below to see the Peregrine in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Peregrine expects to start shipping the glove in early 2010 for $129 (USD) – $20 off of the regular price, and you can pre-order yours here.

Mini Wireless Text Pad: Like a Blackberry for Your Pc

Technabob — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:34:03 +0000

I for one like my computer keyboards to be big enough for my fat fingers to maneuver without typos. But if you’re adept with using your thumbs to type on your Blackberry, you might enjoy this new accessory for your Windows PC.

This compact wireless handheld keyboard feature a tiny QWERTY keypad like you’d find on your mobile phone, and lets you transmit keystrokes to your computer from up to 30 feet away. There’s also a little wireless trackpad so you can control the cursor from across the room. The keypad also has a bright backlight for use in darkened rooms.

Just plug in the included RF receiver USB dongle, charge up the controller, and you’ll be e-mailing from across the room in no time. Check out the video clip below to see the keyboard in action.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

At first glance, I struggled to understand why you’d want a keyboard this small, but then I realized it might be good for doing presentations, as well as for controlling an HTPC setup if you want to surf the web on your big screen television. Or maybe for when your cat wants to use the computer. The wireless keyboard/touchpad is available over at USB Geek for $62 (USD).

Touch Dj Puts a Complete Dj Mixer in Your iPhone or iPod Touch

Technabob — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:32:56 +0000

Touch DJ is a soon-to-be-released iPhone app that lets you mix music in real time, just like you would with professional DJ equipment.

Created by Amidio – the same folks who brought us the amazing noise.io iphone synth. According to the Amidio guys, Touch DJ is a serious live performance tool, and not just an audio toy like many other iPhone apps.

The app not only can mix two MP3 tracks, it lets you apply audio effects, pitch-bending, equalization and looping without ever leaving the intuitive visual interface. Each track is automatically color coded to correspond to its frequencies to make it even easier to match beats. Check out the video clips below to see (and hear) a sneak preview of Touch DJ in action.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Once released, Touch DJ will ship with 25 dance tracks from DanceMusicHub that you can immediately create music with, and I assume that additional tracks will be available for download in the future. Amidio also plans on releasing a Touch DJ sync application that lets you send your own MP3s to your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Keep in mind that the audio processing is very processor intensive so Amidio recommends using Touch DJ only on the iPhone 3GS or newer iPod Touch models with faster CPUs. There’s no word yet on when Touch DJ will hit the app store. All Amidio says on their site is “ESTIMATED AVAILABILITY DATE: ??? (ASK APPLE!)”. Hopefully, that means soon. For now, follow them over on Twitter to be notified when Touch DJ is released.

Caribbean Finger Steel Drums: DIY Desktop Reggae

Technabob — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:02:33 +0000

Ever wanted to know how to play the steel drums? Nope, me either. Maybe it’s the fact that I just don’t have room for a couple of sawed-off 55 gallon oil drums in my living room. Or maybe it’s that I’m landlocked in the Midwest and winter is already descending upon us like the latest great Ice Age. At least now, I can pretend I’m in the tropics thanks to these miniature fingertip steel drums.

These pint-sized electronic steel drums can be played with a simple touch of your finger, with each pad representing a distinct note from the major scale. The mini drums can even record and play back your musical compositions – as long as your composition isn’t any longer than 25 notes. With the full Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do in its arsenal, you can improvise a reggae (or is that ragga) version of your favorite jams with ease. Heck, check out some of the tunes the Vat19 guys cranked out in this here vid clip:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Hmm, I can’t decide if I like that steel drum Mario Bros. or reggae Biz Markie better. You be the judge.

Ready to be jammin’, mon? Just head on over to Vat19 and bang out a pair for just $18.95(USD).

Look Ma, No Eyes: Google Working on “Eyes-Free” Phone Interface

Lambert Varias — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:30:00 +0000

There must be a lot of Google employees who like to use their phones while they’re driving. The company is currently working on an “eyes-free” interface for their Android software that utilizes tactile and aural feedback together with a new way of navigating phone menus that will allow users to operate their phones using just one hand, and without even having to look at their phone’s screen. Adding aural feedback may be enough for phones with conventional keypads, but the recent obsession with touchscreens necessitates tactile feedback and a new interface.

The demo video shows how the new interface allows for eyes-free browsing of contacts. The most important part of the setup is the square of 8 letters/symbols that appears as soon as you touch the screen. The square is centered on your finger, so any of the 8 surrounding alphabets is just a swipe away. Swiping to a letter causes the phone to vibrate, indicating that you have reached a letter.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

As soon as you swipe to a letter, a new set of 7 letters/symbols fills the rest of the square. According to Google, this ensures that all letters/symbols are at most only 3 swipes away. You then raise your finger off the screen upon reaching the desired letter/symbol to select it. A voice prompt announces the letter/symbol you have selected, after which the phone searches your contacts and goes to the first name that starts with the selected letter/symbol.

It doesn’t sound extremely complicated, but if ever it’s implemented into future phones, it will surely take users quite a while to learn and adjust to the interface. Read the full article for Google’s other planned eyes-free features, such as gesture-based commands. I’m curious to know how much impact such an interface would have on the battery life of phones.

[via Technology Review]

Iblock: LEGO Style iPod Speakers

Lambert Varias — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:30:17 +0000

Here’s one of those things that makes me go, “why not?”: Building Brick iPod Speakers. On one hand, Lego and iPod barely have anything to do with each other. On the other hand, why not?

The Building Brick iPod Speakers, aka iPod Brick, aka iBlock, but not aka Lego iPod speakers, works with 3rd-5th gen iPods, 1st-3rd gen iPod Nanos and on the iPod touch. I swear I had to retype those iStuff so many times. cOnfusing aS hEll. I mean, they’re not made by aPple.

The center bottom pegs act as nifty volume up and volume down buttons. The speakers are also said to have an “Active Bass System”. Which just might be a fancy way of saying that it has bass. Tinny, but it’s there. It sells for $20 at Think Geek, and no it doesn’t fit together with ordinary Lego blocks. Also, I don’t know if Think Geek only has the blue ones, because for UK residents there are no blue blocks but there are red, white, and black blocks over at iWant One of Those, and they’re $2 cheaper too.

[via I Want One of Those and Think Geek]