Think of this week’s round of announcements as Android’s débutante ball. She’s gone from a lovable ragamuffin to a mature OS that’s ready for the spotlight. With Android 2.0, Motorola Droid and Google Maps Navigation, she stole our hearts.
The folks at Popular Mechanics have put together a collection of 16 high-tech materials that we could find in future products. Of that group, we have selected some of our more obscure favorites.
Following only two months behind iPhone 2.0 (but at a significant installed-base disadvantage), Android still has a long way to go. But there is definitely some early potential. Here are our favourite apps of the year.
It’s been a rough week. We’ve seen so many stock market trend graphs looking like cross-sections of the Grand Canyon, so many sad traders. Doomsday proclamations a-plenty. So a hard week calls for an escape for hard rest, and thankfully, the App Store this week is eager to provide the visual and audio accompaniments for your weekend sensory/media deprivation.
Sprint is spending a lot of money in attempts to slay the iPhone and give AT&T a run for their money. And while we may all snicker over how closely their new posterboy the Samsung Instinct resembles the iPhone, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sprint has worked closely with Samsung to put a sleek iPhonesque UI over a pocketable handset that can handle video, stream TV, and offer turn-by-turn GPS.
So yesterday you saw our iPhone 2.0 wishlist, packed with things we’d love to see. But the new iPhone has really had the intertubes throbbing with rumours, as people desperate to get their hands on the new tech dig up info. Or at least, desperately look for info in the strangest places, and invent wishful stories. Check out the 10 rumours we think are most interesting. And remember, though you may want to believe, not all of this is going to be accurate.
This week’s New Yorker (yep, you heard me right) has a cool piece on the development of non-lethal weapons for military and police. You can tell the writer, Alec Wilkinson, had a good time reporting it. The story focuses on Charles Heal, a badass part-time Marine and part-time LA Sheriff’s Department officer known in some circles as “Mr. Non-Lethal Weapons.” As a product evaluator and consultant, Heal has helped create about 25 different non-lethal weapons, including:
Indiana Jones may be the current talk of the town, but it’s not the only big summer blockbuster worth discussing right now. With Iron Man already out, and Wall-E, The Dark Knight and The Incredible Hulk still to come, there’s plenty of movie goodness still to be had. Speed Racer ?…let’s not go there.
Forget the iPhone, and screw Terminator 4. Everyone who’s anyone knows that this week was all about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. There are plenty of mature and dignified ways of welcoming back the good professor. Here are the rest:
