Sunday 28 October 2012

Apple launches iPad mini

Apple this week at an event in California launched a new tablet half the size of its existing iPad called “iPad mini”. The device is 23% thinner and 53% lighter than the third-generation, it is 7.2mm (0.3in) thick and weighs 0.68lbs (0.3kg). It features a 7.9 inch (20cm) display, a fast A5 chip, FaceTime HD and 5 megapixel iSight cameras, ultrafast wireless and 10 hours of battery life.

Phil Schiller, Apple's vice-president of worldwide marketing said “You can hold it in one hand, this isn't a shrunken down iPad, it's an entirely new design.”

"Others have tried to make tablets smaller than the iPad and they have failed miserably"

                             
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Saturday 13 October 2012

Microsoft reveals wrist motion sensor


Microsoft this week at the User Interface Software and Technology (UIST) 2012 conference unveiled a motion sensor “Digits” that users can wear on their wrists to track hand movement and orientation as well as finger motion.

“Digits” uses an infrared laser line, infrared camera, infrared diffuse illumination, and inertial measurement unit to recognise hand and fingers movements and recreate a 3d hand which replicates what the real hand is doing in real time. It could be useful to interact with mobile devices, replace a mouse or control games without touching the screen on tablets.

David Kim, a Microsoft researcher said “Ultimately, we would like to reduce Digits to the size of a watch that can be worn all the time,” 

“We want users to be able to interact spontaneously with their electronic devices using simple gestures and not even have to reach for their devices.”


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