Sony's Xperia S is simple, but pretty.

(Credit:
Sony Ericsson)

A stunning Android phone that really does look like it arrived from the far future, Sony's gorgeous Xperia S is likely to hit AT&T's airwaves.

Sony Xperia S: Not your normal Android phone (photos)
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New reports assert that the Xperia S is making its way through FCC approval with a quad-band GSM/UTMS/HSPA radio (850, 900, 1900, 2100MHz). As tech blog ... [Read more]Related Links:Sony Xperia U (code name Kumquat) revealed in leaked photoSony Xperia S couples minimalist design with high-end featuresLeaked Sony road map stirs up a dozen Android devicesDialed In No. 206: Phones go big at CES (podcast)Smartphones with long battery life (roundup) more..

Kinect coming to laptops? Why?

Intel showing off a Kinect-like laptop concept at CES 2012.

(Credit:
CNET)

Hey, look at this: Kinect on a laptop. Okay, so there we go. According to The Daily, companies are well on their way to making laptops--or, at least, laptop prototypes--running Windows 8 and equipped with Kinect motion camera hardware instead of standard webcams.

The Daily got to see some of this technology firsthand on what they believe were Asus laptops. Intel's CES 2012 press conference featured a stage re-enactment of a similar Kinect-like idea on a laptop, shooting a virtual catapult in a game.

The real question here is, who's going to use this?

For those not able to easily type, a motion-control camera could be useful. Maybe motions combined with keyboard controls could add touch-like gesture vocabulary to a hinged device like a laptop in a more logical/ergonomic way than, say, a touchscreen. Gaming, media and application switching controls, and universal access for disabled individuals are the three uses that The Daily's Matt Hickey discusses. I agree with the latter the most, but I... [Read more]Related Links:Does Kinect for Windows warrant a new hacker bounty?Kinect for Windows: Five ways to put it to useMicrosoft's final CES keynote: A lot of talking, not much saidCulture: Five predictions for 2012Gesture control is the new touch: Kinect inventors more..

Sprint offers subscribers a pair of Gameloft ID Packs

Gameloft joins the growing line of Sprint ID Packs.

(Credit:
Sprint)

Gameloft today announced that it has become the latest brand to join Sprint's growing line of ID Packs.

The two bundles each bring Sprint consumers four of Gameloft's popular Android games along with direct access to news, updates, and more. Depending on what type of gamer you are, or how powerful your handset is, you can install either the HD Games ID Pack or Top Games ID Pack. And for those who simply cannot decide, Sprint allows users to have up to five ID Packs on each handset.

The HD Games ID Pack is designed to run on Sprint's high-end devices like the Samsung Epic 4G Touch or Motorola Photon 4G and includes high-definition games. Titles include Dungeon Hunter2 HD+, Assassin's Creed HD+, Let's Golf 3, and Order and Chaos Paymium HD+. Should you have a midrange or entry-level handset then you may be interested in the Top Games ID Pack. Games for the bundle include Iron Man 2, Gangstar 2, N.O.V.A., and NFL 2011.

Whether you call the ID Packs value added software, bloatware, or just a bunch of like-minded content, Sprint has offered customers the ... [Read more]Related Links:How an increasingly fragmented mobile world helps GameloftCheap, eco Samsung Replenish sprouting up at Boost MobileSprint updates phones to eliminate Carrier IQSmartphones you can bet on at CESClearwire's Q4 preview: Revenue doubles on customer growth more..

Lifelens malaria app wins Microsoft 'Imagine Cup' grant

Team Lifelens was announced as an Imagine Cup finalist in 2011.

(Credit:
Microsoft)

After taking second place in the 2011 Imagine Cup finals, Team Lifelens of the U.S. is one of four teams from around the world to win a $75,000 Imagine Cup grant, Microsoft announced today at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

The Lifelens project is run by students at universities across the country who have been working since November 2010 on an app that can image malaria cells for fast diagnosis right there on the phone, sans Internet.

The Lifelens app can image and count malarial cells.

(Credit:
Microsoft)

The premise is straightforward. Apply a blood sample to a slide with a dye that only malaria parasites can absorb. Using a specialized lens with 350x magnification, image that slide to get a cellular-level view of blood cells. The team's algorithm then detects which, if any, cells--and how many--are infected with the malaria parasite.

The student tech competition Imagine Cup is now in its 10th year, while the grant... [Read more]Related Links:YouTube's $500,000 hunt for world's best storytellerGates reflects on his relationship with Steve JobsGreen Car Journal announces five finalists for 2012 awardGoogle+ in search: Google had no choiceTo save energy, popping socket unplugs plugs more..

Best portable Bluetooth speakers

Editors' note: This post was originally published November 22, 2011. It was updated January 27, 2012, to included the Geneva Sound System Model XS.

The days of blasting music out of a portable boom box are behind us, and while some companies still offer retro stereo wannabes for iPods, the best way to free your music but still keep it in a tight package is with a portable Bluetooth speaker.

Here we've rounded up several wireless Bluetooth speakers for your consideration. They work with all smartphones and tablets meeting the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) spec, including the Apple iPhone, iPad, and most Android devices, but keep in mind that Bluetooth causes limited loss in audio quality. For better sound, these devices can also play music from a non-Bluetooth device using the 3.5mm line-in port and a direct connection.

Any of them are excellent speakers to bring on your next trip, but I'm particularly impressed with the Jawbone Jambox and the Logitech Mini Boombox. They're tough and portable, but you can also pair them with your phone's calling features to... [Read more]Related Links:Get a Logitech Bluetooth speaker for $59.99Dubstep fans go nuts for Soundmatters' sidekick FoxLo subwooferMake the most out of your computer's USB audio portRugged Bluetooth boom box adds soundtrack to your campsiteHiddenRadio Bluetooth speaker raises almost $1 million on Kickstarter more..

Apple's iPad turns 2: A look back and ahead

Late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs showing off the iPad for the first time in 2010.

(Credit:
James Martin/CNET)

Two years ago today, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs took to the stage to unveil what was perhaps one of the most-rumored devices the company had ever concocted.

The iPad, or as it had been imagined the "iSlate," was unveiled this day in 2010 at an intimate event in downtown San Francisco. The tablet was pitched as a new category of device that would fit between a smartphone and a notebook, while presenting distinct advantages.

"It's so much more intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smartphone," Jobs said.

In the run up to the event, speculation reached new heights over what exactly Apple would announce. The world had settled on the fact that it would be a tablet, but the details on what that would entail were all over the place.

Price estimates ranged from $500 to $2,000. Reports surfaced on components, including the suggestion that Apple was planning to use OLED screens (it didn't). There was even this "spy shot" of a very un-iPad-like device doubling as a phone.

What we got was a 9.7-inch touch-screen tablet wit... [Read more]Related Links:Will Apple pull an iPhone 4S with the next iPad?Apple tripling its iPad lineup in January? Not so fastToday's iPad rumor: Two products, two launches for 2012Apple schools us on the next wave of textbooksRumored three iPad model lineup could cut entry price to $299 more..

Panasonic TVs 2012: Sleeker, better plasmas, more LCDs, and...passive 3D?

The flagship VT50 plasma sails with a one-sheet-of-glass design and the promise of better picture quality.

(Credit:
Panasonic)

Panasonic is still serious about plasma, but in 2012 it will release more (and bigger) LCDs than ever, including one with passive 3D--complete with cheap glasses.

As usual CES provided a full look at the company's 2012 TV hardware plans and we covered them extensively in blog and video form, but the table below attempts to coalesce those plans in the most "scannable, glanceable" view possible. All of it came from the company's official CES press releases, although a few of the Notes were the result of follow-up conversations I had with company reps.

You won't find these TVs described in detail on Panasonic's Web site yet. The company, like all of those I'm profiling in tables over the next few days, holds back its Web site updates until the 2012 models start shipping.

Anyway, here's the table. Scroll lower in the post for more detail and click through to the series links for even more, including those patented in-depth blog posts.

Notes:

If last year is any indication, pricing and availability will officially be announced in early March, and I expect details on the VT50 will follow later in April. ... [Read more]Related Links:LG's CES TV barrage: Thin, 3D, and Google-yPost-show report: Big OLEDs dominate TV news at CES 2012LG 2012 plasmas 40 percent blacker, best gets antiglareWill the Panasonic ST50 be the best TV value ever?Panasonic debuts its first passive 3D LCD more..

Vintage 3D 'wiggle GIFs' respun with library's cool tool

A detail of the Stereogranimator's interface, showing a stereograph from the New York Public Library's collection (in this case, an image of Chinese laborers picking cotton in Peru, circa 1900). The user adjusts the position of the images to create a 3D GIF. (You can see the result below.)

(Credit:
Screenshot by Ed Moyer/CNET)

Some readers may remember the flickering, old-timey, surprisingly three-dimensional GIFs that made a splash on the Internet back in 2008. Writer and artist Joshua Heineman created them from images of 19th and early 20th century stereoscope cards he culled from a collection placed online by the New York Public Library.

Heineman took the two slightly offset images on a given card, separated them, dropped them into Photoshop, and created animated GIFs that quickly "flipped" from one image to the other, over and over (a technique known as "wiggle stereoscopy").

Then, as part of a personal project called "Reaching for the Out of Reach," he posted the GIFs on his Tumblr blog, where they were ... [Read more]Related Links:Easy video effects apps for iOSWeb sites are getting faster--but not enough5 social network predictions for 2012Lincoln MKZ sedan so hot it's smoking, literallyThe big picture: What truly stood out at CES 2012 more..

The 404 981: Where the world is a vampire (podcast)

(Credit:
Imgur)

As the case for Web censorship moves forward, Twitter announced today that it'll soon block tweets on a countrywide basis when they violate local restrictions, so we can look forward to our government making it illegal for Nickelback to fight back against their Twitter haters.

We're surprised that some Google users are upset about the company's new "streamlined" privacy policies--don't they know that Google knows more about you than your own mother?

If you don't believe it, you can see exactly who Google thinks you are on its Ads Preferences page, or download the Google Advertising Cookie Opt-out Plugin to permanently get rid of them.

An issue with ... [Read more]Related Links:The 404 974: Where we **** the **** (podcast)Twitter shutting down for SOPA? That's just 'foolish,' CEO saysSOPA copyright bill draws fireThe 404 980: Where it breaks my heart to see her eat those nuggets (podcast)WSJ comes out for SOPA, more lawmakers pull support more..

Fingle your friends: The iPad just got too intimate

Hands-on with touchy-feely new iPad game, Fingle

Valentine's Day approaches, and in case you're one of those odd ducks wondering about the Most Intimate iPad Game, here's your slam-dunk recommendation: Fingle. Based on my time with it here at the office, it's earned nothing but awkward blushes.

Fingle's an iPad-only app because you wouldn't have enough finger room on an iPhone or iPod. It's basically Twister with fingers: two players place one hand each on the iPad and put their fingers on the spaces indicated, then start slipping and sliding around the board as indicated. Stay long enough on the target and you get to go to the next level, accompanied by a Barry White-esque loud exhale.

This app knows what it's doing.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Scott Stein/CNET)

The style is all '70s raunchy: orange and red swirls, throbbing funk, and plenty of innuendo in the motions and the instructions. Nothing overt, but this is absolutely, positively intended for flirting purposes. Twister-innocent, this isn't.

Touching will occur.

(Credit:
Julie Rivera/CNET)

I tried a few rounds at the office with the only person who was willing to give it a shot: our own Joseph Kaminski, who's a good sport and unafraid of some office intimacy. Joe and I played until it got too uncomfortable; actually, ... [Read more]Related Links:Artist vacuum-seals couples for portrait seriesFive family-fun board games for the iPadHow to prevent iTunes Match from exceeding your iPad cell-data limitsMercedes wants you to share cars like a CommunistApple iPad 3 may get March release date, 4G more..

Source: CNET