The extent of Oppo's mobile photography efforts is quickly becoming clear: the company just used Sina Weibo to tease a new series of plug-in camera lenses for its smartphones. The initial range will use 16-megapixel Sony CMOS sensors with optical image stabilization, and they will also have a degree of support for NFC, SD cards and WiFi. Buyers will only have to choose between a thin lens with 10X zoom and a thicker, 15X variant. While Oppo isn't yet ready to disclose launch details for the add-ons, we won't be surprised if we hear more about them at the company's N1 smartphone event on September 23rd.
Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Mobile
Via: Engadget Chinese (translated)
Source: Sina Weibo (login required)
Olympia Circuits is best known for its Arno board and Arno Shield, which are designed to ease the Arduino learning curve by providing a bevy of pre-wired sensors and controls along with detailed instructions for several DIY projects. The company announced a couple of new products at Maker Faire this past weekend: the Arno Digital RGB Add-On and the SODA HE-1.0 Arduino datalogger. With the former, your Arno simply gains three RGB LEDs, while the latter stands for "Simple, Open Data Acquisition, High Efficiency." It's an Arduino board with screw terminals designed around Atmel's ATmega32u4 that features a real-time clock (RTC) with battery backup, a high-precision ADC and a microSD card slot. The RTC can either wake the entire board or trigger an interrupt at set intervals, which makes the board very power efficient when used in the field. Olympia Circuits will be updating its website with more info shortly (including availability and pricing). Until then, don't miss our hands-on gallery below.
Filed under: Misc
Source: Olympia Circuts
Stitcher has lived comfortably on the web since late October, but now the audio streaming experience is expanding its territory with browser plugins. On Chrome, the freshly announced add-on offers quick access to the full-fledged HTML 5 app, while on Firefox it also serves up play and skip buttons to control audio, along with information about what's currently playing. Itching to nab the extension for the web-based Stitcher? Hit the source links below for the downloads.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Stitcher Blog, Chrome Web Store, Firefox Add-ons
Whether it be its iOS, Android or Windows 8 users, Splashtop does a pretty good job at keeping them happy by introducing new things here and there, and the very latest may be no exception to that -- well, at least to some. Dubbed Configurable Shortcuts & Gamepad, the feature will allow Splashtop 2 subscribers -- that are using an iPad or Android slate -- to easily create anything from a virtual gamepad, mouse controls and even keyboard shortcuts on a tablet's screen, which, according to the company, should make for a "faster and more seamless remote access with their Macs and PCs" while gaming or, you know, actually being productive. What's more, similar to what it did when other new services were brought to the mix, Splashtop's set to charge current subs a little extra in order to use the Configurable Shortcuts & Gamepad, with the add-on being priced at about $1 per month (on top of the Splashtop 2 monthly fee, of course). The feature's available now for anyone looking to try it out -- and if you'd like to see it in action before you make that in-app purchase, a video demo can be found just past the break.
Source: App Store, Google Play
So, we learned two things today. Firstly, Will.i.am is able to attract quite a media scrum, and secondly, national press photographers have sharp elbows. Nevertheless, we braved the London debut of the Black Eyed Peas star's i.am+ iPhone accessories and fortunately came away with more than just Elephunk-sized bruises. We got some brief playtime with the gadgets, plus an interview with the CEO of Will.i.am's tech venture -- none other than Chandra Rathakrishnan of Fusion Garage fame (or notoriety). If you're wondering if we asked him why anyone would spend upwards of £199 ($315) on a wide-angle lens attachment when a really decent alternative can be had for a fraction of that cost, then hopefully the video and early impressions after the break will satisfy your curiosity.
Continue reading Will.i.am launches pricey i.am+ camera add-ons for iPhone, we go hands on (video)
Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Mobile
We've had the chance to experiment with early versions of Firefox OS for awhile -- just not in Firefox the browser, where you'd nearly expect it to have shown first. At least one person appreciates that seemingly natural fit. A new Firefox OS simulator add-on, r2d2b2g, lets us try Mozilla's upcoming mobile platform from within the company's own browser for everything that doesn't depend on native hardware, including the browser and Firefox Marketplace. The goal is ostensibly to let developers test truly optimized web apps, although the simulator is also a good excuse for the curious to try Firefox OS without the hassle of a dedicated client or a real smartphone. If you can get by the early state of the simulator and the Xzibit jokes that come with putting Firefox on your Firefox, the extension is already providing a glimpse of a web-focused mobile future to Linux, Mac and Windows users at the source below.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Software, Mobile
Firefox browser add-on lets us try Firefox OS in an all-Mozilla universe originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Nov 2012 17:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Next Web | 
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Mozilla has been keeping to a tight schedule of having a completed Firefox release every five to six weeks, and it's very much on track. The browser team's Ehsan Akhgari has confirmed that a properly polished version of Firefox 15 should reach the download servers on August 29th. When it does arrive, the new release will primarily expand the silent updates that Windows users first saw in Firefox 12: future iterations on all platforms will install themselves in the background and should be truly ready to go the next time the browser starts. Beyond this deliberately subtle change, the finished version 15 upgrade should still support Opus audio as well as clamp down on out-of-control memory use from add-ons. We're looking forward to not noticing the differences very shortly.
Update: Although it's not on the front page yet, both Mozilla, reader Josh and this writer can confirm that Firefox 15 is rolling out sooner than expected -- there's no reason to wait.
Update 2: It's now easier to get a stand-alone copy if you're not updating, since Mozilla just updated the Firefox front page to reflect the new version. Android users are also getting an update through Google Play that brings earlier speed updates to tablets, a personalized start page and a whole host of extra fixes, some of which come directly from the desktop Firefox 15.
Filed under: Internet, Software
Firefox 15 to arrive in finished form on August 29th, promises truly stealthy updates for all (update 2: stand-alone, Android too) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 10:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Ehsan Akhgari | Email this | Comments 
The Raspberry Pi faithful have been looking forward to the Gertboard almost as much as the main device itself: Gert van Loo's I/O extender promises to flash lights, spin motors and otherwise take on the tasks that the Raspberry Pi doesn't directly manage on its own. While we've seen work on the project since late 2011, the expansion now looks to be closer to reality following a fresh teaser. The refined design's biggest tweak is replacing its original PIC controller with an Arduino-powered chip -- an element no doubt familiar to the crowd that would already be looking at a very hackable, miniature Linux computer. Most everything else is a refinement, although Gert has brought in three physical buttons and two-channel analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters. We'll learn the full story later this week, and until then we'll be dreaming of all the off-kilter Arduino projects that might be made better with a little Raspberry Pi companionship.
Update: The wait turned out to be short, and interested parties ready to do some soldering of their own can pre-order the Gertboard for £30 at element14 now. Check the Raspberry Pi blog (2) for more info, or check out a video interview with Mr. van Loo himself embedded after the break.
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Peripherals
Raspberry Pi teases finished Gertboard I/O extender, revs creative engines (Update: pre-orders open now, video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 18:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Raspberry Pi (1), (2) | Email this | Comments 
