Gizmodo: demo

Nook Locator Shows You Where to Get Some Hands On Experience

Brian Barrett — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:06:03 EST

The Nook launch hasn't been pretty, and after a series of delays, demo models have been rationed among Barnes and Noble storefronts. Fortunately, you can now use this locator to find a little Nook near you. Perv. [B&N via Slashgear]

Emo Labs Invisible Speakers: HDTV Screens Could Become The Speaker

Danny Allen — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EDT

TVs might be getting beautifully thinner, but we're often still forced to use external speaker setups to get decent sound quality. Emo Labs' solution: embed a thin and clear "invisible" membrane speaker into the screen itself. Watch it in action:

It's a completely new type of speaker technology that could also find its way into other thin gadgetry: laptops, LCD monitors, cellphones, photo frames, and hand held consoles.

Emo Labs calls the tech Edge Motion, and it basically involves the clear layer microflexing to generate soundwaves. Enough to produce a room full of stereo sound—without effecting visual screen quality.

They've embedded Edge Motion into a 42-inch TV for the demo below, but there's still no word on which TV manufacturers, if any, they've managed to sign up. The vid comes from this week's DEMOfall 09 tech showcase, where they won best consumer-oriented product. [Emo Labs via DEMO via Mashable]

Palm Pre Tetris Mania Demo is Pointless at 30 Seconds of Total Length

Rosa Golijan — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:00:00 EDT

Electronic Arts knows that we can't wait to get our Tetris fix on the Palm Pre, so instead of making us wait until the October release of Tetris Mania, they've released a thirty second demo. A thirty-freakin'-second demo.

Some of us managed to survive boring high school math lessons by playing Tetris on TI-89 calculators, yet we can't get more than 30 seconds on a Pre for another month? I understand that it's a demo, and that by now everyone and their dog knows how to play Tetris, but this doesn't even qualify as a teaser.

30 seconds is pointless for a demo of any kind, on any platform. What are you supposed to do? Get acquainted with the splash screen? Such a short period of app usage or game play isn't going to going to get anyone who wasn't already interested in the full version any more excited about it.

Dear EA, please give us a demo that actually demonstrates something other than the fact that brevity isn't always wit. Actually, screw the demo. Just give us the game already. [iSmashPhone]

A Demo of the iPod Shuffle's New Remote and Stereotypical, Robotic VoiceOver

Mark Wilson — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 11:40:00 EDT

This is the new iPod Shuffle, as presented by Apple employee Hannah. She likes gray clothing and she's not married. She'll walk you through the new VoiceOver and remote features while we nap.

The Best HDTV Demo Footage We've Seen At CES

John Mahoney — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:45:00 EST

Bless you National Electronics Inc, CE wholesalers out of NYC—I will buy your Bravias, so long as a palette of Live at the Acropolis DVDs is part of the deal.

At Gizmodo Gallery: A Live "Will It Blend?" Demo

Brian Lam — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:49:54 EST

The Gizmodo Gallery, which starts this week in NYC, is going to have voodoo. See, Blendtec, the guys responsible for those catchy videos of gadgets being destroyed aren't just giving us one to give away as a door prize, but they're setting us up with a demo model we can use to pulp our own gadgets with.

We'll have lab coats and goggles, but also whipped cream and berries. And I think we'll sacrifice a gadget or two come this Saturday to the gods of user interface design or battery life because clearly, asking companies to improve such things have by and large gone unanswered. We may do even more than a few if you've got some particularly interesting and hated ones you want to puree, but no promises!

[Read more about our Gizmodo Gallery here and see what else we'll be playing with at the event.]

[Thanks to REED ANNEX and thanks to our benefactor gizmine.com]

Gizmodo Gallery
Reed Annex
151 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002

Gizmodo Gallery Reader Meetup
The reader meetup takes place across the street from the Gallery, at a place called The Annex (not to be confused with REED ANNEX where the gallery is hosted.) The address is 152 Orchard Street and we'll be there at 9 PM SHARP on Friday December 5th.

Gallery Dates:
December 4th-7th

Times:
12/4 Thursday
12-8

12/5 Friday
12-8

12/6 Saturday
11-8

12/7 Sunday
11-4

Rocket Grenade Smashed to Bits In Flight By Quick Kill Defense System

Kit Eaton — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:37:25 EST

We've written about the sci-fi sounding Army's Future Combat System before, but the Army's just demonstrated a successful test of one of its components: the Quick Kill vehicle defense system. Check it out: the Raytheon system uses an electronically-scanned radar array to detect an incoming anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade, then vertically launches a countermeasure missile that blows the round to smithereens in mid-flight, saving the RPG's intended target. It's a very simple test setup, and, of course the real system will have to deal with complications like vehicles in motion, but it's an important first step. And it goes boom. [Danger Room]

Video: How to Use Amazon Kindle

Charlie White — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:37:16 EST

As you follow along our live blog of the Kindle launch event, check out this video demo of Amazon's electronic reading device that's officially rolling out this morning. Here's the full-fledged look at the new reader, straight from the Amazonians. We're digging its mini-size, looking smaller than the advance pics we saw last week. Hey, it's about the size of a paperback book. [Amazon]

Android UI Video Demo Shows off Multitouch, Google Maps, Quake

Jason Chen — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 13:47:22 EST

Google's Sergei Brin and Steve Horowitz show off multiple prototypes of the Android platform, one of which has a Palm smartphone form factor and one that has a higher-end, HTC Windows Mobile form factor. The former shows off text messaging and Google maps (which looks pretty great, btw), and the latter shows off 3G desktop-quality web browsing using webkit. There's also 3D OpenGL rendering, application feature sharing, and iPhone-esque finger gesturing. If you weren't excited about Android yet, just think about how this could turn out to be the open-source iPhone. [YouTube]

Windows Home Server Interactive Demo

Jason Chen — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:10:45 EDT

Still don't know what Windows Home Server is all about? We could re-explain that it's a server that helps you back up, access, and stream your data/media from inside or outside your house, but it's probably easier to check out this video demo Microsoft put out. It's not a straightforward software suite like Windows Media Center where the features are apparent, so it's tougher to see exactly what it's for. Microsoft's got a tough job ahead of themselves convincing people that they need this. [Microsoft]

Vista Tablet Finger Touch Demo

Jason Chen — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 20:00:09 EST

TabletPC users should be looking forward to Windows Vista thanks to its "multi-touch" finger recognition. Not the multi-touch found in the iPhone, this multi-touch lets you use both a pen and your finger to move around the cursor.

"Your finger's actually kind of a gross device." Hey dude, just because I pick out boogers the size of raisins doesn't give you the right to judge me man. – Jason Chen

GottaBeMobile [via TechEBlog]

Nokia NFC: Imagine the Possibilities of Near-Field Communication

Charlie White — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 09:15:19 EST

This video shot at CES last week is a bit shaky, but it shows you the potential of NFC—no, this doesn't involve the Bears or the Saints—this NFC is Near-Field Communication, a very short range two-way wireless connectivity protocol that can transmit small amounts of data from your cellphone to other wireless devices such as digital picture frames or credit card receivers.

Some might think this is dangerously unsecure, but we're stoked about it, ready to ditch that bulky, old-fashioned wallet full of credit cards and just use that cellphone to pay for everything via Bluetooth and harmless NFC. Are we ridin' for a fall? Hey, this technology is already being tested in New York City as you read this. – Charlie White

Video: Nokia NFC demo ... absolutley amazing [Ring Nokia]