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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Murphy’s Law dictated from the very beginning that Verizon’s claim of a November launch for the Storm meant late November (at best), and indeed, it now looks like that’s where we’re headed. Boy Genius Report has picked up some juicy documentation that seems to suggest that November 24 is the zero day with a $199.99 retail price after rebate; what’s more, stores will be opening an hour early to accomodate the throngs of rabid, frothing-at-the-mouth businessmen and businesswomen in Zegna suits looking for their latest BlackBerry fix. It looks like there’ll also be a “pre-launch” on the 20th, meaning customers Verizon really cares about — not us, by any stretch of the imagination — will have a chance stroll into one of 123 extra-special corporate stores to tool around with a demo unit and place their order in person. Either way, stores are expected to have tons of units available for sale on the 24th, so don’t show up at 8pm the night before. Unless you’re into that sort of thing.

Verizon locks in BlackBerry Storm launch for November 24 at $199.99? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Wearables

These portable power generating options are a dime a dozen now, but we thought you’d still want to know that Sanyo has invented a device that’ll let you turn your health obsession into electricity to power your health obsession — a vicious cycle if we’ve ever seen one. It’s a pedometer that generates just enough energy (40 microwatts) to keep itself ticking when the swinging motion of its health-nut wearer’s body causes tiny parts to move around. Sanyo hopes to use the technology for other low-power devices in the future. As for us, we’d rather remain utterly otiose and let our battery slaves do the work for us, though we can imagine something like this might, with some improvements, prove useful to those villagers who have to walk 12 miles to charge their cell phones.

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Sanyo builds prototype pedometer that powers itself while you walk originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel has begun pilot programs to test a home health laptop, application, and database system that puts patients remotely in sync with their health care providers.

The Intel Health Guide, which includes a laptop for patients and an online interface for health care administrators, received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July. Now Aetna, Scan Health Plan, Erickson Retirement Communities, and the Providence Medical Group in Oregon have each begun pilot programs to test how well the system works, or doesn’t work, with their patients.

Intel's Health Guide PHS6000 has built-in tools like blood pressure cuffs for reading vitals.

(Credit: Intel)

“Health care is an area where getting and gathering the right information, and getting decisions made in a timely matter can make an enormous difference in patient care. We hope this technology helps with that,” Mariah Scott, head of sales and marketing for Intel’s Digital Health Group, said in an interview.

While many see health care moving into the home through technology, it seems like Intel knows government approval alone will not convince people to trust a tech company to dispense medical advice.

The company also announced that it has partnered with two major names in medicine, the Mayo Clinic and the American Heart Association, to provide the application’s medical assessments, evidence-based treatment guidelines, and educational multimedia content.

That’s probably a good idea because Intel plans to sell its Intel Health Care Management Suite as a comprehensive online data-collection system for health care organizations; the Intel Health Guide PHS6000 device is intended for patients themselves to operate, not experienced clinicians visiting the homebound as previously speculated.

…

Originally posted at Planetary Gear

Filed under: Portable Audio

Headphone makers love to brag about the fancy magnets they use to drive their buds, but it turns out that hanging tiny focused magnetic fields around you neck can have unintended consequences — a new study says that headphones can interfere with heart devices like pacemakers and defibrillators when held within an inch of the device. The interference can be be so disruptive that a defibrillator can fail to fire live-saving electric charges, so we’d say that anyone counting on technology to keep their ticker ticking should be extra-careful with where they stow their ‘phones — and although researchers didn’t find any interference from cell phones, it probably can’t hurt to keep those out of your shirt pockets as well.

Headphones can interfere with defibrillators and pacemakers originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Nov 2008 20:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Far from being the first artificial heart we’ve seen, the latest iteration unveiled by a team of French scientists is easily the most sophisticated. Built from technology used in satellites and airplanes, the prototype heart is said to “beat almost exactly like the real thing using electronic sensors to regulate heart rate and blood flow.” Reportedly, the device boasts “the same tiny sensors that measure air pressure and altitude in an airplane or satellite,” enabling it to theoretically react in an instant if the patient suddenly needs more or less blood. Thus far, the heart has only been tested in animals, and now gurus behind it are hoping to net approval from authorities in order to forge ahead with clinical trials. Of course, a “lifelike” heart made from polymer and pig tissue won’t come cheap, with initial pricing estimates putting it just south of 200 grand. Or, just enough to give you a heart attack.

[Via DailyTech, image courtesy of AP; thanks, Allislost]

Prototype artificial heart unveiled, expected to cost $192k originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Once more it looks like Johns Hopkins has taken humanity a step closer to full-blown Borg-hood. A research team at the school has created water-soluble electronic materials that spontaneously assemble themselves into wires some 10,000 times smaller than a human hair, for potential uses that include regulating cell-to-cell communication, re-engineering neural networks, repairing damaged spinal cords and transforming individuals into cybernetically enhanced drones. The researchers also point out that the self-assembly principles used to create the nano-scale wires are based on those of beta-amyloid plaques (which have been associated with Alzheimers), so the research may someday lead to a better understanding of the disease. This is definitely good news, but we can’t help but think that once we’ve been assimilated into the hive mind Alzheimer’s will be the least of our concerns.

[Via TG Daily]

JHU researchers create self-assembling organic wires originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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pimg src=”http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2008/10/laptop-safety.png” width=”305″ height=”226″ align=”right” hspace=”4″ vspace=”2″ align=”right” /Tech blogger Chris Pirillo offers 10 practical tips for keeping your notebook safe on the road. His tips run the gamut from the very simple (pad your case) to the more technical (set a BIOS password), so it’s a great checklist to rundown to make sure you’re doing everything you can. In general the post covers broad tips for keeping your laptop safe, but if theft protection is more specifically your concern, check out our guide to a href=”http://lifehacker.com/5044029/how-to-set-up-a-laptop-security-system”setting up a laptop security system/a. div class=”related”a href=”http://chris.pirillo.com/2008/10/23/10-tips-to-keep-your-notebook-safe-when-traveling/”10 Tips to Keep Your Notebook Safe when Traveling/a [Chris Pirillo via a href="http://www.ofzenandcomputing.com/zanswers/1417"Of Zen and Computing/a]/div/p br style=”clear: both;”/
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a href=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/lifehacker/full?a=AbMVM”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/lifehacker/full?i=AbMVM” border=”0″/img/a a href=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/lifehacker/full?a=zmE7M”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/lifehacker/full?i=zmE7M” border=”0″/img/a a href=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/lifehacker/full?a=b1MVm”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/lifehacker/full?i=b1MVm” border=”0″/img/a a href=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/lifehacker/full?a=AKQmm”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/lifehacker/full?i=AKQmm” border=”0″/img/a
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pimg src=”http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2008/10/big-tv.png” align=”right” hspace=”4″ vspace=”2″ width=”494″ height=”289″ style=”display:block;float:none;” /Now may not seem like the best time to drop any extra cash on a new TV, but with the HDTV switch just around the corner and manufacturers desperate to unload the warehouses full of TVs they’d been stockpiling for the upcoming holiday season, now may be a better time than any. To help you out, the gadget nuts at Gizmodo have put together an excellent guide to buying an HDTV like a pro. For example:/p blockquote pThe contrast ratio is the most important thing to look for in today’s HDTVs. Take a dark scene, and cup your hands around a black area of the screen, blocking out all the ambient light from your view. What it’s look like? Does it glow? Or is it really black? Next, how does it flow from dark to light? Is it a smooth gradation or is it a harsh step up? You want really deep, dark blacks and bright whites, but you want a nice even gradation between the two./p /blockquote pWhether or not this is your first HDTV, it’s a good read if you’re planning to do a little HD shopping in the coming months. If you’re already a seasoned buyer, let’s hear your HDTV tips in the comments./p div class=”related”a href=”http://gizmodo.com/5067130/giz-explains-how-to-buy-an-hdtv-like-a-pro”Giz Explains: How to Buy an HDTV Like a Pro/a [Gizmodo]/div br style=”clear: both;”/
img alt=”" style=”border: 0; height:1px; width:1px;” border=”0″ src=”http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?i=877c998e93f4caa2037e065fcf2cdbeb” height=”1″ width=”1″/
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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

All of us here at Engadget are young, beautiful, and vigorous, but we understand that time is not always as kind to everyone else as it has been to us — that’s why we’re giving you the heads up that German scientists claim that they were able to reduce wrinkles by subjecting a test subject’s skin to regular ol’ LED lights daily over a period of several months. It seems that at a certain intensity the light dives into skin tissue and alters the molecular structure of water that would otherwise immobilize elastin, a protein that keeps skin healthy and, y’know, elastic. The researchers believe the tech can be “converted to deep body rejuvenation programs,” which we assume entails more than just taping our faces to our LED-backlit screens — but we’ll try it just in case.

[Via The Earth Times]

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