Thin and light laptops generally have really tiny screens. But the new XPS 15z laptop from Dell has a 15.6-inch WLED display with a Full HD option that has almost two times the HD resolution of standard HD displays. The XPS 15z offers Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors, NVIDIA graphics with 3DTV capabilities, built-in WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 3.0, a backlit keyboard, a slot-loading DVD +/- RW drive and up to eight hours of battery life — all housed in an aluminum case that's less than an inch thick. It's priced starting from $1,000.
TinyCo, a developer of iOS and Android games, has launched the TinyFund. This is a $5 million gaming fund to provide mobile game developers with the capital and resources needed to successfully launch their games. Developers around the world are invited to submit their proposals for consideration, and games of all stages of development — from early concepts to completed games — will be considered for support. The TinyFund is designed to provide monetary assistance, of up to $500,000 per title, to game developers creating any type of game played on iPhone, iPad or Android including paid and free titles. In addition, TinyCo will offer marketing, development and business assistance as needed. Games that are supported through the TinyFund will receive access to TinyCo’s large and rapidly growing user base. A specially selected team of TinyCo execs will be reviewing all applications to determine funding and additional support needed to help make the best games possible. Developers can submit their proposals at www.tinyco.com/tinyfund. TinyCo plans on announcing recipients of funding in the third quarter.
The original Walkman from Sony was a portable audio cassette that created a change in music listening habits by allowing people take their music along and listen to it through small headphones. The latest version of the Sony Walkman is a wearable MP3 player with Bass Boost, quick charge and a detachable clip. The Walkman B Series weighs just 28g and comes in a variety of colors. Despite its compact size, the Walkman delivers bold sound. Push the Bass button for even more low-end power and the color matching power illuminator pulses in time with the music. The MP3 has an 18 hour battery life, or for those in a hurry, the Walkman can be plugged in for just 3 minutes and it will be charged for 90 minutes playback time. To load music into the Walkman, just connect the MP3 player's built-in USB connector to any PC – then drag and drop files or transfer them via Windows Media Player. To find any song in the Walkman just touch the ZAPPIN button to preview a short snatch of each track without fiddly searches through menus or playlists.
Sony is famous for more than its audio devices and at SIGGRAPH 2011 the company will be showing off some cutting edge technology. Hiroaki Tobita and Shigeaki Maruyama of Sony Computer Science Laboratories will be demonstrating their floating avatar system, which integrates a blimp with a virtual avatar to create a unique system of telepresence. The blimp avatar contains several pieces of equipment, including a projector and a speaker. Users communicate with others by presenting their facial images through the projector and voices through the speaker. A camera and microphone attached to the blimp provide input and support the user’s manipulation from a distance. The user’s presence is more dramatic than a conventional virtual avatar (CG and image) because the avatar is a physical object and moves freely in the real world. In addition, the user’s senses are augmented because the blimp detects dynamic information in the real world. For example, the camera provides a special floating view to the user, and the microphone collects a wide variety of sounds such as conversations and environmental noise. The floating blimp will allow the user to have a moveable, physical presence in the real world from even the most remote location.
