Don’t know who he is? His company filmed the first NFL game in 3D. Among many other “3D firsts.” He’s a true pioneer.

Me? I was skeptical about 3DTV. At CES I went and looked at the different models and thought “this isn’t the year for 3DTV.”

I was wrong.

In the picture below, Sandy is the guy in top right corner in a reddish shirt.

And, after being in a living room and watching the current state of the art of 3DTV I can tell you I was doubly wrong.

Did you know that sales of beer in pubs in UK and Ireland went up by five times after the bar owners hung a 3DTV up? I believe it.

Sports is 3DTV’s killer app. We watched a hockey game. A boxing match. And more.

A week ago I was at Oakley. There, the designers are working hard on finishing off some new 3D glasses that don’t make you look like a dork and have even better quality than the ones I was handed here.

Last week I wondered why Oakley would be “betting the company” on 3D, but now I understand. Brilliant.

Anyway, watching sports makes 3DTV a whole new experience that I want in my home. Listen to this interview with Sandy Climan, CEO of 3ality Digital, and you will hear what excited me: a new way to experience events. In the interview Sandy covers production costs, TVs, glasses, and more. We really cover a lot of material, hope you enjoy it.

I’m sold. Now just got to wait for my gadget budget to be approved by Maryam. Heh.

Comments

The first test I did out of the box is put the X10 mini in the most complete iPhone left handed death grip I could as it continued to show full bars with 3G on AT&T, so this tiny phone is already ahead of the iPhone 4 in that regard.

Now what was in the box was surprising as it included not one but 5 different color back panels to snap on as well earbuds & a USB cord that connects to an outlet charger.

Its specs are:

Size: 3.5 x 2.0 x 0.7 inches

Weight: 4.2 ounces

Screen: 2.6 inches 240×320 TFT Scratch Resistant

Processor: 600 MHz Qualcomm MSM7227

RAM: 128MB

SD Card: 2GB

Android: 1.6

Camera: 5MP with Flash

FM Radio

The main draw of this phone is its size as I compared it to its larger high end X10 version which was reviewed here on GAB exactly 3 months ago.

The demo target of the X10 Mini are teenagers looking for a compact phone thats stylish and can perform for their social needs.

A teenager used to dialpad texting would excel with the X10 Mini as uses the touchscreen version of that since its screen is too small for a full visual keyboard, although the Pro version does come with a slide out physical keyboard.

This isn’t a high end smartphone as can be seen by a processor thats only slightly better than the G1 & a low resolution thats noticeable even on a small screen.

Surprisingly it nearly triples the Frames Per Second of the high end X10 with a 1GHz SnapDragon processor albeit much larger 4 inch screen as the Mini X10 is on the bottom of the image.

The best benchmarking Android app in my opinion is Quandrant but that doesn’t work on the Mini X10 so I did a Pi test to illustrate the processing difference of it being about half that on the high end X10.

I also tested the battery with light use as it lasted over 2 days so normal use should get through the day as it does with most smartphones currently.

The X10 Mini does punch well above its weight in picture & video taking quality as well its ease of use.

An odd annoyance with the main X10 is to turn the camera flash on you have to go to Advanced Settings, then Photo Light, then select ON while the Mini has a simple top corner flash selection icon.

At Google I/O the Sony Ericsson rep told me some of those UI refinements will carry over to the main X10 as it looks to be happening soon with an OTA software update before that for the Android 2.X upgrade in the Fall.

So as I wait for this update to the XPERIA X10 back over at Mobile Martin my review of the Mini version is that it should do well with teenagers and those making the initial smartphone jump, while those expecting an iPhone alternative would be disappointed.

The Sony XPERIA X10 Mini & Mini Pro are reported to arrive late this Summer on either or both AT&T & T-Mobile which should do well with the “back to school” crowd, my feeling is the Mini Pro will be the one doing especially well.

Hopefully Joe has recovered from the comment beating he took on the no Gingerbread for the Nexus One post as he returns back here to GAB.

Comments

But, how could the other manufacturers fight back?

Here Toshiba shows a new prototype they are calling the Libretto W100 that has two seven-inch touch screens that could make the netbook more interesting to potential iPad users.

Now, hardware is only 1/8th the battle. The rest is software and there Apple is way ahead, especially if Toshiba is forced to use Microsoft’s Windows, which, even with Windows 7, doesn’t feel as good on touch devices as Apple’s iOS does. Note, too, that for this prototype Toshiba had to custom build a new touch keyboard. But, at least you can see that such a hardware, if matched with Android, or with HP’s touch OS that it bought from Palm, that there’s a future for Japanese manufacturers. I found the idea to be compelling when I saw it, and could see lots of uses for a two-screen touch netbook. I hope they take it further than just a prototype.

Here’s Engadget’s report on the W100 prototype and here’s Gizmodo’s report. Reported pricing is way too high to gain any mass-market share and they need to dump Windows 7 and get a fully-touch-oriented OS to get me interested.

While there I also saw a new 3D laptop, the A665 3D, which has a new kind of screen designed for 3D gaming. I played some games on this and the effect is stunning. Unfortunately it requires special glasses and won’t be for everyone, but if you are a gamer or want to see a 3D movie, this new laptop is stunning. Gizmodo has more info on this laptop from Toshiba.

A few weeks ago I visited with Toshiba, and made this video demo of both models.

Features available on the Toshiba libretto W100 include:

• Dual 7.0-inch diagonal multi-touch displays7 (1024 x 600)
• 6-mode virtual keyboard with haptic response
• Windows® 7 Home Premium operating system
• Intel® Pentium® U5400 processor1 (1.2GHz)
• 2GB DDR3 memory2
• 62GB Solid State Drive3
• 1.0 megapixel HD Webcam with Toshiba Face Recognition
• 802.11 b/g/n wireless4
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR5
• MicroSD card slot
• One USB 2.0 port
• TOSHIBA Bulletin Board, ReelTime™ and PC Health Monitor software
• 8-cell battery
• 7.95” (W) x 4.84”(D) x 1.2”(H)
• 1.8 lbs.6

Comments

1. Screen quality. iPhone wins, but only slightly over the EVO.

2. Multitasking. All of them do it, but Apple’s system is a LOT easier to figure out and manage. That said, AT&T’s new data plan pricing has left a very bad taste in my mouth. I’m going to have to use the iPhone 4 for a month to see how much data I actually end up using now that I can do things like use Waze for traffic at the same time as playing music on Pandora, or watching live streaming videos from Ustream, etc. The iPhone should be miles ahead here, because of its superior OS, but is only slightly ahead because AT&T is dragging down the experience for me.

3. Battery life. HUGE win for the iPhone 4, which gives up to 40% longer talk times than the 3GS, which is already giving me at least 40% better battery life than the EVO.

4. Application choice and quality. A slight win for iPhone 4. Overall I like apps on the iPhone better and there definitely are more to choose from. 225,000 according to Steve Jobs today. But there are some apps on Android that are better. Google Voice and Google Maps are two of them, which are pretty dramatic. I keep getting complaints from developers about the Apple approval process, too.

5. Feel in pocket. iPhone 4 wins here. It’s thinner and since it’s glass on both sides more pocket compatible.

6. Voice quality. The EVO is a LOT better than the iPhone 3GS, but I wasn’t able to try it out today for a phone call, so we’ll need to wait until June 24th for that.

7. Sexiness. The iPhone 4 wins here big time.

8. Carriers. The iPhone 4 LOSES here big time. AT&T has dead zones where none exist on my routes around the San Francisco Bay Area on Sprint or Verizon.

9. Video and camera. The iPhone wins here by quite a bit. The focusing on the iPhone is better. The quality seems like it is better, but I’ll need to do a head-to-head after June 24th to really know that for sure. The video features are FAR superior on the iPhone, especially the new editing features. I will buy the iPhone for these features alone, so for a video geek like me these are a huge deal. My wife, though, uses the iPhone camera a lot more than I do (I have a pro camera, she doesn’t and she takes a lot of pictures of the kids), so it’ll be interesting to see what she does with this.

10. Video games. The iPhone is already ahead here by a long shot and with its new gyroscope we should see even more apps for the iPhone that are cool and now that Zynga is bringing its games to the iPhone Apple has widened its lead. Yeah, yeah, I’m sure all the haters will remind me it doesn’t play Flash games but, sorry, that train has left the station and isn’t coming back.

11. Tethering. The EVO lets you share your phone as a wifi hotspot and lets other devices use its data plan to get on the Internet. This is wildly cool and how I get my family’s iPads on the Internet when driving in the car. Apple didn’t say a thing about tethering today and I’m hearing rumors that the iPad won’t tether with the new iPhone. So, this is a major feature in the EVO camp. Plus, AT&T’s new data plan restrictions really bug me.

12. Synch and services. Here Android kicks Apple’s ass. The iPhone has to be physically plugged into a computer and connected to iPhone to synch it. With the EVO I never have connected it physically to a computer. I just entered my Gmail address and password and all my contacts, all of my calendar items, all of my email, and all of my applications just showed up. This is a MAJOR advantage to the Android system.

So, will I start using an iPhone again? Yes, but I have the luxury of being able to afford two devices and I’m definitely keeping the EVO if just for the tethering. If I could only afford one? I’d go with iPhone 4 over the EVO. Mostly because the OS is nicer to use (hard to explain all the ways this is so in a short post, so you’ll have to wait for a longer post after I get mine), the video features, and the battery life is dramatically better. But I totally understand why many of you will ignore those advantages because AT&T sucks so much. If voice quality is more important to you than all the toys, the nicer OS, or the video chat, then definitely go for the Sprint or the Verizon.

To the second part of this question. Does Nokia, MIcrosoft, or RIM have a chance to get into the game?

Well, let’s look at the strength’s of each company.

1. Nokia has a ton of market share in low-end markets. That still gives it a powerful voice brand to build off of. Will it matter in the high end game? I don’t think it will, but I’m sure I’ll have lots of Nokia employees telling me why it does.

2. Microsoft has the Xbox and their new phone is coming from the same team. Wired also explained how Microsoft’s Kin and a bunch of services give it a leg into the game. I don’t buy that horseradish, but I can see how many of you will.

3. RIM has the best keyboards and best integration with Microsoft Exchange (still). Corporate IT folks care about both of these. Even Mark Zuckerberg carries a Blackberry to do email on. Until Android matches the keyboard quality RIM is safe. The first Motorola Droid has a dreadful keyboard. Will the next one have a good enough keyboard to let RIM’ers switch? We’ll have to see.

Anyway, Apple is still on top of the mind share mountain and that’s a powerful place, indeed, to be. Look for Apple’s sales and profits to continue to go up. I’m buying three (one for Patrick, one for Maryam, and one for myself).

Comments

It is expected that Apple will be announcing the next gen iPhone around the end of June, and beginning of July. With the next gen iPhone, this provides a good time to make their Verizon partnership announcement. And with AT&T increasing ETF(s) one month before the speculated next-gen iPhone announcement, it appears the perfect storm is brewing.

All this speculation has left consumers very confused. With AT&T raising their ETF(s) in a full weeks time, this could lead to a mass exodus from AT&T. With the speculation of Verizon carrying the iPhone, and AT&T increasing fees even further this could be the prime time for those on the fence to finally jump ship. This of course leaves iPhone users in a pickle.

For those who have had trouble with their service using the iPhone, leaving now might be a gamble worth the trouble. Then again, it might not be. Everything being thrown around the internet is speculation at this point. There’s a good chance AT&T will continue to remain the exclusive carrier of the iPhone. So, if a user decides to leave AT&T then they’re banking on the Verizon rumors to be true. If they turn out to be false, then they’ll be left in a tricky situation.

All of this speculation, and backlash from consumers has both Google and Motorola smiling. For those looking to jump ship, but still want a good smartphone might take to the Android capable smart phones. Consumers won’t entirely be without options if they decide to leave AT&T before the ETF hike, but if they still want an iPhone they’re certainly leaving things to chance.

This situation is a prime example of massive companies not being able to keep things in order. AT&T stands by their statement that the ETF increase has nothing to do with the iPhone going to Verizon; but why time it now? They couldn’t have been oblivious to the fact that making that decision now would lead to wide speculation with the next-gen iPhone coming out soon. Unfortunately, we’ll all be in the dark for quite some time. It’s going to be a long June for some consumers, here’s hoping Apple will have some news in about a month or so.

According to the affidavit, Apple was concerned about taking losses due to the leak. George Riley, representing Apple in the case, states why the leak is such a detriment to the company:

Riley stated the publication of the device and its features is immensely damaging to Apple. By publishing details about the phone and its features, sales of current Apple products are hurt wherein people that would have otherwise purchased a currently existing Apple product would wait for the next item to be released, thereby hurting overall sales and negatively effecting Apple’s earnings. Riley stated he could not currently provide an estimated loss, but believed it was, ‘huge’.

I asked Riley what the value of the missing iPhone was. He stated it was invaluable and that he could not place an amount on it. We discussed the fact that the phone was sold by Suspect Hogan for $8500 and I asked if the phone was worth at least that amount. Riley said that it was.

So, there you have it. Apple’s side of the story, concerning the events surrounding the iPhone 4G leak and what occurred afterward. There has already been reaction throughout the tech community concerning Apple’s side of the story.

Andrew R Hickey,of CRN states, “Apple buyers and consumers know a new iPhone will hit in the summer of 2010. They’ve known it since they plunked down the dough for a 3GS. That’s how Apple works. For Apple to claim that early details of its latest smartphone creation leaking to the public will have a “huge” negative impact current sales is short-sighted. Apple is assuming consumers don’t expect a new iPhone each year.”

“Instead, Apple should embrace the leak as free advertising and publicity and get out ahead of it. Apple knows it has the power to make consumers and fanboys alike salivate with the prospect of new gear, why not use the leak to its advantage instead of crying poor house?”

Time will tell if Apple’s concerns are validated or not. The reaction to the story has been the most interesting aspect of it thus far, as people have been divided in their opinions. Either people see that Apple was simply trying to protect their trade secrets, and get their property back. Or they used bully tactics to silence an online publication.

Cons:

– Typing on it is challenging. In fact, I almost feel that I can type faster on the iPhone. In the wider landscape mode, my hands are a tad too big to really be comfortable on the home row, and since it’s a touch keyboard you really can’t rest your fingers on the keys like you can on a real keyboard. In portrait mode I have to type one handed or with both thumbs, but it’s obviously wider than the iPhone which makes it harder to type in this way. Due to this I tend to agree with many reviewers who think it is more of a content consumption device than a content creation device.

– It can be awkward to hold or position. The Apple case does fold into a good angle to type on or use in landscape mode, but otherwise you have to lay it flat on a surface which isn’t ideal, or rest it on your legs, or just hold it up with your hands.

– It’s expensive. While the device itself isn’t all that pad, when you add in some accessories, the 3G data plan, and applications it can end up costing quite a bit. Unfortunately it feels like at this point there are far more quality paid apps than free apps, and that app developers are charging more for their iPad apps compared to iPhone versions. Hopefully this will improve over time as more free apps are developed, or app developers lower their prices.

– It’s a great gaming device. This normally isn’t a bad thing, but I don’t play a ton of games and my kids don’t want to give it up so that they can play.

Pros:

– It feels like the future. Touching and using a device like this just feels like I’m in the future. It’s so responsive to the touch, the UI is great, and it’s so slim that it just feels like a big step.

– There are some great applications. I haven’t had enough time to really explore the app marketplace too deeply, but so far I’m really enjoying the apps from NetFlix, Yahoo! Entertainment, TweetDeck and Twitteriffic (can’t decide which I like more), iMockups, Control4, Bloomberg, NBA Courtside, and Epicurious. My kids love Super Monkey Ball 2, PegLight, Sketches 2, and Tinkerbell Fairies Fly.

-The web browsing and email are slick. Two of the core features for the device are very strong and a nice user experience.

– It will make me read more. iBooks and some of the newspaper apps make me feel like I’m going to use it as a reading device and consequently end up reading longer content more than I have been.

– It’s going to be great for travel. It will be much easier to handle on a tight plane than a laptop, or to pull out in the airport for some quick browsing and email.

– Big potential. You can feel that the apps are just getting started and there’s going to be some really interesting and innovative uses of the iPad in the near future. Both as Apple improves the device, but also as the imaginations of app developers begin to really take advantage of it.

Comments

But what all this means for music is far from clear. The iPad launched without any kind of music in the cloud service, though one appears to be in the planning stages for later this year. The potential for more robust and even interactive music experiences are enhanced with the iPad, but to date iTune’s LP and imitators have shown more promise than fan interest.

Eliot Van Buskirk of Wired’s Epicienter believes that the iPad could boost interactive music. …

He sites the  free Rj Voyager iPad app that “lets you modify the band’s music as if you were a sound engineer or pro DJ. The app heralds a future where users are constantly tweaking and personalizing the music they currently just listen to, and also hints at a world where music apps will adjust to a user’s surroundings through sensors on the device.”

And in a warning that should sound familiar to the heads of major labels, some reviewers are reminding consumers that Apple likes to be in charge of everything that runs on its devices. In this case since all apps require Apple’s approval, the iPad is a closed and even censored eco-system that could inhibit commerce and creativity.

Comments

The practical use of the MindSpeller can be found by people who suffer from paralysis, and speech/language disorders. The device takes what is referred to as electro-encephalogram brainwaves (EEG) traces, and converts them into recognizable words and phrases. Here’s a definition of EEG from Wikipedia - Electroencephalography (EEG) is the recording of electrical activity along the scalp produced by the firing of neurons within the brain.

The MindSpeller is as small as a matchbox, and is fitted inside a cap which is attached to the user’s head. Electrodes are placed at specific locations, which pick up the EEG signals. Then those signals are digitized and sent over a 2.4-GHz radio to the PC. The data is then recognized by the PC, and then text appears.

Professor Van Hulle, one of the researches on the project, had this to say, “The Mind Speller is a generic device that can be easily adjusted to different users. Therefore, it could be a cost-efficient communication solution for people with temporal impairments for whom the existing solutions are too expensive. Moreover, the Mind Speller may help those patients that are not helped with the existing devices driven by motor activity, as the Mind Speller is based on a different principle, using P300 EEG potentials to read people’s thoughts.”

The MindSpeller is in prototype phase right now, as better techniques for getting the device to work must be tested. However, the actual implementation of the technology is there. IMEC is adapting the electronics portion of the device to work with dry electrodes, allowing for easier setup. Even in prototype phase, this tech certainly impresses. Many communication handicaps on the PC are made completely irrelevant with this tech.

My first viewing of the Boxee Box came from this video demonstration. Ever since, I’ve been intrigued by the ideas presented by D-Link, the developers of Boxee Box. I’ve been reading articles, scouring through Boxee forums, and ultimately downloaded the Boxee service to try on my own.

Before going further, I should go into greater detail the difference between Boxee, and the Boxee Box. Boxee itself is a program which is utilized on a computer, which acts as an aggregator for all kinds of content on the internet. Along with internet content, it also provides an option for playing local media files. What makes Boxee stand out from programs of the like is the service is designed for televisions.

The Boxee Box is a device which is specifically designed for the program, providing a different option than connecting a PC or notebook to a television. The Boxee Box is scheduled to release Q2 2010.

Trying to explain Boxee is a monumental task, because it’s capable of so many things. Here’s a list of all the features provided by the Boxee service, and I’ll dive into each one specifically:

Photos
Music
Movies
TV Shows
Apps
Files

Photos and music are handled how you think they would be. The Boxee service searches your system or specific folders, and allows you to view photos and listen to music. What’s great about Boxee, is that video settings can be customized to fit large HDTV’s. So if you have pictures taken with an expensive, suped up camera, you can enjoy these in big screen HD glory.

Movies are handled in the same way photos and music are, only with a few key twists. Your system is searched for movie files, and recognized titles are given cover art which looks great with a large collection.

Along with local files, Boxee will scour the internet looking for free, legal sources of movies. This is where Boxee really starts to shine as an aggregator service. My experience so far has led me to realize how many options there actually are out there on the internet for movie watching.

TV Shows provide a better demonstration of the capabilities Boxee has to find watch-able content online. Let’s say you’re looking for past episodes for your favorite show. Let’s use The Simpsons for an example. Boxee will find all the episodes made available online, from multiple locations where the content is being hosted. It should be noted that Boxee was wrong on some of the content I searched for, with certain episodes being named wrong. This problem occurred multiple times, however it was right more times than not.

During my Boxee experience, Apps is what really sold me on the service. If Boxee takes off and gets a high adoption rate, then I think Apps will be the major reason for it. Think of apps on Boxee as how you view channels through your cable service. Specific internet content is divided into these apps, which are of high variety. They range from news, news aggregators, video content, streamed content. There’s content you’ll recognize: CNN.com, MLB.tv, YouTube, Pandora. There are some other cool, less known apps to keep an eye on as well. The White House even has a Boxee app.

Finally, there’s the all encompassing ‘Files’ option. Here you can browse content on your computer, and perhaps find files that Boxee missed when searching your system. I noticed a few quirks with Boxee, and there were instances of it missing video content.

Boxee is in beta form right now, and being so means there are still a few bugs to work out. As of now, the Boxee browser, which theoretically allows you to browse the internet is broken. There are some apps here and there which have extremely limited functionality, though I place the blame on the app makers more so than Boxee.

A wonderful boon for the Boxee is that it’s completely open source. This means the sky is the limit for potential apps.

“The future of television is about watching anything you want, any time you want, on demand” said Zach Klein, Chief Product Officer of Boxee. I can think of no better way to encapsulate what Boxee is all about. If you’d like to try out the beta, you can find more information here.