Tag: HANDS ON

Since it launched three years ago, Ushahidi has played an increasingly crucial role in natural disaster and crisis relief efforts by allowing citizens to report violent incidents as they happen. Whenever the open-source software receives a notification from a user, it uses data collected from text messages, news reports or the Internet to geographically map the incident in real-time. In recent ...

Share The iPad, Apple's new "magical" tablet device whose months of hype claim that it will save print media, kill laptops and redefine the computing experience, is finally here. As expected, many camped out at Apple Stores nationwide, but, aside from Saturday's launch day theatrics at 9 a.m., crowds were subdued compared to those attending the frenzied iPhone launch of 2007. Steve Jobs ...

Share Canon's elegantly executed Digital Rebel T2i is one of those rare gadgets that inspire admiration and affection in a way usually reserved for humans. The T2i is a big upgrade from its predecessor, the Rebel T1i, which lost out to Nikon's D5000 when Switched recommended a beginner SLR (single-lens reflex) last summer. The new T2i incorporates a sensor nearly identical to Canon's popular ...

Yahoo!'s recently launched Sketch-a-Search is one of the most interesting apps we've seen in a while for the iPhone. The app lets you search for local restaurants by drawing a circle (or triangle, square or trapezoid) with your finger around the area in which you're trying to find a place to eat. The app gathers your GPS coordinates on launch, and then you tap the "sketch" button in the middle ...

AOL, our parent company, has released a beta version of its once dominant AIM instant messaging program. While AIM has been toppled as the most popular IM service by both Yahoo! and Windows Live, it's aiming (get it?) to lure new users by integrating Facebook chat. Now, in addition to compiling updates from Facebook, Twitter, and other social services in your "Lifestream," AIM will allow you ...

Rumors of the Light Touch projection system have been in the pipeline for a little while, and we finally got to do a hands-on demo with the device here at CES. The basics: Light Touch converts any flat surface into a 10-inch screen, from tabletops to walls -- and it's interactive. The surprisingly bright, high-resolution image responds to touch, thanks to an infrared sensing system that tracks ...

When Apple launched the iPhone OS 3.0 back in June, one of the features that most thrilled us was the one that allowed apps to interact with specially designed accessories, like docks and blood sugar monitors. Sadly, in the months since, very few new devices have taken advantage of the feature -- especially widely available, consumer-oriented devices. That may change now that iHome, claiming to ...

For one week every six months, even the most backwards, style-un-savvy New Yorker turns into a bit of a fashion nut. New York Fashion Week takes over the fair city, sending flocks of twig-legged girls dashing down Broadway, trying to get into (or out of) shows. Resident fashion nerd Leila Brillson takes the whole thing seriously while the rest of the staff admires her unflagging commitment to ...

The NEO E1100 Cellphone What it is: The Neo E1100 is the newest value model phone from Kyocera, available from U.S. Cellular. Its set of features is excellent for its price point: 1.3 megapixel camera, speakerphone, Bluetooth, micro USB connector -- these are seldom seen together in one phone for under $30, especially one as stylish as the Neo with its sleek flip-phone design. What We Like: ...

We may be a little overexcited about Mio's Knight Rider GPS unit, but we're not about to apologize for that. This is one beautiful union of K.I.T.T. and navigation that was meant to happen since the day LCDs and GPS chips first hung out. With that out of the way, we have some hands-on impressions. The unit feels solid and small enough to be portable while the screen remains just big enough to ...