| Sony's first smartphone-friendly MirrorLink in-car AV hits European roads, iOS and Symbian get to ride first Jun 11th 2012, 22:41  Sony outlined a grand future of smartphone-aware MirrorLink AV units back at CES, and the first example of the in-car media system is shipping right in line with the spring target. Although it's the more modest of the two we saw back in Las Vegas, the XAV-601BT aims to be the heart of anything mobile attached to your car with a 6.1-inch touchscreen and two USB ports to take advantage of your phone's music, navigation and other apps in a custom interface while another device charges on the side. Just don't expect Sony's stake in Android to have much bearing: at first, only more recent Symbian phones will have "guaranteed" MirrorLink support at first, with Android and possibly other platforms coming later. Even so, iPhone and iPod touch users still get into the party earlier through a Passenger App Control platform that lets certain iOS apps interact with or play videos through the head-end. Europeans should get a crack at the XAV-601BT before the end of the month, although we suspect Sony will want to wait for more phone support before bringing MirrorLink to less-than-Nokia-friendly American shores. More details await after the break. Continue reading Sony's first smartphone-friendly MirrorLink in-car AV hits European roads, iOS and Symbian get to ride first Sony's first smartphone-friendly MirrorLink in-car AV hits European roads, iOS and Symbian get to ride first originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 18:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  Sony | Email this | Comments | | Insert Coin: Sensordrone lets your smartphone monitor temperature, air quality, inebriation Jun 11th 2012, 22:06 In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.  Sensordrome is an attempt to pair a sensor-heavy dongle with your smartphone. The result is something slightly Star Trek, with the device connecting across Bluetooth to share a wealth of data on what's going on around you. Pledging over $149 to the Kickstarter project will net investors a spot on the first production run, while over $99 will land you a beta version for slightly zealous devs and testers. The sensor array includes some standard offerings like temperature and humidity but it also throws in a light sensor, non-contact IR thermometer and barometer. It can also analyze breath alcohol levels, and detect Carbon Monoxide and even gas leaks. Throw in an expansion connector to open up even more options, including medical equipment like blood pressure monitors, and you can see why it's piqued our interest. Sensors aside, the gadget will hook-up with Android (other platforms will be considered in the future) and will be able to connect to the likes of Twitter and Facebook. Sensordrone can offer up its data in three different ways; call-respond mode will give you immediate read-outs, while streaming mode will send continuous data to your phone. Data logging mode will store the same data in its built-in memory which can be downloaded later as a .csv file -- and should mean graphs abound. Sensordrone's application software will also be open-source, allowing plenty more apps to utilize that sensor medley in the future. We'd still love a built-in radiation detector though. That aside, you can take a tour of Sensordrone's talents after the break. How can you say no to that face? Previous project update: Motion-controlled sword-em-up Clang has just under a month left to go and has notched up just shy of $160,000 for the project -- all from under 3,100 backers. However, plenty of support is still needed to reach its heady $500,000 target. Continue reading Insert Coin: Sensordrone lets your smartphone monitor temperature, air quality, inebriation Insert Coin: Sensordrone lets your smartphone monitor temperature, air quality, inebriation originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 18:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Kickstarter | Email this | Comments | | Must See HDTV (June 11th - 17th) Jun 11th 2012, 21:41  NBA Finals
The NHL Stanley Cup could be decided in just a few hours if the LA Kings can (finally) take care of business and send the Devils home for the summer, but the NBA finals are just getting started and this should be a good one. The LeBron James-led Heat face off against Kevin Durant's Thunder, pitting (arguably) the game's two best players in a best-of-seven battle for the championship. If you're a fan of basketball, this should be the matchup for you.
(Tuesday / Thursday / Sunday, ABC) Falling Skies
TNT is all out of NBA coverage for the season, but now its exciting sci fi series is returning for the summer. It doesn't have the biggest special effects budget, but the producers seem to get a lot out of what they're given and the writing improved as its first season went on last year. Noah Wylie of E.R. fame stars as the main character (Moon Bloodgood also appears, if that matters to you), a history professor turned resistance militia member after aliens take over the planet, and somehow manages to pull it off. We'll be watching again for the two hour premiere Sunday night, check out a season two preview trailer embedded after the break.
(June 17th, TNT, 9 & 10PM) Continue reading Must See HDTV (June 11th - 17th) Must See HDTV (June 11th - 17th) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 17:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | |
