Ex-Seagate CEO joins startup Vertical Circuits, learns secret of the silver, gadget-shrinking ooze

Bill Watkins, the oft-outspoken former CEO of Seagate, has thrown his support behind tech startup Vertical Circuits, who claim to have an uncanny knack for shrinking gadgets with the power of voodoo -- or rather, a patented silver ooze, but we prefer our theories. The goo works as a replacement for gold wires to connect vertically stacked chips, cleaning up the internal cable clutter and leaving more room for better processor, bigger batteries, larger displays, or just a tinier form factor. Right now the focus is on stacking flash memory, but the group says they can use the same technique for processors and other chips. At this stage, there's no product or partnership to show for it, but if they're as good as they say, we hopefully won't have to wait long to see the fruits of their labor.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Handhelds, Laptops, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Ex-Seagate CEO joins startup Vertical Circuits, learns secret of the silver, gadget-shrinking ooze originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 May 2009 09:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Quantum PI's nanoTrek sensors pick up vibration and motion your Wiimote could never dream of

Quantum PI has just built the first motion sensor chip to use "quantum tunneling," which sounds theoretically unsafe, but we'll follow along. The nanoTrek sensors are classified as NEMS (Nano Electric Mechanical Systems) as opposed to the "bulky" MEMS sensors that can be found everywhere from the Wii to the iPhone. nanoTrek's sensing area is a mere 50 x 50 microns, and its sensitivity is 5 to 10 times greater than MEMS chips. There are all sorts of boring industrial applications to such a sensor, but we're looking forward to the not-too-distant-future when we can be completely disappointed by a brand new version of Super Monkey Ball.

[Via The Inquirer]

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc. Gadgets, Gaming

Quantum PI's nanoTrek sensors pick up vibration and motion your Wiimote could never dream of originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 May 2009 09:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Video iPhone to feature iMovie App?

Apple rumors seem especially rampant in this year's run-up to the Worldwide Developers Conference. With all the fuss focused upon a rumored 10-inch device that fits somewhere in between Apple's MacBooks and iPod touch, these poor ol' iPhone rumors just can't get any attention. Riiight. The latest has BusinessWeek offering further testimonial that video recording will be heavily featured in the summer release of the 3.0 firmware and presumed third generation iPhone. According to a source familiar with Apple's plans, the next iPhone will make shooting video super simple and feature an iMovie App that enables on-phone editing and uploads direct to YouTube. If true it would certainly be a welcomed update for first and second gen iPhone users and something we'd expect Apple to tout loudly as a major new feature on a new device or two sporting beefier cameras.

[Via MacRumors]

Filed under: Cellphones

Video iPhone to feature iMovie App? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 May 2009 03:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Apple mulling price cuts, developing netbook competitor?

Sure, Apple just posted a record quarter of earnings, but it's been taking a beating lately on the price issue -- not only have cheap netbooks become the hottest category in the market, Microsoft's Laptop Hunters commercials have reignited the Apple tax debate. That appears to have the wheels in motion in Cupertino: AppleInsider says the MacBook and iMac lines are soon to be bolstered with lower-cost options that should take some of the bite out of Redmond's marketing. That's certainly interesting, but here's the real noise: according to AI, the low-cost machines are just an interim solution while Apple preps a new tablet line to take on netbooks directly without making any of the design sacrifices Steve Jobs has repeatedly pooh-poohed. Wild -- but it jibes with those recent whispers about a Verizon / Apple meetup and those reports that Quanta's busy building something with a 10-inch display. So -- cheaper Macs in the short term, crazy-insane iPhone tablet / MID thing riding a unicorn sometime later. You believe any of that?

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Apple mulling price cuts, developing netbook competitor? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

iPod nano GPS hack ensures that you and your MP3s make it home safely

We've seen iPod hacks run the gamut, from the useful to the just plain absurd, but no matter how rough around the edges such a project may seem, we always get a kick out of the ingenuity and hard work involved. Today's DIY wonder comes from a cat named Benjamin Kokes, who's using his engineering chops to put together a GPS peripheral for the iPod nano. As the project stands right now, he's taken a reference board sporting a Nemerix GPS and written a screen driver for it, allowing it to do its thing on the handheld. Apparently, all this bad boy is capable of doing right now is finding a satellite and displaying your latitude and longitude -- but we'd like to see your old nano do that! Hit the read link for the whole, sordid tale in geek-tastic detail, or to speak with the developer if you'd like to give this a shot your own self. Tell him Engadget sent you.

[Via Technabob]

Filed under: GPS, Portable Audio

iPod nano GPS hack ensures that you and your MP3s make it home safely originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch