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| Happy Thanksgiving: Celebrate With Google Doodles [PICS] | | 5:58:57 AM | Amy-Mae Elliott |
|  Happy Thanksgiving! We are celebrating the holiday here at Mashable with a look back at all the Thanksgiving-themed Google Doodles since the search giant launched. With a penchant toward poultry-themed designs, every single year Google has presented a special Doodle to mark the occasion. Here you can see them all in one place. Take a look through our gallery. Let us know in the comments which is your favorite Doodle -- and why. |
| Galaxy Nexus Now Available for Pre-Order Through Expansys | |  Galaxy Nexus, the first smartphone to feature the new version of Android, 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich, can now be pre-ordered in the U.S. from Expansys. The price is steep: $749, contract-free, for the 16 GB variant. It will, however, get you the device in four working days, so if you really want the latest and greatest smartphone from Google and Samsung, this is your chance. This particular variant of the Nexus moves data with HSPA+, and it will work on AT&T and T-Mobile's network. If you're more inclined to wait a while and purchase the device at a cheaper price with a 2-year contract, you'll be happy to know that Verizon will be having the Nexus "later this year." And if you wonder what all the fuss is about, check our detailed review here. We'll just remind you that the device sports a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM, a 4.65-inch super AMOLED display, a 5-megapixel, 1080p capable rear-facing camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. |
| U.S. Patent Office Honors Steve Jobs with iPhone-Shaped Exhibit | | Wednesday, November 23, 2011 10:55 PM | Peter Pachal |
|  The late Steve Jobs has been hailed as a brilliant businessman, marketer, and visionary. He was also an prolific inventor, if the number of patents bearing his name are any indication. No less than 323 Apple patents list Jobs among the inventors responsible for them. Now the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is honoring the Apple founder with a dedicated exhibit. The Patents and Trademarks of Steve Jobs: Art and Technology that Changed the World puts Jobs' patents on display in the USPTO's National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum. Conceived by the nonprofit Invent Now, the exhibit has a look that's instantly recognizable: 30 giant-size iPhones, lined up screen to screen in a simple rectangular formation, like a military salute designed by Jonathan Ive. Among the patents Jobs is credited with: "Method and apparatus for use of rotational user inputs," which essentially patented the iPod clickwheel; "Voicemail manager for portable multifunction device," the basis for the iPhone's visual voicemail; and 13 separate patents on product packaging alone. While the exhibit is meant to "give insight into the visionary commitment" of Jobs, the patent vault at Apple has factored highly in the escalation of legal battles over intellectual property in recent years. Most prominently, Samsung has been engaged in patent wars with Apple over how closely its Galaxy products mimic the design and operation of iPhones and iPads, as shown in this infographic. To a lesser extent, Nokia, Motorola, and even LG have tussled with Apple over patent infringement. The Jobs exhibit kicked off Nov. 16 and is on display until Jan. 15, 2012. Located in the atrium of the Madison Building on the USPTO's campus in Alexandria, Va., it's free to attend during the museum's regular business hours. |
| 7 Best Black Friday Deals at Target | | Wednesday, November 23, 2011 5:17 PM | Emily Banks |
|  In case Target is one of your Black Friday shopping destinations, we've rounded up some of the best deals the big-box retailer has to offer. We've found digital cameras, tech toys, big-screen TVs and a few more that are worth checking out the day after Thanksgiving. You can find all of Target's Black Friday markdowns here. Best Buy and Walmart are offering similar deals in-stores on Black Friday, as are plenty of other retailers. Of course, if you'd prefer to skip the lines altogether, you can also find some of the best Black Friday deals on the web -- no trampling or clawing necessary. The big-box retailers, as well as Apple, Dell and many more, will offer some discounts at their online stores too. How are you preparing for the biggest shopping day of the year? Image courtesy of Flickr, www.metaphoricalplatypus.com |
| DisplAir: Minority Report's Gesture Interface, Only Real. And Russian | | Wednesday, November 23, 2011 3:17 PM | Peter Pachal |
|  Ever since Microsoft Kinect debuted last year, controller-free gesture interfaces have gone mainstream. As popular as it is, the tech could stand some improvement: it would be more precise if users were able to manipulate 3D images in midair, a la Tom Cruise's elaborate setup in Minority Report, instead of eyeballing things on a screen. Now a company from Russia has a working prototype of just such a device. Called DisplAir, the technology combines an infrared camera, a projector, and cold fog to project 3D images and capture the user's hand movements as they manipulate them. A user can "press" items to select them, swipe things to the side, and even use two hands and fingers to make objects larger or smaller, the 3D equivalent of multi-touch. You can see it all being done in this demo video: This being a prototype, the technology is far from polished. There's a 0.2-second lag before your motion has an effect — slightly more than the 0.1-second delay of the Kinect, noted in many reviews. The fog also creates a "fringing" effect on the periphery of the projection. Nonetheless, it's an impressive achievement, especially considering the technology was developed in a dormitory. DisplAir is made to detect small finger movements as opposed to sweeping gestures in a game system; it can scan for 1,500 points of contact with accuracy up to 1 centimeter, depending on the size of the "screen," which can range from 40 to 140 inches. The company is currently looking for investors, so commercial products are a long way off. Still, DisplAir estimates that devices would cost between $4,000 and $30,000 when mass-produced. Want something right now that will let you play with 3D images like Tony Stark? Apart from the comparable Fog Screen technology (which is commercial-only), your best bet is probably IO2 Technology's Heliodisplay, which can project interactive holograms and is plug-and-play with Windows machines via USB. (Check it out in the video below.) Units start at $48,000, however, so it may well be worth waiting for DisplAir. via TechCrunch Europe |
| 9 Best Black Friday Deals at Walmart | | Wednesday, November 23, 2011 1:37 PM | Emily Banks |
|  From digital cameras to video game consoles, we've picked out some of the best Black Friday deals at Walmart. If you'll be making your way through the aisles of the store Friday -- or you're deciding if it's worth your time -- take a look through the slideshow of our top discounts, and with any luck, you'll be able to more easily navigate the Black Friday mania. Stopping by Best Buy, too? We've also collected some of the top Best Buy Black Friday deals as well. SEE ALSO: 7 Best Black Friday Deals at Target You can find more of Walmart's deals in the store's Black Friday ad. Which tech gadgets or games will you be picking up Friday? Or, will you be avoiding Black Friday completely? |
| Cinefy Brings Advanced Movie Editing to iPhone [VIDEO] | | Wednesday, November 23, 2011 1:04 PM | Mashable Video |
|  Cinefy is a new mobile video editing app that promises "Hollywood effects" on the iPhone. Launched in limited beta on Tuesday, Cinefy's app includes features for inserting footage, adding music from a built-in library and applying a variety of special visual effects. Learn more about the app in the video above. Users can sign up for the limited beta on Cinefy's website. |
| Ereader Wars: Which Tablet Earned the Most Online Buzz? [INFOGRAPHIC] | | Wednesday, November 23, 2011 12:25 PM | Matt Silverman |
|  It seems ereaders are going to be a hot holiday tech gift this year -- the Tickle Me Elmo for grown-ups, if you will. The space has certainly heated up of late. A market once dominated by the iPad and a few generations of Kindles is starting to rumble with the introduction of the Kindle Fire and the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet. How are these new gadgets being received on the web? Our friends at Tableau Software have been measuring, and compiled this sharp, interactive graphic. The Kindle Fire seems to have won the race by volume of searches and shares, and that's not surprising. Amazon has been a leader in the ereader space for years, and the Kindle's leap to a modern mobile operating system (Android) is big news. SEE ALSO: Kindle Fire vs. Nook Tablet vs. iPad 2 vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab/a> However, note the sentiment analysis around the Nook Color. There's a stronger margin of positivity around this new product than its competitors -- perhaps a sign of what the sales curves may look like after the holiday rush has subsided. Also please be aware that for the purposes of this graphic, Twitter data on "iPad" combined the terms "iPad" and "iPad 2." Powered by Tableau Visualization courtesy of Tableau Software. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, mikkelwilliam |
| China Takes Lead Over U.S. in Smartphone Market | | Wednesday, November 23, 2011 11:50 AM | Lauren Indvik |
|  China has overtaken the U.S. as the largest market for smartphones by volume, according to one firm's estimates. Nearly 24 million smartphones were shipped to providers in China during the third quarter of 2011, compared to 23.3 million units in the U.S., data from Boston-based research and consulting firm Strategy Analytics suggests.The growth of China's smartphone market has been significant, up 58% from just the previous quarter. Shipments of smartphones in the U.S. fell 7% from Q2 2011. (Note the firm's estimates only calculate the number of devices shipped, not sold, and that the U.S. still leads the market by smartphone revenue.) Many smartphone manufacturers have reported strong sales in Greater China this year. For instance, China accounted for just 2% of Apple's total sales in fiscal 2009, and 12% in fiscal 2011, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in the company's fiscal 2011 earnings call. A subsequent 10-K filing attributed the increase primarily to "strong demand" for the iPhone 4. Despite Apple's advances, Nokia still owns the lion's share (28.5%), followed by Samsung (17.6%), says Strategy Analytics. The firm suggested that an "emerging wave" of low-priced Android phones from local manufacturers has helped spur growth in the region. Image courtesy of M.I.C. Gadget |
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