eMediaOne

Controller-type devices baked into wearables have been around since the late 17th century (though we can’t seem to recall one in particular that was made before Nintendo’s Power Glove), but frankly, we haven’t seen a whole lot of innovation in this department over the past few years. Deanmark’s AirMouse is hoping to change all of that, but if we didn’t know any better, we’d say Microsoft kind of called this concept first. Anywho, the strap-on mouse — which doesn’t seem to boast any sort of price or release date — attaches on one’s wrist and fingers in order to place sensors on areas where you’d normally mouse. Naturally, the company claims that this approach helps fend of repetitive stress injuries and also enables a new level of multitasking, but until doctors start gluing these things to our hands at birth, we get the feeling that most folks will simply stick to what they know when it comes to cursor pushing.

Deanmark’s AirMouse looks more like a ragged glove, less like an input peripheral originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Engadget Spanish  |  Deanmark  | Email this | Comments

With Foursquare seeing fast growth and starting to be embraced by elements of the mainstream (like their new deal with Bravo), it might be decision time.

A popular part of the gaming element of the service is gaining badges, virtual tokens that show you’ve done a certain task on the service. Most of these are clever, like the Photogenic badge when you check-in to three different places with photobooths. But some are a bit more risqué, like the Douchebag badge. As Foursquare keeps growing, will there be pressure to get rid of these?

Increasingly, this issue is being brought up on Foursquare’s Get Satisfaction page. As one user wrote yesterday in the forum:

Has it occurred to the too-cool-for-school hipsters at foursquare that unlocking a “douchebag” badge for your fans because they check in at places like Barneys might:
1. Be insulting to your users, especially if have chosen to share their badges with friends and
2. Might also be insulting to your future customers and business partners like Barneys?

Total FAIL, guys. Who are you to judge what your customers like and don’t like?

Another user follows that up with:

I agree, it is also offensive to me and I suspect many others. What’s next, “Asshole” and “Dickhead” badges? At a minimum, users should be allowed to delete/block such an offensive badge in their profile.

A week ago, another thread was started raising the same issue:

I’m surprised to have unlocked the “douchebag” badge by checking in to a trendy hotel and must admit that I find the badge name rather offensive. What’s the point of it and why use such a crude name?

Editorial comment: If you’re trying to build a service that’s going to be appealing to more than just the uber-geeky among us, don’t y’all think that, just maybe, you should screen some of the words involved with the service?

That actually ties in very well with what Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley told Bits today while talking about the Bravo deal:

Bravo’s shows really overlap with our users and a new mainstream audience that we want to reach. I don’t think check-ins are a nerd-only experience. It’s about sharing content and experiences with others.

While the Douchebag badge may have been fine for the “nerd-only” crowd, they’re clearly starting to move beyond that, and some users are getting upset about it.

And while you might not see why this is much of an issue, coincidentally, I ran into this issue last night. I have my Foursquare account set up to auto-tweet out when I unlock new badges. Last night, I happened to be at a bar tagged as a “douchebag” bar, so when I checked-in, I unlocked the badge and it automatically tweeted out to all my followers.

For the record, I think the Douchebag badge is hilarious, and couldn’t care less that it tweeted out. But I certainly can see how that could be an issue for some people. To a lesser extent, the same is true with the Crunked badge (4 or more stops in one night, implying you’re drunk — which is probably true) and others.

Also, what happens when a venue doesn’t like that they’ve been tagged as a “douchebag” place?

This brings up an interesting dilemma for Foursquare: do they abandon some of the fun, quirky things that made the service what it is, in an attempt to go mainstream?

[thanks malachi]

Apple always gets an leg up on its competitors with the glamour factor of its products. It’s starting already with the iPad.

At the 52nd annual Grammy Awards tonight, Stephen Colbert whipped an iPad out of his coat pocket (must have been a big pocket!) while on stage giving an award for Song of the Year. He said, “Jay-Z, did you not get one of these in your gift bag? Am I cooler than you?”

He asked if it made him look cool. As far as product placement goes, you can’t do much better than this. The question is whether this is one more example of free advertising for Apple, or if it paid to get Colbert to pull the stunt. The logic is always sweet. If you get celebrities to endorse your product, then more people will think it’s cool. And when lots of clone tablets come out, people will ignore them. They’ll only buy what’s cool, even if it’s more expensive than other tablets out there..

[photo credit: Engadget]

Motorola’s Backflip has yet to springboard itself over to AT&T, but those who call China home can hop on the bandwagon right away. Said phone — which sports a full touchscreen and a physical QWERTY thanks to the horizontal clamshell design — is now available from Moto’s Chinese portal for 4,298 Chinese yuan (in unlocked form), which translates to right around $630. While the rest of the world awaits the phone’s launch later this quarter, you can hit up Mobile.163.com for a downright beautiful gallery of in the wild shots. Go on, it’s safe. We think.

[Thanks, Me]

Motorola Backflip spotted in the wilds of China originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Unwired View  |  Motorola China, 163  | Email this | Comments

Armatix has apparently been working on its so-called “smartgun” concept for quite a while, but it’s now finally shown up at the Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT, naturally) with its first actual product: a .22-caliber pistol that relies on a wristwatch as a safety. As you can probably figure out, the gun will only unlock itself when its in close proximity to the watch, which sends a “wireless arming signal” that, of course, also activates some green LEDs for good measure. Previous incarnations of the company’s concept also relied on a fingerprint ID as an additional safety, but that seems to have been left off this production model, which will run €7,000 (or $9,700) when it starts shipping next month.

Armatix pistol / wristwatch combo tells time… to stay put originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Technabob  |  Danger Room  | Email this | Comments

A

A

A

A

A