Daily Crunch: Out With The Old Edition

Proof That We’re Living In The Future: The iPhone Heart Monitor
O Canada! World’s Most Web Connected Land
Android Malware Being Distributed On Chinese Markets
NookColor is Barnes& Noble’s Top Seller This Holiday
LG’s Smart TV Upgrader Is Kind Of Dumb

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iPad Grabbit Case Helps You Keep A Grip On Your Tablet

iPad case design concepts keep coming out, with more and more of them starting to look the same. The concept is simple: a hard case, with a hand-strap grip on the back that rotates 360 degrees. The case looks like a great idea if you depend on your iPad and use it for extended periods of time.

The problem with the Grabbit is, there’s already another product identical to it out there, called theHandstand. The Handstand is currently listed as patent pending, so the Grabbit people might be disappointed depending on when they filed their patent request. The Grabbit case also is“available soon” according to their website, so it appears that they might not be in production yet. The Grabbit is currently available forpre-order for $49 (plus shipping) from their website. Be aware, this is part of the Kickstart project, where a product will only be produced if enough random people ante up the money.

If you’re interested in looking at some other cases, check out ouriPad case round-upfrom earlier this month.

{viaiPodNN}

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Kinect-Controlled Humanoid Robot–Bring On The Robo-Gladiators!

Seriously, how long will it take before we haveRobot Joxhappening for real? Except in real life the robots will be tele-operated by guys withKinects. Seriously. This will happen. Watch this video and tell me it won’t.

Thisrobotis called theVeltrobot, and is gyro-stabilized and has a significant amount of limb freedom. Engineer Taylor Veltrop created a system for controlling it by mapping Kinect output onto a skeletal frame with certain limitations, and then firing that information off to the robot. As you can see, it works quite well.

It’s really blowing my mind how much stuff is being done with the Kinect. I mean, I was pumped for it, but I was also pumped for the Move, and thought the latter would have some cool hacks too. But a few months later, the Kinect is far and away the hackers’ favorite. Just think, if this guy can put this together in a month, what can a team of engineers do in six?

{viaFast Company}

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Bezel Obsessed LG Announces World’s Thinnest Bezel For The Xnote P210

LG’snotorious obsession with having thin bezelsis well known, and they are continuing that vein with their new Xnote P210, a notebook computer with a 12.5 inch screen and what they say is the world’s thinnest bezel on a laptop. The other features don’t necessarily stand out as much, but at least they are trying.

The stats are underwhelming, with a 1.33GHz Intel Core i5 470UM, 4GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard drive. The graphics card is a disappointing integrated Intel HD chipset. Currently, the Xnote P210 is currently only expected to appear in Korea, but it’ll be available this coming February for $1,135.

{viaDvice}

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LVX: Your Lights Are Talking To You(r Computer)

Visible Light Communicationis a data trasmission protocol that uses visible light to send data at 3 Mbps using LEDs and special models. The system works by modulating the LED lighting in your home or office.

Visible Light with Embedded Communication is comprised of light photons and can be seen by the human eye. Its related equipment is what looks like a standard lamp that generates its light from LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes or solid state lighting) rather than hot filaments or hot gasses like those used in today’s lamps. The difference is that the solid state LEDs “modulate” so fast, that though the human eye can’t see this modulation, data information can be carried within this modulated signal, all while lighting your occupied area as traditional lights always have.

The best part is that the system apparently allows for two-way transmission although I’m not sure how all of the modems can reply to the lights without completely blinding the office. Three office buildings in Minnesota are about to enable the system on a trial basis.

via giz

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Technicolor Wants To Oversee And OK 3D Productions

While3Dhasn’t really caught on yet, for a number of reasons, you can be sure the industry is still just roiling with interested parties.The latest is Technicolor, proprietor of many a movie-making technology. They want to make sure 3D looks as good as it should. I say go for it!

The idea is that they’d provide a service in which they’d look over your product, your production methods, and so on, and determine where you can improve the workflow. There are lots of little things in a 3D movie that can add to eye strain or just plain look bad, and I’ve seen plenty of examples that tell me there are plenty of producers and directors out there who can’t tell or don’t care.

A quality assurance program like this one could be handy for big production houses that don’t want to hire individual consultants, and perhaps already have an account open with Technicolor. They could hire me, but I have a tendency tomake my criticisms available at no charge, albeit after the movie has come out.

The service, which would include personal and software analysis, training, and a“15-point quality checklist,” will be available in LA and London, hopefully soon, because I’ve seen some ugly 3D work out there. Come on, guys.

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The Second Day of Festivus Contest: Airing of Grievances

Today is the second day of Festivus during which we will air our grievances. To recap, your in this to win a$500 gift cardfromWishpond, a local shopping search system. Yesterday we learned how to put up ourFestivus Poleand today we’re going to whine.

Today’s task is to air your grievances against the world in general in an email to contest @ crunchgear dot com. Include“Festivus #2″ in the subject. You must complain about something. You can complain about this site or maybe you can complain about HALO: Reach or whatever you want. Just complain. Empty emails will be deleted.

Good luck! Remember you must participate in every challenge every day to win.

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Five Days of Festivus Contest: Win $500 To Spend On Presents

Our friends atWishpondare offering $500 to the winner of this week’s super contest that you can win just by surfing the Internet. That’s right! Five hundred clams just for doing what you do every day anyway.

First, the Wishpond spiel:

Wishpondis a platform that powers a local product search engine and iPhone app.

As a consumer you can find what you want at both big-box retailers and small boutique stores in your neighborhood (Wishpond is in more than 100,000 locations in North America). If you can’t find it, you can just “wish” for it. Like Priceline for travel, Wishpond brings you the power to negotiate—make a “wish” to your local merchants and let them make you a deal. Also, consumers can get green and support their local communities and merchants this season. Local shoppingmakes a big difference to the air we breath and the communities in which we live.

Now, for the real meat of the deal. For the next five days we’re celebrating thefive official parts of Festivus. You must participate each day to win, so no slacking off.

The days will include:

Day 1– Festivus pole
Day 2– Airing of Grievances
Day 3– Festivus dinner
Day 4– Feats of Strength
Day 5– Festivus miracles

Each day, from today until wednesday, we’ll ask you to perform one activity. It could be a secret word hunt or it could be a commenting request. Your mission is to perform each one in order. Today’s mission is to answer this question in an email to contest @ crunchgear dot com with the subject like“Festivus #1:” What is the best thing to use when cutting a thread into an aluminum pole and why is this particular substance necessary.

We will pick one person who has completed all of the requests correctly and with great vigor. Special thanks to Wishpond for helping make Festivus for the rest of us.

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These Schott“Motorcycle Jacket”All-Stars May Put Me Back In Converse

These aren’t gadgets exactly, but with all those zippers and leather, you have to admit that they’re gear. I haven’t worn All-Stars in a good 15 years, butthese Schott crossoversmight be the pair that brings me back to the flock.

They’re made of“motorcycle jacket leather,” which I suppose is just extra thick and tough, and have zippers lining the tongue and on the back. That’s right, these shoes are rear-entry.

Too bad they cost a bundle. $200 is a lot to pay for Chucks, though these will probably last a lot longer than the garden-variety canvas versions. You can pick them up at the Converse First String retail stores.

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Oh Man, Polaroid Is Teasing A New Camera For CES

I’m so pumped! Like many of my generation, I have a special place in my heart for Polaroid. Sure, you can get aweird bulbous oneor aDiana F+that shoots Instax Mini, or you can resuscitate your original and feed it expensiveImpossible Project cartridges… but it looks like soon, none of these techniques will be necessary. A teaser image for this year’s CES appears to show off a new and wonderful device.

We’ll be there, of course, to check this thing out and give you guys the whole story, and I have to say that I am looking forward to it.

When I was shooting the instant film to review the Diana, I got that feeling back, the fun that comes from instant photos. Everyone wanted shake the pictures, fight over them, pose, and just in general have fun with photography the way few people do any more.

Unless Polaroid seriously blows this, I fully expect to keep one of these around, bulky and expensive as I’m sure it’ll be. Engadgetdid a little retouchingto reveal some of the camera’s details, and it looks to be a far better-looking camera than that weird 300 from earlier this year.

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E-readers

Thee-readingbattle is raging hot, and whilestatistics ostensibly showing an insurgent iPadshould be taken with a grain of salt, the volatility of the market is plain to see. TheKindlehas made the most of an early lead, and promises to be a highly popular gift item. TheNook Coloris receiving encouraging reviews and has just beenrooted, rendering it a thrifty choice for tablet shoppers.Color e-inkis on the horizon. It’s a glorious time to be an e-book seller.

So it’s no surprise that Google is jumping into the fray with the long-awaited Google Editions service,set to launch by the end of the yearin the U.S. and first quarter of 2011 internationally. But between Kindle, Barnes& Noble, Kobo, iBooks, and independent publishing services like Amazon’s DTP and the unfortunately-namedPubit, is there room for another player? Not that that’s ever stopped anyone from trying— but I think in this case it may be that Google brings something new to the table: decentralization.

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