BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 now ready for download

After touring the exhibition circuit for what seems like an eternity, PlayBook OS 2.0 is finally ready to settle down and make itself available for download. Check for updates via Settings on your tablet and you should see it sitting there, wearing last season's fashions but nevertheless looking every inch the major OTA update that it is. Expect improvements like native email, calendar and contacts, integration with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, some newfangled Bridge functions, and access to the first crop of Android apps in BB App World. You'll find more details in the PR after the break and how-to demos at the More Coverage link. Enjoy! 

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A USB Typewriter for Tablets

If you love your iPad but want something a little more steampunk, never fear: you can surround your iPad in vintage charm--and touch-typing, too. Meet the USBTypewriter, suitable for giving all your modern technology a bit of a retro feel.

This impressive gadget by Jack Zylkin is an actual old-timey typerwriter, modified to work like a typical USB keyboard for your computer or, even better, a few tablet models. In addition to the typical letters and number keys, it has control, escape, and F1 through F12 keys, plus old-school carriage return. Yes, it still works with paper, too (sorry, printer!).

By the looks of things, you simply plug the typewriter into your computer and start typing to set it up, or slide your tablet into a DIY slot at the back before connecting.

As Jack suggests, the USBTypewriter comes it pretty handy if you want to save a hard copy of any important documents or emails you write. However, the biggest pitfall is the price tag--you can buy yours on the Etsy store for a hefty   33600 .

If you can't afford USBTypewriter, but happen to have an old typewriter stored in the basement, you can buy the conversion kit, which is a faction of the price at  3750. Personally, that option sems cooler as you can really bring an old relic or heirloom closer to modern day standards, rather than leaving it to gather dust.

Despite the price tag, this is quite a beautiful accessory for a tablet device, especially if you prefer to have your iPad, ThinkPad, or even rooted Nook Color stationary. Check out the typewriter's infomercial below to see it in action:

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Microsoft confirms SkyDrive app for Windows 8

Integration to include Metro-style app and the ability to fetch files from across the Web, Microsoft reveals.

SkyDrive, Microsoft's cloud storage product, will be getting a Metro-style app with Windows 8, the company announced today.

Also coming for SkyDrive will be a desktop app for Internet Explorer and the ability to fetch remote files from the Web, the software giant revealed on its Building Window 8 blog.

Microsoft intends for SkyDrive to "evolve with Windows 8 from a website today into a true device cloud for Windows customers," Mike Torres and Omar Shahine, group program managers for SkyDrive, wrote in the post. "With Windows 8, we wanted to make sure that your files would be instantly available and up-to-date as you move between PCs--without configuring add-ons or using a USB drive."

"This will bring a file cloud to every Metro style app, allowing you to open files in your SkyDrive and save them right back to your SkyDrive just like you would on your local hard drive," the pair writes.

The desktop app will allow "easy drag-and-drop upload and download support for SkyDrive, anywhere access to your data, offline access, and the power of Windows Explorer to manage your files and folders."

SkyDrive will also sport a "Fetch" feature that Microsoft says is much more than just synching cloud files with a PC. SkyDrive will "turn your entire PC into your own private cloud, and use its terabytes of local storage to easily access, browse, and stream your files from anywhere by simply fetching them from SkyDrive.com."

The announcement comes on the heels of a preview Apple gave of Mountain Lion that revealed that the next iteration of the operating system will include deep integration with iCloud, Apple's personal cloud storage product.

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Nokia Lumia 800 Entertainment Bundle

Nokia has been given a new lease of life in their partnership with Microsoft, bringing the Windows Phone operating system to the forefront with their Lumia 710 and Lumia 800 smart phones, while relegating Symbian to the back seat. The former will continue to grow in stature, while the latter is set to be more and more obscure. Well, Microsoft and Nokia have come together to announce a spanking new bundle of Nokia devices that will be available on an exclusive basis at Microsoft Store locations around the US.

The Nokia Lumia 800 Entertainment Bundle is set to be officially displayed from February 26 onwards, but store representatives of Microsoft are able to offer an early edition to folks whose patience is not their strongest virtue. We shall take a closer look at what Nokia’s Entertainment Bundle will deliver right after the jump.

Just what does the Nokia Lumia 800 Entertainment Bundle offer right out of the box? Well, you will get the best Nokia Lumia smartphone to date with the acclaimed Lumia 800 smartphone, and your ears will definitely enjoy the audio cues pumped out by the Nokia Purity HD Stereo Headset by Monster. Want to go hands-free whenever you drive or are occupied in the kitchen? The Nokia Luna Bluetooth Headset will step in to fulfil the need here, and if you want to share your favorite tunes with your friends as well as strangers around, the Nokia Play 360° speaker would come in handy.

It is interesting to note that the special-edition bundle will arrive unlocked, sans a contract for $899, and you are able to choose from two color-coordinated collections – one that will feature just sleek black, while the other includes a white Play 360° speaker, whereas the remaining devices come in a vibrant magenta.

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The Swimmer's Talking Heart Rate Monitor

Heart rate monitors are dime a dozen, but how many of them actually talk to you so you need not waste time by taking a glance at it? Well, things are about to change here, with the    8870.00 Swimmer’s Talking Heart Rate Monitor. Of course, looking at your heart rate monitor on the wrist while swimming is going to do nothing but slow you down due to missing a stroke cycle, but with the Swimmer’s Talking Heart Rate Monitor, all of that changes. You can concentrate on slicing through the pool and racking up those laps, while letting this diminutive device that makes you look like a spawn of the Borg speak to you.

You do not even need to wear a telemetry strap or wrist watch, as this 100% waterproof monitor’s clip will attach to an ear lobe that enables it to detect pulse using infrared technology. The bone conduction principle is used to transmit audio to the wearer through the cheek bones into one’s inner ear – similar in nature to Aliph’s Jawbone Bluetooth headset that we have seen in the past. You can choose to have it announce your heart rate in intervals of 5-, 10-, 20-, 30-, or 45-seconds to 1-, 2-, and 5-minutes.

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Continuance Batteries – Give AND Take via USB

We have all been there, completely immersed in a long involved phone call and you hear the dreaded battery-beep. “Are you getting another call?” asks the person on the other end. “No, my battery is going dead.” and then you look around frantically, hoping that by some stretch of luck an electrical outlet will magically appear… and more often than not, it never does. You inform the other party that you are going to lose them, defeated, and ashamed.

Well here is a concept that I really hope comes to pass, The Continuance Battery — designed by Haimo Bao, Hailong Piao, Yuancheng Liu and Xiameng Hu, this rather ordinary looking AA battery isn’t so ordinary after all. Not only is it an earth friendly rechargeable battery that can traditionally power any AA hungry device, but it is charged via USB AND has the ability to add some emergency power to any device that can be charged via USB as well!

“Can you hear me now?” Anyway, it’s only a concept at the moment, but it seems like one of those ideas that could change lots of things, and it would certainly be easy to rotate out a spare Continuance battery in my glove compartment or purse and always have an extra bit of juice when I need it. I don’t know how many times I’ve been searching for a free outlet in a restaurant or movie theater. I don’t often venture into the wilderness, but I guess it would be handy there too!

There has been some discussion about higher discharge rates and lower capacity due to the extra circutry, Blah blah blah, I’m not sure I understand most of it, my electronics knowledge barely extends past a rousing game of “Operation” but I sure hope these guys can figure it out, because I need a few dozen.

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BrailleTouch lets the blind text

Modern smart phones come with touchscreen displays – which is not a bad thing at all, really. Just take a look at the kind of apps and games that have been written for the platform to date and tell me that it isn’t revolutionary in any way. However, while the hard of hearing can always enjoy the use of a smartphone or featurephone because they can see, how about the visually impaired? Georgia Tech believes otherwise, and has come up with BrailleTouch – a Braille-like texting app.

This prototype app for touchscreen mobile devices intends to be the complete solution to all our modern day texting problems, without having to even look at the device’s display at all – which would also bode well for the visually impaired, of course. Mario Romero, Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Interactive Computing (IC) and the project’s principal investigator says, “Research has shown that chorded, or gesture-based, texting is a viable solution for eyes-free written communication in the future, making obsolete the need for users to look at their devices while inputting text on them.”

You can check out just how BrailleTouch works in the video that you see below, and it might also help normal folk to bridge the gap with the visually impaired, since this free open-source app incorporates the Braille writing system. Initial studies that surround BrailleTouch alongside visually impaired participants who are proficient in Braille typing have shown that they are able to input at least half a dozen times the number of words in each minute when compared to other research prototypes that also have the same end game objective in mind – that is, eyes-free texting on a touchscreen display. These users were extremely proficient, being able to reach up to 32 words per minute with an accuracy level of 92%, now how about that? Imagine what kind of speed and accuracy can be achieved when the prototype app is finally polished.

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