Distro Issue 82: A closer look at the inaugural Insert Coin: New Challengers competition

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"> <img alt="Distro Issue 82 A closer look at the finalists for Engadget's inaugural Insert Coin competition" data-src-height="436" data-src-width="448" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/031513announce.png" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">This weekend at Expand in San Francisco, a handful of emerging startups will compete for $25,000 and the proper Engadget review treatment. In the latest installment of our e-publication, we have a peek at the finalists of the first-ever Insert Coin: New Challengers crowdfunded battle royal. In addition to those gadget hopefuls, we but both the TiVo Mini and HTC One through their respective paces while we relive the week that was SXSW Interactive in a collection of snapshots. All of the usual features and columns are here as well, filled to the brim with goodness that awaits via your favorite weekly download link.</div></div>

Distro Issue 82: A closer look at the inaugural Insert Coin: New Challengers competition

  This weekend at Expand in San Francisco, a handful of emerging startups will compete for $25,000 and the proper Engadget review treatmen...

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Memoto lapel camera turns your life into one big photoblog

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><img alt="Memoto lifeblogging camera turns your life into one big photoblog" data-src-height="411" data-src-width="619" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/memotodsc07842.jpg" /> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">There likely aren't too many people in the world crying for ways to exponentially increase the number of digital pictures in their collections, but Memoto's hoping to help wearers rethink picture taking as they know it. The device, which is roughly the size of an SD card case, clips on a shirt collar, taking five-megapixel pictures every 30 seconds without prompting, running on a battery that'll last around two days. The idea is to create a lifeblog -- an encapsulation of what you did during a given day, told through still photos.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Those images are served up to the company's proprietary software application, which uses an algorithm to group them into clusters. Visiting a user's page presents a sampling of photos from throughout the day. From there, you can drill down into the clusters to see the group of shots taken 30 seconds apart. And, of course, there's sharing on the thing, letting you post those images and groups to places like Twitter and Facebook.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><img alt="Gallery Image" height="425" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07842.jpg" width="640" /> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><img alt="Gallery Image" height="425" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07846.jpg" width="640" /> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><img alt="Gallery Image" border="0" height="425" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07849.jpg" width="640" /> <img alt="Gallery Image" height="425" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07850.jpg" width="640" /> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><img alt="Gallery Image" height="425" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07854.jpg" width="640" /> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><img alt="Gallery Image" height="425" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07859.jpg" width="640" /> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><img alt="Gallery Image" height="425" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07839.jpg" width="640" /> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> The devices we saw weren't final versions -- they were just 3D-printed prototypes brought to Austin to give showgoers an idea of what to expect when it starts shipping next month. It won't be cheap, however -- the camera will run you $279. Though Memoto assures us that, even at that price, there's been plenty of interest in the thing, with thousands of pre-orders already on the books.</div></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="349" id="viddler-3092e454" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="//www.viddler.com/embed/3092e454/?f=1&offset=0&autoplay=0&secret=62940051&disablebranding=0&view_secret=62940051" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="545"></iframe></div>

Memoto lapel camera turns your life into one big photoblog

  There likely aren't too many people in the world crying for ways to exponentially increase the number of digital pictures in their c...

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Roli's Seaboard is a rubber-keyed piano that may redefine the way you play

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: left;"> <img alt="Roli's Seaboard is a rubberkeyed piano that may redefine the way you play handson" data-src-height="412" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/rolidsc07791.jpg" /><br />Synths are nothing new, of course -- so what makes Roli's digital piano so novel? The instrument has a patent-pending rubberized surface that lets you bend and twist the keys as you play, freeing you from fiddling around with knobs, so you can directly, physically affect the way it sounds. Think of it as the difference between bending a string on a guitar, rather than stepping on the wah-wah pedal. It's the sort of thing you really have to see in action to appreciate -- thankfully, we've got the instrument's creator Roland Lamb giving us a demo after the break.</div><div class="post-gallery" style="text-align: left;"><img alt="Gallery Image" height="425" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07766.jpg" width="640" /> </div><div class="post-gallery" style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="post-gallery" style="text-align: left;"><img alt="Gallery Image" height="425" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07767.jpg" width="640" /> </div><div class="post-gallery" style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="post-gallery" style="text-align: left;"><img alt="Gallery Image" height="425" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07768.jpg" width="640" /> </div><div class="post-gallery" style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">According to the musician-turned-CEO, the keyboard is really just the first step for a technology that can be incorporated into all manner of devices, helping to add a level of tangibility that's so often ignored in modern digital instruments. In the meantime, we're admittedly quite taken with what this prototype is capable of. In its final version, the keyboard will look a bit different, though the top will continue to be mostly bare, depending instead on that wheel to change between instrument, pitches and the like. The final version also won't require a tethered computer, though you'll be able to hook it up to one, in order to further customize the instruments.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Roli's opening the SDK to developers for even more unexpected updates. The team is also looking to get the thing in the hands of musicians for more feedback -- we could even see the instrument playing a role in some future hip-hop productions. In the meantime, we're still awaiting more information like pricing and availability, which Lamb has promised to share with the world sometime in the near future.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="349" id="viddler-d7850d37" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="//www.viddler.com/embed/d7850d37/?f=1&offset=0&autoplay=0&secret=93434694&disablebranding=0&view_secret=93434694" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="545"></iframe></div></div>

Roli's Seaboard is a rubber-keyed piano that may redefine the way you play

  Synths are nothing new, of course -- so what makes Roli's digital piano so novel? The instrument has a patent-pending rubberized sur...

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Ube WiFi Smart Dimmer to recieve customized multitouch gesture control

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/ubedsc07575.jpg" /><br />Here's a cool little addition to the increasingly competitive world of home automation. Ube's got a WiFi Smart Dimmer that utilizes multitouch functionality to control the the lights in your house -- use one finger to turn off a single light, or use two to turn off a set. The company picked SXSW as the venue to announce the forthcoming launch of customized gestures for other smart devices -- in the example given to us by CEO Utz Baldwin, a user can input a "W" to turn on the sprinklers -- or an "A" plus up swipe to turn on an alarm and an "A" plus a down swipe to disable it.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Sadly, the functionality won't be available for the launch of the first generation, though it's likely to come in time for the second generation, along with a software update for early adopters. Interested parties can support the company via Kickstarter right now -- Ube's a bit over halfway to its goal of $280,000, with 24 days to go. You can also watch Baldwin discuss the product and today's news in a video after the break.</div><div class="post-gallery" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><h3 class="title"><b>Ube WiFi Smart Dimmer hands-on</b></h3><br /><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07564_95x95.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07567_95x95.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07570_95x95.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07572_95x95.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07573_95x95.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07575_95x95.jpg" /> </div></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="349" id="viddler-73eb430b" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="//www.viddler.com/embed/73eb430b/?f=1&offset=0&autoplay=0&secret=108673814&disablebranding=0&view_secret=108673814" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="545"></iframe></div>

Ube WiFi Smart Dimmer to recieve customized multitouch gesture control

  Here's a cool little addition to the increasingly competitive world of home automation. Ube's got a WiFi Smart Dimmer that utiliz...

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Syntellia teases Leap Motion Fleksy demo, promises to let us type on air

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span> </span><img alt="Syntellia teases Leap Motion Fleksy demo, promises to let us type on air " data-src-height="314" data-src-width="531" height="378" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/fleskyleap33.jpg" width="640" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><span>Laser projected virtual keyboards? <em>So 2004</em>. These days, tech firms are dreaming up completely invisible typewriters, or at least Syntellia is. By marrying a Leap Motion sensor with its own Fleksy predictive keyboard, the company has created a system that seems to let you type on thin air -- with the aid of Fleksy's predictive text correction, of course. A brief teaser video of the project shows a pioneering air-typist hammering out "kalr tgw ltsp," which Fleksy deciphers as "make the leap." Syntellia's SXSW Interactive Accelerator preview of the project won't officially debut until tomorrow, but the impatient can check it out <em>right now</em> after the break. </span></div></div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-gMWa_GtGho?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Syntellia teases Leap Motion Fleksy demo, promises to let us type on air

  Laser projected virtual keyboards? So 2004 . These days, tech firms are dreaming up completely invisible typewriters, or at least Syntelli...

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Palm Top Theater turns your iPhone into a mini-3D display

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/pttdsc07289.jpg" /><br />"Pepper's ghost" isn't the sort of phrase you hear very often at a show like SXSW. In amongst all the latest generation technology, there aren't too many folks discussing hundreds years old optical concepts. But the the idea's a driving force in the Palm Top Theater, an iPhone case that turns smartphone videos into a miniature 3D viewing experience. The peripheral utilizes three small drop down displays -- the rear is a full mirror with two half mirrors in front it, reflecting images from the phone display into what appears to be a three-dimension object -- and really, it a stunning little effect.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">The Palm Top requires the use of a proprietary file format that essentially splits the displayed image or video into three parts. The company's providing some video for users, as well as a converter app to make custom footage. The device is available now for around $36 -- not super expensive, though it's hard to see such a device as anything but a niche product, especially since the opening makes for a fairly limited viewing space. It would be extremely cool to see this on a larger space, but in the meantime, you're stuck with a little window into the technology. </div><div class="post-gallery" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><h3 class="title"><b>Palm Top Theater for iPhone hands-on</b></h3><br /><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07268_95x95.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07270_95x95.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07281_95x95.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07284_95x95.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07289_95x95.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07293_95x95.jpg" /> </div></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="349" id="viddler-bcc8754b" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="//www.viddler.com/embed/bcc8754b/?f=1&offset=0&autoplay=0&secret=101918400&disablebranding=0&view_secret=101918400" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="545"></iframe></div>

Palm Top Theater turns your iPhone into a mini-3D display

  "Pepper's ghost" isn't the sort of phrase you hear very often at a show like SXSW. In amongst all the latest generation...

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Google shows off hacked speaking shoe at SXSW, promises it's not getting into the footwear business

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <img alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/googshoedsc07207.jpg" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">All the hype of Google's presence at this year's SXSW has, not surprisingly, largely revolved around the company's Glass project, but much to our surprise, the software giant used the show to take the wraps off yet another wearable. We spoke to a rep who kicked off our conversation with the express disclaimer that "Google is not getting into the shoe business," so you can tamp down those expectations right now. Of course, the company is still firmly in the business of creating cool projects for the purposes of promoting creativity and supporting the developer community and ethos that are the driving forces behind its Art, Copy & Code project.</div><div class="post-gallery" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><h3 class="title"><b>Google hacks a shoe at SXSW</b></h3><br /><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07167_95x95.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07170_95x95.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07173_95x95.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07182_95x95.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07184_95x95.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/dsc07185_95x95.jpg" /> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Art, Copy & Code was the centerpiece of Google's Playground, set up in a space directly across the street from the Austin Convention Center. There's a sports theme throughout, with a basketball court on one side and an obstacle course on the other. The company was letting visitors try out its new talking-shoe concept, with a custom-made microcontroller (along with assorted SparkFun pieces) on the tongue of a pair of Adidas. Above that is a circular speaker that provides feedback based on your movement (detected by internal accelerometers and gyroscopes, along with pressure sensors in the sole). The shoe will then give you aural feedback, based on how you're moving.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">So, why hack up a perfectly nice pair of black high-tops? Google's giving the shoes character, using Bluetooth to sync up to your smartphone and "using a series of 'if and statements,' to give your shoes personality." So, some shoes will laud you for getting off the couch and others will encourage your lollygagging. Again, while the company has the blessings of Adidas, we're not going to see this on the market as such, though the Google spokesperson we talked to told us the company may be looking to open-source the information, so you can just make your own.</div></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="349" id="viddler-2b617371" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="//www.viddler.com/embed/2b617371/?f=1&offset=0&autoplay=0&secret=50893680&disablebranding=0&view_secret=50893680" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="545"></iframe></div>

Google shows off hacked speaking shoe at SXSW, promises it's not getting into the footwear business

  All the hype of Google's presence at this year's SXSW has, not surprisingly, largely revolved around the company's Glass proje...

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