Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Bug Labs announced in January that it’d be busting out a BUG+EDU program for getting units into the hands of impressionable youngsters, and now that they’ve sold out of the first crop of units they’re getting those educational discounts off the ground. Students (with relevant ID) can now purchase modules at a 10% discount, while K-12 schools and secondary education institutions can buy Bug for 25% off. K-12 schools can also participate in Bug giveaways, while undergrad and postgrad programs can develop coursework in cojunction with Bug — long story short, some kids out there are going to get themselves some fun edumicatin’.

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

It looks like soldiers could one day have their own tab key of sorts to call up detailed, 3D maps at will, at least if the folks at General Dynamics UK have their way. As Physorg reports, they’ve developed a “near real-time” 3D map system that makes use of an array of different technologies including LIDAR, thermal imaging and x-ray backscatter techniques to not only display buildings and streets, but objects and people inside buildings as well. The use of LIDAR also promises to provide measurements of doors, windows, and alleys with “millimeter accuracy.” All that obviously makes the system, dubbed Masthead, slightly less than portable, however, although General Dynamics says it’d be able to be carried in the back of a military vehicle or civilian 4×4, or in a plane for that matter. Of course, like most such projects, General Dynamics isn’t just setting its sights to military applications, with it also touting Masthead’s potential benefits for police forces in planning security measures for large events, to name one example.

[Via Physorg]

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Filed under: Displays

It looks like Hitachi is aiming to give those normally confined to XGA projectors a bit of a boost, with its new CPX3 model not only boasting a slightly more home theater friendly WXGA (1280 x 800) resolution, but some short-throw capabilities as well. Exactly how short that throw is isn’t clear, however, with Hitachi only going so far as to describe the projector as boasting a wide-angle lens that’ll let you use it “close to the screen with no obstructions.” Apart from that, the 3.9-pound projector is fairly standard fare, with it packing 2,000 lumens of brightness, HDMI input, and a built-in 1 watt speaker, along with some security measures sure to please more business-minded types. While there doesn’t appear to be any official word on a price from Hitachi, a couple of retailers seem to already be selling it for around $1,000.

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Filed under: Handhelds

The WiMAX version of Nokia’s N810 internet tablet has already popped up on Nokia’s European site, lending creedence to all those whispers about a CTIA debut tomorrow, and now we’ve got units showing up in the wild, which is probably a good sign. There were apparently some other shots of this bad boy on Flickr, but they’ve since been removed — let’s hope tomorrow brings us some official beauty shots, eh?

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Filed under: Cellphones

Don’t look now, but mid-2008 is almost here, and for those waiting intently for the release of a LiMo SDK, you’re one step closer to having your dreams realized. Announced today, the LiMo Foundation has made available what it calls the “first globally competitive, Linux-based software platform for mobile devices.” According to Morgan Gillis, executive director of LiMo Foundation, the consortium is hoping that R1 will “spur rapid innovation and contributions from all LiMo members,” and it’s restated that software development kits for Native, WebKit and Java operating environments are set to launch during the second half of this year. Not one to sit idly, the entity has also announced that Release 2 is currently “being specified and developed,” and should escape testing and greet the real world in late 2008.

[Via PhoneScoop]

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Filed under: Cellphones

So last week Deutsche Telekom, owners of the global T-Mobile brand, sent Engadget a late birthday present: a hand-delivered letter from their German legal department requesting the prompt discontinuation of the use of the color magenta on Engadget Mobile. Yep, seriously.

Granted, we get nastygrams from angry tech companies practically every day, but rarely regarding anything that’s not some piece of news we published that they’re livid about having out in the open. And irony of ironies, this whole use-of-magenta thing is precisely the topic we took up last year on behalf of DT.

We spoke with David Beigie, vice president of corporate communications for T-Mobile US, who offered: “As a trademark owner, from time to time Deutsche Telekom looks at usage that could lead to confusion in the marketplace. The letter sent by DT merely outlines these perspectives and is meant to simply open a dialogue. Engadget continues to pioneer forums for discussion of wireless industry developments and innovation. T-Mobile respects the role Engadget and its readers play in advancing dialog on these important topics.”

So in the interest of that open dialog we’ve posted Deutsche Telekom’s letter below (typo in the first word of the first sentence and all), as well as a handy guide to allay any confusion should you suddenly find yourself disoriented and trying to buy your next SideKick or MDA from Engadget Mobile.

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Filed under: Handhelds

Bookeen’s Cybook Gen3 e-book reader has been a long time coming, but now that it’s out in the wild we’re finally starting to get some reviews of the device, including this fairly thorough one from the folks at The Future of Things. Unfortunately for those looking forward to the reader, they found it to be quite a mixed bag. On the upside, they found the device to be thin, light, small and fast, with it also boasting solid battery life and, most importantly, a screen that’s “very comfortable” to read, even outdoors. They were also impressed with the Cybook’s RSS support, and the Mobipocket format used for e-books. On the downside, the page flip mechanism proved to be “cumbersome,” and they found that the current firmware left a lot to be desired, with them even going so far as to say that it felt like it was “rushed to the market too soon.” They were also somewhat disappointed by the lack of SDHC support, and a lack of wireless connectivity (be it 3G or WiFi). They also point out, however, that none of the e-book readers out there are perfect, so if you’re in the market for one you’ll just have to pick the trade-offs you’re willing to live with.

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