On Gear Live: Top 10 Gear Live Videos of 2011

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Apple secures iPhone patent that could be huge blow to rivals

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Editorial

iPhone patents apple

Apple has been awarded its long sought-after patent on the iPhone. Intellectual property experts say it's so broad and far-reaching that the iPhone maker may be able to bully other smart phone manufacturers out of the U.S. market entirely.

Some three-and-a-half years after filing for a patent on the iPhone, Apple on Tuesday was awarded U.S. patent number 7,966,578 for "[a] computer-implemented method, for use in conjunction with a portable multifunction device with a touch screen display, [that] comprises displaying a portion of page content, including a frame displaying a portion of frame content and also including other content of the page, on the touch screen display."

That's just the beginning of the abstract for Apple's iPhone patent, which the company filed back in December 2007. It gets quite a bit more technical in its full form, but there's one thing patent experts consulted by PCMag agree on—Apple has been awarded an incredibly broad patent that could prove to be hugely problematic for other makers of capacitive touch-screen smartphones.

Apple's patent essentially gives it ownership of the capacitive multitouch interface the company pioneered with its iPhone, said one source who has been involved in intellectual property litigation on similar matters. That's likely to produce a new round of lawsuits over the now-ubiquitous multitouch interfaces used in smartphones made by the likes of HTC, Samsung, Motorola, Research in Motion, Nokia, and others that run operating systems similar in nature to Apple's iOS, like Google's Android, said the source, who asked not to be named.

Click to continue reading Apple secures iPhone patent that could be huge blow to rivals


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Deal of the Day: 20% off Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH22K touchscreen camera

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cameras, Hot Deals

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH22K sale
 

Today eBay has our Deal of the Day with a nice deal on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH22K touchscreen camera.  This is a 14.1 megapixel digital camera, with 3-inch touchscreen display. they usually sell for $170, but this deal offers it at 20% off, bringing the price down to $135 - and shipping is free. Head on over if you wanna check it out:

Save 20% on Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH22K

Don’t forget, if you’re looking for other deals, be sure to check out our Newegg Promo Code thread. Oh, and if you're on Twitter, be sure to follow @TechPromos for the latest deals, or you can Like TechPromos on Facebook.

Read More | Lumix FH22K camera deal

2010 Holiday Gift Guide Giveaway: Lenovo ThinkCentre M90z

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, PC / Laptop, Family

lenovo thinkcentre m90z giveaway

We can definitely appreciate a well-built all-in-one, and Lenovo is known for their rugged build quality. That's why we're recommending their touchscreen M90Z in our 2010 Holiday Gift Guide - well, that, and we found an absolutely amazing deal on it on Amazon (51% off!) Even better? We're gonna be giving away one of these bad boys right here, right now. Details on that below, but first, let's talk about the M90z. For the price, you're getting a 23-inch LCD display that rocks an Intel Core i5 650 processor, 4GB of RAM, Intel GMA HD graphics, DVD burner, SD card reader, webcam, and multiple USB ports.

So, how do you win this thing? We've got three ways for you to enter:

Facebook:
Head on over to the Gear Live Facebook page and Like us. Then leave a comment on our wall. You can do this once per day until the contest ends, and each comment will count as an entry!

YouTube:
Check out our YouTube page and subscribe. That will give you an entry into the contest!

Twitter:

There you have it, three ways to enter. You must reside in the US to be eligible. The contest runs through Monday December 20, and we will announce a winner, who will be chosen randomly from all eligible entries, on the 21st. Oh, and if you don't win, don't worry, a few of our pals at other sites are running a similar contest, and we've got the full list for you after the break.

Click to continue reading 2010 Holiday Gift Guide Giveaway: Lenovo ThinkCentre M90z

Read More | ThinkCentre M90z

2010 Holidy Gift Guide: Freehands touchscreen-compatible gloves

freehands glovesIf you're looking for some inexpensive-yet-functional items from our 2010 Holiday Gift Guide, today we've got some gloves that any owner of a smartphone with a touchscreen might appreciate. Freehands makes gloves that allow the wearer to use their touch-enabled device, which keeping their hands warm. They have some models where the gloves have fingertips that can be pulled back for the thumb and forefinger, and others where the gloves have material in the fingertips so that you can tap away while keeping all your digits nice and toasty. Prices start at just under $20.

Read More | Freehands gloves

What is this tiny Apple touchscreen device for?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Displays, Rumors

iPod shuffle touchscreen

If tw.apple.pro is to be believed, this is another leaked piece of an upcoming Apple product. What you are looking at is a 1.2-inch by 1.2-inch touchscreen display. Of course, that leaves us wondering, what the heck would Apple do with a touchscreen display this tiny? Could this be the display for the next iPod shuffle, finally bringing visual cues to that device? Could it be for an upcoming remote control? Or a watch? Something else? Let us know your thoughts!


Bleeding Edge TV 341: Sling Touch Control 100 universal remote

At , we caught up with Sling Media, who gave us a look at their Sling Touch Control 100 remote control, which they see as the next generation in controlling your TV programming and home theater. The remote incorporates the SlingGuide interface, and you can even manage DVR content without disturbing television viewing. The Sling Touch Control 100 has a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen, and a 480x272 resolution.

A big thank you to Bing for sponsoring our CES 2010 coverage!


Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader: $260, color touchscreen, pre-order now

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds

Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader

Someone over on the Barnes & Noble web team seems to have jumped the gun, because the official site was up for a few minutes, before quickly being pulled down. Luckily, we were able to get in, and even pre-order a unit, before things got pulled. The B&N Nook e-reader runs , and looks like it’ll give the Amazon Kindle a run for its money.

The device features a 6-inch screen, with a 3.5-inch color touchscreen beneath it. This gives you a quick method to browse your library, the store, and input text into the device. Definitely much easier than the Kindle’s hard keyboard. The device measures in at 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.5-inches, and weighs 11.2 ounces. You get 10 days of battery life if you turn off wireless, and the battery takes 3.5 hours to go from empty to full when plugged into a wall outlet. Speaking of wireless, the Nook actually sports both a 3G connection from AT&T, as well as built-in Wi-Fi 802.11b/g. Definitely an advantage over the Kindle, because even if you have poor cell reception, you can just connect to Wi-Fi to download a book. The Nook also includes 2GB of internal storage (enough to hold 1500 books,) a microSD slot for adding even more storage, MP3 playback, built-in speaker, headphone jack, and micro USB port for charging and syncing.

So, aside from the above, what sets this thing apart from the Kindle? For starters, you can lend books to friends for up to two weeks at a time, and they don’t even need a Nook of their own. They can access the Nook book content on an iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry, PC, or Mac. The lending of literature is one thing that went away with the Kindle, and we are happy to see it return with Nook. The Barnes & Noble store also has over a million titles available for download, with more than 500,000 of those being free ebooks. The Nook can also read PDFs, something the Kindle 2 can’t do.

The Barnes & Noble Nook is available now for pre-order.

Read More | Nook

Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader set to launch tomorrow, color touchscreen, $259

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Rumors

Barnes and Noble Nook

Looks like Barnes & Noble is set to take the wraps off of their ebook reader tomorrow, and according to the Wall Street Journal, it’ll be the Barnes & Noble Nook that they’ll be unveiling. The Nook, pictured above (thanks Giz,) is unique because it has a standard e-ink display like the , but also sports a color touchscreen beneath the traditional display. Why? Well, try typing anything of length on an Amazon Kindle, and you’ll quickly realize that even that task could use some help. The Barnes & Noble Nook will sell for $259 (same price as the Kindle,) and will also allow users to lend e-books to friends. Obviously, we can’t wait to see it. We’ve got one more image for you after the jump.

Click to continue reading Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader set to launch tomorrow, color touchscreen, $259

Read More | WSJ

Fujitsu LifeBook T5010 convertible tablet with multitouch LCD

Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Design, PC / Laptop

Fujitsu LifeBook T5010 tablet

has decided it best to put a touchscreen LCD on their T5010, and we’ve got to commend them for it. The LifeBook T5010 has a 13.3 inch screen, and supports two-finger multitouch. Once launches, this’ll ship with the new OS, taking advantage of the built-in touch features. Until then, it ships with Windows Vista - definitely wait for the Windows 7 version to drop next month.  It will cost $1,759 for the active digitizer, and $1,859 with dual digitizer. 

Read More | Fujitsu

Packard Bell oneTwo L and oneTwo M all-in-one PCs

Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: PC / Laptop

Packard Bell oneTwo L and oneTwo M

Packard Bell seems to be prepared for the Windows 7 touchscreen era with two new all-in-one PCs, the oneTwo L and the oneTwo M. Each of them have up to 8GB worth of RAM, a 5-in-1 memory card reader, webcam, as well as Packard Bell’s TouchGadgets. 

The oneTwo L has a 23-inch (1600 x 900) display, E-SATA, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670 graphics, plus an optional drive and DVB TV tuner.  It will be available on October 22 for 999 Euros ($1,452.)

As for the oneTwo M, it has a 20-inch (1920 x 1080) display, ATI Mobility Radeon HD series 4500, and Intel Core 2 Duo T6600.  It will also be available on October 22 for 599 Euros ($872.)

Read More | Notebook Italia

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