3D touchscreens? Why Samsung think pressure-sensitive screens are the next big thing
In an exciting move, Samsung Electro-Mechanics have just purchased a technology called Quantum Tunnelling Composite or QTC that brings third dimension to touch screens. Samsung claims that QTC will allow devices like phones to accept 3D input - by being pressure sensitive. Press hard on the scroll button and the page moves faster, softer, and…
Shiny Poll: Facebook's new homepage – are you a fan?
Kudos to Facebook for continuing to innovate. The homepage of Facebook's 350 million users has just undergone a big front-end update that forefronts what's new and makes it just that bit harder to log out (two clicks not one now). It pushes Facebook marketplace to the front, tidies apps up in a list, makes you…
Nokia maps app – Ovi Maps gets a million downloads in a week
Ovi Maps has been a run-away success on the Nokia app store with the maps and navigation app racing past 1 million downloads in a single week. "We're averaging a download a second, 24 hours a day," said Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President, Nokia. "When we announced free walk & drive navigation we knew it…
Story-books that read themselves: Penguin's interactive Qbooks
Soon bed-time stories will be able to read themselves to your kids. Penguin's new digital Qbooks for kids bring touch and voice technology to popular children's picture books. So you may not need to be there for their bedtime - but you'd better make sure the iPad is. These digital picture books or Qbooks from…
A Shredder with a twist: White Goat makes loo roll out of office paper
I'd heard of pasta-making machines, but not toilet-paper manufacturing ones. But a Japanese company have taken recycling to a new level by making one. And not only have they made it, they've called it White Goat which is a great name for a gadget and captures the chewing and masticating functions of the machine perfectly.…
We do want privacy: half of Facebook users have customised their privacy settings
Facebook released some stats on how users have adapted to the new privacy environment on the site, introduced at the beginning of December. There were worries that people wouldn't bother to customise their privacy settings and would just let Facebook's new public-by-default policy sweep them into public view by accident. But it looks like people…
Ten Geeky Valentine's Presents: For Her
Valentine's day is next week - what are you going to get the sweet geek girl in your life/ get for yourself/share with the cat? ShinyShiny have rustled up a selection of geeky Valentine's presents, ranging from the cute to the hardcore all with a slight geeky twist. That's what we like over here... :)…
Heart app syncs with your lover's iPhone: an app for Valentine's Day
Either romantic or schmaltzy depending on your current relationship status and attitude to romance, the ifallinlove app syncs to your lover's iPhone and depending on how near you are to the object of your affections, the heart on the screen swells or shrinks. It also starts to beat more quickly and goes redder. Download the app…
World Surfer – an AR iPhone app that actually works right now
Augmented Reality app Layar may not work on the iPhone for a few months to come, but in the meantime try out AR iPhone app World Surfer 2. Made by San Fran company Geovector, World Surfer 2 is an augmented reality app that, like Layar, lets you point your phone's video camera at the world…
Spotify introduce artist radio and recommended features
Spotify has ramped up its music service by bolting on a new recommended artists feature and artist radio - unleashing all the data it has gathered from user listening habits to create a recommendation engine. The recommendation features take Spotify into the territory of rivals Last.fm and Pandora Radio (an American-only service) - which emphasise…
