accelerometer

My hands-on impressions of the Nintendo 3DS at this morning's New York press event were largely positive, at least from a hardware standpoint. I'd never seen 3D on the device before, and it's undeniably crisp and sharp. Unfortunately, it also requires your eyes and the device to be held in a relatively stable position to work.

All of this makes me wonder about a potential Achilles' heel in the design of the 3DS, one so obvious yet difficult to solve that I'm curious to see what will become of it. Namely, this: the 3DS is a … Read more

Picture this: you're in the backseat of a speeding car, trying to keep up with a flying saucer you just spotted zipping along the horizon. The only tricky part is keeping your iPhone camera trained on the UFO, which is constantly zigging and zagging out of view.

That's the intriguing premise of UFO on Tape, a simple but absolutely ingenious new game. The whole point is to see how long you can keep the UFO in your sights--a task that relies entirely on your device's accelerometer (or, if you have an iPhone 4, the gyroscope).

What makes … Read more

Parrot's AR.Drone is a mash-up of several interesting tech concepts. It's a remote control quadricopter that's piloted via an iPhone/iPod Touch app, while also providing a live-to-screen video feed from its built-in video camera, as well as optional augmented reality gaming apps.

A free App Store download called AR.FreeFlight is necessary for pairing and controlling the Drone. Once set up and installed, you have two flight-control options. In the beginner mode, users hold the left onscreen button to maneuver the Drone with the iPhone's accelerometer--tilt it left and the Drone glides to the … Read more

Dark Nebula Episode 1 is the first entry in the Dark Nebula series, an innovative, motion-based arcade game in which you pilot a fast-moving disk through short, obstacle-filled levels.

The interface relies entirely on your accelerometer: you tilt your device in the direction you want to move, and the more you tilt, the faster you go. That's it, as you traverse your way up scrolling, vertical levels. You can also touch the screen with two fingers to "calibrate" your device, if you don't want to hold it parallel to the ground.

What separates Dark Nebula from … Read more

With a virtual flood of new apps and updates coming in to the iTunes App Store every day, a few are bound to slip through the approval process that maybe should not have--or at least would not have passed muster with Apple guidelines. I personally don't think Apple needs to filter apps (as long as they work), but, at the same time, if they have a family-friendly vision of the App Store, I have no problem with that.

Two days ago an app that slipped by the App overseers was a real winner, but probably made a few too many people in high places angry. The app in question is called MiTube, formerly available to jailbroken iPhones only, that lets you easily search for and download YouTube videos. A couple of us here heard about MiTube (free) Wednesday morning, downloaded the app, then noticed later that it got pulled by Apple at around 7 p.m. By 5 p.m., MiTube was already No. 11 on the top-free-apps list.

I guess we all know why something like this usually doesn't get accepted. YouTube wants page views, submitters want to make money, and letting people download videos to local drives (like the iPhone) defeats their business purposes. It's sad, really, because as much as I'd like to recommend MiTube, it's no longer available.

Do you think Apple/YouTube/Google should let these apps get posted and not worry or do you think they have every right to keep these apps under wraps? Let me know in the comments.

This week's apps--both 99 cents--are a utility to bring your desktop browser bookmarks to your iPhone and a surprisingly fun and challenging labyrinth game sequel.… Read more

Here's a potentially noteworthy development in the patent litigation-riddled mobile device market.

The patent is No. 7,679,604, "Method and apparatus for controlling a computer system," and it describes motion control as a means of interacting with smartphones and the like.

The invention, the patent's authors explain, "facilitates an intuitive motion control of the application by physically manipulating the electronic device...it enables a user to intuitively control the state and/or displayed content of a computing device without the conventional need of pressing button(s), or manipulating a trackpad, trackball, etc. In this … Read more

BMW has launched the M Power iPhone app, the Bavarian automaker's second free application to promote its brand. However, unlike its previous offering, this app is actually sort of useful.

The M Power app measures vehicle acceleration using your iPhone's (or iPod Touch's) built-in accelerometer. After securing the iPhone (via a windshield mount or just tossing it in a cup holder), the app will measure 0-60 mph times other user-customizable speeds in mph or kph. The app will also measure forward and lateral G-forces for users who want to take a spin on a skidpad. Users can … Read more

Looking at my iPhone yesterday, I noticed that there was a crack about a centimeter long right up the middle of the back of the handset coming straight from the charging area. It's hardly noticeable and I'm sure my iPhone will continue to work, but it definitely serves as a reminder that when my two-year contract is up in June, I'm going to be ready for a new iPhone.

Fortunately, a story over at AppleInsider points to a rumor that the next generation of iPhones are set to come out right about that time. Eldar Murtazin, an … Read more

You've probably heard of or even owned a computer that automatically turns off its hard drive when it senses shock or heavy vibrations. That is an example of sensitive human-machine intimacy. Another example I like is tilting the iPhone to use it as the driving bar for my racing games. Well, that nifty human-to-computer interaction is about to go to whole new level.

HP announced Thursday a new inertial-sensing technology that enables the development of digital micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometers that are up to 1,000 times more sensitive than those in high-volume products currently available.

A MEMS accelerometer is a sensor that can be used to measure vibration, shock, or change in velocity. When implemented, this allows the device to "feel" the environment it is in.

According to HP, the new sensing technology--the result of HP's 25 years of nano-sensing research--includes multiple detectors as part of a complete sensor network and therefore is capable of real-time data collection, management evaluation, and analysis. This information enables users to make better, faster decisions, and take subsequent action to improve safety, security, and sustainability. … Read more