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Gadgets

Chinese iPads seized in trademark dispute

JOE MCDONALD - AP

Authorities have seized Apple iPads from retailers in a city in northern China due to a dispute with a domestic company that says it owns the iPad name.

Laptop-shooting dad fights off fame

ASHER MOSES - © Fairfax NZ News

Tommy Jordan's "tough love" clip has garnered 22 million views on YouTube and a visit from police.

How Rodney Brooks revolutionised robotics

When people used to talk about the possibility of domestic robots, they were generally thinking of humanoid servants that would wash the car, clean the house and walk Rover, all before breakfast.

Review: Linksys Cisco E3200 dual band N router

REVIEW: The E3200 is a 802.11n router that extends wireless broadband coverage. But be warned: it does not have a modem installed, so you will need to connect it through your existing broadband modem.

PS Vita: new kid on the block

Next week, Sony releases its new handheld gaming unit, the PS Vita. Gerard Campbell got hands-on.

Review: Sony HMZ-T1 Personal 3D Viewer

SIOBHAN KEOGH

REVIEW: Sony's HMZ-T1 Personal 3D Viewer is a niche product that works phenomenally well.

Review: Acer Aspire S3

REVIEW: Acer’s Aspire S3 is the first ‘Ultrabook’ released in the New Zealand and Australian markets.

Review: Sony Ericsson Xperia arc S

REVIEW: If you’ve seen the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, you already have a good idea of what the Arc S looks like. However, this updated version has a few neat upgrades and additions.

3D printing: saviour or piracy tool?

BRAD HOWARTH - © Fairfax NZ News

What if people could print spare parts and consumer goods on site? 3D printing is developing fast.

Apple in talks on iTV

Apple is in talks with Canada's two biggest telecom companies about becoming partners in the launch of iTV, a device combining features of the wildly popular iPad tablet with those of a television set.

Get ready for the Apple ... Treadmill?

PETER PACHAL

Forget the Apple iTV - there might be an Apple-branded treadmill in the works.

What's USB 3.0?

WILL HARVIE - © Fairfax NZ News

They are faster and better universal serial bus connectors, the seen-everywhere plugs that connect cameras, computer, phones and so forth.

Review: Dell XPS 14z notebook

REVIEW: When it comes to it's footprint, Dell's 14z notebook isn't a large machine. In fact, it's a compact thing that fits into a backpack with ease and is a minuscule 23mm thick.

Robots bring beer but Rosie still takes cake

Robots are not just for sci-fi films and geeks in labs. Claire Rogers takes a look at the increasingly accessible world of robotics.

Duck for cover, here comes the laser-guided bullet

SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN - AP

A bullet that directs itself like a tiny guided missile can hit a target more than 1.6km away.

Angelic 'Jobs' loves Android in Taiwan ad

JONATHAN STANDING - Reuters

A Taiwanese ad features an angelic Steve Jobs impersonator, espousing the merits of a new Android tablet.

Kinect for Windows launched

The Kinect for Windows commercial license and purchasable hardware is now available, according to Microsoft.

Flash memory clocks up 30

HAYDEN WALLES - © Fairfax NZ News

The technology is as near ubiquitous in our daily lives as the air we breathe.

Samsung announces Galaxy Note for NZ

Samsung's half-phone, half-tablet mobile device known as the Galaxy Note will be available in New Zealand from next month, the company said yesterday in Auckland.

Apple not turning "blind eye" to supply chain problems: CEO

TOUGH WORK: Workers toil at one of Foxconn's factories in China.

POORNIMA GUPTA - Reuters

Apple has never turned "a blind eye" to the problems in its supply chain and any suggestion it does not care about the plight of workers is "patently false," says CEO.

Nintendo chief promises to do Wii U launch right

YURI KAGEYAMA - AP

Nintendo's chief is determined to get right the launch of its next game machine, Wii U, but has acknowledged some mistakes with selling the company's 3DS handheld.

Rivals vying to turn the tables on iPad

Claire Rogers takes a look at some of the top tablets for 2012.

Will next Xbox use Blu-Ray?

The next Xbox console may ship with a Blu-ray optical drive.

How Kodak squandered every single digital opportunity it had

OPINION: Kodak wasted every digital opportunity it had.

Molecular machinery

It's easy to miss how far miniaturisation has come, writes Hayden Walles.

What's next for the extinct tech list?

STEPHANIE GARDINER - © Fairfax NZ News

As the Kodak moment fades into memory, what else is on the brink of technological extinction?

Kodak bankruptcy action 'won't affect New Zealand'

LATEST: Bankruptcy action by Eastman Kodak won't affect Kodak-branded branches in NZ or the company's distribution network in this country.

CES' weirdest gadgets

PETER SVENSSON - AP

A motorised, seat-less unicycle was one of the more bizarre gadgets shown off in Vegas.

Tech so smart it doesn't compute

From iPads to Android phones, voice-controlled computers and internet-connected TVs – technology is transforming our lives.

GPS dog tags and glass PCs

Here are a few high and low moments of this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Put your mind to manual labour

Technophobes, fear not, help is out there.

Phones that let you feel the world

PETER SVENSSON - AP

Sure, today's phones can deliver the sound of a heartbeat. But how would you like to actually feel the throbbing?

PC sales inch up but supply hit in 2012

Worldwide sales of personal computers edged up last year, but consumers remain unwilling to pay up for for expensive ultrabook computers.

HP unveils new glass encased laptop

Reuters

Hewlett-Packard has unveiled a new glass-encased laptop computer.

Apple's Siri puts voice-enabled search in spotlight

Apple will again dominate conversations at CES, the world's biggest technology showcase. Only this time, the talk is extending beyond iPad and iPhone chatter to include "Siri," the voice app that is capturing consumers' imagination.

TVs that respond to speech unveiled

PETER SVENSSON - AP

Manufacturers are set to make talking to the TV it a more rational behaviour this year, with a range of sets that respond to speech.

Motorised shoes let you go for a spin at 16km/h

It's a huge step for personal mobility: motorised shoes.

Hungry hungry robots

Hayden Walles investigates a robot that doesn't rely on a three- point plug for energy.

Ultrabooks take centre stage at CES

Computer manufacturers are working on 75 different designs for new ultrabook computers designed to double as tablets and controlled by voice and gestures.

TVs you can talk to, without sounding crazy

PETER SVENSSON - AP

Talking to the TV is usually a sign of extreme agitation, mental instability or loneliness. LG Electronics is set to make it a more rational behavior this year.

Gadget sales 'to top $1.2 trillion' in 2012

PHYSICAL CONTACT FAVOURED: Just 10 per cent of Kiwis are using their mobiles for internet purchases, less than half the global average.

Developing countries like China will drive global sales of gadgets above NZ$1.2 trillion.

World's thinnest wire a quantum leap forward

Australian physicists have invented the world's narrowest silicon wire - 10,000 times thinner than a human hair - with the same capacity to conduct electricity as a traditional copper wire.

Google closes major Australian road

Australian holidaymakers are getting a bum steer from Google Maps.

Samsung vs Apple battle heating up

Those who believe Google Android products are cheap Apple knockoffs were given more ammo when it emerged that Samsung hired the same girl as Apple to star in its ads.

Student's 'mind control' device taking off

Second showing in Brazil for Vic Uni student

A mind control device thought up by a Victoria University graduate is to be on display in Brazil for a second time after its popularity prompted a special invitation.