• Apple Blows us Away with Smart Illuminated Bezel Details!

    // Gradly // Apple, blog, Gadgets, iPad, iPhone, News, Patents, Tech. No Responses

    Smart bezel patents from Apple are old news, but Patently Apple has discovered some blow-away details. Put simply, Apple is proposing a bezel that doubles as a secondary display built around a printed segmented electroluminescence technology:

    Apple intends to use the secondary display to introduce a set of new illuminated indicators that are able morph into various controls for work and play. Illuminated gaming and productivity controls could be built into the face-side of the bezel and/or selected back-side areas of iOS devices like the iPad.

    This opens up a whole new world of creative possibilities…

    The bezel running around iOS gadgets could be made touch sensitive, allowing users to tap the illuminated control to access common features such as media playback and game controls.

    The new smart bezel may not have a traditional home button. Well, below is an example of how that could look like using Apple’s display. Apple could create a very simple yet very cool illuminated home button that only appears when your hand approaches the home button area as shown below in a generic example that shows off this technology.

    If this patent ends up used in future iOS gadgets, expect easier, more convenient handling of everyday tasks. It’s sexy, there’s a substantial wow factor involved and it enhances the user experience in a Star Trek manner.

  • THE HOBBIT Shooting At 48 Frames Per Second!

    // Gradly // blog, LOTR, Movies, News, Rants & Raves, Tech. 2 Responses

    James Cameron recently talked about how the future of filmmaking will be shooting films at a higher frame rate, which will up the visual presentation of the film. This is something he plans on doing with Avatar 2 and 3. He talked about how Peter Jackson was thinking of doing it for The Hobbit and now it looks like he’s actually going to move forward with it. It was recently discovered that the director is currently shooting The Hobbit at a higher frame rate of 48 frames per second. The industry standard has always been 24 frames per second, but it looks like that is all going to change.

    All of this come from The Hobbit‘s cinematographer Andrew Lesnie:

    – Being shot on 30 RED EPIC cameras
    – Using Zeiss Ultra Primes, Master Primes and Optimo zoom lenses (would expect no less)
    – Shooting at 47.96 frames per second
    – Using 3ality Digital rigs.

    So why 48 fps and not 60? Cameron had said that one of the reasons why Jackson didn’t choose the higher frame rate was because he didn’t want to select the wrong frame rate if the industry went to the alternative. So it looks like the industry is going to move forward with 48 fps, which mean Cameron will most likely be shooting Avatar 2 and 3 in 48 fps as well. The fact of the matter is “60 fps would be significantly more expensive to implement for the modest visual gains.”

  • Run Android Apps on Windows PC With BlueStacks

    // Gradly // blog, Download, google, Microsoft, Rants & Raves, Tech. No Responses

    Ever thought to try out an Android app without the need to buy a device? Or an iOS user and often wondered how the other guys live? The BlueStacks is to meet your needs.

    It’s basically virtualization for Android. Install BlueStacks on your Windows machine and the software allows you to run an instance of Android right inside the app. From here the experience is just like having an Android device – except the phone calling thing.

    Virtualization is nothing new, Its there for years with VMware or Parallels but this is the first time a mobile operating system has been invited to the party. Head over to the BlueStacks website for more updates.

  • Forza Motorsport 4 Gameplay Leaked

    // Gradly // blog, Consoles, Games, Microsoft, Rants & Raves, Tech. No Responses

    Forza Motorsport 4 is one of the most highly-anticipated games of 2011, and this video leaked to Kotaku has proved that not only we will put our hands on more cars and more tracks but also more Kinect.

    The video, confirmed by Microsoft to be authentic and not intended for public consumption, shows Details such as Kinect-supported head tracking, Kinect driving controls in casual gameplay modes, advanced lighting and modelling, social networking features and a deep list of manufacturers were all tipped off earlier.

    A Microsoft spokesman confirmed the video’s authenticity:

    The video in question was not intended for public distribution and may not accurately reflect features and functionality that ship in Forza Motorsport 4. We will have more to share on Forza Motorsport 4 in the near future.