The Astro Slide is a smartphone that you can also use like a tiny laptop thanks to a QWERTY keyboard that slides out from behind the display. Designed for touch-typing and inspired by the Psion line of handheld devices, the keyboard is quite different from the thumb keyboards found on BlackBerry-style devices or even modern […]
hololens
Microsoft Mesh is a cross-platform mixed reality platform for virtual meetings (and maybe Pokémon GO)
Microsoft has been demonstrating how its Hololens mixed reality headset could be used for virtual meetings for about as long as Hololens has been a thing. Now the company is launching a new virtual meeting platform called Microsoft Mesh that works with Hololens, but also with a range of other hardware including phones, tablets, PCs, and […]
Microsoft introduces HoloLens 2 Development Edition
When Microsoft unveiled HoloLens 2 a few months ago, the company emphasized that it would be aimed at enterprise customers at launch… but hinted that the mixed-reality headset might support games and other consumer-friendly apps eventually. But first, developers need to build those apps. So Microsoft has unveiled a new HoloLens 2 Development Edition which […]
Lilbits 351: More multi-camera phones
Phones with three rear cameras are becoming common. Even that weird Energy Power Max 18K that was unveiled today has three rear cameras. But right now there’s only one smartphone with five rear cameras: The Nokia 9 PureView. It probably won’t be the last though. Nokia developed the phone using multi-camera technology from Light, and […]
Microsoft introduces HoloLens 2 mixed reality headset
It’s been four years since Microsoft unveiled its first mixed-reality headset, and about three years since the company started shipping the first HoloLens hardware to developers. Now the company is finally updating the hardware. Microsoft says HoloLens 2 is lighter and more comfortable, offers new forms of interaction, and supports a wider field of view, […]
HoloLens 2 will probably get a CPU upgrade (or at least a change)
Microsoft’s HoloLens is basically a computer with a transparent display that lets you view digital graphics overlaid on real-world environments. The original HoloLens development kit shipped in 2016, and Micosoft has already started talking about the 2nd-gen model, which will have a next-gen Holographic Processing Unit. It’ll also probably have a new processor, because as […]
HoloLens 2 will have custom AI coprocessor
Microsoft may be best known for its software, and to a lesser degree for hardware like the Surface line of tablets, (and now laptops). But the company is also trying its hand at chip design. Microsoft’s HoloLens wearable computer with a “holographic” display also features a custom processor designed by Microsoft, called the Holographic Processing […]
Microsoft HoloLens goes international: launching in 6 new countries
Microsoft’s augmented reality computer that you wear around your head is heading to international waters. You can already buy a Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition kit in the United States or Canada. But now you can also pre-order the device and have it shipped to Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, or the UK in late November. […]
Microsoft reveals info about the custom chip powering HoloLens
Microsoft’s HoloLens headset is basically a computer that you can wear on your head. It puts a semi-transparent display in front of your face, allowing you to interact with apps and games superimposed on your real-world environment. One of the key things that sets HoloLens apart from virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift is […]
Microsoft HoloLens now available without an application (still costs $3,000)
Microsoft’s HoloLens wearable computer/augmented reality device is still very much in the developer preview stage of its life cycle. HoloLens hardware is currently expensive, the software is still under development, and did I mention that it’s expensive? But now you can buy one if you want. Microsoft started shipping $3,000 HoloLens development kits earlier this […]