Surprise, surprise, the underdog of the portable media player market, the Microsoft Zune, seems to be gaining some holiday momentum with consumers. For most of the Black Friday shopping day, the brown 30GB Zune was the No. 1 seller on Amazon.com, and Pricegrabber reported that the Zune was not only the most searched-for item, it was the best-selling consumer electronics device for the whole weekend. The black version was the No. 8 best seller. The iPod still did well, showing up in the No. 3, 4, 9, and 11 spots. And through the end of Monday, the 4GB Silver iPod Nano was still the third-best-selling electronics item on Amazon.
Credit: Microsoft
Israeli start-up 3DV Systems has built a camera that has the ability to not only see an object, but also judge how far away it is. Distance is shown in shades of gray. In this image, because the hand is much closer to the camera than the body, it appears in a much lighter shade.
Credit: Jared Kohler/CNET Networks
Meet Anna Konda, a water-spewing robot snake that is being developed by Norwegian research company Sintef to assist rescue workers in situations that are too dangerous for humans. Sinteff initiated the "Snakefighter Project" in 2003 and built the 3-meter long demonstration unit that is capable of various forms of snake-like propulsion. It also can raise its head and spray water.
At left is an illustration of how finished devices would look fighting a fire.
Credit: Sintef
This sophisticated robotic arm from Siemens, called the Arcadis C-Arm, was originally unveiled in October in Berlin and can be applied to a wide variety of medical applications. The C-Arm can be used as the base for systems applied to orthopedics, neurosurgery, gastroenterology, and vascular and cardiac surgery, according to Siemens.
Credit: Siemens
The ConnectR is essentially a voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, phone that can both see and travel around a room. It employs video, two-way audio and two different camera lenses that can all be controlled remotely by logging into a Web site.
Credit: iRobot
Credit: Volkswagen/Audi Design Center California
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