A short video showcasing Apple’s new iPhone 4S surfaced on Monday, and now we have our first full “YouTube review” of a handset that was seemingly delivered ahead of schedule. YouTube user applemastertouch has posted a video walk-through that is nearly 9 minutes long. In it, he shows off Apple’s brand new smartphone and gives us a thorough look at the device’s most highly anticipated new feature, Siri. Other iOS 5 features make appearances as well, but Siri is the clear star of the show as we see various commends that can — and cannot — be acted on by Apple’s new personal assistant feature. While over a million consumers anxiously await delivery of their iPhone 4S handsets, hit the break for a taste of things to come.

During the SIGGRAPH 2011 conference in Vancouver this week, a team comprised of researchers from various universities showed off a demo during a Microsoft Research presentation of how the Kinect Xbox 360 accessory can be used in the real world to create real-time dynamic 3D models. The project, dubbed “KinectFusion,” shows off the Kinect’s ability to render 3D models of an entire room nearly instantly as one researcher pans the accessory around. After the device has scanned the entire area, KinectFusion is capable of creating a 3D texture-mapped model of the entire room using a Kinect RGB image. The technology could be used to create highly immersive augmented reality games or, as TechNet points out, for architectural purposes on a budget. Hit the read link to see a video of KinectFusion in action.

[Via TechNet]

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Google’s latest social networking effort may finally be the winner the Internet giant has so desperately been looking for. The invite-only beta service launched late last month and as per the company’s statements made during its earnings call on Thursday, it has already amassed more than 10 million users in just over two weeks. According to user statistics supplied by third-party social monitors SocialStatistics and FindPeopleOnPlus, the overwhelming majority of people using Google+ so far are male. FindPeopleOnPlus tracks nearly a million Google+ profiles and it shows that about three quarters of Plus users are male. SocialStatistics uses a significantly smaller sample of about 30,000 user profiles, but it suggests that 87% of Google+ profiles belong to men. There’s no question that Google+ is the talk of the Web right now, but those looking for a network with a decent sized female population should probably look elsewhere — mySpace, perhaps?

[Via Mashable]

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At the Display Taiwan 2011 conference taking place this week in Taipei, display manufacturer CPT gave us a glimpse at the iPad 3D many users have been hoping for. Of course this 3D-enabled iPad 2 is a modified unit that will never see production, but it does highlight the fact that even though the iPad 2 is remarkably thin, there’s still room for a 3D display in the ultra-slim aluminum case. While Apple has been rumored on numerous occasions to be testing iPad models with 3D display technology, it is likely that the company would opt for a glasses-free panel as opposed to the panel fitted into this iPad 2 by CPT, which requires 3D glasses. The prototype is interesting nonetheless, and as the presenter mentions, the possibility of 3D will be an added benefit once Apple releases an iPad model with a Retina Display. A video showcasing the 3D-enabled iPad 2 can be seen below.

Thanks, Nicole

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HP has posted a new video for its highly anticipated TouchPad tablet on YouTube, and it highlights several of the tablet’s distinguishing features. In the three minute clip, HP demos the ability to manage tasks simultaneously, the speed of the dual-core Qualcomm processor, HP Synergy, light gaming, HTML5 and Adobe Flash support, Citrix Receiver, video calling, and HP’s Touch To Share technology for keeping your webOS phone and tablet in sync. The TouchPad is set to debut on July 1st for $499.99. Hit the jump to see the video for yourself.

Are you waiting to get your hands on HP’s first webOS tablet, the TouchPad? We reported it would hit the shops and streets this month, but in the meantime you can feast your eyes on one of the first real demos of an HP TouchPad in the wild — from a SanDisk representative, no less. It all went down on Wednesday at Computex in Taipai, so hit the break to see all the card-based app switching and Synergy action you can handle.

While devices like the EVO 3D and LG Thrill will bring 3D displays to U.S. smartphones in the near future, we have to say that the glasses-free 3D display technology involved with these small screens has a long way to go before the quality catches up to the hype. Multi-thousand dollar 3D TVs still aren’t terribly impressive in terms of 3D quality though, so expectations aren’t terribly high right now. While 3D gets ironed out, however, 3D-like experiences facilitated by head-tracking technology provide a nifty UI effect that will likely become more popular moving forward. We’ve seen great head-tracking 3D demos from companies like The Astonishing Tribe — now owned by RIM — and HTC’s Flyer will launch with similar UI goodies. Now, a group of researchers called the Engineering Human-Computer Interaction demonstrate head-tracking 3D effects the iPad 2. Hit the break for a video of the technology in action and feel free to let your mind wander as you imagine all the great use cases for this nifty tech.

[Via TUAW]

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In January 2009, legendary singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder went to the Consumer Electronics Show and asked companies to consider the blind when building their wares. At the time, Wonder had the iPhone in mind — and Apple would answer the call. The company made its popular smartphone much more accessible to the blind in its subsequent software release by adding a great VoiceOver feature. According to recent rumors, the iPhone could soon become even more accessible thanks to the introduction of more robust voice controls. But developers are doing their part as well, and one in particular recently released an application that helps emphasize the kind of power smartphones have to make people’s lives easier.

Los Angeles-based LookTel has built an app called Money Reader, which has a single purpose: the app reads American paper currency and repeatedly speaks the value of each bill it sees. The goal of the app is to allow people with severe visual impairments or blindness to easily identify and count bills, and it succeeds. In its current state, the app can identify $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills. It is not compatible with coins because current camera technology simply can’t capture enough contrast on them to provide a consistent and reliable experience.

The app is also smart. In low-light conditions, it will automatically activate the flash (if a flash is available). And the bill recognition was instant and flawless in our tests. Either side of a bill can be shown to the camera, and bills can be flat, wrinkled, spread out or folded — we’ve yet to find a way to stump Money Reader. Even with just a tiny corner of a bill in view of the camera, the app immediately repeats its value until the bill is removed from sight.

Money Reader is still in its infancy and we’re going to see some great new features added in the future. We spoke with the developer and one of our immediate questions was, what about foreign currency and international users? Interestingly, LookTel pointed out that it initially thought there would be no need to support foreign currencies because bills are often different sizes and many currencies have braille on the corners. But it turned out that wasn’t the case. “We’ve already had an influx of users asking for it, and explaining that even though foreign currency is technically accessible, it is still challenging to identify and that foreign users want LookTel Money Reader,” LookTel’s Eyal Binshtock told BGR. The company is also considering some other useful features, such as a vibration ID mode that will allow users to identify bills without audio feedback.

Money Reader is available immediately in the App Store for $1.99, which is a small price to pay for such a powerful utility. It is compatible with the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and the fourth-generation iPod touch, as all are equipped with cameras.

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According to an unconfirmed report on Monday, Microsoft has plans to give the world its first glimpse of Windows 8 for tablets this summer. Citing an unnamed source at Microsoft, Business Insider claims the company hopes to at least show off the new operating system’s design by the end of its fiscal year in June. The report says Microsoft will be “taking a more Apple-like approach to interface deign this time around,” and will also use concepts from Windows Phone 7′s Metro UI. Generally, the Metro UI design couldn’t be any further from Apple’s approach with iOS or OS X, so it will be interesting to see which elements of each philosophy make it to Windows 8 if this report is accurate. Microsoft has not given any specific timeline as far as when it might publicly demo Windows 8.

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At this year’s Mobile World Congress, Motorola gave both journalists and consumers their first opportunity to touch, feel, and experience its soon-to-be-launched tablet, the XOOM. Sure, we’ve gone hands-on with Motorola’s tasty Honeycomb tablet before, but today we got to spend a bit more time with the sleek slate. We sat down with our friends from Moto and got a chance to shoot some video, take some pictures, tap on the tablet, and ask questions. We couldn’t get the electronics manufacturer to comment on pricing, or pin them down on an exact release date, but we did get enough hands-on time to give you an idea of exactly what the XOOM is about. Hit the jump to check out the video, photo gallery, and to read our thoughts!

Motorola is a company that prides itself on strong build quality, and this really shines through with the XOOM tablet. While other manufactures have opted to use a plastic casing, Moto has chosen a milled aluminum back which gives the device an incredibly durable and solid feel. The silver backing covers most of the tablet’s rear, with the exception of the upper 20% — where black plastic is used to let the XOOM’s radios transmit properly.

We asked the company’s representatives if they had been told the device bears a resemblance to any other, older electronic device, but they said no. What’s funny, to us, is how similar the back of the XOOM — because of the use of aluminum and black, matte plastic — looks like the original iPhone. Not in shape, but in color and layout. Not a bad thing, just something that sort of immediately jumped out at us.

The device also has a great shape; the front edges form tight, right angles, and the back abruptly swoop towards the devices front. It is a very comfortable device to hold and use in your lap in the landscape orientation or with one hand while in portrait mode.

The XOOM lacks any kind of physical or soft keys and, if we had to guess, this will probably be standard with most Android 3.0 tablets. The soft-keys that are oh-so-common on most Android 2.2 tablets are unnecessary, as they have been moved onto the screen with Android 3.0. This allows you to hold the tablet in all four orientations without having to worry about where the buttons are. It’s a nice touch.

The front of the device contains a ghosted Motorola logo on the upper front-bezel along with a centered 2.0 megapixel front-facing camera — other than the screen, that’s it. Holding the device in that same orientation: the top contains a centered 3.5mm headphone jack which is flanked by a small door for the micro-SD and SIM cards (if applicable); Motorola noted they will be coming to European GSM carriers in Q2. The left side of the device has a volume up and down key and the right side of the device is empty. The bottom has a small mic pin-hole, the HDMI-out port, a micro USB port, and magnetic contacts for the company’s dock/charging station. We asked Moto if, like the DROID X, this unit had more than one microphone for noise cancellation purposes, but they said this wasn’t necessary since there was no phone capabilities built-in (we would have liked an extra mic or two to mirror the voice recording prowess of the DROID X, but that’s just us). The back of the device houses the 5 megapixel camera and dual-LED flash setup, along with two speakers to provide stereo sound.

All in all, the device is really sharp. We asked Motorola what differentiates the XOOM from other Android 3.0 tablets that will come out, and they were a bit non-committal… but we think we know the answer. Build quality. As we’ve already said, the materials used and overall design of the XOOM really make it feel like a high-end, luxury device; one that won’t be replaced by any old Android tablet next month. Moto definitely has an advantage over its competition by being first-to-market, now all that’s left to do is price this thing “competitively.”

BGR exclusively reported on Wednesday that Apple is currently testing a variety of gestures on its iPhone. While the more interesting gestures are still locked away safely on the Apple campus, the task-switching gesture managed to come out to play in Apple’s recent iOS 4.3 beta software. Antoni Nygaard decided to laugh in the face of Apple’s developer agreement on Wednesday and show off these new gestures on camera. As we’ve pointed out in the past, these gestures are currently in place for testing purposes only. Trust us — if and when gesture support is officially added to the iPhone, it won’t involve uncomfortable four-finger swipes. So while we all wait impatiently to see what official gesture support might look like, hit the break for the video demo of Apple’s test gestures in action on an iPhone 3GS.

[Via Engadget]

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Following our press briefing with the PlayBook early today, we wanted to get a bit more up-close and personal with the BlackBerry Bridge software. Bridge, for those that don’t know, is the bit of technology that connects the BlackBerry handset to the PlayBook and allows for the use of BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry Email, and BlackBerry Calendar on the PlayBook itself. For the time being, Bridge will provide the PlayBook with all of its email, calendar, and BBM functionality — there are no stand-alone applications on the device. You read that correctly: without a BlackBerry on hand, you won’t be able to access any of your BlackBerry-specific messaging software. Don’t get us started. Regardless of this fact, RIM was kind enough to give us a demo of the Bridge connection and, for what it is, it works just as advertised. Any edits on the PlayBook are mirrored on your Berry, and vice versa. Drafts saved are accessible on both, and because all of the data is routed through the BlackBerry’s data connection, all Enterprise policies will remain secure and intact, which is definitely a concern for security minded companies looking to integrate tablets into their corporate environment. All told, Bridge does exactly what Bridge is supposed to do… the only question is whether you can live with having to tether your tablet every time you want to send a message.

Gaming Google isn’t just for hard up magazine publishers anymore, as cell phone retailer Wirefly tries to milk as much search traffic as possible with its new “HTC Evo Shift Review.” Coinciding with Sprint’s announcement earlier this morning, Wirefly has issued a lengthy video showcasing the new EVO Shift 4G. Available on YouTube in full 1080p HD, the video does a good job of going over the EVO Shift’s hardware and software. It also shows the device next to the original EVO 4G and a Motorola DROID 2 for size comparisons, and displays the impressive results of a benchmark test. The video doesn’t offer much in the way of revelations considering the extensive leaks leading up to the Shift’s announcement, however, but it never hurts to enjoy nearly 10 solid minutes of new phone porn. Hit the break for the full video.

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A team of German developers is doing some pretty interesting work with Kinect thanks to the OpenNI open source framework, which allows programmers to build applications utilizing the technology surrounding Microsoft’s Kinect sensor. The team of researchers from the Technical University of Munich has created an augmented reality app dubbed Magic Mirror that allows a user to view a simulated x-ray of his or her skeleton. Using a CT scan from an anonymous patient, the app tracks the user’s motions along the X, Y and Z axes with a Kinect sensor. It then adjusts the view of the scan with each movement, resulting in an impressive interactive x-ray that appears to display the user’s skeleton. Hit the break for a video demonstration and an explanation of how the application works.

[Via joystiq]

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SurfCube Browser by Kinabalu Innovation Limited is a brand new 3D browser for Windows Phone 7 devices. To be clear, the interface of this great Web browser features a 3D cube effect. The browsing itself, however, is still done in a standard 2D interface. SurfCube sports a nifty UI that positions various browser functions on five sides of a virtual cube. At its center, the cube features a standard Web page viewer. Above the center pane is the favorites list and a URL bar, and below it is a tab view that is still under development. To the left of the Web page viewer is the browser’s history view and to the right, the settings panel. We tested the app and while it does take a bit of getting used to, the interface goes well beyond novelty to provide a useful and attractive browser interface we’ve grown to really enjoy. SurfCube Browser is available immediately in the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace for $1.99. A fully functional trial is available as well, which allows the browser to be opened 20 times for free before users are required to purchase the app. Hit the break for a video of SurfCube Browser in action and follow the read link to download the trial or make a purchase.

Read [Zune link]