Remember that old commercial, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?” That’s a question we will soon be asking about what we see, not just what we hear, thanks to the development of a technology called Augmented Reality. Using a device’s camera, GPS, Bluetooth, digital compass, wifi, and other networking and input capabilities, you can turn reality into a video game, run through “what if” scenarios, or get a text or video overlay on something that they are looking at.

Example: You’re checking out what movie to see at the multiplex, and you forgot to check out the reviews. With an AR app on your phone, you could point your phone at a movie poster, and then get reviews displayed on the screen, without having to press any buttons! More sophisticated versions would let you see a trailer, or even buy tickets. It’s not at all science fiction – actually, an application like this exists for some Nokia smartphones, and there are already a slew of AR apps for Androids and cellphones (I could have used this one when I installed my non-YES satellite dish a couple of months ago!)

As it turns out, an Israeli company called Ogmento, is deeply involved in developing AR applications, especially for the iPhone. If you want to try it on the web, check out the application they developed for Vampire Academy. Scary!

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Tags: Augmented reality, Bluetooth, Global Positioning System, iPhone, Mobile phone, Nokia, Smartphone, Video game

That new sub-$200 tablet they showed at CES 2010? Its innards were developed in Israel!

I’m talking about the Freescale Smartbook Tablet, which PC World said last week out-Appled the rumored Apple tablet at CES (in that it is an actual product at this moment, as opposed to vapor-hardware). But at $199, the Freescale device beats any netbook – real or imagined – hands down, based not only on price, but on features as well.

The Freescale Tablet is a real hybrid device, combining the best of the cellphone side with the more convenient features of notebooks and laptops. It’s got a 7-inch touch screen, a 3-megapixel camera, a smartphone-style accelerometer, an ambient light sensor, Bluetooth, and options for a 3G Modem. And from the PC side, it’s got 512mb RAM, slots for MicroSD cards (up to 64 GB storage), a 1 GHz processor, and Wi-Fi. Plus a load of other features. The models shown at CES ran Android and Linux OS’s. And, it comes in cool colors! The company says it expects to be available commercially by the summer.

In this article (in Hebrew), Freescale Israel chairman Moshe Kashat discusses the i.MX515 processor, developed at Freescale’s labs in Herzliya:

“Leading edge users are demanding small devices with strong usability features. Our (i.MX515) processor provides them with high performance, including improved graphics processing, and very low energy use – with the result that users can go longer without recharging, up to a full day. We will undoubtedly provide a strong challenge to the netbooks using Intel Atom processors, and their challengers.”

(“… and their challengers.” Sounds like he’s talking about alternative processors – like the one Apple is planning!). The article also quotes Freescale Israel CEO and Marketing Director for Eastern Europe, Shmuel Barkan:

“Our smartbook opens a door to a new and wonderful world. We believe that our tablet will be adopted by the consumer market as the popular choice for the next generation of smartbooks. Freescale plans on being a leading player in paving the way for the smartbook to be a winning device.”

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• Freescale Shows Off Its Design for a Tablet Computer (austinist.com)
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Tags: Apple, Bluetooth, Intel Atom, Laptop, Linux, Netbook, Tablets, Touchscreen