future

If Nokia has its way, bendable cell phones will just be the beginning.

Today, on the 25th anniversary of the Nokia Research Center's founding, the Finnish handset manufacturer introduced a new concept phone whose entire body is a touch screen.

Dubbed the Nokia Gem because "precious stones have several sides," the front, back, and sides of the phone are an interactive display that changes depending on what function you're using at a given time.

For example, if you're using a navigation app on the Gem, you can have an overview map on one side of the phone and then flip it over to see a more detailed map view of your current location. Another instance shown in the video below is taking a photo and then using the touch-screen interface to wrap the entire image around the handset as a custom wallpaper. … Read more

Donald takes a break from his at-desk Occupy Wall Street protest to rant about the cellular monopoly and the disruptive potential of Republic Wireless.

And while we are fine with robot slugs that can rescue us from toxic rubble, we have to draw the line at robotic seeing-eye dogs. I mean, c'mon, there's no replacing man's best friend. Also, hipster 35mm film fetishists get a new way to spend $99, and Eric goes all Geek News on the latest Zelda game.

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Donald and Eric comment on RIM's dull vision of the future and are only slightly more enthusiastic about Microsoft's competing take on things. A Nokia researcher shows off a genuinely interesting vision of what flexible touch-screen devices might be able to accomplish. In Geek News, Eric confesses his love for Uncharted 3 and Harrison Ford's face.

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Say what you will about Microsoft's execution in developing cool products and services consumers want, where rivals such as Apple and Google have stolen a beat or three on the software giant. One thing Microsoft doesn't lack is the ability to create a clever glimpse into the possibilities for future technology.

Microsoft just released a video this morning laying out its notion about how technology for information workers, and even geeked-out families, might look five or ten years from now. It's a fascinating vision with screens projecting all sorts of data--everything from presentations to upcoming appointments--on folding … Read more

It's easy to get lost in all the new Android and Windows Phone handsets coming out soon, but CNET's Kent German, Bonnie Cha, and Nicole Lee have us covered. Today Verizon and Motorola announced their latest Droid Razr, a modern incarnation of the original Razr design with a non-bulletproof Kevlar backing and an ultraslim profile.

We also have a leaked shot of the Google Nexus Prime, a first take of the HTC Titan, and a Microsoft patent that encourages you to access touch screens through your pants. Too easy! This and more irreverent stories on today's episode of The 404 Podcast.… Read more

Veteran Time Inc. journalist Josh Quittner completed his defection from print media by joining Silicon Valley startup Flipboard--the popular social-magazine app for the iPad--this past July. Quittner is Flipboard's first editorial director. Before joining the company, he directed Time Inc.'s digital magazine strategy and ran editorial for Time.com. In the mid-1990s he was the first writer to cover the Internet exclusively for Time. And he's also had stints running editorial for Fortune and Business 2.0. So why leave a namesake publishing conglomerate for an unproven social-media experiment? Anyone familiar with consumer technology knows Flipboard … Read more

An internal U.S. Department of Homeland Security document indicates that a controversial program designed to predict whether a person will commit a crime is already being tested on some members of the public voluntarily, CNET has learned.

If this sounds a bit like the Tom Cruise movie called "Minority Report," or the CBS drama "Person of Interest," it is. But where "Minority Report" author Philip K. Dick enlisted psychics to predict crimes, DHS is betting on algorithms: it's building a "prototype screening facility" that it hopes will use factors such … Read more

What audio product needs to be invented? I'll start with an easy one: truly wireless speakers. That would be great; all they need to do is figure out how to beam enough power to speakers to drive their internal amplifiers. I doubt that's going to happen anytime soon.

Maybe an app that converts crappy-sounding iTunes to true 24-bit/96kHz files, or Bluetooth audio that sounds decent. How about surround-sound headphones to listen to all of the great music recorded in surround? Oh right, first we'd need great-sounding music surround recordings.

How about a great-sounding subwoofer that doesn'… Read more

How much is a pair of real-life Marty McFlys from "Back to the Future II" worth? To Tinie Tempah, the answer is $37,500. That's how much the British rapper paid for the Nike sneaks during a live auction Wednesday night in Los Angeles, TMZ reports.

"It was a total spur-of-the-moment decision," the rapper told the publication. "I was really touched in the moment by the presentation and next thing I knew I owned these iconic sneakers."

Anyone with deep pockets can still bid on one of 1,500 pairs of Nike's new Air Mag 2015 sneakers up for auction on eBay's Fashion Vault. Proceeds from the 10-day auction will go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's research.

The man behind the famed Marty McFly character, actor Michael J. Fox, went on the "Late Show with David Letterman" last night to show off the rechargeable kicks (see the vid below). They look like the originals, but sadly don't sport power laces.

Most of the shoes being auctioned haven't come close to the $37,500 price tag yet and are instead going for $4,000 to $11,000. … Read more