Thalmic Labs has launched a developer program today for MYO , an innovative new armband that enables the user to interact with technology using finger and hand-based air gestures.
A promotional video released by the firm in February detailed some pretty creative use-cases for the peripheral, including being able to turn up the volume on iTunes with a simple twist of the wrist, or moving between presentation slides with a horizontal two-finger flick.
Thalmic Labs believes that the applications for MYO are “virtually endless” and that’s part of the reason why it wants to get more developers on board. By making the gesture-control armband a flexible platform, rather than a static device, it has the potential to broaden its appeal and remain relevant when it launches next year as a commercial product.
It’s part of the reason why the Pebble smartwatch, originally funded on Kickstarter but now available in Best Buy stores across the United States, has become such a popular accessory.
Developers who are accepted to the program will gain early access to various documentation and APIs related to MYO. The company says “a very select group” will also receive a pre-production model as early as this summer.
“By opening this program up to developers and enabling them to build on top of MYO technology, we will ensure that MYO has a deep suite of software applications by the time the product reaches consumer hands,” Stephen Lake, CEO and co-founder of Thalmic Labs said.
MYO can be worn just above the elbow on either arm and detects the electrical activity produced by the user’s muscles. Although laptops, smartphones and desktop computers are an obvious choice, the aforementioned promotional clip also shows support for video games such as Mass Effect 3 .
The device is available to pre-order right now for $149, although the first units aren’t expected to ship until early 2014. Programmers can also submit their interest in the Developer Program right now by filling out this online form .
Thalmic Labs was founded in 2012 by three University of Waterloo Mechatronics Engineering graduates – Aaron Grant, Matthew Bailey, and Stephen Lake. The company has since grown to 10 employees and is now a part of Y Combinator ’s winter 2013 cohort.
Image Credit: Thalmic Labs
Hello Kitty lovers: this limited edition HTC Butterfly S is for you
Struggling Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC has unveiled a trick up its sleeve to attract more consumers to its phones: the kawaii and exceptionally-popular Hello Kitty.
HTC officially announced the “limited edition” Hello Kitty Butterfly S today, which is now being showcased on the HTC Taiwan website , as first spotted by Android Beat . According to various Taiwanese media outlets that attended HTC’s launch event, the device will retail for NT$22,900 ($765) — the same price the Butterfly S went on sale for in Taiwan at the end of June.
The Hello Kitty Butterfly S also comes pre-loaded with nine Hello Kitty wallpapers — all the better for those madly in love with the cartoon cat.
The Butterfly S, which was unveiled in mid-June , is a top-tier handset on par with the company’s flagship HTC One that features a 5-inch 1080p display and runs Android Jelly Bean on a quad-core 1.9GHZ Snapdragon 600 processor. It also comes with an UltraPixel Camera, as well as a 2.1-megapixel front-facing wide-angle camera, and should provide plenty of juice from its 3,200 mAh battery.
There has been no word yet on subsequent launches of the Butterfly S in Asia or internationally, though it makes sense that if the Hello Kitty Butterfly S does well, other markets may gladly welcome it — and the cutesy cartoon cat could well help refresh the company’s image (something it has been trying to do with Robert Downey Jr.).
Headline image via Thinkstock
Microsoft rumored to be offering some employees free white Xbox Ones
If you’ve ever wondered what it’d be like to work for Microsoft, the apparent news that some Microsoft employees will be eligible to receive a free white Xbox One unit might get your jealousy levels rising.
It’s not the first time that Microsoft has gifted employees some of its newest tech, it did the same with some Windows Phone 8 devices and its Surface RT tablets, but according to Reddit user Kinect10DLL Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business employees who are still employed at the console’s launch will be eligible for a free white Xbox One unit. In addition to the console, employees will apparently receive a year of Xbox Live membership and all first-party games included in the deal, presuming that “1P” means that.
It also appears to be inscribed with the words “I made this” and something else below.
We’ve asked Microsoft for confirmation of the legitimacy of this offer and will let you know if we hear anything back.
➤ Via Pocket-Lint
Featured Image Credit – ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images