Kokul's Tech World

Microsoft pushing for designer PCs?

2006-07-30T12:34:00.000-06:00

"Now that Macs are PCs -- we mean really real PCs that run Windows n' stuff -- the beige box world is having a harder time than ever keeping peoples' interest when their inner John Hodgman longs to walk on the wild side and snap up a Macintel. Re-enter Microsoft: the company's latest kick is, of course, vertical integration (see: Zune), so it should come as no surprise that Redmond's supposedly been issuing a strict aesthetic best-practices kit, called the Windows Vista Industrial Design Toolkit..."

Continued on at Engadget.

Wow, Microsoft seems to have a lot of surprises up its sleeve. First it was their announcement of their Zune MP3 Player which will compete with Apple's IPod, and now they have a strict aesthetic best-practices kit for Windows Vista just to make PCs look as good as Apple's Macs? Seems like Microsoft really wants to get onto Apple's turf. I must admit, if they can pull this off, we will be in for some beautiful computer cases in the future.

Hmm Windows Vista looks + cool looking PC cases. Seems like Microsoft may be able to compete with Apple's smooth and stylish Macs and Mac OS X.

Well good luck to Microsoft with this interesting endeavor.

Technorati : Apple, Desinger PCs, Mac s, Microsoft

Juroku Bank Adopts Hitachi's Finger Vein Authentication System for ATM Machines

2005-11-30T16:27:00.001-06:00

Tokyo (JCN) Nov 24, 2005- Hitachi announced on November 21 that the Juroku Bank in Gifu has adopted its proprietary finger vein authentication system and will begin offering a biometrics service for customers on December 26.

The bank will issue a cash card embedded with an IC chip and install automated teller machines (ATMs) with a finger vein authentication system provided by Hitachi. Hitachi will provide comprehensive support to the bank in everything from issuing smart cash cards to installing the authentication system to ATMs.

Initially the service will be available at the bank's head office and its Gifu Chuo Branch. The bank plans to deploy ATMs with the finger vein authentication system at all branches. With this move, the bank aims to reinforce its security measures and prevent crimes, such as unauthorized withdrawal and credit card skimming.

By Aki Tsukioka, JCN Staff Writer

From: JCNNetwork.

KDDI Designing Studio Unveils Prototype Handsets

2005-11-30T16:27:00.000-06:00

More at JCNNewswire.

Sony develops the most efficient Fuel Cell

2005-11-30T16:26:00.000-06:00

Sony has developed a fuel cell capable of generating 100 milliwatt-hours of power per sq. centimeter at room temperature, the highest generation efficiency ever achieved by a "direct methanol-type" device.

The firm attained this level of efficiency, about 60% higher than that possible using conventional technologies, by reducing the amount of power generation loss caused when methanol oozes out of the fuel cell into the atmosphere, company sources said.

The reduction was achieved by increasing the ability of the cell's electrolytic membrane to block the methanol to a level two to five times higher than other technologies.

In making the membrane, Sony used molecules called fullerenes.

Source: FuelCellWorks.

Cheap’o Creative Zen’o PMC

2005-11-30T16:25:00.000-06:00

It appears that the Creative Zen Personal Media Center wasn’t really flying off the shelves with its hefty $500 price tag, so Creative is hoping to give it a little nudge by offering an enormous $200 rebate on it. This device was never really that bad, it has somewhat of a big design, but that accompanies the high-end specs that this PMP features. $300 for a device of this caliber isn’t too bad, and a hell of a lot more effective at video watching than the, ahem, iPod Video. Yeah, we talk down on iPod from time to time. Better bookmark this, it won’t happen again for a while.

Zen PMC now $200 after Rebate [Digital Media Thoughts]

Scratchless Disc

2005-11-30T16:24:00.000-06:00

Want some serious protection for your discs? Try the oh-so-subtly named Scratchless Disc, being happily touted as “The World’s Safest Optical Disc.” Using 20 small bumps that are added to the bottom of the disc to raise it off the surface you so sloppily left it on, this crazy technology basically just keeps it from rubbing up against anything while it’s lying around. Add to this a layer of polymer and Scratchless-Disc LLC thinks you’ll be completely scratch-free. Almost. They hope. Comes in CD-R, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW and DVD-RW formats.

Scratchless Disc [Scratcless Disc]

The hono electric candle

2005-11-30T16:20:00.000-06:00

We’ve seen candles sportin’ LEDs with and without wax, pin-hole cameras, and even powerin’ faux-digital clocks. However, the $84 Metaphys hono is the first candle we’ve seen which actually mimics the real-deal like those robots which will one day replace us. Hold the “match” near the candle to light it or give it a tempestuous blow to snuff it out. And if your Red-packed lungs can only bark-up a feeble waft, the candle will flicker menacingly at your impending doom. Fully rechargeable and fully Japanese.

[Thanks, Nic]

Loc8tor lojacks your life

2005-11-30T16:19:00.000-06:00

Lost your keys or wallet again? Tag them to work with the Loc8tor, and the radar-like device will track them down in no time, within a 500-foot range. Tags can even be attached to children and pets, in case you’re too lazy to give a yell or check their known hiding places. That’s the promise behind this not-yet-released device, but the developers of Loc8tor are extremely vague on details of how it works. RFID? GPS? We have no idea. However, as long as it’s better than those cheesy, bulky RF key-locator things that Sharper Image sells, we’re willing to give it a go. They claim to be debuting at CES, so keep your eyes open.

[Via Tech Ticker]

MobiBlu DAH-1800T includes RFID smart card

2005-11-30T16:18:00.002-06:00

Finally, some news from MobiBlu that isn’t about how darn small their audio players are: The company is putting out a version of its DAH-1800T player with a built-in RFID smart card that can be used to pay fares on Korean subways and buses. We assume you can keep the player in your bag or pocket, and just get within close proximity of the card reader to make this work; otherwise, it’ll never fly in other markets, where subway riders have been warned not to flaunt their audio players (then again, rubbing your pants pocket against a turnstile may not be the best public behavior either).

PlaysForSure hits the Xbox 360 by way of iRiver’s H10

2005-11-30T16:18:00.001-06:00

Microsoft’s (or at least Bill’s) love of iRiver MP3 players is no secret, and today iRiver announced their H10 will be the first device ready to play back / stream PlaysForSure content through the Xbox 360 (presumably via its USB ports) with a firmware update to the MP3 player. Still, kinda makes you wonder why iRiver needed a firmware update to do this when the PlaysForSure audio DRM standard is already Microsoft’s, and that the 360 itself can play back PlaysForSure audio as a Media Center Extender — but we’ll try not to take it for granted that it could be more complicated than it sounds.

[Thanks, DJ Unimpressed]

Little Lluon small form factor media PC

2005-11-30T16:18:00.000-06:00

If you’re looking for a small form factor media PC and don’t want to wait for the rumored Intel-based Mac mini media center, you can always take a look at the Little Lluon, from Korea’s TG Trust. The 4.6-pound PC includes 512MB of RAM, an AMD Turion ML-32, SD/Memory Stick reader, a TV Tuner and, of course, Windows XP MCE. Of course, you shouldn’t expect to find this outside of Korea, so you may have to settle for something a little bulkier … or wait to see what Apple has under the covers.

Intel’s VIIV partnerships taking shape

2005-11-30T16:17:00.002-06:00

Intel wants to get you stoked about their new VIIV multimedia-centric home computing platform, the same way they wanted you to get stoked about Centrino — it’s not really any one particular thing, but more a bundle of products and technologies aimed at streamlining the user experience (and building a bit o’ the old brand recognition along the way). But Intel’s rolling deep on this one, going to the press today to rattle off a few dozen key players and partners in their VIIV initiative, which include big names Adobe, Ulead, MovieLink, Ubisoft, and so on. We’re not impressed by the showboating, of course, but TiVo seemed to be a big name in the pack, and is apparently working on what sounds to be even deeper TiVo ToGo integration in order to further ease transferring media from (and to) your TiVo box, as well as prepping content for use on your portable devices.

Logic3 PSP Solar Charger

2005-11-30T16:17:00.001-06:00

In what must have been three months of intense R&D, the engineers who brought us the solar charger shaped vaguely like a Nintendo DS have discovered that the PSP, and not the DS, has the most efficient shape for gathering the sun’s rays. Actually, we suspect that the two products were not in fact manufactured by the same company (and not just cause they’re sold on different sites), seeing as the DS-shaped charger only needs four hours to recharge while the PSP-shaped model needs eight- even though they both sport an 1800mAh li-ion battery. You’ll get four to five hours of extra playtime from this device claims the retailer, who goes on to sternly caution you to “just be careful you don’t mistake it for the PSP, they almost look one and the same.” Thanks for the heads up, guys.

Tivoli Audio iSongBook reviewed

2005-11-30T16:17:00.000-06:00

At $330, the Tivoli Audio iSongBook may be one of the most expensive ways to integrate your iPod into a home entertainment system, but you do get great sound for that price. That’s the conclusion reached by Playlist, which reviewed the iSongBook, which also includes an AM/FM clock radio. The review found the iSongBook to produce “excellent” sound, accomplished in part by a detachable speaker, allowing a separation of up to six feet between the system’s two speakers. The review also cited the iSongBook’s solid AM/FM radio, good battery life, and a good (though “quirky”) remote. The reviewer also paid the iSongBook the ultimate compliment: he said that, despite the high price, it’s the speaker system he’ll buy for himself (glad to know he’s not accepting a freebie!).

Brits willing to spend $60 for room-temperature butter

2005-11-30T16:16:00.001-06:00

We have nothing against butter — or Brits — but put the two of them together, and it’s a recipe for culinary (and arterial) chaos. Think about it; you go to a sandwich shop in the UK, and they put butter on everything. Ask them to skip it, and they look at you like you’ve got three heads. So, leave it to the Brits to come up with the ButterWizard, a £34.95 ($60) device that’s designed to keep butter at an “optimal spreadable temperature” of 65.3 degrees. The developer, David Alfille, of East Sussex-based Alfille Innovations, tells Reuters that the company was “trying to find out what people’s frustration with butter was,” and discovered that it’s “either too hard or too soft.” In fairness, the ButterWizard does let you set your own temperature, in case you want it runnier or firmer. But still, $60 for a heated butter dish? Then, again, maybe we shouldn’t talk. America, after all, is the home of the radio/toaster combo, which could be the perfect companion for this.

Nagase TRANSGEAR HMP-100 features local Gracenote DB

2005-11-30T16:16:00.000-06:00

Say hello to the TRANSGEAR HMP-100, a portable audio player from a Japanese company called Nagase Industrial Corporation. It comes stocked with Gracenote’s “MusicID” database — a database of song, genre, artist, and other information for roughly 3.5 million songs. Users connect their audio source to the player via analog audio input, and the player compares 15 seconds of waveform data with its internal “FingerPrints” database, matching the song up with its corresponding information from MusicID. Pretty slick if you ask us. But the fun doesn’t stop; the player even interfaces with a mobile phone so it can connect directly to the entire Gracenote database of 40 million songs, and retrieve information that doesn’t appear in its internal database. The player supports direct MP3 encoding at up to 192kbps, has a 6GB hard drive, 1.8-inch monochrome screen, and a rapid recharging battery that gets to 80% capacity in an hour and a half. Nagase plans to license this technology to other companies, so don’t be surprised if you see it turn up in someone else’s player.

ilo in-dash MP3-CD player with LCD and SD slot (for under $200!)

2005-11-30T16:15:00.000-06:00

You’ll have to forgive us for missing the feature-packed ilo XM-ready MP3-CD car stereo that came out a few months back, but rarely do our electonics shopping excursions include Wal-Mart as a featured destination. The ilo delivers a lot of bang for the $175 pricetag: XM-ready tuner (for displaying programming info), MP3-CD player, 2-inch color TFT-LCD, and perhaps sweetest of all, an SD slot that reads MP3s, JPEGs, and AVIs. Seems that next time we’re picketing Wal-Mart for their sexist glass ceiling and questionable labor practices, we may actually pop in and see what other goodies we’re missing out on.

[Thanks, Car Guy]

Samsung Sprint Power Vision Phones

2005-11-29T15:49:00.000-06:00

Samsung phonemeisters have been busy little bees these past few months, and the fruits of their labor now culminate in these two Sprint Power Vision phones, the MM-A920 and the MM-A900. Both use "broadband-like" speeds to let you get news, music and video. The services now offered on these phones include the recently announced Sprint Music Store, which lets you download songs directly to the phones, and includes 30 channels of live and on-demand video and audio from Sprint TV and On Demand, a personalized resource guide to news, traffic, weather, sports and entertainment. The MM-A920 has an embedded music player and music navigation controls as well as an expansion slot for up to 512MB of TRANSflash memory. The MM-A900 makes its mark by being just over a half-inch thick and extremely lightweight. It includes stereo speakers and a large display. Both phones have a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth and phone-as-modem capabilities. Both will retail for $349.

Low-Cost Wacom Tablet

2005-11-29T15:48:00.000-06:00

The Volito2 is Wacom's entry-level tablet device, and at about $67, it could be worth it to have text input, photo editing and the ability to add digital signatures to your documents (which can be priceless). It's nicely designed even though it has a smallish active area. Other features include a USB 2.0 port and a battery-free pen but remember, it does need to be connected to your computer or laptop to work. Comes with ArtRage Wacom Edition painting software from Ambient Design, created just for the Volito2.

Wacom Volito2 Pen Tablet [Bios Magazine]

360 Degree LED Display

2005-11-29T15:47:00.000-06:00

Want something that'll really impress the neighbors? Check out Dynascan's 360 LED display. Sure, right now it's being used for advertisements, but just think what you could do with this thing in your living room. It can be viewed from up to 20 feet away, perfect for the entryway of your new McMansion. And of course, you can actually view one single image all the way around or configure it with three images, each claiming 120 degrees of the surface. It's even possible to see this display outside. So, it may take another couple of years, but we'll let you know when it's ready for your home theater.

The 360 degree LED television [Gizmag]

Ventura SPARC rx Watch

2005-11-29T15:46:00.000-06:00

Priced at about $2,200, this watch probably won't make it into my stocking this Christmas but it does look pretty cool. The SPARC rx has a rotating face that turns it from a standard watch into a Nike-esque sports watch with just one twist. The case is made of Durinox, which is up there with ceramic and adamantium in terms of hardness, and the sapphire crystal won't scratch much, either. Not a lot of sexy features, but the styling is nice. They've got a few more models, but this one really stands out.

HD DVD and Blu-Ray Already Outdated?

2005-11-29T15:45:00.000-06:00

Blu-ray and HD DVD may become non-existent with the new HVD coming into play. HVD is the holographic versatile disc which has been in the making for nearly 20 years and it is finally going to happen, maybe. The two players in this battle are American InPhase and the Japanese company, Optware, which we have reported on in the past. Optware is already claiming that they will have a 200GB HVD drive out by the end of 2006. HVD is where it is at, better speed, size, and would possibly serve as a better new media format.

Blu-Ray/HD DVD Could Become Irrelevant as HVD Nears [Game Daily]

Intel and Ultrasuede’s “ultrashionable” laptop concept

2005-11-29T15:44:00.000-06:00

Oh yeah, we totally knew that someday micro-fibers would come and save us from a humdrum laptop existence. Who needs a sleekly styled lappy when you can just slap a few badly styled color swatches on the back of a clunker? That seems to be Intel and Ultrasuede's plan, who have teamed up to develop an "ultrafashionable" laptop concept by integrating micro-fiber fabric into the casing. You can blame the design on the Ultrasound peeps, Intel is just bringing their Centrino tech to the party so they're mainly tagging along for the PR. Are we the only ones not getting the design on these?

Via DarkVision.

Hitachi first to offer laptop with vein recognition

2005-11-29T15:43:00.000-06:00

We've already heard of Hitachi putting vein-recognition technology in handles, so the next logical step is obviously (?) laptops. The company announced the "FLORA Se210," a Windows XP Embedded system with no hard drive (for security purposes, we take it), 600MHz Celeron processor, 256MB of RAM, and otherwise normal specifications. Set at around $1,625, the system will launch on December 1st and is apparently the first notebook in the world to feature vein-recognition technology, which is touted as being both faster and harder to falsify versus traditional fingerprint recognition. LEDs shine into your finger, and depending on how the light is diffused by the veins in your finger, a certain pattern will be returned to the sensor. If that pattern doesn't match what is stored on the "KeyMobile" USB key included with the system, you'll be unable to access its data. Since the machine has no hard drive, Hitachi is marketing it as a enterprise-level terminal.

Nokia’s 9300i WiFi business phone announced

2005-11-29T15:42:00.000-06:00

The Nokia 9300i tri-band GSM smartphone with EDGE we saw last month is now official. Like Nokia's E-series phones, the 9300i targets business users and sports a wide 640 x 200 pixel display throwing down 65k colors with an additional 128 x 128 display on the cover, a full QWERTY keyboard, and support for BlackBerry Connect, Nokia Business Center, IBM WebSphere, Oracle Collaboration Suite, Seven Always-On Mail and Visto Mobile enterprise eMail solutions and all the MS Office attachments you can cram into the included 80MB internal storage with MMC expansion. It also features WiFi (802.11g), Bluetooth, and speakerphone with five-party conference calling skills. Fortunately, Nokia brings you wage-donkeys some relief with MPEG-4 and MP3 playback support in hopes of keeping you off the ledge. The 9300i should drop 'round these parts in Q1 '06.

SFFTech reviews and pans the AOpen Mini PC

2005-11-29T15:41:00.001-06:00

SFFTech got their hands on the ~~Apple~~ AOpen Mini PC and churned out a massive, and ultimately unflattering review of this Mac mini knock-off. While Apple and AOpen target the low end or entry level market with their mini offerings, SFFTech found the Mac mini to be a better choice for beginners or the "less technologically inclined." No surprise there. And, although the Mini PC looks to be ideal for home theater setup with its component, S-Video and composite video outputs for standard and high definition television sets, SFFTech found playback to "stutter and lag" HD videos while offering audio which simply "isn't up to the task." While AOpen's attempt at the mini is actually 1.5-centimeters smaller in length and width than Apple's, you'll still be limited in options for placement due to the "very annoying whine" emitted by the Mini PC's fans which only intensifies when the system is pushed to its limit. In fact, it was so bad during testing that the reviewer had to shut the machine down at times. While SFFTech gives AOpen credit for offering a low end PC in a "cool" form factor, they ultimately can't recommend it for PC enthusiasts or even as a file server due to the noise. Ouch.

sThe Cenix GMP-M6 pulls PMP and gaming dutie

2005-11-29T15:41:00.000-06:00

We have reached into the depths of a bad Babelfish translation to bring you this gamer centric Korean PMP, the Cenix GMP-M6. First off, it's 2-inch screen puts the player squarely in the Game Boy Micro size range and form factor, so if you've played with that little bugger you should know right away if this size is going to work for you. Of course, we mean that purely figuratively, because you're probably never going to see this thing in the States, along with it's 220 x 176 resolution, MiniSD expandability, 1GB of storage, and two included games. We can't quite tell if the 3D capabilities have any developed games to flaunt yet, but we do know that the usual suspects - MP3, WMA, OGG, MPEG-4 - are supported format-wise, and that an FM tuner is included for good measure. Hope you like 'em small and imported.

Is this the ROKR E2?

2005-11-29T15:40:00.000-06:00

Of course we have no way of verifying this is the real deal, but it looks like those Czech mobile peeps scored, well, something. While what they're claiming is the new ROKR E2 doesn't exactly have the tell-tale signs of a photoshop, the crappy quality of the picture still doesn't lend much credence to its case, so as always take with a grain of salt. But we were able to cherry-pick a few terms off their site: USB 2.0, stereo Bluetooth (i.e. A2DP), UMTS. Could it be true? Glory, glory.

The new Mac mini — with Front Row 2.0 and DVR?

2005-11-29T15:39:00.000-06:00

It's on ThinkSecret, which means, of course, that we can't verify the information or its source, but now the rumor on top of the pile for things we might see at Macworld in January is that the Mac mini will be given a second life as a Front Row 2.0-bearing digital media hub - complete with DVR features. Apparently it'll also be an Intel Mac, and feature an iPod dock, in addition to receiving a larger (physically and logically) 3.5-inch drive - all of which would undoubtedly result in a more corpulent Mac mini. There are a lot of things we could (but won't) get into here, but we would like to take a moment to say that if Apple did want to get their foot in the door to the living room really quick n' easy, an Intel Mac mini + Front Row + DVR + iPod dock would be the way to do it. In fact, the only thing they'd probably have to worry about would be the low-margin mini really cannibalizing thes sales of their non-Intel, non-DVR higher-margin iMac and Power Mac products (at least for the time being). But again, this is all unconfirmed, so we'll ease up on ya.

Linksys WRT54GX4 and WPC54GX4, MIMO router and PC card

2005-11-29T15:38:00.000-06:00

Linksys is hitting the market with a pair of new MIMO products, which the company says can offer double the speed and triple the range of traditional wireless networks. Like other MIMO routers, the WRT54GX4, which will retail for $150, uses more than one 802.11g radio to improve throughput when coupled with a compatible wireless card, such as the $100 WPC54GX4. Sounds impressive; let's see if these speed claims stand up in cou rt - or at least the court of public opinion.

Escient SE-D1 front-end for media servers and DVD jukeboxes

2005-11-29T15:37:00.000-06:00

When we last heard from Escient, the company was pitching its Fireball DVDM-100, a $2,000 set-top box that hooks into a Sony DVD-changer and provides an onscreen interface for browsing and accessing DVDs. Nearly two years later, the company is back with the Fireball SE-D1, which matches the features of the earlier unit, but comes at half the price. Of course, that doesn't mean the SE-D1 is cheap; you'll still need a DVD-changer, and possibly one of Escient's expensive media servers, in order to get the full value out of this thing. In the end, chances are you'll spend a lot less - and have a more flexible system - if you use a home theater PC and ~~rip~~ archive all of your DVDs to your hard drive.

Escient SE-D1 front-end for media servers and DVD jukeboxes

2005-11-29T15:36:00.000-06:00

Evergreen GH-SP-125W adds speaker to iPod shuffle

2005-11-29T15:30:00.000-06:00

The iPod shuffle has been overshadowed by the nano in recent months, but that doesn't mean developers have stopped trying to graft accessories onto the minimalist player. Evergreen Japan's GH-SP-125W speaker, which follows in the footsteps of the PodGear Pocket Party and Griffin TuneBox by adding a wimpy 2.5-watt speaker to the shuffle making it an instant micro-ghettoblaster. The $25, 2.5 ounce speaker can be strapped onto your shuffle and worn with it around your neck, though we can't quite figure out why you'd want to do that over slapping it on your shoulder- or bulking up the shuffle with a speaker system of any kind in the first place

Technorati : Evergreen GH-SP-125W adds speaker to iPod shuffle

AAS gets hands-on with the Nokia N92

2005-11-29T15:29:00.000-06:00

This is another one of those digital TV-enabled handsets that won't be making it over here in the States due to compatibility issues, but All About Symbian got their finely-manicured British hands on a pre-production version of the Nokia N92. To refresh your memory, this one's a flip-and-folder with GSM/UMTS, integrated 802.11g, a 2.8-inch, QVGA LCD screen, Bluetooth 2.0 (with A2DP!), and support for UPnP. Yeah, it's big and heavy for a handset, and they're not so hot on the keypad or how fragile the phone itself feels, but they liked watching mobile TV on the N92, which has a some nice touches like 30-second instant replay.

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Microsoft responds to Xbox 360 crash reports

2005-11-28T21:37:00.000-06:00

We know Microsoft has a lot riding on the Xbox 360’s success, so it makes sense that in response to the first reports of Xbox crashes, they told Reuters there were “a few isolated reports of consoles not working as expected” for a “very, very small fraction” of Xboxes sold, and that their “number of calls was not unexpected.” Maybe so, maybe no; there are always a certain amount of defective units on any product launch — especially one as huge as this — and it’s not usually something anyone can call just based reports on forums alone. Molly O’Donnell, Microsoft spokesperson, called it “Par for the course.” Then again, we did have to call the Xbox support line about six times before we could even get on hold to talk to someone, and wound up on the horn over two and a half hours because one of our retail units (the one that crashed a couple times) wouldn’t (and still won’t) connect to Live. We’ll have to chalk that up to amazing odds, since only time will tell how pervasive and persistent the Xbox 360 crash problems really are, but in the mean time Microsoft says they’ll overnight repair or replace any defective 360s in your midst. So if you’re seeing screens like those above, holla at ‘em.

[Thanks, gamestopzak]

Flybook micro-laptop reviewed

2005-11-28T21:36:00.001-06:00

Not the first time we’ve seen it reviewed, but the New York Times’ David Pogue got his hands on the very small and very stylish Flybook for a review, but found a few too many tradeoffs to justify the crazy $2,490 pricetag. What you get for the price is a full-featured Windows XP laptop that’s about the size of a DVD case and weighs just 2.7 pounds. Crammed inside is a 40 or 80GB hard drive, 512MB RAM, a less-than-impressive 1GHz Transmeta Crusoe processor, and a battery that’ll only give you 2 or 3 hours of running time. It also has built-in WiFi, Bluetooth and, of course, integrated cellular data. Not suprisingly, some of the biggest drawbacks are the keyboard and their take on the touchpoint, which of both seem to be awkward at best. Still, you know we want a fleet of ‘em for our crew — well, that or a bunch of OQOs.

Samsung’s gesture controlled SPH-S4000 and SCH-S400

2005-11-28T21:36:00.000-06:00

Samsung just announced their SPH-S4000 and SCH-S400 gesture controlled cellphones for Korea. Each of these clamshells is capable of recognizing your convulses for functions such as game play or for skipping or backpedaling MP3 tracks. The S4000 also features a compass, pedometer, thermometer, and health management functions for you out-of-doors active-types which can presumably alert your dietician when it senses the long slow pull of a Big Mac up to your anxious pie-hole.

Full body scanners coming to an aiport near you

2005-11-28T21:34:00.000-06:00

Looks like US airports are about to get a taste of those total-body scanners we last saw in London’s Heathrow. Fortunately (we think!), instead of using retina boiling X-Rays, a company called SafeView will take advantage of that Milimeter Wave technology we told you about earlier in the year allowing for a full 3D view of everything (yes everything) concealed ‘neath your duds. Now don’t fret Doris, the technology also allows your happy-places to be blurred keeping you safe from ogling, bored security pervs. The scan takes about 1.5 seconds and requires you to stand still inside a chamber like that pictured to the right. While the technology is said to replace pat-downs, it can not see inside your, uh, cavities so you’ve still got that going for ya thrill seekers.

Bluetooth to adopt Ultra Wideband in 2007

2005-11-28T21:32:00.000-06:00

Way back in May we heard the first rumblings of discussions between the Bluetooth SIG and Ultra Wideband proprietors about merging the two standards — well, looks like Bluetooth’s pulling the trigger on it, and will be updating their product roadmap to reflect the pairing (pun oh so intended), so that by Q3 2007 Bluetooth should have prototype UWB compatible BT cores a-cookin’. But there are still kinks to be worked out, namely that the two Ultra Wideband heavy hitters — the WiMedia Alliance and UWB Forum — have yet to come together and proceed with a single UWB standard, making the whole thing increasingly sticky for a third party like the Bluetooth SIG to step in and try to adopt the technology. Still, we can totally understand that another couple hundred megabits per second on top of Bluetooth 2.0’s 2.1mbps must have been mighty tantalizing, kinks and all.

Tmsuk’s back with the RIDC-01

2005-11-28T21:31:00.000-06:00

Here we were thinking that if you were laying out $85,000 for a robot, that it’d be at least smaller and cuter than previous generations, but Tmsuk’s totally showing us up with the RIDC-01. What’s it do? Well, we’re still trying to figure that out, but apparently it’s got an LCD projector mounted in its head for watching movies or displaying information, which, frankly, is a feature that seems worth close to a hundie grand to us. Once more, Tmsuk, we tip our hats to you.

Pantech’s IM-8600 5 megapixel cameraphone debuts

2005-11-28T21:30:00.001-06:00

Unless Helio wants to pull a rabbit out of their hat, we’re probably not going to get the IM-8600, Pantech’s 5 megapixel cameraphone we first heard about not so long ago. But if you’re ok with the fact that you may never lay eyes on it, it maybe of some small interest that it’s an inch thick, has a 2-inch QVGA display, and will run you a good $700 US in the South Korean market. They also introduced the less-notable IM-8700, a slider that features a rotating 2 megapixel camera. But if you’re going find yourself out Korea way, seems like the extra $100 you’d spend on its 5 megapixel sibling would be better spent — assuming these are GSM, anyway.

Continue reading “Pantech’s IM-8600 5 megapixel cameraphone debuts”

Samsung’s SPH-V6800 WiFi multimedia cellphone

2005-11-28T21:30:00.000-06:00

Samsung announced the SPH-V6800, their new WiFi-packin’ multimedia cellphone today. This EV-DO slider features a 2-inch QVGA display, 1.3 megapixel shooter, MPEG-4 recording and MP3/AAC playback, video on demand, and TV-out. And if our Babelnese is any good, it appears to be limited to about 90MB of storage without expansion, severely tempering your 802.11b downloading jones. Available in Korea on the KTF network for about $477.

[Via SamsungHQ, Thanks AFD]

Asiatotal’s iT: the return of the “free” PC

2005-11-28T21:29:00.002-06:00

Every few years, it seems, the idea of a “free” PC resurfaces; usually, it’s a computer that you pick up via a long-term commitment to an ISP, like the boxes People PC used to offer. The latest wrinkle, the iT from Hong Kong’s Asiatotal, is a little different. The iT is a stripped-down desktop running Windows CE, with a 7-inch LCD and a 400 MHz processor. Asiatotal plans to give away the iT in developing markets, via a sponsorship model: the computer includes 10 dedicated hotkeys for sponsors. It’s an interesting concept, and one that could potentially reach the developing world more rapidly than the much-heralded $100 PC — the profit motive tends to make things happen a little more quickly than altruism. However, it remains to be seen whether Asiatotal can sell enough ads to make this work, and whether advertisers, once on board, are willing to stick around long enough to turn this into a mass-market product.

LG’s PM80: the world’s first Pocket PC with T-DMB TV

2005-11-28T21:29:00.001-06:00

Koreans already have cellphones sporting digital TV, so why not a PDA, right? LG’s just announced the PM80, a new Pocket PC featuring a 3.5-inch QVGA display, 64MB RAM and 64MB ROM with SD expansion, 2.5 hours of juice, and a 312 MHz Intel processor driving Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 2003 SE (aka the old version). And no, that’s not the stylus protruding from the top on the PM80… T-DMB is broadcast at 200 MHz (VHF) in South Korea, so unlike satellite DMB cellphones receiving broadcasts at the higher 2.6 GHz (UHF), terrestrial lovin’ devices sport those goofy telescoping antennas which just ain’t gonna fly in the west. Expect these to drop in Korea-only for about $383 for the base unit or $576 with optional GPS.

Canon PowerShot SD30/IXUS i digicam reviewed

2005-11-28T21:29:00.000-06:00

Canon’s PowerShot SD30 subcompact digicam (known outside the US as the IXUS i) may appeal to the fashiony crowd with its svelte dimensions and multiple colors, but this is a Canon, and according to LetsGoDigital, that means a lot. The site reviewed the SD30, and found that the 5 megapixel cam produces great shots, and is highly responsive, with a quick startup and fast autofocusing. There are some downsides, however, including a small (1.8-inch) LCD and limited flash power — neither of which is surprising in a subcompact. Overall, however LetsGo pronounced it an “excellent” digicam for users “looking for a trendy design, fine photo quality and user friendliness.”

Adaptec’s AVC-3610 USB TV tuner with dual encoding

2005-11-28T21:28:00.000-06:00

If you’ve been looking for a tuner for your PC, and those PCI slots are all full up, you might want to check Adaptec’s new USB 2.0 TV tuner. The AVC-3610 is designed for the Windows Media Center 2005 OS, but it should be fine with other DVR software. It has dual MPEG-2 hardware encoding from Coaxial, S-Video and RCA inputs, along with a FM radio receiver, and they’re also throwing in a remote for controlling your media center along with your other snazzy media components. It’s no bargain, the box will cost you $229, but if you can swing it we’re sure you can put all those inputs to good use.

Casio Waterproof Portable DVD Players DV-900CW and DV-700CW

2005-09-04T15:59:00.001-06:00

Casio seems to be totally into bringing home entertainment into the bath room. They announced now waterproof portable DVD players. They already offer water-proof portable TVs designed for the bath room.

The new Casio DV-900CW features a 9 inch TFT screen, whereas the DV-700CW has a 7 inch screen. The resolution is 480x234px. The waterproof DVD players are also TV sets.
The battery holds for 3 hours.
More details in this Casio press-release (Japanese). First seen on NewLaunches. Read more

iRiver U10 on Sale in Europe

2005-09-04T15:59:00.000-06:00

Amazon UK and Amazon Germany are listing the new slick iRiver U10 portable media player.

We reported in early July that the iRiver U10 would be released in August in the UK. Well it got a bit later. Amazon UK offers the iRiver U10 for pre-order with a September 26th shipping date.
Amazon Germany on the other hand already offers it for purchase with a delivery time of 1 to 2 weeks.
The 1GB iRiver U10 sells for 229,00 Euro and the 2GB iRiver U10 sells for 279,00 Euro.

The 1GB iRiver U10 on Amazon UK sells for £149.99 and the 2GB iRiver U10 for £189.99. Read more

Navman iCN320 and iCN550

2005-09-04T15:50:00.001-06:00

UberGizmo has the scoop on two new Navman GPS devices; the iCN320 and iCN550. They’ll be released in Europe in about two weeks, and the Europe-centric map on an included MMC card is reflective of that (if and when these make it to the US, we’ll assume that they’ll be replaced with US maps). Features are pretty sub-standard, with regular LCD screens, only about a 2-hour battery life, and no USB ports.

The iCN550 is the higher end version, and its additional features show why: optional real-time traffic management system (very handy for maneuvering in busy city streets), touch screen, SD/MMC slot, headset plug, and integrated 4GB hard drive with complete maps of EU countries.

No word on pricing or availability.

Launch: Navman iCN320 and iCN550 [UberGizmo]

PS3 to Support Keyboard and Mouse; PSP as Remote

2005-09-04T15:50:00.000-06:00

Sony has officially released some details about the PS3, which include seven Bluetooth 2.0 compliant controllers, and six USB slots — of which you can plug in your favorite keyboard and mouse. With these two additions, Sony is definitely making a play at the PC gaming market; even the representative said something about being able to play Unreal Tournament 2007 using the keyboard and mouse.

Other news include that you can use your PSP as a remote for the upcoming PS3, but not so much as a controller.

Playstation 3 supports mouse and keyboard [TheInquirer]

iceblo Q - Roomba’s Strange Cousin

2005-09-04T15:49:00.001-06:00

We’ve seen a few dumpy-looking Roomba-alikes in our day, but it seems someone out there might finally out-Roomba iRobot. The iceblo Q, shown here in pink, is a “silent” robotic floor vac priced at about $600 with Nano Silver filters (??) to filter the air around the device.

Korea-only, now, and I’m pretty sure it will stay that way if iRobot has anything to say about it. This vacuum has voice prompts, which is nice, but I’m not sure I want to anthropomorphize my floor vacuum and more than I already do.

iclebo Q - Intelligent and Silent cleaning roboticlebo Q - Intelligent and Silent cleaning robot [NewLaunches via AVing]

Intel and Philips: It’s Showline

2005-09-04T15:49:00.000-06:00

Intel’s processing power and Philips’ home entertainment mojo are about to join forces. Latest word from the IFA show in Berlin, is that Intel and Philips will get together to manufacture and market home entertainment centers with Intel chips. The Philips Showline Media Center, as it will be called, will allow the sharing and storage of photos, music, and video with Microsoft’s Window Media Center 2005. This PC-based machine features two TV tuner cards, 250GB hard drive, a CD/DVD recorder, Wi-Fi, a multi-format card reader (that can read SD/MMC/Compact Flash/Memory Stick), two FireWire ports, four USB 2.0 ports, and of course, a 3Ghz Pentium 4 processor.

Apparently it’ll be out in Europe starting October 2005, though we’re not sure on the pricing and its availability in the rest of the world. This coincides quite nicely with Intel’s VIIV initiative, Intel’s latest haphazard attempt at grokking the consumer electronics market. It’ll be interesting to see if consumers catch on to the ever-increasing integration of the PC in the living room.

Intel, Philips Partner For Home Entertainment [ExtremeTech]

Samsung SPH-A560 and PM-A840 (SPH-A840) by Sprint

2005-09-04T15:48:00.001-06:00

Samsung is spitting these products out all over the place lately; I’m almost bleary-eyed from all the Samsung goodness. Their latest cellphone offerings are the SPH-A560 and PM-A840/SPH-A840, which will both be offered by Sprint. The SPH-A560 is the lower-end of the two, and is a pretty basic phone with 65k color display, text messaging capabilities, and a speakerphone. The PM-A840/SPH-A840 has much the same features except that it also has a monochrome external display and a VGA camera.

The Samsung SPH-A560 is a steal at only $9.99 after a $160 instant savings and a 2-year contract. The PM-A840/SPH-A840 isn’t too shabby either at $60 after a $170 instant savings and the same 2-year contract.

Sprint Introduces Samsung SPH-A560 [Mobileburn]
Sprint Introduces Samsung PM-A840 [Mobileburn]

simPC, It’s Simple!

2005-09-04T15:48:00.000-06:00

This is the simPC. It is a micro PC that is roughly the size of a VHS cassette tape. This machine has the ability to surf the internet, E-mail, do online banking, browse photo, basic word processing and making internet phone calls. That is it. On the downside, there is no CD burning, and no ways to “install software yourself.” On the up-side there it is easy to use, safe, problem free (supposedly), small, quiet and energy efficient. Probably a good PC for Grandma, or maybe the pet dog, other than that most people are going to need quite a bit more out of a PC. At € 349 ($430 USD) there are definitely better PC options out there.

Product Page

Sony Vaio U-Series

2005-09-04T15:46:00.000-06:00

From the incredibly popular U-series, the 1.2 pound Sony Vaio U50 is the lightest PC on the market. Among its many features: multiple quick-launch buttons on its glowing panel, transflective touchscreen TFT and fin-shaped stylus, pointing stick, scrolling control, external foldable keyboard, corded remote control, 900mhz processor, 20gb HDD, Windows XP, and much more.
[more info]

New Cool LED Watch From Japan

2005-09-04T15:45:00.000-06:00

"The High Frequency by Equalizer has a wide face with tons of blue LEDs simulating a equalizer display. This LED watch is possibly the coolest yet from TokyoFlash. The new LED watch sells for $161.63. "
More details on Wrist Dreams.
From I4U.

Dutch police launch system to track banned soccer fans

2005-09-04T15:41:00.000-06:00

Well, looks like the Dutch police were pretty happy with the results of their recent high-tech recon efforts at nabbing soccer rioters via SMS, so they’ve launched a computer-based system to make sure banned fans have stayed home. A computer with voice recognition software calls a random selection fans with stadium bans at their homes during matches and identifies them by voice to make sure they’re not at the stadium. The calls can’t be forwarded to cellphones, which makes it seem sort of odd that banned fans have to be at home during soccer matches. We’re not sure what happens if they’ve gone on vacation… maybe best to get that VoIP phone and drag your router with you if you’re liable to get called.

Parrot Easydrive Bluetooth speakerphone kit

2005-09-04T15:40:00.002-06:00

By now you’ve probably heard about recent studies that say that driving while talking on the phone is dangerous, whether you’re using a handheld cellphone or not. But that hasn’t stopped innovative manufacturers from continuing to produce handsfree devices for chatty drivers. They’re just pitching them as convenience tools instead of safety ones. Case in point is Parrot’s Easydrive Bluetooth speaker. Pop the power supply into the lighter port, pair it with your cellphone, and you’re in business. Not too different from other Bluetooth speakers on the market. At least it lets you keep both hands on the wheel.

Hitachi Prius series includes DH75N desktop with HDMI out

2005-09-04T15:40:00.001-06:00

Hitachi has rolled out a series of desktop and laptops under the Prius brand. Most include at least some media features (though all come bundled with XP Home), but the top-of-the-line model, the Prius Desk DH75N, looks like the clear winner, with a digital tuner and HDMI output to pump HD video straight to a compatible TV. These are Japan-only models for now, and from the specs, it looks like the DH75N doesn’t include HDCP hardware DRM, though we somehow imagine that a U.S. model would (Hitachi has previously shipped HDCP-compatible displays in the U.S.). Oh, and word is that these all get about 50 mpg thanks to their hybrid engines.

Turtle Beach X51 Surround Sound phones won’t blow you away

2005-09-04T15:40:00.000-06:00

Surround Sound headphones for computers typically appeal to either gamers or audiophiles (unless you really like to feel like you’re being interrogated by the other parties on your conference calls). Looks like the $50 Turtle Beach Ear Force X51 phones don’t quite satisfy either market. According to PC Magazine’s review, the surround part works, but the range doesn’t cut it. For gamers, the review cites “disappointing explosions,” and who wants that?

Sandisk Sansa Car Transmitter adds charger/FM output

2005-09-04T15:39:00.002-06:00

If you’re one of the handful of people using a Sansa e100 series audio player from SanDisk, you can now dock it in your car and play it through your radio just like owners of those other, more popular and versatile players. The $60 SanDisk Sansa Car Transmitter powers the Sansa via the car’s lighter port, and lets you play it over FM radio. Of course, if you’re taking a long road trip, you’d better be prepared to bring along some extra SD cards; the Sansa’s internal memory still maxes out at 1GB.

Douglas.J x-type MP3 player

2005-09-04T15:39:00.001-06:00

Wish we could snag a decent pic of this, but the website defies our best attempts. It looks like the Douglas.J net record label is putting out a signature MP3 player signed by RnB artist Xavier Aeon, which is an interesting piece of merch for a record company to be throwing out. Putting out your album on an iPod shuffle is one thing, but retailing your own player is another. Looks like the x-type MP3 player is gonna fly sometime this winter in capacities from 128MB to 1GB, come with a voice recorder, FM tuner, e-book reader, sleep timer, and a telephone directory in 13 languages — which is precisely what other DAPs are lacking. Right.

Philips’ SMS pillow

2005-09-04T15:39:00.000-06:00

Why whisper sweet nothings when you can just text them? Philips Research has cooked up a number of prototypes for photonic textile fabrics that they’ll be showing off at the Internationale Funkausstellung 2005 (which sounds like a rave but we’re guessing is likely a more staid type of event) in Berlin, and one of them is this SMS pillow. You send a text message to it and the words scroll across the pillow, thanks to flexible arrays of multicolored LEDs embedded in the fabric. Future applications for this type of LED-embedded fabric will be on-the-fly customizable clothing. As long as we can read our RSS feeds on our next pair of khakis, we’re so there.

Da-Lite Acoustical Imager adds speakers to a display’s frame

2005-09-04T15:38:00.001-06:00

Here’s another goody if you’re looking to minimize the bulk of your home theater speakers without losing audio quality in the process. The Da-Lite Acoustical Imager Projector is a set of JBL speakers that are incorporated in a frame (available in a wide range of materials to suit any decor) ringing a flat-screen display. Ray Adkins of Audioholics actually went to the effort of assembling the $1,925 system, and found that, while it didn’t deliver a true surround-sound experience, it was ” the perfect product for anyone that was thinking of a large flat monitor and small satellite system."

Cellophane converts an LCD or cameraphone display to 3D

2005-09-04T15:38:00.000-06:00

Wow, cellophane — who knew? Keigo Iizuka knew, that’s who — and he describes how the simple application of cellophane to an LCD can convert it into a 3D display. The technique takes advantage of the fact that light emanating from the liquid crystal screen of a laptop or cellphone is linearly polarized, and is therefore easily manipulated by a polarizer sheet such as cellophane. The technique also includes a method for obviating the need to wear those ultra-hip 3D glasses, by making the screen wear the glasses instead.

KDDI’s EZ Passenger Seat Navi

2005-09-04T15:37:00.002-06:00

KDDI has announced a new navigation service for their CDMA 1X WIN handsets over in Japan called “EZ Passenger Seat Navi.” Based on the same technology that made the company’s “EZ Navi Walker” pedestrian GPS navigation system possible (yes, walking directions are frequently needed in Japan), EZ Passenger Seat Navi provides basic driving direction assistance to those with compatible handsets. The system offers most of the basic GPS features such as voice commands, auto-reroute if you go off course, refreshes every second, and preference-based searches. But what’s most attractive is the price of the service — you can pay either 157 yen (about $1.42) for 24 hours of usage, or 315 yen ($2.86) for an entire month. Considering the costs associated with purchasing a dedicated GPS system for your car, this makes a nice low-cost alternative for those only wanting basic functionality.

Make contactless payments from your watch and jewelry

2005-09-04T15:37:00.001-06:00

It’s not exactly just around the corner or anything, but banks and credit card companies are already looking beyond the cellphone as contactless payment system (that the States doesn’t have yet…) and into even more mundane objects such as money clips (without cash in them…?), wristwatches, keychains and jewelry to employ the same technology. The trend is squarely heading towards convincing consumers to stop using cash to pay for small purchases, and credit card companies are looking for ways to differentiate themselves in a crowded and competitive market by exploring options other than trying to stuff more cards into people’s wallets. The list of merchants accepting contactless payments is slowly growing, and pilot projects for some of these systems, including contactless-capable mobile phones, are likely to start sometime next year — but experts say the expense of the technology will put wide adoption in the States off for another two to three years.

Griffin’s new mo betta iTrip

2005-09-04T15:37:00.000-06:00

The iTrip—if you’ve got an iPod, you may well have one. If you don’t, you kind of wished Griffin made one for whichever MP3 player you do have. Well, the classic still comes in white (and U2 black), but now with an LCD and more powerful broadcasting capabilities, they’re claiming clear, better-than-tape audio even in places with a proper radio signal.

Samsung’s E888

2005-09-04T15:36:00.001-06:00

Look’s like Samsung’s attack-from-all-angles strategy’s been doing them fairly well—their assault on Sony Ericsson’s Premini with the SCH-X620 was but stage one, followed up by their E888. An even smaller device than its predecessor (that’s actually a slider, too) with a mere 87 x 47 x 23mm footprint, you shouldn’t count on it being the most feature-packed smartphone ever released, but if nothing else you’ll get a rotating camera.

Niveus K2 - HTPC for the “cost is no object” market

2005-09-04T15:36:00.000-06:00

We like companies that are honest about how they market their products, so we’ve got to give Niveus Media some props for coming right out and saying that their K2 home theater PC, which was first unveiled at CES earlier this year, is targeted at the “cost is no object” segment of the market. The K2 (all of Niveus’ products are named after mountains) boasts a P4 at 3.6Ghz, 2GB of RAM, a 1TB HDD (yes, you read that right), dual TV tuners, dual HDTV tuners, and High Definition 6-Channel Audio. It’s also passively cooled, so you’re not going to hear a fan kick in while you’re in the middle of a flick. So, just in case cost is an object, how much does all that speed, storage, RAM and video power run? Well, Niveus refuses to post prices for their high-end units on their web site, insisting that you call or email to get the numbers. But we assume it’s a bit more than the $5,000 that their Denali system — which is similar to the K2, but has more limited audio capabilities — goes for.

Blu-ray players to “punish” users who hack their gear?

2005-09-04T15:35:00.000-06:00

Of course the looming next-gen optical format war about to go down between Blu-ray and HD-DVD might be kind of interesting if it weren’t taking place, well, in your very livingroom. But with talks broken down and devices starting to crop up, it looks like the first blows will soon be felt—but aren’t they supposed to be hitting one another and not the end user? Because this little bit in a Reuters piece this morning left us a little unsettled:

On top of that, consumers should expect punishment for tinkering with their Blu-ray players, as many have done with current DVD players, for instance to remove regional coding. The new, Internet-connected and secure players will report any “hack” and the device can be disabled remotely.

Are they talking about PVP-OPM techniques and rejected HDMI keys, or something else far more sinister? Because apparently “A hacked player is any player that is doing something it’s not supposed to do,” which open to a pretty fair amount of interpretation—most of which egregious.

Panasonic SDR-S100 3CCD SD pocket camcorder

2005-09-04T15:34:00.001-06:00

It may not be an Everio, but we’re pretty sure it’s no DN-HDDV8000 either, but Panasonic’s new SDR-S100 is the first SD-based pocket camcorder we’ve seen to use 3 CCDs. And this is definitely a pocket camcorder with 2 x 3.8 x 3.2-inch dimensions and a weight of just 8.5 ounces. The SDR-100 also includes 10x optical zoom and image stabilization, and can capture up to 25 minutes of MPEG-2 video to its included 2GB SD card—but that SD card is the real issue with this. While Panasonic’s price on this is about $1,200—about $400 less than the 3CCD Everio GZ-MC500—the JVC model has a 4GB removable microdrive. Do the math on adding storage to either unit, and it may seem like a wash since bumping this up to 4GB still keeps the price at under $1,400. But you can add microdrives in larger capacities, with 6GB versions going for under $300, while for now SD cards top out at 2GB, meaning you’ll be doing a lot of card-swapping if you need to shoot anything longer than a half hour.

iPod mini goes flash / new ROKR details

2005-09-04T15:34:00.000-06:00

We didn’t really think they were going to do it, but it looks like perhaps Apple took Samsung up on their offer after all (or someone, anyway). Later this month we can apparently expect Apple to debut 4GB, 6GB, and 8GB flash iPod minis, which will only be 75-80% of their current size. Apparently the screen’s also going color too, but will shrink about 0.2-inches from its current size—prices should remain steady, but the 8 gigger could cost $299.

Thinksecret’s apparently also got some new details on the ROKR, which they claim will apparently come in 256MB and 512MB capacities, and that users will be able to download music over the air for $2 a pop—all about what we’d expected from the whole deal.

Hands-on with the HTC Universal

2005-09-04T15:33:00.001-06:00

As promised, a gallery of HTC Universal pics to accompany our question and answer session from earlier today. If you’d like pics of something specific that we may have missed, let us know and we’ll try our best to accomodate you.

Continue reading “Hands-on with the HTC Universal”

Blaupunkt’s Lucca portable car GPS unit

2005-09-04T15:33:00.000-06:00

Blaupunkt showed off their Lucca portable car GPS unit at the IFA show in Berlin today, the audio-centric company’s first such unit. The Lucca will come in two different models, a £370 version that apparantly attaches to your windshield, and slightly pricier £430 Smart Cradle edition that’s wired straight to your car’s speakers. Both versions will play music and display photos in addition to giving you voice directions. Maps are stored on SD cards, so we presume that’s what you use for MP3s and pics as well. Both units should be on sale in the UK by mid-October. Also on display at Blankpunkt booth was a concept Bluetooth iPod dock that the company says will be available in 2007, which will let you control your iPod using the Lucca’s touchscreen display.

The Prismiq Commander Wireless Router

2005-09-04T15:32:00.001-06:00

Nothing you couldn’t do with a Linksys and a little third-party firmware action (or a bit o’ sophiticated software network monitoring), but if you’re interested in combining ease of use and the ability to spy on exactly what the hell kind of traffic’s getting pumped through your Internet connection, say hello to the Prismiq Commander Wireless Router. Yes, you can now most certainly monitor your kids’ (or spouse’s) IM conversations, email, and web traffic—the whole shebang—with relative ease, no less. An interesting product, yes, but a little freaky, and a whole lot intrusive. What ever happened to a little good old fashioned trust in your family, hmm?

NTT DoCoMo tests 100mbps 4G cellular data

2005-09-04T15:32:00.000-06:00

What we’ve got to report on 4G is that while the numbers have fallen from the sky a little, what hasn’t changed is the fact that Japan’s still light years ahead. 4G was originally estimated to run as slow as 20mbps and as fast as 1gbps, and be rolled out initially by 2010 courtesy of everyone’s favorite Japanese carrier, NTT DoCoMo. But it looks like they may just make good on the claim that they’re 4-years ahead of schedule, since they’ve already succesfully completed a dry run test of 100mbps stationary cellular data. The 4G standard doesn’t have a ratified standard yet though (like a certain other wireless standard), so don’t expect to see this biz occupying American airwaves until at least 2046.

Kansei, Japan’s emotional android

2005-09-04T15:30:00.001-06:00

Dude, we’re not in the Uncanny Valley any more; researchers at Japan’s Robot and Science Institute are taking us for a stroll through the Leatherface Valley with Kansei, a creepy new robot with a vocabulary of over 430,000 words that’s designed to react emotionally to whatever it’s discussing. If you’ve been waiting for a robot that can turn that frown upside down this is it — researchers have taught Kansei how to smile when it’s happy and frown when it’s sad by using word association software to build an artificial intelligence program that allows the bot to make judgements about whether it likes something or not.

Kodak launches WiFi-enabled EasyShare 500 4x6 printer

2005-09-04T15:30:00.000-06:00

As Kodak gets ready to finally release the WiFi-enabled EasyShare One camer a, the company is also preparing to roll some appropriately wireless peripherals as well. The Kodak EasyShare 500 printer looks like just about every other dedicated 4x6 printer out there, except for a couple of differences: one is just a matter of degree — the printer sports a 3.5-inch LCD preview screen for computerless printing. The bigger difference is that the $249 printer accepts an optional WiFi card, allowing direct wireless printing from the EasyShare One. The printer also has Bluetooth built-in, for wireless printing from cameraphones or Bluetooth-enabled computers. Of course, this wouldn’t be a Kodak without a dock, so you can pop your camera in for easy printing, though we can’t help but think this is one case where the optional $179 dock would be a less attractive option, given the printer’s wireless chops.

Music Thing: Akai MPC-2500 Sampler

2005-09-04T15:29:00.002-06:00

Each week Tom Whitwell of Music Thing highlights the best of the new music gear that’s coming out, as well as noteworthy vintage equipment:

This week, Akai announced the MPC-2500. If you’ve listened to the radio in the last decade, you’ve heard an MPC - the series of sampler/sequencer/drum machines used by pretty much every hip hop producer. Dr Dre has five MPC-3000s lined up in a row in his studio, because he doesn’t like changing disks. DJ Shadow recorded ‘Endtroducing’ using just an MPC-60, a turntable and a multitrack.

Predictably, there’s a thriving market in MPC customisation. Forat Electronics in Studio City will take your MPC-2000XL, replace the front panel with (in Kanye West’s case) Louis Vuitton print, and add wooden side panels and hack the display.

Continue reading “Music Thing: Akai MPC-2500 Sampler”

How would you change the Sony Ericsson P910?

2005-09-04T15:29:00.001-06:00

Aight folks, gather ‘round the family hearth upon which is laid the Sony Ericsson P910 for public scrutiny. What would you change about it? We’ll start off with just a few:

integrated WiFi
more tactile keyboard
a light for the camera

You’re up — go!

TireTagz turn hubcaps into a tacky LED display

2005-09-04T15:29:00.000-06:00

Looking to make one more part of your car into a blinking, neon display? Tire Tagz, which will no doubt appeal to the same drivers who go for spinners and flashy rims, use LEDs to display animated or static images while the car is in motion. When the car is stopped, the unit displays nothing, making it a less obvious target for thieves. We’re sure this will also end up in another market: as a more versatile successor for those hubcap-based ads we saw on some New York taxis last year.

3D HDTV, no glasses required

2005-09-04T15:28:00.002-06:00

Seems like 3D glasses are taking a beating this week. Newsight Corporation has developed a technique for displaying HDTV in 3D without the need for wearing special glasses. The technique uses software processing to pass HD video streams through a converter chip that creates eight stereo views on-the-fly. When a filter is applied to project each of the eight views in a slightly different direction on an LCD monitor, the human eye picks up the different scenes and composites them into a coherent three-dimensional view. We hope this means horror movies are about to get a whole lot scarier.

Yakumo Mega Image 85D

2005-09-04T15:28:00.001-06:00

Relative newcomer to the digital camera market Yakumo is putting out this entry-level 5 megapixel Mega Image 85D. It’s designed for those who want easy photography accompanied by enough versatility in its manual controls to be creative as well. Shooting at a high resolution of 3648 x 2736 (interpolated to 8 megapixels), the 85D sports a relatively small LCD display at 1.6-inches. It’s doing SD or MMC for storage on top of its internal 16MB of memory, and offers 8X optical, 4X digital zooms. It also captures MPEG4 video at 320 x 240 pixels, and carries a pricetag of 249 euro/$312USD.

Motion-controlled remote iPod interface

2005-09-04T15:28:00.000-06:00

Those of us who live in places where it’s winter climate more often than not will grok this — an interface for controlling your iPod remotely based on your general body movements, so you don’t have to extricate precious extremeties from their warm hiding spots within gloves, mittens, et al. Peter Tyser has built a prototype of an interface that uses an accelerometer to detect the user’s motion, and a microprocessor to interpret the movements and send the appropriate commands to the iPod remotely. Potentially very useful, but you’ll have to be extra careful when dancing so as not to unintentionally interrupt your playlist.

Creative Zen Micro Photo previewed

2005-09-04T15:27:00.003-06:00

Well, we knew some changes were on the horizon for the Creative Zen Micro Photo this fall, and CNet has some more details. It’ll see the bump up to 8GB that we already knew about, plus the display will be using some new trademarked BriteVue technology, though it’s not really clear what that actually entails. You’ll get 10 color choices for the unit, and what’s hopefully a gorgeous screen — but there’s no video support, and these days a color screen on a DAP is far from novel anymore. The Zen Micro Photo will also be shipping with a bare minimum of accessories, unlike its predecessor the non-photo Zen Micro when it first shipped. All of these factors will probably the dampen the impact of the Zen Micro Photo by the time it hits this fall, though at $249 it should still be a fairly good deal for the price/storage ratio.

DLO mini fm adds radio, headphone amp to iPod mini

2005-09-04T15:27:00.002-06:00

Since Apple steadfastly refuses to add an FM tuner to the iPod, it’s fallen to third-party vendors to add them as aftermarket accessories. And fortunately for iPod-toting radio lovers, vendors continue to make them better and more versatile. As reported by iLounge, DLO’s mini fm, due out later this year for under $50, snaps onto the top of an iPod mini (including, we assume, the new flash minis due to be announced next week), and draws its power from the mini’s battery (no comment). It also includes a headphone amplifier, which could be handy if you’ve ignored all the warnings and continue to listen to your iPod on the subway.

Tangent’s Pendant LCDPC-7500 packs a P4 into a 17-inch LCD

2005-09-04T15:27:00.001-06:00

We’re going to resist any urge to refer to the Pendant LCDPC-7500 from Tangent as an iMac G5 knockoff, since, other than the fact that both are computers built into LCD displays (a concept that Apple didn’t invent), they’re pretty different. For one thing, the Pendant, which is built around a 17-inch display, includes a number of things you won’t find in the iMac, including built-in flash card slots, a bundled wireless keyboard and mouse, and two PCI 32-bit slots. It’s also cheaper, with an MSRP of $1,295 for a system with a P4 at 3.0GHz, a 120GB HDD and 512MB RAM. So, yeah, let’s not even mention the iMac (though we know that, unlike us, some of you will simply not be able to resist).

The Hyundai HY-T08

2005-09-04T15:27:00.000-06:00

Yeah, it’s the very same Hyundai, but this mini flash-based audio and video player is a product of the Korean megaconglomerate’s Chinese mobile devices division. Probably not for you if don’t dig watching video on a 1.5-inch OLED display (all it takes is one squint-induced headache and the love is gone), but the HY-T08 does have 1GB of memory, an integrated FM tuner, and an aluminum casing.

Samsung’s new Minikets, the VP-MS15, the VP-MS11, and the VP-MS10

2005-09-04T15:26:00.000-06:00

Not sure we’re so fond of the brand name “Miniket”, but Samsung just introduced three new business card-sized 5.25 megapixel Miniket digital cameras which can also double as MP3 players, the 512MB VP-MS15, the 128MB VP-MS11, and the 64MB VP-MS10 (what, no 256MB version?). All three have 3x optical zoom lenses, miniSD memory card slots, voice recording, webcam functionality, and the ability to record VGA quality MPEG4 video. Should be available in South Korea next month, with a European release to follow in November.

About the Future of this Site

2005-09-04T15:24:00.000-06:00

Regular users may have noticed that this site hasn't been updated in the past 2 days. Well I have been busy getting ready for school and once school starts on Tuesday, the frequency of my posts will go down as my work load increases. Sorry guyz. :(

New Sony VAIO BX Series Notebook

2005-09-01T15:46:00.000-06:00

Sony introduces the new VAIO BX notebooks aimed at business users.

The Sony VAIO BX notebooks are all about configuration flexibility, security and cost effectiveness. Sony was a bit behind in supporting business users.
So the VAIO BX is a step in the right direction to compete with Dell.

Good News: Panasonic Cuts Plasma TV Prices by $500

2005-09-01T15:45:00.001-06:00

Bloomberg reports that Panasonic cuts prices of most of their Plasma TVs by $500 in the United States starting today.

Panasonic wants with this move to increase sales and market share. Well great move! The 42 inch TH-42PD50U Plasma EDTV is apparently Panasonic's bestselling Plasma TV in the United States and sells way below $2,000.

I was actually trying to get my hands on the TH-42PV500E (Europe), but it has delivery shortage at the prices I am willing to pay for it. Now that Panasonic announced the 1080p HDTV Plasma TVs, I want to wait to see what the pricing will be for those. Need to think ahead - the Sony PS3 is coming.

IFA 2005: Samsung 5.1 Sound Projector HT-PR16

2005-09-01T15:45:00.000-06:00

Samsung shows at the IFA 2005 a low-cost home entertainment system with a 5.1 sound projector.

The Samsung HT-PR16 consists of a DVD player with DivX support, a 5.1 amplifier and a sound projector for surround sound. The whole package is supposed to sell for about $250.
More details on Heise.de (German). Read more

Drool Attack: BMW X6

2005-09-01T15:44:00.000-06:00

The BMW X6 is a cross between a sports car, a coupe and a SUV, and I like the look of the X6.

The BMW X6 is still a while out. It will be available 2008. Hope the gas prices are alright again then. It will be manufactured in Spartanburg, South Carolina. There are no real technical details known yet. There will also be a new version of the BMW X5 in 2006 that will lead the way.
More details on Auto Motor und Sport (German). Read more

Lunar Penguin

2005-09-01T15:42:00.000-06:00

Ok, the Moon is first on his list, but since President Bush decided that space exploration is a priority for top US scientists, engineers at MA-based defence contractors Raytheon are now busy working on a robot, cleverly dubbed the Lunar Penguin, that will be able to one day scale the surafce of the Moon using compact rocket boosters. These “robotic scouts” will be our first diplomats on the craggy surface and the project leader, Karleen Seybold, believes this could be “the delivery vehicle for the science community,” for any colonization. The non-penguin looking Penguin has four legs, weighs 104 lb and is under 1 meter tall. Could double as a footstool or cocktail table if things don’t work out.

Robotic space penguin to hop across the Moon [NewScientist.com]

Creative MuVo Vidz (Verdict: Nothing Special)

2005-09-01T15:41:00.000-06:00

The MuVo Vidz, available in either 512MB or 1GB models, has quite a few features packed into the small design. FM transmitter, voice recording and a line-in recorder are all nice. Unfortunately this “Vidz” player only supports DivX and MPEG-4 in the video department and MP3 and WMA in the audio department. The 1.8” screen also makes watching videos almost painful. Seeing as how this is actually a rebadged generic MP3 player with color screen, I’m thinking Creative has done better.

Creative MuVo Vidz [CNET Asia]

LG9800 Verizon Hands-On

2005-09-01T15:40:00.000-06:00

Just got a preproduction LG9800 Verizon uni itn hand and so far, I’m likin’ it. A flip phone with a full QWERTY keyboard, this new mobile reminds me of the Motorola A630 I sported for a while, but the larger keyboard really does make a difference with messaging and the general button mashing. Though I have to admit, if I didn’t wear a purse, I wouldn’t be psyched about carrying it around in my pocket. It is a little bulky.

One important thing to keep in mind: it is not a smartphone. There’s no OS and the screen is not high-res, but if you want something for every day, plus great messaging features and EV-DO, I recommend this sleek looking phone (buttons glow a nice blue).
The internal screen is only a 2.2”, 4 x 3 lcd, not widescreen, which is a bit disappointing, but I really like the cute stereo speakers on either side of it.

[MORE]

VAIO Type H and VAIO Type M

2005-09-01T15:39:00.000-06:00

Sony’s been dropping VAIOs left and right lately. There’s two more VAIO desktop PCs that Sony Japan is set to launch on September 10th, the VAIO type H and the VAIO type M (How do they come up with these names? Randomly draw a letter out of a hat?).

The VAIO Type H looks like a fairly standard VAIO PC, with pretty impressive specs: The top model features a FeliCa reader, Pentium D 820 (2.8GHz) processor, 1,680 x 1,050 (WSXGA+) resolution 20” LCD, P-in-P (Picture-in-Picture) or P-out-P (Picture-out-Picture), 512MB memory, Intel 945G Express chip set (video functional built-in), 300GB hard drive, and a double TV tuner (Very handy for recording one show while watching another). Essentially a media center for the space-challenged, though it still looks like a regular PC with its silver and black exterior.

The VAIO Type M on the other hand is… orange. “Passion” orange. Which I guess is VAIO lingo for grapefruit pink. It features a 1,280 x 800 resolution 15.4” LCD, and a funky keyboard that you can fold up. The top M model features a TV tuner, Celeron 2.80GHz processor, 512MB memory, built-in video, a 250GB hard drive, and a +R DL DVD super multiple drive. Another media center for the space-challenged, but more so for the artistically inclined we imagine.

No pricing as of yet, and not sure if this will go beyond Japan.

“VAIO type H” , “VAIO type M” desktop PCs [Ployer]

Seiko Worldwide Atomic Solar Watch

2005-09-01T15:37:00.000-06:00

This watch, part of the Seiko Brightz line, can synchronize with most of the atomic time server around the world—hence the “worldwide” moniker. It also shows world time, runs on solar power, and apparently can fix its own hands if they are thrown off kilter.

Available in Asia this month, expect to see them here next year.

Seiko Worldwide Atomic Solar Watch [Watch Report]