July 2007 Archives

Namco introduces their first mobile game through Namco networks, Snoopy the Flying Ace, which is now available on select national wireless carriers. With Snoopy in his famous fantasy as the WWI Flying ace, players can test their piloting skills while on a mission to save Woodstock and his grounded nest.

The game guides Snoopy though exciting aerial adventures from the "Western Front" to the "French Countryside". While traveling deep in enemy territory, players capture balloons needed to raise Woodstock's nest. Many obstacles will attempt to knock Snoopy off course, including the dreaded Red Baron. While earning points by collecting bonus items in this network-enabled game, players can use earned points to unlock features and rewards, including downloads of Peanuts comic strips.

Snoopy the Flying Ace is available today on select carriers and will be available on other in the near future. More information can be found by visiting www.NamcoGames.com/snoopy.

PopCap Games has introduced a custom version of it's popular Bejeweled puzzle game for the Safari Browser on Apple's iPhone. Popcap has teamed up with Arkadiusz Mlynarczyk, one of the first video game programmers for the iPhone, to bring
this classic puzzle game to the iPhone.

The customized version of Bejeweled takes advantage of the handset's Web 2.0 and wireless capabilities and has been optimized for it's unique display and input controls. Users can visit http://www.popcap.com through the iPhone's browser to play the classic puzzle game for free.

Remember the E-TEN Glofiish X800 cell phone which was showcased at CeBIT 2007? Yes, the same phone that boasts high speed HSDPA/WCDMA connectivity and runs Windows Mobile 6. Well, the FCC has blessed this feature-packed phone meaning it will now make its way into the hands of the consumers. The Glofiish phone can also access VoIP and video calling.

The Glofiish X800 packaging includes a stylus, battery, USB cable and AC adapter apart from the mandatory user guide and CD. The X800 has LED indicators for Bluetooth, WLAN and GPS so you can quickly see what's turned on. It also features a speakerphone. For expanded memory, the X800 offers a microSD memory card slot. The phone comes with tons of bundled software including Internet Explorer, Windows Live Messenger, File Explorer and Windows Media Player.

There's also a useful Transcriber function on the phone that lets you write anywhere on the screen using the stylus. Once you write your sentence, it will automatically change them into typed characters. The integrated GPS on the X800 is another convenient function. Combine this with the Location SMS function to immediately update chosen contacts with your current location.

No word on the pricing or availability yet.

The Samsung Ultra Video SGH-F508 cell phone got the nod from DivX for its mobile multimedia experience. The SGH-F508 got the coveted DivX Certification for its high quality DivX video playback. The certification also guarantees that the F508 is interoperable with over 90 million DivX Certified devices.

The F508 features a large, swivel LCD screen to give you an enhanced viewing experience on the cell phone - great for DivX movies on the move. The Samsung SGH-F508 is headed to Chinese language market in 2007. This is Samsung's second phone to attain DivX certification, and it can play videos from DivX Stage6 video website as well as other mobile content services.

Tomato Flash announced its microSD single slot card reader to the market. This handy and extreme light-weight card reader not only could be your trendy mobile accessory, but also with a built-in USB 2.0 interface which allows you to share precious moments easily with anyone, anywhere and anytime!

As latest mobiles have become more functional- e.g. playing music, taking photos & videos, surfing internet and sending/ receiving emails, ways of convenient transferring and storing valuable data between different platforms seems essential as well. The standard way to do so is to purchase a card reader first, and keep it somewhere. While needing it to transferring data, you will have to find it out and then start the process. Yet with Tomato Flash microSD single slot card reader, all you need to do is simply insert your microSD memory card into Tomato Flash microSD single slot card reader, and then you can transfer files to your laptop or other USB compatible appliances. It does accomplish the target of mobility - "take it everywhere & use it anywhere!" and makes life easier than ever.

Tomato Flash microSD single slot card reader is featured with USB 2.0 standard high-speed transfer rate. And there is no power and driver installation problem, just plug the Tomato Flash microSD single slot card reader into the USB slot and start an excellent performance of data transferring. Compatible with Windows 98/98SE/2000/ME/XP/Vista, Mac OS 8.6 and Linux 2.4.0 and above.

Ah, the perfect thing to take on a weekend picnic. Nu Inc., a Taiwan based consumer electronics company, unveiled its new portable TV called the WTW154 Wireless Displayer at the Taitronics Bangkok 2007. Measuring 48cm x 26.5cm x 6.5cm, the WTW154 weighs in at a slightly bulky 4.5kg. The best part? It's waterproof. Yes, that's right - so you can now take a portable TV to your poolside and not worry about splashing water on it. Or even getting rained on.

Because it is slim, it is also ideal for use in your kitchen or workshop. The Nu wireless TV is dust-resistant as well. The display is crisp, and the device features multiple video and audio inputs. The water-resistance feature of the WTW154 boasts an IP-65 rating. On a full battery, you can watch up to 2.5 hours nonstop.

The display is a nice 15.4" 16:10 wide-screen LCD with rated brightness of 400 cd/m² and offers a wide viewing angle. The resolution offered by it is 1280x800 pixels. Compatible with IEEE 802.11a/g and able to operate in 2.4GHz and 5GHz ranges, the WTW154 runs on Li-Polymer battery.

Warranty is void if the unit is struck by lightning. Bet you already knew that, didn't you? No word on the pricing.

Jabra has a new Bluetooth headset. The Jabra BT8040 features volume controls, call answer/end button and a charging socket. Minimalistic design - ideal for small devices. Depending on network and cell phone capabilities, the B8040 can also do voice dialing, last number redial, call waiting and call holding.

One of the new features on the Jabra BT8040 is Multi-point, allowing the headset to connect to two Bluetooth devices at the same time. As if one phone wasn't a distraction enough, now you can keep two phones in your car and talk away to glory. Jabra claims a 6 hour talk time and 200 hours standby.

A nice thing about the BT8040 headset is the ability to charge via your PC/laptop's USB port. Measuring 39mm x 18mm x 12mm, it weighs just 10 grams. DSP technology incorporated into the headset helps in noise reduction, noise-dependent volume control, acoustic shock protection and auto-volume adjustment.

The headset complies with Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and supports Headset and Hands-free profiles, as well as Advanced Audio Distribution (A2DP) for streaming music. All this will be limited to a class 2 range of about 10 meters (33 feet).

Jabra

Delphi has just announced its newest addition to technology, the Nav300. The Nav300 is a GPS device that integrates the latest cutting-edge hardware and software into a lightweight, portable package with an easy, intuitive interface at an extremely compelling price point.

The Nav300 features a a wide array of functions that makes it one of the best in the market. It has a 2 GB SD card preloaded with maps of the U.S. (including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico) and Canada, bluetooth connectivity coupled with the integrated microphone that allows users to answer calls and access contacts via your phone's voice commands, and it also find points of interest using reviews from the prestigious ZAGATSurvey guide - the world's leading provider of consumer survey-based dining, travel and leisure information.

Furthermore, the Nav300 is not just for navigation. It has text-to-speech (TTS) functionality that takes navigation one step further. TTS announces street names and gives turn-by-turn directions as you navigate the road. And, as an added measure, it sports a full suite of popular entertainment features. This allows users to Watch movies and listen to music MP3s downloaded from your computer onto an additional SD card (sold separately). Additional convenient features include picture viewer, calculator and game.

The Nav300 is currently available at an MSRP of $399.

To every Transformer fans, tech geeks and music aficionados out there, here's a new product that would make you drool with envy. A speaker for your MP3 or iPod units has just been released, and it's not just any speaker, its a Bumblebee speaker. Bumblebee is part of the autobots from the successful Transformers franchise which also released its movie adaptation earlier this month.

The Bumblebee speakers definitely knows how to morph your music! It's a speaker for your music and will dance along to all your favorite beats. In a twist of customized cool, Bumblebee takes your tunes and plays them back to you with TRANSFORMERS sound effects! Touch Bumblebee to mix beats with your music, or sit back and watch it dance!

The speaker is currently available and is priced at around US$58.90

Panasonic announced that it will soon launch a new 8GB high-speed SD memory card. The RP-SDV08GU1K 8GB high capacity SD (SDHC) memory card adds up to Panasonic's line up of Pro High Speed models which already include the 1GB, 2GB and 4GB models. All are rated at a Class 6 Speed specification.

Later this year Panasonic will also unveil a 16GB model in this series. With new hi-res digital cameras and HD camcorders, the need for space on these gadgets is ever-increasing. Thanks to SD Memory Card v2.0 compatibility and the high capacity, the memory card guarantees minimum data transfer speeds of 6MB/sec.

The RP-SDV08GU1K memory card can record up to 2 hours of high definition video in AVCHD normal mode or about 3080 high resolution images. Fast enough for professional, broadcast-use digital cameras, you won't have to worry about consecutive shooting on your new digital SLR camera.

The RP-SDV08GU1K will be priced at US $159.99 and will be available starting 8GB.

Specs in extended entry.

For everyone that's been holding their breath and waiting, the good news arrived this morning. Dell has finally started the large-scale production of the Dell XPS M1330. The XPS M1330 will be shipped beginning this week to all regions.

Earlier, there has been some issues concerning the Dell XPS M1330 specially with regards to its LED display that added time to the estimated ship date.

The shipment for the XPS M1330 was delayed for several reasons. This includes the time it took to ramp production on the new product, issues such as part shortages, technical glitches, simple cosmetic issues, and other unanticipated issues that can arise when mass production starts.

But now, the wait is over. The M1330 that was clearly built with an emphasis on good looks and clean lines is finally on its way. It will be sporting a 13.3-inch screen, configurable with a LED backlight. It gets its muscle from its Core 2 Duo processor Santa Rosa chipset with up to 2.4 Ghz of power. Additional specs are its 4GB DDR2 SDRAM and an external video memory coming from NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS which generates up to 128MB dedicated memory.

With the cellular phone add-on "Squirrel", it is now possible to monitor what's in the air around you. The personal pollution sensor allows users to grasp a better idea the pollution levels in a specific location directly from your cellphone. Making use of a cellphones LCD display, dedicated software application uses bluetooth wireless technology to transmit pollution level data to your cellphone. The device measures carbon monoxide and ozone polluting substances. The information is not only sent to your phone, it is also beamed an Internet database which monitors worldwide pollution. The device is expected to also detect and monitor Nitrogen oxide and sulphur oxide levels in the future, and also other measurements including temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure.

Prima Cases unveiled its new iPhone (did you think Nokia phones? El wrongo!) and iPod cases in some spankin' new designes, crafted from nothing less than high quality Italian leather. There are 4 cases for theiPhone and 2 for the iPod.

Styles available for the iPhone include a contemporary premium leather book, flip, open face and a lateral design. Of course, they also protect th Apple iPhone screen from scratches - but not your sweaty palms, sorry. Oddly enough, the iPhone's book style leather case has 2 SD slots: not much use of those for the iPhone, eh?

The Select series of leather cases are targeted at the video iPod and nano players. This lineup includes limited runs of handcrafted, custom leather for your jet-setting lifestyle. Expensive looking yet affordable? You decide. The iPhone cases range from US $29.95 to $39.95, while the iPod video case is priced at US $24.95.

Here's a navigation solution for those emergencies where you don't have your GPS with you. US Cellular offers a simple tool that transmogrifies your cell phone into a navigation device. Called Your Navigator, you can get turn-by-turn directions whether driving or on foot.

The service also offers auto-rerouting if you miss a turn, and has an extensive database of nearly 14 million points of interest from ATM machines to gas stations to whatever else you can think of. The service is based on Networks In Motion LBS platform.

Available to US Cellular customers for US $9.99 per month or $2.99 per day, the service is compatible with Kyocera 312 and LG 245 handsets. Assuming you are crazy and opt for the daily option, that's US $538 for six months - good for an actual GPS device.

Want free conference calling on your cell phone? Check out foonzMobile, a free service available in the US that lets you make group calls at the same price as a single phone call. The service works on all phones on any carrier network, which is nice. To start using the service you need to text "START" to FOONZ (36669) from your cell phone. foonzMobile will then reply with a message on how to start the call.

When the call is initiated, foonzMobile also sends invitations via text message to participants on their cell phones. Simply dial the number in the invitation to join the call.

No other charges apply - apart from the normal minutes of a single cell phone call (and, if applicable, for receiving the SMS). The foonzMobile website also offers easy contact management as well as the ability to start instant group calls.

foonz

Voice Isolation can separate voice signal from ambient noise, isolating all frequencies that affect voices coming into and out of the headset and suppressing those unwanted ones. This also helps in wind noise reduction and echo cancellation. There are even two voice isolation modes - a Standard mode for day-to-day environments for natural sounding voice and a Max mode for superior voice clarity in extreme noise environments.

The Z9 Bluetooth headset weighs in at 0.35 oz and measures 1.5" in length - making it one of the smallest headsets. A translucent ear hook is provided to wear it on the ear; it can also be clipped on to a shirt or cuff.

Priced at US $99.95, the Z9 is now available.

Samsung recently (July 30, 2007) launched the eight mega pixel i85 which measures 3.74 x 2.42 x 0.8. It is exactly the size of a regular sized credit card and will definitely turn heads with its brushed silver aluminum body. The Samsung i85 has an impressive 3.0-inch high-resolution LCD screen that dominates the back portion of the camera. It enhances the imaging experience, which gives us a very detailed display when we compose shots, review images and even when viewing video clips.

The quality of the lens and optical zoom is also outstanding. It goes beyond what is expected from a lightweight and portable camera. It has 5X optical zoom (35mm film equivalent: 36~180mm) NV lens boasting a maximum shutter speed of 1/2,000 sec and a super macro focus of 1cm.

The camera features the PMP functionality which enables users to enjoy movies, music videos, television shows and even their favorite music while on-the-go. When setting the camera to its PMP mode, users can easily listen to their favorite MP3 files or watch their favorite video content on the camera's large, 3.0" high-resolution display. The bundled Digimax Converter software seamlessly converts the user's MPEG, AVI, MOV, WMV and ASF files for viewing on the i85. For music on-the-go, the software can also convert MP3 and WAV audio files in several simple steps. The innovative software also allows users to view subtitles, adjust the screen size and crop and stretch the image to fit the screen as desired. The i85 also doesn't hold back when it comes to sound either. To listen to videos or music, the i85 features a 2.5mm headphone port as well as stereo speakers boasting SRS 3D acoustic technology.

The i85 also features Samsung'sinnovative World Tour Guide function, which provides travel information covering 4,500 regions in 30 countries- helping users to plan trips and find their way while on the road.

Its finally here. ANADIGICS, Inc. announced recently the shipment the dual-band ANADIGICS AWT6279R WCDMA power amplifier (PA) module for use in Samsung's groundbreaking new SGH-U700 smart phone. The SGH-U700 is designed for a high-growth segment of the mobile phone market and sports HSDPA download speeds of up to 3.6Mbps that truly gives its users ultimate broadband capabilities in a sleek and glossy slider phone.

The pocketable (12.1mm) handset is a tri-band WEDGE phone with HSDPA 3G WCDMA capabilities. It has the most comprehensive feature set available today with HTML-enabled web browser, a built-in e-mail client, text and MMS messaging, playback compatibility with all of the most popular multimedia formats, a personal organizer, and even a picture editor.

The 3G phone also features a 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera that delivers brilliant quality and commendable clarity of images. A secondary camera handles video conferences and video calling. All videos are displayed in a 240 x 320 QVGA resolution. A built-in bluetooth is included to enable easy file transfer of images, videos, or files.

Literally a mobile office, the SGH-U700 uses the AWT6279R as its WCDMA power amplifier. It is a third-generation HELP3(TM) WCDMA product with industry-leading performance that makes it ideal for handsets that are ultra- slim and stylish, yet boast all the features users want.

The handset has a sleek, stylish look and measures 103 x 50 x 12 mm. Its media player can handle MP3, AAC, WMA, WMDRM, MPEG4, H.263, and Real formats.

For the very first time, action sports fans can catch every second of the X-Games on your mobile handset. Verizon has teamed up with ESPN and MediaFLO USA to bring new mobile TV channel , ESPN, to the V CAST Mobile TV. The new station brings all the action and excitement straight to your mobile phone, including live competitions and behind the scenes coverage and commentary.

Viewers can catch all the excitement with live coverage of the event which will include practices and qualifying, daily "Best of X Games" segments, and an ESPN debut of rally car races in which the fans are provided the opportunity to see the race from each driver's prospective.

Starting July 22 through Aug 1, the dedicated channel will highlight previous year of the X Games. Live coverage of the X Games 13 will begin at 11:30 Pacific on August 2nd and will finish on Sunday August 5th at 3 pm. The coverage will be aired again on August 6-7th.

Soon, you'll be able to get your hands on the stylish Rockit! MP3 and MP4 handheld media players. Available through Acme Sports and Entertainment, the Rockit! branded handheld PMPs will hit North America.

The Rockit! MP4 player is a video player available in capacities 1, 2 and 4GB. Apart from video and music playback, it can also display images and for added entertainment features an FM receiver on board. The screen is a bit small at 1.8". It comes with a wall charger and USB cable. Priced at US $49.95 (1GB), $69.95 (2GB) and $89.95 (4GB).

The Rockit! Mini player (in pic), a sleek little device that mimics the iPod shuffle, is an audio player capable of MP3/WAV/WMA playback and comes in 2/4GB capacities. Measuring 1 1/4" x 1 5/8" x 1/2", it comes with headphones, a wall charger and USB cable. The 2GB Mini is priced at US $49.95 and the 4GB one at $79.95.

The almighty FCC has blessed Nokia's Bluetooth GPS Module LD-4W. This is pretty cool! Those of you who've been looking for a GPS add-on to your Bluetooth enabled smartphones or Nokia 770 can now dig into Nokia's latest gizmo get directions on the phone.

Of course, if you really wanted GPS on your phone, you would've gone for the Nokia N95 but that's way too expensive.

Anyway, tons of confidentiality requests in place but somehow one photo got through. No word on the pricing yet, but the Nokia LD-4W Bluetooth GPS Module should be out in the market soon.

Leadtek has a couple of new GPS systems coming out of their stables, called the Leadtek LR9750 and LR9752 GPS. Both will be equipped with industry-standard SiRF starIII GPS module, integrated media player (which GPS doesn't sport a PMP? Anyone?) and interestingly, a scroll wheel for navigation - I'm guessing this is similar to the iPod but I could be way off the mark here.

There's also a rudimentary image viewer and the obvious TTS. The LR9752 (remember, larger number means better - but not always) comes will all of these plus Bluetooth so you can use it as a wireless speakerphone if you wish. No info on pricing or availability.

Zap's portable rechargeable power system can apparently triple the charge on the iPhone, and also charges the iPhone faster than the standard charger. No extra cords needed except for the iZAP cradle. Now, if you happen to leave the iPhone charger, dock and the iZAP cradle at home, don't come after me!

The nice thing about the Zap system is that the Li-ion battery system can be recharged up to 1000 times, and offers 4x the power of conventional batteries. Available now for US $79.00.

Sony's VAIO X Living VGX-XL70S brings a Windows XP personal computer with video recording capabilities to your living room. The VIAO X Living comes fitted with both digtal and analog tuners to allow recording of two channels simultaniously. Users can choose from either single or dual 500 GB to provide plenty of storage for all your favorite tv shows and movie recordings. The X Living PC is certified by the Digital Living Room Network Alliance and is guaranteed to interconnect and exchange content with other certified devices.

You can also save a few hundred dollars and go with the VAIO X Video Station VGX-XV80S, which is a somewhat lower end model of the VAIO X Living model. The X Video Station lacks in a built-in computer, but includes more storage and recoding capabilites. Since there is no built-in computer, a network connection is required to access the VGX-XV80S's video vault. With support of up to 4 hard-disk drives the X Video Station can store up to 2TB of storage, which adds up to roughly three weeks of video! Additionally this bad boy sports eight analog TV tuners for simultanious recording up up to eight channels.

It will be Available in Japan and State Side USA.