January 2008 Archives

While music is your life and you'd probably go nuts without it, truth is, there are other things you need to listen to in daily life. The Vibe Body Sound headphone provides a solution to that. The BEHIND-the-ear headphone clip transmits sound waves directly to your skull via your skin and ear cartilage. Not recommended for usage while your mom or wife is yapping at you, but perfect for any other occasion. The Vibe Body Sound headphones are available for US$99.99 in ThinkGeek.

Another pic after the jump.

Move over, Le Million, here comes Softbank's Tiffany and Co. hand phone for the Japanese market. If you have US$94K sitting around somewhere in your house, this is a good buy, if I may say so, myself. The Tiffany phone boasts 400 diamonds covering its façade, totaling 20 carats in all! This sparkly baby by Softbank will hit the stores on February 2008.

If the pink BlackBerry Pearl isn't to your liking and you're really more of a fiery individual, the red BlackBerry 8830 World Edition Smartphone for Verizon Wireless might be the perfect phone for you. If you remember, the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition is the first GSM/CDMA BlackBerry, which means you can use it anywhere in the 185 countries covered by the Global BlackBerry service. The Red BlackBerry 8830 World Edition Smartphone will be available tomorrow, February 1, 2008 in the Verizon Wireless web site for US$299 after a $100 rebate for a two-year contract.

AT&T and TeleNav, the first company to offer GPS service for mobile phones in the US, join hands to make New York City a cleaner place. With the help of the two companies, the government of the Big Apple has launched the Street Conditions Observation Unit or SCOUT program. Member of the SCOUT program ride through the streets once a month to observe the conditions. Members report the conditions using the TeleNav Track solution installed on their BlackBerry 8800 handsets with enabled GPS on AT&T network. Using TeleNav's Track technology, the SCOUT members can know where their field agent had been and can pinpoint where the exact location of the offense is. Hopefully, the same program would launch in various other places in the future.

Philips has long since exited the European mobile phone market. In fact, it has old off the mobile phone division to a Chinese company. This new company seems to aim to re-introduce the brand to Europe with a very basic candybar phone, the Philips 192. The Philips 192 is a GSM phone featuring 128×128 px, 65K color CSTN display. The bare Philips 192 will sell for around US$60.

Remember than coin-sized Intel Core 2 Duo chip the company designed for the MacBook Air? Well, after the launch and shipping of the Air, Intel is offering the chip to other customers. According to CNET, Lenovo and Fujitsu are going to be the first two companies to use the chips in their future products, although neither has confirmed this report. The coin-sized chip would be marketed for notebooks 3-pounds and lighter. This eliminates the hassles that come along with the low-voltage and ultra low-voltage chips manufacturers of ultra-portable notebooks use.

A few rumors have been circulating in the mobile phone market that Google and Dell are currently partnering to develop a series of GooglePhones -- mobile phones using the Google Android OS. According to sources, Google is denying this, although more speculations abound that the first Goodell (Google + Dell) phone will be showcased in 3GSM in Barcelona.

Update: Dell denies the existence of this said partnership. We won't be seeing Goodell phones after all. Too bad.

Garmin, a company best known for their GPS device navigators, is taking on the mobile phone market with the new Garmin nüvifone. The nüvifone, in accordance with Garmin's legacy, is a phone and a GPS navigator in one. In fact, the president and COO proclaims it the "single device that does it all," which eerily reminds me of LOTR (...one ring to rule them all...). This LOTP (Lord of the Phones), nüvifone, features a 3.5-inch display which has three main options: Phone, Search, and Navigation. To call people, users simply need to press the green "Phone" option on the screen. It also automatically transforms into a navigation device when docked onto your automobile. The Garmin nüvifone features Google local search capability, "Where am I?" feature which allows users to see exactly where they are via coordinates, and Garmin online, an online service which shows users the fuel prices, real-time traffic, etc. The Garmin nüvifone comes equipped with 3.5G capability, a camera, and a multimedia player. Projected launch is on Q3 2008.

Pic of the phone's main screen after the jump.
Check out the product page.

If you think the various companies' Valentine offerings are over, you better think again -- it will only increase until we hit the day itself. This time, AT&T and 1-800-FLOWERS.COM team up for their Cupid Goes Wireless campaign. Via AT&T's Media Net mobile Web service, AT&T subscribers can access the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM store to send their loved ones free animated floral bouquets. They can also enter a contest to win $50 worth of merchandise from the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM shop. To access the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM shop using your AT&T Media Net mobile Web service, simply click on "Shopping," and then on "1800Flowers." The promo will run starting tomorrow, February 1, 2008.

Bell is going full throttle. After the release of the red BlackBerry Pearl and the Buy 1 BlackBerry Take 4 More Free promo, Bell Canada is releasing the HTC Touch White. HTC Touch runs on Windows Mobile 6.0 and uses HTC's TouchFLO technology. Featuring a 2.8-inch QVGA touch screen, the HTC Touch also offers Bluetooth, 802.11b/g WiFi, and tri-band GSM with EDGE.

The E-ten Glofiish X650 phone has just been approved by the FCC. A Pocket PC phone featuring a 500MHz Samsung SC3 processor, the X650 is equipped with a 2 MPx camera and on-board FM transmitter - quite useful when you want to play the audio on your car stereo, for example. At 139 grams, it's not the lightest phone around but is pretty thin at 14.7mm.

The Glofiish features a VGA resolution screen. No word on the pricing yet.

E-Ten

Remember the Sony GPS-CS1KA GPS tracker? Yes, the same device that allowed you to keep track of your digital photos - when and where they were taken, to be precise. Well, Sony announced that this has been updated now, and the new model is called the Sony GPS-CS1KASP device. This lets users trace GPS co-ordinates of video footage on an online map, while retaining the ability to tag photos with location info.

With location recording taking place every 15 seconds, you can virtually trace your video and quickly locate where a photo was taken. Updated software then paris the GPS readings of your video/still photos onto an online map, using Google maps. Available in the same cylindrical form factor, the GPS-CS1KASP is a 12-channel receiver that's 3.5 inches long and weighs in at 2 oz.

Priced at US $150, the GPS-CS1KASP portable tracker will be available on Sony Style retail stores as well as online.

As if porn on the internet isn't enough, the porn industry is planning on taking over the mobile phone world too. Mobile phone companies are said to slacken the rules in their networks although they'll be adding filters for minors too. Porn has been available for some European mobile carriers for a while now. Will USA follow suit? The adult industry needs a new media to conquer the masses. What do you think -- should mobile porn be allowed or shouldn't it?

Taiwanese company, MSI, announced their intentions to add turbo-battery mode to their gaming laptops later this year. The laptops in question would be in their G series of laptops. The plan is to include a turbo-overclocking button on the current model, the GX600. Using the button would add 20% to the battery life. While overclocking might be overheating for laptops, MSI has developed a new technology to ensure this doesn't happen. We'll watch out for this feature when it comes out.

Red Bend Software has recently a mobile phone concept. While mobile phone concepts are really nothing new, what makes this one special is that this is the first to use Linux with customizable software. Indeed, the phone is said to enable customization and update with applications and software over the air. The Mast concept is based on Trolltech's Qtopia application Linux platform. It has also been implemented on the Qtopia Greenphone. Red Bend has partnered with various entities other than Trolltech such as Digital Airways, Zi, Synchronica, and Opera Software to be able to create Mast. The mobile phone concept will be presented on 3GSM in Barcelona on February 2008.

Just like millions of people around the globe are clamoring for the iPhone, the Japanese too, want their share of the iPhone pie. Hence, Softbank introduced the new Softbank Fullface 2 aka 921SH to fill the void of the popular handset in the Japanese market. Of course, it's still different from the Jesus phone. The SoftBank 921SH features a keyboard which slides behind the 3.2-inch VGA LCD. That LCD isn't a touch screen like the iPhone's either, although the SoftBank 921SH has a motion sensor at the bottom. This device, manufactured by Sharp, has a 3.2 megepixel camera, music player, Bluetooth connectivity, 1-Seg TV tuner, and high-speed 3G. It will be available in black, white, bright blue, gold, and pink by early March of 2008.

And yet another mobile phone to be released by Softbank in the Japanese market is the Sharp 922SH mobile handset. The Sharp 922SH features a 3.5-inch VGA LCD using Sharp's Aquos technology. It has a full QWERTY keyboard, high-speed 3G connection, Bluetooth connectivity, and multimedia player among others. The Sharp 922SH measures 56x116x17mm, and weighs about 32 grams. Aside from the main 3.5-inch LCD, it also features a 1.18-inch sub-LCD at the front. The Sharp 922SH will be available in gold bronze, metallic black, pearl white, and pearl pink on late March 2008.

Still another addition to the line of Softbank releases is the Panasonic 822P handset. The super thin phone with 8.9mm depth boasts a 2.2-inch QVGA display. The Panasonic 822P also features 2-megapixel camera with auto-focus, and a microSD card slot of up to 2GB. It can support up to 200 minutes talk time, has Bluetooth connectivity and supports global roaming function. The Panasonic 822P will be released in the Japanese market by February and will be available in gold, white, pink, black, and red.

Continuing from where we left off in the list of Softbank releases in Japan, we're now reporting on the launch of the HTC X03HT smartphone in the Japanese market. The compact smartphone which measures 52x106x19.4 mm, has a QWERTY keyboard and runs on Windows Mobile 6.0. The HTC X03HT features Office Mobile allowing you to view Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, multimedia player, 3G with HSDPA, microSD card slot of up to 8GB, and Bluetooth connectivity. The model will be available in red, white, and black after April of 2008.

After many delays which broke a lot of PSP fans' hearts, Skype has finally hit the PlayStation Portable. The latest firmware upgrade 3.90 features Skype under Network. Take heed, however, that the new Skype feature will only be available for PSP slim'n'light (PSP-2000 series). So if you own one, get yourself a compatible mic and headset and take advantage of this new feature.

With the smashing success of the Asus Eee PC notebook, Asustek thought it wise to inundate the electronics market with Eee line of products namely: the E-DT, E-TV, and finally, the E-Monitor. The E-DT is a desktop PC which will be sold without a monitor. The first batch will run on Intel Celeron while subsequent batches will run on the Intel Shelton'08 platform with Diamondville processors. The E-DT will launch April or May this year and will be worth around $200-300 with Asus pushing the price down to only $199 when possible. The E-TV is a 42-inch LCD TV which is projected to have a price of only $200 and will launch around September of 2008. And lastly, the E-Monitor is an all around device like Apple's iMac. It will be sized between 19-21 inches and will feature a built-in TV tuner. Projected price on this one is $499. While Asus did great with the Eee PC notebook, it remains to be seen whether these new products will also be a hit with the masses.

Yep, people. The raving Mac fan boys and girls have something to rejoice about today. The much discussed MacBook Air, that sleek yet lacking notebook Steve Jobs dramatically pulled out from a manila envelope during MacWorld, is finally shipping today. At the same time, the MacBook Air add-ons, optical drive and Ethernet adapter, are being readied. If you've forgotten about the MacBook Air specs, you can read them here.

Western Digital extended its My Book family of external drives with the introduction of the new My Passport Essential Portable USB drive. Designed in a new form factor that fits in a pocket or purse, the drive comes in WD's trademark glossy black finish. At less than 5 oz, it is easy to carry around. No external power supply is needed as it runs off the USB connection. Google tools such as the Desktop Search, Picasa and Toolbar are bundled with the drive.

The drive is compatible with Windows 2000/XP/Vista and Mac OS X 10.4.8 onwards. It comes bundled with WD Sync synchronization/encryption software. It measures just 15mm x 126.15mm x 79.5mm.

For data security, it is comforting to know that the drive uses 128-bit encryption. The WD My Passport Essential Portable USB drive is now available. A 320GB model - that can hold up to 80,000 songs or 38 hours of HD video - costs US $199.99. All it needs is a USB port.

Available from the WD Store.

This one is for the English people and certainly an occasion to celebrate as the sleek new BlackBerry 8110 is headed their way on Vodafone's UK network. After the rumor we heard about the GPS-toting device earlier in the month, we can now officially confirm that it is available immediately on Vodafone. This GSM version of the wildly popular 8130 Pearl CDMA also includes free 12-month subscription to Vodafone's Sat Nav and is compatible with BlackBerry Enterprise Server and other services. Available for free to £102.13 depending on the plan you choose.

Japanese telecom giant, SoftBank, has announced its spring line of cell phones. Along with the Samsung 821SC and the renamed N95, the Toshiba 820T is destined to hit Japan via SoftBank in February. The 820T is a cutesy little clamshell with much hidden underneath its pretty hood and is a perfect companion for the little ones. There's a 3.2-megapixel camera and a 2.4-inch QVGA screen on the inside. And then there is the GPS with location tracking feature, extremely helpful in monitoring those pesky kids. It weighs about 116g and is 23mm thick with a standby time of 500 hours and talktime of approximately 220 minutes.

The Toshiba 820T will be available in three colors of flower pink, jet blue, and snow white starting in February at a price of 42,720 yen on SoftBank's two-year contract.