Technology is booming

Amazon launches web storage service

2006-03-21T07:12:00.000-08:00

Amazon launches web storage service:

Amazon S3 (which stands for "Simple Storage Service") is a new web service that basically extends Amazon's huge data storage and transfer capabilities to web developers at large for a fee. "Amazon S3 enables any developer to leverage Amazon’s own benefits of massive scale with no up-front investment or performance compromises," goes the press release. Storing data with S3 costs $0.15 per gigabyte per month and $0.20 for each gigabyte transferred. The service is intended for web developers only, meaning it can be accessed with common APIs but not directly by end users, but files of any type up to 5GB may be stored and each file has a unique URL. It even has a built-in BitTorrent interface. It looks great for developers that have big ideas (and big data) but don't have the resources to build a big infrastructure themselves.

RFID chips can spread viruses

2006-03-21T07:10:00.000-08:00

RFID chips can spread viruses:

While most of the protests about the spread of RFID technology have been related to privacy and related issues, here's a new issue to worry about: viruses. Dutch researchers implanted a virus in an RFID chip, and then used it to demonstrate that an infected chip could potentially spread a virus to a database server as it's being scanned. In theory, this could lead to compromised data in everything from supermarket product inventories to terrorist watchlists, resulting in mispriced ice cream and global chaos. We anticipate that security experts will respond quickly and install safeguards to protect databases -- except in the supermarket, where they're expected to allow tampering so that they can continue getting cheap ice cream.

Seiko Spectrum e-ink watch on eBay

2006-03-21T07:08:00.000-08:00

Seiko Spectrum e-ink watch on eBay:

If you want to be one of the first to wrap one of Seiko's Spectrum e-ink watches around your wrist, now's your chance. If you're willing to pay a pretty penny for it, that is. Seiko, which originally put a price of about $2,000 on the watch, has now decided to offer it up on eBay as part of a charity auction for British charity Help a London Child. The auction is expected to start on March 19th and run through March 25th. Seiko is only making 500 of these, so if you want one, get ready to start bidding.

Bacteria-based fuel cells for tiny robots

2006-03-21T06:30:00.000-08:00

Bacteria-based fuel cells for tiny robots:

Unless you're looking at some sort of cyborg solution, one of the biggest problem with tiny spy robots and other such entities is a reliable source of power. Some researchers at Rice University and the University of Southern California are looking to solve that with a new kind of fuel cell based on electron spitting bacteria. Apparently the bacteria can eat at about any material -- the target is waste water -- and spit electrons which the researchers hope to harvest and use to power the tiny bots. Luckily the Department of Defense is behind this to the tune of $4.4 million, so hopefully after they manage to churn out all the espionage needed for the decade, we might get some spillover to consumer devices.

Sony's Memory Stick Micro to debut in March

2006-02-15T08:23:00.000-08:00

We were hoping it was just a bad dream when we heard last year that Sony was launching yet another version of the Memory Stick. But it looks like the company was serious about it, and you can soon begin adding Memory Stick Micro (aka M2) cards to your collection of Sony-specific media. Like MicroSD, MiniSD and TransFlash, M2 is designed to be used in cellphones, and chances are good that if you pick up any Sony Ericsson phone announced from now on (including today's newcomer, the M600) you'll have no choice but to go with M2 if you want to add storage. And chances are even better that you'll never see it used in any other manufacturer's products.

Sony Ericsson's new 4GB W950i Walkman phone

2006-02-15T08:18:00.000-08:00

A few news sites in the Middle East tipped us off earlier, but now we've got it straight from Sony Ericsson that the W950i Walkman is indeed for real and is indeed sporting 4GB of sweet sweet flash memory. We're not so sure about this whole "Mystic Purple" color scheme they've got going, but there's a lot else to love, including UMTS, tri-band GSM, a rather large QVGA screen, and a 0.6-inch thickness. The Symbian OS phone also has Opera 8, Macromedia Flash Lite, video playback support, and a built-in FM radio to augment the standard Walkman MP3/AAC capability. We'll have to try the smooth keypad before we pass final judgement, but while sexy looking, it doesn't seem like it'll make one-handed texting any easier.

Sony Ericsson's HBH-DS970 stereo Bluetooth headset with remote

2006-02-15T08:11:00.000-08:00

Sony Ericsson just announced their HBH-DS970 Stereo Bluetooth 2.0 headset with remote control. Yeah, it's not completely wireless since you still have those cables dropping down to the Bluetooth-embedded remote. But hey, you want the remote anyway, and by not strapping those bulky Bluetooth cans to your ears we expect you'll be able to rock the house for the full 6 hours spec'd with less fatigue. Call coming in? No problem, son, since the caller ID and number slaps right-up on the remote's display allowing you to accept or reject the call even if you are listening to music on another Bluetooth-enabled device. Although it doesn't say in the announcement, that remote should wirelessly control any Bluetooth device throwing down the AVRCP profile, Sony Ericsson or not. Expect these to ship in the second quarter for a yet to be determined price.

Elecom's 4GB 0.85-inch HDD thumb drive

2006-02-15T08:03:00.000-08:00

Sure there have been USB flash drives beyond 4GB for a while now, but they'll cost you an arm and a leg, and as the iPod continues to demonstrate -- for now at least -- sometimes a bit of miniature HDD is the best way to go. With that in mind we have the MF-DU204G 4GB USB thumb drive from Elecom, based on a 0.85-inch HDD but still retaining most of that flash drive charm. Too bad we don't know the price, since that's most of the reasoning behind the endeavor, but while Samsung and Apple are busy pushing flash memory prices down, 0.85-inch might be our best bet for a while.

"To Reach Hell, Press #"

2006-01-25T08:56:00.000-08:00

Though best-selling scare-monger Stephen King doesn’t own a cellphone himself (he disdains the little monsters), a voicemail message encouraging recipients to buy his new book, CELL, hits more than 100,000 mobile phones of his most ardent fans today. In the book, a mysterious phenomena referred to as “The Pulse” infects the brains of anyone who happens to have their ear to the phone when the spike hits. A power-suited businesswoman turns into a biting and screaming banshee who tries to tear the throat from a Mr. Softee ice cream truck driver, and a bodybuilder is spotted running starkers down the block and whipping shorn car antennas in both fists to and fro. The story’s hero, Clay Riddell, a comic book creator in Boston who has just signed a breakthrough deal with a publisher, luckily ducks the antenna-whipper, but it isn’t long before he and a pair of fellow “normies” – those who weren’t zapped by the Pulse – must face hoards of zombies as they attempt to survive and makes sense of what the hell’s going on. King’s publisher Simon & Schuster is also selling downloadable ringtones and wallpaper on the novel’s official site: cellthebook.com. “VIP” members will also be treated to a podcast by King on the creation of the novel on the 31st, and the same ’cast can be had by the general public the following week on Simon & Schuster’s www.simonsays.com, which has gone on record stating that the first-ever sale of cellphone ring-a-ling tones by a novelist may potentially defray some of the cost being thrown behind the ad campaign to promote the 1.1 million copy first printing of its brand- name author’s latest tome. While song-byte ring tone sales are the norm, it’s anyone’s guess whether King’s voice uttering “Beware. The next call you take may be your last,” or “It’s OK, it’s a normie calling,” will find an audience. Yet with rock star-like celebrity status among his fans, King may have the last laugh as digital duplicates of his words orate from the very devices he makes no bones about disliking. Yet for all of its tie-in tech-trickery, perhaps Cell’s most gratifying surprise is the delightfully non-digital one found at the end of the novel, where King treats his readers to a 12-page, hand-written facsimile excerpt of his next novel, Lisey’s Story, to be published in October. This time, the pen truly is mightier than the send-up.

JVC Alneo XA-series audio players

2006-01-25T08:24:00.000-08:00

These new digital audio players from JVC have all the basic features: MP3/WMA playback, FM radio, line in, OLED display, and a decent form factor (73x17.5x41mm). And they come in seven colors, including "sapphire pink" and "midnight blue." Still, we think JVC might be treading down the wrong path by comparing these to "jewelry." We've all seen the results of previous attempts to market players as stylish fashion accessories, and they're not pretty.

Creative Zen Vision:M

2006-01-23T09:47:00.000-08:00

It shouldn't be surprising that Anything But iPod likes the Creative Zen Vision:M (there does seem to be just a little bit of bias in the site's name), and ABi's review of the Vision:M certainly does highlight the PMP's strong points. Among the features the reviewer liked are the Vision:M's ability to play DivX and XviD, its "superb" video quality playback, and its "very intuitive" GUI. Their biggest gripe (beyond the fact that a video-out cable isn't available yet, and the resourceful reviewer had to resort to rolling his own in order to test this feature)? The fact that the Vision:M isn't mass-storage compliant, meaning you have to run software to upload content onto the device. But that's not enough to stop them from declaring that it's "everything the video iPod is and then some."

Limited Edition Sony NW-A1000

2006-01-23T09:44:00.000-08:00

Franz Ferdinand were Sony's house band, because Sony's announced the Franz Ferdinand Limited Edition NW-A1000 to celebrate the Scottish group's latest release. Don't throw out that Josef K Limited Edition Rio PMP300 just yet though, since only a hundred of these exist and you can only buy one on January 26th and February 9th in Japan for ¥33,000 (about $286).

Open Labs' MiKo PC synth workstation

2006-01-23T09:41:00.000-08:00

Open Labs debuted their MiKo at NAMM this week, the box's premise being that you shouldn't build your PC rig around your synthesizer setup, but build a synthesizer around your PC. The MiKo aims to completely flesh out the whole digital media workstation offering thing with a 37-key keyboard, a ton of 24/96 ins and outs, 15-inch touchscreen XGA LCD, 7.1 surround out, Ethernet, 802.11g (via USB), and Firewire and USB 2.0. It should sell for two large, so be prepared to mortgage that already overdue loan you took out on your pair of Technics 1200s.

Gmini XS 202S

2006-01-23T09:33:00.000-08:00

Gmini is busting out a black-clad version of their Gmini XS 202: the 202S ("S" for Sexy?). It still claims to be the "smallest music player that offers 20GB of capacity," and we're still liking the 17 hours of claimed battery life and PlaysForSure support, though that 128x128 grayscale display is starting to look positively old school.

Canon PowerShot SD550

2006-01-23T09:28:00.000-08:00

PC Mag has bestowed its prestigious Editor's Choice award on Canon's ultracompact, and it seems ultraawesome, 7.1 megapixel PowerShot SD550 Digital Elph. As we've reported before and its name kinda indicates, the $330-at-Amazon SD550 is an update of last year's also-lauded SD500, and PC Mag thinks that this new model has certainly earned those 50 points. While matching its predecessor in resolution, the human color-wheels over at PC Mag agree that the SD550 actually takes a better picture than the SD500, and sports a bigger screen to boot (2.5-inches vs. 2.0). Also impressive were the "excellent" flash, ergonomic design, bootup time, shutter lag (or lack thereof), and 30fps VGA video capture that "was slightly better than that of the SD500." The only quibbles were relatively minor, and involve some obscure photographic wonkiness that we'll leave to the review.

Apple Intel iMac

2006-01-23T09:21:00.000-08:00

We're still gonna have to wait a little while to get word on just how good the MacBook Pro is, but the jury's not exactly out on Apple's new Intel Core Duo-based iMac -- it's pretty much unequivocally been declared a big step forward for the PC manufacturer, even despite its not actually being two times faster than its predecessor, the G5 iMac. But if you want to get a look at what everyone's saying specifically, here are some reviews we saw crop up since its release this week.

The first Intel-based Mac is going to be the iMac, which will include a Core Duo processor running at 1.83 or 2.0 GHz, along with an w ATI Radeon X1600 graphics processor. Most of the other hardware specs appear unchanged from the current versions of the iMac, including 17 and 20-inch displays and built-in iSight cameras. The software bundle will include the new version of iLife unveiled at Macworld, along with Front Row. Pricing is similar to that for current-until-an-hour-ago iMacs, starting at $1,299 for a 17-inch version with a 1.83 GHz processor, 160GB hard drive and 512MB RAM. A 20-inch version with 2.0 GHz processor and a 250GB drive is $1,699.

Review:
Read - Ars Technica
Read - TUAW
Read - Wall Street Journal
Read - CNET
Read - PC Mag
Read - Macworld
Read - MacInTouch

Sanyo Xacti C6 reviewed

2006-01-23T09:15:00.000-08:00

Steve's Digicam gives Sanyo's Xacti C6 camcorder/camera their typical thorough going-over, and come away fairy pleased, calling it "awesome" and "a great choice for anyone." The $600 C6 records both 30fps VGA video and six megapixel stills onto an SD card and features a 5x optical zoom and 2-inch LCD display, but no optical viewfinder. Despite its small size, Steve's give the C6 a thumbs up for picture and video quality, as well as ergonomics and image stabilization, when compared to other products in the same class. Also nice is the Wind Noice Reduction feature, which supposedly works well for outdoor shots, although indoor shots are a different story, with the flash coming across as pretty weak. Nonetheless, Steve's gives us the go ahead to break out our credit cards and buy yet another camcorder that we swear we'll really use this time.

2006-01-23T09:08:00.000-08:00

Casio announced their new 6 megapixel digital camera, the notably smaller Exilim EX-Z600, which features a 2.7-inch display, 3x optical zoom, and "anti-shake" DSP (which uses high ISO settings to avoid blurring, and somehow doesn't sound nearly as reassuring as proper OIS). Should be out sooner than later, but we don't have any official word on price and release just yet, so keep an eye out come PMA next month.

Nokia's BH-800 Bluetooth headset

2006-01-05T08:23:00.000-08:00

From left to right: BH-900, BH-800, BH-200

The BH-800 may be the smallest Bluetooth headset Nokia's ever released, but Motorola's H5 Miniblue is smaller and the Bluespoon 5G is the smallest albeit for about $400 more green. Still, at only 9 grams (the H5 is 7.4, and the G5 is 5) it's damn small, features Bluetooth 2.0, and provides a sweet 6 hours of talk time with up to 160 hours standby. And if you care, Nokia also launched two more Bluetooth headsets: the 16 gram BH-900 with noise reduction, echo cancelation, and 8/180 hours of talk/standy and the 14 gram BH-200 capable of 5.5/150 hours of talk/standy action. The BH-800 should be available before March for $140 -- the $55 BH-200 and $100 BH-900 will ship by March/June respectively. Click-on for all three badges of dorkdom side-by-side.

LG 50PC2DR monster 50-inch wireless plasma

2006-01-05T08:18:00.000-08:00

A new 50-inch flagship plasma TV with dual HD tuners so you can watch and record two different shows at the same time, CableCard support so you can use it without a cable box, and a memory card reader. LG claims that the 50PC2DR will have a 60,000 hour life for the screen and will be out sometime in the 2nd half of the year.

Verizon's XV6700

2006-01-05T08:16:00.000-08:00

Verizon announced today that they'll be carrying the UTStarcom XV6700, their rebadged version of the HTC Apache that Sprint sells as the PPC-6700. Not sure why anyone feels like they have to get UTStarcom's imprimatur on these phones, but just like the Sprint version the XV6700 runs Windows Mobile 5.0 and has EV-DO, WiFi, Bluetooth, 64MB of RAM, 128MB of flash ROM, a miniSD memory card slot, a 1.3 megapixel digital camera, a 416MHz processor, a 2.8-inch, 320 x 240 LCD display, and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Hits stores January 19th for $299.99 with a two-year service agreement.

Humax PMP for DirecTV 2 Go mobile content

2006-01-05T08:14:00.000-08:00

The player sports a 4-inch screen and a 20GH HDD, and should be ready to grab vids via USB straight from your DirecTV DVR early this year. DirecTV's total "inspired" plans for mobile video include $0.99 cent commercial-free show downloads and the straight up offloading of recorded shows from the DVR. We're guessing there will be more DirecTV 2 Go partnerships forthcoming for shifting this media around, but this ain't a bad device to get us started.

Hawking HomeRemote keeps you safe from anywhere

2006-01-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

What good is a home security system if you can't check up on your home while you're out? Hawking Technologies has you covered wherever you are with its HomeRemote system, which lets you monitor a range of home security devices over the internet. HomeRemote works with motion detectors and window/door sensors, which can connect to a home network over WiFi or Ethernet, and can notify a homeowner in realtime via e-mail, SMS and a web-based interface whenever it detects an intrusion. The HomeRemote can also monitor your utilities and trigger lighting and alarms. Of course, if you're halfway around the world while thieves are rifling through your possessions, you're still going to have to notify local authorities. But at least you'll know immediately when your TV and stereo are being carted off

LG's new portable video players

2006-01-05T08:08:00.000-08:00

Two portable video players smaller than an iPod or LG's own PM70. The JM53 (pictured, right) has an 8GB drive and a 1.77-inch OLED display. It measures 3.9 inches high, 1.9 inches wide, and 0.55 inches deep. The even smaller FM30 (left) crams 1GB of storage and the same size screen into a 2.4" X 1.6" X 0.55" package you can wear around your neck. LG claims 30 hours of battery time for the JM53 and 60 for the FM30. Both players will handle MPEG4, ASF, WMA, MP3 and OGG formats

Thomson's new Wi-Q remote does the WiFi

2006-01-05T08:07:00.000-08:00

Thomson just debuted their new Acoustic Research Wi-Q universal remote with WiFi to pull TV listings and other such goodies like news and weather. Seems like they could've squeezed a bit more functionality out of the WiFi -- a certain VOIP capable device comes to mind -- since as it stands this is just an informed remote capable of controlling a good amount of devices, but not a lot else. Oh well Thomson, there's always next year's CES.

Netgear WiFi phone for Skype: no PC required

2006-01-05T08:05:00.000-08:00

Netgear announced their new Skype WiFi phone that needs no PC; Skype, of course, obviously comes pre-loaded since you don't want to carry yet another phone just because you can. Just enter your Skype name and password and you're set to call all of your Skype buds whenever you're in range of some WiFi. What's that, your peeps don't have Skype? No prob since you can seamlessly use your SkypeIn or SkypeOut account just as well. We're guessing that the WiFi flavor is either 802.11b or 802.11g, although Netgear also announced RangeMax to support Skype on their WPN824 RangeMax wireless router. No juicy details on pricing or availability just yet, so keep using that cheesy headset for now.

Treo 700w

2006-01-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

Holla! Verizon just announced availability of the first Windows Mobile-powered Treo, the long-awaited Treo 700w. The specs are exactly what we'd figured, but we'll run 'em down for ya again: EV-DO, a 1.3 megapixel digital camera, 128MB of memory, Bluetooth 1.2, removable battery, an SDIO expansion card slot, and a 240 x 240 pixel display (which is lower res than the 320 x 320 display found in the Treo 650). They're selling it for $399.99 with a two-year service agreement. Anyone ordered theirs yet?

Samsung first 3.6Mbps HSDPA cellphone

2006-01-05T08:02:00.000-08:00

Samsung is showing off their 3.6Mbps HSDPA handset at CES. That makes Samsung the first kids on the block with a handset capable of speeds beyond 1.8Mbps. Like Option, Samsung is using the same Qualcomm MSM6280 chipset to achieve these speeds. Don't expect these, or theoritcal 10Mbps HSDPA speeds from Cingular's BoradbandConnect network on day one. Still, it's nice to know that the promise of real HSDPA speed is out there in the not too distant future.

D-Link Skype USB phone

2006-01-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

D-Link and Skype are showing off a new USB phone adapter to let you use those old school phones of yours that you've been looking to put to good use ever since phone jacks went out of style. For the $69 cost of the adapter you'd better have a pretty nice handset to protect your investment on, otherwise it seems the new VOIP WiFi offerings or such might be a better alternative, but the D-Link Skype USB phone does have to added benefit of still taking calls from that aging landline of yours, so if you can't quite shake the legacy yet, this might be your ticket to a smooth transition. The box can also forward Skype calls to other numbers, which ain't so bad neither.

Sony's new e-ink e-book reader

2006-01-05T07:57:00.000-08:00

The Reader, that new Librie-like E-Ink e-book handheld that Sony is set to introduce in North America later this year.

Modeo DVB-H from Crown Castle

2006-01-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

Crown Castle say they're all set to launch domestic DVB-H service this year, with 2007 expansions to about half the US population, primarily metro. Crown says their service will be targeted at early adopters and run about $15 to $20 bucks a month, and they claim they'll offer around 10 video channels, even though they don't have any cellphone providers or content partners yet. We don't see the device manufacturers dragging their feet though, Samsung and LG are already ready to support the service with devices, along with Qualcomm and Verizon's competing MedioFlo which is due this October.

JVC's new Everio

2006-01-05T07:52:00.000-08:00

JVC's HDD based Everio line has always been promising, but you know we're always pining for more room for video, especially in a camera with no way to swap in more media when you're running out of space. Well they're giving up the good stuff with their new 30GB GZ-MG37 and MG77 cameras, and to a lesser extent with the 20GB MG21 and MG27. No HD in sight -- unlike the Sanyo HD1 we spied today -- but the top of the line MG77 rocks a 2.3 megapixel CCD, a 2.7-inch LCD, and a 10x optical zoom, while everyone else does the 32x for zoom but with sadder 680k CCDs. At the highest quality, the 30GB models record 7 hour of video, while the 20GB version scores you 4.5 hours. Not too shabby, but you know how we do, we're already tapping our toes for some 100GB perpendicular drives up in these.

Sony DCR-SR100 Handycam hard drive camcorder

2006-01-05T07:50:00.000-08:00

Here are some more specs and hands-on pics of the Sony DCR-SR100 Handycam, Sony's first hard drive camcorder we saw earlier tonight at Sony's press preview. The camcorder's got a 3.0 megapixel imager and 30GB of drive space. The unit records in 5.1 channel Dolby Surround Sound, with an optional Bluetooth mic to cover the center channel (pictured below). It also shoots 3 megapixel stills and sports PictBridge compatibility. Viewing duties are handled by its 2.7-inch TFT LCD, and they're keeping us in the dark on price and release date because they love to torture us like that.

Shocking cell phone electrifies calls

2006-01-05T07:25:00.000-08:00

Originally we thought this mobile was for the shockingly high cell bills we ring up. Nope, this phone doubles as a self-defense device which explains why it isn't "fit and trim" like so many other small phones. Too bad it only works locally; you can't send an electric shock to a caller that you can't seem to ditch. One touch on the top of the phone, however, and you'll drop an offender in a sec. Just be sure to pick this one up carefully; we'd hate to get reports of you folks zapping your ears.

Alienware Area-51 5400 all-in-one PC

2006-01-05T07:15:00.000-08:00

Alienware is due to announce this one sometime on Thursday, so we don't have a lot of details yet. But we can tell you that it's an all-in-one PC with a 17-inch widescreen LCD display, Bluetooth keyboard, maximum 2GB RAM, integrated camera (guess how we figured that one out!), maximum 160GB hard drive and will sell for "under $2,000." Which, at least for Alienware, makes this a budget system.

Logitech's wireless stereo headsets

2006-01-04T05:17:00.000-08:00

Logitech hit us with a pair of new wireless stereo headsets today, the HS 200 and HS 210, both intended to make listening to music on cellphones a bit more pleasurable while handling calls at the same time. The biggest difference between the two is that the HS 210 has square-shaped earpieces with a microphone embedded in the right earpiece, while the HS 200 has round earpieces with a small extended boom mic. The specs on each are otherwises pretty much the same, with a range of up to 30 feet away from your phone (at least until someone walks away with it) and rechargeable lithium ion batteries that'll give you 10 hours of talk time, 8 hours play time, or 300 hours standby. Both models will set you back $129.99.

Samsung's Digital Photo Frame

2006-01-04T05:13:00.000-08:00

Kodak Easyshare C663

2006-01-04T05:09:00.000-08:00

Kodak has announced its latest Easyshare digital camera, the C663. This 6.1 megapixel camera sports a 3x optical zoom and a 2.5-inch TFT, and it is Kodak's first camera to incorporate the company's "Kodak Perfect Touch Technology", which has previously been available on Kodak printers and at kiosks. KPPT, is supposed to improve the quality of your pictures with the touch of a button, making them brighter and bringing out details in shadows.

Google set to unveil $200 PC

2006-01-04T05:07:00.000-08:00

INTERNET search engine champion Google is planning to enter the PC market with its entry level computer, which is going to be sold for $200. An US based company Wyse Technologies will provide the hardware and Google will provide the software , allowing the PC to stop using Microsoft software. This is yet another blow to Microsoft because once the popularity of these PCs grabs momentum Microsoft will have to suffer heavy loss. While the computer terminal is likely to be relatively limited in what it can do, users will access applications such as a word-processor or spreadsheet via a central network. Such a structure is said to significantly reduce the risk of exposure to computer viruses and reduces the cost of the individual PC terminals.

Norcent's 8 megapixel cameras

2006-01-03T05:23:00.000-08:00

Rounding out Norcent's CES announcements today are their new "ultra-slim" (at 0.94-inches it's not that slim) DC-820 and DC-520 eight and five megapixel digital shooters. Both models feature SD/MMC slots, PicBridge support, MPEG-4 video recording at 640 x 480, and 3x optical zoom -- standard fare -- and neither camera offers a viewfinder. The DC-520 sports a 2.5-inch LCD and 16MB internal memory while the DC-820 goes a touch smaller at 2.4-inches, but with 32MB on-board. Expect the 820 and 520 to hit the US streets this January for the low low price of $299 and $199 respectively. Pics of the DC-520 after the break.

Norcent unleashes

2006-01-03T05:21:00.000-08:00

In more Norcent news, they are also announcing an additional five flat panel monitors set to be unveiled at CES this week. The LCD models include the 17-inch LM-763, 19-inch LM-962, and 19-inch widescreen LM-965W (pictured). All models feature 8ms response time as well as DVI inputs for the two 19-inchers, while the top end LM-965W throws down 1440 x 900 pixels and 500:1 contrast ratio. Two monster 42-inch plasmas are also being announced with the rollout of the PM-4201ED and PM-4236HD offering either 852 x 480 or 1366 x 768 pixels of resolution respectively, component and DVI video inputs, and a sweet 10,000:1 contrast ratio for the PM-4236HD. Expect 'em all to ship in Q1 with prices set to span $330 for the LM-763 at the low end or $1,700 for the top-o-the-line PM-4236HD.

The All in One Card

2006-01-03T05:19:00.000-08:00

The All in One Card: credit-card thin-client concept

Chandan, Sun Microsystems' "Chief Executive Prankster," must have had a little time on his hands over the holidays, since his latest prank is a pretty slick product design concept. The All in One Card (or the AIO Card, as he calls it), is a credit-card sized gadget that Chandan envisions as a thin-client device (ha, get it?) with an e-ink-like display, which could be used as a media player, web appliance, and even GPS unit. The card would be powered by solar cells, would include integrated Bluetooth and WiFi for data transfer, and could be slotted into a smart card reader to hook up to a full-size display and keyboard. While this will probably never be made (at least not while Bluetooth and WiFi still exist as we know them), it's still an interesting concept, especially since Chandan bases it around his employer Sun's Ray thin client technology, which allows a device to run over broadband without a processor or hard drive.

Safe Bugatti: stash that cash in style

2006-01-03T05:18:00.000-08:00

If you've got a lot of cash (or a few diamond-encrusted iPods) lying around the house, why not lock them up in style? That seems to be the idea behind the Safe Bugatti (yeah, that Bugatti), a luxury vault from Germany's Stockinger Safety. The box has such niceties as leather-lined drawers, built-in watchwinders and LED lights. Available upgrades include a seismic detector, floor anchors, and GPS, which we assume will come in handy when a thief decides that, with all that Bugatti branding, the safe alone is worth carting off whether or not you've got nothing decent stashed inside.

2006-01-03T05:09:00.000-08:00

hello every one

i like to dedicate this blog to all those tech loving persons...