Platforms – Page 124 – Digital-Lifestyles

C-Flash Smart Phone Memory Cards Launched by Pretec – CeBIT 05

C-Flash Smart Phone Memory Cards Launched by Pretec - CeBIT 05 Announced at the CeBIT tradeshow, Pretec have introduced a new memory card format for smartphones, called the C-Flash cards.

Created as a rival to SanDisk’s TransFlash format, these fellas are absolutely tiny, with diminutive dimensions of just 0.7 inches by 0.5 inches by 0.04 inches (17 mm by 12 mm by 1.0 mm) – making them about the third of the volume of RS-MMC or miniSD cards.

Pretec C-Flash Cards will have support for SD/MMC and USB, and Pretec will also offer various adapters for C-Flash such as SD, miniSD, MMC, RS-MMC and USB.

C-Flash Smart Phone Memory Cards Launched by Pretec - CeBIT 05 This format will also have support for MU-Card, a specification from China lead by Mu-Card Alliance. C-Flash has been adopted as the next small form factor version of MU-Card (called MU-Flash).

Coming with built-in smart card (SIM card) support, these Lilliputian cards require less space for their memory card slots than rival formats – so could contribute to even smaller phones.

The trouble is, with a card this small, we could easily see it disappearing behind the back of the sofa, under a beer mat or being swallowed by the family guinea pig. And does the world really need yet another Memory Card Format?

C-Flash Smart Phone Memory Cards Launched by Pretec - CeBIT 05 C-Flash has also been submitted to the MMC Association to be considered as the next small form factor standard of MMC.

Pretec is currently sampling 128 MB C-Flash cards to major mobile phone makers, and 1 GB cards are expected to be available by the second quarter of this year. Mobile phones with C-Flash slots will be in the market this summer.

Pretec

ROB-1: Bluetooth Controlled Remote Camera From Sony Ericsson – CeBIT 05

Sony Ericsson Reveals Bluetooth Controlled Remote Camera For Mobiles Straight out of the Billy Bonkers School of Barking Inventions, Sony Ericsson’s new Bluetooth controlled camera, ROB-1, lets users steer a wheeled camera around using the joystick or keypad on a mobile phone.

The yo-yo shaped device can rove around for a distance of up to 50 meters from the user, sending back a streaming video to the phone’s display.

Images can then be captured on the phone in the usual manner.

Eleven centimetres in diameter, the roaming ROB-1 can move forwards, backwards, look around corners, pivot on the spot or tilt the camera 70 degrees upwards and 20 degrees downwards.

The device’s three wheels and spherical shape make it an agile and flexible fella, with clever camera technology offering a wide field of vision.

The ROB-1 also features an ultra bright light on the front allowing shots to be taken in dark spaces.

The perambulating picture-taker comes with ample onboard memory, capable of storing lots of photos. These can then be uploaded to the user’s phone or transferred to a PC via the supplied USB cable.

Our darkly twisted minds can’t stop coming up with so many dodgy, dangerous and downright illegal uses for this sneaky, swivelling, straying camera that we’d best let Ulf Persson, Corporate Vice President and Head of Accessories for Sony Ericsson, give us the squeaky clean version:

Sony Ericsson Reveals Bluetooth Controlled Remote Camera For Mobiles “This is a great gadget for people who really like testing the latest technology first hand and having fun with new applications. Just like the Sony Ericsson Bluetooth Car which appealed to a wide range of gadget fans, we believe that ROB-1 will become the ‘must have’ Bluetooth gadget to show off to friends and family!!

The Bluetooth Motion Cam ROB-1 will be available during Q3 2005.

Sony Ericsson

Samsung 82FS: Largest LCD TV Launched, 82inch – CeBIT 05

Samsung 82FS: Largest LCD TV Launched, 82inch After getting the world very excited about their yet (if ever) to be produced 102″ plasma (PDP) screen, Samsung has today just announced the availability of a 82″ LCD TV. It’s for people who don’t live in houses with lounges (or media-consumption-arenas as they may become to be known) that are the size of the Albert Hall.

It’s not possible to commercially produce a single 82inch panel, so they seamlessly combine four 40″ LCD panels. For all of you firsts followers, Samsung are also claiming it to be the worlds first screen to offer 180 degree of viewing angle, something that other companies are going to struggle to better – and even if they do, why would they?. If you’re interested, these are produced using Samsung’s seventh-generation LCD process.

Not surprisingly, it can display full HD (High Definition) 16:9, 1920 x 1080 resolution, with a contrast ratio of 10,000:1 and a response time of 8ms. With this, we’re day dreaming thoughts of video gaming on this beauty – live the action.

Samsung 82FS: Largest LCD TV Launched, 82inch If you’re looking for a slightly more pedestrian use for it, it’s fitted with an HDMI interface, so all of that HDCP-protected content can be displayed on it.

As a side note, it was interesting to see how many people were at the press conference. Seating capacity was 400 and there was about a hundred extra standing. Samsung has become a company that now demands press interest.

Samsung

DVR Sales Rise, But VCRs Still Currently Dominant

DVR Sales Rise, But VCRs Still Dominant DVRs may well be the hot product in the home entertainment industry, but dusty old video cassettes still rule the roost in the US.

A survey from iSuppli Corporation reports that DVRs are still a long way from challenging VCRs as the dominant method for recording TV in US households, but strong growth is predicted through to 2009

Only 3.8 million units were sold in 2003, but sales almost tripled in 2004 to 11.0 million units.

iSuppli estimates that sales will continue to grow, rising to 16.3 million by the end of this year and 45.5 million by 2009.

CENTRIS research also found a large increase in the DVR market last year, with the number of DVR units owned by US households rising 119% to 3.5 million from 2003 to 2004.

The company noted that the increases in DVR were mainly due to consumers taking advantage of units offered with digital broadcast satellite (DBS) and cable subscription services.

DVR Sales Rise, But VCRs Still Dominant However, take up is still very low compared to many other consumer electronics products: just 6% of all US households have a DVR, compared to the 87% with a VCR, 60% with a DVD console and 12% with Video on Demand (VOD).

The squeeze is going to be on for PC-based DVR makers and standalone players like TiVo.

Despite extremely loyal user bases and a market share currently at about 40% (TiVo dominates this with a market share between 20% and 30%), JupiterResearch is predicting that this market share will decline to 20% by 2009, with cable and DBS DVRs accounting for the remaining 80%.

These companies can offer their products very cheaply (charging only a fee for renting the machine with no extra subscription cost) and introduce consumers to an affordable DVR experience.

In an effort to maintain their market share, TiVo is planning to branch out its services early next year by allowing subscribers to download movies from the Internet to their machines, along with a partnership with DVD rental company NetFlix.

DVR Dilemma (emarketer.com)
iSuppli
Jupiter Research
Centris

Virgin Electronics Discontinues MP3 Product Line?

Virgin Electronics Discontinues MP3 Product Line? Unconfirmed reports are suggesting that Virgin Electronics, the consumer electronics division of Virgin, have become an early digital music casualty with the division discontinuing its product line.

The word filtering through the wire is that Virgin will not be supporting the devices already out in the market and that their PR people have been quietly making calls and asking reviewers to return the units.

Virgin’s range includes a wearable, “teeny weenie” flash-based mp3 player, originally introduced last autumn in 128MB and 256MB flavours, with the latest product update issued in January of this year.

Virgin Electronics Discontinues MP3 Product Line? The company had pinned their hopes on the well-reviewed “Virgin player 5GB”, which had the audacity to try and take the iPod mini head-on.

That strategy seems to have failed miserably, with a Virgin spokesperson recently confirming the cancellations to Digital Music News. However, Virgin Digital is not thought to be affected by the Virgin Electronics discontinuation, as each Virgin division is essentially an independent entity.

Virgin Electronics have already been through one metamorphosis, dumping their Pulse line of home electronics gear (including DVD players and cordless phones) last year in favour of focusing mainly on MP3 players.

The Virgin Electronics product halt could be part of a larger industry shake-out, with several portable mp3 player manufacturers under-performing against Apple’s mini-marvel.

Serious contenders like Creative and iRiver look set to go the distance, however, and there’s always the chance that the Virgin brand may reappear at a later date.

Virgin Electronics
Digital Music News
Virgin Electronics, RIP (Om Malik)

DSC-T7: Sony Announces sexy 5.1mpx Camera – CeBIT 05

Sony DSC T7 (CeBIT, Hannover) Wandering around the Sony products at the pre-CeBIT press conference, I came across the DSC-T7, the smallest, sexiest model whos roots lay with the DSC-T1.

Available in the to-be-expected silver and a sultry black, the DSC-T7 re-introduces Sony DSC T7 a sliding cover that both covers and protects the lens and switches the camera on. Measuring only 14.8 mm / 0.6 in at the lens cover, and 9.8 mm / 0.4in for the main body, it packs 5.1m pixel. The back is taken up with a 2.5″ TFT Hybrid LCD, displaying 230,000 pixels.

As you can see from the shots, this baby is really slim and an instant object of desire. Sony think it will sell well to the female side of society and I wouldn’t be so exclusive – men will want this baby too, but we’d advise against popping it in your back pocket and sitting down. Sony DSC T7

Sony DSC T7 Nothing definite on release dates or price but the talk in the corridors is it should be around in May for around 375Euro, $500, 260 UKP.

DSC-T7 Specs: DP Review
DSC-T7 Specs: Sony Press Release

Fossil Wrist PDA Watch, Much Delayed, Finally Arrives

Much Delayed Fossil Wrist PDA Watch Finally Arrives It’s been delayed more times than the 8:25 from East Grinstead on a leaf-strewn morning, but Fossil has finally released its super geeky Fossil Wrist PDA Palm Powered watch.

Based on the Palm OS, the Fossil wrist watch provides full Palm PDA functionality, in a case so chunky that that it could double up as a shield.

First announced way back in late 2002 with a release slated for 2003, the watch edged into vapourware territory when Fossil admitted to production problems, rumoured to involve problems with the tiny touchscreen.

In the following long silence, everyone assumed that it had gone the same way as the dodo, but it unexpectedly resurfaced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, 2005.

Remarkably very little has changed from the original specs during its two-year sojourn. The basic specs are identical, with the watch offering a 160×160 pixel grayscale LCD touch-screen, 66MHz processor, 8MB of memory running on Palm OS 4.1.

They’re hardly the kind of specs to get the geek cognoscenti running to the stores, with several innovations missing from the feature list: there’s no MP3 support, no Bluetooth, no wi-fi and no wireless updates.

Much Delayed Fossil Wrist PDA Watch Finally Arrives The watch itself is made of stainless steel, with a teensy weensy fold out stylus cunningly secreted in the strap buckle. Fossil have managed to fit in a USB socket and infra red port, along with three buttons and a rocker switch for onscreen navigation.

The unit has no waterproofing whatsoever, so a forgetful user doing the washing up while wearing the watch could be left with a very expensive – but utterly useless – bracelet.

Initial reports suggest that the battery life isn’t up to much cop either, with the watch struggling to survive a day with moderate usage (2 hours)

The good news is that it will run most of Palm’s immense application catalogue, although you may need a microscope to view some screens.

The watch is now available in two versions: the Fossil branded FX2008, priced at US$249.99 (£129/€188), and the Abacus branded AU5005, availably exclusively through Tiger Direct for US$199.99 (£104/€151)

Now, we like gadgets. And we like things that fit into watches. We love the idea of a wearable PDA but the more we looked at this watch the more it seemed about two years too late.

While there’s no denying that it’s an impressive feat to wedge so much technology into such a small form, it’s ten-ton, 70s-style girth makes it look as cool as a kipper tie.

Moreover, its poor battery life and lack of multimedia support suggests that it’s unlikely to score a hit with early adopters, and with smart phones offering far more functionality in a less dorky package, we can’t see this one taking off.

Fossil watches

Digital TV Grows In Europe, DTTV And IPTV Flourish: Reports Strategy Analytics

Digital TV Grows In Europe As More Consumers Adopt DTTV And IPTV Platforms Digital television continued to grow in Europe last year, according to a Strategy Analytics’ survey of more than 70 digital television operators across 16 countries.

The analysts say 25.7 percent of Europe’s TV households, acquired digital television by the end of 2004, up from 21.1 percent during 2003, with credit for the success down to services such as DTTV (Digital Terrestrial television) and IPTV (Internet Protocol television).

“The arrival of successful DTTV and IPTV services is shaking up the established digital television market,” says Martin Olausson, Senior Analyst. “New business models such as free-to-air and bundled services will add further impetus to market growth.”

According to the market research, Europe’s DTTV operators – such as the UK’s FreeView and Germany’s free-to-air broadcasters – added a hefty 4.4 million subscribers during 2004.

Meanwhile, providers of IPTV – such as France’s Free and Italy’s Fastweb – boosted their user base by 450,000.

All the signs are that DTTV will continue to grow rapidly as more countries establish services, with a predicted user base of 42.2 million households by 2010.

IPTV is expected to have become an established fourth digital platform by that time, with an estimated 11.3 million subscribers.

Satellite is still the numero uno digital television platform in Europe, reaching 25.0 million households at the end of 2004, with further growth expected with new services such as HDTV.

Cable put in an unexpectedly solid performance, registering the best user uptake for three years, adding1.2 million new digital subscribers. Strong growth is predicted, as penetration is still low with only 16 percent of all cable subscribers currently taking a digital service.

Strategy Analytics

Silicon Image: HDMI First To Computers

Silicon Image Enables PC/CE Convergence With HDMI Interface Silicon Image has introduced its new Sil 1390 and 1920 transmitters, chip-based platforms capable of transmitting Intel’s SDVO (Serial Digital Video Output) and HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface), respectively.

HDMI is being pushed by the content industry as the ‘upgrade’ of DVI (Digital Visual Interface). Sure, HDMI offer a few more features, like integrating eight-channel Audio and HD Video carried on a single cable, and acting as a conduit to pass remote control signals around, but the main reason for enthusiastic support is HDCP.

In this ever expanding lexicon, why is HDCP important? High-Definition Content Protection keeps digital video and audio encrypted through out the digital distribution chain, up to the point it hits your eyeballs and ears. This is to stop the naughty people that might want to save the content they’re paying for (heaven forbid).

Capitalising on growing sales of Media Center PCs and the growing availability of High Definition content for PC platforms, Silicon Image’s new series of HDMI transmitters targeted at PCs are the first integrated solution designed to interface directly to the video and audio interfaces of PC platforms. Out of interest, Silicon Image is one of the founders of the HDMI standard.

Silicon Image has also introduced the SiI 1368, billed as (take a deep breath, folks) the industry’s first Digital Visual Interface High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (DVI-HDCP) transmitter designed for PCI-Express graphics chipsets supporting Intel’s Serial Digital Video Output (SDVO) interface.

All three transmitters support the full 25-165 MHz HDMI and DVI bandwidth. The SiI 1390 and SiI 1930 transmitters also support a wide variety of audio interfaces-including HD-Audio, SPDIF and three I2S channels-to ensure compatibility with a broad range of PC audio hardware platforms.

“As PC users gain access to HD content, secure content delivery on PC platforms will be an important issue,” said Neerav Shah, president of Digital Content Protection, LLC, the licensor of HDCP.

“HDCP already has the support of content providers in the consumer electronics market and has emerged as an important technology in enabling consumers to access HD content.

We expect HDCP will similarly become a requirement on PC platforms capable of receiving and playing HD content. As a contributor to the HDCP specification and having developed HDCP test protocols for its PanelLink Cinema Partners test center, Silicon Image can help enable PC platforms to access the growing volume of HD content.

With the availability of new HD content and the popularity of Microsoft’s Windows Media Center Edition (with integrated HDTV support), the market for entertainment PCs is projected to grow from 7.9 million in 2004 to 59 million in 2008.

Silicon Image Enables PC/CE Convergence With HDMI Interface You may think, “what do we need another effing’ cable for?” but with more HD content becoming available, the PC market will require PCs to support HDMI or DVI with HDCP in order to access this content.

With its single cable coupling multi-channel audio and uncompressed HD video and small connector, HDMI is poised to become the de facto multimedia interface for both PCs and consumer electronics devices-enabling PCs with true entertainment and multimedia functionality.

“All the signs indicate that 2005 will mark the year HDMI gains a foothold in PC platforms,” stated Joe Lee, Silicon Image director of product marketing, PC and display products.

“Our family of new HDMI products for the PC supports our corporate strategy of enabling secure delivery of digital content on any and all platforms, including Windows Media Center and other Intel architected desktop PCs, notebooks, set-top boxes and media adapters.”

Silicon Image, HDMI Standards
Silicon Image Press Release
hdmi.org

Diffusion Group Report: Media Servers, Digital Media Adapters Reborn In Converged Platforms

Stand-Alone Media Servers And Digital Media Adapters Reborn In Converged Platforms Evidence is beginning to amass that two of the most hyped products in the early digital home market will be lucky if they manage to reach niche market status in the next few years.

Not so long ago, people were getting very excited by media servers and digital media adapters. They were the future. And then, err, people kinda forgot about them.

So what happened?

According to new research from The Diffusion Group, it seems that despite the products being well-hyped, widely discussed and blessed with encouraging early forecasts from a number of research firms, the devices have suffered from extremely limited demand.

Moreover, the report concludes that demand for both these technologies will remain limited and that what unique functionality these solutions do offer will be quickly integrated into other platforms.

“It is not that this type of functionality is undesirable,” said Michael Greeson, President of The Diffusion Group. “The premise of networking stored digital media content to multiple devices in the home is valid, but consumers aren’t looking for separate devices to enable this experience.

Instead, the applications and benefits enabled by these two platforms will be increasingly integrated into devices with which consumers are more familiar – such as DVD players that are now evolving into DVD-recorders or set-top boxes with built-in hard-drives and integrated networking.”

“While media servers were originally positioned to be the hub of the digital home, demand for these solutions has never gotten off the ground.”

Although Windows Media Center PCs have proved more popular, Greeson asserts that this is simply down to normal PC replacement cycles rather than consumers finding anything particularly compelling about the concept.

Other media server platforms have been much less successful, although the push of high-end digital set-top boxes by cable and satellite video service providers offers a case for optimism.

“However,” says Greeson, “this is a push model, where the equipment is subsidised by the service provider in order to generate digital media service revenue, as opposed to a ‘pull’ model where consumers are so enamoured with the device that they run to the retail store to purchase one.”

When it comes to digital media adapters or DMAs, the Diffusion Group paints a gloomy picture.

Introduced a couple of years ago, the idea was to make it easy to share content from the PC to other media devices in the home, such as a TV or stereo using a DMA. But their techie-tastic appeal failed to win over punters.

“Not long ago, there were ten to fifteen companies offering DMAs,” said Gary Sasaki, a contributing analyst with The Diffusion Group and President of DIGDIA, a media consultancy.

“At this year’s CES, DMAs were hard to find. Part of the reason for the premature demise of DMAs is that their functionality appeals mostly to early-adopter or technology-savvy buyers. Additionally, and somewhat similar to media servers, the functionality of DMAs is slowly getting integrated into other more familiar product categories.”

The report suggests that we’ve got an industry in fast transition, with early, stand-alone technologies being picked clean for their useful ideas and then incorporated into more consumer-friendly converged products.

Diffusion Group