Platforms

USRobotics Adds Two Skype USB Phones
USRobotics has rolled out two new Skype Certified handsets, the oh-so-catchily named USR9601 USB Internet Phone and the seductively monikered USR9602 USB Internet Mini Phone.
Both phones plug into an available USB port and integrate with the Skype desktop application to provide “easy voice communications” to the Skype community.
According to USRobotics, the phones come with technology enhancements designed to get rid of the annoying echoes that plagued earlier handsets and banish the ‘orrible “tunnel” sound suffered on cheapo handsets.
Both phones – neither of which are lookers – come with an integrated keypad letting VoIPers make calls to Skype contacts via assigned speed dial numbers, or to dial telephones anywhere in the world with SkypeOut.
The more expensive of the two phones, the £30 ($49.95) USR809601 offers a high-resolution, blue back-lit LCD screen for contact information and call status, while the entry level ($24.95, £13) USR9602 USB Internet Mini hasn’t a single LCD pixel to its name.
“Our collaboration with USRobotics provides the growing Skype community with high quality, affordable Skype devices that make Internet communications easy whether you’re at home or in the office,” hyped Manrique Brenes, director of hardware for Skype.
“USRobotics and Skype are committed to enabling the world’s conversations; these new USB Internet phones are a great example of our shared vision,” Brenes added, while we pondered over how one gets a job as an “enabler of world conversations.”
USRobotics USB Internet Phone USR9601A Specifications
Plug-and-Play for auto installation
Echo cancellation and noise reduction technology
Supports full-duplex communication
Dialed and incoming number memory
USB
Supports USB 1.1 and 2.0 ports
USB Powered (no external power supply needed)
USB Port: A-type interface, Universal Serial Bus Specification, Revision 1.1
Dot matrix LCD Screen: Time and date, Caller ID, Call states and duration
Dimensions/Weight
USB Phone
5.9 x 1.75 x .8 in / 15 x 4.45 x 2.03 cm
0.44 lb / .2 kg
Handset Functionality
Blue back-lit display
Echo cancellation, noise reduction
Dial Skype contacts (Speed Dial)
Dial Skype-Out numbers using phone keypad
Place calls on hold and mute calls
LCD State Indications: Skype online, Skype offline & missed calls
Selectable ring tones
Minimum System Requirements
400 MHz Pentium II IBM compatible PC with 128 MB RAM and 5 MB free hard disk space (or higher)
Available USB port or a USB hub with external power supply
Windows XP/2000 or Macintosh X or higher
USRobotics USB Internet Mini Phone USR9602 Specifications
HiFi Voice technology
Plug-and-Play
Echo cancellation and noise reduction technology
Supports full-duplex communication
USB
Supports USB 1.1 and 2.0 ports
USB Powered (no external power supply needed)
USB Port: Mini-USB type B female on handset
Mini-USB type A-to-USB type A cable, 2.5 m
Universal Serial Bus Specification, Revision 1.1
Dimensions/Weight
USB Internet Mini Phone
5.9 x 1.75 x .8 in / 15 x 4.45 x 2.03 cm
0.44 lb / .2 kg
Handset Functionality
Control Skype contact list, history scrolling, utility activations, and tabs switching
LED Indicator: Off – handset idle, Blinking – Incoming Skype call, Slow Blinking – Handset microphone is muted
Echo cancellation, noise reduction
Dial Skype contacts (Speed Dial)
Dial Skype-Out numbers using phone keypad
One button call pick-up, hang-up, mute and hold
Speaker volume adjustment
Buzzer/Ring tone selection
Minimum System Requirements
400 MHz Pentium II IBM compatible PC with 128 MB RAM and 5 MB free hard disk space (or higher)
Available USB port or a USB hub with external power supply
Windows XP/2000
USB Robotics
16 August, 2006
Samsung SCH-B470 Offers Picture In Picture DMB
Yet more proof that Koreans are spoilt rotten when it comes to having the very latest must-have mobile gadgets comes in the form of Samsung’s brand new phone – displayed, as ever, by scantily clad models.
OK, the Samsung looks a bit weird with its ET-like swivelling head, but – check out this out – not only does it boast Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB), but it’s got Picture in Picture too!
Perfect for those with an attention span that can only be measured in milliseconds, the SCH-B470 lets TV-mad users view two channels at the same time via a split screen, just like your big TV at home.
The chunky black clamshell phone also lets users switch between having a small Picture in Picture (PiP) display showing the secondary channel or splitting the display in half, with the two selected channels sharing the total viewing area.
Naturally, users can also elect to fill the screen with just the one channel for fuddy-duddy, old-school types who are satisfied with just one channel playing simultaneously.
It’s not all endless fun for tech-savvy Koreans though, as there’s only twelve S-DMB channels currently available.
More features
As well as the way cool PiP TV modes, the SCH-B470 comes with a swivelling 2 megapixel camera, an MP3 player, a flip out and rotate 2.2-inch LCD screen and some sort of ‘pet’ game to entertain users when there’s nowt on the telly.
With all that cutting edge technology stuffed inside, it’s no surprise that the phone comes with a hefty price tag, expected to hover around the 700,000 KRW ($728, £384) mark.
Samsung Korea
What’s DMB?
16 August, 2006
Dell Recalls 4 Million Laptop Batteries
Dell has announced that it is to recall millions of laptop batteries over fears that they could overheat and pose a fire hazard.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Dell are working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission in what the commission is describing as, “the largest safety recall in the history of the consumer electronics industry.”
This big daddy of product recalls involves 4.1 million lithium-ion batteries manufactured for Dell by a unit of Sony and sold between April 2004 and July 2006.
The recall comes after Dell says it received six reports of batteries overheating, resulting in property damage to furniture and personal effects, although many suspect the figure to be much higher.
The problem hit the headlines in June 2006, when a Dell laptop burst into flames during a conference in Japan.
Photos of the flaming computer were posted on the tech site The Inquirer, with the eye witness reporting that the computer “suddenly exploded into flames” and “produced several explosions for more than five minutes.”
A battery of battery recalls
This isn’t the first time that Dell has issued recalls for its batteries either.
In December 2005, the company was forced to recall 22,000 batteries in the United States after fears that they could overheat and create a fire hazard.
The jumbo-sized recall adds up to 18% of the 22 million notebooks Dell sold during the period, this rather raises questions about about the safety of other laptops using Sony-built batteries.
Inquirer
Images courtesy of The Inquirer.
15 August, 2006
Philips WOWvx 3D Displays: Casinos First To Use
Following the long tradition of Web innovations often premiering in the ~~dodgy~~ adult entertainment sector, the European Holland Casino has announced that it will be introducing 3D screens for gamblers.
Unlike previous 3D systems which usually involved punters strapping on daft cardboard glasses, the new display technology from Philips gives the impression of objects and images coming out and moving beyond the screen (lots of potential for the p0rn industry, then).
The effect is created using Philips award-winning WOWvx 3D technology, with its 42″ displays providing autostereoscopic 3D images with full brightness (460 cd/m2), full contrast (1000:1) and true colour representation.
Introduced earlier this year, the 3D displays have been used for professional applications, but the Holland Casino will be the first company in the leisure and entertainment world in Europe to use these 3D displays for the general public.
The 3D screens will be first seen at the Breda Casino, where punters keen to lose the shirt off their backs can be entertained by a roulette ball that “seems to roll out of the screen” and chips that “fly towards you.”
The Holland Casino plans to integrate the 3D screens in a new national jackpot concept, the Mega Million Jackpot, with the technology being introduced in the Autumn.
Philips 3D
15 August, 2006
N93 Short Shot By Gary Oldman Released
Hollywood hot shot Gary Oldman is today releasing his new short film, shot on the Nokia N93 we’re told.
He’s taking the short label pretty literally, as the puppy is two minutes long, featuring what is described as “a round reflection in rippling water set to a haunting soundtrack.” Sounds lovely.
We’d imagine that this has cost Nokia a pretty penny, but it all goes towards burning into your brains that Nokia is about film. Creating it as we’ve seen here and watching it on their handsets too.
To that end, completely unprompted (we’re certain), Gazzer said, “Mobile video devices like the Nokia N93 allow us to capture the extraordinary moments in our ordinary days and share them with the world. The image in Donut is one such fleeting moment I happened upon that inspired me to grab my mobile video device out of my pocket and record it to share with others. I hope my film encourages people to do the same and I look forward to seeing the results on the Nokia Nseries Studio.”
Mr Oldman’s short will be premiering online on the neatly mentioned Nokia Nseries Studio, where from today (another coincidence?) anyone can upload short films to share with the world.
Happy Slapping
Camera phones have been used by some on the streets to make their own films, sadly many with violent overtones. Unfortunately the Hollywood violence that these youth had been subjected to for the whole of their lives (in the name of entertainment) wasn’t staged as it is in films, but real. Happy Slapping video’s stormed around school playgrounds about 18 months and featured members of the public getting assaulted, while those with the camera phones recording it laughed.
DVD quality or not?
Nokia appear to be back tracking a little on their definition of the quality of the onboard camera. When the N93 was first mooted, it was DVD-quality, it’s now being labelled DVD-like.
Nokia aren’t calling the N93 a phone with a camera on it, but a multimedia computer. You may mock, but this isn’t too far from the truth – it’s got a ton of processing power on board and a 3.2 megapixel lens with Carl Zeiss optics, DVD-like video capture and 3x optical zoom.
DV camcorders beware
Discussion of DVD-quality or DVD-like aside, the N93 shows the direction that camera-phones are taking, despite this early example being pretty bulky. The quality of these is approaching that of a standard DV (Digital Video) camera putting pressure on the DV manufacturers. The response to this from them is the introduction of HiDef camcorders. Expect this to become the standard.
Nokia Nseries Studio
14 August, 2006
Portable Media Players Hit US Consciousness
Recent research shows that US consumers are becoming more aware of Portable Media Players (PMPs), devices that can play video as well as music. Over 75% of 1,099 people polled were aware of PMPs.
The iPod video is picked out as the device that raised general awareness of the PMP, despite many not classifying it as a true PMP.
In-Stat estimates that the worldwide market for true, video-centric PMPs will grow to 5 million units by the end of 2006, up from under half a million just two years ago.
Putting on her wise-head, In-Stat analyst, Stephanie Ethier said, “Despite the fact that PMP shipments are finally gaining traction, suppliers and manufacturers continue to face challenges. PMPs will continue to compete with other portable devices offering similar functionality, such as notebook computers, portable DVD players, handheld gaming products, and other mobile devices.”
Sony threw their hat into the PMP ring when they launched the Mylo earlier this week.
If you want to read the research in full, In-Stat will be more than happy to help you while taking $2,999 from you at the same time.
In-Stat
10 August, 2006
Nikon D80 10 Megapixel dSLR Camera Announced
Nikon has announced their new ten megapixel D80 digital SLR, the company’s successor to the trailblazing D70/D70s cameras.
Along with the beefed up megapixel count, the D80 sports an updated body design with some softening of lines and a slight slimming down of the overall size.
There’s also a new image processing engine, improved menu interface, 3D Colour Matrix Metering II, 11-area AF system and configurable Auto ISO (selectable maximum ISO, minimum shutter speed) and configurable high ISO and long exposure noise reduction.
On the back of the camera, there’s a larger and brighter viewfinder and the welcome addition of a bigger 2.5″ LCD TFT LCD screen offering improved resolution (230k) and a 170 degree viewing angle.
The D80 also offers a suite of in-camera retouching tools including shadow / highlight enhancement, red-eye reduction, trimming and monochrome and filter effects.
Upgraders may not be so chuffed with Nikon’s decision to switch from the chunky Compact Flash format to SD cards, but new users will appreciate the adoption of the far more popular storage medium.
Sitting between the entry-level Nikon D50 and the semi-professional / professional D200, the D80 looks a wallet tempting proposition, and should provide fierce competition for Sony’s Alpha 100 SLR.
The D80 will be hitting the shelves in September with a keen body-only price of in £699 ($999), or £949 ($1299) for the kit including the 18-135 mm DX lens.
Nikon D80 specs Sensor 10.2 million effective pixels
Image sizes 3872 x 2592 (10.0 MP), 2896 x 1944, 1936 x 1296, 2240 x 1488, 1504 x 1000
Autofocus 11 area TTL, Nikon Multi-CAM1000
Lens servo Single-servo AF (AF-S), Continuous-servo AF (AF-C), Automatic AF-S/AF-C (AF-A), Manual focus (M)
Metering 420 pixel RGB sensor, 3D color matrix metering II
Metering range EV 0 to 20 (3D color matrix / CW), EV 2 to 20 (Spot)
Meter coupling CPU and AI CPU
Sensitivity ISO 100 – 1600, Up to ISO 3200 with boost
Auto ISO Selectable maximum ISO, Selectable minimum shutter speed
Shutter Electronically controlled vertical-travel focal plane shutter Shutter speed 30 to 1/4000 sec, Bulb
Flash sync 1/200 sec
Built-in flash Guide number 13 (ISO 100)
Wireless flash Nikon i-TTL, can act as commander
Continuous 3 fps, 23 / 6 frames (JPEG / RAW)
White balance Auto, 6 presets, Kelvin colour temperature, Manual preset (
Image presets Normal, Softer, Vivid, More Vivid, Portrait, B&W
High ISO NR Normal, Low, High, Off
Multiple exposures Yes
Viewfinder Eyepoint: 19.5 mm (at -1.0 m-1), Frame coverage 95% (approx.), Magnification approx. 0.94x, B-type Bright View Clear Matte II
LCD monitor 2.5″ TFT LCD, 230,000 pixel TFT, 170 degree viewing angle
Histogram Luminance & RGB histogram
USB USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (480 Mbps max.)
Storage SD / SD-HC card
Battery Lithium-Ion EN-EL3e (7.4 V, 1500 mAh)
Battery status Remaining charge (%), No. of shots taken since last charge, Battery life (5 stage) 3
Dimensions 132 x 103 x 77 mm (5.2 x 4.1 x 3.0 in)
Weight No battery: 585 g (1.3 lb)
Nikon
9 August, 2006
Sony Ericsson K618 3G Phone Announced
Sony Ericsson has announced the latest addition to its popular ‘K’ series, with the ‘candybar’ shaped Sony K618 promising super fast video, music streaming and Web browsing.
Claiming to offer a “perfect mix of mobile phone, multimedia applications and business solutions,” the K618 mobile phone is a slim, lightweight 3G phone, sporting a 176×220 pixels, TFT 1.9″ 262k colour display, 2 MegaPixel camera (plus 2.5x digital zoom) and QCIF video recording & streaming.
The onboard music player supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+ playbacks with the bundled 256MB Memory Stick Micro (M2) able to store up to 230 (highly compressed, natch) music tracks and over 700 photos.
The memory card can be upgraded up to a maximum of 1GB of storage.
Connectivity
The handset offers tri-band (900/1800/1900 MHz) and UMTS(2100) and 3G connectivity, with Bluetooth Streaming letting users send full-length music tracks (or video clips) to compatible Bluetooth enabled devices, like such as Sony’s Stereo Bluetooth Headset HBH-DS970.
Also bundled with the phone is a full HTML browser with RSS and comes with support for push email, enabling messages to be sent directly to the phone.
For keen bloggers who like to update their personal diaries when you’re on the move, the K618 can send images direct to their own blog via Mobile Blogger.
Decked out in Vibrant Black or Bright White, the K618 will be available in selected markets from Q3 2006, but Sony hasn’t made a peep about pricing yet.
K618 – key specifications:
Entertainment
Music player (with MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+ support)
OMA DRM phase 1
Phone speaker
Full streaming Audio/Video
Polyphonic >64 ring tones
Java MIDP 2.0
3D games
Music DJ
Video DJ
Photo DJ
PlayNow
Disc2Phone computer ripping software
Stereo headset
256MB M2 card
Imaging & Messaging
176×220 pixels, TFT 1.9″ 262k colour display
2.0 Megapixel camera
2.5x digital zoom for still images
QCIF video recording & streaming
QVGA video playback
VGA Video Telephony camera
Consumer push email
SMS and MMS
Instant Messaging
Mobile Blogger – Picture blog application
Connectivity
UMTS 2100
Bluetooth EDR
PC Tools & Software
USB 2.0 Mass storage FS
USB charging
USB cable
Fast port connector
External antenna connector
Flight mode
HTML Full Browser with RSS
Core Accessories
Stereo Bluetooth™ Headset HBH-DS970
Stereo Portable Handsfree HPM-65
Flash MXE-60
Music Cable MMC-60
Music Desk Stand MDS-60
Other Accessories:
Desk Stand CDS- 60
Travel charger CMT-60
Bluetooth Headset HBH-GV435
Bluetooth Headset HBH- IV835
Bluetooth Car Speakerphone HCB-100
Sony Ericsson.com
9 August, 2006
Casio and Kodak Announce New Digital Cameras
Casio Exilim Card EX-S770
First out of the blocks is Casio who have announced their new Exilim Card EX-S770 camera, a cheekily ultra slim, seven megapixel style camera.
As shiny as a highly polished thing with an extra coat of gloss, the new Exilim sports a new smoothed, rounded design and – we have to say – looks a treat.
The camera comes with a 3x optical zoom lens (38 – 114mm equiv, f2.7 – f5.2) a big’n’bright 2.8″ LCD monitor and offers 16:9 format MPEG-4 video capture.
It’s a tiny little fella too, measuring just 95 x 60 x 17 mm (3.7 x 2.4 x 0.7 in) and weighing just 127 g (4.5 oz) without its Lithium-Ion battery.
Casio
Kodak EasyShare V705, C875, C743 and C433
Kodak has also been breaking open the New Camera Bubbly with the announcement of no less than four additions to their highly rated range of EasyShare cameras.
The 7.0 megapixel EasyShare V705 comes with the innovative Dual Lens design and a beefy 8 megapixel sensor, while the more conventional EasyShare C875 sports a 8.0 MP sensor and an all glass Schneider-Kreuznach optical zoom lens with 5x zooming.
The smarty-pants dual lens design of the V705 serves up an ultra wide 23mm fixed (35mm equiv) f2.8 view – great for architectural shots and wide open panoramic scenes – as well as a 3x zoom covering 39-117mm (35mm equiv) f3.9-4.4.
Kodak also announced two bargain basement cameras; the C743 and C433.
Try as we might, we couldn’t get excited about them, but we can tell you that the Kodak EasyShare C743 offers a 3X optical zoom and 7.1 MP, while the Kodak EasyShare C433 comes with the same zoom range and a lowly 4.0 MP sensor.
Kodak
9 August, 2006
Apple Mac Pro Announced
Apple has announced the new G5 PowerMac, a quad Xeon, 64-bit desktop workstation stuffed with two new Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors running up to 3.0 GHz which are claimed to deliver “up to twice the performance of the Power Mac G5 Quad.”
The new desktop sees Apple completing its move to Intel processors, with Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO enthusing, “Apple has successfully completed the transition to using Intel processors in just seven months – 210 days to be exact.”
The shiny new Mac Pro features two Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors running up to 3.0 GHz, each sporting 4MB of shared L2 cache and independent 1.33 GHz front-side buses.
Apple says that there’s “more than 4.9 million possible configurations” of the Mac Pro available (who works out this nonsense?), with a new “direct attach storage solution” allowing snap in installation of up to four 500GB Serial ATA hard drives up to a total of 2TB of internal storage.
The machine offers support for two optical drives to simultaneously read and/or write to CDs and DVDs with space for three full-length PCI Express expansion slots and one double-wide PCI Express graphics slot.
On the front panel of the Mac Pro there’s a FireWire 800 port, a FireWire 400 port and two USB 2.0 ports, with extra FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and three USB 2.0 ports lurking on the back panel.
Wrapping up the connectivity options, there’s also dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, optical digital input and output, analogue audio input and output, and optional built-in support for AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR.
Graphics are taken care of with a NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT with 256MB of video memory, with dual-display support.
Users keen to take advantage of the zillions of configuration options, can upgrade to beefier ATI Radeon X1900 XT or NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 cards that both come with 512MB of video memory.
The standard configuration of the Mac Pro is shipping, priced at £1,699 (~$2,499, ~e2,522), without a monitor.
Mac Pro standard configuration:
Two 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors;
1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 fully-buffered ECC memory expandable up to 16GB;
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT with 256MB of GDDR2 SDRAM;
250GB Serial ATA (3Gb/s) hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
16x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
Four PCI Express slots: one double-wide graphics slot and three full-length expansion slots#
Ships with Mighty Mouse and Apple Keyboard.
Leopard OS
During his annual speech yesterday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs briefly previewed the next version of Apple’s X operating system.
Known as “Leopard” and scheduled for launch in spring of 2007 (and thus failing to capitalise on Vista’s delays), Jobs teased the audience by saying, “There’s some top secret features we’re going to keep a little close to the vest.”
He did, however, reveal some of the new features the operating system, which include a ‘Time Machine’ option that automatically backs up a Mac, enhanced videoconferencing options, improved Mail and the bundling of the Front Row and PhotoBooth programs.
Apple
8 August, 2006