Bluetooth

Kodak Announces World’s Smallest 10X Optical Zoom Digital Camera
With a triumphant beat of its kodachrome chest, Kodak has announced the world’s smallest 10x optical zoom camera, the 6-megapixel KODAK EASYSHARE V610 dual lens digital camera
The camera uses the innovative Kodak Retina Dual Lens technology to deliver a thumping 38 – 380 mm (35mm equiv.) zoom range in a trouser, nay underpants untroubling package, measuring just 4.4 x 2.2 x 0.9 inches.
Using the same twin lens technology seen in its earlier V570 model, the V610 comes with a large 2.8-inch, high-resolution (230,000 pixels) LCD screen and 28 megabytes (MB) of internal memory.
There’s also Bluetooth support onboard, making it easier for snappers to dish out their photos to nearby chums with PDAs, mobile phones and computers or to beam ’em off to Picture Kiosks.
Naturally, this little fella shoots video – managing TV-quality (VGA) footage at 30 frames per second (fps) – saved out as MPEG-4 files with Kodak’s “video-specific image stabilisation technology” claiming to reduce that wobbly jelly camera effect.
Bathing in the warm glow of technological progress, Carolyn Walsh, Product Sales Director Digital at Kodak, hit PR overload: “Kodak innovation continues to make it easier for people to take and share better, sharper pictures. We’re creating cameras for the digital age, breaking traditional constraints by using multiple light paths, lenses and sensors; by incorporating wireless technologies; and by taking advantage of advanced digital processing algorithms.”
Also on board is Kodak’s ‘Perfect Touch Technology’ for boosting up duff, dull pics, a ‘Favourites’ mode for storing a hundred fave pics on a built-in album and a panorama stitching feature.
When it comes to auto modes, Kodak haven’t held back with no less than twenty-two scene modes, three colour modes and a custom mode, along with selectable exposure metering, exposure compensation, focus zones, ISO, and single/continuous auto-focus for precise control.
And if you can’t manage to take a decent picture with that lot on board, perhaps you’d be better off with some crayons and paper.
The Kodak Easyshare V610 zoom digital camera will be available in the UK in May 2006 for around £350.
EasyShare V610 specifications
Sensor 6.1 million pixels total
2832 x 2128, 2832 x 1888 (3:2), 2304 x 1728, 2048 x 1536, 1200 x 900 (email)
Movie clips 640 x 480 @ 30fps, 320 x 240 @ 30fps up to 80mins depending on memory capacity
File formats JPEG (Exif 2.21), MPEG 4 with audio
Lens Schneider-Kreuznach C-Variogon Dual lens, 10x optical zoom, 38-114mm F3.9 – 4.4, 130-380mm F4.8
Digital zoom 4x
Focus TTL-AF, Multi-zone AF, Center spot AF, AF area modes, Single AF, Continuous AF
Focus distance Wide: 0.6m – infinity
Wide Macro: 0.05m – 0.7m
Tele: 1.6m – infinity
Tele Macro: 0.7m – 1.7m
Metering TTL-AE, Multi-pattern, Center weighted, Center spot
ISO sensitivity Auto (ISO 64-400), ISO 64, ISO 100, ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO 800
Exposure compensation +/- 2.0EV in 0.3EV steps
Exposure bracketing 0.5-8 sec
Shuttter speed 8-1/1200 sec
Aperture F3.9 – 4.4, F4.8
Scene modes Auto, Portrait, Panorama left-right, Panorama right-left, Sport, Landscape, Snow, Beach, Text, Fireworks, Flower, Manner/Museum, Self portrait, Party, Children, Backlight, Panning shot, Candlelight, Sunset, Custom
White balance Auto, Daylight, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Open shade
Self timer 10 sec, 2 sec, 2 picture
Continuous shooting 1.6 fps, max 8 images
Image parameters High Color, Natural Color, Low Color, Sepia, B&W
Flash Built-in, Auto, Off, Fill, Digital red-eye reduction
Range: Wide: ISO 280: 0.6m – 3.4m
Tele: ISO 400: 0.6m – 3.3m
Viewfinder No
LCD monitor 2.8-inch, 230,000 pixels
Connectivity Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, AV out, USB 2.0
Weight (no batt) 160 g (5.6 oz)
Dimensions 111 x 55.5 x 23.2 mm (4.4 x 2.2 x 0.9 in)
Kodak
26 April, 2006
KTF EV-K100 Unveils World’s Slimmest Phone
Slimmer than a stick insect with the runs, the new world’s thinnest phone comes in the shape of the EV-K100 handset, an ultra-thin gizmo made by Korean cell phone makers KTF Technologies.
Measuring a wafer-thin 7.9-millimetre, the EV-K100 grabs the ‘world’s slimmest’ crown from local rivals VK, whose VK2010 and VK2100 phones measured up at a comparatively lardy, pie-scoffing 8.8mm (with Motorola’s RAZR being a positively obese 14.5-mm thick).
At the time, VK president Yi Cheol-sang insisted that 8.8 millimetres was as thin as things could get, commenting that the technology demanded an antenna of at least 7 millimetres thick and a pair of plates of 1.8 millimetres.
The clever boffins at KTF Technologies overcame this barrier – and got one up on their rivals – by slashing the thickness of the embedded antenna using some clever jiggery-pokery which they’re naturally not too keen to divulge.
“We substantially cut down the thickness of the antenna incorporated into the EV-K100 and instead extended its length to secure all the necessary functions,” said a KTF spokesman.
The EV-K100 weighs just 60g, but still manages to fit in a decent feature set, with a built-in 1.3MP camera, 1.8-inch liquid crystal display monitor, an MP3 player and a sizeable 165MB of onboard memory.
“Our ultra-slim phone would be a grand slam since it offers rich applications at a reasonable price. The slimness will also arrest the attention of design-savvy customers,” purred their spokesman.
The company intend to market the bar-type EV-K100, codenamed “No. 7,” from next week via its parent firm KTF for around 400,000 won ($412).
Naturally, there’s no indication whether us Brits will ever be able get our grubby, chip-eating mitts on one of these cool-looking gadgets, but we can dream…
KTF Technologies
20 March, 2006
Seiko’s BT Bluetooth Watch
Seiko Instruments has announced their first Bluetooth watch, known as either the BT Watch or the rather less snappy, CPC TR-006 ver.1.0.
Although the thing appears to be in its early stages, there’s some interesting technology on show here which we may find filtering into our everyday lives in a year or two.
Designed to be an extension of your phone, the hi-tech watch promises to integrate fully with your phone’s functionality.
If you get an SMS or email on your phone the watch can alert you, and if your phone’s ringing, you won’t have to rummage about in your bag or pockets to see who is calling – the number will appear on the watch.
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be the ability to talk into the watch, Dick Tracy-style, but the display will warn you if you lose the Bluetooth connection.
Now, much as we like the idea of cool high tech toys buzzing away on our wrists, we have to say that this watch looks more than a bit silly – it’s so big you may as well strap your mobile onto your wrist and be done with it!
But unlike those rubbish pens that light up when you get a call on your mobile, we can actually imagine this gadget being quite a handy thing to have – if it was shrunk down to about a tenth of the size, of course.
We reckon it would be cool to have text messages, news headlines, RSS feeds, football scores and other short bursts of info appear on your watch – particularly when you’re stuck in a dull meeting.
But no matter how cutting edge the technology, no one in their right mind is going to strut about with this ten-ton brick on their arm, so we’ll wait for a bijou version before we can take it seriously.
You can see a Real Video demo of the brick in action on WBS TV Tokyo’s Website
6 March, 2006
Bluetooth’d Films On London Underground
The easy way of getting “content” into a mobile phone, would be just to print 2D barcodes. However, Viacom Outdoor has started a rather more challenging experiment, fitting London Underground posters with Bluetooth transmitters.
The main reason Viacom has to do this, is that there’s no cellphone coverage in London’s deep-level underground railways – the Bakerloo, Victoria, Northern, Piccadilly and Central lines.
The network is said to be permanent, and was promoted as “Meet today’s underground filmmakers” with FourDocs on Channel 4 television. The initial posters are in the inner city, and there are fifteen Bluetooth “jacks” built by Wideray.
Anybody within range can request a download of a four minute documentary.
The project was put together by PosterScope and we understand that Viacom has opened up the project to advertisers.
Guy Kewney write extensively, and quite brilliantly, in lots of places, including NewsWireless.net
9 February, 2006
i-mate PDA-N GPS Pocket PC
They’ve been bustier than Jock McHasty in a rush at i-mate, as the PDA/smartphone vendor releases another addition to their range, the i-mate PDA-N – the company’s first GPS PDA.
Aimed at swivel-action business types and people who sit in cars all day (sorry, “road warriors”), the PDA-N positively bristles with connectivity, including built in GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
The units come with Skype pre-installed, letting users make free VoIP calls over wireless connections.
Running on Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Edition, the PDA-N comes bundled with the full Office Mobile suite and runs on a 300MHz Samsung processor.
The front of the slim device is dominated by a 2.83″ 240×320 pixels transmissive TFT-LCD screen supporting 64k colours, with a row of four buttons and a joystick below.
Unusually, there’s no camera onboard (least not one we could see), but there’s a fair range of multimedia support onboard, with the device able to play back WAV, WMA, AMR, and MP3 music files, as well as M-JPEG/WMV video files.
Onboard memory is a bit skimpier than we would have liked – just 128MB of ROM and 32MB of RAM – but there is a SDIO/MMC expansion slot available.
According to I-mate, the PDA-N notches up a rated battery life of 5 hours in GPS mode and 8 hours playing a looped video.
The PDA is scheduled for release in April.
Specs:
Dimensions: 109.7mm(H) x 59.4mm(W) x 17.6mm(T) (same as i-mate JAM)
Weight: 126g w/ battery
Processor: Samsung SC32442X33 300Mhz
Memory: 128MB embedded Flash ROM, 64MB embedded SDRAM
Screen: 2.83″ 240×320 pixels, 64K – colors Transmissive TFT-LCD
Interface: SDIO/MMC card slot, One Audio jack (3.5), MiniUSB connector
GPS: Embedded GPS antenna,Support NMEA 0183 version 3.0 or above, WAAS-enabled, 12 parallel channel GPS receiver:
Acquisition time
Hot start: 8 seconds, typical TTFF
Warm start: 60 seconds, typical TTFF
Cold start: 120 seconds, typical TTFF
GPS Accuracy:
Position: < 15 meters, 95% typical
Velocity: 0.05 meter/sec steady state
WAAS Accuracy:
Position: < 5 meters, 95% typical
Velocity: 0.05 meter/sec steady state
Battery: Removable rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery, 1,100mAH
GPS mode: > 5 hrs
Standby time: > 200 hrs
WMV playback: 8 hrs
WMA playback: 12 hrs
Connectivity: Infrared IrDA SIR, Bluetooth v1.2, WiFi 802.11b
i-mate
1 February, 2006
Nokia 6125 Clamshell Offers Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate
Nokia has shunted out a new addition to their mid-range mobile portfolio with the new Nokia 6125 clamshell phone, offering stereo audio streaming over Bluetooth and FM Radio.
Measuring 9 x 4.6 x 2.4cm and weighing 98g, the Nokia features a 1.8in, 128 x 160 pixel, 262k main colour screen with a secondary 1.4in, 96 x 65 pixel, 65k colour external screen.
The Nokia 6125 comes with the usual bag of multimedia widgets, including a built in music player, video recording and Bluetooth 2.0 support with EDR for improved data transfer speeds and signal quality for stereo audio streaming.
The phone features a built-in 1.3 megapixel camera offering 8x digital zoom, video recording, a dedicated camera button and hot-swappable microSD memory card.
As well as Bluetooth, there’s infrared and USB connectivity, with MMS, instant messaging, push to talk and Nokia Xpress audio messaging to keep y’all in touch.
The quadband Nokia 6125 operates in GSM 850/900/1800/1900 networks and provides a flight mode, which enables the user to work with calendar or listen to music while on the flight – although we’ve heard of airlines like Virgin insisting that you turn off all phones – including those with ‘flight modes.’
The music player supports a wide variety of music formats including MP3, MP4, eAAC+ and WMA, and comes with a stereo FM radio, Visual Radio and video ring tones.
The battery is an 820mAh jobbie which Nokia claims will serve up between 2-5 hours’ talk time and 160-280 hours’ on standby.
The Nokia 6125 is expected to ship in the second quarter of 2006, retailing for around €230 (~£157, ~$280)
Nokia
16 January, 2006
Blue Bsh-100: Anycom’s Bluetooth Headset With Mic
It has taken the Bluetooth headset industry a remarkably long time to twig that we don’t want to use one headset for listening to music, and then frantically rip it off to use another Bluetooth headset for answering the phone. Anycom has the one… at a price.
The company has announced the blue bsh-100 headset [right] which, at first sight, is just another of those “hang-on-both-ears” stereo headsets for iPod users. Except for the little black bit jutting out of the right earpiece. That’s the audio input device, or microphone. [see left]
It’s described as “a wireless unit that offers multiple settings for hi-fi stereo headphone for digital audio, Bluetooth headset with attachable microphone for use with mobile phones and PC peripheral using a USB Bluetooth adapter for gaming, chat and VoIP.”
And (if it works as described) the best feature will undoubtedly be its ability to connect to your PC and your phone at the same time. If a call comes in while you’re listening to streaming audio, it will switch to the phone. Of course, this won’t work if you don’t also have a Bluetooth transmitter on your PC, and so you may have to buy one.
And the icing on the cake: a Bluetooth audio gateway. Without further details (actual hands-on reviews!) this is probably going to seem more wonderful than it can in reality be: but what we’re hoping it will do, is allow you to plug several audio inputs into it, and switch between them – from landline phone to Skype, from Skype to iPod, from iPod to mobile phone.
Price in the US has been announced at $120 (~£68~e102) for the headset, and $29 (~£16~e24) for the audio adapter.
Guy Kewney write extensively, and quite brilliantly, in lots of places, including NewsWireless.net
Anycom
9 November, 2005
CoolZone: Nokia Open Another Content Channel
Today Nokia announced CoolZone, a Bluetooth-based distribution system that lets mobile phone users locally browse, pay for and download content on their mobiles while they are in shops supporting it.
When entering a CoolZone, the mobile user can download an application, customised for the retailer or service provider. Through this they can browse and download music, ringtones, wallpapers and videos which can be DRM protected. Paying for the content will be done at the shops till or using premium-rate SMS.
Firmly throwing the ‘retail opportunity’ language switch to on Sakari Kotola, Director, Nokia Ventures Organization said “Rich digital content is widely available and requires an efficient distribution channel. Local mobility solutions create new types of business possibilities to individuals, location owners and enterprises. CoolZone is a Bluetooth technology based content distribution system available to any retailer or location owner who wants to offer or sell digital content to their customers, and thus enhance the in-store experience,”
CoolZone is the short hand term to describe the Nokia Local Content Channel Solution. This consists of client software for the phone (Symbian client for Series 60, Java for Nokia Series 40 and other manufacturers’ phones), a small multiradio Nokia Service Point (LCP10) installed in each service location and the Nokia Service Manager (LCM10) for centrally managing the service points and the content. While the service is currently Bluetooth based, WLAN will be one of expected additions in the near future, as more phones will offer WLAN capability.
As the user of the service needs the user to download an application to use the service, we can imagine little hacking groups are already forming plans to hang around near these shops offering their own ‘applications’ with similar names to unsuspecting, or inexperience users.
While see this as a good step forward as a new ways distributing content – frankly we’re surprised it’s taken so long to come to reality, we’d thought of it years ago – it’s acceptance among retailers will depend on the financial deal for the operators of these shops. Any retailer considering this will need to realise that anyone in their shop using this service will not be looking at the goods on their shelves when they’ve got their face stuck in their mobile, figuring out which tracks they want to download.
This could go some way to explain why the first limited trial is publicly available at three Free Record Shop music stores and three Rober’s Coffee cafés in Helsinki area, Finland – they have no conflict of interest.
It may be that the slight headless-chicken-mode surrounding digital music current – as those who don’t really understand what is happening but are wowed by the huge growth of iPod – will lead the retailers to blindly jump forward to have CoolZones on their premises.
CoolZone will also be demonstrated at the Nokia Mobility Conference 2005 in Palau de Congressos de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain during November 2-3, 2005 with content from EMI.
Nokia CoolZone
31 October, 2005
Nokia Unveils L’Amour Collection
Mobile phone giants Nokia have announced three new phone models aimed at the “style-conscious” market.
The new models, the 7360, 7370 and 7380, are to form part of Nokia’s ludicrously named “L’Amour Collection,” expected on the market in the first quarter of 2006.
Alastair Curtis, Vice President of Design at Nokia’s Mobile Phones division was on hand to trot out the airy-fairy waffle, “For many consumers, the mobile phone has truly become an extension of their personal style – it is a fashion statement as well as an advanced communications device.”
Like Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen on steroids, Curtis continued, “Every detail of these products, from the nature-inspired graphics to the velvet-lined pouches, has been carefully considered with the style-conscious individual in mind. We are very confident that consumers who appreciate design and attention to detail will fall in love with the L’Amour Collection.”
The PR team were clearly caught up in the general arty-fartiness, trotting out a load of tosh about how the Nokia 7380 was a “reflection of discerning taste”, the Nokia 7370 “designed to make heads ‘turn’ and the Nokia 7360 somehow managing to exhibit “charming, graceful and compact” qualities.
Trying our best to avoid the loud klaxon noise emanating from our nearby BS Detector, here’s the phones in more detail:
Nokia 7380
Desperately described as a phone for “trend-setting men and women who enjoy being the centre of attention,” the highly distinctive 7380 looks like it’s come from the same bonkers design studio as the 7280.
Sporting a keypad-less form and clad in leather with a mirrored display, the slimline fashion phone packs in a 2-megapixel camera with 4x zoom, an MP3 player and intuitive voice dialing.
Fashionistas can expect to fork out around €500 (~£340, ~$600) for the 7380 and should be able to start strutting around and making dramatic mobile fashion statements in Q1, 2006.
Nokia 7370
Employing a sliding keypad, the Nokia 7370 comes with a 2-inch QVGA colour screen (320 x 240 pixels), stereo speakers with 3D sound effects and a 1.3 megapixel camera (8x zoom) onboard.
The designers have gone to town on the fascia, emblazoning it with “beautiful patterns, etched into the elegant metal trims” which are contrasted by “leather-inspired faceplates” which, somehow, add a “romantic appeal and an element of the exotic.”
To be honest, we’d be a bit worried if we met someone who found their mobile phone romantic, but I guess it takes all sorts.
The Nokia 7370 comes in two colour schemes, coffee brown and warm amber, each with matching graphics and screensavers.
The phone should be knocking out for around €300 and available in Q1, 2006.
Nokia 7360
Looking somewhat more conventional but still, apparently, a phone for “trend-conscious men and women” (albeit cheapskate ones), the bottom of the range Nokia 7360 comes with an integrated VGA camera, stereo FM radio and MP3 ring tones.
It also sports the same silly ‘designer tag’ sticking out the side of the phone as the rest of the range, and is available in the two “signature L’Amour Collection colour schemes”, i.e. brown and amber.
The phone will cost around €200 and gyrating down the nearest catwalk in Q1, 2006.
Nokia
20 October, 2005
E60; E61; E70: Nokia Launches Eseries Phones For Business Bods
Nokia has announced the Eseries phones, a new range of devices designed for swivel action execs and be-suited business bods.
With the range initially comprising of three new phones aimed at money-rich, time-poor office types, all the Eseries will run on the Symbian Series 60 platform 3rd Edition, sport QVGA or better displays and incorporate push email including BlackBerry and attachment editing.
The Nokia E60, Nokia E61 and Nokia E70 claim superior voice functionality and quality, with the devices supporting advanced voice services like Internet (Voice over IP) phone calls, Push to talk and SIP-based services, backed by a range of local connectivity options including WLAN, Bluetooth and Infrared and USB.
The devices are the first in the industry to support remote device management based on OMA DM*, letting IT managers remotely control and protect corporate data on the device and fiddle about with phone configurations. Or just have a good nose about.
“When we carefully considered the requirements of our customers when developing these devices, two clear new trends emerged: the need for IT departments’ to have a secure and manageable platform, and the need for devices to support a variety of employee preferences and different working styles,” said Niklas Savander, senior vice president of Nokia’s business device unit.
Nokia E60 (above)
Starting off the new range is the E60, an attractive, traditionally styled 3G phone with VoIP, speakerphone, a 24-bit 352 x 416-pixel display, and a low-voltage RS-MMC slot.
Offering useful business features like integrated speakerphone, conference calling and voice-aided applications like Push to talk, and IP-based telephony, the phone supports GSM/EDGE 900/1800/1900 and WCDMA 2100.
Nokia E61 (right)
Next up is the E61, which looks to be shoving its slimline oar (0.55 inches) into Treo/Motorola Q/Blackberry territory, with the device supporting multiple mobile email clients like BlackBerry Connect, GoodLink, Nokia Business Center, Seven Mobile Mail, Seven Always-On Mail, and Visto Mobile.
Looking like an E60 after an encounter with an elephant, the wide and flat E61 sports a full QWERTY keyboard, landscape 24-bit QVGA display (352 x 416-pixel display), miniSD slot and quad-band GSM/EDGE and WCDMA 2100 connectivity.
Full attachment handling (documents, spreadsheets, presentations, PDF viewer and ZIP manager) is built in with an editing function for documents, spreadsheets and presentations included.
Nokia E70 (left)
Finally, the E70 features the same, slightly strange, flip-open QWERTY keyboard phone seen on Nokia’s 6800 series.
The phone comes with a full party box of gizmos and gadgets, including a 352×416-pixel display, 2 megapixel camera with CIF-resolution video capture, USB 2.0, miniSD slot, and Wi-Fi 802.11g/e/i.
The phone will be available in a GSM/EDGE 850/1800/1900 version for the Americas, plus a 3G version for Europe and Asia.
All three Eseries phones are expected to be available in the first quarter of 2006 worldwide.
Nokia
12 October, 2005