HP HDTVs for 2006 January 9, 2006
READ MORE Home Entertainment
Go, go HP and try to get in there with the other HDTV makers this year. The computer maker showed a whole line-up of TVs at CES, from a 37-inch Advanced Digital Media LCD TV with built-in digital media receiver, to the 50-inch Plasma PL5060N, with more than a billion colors, an integrated HDTV/Analog tuner and a PC input so you can directly connect your PC to the TV. Also look for 2 more microdisplay TVs, including a 52-inch 1080p model with super-bright LEDs that replace a traditional bulb.
HP Unveils 2006 HDTVS and Digital Entertainment Breakthrough [HP]
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Sony PSP 2.5” HDD Enclosure Available January 9, 2006
READ MORE Portable Media
Got a ton of video in MPEG4 format laying around waiting to be put on your PSP, but you just can’t cram it all on there? Never fear—the SavitMicro S25 HDD enclosure lets you use any 2.5” hard drive as a PSP storage device. Totally awesome. Just hook it up to your PSP, Digital Camera, or any other device that can accept an external storage device and you’ve got tons of extra space. The price isn’t bad if you’ve already got the hard drive too. It’s about $100 for the enclosure and USB cable and is shipping now.
The PSP compatible 2.5” OTG HDD case is here! [Akihabara]
Mobilepen Texter January 9, 2006
READ MORE Mobile phones
MobilePen has joined the likes of Motorola by releasing a third-party add-on for Symbian or Windows Mobile-powered smart phones. It features two options for quick and easy text entry: keyboard for touch typing, and handwriting recognition for English or Chinese. This device can also connect to your PC to operate as a miniature tablet. It weighs just under 2 ounces and measures 3.8 inches by 2.3 inches by .4 inches and should be available in China soon for around $430. For that price you could just upgrade to a phone that has a keyboard.
Mobilepen texter beats any others in market [PhoneyWorld]
Vodafone and Sony to Launch Music Service January 9, 2006
READ MORE Mobile phones
Here’s yet another behemoth coupling for easier access to music on our cellphones. Vodafone and Sony are planning on launching the Vodafone RadioDJ service, that will offer cellphone users personalised radio channels streamed to 3G mobile phones and computers. Vodafone says its personalization is what makes this particular service different, with features like being able to press a button saying if you like or dislike a song when its playing. Kinda neat. So if you press the dislike button, the song will skip and you’ll never have to hear it again on any of your other stations. Plus, other “similar” songs would also be avoided. Very TiVo of them huh? But, per usual, don’t expect to see this in the US (where we don’t have any Vodafone products or services). It will launch UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal.
Vodafone, Sony team up for music service on mobiles [Reuters]
Samsung HD-DVD/BluRay Combo Drive January 9, 2006
READ MORE Home Entertainment
Not much info on this product, but it would definitely help with those next-gen high-definition DVD arguments. Looks like Samsung is in the middle of creating a combo drive, to be out this summer. And if they could possibly do it for a price that won’t make us all keel over, that would be good, too. More info on this as we get it.
Samsung prepares Blu-ray, HD DVD combo drive [Inquirer]
Slingbox Adds Mobile January 9, 2006
READ MORE Home Entertainment
Not too much going on with the Slingbox this year, but at CES, Sling Media did announce a mobile component that will be added to product. Basically, you’ll soon be able to watch live or taped TV shows on any wireless-enabled Windows Mobile Smartphone or handheld. Not bad, but now that phones and devices can carry this new technology this may cut into all those mobile entertainment services being touted. Right now, the Slingbox retails for $249 and there was no talk about whether it will cost more with its new mobile component, so stay tuned.
Slingbox Plots a Revolution [Red Herring]
Pricing on current Slingbox [Amazon]
US Gets HSDPA First, Plus Phones January 9, 2006
Can you believe it? The US actually beat Asia and Europe to the punch on HSDPA, a new WCDMA/UMTS-based 3G technology, now only being offered by Cingular. Ok, so there is only a data card for laptops so far, but Samsung and LG have both promised phones to go with this service later this month. Look for the Samsung ZX10 and the LG CU320, both with swivel megapixel cameras and a microSD memory card slot—and the ability to handle simultaneous voice and data connections. The CU320 will also come with Bluetooth and tri-band GSM, while the ZX10 lacks Bluetooth but comes with quad-band GSM.
CES 2006 [Phonescoop]
MoGo Mouse January 9, 2006
READ MORE Peripherals
MoGo Mouse has a hot metallic design to keep you on the HAWT list for the next 8 years to come. RAZR-thin (har har), this bluetooth mouse is supposed to feel just like any old desktop mouse so you’re comfortable with it. Designed for laptops, the MoGo Mouse charges in an interesting way: via your PC Card slot inside your laptop. The idea is that you can just keep it inside there until you need it, then whip it out and use your laptop’s bluetooth to connect and use it. It’s even got a weird kickstand to give it some height like a normal mouse. The MoGo Mouse will be available for $70 in March.
Product Page
Spare change? January 9, 2006
READ MORE Gadgets
We all hate those aggravating queues in front of the cashpoint, so wouldn't it be nice to have one, say, right in your lounge? Before you get too excited, this isn't a real cash point in the sense that you can't use your own bank card, and it's not connected to a real bank in any way. Now that we've totally ruined it for you, the table top machine looks and kind of works like a real cash point, except it's basically a creative way for you to save money. On the plus side, no overdrafts. On the negative side, no overdrafts to sympathetically give you one last twenty pound note. And if you have the extra grand amount of £24.95 in order to purchase it, then maybe you don't really need it. But of course we won't stop you, so go ahead and check it out here.
Monster 10 Megapixel Cameras from Vivitar January 9, 2006
READ MORE Digital cameras
Yup, you knew it was coming. What’s the digital camera business without the megapixel wars? And to eclipse the competition best they could (they are French for god’s sake), Vivitar announced 2, 10 Megapixel cameras at CES. The X60 has 6x optical/8x digital zoom lens, 2.8-inch LCD and a VGA/30 frames per second (fps) MPEG-4 movie mode and uses SD memory—also offering PictBridge and USB 2.0. The X30 includes a 3x optical zoom with a 2.5-inch LCD, VGA resolution/30 fps AVI video capture, also with SD card and PictPridge support. No prices yet but expect to see these cameras 2nd quarter of this year.
Vivitar Debuts 10-Megapixel Cameras At CES [TWICE]
ATO iPod Video Recorder: iSee 360i January 9, 2006
READ MORE Peripherals , Portable Media , Wireless
Looks like ATO has made the first iPod Video Recorder to cater to the new iPod video: The iSee 360i. You can now store shows from DVD, PVR, Television, or any other source on your iPod for later viewing. It’s even got a 3.6-inch LCD screen with controls for watching movies or shows on older iPods. Like most third-party products though, it has flaws. It won’t work with a 60GB iPod 5G nor will anything below 4G. iPod Mini is supported and Nano is as well with an adaptor. The iSee 360i also features a rechargable battery to extend viewing times. It’s not available yet.
iPod Video Recorder Debuts [MacNN]
Optimus Keyboard May Launch February 1st January 9, 2006
READ MORE Peripherals
I’m a little skeptical, but let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. The Optimus keyboard, the one with the little LCDs under each key, appears to be launching February 1, 2006. Truth? Hype? We don’t know yet, but we’ll keep you informed.
Product Page [ArtlebeDev]
Chrysler to Put iPod Connections in 2006 Models January 9, 2006
READ MORE Portable Media
As the first American automaker to announce iPod integration into its 2006 Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge models, the Chrysler Group follows in prestigious BMW footsteps. This just happens to be a little more affordable for the little people. The kit, which is called the iPod Integration Kit, will be jus t£100 plus installation and can even be retrofit to many 2005 models, according to Chrysler.
Chrysler Group and Apple announce iPod integration [Apple Insider]
Seagate’s Wireless-USB drive prototype January 9, 2006
READ MORE Gadgets , Storage
You might all think that the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2006 in Las Vegas is all about gambling, boozing and snorting coke out of strippers’ bellybuttons – and it is! But, there are some useful technologies on show too and sometimes you get a glimpse of what to expect in 2007. Seagate, for instance, showed us the future of portable USB storage, and it’s wireless and really small. The company previewed a W-USB 1.8in drive - the only one it has –which will work with other W-USB capable devices in the future. You know, phones, PCs, laptops etc. Thanks to perpendicular storage technology which is just starting to arrive, capacities could range from 100GB upwards. Now, back to the party, er, work.
Extreme close-up! January 9, 2006
READ MORE Digital cameras
Apart from the special photo effects achieved from using your camera phone while pissed, here’s your chance to recapture those creative flashes of ‘genius’ while sober. For about £10, you too can be the proud owner of some special lenses designed for camera phones. The lenses mount onto your camera lens using some lo-tech sticky pads and the effects on offer can be viewed on the LCD screen. So what are they? Well, you get a macro-lens for photographing things really close up, a distortion lens for making fat relatives fit in the one shot, and a kkaleidoscope lens for shooting a central image surrounded by a triangle of three others. Woo-hoo. Via Red Ferret
digital camera Digital Photography gadgets
LG wakes up to personal video January 9, 2006
READ MORE Gadgets , Home Entertainment , PDA , Peripherals
Just because Apple has entered the personal video player (PVP) space with the iPod Video doesn’t mean the market didn’t already exist. It did, and with better products on offer too, but, thanks to the arrival of the fruity one marketing twerps at other consumer electronics firms have woken up to the potential. The latest arrival on the scene is LG, with some snappy little offerings. Check out the FM30 on the right. Measuring 2.4 x 1.6 x .55ins, it’s positively tiny, and comes with a lithium-ion battery that promises 60 hour battery life – although we doubt that covers video playback. The downside – and there had to be one or two – is that the capacity is just 1GB (about 100 music videos or 250 songs) and the screen almost doesn’t actually exist at 1.77ins. So forget comfortable viewing. There is also a video friendly portable media center with a 4.3in screen – the PM70 – with a 30Gb capacity and an eye-friendly 4.3in screen. Now that’s more like it. No prices yet. The US will see them first in early summer with the rest of us European peasants hoping for a launch in the autumn.
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