Mobile Technology
Ohmibod - the first iPod acsexory
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November 20, 2006 Sexuality is common to us all. Like music, it is a universal language that can overcome all barriers, so, maybe they can be combined? . Developed using a team of 500 beta testers, the Ohmibod is a music-powered vibrator that translates tunes from any MP3 player (actually any audio source so iRiver, Creative, Zune etc will all work too) into vibrations. Offered as an “acsexory” aimed squarely at the world’s largest selling personal entertainment device (the Apple iPod), the aim of the slick marketing exercise is to make vibrators socially acceptable. The timing couldn’t be better as personal entertainment devices are selling at more than 50 million units a year, roughly half of them to women, so the world’s first audio player acsexory might be a killer app in the making. There’s an online Club Vibe (which users can join anonymously), centred on enhancing the OhMiBod experience, and sharing OhMiBod Playlists and experiences. Now we haven’t tried it, but those that have are being very complimentary on the Ohmibod blog Ohmiblog, writing things like, “I’ll never listen to the Black Eyed Peas in the same way again”, and “the perfect travelling companion.” Considering the various forces at play in reaching the desired result, we’d suggest that rather than using music designed with other things in mind, there’s also the prospect of a whole new genre of music designed to create the sustained frequencies and rhythms for a successful outcome. Though OhMiBod is not endorsed by Apple, OhMiBod’s creator, Suki, previously worked in product marketing for the company and it shows. “The idea of approachability was carried through the entire development and design of OhMiBod - its name, packaging and website,” says Suki, whose goal is for women to feel as comfortable buying an OhMiBod as they do buying an iPod.
Location-based Social Mapping on your mobile
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November 16, 2006 Given that it’s just one third of a century since the world’s first cell phone call was made, one wonders just what we’ll be carrying in another 33 years and just what it might be capable of. We had cause to ponder how useful the device formerly known as the mobile phone could become when we saw the new loopt service today. It’s a location-based social mapping service that enables mobile phone users to share their location, status messages, photos and other on-the-go experiences with friends but unlike other social location services, automatically updates the location of everyone in a private network and displays that information directly on a map on the phone. It even sends an alert when a friend in the network is near, putting an end to missed connections in the mall, at the movies or around town. This functionality has shades of killer-app in our opinion.
Luxury Tulip Ego Laptop arrives in the U.S.
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November 15, 2006 We’ve written previously about the EGO luxury laptop from Dutch company Tulip and its interchangeable skins and the good news is that the highly fashionable laptop which launched during Milan’s 2006 Fashion Week is now available on both sides of the Atlantic. The elegant design of the Tulip Ego laptop with its round shapes and fashionable, interchangeable skins is a milestone in computer design – at least for the PC – it’s not hard to imagine something like this from Apple. The Tulip Ego is easily carried either on the shoulder or by hand with its rounded chrome handle and with its interchangeable skin system, it doesn’t just come in designer fabrics, finishes and colors, the skins can be changed anytime, anywhere using a customized USB-stick cap that comes with the laptop. So you can mix and match to suit your dress, surroundings or mood. Retail pricing starts at US$5,000 and stretches into the six figure range for the diamond encrusted version.
The world's biggest iPod accessory
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November 15, 2006 If Apple Computer gets any more innovative and influential, it might be worth asking if they have any ideas on how to deal with the Iraq war, global warming and the spread of HIV – let’s face it, they couldn’t help but improve the current efforts. Anyway, we digress. Apple yesterday announced it is teaming up with Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United to deliver the first seamless integration between iPod and in-flight entertainment systems beginning in mid 2007. These six airlines will begin offering their passengers iPod seat connections which power and charge their iPods during flight and allow the video content on their iPods to be viewed on the their seat back displays. Where’s the innovation you might ask? It’s in locking in their iPod in all the places that count when you’re not at home – they’ve already announced dozens of automotive integration agreements - more than 70 percent of 2007-model US automobiles will offer iPod connectivity. Additionally, Apple is working with Panasonic Avionics Corporation to bring even more leading airlines in-flight iPod connectivity in the future.
Tumi's PowerPack Backpack - the Gift That Gives Twice
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November 14, 2006 Here’s a fantastic product with a double banger reason to consider purchasing. The Tumi PowerPack Backpack is designed for people who wish to travel widely and regularly get off-the-grid for periods of time. It has a removable solar panel for charging your phone, PDA etcetera, a TUMI international electric adaptor built-in, a removable, padded laptop sleeve, three other removable compartments and numerous interior and exterior accessories pockets for essentials such as a flashlight, travel documents, camera and water bottle.
The limited edition PowerPack backpack from Tumi was co-designed with international artist Anish Kapoor, and each of the 500 backpacks features an Anish Kapoor Imprimatur on the face of the bag, is individually numbered, and has a limited edition metal plaque on the shoulder strap. Here’s the clincher - Tumi will donate 100% of the proceeds of each bag sold to Medecins Sans Frontieres /Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the international humanitarian aid organization that provides emergency medical assistance in more than 70 countries around the world.
The Future of TV – midday primetime, 5 second ads, shorter more concise everything, snackable content, interactive plots, and personalised content
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November 11, 2006 Personalization and interactivity will be the key drivers of mobile TV according to a new report commissioned by Nokia and conducted by Dr Shani Orgad from the London School of Economics. The report, titled 'This Box Was Made For Walking', examines the future impact of mobile TV on the broadcasting and advertising industries. The report predicts that the introduction and adoption of mobile TV will ultimately give way to a more personal and private TV experience than that of traditional broadcast TV, with big implications for users, content providers and advertisers. Users will be able to receive content anytime, anywhere, choose what is most relevant to them, and even create and upload their own television content, while content providers and advertisers will be able to tailor their offerings more specifically to the user. Full report can be downloaded here.
All laptop coolers are not created equal
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November 6, 2006 As anyone who owns a current generation laptop knows, they generate a lot of heat, and that heat isn’t good for the laptop or your lap. This story actually began from a press release featuring the NotePal P1, Cooler Master’s lightweight portable note book cooler. Crafted from aluminum, the USB-powered Note Pal P1 (pictured bottom) has a no-skid surface with rubber rings on top, which holds your notebook in place, a compartment underneath for USB cable storage and air vents in the back to draw heat away from your laptop and it really looks the part - we were very taken with its fetching good looks. Then we did a bit of research and found that the boys at BigBruin had already run the NotePal through it’s paces, comparing it with the much older and not-nearly-as-stylish Hiyatek HY-CF-6157-01 Laptop Cooler (pictured top). The story begins there because the lads actually measured how well each did its job of cooling a Dell Inspiron and the “Hiyatek cooler could improve the temperature 8-12C as compared to no cooler, while the NotePal P1 would improve things 2-5C in the same areas.” Quite clearly, there’s much more to a laptop cooler than good looks and the Hiyatek also includes a four slot card reader and three port USB 2.0 hub, all while handling its primary role as a laptop cooler quite nicely.
Charge N’ Go - Motorola’s new P790 Portable Charger
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November 6, 2006 One of the main problems with all this high-productivity-enabling technology for the person-in-the-field is what happens when the electrons run out. We all know what it’s like to be out and about with a flat mobile phone battery, so we’re all likely to appreciate the Motorola P790 Portable Charger. The compact and wire-free Motorola Portable Power P790 is a mobile power source that can be used on handsets and headsets with low or dead batteries and is perfect for mobile business professionals and chronic conversationalists. The pre-charged Motorola P790 is small enough to fit into your purse or pocket and plugs into the mini-USB port on your Motorola phone or Bluetooth headset for instant power – no wall outlets, no wires required. The Motorola P790 provides one to two full battery charges for your handset and more than 10 full Bluetooth headset charges.
Transportable HD Radio receiver, Dockable Entertainment featuring Game Boy Advance, and Wireless Charging Concept on show at SEMA
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October 31, 2006 The Specialty Equipment Markets Association (SEMA) Show opens in Las Vegas today and one of the stars of the show will undoubtedly be the extensively modified 2006 Scion xB on the Visteon stand which incorporates several new and pretty important technologies in not just automotive entertainment but mobile entertainment in general. Visteon is using the Scion to showcase the first transportable HD Radio receiver (pictured with docking stations in the car and the home), an in-vehicle portable entertainment system that plays movies, music, Nintendo Game Boy Advance video games and a Wireless Charging Concept (main picture), that allows users to charge handheld devices such as an iPod, cellular phone or PDA and does not interfere with the operation of other electronics.
The RoadWarrior - scanning for travellers
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October 31, 2006 The newly announced Visioneer RoadWarrior looks to be one of those items that will find itself incorporated into the travelling kit of most mobile professionals. Based on Visioneer’s award-winning Strobe design, it measures only 2 x 1.5 x 11.4 inches (5.1 x 3.8 x 30cm), weighs just 10 ounces (283 gm), scans 36-bit color and comes with an array of very useful full version software for an all-up of US$200. The RoadWarrior is powered via USB and automatically begins scanning when a document is inserted enabling scanned receipts to be combined with virtually any expense report form, business cards to be captured, recognised and exported to all leading contact managers, PDAs and smart phones and the ability to scan and convert documents into searchable PDF files that are easily organized, shared and better protected. Visioneer has also signed a distribution agreement to bundle Google Search Tools that allow road warriors to quickly find documents and maps for important business meetings.
US$200 Head Mounted Display for Video iPod
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October 27, 2006 Fancy having a HMD (Head Mounted Display) to use with your iPod video but don’t fancy the high ticket price? The magnificently-named 22Moo, which partnered with one of the world's largest HMD manufacturers to create a sub-US$200 HMD dubbed the HMD800. The HMD800 provides a virtual 30" theatre-like image with “clear and exquisite detail” – their words not ours, though we do have a set arriving shortly so we’ll let you know what to expect in a week or two. The 2.1-track Dolby surround-sound stereo earphone completes the experience of being at the theatre or playing a game while you’re on the train, bus or plane. 22Moo is seeking international distributors for the HMD800.
ArmorPlus for BlackBerry – ruggedised Integrated Device providing Barcode Scanning, GPS, Touch Screens With eSignature and Secure Data Memory Cards
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October 27, 2006 The fully converged mobile device draws ever closer and a new product announced today by Solution Technology, the ArmorPlus for BlackBerry Series 7200 looks to be the ‘all-in-one’ solution with the mostest at this point in time. ArmorPlus for BlackBerry is the first wireless, mobile data device providing integrated applications for Barcode Scanning (a true Class 2 laser barcode scanner), GPS (a comprehensive GPS which works Off-road and Off-net, with a high-sensitivity mode for use in obstructed areas), a Touch Screen window that provides both touch data and signature capture capabilities with a stylus and a touch-sensitive, transparent window mapped over the Blackberry screen. It combines multiple applications in a ruggedized case (tested for multiple drops from two meters onto concrete) to deliver optimum performance for the demanding data needs of large, mobile enterprises. It’s a comprehansive mobile data solution for government and commercial services in transportation, healthcare, insurance, construction, manufacturing, homeland security, law enforcement, public safety, telecommunications and more.
LG FUSIC – why isn’t this phone more popular?
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October 24, 2006 The LG FUSIC mobile phone has a distinctly musical bent – it delivers entertainment services at broadband-like speeds and looks, feels, and plays like a portable music player with the added ability of downloading full songs over-the-air, an FM transmitter for playing music through a radio or car stereo, Bluetooth Stereo support, and changeable faceplates for personalization of the phone. The bit that we can’t understand is why this phone isn’t more popular. The inbuilt Customers FM Transmitter offers stereo sound from MP3s stored on a microSD card through a radio or car stereo – the only mobile phone we’re aware of that does this without an accessory. Brilliant stuff!
Odiogo turns a blog/RSS feed into an MP3
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October 23, 2006 Text-to-speech converters suck, or at least they used to suck – these days the latest converters such as the US$30 Odiogo are remarkably good at giving the written word a coherent news reader voice. Odiogo downloads your favorite RSS news and blog feeds and converts the text into spoken word so it becomes available via an MP3 player, when you want. Odiogo converts any RSS news and blog feed into a Podcast! As seen in the pages of the Red Ferret Journal.
MOTOKRZR takes a good thing and runs with it
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October 21, 2006 We're seeing more and more phones using the clamshell form factor, and considering the success of Motorola's most recent offering, the MOTORAZR, it's no surprise to see them release the MOTOKRZR - an update with plenty of functionality and the classic format crammed into a sleek 16mm x 42mm x 103mm shell that weighs 3.6 ounces.
Blinkit: turn your iPod into a torch
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October 20, 2006 At last count, more than 3000 accessories are available for the iPod, from the ordinary to the outlandish, but none quite as downright handy as Blinkit. Turning an iPod into a torch might at first sound like the plot of a Legally Blond movie, and the fact that it blinks in time with the music might add weight to that theory, but having a torch is very useful if you go out at night a lot and it’s not always cool to carry a torch and in some neighbourhoods you might even get locked up. An iPod with a discrete accessory offering serious lighting power makes sense – it’s small, low-bucks (US$30) and very useful when you consider its high-output beam is visible up to several hundred yards away.
The SportCommand wireless fabric remote control for an iPod
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October 10, 2006 The Belkin SportCommand for iPod lets you wirelessly control your music while your iPod stays protected. Strap the fabric remote to your arm, store your iPod in your backpack or jacket, and then listen to your audio while you get extreme. The weather-resistant SportCommand is ideal for outdoor activities, such as snowboarding, mountain biking, and hiking and with a 50 foot range, it may well have other applications we haven’t yet considered. The US$80 SportCommand will ship in November in North America, with launches in Asia, Europe, and Australia to follow shortly.
Stand-alone MPEG-4 Video Recorder for Memory Stick Duo
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October 5, 2006 This is neat – the new Easy Recorder 2 is an MPEG-4 Memory Stick Video format recorder that records video content (via composite analog signal from a VCR, DVD or video camera) directly to Memory Stick Duo in MPEG-4 Memory Stick Video format, a widely used video format for popular portable devices and compatible with Apple Quick Time for your personal computer.
MP4 Watch plays video for 9 hours
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October 5, 2006 One of the more curious aspects of the recent mass proliferation of personal media players is the devices in which they are being incorporated. In recent times we’ve seen not one but two video playing wristwatchs. The most recent came with some natty images showing the watch in four colours from Andalong, though we cannot seem to extract a price or any details on specifications beyond that it plays MP3s, MP4s, has USB 2.0 connectivity and an inbuilt microphone and a remarkably impressive nine hour play time. Of all of those functions, we think that the microphone might potentially be the most useful as we can’t exactly see people queuing up to swap their wide screen HD tellys for a screen smaller than a postage stamp. Now we originally saw this story on I4U (even before we got the Andalong email), so they deserve a pat on the back for their news gathering, and when we checked at Engadget, Pete and the boys had this story about a different video playing watch with 1GB of memory and a US$125 price tag. Andalong is seeking brands wishing to have the watch produced for them, and to be fair, they have a range of excellent electronics even if we think the idea of watching a movie on your wristwatch is lame.
New Triple-Driver Earphones – that’s right, three speakers inside each ear
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October 5, 2006 Given the rate at which digital audio and video players are being sold, it’s reasonable to expect that within a decade, personal entertainment devices will be ubiquitous, and they will all have a headphone jack and every human being above the poverty line will carry a set of headphones. Now a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and its also very true that many personal entertainment devices are being limited by the headphones. So headphones and earphones are likely to undergo some serious development in the coming years and the new US$400 triple.fi 10 Pro earphones look to have raised the consumer bar to a new level - the tiny earphones incorporate three miniature speakers per ear to deliver blow-you-away fidelity and are modelled after far-more-expensive models for professional musicians.
Silver-Zinc batteries shape up to the Lithium-Ion incumbents
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October 3, 2006 "The time is right to demonstrate an inherently safe and reliable portable energy solution that does not compromise performance," says Ross Dueber, president and CEO of Zinc Matrix Power. "Although lithium-ion battery malfunctions represent a small percentage of their total population, the consequences of such malfunctions are quite severe, and pose a serious safety risk for consumers. Electronic manufacturers should consider silver-zinc battery technology as a much safer, lower risk solution for portable power."
500,000 RPM matchbox-sized gas turbine produces 100 watts
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October 1, 2006 Researchers at the ETH Chair for Power Electronics have developed an electrical generator that spins at a world record 500,000 revolutions per minute (RPM) and scientists are hopeful they can achieve twice this speed to touch the magical million rpm. The matchbox-sized motor generates the equivalent of 100 watts, including the power electronics interface, and has an efficiency of close to 95 percent. Powered by a gas turbine, one tankful of fuel drives the generator for about 10 hours at peak 100 watt performance. These ultra small gas turbines could replace conventional batteries as a mobile power source and have a range of potential applications, from dentistry where ever smaller holes could be drilled with ever higher rotation speed through to energy supply for mobile applications, such as portable heart-lung machines or artificial hearts. The little motors could also be used in turbo compressors, which condense gas mixtures or air.
New Concept Watch Design uses pSEL technology
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September 28 2006 The DD101 watch takes advantage of the flexibility of electroluminescent display technology. The plastic electroluminescent interface display is inlayed into an oversize bangle which carries a hidden timing function. Pressing on the side-button, reveals the time in a large display instantly changing it from a simple piece of jewelry to a functional timepiece. Pelikon UK designed the printed segmented electroluminescent (pSEL) touch displays and the funky DD101 watch design comes from o.d.m. The DD101 looks like a bangle when dormant but can be quickly transformed into a stylish time piece when out on the town in the evening.
Black Diamond launches the SwitchBack rugged Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC)
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Updated October 2, 2006 The prospects of one day having our computers all able to withstand the hostile environment that is the real world moved a step closer this week when rugged electronic systems specialist Black Diamond Advanced Technology announced the SwitchBack PC , the world's first rugged UMPC (Ultra Mobile Personal Computer). The SwitchBack made its debut at the Embedded Systems Conference in Boston this week and utilizes a 1.0 GHz Intel Celeron M processor, 1GB of 400 MHz DDR2 and can run Windows XP, CE, Mobile or Linux, packing the power of a desktop PC in a lightweight, handheld rugged form factor. The SwitchBack has all the features of today's rugged handheld tablet PCs, but it's smaller, more powerful and it has another significant differentiator ... a detachable/attachable Module on the back which can be used to extend functionality by adding additional hardware, devices or connector interfaces. Examples of modules that can be added include an additional processor, hard drive or battery, custom I/O options (data transfer, interface extensions), a fingerprint reader, an RFID, Barcode Scanner or Mag Stripe Reader, terrestrial radio(s), digital camera, GPS receiver, breathalyser and a Laser Range Finder.
Parrot’s Bluetooth Hands-free Speakerphone accessory
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September 28, 2006 Paris-based Bluetooth specialist parrot has graced our pages before for its Bluetooth wireless speakers and Bluetooth LCD picture frames. This time it’s a more traditional use for Bluetooth technology in the form of a hands-free for a mobile phone – the point-of-difference is that the MINIKIT is designed from the outset as a speakerphone, and uses a built-in multi-directional microphone, DSP-2 signal processing algorithms and a high-definition two-watt speaker to enable crystal-clear speakerphone conversations. Designed as a portable companion for any Bluetooth phone, the MINIKIT weighs 104 grams (3.5 oz) and its vital statistics are 110 x 63 x 28 mm (4.3 x 2.5 x 1.2 inches). The Parrot MINIKIT uses its own, not the phone's, voice recognition feature so there’s no need to keep the phone near by – it always calls the right number. With its battery offering 10 hours of talk time and over a week on standby, the Parrot MINIKIT is ideal for those who want a dedicated high-quality speakerphone for their mobile.
Battery with built-in USB charger
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September 22, 2006 Logical, inevitable, perhaps even overdue in retrospect, our ripper idea of the day (at least so far) is this rechargeable battery that can charge from any USB port without the need for any recharging devices, cradles or cables. Just pop the end to reveal a built in connector and charger, plug into any powered USB port on your desktop, laptop, keyboard, games console, monitor ad infinitum charge the battery. Currently available in the AA format, the USBCELL will shortly comprise a full range of standard formats, phone and camera batteries.
A video projector the size of a sugar cube
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September 19, 2006 Miniaturised projection systems have been spoken about for a long time, but with several viable technologies seemingly close to market, the day when you can carry a video projector at all times, just in case you need it is close. In February, we wrote about the matchbox-sized PVPro projector and now news from Faraunhoffer suggests that not-too-far down the track your handheld, digital camera, portable media player or phone might have a projector built-in. That’s the promise of a new technology for projectors that does not use conventional micro arrays, instead containing just a single mirror that can be rotated around two axes. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena have developed an alternative to micro mirror arrays and the result is a projector the size of a sugar cube.
Field Tested: Lenovo updates the Z series ThinkPad with the Z61t, Z61m, and Z61p
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September 10, 2006 Last November, we had a chance to test the new Z60t and Z60m Thinkpads. These devices were the first of Lenovo's 60 series products, and were the first to offer integrated EVDO service from Verizon in the US. They were also the first Thinkpads built to a new set of internal standards for docking station and power supplies that are compatible across the entire 60 generation of products. The Z60 was followed by the T60 and X60 Thinkpads in February, which added Intel's current generation of dual core processors, but unfortunately the Z60 was released too early to get these new gems, and an expected upgrade to the specs of the Z60 didn't materialize when we thought it would. The new Z61t and Z61m laptops refresh their Z60 forbearers, and the Z61p is a new wide screen workstation model based upon the Z61m chassis.
New LocationFree products focus on place shifting
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September 6, 2006 Continuing its focus on the concept of place-shifting, Sony has unveiled two LocationFree Base Stations (US$200 LF-B10 and US$250 LF-B20) and the US$230 LocationFree TV Box. LocationFree devices wirelessly stream television programs, movies and personally-created content to a variety of devices – including PlayStation Portable units, Macintosh and Windows-based notebook PCs, or remotely located TV sets- wherever a broadband Internet connection is available. All three products will be available in October.
Pantech's outrageously different ‘Auto Pop-up Display’ satellite DMB Phone
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September 6, 2006 South Korea’s Pantech Group today announced the launch of the IM-U140 handset, a satellite digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) handset that provides users with a genuinely unique mobile phone experience via its innovative design. With DMB, the phone obviously receives television but it has an interesting arsenal of features including four channel stereo speakers, a 3 megapixel camera with an image stabilization mode, MP3 player and TV-OUT and FM transmitter functionality meaning it can play the MP3s it contains on your car radio f’rinstance. Finally, the QVGA 262K colour TFT LCD display is designed to pop up automatically at a 30 degree angle and the touch screen vibrates when touched, enhancing the overall unique feel of the phone.
Portable digital audio player with built-in slide-out speakers
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September 4, 2006 There’s been some interesting developments in the evolution of the portable audio player at IFA, with both the Miuro and now the K5 MP3 Player from Samsung - a flash-memory based MP3 player with built-in slide-out speakers, 1.7" Touchpad OLED LCD display, and a sleek one-button design. Using the same slider form factor that has become accepted so quickly with the mobile phone to increase surface area (and hence give more room for display, keyboard or in this case a speaker facia), the aim of the innovation is to be able to play music in two modes instead of one – public and personal. The K5 has a built-in FM radio tuner and supports MP3, WMA, WMA DRM10 and JPEG formats. It will be available September 10 in black and will ship later in the year in pink at US$210 MSRP (2GB) and $260 MSRP (4GB).
Miuro – the semi-autonomous robotic boombox
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September 4, 2006 It’s been billed by some media as an over-the-top iPod accessory which is being somewhat unfair to the JPY108,000 (US$924) Miuro robot. Yes, it does accept the iPod, but as it’s much smarter than the average boombox, and it has its own wheels, it can be summoned from wherever it might be by remote control. Equipped with Kenwood speakers, it will stream any audio format (MP3, WAV, WMA, AAC, AIFF including web radio) wirelessly (802.11 b/g) from your home computer, has AM and FM radio, can follow set routes around the house, or remember the optimum spot to position itself in each room. It’s a new concept – a mobile, semi-autonomous boombox, which combines your MP3 collection, AM/FM and web radio and brings it to you. The result of a joint venture between Japanese robot company ZMP (makers of Pino, e-nuvo and nuvo) and audiophilic icon Kenwood, Miuro can be reserved via the internet, as of yesterday, but only if you’re living in Japan. They’re promising delivery before Christmas 2006, with overseas availability expected in the second half of 2007 – we expect there’ll be shopping outlets on the internet with it the minute it becomes available in Japan. Excellent image gallery.
The V-Mate Video Card Recorder converts any video to flash card for use on mobile devices
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September 4, 2006 The increasingly mobile consumer now has the ability to watch their favorite shows and videos, whenever and wherever they want – it’s really just that most of us need a way to get the show from its original source into a form we can watch it on our mobile phone or PDA. SanDisk, the inventor of flash storage cards and world's largest supplier of flash data storage card products has introduced an interesting and potentially very useful Video Memory Card Recorder called the V-Mate which overcomes this problem entirely, regardless of the format of the original. The US$130 V-Mate enables users to record video from video inputs such as over-the-air television as well as cable, satellite, DVD players, personal video recorders (PVRs) like TiVo and video cassette recorders (VCRs) onto their flash memory cards. The V-Mate prepares the video, drops it on your memory card which is then inserted into their mobile phone, PDA, handheld game console like the Sony PSP (PlayStation Portable), video music player or notebook computer to play back their videos on the go.
Samsung releases 10 inch DMB Mobile TV
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September 2, 2006 Every now and again, we see a product which looks set to forge a new market segment, having the right combination of technologies at the right time to have enough appeal to change the way the public sees things. Samsung is hoping its new 10 inch DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) Mobile TV will do just that, opening an era where everyone will have their own personal TV. Indeed Samsung’s aims are huge as it hopes to reposition the public’s perception of TV from a piece of family-oriented and fixed position furniture to a personally-oriented mobile device. In its latest press announcement it draws the analogy of the change created by the portable cassette player in the music industry and suggests portable TV will be even more groundbreaking. Given that not everybody will wish to watch video on a tiny cell phone screen, we believe this product has a very viable audience.
Universal Portable Power Solution for Electronic Devices
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August 30, 2006 The new Xantrex PowerSource Mobile 100 offers an interesting and almost universal handheld power system that can operate multiple electronic products at different voltage and power levels. The US$130 PowerSource Mobile 100 is the only compact mobile power source with an AC outlet and two USB outlets with the capability to operate portable devices at varying power levels. This goes beyond products currently available on the market, and it means consumers can now operate or charge a high power product like a laptop, and low power devices such as an iPod and a cell phone all at the same time. Approximately the size of a laptop battery and weighing about one pound, it combines a 100-watt DC to AC inverter with a high output lithium ion battery to provide backup power for mobile devices. It can be recharged from any AC electrical outlet or from a DC outlet in a vehicle or airplane. It provides both 120 Vac and 5 Vdc (USB) power for use with portable products.
