Hot stuffs, Technical Reviews and More…
Archive for August, 2009
GScreen laptop hides a second screen behind the first
Aug 28th
The Alaska based company, started by Gordon Stewart (yep, that is where the G in gScreen comes from), is aiming its dual screen laptops at professional designers, filmmakers, photographers and really anyone who can’t live without a dual screen for everyday productivity. They have also been in talks with the military. The chassis (which we expect is at least 12 pounds) is built around the 15.4 inch screen (though the first units that come to market will have 16-inch or 17-inch screens) and its twin, identically sized screen slides out from behind the first using a uniquely designed sliding mechanism.
“We designed this knowing that many may not need the extra screen at all times,” Gordon told me. But when you do use both screens you’ll get about 30-inches of screen space. GScreen plans to release dual 13-inch models at some point.
Gordon plans to have the first Spacebooks being sold through Amazon.com by December of this year. Currently they are making tweaks to the power source (as you can see from one of the images) and to the screen slider.
They will run Windows 7 and be powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processors (we would love to see some mobile Core i7 love here), 4GB of RAM and high-end Nvidia GF900M GT discrete graphics. The plan is for fast 7,200 RPM hard drives and six or nine-cell batteries. It will also have a DVD player so you can watch a flick on one screen and refresh Giz on the other. “It is absolutely the opposite of a netbook,” he told us. Yea that is no kidding with a price tag that he is hoping to keep under $3,000.
Now we are skeptical about them meeting their end of the year production date considering this model’s power cord looks like more than a work in progress, but seeing as Santa is close by to gScreen’s Alaska headquarters we don’t see why he can’t just drop off some dual screen craziness in time for Christmas.
Clock uses diffuse light as hands
Aug 20th
The Good Afternoon clock by Japan’s Mile Project almost gives the impression that time is but a ghost. Narrow rays of light that sneak through small slits in the bezel act as second, minute and hour hands. A great piece if you are already really zen about time, but perhaps nerve-wracking for those in a constant hurry.
Yutaka Koyama’s mirrors are good for distorting reality when the whole truth proves to be too much, while A/R Studio’s Sweethearts coffee set highlights a gentler, kinder reality altogether. And the Wallop by Proudly is a modular hanger system where each section offers hooks that fold out. The sections fit together like puzzle pieces, so that the user is ultimately the creator of the final form. Hang clothes, bags or even light fixtures.
Will new iPods have cameras?
Aug 17th
The annual iPod rollout is rumored to be on its way next month, and the breadth of the changes to Apple’s multimedia players is becoming apparent. The biggest new revelation is that the iPod touch and nano are about to get themselves on-board cameras, revealed by case manufacturers who apparently didn’t get the memo that this stuff is secret.
Nice. In one swoop, iPods suddenly gain a significant additional reason to carry them around all the time. The thing about having a camera or camcorder on a music player that you have with you all the time is that, well, it will turn out to be the most useful camera you own. Why’s that? Because a camera sitting at home in a drawer doesn’t take any pictures.
A Phone works for both blind and sighted people
Aug 17th
The Universal Phone is designed for both blind and sighted people. How? Thousands of micro pins dynamically raise and lower forming a tactile surface for all to get touchy with. Sighted people get the elusive tactile feedback they’re missing with ordinary touch-screens and blind people get a whole new interface made of braille.
The idea was inspired by the little raised dot on the number 5 on almost all mobile keypads. Hey if it works, why not extrapolate the idea into a whole new interface?
Sony Ericsson Jalou phone by Dolce and Gabanna is tinier than a ‘lipstick’
Aug 13th
When you own a phone that weighs just 84 grams then you’re surely a sucker for compact gizmos. Get a hold of this one if you qualify for this category. Sony Ericsson’s Jalou is aimed at those who want everything within the grasp of their palms, literally.
Within a 3 x 45 x 18.2 mm body, the Jalou encloses a 3.2 MP camera with 3.2x digital zoom, FM, Bluetooth 2.0, Internet, a-GPS (only in US) and a media player that can playback YouTube videos besides other multimedia files. To live up to its ‘chicka’ image the phone has a Mirror Key that changes the screen to a mirror (not literally). It also has a ‘Walk Mate’ step counter that keeps a tab of your activity on foot.
In short, the Sony Ericsson Jalou is bound to make it to those folks who like compact gizmos that have a touch of the ‘chick’ factor in them. It is expected to make it to our stores by Q4 2009.
Musical kettle that whistles your favorite tune
Aug 12th
Normally, when a kettle lets you know your water is boiling you’ll hear a high pitched whistle. It’s annoying, so you turn it off quickly. It’s worked pretty well for a while now.
But Naoki Kawamoto’s Musical Kettle turns that annoying whistle into song by putting a sort of flute at the spout. Instead of one high-pitched whistle, you get the song of your choice. But you should still turn the stove off right when it goes off. Just ignore the song, if you can
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Evolta Batteries from Panasonic’s Set a New World’s Record
Aug 12th
Evoia, the cute little robot powered by two AA Evolta Panasonic batteries just set a world’s record by traveling for 23.726 km at Le Mans. Granted this may have been the most annoying race ever… Seriously whocan watch a robot (even though this one is deadly cute) making 5.6 laps (23.726km) in 24hrs. I love races but this one maybe was a bit too slow for me. Guy’s count me in the next time will power a LP560-4 Gallardo with Evolta!
That said, congratulations to both Panasonic (including staff) and the Evolta Batteries, this is definitely worth your 2nd entry in the Guinness Book of World’s Records!
Panasonic Corporation today announced that its EVOLTA batteries powered a tricycle robot to achieve a Guinness World RecordTM on August 6 at the Le Mans Circuit in France. This is the second Guinness World RecordTM for the EVOLTA battery which was already recognized as “the longest lasting AA alkaline battery”* in January 2008.
The new honor is based on the robot’s challenge for the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race.
The robot on a tricycle with a pair of AA size EVOLTA dry cell batteries on its back kept pedaling non-stop, following an infrared beam from a lead car, for about 5.6 laps – 23.726 km or 14.82 miles – around the 4.2 km Le Mans race circuit for 24 hours. Guinness World Records recognized the feat as “the longest distance covered by a battery-operated remote-controlled model car.” The robot, measuring 30 (L) x 20 (W) x 20 (H) cm including the tricycle, was designed by a renowned robot creator, Mr. Tomotaka Takahashi.
The Le Mans challenge was the second endurance test for the EVOLTA battery, whose name derived from “evolution” and “voltage.” The first test confirmed its durability when the humanoid robot, also powered by two AA EVOLTA batteries, successfully scaled a Grand Canyon cliff by climbing up a 530.4 m rope suspended from the cliff in about 6 hours and 46
minutes.
Widely recognized for its durability and long shelf-life of up to 10 years, 180 million EVOLTA batteries were sold worldwide in 2008 since its debut in the Japanese market in April 2008. Panasonic expects its global sales will increase to 300 million pieces in 2009. The EVOLTA batteries are suitable for any application from low-current applications such as TV remotes to high-drain applications like digital cameras. Coming in four different types, AA, AAA, C and D, they can be used for a wide variety of equipment.
Samsung’s new 3G slide phone ‘Honey Bubble’ – a new launch
Aug 11th
Samsung seems to be on a phone-launching spree. The company has unfurled yet another mobile phone. Dubbed as the Honey Bubble SPH-W8700, the device will soon be released in South Korea. This high-end model will operate on the latest 3G network and will be loaded with several advanced capabilities.
According to Akihabara, it has also been identified with the model number SPH-W8700. The handset will show off attractive, cute and sweet looks similar to its name. It will incorporate a 2 megapixel camera with panorama mode in addition to video recording capabilities and video calling facility.
Besides other features, this good-looking phone comprises of a DMB TV tuner, a Subway Map and a pre-loaded dictionary. Additional features of the handset include SOS Siren Alarm, M-Commerce support and an MP3 player. It also extends support for Bluetooth and GPS connectivity.
Not much is known about the specifications and features of the Samsung Honey Bubble SPH-W8700 but it surely looks appealing.
Another global player Sony Ericsson priming smartbook?
Aug 11th
It seems like we have another global player reaching out for the smartbook market. A reliable Taiwanese source which is directly connected to a lot of smartphone- and upcoming smartbook-manufacturers told us today, that Sony-Ericsson is working on a new device, that will enter the market soon.
We can’t tell right now, if it will be based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon platform or any other “non x86? developments, but we can tell one thing for sure: Intel is getting quite some competition pretty soon!
Due to the information we gathered during the last Computex Show in Taipei, ARM, Freescale and Qualcomm will agressively enter this market of mobile and affordable devices by the end of this year. Sony-Ericsson will be (like Acer f.e.) another big brand to join them for this new product class. With their record of building mobile- and smartphones, this could be one of the most interesting and anticipated new devices.
New Sony S-Series Walkman phones – Full Pictures And Specifications
Aug 10th
The Sony S-Series walkman is fully loaded and how we knew this; because it is live not purposely accidently.Well, the new S-Series is essentially a slam-dunk at this point with this uncovered listing of the device at materiel.net, a French-based entertainment retailer. The full specifications of the S-Series Walkman are an attractive update the series and confirms to our initial leak.
The 8gb Sony NWZ-S544 (129 and 16gb Sony NWZ-S545 with a 16:9 (320 x 240, 262k colors) 2.4 inch QVGA LCD screen feature built-in stereo speakers on the front of the player to share or enjoy music out loud. Sony says 42 h Audio and 6.5 H Video battery life, but we all know that means at 128kbps music quality.
The player is drag n’ drop, which is nothing new for Sony but still great – it also boasts compatibility with iTunes and Windows Media Player as usual. FM radio (with 30 presets) strengthens the appeal and codec support includes mp3, WMA, and AAC. Video quality is up to 30fps and can play back the usual formats like H264/AVC, MP4 and WMV. Sony has also included voice recording with a built-in microphone.
I’m almost wondering if they should add a microphone port and make a the future Minidisc hybrid. The earphones included with the new S-Series aren’t too hot, and we didn’t spot any mention of digital amplifier, clear bass and so forth but I’m sure Sony is just trying to offer a competitively priced music/video player with good functionality.
INQ unveils two Twitter-friendly cellphones, Chat and Mini 3G
Aug 4th
Today INQ Mobil
e took the next step in its mission to bring easy-to-use mobile internet to the mass market with the launch of two new 3G Social Mobiles complete with internet-based Twitter and media sync capabilities.
The new phones offer high-spec functionality without the hefty price tag – shaking up the market by giving operators a unique proposition – a 3G social mobile with the speed, usability and suite of applications capable of driving data usage in the mass market.
The INQ Chat 3G is the company’s first qwerty-style phone, while the compact INQ Mini 3G expands the range and provides an entry-level social mobile ideal for the price-sensitive prepay market. They complement the award-winning INQ1.
For the two new phones, Twitter joins the suite of communications applications that INQ has already woven into the heart of its social mobiles: which include Facebook, Skype and Instant Messaging.
Working closely with the Twitter team, INQ has developed an authentic Twitter application for both its new Social Mobiles. After the initial log in, Twitter will be ‘always on’. Consumers can send tweets and retweet via the internet rather than using SMS. With the INQ Chat 3G, a specially designed Twitter widget will deliver Twitter updates straight to the home screen.
The INQ Chat 3G was developed in response to consumer and operator demand for a qwerty-style keypad device from INQ. It has a new email client developed by INQ that incorporates free push Gmail – removing a cost for push mail typically borne by operators or passed on to consumers. The INQ Chat 3G comes complete with the expanded suite of INQ applications; Facebook, Skype, email, IM and Twitter.
The INQ Mini 3G is a slimline Social Mobile that offers Twitter, Facebook, IM, Skype and standard ‘IMAP’ email services like Hotmail. It brings the usability that INQ is known for to a new form factor. Like the INQ Chat 3G, the INQ Mini 3G offers impressive capability at a fraction of the price of other application-rich devices.
Both phones have plug and play HSDPA modems enabling high-speed wireless broadband on PCs and Macs.
The INQ Mini 3G and the INQ Chat 3G represent a new design direction for the company; both can be customized with a range of seven coloured backs.
The INQ Chat 3G and INQ Mini 3G applications can be updated over the air – a unique feature essential to keep pace with how online applications change and consumer usage evolves.
LG phone of Future – Wear a phone like headphones
Aug 3rd
LG’s Design The Future competition acquaints us with numerous breathtaking concepts that have potentials to make real. LG has captivated us with its wrist phones, and now a newly announced winner of this competition, this HiFi concept headset gives us a whole new way of using a cellphone.
It’s a peculiar touchscreen phone which like the headset can be wrapped around the head to enjoy music and attend to calls when on the move – without the use of the hands of course. The HiFi concept phone slots into laptops and netbooks and can also be used around the wrist I guess, when you wanna put across a style statement – or they could fit in a stylish watch dial to complement. No more images to give you the best idea yet, but you can savor your appetite for awesomeness, till we get back with the images.
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