20
Dec
2006
CNet gives the Philips BDP9000 Blu-ray Player a 6,3 out of 10.
Monthly Archives: December 2006
20
Dec
2006
Engadget: This just in from our Tokyo bureau: according to an interview conducted by Japan’s Impress, Sony’s Ken Kutaragi has gone on record with a “promise” for what he’s calling an AV-centric PS3. In other words, audio and video capabilities first, gaming second (if at all), in a device built around the Cell-processor platform.
Ken says that the device would certainly be more expensive, reflecting the prices and margins expected on high-end consumer electronic devices such as TVs, Blu-ray personal video recorders, etc. — not the relatively cheap, but powerful gaming rigs sold at a loss under Sony’s Computer Entertainment division.
The new Sony-branded living room box would, in Ken’s (translated) words, “be a standard AV component sized box with a more powerful, power supply unit, anti-shake insulator, twice the main memory, and 2x HDMI to split sound and video output.”
More Cell-processor devices in the living room? We say bring it, Sony.
20
Dec
2006
This Philips press release seemed to have escaped our notice. But it’s worth mentioning nevertheless, since many CE manufacturers are likely to follow Philips’ example…
Philips: Philips Design and Rivers Run Red, the virtual world design agency, have signed a collaboration agreement to establish a Philips Design presence within the imaginary, on-line community known as Second Life. Philips Design intends to use its presence in Second Life to gain feedback on innovation concepts, engage residents in co-creation and gain a deeper understanding of potential opportunities in this virtual environment. (…)
Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 2,089,016 people from around the globe. (Secondlife.com)
20
Dec
2006
Newlaunches: Samsung is all set to change how we use our mobile phone with the SCH-V960 which features an optical joystick allowing you to break away from 4 way movement and providing 360 degree navigation.
Users utilize the optical joystick key by placing their finger and moving a cursor to navigate through the menu, similar to a cursor of a mouse on a PC. Optical sensors read and react to users finger movement. Users can point the cursor and click directly on icons on MyScreen, similar interface to that on a PC environment, and gain direct access to frequently used menus such as photo album, messaging, and music menu. (…)
20
Dec
2006
Electronista: French designers ModeLabs (…) said it had developed three of the first truly energy- and environment-friendly cellphone concepts.
All the concepts rely on the inherent movement of their users to automatically regenerate power and signal the possibility of using smaller batteries or even eliminating them entirely.
The most advanced model is the YoYo (pictured), ModeLabs says. Worn about the neck, the prototype recycles the bounces and swings created by its owner and also draws power from built-in solar cells.
19
Dec
2006
Next generation: TIME Magazine has deemed the PlayStation 3 as one of 2006’s five phenomena that didn’t live up to the hype. The article from the December 25 issue of Time begins, “Beware all hype. Here are five phenomena that captivated the media for a spell, then turned out to be less than huge.” (…)
And then there’s the entry for the PS3: “The big story in computer games this year was HOW TO BLOW A HUGE LEAD, by Sony [emphasis TIME’s]. Its PlayStation 2 was the champ in the last round of the console wars. This time Sony bet on a chip called the Cell and a disc format called Blu-ray. They’re probably awesome, but how would anybody know? The PS3 is hideously expensive–it goes for up to $600–and Sony manufactured only a piddling few hundred thousand for the U.S., fewer for Japan. Plus it’s hard to write games for; the launch titles were lame. You know you’re in trouble when you get beat by something called a Wii.”
19
Dec
2006
Mobilitysite: Jon Westfall from PocketPCThoughts calls it sleek, I think I would call it slick and my buddy OttRot would definitely classify it as sexy.
I have to agree with Jon when he asks if “Anyone else thinks it’s amazing how many Pocket PC Phones there are out there now compared to two years ago” … I agree Jon, it is simply amazing that there are so many that are so good. We certainly have choices!
Jason Langridge said that Orange France has another 3G/EDGE device to add to their portfolio. This new device is known as the SPV M700.It doesn’t have a QWERTY keyboard but it does have WiFi, 3G and a 2.0 Mega Pixel camera.
Fore more details, please check the productpage (in French).
19
Dec
2006
Reuters: Japanese consumer electronics maker Sharp said on Tuesday it has started the commercial production of blue laser diodes, taking aim at a market with strong growth potential.Sharp in November began volume output of blue laser diodes, used to read and write data on high-definition optical discs, at 150,000 units a month at its existing plant in western Japan, Sharp spokesman Hiroshi Takenami said.
The diodes can be used in DVD players based on the Blu-ray format, championed by Sony, as well as competing HD DVD technology, promoted by Toshiba.
Sharp, which is entering the market dominated by Sony and unlisted Nichia, plans to bring the monthly capacity to 500,000 units by the end of 2007, spending several billion yen.
19
Dec
2006
Financial Times: Sony is to gatecrash the fledgling market in handheld devices to play downloaded video content early next year when it launches a service for the PlayStation Portable.
The decision, which could threaten Apple Computer’s grip on the video download market, will allow PSP owners to download a film from the internet to a PC and then to transfer a single, legal version of the film to a Sony device.
Sony, which has sold more than 20m PSPs worldwide, expects to launch the service in the first quarter of 2007 after tying up deals with online video providers.
Crucially for Sony, the service will not require the launch of a new PSP or for consumers to buy new hardware.
(more…)
19
Dec
2006
Phonemag: Nokia and Singaporean mobile operator MobileOne (M1) have carried out the first High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) data call in Southeast Asia.The call was conducted in a test environment using a Nokia Flexi WCDMA Base Station and Nokia’s HSUPA-capable device.
The successful trial demonstrated Nokia’s end-to-end capability to support new data rates and services to be built on HSUPA.
It also proved that the connection from device to the 3G network can now reach a data rate of 1.45 Mbps which is up to 4 times over existing 3G speeds.
For instance, a typical 10 MB video file transfer over HSUPA network takes less than a minute to upload, as compared to a minimum of 3 minutes using today’s 3G speeds. HSUPA is thus ideal for sending large data files, such as photos and videos.
18
Dec
2006
Newlaunches: (…) the upcoming Nokia N95 has a 5 Megapixel camera and a secondary VGA camera. But even with such advancements the only thing stagnant is the zoom feature. Even the latest phones come with digital zoom and not optical zoom for which you still carry your trusty digital camera.
Putting an end to this misery is the Mobile Phone Telescope. An add on lens which snaps to your camera back. It offers 6X zoom which is great for shooting landscapes and distant objects. Though it still offers manual focus, taking a snap with the telescope lens on is very simple.
The Mobile Phone Telescope is available as an attachment for select Sony Ericsson phones and the Nokia N70.
18
Dec
2006
Reuters: Matsushita Electric Industrial said on Monday it aims to mass-produce spark-resistant batteries, eyeing a potential sales opportunity following incidents involving rivals’ battery packs.
The Panasonic brand maker said it has boosted its production capacity of batteries insulated with heatproof layers to five million units per month, up from 100,000 in April.
Japanese rivals and battery market leaders Sony and Sanyo have been hit by recalls of high-power batteries for PCs and cellphones, following much-publicized incidents in which batteries ignited.