Info Gadget and Technology

Night Vision using Eyeglasses

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 01 May 2010 08:30:00 +0000

Franky So, a scientist at the University of Florida, has developed new night vision technology. The technology borrows some technology we are familiar with from the notebook computer industry. He uses LEDs and a new thin, flexible film he developed to convert infrared light into visible images for the wearer.

The design that So has developed would weigh under a quarter of a pound and the proof of concept design is only a single square centimeter. So claims that a full-scale device would weigh as little as 10 grams though and be only microns thick. The new design could be applied to eyeglasses, cell phones, and windshields in cars eventually.

Sources:

1. Slash Gear

2. Gadget Softpedia

CTRUS: the Hybrid Soccer Ball

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 08:30:00 +0000

A 'strategic intelligence embassy' by the name of 'AGENT' have designed called “CTRUS”, a see-through soccer ball that imitates the bounce of an inflated pneumatic soccer ball, but without losing the air, giving transparency to the game of soccer. In fact, it does not need air to recoil and perform.

Claimed to be the first soccer ball you can see through, CTRUS’ functional principle is based on the mechanical properties of its materials, i.e. an inner structure (skelle-core) and an outer net-embedded shell, which is carved out of reinforced elastomer to make it more flexible in comparison to regular soccer balls. The hybrid soccer ball comes integrated with an interactive detection system that communicating wirelessly with control stations at the stadium changes its color to display the critical game situations, such as goal, offside, kick force, travel speed and if the ball is over the goal line or outside the field of play, via a GPS/RFID inner light. With CTRUS, now referees will have a closer look on the game to prevent controversial decisions.

Other pictures:

Sources:

1. Engadget

2. AGENT Official Website

3. Design Boom

4. The Design Blog

LightForm: World’s First Flexible LED Lighting Film

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:00:00 +0000

LightForm, the world’s first flexible LED lighting film, is produced by Grove Industries. It is a very solid lighting device made into strips 10-inches in length and only 1 mm thin. It is actually made from Bare-die LEDs and uses a peel-and-stick system to attach to different objects.

The 10-inches strips can be put together three at a time, one of them being the power strip. Currently, the LightForm lighting film is available in four colors and the producers are working on developing a white film. It is now available in the red, amber, blue and green colors.

This product will most likely need a lot of cutting in order to fit it who knows where your imagination takes you. This is why the manufacturers at Grove Industries say that the incredible thin lighting panel is capable of True Cut-To-Fit, which should give you the freedom needed to use this film in different angles and to cut it at precise lengths.

Eye-Fi: Wireless Memory Card

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Eye-Fi Inc., makers of the world's first wireless memory card for digital cameras, have just unveiled new wireless memory cards that provide customers with the next generation Eye-Fi experience of the renowned Eye-Fi Pro X2. The X2 family of Eye-Fi cards are the models that deliver wireless speed faster than ever for photo and video uploads, as well as better performance and virtually unlimited storage capacity with Endless Memory mode.

“Just in time for spring outings and summer road trips, we’re giving users the ultimate Eye-Fi experience – it’s faster and even more convenient,” said Jef Holove, CEO for Eye-Fi. “Uploading and sharing your memories with friends and family is as simple as finding a nearby Starbucks and turning on your camera. We do the rest.”

Further to customers' delight, Eye-Fi has more than doubled their hotspot upload location, so that users of the Hotspot Access feature can upload photos and videos directly from their camera.

With a 4GB capacity, the Eye-Fi Connect X2 can automatically upload JPEG photos and videos to the computers and one of the many social networking or sharing web sites, like Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, and others. The manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for this type is $49.99.

The Eye-Fi Explore X2, on the other hand, has an 8GB capacity, and can upload images and videos on various sharing sites, but also provides lifetime automatic geotagging, so customers will have their pictures and videos arrive on their computers complete with location information, included for easier identification of where the content was captured. MSRP on this type is $99.99.

Sources:

1. Softpedia Gadget

2. Eye-Fi Official Website

3. Gizmodo

WePad: Intel Atom Based Android Tablet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 14:30:00 +0000

Neofonie, a German manufacturer, has introduced a new Android OS tablet named WePad with netbook features like 11.6-inches touchscreen display (1366 x 768 resolution). The tablet is powered with 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N450 and GMA 3150 Graphics chip, other features includes card reader, webcam, 2 USB ports, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, UMTS modem and around 6 hours of battery life.

Flash supported WePad will be among the first few tablet devices to sport Android Marketplace. They also have plans for their very own WePad App Store too.

Pricing and release date are still not available.

Sources:

1. Techlivez

Marvell Unveils $99 'Moby' Multimedia Tablet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Marvell has just unveiled their Moby tablet prototype. It’s a kind of internet or multimedia tablet which offers to change the way students learn by delivering an always-on, high performance multimedia device featuring live, real-time content, 1,080p Full HD and 3D media, and full Flash Internet (in other words, what the iPad can't do).

Powered by high-performance, highly scalable, and low-power Marvell ARMADA 600 series of application processors; the Moby tablet features gigahertz-class processor speed, 1,080p Full HD encode and decode, intelligent power management, power-efficient Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/FM/GPS connectivity, high performance 3D graphics capability and support for multiple software standards, including full Adobe Flash, Android and Windows Mobile. The ultra low power Moby tablet is designed for long-battery life, although specific details on this issue have not been provided yet.

"Education is the most pressing social and economic issue facing our country and our times. I believe the Marvell Moby tablet can ignite a life-long passion for learning in all students everywhere. Marvell's goal is to fundamentally improve the way students learn by giving them more efficient, relevant - even fun tools to use. Marvell's Moby tablet recognizes that every student learns differently and so it delivers an array of media choices for different learning styles," said Weili Dai, Marvell's Co-founder and Vice President and General Manager of Marvell Semiconductor's Consumer and Computing Business Unit.

The Moby tablet is priced around 99 US dollars. Marvell will soon announce a pilot program in partnership with the District of Columbia Public School system (DCPS) where the Company will donate a Moby tablet to every child in an at-risk school as part of a multi-year program in new media and learning.

Sony VAIO Mini M-Series (Netbook)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 08:15:00 +0000

Sony Corp. has just released their first netbook. It’s Sony VAIO M N450, a part of Sony VAIO Mini M-Series. Some analysts say it’s too late to play in netbook market, no one pay much attention about netbooks anymore.

The netbook is powered by a 1.66GHz Intel Atom Processor N450.. It is 1.4 kg netbook featuring with a widescreen 25.5cm (10.1”) LED backlit display. The VAIO M-Series comes with Genuine Windows 7 Starter Edition OS, a 250GB hard drive, 1GB of memory, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, three USB 2.0 ports, a 6-cell battery, and a Motion Eye camera embedded in the screen bezel for video chatting.

The netbook will be available at the end of March 2010. It's scheduled for release in Europe first, in black or white color finishes. Expected price is £299 in Euroland.

Sources:

1. CrunchGear

2. Digital Tech News

Google TV

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 03:00:00 +0000

Google is reportedly joining a growing list of companies who are looking to bring Internet content to users' living rooms. According to the New York Times, the company has lined up some big partners -- including Intel and Sony -- to create an Android-based platform that will make browsing sites or using smartphone-like apps on TV sets as easy as changing the channel.

The new platform is being dubbed Google TV and would be available as a set-top box or as part of a Web-capable television. The company is expected to release a developer tool kit in a few months, hoping to encourage people to create apps for Google TV with the same enthusiasm they have been creating Android smartphone apps.

Until this day TVs remain one of the most relevant screens in people's lives. After years of failed attempts to bring web content to the living room, there are now several decent solutions for streaming online videos, rent premium content and browse the web from your couch. However, nobody's really figured out how to build something that's successful enough to be declared the preferred living room device. While Google no doubt sees this as a great opportunity to sell more ads, it remains to be seen what they can bring to the market that hasn't been done already.

Sources:

1. TechSpot

2. Softpedia Gadget

Personal Flying Machine (2): JetLev

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 12:50:00 +0000

Another cool personal flying machine is JetLev. If you are ready for some water sport like never before, JetLev is what you need. The machine will make you fly above water, it uses pressurized water to propel itself in the air. JetLev is primarily meant for water sport and entertainment.

Though it looks simple, the technology behind is much more complex, as it uses water as a jet propulsion medium and for direction balancing, thrust control it uses different nozzle angles. The flexible hose has the main function as it delivers high pressurized water to the JetLev for flying, it also acts as a stabilizer.

JetLev is priced around $175,220 and will be available in June 2010.

Sources:

1. Techlivez

2. JetLev

Personal Flying Machine (1): Martin Jetpack

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 12:45:00 +0000

A very interesting personal flying machine! It’s not what you have only seen in movies and video games.

The Martin Jetpack will lets you fly around and it doesn’t even need a license to operate, just training. Martin Jetpack is built of carbon fibre chassis with two giant air propeller fans strapped to your body. It uses premium gasoline as fuel and is driven by a two liter V4 2-stroke engine. Safety systems have also been equipped smartly, for example, in case of Jetpack going down and crash is imminent, you can simply deploy a ballistic parachute with a press of a button, that will let you and your Jetpack land safely. There is no license required to fly the Jetpack, however, completion of compulsory training program developed by the Martin Aircraft company is required.

Martin Jetpack is priced at $86,000 and will be available by the end of 2010.

Sources:

1. Techlivez

2. Martin Aircraft Company

Skinput: Body Touchscreen

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:00:00 +0000

Chris Harrison at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, together with Dan Morris and Desney Tan at Microsoft's research lab in Redmond, Washington have been working for a project called ‘Skinput’. It is a project for bluetooth-featured gadget which allows users to use their own body or skin as touchscreen keyboard for input of phone, MP3 player, PC’ or game console. The system is a marriage of two technologies: the ability to detect the ultralow-frequency sound produced by tapping the skin with a finger, and the microchip-sized "pico" projectors now found in some cellphones.

The system beams a keyboard or menu onto the user's forearm and hand from a projector housed in an armband. An acoustic detector, also in the armband, then calculates which part of the display you want to activate. Bluetooth will then transfer the signal to the suitable gadget. If someone dials numbers for calling, the info will go to the phone and will do as usual phone calling. The researchers exploit the way our skin, musculature and skeleton combine to make distinctive sounds when we tap on different parts of the arm, palm, fingers and thumb.

"Skinput works very well for a series of gestures, even when the body is in motion," the researchers say, with subjects able to deftly scroll through menus whether they moved up and down or flicked across their arm.

Sources:

1. Gizmodo

2. New Scientist

3. Chris Harrison

4. Skinput (YouTube Video)

Inside F1 Steering Wheel

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:09:00 +0000

Formula 1 Championship 2010 has just begun!

Getting to grips with having F1 in our lives once again, we take a look at the space-age steering device set to be on the receiving end of Schumacher's jabbing fingers this season.

1. MSG OK: Confirms settings dialled in with multi-function dial and menu settings.

2. Menu scroll buttons: Steps through menus of settings chosen using the master switch (14).

3. Differential adjustment: Can be shifted to suit track conditions and tyre wear, for instance to increase traction, grip, braking stability and turn-in.

4. Neutral switch: Engages neutral/reverse.

5. Front wing switch: Adjusts angle of front flaps to increase downforce.

6. Radio LED: Illuminates in blue to inform the driver that the pit-to-car radio is active.

7. Pit-to-car radio: On/off toggle.

8. Fuel mix adjustment: Adjusts the fuel mix and revs either to preserve the engine or increase performance, as required.

9. Throttle map override: Adjusts throttle and power characteristics to suit track conditions.

10. Overtake button: Momentarily increases the engine revs to its 18,000rpm maximum. Helps with overtaking and scaring off pigeons.

11. Pitlane speed limiter: On/off toggle.

12. Engine braking level: Particularly useful in the wet for increasing rear-end stability.

13. Tyre configuration: Optimises car settings for slick, intermediate or wet tyres. Also activates the rear rain light.

14. Master multifunction switch: Allows the driver to access a number of system settings including engine maps, front wing controls and an aero-mapping function that monitors and maximizes car airflow.

Other pictures:

Sources:

1. T3 Magazine

2. Formula 1 Official Website

HMK 561 Electric Bike Concept

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 04:00:00 +0000

Most electric bikes are fairly sordid affairs, little more than an ordinary bicycle with a motorized hub, a strap-on battery pack and regenerative braking capabilities. Not this HMK 561 electric bicycle concept, which took home an iF Design Award for some seriously forward thinking. It's not just the stylish forward rake of this juiced cruiser that's innovative, it's the frame -- composed completely of a conductive carbon fiber weave that allows the bike's body to not just pass electricity to the motors, but actually store it like a giant capacitor. Factor in integrated lights and a pinch of that aforesaid regenerative braking at each axle, and you've just about got the bicycle of our dreams.

Other pictures:

Sources:

1. Engadget

Qualcomm’s Multi-Fold Patent

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:30:00 +0000

A recent patent filing by Qualcomm reveals a quirky, though interesting device. While Apple and others are rushing to churn out tablets with one display, Qualcomm is creating a design that has many. The multi-fold tablet would have three touchscreens with a dynamic interface that changes depending on how you use the device.

When folded, the system would have a small form factor and behave has a cell phone. As it unpacks, it could take on various roles based on how the screens are positioned. Mentioned user interface styles include panorama, desktop, application, Web browser, alarm clock, media player, and others.

There's no word on whether Qualcomm's collapsible mobile device will ever see the light of day, much less specifics on hardware or pricing. If you're looking to kill some time, head over to the USPTO site to read the complete patent entry.

Sources:

1. TechSpot

2. Softpedia Gadget

iPad Pre-Order Start at 8:30 EST Friday Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Good news for Apple lover! iPad pre-order will be started tomorrow (Friday) morning at 8:30am EST, or 5:30am Pacific.

Tomorrow's crack-o-dawn getup will save you a spot for either a Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi+3G-equipped model, on their respective release dates of April 3rd and "Late April." If you pre-order through your local store over the phone, you can reasonably expect to get your iPad day of launch; of you pre-order through Apple's website, which may be the only option for West Coasters, they will ship it on launch day, but no earlier.

Acer Unveils 3D Projectors

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:00:00 +0000

Acer has unveiled two new projectors that are compatible with NVIDIA’s GeForce 3D Vision technology and are capable of transforming standard 2D content into beautiful 3D content. The two projectors are H5360 and X1261, both can produce stereoscopic 3D images and videos.

H5360 is a HDMI projector with 720p HD resolution, has 2,500 lumen brightness and sports a contrast ratio of 3200:1. Connectivity option of H5360 includes HDMI, VGA, RCA jacks, S-Video, Component video and one 2.5mm audio mini jack.

The other projector, the X1261 is a cheaper alternative which comes with 1024 x 768 resolution, 3700:1 contrast ratio and it doesn’t have a HDMI port, only RCA pairs and VGA. However both are having Lamp life rated at 4,000 hours.

Acer H5360 priced at $699 and X1261 at $579.

Sources:

1. Techlivez

IBM’s Nanophotonics Demonstrate Light-based Chip

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:40:00 +0000

IBM researchers have announced an important breakthrough that could change the way computer chips communicate with each other in the future. The company has created a low-power device that can transfer data at high speeds using light, instead of electrical signals over copper wires. The light pulses are transmitted via silicon circuits and can supposedly handle data transfers of up to 40Gbit/s with a 1.5 volt power supply.

The device is called a nanophotonic avalanche photodetector and is made of silicon and germanium -- both used in current microprocessor chips. The term comes from the way the exchange of information happens, as explained by IBM: "Analogous to a snow avalanche on a steep mountain slope, an incoming light pulse initially frees just a few charge carriers which in turn free others until the original signal is amplified many times."

The rather complicated concept is not new but IBM claims it has been able overcome the speed limitations of previous systems from the likes of Intel and others. It will be a while before we see this integrated into mainstream manufacturing, though. IBM says probably five years for high-end servers and another five for video game systems and cell phones.

Sources:

1. TechSpot

2. IBM's Nanophotonics

3. Semiconductor Magazine

Asus Unveils 9-inches E-Reader

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:30:00 +0000

Asus has just officially unveiled their e-book reader DR-900 to market. Featuring with 9-inches, 1024x768 resolution touchscreen display made by SiPix, the new device hopes to give Amazon's Kindle DX a run for its money with good connectivity and great battery life.

DR-900 will have 2GB to 4GB of storage space built-in (expandable through SD cards), Wi-Fi and optional 3G connectivity. The device works in landscape mode, has a virtual keyboard, supports handwriting recognition, and can handle PDF, TXT and ePUB files. It will also have a headphone jack for improved text-to-speech and MP3 listening. The picture above also suggests some sort of integrated bookstore, but the company made no mention of a partnership or anything proprietary.

Asus has gone with a minimal design that's "no thicker than a pencil" and features just a few buttons on the sides. They tout this as a slim e-ink device so the screen is probably only grayscale -- that and the fact that battery life is unusually long as the device can last for 10,000 page turns with wireless off.

No price info or release date available yet.

Sources:

1. TechSpot

How Small is 32 Nanometers?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 02:00:00 +0000

Earlier this year Intel made a big splash with a new generation of Core i3 and Core i5 processors using the uber small 32 nanometer manufacturing process. Although this is eventually going to get dumped as ancient technology for an even smaller and more efficient way to produce chips, today it's state of the art.

Intel recently published a whitepaper with some amusing 32nm. If you have ever wondered how small the logic inside these chips really is in 'measurable' terms, here are some random facts to give you some perspective:

 A nanometer is so small that it takes a billion of them to make a meter. A billion is a huge number. A stack of a billion sheets of paper would be 100 km high. If you could walk a billion steps, you would go around the earth 20 times.

 The original transistor built by Bell Labs in 1947 was large enough that it was pieced together by hand. By contrast, more than 60 million 32nm transistors could fit onto the head of a pin.

 More than 4 million 32nm transistors could fit in the period at the end of this sentence.

 A 32nm transistor contains gates that are so small, you could fit 3,000 of them across the width of a human hair.

 A 32nm transistor can switch on and off over 300 billion times in one second. It would take you 4000 years to flick a light switch on and off that many times.

 Compared to Intel’s first microprocessor, the 4004, introduced in 1971, a 32nm CPU runs over 4000 times as fast and each transistor uses about 4000 times less energy. The price per transistor has dropped by a factor of about 100,000.

 The “World’s Fastest Man,” Usain Bolt would have to take 3,125,000,000 steps in the 100 meter dash if his stride length was 32nm.

 If the pace of innovation in space travel had increased at the pace of Moore’s Law since 1971, you would now be able to travel at the speed of light, 671 million miles per hour.

 Intel has shipped over 200 million CPUs using high-k/metal-gate transistors – the kind used in 32nm processors -- since the technology was first put into production in November 2007. This translates to over 50,000,000,000,000,000 (50 quadrillion) transistors, or the equivalent of over 7 million transistors for every man, woman and child on earth.

 The price per transistor on a chip has dropped dramatically since Intel was founded in 1968. Some people estimate that the price of a transistor is now about the same as that of one printed newspaper character.

Sources:

1. TechSpot

2. Intel 32nm

Cablevision’s: PC to TV Media Relay

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:03:00 +0000

A new service called “PC to TV Media Relay” has just been introduced by Cablevision. The service will allow its digital cable subscribers to view computer content on their TV. This might be a great option for less tech savvy folks. PC to TV Media Relay could also appeal to someone interested in reducing clutter, because it doesn't require additional wires or hardware.

To utilize the service, users will have to install a special software on their computer. Content can then be ‘securely’ fed in real-time over Cablevision's network to a dedicated cable TV channel in the home, allowing Cablevision customers to access anything from documents and photos to music and videos on their TVs. This includes Internet media from sites like Hulu -- something that might cause Cablevision trouble down the road.

Trial of PC to TV Media Relay’s service will be launched on June 2010. The service will not initially be available for Apple computers; as the company is still working on Mac-friendly software. Cablevision said, the technology might also be extended to “other consumer devices”.

Sources:

1. TechSpot

2. Cablevision

Google Earth for Android

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Google has announced the arrival of Google Earth for Android, a program that was revealed during the Nexus One's launch. Google Earth for Android brings the full functionality of Google Earth onto Android device. It allows you to navigate through three dimensional images of the world, zooming into roads or flying Superman-style over mountains and lakes.

The Google Earth app, interestingly, has been available on the iPhone for some time (it's apparently one of the few Google creations in which Apple has not yet banned). The Android version of the app, while slightly delayed in its arrival, does add some bells and whistles available only for Android fans.

One of these is a newly created Roads layer for Google Earth mobile. As its name suggests, the Road layer allows you to snap road labels on and off of any satellite image, bringing Google Maps-like functionality right into the Google Earth app.

Google Earth for Android also features a new search-by-voice option. You can say either a destination name -- "Eiffel Tower", for example -- or just a general search term such as "hotels near Lake Tahoe." The Google Earth app will translate your words into text and zoom into the appropriate geographic area to display the results.

Many Android users have noticed that Google Earth for Android is not showing up within the App Market on their phones. There is a reason. It is available only for phones running Android 2.1, which limits it to the Nexus One at the moment.

Contrary to some social media speculation, though, the new Google Earth app is not a Nexus One exclusive. As other Android phones receive the 2.1 upgrade, they too will again access to the application (officially, Google says "most devices" will be able to run Google Earth once they are running Android 2.1).

Other pictures:

Sources:

1. Google Earth

2. Google Earth (YouTube Video)

3. PC World

Flexible OLED Light Source

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:05:00 +0000

ModisTech, the only OLED manufacturing company in Korea, has announced their new flexible and cheaply built OLED light source. The company also announced that they would be mass producing the light source as soon as possible. The target is at beginning 2011 every country could benefit from this technology.

Although there are a lot of OLED lighting solutions available; this new product is not only revolutionary because of its 90% cheaper production costs, but also because it promises to change the lighting world standards by removing the “to install” phrase and replacing it with “to attach”.

With size only 150 x 150 mm, the OLED light source is quite easy to “apply” anywhere because of their flexible build. This way, they have a very wide area of applicability and could easily become the next-generation lighting source. Modistech claim to have reduced the production costs by up to 90%, which is the cheapest organic light emitting diode method known so far. The key of cost reduction is by minimizing the number of substrate processes and by using roll-to-roll deposition and self-developed encapsulation materials.

The OLED light source will apparently be used for various indirect lighting applications including desk lamps and car lighting, and promise to provide a more natural light than LEDs while maintaining some of the same power savings. Still no word on any actual products using the OLED panels, unfortunately, but they will supposedly be inexpensive for companies to adopt (and very cheap to manufacture).

Although Modistech is currently ahead of schedule with the production of these economic OLED lighting panels, it will probably still be a few more years before the implementation at a world wide scale starts. It is still good to know that we have the technology to change our current energy-eating habits.

Sources:

1. Softpedia Gadget

2. Engadget

PlanOn PrintStick: the World's Smallest Portable Printer

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 10:37:00 +0000

PrintStick, it is name of the world’s smallest portable printer produced by PlanOn. It is a very impressive gadget that will let you print directly from your mobile or the documents you have added from your PC. It prints regular-sized sheets of paper although it is record-breaking small, just in case you thought it only printed tiny little notes.

The PrintStick does not use external power sources, as it has its very own battery. There are four different models available, they are almost the same features in common, except for the complete version PS950ME model. Those other three mini printers, the PS900, PS905ME and PS910ME, do not come with a Nylon Zipper Case and do not have the 12V automobile adapter that really matters for this mobile ingenious solution. PS900 model uses only USB connectivity and does not have bluetooth connectivity.

They all have one paper cartridge, come with the quick start guide for newbie printers and their very own USB cable. The best model in this series, the PS950, can print at an amazing 600 dpi resolution, while the other models' top resolution is 400 dpi, the minimum one being 100 dpi. The paper cartridge contains 20 pages.

With size of 1 x 2 x 11-inches, the PrintStick is pretty easy to carry even in a coat pocket. The printer works only with Windows PCs, BlackBerry and PocketPC; but not compatible with Apple Mac. The price is $199, $299, $309 and $349 for the PS900, PS905ME, PS910ME model; respectively.

Other pictures:

Sources:

1. Softpedia Gadget
2. PlanOn Website

3. PlanOn PrintStick (Youtube Video)

Microsoft & Yahoo Deals: True Competitor for Google?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:35:00 +0000

No doubt, Google’s domination in search engine business has put their competitors to think of how to stop it. According to Hitwise data , Google’s market share is more than 71%. One of ways to stop the domination is dealing between Microsoft and Yahoo. After postponed due to regulatory approval since summer 2009, finally regulators in the U.S. and European approved the join search businesses of Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. However, this join business will significantly heat up the search engine business competition.

Microsoft and Yahoo (both major Google’s rivals in multiple businesses) announced that both the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission have approved an agreement between the two firms to have Microsoft's Bing search engine power Yahoo's sites. The companies disclosed that a joint engineering team will begin adapting Bing for the Yahoo site "in the coming days" and that they hope the engine is added to the Yahoo site, at least the United States, by the end of this year.

The partnership, which includes Yahoo selling premium search advertising services for both companies, is a direct attack on rival Google, which has long dominated the search market. Google spokesman Adam Kovacevich said "There has always been robust competition in our industry, which keeps us on our toes and benefits users," wrote Kovacevich. "We compete against a number of alternatives, including traditional search engines, vertical search sites, social networks, and other forms of online and offline advertising."

"I think that this will ramp up both competition and innovation. Yahoo and Microsoft now have one common enemy -- Google. And they will devote all of their energies toward making their search a more attractive option both for users and advertisers," said Dan Olds, an analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group. While most analysts agreed that the Microsoft-Yahoo search plan doesn't present a short term problem for Google, Olds said the search giant should keep a close eye on on their longer-term actions.

"Google's the leader in search, just like Microsoft's the leader in operating systems and PC applications," Ezra Gottheil, an analyst at Technology Business Research said. "Knocking off the leader is difficult. It's not like Microsoft has been underspending on search. Bing needs to be significantly better to grow faster." Allen Weiner, an analyst with Gartner, Inc., doesn't expect the Microsoft-Yahoo combination will cause any panic withing Google's walls. "Is Google worried? Not in any way, shape or form," said Weiner. "It's a company that's not short on hubris. Even if they have any minor degree of anxiety, I think they're in the don't-let-them-see-you-sweat mode. I don't think they're motivated by a lot of externality."

Read also: Competition between Apple, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo

Sources:
1. Computer World
2. Hitwise

HP Compaq AirLife 100: Android Netbook with Touchscreen

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 01:45:00 +0000

Hewlett-Packard has just revealed new android-based netbook, HP Compaq AirLife 100. Some people say this gadget is more than just a netbook, it’s a smartbook.

Airlife 100 features with 10.1-inches touchscreen display, 92% keyboard size, SSD storage 16 GB, SD card slot, OS Android 1.6 Cupcake and powered with Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor. The battery life can withstand up to 12 hours for standard application. Main interesting of this netbook is the touchscreen feature, eventough it is just a resistive touchscreen. In general the Airlife 100 touchscreen display proved reasonably responsive to taps. Icons are larger than you’d find on an Android smartphone, and HP have taken the standard webkit-based browser and thrown in tabbed browsing.

Compaq AirLife 100 will be available exclusively though Telefonica, one of biggest operator in Europe, at the end second quarter 2010. Compaq Airlife 100 with quadband GSM/UMTS modem will be locked to Telefonica.

For ‘Apple hater’, this netbook is similar like iPad, but with better and complete features. It will be suitable for them.

Pricing and release date are still not available.

Other pictures:

Sources:

1. SlashGear

2. HP Compaq AirLife 100 (YouTube Video)