Techno Blog

Asus Likely To Launch A 9 Inch EEE PC?

2008-03-03T10:36:00.000-08:00

If sources are to be believed, Asus is gonna launch a 9 inch PC. Everything is still unofficial now, but sources claim that the PC is likely to be officially launched tomorrow at the Asus's press event. There's almost nothing known about the specifications yet, but it is acclaimed that the device has 2-3 hours of battery backup. The 12GB model will cost around $600 and other models with lesser capacities are also available. In the end, there are no official sources to prove what's been said, so keeps your fingers crossed till any official news comes out and clears the mist away.

Breaking All Rumors Xperia X1 Is Coming This Year

2008-03-03T10:12:00.000-08:00

Well it's good news for all those waiting for the release of Sony Ericsson's Xperia X1. Earlier rumors were flowing saying that the launch of the product was delayed and it was expected to arrive in February 2009. But now as said by the Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog, the device is coming in the second half of 2008. The blog quoted Sony Ericsson's Corporate Vice President saying "I can confirm that we will be launching the X1 product in 2nd Half of 2008, as per our announcement of 10th February". Now its party time for all those waiting to lay their hands on the phone. :)

Philips' New Wireless Stereo

2008-03-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

Philips' launched a new wireless stereo with cool looking design. The system has got an 80GB internal HDD, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, a CD player which can stream music from your PC. The sound quality is quite good and the internal drive lets you rip your music CDs to MP3s (with support of multiple bitrates).

The device is made of brushed aluminium and reflective plastic with a small LED screen which does a good job of presenting menus. The Philip's media manager software works well on a PC and streaming of music is fast enough. A major drawback is that even though it supports MP3 and WMA, there is no support for WAV, AAC, OGG or any other music format.

Well the features may upset you, but the price tag will surely bring a smile to your face. The system is priced moderately at around $455 which is not much as compared to others in the same category. If you aren't too geeky, then this one's the right choice for you.

P200 Ultraportable Notebooks Unveiled By Samsung

2008-03-03T04:04:00.000-08:00

Samsung made a dashing entry into the ultra portable notebook market with its latest P200 business notebook. The notebook is quite light-weight and a complete and sound solution to your business needs.

It runs on Intel's latest Core2Duo chips, supported by ATI's Radeon Xpress 1250 graphics. The device sports a 12.1 inch display, 1.3 megapixel webcam, bluetooth 2.0, 6-in-1 memory card reader, a PCI express card slot and 2 USB ports. The battery life is around 3 hours and the notebook weighs only 4.2 pounds.

The price you would have to pay for it would be around $1500. The price tag is not too much considering the features this notebook offers.

A Lamborghini Phone By Asus

2008-03-03T03:31:00.000-08:00

Recently, I got a chance to have a sneek peek at the Asus ZX1 Lamborghini Phone! The device is a showman's dream! It crunches on Windows Mobile 6.1 with some performance increasing tweaks by Asus. The expected price tag of this gizmo is around $1500 when its gonna be released in May in Europe.

Some people claim that it's just a copy of iPhone! Lets see what this phone has in store for us when it releases. I am eagerly waiting to get my hands on this one. ;)

A Semi-Rugged F5 Slate PC By Motion Computing

2008-03-03T02:58:00.000-08:00

Recently, Motion Computing nearly after a year of its announcement released their "F5 Slate PC". The device has cool looks and is quite rigid. Its build quality tells us about wear and tear it can bear. This gizmo is water, dust, shock and temperature resistant. Featuring a 1.2 GHz Intel processor, a 40GB hard disk, 10.4" XGA display, built-in bluetooth and a 2 megapixel camera, this gizmo will fulfill all your needs easily and comfortably.

You can also have other cool addons like a bar code, a biometric scanner, 3 USB ports, Ethernet and lots more. Sadly, the price which the device carries may not please everyone. It can cost you $2700-$4000 depending upon the configuration you choose.

YouTube Blocked In Pakistan

2008-02-25T06:12:00.000-08:00

Recently the most popular video sharing website owned by Google, YouTube.com was banned in Pakistan due to some anti-Islamic movies posted by some users. This move by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has taken aback everyone. Though exact content was not mentioned but officials said the ban was specifically due to an anti-Quran movie displaying the religion as provoking violence in women and homosexuals.

According to Darren Waters (editor at BBC technology news), the Pakistan Telecom hijacked the server of YouTube.com to prevent citizens of Pakistan from visiting the website. As soon as the details of the hijack were leaked into the internet from PCCW, YouTube was mistakenly blocked by internet service providers around the world.

Pakistan officials said the ban would be removed if YouTube removes the objectionable content. This is not the first time a country has banned YouTube. Before also many countries like Turkey and Thailand have banned the site for displaying objectionable content.

[via BBC News]

A Multi-Color Speaker For Your iPod

2008-02-25T04:07:00.000-08:00

Nowadays we have loads of colors for our iPods, so sometimes it becomes difficult to choose a matching speaker or dock. But "iSoundSpa™ Fusion" solves all your problems easily. The device is designed to take care of your speaker needs as well as match your favorite iPod color! It chas an option to match and replace faceplates according to your choice.

The device comes with AM/FM radio with digital tuning and volume control, dual alarm with snooze feature. It also sports a large digit LCD display for easy reading and six soothing nature sounds. If fits all docking iPods, CD players and MP3 players.

The device is prices moderately at $59.99 which isn't too much for most consumers. If you are color savvy then its a must try for you :)

Sony PSP With GPS Unveiled At GDC 2008

2008-02-25T03:54:00.000-08:00

Recently Sony unveiled its GPS enabled PSP in the Gamer Developers Conference. Well its been talked about numerous times earlier but this time we could see the real thing. The GPS capabilities of the device were testes there, however the results were not quite accurate because the testing ground was underground. Hope it will give impressive results when working in normal conditions. Till now only 7 GPS supported games have been released like Metal Gear Solid Portable and some more.

Lets see how this change affects the sales of the Sony PSP :)

Tabletop Arcade With 150 Classic Games

2008-02-20T19:38:00.000-08:00

Lost in the modern gaming era? Ever wished to revive those old legendary games you played in your childhood? Now you can re-live the memories of your childhood by this Tabletop Arcade.

The console comes with a 19" flat screen LCD and 150 classic inbuilt games including Space Invaders, Asteroids, Pac Man, Pong, Missile Command, Battle Zone and many more. It has an adjustable joystick, a 3 inch trackball and 11 large buttons ensuring a thrilling gameplay. The console operates on HP Slimline PC which allows you to play any PC game in the arcade. It supports Windows XP, so you can transfer and play your songs also. It also features an integrated jukebox software, two speakers and a sub-woofer.

Well it is placed at a price of $2,495.95 which may not suit everyone but if you want to re-enjoy those old gaming days of yours, it is a must buy.

[via Hammacher]

LED Floating Light Balloons

2008-02-20T08:11:00.000-08:00

LED technology touching new heights day by day. The latest addition is a helium filled laex baloon powered by a small LED base which glows brilliantly. Is is cool to touch, energy efficient and has multiple lighting effects such as strobe, flash and more. Designed by Luc Schoutenis, it is a great thing to use at parties, special events, clubs and discos. The only drawback is that it lasts for only 10 hours approx. Anyways this disposable kinda gadget is a unique thing to try.

The Atlas Kinetic Cell Phone: A Great Design

2008-02-19T11:41:00.000-08:00

The Atlas Kinetic Cell Phone is a great concept phone which focuses on newer and cleaner technologies with a distinct and cool design. It’s made up of aluminum and glass. The central sapphire glass reveals the generating and charging unit. Its power comes from the kinetic energy similar to that found in watches that use oscillating weight to power a mainspring.

Something that's disappointing is that the phone just has some basic features. None of that fancy multi-media stuff is provided. If power runs out because it was sitting still for too long, just give it a few upside down turns to get the kinetic rotors going again. Now you’ll never have to worry about batteries in this phone. For those having extra bucks in their pockets to shell out; it is a must try :)

[via Yanko Design]

The Smartpen: Capture Audio While Writing

2008-02-16T04:17:00.000-08:00

Bored of attending never ending lectures?

I was when I was a student and I always wished I could store what my professors said and can listen to that information later when I wanted but nah it wasn’t possible as a simple recorder won’t catch proper sound and listening them back would be a problem, but now we don’t need to lose hope coz livescribe is set to launch its new product The Pulse Smart Pen a pen that represents a pen with embedded computers to capture the handwriting and that’s not all at the same time you can just record the audio along with writing. Users can just listen to what was said while they were writing that particular word. The smart pen has an infrared camera with DPS(direct positioning system) and ARM processor that works with the Dot paper note book that has been provided with it don’t worry the power notebook too costs like an ordinary notebook.

If that’s not all then for you there is option of 3D recording to capture far distant sound too. Every registered user can have 250MB of storage facility online and they can also share data and PDF files online.

There are two versions of the smart pen:
1) The 1GB model which has 100 hours of audio storing capacity and 16000 pages of digital notes.
2) The 2 GB model comes with double storages at $199.

Sounds great I know but you will have to wait till march but for the apple version wait can be till September so just be patient its coming.

No More Fuel Now - A Car That Runs On Air!!

2008-02-15T18:15:00.000-08:00

As we all know our environment is getting polluted day by day at a rate faster than what we might think. We all know that the depletion of fossil fuels is making this ecological imbalance even more worse and the existence of our planet has become questionable. Have you ever imagined what would happen if we run out of fuel then on what fuel would our cars run?

Now this worry wouldn’t seem to bother much as now the compressed air can be used as a fuel to run your car, doesn’t sounds great you might not believe me but its true a former formula 1 engineer worked more than a decade and half on this project to make a car that can run on compressed air. The compressed air in this car would push the piston in high pressure to move the car at a maximum speed of even 110 kilometers per hour.

The car not only proves to be ecologically safe but also saves lot of money on fuel an average car would need just 8-10 liters of gas which comes quite cheap as compared to other fuels hence it is quite friendly to your pocket even.

The inventor of this car is positive that this project would catch the eye of many car manufacturers and this project wouldn’t go unnoticed, many Indian companies are too interested in this car. The price range for the cheapest model is expected to be 3500 euros.

Law Suit Against Samsung For Providing Defective Blu-Ray Players

2008-02-09T08:39:00.000-08:00

There's always some or the other issue with Samsung's Blu-ray players. The company has failed to provide hassle free players all these years. While Samsung has tried to put some efforts by releasing firmware updates time to time, but many customers still feel dissatisfied.

The latest addition is its BD-UP5000 hybrid player which was heavily criticized after it gave all sorts of troubles to its owners. According to the law suit filed by a consumer, Samsung despite knowing the player's (BD-P1200, in particular) inability to play back select BD titles has failed to provide a remedy.

While Samsung claims that some fixes have been released to solve the problem, the consumers told that they are dissatisfied. Needless to say, the outcome of this should be pretty interesting.

Is Microsoft Acquiring Ustream.tv?

2008-02-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

Microsoft is talking with Ustream.tv to acquire it for around $50 million, according to a report from Valleywag. Given the Microsoft's urge to acquire more and more companies, this deal this likely to take place soon but nothing is confirmed right now.

Ustream.tv has a good reputation as a provider of live shows and events and is one of the earliest live streaming service providers that includes companies such as Justin.tv, Blogtv and Mogulus. It has offered a complete package of streaming and post show videos. It is also the home of major league live streamers including Chris Pirillo, and also scored a viral win with Walrus TV.

The acquisition, if comes true, doesn't seem to affect its takeover bid for Yahoo, but this deal will surely allow Microsoft to showcase Silverlight to a broader audience.

[via TechCrunch]

The Sony Ericsson T270 and T280

2008-02-07T09:23:00.000-08:00

The Sony Ericsson T270 and T280 are the new phones introduced by the Sony Ericsson group which is targeted for the common ma. The price range is not too high for anyone to get worried these phones are of around 82 grams. With an advantageous talk time of up to 7 hours so it seems good deal for a simple accessory as this phone is. A TFT pane of 128 x 160 pixels, both the phones the T270 and T280 comes with a good quality of FM player along with the feature of MP3 ringtones, a WAP browser and a clear speakerphone so it seems an edge over other phones of this segment. The surprising element that popped up is the feature of Bluetooth that is enabled in both the phones.

These phones target the common customer with not so high pricing. The T270a and T280a are available only in North America with two distinct colors and the T270i and the T280i are available for the rest of the world in the same two colors the silver black and copper silver.

These phones are different from their sport version that comes with the 1.3 mega pixel camera. These phones have proved that being slim is not the only thing to be a hit but the features in this segment do matter a lot. Hence these phones give look of economical and smart phones.

iPhone And iPod Touch Capacity Doubled By Apple

2008-02-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

The capacity of iPhone and iPod Touch was doubled by Apple on Tuesday for an additional $100.

The iPhone once again comes in two capacities: 8GB for $399 and now 16GB for $499. Apple discontinued the 4GB model after it cut the price of the 8GB model to $399. A reason for this could be that almost 90 percent of all iPhone buyers opted for the 8GB version.

Another blow is that the iPod Touch will now be able to store more music and videos, with 32GB of capacity for $499 only. That device is now available in three versions, with Apple also selling a 16GB model for $399 and an 8GB model for $299.

The new iPhone and iPod Touch appear to be unchanged from their previous versions, though they ship with the new software unveiled at Macworld, which provides the ability to edit the home screen and triangulate your position using Maps.

Finally these changes have increased the chances of me buying an iPhone. :)

Intel's 45-Nanometer Chips Creep Into Notebooks

2008-02-05T07:55:00.000-08:00

Dell will be offering Intel's "Penryn" processor as an option on most of its notebooks within a week or so, according to sources close to the the company.

Although the 45-nanometer generation of Penryn processors targeted at laptops was announced back in early January, the chips haven't exactly leaped into laptop lineups.

So far, Hewlett-Packard is the biggest taker of one Penryn chip from Intel: the Core 2 Duo T9300 (2.5GHz, 6MB L2 cache). The HP Pavilion dv6700t, dv9700t, and dv2700t series all use the T9300. The massive 20-inch Pavilion HDX also offers the T9500 (2.6GHz, 6MB cache) as an option.

Toshiba has been one of the most eager early adopters. New models from Toshiba include the Satellite X205 based on the T8100 (2.1GHz, 3MB cache), the 4.6-pound Satellite U305 that uses the T8100, and the Qosmio G45 that integrates the T9300.

Dell is not specifying yet which models will get the processors, but the company's high-performance notebooks, such as the XPS, are likely candidates.

Nvidia To Add PhysX Technology To Its Chips

2008-02-04T22:12:00.000-08:00

Nvidia plans to add Ageia's PhysX technology to its GeForce graphics chips.

Ageia is the maker of a chip called PhysX which makes killing and blowing stuff up in games more lifelike. It is essential for satisfying video gamers who are apparently well-acquainted with what really happens when you hit a fuel truck with an RPG. The processing power that is required to simulate events like explosions and smoke or fog is immense, so that a standalone chip for just that purpose was required to make the experience more realistic.

The graphics card for PC gaming and all three major gaming consoles; Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and the Wii use the PhysX chip. Developers have to write their games with the processor in mind to unlock the performance, and over 140 titles are available for consoles and PCs that support the PhysX technology.

Intel, AMD, and Nvidia are all working on chips that aim to carry the benefits of graphics processing, extremely fast processing of repetitive tasks with the flexibility of general-purpose PC processors. Intel's Larrabee project, AMD's Fusion project, and Nvidia's CUDA development are early steps towards that goal.

And now Nvidia plans to integrate the PhysX technology into one of its GeForce graphics chips, according to a spokesperson of Nvidia. This is a long-standing trend in chip design, where chips that used to occupy standalone roles for reasons of cost or complexity like PhysX wind up squeezing their way onto the main processor.

[CNET]

The Pirate Bay Blocked By A Danish ISP

2008-02-04T21:37:00.000-08:00

The Pirate Bay continues to come in news (not for good reasons though).

The latest one was on Monday when a Danish court ordered one of the country's Internet service providers (ISP) to block access to the torrent search engine, according to a Danish IT magazine.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry brought a civil case against Tele2 Denmark after the ISP refused to filter the Web sites its customers visited.

The Pirate Bay, based in Sweden, is one of the world's most popular piracy tools. The company, founded by three Scandinavians, doesn't host any copyright films or music. Instead, visitors use the site to find pirated material available on torrent files.

Hollywood studios have long considered The Pirate Bay an outlaw organization. The site's founders say they operate in accordance with Swedish law.

Last week, a Swedish prosecutor charged four men connected to The Pirate Bay with conspiracy to violate copyright law.

Copy Music Between Two iPods With Mishare

2008-02-03T21:57:00.000-08:00

Are you looking for an device to copy songs and movies from one iPod to another? Then your search ends here. This compact and portable device connects two iPods easily and lets you transfer your media effortlessly. The best thing is that you get rid of the computer connection in between. :)

miShare connects between two iPods and it will copy your media with the press of a button. A single button press copies the last song or video played or a pre-selected photo folder. A longer press duplicates any files you’ve got stored in your current On-The-Go playlist, so you can easily copy multiple files.

The device is perfect for moving non-DRMed tracks between the players, but can also copy iTunes DRM tracks with the caveat that you’ll need to authorize the device using iTunes once they’re copied.

Unfortunately, the miShare doesn’t currently work with the iPhone or iPod Touch, but should work fine with all other iPods with the standard 30-pin dock connector (Mini, Nano, 3G, 4G, Video (5G), and Classic (6G) models).

It comes for around $99. You can check their website for more information.

Garmin Unveils Nuvi Phone

2008-01-31T07:37:00.000-08:00

Garmin makes GPS devices. Garmin makes navigation software and accessories for cell phones and smartphones. Garmin makes cell phones...wait, what? Yep, you read right. Today, the GPS manufacturer took the wraps off its first smartphone at a press event in New York: the Garmin Nuvi Phone. It's a GSM/HSDPA mobile that runs on Garmin's own operating system and focuses on, no surprise, navigation. The device will come preloaded with maps of North America (or Eastern or Western Europe for all our international readers) and points of interests. It features a 3.5-inch touch screen, Google Local Search integration, a Web browser, and e-mail capabilities. We're still getting details on this new smartphone and will report them to you as they come in but any initial thoughts?

A $94,000 Diamond-Studded Cellphone, FromTiffany

2008-01-30T07:59:00.000-08:00

A $94,000 phone is not in everyone's reach and those who afford it flaunt is flawlessly. $94,000 is a lot of money but, come on, this is Tiffany. You'd think it would have hit six figures on principle alone (though it does sound more impressive in yen 10 million).

The 3G handset, a joint project with Japan's Softbank Mobile, doesn't skimp either: It's encrusted with more than 400 diamonds totaling well over 20 carats, according to BornRich. Maybe Tiffany just decided that it can't pass up a literally golden opportunity on the Japanese market. If Zeus Computer is any indication, there's clearly plenty to be mined.

Wi-Fi Remote Plays Music, Browses Web And Much More

2008-01-30T07:42:00.000-08:00

It's been well documented in this space that people have become increasingly addicted to their remotes, but the problem is reaching pandemic proportions. Not only do they want to take it with them all at times and under any weather conditions, but apparently they also want it to take over every digital function in their lives.

Nothing exemplifies this trend more than tvCompass, which has developed a Wi-Fi remote that can browse the Web on its 2.2-inch cell-phone-style LCD, according to Dvice. In addition to controlling up to 24 devices, the SR 1500 Digital Media Remote even has "hot keys" for real-time information feeds and a speaker "to hear alerts and play back digital audio." It also has a built-in Wi-Fi locater so that, we suppose, you can walk around the house looking for hot spots.

Let's get this straight: So this is a multimedia device that plays music and browses the Web. The obvious question is, naturally, does it come with a remote?