Mobile Technology
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Breitling for Bentley
April 4, 2006 Please forgive us - BaselWorld 2006 is currently happening and we’re suckers for a bit of classy bling and it don’t come classier or blingier than the “Breitling for Bentley” collection, the latest of which is this original red gold rectangular watch, featuring the British motoring marque's historic emblem on the back. Shown for the first time at the world's largest watch and jewelery fair, the sophisticated character of this new exceptional timekeeper is enhanced by its imposing size - it could never be mistaken for a womens watch. If Ian Fleming were alive today, 007 might just find himself wearing one of these. The refined dial features an original display thanks to the jumping hours mechanism and the seconds indicator on a small off-centre dial. Also available in white gold and steel. (read more...)
A First Class Traveler for your Data
April 4, 2006 Could it be that memory sticks are becoming the next personal luxury item? A few weeks back we wrote about White Lake’s US$3,500 USB Memory Golden Stick and we concluded that we didn’t think it was such a good idea to make memory sticks in bejewelled solid gold because having a 4GB stick might not be so cool this time next year when everyone else has 16GB. Clearly we were wrong. Now Victorinox has collaborated with two other Swiss companies, Bonfort and Swissbit, to create a luxury USB memory stick on which to carry your most precious data in incomparable style. Silly? No, because the memory stick can be detached from the main body in order to be exchanged or up-grade at a later date. This limited edition memory collection named SWISSMEMORYprestigeTH is available only in shells of solid 925-sterling silver or 18 ct. white and yellow gold. Each model comes in either shiny or matt finish and in various classical and modern patterns. Some designs are handcrafted, mounted with natural diamonds by the world’s best craftsmen, and all are 100% SWISS MADE. Prices start at about US$1000, come with a 1 GB storage capacity and a warranty of two years. (read more...)
MapQuest launches turn-by-turn navigation on mobile phones
April 4, 2006 MapQuest has announced MapQuest Navigator, a service that will enable consumers to access Global Positioning Service (GPS), turn-by-turn, voice-guided directions on mobile phones. Based on Telmap’s Mobile Optimized Navigation Data (MOND) technology, MapQuest Navigator displays dynamic, full-color maps and provides accurate turn-by-turn navigation instructions by voice, graphics and text. The system includes a database of millions of restaurants, hotels, theaters and other points of interest which consumers can navigate to, direct dial to make reservations or send any location to a friend via text message. (read more...)
Borders to Sell Digital Reading Device
April 4, 2006 The electronic book has been on the horizon for such a long time that the announcement of its launch by Sony was not given the media fanfare such a significant development deserved. Dedicated readers will be pleased to know that the Sony Reader will be readily available though, as Sony will be making the innovative reading device for e-books and text documents available through Borders stores. (read more...)
The limited-edition Academia Differential Tourbillon
April 2, 2006 The world's leading Watch and Jewellery Show is held in Basel, Switzerland in March each year and this year BaselWorld kicked off on March 30 showing some of the most outrageous concepts and limited edition watches ever seen. This year one of the masterpieces on display was available for purchase for the first time – in a limited edition of just 25 pieces. The Academia Differential Tourbillon concept was awarded the Premier Prix Innovation at the 2005 Grand Prix de l'Horlogerie de Geneve in December – the highest award for innovation in the industry. Spurred on by this recognition, the De Witt Manufactory set the exceptional limited edition piece in titanium with sparkling semi-precious stones, a first of its kind. Avant-garde in its combination of titanium, rubber and red gold, it attracts attention with its refined setting and a movement equipped with a patented differential system. (read more...)
Dubey & Schaldenbrand 360 degree reversible watch
April 1, 2006 Reversible watches got their start in the 1920s when English Officers found they were forever getting their watch crystals broken while playing polo and issued a challenge to watch manufacturers to overcome the problem. Swiss master watchmakers Jaeger-LeCoultre have long had a culture of innovation and the famous Reverso was introduced in 1931 in response to the challenge. Many manufacturers followed suit, though Jaeger-LeCoultre remains to this day the only company to provide a full range of Reverso watches for men and women and the brand is best known for the innovation despite several other significant world firsts in watchmaking. At BASELWORLD 2003, TAG Heuer unveiled the Monaco Sixty Nine Concept Watch, a reversible, mechanical/digital watch: on one side, the classic, square-cased Monaco dial and hand-wound movement; on the other, the high-tech digital quartz movement of the Microtimer. This innovative dual personality combining the 19th with the 21st century, was also the first mechanical watch with a 1/1000th of a second chronograph. Now another master watchmaker has produced a take on the reversible watch. Dubey & Schaldenbrand used BaselWorld 2006 to show the Spiral-verso VIP to celebrate the brand’s 60th anniversary. Its revolutionary case turns in all directions and proudly reveals the exquisitely-finished, entirely hand-engraved movement. (read more...)
New Bluetooth Headsets Embody Sound Innovation
March 31, 2006 – In 1969, when Neil Armstrong's headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” it was almost to predict that just a third of a century later, a significant proportion of the population would be wearing wireless headsets on a semi-permanenet basis. Once worn for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and and fighter pilots, the technology available in a Bluetooth headset for the mobile phone now considerably outstrips the most sophisticated headsets available regardless of cost just a decade ago, and continues to evolve rapidly. Plantronics will debut two new headsets next week at CTIA which push those boundaries. The US$150 Discovery 645 and US$80 Voyager 510 with WindSmart, both incorporate new technologies for audio clarity during conversations. The Voyager 510 is the first Bluetooth headset on the market to include both a noise-canceling microphone and wind-reduction technology for brilliant sound in windy environments. The Discovery 645 includes a digital signal processing (DSP) chip to actively reduce background noise when talking. (read more...)
The EvryWear Wrist-Worn Personal Computer
March 30, 2006 Italian embedded computing specialist Eurotech has released details of an upcoming Linux or Windows CE computer that’s bound to turn heads when it finally hits the streets later this year. The 200 gram Eurotech EvryWear WL 1000 WWPC (Wrist-Worn Personal Computer) is quite a bit larger than the most ostentatious watch, but is apparently comfortable to use and packs a ripping feature set including a 72x55 mm active display area on the wrist, with touchscreen (input pen on the strap), direct-access keypad and joystick, support for USB HI devices, microphone, flat speaker, headset/stereo headphone jack and it can be configured to access any remote host wirelessly, has an inbuilt GPS, Bluetooth, Fast Infrared, WLAN and a high performance CPU with the same power as a desktop computer. The WWPC has been designed to be as adaptable as possible and we see it being of special interest to Emergencyservices, Security, Defence, Healthcare, Maintenance, Logistics, in fact any area where hands-free access to large amounts information is a necessity. (read more...)
Panasonic to unveil new Toughbook ''Road Warrior'' Notebook at CTIA Wireless 2006
March 29, 2006 Panasonic will unveil the latest in its line of semi-rugged Toughbook notebook computers at CTIA WIRELESS 2006 next week in Las Vegas. The durable Panasonic Toughbook CF-74 uses Intel’s Core Duo Processor T2400 ina special form factor to create a reliable wireless computing solution with a magnesium alloy case, integrated handle, spill-resistant keyboard, daylight-readable screen and battery life of approximately seven hours – a computer designed to let work happen wherever it needs to. New security features, including an optional finger print scanner and a Trusted Platform Module security chip, help protect sensitive information. (read more...)
iBuzz: Feel the Music in a Whole New Way!
March 29, 2006 Firstly, let us be clear - this is not a premature April Fools Day joke. As Apple Computer celebrates its 30th birthday, we are reminded yet again that technology continues to touch us in the most amazing ways. First the iPod revolutionized the way we hear music. Now the iBuzz is attempting to change the way we feel music. We’ve written about a number of MP3 players using bone conduction (here and here and here and here), we’ve seen an iPod docking keyboard, an iPod docking baby stroller, the iDog, the iPod compatible wallet, the iPod compatible bed, the iPod docking iChair speaker system (very cool actually), the iPod TuneBuckle for your belt, not to mention dozens of ipod compatible cars. But even the iLounge Toilet Paper Dispenser with iPod Dock could not prepare you for this – the weirdest iPod accessory we’ve ever seen – by a country mile! (read more...)
New flash drive with scrollable display of stored files plus SD Card Reader/Writer
March 28, 2006 More innovative thought is being focussed on the flash drive than we thought possible, because every week or so, we seem to run another story about an important new design feature incorporated into a flash drive. This week it’s a USB 2.0 Flash/Jump drive with a scrollable window display enabling consumers to view stored file names without a computer connection. The Royal EZVue Vista Drive will be available in of 256MB (US$50), 512MB (US$80) and 1GB (US$100) memory sizes plus there’s what we think will be a killer app – a US$30 SD Card Reader/Writer with the same scrolling display, offering a wide-range of really useful applications including digital photography and music storage. On-the-go consumers can now easily find the files they want in a muddle of SD cards. (read more...)
Palm celebrates 10-Year Anniversary of the Pilot
March 28, 2006 It may seem that the Palm Pilot has been with us forever but it’s actually just a decade since the 5.7-ounce combination of calendar, contacts, to-do lists and notes hit the market and captured the imagination of road warriors and early adopters everywhere. In that time, the company has shipped more than 34 million mobile-computing products. Having witnessed the failure of the Apple Newton, Palm co-founderJeff Hawkins also recognised the enormous and devoted following Apple’s original mobile computing platform had developed and it went from there. There’s a great audio interview Palm President and CEO Ed Colligan, co-founders Jeff Hawkins and Donna Dubinsky, and others discussing the beginnings of the company and the Pilot at Palm's 10-year anniversary here and a PDF time-line for Palm enthusiasts! (read more...)
The inflatable church, pub, nighclub, synagogue, mosque …
March 27, 2006 Inflatable structures hold enormous promise as lightweight, temporary constructions of all types, as is evidenced by the advanced work currently being done by the United States military. Spanish company Innovations Xtreme Inflatables has developed the technology to create incredibly detailed inflatables and is now offering its services to create inflatables for sale or hire in an incredibly diverse range that includes an inflatable church, pub, nightclub, castle, a White House, Synagogue and even a Mosque. Having spent many years developing the technology, the company is now also offering a range of custom one-offs that could find application in many promotional budgets. All the inflatable buildings can be deflated to fit inside a small van – even the world’s first inflatable nighclub which holds over 2000 people. Most structures can be fully erected inside three hours and packed away again in less than two hours, enabling a whole new way of thinking about buildings. Like if you can’t get to the church on time, you now have the option of having it come to you. (read more...)
The ringtone turns 50
March 25, 2006 Quite remarkably, the ringtone officially hits middle age this year, though it lay dormant for more than 40 of those 50 years until Finnish operator Radiolinja launched the first mono-ringtone service in 1998. Since then, it has become one of the star performers of the digital era, and the key driver of the mobile content marketplace , accounting already for more than 10% of global music revenues. It shouldn’t be all that surprising that the ringtone market for mobile phones is so large – thanks to the careful positioning of mobile telephony by the Telcos, the mobile consumer has a distinctly “must pay” mindset compared to the “will never pay” consumer mindset of the internet. On top of that, more than twice as many people have mobile phones (2.2 billion) than connect to the internet (1.1 billion) and in a crowded room, the ringing of your mobile phone puts you firmly on centre stage, so in the fashion conscious youth market, your ringtone is your personal soundtrack – a definitive statement of individualism. Accordingly, a US$20 PC software application which lets consumers create their own ringtones from music without paying any subscription or download fees, will probably do very well. (read more...)
MyVu personal media player eyewear for CTIA
March 24, 2006 The world is quickly moving to a mobile entertainment experience with the tidal wave of Mp3 players being followed by a smaller wave of personal video players led by the iPod and the inevitable convergence of this capability into the device formerly known as the mobile phone. The biggest problem will be getting a device small enough to be portable and big enough to house a screen worth viewing it on, so we remain bullish about the prospects for eyewear video viewers . Offering the equivalent of a big screen TV in a pair of ultra-light X-Men-style eyeglasses with the added advantage of noise cancellation earplugs, one of the most likely products to succeed is the myvu personal media viewer from MicroOptical. Predicatably, MicroOptical will be making a huge push into the mobile industry at CTIA Wireless 2006 in Las Vegas on April 5-7.MyVu has already been paired with several mobile phones with video capability such as the Toshiba TX60/V803T and Samsung’s SGH-D600 (read more...)
The Iliad electronic reader from iRex
March 21, 2006 Along with the Flying car and the commuter jetpack, the electronic book has been one of the great unfulfilled promises of technology. When they were first mooted, the electronic book was envisaged as being an easy way to download and read the daily newspaper, novels and magazines in a high resolution, high contrast, easy-to-read format akin to printed material, though since then the media world has been shaken to the core with a whirlwind of wikis, blogs and user generated content. Indeed, it may now seem an anti climax but the first ebook readers will hit the shelves within the next few weeks from both Sony (we covered the Sony Reader here) and from a much lesser-known entity in the form iRex Technologies’ Iliad. IRex is a spin-off from Royal Philips Electronics and the company’s first offering, the Iliad ER 0100 has an 8.1-inch 1024X768 160dpi screen, with 64 Mb of RAM and 224 Mb of flash storage, USB, SD or CF card storage, and runs an Intel 400MHzXscale. The Iliad ER 0100 combines an electronic paper display with wireless networking and touch screen technologies. This delivers the established easy to read, low-power advantages of E Ink Corporation’s electronic paper with the capacity to get content from various sources (Internet, PC or flash memory cards), as well as the ability to capture user input. The display has 16 grey levels, ensuring excellent legibility both indoors and outdoors while still offering a thin, lightweight device for easy portability. (read more...)
SLAPPA Velocity PRO Spyder Laptop Backpack
March 16, 2006 As computers reach ubiquity, which they inevitably will, it is equally as inevitable that we will find better ways to carry and protect them. Accordingly, we figure it’s giving Slappa a pat on the back for their latest creation, the Velocity PRO Spyder laptop backpack. Apart from looking good (and we recognise it won’t suit everyone’s style), the bag features a thick rubber exoskeleton with rainproof PRO Grade Scuba-prene offering reinforced storage protection for all of your digital gear. (read more...)
The mobile phone quickly becoming the MP3 player
March 10, 2006 Desire for mobile music is growing at a considerable rate with new products such as mobile music phones, iPod and other music players driving consumer demand. One third of the 945 million phones expected to be sold worldwide in 2006 will have digital music playback functionality. By 2008, it is estimated this will rise to almost 70% of the billion phones sold globally. With this in mind, Jabra used the CeBIT opening to announce the launch six new products for music lovers, giving consumers a comprehensive range of products for use with the mobile phone, MP3 players and the PC. The products launched at CeBIT include the Jabra BT325s Bluetooth headset with stereo headphones, Jabra C820s high-performance noise cancelling stereo headphones and two music adaptors including the Jabra A125s iPod Bluetooth adaptor and the Jabra A120s Bluetooth adaptor for standard music players. In addition, the recently announced Jabra BT620s Bluetooth stereo headset and the Jabra A320s Bluetooth stereo USB adaptor are also part of the new Jabra music line up. (read more...)
Concept phones feature in iF Design Awards
March 10, 2006 The automotive industry began producing concept cars so it could weigh public opinion of its design ideas and it has taken just three quarters of a century for other industries to follow suit. The prestigious iF (International Forum) Design Awards for excellence and innovation were announced this week and if you’re into exquisite design, you could spend a month looking through the wonderous array of spectacularly elegant function there. Amongst the winners though, were three concept phones – one from BenQ and two from Pantech. Now one concept phone does not a sustainable trend make, but three gives it a bit of credence. Let’s hope so. All three are beautiful and ever so clever in their design. (read more...)
The 10mpx camera phone
April 7, 2006 Samsung Electronics continues to push the boundaries of the convergent device at CEBIT earlier this year, first announcing an 8GB hard disk smart phone, and then trumping the camera phone market with the announcement of the SCH-B600 - a 10 mpx camera phone with 3X optical zoom and 5x digital zoom. The “firsts” for the camera also include auto-focus, a fill-light function and a 1/2,000th of a second shutter speed. We’ve previously reported on the company’s string of world-firsts such as the first 5 MPX phone, 7 MPX phone and 8 MPX phone but the trend is not slowing by any measure – the SCH-B600 will be on the Korean market by mid-year and also includes a 2-inch, 16-million-pixel color TFT LCD screen, supports satellite digital multimedia broadcasting services and comes with a dual-face, dual-speaker system, TV-out and MP3 player. Not surprisingly, everyone queued up at CTIA to see the phone. (read more...)
Smartphones become smarter with GPS Navigation and Bluetooth hands-free calling
March 9, 2006 The convergence mix is getting denser with each major trade show. At CeBIT in Germany today, Garmin has announced Garmin Mobile 20 – an automotive navigation system that delivers Garmin’s voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions using Bluetooth wireless technology on Nokia, Windows Mobile and Treo 650 Smartphones. Garmin Mobile 20 provides both data connectivity as well as hands-free capability and is packaged with the GPS 20SM, a new mobile phone mount with a built-in, highly sensitive GPS receiver and Bluetooth-enabled speaker and microphone. Garmin Mobile 20 will also be the first Garmin product to use the Garmin Online wireless data services that includes real-time traffic, gas prices, safety cameras, weather information, and other location relevant content. (read more...)
Volkswagen and Microsoft display multimedia and communication automotive concept at the CeBIT
March 9, 2006 One of the more interesting exhibits (among thousands) at the CeBIT exhibition opening today is the Volkswagen Eos, which looks at what tomorrow's automotive multimedia and communication functions might be. Created in collaboration with Microsoft, the Eos is on display at the Microsoft stand in the new CeBIT "Digital Living" area. Based on a car PC from inperio Systems with an Intel Celeron Processor (650 MHz), a RAM with 256 MB and a hard drive with 20 GB, the user enjoys all the functions that he has at home. The data processor is centrally located in the backrests of the rear seats and two seven inch monitors are installed in the head restraints of the front seats. (read more...)
US$3,500 White Lake USB Memory Golden Stick
March 4, 2006 The luxury goods market exists because people will always enjoy having exquisite objects, showing their status and wealth and expressing their individuality. That’s why people will pay hundreds of dollars for a cigarette lighter, thousands of dollars for a pen, and tens of thousands of dollars for a watch. So it was inevitable that when flash drives became personal, that we’d see an upmarket version, similar to the Vertu range of high end mobile phones. Flash drive manufacturers White Lake have created a top-of-the range USB flash drive named the Golden Stick which will be showcased at CEBIT next week. The Golden Stick is made of 14 carat gold with five embedded diamonds, though you can have it in 18 carat gold if you wish, but it’ll cost more, and if you think the diamonds are a bit gauche, you can leave them out and reduce the price from EUR 2,950 (US$3,550) to EUR 2,400 (US$2,885). We’re not so sure about making top shelf items in the rapidly moving technology fields – having a 4GB Golden Stick might not be so cool this time next year when everyone else has 16GB. (read more...)
iLoad-c delivers music to the iPod Nano wirelessly
March 1, 2006 When it comes to "feeding" the iPod, the folks at Wingspan are the evangelists of the "shortest distance between two points" theory. Today Wingspan revealed a video demonstration of its iLoad-c, a US$200 gadget that utilizes the music stores proliferating on cell phone networks, to download music directly to the Apple iPod Nano, without using a computer. iLoad-c clamps onto a Nano and then connects to your cell carrier's music store to download the music directly to the Nano. The iLoad-c is the third device to be announced by start-up Wingspan in three months – Wingspan’s other announced devices include iLoad, a device that copies CDs to the iPod without using a computer and iLoad-v, a device that connects to a cable or satellite TV boxes and records video and music onto a Video iPod or USB storage device, without using a computer or Internet connection. (read more...)
Sony Ericsson introduces first Cyber-shot camera phones
March 1, 2006 Sony Ericsson takes digital imaging in camera phones to new heights today with the launch of the K800 and K790 phones, the first handsets to carry the Cyber-shot name known throughout the world as Sony’s digital still camera brand. Both are highly capable mobile phones with integrated 3.2 mpx digital cameras with autofocus, Xenon flash and BestPic, a completely new feature developed by Sony Ericsson which ensures that you never ‘miss’ an important picture. Press the shutter button once and the camera takes nine full quality 3.2 megapixel pictures in a time sequence – four pictures before and four pictures after the actual image you captured. (read more...)
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