Mobile Technology

NVIDIA enters mobile application processor market

By Tim Hanlon

February 13, 2007 - NVIDIA have unveiled their latest product geared for the mobile market, and contrary to what you might expect, it's not a new 3D card for laptops. The NVIDIA GoForce 6100 is the first in a coming family of processors that offer an integrated multimedia solution to power the myriad new handheld devices that will influence our lives in 2007 - and it uses less than half the power of anything on the market today. Read More

Global Mobile Phone Shipments Top 1 Billion Units in 2006

By Mike Hanlon

February 9, 2007 Just a few days ago in our article on the exciting prospect of Near Field Communication capabilities for the mobile phone, we wrote that global mobile phone sales were heading for a billion units a year. We were wrong - according to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global mobile phone shipments in 2006 grew a healthy 25 percent year-over-year, to reach an all-time record total of 1 billion units in 2006. Mobile phone sales have exploded from less than 100,000 units in 1983 to 100 million units in 1997 and have now passed the 1-billion level in 2006. Given there are only 6.5 billion people on Planet Earth, that means one in 6.5 humans (regardless of age, poverty or location), purchased a new phone last year. "Mobile phones have become a critical driver of innovation and profit for the world's semiconductor, memory, battery and display industries”, according to the Strategy Analytics. Nokia (347.5 million handsets sold) and Motorola (217.4 million) continued to dominate volumes, but it was Sony Ericsson who shone brightest. Growth, volumes, revenues and total profits are all at their highest ever levels for the Japanese-Swedish company which grew volumes from 51.1 million in 2005 to 74.8 million in 2006. In doing so, it became the world's third largest handset vendor (in revenues) overtaking Samsung. Read More

NFC morphs the wallet and the mobile phone

By Mike Hanlon

The mobile phone is taking society by storm. Currently, one third of all the people on the planet carry a mobile phone, just a quarter century after its introduction. In just over three years time, we’ll pass the half way mark, and we expect the world will be a very different place a decade from now as the mobile phone takes on ever more remarkable qualities and function. And with sales of mobiles heading for the one billion a year, mobile phones are heading for ubiquity. Although more and more features are packed in every year, the mobile phone is still a long way from achieving its full potential. In tomorrow’s world, things we do every day, like paying at the till, buying a ticket for the bus or entering competitions, will all go through your mobile phone…using NFC technology. NFC stands for ‘near field communication’, a short-range wireless connectivity technology that enables two peripheral devices to exchange data via radiofrequency 13.56 MHz @ 424 Kbps) – i.e. without physical contact – over short distances of up to 5m. NFC technology has been approved as an ISO, ECMA and ETSI standard.Sagem is already trialing this exciting technology in Europe and would like to keep you abreast of the possibilities. NFC is not a new technology, and certain underground rail systems have already implemented it via contactless rail passes to offer seamless walk-through travel rather than turnstiles, making the system quicker and more convenient. However, when NFC is built into mobile phones, it adds the humble wallet to the convergence mix, and at the rate we're going, our personal identities might become incomplete if we're not "carrying" Read More

Ruggedizing the BlackBerry

By Mike Hanlon

January 25, 2007 You want the convenience and functionality of the Blackberry but you’re a klutz and/or you work in a very hostile or rainy outdoor environment – there’s now a simple solution that we quite like. The OtterBox 1930 and 1931 cases are designed to ruggedize BlackBerry handsets while allowing water-resistant access to keypad, scroll wheel, escape button, power button, mute button and programmable side button, all through the case. A rigid screen cover protects the LCD from scratches and drop damage with a rigid screen cover and Donaldson acoustic membrane vents allow sound transmission while keeping the case sealed. Read More

PRADA and LG launch touch screen mobile phone

By Mike Hanlon

January 20, 2007 LG and PRADA have unveiled a mobile phone controlled entirely by a touch-screen which is sure to draw comparisons with Apple’s recently announced iPhone. LG and PRADA have apparently worked closely together on every aspect of the product, from handset development to marketing, first announcing their intentions in December, but no doubt sensing the opportunity presented by the worldwide iPhone publicity and the possibilities of an iPhone delay given that Cisco is in litigation with Apple over the name. The PRADA Phone by LG (KE850) has a touch interface which eliminates the conventional keypad making the overall usage experience a highly tactile one. An extra wide LCD screen maximizes visual impact, allowing the user to benefit from several key features of the phone, including the 2 megapixel camera featuring Schneider-Kreuznach lens, video player and document viewer capacity. The PRADA Phone will be available with prices starting from 600 Euros in mobile dealerships and PRADA stores in the UK, France, Germany and Italy as of late February, 2007, followed by countries in Asia such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore from late March, 2007. The Korean version of the phone is scheduled to launch in the second quarter of 2007. Read More

Paper 2.0 - Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology enters the market

By Mike Hanlon

January 19, 2007 The second coming of the book, the paper and ink mainstay of human knowledge for most of the last 5000 years, appears to be almost upon us. Despite thousands of years of technological development, paper has maintained its readability advantage of over modern display technology but technology is just about to surpass it and the logical big players are getting ready tp produce readable displays that offer an experience akin to that of reading on paper - this is known as Electronic Paper. E-Ink’s Electronic Paper Displays are the current dominant player in the marketplace, with its displays used in the iRex Iliad and Sony Readers, with other implementations in clocks, watches, smart cards, billboards and mobile phones but there will be others and Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology (TMD) entered the fray this week when it announced not only that it has developed a high-resolution, 16-level grayscale, highly-reflective, 5-inch VGA monochrome thin-film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD) which offers the combined features of high resolution and high reflectance, but that it had started mass production. The display technology looks fantastic (see images inside), and is well suited for monochrome applications such as found in electronic dictionaries and books or operating panels of multifunctional office automation equipment. Read More

Samsung SCH-W559 Mobile Phone with Immersion’s VibeTonz System for Tactile Touchscreen Feedback

By Mike Hanlon

January 18, 2007 Relevant feedback from an intelligent device is very important to the feel of that device, how you relate to it and how efficiently you use it. Immersion Corporation is the company that has enabled touch feedback technology to dominate video game interfaces and now we warrant, it’s set to do the same for mobile phones. The new Samsung SCH-W559 phone is the first to use Immersion's VibeTonz System to provide tactile feedback in response to touchscreen presses. VibeTonz offers a broad range of touch feedback effects to make user interface features, applications, and multimedia content more intuitive and engaging. For example, virtual onscreen buttons feel more like mechanical keys, and the phone’s full-fidelity, vibe-enhanced ringtones are help identify callers in noisy environments. So compelling and useful is the vibration feedback system that global research and consulting firm Strategy Analytics believes that “market conditions are almost ripe for an explosion in touchscreen phones”, and “by 2012, 40% of mobile phones could be using some form of touch sensitive technology. Read More

Lithium batteries for the iPod extend listening time up to 60 hours

By Mike Hanlon

January 12, 2007 Advanced technology vehicle and energy pioneer ZAP has graced our pages many times over the last few years, each time with something very special and usually very different such as the Powerski, XEBRA, or OBVIO! About the only thing these products all have in common is their electric power source, and ditto for the company’s latest launch - a new iZAP series of lithium battery packs designed specifically to work with the iPod. ZAP also introduced a new Recharge-It-All line of Portable Energy at CES. The new rechargeable power packs can power a wide range of mobile electronics like cell phones, digital cameras, laptops and more. Read More

iLane Hands-Free and Eyes-Free Email Solution for In-Vehicle Use

By Mike Hanlon

January 12, 2007 With the automobile quickly becoming a key node in our personal networked universe, the ability to significantly enhance our productivity and travelling experience is yielding myriad opportunities. One company focussed solely on this telematics and automotive safety solutions area is Intelligent Mechatronic Systems (IMS), which released details of its iLane solution at CES after announcing the product at IFA in Berlin last year. iLane is a hands-free and eyes-free email solution for in-vehicle use with a target price of US$700 and will be available Q2/2007. iLane provides drivers with voice-based access to their inbox, alleviating the dangerous practice of reading or typing on a handheld device while driving. By using iLane you can instead keep your hands safely on the wheel, and your eyes on the road; which allows you to stay connected to critical information in a way that puts on-road safety first. Email attachments, calendar appointments, SMS messages and phone calls are likewise managed in a hands-free manner. Read More

US$230 Handheld Translator speaks 12 languages

By Mike Hanlon

January 12, 2007 The barriers between cultures that create fear, mistrust and conflict seem to be dissolving – first distance and now language is going the same way as the Berlin Wall. At CES, electronic handheld information publisher Franklin Electronic showed its new 12-Language Speaking Global Translator (Model TGA-490). The US$230 pocket-sized handheld contains over 450,000 words and 12,000 phrases in twelve languages and features recorded human speech providing accurate and clear pronunciation of words and phrases in all twelve languages. Basically, this means that if you speak Chinese (Mandarin), Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian or Spanish, you now have the basics to have a conversation with anyone who speaks one of these languages, though this communication tool was specially designed with the non-Asian language speaker travelling to the Far East in mind. The new PDA-sized device has a slide out keyboard and a rechargeable battery and also includes an MP3 player, a currency converter, world clock, alarm, and voice recorder. Read More

New S-XGen Ultra Mobile Personal Computer with almost full-sized keyboard eight hour battery life

By Mike Hanlon

January 11, 2007 An interesting new communications device debuted at the 2007 Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas, this week. The US$1400 S-XGen from Seamless Internet is an Ultra Mobile Portable Computer (UMPC) integrating all of the computing and digital functionality of other UMPC's in a design that offers a near full-size keyboard and an ultra-productive eight-hour battery life. Created for serious business users, the S-XGen combines several digital products into a single, easy-to-access device. The unit's extra long battery life and fold-out keyboard makes the S-XGen a serious full-day work partner that puts an end to frustrating text messaging-style 'dumb thumb' typing and 'low battery' AC-power searches. Read More

WHOOPS - Cisco files suit against Apple over iPhone Trademark Infringement

By Mike Hanlon

January 11, 2007 Apple’s iPhone burst onto the internet yesterday like a nuclear explosion, immediately becoming the most sought after product of 2007. Given that just about every tech journalist in the world was aware of Cisco’s registered iPhone trademark, we all assumed that a deal had been struck, but apparently not! Cisco today announced that it has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against Apple, seeking to prevent Apple from infringing upon and deliberately copying and using it’s trademark. Cisco obtained the iPhone trademark in 2000 after completing the acquisition of Infogear, which previously owned the mark and sold iPhone products for several years. Infogear’s original filing for the trademark dates to 1996. Linksys, a division of Cisco, has been shipping a new family of iPhone products since early last year, expanding the iPhone family with additional products as recently as December. “Cisco entered into negotiations with Apple in good faith after Apple repeatedly asked permission to use Cisco’s iPhone name,” said Mark Chandler, senior vice president and general counsel, Cisco. “There is no doubt that Apple’s new phone is very exciting, but they should not be using our trademark without our permission. Read More

Apple's knockout US$500 iPhone

By Mike Hanlon

January 9, 2007 Apple today introduced iPhone, and all the anticipation did not dull the event or the remarkable product the company unveiled. The iPhone combines three products - a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, searching and maps. The iPhone will be available in the US in June, Europe in late 2007, and Asia in 2008, in a 4GB model for US$500 and an 8GB model for US$600, and will work with either a PC or Mac. Several iPhone accessories will also be available in June, including Apple's new remarkably compact Bluetooth headset. iPhone introduces an entirely new user interface based on a large multi-touch display and pioneering new software, letting users control iPhone with just their fingers. iPhone also ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, which completely redefines what users can do on their mobile phones. Read More

OQO 02 ULTRA MOBILE PC - the World’s smallest Windows Vista Capable Personal Computer

By Mike Hanlon

January 9, 2007 Bill Gates yesterday showcased OQO’s next generation ultra-mobile PC, the model 02, in his keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Weighing a mere one pound and small enough to fit in a pocket, the model 02 is the world’s smallest Windows Vista capable computer and not only have the company fixed every shortcoming of the first model, the model 02 is up to four times faster and has a display more than six times brighter than its groundbreaking predecessor. Redesigned from the ground up, the model 02 features a new ergonomic backlit keyboard and capacitive TouchScrollers for easy input and navigation. The model 02 incorporates complete wireless connectivity – including EV-DO Wireless WAN, WiFi, and Bluetooth – ensuring the user has high speed and uncompromised access to the internet, email, and networked applications. Expected to ship before the end of March, the OQO model 02 will sell for US$1500. Read More

Samsung Ultra Music and Ultra Video Mobile Phones

By Mike Hanlon

January 9, 2007 Samsung Electronics debuted two new entertainment phones at CES yesterday – the Ultra Music and Ultra Video exemplify the convergence of basic devices, such as PMP, MP3 and radio, with mobile phones. Both combine the features of a camera phone with 2 MPX images, with their particular entertainment bents, all facilited by an LCD on each side. On one side there is a smaller LCD screen and the dialing keypad for making phone calls, contact entry and cell phone menu functions. The reverse side has a large LCD screen and a dedicated touch sensitive pad to cater to the multimedia functions. Read More

ScanBuy - barcode software on your camera phone creates the Physical World Hyperlink

By Mike Hanlon

January 8, 2007 From time-to-time, we see a potentially disruptive technology of such magnitude we ponder its ability to shake the foundations - Scanbuy rates in that category. The irony of the ingenious system is that it leverages the humble barcode – a sixty year old far-from-vogue technology under threat from RFID. Last week, the U.S. Patent Office issued a patent to Scanbuy for a "System and method for decoding and analyzing barcodes using a mobile device". The software works on any handheld device (download here) with a camera and internet connection and uses the camera to read the barcode, then connects the device’s web browser to the corresponding web site. What this enables, which we think is very significant - is the connection of physical objects to the internet - a Physical World Hyperlink. Camera phones have only been available in most countriesfor four years yet they are fast approaching ubiquity– in 2005, 45 percent of all mobile phones sold in the U.S. were camera phones, with 64 percent in Western Europe and 90% plus in the logical Asian hotspots. Global sales of camera phones is expected to approach a billion a year by the end of this decade – accordingly, Scanbuy’s free software and a mobile phone means that a consumer can connect with a poster, billboard, magazine, newspaper, food packaging, businesscard, city guide, map or merchandising display – it’s a no-brainer to make a dead-as-a-doornail product interactive to the majority of people. 2D barcodes are already the preferred way for Japanese and Korean consumers to access mobile content but the beauty of the Scanbuy system is that it works on any camera phone and doesn’t require a special attachment or built-in bar code reader. The first application of this technology is fairly logical - being able to walk through any physical store and snap the barcode of any onbject and immediately have your phone tell you where else you can buy it and price comparison shop for you. We think that represents significant seismic activity under the foundations of bricks and mortar businesses, but it’s just one aspect of what can happen when you connect the real world to the internet. If you have an idea for how it can work for you, there’s even a software developers kit. Read More

The credit-card-sized Taxi Hailer

By Mike Hanlon

January 7, 2007 Hailing a taxi during peak period is skill requisite for your survival in the urban jungle and this is a sure fire way to be seen - the UKP12.50 Taxi Hailer has the form factor of a credit card and contains an energy efficient super bright LED flashing light. The Taxi Hailer costs UKP12.50 for one, getting down to UKP3.53 for bulk orders and for not much more, you can have them branded for a unique promotional item that it likely to be both kept and appreciated. Via Gizmodo

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Mac tablet computer with GPS

By Mike Hanlon

January 7, 2007 Here’s one to look forward to for Mac enthusiasts. The ModBook is the first ever Mac tablet computer solution and we’ll be able to see it without the veil on January 9, at the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco. The Axiotron ModBook is not a Mac product, but uses Apple's Mac OS X Tiger operating system and its own WACOM Penabled hardware to create a high-end slate-style notebook computer that is fully compatible with Apple's Inkwell, a Mac OS X Tiger feature that provides system level handwriting and gesture recognition to all Mac applications. This means you can draw and write directly on the screen for a uniquely intuitive user experience. The slim, slate-style ModBook form factor makes further claims as a very useful tool for mobile users, as there’s an optional built-in Global Positioning System (GPS) developed in cooperation with GlobalSat Technologies using the SiRFstar III chipset. Read More

Ultra-Miniature Projection Display for Mobile Devices

By Mike Hanlon

January 9, 2007 IMAGES ADDED One of the big breakthrough technology announcements for the CES show which begins next week has landed - Microvision will show the world's smallest and thinnest full-color projection display prototype. Using the company's Integrated Photonics Module (IPM), the miniaturized projector engine promises new capabilities for mobile devices as it can be embedded in a mobile phone or PDA, or used as a standalone accessory display with a variety of mobile devices. “Small, two inch displays that are common to mobile devices such as cell phones are barriers to growth of exciting mobility markets, because they limit the user viewing experience,” said Alexander Tokman, President and CEO of Microvision. “Our projection display solution is expected to eliminate this bottleneck, benefiting consumers, mobile operators, content providers, and consumer electronics OEMs.” The commercilisation of this potentially disruptive technology will enable a range of cheaper and more readily available heads up displays and wearable displays. Read More

The era of digital paper approaches

By Mike Hanlon

January 5, 2007 The era of digital paper where we will wirelessly connect to purchase and download a book or pick up the latest edition of a newspaper is approaching fast with the news that Plastic Logic is to build the first commercial scale factory to manufacture plastic electronics. The facility will produce flexible active-matrix display modules for "take anywhere, read anywhere" electronic reader products - thin, light, robust active-matrix displays that offer a reading experience closer to paper than any other technology. “The battery will last for thousands of pages so you can leave your charger at home," said Plastic Logic CEO John Mills. The facility, to be built in "Silicon Saxony" at Dresden in Eastern Germany will be initially capable of producing a million display modules per year and production will start in 2008 and ramp from there. This capacity will enable the creation of some radical new product concepts in a wide range of applications including flexible displays and sensors. Independent experts from IDTechEx forecast plastic electronics will be a US$30 billion industry by 2015, and could reach as much as US$250 billion by 2025. What sort of new gadgets will be possible? Well just check out the image gallery of concept products (pictured) that range from digital passports to boarding passes to maps to menus to any form where the printed word needs to be updatable … amazing new possibilities and efficiencies and every page read helps save a tree. Read More

The first truly double-sided LCD

By Mike Hanlon

January 5, 2007 Each new technological breakthrough, regardless of the vertical market from which it came, seems to have the potential to influence not just its core market but dozens of other verticals. Some technology breakthroughs influence more verticals than others and we can’t help but feel that Samsung’s new double-sided LCD might have a profound effect on the form factor what we’ll be carrying a year or three from now, and subsequently on the content formats for the world’s burgeoning mobile information industry. The LCD can show two different pictures or sets of visual data simultaneously on the front and back of the same screen. Other conventional double-sided LCDs can only show a reverse image of the same video data. The LCD's efficient and ingenious use of light to display images in both transmissive and reflective modes promotes slimmer, more cost-effective products and will replace two display panels with one, thereby reducing overall thickness of mobile products by at least 1mm. The display requires only one backlight, while previous double-screen LCDs require two. One side of the panel operates in a transmissive mode, while the other operates in a reflective mode. By using a unique reflective design that utilizes the light trapped in the opposing screen's transmissive mode, the reflective mode does not solely rely on external light sources. Read More

US$20 clip-on x6 optical zoom lens for camera phoines

By Mike Hanlon

January 4, 2007 Mobile phones with cameras are proving to be immensely useful for many purposes, mainly because they have the advantage of always being with you. Sadly, the evolution of many potential niche markets is being held back by phone manufacturers who wish to sell you their latest 2MPX and no optical zoom model this year before they’ll sell you another one with 4MPX and x2 zoom next year, even though they could deliver a much higher spec now if they wanted to. Accordingly, cameras with high quality optics are still rare and optical zoom lenses on cameras are even rarer. So if you’re one of those people who would like to have a x6 optical zoom on your mobile and would gladly pay big bucks for it, here’s one that will do the job for just US$20. It has a manual zoom and focus but as you can see from the images on their site, it works very well, particularly at that price. The mounting for the zoom clips onto Nokia N72, 6230, 6230i, 6680, 6600, 6630, 7610 and 6681 phones and Sony Ericsson K750i, W800i, W810i and W550i/W600i models. Via the Red Ferret. Read More

Tangle DNA Sound Portable iPod Speakers

By Mike Hanlon

December 20, 2006 Best known for its twistable playthings, Tangle has announced a new design for portable speakers based on its "Fun Twisty Thing" technology. The Tangle DNA Sound iPod Speakers comprise two high powered speakers that seem to float in mid-air as they are gracefully suspended above the speaker base by four twistable Tangles. These Tangles allow you to twist and turn you DNA Sound Speakers in any possible direction. Read More

Potenco’s killer app: cord-pulling power

By Mike Hanlon

December 19, 2006 The folks at Potenco have a star-studded team and a bunch of ideas, but the one we warrant is a killer app is the company’s patent-pending portable power generator – like the wind-up powered devices of British inventor Trevor Baylis’ Freeplay Energy, human-powered electrical devices make infinite sense in that they offer an off-the-grid solution for digital nomads and empowerment for those who have never had electricity to begin with. In Potenco’s case, it’s not so much a wind-up power generator as a cord-pulling generator and the ingenious solution has already been slated for use as a power provider for the $100 Laptop (One Laptop per Child). Simply pull a cord for a few minutes and generate electrical energy for several hours – with the plethora of electrical devices we all regularly carry and sadly miss when the electrons run out for even brief periods, this is logically a massive market. Read More

The Mila Bikini Skin - form-fitting protection for the iPod

By Mike Hanlon

December 15, 2006 Pacific Design, a company known for colorful, functional iPod(R) cases and cutting edge laptop bags, and Gamila, a product brand dedicated to "designs that make you smile," have partnered to create the Mila Bikini Skin Collection for the iPod nano and iPod Video. Designed to protect and complement the iPod nano (1st/2nd generation) and iPod Video (30G/60G/80G), the Mila Bikini Skin features a super-strong, crystal-clear polyurethane screen protector and a connection point system that can attach to just about anything. The strength of this material protects the iPod screen from scratches without leaching or cracking while the design and flexibility of this case allows users to flip the bottom off to sync or stand their iPod on a desk. The Mila Bikini Skin can also be customized by attaching personal fashion statements to its connection points, making it the ultimate fashion accessory. Read More