News Archive for 09/04/02
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Qualcomm at CTIA demonstrated its upcoming eZone system that will provide wireless charging across a wide range of devices from a variety of manufacturers. The technology utilizes near-field magnetic resonance to eliminate the need for a direct electrical contact. Devices can also be placed anywhere on the charging pad, regardless of positioning. A relatively small size area will simultaneously charge several batteries.
LiveViewGPS has announced the release of its mobile data network connected in-car navigation system, the 4.3-inch touchscreen NavTrac RTV10. The paid monthly data access service includes unlimited two-way messaging and unlimited web port access, as well as vehicle tracking that is updated every 10 seconds. The device is suitable for use in businesses with courier or delivery drivers, allowing a central location to track vehicles, communicate with drivers and even update or change their routes. Tracking is done via a website interface, without the need to download software.
The launch of the HTC Magic, the successor to the original Android powered handset, the T-Mobile G1, has been pushed back to May from its earlier April release date due to a last minute hardware change. The Magic was due for an initial release via Vodafone UK before eventually making its way to T-Mobile in the US, most likely under the T-Mobile G2 name. The delay has not been acknowledged by Vodafone, at least on its website, which still lists the launch date as April, though the phone sales department confirmed it will arrive later than originally planned, now on May 1st.
Apple today has accidentally confirmed plans of its own to launch Xserve rackmount servers based on Xeon processors using Intel's Nehalem architecture. A Hong Kong product page (still active as of this writing) has a broken image link that asks users to "pre-order the new Xserve using Intel Xeon (Nehalem)" but doesn't take visitors to a relevant page. No specifications or other details have surfaced with the link itself.
Clearwire at CTIA launched the Spot, a personal hotspot device that connects to the company's WiMAX network and provides Internet via Wi-Fi. The 3-inch by 5-inch router is manufactured by CradlePoint and matches the appearance of the PHS300. Users must insert a CLEAR USB modem into the port on the side of the router. The Spot contains a lithium ion battery that powers the USB modem.
Sanyo on Thursday said it had started shipping its combination photo and video Dual Camera Xacti line. The series is headlined by the FH1 and HD2000, which can both shoot 1080p video in H.264 while capturing 8-megapixel photos, carry 10X lenses, and both slow motion video as well as burst photo modes that take advantage of large memory buffers. The CA9 and WH1 (pictured) capture movies in 720p but are waterproof and snap 9-megapixel still shots, while the CG10 and TH1 have the same video resolution but 8-megapixel stills and either an extra-small (CG10) or horizontal (TH1) form factor.
Sony Ericcson established a small presence at CTIA, with a few handsets nestled inside the larger Ericcson area. The upcoming T707a clamshell was on hand, sporting a metallic green finish. The 128 by 36 pixel external LCD remains relatively invisible below the reflective surface until a button is pressed, making it fairly difficult to read in bright light conditions. Although stylish, the display would probably be ineffective in direct sunlight.
Verizon this afternoon chose CTIA as the venue to launch MP3 music downloads on its media store. The move brings about 5 million of the unprotected tracks and complements the ringtones that have dominated the company's web store in the past. Buying tracks doesn't require using a Verizon phone and thus lets buyers put songs on iPods or other general media-capable hardware.
The first hints of Microsoft making good on its promise of bringing the Zune platform to other devices than the current portable media players have come in the form of two job postings discovered today. The first is seeking a software development engineer for the Zune team to help deliver digital entertainment into the living room, while the other is hinting at the Zune service and Zune Marketplace extending globally.
Today's featured DealNN deals include hard drives, Blu-ray players, digital cameras and more. For today only TigerDirect.com is offering the refurbished Samsung Blu-ray player for $149.99, which is a savings of $100 off the original price of $249.99. The Samsung Blu-ray player provides playback of Blu-ray disks and DVDs in 1080p (via the HDMI connector) and offers CD playback with high quality audio.
Verizon Wireless is receiving queries about providing a wireless data connection from hardware manufacturers for an electronic book reader that would be similar to Amazon's popular Kindle 2 device, says a Wednesday Yahoo report. The wireless provider's head of access to non-phone devices, Tony Lewis, said at the CTIA show that five companies have made such an inquiry, though he wouldn't name them. Lewis did hint that the makers are considering offering books the Kindle doesn't, such as college textbooks.
Nova Media has launched the iCON 225 (not as pictured), its newest 3G USB modem for Macs. The device provides HSDPA connections with up to 7.2Mbps download and 2Mbps upload speeds, as well as EDGE and GPRS connections providing a maximum of 80kbps upload and 220kbps download speeds. iCON 225 is not SIM locked or bound to a specific network, and allows users to insert SIM cards from most service providers.
Online and rent-by-mail company Netflix on Thursday announced it has delivered the two billionth DVD to one of its subscribers in Birmingham, Alabama on Wednesday. The lucky subscriber, Clay Shannon, has received a free lifetime subscription to commemorate the achievement. The Blu-ray copy of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist was shipped from Netflix' Atlanta-based distribution center, one of 58 the company operates in North America.
RIM this afternoon set a new record quarter for itself by shipping 7.8 million BlackBerries between December and the end of February. The number is over a million more than the company's previous record of 6.7 million last quarter and includes word exactly half of the new buyers, or 3.9 million, were new subscribers to BlackBerry service. RIM shipped a total of 29 million of its smartphones through its just-ended fiscal year.
Dell on Thursday announced it has updated its Vostro notebook line-up with three new models, including the 13.3-inch Vostro 1320, the 15.4-inch Vostro 1520 and 17-inch Vostro 1720, which are available now. Dell has outfitted the range with added security measures, including optional shock-proof solid state drives, fingerprint readers, and encrypted hard drives with Wave Systems software. All share standard 80GB hard drives and six-cell batteries, as well as integrated Wi-Fi capabilities. Processing power comes via Intel's 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo chips.
Wireless provider AT&T at the currently ongoing CTIA show in Las Vegas announced it will offer a netbook computer for as low as $50 if buyers agree to a two-year wired and wireless data plan, though this offer is limited to customers in Atlanta, with a similar deal in Philadelphia. The trial offer will give buyers the option of picking from the Acer Aspire One, Dell Inspiron Mini 9, Dell Inspiron Mini 12 and LG Xenia, though some of these portable PCs are more expensive, with the subsidized prices ranging up to $250 depending on the model.
With news of Palm's expanded app support for webOS, the company has today been giving demos of multiple native apps, including those above and beyond what was mentioned Wednesday evening. The most immediately useful app is FlightView, a Palm-native version of the company's online efforts. In practice, the software is similar to iPhone apps like FlightTrack and lets users check flight schedules online, including the current position of the plane on a map; the interface is as intuitive as its equivalent for Apple's hardware, but the addition of a hardware keyboard to type flight info frees more of the screen for flight data. It also has basic background notifications for flight status.
AT&T is significantly more likely to take a different approach to Internet calling and other aspects of its service when its 4G network becomes available, the carrier's chief marketing officer David Christopher said today in an interview with Electronista. While it's too early to discuss many details, the executive says that the upcoming Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard will likely mean a different approach that supports voice-over-IP apps rather than discouraging them. Since LTE creates an all-data cell network and has lower lag, a voice call is 'just an app' like anything else, Christopher notes.
Garmin on Thursday announced the upcoming release of a pair of new fitness watches, including the Forerunner 310XT and Forerunner 405CX. The former is waterproof down to 50 meters (164 feet) and thus meant for water sports as well as running and cycling and will be packaged together with a waterproof heart rate monitor as well as in a stand-alone version. Compared to the current Forerunner 305 that it's based on, the new watch has improved battery life, now rated at 20 hours, as well as a more comfortable design.
NVIDIA on Thursday announced that its GeForce GTX 275 is due to arrive in certain stores as soon as next week. The GPU features 240 processor cores operating at 1,404MHz, 80 texture processing units, and a 448-bit memory interface. The card uses the existing GTX 260's 896MB of memory, and shares the same 644MHz 55nm GT200 processor in the GTX 285, splitting the two existing products in terms of price and performance, according to NVIDIA. Many believe the company has made the announcement early in order to avoid being left out of the limelight, as competitor ATI also debuted its Radeon HD4890 on Thursday.
Electronista had the opportunity to try MSI's new X-Slim and Wind U123 notebooks at a press event last evening and came away impressed. The X340 is the centerpiece, as it's one of the first to use Intel's new CULV processors; that lets it run Vista Home Premium reasonably quickly without having to balloon the form factor. The system is disconcertingly thin: at about 0.7 inches deep and 2.8 pounds heavy, it's visibly almost as thin as a Dell Adamo and certainly feels much lighter. It should also cost half as much at about $1,000 while running about as quickly.
Panasonic on Thursday announced the upcoming release of two SC-HC-series iPod D-docks, with the main difference between the SC-HC3 and SC-HC4 being color availability and the inclusion of an SD card slot in the SC-HC4. Users have the option of copying music from CDs to an inserted SD or SDHC card at up to 8x speeds. Each dock features a pair of nearly 2.6-inch (6.5cm) diameter speakers made of bamboo fiber, powered by a 40W stereo amplifier.
Palm today took aggressive steps to expand support for the webOS by adding legacy support, Internet sync, a larger developer program and new third-party apps it says showcase the new mobile platform. The company has revealed that outside firm MotionApps has developed a utility known as Classic that emulates support for PalmOS software. Like its rough equivalent in Apple's Mac OS X, it creates a virtual environment that works with "most" apps; the change to a full touchscreen OS requires that MotionApps put in simulated buttons. It should launch at the same time as the Pre, which should ship to Sprint in late spring.
AMD on Thursday morning further expanded its "Dragon" desktop platform with the introduction of the ATI Radeon HD 4890 graphics card, featuring 1.36 TeraFLOPs of computing power, faster GDDR5 memory, and engine clock speeds capable of nearly 1GHz. The GPU card offers support for DirectX 10.1 titles, including Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X., Electronic Art’s BattleForge and SEGA’s Stormrise released last month, as well as GSC Gameworld’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky. According to the company, the new graphics card is not only designed to provide exceptional value to OEMs and channel partners but also to do-it-yourself (DIY) consumers.
Sony has debuted a new high-definition camcorder, the HDR-TG5V, that is designed for travelers requiring lightweight gear. The Handycam features a Carl Zeiss lens, with 10X optical zoom, and captures 1920 by 1080 pixel video and four-megapixel still images. A titanium body and compact form factor contribute to the low weight. An integrated GPS antenna and NAVTEQ maps can be used to automatically geo-tag videos or images to keep a record of the exact shooting location.
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