Cool Gadgets and Technology

HP readying mini-Tablet PC format

2003-04-08T01:28:00.000-07:00

Do you wish your PDA had bigger screen? Or that your laptop was smaller? HP have high hopes on a new design codenamed Scout (see end of article), a Tablet PC that is "bigger than a PDA but smaller than a thin-and-light notebook". The Scout is about the size of a day planner, has tilt-up display and retractable keyboard.

Digital TV recorder with HD and DVD-RW

2003-04-03T23:15:00.000-08:00

This is one useful gadget for your home theater system. Sony NDR-XR1 (Babelfish-translated :) is a digital video recorder with 80 GB hard disk, which can record up to 90 hours of TV. It has a broadband connection for retrieving program information. In addition it also has a DVD-RW recorder, for archiving and compilation of recorded material, and of course DVD playback. It's on sale this month, but so far Japan only...

MS with IP telephony for mobile devices

2003-04-02T01:13:00.000-08:00

Microsoft is trumpeting IP telephony in next version of the WinCE.Net-based software for Smartphones and PocketPC, due in June. Hitachi, NEC, Casio Computers, Samsung and other manufacturers are developing products that use the feature.

Motorola builds 4 Mbit nanocrystal memory

2003-04-01T02:49:00.000-08:00

A Motorola lab is building 4 Mbit nonvolatile memory on pieces of silicon measuring 50 angstroms in diameter, and they see no problem in making the next step to productize the silicon nanocrystal technology.

Biofuel cell can run your PDA on vodka

2003-03-26T04:55:00.000-08:00

Researchers at Saint Louis University has developed a new type of biofuel cell that can run on alcohol, including drinks like vodka and gin. It can replace rechargeable batteries in all kinds of appliances, and recharge instantly with a few milliliters of alcohol. "Bartender, gin for me and my smartphone please."

New iPAQs will introduce new PocketPC OS?

2003-03-25T02:52:00.000-08:00

HP has gotten FCC approval for a new iPAQ H2200 series, of which one model will come with integrated Bluetooth. The new iPAQs will have both CF and SDIO cardslots (IO means it takes a growing number of expansion and networking cards, not just SD memory) and transreflective TFT screen. Rumors says that the machine will be introduced with a new version of the PocketPC OS this summer, Pocket PC 2003 (built on WinCE 4.2 with .NET runtime).

Talk to the dancing robot

2003-03-25T02:35:00.000-08:00

The AIBO dog was just the start for Sony. The new improved "Small Biped Entertainment Robot" is a small walking robot that can talk with you and entertain you with song, dance or theater performances...

Nokia with Wi-Fi cellphones

2003-03-25T02:21:00.000-08:00

Like Mitsubishi (see blog post 18/3) Nokia is planning to introduce cellphones with built in 802.11b wireless LAN support and the ability to roam between GPRS and Wi-Fi zones.

A new blue laser standard proposal

2003-03-25T01:09:00.000-08:00

A Taiwan consortium has developed and submitted to DVD Forum a new contender for becoming the next generation high-definition DVD standard based on blue laser technology. Called Blue-HD-DVD-1 and Blue-HD-DVD-2 the specification has 17 or 27 GB capacity, and will come in ROM and rewritable versions. They claim advantage over competing Blu-ray and Advanced Optical Disk (AOD) formats in among other things a better compression technology that gives 5 hours of HDTV (MPEG-2 requires 15 GB for 2 hours) and playback of several programs at once.

Intel Robots and Mechanical Men Inc?

2003-03-21T00:34:00.000-08:00

What is the next big thing for a company like Intel? They are researching robotics, biology and nanotechnology...

20 inch OLED display

2003-03-20T06:15:00.000-08:00

IDTech is claiming a breakthrough in OLED technology and production costs with a 20 inch prototype (1280 x 768) that will be demonstrated on SID 2003 in May.

Windows XP palmtop

2003-03-19T06:03:00.000-08:00

Want a full fledged PC in your hand? Sony Vaio PCG-U101 (Babelfish-translated :) is a handheld Windows XP PC with built in Wi-Fi and 7.1 inch XGA screen (1024x768). It weighs 880 gram, is 178 x 139 x 34 mm and has 5.5 hours battery time (13.5 with extra battery). But Japan only for now...

Tri-Wireless PDA Concept Design

2003-03-18T04:56:00.000-08:00

Texas Instrument WANDA (Wireless Any-Network Digital Assistant) is a PocketPC hardware reference design offered to OEMs that includes integrated support for GSM/GPRS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, for simultaneous voice calls, wireless web access and personal area networking.

Mobile phone with Wi-Fi and voice over IP

2003-03-18T04:30:00.000-08:00

Mitsubishi demonstrated on CeBIT an interesting Symbian concept phone. Besides large flipover colour screen (QVGA), megapixel camera and memory stick duo slot, the most interesting part is that it has wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), and can do voice over IP through the Wi-Fi connection. Telephone users using Wi-Fi hotspots for both data services and voice calls can be an interesting challenge for the cellular carriers...

More on 3D display

2003-03-18T03:41:00.000-08:00

More detail, new products and new members, are available from the newly formed group that want to promote 3D displays. One of the founding members, Sanyo, will this month start sampling of a 20 inch LCD and 50 inch plasma display said to give 3D depth to multiple viewers without the need for special glasses. Another founding member, Sharp, says 15 inch LCD 3D screen will be available in the stores before the end of this year. The groups homepage (Babelfish-translated :)

Motorola Symbian 3G phone

2003-03-16T07:09:00.000-08:00

The coming Motorola A920 Communicator is a 3G/UMTS and tri-band GSM/GPRS phone with GPS, camera (still and video), handwriting recognition and SD card for expansion. The platform is Symbian with UIQ (same as Sony Ericsson P800).

New ultra-small MiniSD cards

2003-03-14T00:46:00.000-08:00

ScanDisk has introduced memory cards based on the new MiniSD ultra-small form factor. With a size of 21,5 x 20 x 1,4 mm the cards volume is 602 mm3, compared to 1612 mm3 for ordinary SD Cards. The new format targets advanced phones with camera, MP3, games etc. The cards are demonstrated at CeBIT, are ready for sale this month and will this year come with capacity up to 256 MB. With an adapter they will fit in ordinary SD slots.

GPRS watch-phone with bluetooth and OLED

2003-03-13T13:12:00.000-08:00

A lot of news from CeBIT this week: Samsung has shown the worlds first wristwatch GPRS phone, with OLED colour screen, bluetooth, voice activated dialing, wap and polyphonic ring tones. 90 minutes talk time and 80 hours standby. For sale in Europe Q4 this year.

Worlds largest LCD TV: 54 inch

2003-03-12T13:18:00.000-08:00

On CeBIT Samsung is showing the worlds largest LCD TV, a 54 inch HDTV unit with 1920x1080 resolution, 800:1 contrast and 170 degrees viewing angel. Ready for sale later this year. There seems to be interesting progress in LCD TVs.

Connect PC and TV with Wi-Fi

2003-03-12T12:52:00.000-08:00

BenQ's WM1000 Wireless Media Adapter is designed to stream DVD-quality MPEG4 video and MP3 music over an 802.11b wireless LAN connection, connecting PC content with playback on TV and stereo. Or the other way around.

Will military 'sneaky waves' replace Bluetooth?

2003-03-12T05:13:00.000-08:00

Bluetooth certainly has a more catching name, but the new IEEE 802.15.3a standard for Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN), coming up this june, could use military ultra wideband technology that is cheaper, less power hungry and 100 times faster than Bluetooth.

Wearable Bluetooth networked devices

2003-03-12T04:56:00.000-08:00

Motorola and Frog Design has developed the "Offspring" concept design, an entire family of modular wearable devices that share information with other devices in a personal Bluetooth network, with shared connection to a public wireless network and Internet. Motorola is preparing for user testing and plans to bring a product based on the design to market within two years. Another similar concept is Ixi Personal Mobile Gateway.

DVB-X spec to deliver TV on cell phones

2003-03-11T00:34:00.000-08:00

The Digital Video Broadcast Group has unveiled it's "secret plan" to marry the cell phone network infrastructure and digital TV broadcasting, with new DVB-X specifications for one-to-many broadcasting of music, film and other multimedia content to large audiences via mobile handsets.

Tomorrow's 5g cell phone

2003-03-10T04:50:00.000-08:00

Interesting interview with DARPA scientist and his thoughts about cognitive radio - next generation cell phone services with self-learning personal assistant in your phone. More mobile visions: HP tests mobile unit as personal navigation tool.

New FeRAM technology can boost mobile units

2003-03-09T11:11:00.000-08:00

Hynix Semiconductor has started commercial sampling of new ferroelectric RAMs (FeRAM). A non-volatile RAM technology that combines the capacity of DRAM, the speed of SRAM, and the data retention capabilities of flash memory with lower power consumption. They expects rapid adoption in PDAs, mobile phones, mobile gaming devices, etc. More about FeRAM here.

Silicon doubling battery life

2003-03-08T03:49:00.000-08:00

Researchers have found that adding silicon to graphite anodes in ordinary lithium-ion batteries can double the battery capacity.

The Terror-o-meter

2003-03-07T02:01:00.000-08:00

ok, it's Friday and it certainly is a gadget: The Terror-o-meter is a Internet connected device that constantly measures the worlds state of terror by analyzing keywords in world news feeds.

54 mbps 802.11g Wi-Fi delivers

2003-03-07T01:46:00.000-08:00

PC Worlds verdict on the first crop of 802.11g WLAN products is in: they are fast, affordable, and work with popular 802.11b gear. But Gartner warns against buying early uncertified 802.11g gear.

The Everywhere Display

2003-03-07T01:02:00.000-08:00

On CeBIT next week IBM will show it's Everywhere Display. A research project that aims to project a touch screen on every surface in a room. From a projector a mirror is used to direct the image where you want it around the room, processed for perspective correction. A video camera detects hand/body activity for interaction with the image.

Micro audio/video recorder/player

2003-03-06T06:19:00.000-08:00

The Panasonic SV-AV10 is a very small and light portable device that can record and play back audio, still pictures and video. For all-in-one multimedia on the go. It uses SD Cards as storage medium, and has VGA-resolution, MPEG4/2, 2x zoom and USB. More info and pictures here.

First fuel cell notebook PC

2003-03-05T06:26:00.000-08:00

Toshiba has started demonstrating the worlds first prototype of a fuel cell driven notebook PC, which will be shown at the CeBIT exhibition this month. The prototype has 5 hour of operation on a single replaceable methanol cartridge, but Toshiba aims to double this and further shrink the size before commercial availability next year. More about fuel cells.

Group will push 3D displays

2003-03-05T05:30:00.000-08:00

Several Japanese companies have formed a consortium that will promote development of technology and applications for 3D displays. Not much facts yet, but interesting implications.

Commercial OLED production started

2003-03-04T01:46:00.000-08:00

Sanyo and Kodak has started the first commercial production of an active matrix colour OLED display (se blog date 26/2). The first product is a 2,2 inch panel used in a new Kodak digital camera available next month.

4 GB CompactFlash memory cards

2003-03-04T00:48:00.000-08:00

Lexar Media has announced two new CompactFlash memory cards that brings CF capacity up to 2 GB and 4 GB! And they should be available in stores this month. Now you can have movies on your PDA.

First Blu-ray recorder

2003-03-04T00:14:00.000-08:00

Next month Sony will start selling BDZ-S77, the first Blu-ray consumer video recorder. Using blue laser technology with shorter wavelength the disc has a capacity of 23-27 GB. Using MPEG-2 for recording the 23 GB disc has room for two hours HDTV, four hours standard digital broadcasting or 16 hours analog broadcasting quality. But for now it's only for the Japanese market.

More Smartphones coming

2003-03-03T05:43:00.000-08:00

Mitac has jumped on the MS SmartPhone 2002 bandwagon with MIO 8380, a sleek clamshell device with all the bells and whistles (triband GPRS, camera, colour screen, MMS, MPEG-4 en/de-coder for video, integrated SD card slot and MS-apps like Messenger, Pocket IE, mediaplayer, mail etc.). And the first MS SmartPhone maker HTC has announced the new and improved Smart Amazing Phone (no kidding..)

CDR-ROMs are coming

2003-02-28T01:23:00.000-08:00

Optical Disc Corporation has announced a CDR-ROM format, which combines mass produced CD-ROMs with a user writable CD-R area, opening new possibilities for digital content products. The standard is not new, but new manufacturing technology now makes it doable.

You are always on

2003-02-28T01:00:00.000-08:00

Somebody using a camera cell phone nearby? Sure you are not 'on'? Progress in micro camera gadgets and wireless technology will keep us "always on" in more ways than one, as demonstrated by this wireless pen cam. And blogs are going the way of "live" audio and video feeds.

Major PC architecture update next fall

2003-02-28T00:44:00.000-08:00

Intel will next year launch their "Grantsdale" chipset. Called Intels most important new chipset in a decade it will lead the way for a new PC architecture where serial PCI Express replaces AGP and PCI. And with NewCard (see blog post 24/2) support for modular expansion.

Handheld wireless fileserver

2003-02-27T06:14:00.000-08:00

Sony has launched the FSV-PGX1 (Babelfish-translated :), a small handheld wireless (802.11b) server with 20 GB capacity. WiFi-enabled PCs and PDAs can connect directly (max 250 users) and share files and network/Internet connection if available (ethernet docking). So far it's only sold in Japan.

Thin flexible OLED displays next year?

2003-02-26T04:09:00.000-08:00

Samsung has partnered with Vitex Systems on what is described as a possible breakthrough for mass production of OLED display technology. OLED is thinner than LCD (no backlight), has better display quality, lower power consumption and can be manufactured on flexible plastic. Samsung and Vitex are working to get full-color organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays based on this new technology to market by late 2004. Several companies are investing in OLED as the next generation display technology.

Wireless charging of gadgets

2003-02-25T02:49:00.000-08:00

Splashpower promises to do away with all the different chargers and cables you need for your gadgets with the SplashPad. Just toss all your devices anywhere on the pad, simultaneously if you want, and they are charged trough contact less magnetic induction. The pads are expected later this year, costing 25-50 USD. Real cool, but for this scheme to work they will have to get a lot of manufactures on board with built-in support. Maybe fuel cells are a safer bet.

The new Matrix phone

2003-02-24T03:44:00.000-08:00

From the rumor-department: May 15th Samsung wil unveil the Matrix Reloaded cellphone. There is not much technical details yet, but Samsung is a capable maker of advanced phones. The new Matrix phone is believed to at least have 65k colour TFT (!) LCD screen, polyphonic ringtones and, not least, an automatic sliding earpiece with piezoelectric motors that opens and closes with one touch of the button. More pictures here.

Newcard

2003-02-24T00:38:00.000-08:00

The PCMCIA organization has announced a "Newcard" specification that not only will replace PC Cards for notebooks with a lot faster cards with a wider range of use, but which also is aimed at using the same cards on modular small form factor desktop PCs - letting you add functionality without opening the PC. Newcard is based on dual PCI Express (2,5 Gbps) and USB 2.0 (480 MBps) interface.

The Digital Home coming closer?

2003-02-21T05:08:00.000-08:00

Intel think it's time PCs, stereos, TVs etc. got connected. Doesn't we all. On Intel Developer Forum going on this week they showcased new reference platforms for enabling the digital home. "Statesboro" will show up in PCs this year that can broadcast digital photos and music to TVs and stereos throughout the home. Next year "Powersville" will add wireless streaming video and personal video recording.

MSN Messenger on the phone

2003-02-21T03:52:00.000-08:00

Microsoft and partners have announced improvements and updates to the Windows Smartphones. Among new features are Pocket MSN, giving always-on access to MS Messenger and Hotmail on your phone. But is Microsoft to late with to little in the phone market?

The coolest GSM phone yet?

2003-02-20T04:22:00.000-08:00

Siemens is seriously going up against Nokia with a designer phone with very advanced functionality. The Siemens SX1 is a tri-band phone with GPRS, bluetooth, infrared and MMC cardslot. It's running Symbian Series 60 (like Nokia 7650, but SX1 has 24 MB memory against Nokia's 3,6 MB). It has a large (176 x 220) colour (65k) screen and built-in video player, camcorder, music player and FM radio. It has PIM functionality, e-mail (POP3/IMAP), MMS messaging. And Java and Series 60 for gaming and applications. And still size (99cm) and weight (110g) is like a phone, not a portable computer. Available this summer. I want one.

The big picture

2003-02-20T01:53:00.000-08:00

With new technology from Sony LCD projectors will get higher resolution, better contrast and smaller size. Silicon Crystal Reflective Display (SXRD) increase pixel density 2,4 times, pixel spacing is ten times better and contrast is trippled to 3000:1. The prototype demoed yesterday had 1920x1080 resolution and they are planning to increase this to 4000x2000. Coming to a home theater near you next year.

CoolPix goes micro

2003-02-20T01:33:00.000-08:00

The Nikon CoolPix SQ is a miniature digital camera with a stylish square design and swivel lens. But unlike many other micro cameras it has quality lens with 3x optical zoom, 3,1 megapixels and a lot of features. Is that a camera in your pocket?

Gamers phone

2003-02-19T01:35:00.000-08:00

The TTPCom B'ngo is a triband GPRS camera phone with 176x220 65k colour screen and advanced game functionality, including multiplayer support over both Bluetooth and GPRS. But you can't buy one yet, TTPCom sell reference design and technology to handset makers.

The Tablet PC Bill Gates want

2003-02-19T01:20:00.000-08:00

NEC has entered the Tablet PC arena with the thinnest (0.6 inches/15 mm) and lightest (2.2 lbs/999 g) Tablet PC yet. The NEC Versa LitePad/T400 is also the first Tablet PC with integrated dual wireless network support for 802.11a (54 mbps) and 802.11b (11 mbps). It has a 933 MHz ultra low voltage Pentium III processor, 10,4 touch screen (1024x768), 3 USB 2.0 ports and a CF card reader. Bill Gates said in a speech that this is the Tablet PC he wants.

Flying broadband

2003-02-18T07:23:00.000-08:00

ok, this gadget is a bit bigger and more expensive than most, but maybe we soon can use it anyway. Boeing's Connexion One broadband jet is a flying test node and demo vehicle for Boings 20-Mbit/second satellite uplink network. Each seat has access to 10/100 mbit ethernet and 11 mbit 802.11b WiFi wireless network. Stream your own in flight movies.

Half a terabyte at your service

2003-02-18T05:20:00.000-08:00

When they say Big Disk they mean it. With this portable FireWire disk from LaCie you have half a terabyte at your disposal. Even room for some movies along side the MP3 archive :)

Sleek Sony Clie

2003-02-18T05:08:00.000-08:00

From the not-yet-confirmed-department: Sony keeps cranking out cool new handhelds. The Clio PEG-TG50 is looking to be a sleek clamshell Palm OS 5 unit with keyboard.

Worlds first 3G phone

2003-02-18T03:33:00.000-08:00

ok, let's get started. In a couple of months you can buy the worlds first 3G-phone. Sony Ericsson Z1010 has dual VGA camera (video and still), dual screen (colour and mono) and it's dual mode (GSM/GPRS and 3G) so you can use it while waiting for the 3G network that will let you stream audio and video with 384 kbps. It also has bluetooth, memory stick duo (max 128 MB at the moment), infrared and usb. It comes equipped with a mediaplayer for your MP3 music (and video), and kJava for downloading games and applications.

2003-02-18T00:53:00.000-08:00

Ah.. welcome to the world of cool gadgets and high tech gizmos. I'll hand pick the newest and coolest for you, so keep coming back for more ;-) I use and try a lot of gadgets, also preproduction, and have done so for many years, so I'll try to keep a no nonsense focus on the facts. There is so much misinformation and misunderstandings out there... So please, if you see any wrong information here, or if you have you seen a cool new gadget recently that i haven't reported on: Send me a tip at coolgadgets@mad.scientist.com and help make this a better source of gadget info for everybody.