MSI Wind Laptop to Make Eee PC Cry, "Eeek!"

Checkout the latest entrant in the UMPC race, the MSI Wind, which we missed at CeBIT earlier last week. Toting a 10-inch display, Intel Shelton'08 platform, with variable processor speeds from 1.0GHz - 1.6GHz; 2.5-inch HDD or SSD, 1GB RAM, a reported 7-hour battery life and running either Linux or Windows operating systems, it seems MSI's offering holds a lot of promise.

As we have yet to see an active screen shot from the MSI Wind we expect that it is still at prototype stage, but that has not stopped MSI churning out blue, silver and pink iterations. The styling is certainly a step up from the Eee PC, but perhaps that Eee body rework we heard about earlier will throw off the new competition. The Wind is expected to be priced between €299 ($458) - €699 ($1072), depending on options chosen. All in all, the sizable keyboard, price point and decent display size have our attention for sure. There is no word on a release date as yet, but we'll keep you posted.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/365720/msi-wind-laptop-to-make-eee-pc-cry-eeek

HTC Shift UMPC Now Available in the US

It took damn near forever, but the HTC Shift—the UMPC that was supposed to change your mind about UMPCs has finally hit store shelves in the states. To refresh your memory, the features include an 800 Mhz processor, Vista Business, 1GB RAM, a 40GB HD, Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, HSDPA/UMTS, WiFi and Bluetooth. Unfortunately, it will cost you more than many conventional laptops at $1629.99.


Source: http://gizmodo.com/364946/htc-shift-umpc-now-available-in-the-us

Asus M536 smartphone added to the ranks

Got the Eee PC? The accessories? Put your name down for the 9 inch version? Well then you may need the newly announced M536 smartphone. Recently shown at CeBIT, the M536 is a flashy device with a 2.4-inch screen that features Wi-Fi, GPS and HSDPA, so you can send data at an adequate speed (although if you live in Britain you may face some crippling phone bills).

Under the bonnet, it runs Windows Mobile 6.1 and has 256MB of internal memory. Alas, the large shape of the handheld may be a bit cumbersome for some. We’ll just have to wait and see. The M536 will most likely by staying over in Europe and not be landing in the US anytime soon, and as of now there has not been mention of pricing.

Source: http://www.gadgetell.com/tech/comment/asus-m536-smartphone-added-to-the-ranks/

Sony to add Skype service to PSP in March in Japan

Sony Corp said it would add a Skype Web phone function to its PlayStation Portable later this month in Japan in a bid to boost the appeal of the handheld machine, which is running behind Nintendo Co Ltd's DS in sales.

Skype is a unit of eBay Inc, the world's largest online auctioneer.

Sony's game unit had said in January it was delaying the introduction later that month of the Skype service for PSP users in Japan, as a microphone it planned to start selling for the new service did not meet Skype specifications.

But the same microphone has managed to pass the Skype requirements on condition that it is sold with the recommendation that it be used within 10 centimeters of the mouth of a user.

Sony Computer Entertainment now plans to start selling the microphone on March 19 in Japan for 2,500 yen ($24), enabling PSP users to make free Web-based phone calls to other PSP users and to users of PCs equipped with Skype software.

It started offering the Skype service on the PSP earlier this year in overseas markets.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUST23506520080304

Multimedia Watch Makes Wrist Mounted Accessories Useful (Almost)

The day when the watch is once again a useful piece of technology is looming over us. For proof, checkout Chinavasion's Multimedia Watch, which packs in a 1.8-inch LCD (160 x 128), voice recorder, in-built loudspeaker, 8GB flash, as well as support for pretty much every media codec ever conceived. (AVI, MP4, WMV, MOV, MP3, WMA, JPEG and the list goes on.)

The E-book reader function will ensure you need to wear spectacles within a week's usage, whilst the ear-phone jack will save your eyes and let you rock out to your stored tunes. Video plays back at 20 fps, so you really couldn't get any good viewing done, but V3.0 of the Multimedia Watch is going to be mega for sure.




Source: http://gizmodo.com/363424/multimedia-watch-makes-wrist-mounted-accessories-useful-almost

Garmin enters into the mobile phone market with the all-in-one touchscreen device 'nüvifone'

Garmin announced its entrance into the mobile phone market with the ‘nüvifone’, an all-in-one touchscreen device that combines a premium phone, mobile web-browser, and cutting-edge personal navigator.

Adopting a 3.5-inch touch screen, the nüvifone comes with preloaded maps of North America or Eastern/Western Europe for all international readers and points of interest. In addition, it offers Google Local Search integration, turn-by-turn voice directions and nearby emergency services.

Other features included a 3M built-in camera/camcorder, a Web browser and email capabilities while allows access to Google’s panoramic picture sharing site.




Source: http://aving.net/usa/news/default.asp?mode=read&c_num=74602&C_Code=01&SP_Num=134

Sungjut TangoX Nano UMPC Comes With Integrated, Detachable Skype Phone

Checkout the new Sungjut TangoX Nano UMPC, which will have a VIA CPU C7-M ULV at 1.2GHz, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 40 or 80GB HDD, HD Audio, 7" WVGA (800x480) touch screen, 4 in 1 Card reader, Ethernet Port , WiFi a/b/g, USB 2.0 (2 ports), DVI output and a detachable, integrated Skye handset. Do you hear the Eee PC running a little scared? Jump to the gallery for some more tasty images.

How Sungjut managed to squeeze all those features into a case measuring 230 mm x171 mm x 29.4 mm and weighing in under 1 kg is quite beyond us, but if the keyboard doesn't completely suck and pricing is reasonable, the Sungjut TangoX Nano UMPC looks like a solid winner. There is no word on pricing or availability yet, but stay tuned for further announcements.




Source: http://gizmodo.com/360731/sungjut-tangox-nano-umpc-comes-with-integrated-detachable-skype-phone

Sony debuts A820, A720 and S710F series Walkman players in the States

Remember all that Walkman hotness that Sony hit Japan with last week? Well, as anyone might've guessed, it's headed Stateside soon for your earbud consumption. In addition to the new NWZ-A820 series flagship (pictured), Sony has the NWZ-A720 series, which cops the looks and specs, but loses the Bluetooth of the A820 players. Both players have roughly 10 hours of video battery life, and 36 hours for audio, with 2.4-inch QVGA screens and capacities ranging from 4GB to 16GB. Meanwhile, the new NWZ-S710F skimps on the sexy looks, and only sports a 1.8-inch QVGA screen, but adds built-in noise canceling. Codec support for all the players includes protected WMA, unprotected AAC, MP3 and H.264 video. The full model rundown is as follows, everything will be available in March:

• NWZ-A828K - 8GB, black, Bluetooth, DR-BT21G Bluetooth wireless headphones, $270
• NWZ-A829 - 16GB, black, Bluetooth, $320
• NWZ-A726 - 4GB, black and pink, $150
• NWZ-A728 - 8GB, black and pink, $200
• NWZ-A729 - 16GB, black, $300
• NWZ-S716F - 4GB, silver, red and black, $150
• NWZ-S718F - 8GB, black, $200

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/26/sony-debuts-a820-a720-and-s710f-series-walkman-players-in-the-s/

Buy Palm's TX, Get Palm Z22 Free, Finally

If you have been debating whether to purchase a Palm TX for the last three years, your amazingly long uncertainty period has paid off; you now get a free Palm Z22 with every Palm TX purchased. You may very well say that you care more about Angelina's adoption plans, and if you did, we'd be inclined to agree with you. Be that as it may, the Z22 usually retails for $99, and that is a great deal nonetheless. If you belong to that rare breed of failed stockbrokers that actually have friends; what the hell are you waiting for?


Source: http://gizmodo.com/359526/buy-palms-tx-get-palm-z22-free-finally

Futuristic Mobile Device with Advanced Search Function

The idea of this concept was to exploit the internet ability in a mobile device. Touch screen, built in camera, scanner, WiFi, google map (hopefully google earth), google search, image search… all in one device. See a building through it, it will give you the image search result right on the spot.

Choose a building and touch a floor and it tells you more details of the building. You can use it when you want to know a car model, an insect name, what kind of food is served at a restaurant and how much, who built a bridge, etc. With detail informations like that, this gadget might only be used by secret service agents. Very futuristic concept.





Source: http://www.tuvie.com/futuristic-mobile-device-with-advanced-search-function