Sony has introduced a new accessory item for the PlayStation 3 console called the PlayStation Eye. The Eye is a camera/microphone hybrid device that connects directly to the PS3 via one of the USB ports. The Eye will allow you to experience voice and video chat as well as partake in future new gaming experiences that may come about as a result of this device.

The PlayStation Eye has a high frame rate - up to 120 frames per second - at a resolution of 320 x 240. It’s also designed for low light conditions (because.. you know.. gamers like to play at night and in the dark usually!)

There’s a microphone attached to the bottom of the camera and will feature noise-canceling and speech recognition technologies. Finally, the Eye will come with a piece of software called EyeCreate which will act as a basic photo and video editing tool on the PS3. With EyeCreate, users will be able to save photos, videos, and audio content directly from the camera to the hard drive as well as add visual effects.

The Sony PlayStation Eye is targeted for a summer release. No price has been set thus far.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Sony, PlayStation, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Eye, Video Camera, Microphone

Let’s face it folks. Keyboards and mice are two of the most dirtiest peripherals found in any computer systems. With countless hours of usage by you and anyone else with access to the PC, these devices are just breeding grounds for dirt and bacteria. Unfortunately cleaning keyboards and mice isn’t exactly possible thanks to electronic components within the devices themselves. In comes Unotron with their patented SpillSeal technology. Using SpillSeal technology, Unotron offers a line of keyboards and mice which are completely washable. These devices can be immersed in commercial grade detergents or antibacterial solutions and rinsed under tap water, without worry of damaging the product. Unotron offers wired and wireless keyboards as well as mice that come with SpillSeal technology. With a Unotron keyboard and mouse, you’ll live a bit more comfortably knowing you can easily clean these devices in case they get too dirty.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Unotron, SpillSeal, keyboard, mouse, washable keyboard, washable mouse

AuthenTec has announced that their AES1510 fingerprint sensor will be a standard feature in Hitachi’s new W51H mobile phone which will be available to KDDI subscribers in Japan. The W51H is part of Hitachi’s new flagship “win” series line of mobile phones. This is the first time a fingerprint sensor is being used to control display navigation on a Japanese phone and the first time a biometric phone will be available to KDDI subscribers in Japan.

The AuthenTec AES1510 fingerprint sensor is mounted below the W51H’s high resolution display. The display flips and swivels which allows you to use the display to surf the web easily. The display measures 2.9 inches and has a whopping 480 x 800 resolution.

Features of the W51H include:

• Integrated music player
• QVGA 2.9 inch display (480 x 800)
• Control navigation using fingerprint sensor
• External display of 96 x 64
• 30MB internal memory
• microSD support
• Measures 50 x 106 x 22 mm and weighs 142 grams
• Digital camera and video recorder

The new Hitachi W51H will be available later this month for $150 with a contract.

No Tags

Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas has introduced a new 4.3 inch industrial grade LCD display designed for mobile and portable-use applications called the LQ043T1DG01. The display is designed to offer superior performance in brightness and contrast, operate over a broad temperature range, and feature a wide viewing angle - all while conserving power. Features of the LQ043T1DG01 include:

• Support for 16 million colors
• 16:9 aspect ratio
• 500 nits of brightness
• 120 degree x 100 degree viewing cone
• 480 x 272 resolution

Sharp is marketing the LQ043T1DG01 for applications such as PDAs, portable media equipment, GPS/navigation, home automation control, testing equipment, and security systems. The display is available for demo and sample at this time and pricing starts at $145 per single piece.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Sharp, LQ043T1DG01

Dell’s getting into the SSD ballgame with the announcement that they will be offering 1.8 inch 32 GB solid state drives from SanDisk for their Latitude D420 and D620 ATG semi-rugged notebooks. These SSD drives are designed to be drop in replacements for normal notebook hard drives. Why go SSD? According to Dell, it comes down to reduced costs due to higher reliability and increased performance. SSD has an operating shock tolerance up 2x that of mechanical drives, and their probability of failure is 3.5x less compared to standard mechanical drives.

The new SSD drives are now available for $549 in the US.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell, SSD, D420, D620

HiPe PC has launched a new line of Windows Vista based PC’s designed for automobiles. These PC’s utilize Windows Vista’s Windows Media Center application as well as One Voice Technologies’ voice control software. The new product line is called the “Driv-N” and these car PC’s are designed to fit into most vehicles. Prices for a Driv-N PC start at $799 and offer features such as:

• Watch DVD, listen to CDs, digital music
• Enjoy XM satellite music, Internet radio
• Browse the web
• One Voice Media Center Communicator for voice control
• Motorized 6.5 inch touchscreen monitor
• Integrated GPS navigation
• High speed mobile Internet access
• Bluetooth hands free calls
• Onboard OBD II vehicle diagnostics
• Create your own custom voice commands to launch websites and applications
• Rugged extruded aluminum chassis

Right now there are four versions of the Driv-N PC.

Driv-N V15 Car PC - starting at $799

• Speech Recognition powered by One Voice Technologies’ Media Center Communicator
• Via C7 Processor
• 1GB DRR2 Memory
• XM Online Satellite Radio
• Windows Vista Premium or Ultimate Edition
• Optional Motorized Touchscreen with DVD and AM/FM Tuner
• Optional GPS Navigation with voice prompt
• Optional Bluetooth Hands Free and Wireless G Networking
• Optional TV Tuner
• Optional Infrared rearview camera
• Compliments or replaces nearly any existing head unit

Driv-N Infill G4 Car PC - starting at $2199

• Speech Recognition powered by One Voice Technologies’ Media Center Communicator
• Celeron M Processor
• 1GB DRR2 Memory
• XM Online Satellite Radio
• Windows Vista Premium or Ultimate Edition
• Motorized Touchscreen with DVD-ROM and AM/FM Tuner
• Optional GPS Navigation with voice prompt
• Optional Bluetooth Hands Free and Wireless G Networking
• Optional TV Tuner
• Optional Infrared rearview camera
• Replaces existing Double-DIN head unit

Driv-N I20 Car PC - starting at $1149

• Speech Recognition powered by One Voice Technologies’ Media Center Communicator
• Intel Core 2 Duo Dual Core Processor
• Up to 2GB DRR2 Memory
• XM Online Satellite Radio
• Windows Vista Premium or Ultimate Edition
• Optional Motorized Touchscreen with DVD-ROM and AM/FM Tuner
• Optional GPS Navigation with voice prompt
• Optional Bluetooth Hands Free and Wireless G Networking
• Optional TV Tuner
• Optional Infrared rearview camera
• May complement or replace existing head unit

Driv-N I15 Car PC - starting at $1589

• Speech Recognition powered by One Voice Technologies’ Media Center Communicator
• Celeron M Processor
• 1GB DRR2 Memory
• XM Online Satellite Radio
• Windows Vista Premium or Ultimate Edition
• Motorized Touchscreen with DVD-ROM and AM/FM Tuner
• Optional GPS Navigation with voice prompt
• Optional Bluetooth Hands Free and Wireless G Networking
• Optional TV Tuner
• Optional Infrared rearview camera
• Replaces existing Double-DIN head unit

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: HiPe, Car PC, Driv-N, V15, Infill G4, I20, I15,

Owners of the Logitech Squeezebox device will be happy to hear that Logitech has added support to the online MP3tunes Music Locker service. MP3tunes Music Lockers allows users the ability to store their digital music collections directly on the web - which means you’ll be able to access your music anywhere you have Internet access. Now, the Squeezebox device (formerly from Slim Devices which got bought by Logitech) can connect directly to your MP3tunes account.

A premium MP3tunes Music Locker costs $39.95 a year which includes unlimited storage space, bandwidth and device access (you also get a two month free trial period with that). Squeezebox devices go for $299 and allow you to play digital music in any location in your home.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Logitech, Squeezebox, MP3tunes Music Locker

Those of you running Windows Media Center within Windows Vista Ultimate or Vista Home Premium Edition will be happy to know that Microsoft has released their April 2007 Cumulative Update for Media Center (for Vista only). Check to see if you’ve already installed the update - it’s a “Recommended” update - not a critical one.

According to Microsoft’s support page here, these are the issues that have been resolved with this update:

• The video may appear to freeze when the movie begins in some DVDs.
• When you rotate a picture during a slide show in Windows Media Center, the wrong photo may be rotated.
• The cover art for recorded TV movies may not appear in the DVD library view.
• When you delete a picture in Windows Media Center, you may receive an error message that resembles the following:

AUDIO ERROR
The Url contains one or more invalid characters.

• When you try to play a DVD by using Autoplay, you may receive an error message that resembles the following:

Tuner not installed

These are the improvements found in this update:

• Online Media support has been added for Windows Media Center on 64-bit versions of Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate.
• Video Playlist support has been added for Windows Media Center Extenders.
• Improvements have been made to Online Media caching.

Finally, here’s an interesting note about Windows Media Center Extenders from Microsoft (pertaining to Extenders and any firewall that might be on your PC):

Windows Media Center Extenders, such as the Microsoft Xbox 360, use network ports to communicate over the network to computers that are running Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate. This cumulative update contains updates to Media Center programs that may have been previously configured as “approved” or “allowed” by a third-party firewall. If you use a third-party firewall, you may have to manually update your firewall to let the new versions of these programs access the ports. If you do not perform these firewall updates, you may experience failures when you try to connect the Windows Media Center Extender to the Media Center computer.

[Check out the support page]

Technorati Tags: Windows Vista, Media Center, Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Vista Home Premium, April 2007 Cumulative Update

The Tech Report has published a comparison between the Apple iPod and the Microsoft Zune portable media player here on their website. I’m pretty sure we all know the specs of these two devices by now so I’ll go straight to a blurb from the Tech Report:

In the end, I have to side with the iPod, in particular because spending an extra $100 gets you more than twice the storage capacity and battery life of the Zune in a smaller, lighter form factor. Those are the metrics that really make a difference to me when it comes to personal media players, and the iPod gets them just right, even if it does end up looking like a beat up surgical instrument.

The Tech Report felt the iPod was still the better deal and in many ways it is, but they do recognize that the Zune is something to be watched. As more and more people use the Zune, it’s clear that the device has a very good user interface - arguably better than the iPod. Of course the click wheel interface, large disk space capacity and iTunes music store makes the iPod the favorite overall.. but the Zune could be a force to be reckon with in the years to come.

[Check it out via ZuneSphere]

Technorati Tags: Microsoft Zune, Apple iPod, Zune vs. iPod, Review

EDGE Tech Corporation announced a new flash drive last week called the DiskGO Secure Flash Drive Enhanced for ReadyBoost. Yup.. simply by stating “ReadyBoost”, we know that this drive is designed to be compatible with Windows Vista and it’s ReadyBoost technology. Of course most modern flash drives are already usable by Windows Vista and ReadyBoost so what does EDGE have to offer exactly? Well they’re the first to offer secure, password protected encryption software that actually is compatible with Vista. The compatible software comes in the form of a Vista-compatible Cryptarchiver software which allows the user to choose between 448 bit Blowfish encryption and the government standard AES 256 bit encryption to protect valuable data.

ReadyBoost is a Windows Vista specific feature that allows the OS to utilize a connected flash drive as a way to store cached data (basically the page file typically found on your standard hard drive). Vista is capable of caching memory to both the hard drive and to a USB based flash drive and since flash drives have faster access times than a comparible hard drive, performance can be boosted as a result.

Specs include:

• Measures 3 x 0.75 x 0.25 inches
• Weighs 0.03 lbs
• Sleek swivel chrome housing
• USB powered
• Lifetime warranty and toll-free technical support
• Available in 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB configurations with prices at 49.95, 69.95, and 129.95 respectively

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: EDGE Tech, DiskGO Secure Flash Drive Enhanced for ReadyBoost, ReadyBoost, Windows Vista