Now here’s an interesting piece of news, Chinese-language Commercial Times (via DigiTimes) is reporting that Dell has teamed up with Qisda in the development of their MID product lineup which they hope to launch in 2010 in cooperation with AT&T. One can only guess as to what kind of MID this might be in light of the fact that  the company recently announced their first Android-based handset for the Chinese and Brazilian market in the form of the Mini 3.

And speaking of the Mini 3, DigiTimes also reports that Foxconn Electronics is responsible for the production of these handsets. Foxconn will manufacture a 2.75G version of the handset for China and a 3G version for the Brazilian market.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell, Mobile Internet Device, MID, Foxconn, Qisda, Mini 3

There’s a new chumby in the wild and it’s called the “chumby one”. This new Wi-Fi enabled device joins the original chumby (now known as the “chumby classic”) and includes new features such as ABS plastic casing, a battery option, an FM radio tuner, and a volume knob. The best part? The chumby one is cheaper than the original chumby – $119.95 vs. the price of $199.95 for the chumby classic. AND for a limited time through November, the chumby one is available for $99.95.

Just like the original chumby classic, the chumby one provides access to more than 1500 applications spanning 30 different categories. You’ll be able to download a variety of widgets including Pandora Radio, The Weather Channel, and the New York Times. Other specs to the chumby one include:

• 3.5 inch LCD color touchscreen display
• Optional rechargeable lithium ion battery – about one hour of power on a full charge
• 1 USB 2.0 port
• 454MHz ARM processor
• 64MB SDRAM
• 2GB internal microSD card
• 2W mono speaker
• Stereo headphone output
• Accelerometer
• 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi
• Dimmable backlight
• One-click control panel access
• Measures 4 x 4 x 3.5 inches

So why is the classic more expensive? The classic is a bit wider, comes in a variety of colors, has an extra USB 2.0 port, comes with stereo speakers, and features an Italian leather housing. On the flip side, the classic has a slower processor, and only 64MB of NAND flash ROM.

If you’re looking for a cool holiday gift, definitely consider a chumby – whether it’s the one or the classic. These devices make great devices for the home or office – offering up information on the fly thanks to a Wi-Fi network and without the need for a PC.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: chumby industries, chumby one

If you’re a fan of Lady Gaga (come on now.. you know you like her!), then you’ll want to head on over to GearLive’s hilarious article on “10 gadget sightings in Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance music video”.

Yes that’s right – Gaga’s a big fan of gadgets and you’ll certainly find some interesting things in her latest video including an iPod classic, a pair of Parrot Zikmu speakers, some HeartBeats by Lady Gaga headphones (ha.. some self promotion eh?), and even a Nintendo Wii nunchuck.

Darn it.. I find myself muttering Lady Gaga lyrics now..

[Check it out]

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Intel announces the new Intel Reader mobile handheld device designed to help individuals with reading-based disabilities such as dyslexia, low-vision, or those who are blind.

Approximately the size of a paperback book. the Atom-powered Intel Reader converts printed text into digital text and then reads the digital text aloud to the user. The unit essentially combines a 5 megapixel digital camera, OCR engine, and a text-to-speech engine into a single device that weighs approximately a little over a pounds (1.39 lbs).  Simply point, shoot, and listen to printed text with the Intel Reader.

The Intel Reader can also be used in conjunction with the Intel Portable Capture Station to capture large volumes of text such as a chapter or an entire book.

According to Louis Burns, VP and GM of Intel Digital Health Group:

“We are proud to offer the Intel Reader as a tool for people who have trouble reading standard print so they can more easily access the information many of us take for granted every day, such as reading a job offer letter or even the menu at a restaurant.”

The Intel Reader was originally conceived by Ben Foss, a researcher at Intel who was diagnosed with dyslexia in elementary school. According to Foss:

“As someone who is part of this dyslexic community, I am thrilled to be able to help level the playing field for people who, like me, do not have easy access to the printed word.. Feelings of loneliness are often the experience of not being able to read easily. We hope to open the doors for people in these communities. The Intel Reader is a tool that can help give people with dyslexia, low-vision, blindness or other reading-based disabilities access to the resources they need to participate and be successful in school, work and life.”

We’ve seen “cool” devices through the years but the Intel Reader is actually a device that could radically impact the lives of millions of individuals around the world in a good way.

Of course there are many challenges in a device such as the Reader. It’s one thing to offer an accurate text-to-speech engine. It’s a completely different story when you combine that with an OCR engine which needs to accurately determine the piece of text being captured by the 5 megapixel camera. Other challenges include – the system needs to account for the orientation or rotation of the text; it needs to take into account any angle or tilt that the image might be captured in; then it needs to recognize the captured characters accurately for the text-to-speech engine; AND it needs to do this quickly.

For the spec folks – here is the specs to the Intel Reader:

• Intel Atom processor
• 4.3 inch 16:9 aspect ratio display
• 5 megapixel autofocus camera with a focus range of 4 inches to 1.1 yards
• 4GB Intel Solid State Drive with 2GB for user data.
• USB 2.0 connectivity
• Stereo Audio Jack
• Integrated speakers and 1/8 inch audio jack
• Supports DAISY 2.02* (DAISY), NISO 2002* (z2002 or DAISY 3*), NISO 2005* (z2005 or DAISY 3), NIMAS 1.0/1.1*, MP3, WAV, ASCII text file formats
• Rechargeable 6 cell lithium ion battery
• 150 minute charging time
• Plays over 4 hours of text-to-speech or MP3 audio files
• 5 days standby
• Measures 6.5in. x 5.35in. x 1.3in. and weighs 1.3 pounds

The Intel Reader will be available in the U.S. through several resellers including CTL, Don Johnston Incorporated, GTSI, Howard Technology Solutions and HumanWare.

[Check it out]

[Check out the press release]

Technorati Tags: Intel Reader

Things just got a bit interesting in the e-reader market and in many ways, we should have seen this coming.

Remember the “Alex” e-reader device (top left) announced by Spring Design the day before Barnes & Noble formally announced the Nook device (top right)? It was a dual display e-reader based around the Android OS which we commented was very similar to the upcoming Nook device. Well guess what? We weren’t the only ones to think so as Spring Design announced today they have filed a lawsuit against Barnes & Noble for violating its intellectual property rights with the new Nook e-reader.

Eric Kmiec, VP of Sales and Marketing for Spring Design had this to say in their press release:

“We showed the Alex e-book design to Barnes & Noble in good faith with the intention of working together to provide a superior dual screen e-book to the market.”

Spring Design claims they first developed and filed for patents on the “Alex” e-reader back in 2006. Further, the company states:

“Since the beginning of 2009 Spring and Barnes & Noble worked within a non-disclosure agreement, including many meetings, emails and conference calls with executives ranging up to the president of Barnes and Noble.com, discussing confidential information regarding the features, functionality and capabilities of Alex. Throughout, Barnes & Noble’s marketing and technical executives extolled Alex’s “innovative” features, never mentioning their use of those features until the public disclosure of the Nook.”

Now the real question is – did Barnes & Noble actually violate any IPs with the Nook? Did they create the Nook independently of the Alex? Can any of this be proved in the court of law?

We’ll say this much – Barnes & Noble certainly doesn’t need this legal trouble if it plans on combating Amazon.com in the e-reader space. Here’s hoping Spring Design and Barnes & Noble can work things out because the Nook certainly is promising .

Technorati Tags: Spring Design, Barnes & Noble, Alex, Nook, e-book reader

“Information at a glance”. That’s Ambient Devices’ slogan and it’s readily apparently in two of their latest products – the Cirrus 7 Day Forecaster and Centerfield Baseball ScoreCaster.

Both devices deliver quick and easy access to two popular topics, weather and baseball, without needing a computer, Internet, or wireless connection (as with other products from Ambient Devices, data is transmitted via the free Ambient InfoCast Wireless network). Now of course the Centerfield Baseball ScoreCaster would have been more useful in March than say now but hey, at least the World Series is going on right now.

Let’s start things off by looking at the features of the Cirrus 7 Day Forecaster.

• Provides weather updates from AccuWeather.com for over 150 U.S. locations
• Delivers up to date high/low temperatures, wind speed and directions, precipitation, UV index, Pollen & Air Quality Updates
• Color-changing dial shows the temperature instantly. As the temps change, the dial color changes to reflect the weather outside
• Large, easy to read icons
• Favorites button for instant access for up to 5 locations, dimmable back-lit screen, and adjustable kickstand

The Centerfield Baseball ScoreCaster features:

• Scores, schedules, and standings for every MLB team – from sprint training to post-season
• No setup needed – just plug it in
• Color-changing dial shows you your team’s game status – glows green when your team is winning, red when they are behind, yellow when it’s a tie game
• Shows staring pitchers, home/away status

Both devices are available now at Best Buy with the Cirrus 7 Day Forecaster priced at $149.99 and the Centerfield Baseball ScoreCaster priced at $129.99.

Technorati Tags: Ambient Devices, Cirrus 7 Day Forecaster, Centerfield Baseball ScoreCaster

October hasn’t exactly been a great month for Belkin.

First came Belkin’s recall of TubeBase products last week involving a washer which may cause an electrical short circuit when plugged into a vehicle’s cigarette lighter adapter. This time the company is recalling the Belkin SurgeMaster Surge Protector due to the following issue:

“The molding of the plastic 360 degree rotating plug, which allows for easy cord movement, can crack or detach from the plug assembly, posing a shock hazard to consumers.”

Belkin has received seven complaints about cracking of the plug molding which luckily has not resulted in any injuries thus far.

Affected models are the SurgeMaster Surge Protector, models F9G930-10, F9G930v10, F9G930-10-W and F9G930-10-SN, all manufactured in 2003. Grey models F9G930-10-GRY and F9G930fc10G-CL are not a part of this recall.

If you have one of these units, you should stop using it and contact Belkin for a replacement unit. For more information, contact Belkin toll-free at 800-952-1465 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at www.belkin.com/recall

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Belkin SurgeMaster Surge Protectors Product Recall

[Reprinted from NetbookTech]

So here you are.. about to hit the road with two devices. In one hand you have an e-reader device like the Amazon Kindle or the newly announced Barnes & Noble Nook. In your other hand, you have a highly portable 10.1 inch netbook allowing you to surf the web, check your email, and work on various PC related activities. Taken separately, each device is highly portable and lightweight.. but taken together, it’s one device too many for travel. Wouldn’t it be great if one could merge the functionality of these two devices into a single platform?

Well that’s exactly what a company called enTourage has done with the formal introduction of their eDGe dualbook device. This portfolio-shaped device combines the functionality of an e-reader device with the functionality typically found on a netbook system into a single system.  With the eDGe in tow, you’ll be able to read books, surf the web, jot down notes, send and receive emails, watch and listen to multimedia clips etc.

What makes the eDGe so unique is its employment of dual displays. The left side display is a 9.7 inch e-paper display ideal for e-reader/note-taking activities while the right-side display is a 10.1 inch touch-screen LCD display ideal for netbook-like activities. Powering this convergent device is the Google Android operating system which ultimately translates to potential access to thousands of third party applications.

The eDGe’s e-reader screen and e-reader features include:

• 1200 x 825 resolution
• Glare-free screen
• Support for zooming
• Ability to read in sunlight
• e-Ink technology allows you to take notes right on the book you are reading
• Enter drawings with stylus or enter text using your hand or virtual keyboard
• Supports ePub and PDF file formats

The eDGe’s right-side display and netbook features include:

• 1024 x 600 resolution
• View images on the e-Book using the color display
• Type text using virtual keyboard
• Built-in audio recorder
• Built-in video recorder for capturing stills or movies in MP4 or 3GP file formats
• Plug in headphones or microphone
• Web browsing
• Email
• Contacts, Calendar, Alarm clock
• Library function to manage your books

Other features of the eDGe include:

• Built-in Wi-Fi
• Optional 3G connectivity via EVDO or HSDPA
• Built-in 1.3 megapixel camera
• Bluetooth support for external keyboards
• Weighs 2.5 pounds
• Measures 8.25 x 10.75 x 1 inch closed
• 3GB of internal memory
• Supports SD cards or USB flash drives
• Lithium Ion Polymer battery – lasts over 16 hours utilizing the e-reader screen and up to 6 hours running the LCD display

To support the launch of the eDGe, enTourage Systems has secured more than 200,000 trade books and is working with publishers to secure text books. The company will also have access to more than one million free public domain books digitized by Google as well as access to major magazines, newspapers and periodicals.

Expect the enTourage eDGe to be available in February of next year for a price of $490. You can pre-order the eDGe now by going to this webpage: http://www.entourageedge.com/entourage-edge.html

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: enTourage Systems eDGe dualbook

It’s official folks – Barnes & Noble enters the e-reader market with the formal introduction of the “Nook” e-reader device. Yes, this wasn’t at all surprising given the amount of information that’s been leaked out by the press over the last several weeks. In fact, everything you’ve seen and/or read probably was true including:

• This is the first Android-based e-reader device to hit the market
• It comes with two screens – an E-Ink display and a color touch-screen LCD display
• Built-in 3G wireless access via AT&T mobile broadband
• Wi-Fi access at Barnes & Noble stores
• A new eBook lending program (more on this in a bit).

OK – let’s get into the details of the Nook because this device just seems really really cool (yeah I know – that’s real descriptive on my part isn’t it?).

• Size and weight of a standard paperback book
• Main display is E Ink Vizplex display
• Secondary color touch-screen display used for browsing through cover art, flipping through a library, or searching for books using a virtual keyboard
• AT&T 3G wireless built-in right now – no set-up or monthly costs
• Wi-Fi connectivity support
• Lend e-books to friends for up to 14 days at a time via the new “LendMe” technology. Choose the book you want to share and send it to a friend’s Nook, iPhone, iPod touch, select BlackBerry and Motorola smartphones, PCs or Macs with Barnes & Noble eReader software
• “Reading Now” virtual bookmarking feature allows you to pick up where you last left off in your book – whether you’re on your Nook, or on your iPhone, iPod touch, PC etc.
• Nook contains up to 1500 eBooks and comes with expandable microSD slot with support for up to a 16GB microSD card
• Transfer PDF files to the Nook for your viewing pleasure

In support of the Nook launch, Barnes & Noble also announced they were expanding their eBookstore to feature over 1 million titles – with most bestsellers and new releases going for $9.99 a title. You’ll also be able to subscribe to more than 20 newspapers including the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and others. Finally, Barnes & Noble is also now offering digital subscriptions to a variety of publications.

The Nook will begin shipping at the end of November for a price of $259. You can pre-order the Nook now at www.nook.com and in stores starting today (Thursday).  The first 10,000 customers to pre-order the Nook will also receive a free eBook of Malcolm Gladwell’s widely acclaimed best-seller, “The Tipping Point,”

So the question everyone is asking at this point – is the “Nook” an Amazon Kindle killer? It’s obviously too early to tell but from the early looks of things, the Nook has a lot going for it. Of course once the device starts shipping, and the reviews start flowing in, things could readily change. However, Barnes & Noble has a couple of things going for it. It’s got a larger e-Book collection than Amazon.com; it’s got retail store fronts all over the country allowing customers the ability to not only view a physical book but have the option of buying the digital title on their device; and it’s based around Android – which could mean endless possibilities down the road (think additional applications).

We’ll end things with a look at the technical specs of the Nook:

• Measures 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches and weighs 11.2 oz
• E-Ink Vizplex display
• 3.5 inch color touchscreen LCD display
• 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi access and AT&T 3G wireless access
• Free Wi-Fi in all Barnes & Noble stores
• 2GB of internal memory and support for up to 16GB microSD cards
• Rechargeable battery that can be charged via USB or a power adapter. 3.5 hour charge time from wall outlet.
• Read up to 10 days without charging and the wireless turned off
• Load photos to the Nook for personalized screensavers
• Built-in MP3 player
• Built-in mono speaker
• 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack
• Supported file types include EPUB and eReader Formats, PDF files, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, MP3
• micro USB connector

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Barnes & Noble Nook e-Book Reader

OK.. so we’ll all know for sure in a few hours but I thought I’d pass along this tidbit courtesy of the Wall Street Journal (via News.com) about the forthcoming announcement of the Barnes & Noble new e-reader device. We’ve seen the pictures and now we have a name and a supposed price.

According to the Journal, the new B&N device will be called the “Nook” and will be priced at $259. The device will also feature the ability to “lend electronic books to others” which I’m surprised that publishers were actually OK with but I’m sure we’ll find out the exact details shortly.

At $259, we’re talking about a device with the same price point as the entry level Amazon Kindle yet featuring dual displays – a larger electronic ink display and a smaller color touch-screen.

[Check it out via News.com]

Technorati Tags: Barnes & Noble e-reader, Nook, e-reader