hardware news, reviews, software and freeware

This year at CES 2008 Seagate has really surprised us pleasantly with their Digital Audio Video Experience platform called in short D.A.V.E.. It is mentioned to deliver the best way to move, store and connect your digital life, wirelessly connecting mobile devices with up to 60 GB of extra storage. Infact D.A.V.E. is wireless hard disk which can be connected to any Windows Mobile, Symbian or Palm smartphone which has WiFi.

The Seagate D.A.V.E. mobile platform measures just 2.71 x 3.54 x .63 inches (65 x 90 x 16 mm) and weighs a mere 3.7 ounces (106 grams). It's the perfect size for slipping into a purse, backpack or pocket after connecting wirelessly to the mobile entertainment system of choice. The platform allows consumers to combine audio and video files downloaded through mobile networks with entertainment and other content side-loaded from PCs or other devices. Seagate D.A.V.E technology is customizable and designed to be branded as a technology accessory for mobile handset OEMs, networks, automobile and automotive component manufacturers, media center and DVR brands, and other companies.
read more »

Just Mobile, which designs and manufactures wide range of innovative products to protect, enhance and entertain your mobile devices, has just unveiled their latest products. In press release they have announced the availability of Just Mobile external GPS Antenna, Just Mobile Bluetune "Solo" Handsfree Car Kit and Just Mobile Multi-Function Pen.

Just Mobile external GPS Antenna is an add-on antenna that improves GPS reception when under tall trees, high buildings, or even your windshield that impedes signal reception. Erich Huang, Sales & Marketing Director, commented: "Just Mobile aims to protect, upgrade and entertain your Mobile Devices, Just Mobile external GPS Antenna helps you get strong GPS signal in the harshest environment!" The underside of the antenna casing is magnetic and can be affixed to the roof of the vehicle.

Specification:

Dimension: 37.5mm x 34.5mm x 12.5mm
Connector: MMCX plug
Cable: 3M
Operating Condition: -40~+90° C (temperature) 10~95% RH(Humidity)

Just Mobile Bluetune "Solo" handsfree Car Kit offers both terrific sound quality and easy installation. The speaker and microphone are integrated in a stylish and compact design with a Digital Sound Processor (DSP) to minimize echo effect and background noise. Erich Huang, Sales & Marketing Director, commented: "Just Mobile Bluetune Solo makes your phone call easier while driving, once it's paired to your mobile phones, PDA's or smartphone it will automatically connects each time turning on the vehicle." Features:

* No wires, no installation
* Built in Speaker and Microphone
* DSP for High Quality conversations
* Exciting form factor to better match your vehicle
* Adjustable Volume control & Speaker Direction
* Auto-Answer, One Touch Voice Command Dialing, One Touch Redial
* Automatic phone connection when turning on power to the vehicle.



Just Mobile Multi-Function Pen is a Ball-Point, Red Ball-Point, 0.5mm mechanical pencil and stylus all in a single gravity-controlled pen, with the real Carbon barrel, comes in boutique-quality gift packaging. Erich Huang, Sales & Marketing Director, commented: "Just Mobile aims to protect, upgrade and entertain your Mobile Devices, Just Mobile Multi-Function Pen is a beautiful piece of technology for writing!" Just Mobile Multi-Function Pen, the gravity-controlled technology makes cycling through your writing options easy an intuitive.

More information here

read more »

At 3GSM this year, NVIDIA was showing off some demos of its GoForce 5500 processor. The video released on youtube shows a demo mobile phone UI, using 3D, video and Flash 2D.

The NVIDIA GoForce 5500, as you may or may not know, features prominently in the O2 Xda Flame. This new device by O2 is expected to hit Asian-Pacific shores later this quarter, and a watch at the video above i think i will do my best to find one for myself.

read more »

This is a video of a multi-input touch screen that hopefully will make its way into consumer computer market in time. A standard touch screen allows one input at a time. This allows multiple people to use it and allows for Minority Report like features. It is Super Cool.

read more »

Kingmax is suprising the mobile comunity with the announce of a 4GB microSDHC card at CES. Considering the size of a microSD card, 4GB is an huge leap from 2GB and supporting dual channel read speeds up to 22.5 MB per second this little card is a beast.

Kingmax's press release below:

Kingmax Digital Inc, the leading Taiwan-based manufacturer of memory storage products, is the world's first company to release a 4GB SD 2.0 compliant microSDHC memory card, which will be on display at 2007 International CES from January 8 to 11 in Las Vegas. With this product, Kingmax answers continued consumer demand for high capacity and speed in memory products.

The competitive field for memory cards has thrived with the emergence of digital cameras, and the demand for memory cards is spreading like wildfire for use in mobile phone devices. As mobile devices are moving towards a unified storage format in 2007, microSD is poised to corner the entire market, and Kingmax Digital is ready to herald a new era in memory storage with its 4GB microSDHC card. With this new product, Kingmax has fully realized the allure of microSD, which lies in its ability to accommodate smaller form factor and portability in product design, its ease of use on various platforms, and backwards compatibility.

Made with Leading Memory Technologies - a Powerful Combination

Kingmax Digital is the world's only company to have a vertically integrated production capacity, covering the entire industry chain from wafer procurement, to packaging and testing, to mass production. To create the 4GB microSDHC card, Kingmax has integrated the world's most advanced flash storage technology from the top four manufacturers in the field: Kingpak Technology, Samsung, Silicon Motion, and Nanya Technology.

Kingmax's microSD 4GB is produced with Kingpak's die stacking technology – the world's most advanced and which exercises precise control in grinding the thickness of each die. Kingmax also uses Kingpak's proprietary PIP packaging technology, the world's most advanced packaging technology that uses substrate from Nanya Technology, and wire bonding using 20 um gold wire.

Nanya's super-thin substrate, which measures only 0.11mm, makes the perfect choice over normal substrate, which has a thickness of 0.2mm, is difficult for use in small form factor memory card production. The thickness of each die is only 25 um, and is composed of stacks of 8 layers.

The Kingmax microSDHC also utilizes Samsung's 63 nanometer process technology – the world's smallest, which allows a similar 4Gb flash memory to have an even smaller form factor so as to accommodate future designs in creating higher capacity memory cards. This technology allows Kingmax to easily supply twice as much capacity in its memory card products as its competitors.

The microSDHC also uses Silicon Motion's SMI 268 controller, a flash memory controller made from a 0.18um process technology. The controller supports dual channel read speeds of up to 150X (22.5 MB/sec) and read speeds of up to 127X (19.1 MB/sec), and complies with flash products of different speed classes for minimum write speed (Classes 2, 4, 6). Its low power consumption makes it suitable for device batteries for aviation and marine use, and it is currently the market's best controller supporting SD 2.0 specifications. The SMI 268 allows for complete compatibility with all SDHC specification mobile phones and digital cameras.

Kingmax's 4GB microSDHC memory card is the perfect solution for digital camera and MP3 player storage needs and also a perfect choice for SDHC specification products. Kingmax SDHC memory cards support HD and DVD video, as well as Super VCD, DVR and digital TV's MPEG-4 HD image formats.

In 2007, with its world-leading technology, Kingmax Digital looks forward to Intern

ational CES in Las Vegas, where the 4GB microSDHC will be sure to capture the attention of the technology world.

No word yet on pricing or release date just yet.

read more »

It is definetely a great news for all the mobile community and especialy for those who like small gadgets. More and more devices should make it to the market with the new Hammerhead II GPS chip built-in.

Infineon Technologies and Global Locate, Inc. today announced the successful development of the industry's smallest Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver chip for mobile telephones, smart phones and personal navigation devices. Based on the successful Hammerhead chip, the new Hammerhead II chip is optimized for cellular handsets and mobile devices requiring high performance, low power and an extremely small footprint. The diminutive single-die chip measures only 3.74 mm x 3.59 mm x 0.6 mm, for a total footprint of less than 14 square mm, resulting in the world's smallest GPS receiver.

The Hammerhead II GPS receiver includes LNA, RF down-converter and signal processing baseband technology on a single RFCMOS die. The device utilizes state-of-the-art chip scale packaging technology, resulting in the most compact dimensions. The package features a 49-contact Ball Grid Array, further simplifying layout and assembly.

"The GPS feature can now be added to any mobile device with a total electronics bill-of-materials footprint of less than 50 square mm. The Hammerhead II chip has set a new standard for compact design," said Thomas Pollakowski, Vice President and General Manager of the Connectivity Business Unit at Infineon Technologies.

"The Hammerhead II chip is the logical extension of our technical cooperation and outstanding partnership," added Donald Fuchs, Executive Vice President of Business Development for Global Locate.

Like its predecessor, the Hammerhead II chip embodies industry-leading performance, delivering sensitivity to -160 dBm and position fix times as fast as 1 second, exceeding 3GPP specifications. In addition, the software has been optimized for personal navigation performance, and includes sophisticated algorithms to mitigate multipath errors.

Hammerhead II retains the same core advantages as all previous Global Locate solutions by utilizing the commercially proven host-based architecture. The software is completely backward-compatible with Hammerhead, allowing an easy transition to the new, smaller part as changing form-factors require.

The Hammerhead II chip is sampling now, with production quantities available in February 2007. Infineon and Global Locate are jointly marketing the chip.

The Hammerhead chip is the world's first single-die CMOS GPS receiver. A product of the continuing partnership between Global Locate and Infineon Technologies, it supports mobile station-assisted (MS-A), mobile station-based (MS-B), autonomous and enhanced tracking modes. The Hammerhead chip provides the industry's highest sensitivity for deep indoor signal tracking, full support for assisted and autonomous modes, and highly accurate navigation in the toughest signal environments. Hammerhead's unique host-based software architecture minimizes device size and cost, and allows protocol messaging to be incorporated directly into the GPS navigation software. Additional information is available at http://www.infineon.com/gps.

read more »

f-tech Solarius Mini-Solar Bluetooth GPS Receiver is now available on the market. It is selling for around USD80 in the US or for around 15 pounds to the UK on eBay from Hong Kong.

The good news, of course, is that you don't need continual daylight to charge it. There's a battery inside which will power the device and can be charged from many sources - AC power or daylight. The bluetooth GPS receiver features 32 parallel satellite-tracking channels, automatic off when bluetooth is not in us, magnetic base and the built-in rechargeable Lithium ion battery working with Solar power for up to 30 hours operation.

Mini Solar Bluetooth GPS Receiver is a total solution of GPS receiver. GPS antenna, Blue tooth transmit/receive system are included. It is designed on the most advantage SiRF III chip solution, got the full-function, and RoHS compliant, industry-level locating capacity and low prices.

You can use this Mini Solar Bluetooth GPS Receiver as vehicles navigator, security system, geographic measurement, investigations or agriculture purpose. Mini Solar Bluetooth GPS Receiver operation requirement is a proper power supply and the open sky-view. This Bluetooth GPS Receiver can communicate with other electronic devices by Blue tooth interface. Built-In Flash Memory can save satellite information and do almanac refresh periodically. This will shorten Time To First Fix (TTFF) effectively.

f-tech Solarius Mini-Solar Bluetooth GPS Receiver SPecifications:

* Chipset : SiRF Star III
* Channel : 20 Channel parallel satellite tracking
* Time to First Fix (TTFF) : < Average 2/36/37 sec. (Hot/Warm/Cold start)
* Antenna : Built-in active antenna with mmcx ext. antenna jack
* Output Message : NMEA 0183 (GGA, GSA, GSV, RMC)
* Accuracy : < 5M (WAAS enabled), 10M (2D RMS)
* Power Supply: 5V
* Power Consumption : 75mA; 60mA with solar panel
* Battery Life : 12 Hours with user replaceable Li-Ion Battery, 15 Hours when working with Solar Battery
* Dimension : 50 x 80 x 20 mm (W x L x H)

You can buy it from buygpsnow.com or for eBay.co.uk.

read more »

Kleer announced the availability of the first reference design for small form factor wireless earphones that achieve at least 10 hours playtime of lossless CD-quality digital stereo audio over a robust 2.4GHz radio link. The reference design demonstrates the industry's first un-tethered earphones, meaning there is no wire necessary between the right earphone and the left earphone. The earphones will work with any Kleer-based audio source, including portable audio/media players, home audio/theater systems, and automotive systems. The reference design includes an optional adaptor for the latest generation iPod. Kleer's wireless earphone reference design is based on the Company's KLR3012 RF audio module, the first product in the Company's recently announced Kleer Audio LP line of RF wireless modules.

We're hearing from consumer electronics manufacturers that wireless earphones is the most requested feature in the portable audio market today, said Ron Glibbery, VP of Marketing for Kleer. Due to the high power consumption of existing wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, cumbersome over-the-ear style headphones are required to accommodate a large battery. Kleer's wireless earphone design uses only one-tenth of the power of a comparable Bluetooth design, so our battery size requirements are much smaller.

Wireless earphones provide a variety of benefits over traditional wired earphones. Wires can easily get entangled in hair and clothing, and often get yanked out during physical activity. Wireless earphones based on Kleer technology not only eliminate these problems but also provide additional capabilities such as Kleer's Listen InTM mode, whereby multiple users can simultaneously listen to one MP3 player or DVD player.

The Kleer reference design for wireless earphones will provide manufacturers with the baseline set of technical information they need to bring these much anticipated wireless earphones to market, including the BOM, schematics and Gerber files. Evaluation kits and the earphone reference design can be ordered by contacting Kleer.

More information you can find here.

read more »

Here we offer you the most popular Secure Digital Memory Cards and their lowest prices as they are according to Pricegrabber. If you are interested in learning more about specific memory card just click on it and read specifications, review, etc.

You can browse more PDAs, Hardware and Accessories at our Hardware Store.

read more »

As we have talked about in early September in this post (Cingular 8500 and 8525 Smartphones Announced), Cingular Wireless does not dissapoint us and has launched the first UMTS/ HSDPA-enabled handheld in North America. The quad-band Cingular 8525, which is based on the HTC Hermes design, boasts of integrated Bluetooth 2.0 and Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) short-range wireless connectivity. Quite expectedly, it is powered by Windows Mobile 5.0, with a 400 MHz Samsung S3C2442 processor, 64 MB RAM and 128 MB ROM at its disposal.

The new Cingular 8525 features a 2.8-inch color QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) TFT screen, micro-SD card slot, slide-out landscape-oriented QWERTY thumb keypad, and 2-megapixel camera with flash. Other great thing is the handset, which comes with a true Jog Dial, and native support for Microsoft Direct Push or Good Mobile Messaging wireless e-mail solutions. In addition, it is bundled with TeleNav GPS Navigator software that provides turn-by-turn voice and on-screen directions for use when driving or walking.

The Cingular 8525 will be available for $399.99 (with a two-year contract) beginning Thursday, November 16.

read more »