Sony unveils S-AIR iPod Dock Wireless System

While Sony maybe known in the industry as a staunch advocate of proprietary technology, they’ve decided to go against the grain this time around with the release of the S-AIR wireless audio system.

It not only provides you with a sleek and stylish wireless speaker system, it’s also an iPod dock which is a first for the company. The standard package comes with the dock that also features a built-in FM/AM tuner and two wireless speakers that can receive signals up to 164-feet away. It’ll cost around $400 when it lands in stores next month in the US. It’s definitely more expensive than the EOS wireless system, but this one’s got tons of sex appeal written all over it. Additional speakers will cost $130 a piece (the same with the EOS).

No word though whether it will become locally available or not, but I’m pretty optimistic it will.

What's new with Canon EOS 50D

While we have to yet to hear from the Nikon camp, Canon has made their EOS 50D official. This 15.1-megapixel DSLR is the first to feature the new Digic 4 image processor and it also boasts of having the highest ISO speed to date topping off at a ridiculous 12800.

Other notable specs include a 6.3fps burst rate, 3-inch display with face detection, HDMI, dedicated Live View button, auto-focus with microadjustment, and a cleaning system that incorporates a fluoride coating for improved dust resistance. The SRP for the body only is set at $1399 while the one bundled with a EF 28/-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM zoom lens will roughly cost $1599. DP Review has an in-depth preview of this yet to be released DSLR so you might want to check it out.

October will be the big day for this new DSLR in the US, and I’m guessing it might make a local debut as early as November or December. With this early announcement, that gives you enough time to either save up or sell your current gear to make room for this new DSLR.

Nikon D90 now up for order at Circuit City

Nikon's still unofficial D90 DSLR may have been pulled from Target's website after making a brief appearance a few days ago, but it looks to be holding steady at Circuit City, where you can now get your pre-order in for the expected price of $1,299.99. As you can see above, the site is also listing the camera with a release date of September 5th, which is only a tad off the mark of some of our earlier tips. There's also no surpises with the specs, although the "real movie-like" video recording mode that piqued our interest yesterday is apparently now officially known simply as an "HD movie mode" -- a step backwards if you ask us.

Nokia N79, N85 and N96 hands-on

Well, they're here. Nokia's latest and greatest N-series devices just hit the market like a trio of well-aimed bricks -- or at least that's what Nokia's hoping. We got to spend a little bit of hands-on time with prototypes of the new devices, and while we came away slightly impressed, we were nowhere near E-series impressed. Here's our biggest problem with the lineup: the only one worth talking about is the N85. Other than minor screen size disparities, the 16GB built-in memory of the N96 and the fresh candybar form of the N79, these three phones are pretty much exactly identical on specs, and yet the N96 manages to be inexcusably bulky, while the N79 sports an inexcusably terrible screen -- we're hoping that was just the prototype being funky, but we saw two versions with the same problem. The N85 isn't exactly the pinnacle of thinphoneness, but its amazing OLED screen and more refined design make the N96 look like more of a rough draft than a sibling. On the interface side, the phones are much more responsive to S60's new motion and transitions, but Nokia has oddly chosen to disable the Navi Wheel scrolling in all three phones -- a weird move, but we can't say we blame them, we haven't had a single good experience with Navi Wheel since Nokia introduced it. In all, we're not exactly thrilled about Nokia's prospects for winning over the masses with this new series of devices. Sure, Nokia will protest that it's going after the high-end users, but 5 megapixel cameras, GPS and WiFi are no longer the differentiators they once were, and users have begun to expect thinner, sexier devices at prices far below the N96's gargantuan $895 pricetag.

Gallery: Nokia N79, N85 and N96 hands-on

Sony PSP-3000: The display says it all

You may not see much of a difference between the new PSP and the old PSP Slim just by looking at it, but once you turn it on, you’ll notice the remarkable improvement in the display on the PSP-3000.

Famitsu’s got a side-by-side comparison, and I guess the pictures say it all. Brighter, more vivid and rich; it puts to shame the already impressive screen of the PSP-2000.

Aside from that, if you pay close attention, you’ll also notice that the PSP-3000 is a lot more rounded and has a redesigned UMD cover at the back.

Yeah, we wished that it had more to offer than minor cosmetic changes and a built-in mic, but the improved display is more than welcome. So if you’ve been holding back on getting a PSP, you definitely can’t go wrong with this new iteration as it is probably the best one among the current crop. The same as with all of you guys, we’re also waiting for details as to its local release and pricing.

Targus Dash Backpack: Ideal for the Rainy Days

The weather is quite unpredictable nowadays; very hot and sunny in the morning, then it’s suddenly raining cats and dogs in the afternoon. It’s times like these that you should have the right bag to protect your electronic gear, and the Targus Dash backpack is just what we would recommend.

It features more then enough compartments to keep everything organized, and provides ample padding to keep sensitive equipment such as your laptop protected at all times. There’s even dedicated wet compartment where you can store your umbrella or towel after a heavy downpour so that you won’t have to worry yourself about getting your other stuff wet.

There’s also a hidden rain cover that you can pull out to add that extra protective layer when the need arises. A built-in cable, security pocket, contoured padded backing and ergonomic shoulder straps provide that balance between security and comfort that is essential in the bags of today.

The Targus Dash backpack will set you back P3800 and comes with a lifetime warranty. It might seem a bit expensive for a bag, but think of it as an investment as it’ll surely protect whatever stuff you put in it from the elements. Targus products are exclusively distributed by MSI-ECS in the Philippines.

Nikon D700 for Professional Photography

Nikon, the leading name in professional photography, brings the Nikon D700 and the Nikon Speedlight. These innovations allow profess ional photographers to capture the most memorable moments with ease and convenience without compromising the quality of the image. Now, creativity is boundless because the D700 and Speedlight is the product of extensive innovation in photo- graphic technology.

The Nikon D700’s 12.1 mega pixel FX format CMOS image sensor provides the highest level of photographic performance. The D700 is equipped with super low noise performance from 200 to 6400 ISO with added versatility of Lo-1, Hi-i and Hi-2. And because of Nikon’s D-Lighting feature, previously lost details in shadow and light can now be captured in normalized contrast. Not to mention it has the capability of full frame from it’s bigger brother the D3.

Its new and exclusive Scene Recognition System optimizes autofocus, auto exposure and auto white balance through the use of its 1,005-segment RGB sensor to recognize the conditions of the subject matter being shot. This means moving objects are clearer. The D700 also allows for continuous shooting of up to 5 frames per second. And to view your images, the D700’s 3” super density 920,000-Dot VGA color monitor. It allows for a 170-degree wide angle viewing, calibrated color and tempered-glass.

While having the right camera can make all the difference to the photographer, the right degree of lighting in the other hand, impacts greatly on the subject matter. The play of color and light does much to add drama to, convey the emotions, or hide the imperfections of the subject matter. Lighting is a vital component of all images, but the past complexities of flash photography have made many photographers hesitant to explore its full potential. In the past, lighting was crude and primitive. Often, photographers had to rely on the availability of natural light to get the most dramatic shot, or make do with the available technology that was oftentimes too stark, drowning out the subject matter.

Nikon’s Speedlight brings innovations in photographic lighting.’ Now used by working photographers around the world, Nikon’s Creative Lighting System simplifies the usability employing flash photography. This is because of the i-T11 flash control technology that offers consistently accurate flash exposures that adjusts to nearly any lighting situation allowing for the most clear photos.

Nikon Speedlights communicates with the camera to perform all the complex lighting situations necessary. This means that there is less danger of over or underexposure. Its exclusive pre-flash offers precise feedback information that registers everything from available lighting and shadows to color temperature and reflective surfaces within the scene.

Its built-in database of over 30,000 scenes integrates the information to determine the ideal exposure within a millisecond before each shutter release. The result is clear, crisp and vivid photographs.

As the art and profession of photography become more and more sophisticated and the demands by photographic artists more and more discerning, the need for having the right camera and lighting equipment is all the more pronounced. Over the years, the artist and the equipment have influenced each other. In this race, the evolution of the art form and the equipment go almost hand in hand. Indeed, one needs the other to grow.

EISA rewarded Samsung SGH G810

Samsung Electronics’Co1 Ltd., a leading mobile phone provider, is proud to announce that the SGH-G810, the

almighty smart phone with superb camera quality, has been awarded the 'European Photo Phone 2008-2009’ by the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA).

The Convergence Panel of EISA laid it voted for Samsung’s 0810 because of the superior image quality. They added, “Is it a phone. or is it a camera? Only a few years ago the SGH-G810’s features would have been unimaginable on anything but a high-spec camera.” In addition to the technical capabilities, the judges also commented that, “Best of all, it manages to look, at once, both elegant and robust."

Geesung Choi, President of Samsung Telecommunication Business, said he was delighted to receive this award from EISA, an opinion leader in the European imaging and multimedia industry.

"This is important recognition of the progress that we have made in the multimdedia phones that have become very popular with European consumers, " Mr.Choi said, "With the SGH-G810, Samsung will continue to deliver the best possible multimedia features in the most attractive design to satisfy mobile phone users in Europe."

Having globally launched the first 5-megapixel camera-phone in 2004, 7-megapixel camera-phone in 2005, and the groundbreaking 10-megapixel SCH-B600 in the Korean market in 2006, the SGH-G810, awarded leadership in camera-phone market.

The Samsung G810 offers 5 megapixel camera equipped with 3x optical zoom, 4x digital zoom and Xenon flash. Moreover, the G810 boasts its advanced photo quality with the latest digital camera features including face detection, image stabilizer, high ISO (up to 800), macro shot, panorama shot and mosaic & multi shot.

Supporting Symbian v9.2 S60 3rd edition, the G810 also includes Wi-Fi connectivity for seamless communication and GPS with geo tagging to satisfy mobile phone users.

EISA is an association of 50 magazines with a special interest in multimedia from across 19 European countries including the newest country, Serbia It is known internationally for the European EISA Awards and in June each year, the editors from all magazines meet to decide which of the consumer products covered in their publications that year, will receive an EISA award. There are six categories: Audio, Video, Home Theatre, Photography, Mobile Electronics and Convergence. All winners may carry the EISA mark for the following months reinforcing both their quality and technology leadership.

22nd 007 will use Sony Ericsson C902

Sony Ericson is unveiling an exclusive partnership between the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures release of EON Production 22nd James Bond adventure, Quantum of Solace, and the C902 Titanium silver edition.

The phone, as used by James bond - played by actor Daniel Craig in the new film - will be available for a limited period and include a memory card loaded with a host of 007 content.

Users will get the chance to know exactly what it takes to be a secret agent like James Bond with the first level of an exclusive pre-loaded spy-style game. In addition, the full color trailer of the film, behind-the-scenes interviews with the starts and exclusive content such as wallpapers and screen savers will be available on the phone and the memory card.

The C902 Cyber-shot phone is used throughout the film by James bond to capture evidence and assist the agent on his mission. The 5-megapixel camera, with a unique slide-out lens cover, illuminated touch icons providing quick and easy access to camera options, Face detection, Photo flash and Auto focus enables James Bond to send high resolution of his enemies.

The phone also offers BestPic which allows users to take nine pictures of a moving objects simultaneously and choose the best shot to use, plus Picture blogging for uploading photos to blogsites and PictBridge for printing direct to a printer, without the need for a PC or laptop

In August 2006, Sony Ericsson also teamed up with James Bond to launch the limited edition James Bond Casino Royale silver K800i Cyber-shot and in November 2002 the Sony Ericsson P600 and T68i mobile phones were used by several of the cast in the 20th James Bond film, Die Another Day.

Chris Lee, Vice President of Marketing, Asia Pacific at Sony Erisson comments, “We are excited to announce the continuation of our relationship with the James Bond

films and Unveil James Bond’s new phone for this year - the limited edition version of our C902 Cyber-shot TM phone. With the rich array of content both on the phone and preloaded on a memory card bundled with the C902 Titanium silver limited edition, fans of the secret gent will only get more James Bond with Sony Ericsson.”

Daniel Craig reprises is role as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 in Quantum of Solace, the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures release of EON Productions 22nd adventure in the longest-running film franchise in motion picture history. The film is directed by Marc Forster. The screenplay is by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade and Paul Haggis. Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli produce.

The Sony Ericsson C902 Cyber- shot, - an image and style statement, was launched worldwide in July 2008, This slim Cyber-Shot phone with unique slide-out lens cover is camera-ready in an instant, with a 5-megapixel camera with Face detection and Auth focus. It features illuminated camera touch keys and intuitive guidance around the camera settings. The C902 has a 160MB built-in memory — the equivalent 4 storage for up to 100 full resolution photos -.plus. the possibility to add even more memory with a Memory Stick Micro (M2).

The phone incorporates the latest in lighting technology - Photo flash - giving better, quality pictures even in low-light conditions. Light solution has been added to tie established. BestPic feature - take 9 Photos quick succession, choose the best and delete the rest

We sold 120000 units of iPhone 3G - T-Mobile

Deutsche Telekom's wireless business T-Mobile has sold more than 120,000 new 3G iPhones since its sales launch on July 11 despite distribution problems, its chief executive told a German weekly magazine.

Hamid Akhavan told Focus, delivery problems that left customers waiting for weeks to get their hands on the new, faster version of the iPhone had been solved and that the backlog would be cleared by the end of the month.

"Our (sales) expectations were surpassed," Akhavan said in an interview to be published on Monday, adding the carrier had sold 75,000 iPhones in Germany alone.

Akahavan said distribution had hit a snag as Apple had decided to launch the iPhone in 22 countries at the same time.

The latest iPhone from Apple Inc has faster, third-generation (3G) Web connections when compared with the first iPhone that was launched in mid-2007.

But users around the world have complained about dropped calls and inconsistent Internet speeds, with the phone often reverting to a slower technology known as Edge even in 3G areas.

Last week, Apple Inc issued a software update to help fix connection problems that led to a flurry of online complaints from customers.

T-Mobile, which also sells the iPhone in the Netherlands and in Austria, received complaints from Dutch customers but none from German and Austrian ones, Akhavan said.

EA needs creative guru's gaming spore to click

Jet-powered cars, aliens, moon colonies and robots.

To many, this is the stuff of science fiction. But for Electronic Arts Inc creative guru Will Wright, they represent some of his most obsessive pursuits and the seeds of inspiration for his hotly anticipated video game, Spore.

Launching Sept. 7, Spore allows players to create empires and civilisations across galaxies, populated by creatures, buildings and spaceships.

Atlanta-born Wright, a bespectacled, mop-haired alien obsessive who builds robots for research purposes, said Spore was inspired by the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program.

"I believe there are other intelligences out there, and the closest is several galaxies away," said Wright, 48, who grew up building model cars and dreaming of space travel.

The launch of Spore comes at a critical time for loss-making EA, which is battling Activision Blizzard Inc for preeminence in the fast-growing $28 billion-a-year video games market.

Evan Wilson, analyst with Pacific Crest Securities, describes 2009 as a "do-or-die year" for EA.

Though the consequences of Spore's failure for EA are uppermost in analysts' minds, Wright is widely seen as up to the task.

A seminal figure in the games industry, observers tend to reach for superlatives when they assess his importance to the company.

"Will is the Albert Einstein of the gaming business -- no one else is pushing boundaries like he is," said Geoff Keighley, the host of GameTrailers TV, a specialist web-based video games review.

"He is right up there with Shigeru Miyamoto in terms of his contributions to the gaming industry," Keighley added, referring to Nintendo Co Ltd's legendary games designer who created many of the firm's smash hits like Donkey Kong.

Wright developed his blockbuster game The Sims while at Maxis, the company he co-founded and sold to EA in 1997.

The Sims, where players create home environments in which characters did mundane tasks like cooking and moving furniture, surpassed expectations and went on to sell over 100 million copies.

Version 3 is in the pipeline and it, along with Spore, is among a raft of new games seen as critical to EA's future as it struggles with tepid sales and flagging interest from gamers.

There are no guarantees, as Wright knows to his cost. His most striking flop was The Sims Online, a multi-player version of The Sims that never caught on and was shut earlier this month.

"He clearly didn't understand what makes those kinds of games work well, so The Sims Online was a pretty serious failure," said Timothy Burke, a cultural historian at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania.

Spore itself has not been without its share of challenges. First announced in 2005, it was originally slated for launch in 2007.

Spore's strong pedigree bodes well for sales, says Colin Sebastian, analyst at Lazard Capital Markets in San Francisco, though he acknowledges it is not yet clear if Spore will see Wright reproducing his best form.

"It's too early to say if Wright is a one-hit wonder," he added.

High price takes shine off Apple's iPhone India launch

Sticker price shock has spoiled the launch party of Apple's iPhone in India, home to the world's fastest-growing mobile market, local media said Saturday.

The 3G or third generation phone sells for more than triple its US price tag in India -- a new key battleground for makers of high-end mobile handsets thanks to its increasingly affluent middle-class.

iPhone launch events in major Indian cities on Friday, replete with confetti and cheerleaders, drew none of the big crowds and hysteria that greeted the phone's debut in the United States, Europe and other parts of Asia last month.

"Hefty price tag keeps queues away," said India's Economic Times daily.

The eight-gigabyte model of the phone, which includes a built-in iPod and a desktop-class web browser, sells for 31,000 rupees (712 dollars), while the 16 GB version goes for 36,100.

Technology writer Nitya Chaudhury told Agence France Presse: "I like its looks, but at that price I can get something cheaper that does as much."

A spokesman for India's leading mobile company Bharti Airtel -- which is selling the iPhone along with rival Vodafone Essar, owned by Britain's Vodaphone Group Plc -- said it was "not possible to give a (sales) trend."

But, in what appeared to be an attempt to explain away the low buzz surrounding the product, he said the "iPhone is a very aspirational project -- it's not conceived of as a mass device."

A manager at one New Delhi phone showroom, who did not want his name used, said sales of the iPhone so far were "not very good. We've had a few buyers and people just in to look at it."

The Indian price is far higher than the 199 dollars paid by US customers to the telecom giant AT&T for the phone. AT&T heavily subsidises the phone and makes money by tying the customer to an expensive annual subscription.

But vendors say they are confident the Apple gadget will find its place in the Indian market despite the higher price and the fact that India has yet to launch 3G networks needed to support faster browsing and downloads.

Family history gets retouched in the age of Photoshop

Removing her ex-husband from more than a decade of memories may take a lifetime for Laura Horn, a police emergency dispatcher in Rochester, N.Y.

But removing him from a dozen years of vacation photographs took only hours, with some deft mouse work from a willing friend who was proficient in Photoshop, the popular digital-image editing program.

Like a Stalin-era technician in the Kremlin removing all traces of an out-of-favor official from state photos, the friend erased the husband from numerous cherished pictures taken on cruises and at Caribbean cottages, where he had been standing alongside Horn, now 50, and other traveling companions.

As image-editing software grows in sophistication and ubiquity, alterations go far beyond removing red-eye and whitening teeth. They include substituting head shots to achieve the best combination of smiles, deleting problematic personalities or adding family members who were unable to attend important events, performing virtual liposuction or hair restoration, even reanimating the dead. Revisionist history, it seems, can be practiced by just about anyone.

As people fiddle with the photos in their scrapbooks, the tug of emotion and vanity can win out over the objective truth. And in some cases, it can even alter memories -- Cousin Andy was at the wedding, right?

In an age of digital manipulation, many people believe that snapshots and family photos need no longer stand as a definitive record of what was, but instead, of what they wish it was.

"It used to be that photographs provided documentary evidence, and there was something sacrosanct about that," said Chris Johnson, a photography professor at California College of the Arts in the Bay Area.

If you wanted to remove an ex from an old snapshot, you had to use a Bic pen or pinking shears. But in the digital age, people treat photos like mash-ups in music, combining various elements to form a more pleasing whole.

"What we’re doing," Johnson said, "is fulfilling the wish that all of us have to make reality to our liking."

And he is no exception. When he photographed a wedding for his girlfriend’s family in upstate New York a few years ago, he left a space at the end of a big group shot for one member who was unable to attend. They caught up with him months later, snapped a head shot, and Johnson used Photoshop to paste him into the wedding photo.

Now, he said, everyone knows it is phony, but "this faked photograph actually created the assumption -- people kind of remember him as there."

The impulse to record family history that is more wishful than accurate is as old as photography itself. In the 19th century, people routinely posed with personal items, like purses or scarves, that belonged to absent or dead relatives to include them, emotionally, in the frame, said Mary Warner Marien, an art history professor at Syracuse University and the author of "Photography: A Cultural History."

In India, she said, it is a tradition to cut-and-paste head shots of absent family members into wedding photographs as a gesture of respect and inclusion. "Everyone understands that it’s not a trick," she said. "That’s the nature of the photograph. It’s a Western sense of reality that what is in front of the lens has to be true."

As recently as early in this decade, most people still recorded their family history primarily on film, photography experts said, meaning modifications were limited. Even among digital devotees, only professionals or ambitious amateurs typically would buy computer programs like Adobe Photoshop.

But now, with the professional-grade Photoshop CS3’s consumer-priced sibling, Photoshop Elements, often selling for under 0, its popularity is on the rise. Sales for the program have grown about 20 percent over the last year, said Kevin Connor, an Adobe vice president.

Similar software like GIMP (the GNU Image Manipulation Program ) is free on the Internet. Photo kiosks in supermarkets, as well as popular photo programs like iPhoto and Picasa, can also manipulate photographs. In addition, professional retouching services, which can dramatically alter photographs, are burgeoning, often advertising on the Internet. And professional photographers will also alter reality to suit a client’s tastes.(NYT)

Acer keeps top ranking in PC markets

Top computer manufacturer Acer (Philippines), Inc. managed to keep its dominance of the PC market in the Philippines by consistently outperforming its competitors due to the introduction of more quality-based yet affordable products.

Based on latest results released by international marketing and technology research group IDC, in its Asia-Pacific Quarterly PC Tracker Summary for the first quarter of 2008, Acer continued to dominate the consumer desktop and total notebook markets in the Philippines, an important market for the Taiwan-based computer maker.

For the consumer desktop segment, Acer led the pack by selling 6,911 units this quarter compared to only 4,468 units sold during the previous quarter. This translated to P6.3 million in value and thus capturing 11.9 percent of the market.

On the commercial notebook side, Acer also showed the way against its competitors for the first 3 months of the year by registering sales of 8,539 units for a 29-percent market share as against the previous quarter’s numbers of 6,516 units and a 27-percent share of the market, thus translating to about P11.3 million in value. And just like in the previous quarter in terms of total notebook units shipped, Acer again paced the market during the first three months of the year by selling a total of 24,673 units valued at P26.3 million compared to last quarter’s figures of 16,603 units sold.

For the consumer desktop and consumer notebook segments, Acer also led the way with 23,044 units sold for a 19.6-percent share of this segment compared to the last four months of last year with only 14,556 units (17.5 percent share) sold. These figures resulted into a total value of P21.4 million.

Summing up total results for the desktop and notebook categories, Acer again led the market, selling 37,131 units for a 13.2-percent share valued at P37.3 million compared to the previous quarter’s figures of 26,409 units and an 11.4-percent piece of the total pie.

"We still continue to lead the market overall for the past several quarters and this we attribute to our continued resolve to come up with significant and consumer-friendly products. And with the introduction of a new sub-notebook category, coupled with the launch of our new Acer Aspire One that will compete in this segment, we will continue to capture the Filipinos’ attention, and still they can be assured of top-quality and innovative products and consumer-focused service from us," explains Manuel Wong, Acer Philippines General Manager.

Exceeding earlier market forecasts, total PC shipments for the Philippines, according to the IDC, grew 21 percent sequentially and 33 percent year-on-year for the first quarter of this year due to strong consumer demand. Among IDC’s key assumptions and forecasts for 2008-2012 for the Philippines is continued expansion of demand for notebook computers in the Philippines, especially in the provinces due to lower and competitive price structures coupled with easy financing packages, and a noted increase in the number of WLAN hotspots around the country.

Intel quietly rolls out small Core 2 Duo "S"

Although declining a separate announcement, Intel at its Developer Forum has formally introduced the Core 2 Duo "S,", its first factory-stock processor based on the same small package technology that was rushed into use for the MacBook Air and similar systems. The chipmaker confirms numerous leaks and reveals that the switch to a 45 nanometer process lets it improve performance while reducing the size and power use.

Although running on the same 1,066MHz system bus and with the same 6MB of Level 2 cache as newer Core 2 Duos, the "S" and its accompanying chipset are 60 percent smaller overall while the processor itself uses 17 watts at its thermal design peak versus 20 watts for its Apple-focused ancestor. Both also keep the same hardware virtualization and trusted execution as for their larger counterparts.
Two speed grades, the 1.6GHz SL9300 as well as the 1.86GHz SL9400, start the line; Intel hasn't said when these processors will reach shipping products, though most forecasts have pointed to September. Lenovo is already known to be using one or both for the ThinkPad X301 and is commonly thought to be in competition with a future MacBook Air update, although whether Apple will use default clock speeds is unknown. A recent but unverified rumor would push the Air up to 2GHz. Fujitsu is also likely to make use of the new hardware.
The reference nature of the new Core 2 Duos is expected to contribute to dropping costs for these systems; the X301 costs $200 less than the original.

Core 2 Duo "S" (left), northbridge and southbridge chips (right)

The XFX GeForce 9500 GT: The multi-media multi-tasker

While the movie industry continues to churn out sequels and other unoriginal hype, XFX offers up something new and exciting—the XFX GeForce 9500 GT, the ultimate multi-media multi-tasker that’s known for all it can take.

Take One: Like taking and sharing photos? The 9500 GT delivers an improved 3D experience with Microsoft Windows Media Center that allows users to offload tasks from the CPU, which increases productivity and enables users to share, edit and manage photos and videos better than ever before.

Take Two: The 9500 GT takes video playback to a new level, with advanced PureVideo HD technology that delivers jaw-dropping Blu-ray movie picture quality with reduced CPU utilization and low power consumption.

Take Three: Live to take out opponents? Offering a 3X performance increase over comparable 8 Series GPU and PCI Express 2.0 compatible cards, the 9500 GT delivers the most gaming horsepower available at this price point, and, since these cards are compatible with PCI Express and the new PCI Express 2.0 bus architecture, the 9500 GT ensures that users will be able to play all of today’s—and tomorrow’s—games the way they were meant to be played.

Take Four: All of these breath-taking features can be doubled. The XFX GeForce 9500 GT is SLI ready, which means that users can purchase two cards to deliver twice the performance of a single-card set-up.

Which is why we recommend that you take five and head for your nearest e-tailer or shop.

To learn more about the XFX GeForce 9500 GT, please visit www.xfxforce.com.

Intel cuts electric cords with wireless power system

Intel on Thursday showed off a wireless electric power system that analysts say could revolutionize modern life by freeing devices from transformers and wall outlets.

Intel chief technology officer Justin Rattner demonstrated a Wireless Energy Resonant Link as he spoke at the California firm's annual developers forum in San Francisco.

Electricity was sent wirelessly to a lamp on stage, lighting a 60 watt bulb that uses more power than a typical laptop computer.

Most importantly, the electricity was transmitted without zapping anything or anyone that got between the sending and receiving units.

"The trick with wireless power is not can you do it; it's can you do it safely and efficiently," Intel researcher Josh Smith said in an online video explaining the breakthrough.

"It turns out the human body is not affected by magnetic fields; it is affected by electric fields. So what we are doing is transmitting energy using the magnetic field not the electric field."

Examples of potential applications include airports, offices or other buildings that could be rigged to supply power to laptops, mobile telephones or other devices toted into them.

The technology could also be built into plugged in computer components, such as monitors, to enable them to broadcast power to devices left on desks or carried into rooms, according to Smith.

"Initially it eliminates chargers and eventually it eliminates batteries all together," analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group said of Intel's wireless power system.

"That is potentially a world changing event. This is the closest we've had to something being commercially available in this class."

Previous wireless power systems consisted basically of firing lightning bolts from sending to receiving units.

Smith says Intel's wireless power system is still in an early stage of development and much research remains before it can be brought to market.

Rattner spoke of technological transformations he expects by the year 2050.

"You'd like to cut the last cord," Smith said.

"It's great that we have wireless email and wireless Internet and stuff like that but at the end of the day it would be nice to have wireless recharge as well."

Now Available - StarOffice 9 beta for Mac

Mac users can now download the beta version of StarOffice 9 at no charge until August 17 and try it out for 90 days.

StarOffice is an office suite that includes a word processor (Writer) spreadsheet (Calc), presentation program (Impress) , drawing tool (Draw) , database tool (Base) and formula generator. StarOffice 9 boasts of some great features. It allows users to read, edit, and save PDF files, import Microsoft Office 2007 OOXML files, allows users to add notes to Writer documents and has improved charting capabilities in Calc. When the full version of StarOffice 9 is released, it is anticipated to be identical to OpenOffice.org 3.0.

As a consumer, you might ask why you must choose one from the other. Although StarOffice and OpenOffice.org are based on the same code base , they differ in a few aspects : branding, packaging, support , price and licence.

StarOffice is a brand that is developed, marketed , maintained and supported by Sun Microsystems. As a brand, consumers expect it to perform a certain way, and is thus shaped by competitive forces. Unlike OpenOffice.org, which relies on contributions and monetary donations from the OpenOffice.org community, corporate investment is poured into StarOffice as a revenue-generating product.

The aspect of packaging means that everything the StarOffice user needs is available on the same CD upon purchase so that users do not have to worry about downloading the extensions that they need on the Internet. This is in contrast to OpenOffice.org, in which the user individually searches for and downloads extensions from an online repository.

The third aspect is support. Business users can obtain enterprise-level support from Sun (and not just Sun) for StarOffice while OpenOffice.org users rely on the OpenOffice.org community or third party support providers. StarOffice is more applicable to enterprise users, governments and academic institutions who want the ease of using and maintaining the application and have the money for it . Sun offers paid support services and training for StarOffice users. Note, however that the beta version of StarOffice 9 does not come with support.

The fourth aspect is the price. The regular price of StarOffice 9 is .95 while the full version of OpenOffice.org costs nothing.

The fifth aspect is license. While StarOffice is built with open-source software, the license of the actual application is closed. Thus, the freedom that comes with using open source software does not apply to StarOffice. Unlike OpenOffice.org, you can not simply copy , modify , redistribute and install StarOffice on your friends’ computers. In fact , some extensions that are sold by Sun have similar versions for OpenOffice.org that are freely available from the OpenOffice.org repository. Others take OpenOffice.org extensions and crack it for StarOffice. (Perhaps the ethics of such act depends on your interpretation.)

In essence, OpenOffice.org has the edge in terms of community contributions while StarOffice boasts of being the more thoroughly qualified product.

The release of StarOffice 9 for Mac is significant because it allows Mac users to adopt the OpenDocument Format, an ISO standard file format for office documents. This means document compatibility with Linux, Windows and other operating systems, thus closing the divide in terms of file formats. In addition, Open Office.org 3.0 and StarOffice 9.0 natively support OOXML, the file format used by MS Office 2007.

StarOffice 9 was developed for Mac OS X 10.4 or later versions . It is downloadable from the the Sun Microsystems website http://www.sun.com/software/staroffice/get_beta.jsp upon registration. This is the first release to offer native Mac support, which means it does not require X11.

Is this the Apple MacBook Killer?

Yeah, I know, somebody more famous said this line decades ago. That "somebody" knocked out several world-class challengers to the throne of "the greatest" during those days.

But that "somebody" did not know the Lenovo ThinkPad X300 back then, the latter now among those vying for the best, super-skinny laptop -- pound for pound.

In the other corner, of course, is "someone" I’ve yet to meet and play with.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X300 I’ve met, and glad to have made its acquaintance.

From what I’ve heard, "somebody" beat Lenovo to the punch when it released, with so much hype, allegedly the world’s thinnest laptop.

Lenovo, I heard from the grapevines, rushed to take the challenge and, a few months or so, birthed a super-sleek three-pound baby in the ThinkPad X300 -- make that exactly 3.12 pound, battery included, and a just a shade below an inch think..

First impression: I liked the conservative black slab design that housed a full 13-inch scoreen and full keyboard.

The ThinkPad X300, I'm glad to find out in a short while, is not crampy with its built-in DVD drive, three USB ports, a wired ethernet jack while boasting of a rugged solid-state drive.

The internal chassis and roll cage, according to specs included in the box, uses an advanced carbon-fiber/glass-fiber material for both strength and weight. The case material is made of magnesium, designed for accidental abuse and drops, and for more peace of mind, a double latch mechanism with button release to hold the screen closed.

The speakers are located on the corners of the notebook, the heat vent grills, painted black, goes well with the overall looks.

The ThinkPad X300 sports an Intel 1.20GHz Core 2 Duo L7100 processor that’s more than enough to run office applications and any general web related tasks.

The 13.3" WXGA+ screen is eye-friendly with its 300 nit LED backlit spec. The full-sized keyboard has zero flex, a matte finish to the keys for durability, with a well-sized touchpad with scrolling areas. The screen feels larger and that 1,440 x 900 resolution is a big plus.

The palm rest area has a rubberized paint finish, very smooth, close to the fingerprint reader.

I gave the X300 quite a go the short I had it, and found out it has good sound and speakers. Sound-distortion is alien here. All you get is the good grooves, baby.

Watched a couple of movies, played a game or two, and I loved it. Hey, what can I say, I'm that easy to please.

Of course I felt bad when the time came to return the X300 to its rightful owner. I'm just glad that I met, and had a grand time.

What’s this? I heard "somebody" wants to really challenge the Lenovo ThinkPad X300. Oh yeah, well bring it on!

iPhone 3G officially launches in the Philippines

I'll ask you the same question! Yes or No - Courtesy of Inquirer.net

Putting much hype into it down to the last minute, Globe officially launched the iPhone 3G Friday midnight.

Hundreds -- joined by Globe officials and a number of local celebrities -- flocked to Ayala Stock Exchange at the heart of the Makati business district Thursday night awaiting the official launch.

The atmosphere was festive and mirrored New Year's Eve as people counted down towards the midnight launch. Though unlike in other countries where Apple fanatics lined up for days waiting, some had to line up nonetheless and waited for hours before being able to buy iPhone units.

Nina Angela Sarmiento was the first person in line to buy an iPhone, having waited since 3 o'clock in the afternoon of August 21.

Gerry Ablaza, Globe's chief executive officer, also awarded an iPhone as a token to Ankush Raisinghani, human resources director for Procter and Gamble Philippines, who has been a Globe Platinum subscriber since 1997.

In May, Globe was among the first operators in Asia to carry the iPhone 3G along with Singapore's Singtel, Australia's Optus and India's Bharti Airtel.

Early this month, Globe initially announced it will sell the device via prepaid at P41,899 and P48,899, for the 8 gigabyte and 16gigabyte models, respectively.

Globe afterwards announced price rollbacks saying it will sell iPhone 3G prepaid kits starting at P37, 599 (8Gb) and P43, 799 (16 GB). Buyers can avail of zero installments through local credit card partners.

Globe's prepaid plans come with P1000 load spread over five months, or P200 per month. Also, the first 1,000 phone kit purchases will get additional P1,000 discount off the purchase price, Globe said in its previous announcement.

The iPhone 3G is also available via postpaid subscriptions ranging from P1,599 to P4,999 monthly fees.

Palm Treo Pro: Beautiful Inside and Out

Yeah, today’s the big launch for the 3G iPhone locally, but let’s veer away from all the Apple festivities for a moment and look at what Palm has in store for use.

The Palm Treo Pro is the latest smartphone from Palm; and just by looking at it, one can see that the Treo is back with a vengeance. It sports a new plush look and is now thinner, and smaller than its predecessor without cutting back on functionality. It’s got 3.5G connectivity, a 2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, a touch screen display, GPS, a very reliable 1500 mAh battery, and runs on Windows Mobile 6.1.

Gizmodo is lucky enough to get one for a hands-on review and according to them; it is definitely a step up from its ancestors. They keypad is similar to the Centro, but a bit bigger. The display is bright and crisp, while 3G internet and call quality is superb. Best of all, Palm has decided to offer this baby minus a carrier (read: unlocked) unlike the iPhone.

Availability and price, unfortunately, isn’t available yet; but we are certainly keeping our eyes peeled on this one.

Apple offers to replace faulty iPod batteries

this is a response to Japan warns of iPod nano fire risk

Apple is offering to replace faulty batteries in iPod nanos in Japan following a government warning that the popular music players may pose a fire hazard, a company spokesman said Thursday.

"We will replace batteries of the first-generation iPod nanos with new ones if customers find that the batteries overheat," the Apple Japan spokesman said.

The offer is only for batteries with overheating problems and is not a full recall, he said.

The economy, trade and industry ministry on Tuesday warned users of iPod nanos of a potential fire risk after it received two new reports of minor fires in August in Tokyo caused by overheating iPod nanos.

"We are still investigating the cause of the glitch, but we've identified one particular supplier of the batteries," the spokesman said.

Japan had already launched an investigation in March after another Apple iPod nano sent out sparks.

According to the ministry, Apple Computer has been notified of a total of 17 overheating cases in Japan. Out of those, two users suffered minor burns.

About 1.81 million iPod nanos sold in Japan between September 2005 and September 2006 have a potential risk of fire, the ministry said.

The US computer giant has already warned that iPod, iPod nano or iPod shuffle may generate excess heat while being charged in certain carry cases.

Lithium ion batteries, which Apple uses for iPods, are common in consumer electronics, such as mobile telephones and personal computers.

However, major battery makers, including electronics giant Sony Corp., have occasionally been forced to recall their lithium ion battery packs after reports of overheating and fire.

Bangu-Bang Mania 1st Filipino Online Casual Game

Over five years in development and with only about a dozen people to develop it, Bangu-Bang Mania has finally been shown to gaming journalists in a simple ceremony at GameFrog at Metrowalk, Ortigas Center.

Bangu-Bang Mania, developed by VITAS, is considered as the first fully Filipino made online casual game. It is primarily a two-dimensional beat 'em up game similar to the popular Nintendo game Smash Brothers and can be played by up to six players on three-against-three matches.

The game's characters are all robots whose body parts can be upgraded with different weapons. These include upgrades for the head, torso, arms, legs, primary and secondary weapons and backpack weapons.

VITAS President Rainier Umali said the open beta test of the game will start before the end of August while the commercial launch will happen by mid-October.

Instead of following the commonly used free-to-play scheme in other casual games, VITAS decided that Bangu-Bang Mania will be pay-to-play wherein players will top up their gaming cards with 50 pesos for one week play time, 100 pesos for 2 weeks, and 200 pesos for one month play time. He said they are in talks with ePLDT's Get Loaded payment system as well as Load Central for the top-up card loading service.

"The pay-to-play model helps balance out the game because users will start out with just the same amount of money to play, instead of buying more expensive items. Of course, if they want to continue playing they have to get the higher amount," Umali said.

Umali added that they are not hoping to be the most played casual fighting game but they are aiming for just "one percent" of the online gamer market, which would sustain the game.

For the next few weeks, Umali said the company will be having in-game promos that would include awarding prizes to the top scorer in the game for the open beta test as well as the person who reports the most bugs in the game.

iPhone 2.0.2 Update: Double-bladed Sword

This bit of news might not concern a lot of folks in Manila(Philippines) as the 3G iPhone’s debut is still tomorrow, but for those who have manage to get one already, this is a note worthy read.

 

As you may know, iPhone 2.0.2 firmware update has been released and while it does work for others; it seems that it apparently does quite the opposite for some. More specifically, the latest update actually kills the iPhone’s ability to make phone calls in a 3G network. Ironic isn’t it considering that the whole point of owning a 3G iPhone is to be able to use it in a 3G network, right? Well, reports are coming in that some users are experiencing this dilemma after they have updated their beloved iPhone. One particular frustrated owner eventually brought his iPhone to an AT&T store to have it checked; and when the SIM was swapped out, the problem was fixed.

Gizmodo has a simpler solution: switch your iPhone to use a 2G network only. Yeah, it doesn’t exactly fix the problem and is actually just a work around, but it’ll do in emergency situations.

For now, this issue isn’t widespread yet, but as more reports slowly trickle in, I wouldn’t be surprised if the number of people that are affected by the update slowly swells to a greater figure. So I guess it’s best to hold off on updating your iPhone’s firmware at the moment until a more stable, and reliable one becomes available.

'The Sims' creator focuses on world-building

The creator of the worlwide gaming phenomenon "The Sims" is shifting his sights from city-building to world-building.
Game designer Will Wright recently talked to media at the Singapore Zoological Gardens last week to talk about his latest game "Spore", which is set to launch this September. The game allows a player to control the evolution of a species from its beginnings as a unicellular organism, through development as an intelligent and social creature, to interstellar exploration as a spacefaring culture.
Below are excerpts of an interview with Wright:

What is Spore all about?

Spore is your own personal universe in a box. In this universe you can create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations and even sculpt entire worlds. In Spore you have a variety of creation tools at your disposal that allow you to customize nearly every aspect of your universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even spaceships. While Spore is a single player game, your creations and other players’ creations are automatically shared between your galaxy and theirs, providing a limitless number of worlds to explore and play.

How is it played, and why is it unique?

Unlike most other games, Spore is focused on developing and nurturing your creations. Players are given the creative control to make their imagination tangible. The Spore Creators tools can be used to make cells, creatures, buildings, vehicles, spaceships, and ultimately shape and sculpt planets. In terms of game play, the Spore universe is made up of five phases with different challenges and goals. You may choose to start with the cell phase and nurture one species from its humble aquatic origins to its evolution as a sentient species. Or you may decide to start building tribes or civilizations on multiple planets. There is much more freedom in the decisions you make, that translate directly to your creations. What you do with your universe is up to you.

How can Spore connect people?

Spore is a unique blend of single-player and massively multiplayer online games. Although simultaneous multiplayer gaming is not a feature of Spore, a single-player’s content can be uploaded to the internet to be shared with the millions of other Spore players in the world. Your creations and other players’ creations are automatically shared between your galaxy and theirs, providing a limitless number of worlds to explore and play within. Currently on Sporepedia, we have almost three million creatures being shared online. Players will also be able to upload YouTube videos of their creations’ activities.

So who is Will Wright as a designer?

I tend to look at games slightly different from most other designers. For example, I enjoy taking a real world system, dismantling it and putting it back together in a way that makes it this amazing toy-like interactive game. I’ve been heavily influenced by how players of my previous games had interacted and with the tools that we created for those games. I always like to have games that enabled player creativity and giving players the tools to create their own stories. In terms of Spore, it is a leap in evolution from some of the tools that we have created for games like SimCity, with the Building Architect Tool, or The Sims, with the Transmogrifier or Body Shop.

What were his inspirations and vision for Spore?

Well, my inspirations are quite varied and I like to draw from all different sources. For Spore, the original idea came from my love for space and discovery. The Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence Institute (SETI), books such as the Drake Equation, and a film by Ray and Charles Eames called The Power of Ten, all of which seek to answer one simple question: “Is there somebody out there?” But my vision for Spore is a game is on a more human-level, where player creativity and the sharing of player made content is fundamental. From the microscopic to the macroscopic, it is about bringing people together through their own imagination.

Japan warns of iPod nano fire risk

Japan on Tuesday warned users of Apple iPod nanos of a potential fire risk after two new instances in which the popular portable music players overheated.

Japan’s economy, trade and industry ministry has received two new reports of minor fires in August in Tokyo caused by overheating iPod nanos, said ministry official Hiroyuki Yoshitsune.

There were no injuries and the cause is still unclear, he said.

Japan had already launched an investigation in March after another Apple iPod nano sent out sparks.

According to the ministry, Apple Computer has been notified of a total of 14 similar cases in Japan. Out of those, two users suffered minor burning.

The ministry said the incidents were caused by four models -- MA004J/A, MA005J/A, MA099J/A and MA107J/A -- of which 1.81 million units were sold between September 2005 and September 2006 in Japan.

"Users need to be careful about overheating of the machines," the ministry said in a statement, warning that particular care is needed when recharging the iPods.

"Our ministry told Apple to improve its technological development and probe the cause of the incidents so that similar incidents do not happen again," the official said.

There was no immediate comment from Apple. Public broadcaster NHK said the company has no plan to recall any iPods but is ready to exchange defective parts.
The US computer giant has already warned that iPod, iPod nano or iPod shuffle may generate excess heat while being charged in certain carry cases.

Lithium ion batteries, which Apple uses for iPods, are common in consumer electronics, such as mobile telephones and personal computers.

However, major battery makers, including electronics giant Sony Corp., have occasionally been forced to recall their lithium ion battery packs after reports of overheating and fire.

Lenovo W700: Graphic Artist’s Dream Machine

Laptops have surely come a long way. There are lappies available that are ideal for gamers, for budget conscious individuals, for corporate people, and now, even for graphics artists and designers.

The Lenovo ThinkPad W700 is more than your average 17-inch notebook. Aside from the professional grade WUXGA display with 400 nit brightness and auto-color calibration sensor, it’s the first laptop to integrate a Wacom digitizer into its design the perfect mobile computer for photographers, graphic artists, and others in a similar field. Rounding up its specs is an Intel 3.0GHz Core 2 Extreme Quad Core processor, up to 8GB DDR3 RAM, 1GB Nvidia Quadro FX 370M vidcard, dual HDD bays configurable in RAID 0 or RAID 1, 7-in-1 card reader, 5 USB ports, and thanks to its size, a full numeric keypad. If you need to hook this bad boy to an external display, you can do so through the dual-link DVI, VGA and display port.

It’s slated to be released in September with a starting price of a whopping $2,978 for the most basic model. It’s expensive, but then again, this isn’t your regular run-of-the-mill laptop either.

Timing not so good for iPhone 3G in RP, says analyst

Despite the hype surrounding Globe's forthcoming launch of the iPhone 3G, one analyst believes Apple's latest device is coming to the Philippines at a very bad time.

"The iPhone's roll-out in the Philippine market came at a very bad time," said Benedict Ferrer, analyst for XMG Asia Pacific.

Globe is scheduled to launch the iPhone 3G on August 22.

The operator initially announced earlier this month that it would sell the device for prepaid accounts at P41,899 and P48,899, for the 8-gigabyte and 16-gigabyte models, respectively.

Last Friday, Globe announced price rollbacks and said it would sell iPhone 3G prepaid kits starting at P37,599 (8Gb) and P43,799 (16 GB).

"Despite of the price cuts made by Globe, technology consumers are now very cautious on spending for high-end luxury items due to spiraling food and transportation costs," Ferrer said in comments.

He believes Globe's revenue growth from iPhone subscriptions will still be limited due to "application cost, value proposition and application usage acceptability among consumers."

In terms of preference, he said consumers in general will still prefer prepaid plans primarily because these do not have a "lock-in" contract with Globe.

The iPhone 3G is also available via postpaid subscriptions ranging from P1,599 to P4,999 in monthly fees.

"iPhone's brand recognition, market positioning and loyal followers will provide the strategic advantage in capturing high-end techno savvy consumers versus other smart phone brands," Ferrer said.

Globe's prepaid plans come with P1000 in load credits spread over five months, or P200 per month. Also, the first 1,000 phonekit purchases will get an additional P1,000 discount off the purchase price, Globe said in last Friday's announcement.

Wikipedia founder ready to break Google strangehold

Watch out, Google. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales hopes that Wikia Search, a project he spearheads, will break Google's domination as the world's most widely used Internet search engine.

Google and fellow titans Yahoo! and Microsoft dominate the Internet search engine market which Wales said was already causing some worry among web users.

"Right now in the US in particular we have a really strong concentration of the industry," Wales said Thursday at the Global Brand Forum in Singapore.

Industry statistics showed over 90 percent of Internet searches in the United States are done through the three firms, he said.

"So a lot of people are really concerned about this... Do we really want all of our traffic, all of our editorial control of the Internet all being piped through one, two or three companies? I don't think we do... I think we want to have a broader marketplace than that."

Wales said Wikia Search will run on an open platform, similar to the principles behind Wikipedia, the popular online encyclopedia in which entries can be made and edited by anyone with an Internet connection.

"All of the existing search engines are proprietary black boxes," said Wales. "You have no idea how things are ranked and what's going on."

With Wikia Search, users "can participate in meaningful ways" when they browse the Internet, he said.

Mind over mouse: Thought-controlled computing on the way

While motion-controlled gaming with systems like the Nintendo Wii are all the rage, new technology heading for consumers this year goes further, sensing facial expressions, emotions and even thoughts.

Focus your mind to cast a magic spell. Smile or wink and your on-screen avatar does the same. Get mellow and background music matches your mood.

These are some of the possibilities promised by Emotiv Systems, which plans to sell its wireless "neuroheadset" late this year.

The 0 device for PCs uses 16 sensors that press lightly against the scalp to monitor electrical activity from the brain and face. A built-in gyroscope tracks head movements to control a cursor or viewing angles.

The brain-sensing technology -- electroencephalography, or EEG -- has been around for decades, mainly as a medical and research tool. Feedback based on EEG has been used by athletes to improve concentration and as therapy for people with attention deficit disorders.

Until recently, it has been too expensive or cumbersome for broad consumer use, said Steve Prentice, a vice president at Gartner Inc., a technology research firm.

Wearing the equipment with its wires and electrodes, "you ended up looking a bit like a laboratory rat," he said. "What Emotiv appears to have done is bring that laboratory environment out into the real world."

Prentice said brain-computer interface technology has many applications, but Emotiv is smart to start with the video game market.

"In gaming, people are looking for any additional sort of edge or cool technological advantage," he said. "It’s a short move from gaming to things like virtual worlds and from there into the mainstream computing environment."

Emotiv has already piqued the interest of IBM Corp., which is testing how the headset, called EPOC, may work with virtual environments.

"As interactions in the virtual world are becoming more complex, mouse and keyboard alone could soon not be enough," IBM spokesman Steven Tomasco said.

He said Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM has no business partnership with Emotiv, but sees the headset as "a very exciting development in human-machine interface."

Others also see the potential of mind over mouse.

OCZ Technology Group Inc. began offering its Neural Impulse Actuator for gamers this year. The device, selling for about 0, is a headband with three sensors that rest on the forehead, detecting electrical signals from movements like a furrowed brow or a blinking eye to control on-screen action in PC games.

NeuroSky Inc. makes "bio-sensors" for consumer products, including toys, and earlier this year demonstrated a prototype headset with gaming applications that detects brain waves and tracks head and eye movement.

These interfaces are among a host of new technologies seeking to enhance or displace the traditional mouse, keyboard and joystick.

Vibration feedback and motion sensing are increasingly common in mobile devices and, led by the Nintendo Wii, in game systems.

Samsung’s dual-SIM phone - Take Two!

In the Philippines, most mobile phone users now carry two mobile phones because one TelCo decided to give unlimited call and text messaging services.

This gave users the freedom to chat more which they can’t do with their previous mobile carriers.

Last year, China produced a mobile phone that can carries two SIM cards. This seemed an advantage to locals since it eliminates the use of two mobile phone units. These "dual-SIM" capable phones became an instant trend in the Philippines.

But the durability of these dual-SIM phones became an issue.

Then Samsung came up with their own dual-SIM mobile phone. The first dual-SIM phone from Samsung was the D880 Duos, and now comes the D780.

Although a bit big in size, and a bit heavy, too, the D780 is slim that’s solid to the touch. This, in my opinion is a a plus since most China-made, dual-SIM phones are constructed with materials that are less durable than those made by branded phones.

The D780 has a 2.1-inch LCD and has a keypad that feels just right as you use it. Same goes for the navigation keypad and the selection keys. It has 2-Megapixel camera at the back of the phone while its dedicated camera button is located at the phone’s right side.

Below the camera button is the charger/handsfree port. On the left side is where the volume button, the SIM management button, and the microSD card slot. Look at the bottom side of the phone and you see the phone’s built-in speaker.

Behind the battery, you see two SIM card slots where you can use either one or both. Once your SIM cards are in, turning on the phone will prompt you to register or assign names for each SIM card so always take note which is which.

From here, the phone displays the active SIM cards at the bottom middle of the standby screen and you’’ll continue to see this unless there’s no signal for the carriers. Pressing down on the navigation keypad and the contact list will be displayed.

On this menu, you’ll see that a contact is stored on SIM 1 or SIM 2 as indicated on the bottom portion of the screen. Try to dial a few numbers and what the phone does is it displays the contacts that contain them.

Apart from capable of carrying two SIM cards, the D780 has a lot more to offer. It has a 2-Megapixel camera, with 1600x1200 resolution that can take photos and videos. It can play MP3 audio files as well as a built-in FM radio.

Not to miss out is the phone’s simple organizer that has a calendar where you can appointments, dates, anniversaries, etc. There’s also the document viewer which is quite handy in case you need to view document files such as Excel or Word. And the addittion of a PDF viewer makes the D780 more versatile.

I almost forgot about the voice recorder which is a good alternative for taking down notes.

In case you want to be entertained (if the music player and the camera were not enough), you can play the several pre-installed games.

The one thing that bothers me with this phone is when you are changing the primary SIM. Although you don’t have to take out the battery and switch the two SIM cards (all you have to do is press the SIM management button), the phone will restart automatically.

There are some China-made phones that may outshine the D780 in its dual SIM feature (plus some). But to also consider durability and style, my vote would go to Samsung. The Duos D780 is not an entirely new breakthrough in the mobile phone world but it definitely gets the job done.

Will Windows battles iPhone?

Last week, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., showed off the Omnia mobile phone
to members of the local IT
media. During the touch-and-feel session, Samsung executives taught some of the metropolis’ IT writers and editors the best ways to use (and abuse?) the Omnia, also known as the SGII-i900.

Unfortunately, our time with the Omnia was a mere fleeting affair, and the three hours spent with it, seemed to have passed by so quickly. I said goodbye too soon.

But my Omnia story has turned into something resembling those popular Korean telenovelas, which local TV audiences know rarely end on such a sad note. The day after the touch-and-feel but no-taki ng-home session, ah 8GB version of the Omnia turned up.

Getting to Know You.

This Korean looker comes with a super slender body measuring
112 x 56.8 x 12.5mm and with its platinum-look finish, is guarateed to make any IT lover go loco with desire.

This handset, which has network support for HSDPA (up to 7.2Mbps), EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1 800/1900, comes with a
3.2-inch WQVGA LCD screen that offers high-resolution videos and slide shows.
The Omnia’s connectivity options include Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fl and USB 2.0, and it is available in 8GB and 16GB versions, both with a microSDHC slot supporting up to 16GB of additional storage.

Multimedia Pleasures

Its audio capabilities are nothing to sneeze at. Moreover, the unit comes with multi-Codec support for DivX, Xvid and several other video formats. This phone-cummedia player does away with file format conversions. Also, Omnia comes With a detachable battery that perseveres to offer. extended energizing runs.

The Omnia comes wjth.a 5-megapixel CMOS camera with features that rival those of dedicated digital cameras. These include auto-focus, image stabilizer, Geo-tagging auto sequence panorama. that, wide dynamic range, face detection, smile detection and various scene modes.

Unlike some other smart phones out in the market, the Omnia offers true and full touch - screen capability. The unit's TouchWiz technology-based user interface redefines the concept of touch controls for mobile phones. It also comes with haptic feedback, which allows users to know that their commands have been acknowledged of accomplished by the unit.

The Omnia is not perfect. There are a couple or so of issues that

surfaced during the time I spent with the handset. The finger scrolling feature was not as unfailing as I would have wanted, And it bothered me that I had to remove the unit’s battery each time I wanted to insert or remove the microSD card.

These issues, I am quite sure, Samsung would fully address with the
Omnia’s next iteration.

Fun With Windows

While the thought that this smart phone comes with a mobile version of the world’s most dominant desktop operating system might turn off some gadget lovers out there, the unit’s bag of multimedia capabilities and long list of business features will surely ease their pain.

But the Omnia is not all about fun and entertainment. It is, after all, a smart phone. This handset also includes various more business-like applications including MS Office Document Viewer, Advanced PIM
applications, push e-mail, accelerometer, etiquette pause and digital frame -

At first glance, the phone might seem quite intimidating, Users may initially feel lost, unable to make sense of the unit's menus and commands But a little time spent to get to know the unit better would surely result to a satisfying mobile experience.


Philippine Price:

Samsung Omnia
8GB - P34,000($775)
16GB - P38,000 ($866)

Apple iPhone
8GB - P41,899 ($962)
16GB - P48,899 ($1,122)

How many words are your pictures worth?

Speechable.com (http://speechable.com/) is a new, free website that lets you easily upload and add speech bubbles to any photo and share them with friends via email or on popular social networks like Facebook®, MySpace®, Orkut, blogs, and message boards or you can share them with folks you’re just not that fond of. No registration required.

To use Speechable, upload a photo, then select a balloon and add text. Use the buttons below to resize your font, and resize the balloon by clicking its lower right corner. Grab the top line of the balloon to move it.

Speechable is a handy tool for inside jokes, quick blog posts, and whatever else needs a little comic strip flair. Once you’ve added your witty commentary to your photo and saved it, an optional link lets you convert it to a private photo, but otherwise anyone can share and comment on your comic genius in the gallery or on your iGoogle homepage.

Have Fun!

Touchscreen PSP?

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A certain jube808 has launched a quixotic quest to add a myriad of features to the PSP that he believes should've been there from the start, including beefed up battery life, a better control pad, and touchscreen support. Think what you will of his aims, he certainly seems to have some hardware chops, as he's got a touchscreen up and running on the handheld. So far he's just got a proof of concept keyboard, which works with a finger or a stylus, but the hope is to provide full touchscreen support for homebrew gaming. Let us know how that goes, jube. Videos are after the break.

2008 Beijing Olympics Flash Drives (The Best from Lenovo)

China just kicked off 2008 Summer Olympics with an opening ceremony that cost upwards of $300 million USD - a budget that guarantees the most spectacular fireworks and pageantry in the one-of-a kind bird nest-like venue. Lenovo as the first Chinese company to throw in its support behind Beijing Olympic Committee is the official flash drive designer and manufacturer for this world's sport event. To make back all the money poured into the sponsorship program, Lenovo has released several limited editions of the Olympic-themed flash drives. And here they are. 

	You've probably seen the first one - already made public in the blogsphere long ago - has the same material as the Olympic torch. The $980 RMB 4GB thumbdrive features the game logo in the center which is surrounded by some swirly cloud in red.
	The Mascot-series consists of six 4GB flash drives with their front side printed with a Fuwa image and the one with the Beijing Olympic logo. This set goes for $199 RMB.
	The third collection comprises of what looks like five medallions. We aren't sure where they hid the USB plug. Not that it matters anyway as everyone of them has been sold out.
	As for the last one, if someone gives this to you as a present, you must be some very prestigious person as you become one of the ten owners of this extremely limited edition drive set. Five 1GB titanium drives with swiveling USB plug come in a special mahogany box as shown below.