Microsoft To Offer Multi-Touch Surface

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, PC / Laptop, Peripherals,

Microsoft has announced that it will be releasing a multi-touch interface PC, henceforth to be known as Surface. Designed to do away with the need for a traditional mouse and keyboard, users can instead use their fingers to operate their computers. The table can also interact with cell phones placed on them. Microsoft is planning to sell Surface initially to big corporations such as hotels, casinos, and restaurants. We expect the military to be in on the action, too. That figures. The little people never get the fun stuff first. With prices of between $5,000.00 and $10,000.00, we can wait a couple of years before we invest with that kind of cash.

Read More | BBC

Video: Steve Jobs All Things Digital Interview Highlights

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Home Entertainment, PC / Laptop, Videos,

Earlier today, Walt Mossberg interviewed Steve Jobs about all things Apple, including the name change, the iPhone, DRM-free music, and YouTube coming to Apple TV. Brightcove is hosting a few video clips of the All Things Digital conference, and we thought we might share the Steve Jobs interview highlight with you. There is some good information here, plus you get a look at the Apple TV YouTube interface. Give it a look, and let us know what you think.

Sony Unveils Bendable Screens

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Design, Misc. Tech, Portable Audio / Video, Science,

Sony is once again the forerunner of innovative technology. This time they have come up with a 2.5-inch display for cell phones and other handheld gadgets that is only .01-inch thick and bendable. Still in development, researchers are trying to make it larger. The screen is a combination of the company’s organic thin film transistor, which creates the flexible display, and an organic electroluminescent display. Other companies, such as LG Phillips and Seiko Epson are also working on “electronic Paper” technology.

“In the future, it could get wrapped around a lamppost or a person’s wrist, even worn as clothing,” said Sony spokesperson Chisato Kitsukawa. “Perhaps it can be put up like wallpaper.”

Perhaps, but most of us would rather have our current products work from Sony than worry about wearing a TV screen on our elbow.

Read More | CNN

LG Unveils Wine Phone

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Cameras, Smartphones, Corporate News,

LG will be launching its Wine Phone in Korea, which features enhanced voice-calling and SMS sending. It also sports a 2.2-inch LCD, double-sized buttons, speaker, and word format. Four buttons serve for the frequently used applications of voice recording, setting, alarm, and schedule. The phone will be debuting June 25 for somewhere between KRW 300,000 (~$322.00) and KRW 400,000 (~$429.00.) The target selling group is 30 to 40 year old consumers. I guess LG realized that at that age many of us are approaching bi-focal age. Our thanks to them for reminding us.

Read More | Aving

Interactive Games Take Over Bus Stops

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, GPS, Handhelds, Internet, Music, Video Games, Wireless / WiFi,

London bus stops now sport interactive touchscreen ads designed to promote their Nokia N95 cell phone. You tap a jean pocket and when it is uncovered, try to find its match. With a 5 megapixel display, the N95 has advanced browsing, e-mail, GPS, DVD quality graphics, Carl Zeiss optics, and music download capabilities. It comes with a $749.00 price tag, making it understandable why they are doing some heavy promotional tricks. Let’s just hope that playing around with the display will not get so addicting as to make the Londoners miss their buses.

Read More | Nokia via Trendhunter

BlueQ Bluetooth Wristband Alerts you of Incoming Calls

Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Accessories, Smartphones, Wearables, Wireless / WiFi,

Not everyone wears their cellphone clipped to their jeans. Some of us keep our phone in a tote or handbag, and are thus unable to hear it ring. The folks at BlueQ invented a solution: the Bluetooth Vibrating Wristband, which—you guessed it—vibrates whenever your stowed-away bluetooth-enabled phone receives a call. But wait, there’s more! You can design your own wristband on the company’s website. Just upload the photo of your choice, which will then be printed and applied to your BlueQ. Pricing is not yet available, so stay tuned…

Read More | BlueQ Wireless via Gizmodo

Chargepod makes its Debut

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Misc. Tech, Portable Audio / Video,

 

We are thinking that the Chargepod is not a lot of product for a lot of price. Offered by Callpod, it offers you six-way recharging for your cell phone, Bluetooth headset, PDA, and PMP, etc. It features blue indicator lights, runs by an included AC adapter, and should be usable by most manufacturers’ models. You can also order a car charger for $19.95 or a USB adapter for $29.95, but with a base price of $49.95, would you really want to?

Read More | Callpod

The Cell Phone Stun Gun is Shockingly Deceptive

Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Accessories, Smartphones, Misc. Tech,

We’ve already told you about the No-Contact Jacket for women, which literally gives a shock to potential criminals attempting to assault the wearer. Since you can’t wear a jacket every day, we offer an alternative: the Cell Phone Stun Gun. It looks like your standard phone clipped to your jeans, but the press of a button sends a whopping 800K volts to any unsuspecting cretins, allowing you to make your getaway. And yes, there’s a safety switch, so you won’t accidentally shock yourself if you grab this phone instead of your real Nokia. Ouch. The Cell Phone Stun Gun is available for $60 USD, however the website is prohibited from sending this weapon to a handful of states, for legal reasons.

Read More | Bud K Catalog via Gizmodiva

Blackberry to Release Curve

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Cameras, Smartphones, Misc. Tech, Music, Portable Audio / Video,

It didn’t take Blackberry long to get around to another device they hope will add coins to their coffer. Dubbed the Curve 8300, it measures 107 x 60 x 15.5 mm and weighs 111 g. It features a 2.0 megapixel camera with 5x digital zoom and built-in flash, EDGE/GPRS/GSM connectivity, Blackberry Maps, access to up to 10 e-mail accounts, can handle polyphonic, MP3 and MIDI tracks, and even has a spell cheker

checker. The Curve also supports Blackberry Messenger, Google Talk and comes pre-loaded with Yahoo IM. The multi-faceted gadget is expected to make its debut this June.

Read More | Blackberry

Century Sutra 1688 Allows NES Emulation

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Accessories, Smartphones, Handhelds, Video Games,

Pocket PC gamers can now play without using those teeny, tiny buttons on their pocket PCs or cell phones. The Century Sutra 1688 is a two-handed clip-on game pad that almost simulates the buttons on a Nintendo Gameboy, Advance, or Gameboy Color. It may look a little awkward, but then this NES Emulator has to be one step up from remembering what finger is supposed to go on which letter on keypads. No news yet on price, although our imperfect Babelfish translation led us to believe that it would be an affordable JPY 1,500 (~$12.52.)

Read More | Phone Daily (Japanese) via The Raw Feed