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Sony has released the P990’s sibling from it’s cage today as well…the M600. It uses that other smartphone OS - Symbian 9.1, has dual mode UMTS, tri-band GPRS (900/1800/1900MHz), dual-use keypad (read as pain-in-the-neck-to-use), and push e-mail technology. A nicely sized 2.6” QVGA screen, Bluetooth, Infrared, and USB 2.0 (Full speed 12Mbps instead of High Speed 480Mbps) add additional appeal. The QVGA screen is also a touch screen (with handwriting recogntion) and is a welcome feature that is missing from many Microsoft Smartphone 5.0 based phones. Lest I forget, audio playback is also a specialty of the M600 with MP3, AAC, AAC+, E-AAC+, and m4a capability and can deliver the stereo sound via Bluetooth if so desired. If the P990 is a little much, then the M600 just might fit the bill and will be available in Q2 2006 as the M600c (Mainland China) and the M600i (pretty much everywhere else).
Read More 
| Sony Ericsson
Wow…we are still speechless. MobileWhack got the scoop on the specs for the new Sony Ericsson P990, and I am still wiping the drool off of my desk. This literally made me want to smash my Treo 650 on the floor and repeatedly stomp up and down on it. Short of Apple coming out with a phone of this caliber, I may just have to rethink my cell phone selection. Why doesn’t Apple just buy Sony and get it over with? Check out the awesome specs (after the jump):
Click to continue reading Sony Ericsson P990: The Ultimate Mobile Phone
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They say that a dog’s mouth is cleaner than yours. A subjective observation to be sure, as most humans aren’t known for licking, ummm, well, various places that we won’t go into detail on. Regardless, the human mouth is a breeding ground for bacteria, and the lowly toothbrush is even more so. Since a toothbrush is damp for most of it’s life, it makes a fine place for viruses and bacteria (like Strep and E-Coli) to flourish. The Purebrush Antibacterial Toothbrush Purifier is out to change that. Armed with an ultra-violet light, the Purebrush sanitizes up to four toothbrushes at once. The Purebrush is different from other toothbrush sanitizers in that it will clean not only a standard toothbrush, but also the powered heads from Braun, Interplak and others. With claims of a 99.9% effective elimination rate for viruses and bacteria, the Purebrush seems to be an ideal weapon in the war on the microscopic critters that are out to get you.
Read More | Murdock Laboratories via Kevin Kelly Cool Tools
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Put Some DICE In Your Ride
Posted by Frank Bisono Categories: Portable Audio / Video, Transportation,
I’ve been in the market for a new car for some time now and I have pretty much narrowed it down to the 2006 BMW 330i. The decision hasn’t been easy as the Lexus IS 350 gave BMW some stiff competition, but that review is for another time. In my quest for some new wheels, there have been some absolutely essential features that I have to have. One of them is the ability to integrate the iPod into my cockpit fairly seamlessly. Up until now, the Harmon Kardon Drive+Play has led the quest with their slick integration with just about any vehicle. One thing is still bugging me though, I hate the idea of installing yet another gizmo with a screen and control knob, and something so visible that makes it tempting for those nefarious types to do a smash and grab on my new ride.
DICE Electronics has a nifty solution to my woes. There’s not a whole lot of info available, but from what I can see, their iPod Integration Kit just might be what I’m looking for. According to DICE:
Our hard-wired kit connects right to the cd changer port usually found on the back of your factory radio. The DICE module transfers information between the iPod and radio through a dock cable or dock cradle.
BMW is one of the many vehicles listed as being compatible with the iPod Integration Kit. My biggest question is, does that mean it actually interfaces and works through the BMW iDrive system? Could this be the device all of us have been waiting for? I dunno…sure would be nice to test one and put it head to head against Harmon Kardon. If we manage to hook up a head to head test, we’ll be the first to let you know, otherwise, I may just have to make a blind decision and hope for the best. Either way, looks like there are more options than ever for us iPod touting technorati.
Last week we told you about the possibility of VMware releasing GSX into the wild for free. Well folks, it has arrived! You can grab your copy of VMware Server Beta here.
Start experiencing the benefits of server virtualization
VMware Server is a robust yet easy to use product for users new to server virtualization technology. VMware Server enables companies to partition a physical server into multiple virtual machines, and to start experiencing the benefits of virtualization.
These USB sticks takes the “stick” part quite literally. Available in flavors of 128MB to 1GB, this is one of the most interesting designs in electronics we’ve seen in a while. You can get a quote on one of these on the OOMS Product Page. While you’re there, check out their wireframe chairs.
Read More | OOMS Product via Treehugger
Poetic Justice - Google.cn Censors Itself
Posted by Kristin Wenzel Categories: Corporate News, Internet,
Oh, man, this should win an award for “Doh! of the Week.”
After making a controversial deal with the Chinese government in order to get into the Chinese market with the new Google.cn (but bowing to requests for censorship of their services and their search results), it must have felt like a technological cyber-slap in the face to find out that the censored version of the site blocked itself. Oops? The result has apparently been fixed but there’s not much forthcoming on what happened.
China Herald weighed in, saying “there is a real possibility that those who decided on what to block or unblock really have a good sense of humor.
More likely is the possibility that Google’s new addition to the internet just caused what the Chinese authorities try to prevent: an avalange of discussions.Suddenly the whole world, inside and outside China, could compare the two services and that sparked off a discussion that was not wanted by China’s internet nanny.”
That’s precisely, many agree, what the chinese government is trying to avoid with their censored search results and governmental media control. Seems like this was either a huge error or a plan that seriously backfired - and made the disparity in the results given via Google and Google.cn sharply contrast against each other. Who knows… maybe Google put it in for just that reason? The Chinese government isn’t really known for divulging information on things of that nature, so we may never know.
Read More | AsiaPundit
Verizon Finally Allows DUN On Their Handsets
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Internet,
For all if you looking to use your Verizon Wireless cell phone as an EV-DO modem, it looks like the company has heard your voice and given in. If you are the owner of an LG VX9800, LG VX8100, Motorola RAZR V3c, or Motorola E815, you can now tether your phone to your laptop via USB and surf away if you are willing to pay $59.99 per month for access to Verizon’s BroadbandAccess service. Notice - we specified USB as the connection method. Verizon is still saying no to tethering via Bluetooth. Not too big a deal, as USB is the faster connection method when compared against Bluetooth 1.2, anyway.
Read More | PC Magazine
As we previously reported, Kojima - the creator of the Metal Gear series - recently began podcasting. The good news is that the podcast is available now, for download, in english. It’s conveniently located on his blog, which has also been translated. If you’re curious as to what the game creator’s been thinking, now’s your chance to find out.
Read More | GameDaily
Gamasutra reports that EA’s profits dropped 31% for its fiscal third quarter, ending December 31st 2005. This news isn’t much of a surprise though mainly because 2005 ended with news of lowered sales throughout the industry. Best Buy reported lowered game sales, Activision dropped sales forecasts, Microsoft wasn’t able to get as many 360s out in stores as it hoped, and so on.
In addition to EA’s profit drop, it announced on February 1st that it would cut about 5% of its world-wide workforce. Hopefully though the industry will pick up at the end of this year or in 2007 as the new consoles continue to release and become more readily available.
Read More | Gamasutra
