The battle rages on. Pre just got its WebOS 1.2.1 update. What does this mean? Not much if you don’t use iTunes. If you do, you can sync your pre once again. Hurry and sync it up! Apple is sure to come out with an update in the coming weeks that will once again block it. Then, a few weeks later Palm with come out with WebOS 1.2.2 that will unblock it once again. And so on, forever.
Hiroo Iwata–developer of the robot tiles seen above–has created what will one day be a virtual floor at a VR lab at the University of Tsukuba in Japan. The Robot Tiles are covered with a conductive fabric that is able to detect the direction you are walking and bring the blocks in place in front of your feet.
As they are this is not very functional but with some work these could potentially be a seamless, infinite floor. In a virtual reality environment this could allow you to realistically feel like you were walking from California to New York while remaining in a relatively small room.
Once these became more efficient and usable they could even create different textured blocks or blocks with varying densities so that if in your virtual environment you walked from a street to the grass you would feel the difference below your feet.
Well, the device that Sony said would change the way we listen to music forever is here. And is it changing the way we listen to music? Not so much. I am not going to deny the fact that it is pretty awesome but definitely not Earth shattering.
The technology is this. The ear buds use capacitive technology–just like the iPhone and G1–to detect that it is in its ear. To start listening to music shoot these in your ears. When the ear buds hit your capacitive skin they begin playing the music. To pause take one ear out. Pretty cool. [SE]
When we first mentioned the Sept 9th conference and the rumors circling it the new Nano is not one that we brought up. Why? Mostly, I have no idea but alot of it had to do with the fact that I mostly just don’t care. For those of you who do here is what was announced:
• Video camera (640×480)
• NO STILL CAMERA
• Integrated mic
• Integrated speaker
• FM Radio!!!!! That you can pause!! And iTunes tag!
• One-click YouTube uploads (through your computer)
• Voice Over like Shuffle
• Pedometer with Nike+ syncing online
• Voice Recorder
• 2.2-inch screen(whoo hoo .2in bigger than the last)
The 8GB Nano is available today for $150 and the 16GB is available for $180. So if you are looking to get a Nano I don’t know why you would go with the 8GB as opposed to the 16GB. Some pretty cool upgrades for the Nano but seriously, no still camera?
The 3rd generation iPod touches were announced as well. The iPod Touch now comes in 8GB, 32GB and 64GB for $199, $299 and $399. The bigger storage is nice but our hopes and dreams were shattered when we heard that there was no camera and no mic in the new iTouch. The 32GB and 64Gb flavors do have a “50% faster processor” just like the iPhone 3GS. The graphics processor has also been updated to be OpenGL ES 2.0 capable–hence their push on the gaming market.
So why didn’t we see a camera and mic in the 3rd gen? We can’t be sure but here are some possible reasons:
The new shuffles are pretty cool. The tiny MP3 player is now more tiny and comes in 2GB and 4GB models. The shuffle is now just big enough to have a clip on it that will attach it to your shirt, etc. One of my gripes with the shuffle in the past has been the lack of any kind of screen so you have no idea who the artist is or what song is playing. Now, the shuffle has a VoiceOver option that will–in a wonderfully robotic voice–at the press of a button say the artist and track name. For an extra $20 you can get a polished stainless steel version as well to go with the polyester pants you wear to the gym.
The iPod classic hasn’t died yet. The 160GB is now available for $250.
iTunes 9 is now available as well. New features include:
Steve Jobs made an appearance which was exciting but still not enough to bring life to this disappointing conference.
As for the Apple Tablet, no hope for us in sight. Apple isn’t giving us any information or even acknowledging the rumors but we know in our hearts that there is something brewing at the Apple HQ.
So lets wrap it up.
iPod nano – Now has a video camera and FM radio, no still camera.
iPod Touch — No camera in sight, bigger storage options, no Mic.
Apple Tablet — Still just a figment of our imagination.
iPod Shuffle — Now smaller, new colors, VoiceOver
Steve Jobs – Still alive, or Apple has developed a very realistic cyborg–which not likely but possible.
iTunes 9 — Updated interface, media sharing, App manger, 1 point for Apple in the Pre vs. iTunes battle royale.
The long awaited Touch Pro2 is going to be making its appearance tomorrow. The phone boasts a 3.6 tilting screen, QWERTTY keyboard, intuitive TouchFLOW 3D user interface, and is available in any color you want it–as long as that is black. The TouchFLOW 3D user interface sits on top of Windows Mobile 6.1 OS and is designed to make it more finger friendly.
I have seen rumors around the interwebs that it will be upgradeable to WinMo 6.5 and have no doubt that this is true. With Windows Mobile 6.5 less than a month away it would be a mistake by all parties involved if the phone wasn’t upgradeable.
Key specifications and features:
Other Features:
The Touch Pro2 will be available tomorrow, September 11th, for $199.99 after the $100 mail-in rebate with a two year contract. The rebate is provided in the form of a debit card which is frustrating. Hopefully online you will be able to get it for $199 and not have to deal with the MIR, or maybe if you haggle them in the store enough–threatening to go to the iPhone–they may be able to waive it for you.
Hopefully Verizon will decide to be nice and unlock the GPS so you can use it with your non-Verizon programs like they did recently with the first generation Omnia.
Meet the Toshiba Camileo S20. Capable of full 1080p video recording and only 17mm thick this has got to be the slimmest of its kind.
Only 17 mm thick, the Camileo S20 is one of the slimmest full HD camcorders available. Featuring a 5MP CMOS sensor, the S20 is capable of shooting 1920x1080p high definition images and features 4x digital zoom. With its ultra slim form factor, stylish design and a rotating 3” display, the Camileo S20 is the ultimate camcorder for style conscious consumers and first time users looking for high quality HD images at an affordable price.[Toshiba UK]
How affordable? This is listed on the site for £119.99–just under $200 USD! The bad news? If you stocked up on that good deal you found for VHS cassettes in bulk you are going to be out of luck. This camera is only SDHC memory compatible.
Features:
With all the rumors swirling around about Apple products they are we are lucky we only have 7 days left to wait.
What will we be seeing this year? Apple tablets? Apple iPods with cameras? Death to the classic iPod?(notice the headphones in the image above are plugged into the bottom of the iPod like a Touch not on top like a Classic) Will we see MMS for the iPhone in the US?
All of these questions and more answered Sept 9.
Windows Mobile 6.5 is now officially coming to us on October 6th. For more information you can read the Windows Mobile Blog. It is not a very interesting post. It is mostly just propaganda for Microsoft about how WinMo is going to be the phone OS for everyone and about how if someone is buying their first smart phone they would rather purchase a Windows phone because it is a brand they know will break down trust.
We have liked what we have seen about the mobile phone OS, but will it be as intuitive and finger friendly as we would like it to be?
This also means one of two things for Omnia 2 fans. Since the leaked info has all said that the Omnia 2 will have Windows Mobile 6.1 the phone will either come out some time in the next four weeks or it will come later and with WinMo 6.5.
You are probably tired of hearing about the Omnia 2 considering all of these posts but here it goes.
With the–rumored–leaked release date of the August 23rd Omnia 2 release to Verizon just around the corner I decided to stop by a local Verizon retail store and sniff around.
Before walking in I really had my doubts considering we have heard nothing about the release of the device and Verizon is still keeping its mouth shut. As I walked up to the store I was almost positive that the Omnia 2 was not going to be here in the next few days.
I walked in and was immediately asked for my name and why I came in that day. I said my contract was about to run out and I was hoping to find something that would keep me from switching to the iPhone in the next month or two. The guy set the clipboard down and began to help me right away. He first walked up to the Storm and I shot him down. He hasn’t been reading my blog.
He walked me over to the first gen Omnia and the HTC Ozone and their other devices and I wasn’t impressed with any.
I asked him about the Omnia 2. I told him I had gotten to see some GSM versions of it and heard that Verizon would be getting one as well.
His words to me were, “Yes we are! I was very impressed with the phone myself but haven’t heard an official release date. However our biggest phone releases are in the 4th quarter so I would expect it this year.”
Booo! I was really hoping he would leak us some information that we weren’t already 90% sure of. Only a few more days to go and I doubt that we will be seeing the Omnia 2 any time in the next few weeks. Our only hope is that Verizon is trying to keep it a big secret to blast everyone into staying/switching to Verizon. I highly doubt this as it would have been smarter to advertise for it months ago when the Pre and iPhone 3GS were being released. I know of many who have left Verizon for the Pre as well as the 3GS.
TomTom software for the iPhone 3G and 3GS is now available in the App store. The down side to this is you will be spending $100USD for the US and Canada version which is just about $20 less than what you can find a dedicated GPS unit for.
It will make it convenient. You almost always have your phone with you so you won’t have to worry about forgetting the GPS or about it getting stolen out of your car.
The iPhone is even able to receive calls while being a GPS and simply cuts out your GPS audio while you are on the phone.
The downside of course is that if for any reason you need to use your iPhone you will lose your navigation momentarily, it will suck your battery and you are going to have to spend more money to get the windshield mount and other accessories that you may want which will put the cost of using your iPhone as a GPS solution at around $200.
I think I would wait for some more usage reviews before dropping the money personally but here is one review to get you started.
Like technology from an outdated sci-fi movie the color picker concept pen designed by Jinsu Park can scan the color of an object in the real world and reproduce it using a mixture of Red, Green and Blue.
Why they thought to go with RGB instead of CMYK is beyond me. It could be that Jinsu is more used to digital design where RGB is better suited instead of printed design where CMYK is better. One way or another it is still impressive that the technology is there that can scan an object and automatically mix together the correct levels of ink in order to produce a match. All it needs now is a USB connector so you can scan the color of something and use it on your computer or push a color from your computer to the pen.
Rumors are buzzing all around the net about several different pieces of Apple news. One of the more reliable rumors bouncing around is that Apple will be hosting a keynote event for the week of September 7th. At this event the voices rumors say that Apple will be announcing some new products. This would follow the companies habit of releasing new iPods every fall.
The products that are to be announced are the new iPod touches which boast a camera, microphone and versions with 16, 32 and 64GB. These are rumored to be released for $199, $299 and $399.
More rumors include the notorious Apple Tablet that we have been hearing about. But, there are no solid rumors about that so we will just have to see. Hopefully more info will begin to leak out about the Apple Tablet such as what OS it will be running, hardware specs, will it have service through ATT or some other carrier?
An undisclosed source has said the following:
“The device, which I’ve held mock ups of, is going to have a 10 inch screen, and when I saw it looked just like a giant iPhone, with a black back— although that design could change at any time, with the same black resin back, and the familiar home button.”
“But it will come in two editions, one with a webcam and one for educational use.”
“The first prototype was built around the end of 2008. The time to market from first prototype is generally 6-9 months.”
External hard drives are pretty nifty but if you really want some decent external storage you have to carry around the hard drive, USB cable and power adapter. That was the case until now. Western Digital’s My Passport Essential SE is now available in 1TB and 750GB models that get their power via USB doing away with the need for a power plug and additional cord.
The 1TB version is going to cost you $300 or–if you can do without the extra 250GB of storage–you can get the 750GB model for just under $200.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have come up with an idea that would allow you to use scratching as an input method. The idea is that any surface can be turned into an input device allowing you to turn down the music at a party by scratching the wall anywhere in the room in a certain way or doing basic commands on your computer by scratching your desk. In theory it is a pretty good idea but probably one of those that we will never see make its way into our daily lives.
This photo supposedly is a from a Best Buy computer showing the arrival of several upcoming devices. The one of course that jumps out to us is the Omnia 2 scheduled to come out on August 23rd. There are some confusing things here such as the G2 Black and Red that is probably referring to the mytouch3G that is already out at T-Mobile. Also the Tour is there on the 23rd as well which is already available through Verizon and Sprint.
I doubt that this photo is legit. Through several trips to Verizon stores and speaking with 4 or 5 different reps none of them had heard of or were familiar with the Omnia 2. One of them said to me “if we knew of one coming out later this month we could let you know but as of now I don’t know that any are”. I think I am going to wait for some more legit leaks to pop up or for an official statement as to the official release date of the Omnia 2 to the Verizon network.
We all think the same thing as we pull out that digital camera to snap some quick shots, “man, I wish this thing had a projector built in!!” Now all of our hopes and dreams have come true.
Information has leaked about the next line up of Nikon digital cameras. The one that has stood out to us the most is the S1000pj. It comes complete with a built in projector that can push a 40″ image onto any flat surface.
From Nikon Rumors:
“The Coolpix S1000pj is the first digital camera with a built-in projector that lets users project photos or movies clips on any flat surface at up to 40 inches in size. A handy projector stand is included, as is a remote control that can be used to operate the projector, release the shutter, and more. This model features an effective resolution of 12.1 megapixels and a 5x Zoom-Nikkor lens with 28mm (equivalent) wide-angle coverage, along with a similar image stabilisation system to the Coolpix S640.”
Now this does actually have potential to be really cool. If the quality of the image or video that is projected is high enough it would be worth every penny of the leaked $587 USD.
The Omnia 2 has been officially announced for a Verizon release later this year. It has a 3.7 inch 480 x 800 pixel screen–largest screen ever put on a cell phone. While this is no iPhone 3GS it is a beautiful phone and has some features worth mentioning.
First the bad. It is going to come with Windows Mobile 6.1. Windows Mobile has never been a finger friendly intuitive touch screen OS like the iPhone has. Every smart phone I have ever owned or used that had Windows Mobile on it made me feel like I needed a stylus. With the iPhone it feels smoth and natural with your fingers.
It does have the Samsung TouchWiz 2.0 as you can see on the left side in the picture above but it is still just sitting on top of WM6. There will be the option to upgrade to WM6.5 which is suppose to be much more finger friendly.
One of the features that initially jumped out at me was the forward facing camera at the top left corner of the screen in the above picture. This with 3G or Wi-Fi and a program like Skype would allow you to video conference with a friend.
We don’t know much about the phone right now–Verizon is limiting the amount of info that Samsung can release now but here is what we do know:
For those trapped by the Verizon regime using Verizon who don’t have the option to get an iPhone this phone could be a good way to hold you over for a few years until the iPhone comes to Verizon if you want to get an iPhone with Verizon and pay more per month.
There isn’t an official release date yet but we can expect this phone to hit Verizon stores later this year.
With USB 3.0 on the way I don’t know who would want to buy a 256GB USB thumb drive. On Kingston’s website it doesn’t specifically say that it is going to be USB 2.0 but I would assume since it is currently on their site that it is.
On the site it boasts the ability to store 10 Blu-ray discs, 54 DVDs or 365 CDs. With USB 2.0 it would almost not even be worth it. Yes right now there are external USB hard drives that are larger than that and there are many uses for them but with USB 3.0 right around the corner I think it would have been smart for Kingston to wait to release this then.
One way or another having 256 GB of storage on your key ring is still pretty awesome but if the rumors of the price being around $900 I think I may hold off.
From the Kingston website:
Features/Specifications:
AppleInsider–who over 2 years ago–exclusively announced that Apple would soon release a new jumbo 3G iTouch-esque touch screen device.
“AppleInsider has observed silently as the project was reset at least a half-dozen times over the past 24 months” which makes us wonder why we haven’t heard any updates about the status of this project. Now it sounds like they once again they information that–would lead them to believ–that the Apple tablet will be released early next year.
Hopefully this time the information is legit. Thousands of At least 3 people out there are still staying faithful to Apple when it comes to their touch screen devices and are in desperate need of an upgrade from their Apple Newton Messagepad:
The iPhone has been around for several years now but there are still many people who have not made the plunge. Some have been held back due to bad experiences with Cingular–which for the most part was a horrible carrier when the iPhone first came out. Some people have held off because of the high price tag on the phone or because they were afraid of making the move to 100% touch screen.
Whatever the reason the time has never been better to give the iPhone a try. The 3GS is out now which you can get for $199(8GB). You can pick up the 8Gb 3G iPhone for $99 or the refurb 3G for $79. These are the prices on the website. I am not sure if they are more expensive in the store but if they are it may be worth it to have the phone now now NOW!
As for the carrier. Since the switch to ATT and receiving exclusive rights to the iPhone the service has been much better. When speaking with friends pre-iPhone who were on the Cingular network it was a horrible experience. Constant dropped calls and poor quality. Today speaking with friends who have iPhones my Verizon cell phone is to blame more often than theirs for poor quality.
Many people are waiting for the iPhone to come to their provider. I say its not worth the wait. The CEO of ATT has admitted that the iPhone will not be exclusive forever but if a Verizon iPhone is in the works it is at least a year and a half out. At that point it will give Verizon 6 months to work out the kinks before your contract runs out and you can come running back should the service with ATT be less than to be desired.
Moving on. Here is the list of my Top 100 reasons to buy an iPhone today! Feel free to comment and let us know what you would add.
