Mobile Technology – Page 9

Download an entire DVD to your phone in 10 seconds!?

Posted on June 19, 2006 by Guest Contributor

Yea, you read the headline correctly. NTT DoCoMo recently announced a new prototype wireless network with bandwidth capabilities approaching 2.5Gbps (yes, that’s GIGabits per second).

According to Technology Review where I found this article (it’s pretty techy, btw), that’s fast enough to download a DVD in less than 10 seconds! The technology is far from ready to go so it’s not like you’ll be watching a streaming version of Aeon Flux on your Razr anytime soon. Besides, the receiver they used to demonstrate the new network had 6 antennas – not real attractive in my opinion.

See an artist’s conception below:

Razr 6

(Okay, I also moonlighted as the artist on this one – this is what about 20 seconds in Photoshop gets me.)

An hour in Akihabara

Posted on June 10, 2006 by Jeremy Toeman

Akihabara is Tokyo’s “electronics town”. Prior to about 2001 or so it was about the coolest place in the world to go look at gadgets, as it was often the only place to find really interesting stuff. With today’s globalization, it’s definitely lost some of its allure, but is still a must-see spot in Tokyo. Heck, even my wife got a kick out of it! Here’s a fun assortment of photos I took in my extremely rapid stop at Akihabara last week…

In-store demos actually show the insides of these machines and how they work. Of course you can only wash one sock at a time.

Here I am at the Akihabara subway station

Remember Taito? Anyone? Cool 80s video games… Well, they seem to be alive and well in Akihabara!

More English here than anywhere I saw in Japan!

How can Sega even afford the lease anymore?
(also if you look in the background of the picture you’ll see a reflection of Ishimaru – I like the effect here)

Ishimaru is a “middle tier” store in Akihabara

These Panasonic headphones have replaceable ear buds and retractable cables – nice.

Despite the popularity of the iPod, Akihabara stores are full of tiny shiny mp3 players to choose from. After which, everyone inevitably picks the iPod…

One of the better in-store demos I’ve seen, both displays had the same DVD playing, with the obvious quality difference of the HD player. And with titles like “The Brothers Grimm” I’m sure people were rushing out to buy the players!

AirEdge is a company offering various 3G connectivity options

When the Japanese do mobile TV, they do it widescreen – check out these Aquos branded phones from Vodafone

I don’t think it’s perfectly clear from this picture, but this thing is bigger than the PPC6700. From AirEdge/Willcom, this is one big honking Windows Mobile PPC phone!

When the Japanese do mobile TV, they do it widescreen – check out these Aquos branded phones from Vodafone

Laox is the 2nd biggest store in Akihabara, behind Yodabashi. It has a bit of a K-Mart feel, but is a good stop.

I know it was big in Europe (it is huge in Belgium), and maybe Japan too, but at the end of the day, MD was lame, and good riddance. But, Laox still has a shelf full of the things…

While not commonly known, it’s actually illegal in Japan to run a store with no Hello Kitty products. This doll/gadget has built-in speakers (in the feet) and … uh.. hmm..

This portable media player is nicely sized, and plays all the ‘popular’ video formats, like xvid.

Oh, so shiny!

I think this one is pretty cool. Not sure if I’d pay $700ish for it, but it’s a cool idea.

Inside Laox Bose has their own store where they show their tiny speakers that sound awful or their really really big headphones that sound good but weigh 14 pounds

Panasonic brings you full 1080p vacuuming with their new HD unit

Love the concept, love the sign.

I really like the idea of video games that have exercise themes (note: I like the idea, but I don’t want one), Xavix has a full working in-store demo

Get your bronco workout in the convenience of your home… ?

I think this is where Tom and Katie picked theirs up

Shows you which floor on Laox to find your rodeo machine

Right across from Laox is a store with all sorts of wires and cables, they’ll even make your own custom cable there!

Another view of the buildings in Akihabara

A recent addition to Akihabara is this giant-sized Yodabashi store

Aww, so cuuuute

Someone’s still trying to push keyboards in the living room… ugh.

Seems similar to the new EVDO units we have in the US

I guess a lot of people are buying these things here…

If you haven’t found a way to thoroughly embarrass and spoil your pet yet, well, here’s the answer. Print your own design then clothe your lap-dog with this kit!

Yep, all mice.

I hadn’t heard of marimekko before, but I thought these were a little distinctive…

My wife thought this Disney-themed mouse was the ‘pick of the litter’ (so-to-speak)

Fans, lights, vacuums, cup warmers – if you have USB, you can do just about anything now!

Yodabashi sells generic power supplies for virtually any laptop

Lots of routers and ADSL modems on display in Yodabashi

Yep, we’ve seen em before, but the display was nice. I especially like the touch of putting them under glass

This kids camera allows you to take pictures and instantly print them on customized little papers, some with different designs too.

Need a telescope? Binocular? Yodabashi’s got it!

Last I checked the local Best Buy has about 3 different varieties… Yodabashi has… more.

I like Canon cameras. That’s it.

8-in-1? got it. 11-in-1? got it. 13-in-1? got it.

Just follow the simple chart and display

Not sure why, but I’ve enjoyed taking escalator pictures recently.

This is the best way to train your children how to use a remote control, a skill they will need much later in life.

They sure do look nice

When you get to Yodabashi, just go to the 7th floor and take the escalators down from there.

In a rare sunny moment, here I am outside of Yodabashi

Small cubes and other tiny non-competition for Apple

Sigh, couldn’t Walt have inspired more in his team?

Never heard of it, but it’s iPod-white, so it must be good.

See, it’s red! Sharp’s iPod non-knockoff

I like the form factor AND the blue, but I’m sure Panasonic has otherwise messed up this small mp3 player

Yodabashi has about 400 different MP3 players to try out. And then you go buy an iPod (you know, to stand out from everyone else)

For all those times you’ve dropped your TV in the bathtub, fret no longer, thanks to this portable Casio unit

Yodabashi has all your stereo and home theater needs

Yes, that’s right, it says Rodeo Boy. How do you get to the Alamo? Practice, practice, practice.

The Japanese sure love their toilet seats. At $900, this Passo unit even has a built-in iPod dock! (just kidding, but it IS $900!)

Yes, the title is accurate, these are demos of high-tech toilet seats in Yodabashi. I wonder if anyone else has used “toilet seat” as a Flickr tag before?

Perfect fun for all the kids. My favorite part is the screen shot of the ‘fun’ game (red circle added for effect)

This is somewhat neat, this little kit has your favorite Peanuts characters playing along with your music. Not sure what you need it for, but, hey, there’s Linus!

Another kit to play along with your music, just in case you are bored of a peaceful looking mantle.

In the Tokyo metro system, just 15 minutes away from Akihabara!

Tokyu Hands: Crafts, Gizmos, and Toys, oh my!

Posted on June 4, 2006 by Jeremy Toeman

Imagine taking the coolest aspects of Toys R Us, Best Buy, Target, and hmm.. Home Depot(?), throw em together, and weed out anything really mundane. Now have lots of interactive displays, spread everything out onto 7 floors (each with its own checkout line unfortunately), and turn it Japanese. Next, put the store in downtown Tokyo (right by the Shinjuku station), and you have my favorite store in all of Tokyo.

Tokyu Hands: Creative Life Store.

My friend Yuichiro (we call him Woody, don’t ask) took me here about 4 or 5 years ago, and I’ve been craving it (and Ippudo ramen) ever since. Its a very fun place, with lots of different types of appeal.

On the first floor I really liked the Let’s Play TV demonstrations, featuring 80s classic arcade hits like Xevious and Mappy (ok, so the premise and storylines weren’t as polished as today’s games, but you could pick up a controller and play the damn thing without learning the 14-button sequence to get your guy to jump!). In the US we have some retro TV-based gaming systems, but these seemed like a bit more fun, I think because they were just less polished-looking.

Also featured on the first floor was a huge section devoted to customizing your cell phone, with stickers, studs, jewels, beads, and I think even raw fish. There were also a few interesting carrying cases for iPod nanos in the mix.

Other highlights in the ‘bizarre gizmo’ section included: ifish and idog (some type of music-reactive iPod accessory), about a dozen different digital Sudoku games, and something called Cube World, which really just seemed like a collosal waste of money for the pure sake of LCD screens… ifish was my favorite piece of silliness.

On the remaining floors were other treasures, ranging from blocks of wood for your carving needs, small furniture, cooking supplies, and just about any type of gadget or gizmo related to any hobby or pastime you may have. I spent some time looking through travel gadgetry, but unfortunately didn’t find anything particularly new to waste money on.

Got a few days in Tokyo? Sure, go to Akihabara and Yodabashi, but you pretty much know what you are going to see there. Head to Tokyu Hands for a lot more fun. Who knows, maybe you’ll even get to comparison shop electronic toothbrushes?

Girl's Gadget Report: Golden Razr

Posted on June 4, 2006 by Guest Contributor

Razr The runaway success of Motorola’s slimline mobile phone Motorola RAZR V3 has prompted the company to produce some extra models. This time Motorola joined forces with Dolce & Gabbana to create a limited edition series of RAZR with a distinct D&G style.

Dolce & Gabbana Group with its two brands is one of the most outstanding names in the sector of clothing and luxury goods. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana (the founders) are considered two of the most creative and talented designers in the world of modern fashion.

The new RAZR styled by D&G has some specific features, making it different from the other members of Motorola RAZR family. The cell phone comes in gold finish, has a special personalized background and a screensaver from D&G. It also features a special sound for power up (and down), an exclusive polyphonic ring tone and a video clip that illustrates 20 years of history of Dolce & Gabbana.

This limited edition RAZR also features a slightly more functional camera (now up to 1.23 megapixel) and additional expandable memory. Each phone will have its own individual number, making it a real must-have. It comes with a golden Bluetooth headset and a pendant signed with famous “DG” initials.

The limited edition of Motorola RAZR V3i will be sold at Dolce & Gabbana boutiques.

Source – http://direct.motorola.com/hellomoto/dolcegabbana/

The Weekly Girl’s Gadget Report is brought to you by http://www.gadget4girls.com/

Panasonic Oxyride Review – The Revolution in Battery Power

Posted on May 19, 2006 by Matt Whitlock

-Courtesy TechLore.com

One of the key problems facing consumers is that portable electronic devices are getting more power hungry with each new generation, but those single-use alkaline batteries that power them haven’t really improved much over the last decade. Perhaps 10 or 20 years from now, it will seem silly that we had to tote around two or three spare sets just to make sure that we could always use our portable device whenever we wanted to. Or, has that time come already in the form of Oxyride?

In this review, I pit Panasonic’s new Oxyride batteries against Energizer Max and their own alkaline battery. Does Oxyride provide the increase in battery life you need to keep that digital camera and MP3 player running when you need it most?

Read the rest of this entry >> (external link)

The ultimate traveler's accessory: a new iPod

Posted on May 7, 2006 by Jeremy Toeman

I flew to Amsterdam today (or was it yesterday?) and couldn’t help but notice the friendly Zoom Shop, a vending machine full of the hippest, coolest techie gadgets. The compelling blue signed called out to me, and I came over to see what I could buy to ease my flight. A ha! iPods! iPods are sure popular, I’ll bet the marketing guys over there couldn’t wait to stock them at airports around the nation, just ready to lure in the frequent travelers. After all, planes are a great place to enjoy some music, so, hey, how about a brand new iPod?

I can almost picture the wonderful experience I could have. I’d probably savor every moment of it, waiting to open the packaging much like a 6-year-old boy about to open birthday gifts (please let it be an Xbox and not a sweater…c’mon Xbox… c’mon Xbox… Nintendo Gamecube??? Am I being Punk’d or what???). I’d have to be a little patient though, and actually wait until I sat down. Who knows, maybe I’d even save it until after take off.

But then, the iPod will be mine to have (and to hold, and to cherish until death do we part, or three months from now when Steve Jobs makes a smaller one with more storage and everyone runs off to the ~~Gattaca set~~ Apple store). I can already smell that “new-iPod scent” wafting through the cabin, blending with the orangey goodness that is Wal-borne (not sure, but I think it may have actually saved my life when I flew China Airlines to Taiwan).

I begin to salivate as I plug in the headphones, then power up the unit. I close my eyes, and exhale slightly as I put the “I’m so cool because they are white and I am SUCH an individual” headphones on (JT to everyone: when you own a product that has roughly 90% of the market and is available in Wal-mart, to say it is no longer ‘super-trendy’ is to put it mildly).

A smile forms, and I even giggle as I set my index finger on the fancy white disc controls, and push Play.

Nothing happens, of course, because I’m on a 10-hour flight with an empty friggin iPod.

Have you skinned your gadget lately?

Posted on May 3, 2006 by Jeremy Toeman

I must start by being perfectly honest about something: I don’t understand how the ringtone/wallpaper/theme industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. I’ve tried out a few ringtones, but I think they are for the most part silly. I’m one of the fifty million (or so) Sprint Ambassadors who received a free phone to try out, and it’s cool, but if I had to pay for a background image, it would be fedexed out of my possession a few minutes later. But for some reason I have yet to discover, I really think there is something cool about custom skins for devices.

skinit logo Maybe it’s because owning a RAZR was cool for about 3 days, and having a black one for about 2 more days than that. Everything is a commodity today. So when I found out about skinit, I decided I needed to have a Habs phone.

Getting your device skinned is terrifically easy. Go to their Web site, select your category of device, then pick the brand and model. Then pick a skin. Or start by selecting your skin. They have TONS of em (art, sports, models, colleges, movies, etc).

Pricing ranges from $14.95 to $29.95. At face value, this seems a wee bit high to me, but then I gave it some thought – if I personally put value on personalization, this isn’t all that pricey. Don’t get me wrong, if you are reading this, and your dull grey Compaq laptop is looking suh-weet in your opinion, you are probably shaking your head wondering how I could even possibly consider spending that money. No worries, my friend, you are under no obligation to purchase, and may safely go on your merrily surfing ways. But if you want your own Star Wars Vaio, keep reading!

I selected my skin (Montreal Canadiens hockey logo) and my phone (LG VX6100), and today received it. A little bit of prying and applying, and a few minutes later, the Habsphone was born!

In today’s world of endless Starbucks, Targets, Walmarts, Mickey D’s, Home Depots, and every other chain that is strategically placed 1.7 miles apart, it’s fun to find a little individuality. Granted, buying a sticker (easily removable, by the way, with no residue left over) isn’t going to solve world hunger, but at least I can make the bet that I’m the only guy in San Francisco with a cell phone that looks like the Montreal Canadiens hockey team logo. I have to go now, I need to get a new pair of khakis at the Gap.

GPS from Enterprise rent-a-car

Posted on April 25, 2006 by Jeremy Toeman

I like GPS, I like it a lot. I don’t need it, but I want it. I don’t even know why I want it, really, but I do.

Enterprise rent-a-car I’m away on business and I rented a car from Enterprise today, in part due to my fond memories of being able to rent cars from them prior to turning 25 (vote/serve in the military at 18, drink at 21, rent cars at 25… makes perfect sense), but mostly because they had a Travelocity special for pretty cheap rentals this week. As I’m in Beaverton, Oregon (a suburb of Portland) and have no idea where anything is here, I figured it would be helpful to have a robotic voice tell me to “turn around when possible” every 48 seconds or so.

When the guy behind the counter said, “Sure, here you go” and passed me a Garmin GPS unit (for a few bucks more per day), I was pretty impressed. I’m used to the Neverlost system from Hertz which makes you select a certain car class in order to have the service. The Garmin unit simply plugs into the lighter and suctions (is that a verb?) onto the windshield. Very simple, very cool.

They aren’t #1, and I don’t really think they try harder, but kudos to Enterprise for a very elegant solution to enabling customers to select GPS as an option. Sure makes the Kia Rio driving experience more palatable!

Docupen – Scan on the Run

Posted on March 10, 2006 by Jeremy Toeman

Okay, I must admit when I first heard about the Docupen, I thought it was a combination scanner/pen, and I couldn’t possibly conceive what I would ever do with it. But they offered to send me one to try out, so I figured I’d give it a shot. As a pen, it performed quite poorly (probably since there is no pen involved), but as a scanner, it’s worth a little look.

The device is about 8″ long, and about a 1/2″ thick, comes with a leather (pleather?) carrying case, a USB cable, and software. It has a built-in lithium-ion battery that nicely charges over USB and according to documentation should last a couple of hundred scans a time, which is more than plenty! It has a single button which is used for both scanning and synchronizing files with the PC, and is basically designed to let you carry around a black and white scanner in your laptop case with no noticeable weight difference.

Continue reading →

In-seat USB?

Posted on February 23, 2006 by Jeremy Toeman

I really like USB. I carry a USB drive with me at most times, it’s great for quick file transfers and I keep a lot of my “commonly copied files” on it for easy use. I know, I’m not as creative as those who figured out how to boot XP from USB, but that’s a little out of my scope anyways. By the way, I like my Lexar Jumpdrive apparently a lot more than this guy likes his “HAL 9000” drive.

I also have a USB (mini) cable with me, which I can use to charge my PPC6700 or BlackBerry (ugh, when I carry it – it’s awful – more some other time). It also connects to my 8-in-1 flash drive adapter for reading various sticks/cards or to my digital camera for quick synch or webcam use.

So, when I flew Air Canada this morning, I was extremely surprised to see the USB port sitting in the back of the seat in front of me. I tried plugging in a few things, with no response, but it left me extremely curious as to what I might be able to do with such a port. If only I had the Barbie USB drive to try out!!!

By the way, if anyone from Air Canada is listening: if the screen is a touchscreen, how about using the USB port to let a traveler listen/watch their own media in-flight, with a simple touch-based interface? I’ll help design a good one for free even! Well, maybe not free, maybe a bunch of miles?

3GSM: How small will phones really get?

Posted on February 21, 2006 by Jeremy Toeman

Very old cell phone First the earth cooled. And, then the dinosaurs came, but they got too big and fat, so they all died, and they turned into oil. And, then the Arabs came and they bought Mercedes Benzes. And they bought cell phones, which were about the size of my head.

Then, cell phones got a little smaller, a little more portable, and didn’t require their own power generators that you had to store in the trunk of your car.

And then something wonderful happened, and it was called…

StarTac.And we liked StarTac, and the world was good for a time.

But then StarTac became TimePort, and quickly got pulled from the market because everyone wanted to buy really narrow non-flip phones from a country that few Americans can tell apart from its neighbors (one of whom makes really good cheap furniture but only sells it in humongous stores that are guaranteed to have excessively long lines on the weekend, but I digress).

And then for a long time, things were bad. One might call it the dark ages of cell phones.

Until those people who made StarTac got their collectives heads out of their collective rears, and all of a sudden had the coolest looking phone on Earth again. Hello Moto!

But at 3GSM, here’s some phones I saw:

I don’t know the actual name for this phone other than the “VK” label on it and it sells in Europe and Asia and we will never, ever, ever see it here in the US. But it’s VERY small and very cool. The picture is almost misleading since I don’t show anything with context, but suffice it to say it’s about the height of the Razr, yet thinner and clearly narrower. Didn’t get to see it working, so I have no idea what operating system it runs or frankly if it even works, but it was sure “nano-like”.

Here you can see 3 phones from Newgen, a company I’ll cover a little more in a day or two. These phones are all about the size of a lady’s compact, and were very interesting to look at. This company is trying to come to the US with these units, so there is a glimmer of hope out there!

Another phone from Newgen, this time I think it’s pretty obvious how small it can be! The phone on the far left is next to a Sliver and a Razor (which looks ridiculously huge in comparison). It’s smaller and thinner than both. It has no name, and the unit I was shown was a pure prototype, so it may never even exist. But then again, it might have a million users in China by next week, and we’d never know the difference…

Another very interesting phone, this comes from NeoMagic. I’ll write in a lot of detail about this one, as they have a GUI concept that I thought was fairly compelling. The entire UI uses a touch screen with a built-in vibrating ‘alert’ as a physical feedback mechanism. Very interesting, definitely worthy of more discussion.

Personally, I think we’re reaching the limit of what can be built and still be usable. I, for one, cannot use a Razr. The keys are too small and my grubby fingers are too big, not to mention the incredibly poor GUI Motorola insists on using. I also won’t be happy with something super-tiny if I can’t feel it vibrate in my pocket (and not just for fun, that is).

I’ll take a Razr-sized phone with a revamped keypad (I need distinct buttons) and some better GUI features (I dare say WM5.0 would be my choice right now). Either that or just go ahead and build it into my shoe.

LD at 3GSM

Posted on February 20, 2006 by Jeremy Toeman

Spent a few days out in Barcelona catching up on the latest in mobile technologies, ranging from watching live TV to interactive pornchat on your cell phone (just what we’ve all been waiting for). I took a look at some of the latest and greatest phones, most of which seem to be fairly Moto-inspired, and rest assured, there are a decent amount of cool new cell phones that will never, ever see the light of day in the US!

The show was held at the Fira de Barcelona, a much better-looking place than the Vegas Convention Center, and divided into several different halls. Hall 1 had Microsoft, Intel, Docomo, as well as your typical host of smaller companies. In Hall 2 I found some providers, such as Telefonica Spain (branded Movistar), and a lot of content and services companies. Hall 3 did not exist, and Halls 4 and 5 were for corporate/internal use. Couldn’t find Halls 6 or 7 anywhere, but Hall 8 had Moto, Nortel, and all the other manufacturers. Despite missing three halls, the show was large enough to occupy several days worth of wandering.

This was my first time attending the show, which used to be held in Cannes, France, but Barcelona “won” it starting this year. Moving a tradeshow is a fairly big deal, apparently big enough to warrant a welcome by the King and Queen of Spain (I couldn’t help walking around humming “I’ve stood here before inside the pouring rain, with the world turning circles running ’round my brain…”

3GSM also featured your typical share of booth babes, but the ones that drew the most attention were at a company called Cboss. Every 60 minutes a quick explanation of the company was given (no idea what they do still) then these 6 hypo-anorexic girls did a little dance.

All-in-all, it was an interesting show, although I have to say I was a little disappointed at the lack of significantly interesting new phones. I’ll post some seperate entries with specific devices or services I saw in the next couple of days.

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