Archive for June 6th, 2008

YouMail brings web voicemail access to mobile phones

Friday, June 6th, 2008

You know that free visual voicemail solution called YouMail? Well they have recently added a new service that will let users view voicemail messages from their mobile phones, in the same way that they could previously access them online through a PC.

Although this YouMail offering is not the first of its kind service, their voice to mobile phone conversion service took it one notch higher by retaining the audio and organizational features of its regular service, meaning its not a stripped down mobile version. Users just need to point their mobile phone’s browser to http://youmail.com, login to their YouMail account and they can start viewing their messages as they normally would from a laptop or desktop computer. This new mobile offering includes all the regular feature to include the contact’s images, ability to listen to voicemail messages and then even reply or forward to those messages.

YouMail’s voicemail to mobile phone service will be available for several smartphones including some from blackberry, Nokia, HTC, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, and even Palm. We will just have to wait for further announcement as to which specific models will have the YouMail service available. And yes, YouMail said that it will also work on the iphone.

Product [YouMail] Read [News.com]

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →

Dell’s XPS One (RED) slashed by $400

Friday, June 6th, 2008

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jun 6th 2008 at 5:51AM
Get it while you can. A new coupon is available which cuts the original $1,599 price of Dell’s XPS One (PRODUCT) RED to just $1,199. That’s $100 less than the entry level XPS One. Now, let’s race to see who can void the offer faster ’cause this is one hell of a deal. Instructions after the break. Ready… go!

P.S. US only.

[Thanks, Bud W.]

  1. Configure your XPS One (PRODUCT) RED
  2. Enter coupon code ZX9J$$NJNS630C at checkout
  • Read
  • Permalink
  • Email this
  • 35 Comments

Filed under: Desktops

Microdia beats Samsung to market with world’s first 64GB CF card

Friday, June 6th, 2008

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jun 6th 2008 at 8:19AMAt long last and a full year and a half after Samsung first touted a 64GB Compact Flash card, Microdia steps onto the scene with the world’s first product. Almost. By the end of June, Microdia will begin shipping its 64GB XTRA ELITE CF card to the photog masses. The UDMA card brings a sustained read / write speed of 300x or 45MBps making it perfectly suited to high-burst rate DSLRs. Now if only we had a price to calculate the cost of our new 192GB SSD. Full press release after the break.

[Via PC Authority]

PMA, Brisbane, Australia, June 6, 2008, - MICRODIA Ltd. (MICRODIA), a world leader in flash memory technologies, has announced that mass production of the world’s first 64GB CF card will commence in June and has been accepting orders from around the world. The first shipment is expected by the end of June.

At 64GB, with a sustained read/write speed and data transfer rate of 300X or 45MB/sec, the XTRA ELITE CF card is making it the highest capacity and fastest data transfer compact flash technology available.

MICRODIA’s XTRA ELITE CF cards are designed to provide the world’s best solution for professional photographers and photo enthusiasts and with capacities from 4GB through to the industry leading 64GB, which can store over 19,000 high resolution images* .

As the elite flash memory cards available in the world, the MICRODIA XTRA ELITE UDMA CF cards offer the ultimate in performance, said Louis Leung, Founder and CEO of MICRODIA.

The MICRODIA XTRA ELITE 64GB CF card provides an excellent storage solution for high-profile professional photographers through its reliability, durability and speed.

Capturing, viewing, uploading and transferring large image files is now faster, simpler and more convenient for users.

Being first to market with the 64GB CF is yet another example of MICRODIA’s strength in flash memory technology.

MICRODIA continues to place heavy emphasis on R&D to develop the industry’s highest capacities and fastest speeds, exemplifying our core philosophy of helping users get the best optimised data flash storage performance for all their digital devices, Mr Leung said.

Mr Leung said MICRODIA chose Australia in which to launch the 64GB CF card as an overall demonstration of its commitment to its emerging markets.

We have only been in Australia for a matter of weeks, and decided the best way to demonstrate our capabilities and intent to offer the world’s best flash memory products here was to launch this product at Australia’s leading professional photography trade show, PMA.

As a new brand to Australia, but as the world’s second largest flash memory company in terms of production capacity with a 17 year history, globally launching the 64GB CF card in Australia at PMA will give us tremendous early momentum in this market.

“It will help position the MICRODIA brand in the minds of Australian consumers and retailers and provide them with a broader choice of flash memory cards,” he said.MICRODIA launched its full product range in Australia at last week’s CeBIT trade show in Sydney, and National Sales Manager Lee Jefferies said the initial response from the trade, the public and professional photographers had been strong.

The most common response from people we spoke to was “is a 64GB CF card even possible?’” we took great pleasure in telling them that not only was it possible it was actually available, but only from MICRODIA, Mr Jefferies said.

MICRODIA’s ultra high speed XTRA ELITE cards are built with the company’s proprietary EPM (Enhanced Processing Management) Technology for improved efficiency and performance, thereby delivering some of the fastest sustained read/write speeds in the industry.

XTRA ELITE cards are also based on Single Level Cell (SLC) NAND Flash technology, which stores one bit per cell and uses an optimized controller combined with large block NAND technology to achieve high data transfer rates. Compared to Multi Level Cell (MLC) NAND Flash technology, which allows each memory cell to store two bits of information, SLC NAND Flash technology provides excellent performance well suited for professional use especially those with demanding speed requirements.

With a solid commitment to R&D and continued technical advancements, MICRODIA will continue to play a major role in the flash memory industry.

About MICRODIA

MICRODIA is a global leader in flash memory technologies and the world’s 2nd largest manufacturer of flash memory cards. With its heavy emphasis on R&D, MICRODIA leads the way in bringing the latest and most advanced flash memory technology to market ahead of the competition. Since its inception in 1991 as a magnetic data storage media manufacturer, MICRODIA has earned a reputation for quality, reliability and technical excellence. Today, the company provides a full range of Flash Memory Data Storage Solutions, Portable Multimedia Devices and Wireless Connectivity Solutions. MICRODIA’s global coverage extends to many corners of the world and continues to penetrate existing markets and expand into new territories. For additional product information, please visit MICRODIA’s website at www.microdia.com.

  • Permalink
  • Email this
  • 29 Comments

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Storage

Wiispray turns Wii Remote into virtual graffiti spray can

Friday, June 6th, 2008

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jun 6th 2008 at 10:36AM
If only Mark Ecko had a Wiispray when he was developing Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, perhaps people the world would have understood his vision for a videogame-based, graffiti-tagging urban dystopian angst. Anyway, this Wii Remote turned into a spray can is the product of a student’s thesis at Bauhas-University in Weimar, Germany. Martin Lihs crammed the controller into the can-like structure and plans (hopes?) to create a communal — but not illegal — virtual graffiti wall in which people can add their digital tags and keep it real clean, yo. Curious that he’s using playstation-based triangle and square buttons, though.

[Via SlashGear]

  • Read
  • Permalink
  • Email this
  • 31 Comments

Filed under: Gaming

Softbank 923SH Mobile Phone

Friday, June 6th, 2008

I have to admit that I am a fan of those types of phones like the Sidekick which can flip out their screens for a horizontal read. So I was naturally attracted to the 923SH, one of ten new phones to come out from Softbank.

The first question I had to ask was how does the phone on the left fold up to the phone on the right? Clearly, Softbank has some folding technology that I do not know about.

The display on the 923SH is something that we do know about. It uses Sharp’s unique AQUOS LCD panel, technology that we reported about with the SE94 Series. Clearly, this HDTV technology has somehow been miniaturized, and this display is capable of many, many colors.

This phone is capable of recording video content. It features a 29mm wide-angle lens, and can record at 15 fps (Frame per second) and 30 fps.

For those of you who have never heard of Softbank, it is a Japanese telecommunications company that is pretty big in its country of origin. I am guessing that the availability of their newest phone is limited in Japan, as much of the information that I found was on sites in Japanese.

The Softbank 923SH release is planned for this summer, and is available in many colors including black, navy, clear white, and silk pink.

Source

  • Email to a friend
  • Leave a comment

How nice are you… on the net?

Friday, June 6th, 2008

However caring and compassionate you are in real life, according to new research, things tend to turn nasty when you log onto the internet. The BBC says that an annual report into web habits by internet guru Dr Jakob Nielsen shows that most people want to use the internet for finding information, and so get frustrated and angry at the amount of pop-up ads and interactive content on offer - it’s too distracting.

Video content which was designed to make websites more user-friendly and interesting often make sites slower to load instead and people get really steamed up about it - pretty much the opposite of what was intended. (I wonder if that’s what drives some of the abusive comments bloggers get?)

Nielsen concludes that the reason search engines are so popular is that we are all impatient: we want our info, and we want it NOW. No messing. “Basically search engines rule the web,” he says.

[Image: Apple]

Invaders disguised as Space Intruderz

Friday, June 6th, 2008


Likely from the picture you spotted exactly what these little guys are right off the bat and if you didn’t then you’ve been living under a rock.  These cute little lamps in disguise under the name of Space Intruderz are quite obviously the classic Space Invaders.  Wouldn’t want any pesky issues with copyrights though, it’s not like we’ve seen any official Space Invaders in a while anyway.  These cute little lamps will let everyone know without a shadow of doubt you’re either living in the past or a hardcore gamer.

We’ll go with hardcore gamer, that just sounds better.  You can’t have a gaming lair without a bit of appreciation for the classic games too.  The lamps were made by Yensen Paez and Chilean design shop called Unison Idea Studio.  Once again with it being one of those design studios, you can’t just glance at their site and see how much one will cost you.  No, as usual you have to contact for more information.  I’d love to see at least one design studio that just came out and said exactly how much their designs cost right on the site.  At any rate, there are rumors that it will cost you about $48 a piece.

Source: technabob

  • Email to a friend
  • Leave a comment

VUDU Wireless Kit

Friday, June 6th, 2008

I just love wireless technology - it frees us from the shackles of being limited by messy cables, and most of the time these wires and cables seem to have a life of their own, getting all messed and tangled up when left alone. Of course, wireless technology does have its limitations as well in terms of signal strength the further you are away from the source/base station, but at least it adds a much neater perspective on an overall level, and this is exactly what VUDU aims to achieve with their new VUDU Wireless Kit. This new wireless solution allows consumers to enjoy their VUDU set top box anywhere in their home without the need for pesky Ethernet cables.

According to Patrick Cosson, VP of Marketing for VUDU, “Following the rapid success and strong following we’ve already achieved for the VUDU box, we’re now taking the next step to offer even greater convenience to video fans. Our customers have been asking for a wireless solution, and we’ve responded with a hassle-free and secure solution that does not require complicated configuration. VUDU users can now enjoy the ultimate viewing experience in any room in the house, no matter where their broadband connection enters their home.” Guess the folks at VUDU really take customer feedback into consideration and do something about it, eh?

The VUDU Wireless Kit takes a plug-and-play approach, making it a snap to start your very own wireless network that is dedicated to the VUDU set top box. This arrangement will do away with the constraints of physical cables and complicated wireless configurations, leaving you more time to enjoy the movies you have downloaded. All you need to do is plug the wireless base station into the existing broadband router, while the receiver ends up in the VUDU box, creating a dedicated and secure 802.11g Wi-Fi network. The wireless kit won’t shortchange you, as it supports the full range of VUDU functionality, including instant-on for HD content (depending on your bandwidth). Interested parties can pick up the VUDU Wireless Kit for $79, and if you haven’t jumped onto the VUDU bandwagon just yet, the entire wireless bundle including both the VUDU box and the VUDU Wireless Kit is also available for $349.

Press Release

  • Email to a friend
  • Leave a comment

3G iPhone set to impact mobile TV market, says report

Friday, June 6th, 2008

FROM APPLETELL - Can the imminent 3G iPhone really make a significant impact on the mobile TV market? The folks over at Analasys Mason sure believe it can, according to their report, “iphone Shows the Way for Mobile TV.” Mark Heath, co-author of the report, states, “The iPhone could become the mobile video… MORE »

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →

Google rolls out some experimental Gmail features

Friday, June 6th, 2008

Starting today, Gmail now has some experimental features that you can choose whether to enable or not. Just head over to the Settings page and then click on the Labs tab. New potential features include the ability to bookmark specific e-mails, select custom stars for starring messages, custom keyboard shortcuts and mouse gestures. My favorite is the e-mail addict tool which lets you lock yourself out of your account for 15 minutes.

So far, I’m not seeing the new tab showing up, but I’m sure it will eventually.

via CNET.

Posted in Miscellaneous

Best Gadgets