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It seems AT&T is still inching their way to finally announcing the blackberry Bold availability.  While we still have not seen an official release date, we have already seen plenty of information that looks like it will be available in late October.  Further confirmation of that time frame goes along with those recently leaked Best Buy screenshots showing an availability of October 26.

These launch party dates seem to further confirm that time frame as AT&T has scheduled six events with dates ranging from October 15 through October 30.  We can only hope that the Bold gets moved to an available status soon. This release has been nothing more than a long series of rumors and delays.  Strangely, AT&T will be one of the last to actually release the Bold after being one of the first to officially announce it.  How frustrating is that?

Via [CrackBerry]

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FROM GAMERTELL - Nikkei, a Japanese newspaper, published a story stating that Nintendo is designing a DS with a built in camera, mp3 player and better Wi-Fi abilities.  It will supposedly be released in Japan before the end of 2008.
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Yesterday’s stock tumble has hit tech businesses hard. Nasdaq, which is primarily tech businesses, fell nearly 200 points, and several big tech businesses saw similar drops.  Apple fell 18%, AMD nearly 17%, and Intel over 10%. Similarly, Google saw its stock fall over $50 to $381 a share. That’s nearly a 12% drop.

“Apple’s business is driven by the consumer, and the consumer is getting hurt because of higher oil prices” that leave less money for cool gadgets, said Trip Chowdhry, an analyst at Global Equities Research in San Francisco. Large enterprises, such as airlines and shipping-dependent retailers, also have less money to invest in IT, he added.

The current crisis has consumers wary of doing any discretionary spending, something that is causing great concern among retailers and manufacturers.  They are already facing the possibility that holiday orders may be severely restricted if the bailout currently being battled over in Congress doesn’t go through.  With no bailout, credit lines will be hard to come by, and retailers rely on credit to acquire their inventory.  With the holiday shopping season right around the corner, this could be disastrous.

In a prime example of the domino effect, if consumers stop buying gadgets and tech products, manufacturers will be forced to cut back on advertising, causing a possible fallout in that industry, which could then affect newspapers, magazines and other media outlets that rely on advertising to make money.  According to a report by RBC Capital Markets, 40% of consumers plan on spending less money on electronics in the next 90 days.  With the holiday season being the prime time for tech companies to roll out new products and make big profits, this year’s season could be far from jolly.

Read[PCWorld]

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Synaptics has announced new gestures to join its expanding portfolio of gesture recognition capabilities, with the ChiralRotate and Two-Finger Flick taking the limelight. Just in case Synaptics rings a bell, that’s because its TouchPads are often found in popular notebook brands as well as peripheral keyboards, and in light of Apple’s multi-touch capability on its iphone and ipod touch, it makes perfect sense for Synaptics to do something about the situation and shore up their portfolio. For the uninitiated, ChiralRotate allows users to move one finger in a circular motion to rotate images and graphics within applications, quickly and easily while Two-Finger Flick enables users, depending on the application, to either use two fingers to flick horizontally to navigate back-and-forth through images, documents and objects, or to flick vertically to minimize and maximize an application.

Windows users would be pleased to note that ChiralRotate and Two-Finger Flick are 100% compatible with hundreds of Microsoft Windows applications. I can see that grin on your face - is your finger already itching to perform a few flicks? It would be interesting to see just how much easier life on a TouchPad is with the incorporation of both motions, as to whether both (or one) will be a novelty after a while remains to be seen. One thing that you cannot deny though, is the usability testing that Synaptics have put both gestures through in order to bring the very best to consumers and users alike. The ChiralMotion gesture, in fact, has gone through multiple usability tests that proved Synaptics’ theory that continuous circular movement of the finger on the TouchPad is the most desirable, natural gesture for users to perform.

Would be nice to see notebooks include much larger touchpads in the future though if the ChiralMotion and Two-Finger Flick gestures are to be enjoyed at its optimal level. Let’s face the facts – touchpads these days aren’t up to snuff when it comes to real estate space allocated for it.

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Recently at ShowStoppers in NYC, Gadgetell got a chance to talk to Schlage.  What was Schlage, a lock company, doing at an electronics trade show?  They were showing off their “Schlage LiNK” locks and deadbolts.  The locks bring something new to the table—web connectivity. 

Personally, I have been locked out of my house more times than I care to remember.  If you have this lock installed, you can use your phone to connect to the web and unlock the door through a web interface.  Don’t worry, the lock can still be unlocked by a standard key or if you use the lock’s number pad with a code.

Different codes for different folks

A web interface may seem like overkill for something like a lock.  However, the Schalge LiNK will allow you to have the lock respond to different codes at different times of the day.  You can give out these codes to service folks while keeping your door locked to the general public.  If you’re the paranoid type, you can even track when the door was locked or unlocked. 

The catch

The catch is the service is not free.  You pay $199 or $299 for the lock or a kit and then you must pay an additional $12.99 per month for the web service.  I asked the rep if Schlage had a free local web interface, like if you wanted to run a home server that you could connect to only if you hooked into your home network.  Unfortunately, the Schlage does not offer that kind of free solution.

This is an interesting marriage of old technology and new technology.  I wonder when my armchair will be connected to the Internet with a stat tracker for fantasy football. 

Product [Schlage LiNK]

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I’m sure most have you have seen the film Cloverfield, the J.J. Abrams monster movie that was filmed in the style of a handheld movie camera. Contrary to what is depicted in the film, the camera used for shooting that film was a very fancy high-definition camera, not a Best Buy handheld.

I only bring this up because I have also had a great idea for a movie that is filmed in the style of a webcam. I don’t exactly have a plot just yet, but I noticed in my test filming of potential action that webcams produce shotty image quality.

This is why the USB Hollywood Film kit is pertinent to my future indie blockbuster. This kit comes with a webcam that looks like a real movie camera, and a separate spotlight for more lighting, which has the Hollywood-style flaps.

Both the camera and spotlight are mounted on flexible arms, and each require separate USB ports. The camera is compatible with Windows XP SP2, Vista, plus Mac OS 10.4.8 and up.

According to my source, the USB Hollywood Film kit is not available in the United States, and there is no word on price. There is also no word from J.J. Abrams on the status of my webcam movie, other than “we’ll get back to you”.

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The Handheld Aquarium by Sega Toys could best be described as a Virtual Pet, which haven’t been popular since the early nineties. In fact, I think that is when Sega Toys peaked with their Sega Saturn.

The full color graphics are certainly better than anything the Tamigotchi had back in the day. In this case, the user gets to take care of a fish, or some other marine animal like a dolphin.

The underwater pet will grow, and there is an extra bonus as well, because the virtual pet’s space will somehow expand. I am assuming this is a virtual expansion, because there is a tiny screen on this handheld aquarium.

The user, or virtual pet owner, also has the option of playing three different mini games with their pet, and hopefully isn’t punished too hard if they fail in their responsibility. If you are wondering what I mean by that, just picture a little kid picking up their Handheld Aquarium only to find that their virtual aquatic friend is floating on his or her back. Yeah, that’s a pretty gruesome image, and the little tyke may never watch Finding Nemo again.

The Handheld Aquarium is available at the Japan Trend Shop for $59.

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Now with a new survey on Media Influence, bloggers can no longer revel in the belief they exist in a vacuum where they can make fun of just about anything and get away with it.

You did this?

It seems some loose-lipped consumers ratted bloggers out as “significantly influenced…purchase[s].” Way to go.  Now, our phones will ring with PR folks calling to pitch us the latest and greatest tech gear.  Heck, there is even the chance some of us will be swayed with free trips and prizes.  (Can you otherwise explain Robert Nelson’s refusal to grill Microsoft on their upcoming Surface Phone?)

Did what?

The report found:

* Consumers who rated online blogs and reviews highly tend to be younger (18 to 34 years old) and have average or higher than average incomes.
* Television, newspapers, and direct mail advertisements were among the most influential traditional media for recent mobile phone buyers.
* 26.3 percent of consumers surveyed indicated they prefer to purchase mobile/wireless phones online instead of in person/at a store.
* Survey respondents also revealed product reviews, user comments, and blogs significantly influenced other consumer electronics purchases.
* The price of a cell phone was widely considered to be a less important buying factor than rate plans, coverage area, and mobile phone product quality.

The new “experts”

Essentially, the study found blogging has become our collective, coveted word-of-mouth advertising.  As marketers will tell you, nothing is as powerful as word-of-mouth (except a logo change, Memorex).

The Media Influence on Consumer Choice survey was conducted by Ad-ology Research.  These are you folks you need to be leery of.  I think the TV, newspapers and direct mail industries may have had some influence on this survey.  My direct mail goes straight in the recycle pile as does all those telephone company offers that fall out of everything.  Who is reading that stuff?

But seriously, I can’t think of the last electronic purchase I made that I didn’t search for a review or blog report, can you? 

Read [New Business Hunter]

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Mitsubishi has just rolled out its new NR-HZ001 series of car navigation systems that will be fitted into the remainder of its 2008 lineup, featuring an integrated hard drive to store all your navigational data. One of the models will boast the ability to watch “full segment” terrestrial digital broadcasts, although that is not recommended if you’re driver - leave the watching to your passengers while you concentrate on the road. I tend to find that distractions such as in-dash DVD players and what-nots add to a less safe driving experience, as my roving eyes tend to concentrate more on what’s happening on the screen instead of the vehicles behinds’ that I am fast approaching.

These two models will be released this November 5th in Japan, with no word on a recommended retail price although pundits are pointing towards at $2,353 price point for the full segment model with the 1seg model going for approximately $1,900 or so. According to Eiji Nakayama, executive officer in charge of Automotive Equipment, “Even though the cost of car navigation systems is declining as a result of the emergence of PNDs, high prices will not deter consumers if a product has added value.” You, as a driver, do you think what he says holds water, or are you much more careful with your purse strings now that there is no $700 billion bailout plan that has left the US economy in tatters?

What makes this model stand out from the rest is the inclusion of the “Multi Relay Operation” that helps standardize the transition of multiple operation systems such as touch panels, remote control and voice recognition. Since the driver is meant to leave both hands on the steering wheel and not fiddling with knobs and switches, Mitsubishi clearly believes that voice input is the way to go when it comes to operating a navigation system while driving. Unfortunately, voice recognition in car navigation systems are still in its infancy stage as malfunctions due to misrecognition are frequent, leading Mitsubishi to standardize the transition of operation to enable passengers in the front passenger seat and backseats to take over operation from the driver. Neat - make sure you don’t go yapping if you’re driving this alone lest you end up in a ditch with an airbag in your face.

Source: Tech-On!

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by Stephanie Patterson, posted Sep 29th 2008 at 2:28PM
The last VAIO UMPC mod we saw swapped out the UX280 CPU for a 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo U7600, but this new UX490 tweak beats the pants off that by a long shot. According to “computercowboy,” a forum member on Micro PC Talk, he’s managed to push his handheld to a 45,999 score in Crystal Mark, easily besting the UX280’s 30,069. The swap of this CPU into the UX280 results in radically higher FPU and ALU figures, making it the “fastest UX in the world” — or so says the modder. Now it’s only a matter of time before someone comes along and overclocks this thing, a move which will undoubtedly result in badly singed hands and a melted VAIO — don’t say we didn’t warn you!

[Via UMPC Portal]

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