Palm Centro

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For individuals and traditional mobile phone users who want to stay connected with friends, family and co-workers, Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) and Rogers Wireless today announced the Canadian launch of the popular Palm® Centro™ smartphone, available at Rogers Wireless, the country’s most reliable wireless network. The Centro is Palm’s smallest and lightest smartphone and has sold more than one million units worldwide.

“Traditional cell phone users are stepping up the Palm Centro in droves because of its cool design, full keyboard and ease of use,” said Brodie Keast, senior vice president of marketing for Palm, Inc. “More and more people need voice, text, email, web, contact and calendar capabilities all wrapped in one compact device so they can stay connected with everyone who is important to them. Centro delivers all that and more.”

Centro has a modern, stylish look that feels comfortable in the hand, and discreetly fits in a pocket or clutch. Centro helps users manage email and text messaging, keep track of their schedules, stay up-to-date on the latest news, capture and share pictures, and get maps and directions with Google™ Maps all in one small phone.Its full keyboard also makes it easy to quickly type text messages and emails with complete thoughts and ideas.

Kensington DisplayLink Dual Monitor Adapter

Kensington has been touting its DisplayLink Dual Monitor Adapter since before it even had a product to show off, but the company's now apparently finally gotten its act together and pushed the device out the door. Like similar devices, this one will let you add a second monitor with nothing more than a USB connection, or up to six monitors if you want to string a bunch of the adapters together. You still won't get more than a 1440 x 900 or 1280x 1024 resolution, however, but thanks to those recently released drivers, you will now be able to use it with Macs in addition to XP or Vista-based PCs. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the price has taken a bit of a jump since the company's initial estimates, with it now running $120 instead of the even $100 we were first promised.

HTC Touch Pro

Call it Raphael no longer! HTC has officially thrown the cover off its Touch Pro today -- the QWERTY slider sibling of the recently-unveiled Touch Diamond -- which should cover the bases for those who loved the Diamond's keen looks but decided they'd go our of their gourds without a full set of physical keys at their disposal. Under that glossy black shell lies WiFi, HSPA with a solid 7.2Mbps on the downstream, Bluetooth, 2.8-inch VGA display, Windows Mobile 6.1 featuring HTC's TouchFLO 3D interface, a 3.2 megapixel camera, a half gig of ROM, and 288MB of RAM. It's not going to win any "world's thinnest" records with an 18.05mm waistline, but those five rows of textual healing don't come without a price. The first batch of devices will be Europe-bound in "late summer" with 900 / 2100MHz 3G alongside the quadband GSM and EDGE; North and Latin American versions are promised for later in the year.

Android-powered phones are coming in 2008

Google denied a report Monday that phones using its Android software have been delayed to 2009.

The Street reported the delay, citing an unnamed source. But Google denied the report.

A view of Google's Android mobile-phone software.

A view of Google's Android mobile-phone software, demonstrated at Google I/O.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET News.com)

"We're still on track to announce Android-powered phones this year. Some of our partners are publicly stating that they plan to ship Android phones in the fourth quarter," Google said in a statement.

That's little surprise, given that Android leader Andy Rubin last week said phones using the soon-to-be-mostly-open-source software will be "available in the second half of this year" just last week at the Google I/O conference.

T-Mobile plans to ship an Android phone later in 2008, Chief Executive Hamid Akhavan said in February.

T-Mobile confirmed on Monday that its Android-based phone is still on track to arrive in the fourth quarter.

One source of possible Android confusion could be that although Google and various partners are collectively writing the Android software, Google isn't the only one supporting it.

Android software overseen by Google will appear in the first Android phones, but Android software overseen by partner Wind River Systems will appear in later models expected in the first quarter of 2009, said John Bruggeman, chief marketing officer of Linux seller and Android partner Wind River.

"They (Google) did the first phone. They carefully handheld it all the way through," Bruggeman said. "We've got the rest."

Wind River supports Linux in embedded computing devices but will support the full Android software "stack," which extends to higher-level software as well.

"When Android is open-sourced, we will support the entire stack," Bruggeman said. "We've ramped up our infrastructure. We are resourced to be able to support Android and not just Linux--the messaging and telephony and e-mail and browsing."

Eee-pc-901-1000-01-7-8/

We've seen the pictures, now the details. What you're looking at up there are the official specs and pricing for Asus' new Eee PC series. Up to 7.8-hours of battery (3.2-hours minimum!), 802.11n, Bluetooth, and 1.3 megapixel camera as we already knew. What's more, the 10.2-inch 1000-series features either a 40GB SSD on the Linux-based 1000 or 80GB traditional hard disk on the XP or Linux-based 1000H. Both ship with support a maximum of 2GB DDR2 memory. Interestingly, the long-lasting 6-cell battery is the only option shown in a what could be construed as a lesson learned following recent woes.

Now the price:

* Eee PC 901: NT$16,988 or about $559 (on sale now in Taiwan)
* Eee PC 1000(H): NT$18,988 or about $625
* Eee PC 1000: NT$19,988 or about $658

Let's wait for domestic pricing outside of Taiwan to see how these numbers will ultimately tally closer to home.

Update: Asus just made the Eee PC 901, 1000, and 1000(H) officially, official. Press images released.

SanDisk SDHC 32GB

The bits, they just keep coming -- now that 16GB SDHC cards are old hat, SanDisk's gone and upped the ante with these new 32GB cards. That matches Toshiba's record, but you won't be able to get your hands on one until April, when they ship for $349. A 16GB version and a new 8GB Ultra II SDHC Plus with flip-out USB connecter will also hit in March for $179 and $99, respectively -- but you know you want the big'un, don't lie.

Garmin nuvifone

We know, it's not like the nüvifone is a total surprise any longer, but just in case you tend to rest easier after digesting information straight from the source, here goes. Garmin's recently (and abruptly) announced handset obviously marks the firm's first solo foray into the cellphone arena, and according to Cliff Pemble, the firm's president and COO, it's the "breakthrough product that cellphone and GPS users around the world have been longing for." That being said, the unit will feature a 3.5-inch touchscreen with a trio of primary icons -- Call, Search and View Map -- along with an internet browser, HSDPA support and preloaded maps of North America and / or Eastern and Western Europe. Furthermore, it houses "millions" of POIs, doles out turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions and becomes Garmin's first device to include Google's local search capability. As for pricing and availability? We're looking at a Q3 2008 release, but we'll have to wait things out before finding out a price and who exactly will be carrying it. Check out the gallery below for shots of the device and its UI, and head on past the break for lots more dirt.

Kodak intros EasyShare Z1012 IS

Yeah, Kodak's being a little slow with its pre-PMA goods, but barely early is better than nothin', right? Here we have the firm's newest megazoom, the EasyShare Z1012 IS, which steps it up over the CES-announced Z1085 IS by housing a 10-megapixel sensor and a full 12x optical zoom. Reportedly, this shooter sports a chassis small enough to "fit in the palm of your hand (all hands?)," and in case the "IS" didn't give it away, you can also expect optical image stabilization. Moreover, you'll find ISO up to 3,200, program, aperture and shutter priority (as well as "full manual mode") and face detection technology for good measure. What's clear is the $299.95 price tag, what's not so clear is the release date -- look for it sometime during "the first half of 2008."

Vodafone 7.2Mbps HSUPA USB modem

Vodafone UK are beginning to offer a USB mobile broadband modem capable of accessing the network’s 7.2Mbps HSUPA connection, with both Mac and PC compatibility and upload rates of up to 1.44Mbps.


Currently only available in its 7.2Mbps form in Central London and UK airports, the HSUPA service is priced from £25 ($49) a month (with 18 and 24 month contracts available) and the modem itself is the smallest yet from the carrier.

With the cheapest contract, the Stick is priced at £49 ($97); opt for a 24-month plan and Vodafone will give you three months line-rental free.

Sony Vaio ultra-portable

Sony let fly a raft of new specs in several Vaio lines today, including beefing up the high-definition AR (pictured, left) and FZ (pictured, right) series and the TZ and SZ subnotebooks. The flagship desktop-replacement AR790U gets a T9300 Intel Core 2 Duo bump and sports a 17-inch display, 4GB RAM, 400GB HD, 512MB nVidia GPU, Blu-ray burner and HDMI for $3300. The FZ485U now packs a T8100 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo, 15.4-inch screen, 4GB RAM, 300GB HD, 256MB nVidia graphics, Blu-ray burner and HDMI out for $2200. In the subnote department we've got the Vaio SZ791 now sporting a T9300 Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 250GB HD, and 13.3-inch display for $2500, with the TZ298 packing a U7700 Core 2 Duo, 64GB SSD plus 250GB HDD storage space, and an 11.1-inch screen in a light 2.7 pound frame for a cool $3600. All of these will be available for pre-order starting January 7 which, for the calendarically challenged, is tomorrow.

Sony Vaio ultra-portable

Sony let fly a raft of new specs in several Vaio lines today, including beefing up the high-definition AR (pictured, left) and FZ (pictured, right) series and the TZ and SZ subnotebooks. The flagship desktop-replacement AR790U gets a T9300 Intel Core 2 Duo bump and sports a 17-inch display, 4GB RAM, 400GB HD, 512MB nVidia GPU, Blu-ray burner and HDMI for $3300. The FZ485U now packs a T8100 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo, 15.4-inch screen, 4GB RAM, 300GB HD, 256MB nVidia graphics, Blu-ray burner and HDMI out for $2200. In the subnote department we've got the Vaio SZ791 now sporting a T9300 Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 250GB HD, and 13.3-inch display for $2500, with the TZ298 packing a U7700 Core 2 Duo, 64GB SSD plus 250GB HDD storage space, and an 11.1-inch screen in a light 2.7 pound frame for a cool $3600. All of these will be available for pre-order starting January 7 which, for the calendarically challenged, is tomorrow.

Philips Swarovski

Oh ho, it looks like Philips' out of character endeavor with Swarovski to add their own special brand of bling to USB keys and in-ear headphones must have really taken off. Apparently enough Active Crystals units are currently gracing handbags and murses everywhere to warrant an update to the line, which now features -- wait for it -- color. For the low, low price of $99 you'll be able to take home a stunning pair of cans in luxurious "Space Violet." And if you're dead set on shelling out $179 to bedazzle your or your loved one's thumb drive in violet or black, you'll be in luck come Valentine's Day

Sony mylo

If you're a mylo fan, you're pretty stoked right now. We're doing our best to refrain from calling this thing the mylo 2 (namely because it's just the new "mylo," official designation COM-2 mylo), but we did get to kick the tires on it, and it's pretty clear how huge an improvement the new model really is. Unfortunately, that's not saying a whole lot, given the state of the original mylo -- but the new one? Really not so bad. Granted, the crisp, high res touchscreen wasn't quite sensitive enough for our taste, and it didn't really seem intended for use with a stylus, and most of the big new features we tested (RSS / podcast aggregation, YouTube playback, browsing heavy sites like Engadget, etc.) worked, but were pretty sluggish. For our money, between the two we'd say pick up an N810, but if you're down with the mylo this is a formidable upgrade.

Nokia digital pen

Not only is it a digital pen that records what you write, but it has Bluetooth, for what purpose I don’t know, unless it works with N-Series phones for sending handwritten notes, it probably doesn’t, but that would be cool. It has 1.3MB of on board storage, and then the Bluetooth is likely so its possible to wirelessly offload that storage or maybe so you can use it like a Wacom tablet.

Planex Start Selling MiniSD wireless LAN Card GW-MS54G in Japan

Planex Communications announced the launch of IEEE802.11b/g compatible miniSD wireless LAN card GW-MS54G which enables to add the function of wireless LAN to Smart phone and PDA will be sold in the end of December at resellers all over Japan and PLANEX DIRECT.



The new MiniSD wireless LAN Card GW-MS54G provides wireless LAN function to SDIO support windows mobile pocket pc phone on miniSD card slot. With also a SD card adaptor, it will be able to attach to the devices with SDIO support. It is able to connect up to 54Mbps (theoretical figure) high speed communication at max. It will be ideal for large data communication such as Internet or email. Security wise it is compatible with 64/128bit WEP and WPA, WPA2.

Blueant V1 Voice Controlled Bluetooth headset

Blueant is the company that made a Bluetooth headset that actually made our own Vincent Nguyen happy, which is a hard thing to do. So, I just can't see their latest product, the V1, being much different especially when he only has to touch one button and then he can give commands to do whatever he wants.



It’s powered by BlueGenie and likely works a lot like the voice command systems that are built into most phones these days. We don’t have many other details right now.

Price and availability are still up in the air, but I am sure one of us (likely Vincent) will be stopping by one of the Blueant booths to give this thing a go. Then he’ll hopefully hook us up with the price and availability info if they have it available there.

Microsoft Windows Vista Sideshow Meets Apple iPhone and iPod Touch To Provide Home Control

At CES 2008, Lagotek will present its "HIP Modes" Sideshow home control gadget working on iPhone and iPod touch made possible by Ikanos Consulting Go Gadgets technology. It enables the use of iPhone and iPod touch for home control over WiFi and GPRS/EDGE.



The ability to run Vista Sideshow gadgets on Apple's legendary devices to control the home was made possible by Lagotek Corporation and Ikanos Consulting Ltd. working together to merge cutting edge Vista Sideshow technologies with Apple's famous devices for home automation use.

Lagotek HIP Modes are user created macro states of the Home. By choosing the specific Mode on iPod touch, the homeowner, with the Lagotek HIP home automation system installed, can control lights, temperature, music, audio/video devices and the security system with one touch.

Go Gadgets for iPhone and iPod touch is a web application which, when installed on Windows Vista, allows users to turn an iPod touch or iPhone into a Windows SideShow-capable device. Go Gadgets is a client-server system for adding Windows SideShow capability to a wide range of connected smart devices. As well as support for web applications, Go Gadgets also supports devices based on Windows Mobile, Windows CE, and J2ME, and allows remote access to Windows SideShow gadgets via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or GPRS/EDGE/3G.

NVIDIA's nForce 780i SLI MCP gets official

Hot on the heels of NVIDIA's 3-way SLI system hitting all sorts of test benches comes word that the outfit is cranking out its brand new nForce 780i SLI MCP (media and communications processor). That's right kids, the self-proclaimed "must-have gaming platform for Intel Yorkfield CPUs" is finally out in the open, and aside from playing nice with Intel's QX9650, it also supports PCI Express Gen 2.0, 3-way SLI and the new Enthusiast System Architecture specification. Apparently, a number of "motherboard partners" including Asus, Falcon Northwest, HP, Gigabyte, Hypersonic and Voodoo PC are already planning to offer nForce 780i SLI MCP-based products, and judging by NVIDIA's holiday themed press release, we'd wager that you'll see the aforementioned items seeping out sooner rather than later.

Mio releases its C620 and C620t PNDs with 3D maps

Mio's been generating some buzz with its new C620 series of personal navigation devices, thanks to their innovative digital elevation mapping and preloaded landmarks which allow for a 3D experience that trumps most other products on the market. Well the 4.3-inch C620 and TMC-equipped C620t are finally available for purchase, although pricing wasn't set in the announcement, probably because these split-screen Bluetooth units are being sold in a number of European countries but not where we want them most, right here in the good old US of A.

O'Neill announces GPS-enabled NavJacket

14 December 2007 9:25 GMT - O’Neill Europe has announced the launch of the NavJacket, a "dedicated navigation tool" integrated into a Gore-Tex jacket.

The result of partnership between O'Neill's Wearable Electronics Department, the "H Division" and MyGuide, the high-tech jacket allows the wearer to "easily" navigate through the mountains with the help of the integrated display on the sleeve and the audio instructions in the hood.

The claim is that the wearer simply enters their desired location and then lets the NavJacket guide them effortlessly down the slopes.

As well as directions, the GPS module can inform wearers of current speed, up-to-date local weather forecasts, and in-depth details about the route, such as distance and time and will be shown on the flexible display sleeve.

And, hooking up a mobile phone to the GPS unit, 3D views of the resorts as well as points of interest throughout the resort will also be available.

The NavJacket will be tested the coming winter season on selected areas in the Alps and the plan is for it to be available to buy as part of the O'Neill Fall/Winter 2008/09 collection.

AMD Hybrid CrossFire Technology Preview

We've already seen laptops like Sony's Vaio SZ include integrated graphics alongside much more powerful (and power-hungry) dedicated chips, but AMD's looking to make such setups all the more commonplace with new chips capable of hybrid CrossFire. AMD recently demoed the tech to PC Perspective, showing off a 2.2GHz Phenom machine with both unreleased RS780 integrated graphics and a RV620-based card labeled HD Radeon 3450. Running games like Call of Duty 4 and Unreal Tournament 3, frame rates jumped from 30-35fps to around 55fps when hybrid mode was enabled. That's pretty respectable, although the system is limited to speedups of the slowest chip times two, so bigger gains are probably not in the offing. However, there can still be benefits to using chips of drastically different horsepower: the integrated chips can power down the heavy hitter to save power when not needed, and totally switch over when required. That's a pretty solid compromise, we think -- and with AMD aiming for the initial batch of hybrid CrossFire-capable cards to be priced around $50, it looks like we'll be seeing these setups a lot when AMD starts shipping these early next year.

Sony's China-only PMX-M70 PMP gets reviewed

French site Le Journal du Geek recently got their hands on Sony's slick China-only PMX-M70 PMP, and it looks like it's a pretty solid little player. The orange-and-black unit managed to play back most video files on its 4.3-inch screen, including DivX and H.264 vids, and it packs in 8GB of storage and a touch screen in a device much smaller (and much more stylish) than the Archos 605. The only problem seems to be that it's apparently impossible to get one outside of mainland China -- a situation Sony should think about remedying immediately. Check a video of the unit (in French) after the break.