News

Canon announce new Digital IXUS 90

Canon have just announced their new digital compact camera, the IXUS 90. The camera will include features previously reserved for high-end digital SLR cameras, such as IS and Digic III processors.

Canon Digital IXUS 90

The press release:

Building on the success of Canon’s iconic IXUS design, Canon’s new Digital IXUS 90 IS features clean, sharp and powerful lines to bring a touch of elegance to the digital compact market.

The latest camera from designer Naohiro Seki, Canon’s 10 Megapixel Digital IXUS 90 IS combines exquisitely engineered angles with a metal finish to offer a distinctive geometric style that is perfect for the image-conscious consumer.

Featuring a unique flat key control panel and thumb wheel, Canon’s Digital IXUS 90 IS makes no compromise on technology. Incorporating a high resolution 3” PureColor LCD II screen with amazing colour contrast and wide angle of view, Canon’s Digital IXUS 90 IS is ideal for easy shooting and instant image sharing.

Motion Detection Technology and Face Detection Technology with Face Select & Track make people perfect snaps even easier to capture, with camera settings automatically altering to ensure subjects are kept in focus in low-light situations. Red-Eye Correction in shooting and playback mode meanwhile, puts an end to tired party eyes ruining pictures, whilst Canon’s High ISO Auto and optical Image Stabilizer (IS) keep shots steady and reduces blur in low-light environments such as bars or restaurants.

A host of additional features including 19 shooting modes to make capturing difficult scenes such as sunsets simple, help put the fun back into digital photography and ensure satisfaction all round.

The Digital IXUS 90 IS features:

Pricing & Availability

The Digital IXUS 90 IS is available from late March priced at £259.00 / €379.00 RRP inc. VAT.

Posted by: Mark

[Post tag(s): smartphone news, Pocket PC news, Tracy & Matt, canon, ixus, Digital Camera]

HTC’s new funky website

If you haven’t been to the HTC website lately you might want to pay them a visit. Over the past few days HTC have re-launched their website and with a much nicer, more streamlined feel to it.

I also noticed that all of the handset pages have been updated with new images and writeups along with a list of stockists in each country.

Definitely worth a look!

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, iPAQ, HTC]

SanDisk announces 16GB industrial grade CF card

More SanDisk news from CeBIT, this time SanDisk announces their new 16GB industrial grade CompactFlash card for Mission-Critical Mass Storage Applications.

The 16GB CompactFlash 5000 Meets Next Generation Demands for High Capacity and Performance in Harsh Operating Conditions.

SanDisk Industrial CF card

The full SanDisk news release:

SanDisk Corporation today announced it is doubling the capacity of its CompactFlash 5000 flash memory cards for industrial markets. In addition to fast read and write speeds, the cards provide a high level of durability and reliability for mission-critical applications such as industrial PCs, medical instruments, military applications, point-of-sale (POS) equipment and gaming machines.

The new 16-gigabyte high-performance CompactFlash 5000 card was unveiled at CeBIT 2008, one of the world’s largest technology trade fairs, where it is on display at Booth D59 in Hall 26 of the Hannover exhibition center.

With twice the capacity of its 8GB CompactFlash introduced last spring, SanDisk’s 16GB flash card uses binary memory, designed by SanDisk specifically for mass storage applications, to achieve a sustained read and write performance of up to 30 megabytes (MB) per second. It supports a transfer mode of up to UDMA 4, an industry standard that enables high data transfer rates and includes performance boosters and on-the-fly error detection.

“There’s a substantial market for this type of industrial-strength card in mission-critical applications, especially those in harsh environments,” said Scott Deutsch, vice president of OEM sales and marketing for SanDisk. “In addition to providing high-performance and high-capacity, the CompactFlash 5000 is a mass storage solution that can be trusted to meet the demands of industrial users and applications.”

The 16GB CompactFlash 5000 uses SanDisk’s patented flash management technology — such as back block management, error detection and error correction code (EDC/ECC) — to provide data reliability, even in extreme temperatures that can range from -13 degrees to 185 degrees Fahrenheit (-25 to +85 Celsius). It is available in fixed or removable configurations.

In addition to the mass storage-specific flash memory chips, CompactFlash 5000 includes an intelligent controller that provides a high-level interface to the host computer. This controller manages data storage and retrieval, defect handling and diagnostics, power management and clock control.

Posted by: Mark

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, Sandisk, Compact Flash]

SanDisk announces FlashBack automated backup device

CeBIT is now in full swing and today SanDisk announced their new effortless, automated backup device – FlashBack. In simple terms this is an ExpressCard adapter for your laptop PC that automatically and continuously backing up and encrypting critical data onto an SD card.

SanDisk FlashBack

Check out the press release for more info:

You’re at a conference and someone spills coffee on your laptop PC, shorting out the system and cutting you off from your presentation and notes. Or your computer slips out of your hands and crashes to the floor. These are moments that everyone dreads, but today SanDisk Corporation unveiled a rescue option — a lifeline for laptop users called the SanDisk FlashBack Adapter. This unique device fits into the ExpressCard slot of your PC, automatically and continuously backing up and encrypting critical data onto an SD flash memory card.

Whether your PC suffers a system failure or a full hard drive crash, the SanDisk FlashBack Adapter allows you to access your content safely from the memory card. Designed for the millions of newer notebook computers that have an ExpressCard slot, the SanDisk FlashBack Adapter offers a reliable, easy-to-use system to protect critical files by copying them automatically and instantly to an optional SD or SDHC memory card of any capacity. And with the backup card nesting completely inside the laptop, the system is literally out of sight. Nothing protrudes from the PC and nothing needs to be attached to any other port.

The SanDisk FlashBack Adapter is being demonstrated this week at the annual CeBIT electronics show, at Booth D59, Hall 26 in the Hannover convention center.

To use the SanDisk FlashBack Adapter, purchase an SD or SDHC memory card of any capacity and slide the card with the adapter into your computer’s ExpressCard slot, where it can be left for continuous backup protection.

The adapter comes with easy-to-set up software for Windows-based laptops. Once installed, users pre-select backup sources by individual files, folders and/or file types. Then the device backs up and encrypts the user’s data, images, music and other files — automatically and continuously — from the computer’s hard drive to the memory card. Backup occurs as soon as there is a change to a designated file, or when a file is added or deleted. There is no need for scheduling backups and no need for further user intervention. Also, the application has a handy screen indicator to show the amount of storage available, along with a taskbar icon that displays the ongoing backup status.

Restoring individual files, complete folders or the complete set of backed-up data is easy. Just open the application, log in to access, select the encrypted files on the memory card and indicate the restore destination. Voila! — your critical files are back and they are within the same folder structure as the originals. Also, you can restore data from the memory card on any PC that uses Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista and has an SD memory card reader. The SanDisk FlashBack Adapter is not needed for this process.

“This is a ‘set it and forget it’ solution for every laptop user with an ExpressCard slot who wants to be protected from unintended data loss,” said Matthijs Hutten, SanDisk’s senior product marketing manager for accessories. “We all know that we should frequently make backups of our critical files. But most of us don’t get around to it because it seems like too much of an effort, or we simply forget to do it. This practical solution does the job and does it automatically. So if your PC suffers a breakdown, you can flash back to your latest files wherever you are. The SanDisk FlashBack Adapter truly gives you peace of mind.”

For protection against laptop theft and to easily share backed-up files, the SanDisk FlashBack Adapter also offers users an option for backing up content online. This service is provided by BeInSync Inc. for a nominal fee and in addition to local storage on an SD or SDHC memory card (more information at www.beinsync.com).

Posted by: Mark

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, Sandisk, FlashBack]

Acer to buy E-TEN

Proving that there is more than one way to expand your Windows Mobile phone portfolio, Acer have announced that they have made E-TEN an acquisition offer which has been accepted.

With the financial clout of Acer, the worlds third largest laptop manufacturer, it likely that we’ll see good things from E-TEN in the coming months.

The official release:

E-TEN Information Systems has announced that it has accepted an acquisition offer from the world’s third-ranked PC vendor, Acer Inc. The deal is expected to accelerate the penetration of E-TEN’s products and services, including Glofiish-brand Pocket PC Phones, on a global level while enabling E-TEN to deliver more efficient local support to its existing customers.

The board of directors of E-TEN recently voted unanimously to accept a proposed acquisition offer made by Acer. The successful completion of the deal is not expected to impact the management structure of E-TEN, and the company will continue to deliver products and services at a quality its customers have come to expect.

“E-TEN’s proven success in bringing state-of-the-art products and business concepts to the consumer mobility sector, united with the Acer Group’s global infrastructure, will allow us to provide more efficient local support to customers, while at the same time further extending the footprint of Glofiish-brand products.” noted Simon Hwang, CEO, E-TEN.

E-TEN remains committed to the continued innovation of versatile connectivity solutions for mobile professionals and consumers, which has become synonymous with the Glofiish brand.

With the worldwide smartphone market estimated to grow by more than 30% by 2011, Acer plans to leverage E-TEN’s experience and expertise to enhance its competitiveness in the ultra mobile segment, by combining PC and communication technologies.

The acquisition is subject to standard closing conditions, including obtaining approval from shareholders and regulators, and is expected to close during third quarter 2008.

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Acer, E-Ten]

HTC Shift in stock

The nice peeps at Devicewire just dropped me a line to let me know that they have just recieved their first shipment of HTC Shift’s and that they have stock available! So if you want to get ahead of the crowd and beat the Jones’ then you can head over to Devicewire.com and order one today!

HTC Shift

Where once you traded productivity for portability, now there is no need for compromise. Powerful enough to run Microsoft Windows Vista® on a large touch screen, the HTC Shift delivers functional clout in a sleek, lightweight design.

With the optimum blend of portability and functionality, HTC SnapVUE™ provides instant and easy access to critical information, such as your emails, calendar, SMS and contacts – even if the device is not switched on. There’s now no need to power up just to check your emails.

High-speed, always-on connectivity provides the ultimate in productivity and highest fidelity experience, no matter where you are.

The expansive 7-inch touch sensitive screen slides and tilts to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard, providing you with an uncompromised PC environment while working on the move.

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone news, Pocket PC news, Tracy & Matt, Orange, HTC, HTC Shift, Microsoft Communicator]

Panasonic to Release DivX Certified Blu-ray DVD

DivX, Inc. today announced the DivX® Certification of Panasonic’s Blu-ray Disc (BD) Player (PN: DMP-BD30EG/EE).

The Panasonic Blu-ray Disc player, which joins a number of existing DivX Certified products from Panasonic, is scheduled to be released beginning in March and is expected to be the first DivX Certified® Blu-ray Disc Player available in Europe and Russia. Like Panasonic’s existing DivX Certified DVD players, the latest DivX Certified Panasonic Blu-ray disc player enables users to enjoy high-quality DivX video playback.

“In order to give our users access to the extremely popular, high-quality DivX format, we have introduced the first DivX-Certified Blu-ray Disc Player for Europe and Russia,” said Yuki Kusumi, Group Manager of Product Technology, Video Business Unit, Network Business Group, Panasonic AVC Networks Company, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. “The timely launch of this strategic product is a direct response to the strong demand for DivX playback among consumers. We are very confident this product will be very popular in the European and Russian markets.”

“The DivX Certified Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player is a great device from a leader in next generation DVD technology, and marks an important strategic milestone in our growth into new product categories,” said Kevin Hell, CEO of DivX, Inc. “DivX has already become a de-facto standard on existing DVD players and we are well-positioned to repeat that success in the Blu-ray category. We’re pleased Panasonic continues to recognize DivX technology as an important feature on next-generation devices.”

Products that bear the DivX Certified logo have undergone a rigorous testing program to ensure a high quality DivX media experience that includes reliable video playback, excellent visual quality, and interoperability with other DivX Certified digital devices. The DivX logo has become a powerful symbol for a high-quality digital video experience across any device.

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): technology blog, gaming, Tracy & Matt, DivX, Blu-ray, panasonic]

Where is the HP iPAQ 614?

A few weeks ago we mentioned the HP iPAQ 614 and at the time we told you that you could pre-order the device from Clove.

The first release date given by HP was the 22nd February but last Friday came and went only to be told that the 614 would be available the following week. Since then we’ve heard a few more dates mentioned and some retailers even say that they have the 614 in stock!

HP iPAQ 614

So the question is ‘Where is the HP iPAQ 614? Do you have one? If so where did you get it? Share the news people!

HP iPAQ 614 Specification:

EDIT: The review is now LIVE.

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, iPAQ, HP]

Over one million video views!

I was just looking at my YouTube profile and was amazed to see that the unbox videos that I’ve been posting on there have now been viewed more than one million times!!

I want to say a big thank you to everyone that’s supported the site and watched my unbox videos. I’ve recorded over 70 device unbox videos now and there’s no sign of that stopping. I have three more to do this week and who knows how many next week. All good fun!

Thanks also to those of you that supply the products for review, unbox videos would be somewhat dull without you!

Please do take a look at my YouTube profile where you can see everything that I’ve posted over the past year and if you subscribe to my channel you’ll even get a notification when I add something new.

As always, if you have any comments or suggestions then please do drop me a line.

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, Unbox videos, YouTube]

HTC respond again to HTCClassAction

The issues caused by the lack of video drivers on many of the latest HTC devices is well documented, in fact you’ll be hard pushed to find a technology or mobile site that’s not reporting the problem at the moment.

Last month HTC responded to the complaints raised by HTCClassAction.org and all but dismissed the claims.

I guess HTC must be starting to see sense and yesterday released the following response that not only acknowledges the problem but also states that a software fix is on its way.

“Some of our top engineers have investigated video performance on our devices and have discovered a fix that they claim will dramatically improve performance for common on-screen tasks like scrolling and the like. Their fix would help most of our recent touch-screen products including the Touch family of devices and TYTN II / Tilt, Mogul / XV6900. The update is in testing and we hope to release it soon.

However this fix is not a new video driver to utilize hardware acceleration; it is a software optimization. Video drivers are a much more complicated issue that involves companies and engineers beyond HTC alone. We do not want to lead anyone to believe they should expect these. To explain why we are not releasing video acceleration instead of the optimization I offer you our official statement…”

“HTC DOES plan to offer software upgrades that will increase feature functionality, over the air wireless speeds and other enhancements for some of the phones being criticized, but we do not anticipate including any additional support for the video acceleration issues cited in customer complaints. It is important for customers to understand that bringing this functionality to market is not a trivial driver update and requires extensive software development and time.

HTC will utilize hardware video acceleration like the ATI Imageon in many upcoming products. Our users have made it clear that they expect our products to offer an improved visual experience, and we have included this feedback into planning and development of future products. To address lingering questions about HTC’s current MSM 7xxx devices, it is important to establish that a chipset like an MSM7xxx is a platform with a vast multitude of features that enable a wide range of devices with varied functionality. It is common that devices built on platforms like Qualcomm’s will not enable every feature or function.

In addition to making sure the required hardware is present, unlocking extended capabilities of chipsets like the MSM 7xxx requires in-depth and time consuming software development, complicated licensing negotiations, potential intellectual property negotiations, added licensing fees, and in the case of devices that are sold through operators, the desire of the operator to include the additional functionality. To make an informed decision about which handset suits them best, consumers should look at the product specification itself instead of using the underlying chipset specifications to define what the product could potentially become.”

Let’s hope this isn’t vapourware!

Posted by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, HTC, HTCClassAction, ATI Imageon]