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Archive for November, 1999
HP’s new netbook offers 10-inch LED screen
Monday, November 29th, 1999Sun
MINI-NOTE 2140, HP
EEE TOP ET 1602, ASUS
PROPEL QUICK MESSAGING PHONE, SAMSUNG
MINI-NOTE 2140, HP, $549
If you’re getting the idea this is the year of the netbook, you’d be right. It wasn’t so long ago the choice was limited, but that is changing fast and HP’s 2140 has just been added to the lineup in Canada. Pricewise, it’s not among the entry-level offerings, but it offers the 10-inch LED screen that seems to be a good mid-size for users who aren’t ready to downsize to the eight-inch and smaller netbooks. It also has a 92-per-cent full-size keyboard favoured in netbooks of this size. Weight is a big factor with these little computers since many people are trying to get away from the back-breaking chore of lugging around a laptop, and the 2140 comes in at a respectable 1.19 kilograms. Netbook searchers also note there are renewed rumours of a mini-notebook or tablet with a touch screen coming from Apple, but don’t get out your credit card just yet. Meanwhile, more on HP’s mini-note 2140 at www.hp.com/personal
EEE TOP ET 1602, ASUS, $600 US
A 15.6-inch touch screen combines with an Intel Atom-based system in the new Top ET 1602 computer announced this month for North American dealers. It lends itself to easy video-phone functionality over Skype with an integrated Web cam, wireless connectivity, and Eee Cam software for custom photo messages and YouTube videos. A companion external DVD drive is optional at $64 US. It has a built-in handle and weighs 4.5 kilograms so while not exactly a portable machine, it is easy to carry from room to room. A camera card reader, lots of USB ports, and touch-optimized Opera browser add to its billing as a multimedia hub. usa.asus.com
PROPEL QUICK MESSAGING PHONE, SAMSUNG, $50 WITH CONTRACT, $250 WITH NO CONTRACT
A full QWERTY keyboard slides out to make this a handy messaging phone. Plus it has a 1.3-megapixel camera with video capture. Its MobileMe e-mail, instant messaging, SMS (short message service) and MMS (multimedia messaging service) makes this a phone for those who’d rather type than talk — although it does that as well. MicroSD memory is expandable up to eight GB. In a red/white or black/blue colour combo, at Rogers. www.rogers.com.
DS-3400 DIGITAL VOICE RECORDER/DICTATION TOOL, OLYMPUS, $500
Geared for medical and legal users who need a reliable and high-featured dictation machine, the DS-3400 comes with a large backlit LCD screen. Conserves batteries to offer up to 32 hours of recording time. Customizable smart buttons, USB 2.0 high-speed for fast uploading and downloading of files, and a verbal comment function that can help if someone is transcribing another’s dictation. The language on the screen is customizable for English, French or Spanish.
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Clever design speaks for itself
Monday, November 29th, 1999Gillian Shaw
Sun
MobileOffice D600, Plustek Technology
PowerShot A480, Canon
Speak-er, the., $120 US
Speak to me — in a bubble. You’ve got to love the design team of Mihoko Ouchi and Sherwood Forlee for coming up with speakers that so elegantly reflect their function. Multimedia speakers that plug into your computer or MP3 player. Delivering six watts per speaker. www.thinkofthe.com/
products/speak-er.php
MobileOffice D600, Plustek Technology, $330 US
Carry along your MobileOffice to turn anything from documents to ID cards into digital formats including JPGs, Word, searchable PDF files, and others. One button lets you scan both sides of a document, scanning at 19 ppm with 300 dpi for colour, and 55 ppm and 300 dpi grayscale (or about one second per page). www.plustek.com.
PowerShot A480, Canon, $150Cdn
A good price and useful features make the latest in Canon’s A-series PowerShot a contender if you’re looking for a point-and-shoot that will take photos you can be proud of. It is 10-megapixels — who’d have thought a few years ago that a sub-$200 camera would have that — plus a 3.3x optical zoom, and features that include Canon’s face detection technology, red eye correction, and VGA movie mode to capture high-res still images while shooting video. Also a super-macro mode lets you aim from as little as one centimetre from the tip of the lens. Available in several colours, including red for your favourite Valentine. For release in February. www.canon.ca.
IDR400M earphones with hands free cell microphone, Scosche,
$80 US
An unexpected bump from a cellphone-chatting driver reminded me recently about the importance of using a headphone if you carry on your cellphone conversations in the car. In some jurisdictions it is mandatory, and here in British Columbia I know at least one company that tells its employees to keep their cellphones locked in the trunk. Another option among the many available, this one from Scosche, the IDR400M, noise isolation earphones with hands-free cell microphone. Hands-free conversations and audio control. Just don’t be like the driver who told me recently about looking down at a ringing cellphone to see who was calling and running into two parked cars. Whoops. Fortunately, apart from the cars, there were no injuries. www.Scosche.com
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Slide shows enter the 21st century
Monday, November 29th, 1999Sun
MPRO 110, MICRO PROFESSIONAL PROJECTOR, 3M
BEATS BY DR. DRE HEADPHONES, MONSTER
TUFF SKIN, IPHONE, IPOD AND BLACKBERRY CASES, GENTEC
MPRO 110, MICRO PROFESSIONAL PROJECTOR, 3M, $395
Not a lot bigger than a digital recorder, 3M’s newly released MPro 110 is a slick solution that puts projecting in a pocket-size package. Weighing in at only 150 grams and with a thickness of 2.3 centimetres it works with notebook computers, personal digital assistants, cellphones that have video output and digital cameras. It projects a five-inch to 50-inch diagonal still or moving image. The rechargeable battery will run for one hour but it also comes with an AC adapter.
BEATS BY DR. DRE HEADPHONES, MONSTER, $400
A definite step up from budget headphones, the new Beats high-definition headphones bring professional studio quality sound to consumers at home and in their offices. They work with the range of today’s devices, from the new Apple iPhone 3G to the Blackberry and other mobile phones that have music capability. The headphones come with Monster’s iSoniTalk headphone cable with a high-grade microphone and answer button for using with phones.
TUFF SKIN, IPHONE, IPOD AND BLACKBERRY CASES, GENTEC, FROM $25 TO $30
Our Blackberries and iPhones go everywhere with us so it’s not surprising they could use a little protection from the bumps and jars of a busy life. Gentec is an Ontario-based accessories firm and it has launched a new solution, the Tuff Skin series of protective rubber cases from Roots. They are three-millimeter silicone rubber, making them extra thick and rugged.
They promise impact protection and the company cites an independent four-foot drop test as proof. I inadvertently repeated that test on my kitchen floor and am pleased to say I got the same results, although I don’t recommend trying it. Available for a number of iPhone and iPod models as well as a range of Blackberry devices.
HARPOON, BLACKLINE GPS, $350 US WITH MONTHLY FEE OF $19.99 OR ANNUAL FEE OF $199.99
Boat thefts are big business, anything from little runabouts to luxury cruisers. Blackline launched Harpoon, a recovery and tracking device at a recent Fort Lauderdale boat show. It is an always-on cellular monitoring device that keeps track of a watercraft, ensuring it stays in a GPS security perimeter. If it is moved outside the perimeter by an unauthorized user, the device alerts the Blackline Recovery Service, which works with police to recover the vessel. The system can also wirelessly detect the MyPass key fob that comes with it to automatically arm or disarm the security function. Users can also track their Harpoon online through a browser. www.blacklinegps.com.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
First Google-powered mobiles soon
Monday, November 29th, 1999Sun
A fairgoer using his mobile phone as he walks past a logo of German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom at the CeBIT trade fair in Hanover in March 2008. T-Mobile said Monday it plans to launch a mobile phone powered by Google’s Android software, making it the first operator to do so and posing a direct threat to Apple’s popular iPhone. Photograph by : AFP/File/John Macdougall
T-Mobile said Monday it plans to launch a mobile phone powered by Google’s Android software, making it the first operator to do so and posing a direct threat to Apple’s popular iPhone.
A spokesman for Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile’s German parent, declined to comment on the launch date for the device which is made by mobile phone maker HTC.
According to a report in the New York Times, the phone will hit the stores in the United States before Christmas, perhaps as early as October.
The new device will have a touch screen like the iPhone and other smartphones that use software from firms like Palm, Microsoft and Nokia to allow users to access the Internet.
But the screen also slides out to expose a full five-row keyboard, the New York Times report said.
T-Mobile is the number four operator in the United States as well as number one in Germany, Europe‘s biggest market. It is also present in Britain, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Poland.
