[MobileRatty] tag: tv

Nikon Media Port UP

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:00:25 +0000

Well known camera giant Nikon put out a audio/video device on maket that brings TV to your eye. This headset is the latest from Nikon and it’s called Nikon Media Port UP. Most of video headsets like myvu, are usually designed to take video files off of the iPod and make them a private experience for the viewer. Couple of things that make Media Port UP stand out from the crowd is the fact that it’s WiFi ready and supports Windows Media Player as a source. This specific product belongs to that area of transitional tech which alows us to use internet without the need of laptop computers or such gear, it has a memory of 4 to 8 gigabyte within it’s hard drive. Specs include 120 minutes of playback time for video, and 270 minutes of playback time for music. The Media Port UP is even designed with some hands-free operation. So when a user moves his or her head, it somehow affects the playing. Right now, you should be able it at the Up Store for about $580.

via dvice.com

Samsung i900 Omnia Unlocked Cell Phone with 8 GB Memory, 5 MP Camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, MicroSD, Windows Mobile 6.1 - International Version with No Warranty

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:40:00 +0000

Meaning "everything" in Latin and "wish" in Arabic, the Omnia from Samsung is designed to provide business users with stylish multimedia capabilities and personal mobile users with simple access to business based functions. This touchscreen-enabled phone has a large, brightly colorful 3.2 inch screen, and it includes Samsung's intuitive and easily customizable TouchWiz user interface. Other features include 8 GB of internal memory, a built-in GPS receiver, 5-megapixel camera, multi-format digital audio player, Bluetooth for handsfree communication and stereo music streaming, MicroSD memory expansion, video output to your TV, and up to 5.8 hours of talk time.
With the Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system, the Q Global supports Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager, which provides single-point access to line of business and corporate data such as applications, files and other information located on the corporate network. It also provides push email for immediate send and receive on Corporate Microsoft Exchange servers as well as editing of Microsoft Office documents.

Other features include:

- GPS receiver, including navigation and geo-tagging capabilities
- USB 2.0 wired connectivity to your PC
- Messaging: SMS, EMS, MMS, personal and corporate, instant messaging
- Polyphonic and MP3 ringtones
- Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g)
- Organizer tools: World time, currency converter, calculator, stopwatch

Vital Statistics
The Samsung i900 Omnia weighs 4.3 ounces and measures 4.4 x 2.2 x 0.5 inches. Its 1440 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 5.8 hours of talk time, and up to 500 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies as well as 2100 MHz 3G frequencies.

Nokia Comes with Music must come with operator support too, says Ovum

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:23:00 +0000

Last week Nokia unveiled its much anticipated Comes with Music (CwM) proposition, whereby Nokia will bundle a phone with unlimited music downloads for a year. While Nokia also unveiled the 5800 XpressMusic phone, its flagship CwM device and its first handset with a touch screen, what was notable at the launch was the absence of its mobile operator partners, according to Ovum.

Nokia CwM devices combine a mobile phone with a year's free unlimited subscription to the CwM store. At the end of the contract, consumers can keep all the downloaded music, continue the service if they upgrade their phone, or buy a la carte from the Nokia Music Store.

Ovum analysts Adam Leach and Mark Little commented that Nokia has been bullish with its launch of CwM. Although its target audience of young music enthusiasts rely on operator-subsidised handsets, don't have credit cards and can't afford OTA downloads without flat-rate data plans, Nokia is not waiting for operator support on the ground. Perhaps Nokia surmises that it is this very bullishness that will push the operators into supporting a music service in direct competition with their own.

Nokia's new music service may eventually be seen by consumers as an exciting revolution that lowers the cost of exploring and discovering a sizeable choice of music. However, it currently risks being seen by operators as a disruption to business as usual with their most important handset provider.

CwM phones will be offered at a premium that is shared with the music labels. However, if operators have to absorb or heavily subsidise the phones it will cost them dearly; if not the cost will be dropped in the laps of credit-strapped youngsters.

Nokia emphasises that CwM has value and is not free, and as such generates income for artists and the music industry. The business model pays out a share of handset sales to labels and artists that is in proportion to that of downloads, plus limited supplementary payments over certain download levels.

This protects Nokia's margins from bored teens with too much time and a spare terabyte or two, but not from the bandwidth charges that a highly successful CwM service could create. That said, Liz Schimel, Nokia's head of music services and software, is confident that the CwM service will make a profit for Nokia and the labels.

Nokia announces its first touch-screen phone: the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

At launch three Nokia phones will come with music: the new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, the Nokia N95 8GB and the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic. The 5800 will be the flagship device for the CwM service and will be available in the fourth quarter of 2008 at a cost of about US$378 (before subsidies); however, its initial launch will be limited to seven countries: Spain, Russia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates.

Nokia intends the 5800 to be a global phone, and other territories will follow shortly including major European markets. The time lag to get the phone launched in other European markets is due to the time taken to produce operator variants for the device, hinting that mobile operators will be offering the CwM service to their customers.

For a mid-tier non-N-Series device, the 5800 is well specified. Aside from the 640×360 touch screen, which is enabled through a new release of the S60 platform, some of its highlights include: HSDPA, WLAN, A-GPS, Bluetooth, 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera with dual-LED flash, stereo surround sound speakers, TV out, an accelerometer, proximity sensor and haptic feedback. This feature set represents great value for money for the consumer at a little over half the price of the Apple iPhone 3G (before operator subsidies).

Moreover, if the CwM proposition remains at the £129.95 (US$176) price point when bundled with the 5800 then for a little over the price of an iPod Nano the consumer gets a music player, a 3G phone and unlimited music for a year.

Nokia 5800 together with S60 5th edition SDK should encourage greater participation from third-party developers

Nokia's use of its S60 platform to power the 5800, together with its mass-market positioning, is an attempt by Nokia to motivate a greater number of developers to build third-party applications and services for its devices.

S60 5th edition is compatible with the previous S60 3rd edition; this gives developers an addressable market of approximately 60 million devices. Despite this significant installed base of S60 devices, Nokia has yet to leverage its full potential. There have been approximately 6,000 applications written for S60 since its first release back in 2001.

This can be compared directly to 3,000 applications written for the iPhone 3G and iPod Touch (with over 10 million downloads) since its launch in July of this year. Apple has achieved significant developer momentum for the iPhone in a short period of time, and this momentum is driving both demand and revenues for Apple. The 5800 and other mass-market devices, together with its recently announced strategy to provide S60 on an open source basis through the Symbian Foundation, should help Nokia achieve greater developer momentum for its platform."

Last chance to see BlizzCon only from DirecTV

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:09:26 +0000

Blizzard Entertainment’s BlizzCon fan convention sold out a long time ago, but the 2-day event in Anaheim will be aired on TV via pay-per view for DirecTV customers only.

It’s not too late to get gouged sign up for the $39.95 PPV package. A DirecTV spokesperson just told me that O.C. residents can still get the satellite TV service installed by Saturday if they sign up today or tomorrow.

I just blogged all the details over at our renewed gaming blog, The Blizzard Blog, at ocregister.com/blizzard, which is now dedicated to all-things Blizzard.

For the rest of my readers who could care less about BlizzCon, DirecTV is apparently working on some new release for O.C. Check back later this week when I find out what that is.

Recent Blizzard news:

Post from: Alt+Save with the Gadgetress

Last chance to ’see’ BlizzCon — only from DirecTV

Qatar readies for worlds first commercial Mobile TV service based on DVB-H and OMA BCast Smart Card Profile technology

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:24:00 +0000

Qatar Telecom (Qtel), the leading telecommunications service provider, and Nokia Siemens Networks have signed the world’s first commercial Mobile TV deployment contract based on DVB-H and OMA BCast Smart Card Profile technology.

Nokia Siemens Networks will supply Qtel with state-of-the-art Digital Video Broadcasting Handheld (DVB-H) solution providing their subscribers enhanced TV viewing experiences on their mobile phones with the added flexibility of selecting their preferred subscription payment model.

“This agreement opens a historic new chapter for entertainment and connectivity in Qatar. This pioneering partnership with Nokia Siemens Networks will deliver a world-class mobile experience for our customers, providing them with the highest quality broadcasts directly to their phones,” said Adel Al Mutawa, Executive Director of Group Communications, Qtel.

A strategic partner for operators looking to deploy Mobile TV solutions, Nokia Siemens Networks will roll out a DVB-H solution with OMA BCast Smart Card Profile (SCP) for Qtel. With OMA BCast SCP, mobile operators are able to integrate the management rights for Mobile TV broadcast content, provided via DVB-H, into their existing infrastructure. This comprehensive mobile TV solution includes software, hardware, consulting & integration, network design and implementation services. For the authentication of mobile TV subscribers, Nokia Siemens Networks is providing its One-BSF solution, forming a key part of Qtel's Unified Subscriber Database strategy for creating a common subscriber profile to be used for both mobile and DVB-H service.

In addition, Nokia, the infrastructure vendor’s parent company, will provide Nokia N96 handsets to test the first SCP compliant software that enables subscribers to choose from among a host of payment models and interactivity options. One of the main factors in winning this deal was the end-user insight that Nokia Siemens Networks gained from its close collaboration with Nokia.

“This innovation introduces ‘world firsts’ to the global communications community: Qtel will be the first operator anywhere in the world to commercially deploy DVB-H SCP. We will also be the first company to integrate the new Nokia N96 model into our deployment strategy. Both these historic steps will support Qatar’s wider goal of using the most advanced technology to support the growth of the knowledge economy,” noted Al Mutawa.

Adds Qais Esrawee, Head of Customer Business Team for Qtel Group in Nokia Siemens Networks, “We are glad to support Qtel to be among the first to launch mobile television broadcasts in Middle East and Africa. Our association with Nokia is a strong differentiator providing the research and end-user insight we need to help Qtel decide on the service dynamics such as ease of use, affordability and freedom of choice. Alongside our complete portfolio of complementary technologies, we can ensure Qtel’s subscribers enjoy a seamless end to end mobile TV experience.”

The solutions offered by Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks are based on the open DVB-H standards. They allow short implementation time as well as end-to-end capability, combining the equipment, services and devices to create a unique solution for mobile TV service providers.

Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks work with more than 30 operators worldwide on DVB-H implementations. Their commercial launches include Finland, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Netherland, Philippines, Switzerland and Vietnam.

About Qatar Telecom (Qtel)
Qatar Telecom (Qtel) is the telecommunications service provider licensed by the Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR) to provide both fixed and mobile telecommunications services in the state of Qatar. We have a presence in 16 countries and we are committed to expansion both in the MENA region and South East Asia. Our vision is to be among the top 20 telecommunications companies in the world by 2020.

About Nokia Siemens Networks
Nokia Siemens Networks is a leading global enabler of communications services. The company provides a complete, well-balanced product portfolio of mobile and fixed network infrastructure solutions and addresses the growing demand for services with 20,000 service professionals worldwide. Nokia Siemens Networks is one of the largest telecommunications infrastructure companies with operations in 150 countries. The company is headquartered in Espoo, Finland. www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

Next-generation LED lightbulbs could replace WiFi - Optical wireless networks on the way

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:22:56 +0000

Convergence this, convergence that. In the mobile world it’s all about converging multiple devices/features into a single, mobile device. The latest converged technology concept comes to us from Boston University’s College of Engineering. Using a National Science Foundation grant, researchers are looking to converge wireless data communications into a lowly light-bulb. The engineers hope to use low-power LED light-bulbs as an optical wireless network of sorts.

Rather than using RF (radio frequency) wireless technology to create a wireless data network that consumes a good deal of power and is vulnerable to eavesdropping/hacking, the new LED light-bulbs would transmit data with imperceptibly-fast pulses of visible light. Initial bandwidth is expected to range anywhere from 1-10Mbps.

LED smart lighting as optical wireless network

“Imagine if your computer, iPhone, TV, radio and thermostat could all communicate with you when you walked in a room just by flipping the wall light switch and without the usual cluster of wires,” said BU Engineering Professor Thomas Little. “This could be done with an LED-based communications network that also provides light - all over existing power lines with low power consumption, high reliability and no electromagnetic interference. Ultimately, the system is expected to be applicable from existing illumination devices, like swapping light bulbs for LEDs.”

Each LED light-bulb would work as a wireless access point, offering greater bandwidth and significantly reduced power consumption. And, because the LED-based optical communications networks uses pulses of visible light, people outside the network’s line-of-sight (through a wall, floor, etc.) are completely cut-off - reducing the possibility of network-leeching and nefarious hacking.

We could one day be connecting to our home or office’s wireless network with a flip of the light-switch. Imagine that.

[Via: CellularNews]

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Nikon Media Port UP puts TV on your eye

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:51:35 +0000

Oh no, not another one of these video headsets that still have yet to catch on. This particular one that you see here is from camera giant Nikon and called the Media Port UP.

Most of these video headsets that we have reported on, like the myvu, are usually designed to take video files off of the iPod and make them a private experience for the viewer. I’ve got to give kudos to the Media Port UP because it is WiFi ready, and allows the user to view files with the Windows Media Player.

So, are we looking at the next stage of mobile computing? No more laptops or netbooks, but surf the web while you’re walking around. Well, it does have a memory of 4 to 8 gigabyte hard drive.

Other specs include 120 minutes of playback time for video, and 270 minutes of playback time for music. The Media Port UP is even designed with some hands-free operation. So when a user moves his or her head, it somehow affects the playing.

Not bad, but does it have to be so ugly? I mean, look at the lady in this picture. I feel like she should be telling me “Resistance is Futile”. Would it have been even more freaky if they designed it to view with two eyes. Right now, you should be able it at the Up Store for about $580.

Source

Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ Nikon Media Port UP puts TV on your eye copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Verizon adds 3 Gameloft games to its offering

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:50:51 +0000

I’m not sure should we cover this kind of news, but we’re talking about important titles here. The three Gameloft games that are now available to Verizon’s V CAST subscribers are:

NFL 2009 - arguably the best football simulation for mobile phones. All athletes and their detailed stats are included in the game.
Asphalt 4: Elite Racing - racing game that lets you drive more than 10 dream cars and bikes ranging from a Bugatti Veyron, Ferrari F430 Spider, Nissan GT-R and Ducati 1098. Races take place across Monte Carlo, Beverly Hills, Shanghai, New York City, Dubai and Paris.
The Oregon Trail - the “mobilized classic” where you assume the role of a wagon leader and must make strategic decisions to ensure the safety of their party along the treacherous Oregon Trail route.

Verizon V CAST subscribers will find “NFL 2009″ and “Asphalt 4: Elite Racing” from the “Sports” category and “The Oregon Trail” from the “Top Sellers” category. “NFL 2009″ and “The Oregon Trail” are each available for $3.49 monthly access or $6.99 for unlimited use purchase; while you could download “Asphalt 4: Elite Racing” for $2.99 monthly access or $5.99 for unlimited use purchase.

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AT&T Online Experience Store looks groovy

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:40:21 +0000

AT&T has recently launched the Online Experience Store to “allow shoppers to ‘touch,’ experience and purchase wireless devices and services online.”

The flashy website looks groovy in 3D and even sports a simulated Microsoft Surface unit. You can select a guided tour from virtual AT&T representatives or explore the sites of the five stations — Phones and Devices, Music, Video and Web, Messaging, E-mail and Productivity — independently. In each area, you can also choose to view all related devices, launch a demo or purchase a device and corresponding service package.

I ranted too much about it. Check out the site for yourself and see with your own eyes just how cool the Online Experience Store looks.

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Open Your Windows to the Sky With Transparent Displays

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:17:40 +0000

Walking around Union Square in NYC last year, I seriously felt as if image displays had replaced windows as the main dynamic framing device. But if a new clear display prototype is any indication, windows might make a comeback as prime eyeball subjects . . . by turning into flexible 3D displays.

In a paper released this week, Sony and the Max-Planck-Institute in Germany announced the creation of a flexible translucent display that renders images in single laser beams that 'paint the pixels in different colors.' I know what you're thinking: Superman's Fortress of Solitude! Clear, crystal displays! Well, we're not there yet, but it's plenty interesting.

The chemistry of the new display is what makes the magic of the screen happen. A photosensitive chemical is combined with a (polycarbonate) transparent sheet to create the screen, which forces the chemicals in the screen to emit light when an infrared lights (lasers) hit it hard.

This process is called 'photoexcitation,' though the group calls the whole process 'upconversion' due to the way energy moves from the lasers to the screen and ends up in the photons that are the images displayed. We're grateful it has nothing to do with rude product pushing.

This is not the same thing as the other 3D technologies we’ve recently discussed, like the Quad Full TV from Philips. That one recreates the human optical trick of splicing images together at super-fast rates to make things seem to appear in 3D. In this one, a chemical reaction is actually occurring to create the images.

This isn't the first time we've heard of this tech. Several small up-converting displays were created in the last few years, but none were viable as a real display. The lasers needed for larger displays were too expensive, the performance degraded over a few hours, and the high-intensity needed to achieve the needed luminous intensity could not be maintained on a transparent screen.

According to Sony and Max-Planck, tests have shown that there's no performance deterioration in this screen after 100 straight hours of use.

Such claims bode well for the eventual mass-market reproduction of the display, though the lasers for this level of image-inducing reaction are still too expensive at this point, especially when you need to create the same number of the color lasers that would replicate a true color image. So don't set your calendar to any release date.

However, we're sure that won't stop a few Dr. Evils from trying to get their hands on the display/windows to try to stud their buildings with them. When that happens, you can be I'll be there, gawking restlessly at the moving-picture windows.