Best New Technology

Sierra Wireless has unveiled a couple of HSPA mobile broadband modems, namely the AirCard 885E ExpressCard and Compass 885 USB modem. Both of them are rather small and portable in nature, providing users worldwide with high-speed mobile broadband technology. The latter claims to be easy to setup with its ‘TRU-Install’ software installation process, a microSD memory card slot and a laptop clip accessory to provide unprecedented flexibility during use. It also claims to be the only device in its class to come with a connector for an external antenna which comes in handy to strengthen connection to the network in places with sporadic network coverage.

As for the AirCard 885E, it slots into your ExpressCard slot effortlessly, featuring a fixed antenna with no moving parts for a reliable wireless connection. It also comes with a similar ‘TRU-Install’ process. Both devices will support tri-band HSPA/UMTS with receive diversity on all three bands and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM support.

While Yahoo! has rejected the offer from Microsoft, it seems they have followed through with another purchase. This time it is in the form of Danger, the wonderful creators for the software that powers the Sidekick. While it seems a little sad to see one of the “smaller” guys taken over by the “big-bad” Microsoft, it could mean that we will see an actual Sidekick smartphone with Windows Mobile in the future. Keep in mind the actual Sidekick has been made by Sharp and more recently Motorola so the WinMo Sidekick may never actually hit the market, however it should be interesting to see how Danger and Windows Mobile will mix together. Microsoft has plans roll Danger into their mobile division, the sale (as usual) was for an undisclosed amount.

[Update] Microsoft has since pulled the Press Release from their website, we are also still waiting to see a release come from Danger.

Read [Microsoft] Via [Hiptop 3]

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[MWC] Microsoft has announced that it has acquired Danger Inc, the Palo Alto based company behind the Sidekick, a very popular mobile device among teenagers.

I think that this is a good move from Microsoft, because they will effectively acquire new customers for the Windows Mobile platform. There is no doubt in my mind that we will see a Windows Mobile Sidekick sometimes next year, if not in Q4 of 2008. (the image above is a mock-up)

With the economy going into “depression mode”, expect players with deep pockets consolidate their positions.

Update: I remember that T-Mobile subsidized the Sidekick. I wonder how they will react to this. What’s your take?

I am sure that this voice changing telephone will not give you a hard assed gravely smokers voice like my childhood friend Jeff had.  That guy had a full beard by the time he was fifteen and he sounded mean as sin on the telephone.  He would have made a good repo man.  The voice changing telephone, which is either for making prank phone calls or for nefarious purposes, will raise or lower your voice through an inbuilt voice modulation  unit.  All you need is a vacant land line jack and a spare $10.

Available where else but from Chinavasion.

Source: Gadget Spy

The MSN Direct service is now available for Windows Mobile devices. We tested it and it works. It lets users get stock tickers and breaking news more conveniently than going to a website with Pocket Internet Explorer.

As you can see on the photo above, the light green rectangle is MSN Direct. It shows some news right there, but by going left and right, you can look at weather forecasts and stock tickers too. There’s also an advertisement for Microsoft services in the mix…

Posted Feb 11th 2008 11:48AM by Donald Melanson
Filed under: Cellphones

It’s been a long while since we’ve seen anything from NVIDIA on the cellphone front, but the company has changed that in a fairly big way today, with it showing off its first major cellphone applications processor: the APX 2500. As CNET points out, that chip is largely the result of NVIDIA’s acquisition of PortalPlayer back in 2006, and represents the company’s first attempt at building a true computing processor for cellphones. From the looks of it, they sure look to have gotten off to a decent start, with the chip itself (based on an ARM11 core) able to run at speeds up to 750MHz, and encode and decode 720p high-defintion video, opening up the possibility of some pretty capable cellphone / video camera hybrids. Of course, this being NVIDIA, they also squeezed in some of their GeForce graphics technology designed especially for low-power devices, which they say is to allow for 3D interfaces, but we’re sure could also be put to some other uses as well. No exact details as to when and where we can expect to chip just yet, but it’ll apparently start to make its way into phones sometime next year, with Windows Mobile in particular able to exploit the technology in the chip — no surprise there, given Microsoft’s hand in the chip’s development.

Posted Feb 11th 2008 10:25AM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Just in case you misunderstood the news from Yahoo!, they don’t want Microsoft’s money, help, time, or friendship. Officially. In a somewhat related story, Jerry Yang says he’s also not interested in a week-long round of brunching with Steve Ballmer. No word yet on whether he’s game for a dinner date and coffee with Sergey Brin.

It’s been a while since I’ve used bar soap in the shower. No, I bathe on a regular basis and all, but I’ve found it much easier to just use a liquid soap, as you don’t really worry about dropping it, and it always seems to get a better lather. Sure, I could get a soap-on-a-rope, but I’d still have the lathering issue (and a lot of spare rope). Here’s a concept that would make it much easier to keep your soap off the ground, while making sure that you get lots of suds to clean with.

You have to give credit where it’s due, and soap should be noted as one of the few products that needs little packaging (usually recyclable paper) that just simply fades into nothing as it is used up. I’m aware that my method of using a liquid soap isn’t great for the environment, as it kills many fake plastic trees each year. This neat Soap Bank is a rather simple design which sticks to the inside of your shower and gives you a dish on which to place your soap. Once it has gotten down to a small chunk and is much harder to hold, just squeeze it through the slot into the hanging net. There you are free to lather it up without the worry of dropping it. We all know that the worst thing you can do in a shower is drop the soap.

For now this appears to be only a concept design. However, with the simplicity and usefulness of the product, I have little doubt that we’ll see something similar on the market in a short time.

Source: Yanko Design

Taking advantage of the lower memory prices, HTC has come up with a 16GB version of the Advantage. But that’s not it, HTC has also improved the keyboard, which is now easier to type on because it is bigger and uses haptic tactile feedback, according to JKontherun. HTC is also including TouchFlo, their finger-friendly user interface. And finally and importantly, the new HTC advantage will ship with Opera 9. Read our HTC Advantage hands-on.

Ford is well known for their trucks, and the company has been wrecking their brains for the next big thing which will add a handsome amount to the company’s coffers at the financial year end. The answer to their dilemma? A system known as Work Solutions which sees a combination of wireless technology, new safety features as well as a fully functional in-dash computer that enables business owners to concentrate on getting the job done instead of mulling over what it takes to do so. The truck’s bed contains a Master Lock that ensures your tools don’t run off on their own accord thanks to a retractable 8-foot long cable and a spool housed in hardened plastic. A 6.5″ touch screen display allows you to use the built-in computer system to navigate, powered by Windows CE while 2GB of internal memory makes it operate in a fuss-free manner. Would you be getting a Ford truck anytime soon?

Source: American Inventor Spot