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Bluetooth2.0 posts

Samsung crams WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth 2.0 into well-specced CL65 point-and-shoot

by Darren Murph posted Aug 13th 2009 at 10:00AM

If you're anything like us (and let's face it, you're exactly like us), you've been counting down the nanoseconds until Samsung finally revealed what its 'Tap and Take' campaign was all about. This, folks, is it. As many of you sharp folks surmised, Samsung is delving deep into the intelligent camera arena, equipping its luscious CL65 (no, not that CL65) with a 12.2 megapixel sensor, 5x optical zoom, 720p (30fps) movie mode, an HDMI output, and a 3.5-inch touchscreen that utilizes a Smart Gesture user interface. Furthermore, the camera can access certain features when simply tilted, and the built-in Bluetooth 2.0 module enables users to easily share images with other BT-equipped devices.

Considering that you're probably still not impressed, how's about a little more on the cutting-edge front? The point-and-shoot also includes WiFi (much like Sony's disappointing DSC-G3 and Panny's Lumix DMC-TZ50), giving users the ability to upload directly to Facebook, Picasa and YouTube. Unfortunately, all photos uploaded via WiFi will be reduced to a resolution of two megapixels, and while we understand the reasoning, we figure an option for full / reduced res would've been a much better compromise. At any rate, the device also includes DLNA support for streaming to HDTVs and the like, while the integrated GPS chip handles the geotagging. The cam, which is admittedly bursting at the seams with features, will land next month in the US for $399.99. Full release is after the break.

Gallery: Samsung CL65 digital camera

Continue reading Samsung crams WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth 2.0 into well-specced CL65 point-and-shoot

Ricoh announces new GPS unit, new firmware for 500SE camera

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Jul 15th 2009 at 2:11PM

It's been a while since we've seen any major updates for Ricoh's 500SE camera, but if you're in the mood, here's a heads up: the company has just announced its new SE-2 GPS module. Designed by EKA Technologies, Inc., this bad boy sports a new helix antenna, which should provide better reception and accuracy, and smaller fix times. Available in two flavors, the SE-2g (GPS only) has an MSRP of $169, while the SE-2c offers GPS and a 3-axis compass for direction information for an MSRP of $399. And if that weren't enough, the company has just announced new firmware for the camera that enhances its ability to store field data and embed it into images for GIS mapping applications. The new firmware also allows up to three attributes as well as GPS position, azimuth, and UTC (satellite time) to be imprinted directly onto images as they are captured. Pretty awesome, right? Full PR available after the break.

Continue reading Ricoh announces new GPS unit, new firmware for 500SE camera

Cowon S9 firmware update adds Bluetooth speaker support

by Darren Murph posted Dec 25th 2008 at 11:53PM

For early adopters who have already taken delivery of their shiny new Cowon S9, they've already sucked down one firmware update to fix some of the more obvious issues. Now, there's round number two (v2.06) to endure. The company has loosed the second firmware update for its just birthed PMP, with this one adding JPG album art support (for files with the .jpg extension) and fixing a bug that occasionally caused a system reboot after the "remove hardware from PC" message appeared. Most notable, however, is the new inclusion of Bluetooth speaker support, meaning that this device can now stream tunes to BT-enabled sound systems sans cabling or any other black magic. Tap the read link to get your download a-goin'.

Hands-on with iLuv's i399 and i1255

by Barb Dybwad posted Jan 7th 2008 at 9:40AM

Lord knows there's no shortage of iPod docks in the world, but what's interesting about the i399 is its Bluetooth 2.0-enabled remote feature which gives you control over your music playback from up to 300 feet away. We're not entirely sure that that plus speakerphone capability and a beat-sensitive blue "mood light" are worth 229 clams, but we can say the sound output for a unit that size was pretty decent. The i1255 packs a DVD player and iPod dock in one unit outputting via S-video, although an HDMI out version i1257 is reportedly slated for release around the same time in March.

Gallery: Hands-on with iLuv's i399 and i255

Samsung Q2 UMPC revealed!

by Evan Blass posted Mar 7th 2007 at 10:57AM

So check it: every so often we find a juicy tip in our inbox, and today we sure got a doozy. One of our faithful readers -- who prefers to remain anonymous -- has sent in several slides featuring Samsung's followup to the Q1 UMPC, the Q2. While some of the specs appear to be identical to the beefed-up Q1P -- like the 7-inch touchscreen, 1GB of RAM, and 60GB hard drive -- other features, along with a revised form factor, are completely new to a model that we expect to be unveiled almost a year to the day after its predecessor, at CeBIT 2007. According to the PowerPoint presentation which you can view in the gallery below, the Q2 will sport an unknown Intel (not Via) CPU running Vista Home Premium, a 1,024 x 600 WSVGA resolution (no 800 x 600 here), two digital cameras (1.3 megapixel for "photography" and 0.3 megapixel for videoconferencing), and a fingerprint scanner. Most exciting, though, are your connectivity and input options; the Q2 tacks on a much-needed, albeit split QWERTY keyboard and -- get this -- Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi (802.11b/g), HSDPA, and WiBro. Yes, you read that right: three completely separate ways to get your 'net on. So for those of you who had given up hope on the UMPC platform following a disappointing first round of devices, Samsung has returned with an even more compelling product -- and by the time we start seeing those Viennagami machines, we suspect they'll have gotten it just right.

Gallery: Samsung Q2 UMPC revealed!

Sagem releases world's tiniest Bluetooth headset, the H4

by Brian White posted Feb 27th 2007 at 7:30PM

In the quest to continue driving down the size of cellphone handsets these days, the quest to make the tiniest (and hopefully most usable) Bluetooth headset is not far behind. Remember when the Nextlink Bluespoon was claimed to be the world's smallest Bluetooth headset? Those days are long gone and Sagem has announced that it now has the world's smallest Bluetooth headset. We better call the Guiness Book of World Records (at least for today), as the Sagem G4 claims that it "could be" the world's smallest (nice cop out), at 35 x 18 x 12.5mm -- and weighing just 8 grams as well. Performance, you ask? Sagem claims 5 hours of talktime and 100 hours of standby, and charging time is only 1.5 hours to boot. Cost? 53 British pounds, or about $103 greenbacks in U.S. currency, but right now, there's only a teaser at Sagem's website -- and it's supposed to be available some time this week.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Airis' GPS-enabled T610 and T620 PDAs won't break the bank

by Evan Blass posted Oct 10th 2006 at 5:30PM

We're not sure who's still snatching up these old-fashioned "personal digital assistants" (or PDAs -- for you kids out there, they're like smartphones without the phone; weird, right?), but apparently some people are still interested in do-it-all devices that don't really do it all, so Spanish manufacturer Airis has broken off two new GPS-equipped models on the cheap. As far as cellular-free handhelds go, the Windows Mobile 5-powered T610 and T620 are pretty feature-packed, each sporting a 400MHz Samsung CPU, 3.5-inch QVGA display, 64MB RAM / 128MB ROM, Bluetooth 2.0, SiRFStar III satellite receiver, and a regular SD slot to hold your maps and various multimedia swag. On top of all that, the T620 also throws down an 802.11b/g radio, making it even more attractive than some of the pricier Garmin iQue models that we've seen. Best of all, either unit can be picked up for a song, with the T610 priced at €220 ($278) and its big brother going for a very reasonable €289 ($365). Still, without the ability to pull in live traffic updates like a PocketPC phone loaded up with TomTom, we'd probably take a pass here (man, are we spoiled).

[Via Digital-Lifestyles]

More Acer Ferrari laptops: the 1005WTMi and 5005WLHi

by Evan Blass posted Sep 11th 2006 at 2:10PM

We never really expected Acer's Ferrari lineup of notebooks to sell all that well, but once again we've been proven wrong, as the company has apparently sold enough of these overpriced machines to warrant spec bumps for both the 1000 and 5000 series. First up is the revamped 12.1-inch 1005WTMi, which packs a pretty decent feature set for a 3.6-pound ultraportable, including a 2.0GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 processor, ATI Mobility Radeon X1150 graphics with 512MB of VRAM, a full 2GB of DDR2 RAM, 160GB worth of HDD capacity, and of course, Bluetooth 2.0 and three-flavor WiFi standard. As for the 15.4-inch, WSXGA+ 5005WLHi (pictured), you're getting the same CPU, RAM, and HDD configurations as the 1005, but video is handled by a 256MB ATI X1600 chipset; the real draw, though, is the new HD DVD drive, which is backed by an HDMI port for outputting those high-def vids to a bigger screen. No word yet on pricing or availability, though if past Ferrari-themed laptops have taught us anything, you'll be paying a pretty penny for that carbon fiber case and snazzy galloping horse logo. Keep reading to check out the 1005, but really, once you've seen one of these notebooks you've basically seen them all...

Continue reading More Acer Ferrari laptops: the 1005WTMi and 5005WLHi

Ricoh Caplio 500SE Model W rocks WiFi and Bluetooth

by Evan Blass posted Aug 29th 2006 at 1:33PM

If you're looking for the perfect camera to take on your next vacation to the Amazon rainforest or Sahara desert, look no further than Ricoh's upcoming Caplio 500SE; like the 500G that preceded it, this 8 megapixel ruggedized shooter also sports a water-, shock-, and dust-resistant casing, but throws in some sweet wireless action to offload your pics no matter where you are. The high end Model W not only features a WEP- and WAP-secured WiFi radio like several other products on the market, but is one of the first imaging devices to also include Bluetooth 2.0 in the mix. No hotspot? No problem -- just transfer the pics over to your smartphone and release them onto the Internet wherever a cellular connection is available. Besides the dual radios, you're getting a 3x optical zoom, 2.5-inch LCD, 26MB of internal memory (enhanced via SD), and rather underwhelming QVGA video capture that may not even include sound. Still, this is a hell of a package (both in terms of its feature set and its weight: 482 grams fully loaded) with a price to match -- ¥130,200 ($1,100) for the Model W and ¥115,500 ($990) for the WiFi-less Model B when they ship sometime this winter and September 1st, respectively.

[Via The Raw Feed and dottocomu]

Marvell intros first combo WiFi / Bluetooth chip for portables

by Evan Blass posted Aug 18th 2006 at 12:50PM

We wouldn't even think of buying a cellphone that didn't incorporate both WiFi and Bluetooth, so you better believe we were excited to learn of semiconductor manufacturer Marvell's new combo 802.11a/b/g - BT chip for portables, which is supposedly the first of its kind. The so-called 88W8688 -- which supports Bluetooth 2.0 and hardware acceleration for UMA, IMS, etc. -- has a footprint of less than 80-square-millimeters, or about half the size of current two-chip combinations. For consumers, this will mean smaller versions of all the gadgets we love, and most importantly for us, those super-functional-but-chunky smartphones that we feel naked without. Although the chip is currently shipping to select Marvell OEM partners, it has yet to announced which specific device categories will see the first implementations; our plea: get these puppies to HTC as quickly as possible!

Asus W3J 14-inch Centrino Duo laptop reviewed

by Stan Horaczek posted Jun 14th 2006 at 2:07AM

It might not be as fancy as the high-class Lamborghinis our pals at Engadget Chinese saw at Computex, but according to this review, the 14-inch Centrino Duo W3J is a winner. Weighing in around 4-pounds, it fits right into the ultra-portable category, but doesn't skimp on specs including a Core Duo processor, 1GB DDR2 RAM and an ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 that maxes out at 512 MB when the HyperMemory kicks in (256MB onboard and 256MB shared RAM). It even has the Bluetooth 2.0 that its cousin the A8Jm was so tragically missing – at least here in the States. All that, plus Asus' signature brushed metal styling and a battery life of about 2.75 make this machine sound like a champ, but we still can't help but think about the slick Q35 we could buy with the £1029 asking price.

ASUS launches Core Duo-powered W7J ultraportable

by Evan Blass posted May 12th 2006 at 3:53PM

Even though everyone and his/her mom are releasing Core Duo-powered ultraportables these days, there are very few that you can actually play decent games on because of the integrated graphics. Not so with the just-released 13.3-inch, 4.2-pound W7J from ASUS, a model we first spotted back in March -- and incorrectly called the W7V -- which features a nVidia GeForce Go 7400 graphics card sporting 256MB of RAM along with that T2600 processor running at 2.16GHz. Other nice touches which you don't always see on a lightweight notebook are a built-in dual-layer DVD burner, 1GB of RAM standard, 100GB HDD running at 5,400 RPM, and all three flavors of 802.11 plus Bluetooth 2.0. Oh yeah, and these models will start at less than $2.000 ($1,935, to be exact) -- um, where do we sign up?

Sony adds Core Solo, Celeron options to SZ notebooks

by Evan Blass posted May 9th 2006 at 9:26AM

Sony has just announced several new configurations for its SZ series of VAIO notebooks, the VGN-SZ91 and -SZ81, which add Intel Core Solo and Celeron processor options to the Core Duo procs already available. Both 13.3-inch models sport 1,280 x 800 WXGA displays, but the SZ91 incorporates a thinner LCD that lobs off a few millimeters of thickness compared to the SZ81. Battery life is also slightly better on the SZ91, with a claimed 7-hours of juice in Pentium-equipped models, which is about an hour more than the SZ81 supposedly can muster using the same processor. Other than these relatively minor differences, the features on both laptops are basically the same, with integrated graphics (GeForce Go 7400 available for extra), from 512MB to 2GB of RAM, 802.11a/b/g, PCMCIA/ExpressCard slots, and options for Bluetooth 2.0, FeliCa support, and a fingerprint reader. Sony will drop both models on the 13th of this month, with the SZ81 starting at $1,343 and the SZ91 at $1,486.

Samsung Q1 UMPC to go on sale May 7th for $1,100

by Evan Blass posted May 1st 2006 at 3:03PM

At a San Francisco press briefing and product demonstration that hopefully went better than its disastrous Korean counterpart last month, executives from Samsung, Microsoft, and Intel jointly announced pricing and availability details for the official U.S. release of the Q1 UMPC. Starting on May 7th, early-adopters will be able to pick up a Q1 -- along with all the high-profit-margin accessories -- at Best Buy's e-tail location for $1,100, with an in-store rollout planned for "later this summer." As you're probably already aware, the Q1, along with models from Asus, Founder, and TabletKiosk, is among the first generation of so-called Ultra Mobile PCs designed to enhance your on-the-go lifestyle, and sports a 7-inch touchscreen, Celeron M ULV processor, 40GB hard drive, 512MB RAM, 802.11b/g, and Bluetooth 2.0.