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USB extension cable arrives with inline card reader
You know, sometimes it's just the simple things in life that really bring a smile to one's face. Take this cable, for instance. At first glance, it's really nothing more than a USB extension cable (USB A Male-to-mini USB) with an odd protrusion in the middle. Sort of like a snake that's only halfway done digesting its latest meal. Gross analogies aside, that bulge is actually an SD card reader that's also capable of handling SDHC, miniSD and microSD formats. The whole cord measures 2.43 feet long and costs just $11.99 -- can you say "geek stocking stuffer?"
Spectec shows off miniSD Bluetooth GPS unit
We already caught sight of the miniSD GPS unit that Spectec trotted out a while back, but it looks like the company's now managed to cram one more piece of technology into that tiny form factor although, as before, there's still no indication as to when it might actually be available. The new bit of tech this time around is some built-in Bluetooth, which will apparently allow the GPS to work with handheld devices that don't have the goods to handle all that data coming through the miniSD card slot. While it would seemingly be ready to work with just about any device, according to Gearlog, Spectec says they'll be "primarily targeting" Windows Mobile users -- assuming the thing ever makes it out the door, that is.
Spectec's SDG-811 miniSD GPS with microSD slot
GPS, expanded memory -- how is one to choose? Heck, is it fair to even ask one to choose? Spectec thinks not, and if you're sporting a Windows Mobile device with a miniSD slot, you might just be in luck. Its SD effort was impressive enough, but the Taiwanese firm's SDG-811 somehow manages to pack a SiRFStar III GPS receiver into a miniSD card that extends a mere 3 centimeters beyond the edge of the slot, perfect for breathing some new life into that Wizard or Apache. The SDG-811's trademark parlor trick, though, is an integrated microSD slot, effectively giving your device a second shot at expandable memory after the miniSD slot has been consumed. No word on a release date yet, but Expansys is happy to take names in the meanwhile.[Thanks, John D.]Read - Spectec SDG-811 product pageRead - Expansys Hong Kong's pre-order page
Venzero improves upon its mini with the SLICKR
Because no one except for the biggest spendthrift wants a 2GB flash video player with a sub-two-inch screen, Venzero has revealed a pocketable new PMP called the SLICKR that basically takes its recently-announced mini and tacks on a miniSD slot along with a full inch to the now-2.8-inch screen. Other than that, this clix-like device with the MOTO naming convention offers the usual menagerie of extras -- FM tuner, voice recorder, pre-installed games -- with one important exception being the included MusicMarker functionality, which lets you handily record audio snippets from the radio for identification upon the next sync. File compatibility is slim but acceptable -- like the mini, MP3, WMA, WAV, and AVI are the only supported codecs -- and also like the mini, we've got no inkling on a price or release date here, so you'll have to stay tuned for further details. [Via DAPreview]
Haicom's HI-505SD Bluetooth-enabled GPS SDIO receiver
If you're looking for a quick and easy way to get GPS (and Bluetooth) onto your PDA, handset, or other SD-slotted handheld, there's not exactly a smorgasbord of offerings out there to choose from if you're not willing to sacrifice your flash-based storage, but Haicom's latest takes care of all those dilemmas in one fell swoop. The HI-505SD plugs directly into your device's SD slot and utilizes its battery in order to power up the SiRF Star III GPS receiver and Bluetooth antenna, but rather than whining about your sudden loss of storage, this SDIO adapter offers up a miniSD slot to cram a few extra gigabytes back into your machine. Interestingly, Haicom also sells a bevy of attachment cables in order to use this device directly from a power source, but we envision this slightly unsightly device spending most of its time docked in your Treo. Unfortunately, there's an absence of details regarding price and future availability, but we're sure these will be available for import sooner rather than later.[Via NaviGadget]
Kingmax busts out world's first 4GB microSDHC card
4GB in an miniSDHC card? We scoff at the audacious bulk of such a memory device! See, only microSD can cut it anymore around the Engadget HQ, now that Kingmax has squeezed 4GB of flash memory into a microSDHC card -- champions of lesser memory formats will be shot on sight. Plus it's not just the capacity getting boost, performance has hit new highs as well, with 22.5MBps dual channel read speeds (150x) and normal read speeds of 19.1MBps (127x). That means the card can pull off SD 2.0 speeds in your digicam, while still making for a real kicker of a memory expansion for your phone or media player. Don't bother with looking for a price or availability date, we just pre-ordered the entire first run.[Via TrustedReviews]
LG to bring KG208 candybar to China
There's not a plethora of details behind this one just yet, but it looks like LG plans to bring a hint of Chocolate (or least serve up a candybar) to the Chinese market with the KG208. Apparently a rather low-end handset, the device does manage to sport a 1.3-megapixel camera, MP3 / WMA / AAC music playback, 64MB of internal memory, microSD slot, and a 160 x 128 resolution TFT screen. Aside from that, we're pretty much in the dark, but we don't suspect that this one will carry a large pricetag when it purportedly lands later this month.[Via Electronista]
NOVOMAX's Joypot JP C210 DAP / flash card reader
If you're feeling the screenless, shirt-pocket-friendly DAP design, but want a bit more utility / expandability than what's offered in Apple's 2G Shuffle, NOVOMAX has just the thing. The Joypot CP C210 sports a palm-sized enclosure, weighs just 25 grams, and comes sans internal memory if you choose, or you can pick it up with 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, or 1GB of internal storage. For those toting more than a couple records, you can store the excess on an SD, miniSD, or MMC card, and the unit also doubles as a card reader for transferring any files from one device to another or to your computer's HDD. Featuring USB 2.0 connectivity, the JP C210 also touts five built-in equalizer modes, "about ten hours" of battery life on a single AAA cell, and (unsurprisingly) comes in black or white color schemes. There's no information regarding pricing or availability as of now, but if this thing can manage to undercut Apple's littlest rendition, it'd be hard to not recommend.[Via Slashgear]
EverGreen kit cleans your flash memory card reader
Well, it only makes sense given that over the last quarter century our cleansing techniques have gone from blowing into Nintendo cartridges to CD cleaning kits, and finally now to the most modern equivalent: a set of cleaning cards for your memory card reader from EverGreen. We don't exactly know how this works, other than you're supposed to insert these dummy cards into your reader and presto-chango, some cleansing happens. We've never exactly had a situation where we'd need to use a device like this, but then again, we never expected to need floor-cleaning robots either -- but such is the price we pay to have the future here, now.
SanDisk intros 4GB miniSDHC card for cellphones
It may not be as small as a microSD card, but if you value size in bytes over size in millimeters, SanDisk is looking to hook you up with their new 4GB miniSDHC flash card, announced at CTIA. SanDisk is pushing this one squarely for use in cellphones, touting it as the cure-all solution to your multimedia woes, able to store some 2,000 high-res pics, 1,000 songs, or 8 hours of MPEG-4 video. You will, unfortunately, have to wait a bit to get all that sweet storage space in your phone -- SanDisk's currently offering samples of the cards to OEMs, with a retail release of the card set for sometime next year, though no price has been announced. Either way, you'd better hope miniSDHC is a feature your cellphone supports.
Canon's iVIS DC22 DVD camcorder
Along with the more notable HV10 high definition model we brought you yesterday, Canon has introduced another new member to its family of iVIS camcorders: the DVD-equipped DC22. Besides its ability to record onto dual-layer, 8-centimeter discs, there's not much that makes this product stand out from the pack; you're getting a 2.7-inch flip out display, 2.2 megapixel CCD, and just a 10x optical zoom -- far less than many other Canon cams on the market. Still, they're not asking you to pay through the nose for this one either -- it'll go for about 90,000 yen ($785) when it drops in Japan sometime this month.[Via Fareastgizmos]
Canon intros first consumer HD camcorder, the iVIS HV10
After having teased us with the powerful-but-expensive XH G1 and XH A1 high definition prosumer camcorders, Canon has now brought that same 1080i goodness to the the little guy with its first consumer-oriented HD model, the iVIS HV10. Recording onto standard miniDV cassettes using the HDV format, the Optura-like HV10 features a 1/2.7-inch CMOS able to capture 2,048 x 1,536 stills, 10x optical zoom, a 2.7-inch LCD display, and miniSD slot for storing photos. Compared to Sony's HDR-HC3 this device certainly holds its own, as its optical image stabilization trumps the Sony's electronic version, and its maximum video capture resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 is higher than the competition's 1,440 x 1,080 -- though the HC3 sports an HDMI output, while the HV10 does not. Best of all, its 150,000 Yen ($1,300) pricetag will set you back about $400 less than the HC3 when this model (in either black or silver) debuts next month in Japan; the US release, however, is still up in the air.[Via CamcorderInfo, Akihabara News, and Impress]
Buffalo's "28-in-1" card reader
It looks like Buffalo hasn't met a memory card it didn't like, finding room for just about every format under the sun in it's new MCR-C12H/U2 series card reader, although they sure know how to stretch the definition of individual card types. Still, marketing hype aside, the so-called "28-in-1" reader packs support for most everything you could ask for, including seemingly every variation of SD, mini/microSD, xD, CompactFlash, and Memory Stick -- and, with the aid of a fresh firmware update, SDHC cards up to 4GB as well (making it a 29-in-1 reader if you follow Buffalo's logic). Our friends in Japan should be able to pick the reader up now, in their choice of four pretty tame colors, for ¥2,960 (about 25 bucks).[Via Akihabara News]
Sharp's MP-B300: where thin and ugly meet
This 8.9-millimeter thin Sharp-made eyesore goes by the name MP-B300. It ekes-out up to 1GB of on-board memory with the possibility for more via miniSD expansion. Yeah, the included FM-transmitter is kinda cool, allowing the player to pump tunes over your car's stereo system without any irritating accessories, and it does playback MP3 and PlaysForSure WMA in addition to boasting the ability to record directly off the integrated FM tuner. Still, at roughly the same price as that thinner, not-to-be-named player with color screen, well, we just gotta wonder why Sharp, why?[Via Akihabara News]
Pantech's WM5-powered PN-820 clamshell for Verizon
PhoneArena has once again and gotten the dirt on a new handset, and a pretty hot one at that: a Windows Mobile-powered Pantech flip phone that's supposedly heading straight to Verizon. Courtesy of extensive documentation from our friends at the FCC, the PhoneArena gang learned that the PN-820 clamshell runs on WM5 for Smartphones, sports a 1.3 megapixel camera and miniSD slot, and perhaps best of all, has all of your networking needs covered with both WiFi and Bluetooth (well, not all of them -- cellular data seems to max out at 1xRTT). While certainly not the hottest PocketPC clamshell we've seen (that honor goes to the HTC Star Trek), the PN-120 should still be one of the easiest ways to slide WM5 into your pocket once it hits stores.[Via PhoneArena]
HTC Tornado available from O2 as the Xda IQ
As of today, Brits have access to one of the hottest Windows Mobile 5.0 smartphones on the market, thanks to o2's much-anticipated release of the Xda IQ. Better known as the HTC Tornado (or the Cingular 2125 / T-Mobile SDA / Qtek 8310 / Orange SPV C600), this quad-band GSM worldphone sports both Bluetooth and WiFi, a 200MHz processor, 2.2-inch QVGA screen, 1.3 megapixel cam, miniSD slot, and EDGE data capabilities. The best part is that AKU2, with its sweet, sweet MSFP, will be available for download at launch, so customers can get their push email-on right away -- and even their A2DP, thanks to the godsend of a .cab assembled by the good folks over at the xda-developers forum. Even though this handset is already available, our best efforts have been for naught when it comes to finding a price -- a little help, UK readers?
Lenovo's i921 WinMo smartphone
Akihabara News has some, um, news about a new Windows Mobile-powered handset from Lenovo that is, while not the first smartphone from the PC manufacturer that we've seen, certainly the most attractive. The i921 is said to rock WM5 (no confirmation on that, apparently, but we seriously doubt that they'd go the WinMo 2003 route), a two megapixel camera, Bluetooth, QVGA touchscreen, and MiniSD slot, and work on some unknown number of GSM frequencies. Not many other deets are known, such as pricing or availability, but if we don't see WiFi or UMTS in the specs, we keep on shopping, no matter how hot the phone looks.[Via MobileMag]
New DS801 musicphone from DNet
DNet's new DS801 music-centric slider might not be the most exciting thing around, but it seems a large improvement over their crazy-go-nuts DM751 iPod mini phone. The handset sports a 1.8-inch 176 x 220 LCD, 1.3 megapixel camera, and tri-band GSM radio, along with a bit of MP3 music and MPEG video playback functionality. You can add memory via miniSD, and scroll through your music with that convenient, if slightly "familiar", scroll wheel. No word on price or availability.[Via MobileMag]
