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POSDATA shows off WiBro PDAs for Korea
When a manufacturer takes styling cues from a number of popular devices -- in this case, the RAZR, the Wizard, and the gone-but-not-forgotten Clie -- and throws in a number of high end features whose acronyms make us a little weak-kneed, the resulting products are bound to be pretty sexy. Such is the case with a trio of WiBro-capable PDAs being marketed under the Flyvo brand by POSDATA, all of which run Windows CE 5.0 Professional Plus on an ARM processor and let you get your 'net on with WiFi as well in case you have to travel outside of Korea. Introduced at this year's Wireless Broadband World Forum, these upcoming devices (which frustratingly lack either names or model numbers) also feature either 512MB or 1GB of flash RAM, with two of them adding T-DMB and VoIP capabilities, and the high-end model throwing in a little GPS action to boot. Lucky Koreans will be able to pick these up -- and possibly even drop their cellphone services altogether -- sometime early next year. Keep reading for more pics...Read- The one that resembles a WizardRead- The one that resembles a PSPRead- The one that resembles a Clie
Tinnos Blufin PMP/PDA: 30GB HDD, Windows CE 5.0
Prototypes of this little box started floating around a few months ago, and now it looks like it may just be showing up for realz. Dubbed the Blufin, this PMP (or PDA, depending on how you look at it) from Korea's Tinnos, is a Windows CE-based handheld with a 30GB hard drive, 128MB RAM, 2 megapixel camera, a 4.3-inch LCD display, USB and SD slots (with both USB on-the-go and SDIO compatibility for copying files or adding functions like GPS and WiFi) and an AMD Au1200 processor. It'll be available in Japan this July for about $600 and the rest of the world (at least through gray market channels) shortly thereafter.
Thomas Pink's iPod-concealing Commuter Shirt
The designers at Thomas Pink must get their iPods jacked on a regular basis, because they've followed up on their nano-concealing tie with the "Commuter Shirt" that hides your DAP, cellphone, or PDA under even more clothing, and includes a second secret spot under one cuff for storing your credit cards. We're assuming that the demand for this shirt stems from the fact that today's mugger regularly reads Engadget, and is easily able to identify and snatch that signature pink tie right off the necks of unsuspecting businessmen. The less-flashy blue or white "Commuter Shirt" should help alleviate this problem somewhat by tucking that 'Pod into an inner pocket by the wearer's stomach, with built-in channeling to ensure snag-free movement. Now, if they can only figure out a way to hide that crease and lump in your shirt which muggers will soon be looking for on everyone not wearing a pink tie.[Via GigaOm and TUAW]
Apple patent embeds thousands of cameras among LCD pixels
Oh Barry Fox, does a week ever go by when you don't find a great patent or two? Today the intrepid Mr. Fox manages to dig up an application by consumer-darling Apple for an LCD display embedded with thousands of microscopic image sensors that would allow users to video-conference while looking straight into the "camera." Data accumulated by the individual sensors would be stitched into actual images using special software, which will probably be bundled into future versions of iLife. Since the patent specifies almost as many sensors per screen as there are pixels, some of those sensors could have different focal lengths, with a defacto zoom lens created by switching between them. Apple goes on to suggest portable uses for the technology, such as employing the displays in cellphones and PDAs, so you can add another item to the list of features we'll be expecting from the iPhone and Newton 2.0 when they finally hit stores.[Via New Scientist]
Script to start iSync, sync devices, then quit
This Synchronize with iSync, Then Quit script is yet another one of those handy utilities that is so obvious it makes me say "geeze, Apple really should have done this themselves." Then I realize I'm talking to myself out loud, but I don't have enough money for therapy.Moving along, this script is another great one-trick pony for all you iSync users with phones and PDAs that you keep in tune with OS X. When run, the script automatically starts iSync and then quits it once all the magic is finished.One word of caution: Fraser Speirs, who created this and other goodies like the Flickr Export iPhoto plugin, has a couple of specific build instructions to follow to make this script work properly. As a final tip: Fraser also recommends (and I agree) that if you're a Quicksilver user, this is a great script to tie to a trigger for hotkey-enabled goodness.
Hack your own Bluetooth PDA controller
Ingredients: 1 (one) Bluetooth gamepad, 1 (one) black PlayStation One controller, 1 (one) Dell Axim PDA, 2 (two) mechanical pencils, plenty (plenty) o' hot glue. Gut the Bluetooth gamepad, put guts into the PlayStation controller, make a stretching clamp out of mechanical pencils, an old battery charger, and some hot glue, and assemble. Simple, right?Check out his recipe, and some additional Flickr pictures.[Via hack a day]
Entourage will receive Spotlight and iSync support by March
Good news for you Entourage users: included in Microsoft's 5-year Office promise announcement was that, with the March update to Office, you will soon be able to search your Entourage emails through the beauty of Spotlight.Keeping the surprises rolling, for all you PDA sync-happy folk out there, Microsoft will also build support for iSync right into Entourage, meaning that devices compatible Sync Services will natively be able to sync with Entourage. Unfortunately, I'm *pretty* sure this ironically excludes PocketPC's, but I could be wrong. You can read more about the announcements and new features at Microsoft's PressPass announcement.At any rate, I think these major new features and updates ought to squash any doubt of Microsoft's commitment to Office on OS X.[via Hawk Wings]
Revisiting the LifeDrive
A while back, I noted my first impressions about my new PalmOne LifeDrive. Now that I have spent several weeks, day in and day out, using the device as a PDA to work with my Mac (a PowerBook G4 12-inch), I have a few additional observations to make, and corrections of some of my original comments.
