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Fujitsu and partners show off cord-free display using SUPA wireless power (video)
Cords suck. They tangle, they get lost, they're never long enough, and you never have the kind you need. Indeed, wireless displays are nothing new -- but when you hear "wireless display," you typically think that they've managed to cut the video cable alone. Well, Fujitsu's taken it one step further here at CeBIT this week, throwing together what it claims to be the world's first totally wireless desktop display -- no video, no power. The imagery is handled via wireless USB and can connect to any appropriately-equipped PC, while the juice is sucked in using a newly-minted proposed standard for wireless power delivery called SUPA (developed with the likes of Fraunhofer) that can function over wide surface areas -- in this case, an entire desk. Right now it's just the display, but it's easy to imagine how phones, laptops, tablets, and anything else that requires continuous power or a quick, convenient recharge could benefit from this arrangement rather than needing a special mat (which is, of course, corded) lying around. Fujitsu tells us that SUPA can deliver about 25 watts in its current incarnation, which isn't going to keep your gaming PC going -- but it'll certainly handle your typical handheld device (or, in this case, a 22-inch monitor). The demo we saw was a little glitchy; the first time we visited the booth, Fujitsu was having a hard time getting the WUSB connection to light up, but it was up and running the second time we dropped by. We got the impression there wasn't quite enough bandwidth to deliver smooth video at this color depth and resolution, but it was good enough for data entry tasks. Likewise, the monitor appeared to flicker from time to time, suggesting that it was either right on the edge of that 25W maximum or just experiencing typical prototype hiccups. On a couple occasions, they lifted the monitor to reset it, and it only required 2-3 inches of lift before power was lost -- so this isn't the kind of thing where you can get up and wander around with a device and expect it to magically continue to charge (we'd be awfully concerned about being turned into beef jerky at those energy levels, anyway). All told, we're excited about this technology, assuming SUPA can gain enough critical mass in the marketplace to be relevant. They're expecting the first commercial applications next year... so in the meantime, enjoy our pictures and videos while you plan how you're going to rearrange your workspace once you don't have to worry about power cords.
Someone that isn't us has this limited edition system
Whenever anyone announces one of these limited edition DS Lite systems in Japan, we try to push them out of our memories immediately after reporting them here, afraid that if we dwell on these designer handhelds too long, we'll only make ourselves even more depressed than we already are. Just when we think we've put these fantasies of owning rare portables behind us, however, someone always has to remind us that they exist.DS Fanboy reader Supa_s, for example, sent in photos of her Honeyee x Fragment Design DS Lite, a slick, duotone system from seminal streetwear designer Hiroshi Fujiwara. Though she's hesitant to reveal where she obtained the remarkable handheld, she admits that it wasn't cheap -- approximately $400. Yeah, totally banoodles. Buying the accompanying Honeyee x Fragment Design case would have cost her an additional $100, so she skipped that extra purchase, using a Club Nintendo case instead to carry the system. Her impressions on the system? "I love it, but I worry about the L & R buttons getting yellowish. I like the way it feels -- it's kind of like the bottom part of the Cobalt DS, but much smoother." Hit the gallery below for more photos of the Honeyee x Fragment Design DS Lite. If you need us, we'll be staring at our plain, ordinary DS Lite from across the room, crying over dreams deferred, haunted by the ghosts of what should have been.%Gallery-23956%
Supa shows off super GT1000 GPS tracking phone
Taiwanese Supa had a pretty swish gadget out on display on the floor today, a handset with GPS and GPS data logging capabilities. Featuring quad-band GSM / GPRS, a SiRFstarIII chipset, storage for up to 1440 way points, Geo Fence -- with alarms sent via SMS whenever the fence is breached -- a dedicated SOS button, and upgradable storage via T-Flash. The pic seems to show it running Windows Mobile, though we're not seeing anything in the specs. Hopefully we'll get a better look at it and get back with some more info.
