video telephony
Latest
Ojo Shadow video phone hitting the US market
Just in case you were losing faith in WorldGate's ability to build back steam behind the trusty Ojo, we've got some positive news. The Ojo Shadow video phone will soon be loosed on the US market through a slightly unorthodox venue, as the Home Shopping Network snags the exclusive first launch privileges. The device is slated to make its television debut to American consumers at 8:00AM EST on HSN (set your alarms, folks), but for those of us who aren't down with waiting, a set of two is available right now from the company's webstore for $499.90. Users can expect a 854 x 480 resolution display, up to 20 minutes of video messaging, photo-based caller ID, and automatic white balance and backlight compensation, but we still say a webcam-based video chat would be much kinder to your wallet.
Samsung's Syncon video telephony terminal
You've got to have some serious 1:1 videoconferencing needs to jump on Samsung's and Radvision's new Syncon video telephony terminal, but this massive piece of gear will certainly sate your gear lust. The all-in-one PC has a 22-inch display, video feeds up to 704 x 576, VoIP phone, and IM, good for conferencing over SIP, and H.323, even ISDN and 3G. We don't know how much, but it's prob not your first choice for a home videoconferencing solution (try Skype or iChat), so the suits in the house who are interested can just get their corporate cards out for this purchase when it's released in the second half of this year.
Logitech unveils QuickCam / QuickCam Deluxe webcams at CeBIT
Just a few days after the zaniness that was PMA came to a close, yet another massive trade show is opening its doors, and Logitech is making sure its presence is made known. The peripheral company is kicking out a duo of new webcams aimed at notebook users, presumably feeding the flames of the video chatting bunch that we've become. Both the QuickCam and QuickCam Deluxe (pictured after the break) boast 1.3-megapixel sensors, offer up 24-bit VGA video at 15-frames per second, and a manual focus lens to boot. Both units also sport the company's proprietary RightSound technology, which purportedly throws in a dash of noise suppression, while the RightLight system supposedly allows you hold a video conversation in all but the dimmest situations. Additionally, the pair should play nice with Skype, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and AIM, and of course, Vista users won't have any issues loading either of these up. As expected, these diminutive webcams seek to perch atop your laptop's display, and while the vanilla QuickCam will only run you $39.99 when it lands in US / Europe next month, the QuickCam Deluxe (and its "intelligent face tracking") will demand $59.99 when it launches alongside.
NTT DoCoMo's latest FOMA device aids the elderly
Providing emergency assistant kits for the geriatric set seems to be all the rage these days, and now NTT DoCoMo is jumping into the mix in a presumed attempt to look after the constantly aging Japanese population. The firm's latest
LG kicks out SH110 HSDPA slider for Korea
It looks like LG's on the slider train again, adding a dime to its SH100 and calling it the SH110. This pocket-friendly phone sports a basic array of buttons on the front face, but is primarily dominated by the QVGA display. Other features on the well-styled handset is a two-megapixel camera, MP3 playback, included headphones, Bluetooth, HSDPA, and a music sharing function to stream tunes to two nearby individuals. Furthermore, this mobile supports video telephony via the VGA camera, letting you get your video chat on without having to locate a webcam. Per usual, there's no word yet on pricing or availability outside of Korea, but a little wishful thinking just might get this thing outside of its comfort zone.[Via MobileWhack]
SK Telecom launches HSDPA network with new Samsung SCH-W200
South Korean consumers looking for some serious mobile bandwidth need not wait until June to pick up one of LG's SH100 handsets that we brought you earlier today, because SK Telecom has just announced that their HSDPA network is live in 25 cities as of today, and that a new model from Samsung is available for the rollout. Besides 2G, 3G, and 3.5G data support, the new Samsung SCH-W200 -- which is the first of five impending HSDPA phones, including the SH100, that will available by year's end -- offers both a two megapixel as well as a VGA camera, S-DMB TV capabilities, MP3/AAC playback, text-to-speech, and perhaps most importantly with all these features, multitasking. Although theoretically capable of 12Mbps downstream traffic, SKT's HSDPA network will currently only deliver a relatively pokey 1.8Mbps to the W200 -- with 3.6Mbps promised for later this year -- but claims to be the only WCDMA network in the world to offer guaranteed video conferencing performance through circuit, and not packet, switching. Read- HSDPA rollout Read- HSDPA speeds (subscription required)Read- Samsung SCH-W200
