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Novatel USB MCD3000 EVDO Modem

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, USB, Broadband, PC / Laptop, Peripherals, Wireless / WiFi,

We have been waiting for months on end to hear about an EVDO solution for the new Intel Core Duo portable computers. Finally, word is making rounds that Novatel is going to be the first to market with the goods. First up is their USB 720 EVDO modem from Sprint, aimed at both Windows and Mac OS X users. Interesting to note here, you can either plug in the USB modem directly into your notebook’s USB port, or you can connect it to a USB cord. The thought process here is that by placing the modem 12 inches away from your computer, you get less interference, and a signal that is increased by as much as 3 decibels - and it will perform better than embedded or card-style EVDO devices. What’s more, the Sprint USB720 is a Rev. A EVDO device, so if you have a need for speed, this is the device you want.

We are going to keep an eye on this one. Expect it to hit the market in Fall 2006.

The Bleeding Edge 009: Sonos Interview, MoRU Review, Sony Style, Another Xbox 360 Giveaway

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Home Entertainment, Internet, Music, Portable Audio / Video, Product Reviews, Videocasts, Wireless / WiFi,

Gear Live Bleeding Edge This week we talk with Sonos, show off Nyko’s Xbox 360 Faceplate Maker, announce our second Xbox 360 giveaway, and more:

THE WIRE
YouTube’s 10-minute Upload Cap
iPod Volume Limit Update
Sony Style Seattle Grand Opening

HIGH SCORE
Nyko Xbox 360 Faceplate Maker

SOFTWARE
MoRU Review

GIZMATIC
Sonos Interview

GIVEAWAYS
Make My Day DVD Winners Announced
Another Xbox 360 Giveaway: Yes - another one!

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Here's how to get the show:
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New LG550 EV-DO Phone

Posted by Jared Hislop Categories: Broadband, Smartphones, Rumors, Wireless / WiFi,

LG’s new phone, the LG550, has a lot to get excited about. The new handset is an EV-DO capable 3G ready device. Some of the other features include music, video on demand, Bluetooth stereo support, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and a FM transmitter. The FM transmitter allows the handset to broadcast tunes to a nearby FM radio. A microSD/TransFlash slot is available for additional storage room. The screen is a 262,000 color, 176x220 TFT display. The phone also features an external 96x96 65,000 color TFT. Another interesting feature of this phone is that there are external music controls. While there are no official carrier plans, there have been rumors that Sprint will pick it up.

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I-O Data Introduces Three New Webcams

Posted by John Goulden Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Wireless / WiFi,

I-O Data is introducing three new webcams, dubbed Qwatch, for remote surveillance purposes. Two of the webcams, the TS-MCAM and TS-MCAM-G models, offer up pan, tilt and zoom capabilities, UPnP for easy administration, USB 2.0, and Ethernet. In addition, the TS-MCAM-G model also provides wireless access in the form of 802.11G. Both cameras can be accessed via the Internet and by mobile phone, enabling you to keep tabs on your subject matter from practically anywhere. A hard drive can be connected to the Qwatch’s USB port, to which surveillance photos of your

~~neighbors~~

subject matter can be saved for future reference.

The third camera in the Qwatch series doesn’t compare in features to the other two and isn’t much of a camera at all. It’s a dummy, designed more for deterrence than surveillance, and contains a couple of glowing/blinking LEDs as its only functional parts.

No word on availability outside of Japan, but pricing is as follows:
TS-MCAM - ¥26,400 (~ $225 USD)
TS-MCAM-G - ¥31,700 (~ $270 USD)
TS-MCAM-MU - ¥9,500 (~ $81 USD)

Read More | I-O Data (jp) via Akihabara News

Samsung Ultra Mobile PC Available For Pre-Order

Posted by John Goulden Categories: Corporate News, GPS, Handhelds, Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Portable Audio / Video, Wireless / WiFi,

It looks as though Samsung will be one of the first companies to have an Ultra Mobile PC available for purchase. We gave you insight into the UMPC just a few weeks ago, and with products about to hit the shelves, it’ll be interesting to see if they fly, or flop. Granted, they’re very cool from a gadget standpoint as they do a little bit of everything, but that may be the whole crux of the problem. Devices that do a bit of everything tend to not do any of them really well, and turn out to be rather mediocre as a whole. Somehow this smacks of the Tablet PC all over again in that there isn’t a strong market for the product (even less so with the UMPC), but I digress . . . on with the show.

Expansys has the Samsung Q1 UMPC up for pre-order for £799.95 (~ $1,390 USD). The specifications are what you’d expect of an “everything but the kitchen sink” type of device. Running a Celeron M ULV CPU at 900MHz, it comes with 512MB RAM, a 7” WVGA LCD (800x480), Bluetooth, GPS, Wireless (802.11 a/b/g), and more. About the only thing missing would be some form of high speed data like UMTS or EVDO, but that was never in the design specs anyway.

Full specifications after the jump.

The Bleeding Edge 007: PlayStation 3, MacBook Pro vs PowerMac, 802.11n

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, Internet, Mods / Hacks, Movies, PC / Laptop, Video Games, Videocasts, Wireless / WiFi,

Gear Live Bleeding Edge This week we go over PlayStation 3 news, 802.11n, and put the MacBook Pro against the Dual G5 PowerMac:

THE WIRE
PlayStation 3 News
802.11n Interference
Windows XP On Intel iMac

HEAD TO HEAD
MacBook Pro vs Dual G5 PowerMac

GIZMATIC
Archos AV700
Vaja Choice 5G and nano Cases

WEB GEMS
Make My Day DVD Interview: Enter contest here.

GIVEAWAYS
Don’t forget - in Episode 005, we told you about two giveaways we are doing on the show. If you didn’t see it, go download it to find out how you can enter to win an Xbox 360. Also, we have the results of the OHSO giveaway.

Here’s how to get the show:
Subscribe: iTunes iPod / H.264 | iTunes MPEG-4 | RSS iPod Feed | RSS MPEG-4 Feed

IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.

Here's how to get the show:
[Download] - iPod-formatted H.264
[Download] - 1080p MP4

Microsoft Origami Project: Is This It?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Microsoft, Portable Audio / Video, Rumors, Wireless / WiFi,

We have held off on all the Origami Project speculation, as it has mostly remained a mystery. Earlier today, the image above started circulating around the internets, and it grabbed our attention. Of course, we have no real proof that this is Origami, but if it isn’t, we do hope that it is a real product. The thing just looks amazing. As for what Origami really is, we are not yet sure. However, Scoble is quick to tell us what it is not. Okay, not an iPod/OQO/PSP/Nokia N90/Treo 700w/Palm killer. We are cool with that, but mostly because no matter what Origami turns out to be, it wouldn’t kill any of the aforementioned products. It also isn’t a portable Xbox, which we didn’t even consider, seeing as how new game consoles have a ton of fanfare behind them before ever being shown.

So what is it? If the image is even close to being real, we gather that Origami is a smart way to carry around your digital life. Sure, that will include music and video - but we think that also includes contacts, email, RSS, and email - all wrapped up in wireless mobile broadband. Our bet is that Origami is an extension of your home computing experience, but not a replacement for it.

Sekio TR-006 Bluetooth Watch

Posted by John Goulden Categories: Smartphones, Wearables, Design, Wireless / WiFi,

Seiko Instruments has produced a working prototype of thier TR-006 Bluetooth watch; a watch that should probably be sent back to the drawing board for re-design. Seriously, the size of this thing is huge, and while the guy (whose arm appears in the picture above) looks malnourished and underfed, there’s no getting around the watch’s massive dimensions. On the upside, the watch can display your phone’s signal strength, Caller ID information for incoming calls, SMS messages and more. Pre-set rings are available to alert you to the aforementioned calls and messages and for when a bit of quiet is needed, it can vibrate as well.

If you’re into having large objects strapped to your arms,

~~seek professional help~~

then the TR-006 might be right up your alley.

Navizon Peer-to-Peer Wireless Positioning

Posted by John Goulden Categories: Smartphones, GPS, Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi,

Sadly, not every phone or PDA comes equipped with the wonderful feature that is GPS. Someday maybe, but not yet. Until then, there are many different options for getting a GPS signal to your mobile device of choice, but an extra device isn’t always practical. With peer-to-peer functionality all the rage, Navizon has capitalized on the concept with a wireless positioning system that can operate sans a hardware GPS.

Utilizing Wi-Fi and cellular capable devices, Navizon’s software triangulates your position based on data provided by the items that surround us all (access points, cell towers, etc.). In essence, Navizon’s software mimics a hardware-based GPS, at least as far as your navigation software is concerned. Data is transmitted back to Navizon and it uses said data to help triangulate the location of other people using the service in your area. If you’re concerned about the Big Brother aspect of things, you can purchase a Solo editon of the software that doesn’t transmit any data back to the mother ship. Naturally, the Solo version is a bit more feature limited since a number of options rely heavily on community supplied data, but it helps end conspiracy theories if nothing else.

Navizon’s software is available free of charge for Windows Mobile and Pocket PC devices as well as Symbian Series 60 platforms. Their Solo version costs $19.99 USD.

3G Technology for Every Boy and Girl From Intel and GSM

Posted by John Goulden Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, PC / Laptop, Wireless / WiFi,

Intel GSM Wi-Fi is fantastic assuming you can ~~borrow bandwidth from your neighbor~~ get a signal from a public access point. A cellular data connection however, whether it be 2.5G (GPRS), 2.75G (EDGE), 3G (UMTS) or 3.5G (HSDPA), is a great alternative when you’re traveling or merely away from ~~metropolitan areas~~

civilization. This week Intel and the GSM Association signed an agreement to incorporate 3G technology into notebooks, eliminating the need for add-on hardware to access high-speed GSM networks. One such product to have the new technology later this year will be Lenovo’s ThinkPad line of notebooks. Intel’s vision is for notebooks to have access to an array of communication possibilities and for the SIM card to be the gateway to them all.

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