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NASCAR Nextel FanView
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Handhelds, Portable Audio / Video, Wireless / WiFi,
Lookout NASCAR fans - technology has now invaded the stands. Starting Feb. 17th, the FanView will be available for rent at all 2006 Nextel Cup Series races. The first of it’s kind at a major sporting event, the FanView combines a radio scanner and the ability to view up to seven in-car cameras plus the race broadcast. Statistical information on the cars and drivers, audio replay, and priority scanning on up to four drivers will help involve the fans more than just holding down the bleachers (or infield) and swilling beer. Rental fees are $50 for a day or $70 for the weekend plus a minor deposit fee of $500 to ensure it’s safe return.
Read More 
| Sprint Nextel via Yahoo
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MPLAT USB FlashPhoneF2K For Skype
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Accessories, USB, Internet, Wireless / WiFi,
If you’re a fan of Skype, then you might be interested in the MPLAT Flashphone F2K. With a size similar to that of a USB memory stick, the F2K includes a built-in soundcard and flash memory in sizes from 128MB up to 512MB. Operation couldn’t be easier as you simply plug it into an available USB port, plug in the headphones and launch Skype. All necessary software remains on the Flashphone, and no traces of activity are left behind on the host computer which makes it ideal for the paranoid among us. Obviously this isn’t the most ideal method for making a call as it requires access to a computer, but if you don’t have the monetary resources for a PDA, or are just a diehard Skype user, the F2K may just do the trick. Be sure and read the review though as upgrading the software on the F2K may be akin to rubbing your tummy and patting your head at the same time - not impossible, just difficult.
Read More | MPLAT via Top Tech News
Rogers Wireless and Melodeo Launch First Wireless Podcasting Service
Posted by Edwin Soto Categories: Smartphones, Podcasts, Portable Audio / Video, Wireless / WiFi,
Do you love podcasts? Most of you reading this have probably subscribed to at least one podcast in your lifetime - hopefully ours is one of them. With the latest cell phone innovations in music playback, it was only a matter of time that we would be able to access content like this over our mobile devices. Roger Wireless and Melodeo to the rescue. They have constructed a podcast catalog that are available to Roger Wireless customers in Canada. Eliminating the need for PC hardware at all, you can take your cell phone and download directly to you handset. There had to be someone to pioneer it. So far, the feedback has not been good about the $5 a month service. However, we must applaud the idea.
Read More | Melodeo’s Mobilecast Network
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Balloon Powered Cellular Service
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Smartphones, Misc. Tech, Wireless / WiFi,
If you live in the middle of nowhere (North Dakota in this case), and have little to no signal for your cellular service, then Extend America and Space Data Corporation may have the answer to your needs - balloons. Of course we’re not talking the type of balloons that get tied up into colorful little animals at birthday parties, but large, 6 foot diameter balloons that will reach up to 20 miles into the atmosphere as they carry their radio transponders. As the balloons go up, and the atmospheric pressure goes down, the hydrogen-filled balloons will expand to around 30 feet in diameter. As many as nine balloons will be aloft at once with some on their way up as others are descending. Once the balloon leaves the state the radio package will jettison, and via it’s built-in parachute, will float gently to the ground where a radio signal will alert searchers to it’s location. Extend America CEO Ed Schafer admits the idea sounds crazy (why yes it does) but says “...it works in the lab”. Gee, that’s encouraging.
Read More | Yahoo News via Phone Scoop
E-TEN G500 Pocket PC PhoneE-TEN G500
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Smartphones, GPS, Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi,
GPS-enabled devices are everywhere these days. They’re in everything from dog collars, to wristwatches, and of course, cell phones. The latest GPS equipped phone to hit the market is E-TEN’s G500 Pocket PC Phone. A quad-band GSM phone with GPRS, it has the increasingly popular SiRF Star III chipset with an internal antenna for GPS duties. The phone eschews the typical Intel XScale processor in favor of a Samsung unit running at 400MHz and has 128MB ROM and 64MB RAM for program executionstorage. Windows Mobile 5.0 is the operating system of choice, and the rest of the G500’s features read like almost any other PDA or phone - 1440mAh Li-Ion battery, 1.3 megapixel camera, Class 2 Bluetooth 1.2, speakerphone, and miniSD slot. The only thing missing is a VGA screen, as the G500’s is a 65K color, 240x320 TFT-LCD. No word yet on pricing or availability.
Read More | E-TEN via phoneArena.com
Nabaztag WiFi Rabbit - Better the 2nd Time Around?
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Internet, Wireless / WiFi,
You’ve heard about the Ambient Orb, which allows you to see information based upon the weather, the stock market, your horoscope, etc. Well, “shhhhhhhhh”...now we’re
hunting
watching wabbits. Meet Nabaztag, the oddly named Wi-Fi Rabbit which works like the Ambient Orb by glowing, but can also wriggle it’s ears as an indicator. Since this is the second incarnation of the product, a few new features were in order and the ability to sing and talk were added. Apparently quite popular in it’s home country of France, the critter has yet to make it’s way across the big pond. Only time will tell if we will be inundated in singing and glowing rabbits.
Read More | Violet Nabaztag via Shiny Shiny
Jaht Technology Bluetooth and WiFi Antenna/Dongle Impressions
Posted by Kristin Wenzel Categories: Peripherals, Product Reviews, Wireless / WiFi,
I’d never heard of Jaht until recently. But I found myself in need of a BlueTooth dongle and a better wireless antenna for my PC (my PowerBook has both built in) so I did some bargain shopping. I found both on NewEgg for a grand total of $20 including shipping while they were running a damn good sale, and despite my misgivings about ordering things made by a company I’d never heard of, I decided to gamble that $20 was too good a deal to pass up. I ended up being absolutely right.
Click to continue reading Jaht Technology Bluetooth and WiFi Antenna/Dongle Impressions
Live From CES: Hands On With HP 37” Advanced Digital Media HD LCD TV
Posted by Chris Cardinal Categories: CES, CES 2006, Features, Home Entertainment, Smart Home, Wireless / WiFi,
Stopping by HP’s rather large booth in South Hall’s upstairs, we stumbled upon their SLC3760N 37” LCD HD TV. It’s quite a mouthful no matter how you try to say it, but the TV had some stellar features that looked to function brilliantly. The TV is a uPNP device that allows you to hop on your local wireless (802.11a/b/g) or wired (100-base) network and instantly start watching media from your home’s PCs. It’s able to playback MPEG-1, MPEG-2, DivX, XviD (or, at least, MPEG-4), MP3s, AOL Radio and Rhapsody, and whatever photo formats you can throw at it.
It also features a 176° viewing angle, which looks quite stunning, and a 6,000:1 contrast ratio on a 720p screen. Release date is set tentatively for “early Spring” with a price “to be announced.” After trying a bit harder to eek a price out of him, he mentioned that the LCD on its own, minus all the connectivity functions, is (of course) absolutely top of the line, so you can expect to pay what a similar-quality tv might cost. He mentioned that the connectivity stuff adds only about $300 to the cost, which is pretty reasonable for such a flexible device.
Live At CES 2006: TAO Wireless Media Player
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: CES, CES 2006, Portable Audio / Video, Wireless / WiFi,
We thought this one might be interesting enough to tell you about - at first glance, the Tao Wireless Media Player is just like all off your standard run-of-the-mill MP3 players. However, this device has integrated 802.11b which allows it to stream content stored anywhere on your network (or any network it is allowed to access, for that matter.) Even better, it also has a 20 GB internal hard drive, so you can still store your tunes on it as well. When you want to stream music, you can even use the built-in WiFi hotspot finder, which will sniff out networks for you to jump on. Focusing on a “sharing” theme, the device also has an FM transmitter built-in, so you can send the streaming music or MP3 files to a radio. Not only that, it also has two headphone ports - great for listening to tunes with your honey.
Click to continue reading Live At CES 2006: TAO Wireless Media Player
Live At CES 2006: Hands On With Verizon UTStarcom XV6700 Windows Mobile 5 Device
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, CES, CES 2006, Features, Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi,
We just got our hands on the new Verizon XV6700 UTStarcom Windows Mobile device. This is the other WM 5.0 device available on Verizon’s network, and we are actually quite a bit more impressed with this one than with the Treo 700w, which launched yesterday. This one sports EV-DO, WiFi, Bluetooth, a 2.8-inch 65k color 240x320 display, 1.3 megapixel camera/MPEG-4 camcorder, MiniSD card support, and 64MB internal RAM. It also has a sliding QWERTY keyboard, which when opened, changes the display from portrait to landscape on the fly. The phone is available now to Verizon Wireless Business customers, and will be available to general consumers on January 19th at a price of $299 USD after $100 rebate and a two-year agreement. We have a few more images of the XV6700 after the jump.
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