This year’s CES witnessed the rebirth of 3D and there was so much hype about tablet PCs and other new devices. One notable product development is on pico or mini projectors. If you can remember, Nikon launched last year the Coolpix S1000pj compact digital camera. It has a built-in projector that can project a display up to 40 inches, thus earning the title as the world’s first pico projector. This small device employs LEDs, in conjunction with microscopic mirrors, instead of conventional lamps used by full-sized projectors. One leading manufacturer in this field is Texas Instruments, which came out with the Digital Light Processing Pico chips. Each DLP chip contains up to 2 million microscopic mirrors that can reflect a high-resolution image on a wall or screen when applied a digital video signal. Because of its very small size, DLP Pico projectors can be crammed into all kinds of small devices such as mobile phones and digital cameras. New products, which utilized the DLP pico technology, include a snap-on projector for the LG eXpo mobile phone, the Samsung W9600 projector phone and the Brightboxe, said to be the world’s first Pico gaming projector.
Electronic ink technology is a big hit in this year’s CES and one of the pioneer companies in this new industry is E-Ink. This company supplies the super-thin, high-quality screens of the majority of e-Readers in the market today like Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Sony’s Reader, Skiff Reader and the iLiad. Motorola is the first mobile phone manufacturer to use E-Ink’s technology in its F3 mobile phone. Electronic ink is made up of millions of tiny microcapsules filled with liquid dye and pigmented balls. It is applied to an ultra-thin plastic sheet with an embedded microelectronics circuit. This circuit is used to apply positive or negative charges to the microcapsules in order to come out with the desired images or text. Electronic ink is predicted to radically change the way we read books and newspapers. With books, this bold prediction is already happening with the introduction of e-Readers in the market. And if indeed the technology is used in newspapers, huge amounts of ink and paper will be saved and this will be a big help to save the environment.
Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies of Singapore recently introduced at this year’s CES a portable hydrogen refueling station, called the HYDROFILL that can be used in your home. It is a small desktop device that when plugged to any power source extracts hydrogen from the water tank and stores the extracted fuel in small refillable cartridges in solid form. The extracted hydrogen is absorbed by metallic alloys contained in the cartridges converting it into a crystalline form. This new development in portable fuel cell technology is a great step towards consumer fuel generation and will eventually reduce our dependence on traditional utility-generated power and fossil fuel. This may also lead to the development of more battery-powered devices, which may include low-cost electric vehicles that can already travel long distances using portable energy sources such as the HYDROFILL. This technology is also earth-friendly for the extraction and conversion processes do not produce byproducts that can be harmful to the environment.
Following the success of the Apple Iphone, Apple’s new invention is The Apple Tablet. It has a 10 inch screen, and when I saw it looked just like a giant iPhone, with a black back. The tablet is as a secondary screen/touchpad for iMacs and MacBooks.
Its coming out late January, so get your credit cards out, its right around the corner. It will cost between $700-$1000 according to rumors on the Internet.
The Wi-Fi Alliance, a global, non-profit industry association promoting the growth of wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), has announced a new way for Wi-Fi-enabled devices to connect directly to each another without the use of a Wi-Fi base station or access point. The new protocol, previously codenamed “Wi-Fi peer to peer” is now termed “Wi-Fi Direct.” Wi-Fi Alliance Executive Director Edgar Figueroa said in a statement that Wi-Fi users will be able to benefit from a single-technology solution for transfer of content and sharing of applications easily among devices, even when a Wi-Fi access point isn’t available. The technology reportedly will compete directly with Bluetooth, which is the de facto standard for direct peer-to-peer device connections. Unlike ad hoc wireless networking, which also does not require access points, Wi-Fi Direct devices can discover each other automatically. Advantages over Bluetooth include connectivity at higher speeds and greater distances, and availability of management and security features. The Wi-Fi Direct standard is expected to be published very soon and certification will begin in 2010.
Cisco Launches FlipShare TV, a wireless device that streams high-definition video from a PC or Mac to a TV. The FlipShare TV was designed to complement the Flip mini-camcorder, which maker Pure Digital Technologies, was acquired by Cisco in March. The console connects to a HDTV set via an HDMI cable and includes a USB dongle that plugs into a USB port on your PC or Mac.
Both USB dongle and console are preconfigured to function wirelessly, providing you instant wireless viewing on the TV without the need of a wireless home network. FlipShare TV wireless communication is via a peer-to-peer 802.11n Wi-Fi protocol. FlipShare TV works perfectly with the FlipShare 5.0, which is a useful tool to organize, edit, and share favorite videos online, such as on YouTube. You can also view videos from other online Flip Video users via the FlipChannel Service. The set-top console is available with a suggested retail price is $150.
ThinkFlood is offering its RedEye to turn your iPhone and iPod touch into a universal remote control. The software is free to download but the base station hardware comes at a suggested retail price of $188. This is how it works: your iPhone or iPod sends commands to the base station via Wi-Fi and these commands are converted into IR. If you have an AV device, home automation system or any gadget that responds to IR signals, your iPhone/ iPod can now control it. The base station also has a built-in dock where you can charge your iPhone or iPod. It has a fairly good IR range, but if the device to be controlled is beyond coverage, a repeater may be required. Multiple units can be utilized to cover additional rooms and control them all from a single iPhone/iPod.
The RedEye software is free and can be downloaded from the App Store. IR devices are easy to add from an extensive list, and most of the devices have commands presets available. New commands can also be learned by capturing control signals from existing remote control units. Ready-to-use control panel templates are included for many devices but you can modify them to create your own design. If you have an iPhone or an iPod and a lot of remotes that control a lot of IR devices, the RedEye is the perfect solution to make your life a little easier.
Magellan is coming out with GPS car kits for the iPhone and iPod mobile devices. Magellan is a navigation and positioning company, which markets its Magellan brand GPS products in vehicle navigation and outdoor markets. The new GPS car kit will be compatible with the 2nd and 3rd generation iPod touch and likewise the iPhone 3G and 3GS. This is another addition to the ever-growing number of non-telco applications for the iPhone and the iPod. The car kit will have a built-in speaker and a noise-canceling handsfree speakerphone with charging capabilities. It will also work with Magellan’s own RoadMate program and other navigation or location-based applications. Rumors are the GPS car kit for the iPhone and iPod will be available in the market at a retail price of $130 starting on December 11.
A highly sensitive tracking device will soon be used by FedEx in tracking and monitoring information about a shipment. The device, FedEx SenseAware, will be placed inside the shipment and will tell customers if the package was opened give temperature readings and track exactly where the package is. It merges a web-based collaboration platform with a GPS sensor device. The device has been allowed for use in planes by the Federal Aviation Administration but won’t be able to give updates while the shipment is airborne. Customers can, however, monitor the shipment’s status if it travels by land. It will be initially available to life science and the healthcare industry customers in the US.
Navigon, a leading supplier of GPS navigation solutions, has announced it is coming out with a navigational application for Android. Google Maps Navigation may be about to take the US market because it’s free but outside the US, Navigon is set to step in while Google is trying to get its act together. The Navigon Android satnav app can be used in all phones running Android 1.5 to 2.0. Its features are similar to the existing Navigon iPhone application, with slight changes to fit in with Android phones’ interface and screen resolution. Navigon’s Android satnav app will hit the markets on December 10, but pricing has yet to be announced. It will probably be similar to the Navigon iPhone app, which costs somewhere around $140.
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Gadgets | cesar | 
January 31, 2010 7:09 am | 
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