Microsoft announces the release of the SideWinder X8 mouse that will bridge the gape for the gaming community as a mouse that offers a “wireless gaming mouse that doesn’t compromise on performance”. It features a 2.4 Giga Hertz wireless connectivity, play and charge capability and Microsoft BlueTrack Technology that is built for virtually lag-free play. With a tracking range from 250 dots per inch (dpi) to 4,000 dpi this mouse is geared towards the gaming community to provides wireless freedom that works on virtually any surface. The SideWinder X8 Mouse is available end February for an estimated retail price of $99.95 (U.S.). More information about this can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/hardware.
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Spotted on Gizmodo is the announcement for iRiver P7. Showcased at the 2009 CES, the 4.3″ screened player is up on the official site with pictures and a full list of specs. It is available with 4/8/16/32 GB memory space, 35 hours audio and 7 hours video battery life, and a 4.3″ 480×272 resolution screen. The P7 will support an array of file formats, including the OGG, FLAC, and XviD. Throwing in a bit of PR for the packaging, which doubles as “a business card holder, a pen holder, or a picture frame.” may help up the ante a little? No word on price or release date, though it should be out in South Korea shortly.
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Chery Automobile announces the S18, its first plug-in electric car. The S18 is purely electric, promising up to 150 kilometers on a single charge and a maximum speed of 120kph (around 72mph). The battery can be fully charged within six hours using a 220-volt home outlet, while 80 percent of the battery can be charged within 30 minutes. Geared with a price that, “…will be very suitable for families,” as quoted by Yuan Tao, vice president of Chery said, it was also unclear when the car would be available to buy. Unlike its competitor, the BYD Co, which began selling its plug-in electric hybrid car in China in December, the Chery has not given the S18 the option of running on petrol.
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The SWIVEL-CAM, a 5-megapixel digital camera with 8x digital zoom (and digital zoom only), 16MB of internal memory, an SD card slot for expansion, and video recording in either 4:3 or 16:9 modes, as well as features e-book reader, voice recorder, and “game player.” The swivel Lens camera comes with a 3 inch LCD screen and features the flexible Swivel lens that allows users to take self-portraits while previewing the shot in the frame. Users will be able to take portraits or landscape images or shoot videos at a resolution up to 720 x 480 (at 30 frames per second). The 5 MP Swivel Lens Digital Camera is set at a focal point of 2.8 that enables users to capture great photos and videos by maximizing daylight availability, as well as taking close up shots with its digital zooming capability of x 8. The SWIVEL-CAM has features that will allow users to record TV programs, and save them on SD card via a card slot that is supported by the camera. This little wonder will set you back $120.
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The HTC Magic is set for released in the UK in April, with Spain, Germany, France and Italy, with more countries to follow, and the phone will be a tied exclusively with Vodafone. Pricing in Spain will be from 99 to 199 Euro, depending on contract. Featuring a Qualcomm® MSM7201a™, 528 MHz processor it comes with a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery with a 1340 mAh capacity that gives a talk time of up to 400 minutes for WCDMA and up to 450 minutes for GSM. This handset boasts Google suite of services like Mail, Search and Maps geared up for use in the palm of the hand. It is further enhanced with video capture and support for tunes via Bluetooth wireless headsets, setting the HTC Magic as an entertainment and media powerhouse.
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Vodafone announces the launch of 5 new 3G and 2G compatible phones, as well as the CatWalk series. The handsets encompass the 835, 735 and 736 (3G enabled phone), the 135 and 235 (2G) and CatWalk Collection 527 and 533. Building candy bar and slider styles, the handphones are set to be released in the coming months, ranging from the 3G Vodafone 835/735/736, with built-in GPS, colour display, camera, BlueTooth, FM radio, a slot for extra memory to the 2G Vodafone 135, with a short two line black and white display suitable for calls and texts and targeted as the affordable range for the new consumer for mobile phones. Vodafone is also launching the ‘Catwalk Collection’ the Vodafone 527 and 533 that comes in a multitude of of colours: and will be available in Europe from March. The CatWalk series have built-in camera, MMS, FM radio, MP3 player, Bluetooth and external memory slot.
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Huawei Technologies (”Huawei”), showcased its first Android-powered smart phone at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This smart phone will be commercially available in the third quarter of 2009. Its director of Terminal Marketing Department, Mr James Chen, quotes, “Huawei is delighted to showcase its much anticipated first Android-powered smart phone. As a terminal solutions provider with all-round capabilities, Huawei has an acute insight into the drivers of the communications industry and in-depth understanding of operators.” Smart phones are expected to account for more than 24 percent of the global mobile phone market by 2011, and this figure is set to exceed 30 percent by 2012.
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The WMG100, set to launch in Europe with a price tag of €160 ($200) will bridge the gap between Samsung OmniaHD’s phone to TV screen via built-in WiFi and DLNA. Pushing a max 480p (whether HD streaming to other devices from the OmniaHD) from its mini HDMI output the handset is already available in Korea with a European debut in March or April. The WMG100 doggle will connect the new Samsung OmniaHD which uses DLNA technology to connect wirelessly to a compatible TV terminal. The WMG100 will offer consumers two choice of a 3 RCA standard resolution, or a mini HDMI port for HD quality projection. However, the WMG100 allows only up to a resolution of 480p (720 x 480 pixels), thus consumers will be unable to exploit the full potential of the new OmniaHD and recording and playback at 720p (1280 x 720).
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Pantech Matrix Pro™ is the latest exclusive dual slider Windows Mobile Smartphone from AT&T. The Matrix Pro features Video Share Calling for live streaming video communications, aGPS for turn-by-turn navigation using AT&T Location-based Services, Windows Mobile® 6.1 and 3G tri-band UMTS for global voice and data connectivity. It features both a full QWERTY keyboard and a 12-key dial pad, a 2.4 inches QVGA 240 x 320 pixels screen, and works in over 200 countries including Korea and Japan, and over 130 major cruise ships. The smartphone supports most Instant Messaging software, comes bundled with Stereo Bluetooth® v2.0 connectivity, MicroSD™ Memory Card support for users to store songs and other media files up to 32GB (microSD card sold separately), and also has a 2 megapixel camera with up to 4x digital zoom.
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Gateway brings together the design and features of its MC Series® and MD Series® notebook lines to an even more compact and lightweight design with the TC Series® notebook line. The 5.3-pound notebook features Intel Pentium Dual-Core Mobile T4200 processor (2.00 GHz, 1MB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB), 4GB of Dual Channel DDR2 667MHz Memory and Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M, 8X Multi-Format Dual Layer DVDRW w/ DVD-RAM drive and high-capacity 320 hard drive, comes pre-installed with Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1 64-bit, an integrated 1.3 megapixel webcam, 802.11b/g Draft-N wireless connectivity, Gigabit Ethernet, Ultrabright 14-inch backlit HD LED display, HD audio support, 5-in-1 media card reader, and Illuminated Multimedia Touch Controls that allows users to have one-touch access to digital media and frequently-used entertainment programs within the notebook. It is available in two colours, TC7306u® in black and the TC7307u® in burgundy, and features a textured palm rest and polished keyboard surround. Future configurations to be included are Intel Core 2 Duo as well as an HDMI port, 500GB of storage space, support for Blu-ray optical drives as well as dedicated NVIDIA GeForce® 9300M graphics supporting Microsoft ® DirectX ® 10 for excellent graphics and video playback on the go. The Gateway TC Series notebook line will be available in the US for a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $649.99.
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