Archives for May 2010

Sony Rollable Colour OLED Display

May 26, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Sony has created an amazing looking rollable colour OLED display. The ultra thin screen measures 80μm in thickness and measures 4.1 inches diagonal.

The impressive part of the screen is that it can roll around a pen (demonstrated below in video) while the video is moving. Although the video isn’t of the highest quality, it certainly isn’t bad by any means and certainly shows where technology could be heading in the future.

The 80μm screen sits on a flexible 20μm thick substrate that has no rigid driver chips. This allows it to be as flexible as seen in the video. The screen can be rolled up on a 4mm radius. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Displays

HTC EVO 4G Docking Station

May 26, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The HTC EVO 4G Docking Station has been spotted in a Best Buy magazine. It appears that the dock will be available for Sprint EVO 4G users at the time of launch next week.

The dock has two connections built in. One is for powering the device and connecting it to a computer via micro USB. The second is a HDMI output allowing you to make a connection to your HDTV from the dock.

The HTC EVO 4G uses a new HDMI standard numbered 1.4 that allows for the new micro HDMI connection. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

MSI Slatebook Details Arrive

May 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment

MSI has released a few details of the MSI Slatebook that is due to launch next month at Computex.

The Slatebook will use an Intel Atom processor (possibly the Z series) and have a 10 inch screen. The operating system MSI is installing will be a version of Windows 7.

For connectivity the Slatebook will have WiFi and 3G allowing you to connect up in most places. Also, MSI say the device will have a battery life of 8 hours making it almost as competitive as the Apple iPad that is capable of 10 hours on a single charge. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Laptops

Holiday Inn to Allow Smartphones to Access Rooms

May 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Holiday Inn is soon to start trials where smartphone users will be able to use their devices to unlock their room at a hotel.

The system will be tested in June at Chicago O’Hare Rosement and another Holiday Inn at Houston, Downtown Convention Centre.

The system being tested comes from a company called Open Ways. The hotel had looked in to RFID before, but favour the technology that Open Ways offers what allows virtually any smartphone to unlock a door with an application. The software will be available for iPhone, BlackBerry and Android devices. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Horizon H-Cell 2.0 Hydrogen Fuel Cell now Available

May 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Back in February we mentioned the Horizon H-Cell 2.0 Hydrogen Fuel Cell. At that time it had a launch date for March detailed. We hear now, after a short wait, that it is now available to purchase.

The Hydrogen Cell kit is designed for radio controlled cars. The RC car required needs to be 1/10 in scale and the kit fits in most models although in some cases of smaller car body shells, they might need to be slightly adjusted to accommodate.

Some impressive numbers show that the Horizon H-Cell 2.0 can keep a car moving at 45MPH or more for up a full hour which is quite impressive considering a battery powered only version would only go for single digit minutes. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

Motorola DROID Shadow Found in a Gym

May 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Motorola will soon launch the Motorola DROID Shadow. Just a few days ago, a DROID Shadow was spotted in a corporate Verizon [VZ] gym over in Washington. The phone was remotely locked, but just before that a text message said that the device was “unreleased”.

The new handset is believed to be the second Motorola DROID handset that will head exclusively to Verizon when launched. On the back an 8 megapixel sensor is used that can capture HD video at 720p.

The DROID Shadow has a 4.3 inch screen and when launched is expected to come standard with Android 2.2 FroYo. Launch dates are expected to be sometime in June or July. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

AT&T will Unlock All Phones except the iPhone

May 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment

AT&T [T] has agreed to unlock all phones that are supplied to customers following a class action lawsuit. The lawsuit requires that all phones now be unlocked by the carrier. The agreement doesn’t require the iPhone is unlocked under the same rules though which are explained below.

When customers purchase a new prepaid handset, the handset is unlocked immediately when confirmation of proof of purchase is made. Those who get a phone on contact can have their device unlocked after 90 days of service. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Dell Streak Heading Exclusively to O2 in the UK

May 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment

O2 has announced that the Dell Streak will be exclusive on it’s network in the UK.

The new device is being made available on O2 both in store and on-line as well as at the Carphone Warehouse and later on next month at Dell. A US launch of the Streak will happen later this year.

The Dell Streak is a 5 inch Android tablet that has 3G connectivity built in allowing users to be online anywhere. The Android based device allows users to keep in touch, check email, browse social media apps as well as play media. With the device having a 5 inch screen it makes it portable enough to carry around, but larger than a phone making it more comfortable to use. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Laptops

LG 84 Inch 3DTV gets 3840 x 2160 Resolution

May 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment

LG has given details of a new 84 inch 3DTV that uses UHD (ultra high definition) to keep images looking crisp. The screen has an impressive 3,840 x 2,160 resolution and is the biggest of it’s kind. There is no price tag on it, but expect to pay easily in to 5 figures for a TV like this.

As well as showing off a huge 3DTV, LG also are working on something the company calls “liquid lens” that allows 3DTV to function without the use of glasses. No details of exactly what Liquid Lens is and how it will work are known just yet.

IPS technology is also being pushed at the SID 2010 event where a 47 inch HDTV was seen as well as a 32 inch pro monitor and a 9.7 inch smartbook each using IPS technology to give a crystal clear image. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Displays

Apple iPad – UK Stores Open at 8am on Friday 28

May 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The Apple iPad launch is just a few days away here in the UK. For those who didn’t pre-order and are going to be queuing up, Apple [AAPL] has decided to help out a little by letting you queue an hour less. Today, the company announced that Apple stores will be opening an hour earlier at 8am rather than 9am.

It isn’t known how much stock is available in each store, so it’s hard to judge if you need to be there early or not… as in begin queueing the night before for example. [Read more…]

Filed Under: iPad

Apple iPhone 3GS 16GB now $97 at Wal-Mart

May 25, 2010 by 2 Comments

Wal-Mart is dropping the price of the 16GB Apple iPhone 3GS down to $97 starting today. This move is expected due to the release of the newer unannounced/leaked Apple iPhone 4G that should be launching next month.

By dropping prices, it is expected that the retailer will clear out most of it’s remaining inventory to make way for the next generation device.

The new price knocks around $100 off the previous price which was $199. To get the 16GB 3GS at $97 you need to enter a two year agreement with AT&T. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

iBooks for iPad Now Available for Download in UK

May 25, 2010 by 2 Comments

Update: iBooks has been removed from the UK store. Perhaps they are rewording the text that says it’s US only. We suspect it will back today or tomorrow.

In preparation for the launch of the Apple iPad, Apple [AAPL] has made the iBooks app available for download in the iTunes store in the UK. The application was uploaded today to the store and can be downloaded now. The only requirements are that you obviously need an iPad to run it on, but also that you are running the latest version of iTunes. If you are on an older version of iTunes, you cannot download it unless you download it direct on the iPad.

For those unfamiliar with iBooks, the application allows users to download and read books on the Apple iPad. The software has a UI that allows you to flip through pages with a swipe or tap on the screen and allows you to bookmark favourite pages.

When loading the application up you are presented with a bookshelf where you can select the book you want to read. The eBook store can found when tapping a button where the bookshelf rotates around to the back to reveal books you can buy. [Read more…]

Filed Under: iPad