AUO 65″ LED eco-friendly Display is 7.9mm Thin

eco_friendly_led_panelAU Optronics Corp have created range of new TV’s and ePaper screens that were put on display today over at FPD International in Yokohama in Japan.

Included in the lineup of displays is a 65″ LED panel that measures 7.9mm thick and has High Dynamic Contrast. The panel is being touted as being eco-friendly and according to the press release, it consumes 50% less power than average. It has a contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1 and uses a pre-mixed LED Light Cell that has 256 zones of local dimming. [Read more…]

Dual Screen Netbook Concept Captured on Video

KOHJINSHAWhen working on a netbook you often run in to the problem of not having enough screen estate. To tackle this problem a company have created a dual-screen netbook that allows you to view two 10.1 inch screens side by side that then slide one behind the other when not needed. By giving you an extra screen you get more screen estate, thus making your work on a netbook a little more productive.

Examples of usage could be putting an Excel spreadsheet on the left screen while taking notes on the right screen, or perhaps browsing on one screen while watching a video on the second.

The netbook doesn’t look as flimsy as I expected from what I see in the video and actually seems to work quite well. It is unclear what battery life will be like on a dual screen netbook but if they can get that to be an acceptable level this thing “could” sell. [Read more…]

LG GW620 Android Phone Website Launched

lg_gw620_official_8LG have launched a new website for their new LG GW620 Android based mobile phone. The mini site isn’t really complete yet as it just has the standard Latin? text running down the page. However, what it does have is a set of photos of the phone as well as a spec sheet and a couple of videos showing what the phone can do.

What we do see from the spec sheet is that it will connect on dualband UMTS at 900 and 2100MHz and quadband GSM. The specs also show that Wifi at 802.11b/g as well as Bluetooth and USB are options for connectivity. The phone measures 109 x 54.5 x 15.9 mm and weighs 139g. [Read more…]

Apple TV 3.0 Gets a Software Update

apple-tv-30Changes to the iTunes store’s terms and conditions have been spotted that mention a new version of Apple TV. Apple [AAPL] has not made it clear yet if the update is just to software or if a new version of the Apple TV may be coming soon.

‘iTunes LP and iTunes Extras Products are usable only on computers with iTunes 9 or higher and Apple TV with software version 3.0 or higher.

[Read more…]

Samsung Colour e-paper Prototype Revealed

samsung-color-e-paperSamsung have created a new colour e-paper display that measures 10.1 inches. Right now it’s just a prototype and it has a contrast ratio of just 10:1 making it not too clear at all. The screen also only has the ability to reproduce 7% of the NTSC colours. Yes, it could be a while before it goes in to production but it is a great step in the right direction.

Samsung aim to have the colour e-paper available in about 2 years time which will be about a year after PVI create colour displays for both Kindles and Sony Readers. [Read more…]

Nintendo DSi LL 4.2″ Screen

Nintendo-DSi-LLA few days ago a rumour started going around about a new larger Nintendo DSi that was being created. Nintendo denied it, but now we heard that it actually is getting launched as the Nintendo DSi LL and will be priced at around $221 (conversion from Yen).

The Nintendo DSi LL will ship on November 21 in Japan and will have a 4.2 inch screen. The extra sized screen does make the whole unit a little larger and thicker too at 21.2mm compared to the 18.9mm of the previous model.

When shipping it will come in a choice of 3 colours which includes dark brown, burgandy and natural white. Battery life sees the unit powered for about 4 to 5 hours with maximum brightness set and can go from 13 – 17 hours on a single charge when set on it’s lowest setting. [Read more…]

Toyota Prius iPhone App

Prius-iPhone-AppToyota have released a new iPhone app that attempts to educate as well as advertise the features of the Prius car… in particular it’s Draw feature is the funkiest as it allows you and your iPhone to interact with a large screen over in Times Square New York. When you have downloaded the application you load it up and draw on the screen. Your drawings are then thrown up on to the huge screen and mixed with the Prius. Although I say it’s the funkiest part of the app, admittedly it’s not that amazing, but still kind of cool in a weird way.

Other features of the Prius iPhone App include 360 degree views of the interior and exterior of the car along with interaction with the camera on the phone as well as a 10 level game that makes use of the accelerometer in some shape or form. [Read more…]

HTC Hero to get Android 2.0

htc-heroHTC have announced that they are to make an update available for the HTC Hero brining it up to Android 2.0 (Eclair). The statement said that the only delays at the moment are relating to the Sense UI…

“Yes, we are working on an Eclair update for the HTC Hero. Because Eclair is a significantly enhanced release, it will require some time to update Sense for this new version of the Android OS. Please be patient while we work to provide you with a tightly integrated experience like the one you are already enjoying on your Hero.”

[Read more…]

TomTom and Garmin Must be Hating It

TomTom-GarminLooks like both TomTom [TOM2] and Garmin [GRMN] might be hating life right now thanks to Google Maps Navigation that was announced. As can be seen in the graph here, things are heading in the wrong direction.

Perhaps the regular GPS/Satnav makers can hang on to one thing which is that the new Google Maps Navigation is available on Android 2.0 at the moment which doesn’t even have a market share yet, (ok, 2 things), and that it relies on having the said phone available on a network to download the maps real time. After a recent trip to the middle of nowhere I found that my online navigation just didn’t function when it had to replan a route. With nav systems like TomTom and Garmin they do store data off line on the memory card, so they do have a good benefit for some. [Read more…]

Google Maps Navigation Video

Google-Maps-NavigationEarlier today we posted about Google Maps Navigation. The navigation program is free for Android 2.0 based devices and could potentially be a more popular option than the other free satnav software available from a few companies. We just came across the official video showing a tutorial of exactly what the software is capable of doing.

As mentioned on the video (below) the Google Maps Navigation features voice guidance and turn by turn navigation which is exactly what is required on Android based phones. [Read more…]

Motorola Droid Official

droid_mainAfter seeing a review, pictures, teasers of the new Motorola Droid it has now been made official. It will be going to the Verizon network in the US on 6th November costing $200 after a rebate.

From the announcement we see that Droid doesn’t refer to just this particular phone and instead, it’s a family of phones with this Droid being the first. Spec wise it has a 3.7″ screen that can display 480 x 854 pixels along with a Cortex A8 processor. For storage the Droid has a 16GB SD card included in the package.

The only real thing that’s new here is the dock that you get. Other than that the biggest thing is the software it runs. Motorola Droid runs Android 2.0 which was officially announced by Google yesterday and is a fantastic update to the previous 1.5/1.6 versions currently available. Google just today announced that they are offering a free navigation application for Android 2.0 owners which furthers the abilities of the phone. [Read more…]

Google Maps Navigation Launches on Android 2.0

google-navGoogle [GOOG] have announced that they have created Google Maps Navigation that will be available on Android 2.0 phones. The new navigation system is free and is far better than the standard Maps program that is currently available. Whereas before the map system wouldn’t hand out directions (although it could follow you), the new version provides full navigation features.

The Google Maps Navigation is completely free which gives it an advantage and it works based on data downloaded as needed so you wont actually need to download all the maps. Searching is made easy as you can voice search and don’t necessarily need to know the full address to plan a route. The system also can use traffic information and use street view for helping you in your travels. [Read more…]