Developages - Development and Technology Blog

If features like ‘rugged’ and ‘waterproof’ top your list when it comes to mobile phones, you might want to check out Sonim Technologies’ new X̣. It’s the world’s only rugged all-weather GSM mobile phone don′t you know, is capable of being submersed in up to one meter of water for 30 minutes and is resistant to salt, dust, humidity, thermal shock, impact and micro-particles. Don′t expect a raft of modern features like a digital camera and web browser; there isn′t even a colour screen and only support for Bluetooth 1.2. This phone makes no bones about the fact that it’s just a hardcore mo-fo designed to be kicked around a bit without breaking. There is a built in torch, extended battery life and extra loud speakers for use in noisy environments, so in fairness it seems like a pretty capable device in hazardous situations affiliated with extreme sports fans and the like. CEO Bon Plaschke backs this up by saying “When we launched the Sonim X̡ last year, it was with a clear goal in mind. We wanted to create phones for people who work and play in rugged environments. For these people, having a phone is a tool, not a fashion accessory. They need a mobile handset to withstand some of nature’s harshest conditions.” Fair enough then. If you fit this category the X̣ is available now, with more information on prices and purchasing from the website below. - Paul Lester [SonimX̣] mobile phone rugged extreme

Original post by nafiz

Can’t find a Wii Fit? You’re not alone this season as thousands of UK shoppers - despite scouring the Net - will be out of luck. Electronic Arts though may be able to help - if not for Christmas. The giant games publisher wants a piece of the fitness game pie and has announced EA Sports Active which aims to get gamers off their asses in true Wii Fit style. EA Sports Active will be aimed at ‘primarily’ at women and run on the Wii console. Instead of a balance board, you’ll get a pair of leg straps that hold the Wii’s Nunchuk controller to track lower body movements, and a resistance band to support a number of upper body strength training exercises. EA says that it’s been endorsed by fitness experts, including Bob Greene [Oprah’s personal trainer] which I’m not sure is the best advert, but that’s just me. However, it looks like Sports Active will be more challenging than Wii Fit. This is what they say: …it features a “30 Day Challenge,” a fitness road map for players to reach their fitness goals with the guidance of a virtual trainer. The Challenge provides a new, 20-minute workout every time a player exercises, including clear instruction, feedback on technique and positive encouragement throughout the workout. Each circuit will feel different and increase in intensity as fitness levels improve to help you work up a sweat and work toward your fitness goals.” Sports Active is due out next March and, while some gaming pundits have claimed it’s too late to market, there isn’t exactly a glut of Wii fitness games out there now so, how can it be? A March delivery though [Booooo! EA] is not going to make the thousands not getting a Wii Fit for Christmas happy [or fit].-Martin Lynch wii fit games health sport

Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Wearables

For shame. We know good and well engineers can concoct energy-generating garb that actually looks good enough to wear, but evidently those fashion-minded gurus weren’t hired for this project. Granted, we have all ideas the image you′re quizzically staring at above is NTT’s first go at a pair of power-packing sandals, but there’s clearly a good ways to go before these things are cute / safe enough to wear on the streets. Might we suggest shoving all that hardware inside of something? The “all hanging out” look just isn’t working here.

[Via TokyoMango, image courtesy of AFP / Getty]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Transportation

With an electric MINI Cooper just around the bend, a Twin Drive hybrid Volkswagen landing in 2010 and Chevrolet’s Volt rolling into showrooms in a matter of months, Audi’s ten-year plan is looking a little awkward. Though we′ve yet to hear that it’s actually speeding things up, Peter Schwarzenbauer, who sits on the management board at Ingolstadt, recently confirmed that the company would be offering “a pure electric car” sometime in the future. Additionally, rumors of it being based on the A1 were dashed, opening the door for speculation that it will instead be built around the VW Up! (Lupo) concept. Here’s hoping we find our prior to 2018.

[Via Autoblog]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

We still haven’t been able to shake the ViewSonic dragon from our memory, but we’re attempting to move on with our lives by directing our attention (however briefly) to the N2201w. This so-called “3-in-1″ LCD TV packs a 22-inch 1,680 x 1,050 resolution panel, a 5-millisecond response time, 1,000:1 contrast ratio and a built-in NTSC / ATSC / QAM TV tuner. You′ll also find an integrated DVD player and an HDMI port, and just to prove it really is multifaceted, there’s a PC input to boot. No telling if the picture quality is anything to write home about, but the $429 price tag sure is palatable.

[Via CEPro]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops

AT&T has freely supported Panasonic’s WWAN-enabled Toughbook 19 / 30 on its mobile broadband network for nearly a year now, and for those worried that the two may break things off when Gobi entered the picture can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Qualcomm’s hybrid-3G technology (which goes from EV-DO to HSPA with the flip of a software switch), has just been certified for use on the carrier’s nationwide network, and sure enough, Panny has decided to offer it on “all” new Toughbook machines. Gobified Toughbooks should be on store shelves this October, though we’re not sure just how costly the option will be.

Read - AT&T certifies Gobi technology
Read - Panasonic offers Gobi on Toughbooks

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Gaming

Just in case you didn′t have enough fake instruments cluttering up your living room, Mad Catz has now let loose its Fender Precision Bass for Rock Band, which it helpfully reminds us is the first ever bass guitar for the game. Among other things, this one drops the whammy bar normally found on Rock Band / Guitar Hero guitars (the volume knob does the job instead), and it incorporates a new Split Strum Bar, which promises to let you strum and pluck notes faster than a standard strum bar. Unfortunately, it’s only available for the Xbox 360 at the moment, but at least the $70 price tag isn’t quite as excessive as some of the other “premium” guitars out there. Now, if only someone would offer a Neil Peart-style drum kit, we’d really be able to do Rush justice, or at least out-do their now infamous performance on The Colbert Report.

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Peripherals

As if a keyboard split down the middle wasn’t enough, Kinesis has now rolled out a pair of new accessories that promise to make its Freestyle keyboards, including the Solo (pictured above), even more ergonomic — or, if you desire, even less so. Those include the Freestyle V3 accessory, which clips onto the base of the keyboard and gives you three different slope settings, and the Freestyle Ascent Multi-tent, which’ll let you independently set each keying module in ten degree increments all the way up to 90 degrees, and lock ‘em in at the desired distance apart from one another. If that sounds like the solution your wrists have been looking for, you can apparently grab both of ‘em now, with the V3 running $25 and the Ascent setting you back a hefty $200 — the Solo keyboard itself demands an even $100.

[Via BIOS]

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Original post by Donald Melanson

If you were hoping that Microsoft would find it in their hearts to offer a Blu-ray drive to loyal Xbox users, it’s not good news I’m afraid. Despite slashing the prices of its HD-DVD drives this year for anyone who’s hanging on to the dead format, Blu-ray will stay with the PS3 while Microsoft focuses on gaming and its Xbox Live service.͋ managed to catch up with David Gosen, Vice President of Strategic Marketing for Europe at the E3 event in Los Angeles, who stated that the company isn’t looking towards Blu-ray as a long-term format. Instead it’ll concentrate on distributing media through its Netflix rental service in the US, which should also be pushed into Europe in due course. Though we can see why Microsoft has adopted this stance, we can’t see any harm in releasing an external Blu-ray drive to at least help you keep your home cinema equipment a bit more organised. - Paul Lester [͋] Blu-ray XBox Microsoft

Original post by nafiz

One way to stand out in a new sector is to offer something that your rivals are not and in the pocket camcorder field, that’s high definition (HD). Kodak is throwing down against the popular Flip camcorders and Creative’s Vado Pocket Video Cam, but it’s Zi6 Pocket Video Camera will capture video at 720p at 60 fps with 16:9 aspect ratio. Top that. It’s a bit thicker than the Flip Ultra and the newer Flip Mino but it’s still very small and it’s offering HD recording, alongside standard video capture and photo stills. Video is stored on SDHC cards - up to 32GB - and like the Flip cameras it comes with software designed to allow you to get your videos up onto YouTube double-quick.Here are the key features: Capture video in HD quality on this fun and super simple pocket video camera (720p at 60 fps with 16:9 aspect ratio). Upload your videos to YouTube quickly and easily using the built-in USB and software. Record hours of video with the expandable SD/SDHC card slot that can hold up to 32 GB. Experience your videos on HDTV in stunning HD quality with included cables. Edit videos, add pictures and music, and share your creation anywhere with the included video software CD. Go green with included pre-charged AA Ni-MH rechargeable batteries and battery charger. Watch videos on the vibrant 2.4″ LCD screen. Catch the highlights with slow motion playback right in the palm of your hand. The Zi6 ships in September with a very attractive price tag [US] of just &pound90. -Martin Lynch. [Gizmodo] video camcorder movies ‘ border=’0′/&gt

Original post by nafiz

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Many have tried to be that other box that sits under your TV. You know, the DVD player, the cable box, the TiVo, the consoles are all well and good, but somebody somehow needs to solve they mystery of getting web and PC content onto your TV, and Kodak might be on the cusp of cracking it. Kodak’s new Kodak Theatre HD Player is a simple, slick little box with multiple flash card slots, a USB port, and all the requisite home theater outputs like HDMI, component and all that. The unit can naturally shuffle through photos like there’s no tomorrow, and includes wireless access to pull stuff off of Flickr feeds or your PC’s hard drive, but there’s also 720p video playback, online radio and what have you. The real clincher is that you won’t be interacting with all this via a clunky d-pad remote, but instead there’s an amazingly great gyroscopic mouse that makes the whole thing a joy to use. The $300 price tag might turn some people off when this lands in September, especially with no built-in storage, but we still think Kodak might have a winner on its hands.

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Kodak’s got a new one for the semi-casual point-and-shoot crowd, the EasyShare Z1015 IS. The 10 megapixel Z-series camera manages a 15x optical zoom, a 3-inch LCD, HD footage at 720p and 30 fps, and Kodak’s Perfect Touch processing. Naturally the IS implies optical image stabilization, but the 6400 ISO should help out in the shaking department as well if grain is not an issue, and full manual controls should help out all the in-betweens. It’ll go for $350 come September.

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Digital Cameras, HDTV, Portable Video

Sure, it might shoot 720p video, but you aren′t gonna catch indie filmmakers capturing the next low-budget masterpiece on Kodak’s new Zi6 HD pocket video camera. The camera is Kodak’s response to Pure Digital’s Flip and Creative’s Vado, complete with upright form factor, YouTube friendliness, simple as could be interface, a flip-out USB plug (with some surprising spring action), and, of course, totally shoddy video quality. The camera is powered by a pair of AA batteries, sports a 2.4-inch LCD, and can switch between VGA video, 30fps HD and 60fps HD. It’ll sell for $180 in September, in black or pink, but there’s only 128MB of memory on board — you’ll have to spring for an SD card if you want to do any substantial shooting.

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Original post by Paul Miller

A monitor can make a big difference in how a game, or PC-based video, is experienced and trust us, not all LCD monitors are created equal. Acer’s latest gaming monitor looks to be more equal than the rest, so to speak, since it’s the first to boast a contrast ratio of 50,000:1 - higher than many LCD TVs. This should allow for much deeper blacks and therefore, sharper playback of dark scenes. The new 24in G24 is designed to fit in with Acer’s over-the-top gaming rig, the Aspire Predator PC and so comes in the same lurid orange/black colours. The monitor supports a 1920 x 1200 resolution with a rapid 2ms response time and a brightness rating of 400 nits. It comes with a HDMI input [and DVI] for hooking it up to a PS3, Blu-ray player or HD-capable set-top box. There’s no delivery date or price on this yet but, it probably won’t be all that cheap. But, if you can live with a giant coppery orange display, this could be the one for you.-Martin Lynch news monitor PC

Original post by nafiz

The most comprehensive survey of the entertainment business in the US has concluded that PS3 owners are the saviours of the Blu-ray HD format. In its 2008 report, the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) which represents the $33 billion industry there, concluded that it was “the primary driver behind Blu-ray sales, with 87% of PS3 owners watching Blu-ray movies on their console.” That’s an impressive stat, but when you consider that standalone Blu-ray players are still so expensive maybe it’s understandable. Still, the positive role that the PS3 played in helping Blu-ray kill-off the rival HD DVD format and galvanise movie sales over the last 6 months cannot be underestimated. After all, we already knew that the PS3 was the single biggest reason for Blu-ray winning. After all, by the end of 2007 the PS3 had sold 3 million units versus the HD DVD drive add-on for the Xbox 360, which managed to shift just 310,000 - in the US. The EMA admitted that it thought that Blu-ray was a goner in 2006 but that the arrival of the PS3 changed its fortunes. It believes that the PS3 will remain the dominant Blu-ray player until at least 2009 when sales of standalone Blu-ray players will overtake those of the console. That’s a confident boast though since Blu-ray player sales have been dismal in the first half of this year, according to NPD. NPD’s Ross Rubin said in May: “That standalone Blu-ray players haven’t picked up significantly from HD DVD’s loss shows that few consumers were dissuaded primarily by the ‘format war’. When we surveyed consumers late last year, an overwhelming number of them said they weren’t investing in a new next-generation player because their old DVD player worked well and next-generation players were too expensive. It’s clear from retail sales that those consumer sentiments are still holding true.” As a UK PS3 owner, are you watching many Blu-ray movies on it?-Martin Lynch PS3 sony movies

Original post by nafiz