ASUS P527 PDA With GPS launched in India

Asus India along with IDLDPL, (India Digital Life Style Distributors Pvt. Ltd.) has launched their latest PDA phone, the P527 in the Indian market. Among the host of functions, Travelog and Location Courier have been crowned as the most unique features on the P527. While Travelog enables users to record travel routes and export data to Google Earth, Location Courier serves as an S.O.S. device to send a user's GPS position to five preset phone numbers. In such cases of emergency, SMS messages will be delivered to the preset receivers with a touch of a button.
The P527 can record and share users' traveling pictures, routes, Points of Interests (POIs) and memos with the built-in Travelog feature. This xfunction supports the Google Earth satellite maps format – allowing users to create a diary of events during their travels. The timely GPS navigation with GPS Catcher allows users to find their location xwherever they are in the world – allowing them to navigate to their next destination with ease. The Location Courier feature of the P527 will also help prevent users from getting lost by accurately and periodically reporting their position to their pre-defined friends' contacts. Even in locations with vast, open country, the global GPS network will be able to locate the user.
Utilizing the Windows Mobile 6 Professional Operating System, the P527 provides Office functions and synchronizes Outlook emails, edits Word and Excel documents and views PowerPoint slides.

Additionally, the new station feature allows users to receive the latest news reports and website information through RSS related settings. The Business Card Recognition feature also makes it easy to capture the details of a business card without tediously keying in the data. With the built-in FM Radio Receiver, a 2 Mega-Pixel Camera (Auto-Focus) and Windows Media Player, users will be able to enjoy more multimedia enjoyment; while the built-in Windows Live function allow access to Hotmail, MSN, Spaces and. The P527 is a slim 15.4mm handset with a silver-gray aluminum cover. It’s equipped with 8 dedicated hotkeys and 5 directional front jog dial with a 3 directional side jog wheel. It’s 2.6 inch TFT, touchscreen display has a 240 x 320 pixel resolution. It supports microSD cards for external memory. The con about this phone is it only supports EDGE connection.

The new ASUS P527 PDA phone is priced at Rs. 17,900 and is now available in India through IDLDPL.Source: Tech2

Mobile-Net Usage Easier made easier by Ericsson

Ericsson launched the Ericsson Multimedia Communication Suite (MCS) - bringing to consumers popular services they already enjoy on the Internet in a new and enhanced mobile way. The intuitive user interface will be integrated into select new Sony Ericsson devices such as the W760.With the Ericsson MCS, mobile operators will be able to offer their customers a suite of attractive services. Consumers will be able to access new and existing services from the address book - with an interface including rich presence functionality such as avatars, photos and personal free text. The solution also keeps track of friends and their applications so consumers will always see who is available for different applications. The user has full control over what type of information is available.The intuitive user interface integrates new MCS applications such as chat and file transfer with existing voice, video call, SMS and MMS services.Ericsson MCS will initially be available for selected Sony Ericsson feature phones. The MCS is built on IMS architecture and is aligned with the industry initiative Rich Communication Suite (RCS) that aims for broad industry acceptance by utilizing standardized IMS service features. RCS is a group of key operators, infrastructure and device vendors comprised of Orange, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, TeliaSonera, Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Samsung, who have joined in an effort to facilitate the evolution of mobile communication toward rich communication.Info Courtesy: Tech2

"Centrino 2" to be introduced by Intel in June

Intel is all set to launch its fifth-generation 'Montevina' processor coming June. The new mobile platform processor will be branded as "Centrino 2" when announced at the Computex Taipei 2008 Conference (June 3-7, 2008).
Along with the "Centrino 2" platform, Intel will launch six 45nm notebook CPUs, all with a 1066MHz FSB (Front Side Bus) and core speeds ranging between 2.26GHz and 3.06GHz.
"Centrino 2" is Intel's newest revision of its 'Centrino' mobile platform processor. 'Centrino' has had four generations prior to this --- Carmel, Sonoma, Napa, and Santa Rosa.
The reason why Intel is adopting the brand name "Centrino 2" and not 'Montevina' is because they reckon consumers have had difficulty in understanding considerable improvements in various 'Centrino' processor generations. Intel believes its new marketing strategy will help boost sales as the suffix "2" represents a significant upgradation for consumers to comprehend.
Meanwhile, the six 45nm notebook CPUs are expected to be priced between $209 and $851 per 1000-unit tray quantities.
After the "Centrino 2" launch during the second quarter this year, the third quarter will bring seven 45nm SFF (Small Form Factor) notebook CPUs from Intel. These will be similar to those used in Apple's MacBook Air, and other soon-to-be-seen ultra-portable notebooks.
According to Digitimes.com, Intel has shipped over 100 million notebook CPUs in 2007. Shipments are expected to increase to 123 million units by the end of this year.Source: Techtree

A Competitor for Macbook Air

Apple's much-hyped "MacBook Air" may finally have found its competitor in Lenovo's ThinkPad X300 -- at least that's what analysts are saying.
Like the MacBook Air, the ThinkPad X300 boasts an ultra-thin frame though it weighs in at around 3.12 pounds, which is heavier than the very light-weight MacBook Air.
Both the Air and the ThinkPad X300 sport a 13.3-inches wide-screen and a full keyboard.
But the Air lacks: an optical drive, a network port, extra USB ports (it has only one), and removable battery. By contrast, the ThinkPad X300 is a typical road warrior -- what with a built-in DVD drive, three USB ports, and a removable battery.
MacBook Air users cannot upgrade memory on the device, and there's no integrated support for EV-DO or HSDPA. By comparison, the ThinkPad X300 comes with an Ethernet networking jack, and can be customized with a cell-phone modem or GPS.
There's yet another advantage for ThinkPad X300 users; they have the option to choose between either Windows XP or Windows Vista.
Meanwhile, Lenovo's ThinkPad X300 comes with a 64GB SSD (Solid State Drive) only, which might be the reason for the ramped up price; somewhere between $2,500 and $2,800. By comparison, Apple's MacBook Air, when equipped with a 80GB hard disk drive (HDD), carries a lower price tag, i.e. $1,800.
However, add to the MacBook Air a 64GB SSD, and it comes for not less than $3,000, which is higher than the price of the ThinkPad X300.
While the ThinkPad X300 has almost all the features required to beat the hell out of Apple's MacBook Air; there's one drawback -- its processor speed. The notebook includes a 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor. Whereas, the MacBook Air incorporates 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo processors.
All said, the X300's 12W processor is believed to be more power-efficient than the Air's 20W processors, in turn leading to greater battery life.
Citing from a Business Week report, the development of the ThinkPad X300 has taken nearly 20 months from the original concept to production. The mandate for the notebook is not so much to be a revenue spinner for Lenovo as it is to be a "halo" product for the company, somewhat like a MacBook Air is for Apple Computer.
In a statement, Lenovo Chairman, Yang Yuanqing said that they want to send out the message that if there's any company in the industry that can continuously develop the most inventive and best-quality products with efficiency, it has to be Lenovo. Besides, they also want to send firepower against arch rivals, HP and Dell. Of which, Dell is believed to feel not at all threatened by Lenovo, not at least in the US market.
There's no word yet on availability and pricing of this notebook. Info Courtesy: Techtree

A Bluetooth Headset for the Hearing Impaired

In a bid to develop mobile phones for people with hearing difficulty, Japanese telecom operator NTT DoCoMo have launched their ultra-slim Bluetooth handset called "Sound Leaf Plus" during the recently-concluded Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The mobile receiver-microphone combo works using the "bone-conduction" principle. When pressed against the bone just below the ear, it sends sound vibrations to the auditory nerves through the cranial bones.
Weighing only 45gm, "Sound Leaf Plus" connects through the Bluetooth link or a hard wire to the cellular phone service. It is said that this is the first attempt when bone-conduction technology has been used in combination with a telephone coil.
Contemporarily, bone-conduction has been used mostly in specialized, military devices in the form of throat microphones or diver communication sets to provide hand-free operation for pilots and underwater operators. However, this technology has been in the news even before for consumer products like Aliph's JAWBONE Bluetooth headset and Pantech's A140PTA clamshell phone.
Meanwhile, NTT DoCoMo's new Bluetooth handset has been developed by NEC/Tokin, and includes a high-frequency switch that improves sound articulation. In addition to those with age-related hearing problems, the device is also useful for those with normal hearing when they're in noisy environments, said a NTT DoCoMo spokesperson.
"Sound Leaf" will be available to DoCoMo subscribers in Japan for a price of $116 or 13,000 Yen. For the rest, here's hoping this useful device reaches the Indian consumer in the near future!Source:Techtree