One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project was set up to cater for the world's poorest children living in its most remote environments. The laptop was designed collaboratively by academic and commercial contributors, as part of this non-profit humanitarian project. They set out to design a safe, power-efficient, robust and durable laptop that would cost only $100.

The laptop is designed to be extremely robust. It has rounded edges and 2mm-thick plastic walls. It has no internal hard drive (which makes it less prone to hard drive crashes and viruses). It has only two internal cables. Its mesh network antennas double as external covers for the USB ports, which are protected internally as well. The display is also cushioned by internal 'bumpers'. It has a sealed, rubber-membrane keyboard. The dual-mode, extra-wide touchpad supports pointing, as well as drawing and writing.

The laptop is fully compliant with the European Union's RoHS Directive. It contains no hazardous materials. Its NiMH batteries contain no toxic heavy metals, plus it features enhanced battery management for an extended recharge-cycle lifetime. The laptop can get by using very little power, maximum power use is 500 mA (total), while it nominally consumes less than two watts. This can be achieved by selectively suspending operation of the CPU and by using the screen in reflective mode, when it consumes only 0.2 watts.

Initially, the laptop was designed to come with an integrated handle, to work as a hand crank to charge the laptop by hand. It can be also be powered by a pedal or a pull-cord, and it will also work with alternate power-charging sources, such as car batteries.

Target specifications:

• dimensions: 193mm×229mm×64mm
• weight: less than 1.5 KG
• 7.5” dual-mode TFT display
• screen resolution: 1200×900 pixels (200 DPI)
• wireless: 802.11b/g compatible
• internal microphone
• dual internal speakers
• integrated video camera: 640×480 resolution (@30FPS)
• free and open-source software included

For more details, see:
http://laptop.org/

Wristwatch TV

NHJ produces a spectacular watch, the VTV-101 TV wristwatch. It allows you to watch TV on a 1.5" TFT LCD screen at a resolution of 61,600 pixels (280 x 220 pixels).

The stereo earphones double as an antenna and you can tune into VHF (2-12) and UHF (13-62) channels (manual and auto tuning).

The internal lithium polymer battery recharges through the included docking cradle. The watch has a second, smaller LCD at the top for displaying time, month, date and year.

Dimensions: 1.8" x 1.8" x 0.8". Weight: less than 0.1 lbs.

For more details, see:
http://www.amazon.com/NHJ-Wristwatch-Television/dp/B0002PSINY

Coby DVD-players with TV

Here are two DVD-players from Coby that have integrated TV-tuners, so you can watch TV on them as well as play your favorite DVDs.

The smaller one, above, is the the Coby TF-DVD5080 and has a 5" display.

• Multiple Subtitles/Viewing Angle


• Slow/Fast Motion Play


• Built-in TV Tuner


• Built-in stereo speakers
  
• Composite video output


• Optical audio output
  
• comes with remote control, headphones, Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery, DC car charger, AV cable & 110-240V UL adapter

Coby also offers a larger model, displayed above, the TF-DVD1080. It has a 10" widescreen display and some further features that make this model attractive:

• 10" Widescreen (16:9) TFT Color LCD Display @ 800 x 480 pixels
  
• Swivel Screen with 180-degree Rotation


• DVD, DVD±/RW, CD, CD-R/RW, JPEG, and MP3 compatible


• Anti-Skip Circuitry


• Dolby Digital Decoder


• Multiple Language, Subtitle, and Camera Angle Support


• Parental Lock Control


• Integrated TV Tuner, VHF/UHF: 2-69, Cable: 1-125


• Telescopic antenna and external antenna jack


• Automatic Channel Search


• Two headphone jacks


• Digital and analog inputs and outputs


• Integrated Stereo Speakers


• Video System: NTSC/PAL


• Dimensions: 10.4" x 1.3" x 7.3" (WHD)
  

For more details, see:

http://www.cobyusa.com/_en/prod_item.php?item=TFDVD5080

http://www.cobyusa.com/_en/prod_item.php?item=TFDVD1080

Nokia E90

Nokia has announced a new device, the Nokia E90 Communicator.

• Display:
  - 800 x 352 pixels inner display
  - 240 x 320 pixels outer display

• Voice features:
  - Integrated handsfree speaker
  - Push to talk (PoC)
  - Text-to-speech message reader
  - Voice recording for making notes or recording conversations

• Camera:
  - 3.2 megapixel auto focus camera with flash, supports 3GPP, 3GPP2 and MP4
  - QCIF camera for video calling



• Multimedia:
  - Music player (MP3, AAC)
  - Media player
  - Video calling
  - stereo FM radio



• Connectivity:
  - GSM quad-band (850/900/1800/1900) for international roaming
  - HSDPA up to 3.6Mbit/s enabled
  - 3G WCDMA and WLAN 802.11b, 802.11g
  - GPRS/EGPRS (Class A, MSC 32)
  - comes with a 512MB microSD Memory card (takes cards with up to 2GB)
  - USB 2.0
  - Bluetooth wireless technology 2.0
  - 2.5mm Nokia A/V connector with ECI
  - IrDA Infrared (up to 115 kbps)
  - integrated GPS with Nokia Maps software
  - SMS & MMS, IM, email and web browsing with support for Flash, Java, PFD, ZIP and Quickoffice (documents, spreadsheets and presentations) files

For more details, see:
http://www.nokia.com/A4136001?newsid=1104232
http://europe.nokia.com/A4346176

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W200

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W200 has a 12.1 MP sensor, offering a resolution ranging from 640 x 480 up to 4000 x 3000 pixels.

The camera features a high-definition component output. It can connect to a HDTV-set with the Sony VMC-MHC1 high-definition component cable.

The camera can also be used with the Sony CSS-HD1 high-definition Cyber-shot Station®, which comes with the component cable. You can connect the camera to the station, and it will also work as a charger for the camera.

The camera can also be used with a Cyber-shot cradle, a remote commander, and a digital photo printer with high-definition component output.

The camera features three ways to tackle blurry images. Sony's Super Steady Shot® optical image stabilization helps against blur caused by shaky hands. The high sensitivity (up to ISO3200) settings help against blur associated with fast-moving subjects. Sony's Clear RAW ™ noise reduction technology minimizes picture noise common to images shot at high ISO levels.

The camera further features Sony’s new face detection technology, which can identify up to eight faces in the camera’s LCD frame, and automatically adjust white balance and flash as well as focus and exposure. The multi-point auto focus (AF) feature can automatically determine the right focus for up to nine points in the camera frame. In-camera functions include red-eye correction and retouching effects.

Bionz™ processing delivers the rich color and detailed pictures for true high-definition photo viewing and also helps to speed up the cameras' response times and extend battery life. On a full charge of its Li-ion NP-BG1 Battery, it can shoot up to 270 shots.


The camera has 31 megabytes of internal memory and uses Memory Stick Pro/Duo for further storage. The camera comes with Picture Motion Browser v2.0. Dimensions: Length 3.56, Width 1.06, Height 2.31.



For more details, see:
http://news.sel.sony.com/en/press_room/consumer/digital_imaging/digital_cameras/cyber-shot/release/28662.html

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-N2

Sony has had the Cybershot DSC-N1 on the market for years.

Several accessories are available for Cybershot cameras, such as a Marine Pack, an extra Battery Pack and various Carrying Cases (photos above). Sony has meanwhile released the Cybershot DSC-N2 camera (photo below).
It features:

• 10.1 megapixel sensor for pictures with a resolution up to 3648 x 2736 pixels


• 3 x optical zoom


• 3.0 inch LCD touch screen


• store picture on 4GB Memory Stick Duo or Memory Stick PRO Duo media cards
  
• shoot audio-video clips with 640 x 480 resolution (VGA) @ 30 fps (MPEG VX Fine Mode)


• shutter speed of 1/2000 of a second
  
• Free Spot AF allows you to focus on an object simply by touching it on the screen
  

Sony also makes a 8GB Memory Stick (photo left), but check first whether it will work with the N2. According to some sources, it can be used with any Cyber-shot and Handycam launched from CY2007 and after. A 4GB one will work (photo above right), but movie recording on the camera will stop when the maximum file size of approximately 2GB is reached.

For more details:

http://esupport.sony.com/EN/info/mspro-camera.html

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/+INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Print?ProductSKU=MSXM8GS

http://www.sony.com.au/catalog/product.jsp?id=MSXM8GSX§ion=prod&term=MEMORY+STICK

One thing that's lacking in the camera is GPS positioning, to record location data alongside time and date of the pictures taken. For some time, Sony has had a separate GPS-device on the market, the GPS-CS1 (photo above). It only records a location log every 15 seconds. If you carry it with you when taking pictures, the time and location data of the GPS-CS1 can be matched to the time stamp of a photo taken by a digital still camera or a movie frame from a camcorder. Once synchronized, your photos can become virtual push pins on an online map by activating the Picture Motion Browser software that is bundled with the latest Sony cameras and camcorders (mapping courtesy of Google Maps).

But the process is cumbersome. What we're waiting for is a camera with the functionality of the Helio Drift, a GPS-enabled phone with online access to Google Maps. For more details, see:
http://groups.google.com/group/TheMobileRevolution/web/helio-drift---a-gps-enabled-cellphone

One further accessory device deserves to be mentioned, the SDV2-A-A30 SanDisk Digital Photo Viewer (photo above). It allows you to display your pictures or video clips on your TV through an audio-video input and while using a remote control. It's compatible with eight flash memory card formats as well as portable USB flash drives. You can also use it to play MP3 music files on your home audio system and to add soundtracks to photo slide shows viewed on your TV.

Eight flash memory card formats are supported in four slots--CompactFlash Type I/II, Secure Digital (SD)/MultiMediaCard (MMC), Memory Stick/Memory Stick PRO, and SmartMedia/xD. The rear of the SPA has two USB ports--one that can connect to a PC (enabling you to use the SPA as an 8-in-1 card reader/writer) and another that can host a portable USB flash drive.

There is also a slot for a second CompactFlash Card can be used as "archiving memory" for storing extended slide shows from images that are displayed from flash cards on the front side or from the USB flash drive, as well as store and replay video clips and MP3 music selections.

Anyway, if you want to carry the above lot with you, you'll need a bigger bag. Or, preferably, we'll see devices on the market soon that integrate more of the above functionality.

CellStik - back up your address book

CellStik - back up your address book

Backup your contact details on your PC

Transfer your cell phone contacts from one cellphone to another
(note that there are different CellStik models for different types cellphones)

Dimensions (LWH): 3.3” x 0.7” x 0.4”

Weight: 0.6 oz.

For more details: http://www.sparktech.com/products/index.php?product=16