CES

CES 2010: magicJack Positioning to Become Next Biggest Internet Phone Company

2 Comments / CES, Phones / By /
magicjack for cell phones
Image courtesy of AP

magicJack maker YMax plans to start selling a a magicJack for cell phones in about 4 months for about $40. The gadget will plug into your PC and which then acts like a cell phone tower, so that if your cell phone is within range (about 8ft) of your PC, the call will be routed through the magicJack and over the Internet via VoIP.

While YMax CEO Dan Borislow claims this gadget is legal within an individual’s home, we expect the lawsuits to roll in quickly from the carriers.

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Most mobile phones like the blackberry torch available at www.dialaphone.co.uk will work with the device, for more information check out the dialaphone blog.

CES 2010: Plastic Logic and Skiff Join the eReader Club

Books, Music and Movies, CES / By /

Two more vendors join what promises to become a crowded field this year – Plastic Logic and Skiff.

Plastic Logic who had previously announced their QUE proReader, premiered it at CES and says it’s aimed at business professionals. The QUE has a shatterproof 8.5″x11″ plastic touchscreen display, is 0.33″ thick and weighs 1lb.

It displays PDF, Word, Excel and Powerpoint docs and can check e-mail from Outlook. It connects to the Net via WiFi and 3G. With 2 models starting at $649, Plastic Logic faces a tough battle with the likes of the Kindle, Nook and others.

plastic logic que e-reader

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CES 2010: Verizon Getting Palm webOS Phones – Pre Plus and Pixi Plus

3 Comments / CES, Phones / By /

verizon palm pre plus pixiPalm is getting their new webOS handsets onto other networks. First up is Verizon which is getting updated versions of both the Pre and the Pixi.

The Pre Plus is pretty much like the original Pre, but will have twice the memory for a faster experience, and 16GB of storage. It also drops the physical center button.

The Pixi Plus will add Wi-Fi to its feature list. Pricing will probably be similar to what’s on Sprint and will be available Jan 25.

One of the more unique and compelling reasons to get one of these Palm devices on Verizon is the ability to create a mobile hotspot out of your Pre or Pixi that can connect up to 5 other WiFi devices. Unfortunately, it’s only via EV-DO. Perhaps Sprint should lobby for these phones and get Internet connections over WiMax.

[press release]

CES 2010: Samsung Shows Off Laptop with Transparent/Invisible OLED Screen

2 Comments / CES, Computers / By /

COk, this just looks cool. This is a prototype 14″ laptop from Samsung showing off a 40% transparent OLED screen. Yes, you can actually see a hand through behind the screen.

Sure, it’s amazing to look at, but I don’t know if I’d want one – I think I’d get easily distracted by what’s behind the screen instead of focusing on what’s on the screen. Now, what would be great is if you could quickly change the opacity with a button and/or OS control.

CES 2010: Panasonic Boasts 152″ 3D Plasma TV – World’s Largest

Audio/Video, Home Theater, CES / By /

In a recurring theme at CES over the past few years, some large TV vendor is sure to outdo the previous year’s record of largest television set. This year it’s Panasonic who have announced a 152″ Full HD 3D Plasma display. Yes, 152 diagonal inches!

This is a 4096 x 2160 pixel panel that uses something called a “HD x 2 frame sequential method” for displaying discrete HD images for the left and right eyes. This is the same method uses in 3D theaters.

[press release]

CES 2010: Sprint’s Overdrive Mobile Hotspot Gives you 3G/4G Internet Connectivity in a Palm-Sized Device

CES, Networking & Internet / By /

sprint overdrive mifiSprint just announced the Overdrive – a 3G/4G mobile hotspot gadget. It connects to SPrint’s WiMax network, and allows up to 5 WiFi devices to connect. If the 4G conn (available right now in 27 cities [coverage]) drops, it switches to the nationwide 3G (EVDO) network.

Overdrive will be available in 2 days at Best Buy and Sprint for $100 (with a $50 MIR) and a 2-yr agreement at $60/mo.

At those prices, if you have 4G in your area, it could be well worth it to ditch your cable modem/DSL line. It’ll also mean having Internet connectivity wherever you go.

[press release]

CES 2010: Parrot Demos AR.Drone, RC Flying WiFi

2 Comments / CES, Gaming & Toys, Gizmo of the Day / By /

parrot ar.drone rc flyerIn eye-catching demos reminiscent of WowWee’s Dragonfly in 2007, Parrot is showing off its AR.Drone which is a 4-propeller remote controlled flying ‘thing’. The AR.Drone features 2 cameras that you can view in real-time via WiFi, and also includes its own brain in the way of a Linux-based computer.

The AR.Drone will also ship with an augmented reality game, so you fly it as a virtual joystick of sorts. Parrot plans to offer up an iPhone app, but better yet, the source code as well so that hackers can develop even more interesting things for it. This may lead to a bright future for the AR.Drone.

Availability is tentatively March 5, but no word on pricing yet.

Video:
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CES 2010: Toshiba Shows Off multi-Cell CPU 3D TVs

Audio/Video, Home Theater, CES / By /

3-D is shaping up to be the hot theme of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show and amongst the players, Toshiba has just shown off quite a star – it’s Internet-connected Cell TV. And by Cell, we’re referring to the multiple 3.2GHz 8-core Cell processors that power its 3-D TV.

toshiba cell tv

In case you’re wondering, yes, that’s a lot of power, lots more than you would find in a normal desktop, but needed for rendering 3D TV.

Toshiba has said there will be 2 models – 55″ and 65″ and should debut sometime this year. No prices have been given.

[press release]

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