06:00 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Just when we heard that a Nokia advisor says fuel cells won't help handhelds, we find that Samsung is working with MIT Micro to develop fuel cells for mobile phones. (And there are also reports of work in progress by Hitachi, NEC and Toshiba.)

How can we reconcile two such differing opinions? Here's my uneducated guess: The Nokia advisor was focusing on heat dissipation problems. Samsung seems to be touting longevity. So if you want a long lasting battery, that's more friendly to the environment, maybe fuel cells can deliver. But if you expect fuel cells to be the solution to ever-increasing power requirements for more powerful devices, you probably shouldn't hold your breath.

Via TheMobileWeblog.

01:31 PM by Bob Russell in E-Book General | News

We're all pretty excited about the new e-ink book readers. And we've heard that various signage is planned. But why stop there? How about billboards!

According to GizMag, "Global outdoor advertising company JCDecaux appropriately premiered the new generation of high resolution magink-based digital billboards at the 59th Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. The magink digital ink billboards are installed at multiple highly trafficked venues in Cannes, including one located adjacent to the Palais des Festivals, the official home of the Cannes Film Festival."

"The digital ink technology offers full-color, full-motion, high resolution and high contrast images that use ambient light to enhance image quality and visibility -- just like ink on paper. Beyond the world of billboard advertising, magink will also be used with other display applications such as consumer electronic products, in-store point-of-purchase, and promotional displays. Portable devices such as PDA's and mobiles in particular will benefit from the low power consumption offered by magink."

What a tease e-ink technology has become. Will we be surrounded by it before we can own it?!

01:18 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

How would you like to see a holographic-like image displayed in the air from your tv or mobile device? Sound like science fiction. Apparently not, according to IO2 Technology.

"IO2 Technology develops technology relating to next-generation interfaces some of which are not currently available, one platform is--the Heliodisplay.

Heliodisplay images are not holographic although they are free-space, employing a rear projection system in which images are captured onto a nearly invisible plane of transformed air. What the viewer sees is floating mid-air image or video. These projected images and video are two-dimensional, (i.e. planar) but appear 3D since there is no physical depth reference. While conventional displays have the benefit of being attached to a physical substrate, Heliodisplay projections are suspended in air, so you will notice some waviness to the quality of the projections.

The Heliodisplay requires a power outlet, and a computer, TV, DVD or alternate video source. The current version of the Heliodisplay projects 30" diagonal images in 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratio. The Heliodisplay system is backward compatible and accepts most 2D video sources (PC, TV, DVD, HDTV, Video game consoles). For connection to a computer, the Heliodisplay uses a standard monitor VGA connection; for TV or DVD viewing, it connects using a standard video cable. The Heliodisplay is designed to be concealed (i.e. into furniture) and hidden out of sight thereby creating an unobtrusive display."

By now, we're all jaded enough to figure out that this gee-whiz technology is fun to dream about, but probably isn't going to be something we buy for quite a while.

Our thanks to DaNDeE for the news submission.

09:55 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

This is pretty awesome: Google has just released a mobile-friendly interface of its Google Reader. Best of all you don't have to install any additional software. The mobile version of Google Reader works with any mobile browser, allowing you to track your subscriptions in real-time while you're on the go.

[via Palm Addicts]

09:36 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

Palm Addict never fails to remind us of the weekly deals on e-books offered by eReader.com. Valid till next Wednesday, punch in the promo code NF42ER and you'll receive a 10 percent discount on any e-book priced more than $3.

Now it's not a secret that eReader throws out e-book discounts quite regularly, but do you know of any other e-book store with similar deals? Personally I bought a couple of e-books from Amazon and they seemed relatively fairly priced.

08:54 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

While debates about the effect of cell phone radiation continue to rage, we are pretty confident that no company is thrilled to secure a place on the top list of phones with high radiation levels. The following list was recently compiled by Cnet ranking phones according to their Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) values:

1) Motorola Slvr L6 - 1.58
2a) Motorola V120c - 1.55
2b) Motorola V265 - 1.55
4) Motorola V70 - 1.54
5a) Motorola C290 - 1.53
5b) Motorola P8767 - 1.53
5c) Motorola ST7868 - 1.53
5d) Motorola ST7868W - 1.53
9a) Motorola A845 - 1.51
9b) Palm Treo 650 GSM - 1.51
9c) Panasonic Allure - 1.51

The FCC defines the SAR as "a value that corresponds to the relative amount of RF energy absorbed in the head of a user of a wireless handset. The FCC limit for public exposure from cellular telephones is an SAR level of 1.6 watts per kilogram (1.6 W/kg)."

03:49 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

We were pretty jazzed to hear about Fujitsu's sustained efforts to develop e-paper in vivid colors, but it seems we are just not there yet. During the Fujitsu Forum 2006, the group presented a 11-inch film substrate-based e-paper with 4,096 colors. It almost goes unsaid that it's also ultra-thin (0.75mm) and uses ultra-little power (67 mW). Unfortunately, and here is the deal-killer, the current prototype requires up to six seconds to redraw a full screen, an eternity if you have nothing else to occupy your time with.

[via Nikkei Tech-On]

07:51 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Mobile Sites

Michel Daw, the creator of the Portable Harvard Classics has created a new series for classic book lovers. The following information was provided in his e-mail newsletter update:

"Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are."

The above is from the Penguin UK website. I was intrigued by the concept and looked over the title list. Imagine my pleasure and surprise when I realized that all of the books in the first 20 volume series (the US series only has 12) were all available in the public domain! So I had a Great Idea of my own.

Why not make them Portable? To this end I have created the Portable Great Ideas page, and will quickly be posting the volumes in PDF, HTM and MobiPocket PDB file format. Add to that my own spin on Penguin's Great Ideas award winning cover designs (thanks CorelDRAW!) and we have a new way of fruitfully whiling away the hours.

What a great idea!