Someone with lots of time on hand, or a great love for the Xbox 360 AKA Xbox 2 has created a mockup on the next generation console compliments of a photo editor. It is pretty and that as far as it goes. Microsoft if you were planning anything close to this, please return to drawing board.

Seen at Gizmodo ( Source

update : designed by Rune Larsen using 3DS Max

The Real Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system places you at the center of the experience. Available this holiday season in Europe, Japan, and North America, Xbox 360 ignites a new era of digital entertainment that is always connected, always personalized, and always in high definition.

Xbox 360 gives you access to the games you want to play, the people you want to play with, and the experiences you crave—when and where you want them.

Loudspeaker manufacturer Mission, has partnered with product designer Seymourpowell to create the very stylish M-Cube, a 5.1 home theatre system. The M-Cube consists of five individual cubed 'satellites' and one discrete subwoofer. Two satellites can be mounted on a one metre high tapering stand, while three further satellites come with adjustable brackets for wall mounting.
The M-Cube is available in white ('ivory') and black ('midnight'), with further color provided by a wide central fabric strip, which wraps completely round the speaker.

The M-Cube is out now and retails at 1,199 pounds.

via WallPaper

After years of taking the back-seat to Sony and Nintendo in the Japan Game Console Market, Microsoft has announced a new hire for the next generation Xbox console, that is hoped to bring them at least to the passenger side.

Since launch in February 2002 Microsoft has sold 19.9 million Xbox machines worldwide, the company said, but sales have been especially sluggish in Japan, home of Sony and Nintendo Co Ltd, Microsoft hopes to change this by bringing "Final Fantasy" franchise creator Hironobu Sakaguchi on board to develop role-playing game (RPG) video games exclusively for the next-generation Microsoft Xbox video game platform.

The "Final Fantasy" franchise, has sold more than 60 million units worldwide, I can only imagine Microsoft hopes to recreate that success.

The original Xbox was not the blockbuster, Microsoft dreamed of in Japan due to the lack of RPGs for the Xbox, according to Microsoft; they don't want to make the same mistake again. Sakaguchi will lead a development team on two new role-playing games to be released for the new console.

"Sakaguchi-san has taken role-playing games -- traditionally a niche market -- and introduced them to a broad and diverse audience across the globe," said Peter Moore, corporate vice president of Worldwide Marketing and Publishing at Microsoft. "We are ecstatic to work with Sakaguchi-san and celebrate what this news means not only for Xbox, but for gamers worldwide."

Stockist - AudioCubes is offering the Kondo KHR-1 Robot, touted as one of the best and coolest fighting human robots in Japan for $1500. You do the program, you do the control. KHR-1 Robot acts like a human and with 17 adjustable joints, it is capable of doing back flips and cartwheels. Comes with a very simple application program also allows you to design your own moves such as special kicks and poses. Ultra stylish design like no others. Tools are not included. Check out KHR-1 Robot's video

Specifications

Size: 340(H) x 180(W) mm
Weight: Approximately 1.2kg (with batteries)
Joint: 17 (Neck 1, one arm 3x2 book and one leg 5x2 book)
Connection type: RS-23C2C
OS: Windows2000 and XP
Recommendation CPU: Pentium cIii above
Recommendation memory: 128MB above

Colors available: Silver

Sprint has introduced their first digital quad-band phone aimed at business traveling users; the Sprint PCS IP-A790 AKA the Samsung A790 phone that features both GSM and CDMA technology to enable users to roam in over 130 countries.

Features include voice recognition, 256k-color TFT main display, and a second 65K-color display on the outside cover. The phone will also support Sprint's PCS Vision Multimedia Services which include video mail, picture mail and text messaging.- Price $549.99 - Via Mobile Mag

A Limited Edition of the iAUDIO U2 1GB will be sold in Japan - two colors: Silver and Pearl white. Only 1000 units will be manufactured. via ubergizmo

Panasonic, Japan has announced the addition of two new models to its "TOUGHBOOK" range of sturdy notebook PCs that can survive a 90 cm fall when powered off.

The "29 Series" (13.3" LCD) and "18 Series" (10.4" LCD with 180 degree rotation) will go on sale from 7 March. A saltwater corrosion-resistant version of the "29 Series" will be released on 7 April.

The standard 29 Series (CF-29JC1AXS) is expected to cost 450,000 yen while the corrosion-resistant 29 Series (CF-29JC9AXS) should go for 500,000 yen, the 18 Series (CF-18GC1AXS) should go for around 350,000 Yen.

Features include magnesium alloy main body components, HDD protected by special damping material and enclosing it in a metal case, when not operational, the new models can apparently go from a drop from 90cm on to plywood or concrete. - More at TechJapan

Samsung Electronics, has announced the development of a working PTA (Push-to-All) solution. The demonstration of the PTA solution proto-type took place at the company's Telecommunications R&D Center in Suwon, Korea.

This total mobile communications solution incorporates the existing PTT (Push-to-Talk) one to multi-user voice technology with the one to multi-user video conferencing ability of PTV (Push-to-View) and multimedia file sharing function of PTD (Push-to Data).

The core benefit of PTA handsets is their synchronous video conferencing ability. Similar to a walkie-talkie with video capabilities, the speaker's image appears instantly on the handset screen of the user or multiple users on the call. It is a convenient and time-saving function that allows people in multiple locations to easily conduct virtual meetings. In addition, the PTA handset allows one to send image, video clip and music contents to multiple users through one simple operation on a mobile device at one time.

Samsung Electronics plans to offer a commercialized PTA solution handset using not only EV-DO technology but also EDGE, UMTS, and WiFi standards.

Dell has announced the XPS Gen 2 and the Inspiron 9300 laptops.

The XPS Gen 2 is Dell's new gaming laptop that features NVIDIA's new GeForce GO 6800 Ultra graphics card which features 256MB of video ram, a 17-inch widescreen display, Intel Pentium M 2GHz processor, and can be customized for up to 2GB of ram (512MB standard). The laptop will start at a base price of $2,749 US and is available now on Dell's website.

The new Inspiron 9300 features a 17-inch widescreen display, 64MB video card (upgradeable to 256MB), and up to a 2.1 GHz processor

Via Mobile Mag

Samsung, Korea has announced a new 42 inch PDP Flat Screen TV with a 10000:1 contrast ratio.

See AkihabaraNews for more.

According to the folks Joystiq , who spent some time the "Positioning for Profitability in the Video Game Economy" conference, Sony is planning a PSP with built-in 50GB hard. A prototype of the HDD Sony PSP might be shown at the end of 2005. Availability of the Sony 50GB PSP would be in 2006. More details on Joystiq.

RCA's Lyra PDP 2812 is a new portable media player expected to hit some European markets in the near future. The player features a 5GB hard drive, MP3, WMA, & JPEG support, and a 1.5-inch color display (128x128 pixel, 65k colors). Size is 89 x 50 x 14mm, at 84g. The 2812 appears on Amazon.de (Germany) for 249 Euro.

via Dapreview

Coolsmartphone has a first look at the new Orange SPV C550. Features include

- 1.3 megapixel camera
- GPRS class 10
- 240x320 QVGA 65k (see below) TFT colour screen
- 64MB internal memory and Mini SD external memory
- USB, IrDA and Bluetooth connectivity
- Video MMS and download and playback
- Java 2.0
- Integrated SZGA and Flash
- 262K (not 64K gisplay)

The British government has launched a new website to combat computer viruses and other online threats. The government-funded IT Security Awareness for Everyone site (www.itsafe.gov.uk) will give free advice on data protection and issue virus alerts to those who sign up reports. E-mail or text alerts will direct users toward step-by-step guides on how to deal with any problem. The site will use information provided by the National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Center (NISCC).

"There is a clear need for easy-to-understand and simple, independent advice for non-technically minded people who use computers," Home Office Minister Hazel Blears said in a statement.

Read More

According to the IDC survey of PC shipments in Japan during 2004, Sales at Dell and HP Japan are up, while Sony and Apple saw a decline. In total, approximately 13.4 millions PCs were sold with notebooks outselling desktops by a margin of 140,000 units. Read More

Google has announced the availability of movie showtimes on its leading Web search engine. Movie Showtimes can be accessed via personal computers or mobile phones and other wireless devices that use short-message service. The new feature also provides information such as theatre locations and reviews, and enables users to search for movies by title, plot or genre. GO

The Mozilla Foundation has released a security update for the uber Firefox browser. The Firefox 1.0.1 update addresses a number of vulnerabilities including a flaw in the Internationalized Domain Names (IDN), as well as some issues with arbitrary code execution and cross-site scripting. The IDN vulnerability could allow an attacker to create a fraudulent Web site in order to carry out a phishing attack. Using IDN, phishers could register domain names with characters that resemble letters to trick users.

Mozilla has rated the flaws as "moderately critical" to "not critical." In addition to addressing security issues, the foundation also has tweaked browser performance based on user feedback reports newsfactor.com

Siemens has announced the Siemens A70, the Siemens A75 and the Siemens AX75 handsets.

The new Siemens A70 is touted as an easy-to-use, reliable and affordable phone. Features of the A70 include SMS, EMS and intuitively built two-way navigation keys, clear keypad and straightforward menu options.

The new Siemens A75 features a large 4K color screen and an easy-to-use 4-way navigation key.

The new Siemens AX75 is touted as the essential 'pocket organizer'. F The flagship product within the new A-Series has easy-to-use enhanced functionality with organizational capability, packaged in a new classic, ergonomic and sleek design. With a 65,536 color display, 128 x 128 resolution, and MMS functionality, the AX75 is ideal for crisp viewing pleasure.

Read More

Qwest Communications International Inc. submitted a revised bid for Long-distance telephone company MCI Inc. on Thursday, the new offer is expected to have little impact on MCI's decision to be bought by Verizon Communications Inc. for $6.75 billion. In fact Washington Post reports the revised bid disappointed a few people, Qwest did not offer more cash for MCI stock as expected which probably was a factor in the 6 percent dive Qwest's shares took on Friday. MCI Chief Executive Michael Capellas vowed the company would "do our utmost" to complete the Verizon deal quickly and said the deal made the most sense for MCI. MCI, who was recently accused of not fully analyzing Qwest's previous offer, said it would thoroughly analyze the revised $8 billion bid by Qwest Communications International Inc.

Leon Cooperman, chairman of hedge fund Omega Advisors, which owned 2.9 percent of MCI's shares as of Dec. 31 asked "What has to happen for us to be willing and legally able to speak with Qwest to find out what they've got in their mind?"

Jens of Sweden has announced the MP-120, a new 1GB player with an OLED display. The MP-120 can play a variety of formats, including OGG Vorbis and WMA. The players offer 22 hours of battery life, and a built-in USB 2.0 plug.

via Gizmodo

The Federal Bureau of Investigations has issued a warning over a fake email claiming to be from the FBI that contains a virus in the attachment. The email uses the fbi.gov domain and Attempts to sound authentic, it is likely to confuse some consumers and even con the gullible ones among them to open the attachment reports EarthTimes.org. I am one of the gullible ones, thanks to Norton it was deleted before I could get my paws on the attachment. The mail first warns recipients that "their Internet use is being monitored by FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center and that they have accessed illegal websites." The message asks the recipient to click on an attachment to answer some questions about their alleged illegal Internet use. The attachment contains a virus that infects the user's computer.

So far experts have not been able to determine what exactly the virus does once it infects the computer. Anti-virus firms say the virus is probably a low or medium risk as it hasn't spread as widely as some well-known malicious programs like MyDoom.

In an effort to keep home and small business users abreast of virus and computer threats, the UK Government has launched a new website offering realtime alerts. Anyone who registers for the free service, ITsafe,by supplying a e-mail address or mobile phone number, will be able to receive warnings of high-risk viruses and other security issues as soon as the government National Infrastructure Security Coordination Centre(NISCC) considers them notable reports TechWorld.com. The drive funded by the Home Office, hopes to become an important port of call for the UK's large population of computer users. Home Office Minister, Hazel Blears, launched ITsafe with a promise. "Signing up to this service will give users an extra level of defense in two key ways;by providing general advice on IT security and issuing official alerts if and when it is felt there is a serious enough threat from a virus ofother form of threat," web address - http://www.itsafe.gov.uk

Anthony Greco, 18, has become the first person to be arrested for the sending of unsolicited instant messages aka spim. Greco was lured from New York to Los Angeles under the pretence of a business meeting. He was arrested upon arrival at LA airport last Wednesday. Greco allegedly sent 1.5 million messages advertising pornography and mortgages. According to US reports the recipients of the messages were all members of the MySpace.com online networking service. Greco had allegedly threatened to share his methods for spamming members of the group if MySpace.com didn't sign an exclusive marketing deal which would have legitimised the messages he was sending via the service. Greco believed he was flying to Los Angeles to close that agreement with MySpace president Tom Anderson reports silicon.com. Assistant US Attorney Brian Hoffstadt confirmed the arrest was the first criminal case brought against an individual sending spam over IM.

AMD yesterday demonstrated the industry's first x86 dual-core processor at the company's Austin facilities. AMD showed off an HP ProLiant DL585 server powered by four dual-core AMD Opteron processors manufactured on 90nm silicon-on-insulator process technology.

Based on AMD's existing system infrastructure and industry-standard architecture, enterprise customers can expect more efficient processing power without the penalties of increased power consumption and heat dissipation, thanks to a simple upgrade path to more efficient computing. The dual-core AMD Opteron processor for servers and workstations is expected to offer the best performance per watt in the market when AMD plans to make it available in mid-2005

"Dual-core technology provides an attractive path for increasing processor performance with little or no increase in power consumption or heat dissipation," observed Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight64. "AMD laid the groundwork for its dual-core processors years ago, when it gave its single-core AMD64 processors the on-chip plumbing they would need to support a second core at a later date. As AMD moves dual-core technology from theory to practice, it is reassuring to see that current investments in core logic and platform technology will remain relevant for years to come."

imation, Japan has announced the 'FlashGO' a new card reader, capable of reading 9 memory card types. Works with Windows 98 SE/Me/2000/XP, after the Mac OS 9.0. Available March 1st. Supported memory card types include SD memory card /MMC/ memory stick/memory stick Pro, miniSD/ memory stick Duo/ memory stick PRO Duo and CF/Microdrive. As for interface USB 2.0. Measures 62.5x100x78mm and weighs 115g.

Denon Corporation, Japan, has announced the 2ch "DCD-SA11 CD/SACD player set for release in March - Expected price 367,500 Yen. As for color ring premium silver (SP).The DCD-SA11 is an update to the DCD-SA1 announced August 2004, features the original DENON technology for high-quality audio - Advanced AL24 Processing (192kHz/24bit). Measures 434x415x138mm and weighs 19kg.

French Telecoms equipment provider Alcatel and US software giant Microsoft Corp. Tuesday announced plans to jointly develop Internet-based TV services for telephone companies. The two groups said in a statement they aim to "rapidly accelerate the availability of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) services for broadband operators world-wide."

"It will join Alcatel's expertise in high-speed networks with Microsoft's software expertise in interface solutions," Alcatel director of development Marc Jalabert said in a press conference.

"We are committed to integrate the current Alcatel video solutions with Microsoft TV IPTV Edition, resulting in a market-leading integrated offering," Alcatel Chief Executive Serge Tchuruk said.

Eric Boustouller, Microsoft France chief executive, said the Alcatel/Microsoft cooperation would target fixed telephone operators in order to "speed up the widespread delivery of the Internet-television services offered" by broadband operators.

Potential clients include Verizon of the United States, Telecom Italia of Italy, Bell of Canada and Swiss Com of Switzerland. At a news conference, Alcatel development director Marc Jalabert said the two groups also intend to cooperate over cable and ADSL digital TV platforms.

Sirius Satellite Radio announced Tuesday that it has reached an agreement to broadcast NASCAR auto races and related events over a five-year period for $107.5 million, beating rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings. Sirius will become the exclusive satellite radio partner for NASCAR. Last fall Sirius announced it had entered a five-year, $500 million deal to broadcast shock jock Howard Stern's radio show beginning in 2006 reports USAtoday. Sirius expects to end 2005 with more than 2.5 million subscribers. XM, based in Washington, D.C., says it had more than 3.2 million users at the end of 2004.
Sirius' shares traded lower Tuesday after news came out over the weekend that a regular on Stern's show had received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the trading of Sirius stock.

Samsung Electronics has started mass production of the world’s largest-capacity multi-chip package (MCP) for 3G phones. The 2.5Gb MCP will allow for intense video playback on mobile phones with digital multimedia broadcasting support (DMB) reports Mobile Mag

The MCP consists of two 1Gb NAND flash memory chips and two 256Mb Mobile DRAMs allowing for four hours of high-quality QVGA video to be stored. The chip will benefit manufacturers to produce slimmer, lighter handsets with increased functionality.

IBM yesterday introduced its X3 architecture and the new Hurricane chip set, which the company said is designed to put superior technology on top of the Cranford chip from Intel Corp. The X3 enables customers to run applications and rapidly process business data to meet critical business needs.

"What we're announcing is the third generation of what we call enterprise X architecture -- and the manifestation of well over $100 million worth of investment in this architecture to bring break-through performance to the scalable part of this market," said Jim Northington, vice president of the high-performance solutions group for the IBM xSeries.

As the world attempts to reach Lindsay Lohan - thanks to the Paris Hilton T-Mobile sidekick hacking, one question keeps popping up in the few emails I received today, ' Am I at risk ?' chances are no one wants to see what is on your t-mobile sidekick, so even if you were hacked no one would care. A CBS report this AM said that cellphones can be hacked just easily as computers can, that everyone is vulnerable. New York Post gets all New York Times and tackles this matter. Findings - even though the hacker was no novice that doesn't mean your Sidekicks, Palm Pilots and Blackberrys are safe. The hacker probably gained access to Paris Hilton's Sidekick II phone and apparently racy photos through T-Mobile's Web site.

"I think it's worth asking the company that provides you with service what kind of security they're protecting your information with," said Kevin Poulsen, news editor at SecurityFocus, an online technology site.

"In the case of Sidekick, they store files on a server with the company . . . As we've seen, people can get in."

Richard Lainhart, an IT director from Rockland County, also warned owners of personal digital-assistance devices such as Sidekicks that there is now software that can be relatively easily downloaded from the 'Net to siphon off information from PDAs from within about 30 feet.

Many PDA users don't activate security measures they should, or use a pass word to protect their com munication, Lainhart said.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Qwest Communications International is expected to make a revised offer for long-distance phone company MCI sometime this week. In a letter sent to MCI's board last Thursday and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Qwest chairman and CEO Richard Notebaert expressed heartache over MCI turning down his offer. Qwest also made details of its original $8 billion offer public. Even though Qwest's offer was considerably higher than Verizon Communications' $6.75 billion bid, MCI accepted Verizon's offer.

According to thestreet.com by taking its bid for MCI public, Qwest hoped MCI shareholders would force the board to consider its offer and allow the company to sweeten the proposal if need be. So far it appears to have some effect, MCI Inc. shareholder Joseph Pojanowski III sued to block the long-distance telephone company's $6.6 billion takeover by Verizon Communications Inc., saying the price was too low reports Reuters/

Even though Qwest has stated it has backers on hand to supply money, some analysts say Qwest still has a weak hand and that its rebidding ploy isn't likely to succeed. The decision to appeal to shareholders is likely to end in either a higher Verizon offer or a formal rejection from MCI's board, the analysts say.

A month after T-Mobile admitted that a hacker had gained access to the names and Social Security numbers of 400 T-Mobile customers, a spokesman for company confirmed Monday the authenticity of information from Paris Hilton's T-Mobile Sidekick (very hip device that allows owners to make phone calls, surf the Web, e-mail, instant message and take pictures) currently making the rounds on the Internet.

"T-Mobile's computer forensics and security team is actively investigating to determine how Ms. Hilton's information was obtained," the company said in a statement. "This includes the possibility that someone had access to one of Ms. Hilton's devices and/or knew her account password."

The Drudge Report said it confirmed many of the numbers and e-mail addresses, including those of rapper Eminem, actor Vin Diesel, actress Lindsay Lohan, singers Christina Aguilera and Ashlee Simpson, and tennis players Andy Roddick and Anna Kournikova. The FBI has reportedly opened an investigation.

21-year-old Nicolas Jacobsen ( charged with crime of hacking T-Mobile in October) pleaded guilty Tuesday to one felony charge of accessing a protected computer and causing reckless damage. He is scheduled to be sentenced in May and faces a maximum possible sentence of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine reports Zdnet

Sony, Japan has announced the EBR-500MS (aimed at high school students) and the EBR-800MS electronic dictionaries featuring MP3 player functions. Both Models are set for release in Japan on March 5th. shop front expectation price forl the EBR-500MS - approximately 30,000 Yen, EBR-800MS - approximately 35,000 Yen. The EBR-800MS is available in silver while the EBR-500MS is available in pink, blue and silver. The features EBR-800MS Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, German, French, Spanish and Italian. The EBR-500MS features English-Japanese/Kazuhide dictionaries. Model feature a memory stick slot, enables MP3 playback from memory sticks. Measures 135x97.5x14.1mm and weighs 195g. Music playback time approximately 15 hours

Read More

Olympus, Japan has announced the 4 Megapixel "CAMEDIA X-550" compact digital camera aimed for the beginner. Set for release in Japan from the middle of March - 20,000 Yen. Features include 4 Megapixel 1/2.5" CCD, 50 - 320 ISO Sensitivity, record picture size 2,288x1,712/ 1,600x1,200/ 640x480 pixel, record type JPEG, video 320x240 pixel -- 30fps or 15fps, record type QuickTime (Motion JPEG), 3x optical zoom lens, 1.8" TFT liquid crystal monitor, built-in memory and xD picture card support. As for the connection with PC USB.

Measures 106x36x56mm and weighs 140g.

More

'James' writes in to share his experience with the Luxman L-505f Integrated Amplifier

" I understand your love of Luxman products!"

"In Dec I bought a Luxman L-505f Integrated Amp that I'm using just as a preamp and it sounds fantastic!! I'm using it with a 35 watt tube amp and some Klipsch La Scalas speakers and this set up sounds incredible!!"

"If you have not had the chance to hear Klipsch speakers I suggest you do. My suggestion is find someone in your area with Klipsch Klipschhorns speakers and go over and take a listen. These speakers have a sound that is the next best thing to being there live. They are horn loaded speakers so they have a very forward and in your face sound that live concerts have. I own the Klipsch La Scalas which are the smaller version of the Klipschorns. Klipsch, and Luxman go together very, very well!!! Try and demo some Klipsch KlipschHorns or La Scalas or even the RF-7s with any Luxman products you have and you won't be disapointed. "

"Do you own the Luxman CU-80? I plan to get it and the DU-80 in a couple of years."

We are shooting for the couple of years thing as well, that money thing is holding us back.

Buy Luxman L-505f Integrated Amplifier

Korean Newgen has unveiled the D2000W, a new tri-band GSM smartphone running windows mobile 2003. Features include FM Radio, 1.3 Megapixel Camera, 262k colors screen and support GSM 900/1800/1900. via UberGizmo

Sony has announced plans to end production of the CLIE (an acronym of "Communication Linkage for Information & Entertainment." ) PDA line in July. Parts and repair service will continue to be available for 6 years from end of production, as outlined in the warranty statement. Specialist telephone support for Clie users will continue for one year. After that, support calls will be handled by VAIO customer service. Associated paid services such as the sale of content downloads and the clie domain mail service will continue for the time being.

The CLIE is a Palm OS-powered PDA released in 2000.

According to Sony, "although this is the end of the CLIE platform, the concept of a 'portable entertainment information terminal' will continue" and we can anticipate further expansion of platforms such as the PSP and mobile phone.

- Read More

The three mechanical bipeds , built by researchers from Cornell University, the University of Michigan and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US and Delft University in the Netherlands, respectively, that walk like humans were shown off at the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) annual meeting held this year in Washington, DC. The work could transform the way humanoid robots are built and brings the prospect of robotic replacement limbs a step closer. Read More

The ARCHOS Pocket Video Recorder AV400 Series touted as the ultimate handheld digital video recorder that offers TV recording and a portable home entertainment center in one pocket-sized device is now available in a 100GB model for $799.

Features
# Record up to 400 hours* of TV programs and video content from a TV, VCR or cable / satellite receiver using the TV cradle
# Program recordings using the Recording Scheduler, which directly controls the VCR or set-top box tuner
# Store and watch between up to 200* full-length movies
# Enjoy up to 4 ½ hours of video playback on the color LCD while on the go
# Download / transfer / record between up to 1500* hours of music
# Store and view up to one million* JPEG photos
# Play MP3, WMA (including protected files) and WAV music files
# Listen to and record off the radio (with optional FM Radio & Remote Control)
# Download and store files from a PC

$ 799.95 - Read More

Cingular has finally launched the Sony Ericsson S710a. Available now. Features of the phone include:

- Size: 4.2 x 1.9 x 1.0 inches
- Weight: 4.8 Ounces
- Unique swivel design w/ oversized 2.3-inch 262K color display
- Multiple data communications: Bluetooth, Infrared, and EDGE
- Integrated 1.3 megapixel still/video camera w/ 8x zoom and flash
- Integrated MP3 player
- Video and picture Multimedia Messaging capable
- Mobile Instant Messaging capable
- Embedded and downloadable 3D gaming
- Polyphonic ringtones and super tones
- MEdia Net capable
- POP3/IMAP4 e-mail clients: BellSouth, SBC, and Earthlink preloaded
- Up to 510 contact phone book
- Operates on 850/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks

via MobileTracker

HP has announced the HP Photosmart R717, M417, M22, M23, and the special edition BMW Williams F1 Team cameras. The cameras are expected to hit shelves in the spring of 2005 for prices ranging from $149 to $349.

The 6.2 megapixels Photosmart R717 features include 3x optical zoom, 8x digital zoom, 1.8 inch LCD screen, and a burst rate of 3 frames per second with a buffer of 3 frames.

The 5 megapixels Photosmart M417 features include 3x optical zoom, 7x digital zoom, 2 shot per second burst mode for up to 3 pictures, and a 1.8 inch LCD screen.

The 4 megapixel Photosmart M23 features include 6x digital zoom,1.5 inch LCD screen, movie mode, and a slim water resistant metal body with a sliding cover to protect the lens.

The Photosmart M22 features 6x digital zoom and a slim water resistant metal body

The Photosmart BMW Williams.F1 Team Special Edition features a 4.1 megapixel sensor, 3x optical zoom, 7x digital zoom, 1.5 inch LCD screen, and 4 shots burst mode for 5 frames. The camera will also come with a BMW WilliamsF1 Team CD.

- Read More

Concord Camera has announced the Concord 5042 and the Concord 5040 5.0 Megapixel cameras for the budget photographer.

The $99 Concord 5042 features a 1.5-inch color LCD, captures AVI movies at 15fps, 16MB of internal memory with additional storage available with SD. it will ship this quarter in Gun Metal Gray.

The $129.99 Concord 5040 ultra-slim camera features 1.8-inch LCD, MPEG4 video capture, all metal housing in a variety of colors; Papaya Orange, Wine Red, Aqua Blue, Royal Blue, Champagne Gold, and Silver, 16MB internal memory with SD expansion and uses 2 AAA rechargeable batteries, it also includes a battery charger worth $15.00. The 5040 measures 1-inch thick and 2.2-inches high, it will be out in April.

Read More

Sony, Japan has announced a free repair program for the Sony PSP. This repair is to correct a defect where controller buttons on some Playstation Portable (PSP) units may become stuck and not return to their default position. The defect occurs in part of the initial shipment of PSP units and is caused by excess plastic not being completely removed during the molding and manufacturing process of the outer cabinet. As a result, when a button is pressed, it can become caught on the excess plastic and not return fully to its default position.

via TechJapan

Korean Stormblue has announced the XUKE AV-700a new small video and music player, the XUKE AV-700. The Xuke AV-700 features a 1.2 inch color OLED Display with 260,000 colors, supports MP4, DivX and AVI video formats, Ogg and MP3 and WMA-DRM music file formats, USB 2.0, FM Tuner, SRS-Wow and 3D sound. The Xuke AV-700 comes in 256MB, 512MB, 1GB and 2GB memory configurations. Seen at i4u

Swedish company Adamond has announced the ZK1, a new 2GB flash-based MP3 Player. The ZK1 features an OLED screen, supports MP3, WMA, ASFand OGG, plays FM radio and connects via USB.

Seen at ubergizmo

According to Apple leak heaven ThinkSecret, the new iPod mini is expected to be announced within the next two weeks, the mini will remain at 249, expected additions include color screen and video games. - Seen at UberGizmo

AudioCubes is offering the Sony PSP Earphones with Remote for $49.95. Sony PSP PlayStation portable can also hold music files. With Sony PSP Earphones and the remote, you can easily choose and play without looking at the PSP screen. Stylish design with high quality sound.

Samsung, Korea has announced the addition of a 6GB version of its YH-820 4GB mp3 player. The YH-820 with 6GB comes in blue and pink. Features include: Color Display, FM Tuner and USB 2.0.

Zenocom, Korea has announced the introduction of a Bluetooth enabled MP3 player line under their XLive brand.

The XLive XM-300 series comes in memory configurations of 128MB, 256MB, 512MB and 1GB. The Bluetooth interface not only supports bluetooth headsets profile for connecting the player to a mobile phone, it also can be used for file transfer and audio recording. The XLive XM-300 flash player measures 33 (W) x 68 (H) x 18 (D) mm and weighs 32g. OGG, MP3 and WMA audio formats are supported. Other features include: FM Tuner, Color display, Voice Recorder with VAD and direct mp3 encoding.

Read More

Sony is showing off three new iPod-ish shuffle type flash players (size only) in some part of the world. The new Sony flash players support MP3,WMA, WAV and ATRAC. They have a 3-line OLED display, so you will actually have some control.

The Sony NW-E505 features 512MB, FM Tuner and 50 hours continous play-back. A high-speed charging feature gives 3 hours play time with just 3 minutes charging. The Sony NW-E505 comes in Blue and Silver. The NW-E407 has 1GB and comes in Black, Blue, Red and Green. The NW-E405 features 512MB and comes in Black, Blue, Red and Green.

via i4u