Much like watches, cell phones today are as much fashion accessories as they are indispensible pieces of technology. Fans lust over the latest models before they come out, critics pick apart the latest design choices of the biggest manufacturers in glossy magazines, and companies wheel out celebrities to glam up the latest and greatest they have to offer. With all modern phones now having mastered the basics of functionality, why not pick one that looks as good as it works? Here are a few of the most stylish, unique and downright sexy models on the market today.
Tag Archive: Pocket
Cisco Challenges Sonos in Wireless Home Audio
I’ve been spending the last week playing World of Warcraft on my new Mitsubishi 60-inch TV, and moving music around the home. We’ll talk about the TV experience in a future post, but I’ve been covering products that pretend to move media around the home for some time, and most turn out to be really disappointing. The biggest problem, for some reason, is the concept of a “party mode.” This is when you have multiple speaker systems playing the same song. Your parents and grandparents likely could do this in audio systems they had in their homes, why is it so difficult for anyone else to make this work?
Pentax Optio W60 Swims with the Fishes
Ordinary digital cameras are fine for shots at home, in the park, and other tame locations, but when it comes to capturing beach and poolside action, bringing your favorite pocket cam can turn into a major gamble. Pentax’s new Optio W60, announced Thursday, takes away the risk with full waterproofing, but without beefing up the cam enough to take away from its “go-anywhere” form factor.
Based on size and look alone, you would never guess the W60 was built to plunge into up to 13 feet of water without failing. It measures just under four inches long, 2.2 inches tall, and one inch deep, the same size as many other popular pocket digicams. There’s no rubber or plastic housing either, just an ordinary-looking silver or ocean blue case.
Pocket Live TV Brings TV To Windows Mobile
If you’re one of those people for whom one of the hardest things about being away from home is being away from your TV…then Amsterdam’s Makayama Software has a solution or you in the form of Pocket TV 1.0, a Windows Mobile application which brings 100 live television channels from 10 countries to your Windows Mobile device live, using either 3G or Wi-Fi connectivity.
Targus Rolls Out New Notebook Backpacks
Targus last week unveiled four new notebook backpacks, each of which feature a padded notebook section which accommodates screen sizes up to 15.4 inches. The new Repel ($69.99), Ricket ($49.99), Drifter ($49.99) and Rogue ($39.99) Backpacks are all available now.
The Repel Backpack, said Targus, sports a trolley-pass through for attachment to a rolling piece of luggage, integrated carry handle, front pocket for storage of work related items like a pen of PDA and a nyflex-lined CD/MP3 pocket with a line-out headphone port. The Ricket Backpack offers multiple interior and exterior storage solutions and includes a CD pocket and line-out headphone port as well as a mesh water bottle holder on each side and compression straps designed to carry a jacket, sweater or additional file folders.
Torq N100 Pocket PC Combines Phone and GPS
Sound Solution has taken the wraps off itsnew Torq N100 Pocket PC and quad-band phone (GMS 850/900/1800/1900), which offers Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, a 1.3 megappixel camera, and the standard Windows Mobile 5 suite of capabilities like mobile email, Windows Media Player, support for Office documents, and Web access. But perhaps most intriguingly, the N100 sports a built-in receiver enabling support for Traffic Message Channel (TMC) functions, which can work with GPS applications in countries where the service is available Via TMC, travelers can receive up-to-the-minute notifications of traffic conditions and other events which can disrupt planned routes, and make on-the-fly changes to avoid congestion, accidents, construction, and other impediments.
Skype for PocketPC 2.0 Available
Skype has taken the wraps off Skype for PocketPC 2.0, enabling Skype users to make voice calls anywhere they can connect to the Internet using Wi-Fi and/or 3G mobile networks. The software is available as a free download, and supports a wide range of PocketPC devices, including HP iPAQ hw6900 series Mobile Messenger (plus hx2400, hx2700, rx3700 and hx4700 series devices); the Dell X3i, X30, X50, X50v, x51 and x51v models; and Fujitsu Siemens Computers Pocket LOOX N520, 718 and 720 models.
Niveus Pocket PC Remote Software
Niveus Media, Inc., manufacturer of media entertainment devices for the high-end audio/video market, has announced the release of their new Pocket PC software, Niveus Pocket Remote. The Niveus software enables the Windows Mobile-based Pocket PC to communicate wirelessly with any Media Center PC, allowing users to control their Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005-based PC from the palm of their hand, and any location in their home. By tapping the full-color LCD screen of the Pocket PC, users gain full control over their digital music collection, Internet radio, and more.
Skype for Pocket PC Version 1.0 Released
First unveiled as beta software in April, Skype for Pocket PC 1.0 enables the users of handheld computers with Wi-Fi and the Pocket PC operating system to make free unlimited calls from any Wi-Fi hot spot. The software can be downloaded for free and is available immediately at www.skype.com.
“With the launch of Skype for Pocket PC 1.0, Skype is expanding consumer choice in mobile, global communications by offering free Skype-to-Skype calling and affordable SkypeOut calls to any traditional phone number,” said Niklas Zennstrom, Skype CEO and co-founder. “We are delivering greater platform and portability options for consumers looking to take advantage of the cost and quality benefits of Internet telephony. We will continue to expand platform choices for our users.”
Sony USD-2G Hard Drive Debuts
The Pocket Bit Pro USD-2G measures 7.3 x 5 x 1.3cm, so it’s hardly as compact as your average Flash drive. But capacity and access speeds should compensate.
The unit uses USB 2.0, with the connector rotating out of the Pocket Bit Pro’s casing, not only to protect it when not in use, but to make it easier to connect the drive to a host computer.
If the Pocket Bit Pro’s size makes it sound rather like a screen-less PDA, its automatic data synchronisation will strengthen the association. By pushing the unit’s AutoSync button, the user can back up a selected folder and sub-folders. Storage capacity permitting, AutoSync will retain up to ten generations of the backed-up data.
