Remember the Palm Pre and how we got excited over the phone – then that hype died down? Well, Palm has another announcement today; it will be bringing the Palm Pre Plus (above) and Palm Pixi Plus to Verizon. The Pre Plus still looks the same and comes with the Touchstone recharger and a 3-megapixel camera, but it will have 16GB of on board storage. The Pixi Plus also looks the same with no other changes. Both phones, however, will support CDMA, unlike the Sprint models – they support CDMA2000.
More eBook readers are being released here at CES, with Spring Design revealing the Alex – claiming that it is the only dual screen Google Android-based eBook reader to integrate web browsing and reading. The device features two screens – one 3.5-inch LCD screen and a 6-inch EPD screen. I should note that the Barnes & Noble nook also features two screens and uses the Android platform, but is restricted to only books. The colour screen allows it to act as a virtual keyboard and access to the growing number of applications from the Android Marketplace.
Panasonic has announced that it will bring out the SC-ZT2, a new wireless audio system that says that it can transmit the audio from the Full HD 3D Blu-Ray Disc Player without the need of a cable, also known as wireless. Its “advance proprietary properties” allow users to enjoy Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD 7.1-channel surround sound despite having two speakers – which are basically poles (which Panasonic say its to minimise unwanted sound reflection).
Since the iPod launched, there have been a lot of third-party accessories – ranging from unknown brands most likely from China to Sony and Panasonic. Speaking of Panasonic, they have introduced the SC-SP100 (it’s that little black dock in the above image with the iPhone docked in it), a 2.1-channel audio system that is compatible with your iPod and iPhone. It also features a integrated subwoofer and will also work with an normal AUX cable to connect other MP3 players.
Panasonic will be adding three new HD camcorders to its product line for 2010 — the HDC-HS60, the HDC-TM55 and the HDC-SD60 — which promise to be perfect for portability without sacrificing the HD quality of the footage. They all feature a 35.7mm wide-angle lens, which Panasonic says that it is perfect for shooting in a variety of different scenarios like self-portraits and outdoor landscapes.
SANYO has announced what they call the thinnest, smallest and lightest camera, the Dual Camera Xacti VPC-CS1 – and this time, it can record in HD (1920 x 1080 pixels). It has an 8 megapixel lens to shoot pictures, 10x zoom, a mini HDMI port to view the HD video recorded in the clearest picture it can be and is compatible with the Eye-Fi card – allowing your images to be uploaded to a computer automatically without plugging it in.
Featuring a 7-inch colour touch screen, Sony has brought out a competitor to the popular Chumby with the dash, the “personal Internet viewer” – according to its press release. The device also features an internal accelerometer that allows you to view it in portrait mode or landscape, built-in stereo speakers, a headphone output jack and a USB port to connect to electronic devices.
Microsoft has added new additions to the Xbox Live service, including a new Games Room – giving players a chance to play the old arcade games from Atari and Konami on both Windows PCs and Xbox 360 – but only the Xbox 360 will allow you to challenge your friends. Over 1000 games will be released throughout the next three years, though 30 games will be initially launched. Expect this in Spring.
BREAKING NEWS: It’s official. Microsoft has revealed that HP will be developing a new touch-enabled slate PC that will feature Windows 7 during its keynote today. Microsoft showed it off by using the Amazon Kindle’s Windows application. Microsoft and HP has confirmed that it will be launched later in the year, just no word on the pricing or the actual date. So Apple, look out now. Gallery is below.
Sony just wrapped up its press conference, and released a whole bunch of televisions, laptops and camera. This is one of them, the VAIO Z Series laptop. Just over three pounds in weight, it has a carbon-fibre aluminium chassis and has a 13.1-inch LED backlight display.
Yes, you are reading that name correctly. My friends, Sony has released two new cameras that will comprise the bloggie camera line. These cameras will record in 1920 x 1080 MP4 video and features a 5 megapixel camera; and like the Flip, have a USB port attached to them so you can transfer the videos from the camera to the computer without having to find the cord to connect it to.
A keynote, a keynote. The very first keynote of CES kicks starts at 1:30PM today Melbourne Time, and like usual – TECHGEEK.com.au will do live coverage of the keynote. Will there be a HP/Microsoft tablet? Will we see more of Office 2010? Is there more Windows Live services coming out? All will be revealed when Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer takes the stage for his second CES keynote.
LG has brought out their netbook offering – despite being a crowded market. Called the X120, it features a 10.1-inch LED display and a 1.3 megapixel camera, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive. It also features something called the “Smart On interface” that connects the netbook to the web, media files and instant messaging with one button. That’s all we know, mainly because the press release is very vague on details. For now, however, if you like it, you can drool over the photos – not that we suggest that you do, we don’t want your keyboard wet.
Sony has announced that they will be bringing out five SD/SDHC memory cards, and three microSD/microSDHC memory cards – and yes, we’re not kidding. The company known for pushing its own memory standards will bring out the SD cards in 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacity and microSD cards in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacity. Pricing ranges from $14.99 to $159.99 for the SD cards, and $14.99 to $44.99 for microSD cards. It also looks like that the pricing between the microSD cards will be the same (well, up to 8GB) to the SD equivalent.
LG has announced the first Blu-Ray Disc player to feature a 250GB hard drive – which is handy, especially when it is integrated with the VUDU service, allowing users to watch and purchase movies online. The BD590 can also copy their CD music collection, and use the Gracenote-powered MusicID feature so all the information of the album, including cover art and track listings, are added to the metadata.