Motorola Technicolor Phones

So, kind of out of the blue Motorola has launched some products at CommunicAsia2006 today. Included in the launch are the appealing W375 (pictured) and the W208. These small and low-end cameras weigh only 3 ounces and the W375 includes a VGA camera and FM radio, and the W208 has the FM radio, but no camera. Motorola is taking a page out of, uh, their own book and continuing with a smooth and slim design similar to the PEBL and RAZR. These two models of phones should be coming stateside later this year.

Motorola also unveiled quite a few other goodies, including a portable Bluetooth car kit, portable power pack, SoundPilot Bluetooth Stereo controller, more PEBL colors and some other average candybar phones. Hit the linkage for full details on all of the releases.

Sony Playstation 3

Sony Computer Entertainment, the company that redefined the entertainment lifestyle with its release of the PlayStation2, is set to launch its long-awaited next-generation platform.
The media format the game is stored on is called the Blue-ray. A Blue-ray disc is five times more in storage capacity compared to the conventional DVDs, where a single-layer disc can hold up to 25 GB and 50 GB on a dual-layer disc. Also, its Blue-ray drive has backward compatibility with current CD and DVD formats. That means PlayStation and PlayStation2 titles can be played on this drive, as well as ordinary CDs and DVDs.

SPECIFICATIONS

CPU: Cell Broadband Engine
GPU: RSX

Memory: 256MB XDR
Main RAM 256M
GDDR3 VRAM

HDD: 2.5” Serial SATA 20 GB (or 60 GB – available only for $599 configuration)

I/O: USB 2.0 x 4
Memory Stick/SD/CompactFlash Slots (available only for $599 configuration)

COMMUNICATION:
Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T)
IEEE 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi (available only for $599 configuration)
Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR)
Wireless Controller Bluetooth (up to 7)

iRiver Clix

The iRiver Clix is a fairly straightforward media player. Its physical dimensions are 2.7 x 1.8 x 0.6 inches and it weighs a feather-light 2.5 ounces. The chassis sports a sleek black front bezel with silver sides and back. The front face plate is actually a four-way rocker button, almost resembling a touch screen. Other controls are neatly laid out on the sides of the player. Connectors and interfaces are also found on the sides: the Clix has the standard issue USB 2.0 port, a proprietary connector for the optional Clix cradle, stereo headphones, and battery charger. The Clix utilizes flash storage to store data, music, and videos. The player is available in 512 Mb, 1 Gb, and 2 Gb options.

For audio file support, the Clix supports MP3 and Microsoft WMA up to a maximum of 320 Kbps bitrate, and Ogg Vorbis files up to Q10 encoding quality. For video, the Clix can play MPEG-4 SP (Simple Profile) files up to a maximum of 15 frames-per-second, and Macromedia Flash movies. For pictures, non-progressive JPEG files can be viewed. A handy additional feature is the built-in FM tuner with the standard frequency range of 87.5 – 108.0 Mhz. The unit uses the earphone cable was an antenna. Also, the Clix can play simple Flash-based programs, commonly games.

On the output side, the display on the Clix is a bright, little 2.2 inch LCD screen. For a low resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, it's surprisingly sharp, and it can display up to 262,000 vivid colors. The audio output features 10 built-in equalizer settings with the ability to store customized EQ settings. The Clix also supports SRS WOW surround sound.

The Clix also integrates support for an upcoming online music joint venture between Microsoft and MTV. Called the Urge service, it aims to provide similar services to the Apple iTunes Music Store. When playing a song that the user doesn't own yet, the Clix provides a way to mark a song for purchase, and the next time the Clix is hooked up to a PC with Internet access, it automatically downloads the necessary “rights” to own the song.

BLACKBERRY 71OO

The Blackberry 7100 series of smartphones has a more phone-like form complete with their new 20-key QWERTY keypads. With these features and more, the Blackberries are now too much of a temptation even for the most adamant to stick to their mobile phones especially those who blacklisted the Blackberry because it was too boxy for a cellular-wireless handheld to their face.

But don’t be easily turned off by the 7100’s design, there’s a logic to every curve and line. For instance, its shrunken 20-key keyboard is equipped with a SureType software that allows you to type nearly as naturally as the QWERTY keyboard. The 7100 still has its traditional thumbwheel and Back button for navigation. However, this time, in this series, there is an addition of Send/End keys which are designed for more data. And this time, you are virtually accessible as all 7100s are now quad-band with 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS phones that functions worldwide for voice and data anywhere. With this, you can now do e-mails, SMS, and basically any Web-based operations with the handset. Like the other BlackBerries, the 7100 allows you to send and receive your e-mail from up to ten separate accounts and delivered promptly as soon as it hits your ISP or server. Along with this, you can also have usual serving of Blackberry applets like their crafty calendar, phone book, to-do’s and notebook.

For a complete functionality of the BlackBerry series, dig on a healthy serving below with the following features:

* Bluetooth hands-free headset and car kit support
* GPS-enabled for location-based services
* Large, bright, high resolution color LCD screen optimized for both indoor and outdoor use
* Access up to 10 supported business and/or personal email accounts
* Speakerphone
* SureType™ technology, which combines a traditional phone keypad and familiar QWERTY keyboard
* MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) allows you to combine text and images in a single message
* Polyphonic ring tones to give your handset a distinctive personality
* Integrated attachment viewing for popular file formats
* 64 MB of memory
* Dedicated send and end keys