It’s a shame, really. The mysterious MID running Android that’s been popping up over the last two weeks has finally been caught on video. It looks and runs wonderfully, but it’s just a concept from Chinese chipmaker Rockchip. The device was built to showcase Rockchip’s new RK2808 720p-decoding chipset. It’s unfortunate that the 5-inch MID is only a one-off.

via Pocketables

I’m inclined to believe that this Android-powered MID is not the SMiT MID-560. Why? Well, because I doubt RIM has jumped on board to create an Android touchscreen device. It could be the Archos device that is set to launch next month or it could be something entirely different. For now, it remains a mystery.

via Pocketables

Ooh la la. A real deal Android tablet this summer? Am I dreaming? No! I’m so in love with this OS it’s disgusting. Put aside my sickening love for a freaking OS and consider taking a gander at AppsLib? It’s the Application Store for Android launched by Archos, which states that registration will begin on September 15 “following the launch of this initiative”. If that isn’t enough to whet your appetite then how about some specs for the Archos Android tablet?

The tablet will rock a 5-inch 800×480 screen that plays back 720p content natively. And lest we forget, the Archos 5 Internet Tablet (that’s what they’re calling it on the AppsLib site) will have an HDMI out and comes with natively embedded OpenGL libraries.

Somebody fucking pinch me! Want!!!

*Note to self: do not drink and post because you curse way too much.*

AppsLib via Pocketables

The The LA Times notes that this isn’t a “shift” in consumer choice but a change in the way folks use phones. After all, people who use iPhones take lots of pictures and can send them to Flickr pretty easily? I’d wager that more people have iPhones, for example, than have Rebel XTis. And they definitely have more iPhones than 40Ds or Nikon D80s.

Sadly there’s no information regarding the use of disc film.

What is it? Is it a phone? It’s safe to say that it’s at least 3 inches deep and roughly 4 inches wide based on shots taken atop the Sony Vaio P. Other than that, nothing else is known about this mysterious Android MID. At least we know it has an SD card slot, but little else.

via Pocketables

Sony has developed a new type of lithium ion batteries that you want. Serious. These things are impressive.

Sony press release

The Olivine-type lithium iron phosphate used in this new battery is extremely suited for use as a cathode material due to its robust crystal structure and stable performance, even at high temperatures. By combining this new cathode material with Sony’s proprietary particle design technology that minimizes electrical resistance to deliver high power output, and also leveraging the cell structure design technology Sony accrued developing its current “Fortelion series” lithium ion secondary battery line-up, Sony has realized a high power density of 1800W/kg and extended life span of approximately 2,000 charge-discharge cycles.

Didja get that? Nope. Who cares about the technology behind it.

All you should care about is that these suckers can be 99% recharged within 30 minutes and can provide an 80% capacity after 2,000 charge-discharge cycles. Sony is aiming to put these batteries within power tools and such, but maybe we’ll eventually see them available for purchase in AA form. John is always complaining that he can’t use his “toys” because his rechargeables are forever slow.

From what I can gather from research, the longer the tube length will raise your resonant frequency. I figured my resonant frequency was about 30Hz. I am probably wrong. I did the calc a while ago so can’t be sure how I arrived there.. It wasn’t too loud on the “test fire” audio sweep, but a neighbour from 2 doors down, certainly heard it and came running down the street.. “Are you making that noise?!”
Maybe me sitting on my deck with a giant carboard tube and earmuffs on gave me away.

Then he painted it black and dragged it out to the desert where he turned it on, blowing the minds of web developers from everywhere.

KansasCity.com via BoingBoing

Japan-based Shinoda Plasma [JP] has developed a plasma TV that’s 2 meters tall and 3 meters wide (145 inches), which is quite obviously able to show life-size images of (most) people. The spectacular display will be sold as part of digital signage or teleconference systems.

The TV can be attached to curved walls and is supposedly more eco-friendly than conventional plasma displays that are on the market now (the power consumption varies between 800W and 1,200W). It features a resolution of 960×720.

Shinoda Plasma says it expects sales of up to $35 million in the next fiscal year. The company says that buyers should be ready to shell out $50,000 per sqm for their flagship TV.

It just recently showcased a plasma display boasting 1mm thickness. Shinoda-san, the man behind Shinoda Plasma, left Fujitsu in 2005 after that company stopped producing plasma displays.

Via IT Media [JP]

Here’s a new one. This crazy iPhone app is a software-based guide to the Canon 5D Mark II. The app is called Handi 5Dmk2 and describes all of the features of the camera along with shooting tips. PDNPulse notes that the instructions include the suggestion that 5D owners are wandering around with huge manuals in their hands instead of shooting.

“No more carrying and flipping through that worn out user manual, or forgetting how to set up your 5D Mark II for a custom white balance shot,” the app’s description page says.

It’s a mere $1.99. Or you could just carry your manual around.

Garmin has just announced ANT Agent for Mac , an ANT driver for OS X along with a desktop mapping app Garmin Connect. Why is this important? Because the Garmin 405 kicks ass for runners and Mac support is like a cherry on an already delicious cake made of happiness and exercise. And chocolate.

Soon you’ll be able to update your device software and GPS chipset to keep your device up to date. With future releases you’ll be able to send workouts and courses to the Forerunner 405 from Training Center and Garmin Connect, and independently send goals to the Forerunner 405 from Garmin Connect. Future releases will also enable you to update your Forerunner 405’s device software and GPS chipset.

Ant-icon If you’re running a PowerPC Mac, you can expect successful pairing and transfers. Just remember to power down before removing the ANT Stick. We’re currently working on additional support for PowerPC Mac systems. In order to be able to install and use the ANT Agent on your Mac, you need to have an Intel-based Mac with OS 104.4.11 or later. You’ll need to have 256 MB RAM and 150 MB of free disk space. Since the ANT Stick is the USB cable for the wireless devices, you’ll need a USB port as well.

I’m downloading and installing the goods right now. I’ll let you know how it goes.

It’s not quite the February 15th rumor from a couple weeks ago, but BGR is reporting that the Palm Pre might be launching around March 15th according to an end-of-life (EOL) list of Sprint handsets leaked from somewhere inside the company.

The February 15th phone appears to be the Treo Pro, which will replace the Palm 800w. The Palm Pre has a “target in-stock” date of 3/15 and will replace the Palm 755p if the leaked document is to be believed.

Unfortunately, the actual document hasn’t been posted anywhere so, as always, take info like this with a grain of salt. The list below shows end-of-life dates for current devices, with each device followed by the device that’ll replace it (if applicable).

Device Name – Projected Warehouse EOL – Replacement (if available)

• Sierra Compass 597 USB – Early February – Sierra 598 USB
• Motorola ic602 – Early February
• LG 160 – Mid-February – Samsung M220
• LG Rumor (blue) – Mid February – LG 265 Rumor II (target in-stock 2/15)
• Motorola i325IS – Mid February – Motorola i365IS
• LG Rumor (green) – Mid March – LG 265 Rumor II (target in-stock 2/15)
• Franklin Wireless U680 USB – Early April
• Palm 800W – April – Palm Treo Pro (target in-stock 2/15)
• LG Rumor (black) – Mid April – LG 265 Rumor II (target in-stock 2/15)
• Motorola i615 – Mid April
• Samsung M520 Lumina – Mid April – LG LX370 (slider)
• RIM BlackBerry Pearl (red) – May
• LG LX400 – Late May
• Palm 755P (blue) – Late May – Palm Pre (target in-stock 3/15)
• Sanyo 6750 Eclipse (pink) – June
• Palm Centro (berry) – June
• Motorola Q9C – Mid June
• Sierra 597E – July – Sierra 2-in-1 Aircard
• Palm Centro (green) – July
• Palm Centro refresh (black) – July
• Motorola VE20 – July
• HTC Touch Diamond – July
• RIM BlackBerry 7100i – August – RIM BlackBerry 8350i

[via BGR]

Treocentral poster Vyruz Reaper claims to have been given insider info on the launch date for the Palm Pre. His source, who allegedly tipped him off to the 800w, but was only 75 percent accurate told him/her that the Pre would launch as early as February 15. The rest of his post blathers on like a 6-year-old telling you about Cars so check it out after the jump and see if you can decipher it.

News on the market is palm pre will be avail 2/15. This is from the same source i got some info on for the palm 800w coming out… he was 75% accurate with his info on the 800 and its release.

Now some more info he gave me. 2/15 release, Requires a data plan but NOT a se or simply data plan. He sad thats a benefit of having a plam, not requiring you to change your plan like the iphone. No wording on price. I dont know if he knew didnt know, but he always kinda shut me up when it came to price.

“I am seeing that you do have data access available on your line, so I do not believe that it would be an issue with getting it activated on the plan. (That is a nice thing about the Palm lines is that they can go onto about any plan) So as long as you have that data pack, it soul be fine”

“That was a really great question!”

take it with a grain of salt.

Best,

Vyruz

Except for the fact that the FCC would have spilled the beans on it by now if it were launching next month. Nice try, dude.

Thanks for the tip, JH!

Where to begin? The above device was apparently displayed at Computex back in June and had been speculated by some to be called the Palm Roteo (due to the very Palm-like keyboard) but has since been identified by Pocketables as the Compal Tabasco. Well, wouldn’t you know it, apparently in August a little rumor was floating around about Palm placing an order for five million units of something with Compal.

Whatever the case may be, the prototype device apparently had a 4.5- to 5-inch touchscreen, a built-in 3.2-megapixel camera with a 2x optical zoom and a flash, and a tiny touchpad with mouse buttons on the left and right.

At about 6.3 by 3.3 by 1.3 inches, it’s too big to be a phone but it could very well function as a mobile internet device of some type. Palm will be announcing some sort of “new-ness” at CES this year, which has been speculated to be its new Nova operating system, but who knows? Maybe it’s got some sort of secret crazy Compal-manufactured mobile internet device up its sleeve as well.

Blog Times (Korean) [via Pocketables]

PDNPulse found Vincent Laforets latest short flick shot with Canon’s latest HD camera. Again, the visuals are stunning and remember that this was captured on a DSLR, not a “true” video camera.

Click the image above to watch the video. It’s a perfect marriage of style, artistry, and great glass.

Back in March, you and I briefly chatted about the Hybrid Dual Portable Computer, or HDPC, from a company called MIU out of Korea. It appears that MIU has updated the once-chunky HDPC into a somewhat less-chunky version that now uses Intel’s Atom processor over its predecessor’s VIA C7M ULV chip.

According to Jenn over at Pocketables, The “dual” part of the HDPC moniker stems from the fact that “the device has two screens, two processors, and two operating systems.” When flipped open to expose the keyboard, there’s a 4.1-inch touchscreen with an 800×480 resolution displaying Windows XP, all powered by the Atom chip.

When the screen is flipped over, the device is “closed” and makes use of a secondary 2.4-inch AMOLED screen with a 320×240 resolution. The interface appears to be some sort of Windows CE-based OS and is powered by an ARM processor. It basically turns the PC into a cell phone, allowing you to use a GSM network to make phone calls. You can make VOIP calls, as well.

I’ll be honest. I like this device. I might even buy one if I could figure out where the hell they were sold. There’s loose talk that its already available in Korea for around $500, which seems like a pretty good deal to me. I’d probably have to give up wearing super-tight leather pants if I ever hope to fit this thing in my pocket but, hey, the 80s are so over, man.

Whether you’re able to find one or not, the bigger picture is that these sort of devices are possible and do, indeed, exist somewhere. We’ll likely see more and more of them in the near future.

[via Pocketables]

Doesn’t that seem a bit strange to you? They’re really asking for a lawsuit here. Of course, that wouldn’t stop me from having a cold one while rocking some S.T.U.N. Runner or Road Riot 4WD.
[via Retro Thing]

I don’t understand the equivalent of these AMEX points to real money, but if you’re looking to upgrade from your crummy point and shoot and you have some extra points then now is the time. I’d suggest going with either Pentax over the Nikon D60 because the feature set on both kick the crap out of the Nikon. The K10D may be older, but it’s prime choice of the bunch. Check out this DPReview comparison chart if you don’t believe me.

via 1001noisycameras

So we return to the Palm Treo Pro, a $549 unlocked Windows Mobile Treo aimed squarely at the business set. It’s been about a week and I’ve used this guy off and on. It kept a nice charge – two days, for the most part, without much data use – and fit nicely in the pocket. But is it the Treo of which we all incessantly dream? Is it the Treo that will bring us closer to world peace and better burritos on the East Coast? Is this the Treo for you?

Yes, it is the Treo for you if you are a business professional forced to use Windows Mobile and you travel quite a bit and hardware price is no object. This is also the Treo for you if you’re buying a few cellphones for the CEO and the CFO and you want them to be productive without having to change your Windows-based IT and communications infrastructure. If you are neither of those people, think of the Treo Pro as a vision of Palm’s future.

The Treo Pro is one of Palm’s most attractive Treos to date. Gone is the lumpen plastic of the Centro and the low-gloss ho-hummery of the 800w. Whereas the Centro and the 800w took design cues from the lower end of the market, Treo tapped HTC to design this new looker and for good reason. The RIM, in a general, sense, was eating their enterprise lunch and the Centro was doing just fine.

So we have the Treo Pro. As its name implies, this isn’t for amateurs. Because it’s unlocked and unsubsidized you’d better have a damn good reason for going Windows Mobile. This could mean IT departments buying in bulk for their executives or a mobile professional who wants a messaging phone but still likes ActiveSync. Europe loves them some Windows Mobile, so their unlocked model is a good move. The US market, sadly, looks at expensive phones and then looks elsewhere. The Blackberry Curve didn’t get where it is on its good looks.

The phone is very thin and the keyboard very usable. I had no issues with tapping out emails or messages and once set up it’s easy to get mail and surf the web. The rounded hang-up and call buttons are a great touch but the odd center “Palm” button and the additional OK button made for some odd moments – which one does what? Aren’t they the same? Reader, I don’t know. The phone also has G.P.S. built in.

A dedicated silencing switch on the top and a dedicated Wi-Fi button on the side are probably the most useful features. Windows Mobile has been streamlined quite nicely with Wi-Fi discovery and connection made a snap by the button and search and messaging made easier with an uncluttered front page.

Who is this phone going against? I’d say Palm is aiming at two other handsets. One starts with B and ends with -old and the other starts with i and ends with Phone. The Bold is the Pro’s closest rival with its updated styling. This phone also goes against the stunning new Nokia E71.

Right now, if I were to recommend a QWERTY smartphone to someone with a little money, I’d say the Bold was the best in the RIM category, the Pro was the best in Windows Mobile, and the E71 was the best in Symbian. That, I’m happy to say, is a great feeling. I’m a long-time fan of Palm and their dips of late have disturbed and depressed me. I’m still not in love with the Centro and the 800w was ho-hum but the peppy processor and attractive styling of the Pro made me rethink my misdirected anger.

What are my concerns? That people see the nearly $600 price tag and balk. Nokia can play in the unsubsidized market simply because it’s been working in that space for quite a long time. When we think of the Treo we think of carrier-specific models – to untether the Pro, even though they’ve done the same for the Centro with little fanfare, is distressing. I’ve been promised good things from Palm in the next few months but I worry their time has passed. Android could replaces Palm OS as the geek OS of choice and the iPhone and its various knock-offs are what’s popular with the kids. This is a step in the right direction. Let’s hope the next step comes sooner than later.

Table jacked from here.