Mio

CeBIT: Toshiba launches Qosmio G30 HD-DVD ready laptop

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Toshiba has started the battle of the high definition DVD war with the launch of its first notebook equipped with the new HD-DVD media standard. HD-DVD is one of two formats trying to replace current DVDs for high-definition content such as movies. Its main backers are Toshiba and NEC and it is competing with Blu-ray Disc, which is backed by a group including Sony, Panasonic, and Samsung Electronics.

Qosmios are Toshiba’s high end AV oriented laptops and come complete with a TV tuner, digital video recorder etc and the G30 packs all these plus a top-end 1-bit digital amplifier (a world first for a PC apparently). It runs using Microsoft’s Windows Media Center Edition 2005. The HD DVD drive means that users can transfer content/data on to disc with a huge capacity of 30 Gigabytes. Read more

Posted on Thu, 9 Mar 2006 08:54:05 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Wireless Location Company Wherify Scores $35 Mio. Investment

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Wherify secured a package of equity financing where the Company can access up to $35 million of common stock equity over a two-year period, subject to effective stock registration and other terms of the agreement, from Dutchess Private Equities LP.

We reported about the Wherify Kids locator Wristwatch the first time way back in 2002. It is good to see that they well stick around.
Wherify will use the funds for marketing efforts and expanding global operations toward the upcoming launch of its Wherifone GPS Locator Phone, assisted-GPS technology platforms, and continued product development.
The Wherifone G550 (photo) is the world’s smallest GSM/Enhanced-GPS Locator Phone. Read more

Posted on Fri, 10 Feb 2006 02:52:25 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Toshiba Qosmio G30 Comes with FIFA World Cup Ticket

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The new high-end TV notebook Qosmio G30 from Toshiba will be sold in Germany bundled with a ticket to a soccer game at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

The Toshiba Qosmio G30 has been already announced (Japanese) in Japan a couple of weeks ago. Toshiba is an official FIFA World Cup sponsor, so they have access to lots of tickets. Many soccer fans are still hunting for tickets to see a game at the World Cup. I am not sure if buying a Notebook is the best way to get one, but why not.

The Intel Core Duo Notebook features a 17 inch screen, 2 100GB or 120GB HDD that can be configured as RAID, TV Tuner and DVD drive. Read more

Posted on Mon, 30 Jan 2006 13:44:27 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

10 Mio. Sony PSP Sold, Sony Wants to Sell 3 Mio. PSP this Holiday Season in US

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Sony announced that it has sold 10 million Sony PSP portable consoles world-wide so far.

Sony shipped 4.47 million Sony PSPs in North America, 3 million in Japan and Korea and 2.53 million units in Europe.

In another announcement Sony says it plans to sell another 3 million Sony PSP consoles this holiday season in the United States. Read more

Posted on Sat, 22 Oct 2005 02:23:41 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Mio 269 GPS HDD PDA gets Free Software Upgrade in Europe

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I just ordered my free upgrade for the Mio 269 GPS unit for Europe. The new version supports cross-border navigation.

I have the Mio 269 over 6 month now. It works pretty solid, but has it's issues, like sometimes the voice disappears and also some freezes happened. But overall very usable.
I am excited to get the new software because of the cross-border navigation. Now, I only can route in one map area and not across different map segments stored on the 2.5GB hard-drive. For instance I could not route from Munich to somewhere in Italy. The new update should allow this.
The update is free until November 30th, but you have to pay shipping and send back the old map CDs. Read more

Posted on Tue, 4 Oct 2005 01:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Mio A700 and A701 Windows Mobile 5.0 GPS Smart Phones

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Taiwanese MiTAC offers Windows Mobile 5.0 Smart phones with full GPS navigation software known from the Mio Navigation PDAs.

The Mio A700 comes in stylish white and is only for the Asian market. The Mio A701 that was announced earlier is for Europe and has a slightly different form factor.
The Mio A700 and Mio 701 are cool all-in-one smart phones featuring a 2.7 inch TFT touchscreen, 520MHz (Intel Bulverde PXA-270) processor and 192 MB of memory, an integrated GPS device with SirfStar III chipset,a 1.3 megapixel camera and Bluetooth 1.2. Read more

Posted on Mon, 3 Oct 2005 11:45:22 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Mio 269 GPS with 2.5GB HDD available for Pre-Order

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The unique Mio 269 GPS handheld with built-in 2.5GB hard-drive and integrated GPS antenna is now available for pre-order in the USA (via MobileMag).

I own the Mio 269 GPS device since March and I am very pleased with it. I should have published a review by now, but I just did not get around it yet.
Below is a quick take on the pros and cons of the Mio 269.

In the US the Mio 269 GPS comes pre-loaded with continental U.S., Hawaii, and Canada.
Amazon.com has the Mio 269 available for pre-order for $799.99.

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Posted on Wed, 15 Jun 2005 10:43:31 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

New Toshiba Qosmio F20 AV Notebooks

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Toshiba announced new Qosmio F20 AV Notebooks in Japan.

Toshiba improved the AV functionality of their Qosmio notebook line with the F20. For instance time shift recording goes back now 24hours. The Qosmio F20 comes either with a 1.6Ghz Pentium M or 1.4Ghz Celeron M. 512MB RAM, 100GB Hard-drive, 128MB nVidia GeForce Go 6200 and a 15.4 inch screen are featured.
The new Qosmio F20's go on sale June 10th. They come in black or white. No pricing available yet.
More details in the Toshiba press-release (Japanese).

Find Deals for Qosmio Notebooks.

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Posted on Thu, 2 Jun 2005 09:46:41 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

ROAMio Fully Recyclable Video Camera

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The ROAMio video camera is already around a couple of month in Australia, but still worth mentioning. The ROAMio is also available at ASDA stores in the UK now.

The ROAMio is made from PET recyclable plastic, and is 175mm long and 80mm wide. It can take 24 still images and 10 min. video. The images and video are delivered on a CD. The price for the processing is included in the 50 Australian Dollars (~40USD).
More details on the ROAMio site.
News Tip: Richard U.

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Posted on Fri, 29 Apr 2005 03:36:30 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Patent Infringement: Immersion Corp. to get $90 Mio. from Sony

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Sony lost a patent infringement lawsuit against Immersion Corporation that was filed in 2002. Sony is going to appeal it, so nothing is settled yet.

Immersion Corporation (they make the infamous knob in the new BMWs) claims that the Sony Playstation Dual-Shock controllers infringe on their patents for vibrating in sync. with game action. A court ordered Sony to pay $90 million to Immersion Corporation. Sony would also need to halt sales of PS2 consoles, game controllers and 47 games if it would loose the appeal.
More details on CNET.

We reported about the Lexar versus Toshiba lawsuit the other day. Such lawsuits are potentially bad for consumers.

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Posted on Mon, 28 Mar 2005 02:54:04 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Mio138 Digi Walker All-in-One Gadget

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DAPReview discovers a interesting multi-function gadget on some korean shopping mall.

The Mio138 Digi Walker main two functions are MP3 Player and GPS Navigation. The PDA like shaped Gadget has a color touch screen that can be used for input with fingers or with a stylus. The product page of the Mio138 is in korean and its a graphic, so it is impossible to use automatic translation.
More details on DAPReview, Hmall (Korean).

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Posted on Tue, 28 Dec 2004 02:15:51 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Toshiba Qosmio Notebook Preview

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DesignTechnica takes a first look at the new multimedia/convergence Notebook from Toshiba - Toshiba Qosmio.

Quote:
"With several recent product announcements blurring the line between computers and consumer electronic devices, Toshiba has gone one step further – completely erasing the line.
If it works like they say it does, Toshiba’s new Qosmio laptop truly is both a traditional consumer electronic device and a computer built into the familiar laptop form factor. Packed into the Qosmio’s traditional laptop exterior is a TV tuner, an extra-bright 15-inch LCD panel and instant-on technology that allows it to play DVDs and audio CDs, and tune TV stations without booting up the computer.
Available in August, Toshiba is hoping the Qosmio E15-AV101 will spark an interest in an entirely different type of computing solution. "
Read full preview.

Compare prices for Toshiba Notebooks now!

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Posted on Mon, 26 Jul 2004 07:13:55 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

MimioPersonal Innovative Digital Ink System

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New innovative digital ink system starts selling in Japan.

Kokuyo offers the MimioPersonal system that connects to a PC and records hand-writing on a paper clipboard.
The system uses a special pen and a small receiver unit mounted on the clipboard.
The supplied software can recognize japanese characters.

MimioPersonal starts selling in Japan for 39,800 yen.

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Posted on Thu, 8 May 2003 10:25:45 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

The Matrix Reloaded Game Most Expensive US Game With 20Mio.

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Enter the Matrix a game version of the upcoming sequel "The Matrix Reloaded" is supposedly the most expense game production ever in the USA. Andy and Larry Wachowski, promised unprecedented cooperation to Shiny Entertainment. The reported production costs are 20Mio. USD. Pretty Nice!

Jada Pinkett Smith, who co-stars as Niobe in the film, is the game's main character, while stars Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss take on supporting roles.
The Game will be released on May 15th at the same time as the Matrix Reloaded starts.

The Game will be available on PS2, X-Box, GameCube and PC.

See also:
Buy The Matrix Reloaded Game at Amazon.com
Buy the Official Matrix Reloaded Sunglasses

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Posted on Fri, 21 Feb 2003 10:43:51 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Casio Camera Phone with 15.6 Mio. Color Display

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Casio in Japan announced a new Camera Mobile Phone. The A5302CA model features a 310,000pixel camera and a 2.1" 15.6 Mio Color Display. It feature 12.8MB storage - thats huge! No idea when or if it will be available in the US.

Use TransLinGO! from Fujitsu for japanese to English translation.

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