PMP Today

Probably two of the most talked about subjects on the internet today are netbooks and the iPhone, so why build a gadget that integrates both devices in one, right? Well, that’s what OLO computer maker has planned in the future by coming out with a netbook that has the iPhone running at the very core. A dock, so to speak, is featured at the trackpad area where you can lay down the iPhone to power the netbook and likewise use it as the trackpad for the device. Very creative thinking if I should say so myself, but while definite plans for its release are still scarce and everything is just a concept at the moment, I’m not exactly optimistic how Apple will appreciate this new found fondness for their mobile phone. Similarly, with an Apple event scheduled to go live tomorrow, they may even launch a netbook of their own which might just spoil the plans of OLO and their iPhone-powered netbook. Nevertheless, this is a unique but utterly expensive idea considering that you’ll have to buy both the netbook and an iPhone just to make it work. Totally ingenious, but totally impractical as well.

[liliputing via engadget]

We’ve all heard about Creative but now  comes another Singaporean company Shiro, trying to make a name by going green. The new PMP from Shiro will no doubt merit more attention than its previous releases. Unlike the EMP Revolution, the Shiro SQ-S does support video files, as well as music and photos. It has 16GB of onboard storage with playback support for MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, APE, OGG and an FM tuner and FM recording. Unlike the the EMP Revolution, this is a long-life player with up to 35 hours of music playing and 7 hours of video. The solar cell is at the back. The SQ-S comes in 3 colors and 4 patterns for its control pad to choose from, though no word on pricing.

[source via gmp3]

Sony Ericsson is about to bust out a new Walkman phone and it’s what has been floating around then net, the Rika. It’s now been given a more recognizable Sony Ericsson model name, the Walkman W705 phone, and it looks to be you average slider phone albeit a little more stylish with the brushed metal finish. It’s got a 2.4-inch display, 3.2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0 (A2DP), WiFi, and aGPS. It’s scheduled to be announced later in the month, but will go on sale in February 2009. I guess Sony Ericsson hasn’t gotten over their habit announcing products months ahead of its release, and considering that the W705 isn’t exactly what you would consider a stellar device, I reckon people will eventually forget about this one after it’s announced. At least Sony Ericsson fanboys has something definite to look foward to next year. Congratulations to them.

[semc blog via bgr]

This is the closest iPod Nano clone we’ve seen so far and it’s up for mass production and distribution courtesy of Orango. The V580 is a 2.4-inch PMP that promises a “visual shock” and support for RM, RMVB, FLV, AVI (Xvid / Divx), VOB, DAT and MP3, WMA, AAC plus FLAC, APE enhanced by Microsoft’s PlayFX. It’s also an e-book reader and comes with USB 2.0 and TF card expansion slot. No pricing yet. Also from Rango is the V880 (below), which already has a price but gone are the Nano clickwheel. The 350 yuan ($51) price of the V880 (2GB) should give you an idea how much the Nanoesque V580 will be going for.

[via imp3]

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Those looking to get a BlackBerry Bold or Storm might just want to exercise a little patience as we’ve found out that RIM is already hard at work at some juicy new products. Based on what BGR was able to gather from two independent sources, RIM’s got a new baby that features a 5-megapixel auto-focus camera, 1GB RAM and a “near HD quality” display. It’s rumored to look like a combination of the Storm and Bold molded into one device which could mean a touchscreen, QWERTY-equipped phone in the not so distant future. Likewise, it was also revealed that a Storm 2 is already in production so it might be a good decision to skip out on the 1st gen Storm since 2nd gen devices are likely to be better than the 1st one. So, got enough EQ to wait things out or are you waiting for something more significant and definite to hold off your insatiable desire to buy a new BlackBerry phone?

[bgr via cellphones etc]

The netbook industry is showing no signs of slowing down despite these trying economic times. Joining the likes of Asus, Dell and Lenovo, Sasmung is releasing their own netbook, the NC10. It features an Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor, 10-2inch display, WiFi, Bluetooth, and Windows XP. While everything looks to be standard fare, it does come with an anti-bacterial keyboard for the obssessive compulsive by heart, and based on the initial benchmarks, it seems that it performs better than the Eee albeit by a small margin only.

[eeepcnews via engadget]

More pics after the break.
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Apple will be making the iPhone available in Walmart stores, says BoyGeniusReport, starting November 15. This is terrific news for impulse buyers, especially in these financially trying times (I’m not sure if the preceding sentence qualifies as irony, but anyway… ). Radio Shack is out of the equation, though. Hopefully, further price cuts will be implemented by Apple. The iPhone 3G still have some ways to go before 10 million.

[via bgr]

Trying to update their pioneering netbook line, Asus will be releasing a touch-enabled Eee PC in the future. Next year is the target release, and they’ll be showing it off as early as January in the annual gathering at CES. No word though on its OS or configuration, but what’s certain is that there’s more in store for Eee PC fanboys. Aside from the touch-enabled model, dual-core Atom 330 processors will soon be integrated into the line and they’ll get more competitive with the pricing aiming at a sub-$300 model. Now, if they can find a way to make the Eee as fashionable as the HP Mini Note, then I have no doubt that Asus will definitely reign supreme in the netbook department.

[electronista via engadget]

We probably all know by now that the upcoming BlackBerry Storm has a touchscreen, but what else can we expect from it?

Based on some of the specs found on the internet, it comes with a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, 128MB RAM, 1GB on board memory, Bluetooth, GPS, 3.5mm jack, speaker phone, proximity sensor, accelerometer, 1400 mAh battery equivalent to 15 days of standby and 5.5 hours of talk time, and of course, a very reasonably sized 3.26-inch touch sensitive 360×480 184ppi display to work your fingers on. It likewise supports SMS, MMS, microSD cards, MS Word and PowerPoint files, and cut/copy & paste which the other more popular touchscreen phone sorely lacks. As far as connectivity goes, you won’t have a problem with its dual-band 800/1900MHz CDMA/EV-DO Rev A, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, and 2100MHz HSDPA compatible. No WiFi support here, but I guess these bevy of features is reason enough to forgo that missing option though I personally believe it would have made the Storm a killer device if RIM had included it. Anyway, with or without it, the Storm still looks like impressive.

Sound pretty enticing and can’t wait for it to be released? We feel the same way, but with Vodafone, Verizon, Telus and Bell all making their respective announcements, it probably won’t be too long now before it hits the market.

[blackberry storm]

The HTC G1 might just be headed towards the Asian region early next year, but it might not be under the HTC name. News has broken out that HTC is possibly releasing the G1 in China in 2009 under its Dopod subsidiary which slightly modified network specifications. Does this mean it will be the Dopod G1 for Asia starting next year? Based on the revealed information, the Dopod G1 is so far intended only for the Chinese market so there’s still the likelihood that the HTC G1 could make its way to other Asian countries.

However, that also doesn’t mean that whatever is release in China won’t leak out to other neighboring countries as well. Oh well, 2009 isn’t that far away and we’ll probably hear more news as to what HTC’s plans are for the G1 as far as world domination is concerned.

[talk android via engadgetmobile]