WowWee have announced a new range of pico-projectors, based on Texas Instruments’ DLP chipset. The three new products range from straightforward projector handsets, as already on-sale, to a combination pico-projection boom box. The WowWee Cinemin Swivel, shown here, will hit the market first, offering 480 x 360 resolution, three hour battery life, a poseable neck for projecting on walls, ceilings or anything in-between, and a standard video input suitable for iPods, laptops and other devices.
I stopped by OpenMoko’s booth and was given a quick outlook on its progress with Neo FreeRunner. Unfortunately, nothing has changed in term of handset’s specifications; but that does not mean the OpenMoko guys are sitting idle. They have made many under the hood (software) improvements since I last spoke to them, the phone is much more responsive to commands compared to my previous hands-on.
Pico-projection looks to be a burgeoning niche, and inside many of the compact devices lurks Texas Instruments‘ chipset. SlashGear caught up with the company at CES this week, and took a look at two of the new devices from Samsung using the DLP technology. Unlike existing pico-projectors on the market, Samsung have taken the TI chipset and integrated it into standalone products that don’t necessarily require an external video source. In fact their MBP200 PMP and Anycall Show both offer the portable mini-cinema experience all on their own.
With all the furore over the Palm Pre this past week, many have forgotten that it will come up against another QWERTY-equipped, sliding touchscreen smartphone when it launches in the first half of 2009. The Nokia N97 made a discrete showing at CES, bearing a newer (though still nowhere near final) software build than the version we last saw, and SlashGear sat down with the handset to find out some more details. After the cut, we talk Facebook, widgets and design decisions.
Qualcomm today demonstrated a Snapdragon-based reference prototype running Google’s Android OS. The setup includes a large WVGA display, together with Snapdragon’s always-on wireless connectivity, and is intended to demonstrate the open-source platform’s suitability for larger-scale devices than the current smartphones it’s usually seen running on.
As well as their latest Fuzebox HTPC, Velocity Micro also brought along two mobile products to CES this week. The company has added a MID, the Velocity Micro NoteMagix M5, and a netbook, the Velocity Micro NoteMagix M10, to their range. The former, a rebadged aigo P8860, has a 4.8-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen, integrated WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G, and a 4GB SSD, and will be offered in both Windows XP Home and Linux versions.
Some of the most anticipated devices at CES have been Yukyung’s Viliv range of PMPs, UMPCs and MIDs. The company has three models on show this week, the S5 “Entertainment” MID, the X70 Atom ”Communication” MID, and the S7 “Productivity” MID. The S7, shown here, has a 7-inch WSVGA convertible display, full QWERTY keyboard and either 16GB SSD or 60GB hard-drive.
Gallery of the other Viliv models after the cut, together with hands-on first impressions
If iRiver’s other launches – the WAVE HOME and new Mickey – this week were somewhat unusual, their P7 PMP is far more mainstream. Controlled primarily via a 4.3-inch resistive touchscreen, the 4GB, 8GB or 16GB NAND flash media players can handle audio and video files, as well as text files and FM radio.
Video demo of the iRiver P7 PMP after the cut
Velocity Micro are probably best known for their gaming PCs, but they also have a range of home theater PCs; that’s one of the things SlashGear stopped by to take a look at this week at CES. The Fuzebox is a high-definition, Blu-ray enabled HTPC intended for those wanting a low-maintenance way to rip and watch DVDs, stream music to multiple rooms, watch streaming content and more; to do that, they’ve locked the Windows-based box down.
Check out the video demo of the Fuzebox after the cut
iRiver’s Mickey PMP is something of a novelty compared to other mediaplayers from the company, but the iPod shuffle rival does manage to endear itself in-person. Available in pink or sky-blue with 2GB of storage for your audio files, the Disney-branded MP3 player has LED eyes that indicate volume, playback and other status details, together with expressions.
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SlashGear Japan
