First Pics: ViewSonic's VPC08 Windows XP Phone is Freakin' Huge [Cellphones]

Here are the first shots of the VPC08 in action. The hardware looks faithful to those renders we saw mid-November, and includes a 4.3-inch touchscreen, 800MHz Atom Z500 CPU, and separate phone controls with a second 2-inch screen.

I'm fascinated, but pretty skeptical of the VPC08. As you can see, the thing dwarfs the Nokia N97, and its design doesn't appeal to me as much as the even crazier xpPhone (which will also run Windows 7).

Other specs on ViewSonic's effort include 512MB RAM, 8GB SSD, Wi-Fi, 1200mAh battery, 3.5mm headphone jack, a mini USB port, 2-megapixel camera, and microSD storage expansion. There had been talk of a roughly $800 price, but that's all speculation until it actually arrives. Maybe we'll get to play with it at CES.
[Gizmodo via Shanzhaiben (translated) via Pocketables]

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Swype vs QWERTY: FIGHT!!!!! [Touch Screen]

QWERTY is pretty much the king of smartphone text input. But there's a new challenger on the horizon. It's called Swype, it works with one-hand input and, yeah, it is pretty fast.
Yes, the first thing you may notice is that Swype technically uses a QWERTY layout. But instead of pushing each key individually, you drag your finger from letter to letter.
It's tough to tell if the speed gains are legitimate, given this video has been created by the Swype camp. I will say, however, given that this demo is one hand vs. two, the technology certainly holds its own. What do you think? Would you be willing to part with traditional QWERTY to spell words through nonsensical doodles?
Swype will debut in Verizon's Samsung Omnia II arriving early next month before making its way to an unnamed Android phone next year.
[Gizmodo via Swype via TechCrunch via OhGizmo]

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Samsung’s first Bada OS handset leaks out

In case you haven’t heard, the other day Samsung announced Bada, its own smartphone OS — complete with app store — that it plans to pit against the iPhone and the entire Android line-up. Set to arrive in Q1 2010, not much is known about Bada other than that it features an intuitive touchscreen-based UI and will, for the most part, take the place of all Symbian S60 handsets offered by the Korean company. The handsets that will debut running Bada are also a mystery, but our Dutch friends over at Mobile Phone Helpdesk Europe were sent in a tip, and the handset you see rendered above could be amongst the very first. The fact anyone with the slightest Photoshop skills could whip this up aside, let’s assume for a minute what we’re looking at is real. Are you feeling it or not?

[Boy Genius Report]

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Fujitsu and Docomo debut Separate Keitai modular phone

NTT Docomo, in partnership with Fujitsu, updates its modular cell phone concept with the debut of the new Separate Keitai F-04B. The cell phone's main innovation is its ability to separate into two pieces, one acting as the keyboard/computer the other acting as the display, both communicating via Bluetooth.
The amazing thing about this device is that the separation doesn't cripple the functionality of the two pieces. The display can be used separately as a touchscreen interface and telephone, while the other part can be used as a keyboard, microphone and speaker. When joined the unit functions as a kind of slide-out keyboard phone. The set-up also has an optional projector attachment that allows you use the phone to view movies. Pricing has not been announced, but this is probably the closest we've come to a true mini-desktop dynamic in a mobile phone format, so the bar has been officially raised.
[DVICE via Nikkei]

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Asustek announces WiMAX enabled E-Books coming soon

Asustek will be launching an e-book reader in the near future that will combine wi-fi with WiMAX mobile technologies as soon as the end of 2009. Asustek will most likely release the reader under the extremely popular EEE name here in the U.S. Looks like the predictions back in August were right.
Information is somewhat sparse at this time, but we do know that Asustek has made WiMAX hardware before, for companies like Clearwire, so that part of the technology isn’t new to them. Of course, Asustek frequently produces hardware and sells it to other vendors for re-branding, so we might see this technology under another brand name. We can probably expect Asustek to price their reader in the range of Amazon and B&N, in order to be competitive. One thing for sure, it’s turning out to be a good year for e-book readers.
[CrunchGear]

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Tire maker Bridgestone shows world’s first flexible e-book reader

Tire maker Bridgestone isn’t the first company that comes to mind when thinking about electronic paper, but the company has been experimenting in this field for quite some time now. Today, Bridgestone claimed that it has developed the world’s first flexible e-book reader [JP]. The device, which is pictured above, uses electronic paper (instead of, say, an LCD) and will display the content on the screen even after you turn it off.
Bridgestone says the prototype has a 10.7-inch-screen, is just 5.8mm thick (Kindle 2: 9.1mm) and can display color pages. The device can be bent to some extent since the circuit board and the electronic paper are flexible.
First tests with end consumers will begin in spring of next year, but Bridgestone already said it doesn’t plan to commercialize the e-book reader at this point.

The company also unveiled another device that features a 13.1-inch e-paper (touch screen) that can display up to 4,096 colors, communicate with cell phones and comes with a reaction rate of 0.8sec (that’s how long it takes to refresh a screen). It’s pictured above.
[CrunchGear]

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Else Intuition: The Surprisingly Not-Sad Fate of Palm OS [Cellphones]

In 2006, Access bought the rights to Palm OS, and licensed the code to Palm. Access spent plenty of time and money developing a next-gen OS, which Palm totally ignored for their own. Things looked grim! Until this thing.
The Else Intuition, aside from being one of the first phones to use Access' Linux Platform v3.0 OS, is a 3.47-inch 480x854 slab of handset, with an OMAP 3430 processor, 16GB of internal memory, a 5MP camera, A-GPS, and 3.5mm headphone jack. It's capable hardware to start with, and the Palmy (an honestly, kind of sleepy) v3.0 OS has been slapped with a completely new OpenGL-accelerated interface, codeveloped by Access and Emblaze, who had promised an 'ultimate holistic device,' whatever that means, late last year.
It's a lot to process, and there's not a ton of info to run with here: There's no hands-on to indicate if this left-field software is any good, and the companies won't get any more specific than '[worldwide] operator evaluations are currently underway' as far as potential release dates go. That said, this looks like decent hardware, albeit seriously bricklike, and newness counts for a lot in mobile software. (Pre, anyone?) Maybe this whole Access fiasco wasn't so crazy after all?
[Gizmodo via Access via Impress]

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Virtual Autopsy Table Makes a Dirty Business Clean

Sweden's Norrköping Visualization Center, in collaboration with the Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization, has developed a virtual autopsy system to substitute some of the manual work for touch manipulation on a flatscreen. A body under investigation is first scanned through a CT or MRI and the results of that can be manipulated using software that can filter images based on tissue density, luminance, and other criteria.

Here's a couple videos demonstrating the Virtual Autopsy Table:

Link: Virtual Autopsy Table...

[Medgadget via Gizmag]

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Dell’s “Streak” MID Hits the Internet [VIDEO]

Say hello to the Dell Streak. The 5″ WVGA (800×480) touch screen mobile internet device (MID) has found its way online and into the hands of a few lucky folks. It was reported back in July that Dell had been looking at a family of products with screen sizes ranging from 4 inches to 12 inches . The full list of Streak specs isn’t known yet, but a few things have already surfaced.

Although it’s billed as an internet tablet/device, we see a screen shot that shows an incoming call. We’d love to learn a bit more on that.

• Android 2.0 MID
• 5″ WVGA (800×480) touch screen
• Bluetooth and 3G WWAN connectivity
• 5MP camera w/dual-LED flash
• microSD card slot
• 1,300mAh battery
• WiFi
• Three touch-sensitive buttons

The bottom side of the device shows what looks like a dock connector and the front has what looks like it could be a front-facing camera. Stat tuned to AndroidGuys for more on this one as we can gather it!


[AndroidGuys]

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LG's Pop touchscreen phone set to challenge the iPhone

South Korea's LG just rolled out its latest would-be iPhone killer called the LG GD510 aka the Pop. The company calls the phone 'the most compact 3-inch full touchscreen phone ever made.' In the green tech category, the unit offers an optional solar charging replacement battery cover.
The device also features a 3-megapixel camera, MP3 player, Bluetooth functionality, 8 gigabytes of memory and an FM radio. LG's Pop will go on sale in Europe later this month, with more countries added later. You can see video of the phone's feature set in action here.
[DVICE via LG]

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Multi-Touch Musical “LinnStrument” Demoed on YouTube [Music]

Inventor Roger Linn is famous for creating the drum machine as we know it today, so there’s good reason to be excited about his latest creation; it has just been revealed. It’s a multi-touch surface not all that dissimilar to an iPad. Take a look at the video here to see for yourself.
The instrument — which Linn calls the “LinnStrument” — can take input from all of your fingers, so you can form chords in addition to sounding individual notes. Each space is pressure sensitive to allow for maximum range of expression. Sliding your finger vertically adjusts the timbre while horizontal motions change the pitch.
The final product would take the best elements from the layouts of the piano (chromatic increments) and the guitar (“parallel rows of semitones offset by fourths”). It will look a little different from the prototype, and it’ll be wearable vertically over your torso. You could also just leave it on the table like this prototype, though. We’ve included the render of what Linn imagines below.
The LinnStrument looks like an improvement over those fun-but-limited iPhone instrument apps, and you can be sure that you’ll be able to play Poker Face on the LinnStrument too… if you really want to.

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Video Demonstration

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Finished Product Design

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[Mashable]

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New Wacom Cintiq 21UX Has 2048 Pressure Levels and Back Touchpads [Tablets]

I'm excited about the new 21-inch model, the Cintiq 21UX. According to Wacom, it has better pen performance and ergonomics. The two back touch-strips have me intrigued.

They say their new Grip Pen has their new Tip Sensor technology that requires near-zero pressure to start painting, which is great to get a more natural feeling. It also has 2048 levels of pressure—doubling the previous model. The tablet itself has been redesigned, with eight programmable keys on each side of the tablet, over the bezel.



The coolest addition, however, are the two touch strips on the sides of the tablet, on the back of the bezel itself. These are like mini-trackpads, which can be used for four functions depending on the application. You change the function with your thumb using the round button on the front of the tablet—a LED displays the selected function—and use your middle or forefinger to manipulate the touchpad up and down. For example, you can use it to control the variation of a brush, then click the round button, and use it to control the speed of the airbrush, while using the pen with your other hand. Smart. Can't wait to try it.



The tablet display allows you to position the screen at any angle between 10 and 65 degrees, and it can be detached to use any VESA-compatible mount. I would definitely want to have one mounted on a hydraulically-assisted arm, to be able to position it in front of my main monitor at any time.
[Gizmodo]

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MSI Introducing First Ever 24-Inch 3D All-In-One PC Next Week [All-in-ones]

MSI made some all-in-one noise at CES with the AE2420, and they're stepping it up again for next week's CeBIT 2010 show in Germany. There, they'll introduce the world's first large screen all-in-one PC capable of handling 1080p 3D media.

The 3D AIO will have a 24-inch 120Hz LED display, 1080p resolution, and will be paired with 3D shutter glasses. Other than that, details are scarce—there's no word even on what processor it'll use, other than that it'll be "powerful." But by making the announcement this early, MSI gets ahead of the eventual crush of 3D all-in-one announcements that'll no doubt build throughout the year.

The multitouch, Core i3/i5/i7 AE2420 and AE2280 AIOs will also be on display at CeBIT, as will MSI's business-oriented, eco-friendly AP1920/AE1920 all-in-ones. But no matter how many other models they bring, all eyes are going to be the 3D PC. At least, as many as they brought 3D glasses for.
[Gizmodo]

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Samsung Producing First Integrated Touchscreen AMOLED Panels Starting Next Month [OLED]

Samsung Mobile Display has announced that they're going to begin mass production of the world's first 3.3-inch touch-embedded AMOLED panels next month. That means goodbye heavy glass display, and hello thinner, lighter, brighter phones.
The technology Samsung has developed places .001mm thin touch sensors on-cell on a 3.3-inch WVGA AMOLED, between the panel's substrate and the bottom polarizer film. The result is that you don't need the touch-sensing glass panel that currently sits above your phone's display anymore. The technology could also be integrated into cameras to provide a brighter display and/or longer battery life.
We've been enamored with AMOLED before, but this is the first time we've seen such a practical application hit mass production. Exciting! More so when we actually start to see some of these products hit the market—and see how much they cost.
[Gizmodo via Korea IT Times via OLED Info via Engadget]

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The Next Touchscreens Will Be Very Sensitive About How Hard You Poke Them [Touchscreens]

We've made the leap from resistive to capacitive touchscreens that are more accurate—and multitouchy—so what's next? Screens that feel how hard you tickle them.
One of several approaches to making that happen uses a quantum tunneling composite—quantum tunneling happens when you bring two conductors close together, but with an insulating layer still between them, and electrons jump between the two conductors. Peratech's way to do this is with a polymer that changes resistance as you apply force for the insulating layer, so that bottom line, screens using this tech can tell how hard you pressing on the screen, since the sensors are able tell within two micrometers of how far in the screen's bending.
While there's other tech out there for pressure-sensing screens, Peratech says their tech uses less power and is more sensitive. The first gadgets with Peratech's sauce is coming out as early as April, so we'll able to poke things with that much more intent. Though, I have a hard enough time hitting the right stuff on screen—now I'm gonna have to keep track of how hard I press?
[Gizmodo via MIT via Engadget]

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