Nikon has announced its new Coolpix P80 point-and-shoot camera designed for camera enthusiasts and family photographers. The Coolpix P80 boasts of a whooping 10.1-megapixel CCD image sensor and Nikon’s EXPEED digital image processing concept.

Bill Giordano, General Manager Marketing of Nikon Coolpix must have been proud of the new camera when he said:

“Nikon is proud to continue delivering the highest quality imaging products for photo enthusiasts and aspiring photographers with a broad range of creative control options and superior imaging ability.”

Do you think these goodies speak for Mr. Giordano’s claim? – 18x optical zoom, Nikon lens with focal lengths from 27-486mm (equivalent to 35mm), optical vibration reduction, various exposure mode highlighted by Sport continuos mode that allows users to shoot as many as 30 consecutive photos at 4, 6, or 13 fps, a 2.7-inch LCD monitor with anti-reflection coating, electronic view finder and many more features.

To make the Coolpix P80 even easier to use, Nikon has thrown in its user-friendly imaging innovations called “Nikon In-Camera Innovation”. This technology includes In-Camera Red-Eye Fix, D-Lighting and Face-Priority. The Nikon Coolpix will be available this month and retail for $399.95.

Read [Nikon Press Center] Product [Nikon]

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The voice to text service company, Jott, has brought its voice recognition technology to BlackBerry devices. Using Jott’s technology BlackBerry users can now reply to email using their voices. The Jott voice recognition technology works with the BlackBerry 8800, 8300 and 8100. By using Jott for BlackBerry, you will be able to reply (at least according to Jott) 3-5 times faster than typing the message out, you will be able to send more personal replies and possibly most important be able to keep your eyes on the road while replying to email, of course in order to reply you would have had to read the message first.
Jott for BlackBerry also works with Bluetooth headsets. If you are interested, simply download and install, Jott will then automatically add a “reply with Jott” option to all emails that you receive from then on.

Product [Jott for BlackBerry] Via [Boy Genius Report]

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LG Korea has announced a shiny new Black mobile phone which is expected to be released under its Black Label Series of handsets. The new LG phone, which is still without a name, is a slim slider style phone and could probably be a follow up to the LG Chocolate or LG Shine, or perhaps even a new model of its own. There’s not too many details on the LG announcement about the new phone except the press image and a mention that it will have a 5-megapixel camera. In addition, the new LG phone would also sport a carbon fiber and tampered glass body finish.

The new LG phone is slated for worldwide release on April 24th. Until then, we could only guess as to how LG is going to name this new handset.

Via [I4U] Via [LG Korea]

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Western Digital has launched the new My Book Studio Edition II, a dual drive storage system designed specifically for Mac computers.The Western Digital My Book Edition II is a fully customizable drive, which users can service by themselves. If they need a higher capacity or experience a drive fail, users can just open the enclosure and replace the affected drive with a new or larger one. The My Book Edition II also brags about being an eco-friendly device due to its power saving features. The drive storage utilizes one-third less power than most standard dual drive external storage systems. In addition, the My Book Edition II is equipped with an efficient convection cooling system that does not require a fan. Hence, the drive will run quieter.

For back up purposes, the My Edition Book II has a continuous backup software, so users are ensured that their files would always have backup copies. Adding even more efficiency to the drive’s usage is a LED status indicator which tells users how much space in the drive is already consumed. So, that pretty much takes care of monitoring storage usage.

The price you have to pay for such an energy efficient and less annoying data storage device? $349 for a 1TB capacity drive and $599 for a 2TB drive. Don’t fret out too much about the price, it’s nothing compared to the lifelong storage that you’re going to get for your important files anyway.

Read [PR Newswire]

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Apple’s MacBook Air even in its infancy stage is already being threatened by other laptop manufacturers. UK-based laptop maker Rock for one has released its newest laptop model the Pegasus P210, a 12-inch laptop that weighs in at just about 2.2-pounds.

In addition to its weight, or lack-off, the Pegasus P210 also brags of a ‘potential’ 6-hour battery life, which assuming that would be a real world estimate would be wonderful. Those features alone could be enough for the Pegasus P210 to gain the moniker – ideal travel companion.

But wait, there’s more to the Pegasus P210 than just being lightweight and having a ‘potential’ battery life of 6 hours. The Pegasus P210 is running Windows Vista and is being powered by an Intel A110 processor. The P210 features a 12-inch WXGA X-Glass display, 80GB ATA hard drive, 1GB of RAM, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, three USB ports, PC Card slot, four-in-one memory card reader, magnesium alloy chassis, hard drive shock protection and optional integrated 3.6Mbps 3G/GPRS modem.

Here’s the clincher, you’ll get all of those features in the Pegasus P210 for a whooping price of $1858! Add around $240 and you’ll get the 3G version of the Pegasus P210.

Product [Rock] Via [Register Hardware]

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SoundID has announced its latest Bluetooth headset, the HD 300 with NoiseNavigation control. Boasting a narrow form and chic, high-gloss black finish, the SoundID HD300 Bluetooth headset was designed to complement the natural hearing process. NoiseNavigation is SoundID’s proprietary technology that optimizes speech intelligibility during conversation with two microphones that isolates speech and DSP algorithms. This is said to reduce wind and background noise when the Bluetooth headset is in used, in other words the person you are speaking with should not have any trouble hearing you.

Aside from NoiseNavigation, the HD300 also features PersonalSound, which lets users select from three listening modes based on the most common hearing preferences. But perhaps the best feature of the HD300 Bluetooth headset is the Automatic Volume Control. This feature eliminates the need for constant volume adjustments when noise condition in the environment varies.

Usage wise, the SoundID HD300 was designed with RealComfort EarLoops that should give users comfort during prolonged use but also channels the sound the most efficient way.

Finally, the SoundID HD300 comes with free downloadable application that allows users to control their HD300 through their mobile phones. The SoundID HD30 Bluetooth headset is expected to hit US stores in Q3 2008 and retail for $119.

Read [Business Wire]

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AOL has announced 3 new developments in its drive to bring various services to customers via their mobile phones. The new AOL MyMobile services have been launched in beta, the AOL Mobile Search now enables easy access to Blackberry devices and the expansion of the AIM TEXT across all major carriers in the U.S.

The AOL MyMobile is a suite of mobile services that provides customers with personalized access to AIM, AOL Mail, AOL CityGuide, Moviefone, MapQuest, AOL Local Search, AOL News, Weather, Sports and AOL Pictures. All these services will run seamlessly together on users mobile phones. AOL MyMobile was built using Action Engine’s on-device portal technology. AOL MyMobile beta can now accessed by visiting http://wap.aol.com/mymobile on your mobile phone and selecting the “Get AOL MyMobile BETA” option.

In addition to MyMobile, AOL will also be introducing a new AOL Mobile Search engine made specifically for the iPhone’s Safari browser. Utilizing AJAX technology and the iPhone’s multi-touch interface, AOL has created a user interface that delivers AOL services perfectly into the iPhone interface.  Meanwhile for BlackBerry users, the AOL Mobile Search icon can now be installed into their device’s Home Screen. AOL Mobile Search is a mobile vertical search engine that crawls AOL’s various content services.

Finally AOL has also expanded its AIM TXT service across all major networks. AIM TXT is a facility that gives users access to various AIM functionality such as sending instant messages, updating their AIM status message, setting availability, viewing Buddy List and more. AIM TXT will be available to users on Alltell, AT&T Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular and Verizon Wireless.

Read [Business Wire]

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Cricket Communications has introduced two new mobile handsets in its line up of CDMA AWS handsets, the Samsung MyShot (SCH-r430) and the Samsung Spex (SCH-r210). Designed specifically for the new AWS spectrum band, both phones however can still operate on PCS and cellular bands. Hence, making them work in all Cricket wireless markets. Cricket’s introduction of the two Samsung mobile phones earns the company the bragging rights of being the first to release the CDMA AWS devices to the mobile phone market.

Aside from being CDMA AWS handsets both the Samsung Spex and MyShot boast of distinct features that sets each other apart. The Samsung Spex is a slim and sleek mobile handset that offers an easy-to-use interface. Its features include Bluetooth, color display, speakerphone and personal tools (calendar, memo pad and more). In addition, the Spex also supports Cricket’s mobile services such as text messaging, mobile web, Cricket games and apps.

The Samsung MyShot on the other hand is packed with a 1.3-megapixel camera with self-timer, Bluetooth, voice recognition capability, web access, Cricket games and apps, text and picture messaging, speakerphone and the personal tools.

The Samsung Spex will retail for $119 while the Samsung MyShot will have a retail price of $149. Users can also choose to get a Cricket service plan starting at $35 a month which includes unlimited wireless calling all day, every day.

Via [PhoneScoop] Via [MobileTechNews] Read [Samsung]

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Google has announced the availability of Google Docs even when a user is offline. Using Google Gears, Google Docs will create a document cloud of the user’s online Google Docs accounts. This doc cloud can then be accessed by the user on the desktop and subsequently the user can edit the document and save it on the desktop again. The fun then starts the next time the user connects to the Internet, Google Docs (via Google Gears) will then sync up the documents edited offline with the documents online.

Google Docs offline will be rolled out gradually to users. You’d know when it is already enabled if you see a green downward arrow at the upper right hand of the Google Docs screen. Clicking on the green arrow would prompt Google Docs to ask you to install Google Gears. Once Google Gears is enabled, you can start working offline with your Google docs by simply typing http://docs.google.com on your web browser (make sure you are offline).

Google Docs offline is definitely a welcome addition to the already useful features of Google Docs. Hopefully, it gets implemented as well to spreadsheets and presentation. In the meantime, let us all enjoy working with our documents seamlessly online and offline. Hats off to Google Docs for this new feature.

Here’s a video of how Google Docs offline works from the Google Docs team:

Read [Official Google Docs Blog]

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The Japanese LCD market’s got a new 24-inch LCD courtesy of Green House. Bearing the model GH-TIG243SH-LB, the LCD boasts of HDMI technology for enhanced high-quality picture quality at the native resolution of 1920 x 1200. Complementing the HDMI features is a 1000:1 contrast ratio which facilitates widescreen viewing. And HDMI also means that the LCD supports Blu-ray video input, for how can you enjoy a high definition LCD if you’re not using a Blu-ray player? The LCD is also packed with 2 built-in stereo speakers.

In addition to those features, you’d also get an LCD that can be securely mounted on the wall with its antitheft lock. This feature was included possible to market the LCD use in public display areas. And of course bearing the Green-House company also means that the GH-TIG243SH-LB LCD passed all necessary environmental standards for industrial products. So that makes the Green House LCD, environment friendly.

The Green House 24-inch LCD is now available in the Japanese market. Hopefully, they bring this LCD to the US and European markets and in other parts of the world. We need more of this kind of product—high quality, technologically advanced and environment friendly as well.

Via [Akihabara News] Via [Green-House]

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