LG Electronics supplies keyboard-equipped mobile phones to Cingular Wireless

LG Electronics has unveiled an innovative mobile phone model equipped with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, unique designs and functions, in the U.S. mobile phone market. The model is aimed primarily at young people. LG Electronics announced on February 22 that it is introducing the QWERTY messenger phone (model: LG-F9100) through the largest U.S. mobile operator Cingular.

The model is equipped with a slide-out keyboard featuring standard English alphabetic QWERTY keys 1, enabling the user to do instant messaging more conveniently.

The prime feature of the QWERTY messenger phone is the slide-out keyboard, making it easy to type, and allowing the users to do instant messaging such as AOL, ICQ, and Yahoo messengers, SMS, and e-mail on a wide screen.

According to LG Electronics, the company developed this trendy model in a joint bid with Cingular to respond timely to the market trends that call for a wide variety of wireless Internet services. Furthermore, the model is adored with simple “intenna design” and colored in premium black, aiming at young generation and young adults who seek a differentiation from others.

The LG-F9100 model was recognized for such innovative designs, and recently received iF Design Award from International Forum Design (iF), the world’s authoritative industrial design association based in Germany. The keyboard-equipped mobile phone will be showcased at the 2005 CeBit Show, which will run in Hanover, Germany, for a week from March 10.

In addition, the product was unveiled at the world’s largest electronics fair, 2005 International CES held in Las Vegas in early January. The company said that the model spurred much attention from American consumers and others from various nations, and that it will launch promotional events for the mobile phone in tandem with Cingular.

Juno Cho, Executive Vice President for North America Business Division, said, “The QWERTY messenger phone was developed based on our thorough study of the mobile lifestyle of young American people. LG Electronics will continue efforts to unveil other innovative models with a wide variety of unique designs and functions.”

Cingular emerged as the largest mobile operator with a nationwide GSM network in the U.S., as it merged with the third largest mobile operator, AT&T, Wireless last year, securing a total of 46 million subscribers. Cingular launched 2.7-generation EDGE services early this year, and is pushing to develop innovative services focused on offering high-speed data.

Meanwhile, LG Electronics was selected last year as a preferred 3G phone supplier, the only Korean company of this kind, together with Nokia and Motorola, by Cingular in the latter’s bid to launch the 3-generation WCDMA services in the U.S. market at the end of this year.

iPad to go on sale in nine more countries on Friday

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Apple said Monday that the iPad tablet computer will go on sale in nine more countries this week.

Apple said the touchscreen multi-media device will be available in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore on Friday.

The iPad is currently available in Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.

Apple had previously announced plans to sell the iPad in the nine new countries in July but had not revealed the date.

The iPad allows users to watch video, listen to music, play games, surf the Web or read electronic books.

The cheapest Apple has not updated the sales figures since but then the California gadget maker is to announce its fiscal third quarter results on Tuesday.

Motorola to sell Wi-Fi-only Xoom tablet for $599

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Motorola Mobility says it will start selling a Wi-Fi-only version of its Xoom tablet computer for $599 on March 27.

The Xoom is a prominent competitor to Apple Inc.'s iPad. A version with cellular broadband access went on sale through Verizon Wireless last month for $800, or $600 with a two-year contract.

The Wi-Fi-only iPad 2 model with 32 gigabytes of flash memory, the same amount as the Xoom, also costs $599. Manufacturers trying to take on the iPad have otherwise had a hard time matching the iPad's price.

The iPad 2 and Motorola Mobility Inc.'s tablet runs Google Inc.'s Android software, while the iPad runs a version of the iPhone's software.

Eyes flashing, robot conducts wedding in Tokyo

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(AP) -- Almost everyone stood when the bride walked down the aisle in her white gown, but not the wedding conductor, because she was bolted to her chair.

The nuptials at this ceremony were led by "I-Fairy," a 4-foot (1.5-meter) tall seated

The wedding took place at a restaurant in Hibiya Park in central Tokyo, where the I-Fairy wore a wreath of flowers and directed a rooftop ceremony. Wires led out from beneath it to a black curtain a few feet (meters) away, where a man crouched and clicked commands into a computer.

Japan has one of the most advanced robotics industries in the world, with the government actively supporting the field for future growth. Industrial models in factories are now standard, but recently Japanese companies are making a push to inject robots into everyday life.

Honda makes a walking child-shaped robot, and other firms have developed them to entertain the elderly or play baseball. Kokoro, whose corporate goal is to "touch the hearts of the people," also makes giant dinosaur robots for exhibitions and lifelike android models that can smile and laugh. The company is a subsidiary of Sanrio Co., which owns the rights to Hello Kitty and other Japanese characters.

"This was a lot of fun. I think that Japanese have a strong sense that robots are our friends. Those in the robot industry mostly understand this, but people mainly want robots near them that serve some purpose," said bride Satoko Inoue, 36, who works at manufacturer Kokoro.

"It would be nice if the robot was a bit more clever, but she is very good at expressing herself," said new husband Tomohiro Shibata, 42, a professor of robotics at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology in central Japan.

The I-Fairy sells for about 6.3 million yen ($68,000) and three are in use in Singapore, the U.S. and Japan, according to company spokeswoman Kayako Kido. It has 18 degrees of motion in its arms, and mainly repeats preprogrammed movements and sounds.

FUJIFILM announces launch of new XF1 digital camera

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Fujifilm Corporation announcing the launch of the FUJIFILM XF1. This latest addition to Fujifilm's X series range of cameras is due to hit the market in November this year. The XF1 extends the X series range to a much wider audience.

Newly developed for the XF1, the wide-angle, f/1.8 FUJINON lens features a manual 4x optical zoom (25mm-100mm) operated simply by twisting the zoom ring. Its stylish body includes a 2/3-inch EXR-CMOS sensor and EXR Processor, which are user for FUJIFILM X10. In terms of appeal, the XF1 functions equally well as an upgrade to a

Stylish design & Style

The aluminum body is both light and durable, while a synthetic leather covering reproduces the feel of genuine leather while ensuring an improved grip. The XF1 comes in a choice of three very appealing colors: Black, Red, and Brown.

Unlike anything offered by power zoom, the twisting mechanical zoom ring offers a traditional zooming style by turning ring. The camera is powered on by the turning ring, like the X10. While the camera is not used, the ring can be pushed off into the body to minimize camera size for aiding portability.

Stunning results in low light with f/1.8 lens

The XF1's fast f/1.8 lens allows poorly-lit subjects to be photographed without raising sensitivity levels, keeping noise to a minimum. The slim-line lens achieves its aperture of f/1.8 with a construction that features 7 lens elements in 6 groups (four aspherical and three extra low dispersion), the first with a highly variable profile and a high refractive index, and the second an aspherical element with an extremely high refractive index. All elements are subjected to FUJINON's unique Wide-band High Transmittance Electron Beam Coating process (developed for FUJINON broadcast-use lenses), reducing ghosting and flare for crisp results in even the most difficult conditions.

Featuring a unique Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) mechanism that shifts one group of four lens elements to reduce blur, while avoiding color shading and lost resolution at the edges of the image, the XF1 will ensure that noise levels are minimized to produce clear low-light photographs.

Other features include Macro photography at ranges as close as 3 cm, and also the opportunity to capture images using the beautiful "Bokeh" depth of field effect (for crisp subjects set against out-of-focus backgrounds) by taking advantage of the XF1's fast lens and six diaphragm blades.

Premium high image quality with a larger 2/3-inch EXR CMOS sensor

Everyone can take full advantage of the superb image taking potential of the XF1 by using Fujifilm's premium EXR Auto mode, the technology takes charge and selects the optimum settings (from 103 patterns according to the scene's demands), making extremely high photo quality easy to achieve, with almost any subject, whatever your ability!

Adjustable sensor controls are still on offer for the more advanced photographer. The 2/3-inch, 12 million pixel EXR-CMOS sensor features Fujifilm's three switchable sensor modes (SN - high ISO and low noise, DR dynamic-range, and HR resolution) which can be selected according to the subject for bright, sharp images.

Fast AF in even dark scene with EXR processor

With its EXR-CMOS sensor and EXR processor, the XF1 camera offers fast Auto Focus no matter what you're shooting, even in dark scene. The speedy read time of the CMOS sensor, coupled with the high-speed EXR processor, accelerates all operations; quick response, start-up in just 0.55 seconds, focus acquisition in as little as 0.16 seconds, and minimum shot-to-shot time of just 0.8 seconds. Additionally, the EXR processor offers high-speed processing for hassle-free HD movie recording and burst-mode photography.

Manual 4X zoom lens (25mm-100mm)

Newly developed for the XF1, the wide-angle, f/1.8 lens features a manual 4x optical zoom (25mm-100mm) operated simply by twisting the zoom ring. This offers the photographer a traditional zooming style for quickly compose shots for pleasure and stress-free framing.

Manual feeling with new GUI

A rich assortment of multi-function controls is available to those who prefer adjusting camera settings manually. The camera is equipped with a main command dial that simplifies the task of altering the shutter speed and aperture, while up to 6 frequently-used settings can be assigned to the Expanded-function button as desired, allowing the photographer to capture the scene exactly as intended through intuitive operations performed while viewing the LCD monitor.

That monitor is bright, sharp, 3.0-inch/460K dot premium clear LCD monitor with tempered Glass which protect from Scratch.

Artistic filters

The XF1 features a new "advanced filter" option that allows for different forms of photographic expression. Choose from 11 creative patterns; Pop color, Toy camera, Miniature, High-key, Dynamic tone, and six Partial color options (shoot in B&W plus one selective color: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple), and preview the effect of any of the filters on the LCD monitor.

FUJIFILM XF1 key features list:
Pocketable, premium, camera available in 3 stunning colors (Black, Red,Brown)Manually twisting mechanical zoom ring for turn-on and zoomingF1.8 (wide) - F4.9 (telephoto) 4x Fujinon optical zoom lens (25-100mm equivalent 35mm format) and up to 8x Intelligent Digital Zoom12 megapixel 2/3" EXR-CMOS sensor with EXR-AutoOIS: Optical Image StabilizationFast processing and response times3.0-inch/460K dot premium clear LCD monitor with tempered Glass which protect from ScratchMotion Panorama 360 for seamless panoramic shots in a snapArtistic effects including 6 "Advanced filters" with 11 patterns and 5 "Film simulation modes" for additional creative expression, plus an individual shutter 3D shooting option to create a 3D effect from 2 x 2D shotsFull HD movie recording with the ability to zoom and to take photographs during movie recording. Now also with Automatic Scene Recognition for even better results when videoingSynthetic leather case with the same 3 color variation will be available to complement the XF1

Fiber Optic Speeds Over A Copper Line

A recent article published by MIT revealed that fiber optic speeds couldbe achieved over the copper line. The technique is to combine 3existing techniques - bonding, vectoring, and DSL phantom mode.

With this combination, speeds of 300megabits per second can be achieved at a distance of 400 meters from a communicationshub, and 100 megabits per second at a one kilometer.

Alcatel-Lucent is the first company to publicly announce such technology however, it is not the first to deploy them in trials.

The "deterrence" factor ? Cost.

Check out their article and find out how it is possible and the scenarios that could make it happen.

Desktop Sharing now available for Skype users on Mac OS X

Are you an OS X users who happens to have Skype installed on your Mac? Well, if you answer to that question is a "yes", you might want to start hitting Skypes download pages and getting yourself a copy of the latest client available for download. This is because Skype has announced the availability of version 5.2 of its popular Internet telephony client for Apples operating system, which reportedly comes bundled with a couple of new features.

The first feature which Mac users can expect to take advantage of in Skype 5.2 for Mac is the introduction of desktop sharing for group video calls. According to Skype, this feature willenhance "communication and collaboration on group calls" by giving users the ability to share the contents that are currently displayed on their computer screen, such as "presentations, photos and documents", among video call participants. Skype has also added that this feature puts the sharer in total control on the content that is being shared, while citing an example of how participants will not be able to advance through the slides of a PowerPoint presentation until the presenter does so, simply because they have no control over the other partys computer.

In addition to the screen sharing feature, Skype has also announced that the new client will feature improved multi-tasking support, and in comes in the form of a small notification window which allows Mac users to not only see the participants of their video conferencing, but also exercise control over the conversation by allowing them to hang up or mute the call via its control panel. And according to Skype, this was one of the most requested features that has been made by its user base.

Sounds interesting? Well, this is also where we have the classic "good news bad news" situation going, for Skype has revealed that the screen sharing feature in Skype 5.2 is only available to members who have paid for a Premium subscription. However, if that is not about to deter you, Skype 5.2 for Mac is already available for download, so all you have to do is to simply hit up the download link over at Skypes homepage to get started on some video conferencing goodness.

Source: Skype blog via The Inquirer