Your Desk Will Be Able to Charge Mobile Devices

Do you have tons of portable electronic devices lying all around your desk? Mobile phones, PDAs, laptops, portable music players, Bluetooth headsets and whatever you can shake a stick at could possibly be charged by your office desk wirelessly one day thanks to a tech company called Fulton Innovation and office furniture maker Herman Miller Inc.
Herman Miller Inc. is working with Fulton to develop an office desk that's integrated with a technology caleld eCoupled. Using eCoupled, a person can simply place their device, be it a mobile phone or a laptop, on to the desk and it will charge -- all without attaching power bricks or cables or even having the original chargers around. Fulton does this by using magnetic fields to wireless charge devices. The technology is already being used by several other companies such as Philips, which uses a similar technology to charge its Sonicare line of tooth brushes. According to Fulton's description of eCoupled:
eCoupled technology includes an inductive coupled power circuit that dynamically seeks resonance, allowing the primary circuit to adapt its operation to match the characteristics of the load. The power supply circuit automatically optimizes efficiency by seeking resonance at ultra-high frequencies between the primary and secondary coils for any given load.
The technology is intriguing say analysts and could save companies and users a ton of money in the future. "Those things are 30 bucks each and if you have 50 people in your office the cost really adds up," said Jim Lynch, director of the Association of Professional Office Managers. Fulton's device would be the only device that would require a direct electrical connection to operate. Users plug their desks into a wall outlet and leave it at that.
According to Herman Miller, it is working on developing a line of desks with eCoupled technology integrated into them but did not provide details on cost or market release date. Other manufacturers are jumping on eCoupled too. Visteon Corporation, which manufactures parts for auto makers and Motorola, plans to release devices that will work with Motorola phones and Apple's line of iPods.

Via DailyTech

Asus announces leather-bound W6Fp laptop

Asus may not be ready to provide many specs on its new Lamborghini laptop just yet, but the company's more than happy to spill the details on another of its latest rock solid, heart touching laptops, the W6Fp. As with its Lambo brethren, the W6Fp comes wrapped in leather for your typing pleasure, along with what look to be nearly desktop-sized keys for some additional comfort. Specs-wise, you'll get a 13.3-inch WXGA display, a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo T5600 processor, Intel 945GM Express integrated graphics, 1GB of memory (up to 1.5GB), a 120GB hard drive, DVD super multi drive, and, of course, Windows Vista (Home Premium edition by default). Rounding out the laptop are built in Bluetooth and WiFi, and a battery that'll give you just 2.7 hours of juice on a charge, although you can nearly double that if you pop in the extra "bulk battery" included with the system. Look for this one to hit Japan at the end of the month for about 249,800 Yen, or just over $2,000.

Via Impress

Man Develops $2,000 Halo-like Military Suit

The grizzly man is back, and this time he's ready to take on bullets and bombs.
Troy Hurtubise, the Hamilton-born inventor who became famous for his bulky bear-protection suit by standing in front of a moving vehicle to prove it worked, has now created a much slimmer suit that he hopes will soon be protecting Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan and U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
He has spent two years and $15,000 in the lab out back of his house in North Bay, designing and building a practical, lightweight and affordable shell to stave off bullets, explosives, knives and clubs. He calls it the Trojan and describes it as the "first ballistic, full exoskeleton body suit of armour."
Using the hard-learned lessons of his Project Grizzly experience -- a 20-year odyssey that included a National Film Board documentary, an appearance on CNN and personal bankruptcy -- he's ready to start selling his newest idea.
Already, he says, the suit has stood up to bullets from high-powered weapons, including an elephant gun. The suit was empty during the ballistics tests, but he's more than ready to put it on and face live fire.
"I would do it in an instant," he said. "Bring it on."
Yesterday, he returned to Hamilton to show off the suit, hoping to generate some publicity that will get him the meetings he wants with military and police outfitters.
On Saturday, he plans to wear it to Nathan Phillips Square in downtown Toronto and wait for the reporters. It shouldn't take long to create a stir.

Via Hamilton Spectator

HD-DVD goes beyond 50GB with new disc

Toshiba has announced a new 51GB HD-DVD Rom disc at this year's CES.Beating Blu-ray by 1GB, Toshiba today said that they had successfully created a triple layer HD-DVD disc that could contain 51GB worth of data with 17GB on each layer."Continued improvement in disc mastering technology has achieved further minimization in the recording pit, supporting a further boost in capacity to 17GB in single layer and a full 51GB on a single-sided triple-layer disc. Toshiba has confirmed the disc structure and its successful operation." said the press release. "This time-tested physical structure offers proven volume manufacturing at little cost increment."Toshiba has now closed the storage gab with Blu-ray, which can store 50GB on a dual-layered disc. It will be exciting to see if this has any effect on the raging format war. Stay tuned.

Via DVDTown

Personal computers still at Apple's business core

Jack Minsky built a successful business by writing software for Apple 's Macintosh computers. So when Apple last week dropped the word "computer" from its name, and dedicated its annual Macworld trade show to noncomputer gadgets, Minsky might have felt concern for his company's future.
Not so. Minsky, president of SoftwareMacKiev Co. of Boston, thinks Apple Inc.'s new strategy is right on target. "We're excited as we can be about the way Apple is going," Minsky said. In his view, Apple chief Steve Jobs's decision to downplay Mac computers is part of a strategy that will make the machines more important than ever.
Despite the hoopla surrounding Apple's iPod music players, and the hype over upcoming Apple home entertainment servers and cellphones, the company still makes a lot of money on computers. During the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, Apple sold more than 39 million iPods, compared to just 5.3 million Macs. But the Macs brought in nearly as much revenue, $7.4 billion, as the $7.7 billion in iPod sales, and have a better profit margin. Besides, since the rise of iPod, Apple's computer business has been better than ever, with unit sales up 61 percent over the past two fiscal years.
Arnold Reinhold, an analyst at Hurwitz & Associates, a Waltham technology analysis firm, said that like automaker BMW, Apple has succeeded in "carving out a luxury niche in a commodity market."
Yet under their elegantly sculpted hoods, Macs are little different from their cheaper cousins running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system. In 2005, Apple decided to abandon IBM Corp. processors and use the same Intel Corp. chips found inside Windows machines. Mac hardware performance used to lag behind Windows machine; now they're stride for stride. The switch lowered Apple's manufacturing costs, further shoring up margins.
It also enabled Mac computers to run Windows software.
"It was really the evolution of the Mac to the Intel architecture that opened new opportunities for our products," said Bill Portin, sales director for Parallels Inc. of Renton, Wash. Parallels' software lets Windows and Mac programs run side by side, removing the stigma of using Mac computers in corporate environments addicted to Windows.

Read more at Boston.com

MoGo The Worlds Smallest Bluetooth Adapter

Newton Peripherals, makers of those sweet MoGo mice that fit inside your PC card slots, have now come out with the tiniest of tiny bluetooth adapters. The idea here is that it's so small and smooth that you can just leave it plugged into your computer all the time. And if my three and a half year old laptop didn't have bluetooth, I'd be all over this lil' guy. Look for them around June for $49.–

Via Gizmodo

LG Hybrid Blu-ray/HD DVD Player Cannot Be Sold As Is

Nate Mook, Editor-in-Chief, BetaNews: LG may have a difficult time bringing its newly announced BH100 hybrid Blu-ray and HD DVD player to the market, BetaNews has learned, because it will not receive certification from the DVD Forum. Without such certification, LG cannot publicly claim the player supports HD DVD as it is doing now.
The problem stems from the lack of support for HDi, the advanced interactivity technology used by HD DVD. LG has only included support for BD-J, Blu-ray's interactive menu system, in the BH100. Without HDi, only the video content from HD DVD discs will play back; menu systems and other interactive features will simply not be usable.
Kevin Collins, Microsoft's representative for the HD DVD group who sits on all the steering committees, says LG will not be able to sell the product and claim it supports the format if it leaves out HDi. Collins said LG provided no advance notice before announcing the BH100 player at CES, and noted he was surprised by the move.
In fact, Collins explained to BetaNews that the DVD Forum could pursue legal action against LG for claiming the hybrid player supports the HD DVD and using the HD DVD logo, just like it does against pirate hardware manufacturers in Asia that build DVD players without paying licensing fees.
LG plans to begin selling the BH100 in the first quarter of this year for $1,199 USD. But objections from Microsoft's Collins and other companies involved in HD DVD could force LG to make changes, or scrap the player altogether. Collins noted that studios would be "very upset" if consumers could not playback HD DVD movies as they were intended, with interactive menus and special features.
BetaNews was awaiting a response from LG on the matter by press time.

Via Betanews

Apple anounces IPhone

Capping literally years of speculation on perhaps the most intensely followed unconfirmed product in Apple's history -- and that's saying a lot -- the iPhone has been announced today. Yeah, we said it: "iPhone," the name the entire free world had all but unanimously christened it from the time it'd been nothing more than a twinkle in Stevie J's eye (comments, Cisco?). Sweet, glorious specs of the 11.6 millimeter device (that's frickin' thin, by the way) include a 3.5-inch 480 x 320 touchscreen display with multi-touch support and a proximity sensor to turn off the screen when it's close to your face, 2 megapixel cam, 4GB or 8 GB of storage, Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR and A2DP, WiFi that automatically engages when in range, and quad-band GSM radio with EDGE. Perhaps most amazingly, though, it somehow runs OS X with support for Widgets, Google Maps, and Safari, and iTunes (of course) with CoverFlow out of the gate. A partnership with Yahoo will allow all iPhone customers to hook up with free push IMAP email. Apple quotes 5 hours of battery life for talk or video, with a full 16 hours in music mode -- no word on standby time yet. In a twisted way, this is one rumor mill we're almost sad to see grind to a halt; after all, when is the next time we're going to have an opportunity to run this picture? The 4GB iPhone will go out the door in the US as a Cingular exclusive for $499 on a two-year contract, 8GB for $599. Ships Stateside in June, Europe in fourth quarter, Asia in 2008.

Via Engadget

Duracell FM transmitter, extended battery combo for iPod Video

It is already available for the iPod nano, Battery-Biz is rolling out their Duracell PowerFM line to the iPod Video, complete with FM transmitter, extended battery, and bonus protective silicon case. The extended battery more than doubles the iPod's run-time while powering the FM transmitter, with unlimited channel selection. It also replicates the iPod's dock connector, so you can still use all those other accessories without unplugging your 'Pod. No date yet (they're saying end of Q1, early Q2) but you must expect a retail price of $79.99.

Via Engadget

Microtek enters LCD HDTV market with duo of 1080p sets

Hot on the heels of Microtek unveiling four new plasmas to feast our eyes upon, the firm has taken the wraps off two new 42-inch LCD HDTVs, which marks its first offerings in the LCD TV realm. Both sets tout that oh-so-coveted (or not) 1080p "Full HD" resolution, 500 cd/m2 brightness, 1,200:1 contrast ratio, and a 176-degree viewing angle as well. Additionally, the firm claims that each set is calibrated at the factory to set the "optimum brightness, contrast, sharpness, color saturation, and color balance for a typical home viewing environment," but we're sure you videophiles out there could always find something just a bit off kilter. Nevertheless, both displays also feature ATSC / NTSC tuners, component / S-Video / composite inputs, VGA in, and HDMI for that silkly smooth 1,920 x 1,080 imagery. Likely to make an appearance at next week's CES, the pair of TVs should be available anytime now, and while the silver-clad L42CX2A will run you $1,899, the all-black Cineon CL42HA demands an extra Benjamin just for the "superior" color motif.

Via Engdaget