Digital Tech News - Digital Technology & Consumer Electronics

Fujitsu e-Paper - Bendable Color Electronic Paper

I can see it now - people on the subway reading the news, advertisements, or watching a music video on digital e-paper. I suppose you've seen the movie "Minority Report" as well, but now Fujitsu has announced the development of bendable color electronic paper that could mark the beginning of e-paper multimedia everywhere.

Anticipated Applications
By leveraging the features of this technology, a wide variety of applications can be envisioned for Fujitsu's new electronic paper as a digital medium that can be handled like paper. Following are some examples:    

* Transit advertising on trains, information displays on curved surfaces, and other public display applications that could take advantage of its light weight and flexibility. Information displayed can be updated based on the time of day, enabling more effective advertising and informational signage.    

* Electronic shelf display tags, point-of-purchase displays, restaurant menus, and other in-store uses. Can also be used for pricing displays or product information displays that stand out in full color and can be readily updated.    

* Operating manuals, work orders, and other short-term information displays, facilitating the trend toward paperless offices or factories.    

* Text or images from mobile phones or other mobile devices can be transferred wirelessly to larger displays for easy viewing.

* Use in the home can offer more convenient digital-media devices that can be carried from room to room.

The new electronic paper features vivid color images that are unaffected even when the screen is bent, and features an image memory function that enables continuous display of the same image without the need for electricity. The thin and flexible electronic paper uses very low power to change screen images, thereby making it ideal for displaying information or advertisements in public areas as a type of new electronic media that can be handled as easily as paper.

more | Fujitsu Press Release

Sharp Two-Way Viewing Angle LCD

We've all been in a situation where two people want to watch something different on TV. HE might want to catch a baseball game, while SHE wants to watch a romantic comedy movie or surf the Internet. Soon you won't have to split-up to watch TV or work in separate rooms because Sharp Corporation and Sharp Laboratories of Europe, Ltd. have developed a new LCD, which can simultaneously display different information and image content in right and left views in a single unit by directionally controlling the viewing angle of the LCD.  That's right, the two of you, or two groups of people can watch the same screen displaying two separate visual content or broadcasts.  Of course there's still the question of audio. You'll have to use headphones, I guess.

For example, one user can view the display as a PC screen for browsing the Internet or for editing video shot using a digital camera (IT) while at the same time another user watches video content such as a movie or a TV broadcast (A/V). This ability to enjoy two functions in a single unit in full-screen size will contribute to achieving a full-fledged convergence of digital home electronics A/V and IT.

Envisioned application scenarios

• “LCD multimedia monitor”—Display a TV broadcast on the right screen, while displaying an Internet browser screen on the left screen.

• “In-vehicle display”—Driver’s side shows a map display, while the passenger side shows a movie on DVD.

• “Professional monitor”—Display sales offer information to clients on one side while revealing internal data to sales personnel on the other.

• “Advertisement monitor” —A passerby who comes from right direction can see advertisement [A], and a passerby who comes from left direction can see advertisement [B]. The LCD enables the simultaneous display of two different advertisements and makes more effective use of LCD placements.

read more | PersonalTechPipeline

Bill Gates on the Digital Decade

On a visit to Thailand, Microsoft Chairman and chief software architect Bill Gates spoke about the coming "Digital Decade", sharing his views on key technology developments.  Gates told an audience of 2,000 at the Royal Thai Navy Convention Hall that all of our future activities would be based on digital technology.

"I think of the next 10 years as being critical years. I refer to them as the digital decade. This is the period of time where all of our activities will be totally based around digital approaches. And we can see this in our whole life," he said.

Bill Gates said that developing countries should prepare for, and embrace a digital future. Topics included:

• digital entertainment
• workplace, home,  schools and universities become digitized
• how we view television will change
• changes for businesses would be even more dramatic
• jobs - work will find the people
• Mobile phones, too, would become more powerful, serving as an e-wallet
• Speech recognition
• extensible mark-up language (XML)

"we will see more changes, more advances in the next 10 years than in all of the last 30," Gates promised.

read | Bangkok Post

The News Show, a New Twist on Technology

After I get my daily dose of the Rocketboom video blog, I head straight for The News Show video online to get a quick look at technology news of the day. The slogan for the show is "On the beat. Offbeat", which says it all.  They cover tech news with enough smart humor to get your day started right.

The News Show is the first daily B2B television show on the Web produced for technology professionals. The News Show features experienced tech editors from InformationWeek, Network Computing, and TechWeb showcasing the latest news and technical reviews, as well as peeking under the hood of the most complex enterprise and personal systems, in an entertaining and irreverent style. The 6-to-8 minute show appears daily at noon ET

Amazon Celebrates 10 years of e-Commerce

Amazon.com celebrates ten years as one of the most recognized brands in online shopping. There have been many ups and downs for the company, but Amazon has survived thanks in large part to Amazon's chief Jeff Bezos. The company continues to grow its international business making the Amazon brand recognizable worldwide.

Ten years ago this week, Amazon.com made its Internet premiere when Mr. Bezos opened a Web site he audaciously called "Earth's Biggest Bookstore."

read | New York Times

Mobile Video Service Uses Video Eyewear

This fall Orange SA (France Telecom's wireless business) customers will be able to buy these cool MicroOptical video eyewear glasses with patented optics that enable mobile users to see around the screen, so you won't bump into a wall while watching TV or a movie.

The eyewear has two Kopin full-color, QVGA (320 x 240) CyberDisplay 230K (0.24-inch diagonal) microdisplays, and is ultra-light at just 2.5 oz. It enables mobile phone users to privately view movies, watch TV or even surf the Web equivalent to a 12-inch screen as it is viewed three feet away.

Mobile video revolution "The mobile video revolution is unfolding in the cellular phone market as we speak," said Dr. John C.C. Fan, Kopin's president and CEO. "Consumers want to be able to watch movies, music videos and TV, browse the Web and check their e-mail on their cell phones on the go. But the phone's small screen has inhibited widespread consumer adoption. MicroOptical's innovative video eyewear is enabling the big screen capabilities that consumers demand, and yet is very lightweight and similar to eyeglasses."

The MicroOptical binocular video eyewear will be bundled with Samsung's SGH-D600 cell phone as part of its new "Orange World" wireless multimedia service.

Whatever happened to friendly eye contact, and good conversation?

read more | MobileMag    LetsGoDigital

MicroOptical Website