Digital Tech News - Digital Technology & Consumer Electronics

Creative ZEN Vision W - Widescreen Portable Video, Photo and MP3 Player

Creative Technology has introduced the new Creative ZEN Vision W portable video, photo and MP3 player that features a high resolution, 4.3-inch, 16:9 format, widescreen TFT display for "viewing up to 240 hours of video, tens of thousands of photos, and it can carry up to 15,000 songs." 

The Creative ZEN Vision W supports video formats MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4-SP, MJPEG and XviD, for playback of video clips and movies downloaded from the Internet. The removable rechargeable battery provides up to 4.5 hours of video playback, and a composite AV-out connection enables 720 x 480 image output on any size NTSC TV screen, or 720 x 576 image output on any size PAL TV screen. There's also a built-in Compact Flash slot, FM Radio, speaker, voice recorder, and personal organizer for daily tasks, contact lists and a calendar that you can sync with Microsoft Outlook.

Nokia N80 Internet Edition Smartphone

The smart looking Nokia N80 Internet Edition Smartphone is aimed at internet users who want to access web services on-the-go. Nokia N80 Internet Edition is a 3-megapixel cameraphone, but the device also allows you to make voip Internet calls via wi-fi connection. The Nokia N80 comes ready to create, connect, consume and interact with popular Internet services.

"Use Yahoo! Search in the Mobile Search application to conveniently search for and find most anything on the web, and use the Mini Map functionality of the internet browser to enjoy the pages you find.  Browse through thousands of items at Amazon.com, or scroll though a book with Amazon's MobiPocket Reader. You can also share your moments online - snap a photo and send it directly from your device to your Flickr site for your friends and family to enjoy too. Connect to the Yahoo! community using the Yahoo! Go for Mobile application. Be it shopping with Amazon, photo sharing on Flickr or simply searching for a restaurant with Mobile Search, the Nokia N80 Internet Edition can provide you convenient internet access when you are away from your PC."

Windows Vista Prices and Release Date Revealed on Amazon

Windows Vista pre-order prices and release date has been posted on Amazon.com, and according to an Amazon.com spokesman, the Windows Vista prices are straight off Microsoft's price lists.  January 30, 2007 is said to be the release date for the new Windows Vista operating system, but don't be surprised if that changes again. 

Amazon's Windows Vista pre-order prices:

• Windows Vista Home Basic: $99.95 (upgrade), $199 (full version)

• Windows Vista Home Premium: $159 (upgrade), $239 (full version)

• Windows Vista Business: $199 (upgrade), $299 (full version)

• Windows Vista Ultimate: $259 (upgrade), $399 (full version)

read more | TechWeb

Related news: Windows Vista : Seven Versions to Choose From

SpiralFrog and Universal Music Group Partner on Free, Ad-supported Music Download Service

SpiralFrog, a New York based audio and video content download company has signed an agreement to partner with Universal Music Group (UMG) on an advertising-supported legal music download service for the US and Canada. SpiralFrog will offer users of its free online music service the ability to legally download music by many popular artists from UMG's music catalog. The music downloads are in Microsoft's PlaysforSure (DRM) Windows Media Audio format, and can be played on a PC, or transferred to a portable device, but not to an iPod.

An ad-supported, free, legal music download service sounds interesting, but the catch is you have to log in to the Spiral Frog service at least once per month, to see their advertisements, or your music files will stop playing.

SpiralFrog is also talking to other major record labels about joining the service which is scheduled to launch in December.

more | TechCrunch

Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV660 Digital Entertainment Notebook with HD DVD-ROM Drive and Intel Core 2 Duo Processor

Toshiba has announced the powerful new Qosmio G35-AV660 Digital Entertainment Notebook with Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7200 (2.00GHz, 4MB L2, 667MHz FSB), which is Intel's most energy-efficient dual-core performance mobile processor. The Qosmio G35-AV660's HD DVD-ROM drive is a multi-function drive that supports HD DVD playback and features a DVD SuperMulti that reads and writes current DVD formats. The new multimedia ready notebook does not come cheap, at $3,499.99, but this baby performs, and makes multi-tasking a breeze. You can view live TV from a cable or satellite feed with an integrated TV tuner, record and pause live TV or record future programs through a digital video recorder (DVR), manage or play video or audio files, while working with other applications. The Qosmio G35-AV660 incorporates two 5400 RPM serial ATA 120GB hard drives for storage of TV programs, music and other files as well as 2048MB DDR2 memory.

Logitech Z-10 Interactive 2.0 Speaker System

Logitech has introduced the uniquely designed Logitech Z-10 Interactive 2.0 Speaker System. Slicker than your average PC speakers, the Logitech Z-10 speakers feature built-in touch-sensitive controls and a backlighted display that shows digital-music track information, a clock, volume and more. The integrated speaker controls adjust volume, treble and bass, and navigate music tracks with play, pause, skip forward and back buttons as well. Using USB and included software, the speakers can display track information from popular media players, including iTunes, Windows Media Player, Winamp, and Musicmatch. There are four Internet radio preset buttons located on the Z-10 speakers' touch sensitive panel, and it's also possible to save and recall favorite Internet radio stations and playlists.

ASUS R2H UMPC Officially Introduced

We had a sneak peek at the ASUS R2H Ultra-Mobile PC back in March, but now we have the official introduction from ASUSTek Computer Inc.  ASUS' version of the UMPC has a built-in high-resolution webcam, incorporated global positioning system (GPS) and biometric fingerprint authentication. The R2H runs on Windows XP Tablet PC Edition with Touch Pack software.

New Canon POWERSHOT Digital Cameras Introduced

Canon has introduced the new PowerShot A710 IS, PowerShot A640 and PowerShot A630 compact digital cameras, all set to hit stores this October. The A-Series PowerShot digital cameras offer consumers an easy transition from traditional film cameras to digital imaging based on form factor, ease-of-use and design. Each new PowerShot A-Series digital camera is equipped with Canon's nine-point AiAF "Smart" autofocus system.

The A710 IS model offers 20 shooting modes, while the A640 and A630 models feature 21 shooting modes including Full Auto, Program, Manual, Shutter-priority, and Aperture-priority. Additional modes include Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Special Scene (10 varieties), Stitch Assist and Movie. The new A-Series digital cameras are also capable of recording VGA movies with sound at 30 frames per second for up to 36 minutes per clip with optional high-capacity 4GB SDHC memory cards.

Five New Nikon COOLPIX Cameras Announced

Nikon has announced five new Nikon COOLPIX digital cameras, including two new "L" or Life series cameras (Nikon COOLPIX L5, COOLPIX L6) and three new "S" or Style series cameras (COOLPIX S9, COOLPIX S10, COOLPIX S7c).

Each of the new COOLPIX cameras are equipped with Nikon's In-camera Image Innovations to fix common photo problems. This system includes Face-priority AF, which automatically finds and focuses on a subject's face, In-Camera Red-Eye Fix, which automatically corrects red-eye, and D-Lighting, an innovation that automatically corrects images with insufficient light. The cameras are also equipped with Blur Warning, which alerts the user when an image is blurred, and Best Shot Selector, a feature which automatically identifies and saves the sharpest image from a series. Every new COOLPIX camera also features TV Quality Move Mode (recording movies at up to 30 fps with sound), Noise Reduction - to produce better results during low-light conditions; a broad choice of White Balance selections and a convenient Help Button, which is never further than a push of a button away, giving easy-to-understand explanations for all functions throughout the menu.

Apple Recalls Batteries Used in Some iBook and PowerBook Computers Due to Fire Hazard

With a little push from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Apple Computer has announced a recall of rechargeable, lithium-ion batteries with cells manufactured by Sony for certain iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 notebook computers. The recall concerns up to about 1.1 million battery packs sold in the U.S. and an additional 700,000 battery packs sold outside the U.S.

More bad news for Sony, who also manufactured the laptop batteries recalled by Dell recently, all costing Sony about 200 million bucks.