Digital Tech News - Digital Technology & Consumer Electronics

iPhone 1.1.3 Update Demo Video

In case you had any doubts, the iPhone 1.1.3 firmware update rumors have come true, and it's all documented in GearLive.com's iPhone 1.1.3 update demo video as seen on The Bleeding Edge. Proof positive that the iPhone 1.1.3 firmware is the real deal, with new features that include home screen shuffling and reorganizing of the icons, multi-person SMS sending, a new “Locate Me” feature in the Google Maps application, Hybrid mode in Google Maps, and the ability to create web bookmarks to put on your iPhone's home screen. Gear Live is about ready to give away a custom painted iPhone for the new year, courtesy of Monster Cable, so go give it a shot. 

You can't win it, if you ain't in it!

iPhone 1.1.3 firmware version update demo video below:

Text Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan - Operation New Year's Eve

 

Why not ring in the New Year by sending a text message to U.S. soldiers and show support for service men and women overseas. "Operation New Year's Eve" is a campaign to urge Americans to send a text message of greetings or support to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and all you have to do is send your personal text message to 94444, type the word "CARE", then your message, and hit send. You'll be charged 99 cents, but a portion will go to the IAVA - Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the nation's first and largest group dedicated to the Troops and Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the civilian supporters of those Troops and Veterans.

No matter where you stand on the War, the Troops and their families surely deserve some support.

25 Most Innovative Product Award Winners - According to PC World

The 2008 PC World 25 Most Innovative Product Awards winners have been announced, with products from the past year that have "pushed the boundaries of technology and exceeded expectations for innovation, usefulness, and over all capabilities."  Take a quick peak at the winners list below, and then head over to PC World for the full story. The feature article will also be in the February 2008 issue of PC World that will be available on January 22, 2008. If you're headed to CES 2008, these winning tech products will be recognized at the ShowStoppers Media Reception, an invitation-only event to be held during CES on Monday, January 7, 2008 at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas.

"Make no mistake, the Web is taking over. Applications are moving to browsers en masse, and technology to take Web apps offline promises to smooth the road ahead. And let's not forget breakthrough devices advancing the Web-anywhere world: Apple has redefined the phone, and One Laptop per Child's sub-$200 laptop is delivering Internet-style collaboration to kids in developing nations. But innovation isn't all on the Web; the PC is evolving as well. Apple has reenvisioned backup, HP has created the first useful touch-screen PC, hybrid hard drives boost speed and battery life, and ultraportables have become even more useful. Chosen from the hundreds of products we reviewed in 2007, here are 25 that will change the way you work, communicate, and play this year--and beyond."

New Year's Eve Celebration Webcasts on EarthCam

The countdown to 2008 has begun, and EarthCam has partnered with Panasonic to bring you LIVE webcasts of the 2008 New Year's celebration in Times Square with streaming video and audio from multiple webcams. This marks the 12th year that EarthCam will be transmitting the annual New Year's Eve Times Square celebration live online from New York City, with 25 live camera views and streaming set to begin at 12 noon ET. on Monday, December 31st. 

On New Year's Eve, EarthCam will also be webcasting live from 14 additional locations including Washington DC, Las Vegas and Seattle, in the United States, and you can watch international New Year's celebrations in London, Prague and Malta via an Internet stream as well.

Earth Cam is providing a few other things this New Years Eve, including a Moblog for users with cell phone cameras to post their New Year's themed photos, and a "MyCam Page" section where anyone with a webcam can broadcasting their own New Year's Eve party live and direct on My EarthCam's MyCam Page section of the website.

Digital Foci 6, 8, and 15-inch Digital Photo Frames

Digital Foci is ready to hit CES 2008 with three new digital photo frames for their "Image Moments" line. First there's the Image Moments 6 (IMT-063) which actually has a 5.7-inch 640 x 480 LED-backlit screen, and is claimed to be the highest pixel density display available on the market at 140 PPI. It comes in an elegant two-tone, mirror-polished chrome finish. The Image Moments 8 (IMT-083) has an 8-inch screen with LED Backlight, SVGA 800 x 600 resolution, 500:1 contrast ratio, and includes a hinged memory card door that hides memory cards from view, and interchangeable frame and mat design. The larger Image Moments 15-inch IMT-153 digital photo frame features XGA (1,024 x 768) resolution with 16.2 Million Colors, 700:1 contrast ratio, an AV input, interchangeable frame and mat design and VESA 100 mounting brackets.

Ultra-thin 31-inch AM-OLED Display by Samsung SDI

It was way back in 2005 when Samsung revealed their 40-inch OLED (organic light-emitting diode) flat screen display, and now Samsung SDI takes things to the next level by announcing a new ultra-thin (4.3 mm thick) 31-inch AM-OLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) display that is said to produce brighter images and use even less power. Expect Samsung to be proudly showing off this prototype TV set at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.

Amazon MP3 Download Service Adds Music from Warner Music Group

Amazon.com and Warner Music Group have announced that DRM-free music downloads from Warner Music Group are now available to customers on Amazon MP3, Amazon.com's MP3 digital music store. Songs from Warner Music artists like Led Zeppelin, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day and many more join Amazon MP3's current digital music catalog of up to 2.9 million songs. The best part is, every song and album is playable on most any personal digital music capable device. Apple’s iTunes sells over 6 million tracks, but the only DRM-free songs on iTunes are from EMI's music catalog.

“Consumers want flexibility with respect to what they can do with music once they purchase it, and we want them to have that flexibility, which is why we’re pleased to offer our artists’ music on Amazon MP3,” said Michael Nash, Senior Vice President, Digital Strategy and Business Development for Warner Music Group.

Panasonic's Thin Blu-ray Disc Drive

Panasonic has begun shipping the world's thinnest internal Blu-ray Disc (BD) drives to PC manufacturers, so expect to see new thin and light notebook PCs with BD drives in 2008. According to Panasonic Communications Co., Ltd., the new sample 9.5 mm high BD drives were accomplished by combining Panasonic’s own technologies such as the low-profile, 2-lens actuator and spherical aberration compensation mechanism and an optimized optical design for CD, DVD and Blu-ray disc laser.

That's a mouth full, but the new BD drive also features double speed reading and writing for both write-once BD-R and rewritable BD-RE discs, and it is also capable of reading and writing on BD-R DL (dual layer/50GB) and BD-RE DL discs. As for compatibility, the new Panasonic Blu-ray disc drive will be compatible with future organic pigment-type BDs, as well as with three types of optical discs (BD, DVD, CD).

Cowon N3 GPS Navigation, Mobile TV, and Entertainment Device

Cowon has a new multi-function gadget for the Korean market, which we hope to see in other territories soon. The Cowon N3 is fit with GPS and DMB TV abilities, and runs on an Alchemy AU 1250 600MHz CPU, and Windows CE 5.0 OS.  It's got a 7" 800x480 touchscreen, and includes 32MB Flash, 128MB RAM, and a SIRF III GPS chip.

Polaroid XSJ-00750M Digital Photo Frame

Sure, you can view all of your digital photographs on the new Polaroid XSJ-00750M digital photo frame, but it also has the unique ability to zoom in on your images up to 16x. Just about every flash memory card is supported on the 7 inch, 480 × 234-pixel photo frame, and it also supports MP3 playback. Your photo slide shows can be adjusted in five different stages between 3 to 60 seconds. Measuring 252 × 38 × 183mm, this digiframe comes in a variety of color designs with four designer frames to fit your personal style.The Polaroid XSJ-00750M digital photo frame will first be available in Japan in January 2008 for about 17,000 yen, or around $150.