Samsung Launches Corby, the First Full-touch Mobile Designed for the Youth Market

Here’s the latest Samung Corby (and not Corbi, few will understand why I mentioned this but I don’t really care). Also called S3650, this mobile phone was designed to seduce yourg phone users with its simple and colorful design and its social networking capabilities such as FaceBook, Twitter and MySpace….
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, a leading mobile phone provider, today announced the availability of Samsung Corby (model: S3650), a mobile phone designed to support the digitally connected lifestyles of today’s young mobile users.

The Samsung Corby, available across Europe later this month, is a full-touch handset that places users at the center of the social media revolution with a wide range of social networks support, such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. The new mobile complements the company’s touch screen strategy, “touch for every lifestyle,” by targeting the youth market.

“We see strong growth opportunities in this sector and will continue to pioneer new markets with innovative technology. The Corby is consistent with Samsung’s legacy of developing new products and technologies designed for specific audiences and bringing new devices quickly to market,” explained JK Shin, Executive Vice President and Head of Samsung Electronics’ Mobile Communications Division.

The device represents a complete makeover for the youth segment, with its eye-catching profile featuring two-tone diagonal contours. The Samsung Corby is notable for both its body design and colors – which mark a significant break from the way full touch phones are usually designed. It is available in bold color options such as Jamaican Yellow, Cupid Pink, Minimal White, and Festival Orange so that users can choose their favorite colors.

“Globally, we are number one for full-screen touch phones and recognize the importance of social networks in the modern mobile industry. Samsung’s target audiences are at the heart of its business strategy and the design and functionality of Samsung Corby meets the needs of a highly digitally connected and style conscious youth audience – as does the affordable price point,” continued JK Shin.

The best social networking services are combined with enhanced multimedia capabilities in a compact form factor. Corby’s 2.8-inch QVGA screen delivers a quality online video experience and its quad band connectivity and support for EDGE networks means that Samsung Corby users can stay in touch regardless of their location.

Samsung Corby will be available in European countries starting from mid September at approximately 150 EUR.

via:100cute

Initial D Arcade Setup Uses Full Sized Cars

I’ll admit I’m pretty ignorant at what the anime series Initial D is actually about but I do know it involves cars and is ridiculously popular. So popular in fact that the Initial D arcade game apparently warrants the use of full sized cars mounted on motion simulators instead of a standard gaming cabinet.

The game/simulator can be found at the SEGA Joypolis in Odaiba (Tokyo), Japan and comes in three versions using the actual bodies of a Subaru Impreza WRX, a Toyota GT-APEX and a Mazda RX-7. The game itself plays out on a 90-inch monitor mounted in front of the vehicle and for only $5 (long gone are the days of 25 cent arcade machines) you can cruise around one of three different courses.

Unfortunately since I don’t have any plans to visit Japan in the near future I guess I’m just going to have to wait for the home version to be released.

[ Initial D Arcade Stage 4 Limited ] VIA [ Kotaku ]

Nightlighter Flashlight Illuminates Where You Are And Where You’re Going

They say if you build a better mouse trap the world will beat a path to your door but what if that happens at night or when the power’s out? Thankfully someone has built a better flashlight with the ‘oval’ that not only allows you to see what’s ahead when walking in the dark but it also illuminates the area just in front of you so you can avoid any tripping hazards.

This ingeniously designed flashlight contains two light sources that work together to provide you with the ultimate illumination. This dual-light flashlight emits a forward-facing, narrow-angle beam (uses a high output Luxeon one watt LED bulb) to light the path ahead of you. It also emits a downward-facing wide-angle beam (uses two ultra bright 5mm white LEDs) to light the ground. Using both of these light sources simultaneously enables you to feel safer while walking in the dark. You also have multiple lighting options available with the flashlights three-way switch: the front light on alone, both front and lower lights on, and lower lights only.

The oval design and built-in handle apparently also makes the flashlight more ergonomic and easier to carry for lengthy periods. Though I have to admit I’ve never really felt strained after using a traditional flashlight design for long periods. But maybe that’s just because my arms are like pythons.

The oval is powered by 3 AAA batteries and is currently available from firstSTREET for only $29.95.

[ Nightlighter Flashlight ] VIA [ Ubergizmo ]

Instant Ambiance, Just Add Water

The Healing Theater Umine uses LEDs to project blue and green beach-y images on your ceiling as it plays back digitally recorded sounds. If your Ariel the Mermaid fetish has become too passé, you can easily switch to several other settings, including a tropical rainforest, under the sea or you can even opt to play your own sounds with a media player and use the mottled colors as a backdrop.

You can also add a frosted dome to it, turning it from nifty full room lava lamp to dome lamp with music. The effect, like all other LED projects, requires a completely dark room. The Healing Theater Umine is available now for about $69.

[ Himeya Shop ] VIA [ technabob ]

Iris Identification For Cell Phones

Seeing who’s #1 on your girlfriend’s speed dial is about to become slightly more difficult: you’ll be needing one of her eyeballs. Oki Japan is introducing iris recognition software that’s compatible with any phone with at least a 1mp camera. It’s even available as an add-on for existing phones running Symbian or Windows Mobile. According to Oki, the chance of a false positive is a mere 0.00001% (1 in 100,000) with a 2mp camera, but I’m just as concerned about false negatives. How reliably does the phone unlock itself when you need it to? What about if it’s 3am and I’ve been binge drinking in a smoky nightclub and my eyes are all bloodshot? Will the phone recognize me so that I can drunk dial my ex-girlfriends? Clearly, extensive testing will be necessary before this program is ready for the market. Except it already is. In Japan, anyway.

[ Oki Iris Authentication (In Japanese) ] VIA [ Digital World Toyko ]

Celltray, First Instrument to Display Living Biological Cells

Nanopoint has come up with a genuine scientific breakthrough that is set to revolutionize research and medical diagnosis in a flash. The hype surrounds Nanopoint's cellTRAY, IDSA's 2007 Gold Winner in the medical category, which allows scientists to image living cells on a slide for the very first time.

The technology is a standard microscope slide with a twist; it incorporates an incubator to sustain the life of cells encapsulated within it. The viewable area is split into 7,614 wells, containing a liquid medium. The wells are linked by a micro fluidic channel system that is able to supply nutrients, reagents and remove toxic wastes that build up.

In the past biological researchers have relied upon using slides of preserved cells to make inferences about cellular processes. Put plainly, making deductions relied upon studying an "old photograph" of a system. Comparatively, the cellTRAY will be like making those same deductions using a time-delayed, video transmission. Scientific knowledge used to fill in the gaps of processes we did not completely understand; hopefully this will bring welcome light to the situation.

Having stared down many a crappy microscope for almost half a decade, as part of an education provided by University College London, it is clear to me that this sort of progress does not come often. The advancement that it offers will ease pioneering research and diagnostic efficiency the world over. It is very exciting, like being in bed with a girl; you thought it would never be possible, but now that it is, you just can't believe it. Let us hope UCL scrapes enough money together to buy some decent microscopes to see the revolution unfurl.

[Source: Medgadget]

Fujifilm Finepix Z100fd

Fujifilm has announced their new 8-megapixel camera the Finepix Z100fd with 5x optical zoom. This camera is equipped with face detection technology which focuses up to ten faces in a frame and automatic intelligent red-eye removal.

Finepix Z100fd features CCD-shift image stabilization, 54MB internal memory and XD-Picture card, SD and SDHC compatibility and ISO 100-1600 sensitivity at full resolution. It measures 92.0 x 55.7 x 19.8 mm and it’s powered by NP-45 Li-ion battery which is included in the package.

[Source: Digital Photography Review ]

Samsung develops world’s first LCD panel using DisplayPort

Samsung has developed the world’s first LCD panel using the next-generation video interface – DisplayPort. Sanctioned by VESA (the Video Electronics Standards Association), DisplayPort will serve as a replacement for DVI, LVDS and eventually VGA.

By using a transmission speed more than double that of today’s interfaces, Samsung’s new LCD only requires a single DisplayPort interface, instead of the two DVI (Digital Visual Interface) ports now used. For Samsung’s new 30-inch LCD, the DisplayPort interface transmits graphics data at a total data rate of 10.8Gbps. This speed enables 2560×1600 resolution without any color smear. In a joint undertaking with Genesis Microchip Inc. Samsung developed its 30” panel using a new four-lane, 2.7Gbps/lane interface chip.

The interface technology processes 2560×1600 pixels of graphics data at up to 10 bits of color depth or 1.07 billion colors, a feat that would normally require at least three DVI or four LVDS interface chips.Samsung’s new 30” LCD also offers the company’s proprietary Super Patterned Vertical Alignment (S-PVA) liquid crystal technology for 180° viewing angle, and 300nits brightness. Mass production of the Samsung 30-inch panel is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2008.

[Source: Fareastgizmos]

Toshiba’s UWB Wireless Laptop Dock

Hot on the heels of the wireless USB devices that hit this week is this ultra wide band port replicator dock for its slim R400.

It has two USB ports on the front, two on the back, minijack audio out, Ethernet, and a DVI output. It uses UWB to hit 400mbits across all those ports. It's $500, and again, only compatible with the Toshiba R400 laptop.

[Source: gizmodo]

MSI GX600 Gaming notebook

MSI has announced a new notebook for gamers the GX600, it features the company's proprietary Turbo Drive Engine Technology using which users can increase the speed of the CPU and system by 20% by simply pressing a silver button on the keyboard. The button doubles to battery saving mode where it reduces power consumption by 15%. The unit is powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Intel PM965 Express chipset and upto 2GB DDR2 533/667 memory. Powering the graphics is Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT display adapter with 512MB memory. The GX600 has a 15.4-inch WSXGA+ display.Pricing and availability of the MSI GX600 is not known.

[Source: newlaunches]

Sony SZ Laptops Soft Launched

Sony is updating its SZ5 laptops to SZ6 designation. The laptops have Santa Rosa chips, 13-inch LED backlight LCDs, and up to 200GB hybrid HDDs (which have 256MB of flash).

[Source: Amazon via Laptoping]

Alesis iMultiMix 9R iPod mixer

The iMultiMix 9R is a rack-mounted tool for mixing and playback directly from an iPod. The video output endows the 9R for use in nearly any scene as the ideal audio and video playback device. It features 5 mic/line inputs, 3 band per channel EQ, Mic/line inputs, 48V phantom power, auxiliary sends and returns, band pass/reject, and composite video output plus iPod playback in a single, intuitive package. The system has the ability to playback music from the iPod and mix your live performances instantly. The added resolution of its 60mm faders insures clear indication of audio level every time.The Alesis iMultiMix 9R will be available in late 2007 for $399.
Key Features:
- Integrated Universal Dock for iPod
- Five high-gain mic/line preamps (XLR and ¼" balanced)
- 48V phantom power
- Aux sends and returns
- Three band per channel EQ with high/low shelving and mid band pass/reject

[Source: newlaunches]

Megatouch Gametime Brings The Pub Experience Home

These bartop arcade machines are usually relegated to pubs and greasy cafes where the selection of entertainment is limited at best. But apparently they’ve become popular enough to warrant a home version too and I’m sure kids will gladly put down their Wiimotes or 360 controllers to fight over who gets to play the Megatouch Gametime first.

In fact the system comes with 100 built-in games and who wouldn’t walk away from Grand Theft Auto for a chance to play titles like Strategy or Quiz & Word? On the plus side though the home version of the Megatouch Gametime offers similar network functionality as the pub versions and even allows you to surf the web and send emails as long as you have an existing broadband connection.

But what’s sure to guarantee the Megatouch Gametime’s runaway success is the $3,795 price tag at Frontgate.com. You read that right, this thing costs more than the Nintendo Wii, XBox 360 and PS3 put together.

[ Megatouch Gametime ]

Make Your Head Look Like Pac-Man

[Not sure what’s with the team’s obsession with Pac-Man lately. But heck, why not. -Ed.]

Plush-tastic PAC-MAN hat looks awesome and does very little else. It really just makes your head look like PAC-MAN. That’s it.

And I, for the first time in my life, am rendered speechless.

Available for 29.99$, imported from Japan and it says “NOT available to ship to addresses in Massachusetts, Ohio and Pennsylvania.”

Why on earth…?

[ clubNAMCO ] VIA [Boingboing ]

Fujifilm’s F50fd features 12MP

The F50fd camera from Fujifilm boasts of 12 megapixels but is encased in a very slim body. This 7th generation CCD sensor features a 3x zoom, face detection that can focus and expose correctly for 10 faces in frame, Automatic Red Eye Removal function, Dual Image Stabilization and ISO settings of up to ISO 6400.

Portrait Enhancer Mode, i-Flash Intelligent Flash, Full Manual Photographic Control, GUI Micro Thumbnail, Special Scene and Blog Modes and xD / SD / SD-HC Compatible slots are the other goodies bundled into the camera.The FinePix F50fd will debut in September 2007 at a retail price of $299.95.

[Source: newlaunches]

Sony GV-HD700E the world’s first HD Walkman

It is the World's first HD Video Walkman with pro features. So the next time you wanna check out those cheesy shots you took with your HDV or DV camcorder, you know what to do. The HD Video Walkman is Sony's portable solution for viewing HDV and DV tapes while you're on the move. It features a high quality 7-inch (16:9) widescreen LCD with resolution of 1,152K (800×480x3[RGB]) and has versatile interfaces including i.LINK and HDMI out. The GV-HD700E plays back HDV as well as miniDV tapes (SP and LP). It can double up as a back-up deck for professional videographers because it can record HDV1080i/DV signals from an external source. It's also the first Video Walkman supporting x.v.Colour. Any of the fourteen commonly used functions (including search, index mark and playback zoom) can be assigned to three function buttons.

The GV-HD700E can be used with InfoLITHIUM L and M Series batteries. It will be available throughout Europe from September 2007. the pricing is not known.

Key features:
- Format: HDV / DV SP / DV LP
- LCD panel: 7.0 inch (16:9 widescreen)
- Panel resolution: 1,152K dots 800(H) x 480(V) x 3RGB
- All-scan function
- User-assignable LCD setup profiles: 6 (settings for Brightness, Colour Level, Contrast, Sharpness, Colour, Phase)
Inputs:
- i.LINK (HDV/DV)
- Video (RCA x1)
- Audio (RCA x2)
- S-Video
Outputs:
- HDMI
- i.LINK (HDV/DV)
- Component HD/SD (Special D)
- Video/Audio/S Video (AV Multi-connector)
- USB
- Memory Stick Slot
- Headphone jack
- Stereo speaker
- Battery: InfoLITHIUM L / M series
- DC power in

[Source: newlaunches]

Toshiba Qosmio G45-Avg80 notebook

Toshiba doles out another notebook for the people always on a look out for more! The company has announced today that their Qosmio G45-Av680 notebook is the first shipping notebook in the U.S. With an HD DVD-R burner included. The notebook also has Dolby surround sound technology and full 1080p playback. It shines bright in glossy white with silver buttons. The native resolution for the 17” display is 1920 x 1200. A 1-bit digital amplifier is built-in to drown in the Dolby surround sound feature and a finger print reader is built-in for security as well. Read on for more techie specs…

It also sports the Intel PM965 chipset with a 2GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 CPU, 2GB of RAM, two 160GB hard drives, a NVIDIA GForce 8600 GT with 512MB of RAM, 802.11a/g/n, Bluetooth, four Harmon Kardon speakers and built-in webcam. The icing on the cake is that all this extra cream for no extra greens ($3200) from Toshiba Direct.

[Via - Luxurylaunches]

Pantech C150 cameraphone

I always wonder why most of the cell phone companies only concentrate on the affluent class and churn out more stylish and even more expensive cell phones time after time. All of us cannot afford them. Some body needs to think about the ‘desires’ of the not-so-wealthy folks too. I guess Pantech has paid heed to my thoughts and come up with a stylish and smart Pantech C150. It is a good-looking low-end camera phone with a VGA camera, Bluetooth, Yahoo Mail, AOL, Windows Live Mail support, MP3 ringtones, picture and ringtone caller ID. The C150 contains a high contrast 128×160 pixel screen and measures 4.1 inches tall, 1.7 inches wide and .49 inches thick. This candy-bar is available in a chic white form factor and starting today, AT&T customers will be able to purchase the Pantech C150 camera phone.For what it’s worth, the C150 is a recipient of “a 2006 iF design award for international excellence in brand design.” I cannot believe it…….an award winning cell phone so reasonably priced.

[Source: Gizmodiva]

Sony NWD-B100 Walkman

Here’s Sony’s new walkman codenamed NWD-B100. It will goes to Europe first, featuring a 3-line color LCD, 1GB (NWD-B103 / B103F) or 2GB size (NWD-B105 / 105F) capacities, FM tuner and a voice recorder.It has 12 hours of battery life and support for MP3 and WMA playback. No words on pricing and availability.

[Source: Akihabaranews]

Control a Dead Frog via the Web

Art or science? That's the question you'll be asking yourself when you see this dead frog with a server embedded into its guts. Suspended in a clear glass of inert liquid, the frog has an Ethernet cable coming out of its insides, which in turn allows remote "visitors" to issue commands and make the frog twitch its muscles. It's definitely the most sadistic thing we've seen done to a frog since that Miss Piggy's S&M video.

[Source: BoingBoing]