Posts tagged with wireless

Intouch IT7150 wireless Internet frame

Posted on November 23, 2009 4:58 AM

Giant International's Intouch IT7150 wireless Internet frame could prove to be the perfect gift choice this holiday season regardless of the recipient's age - after all, who doesn't want to have their favorite memories dance across the display all the time? This follows the trend of newer digital photo frames, where you are connected to the Internet for instant access to news, weather, social media, other dynamic content and online photo galleries. Apart from that, you can also use FrameChannel to organize and share your own photos. Features of the Intouch IT7150 include a 7" color digital display screen (16:9 aspect ratio) at 800 x 480 resolution, Wi-Fi connectivity, an on-screen QWERTY keyboard, live Internet radio, RSS 2.0 support, stereo speakers, a multi-memory card slot, 128MB of internal memory, and an audio jack among others. Expect to pick up the Intouch IT7150 wireless Internet frame for $229.99. [Press Release]

Yamaha MCR-140 micro-component music system for iPod

Posted on November 16, 2009 10:19 AM

Yamaha has released its MCR-140 micro-component music system for the iPod, but it is still able to handle the venerable CD format alongside MP3s played off a USB flash drive when plugged into the front-panel USB port. Should you run out of your choice of music, why not leave things to chance with the integrated FM radio and check out what the local DJs are playing these days? An integrated wireless transmitter for iPods allow you to tune in wirelessly and remotely without losing control over the device. Available in a bevy of colors (orange, dark or light blue, white, red, dark green, brown, light or dark gray or pink), the Yamaha MCR-140 will retail for $400 while the non-wireless model is going for a much cheaper $280.

Wireless Keyboard HTPC Remote

Posted on November 12, 2009 8:17 PM

The Wireless Keyboard HTPC Remote does look like a kind of cellphone at first glance, but this remote controls your computer with a built-in QWERTY keyboard and a touchpad for easy navigation, although we would like to have seen larger keys. It works with Windows, Linux and Mac OS X operating systems, apart from being compatible with the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii consoles. Retailing for $40 a pop, it has a 10 meter working range.

802.11n access point arrives at the FCC

Posted on November 6, 2009 10:44 AM

Our friends at the FCC have gotten their mittens on a new AN0100 802.11n AP, and although there is no instruction manual available or whether this is the crucial missing link required for streaming networked media to the TV via a TiVo set, we're totally amazed by the sheer size of this thing, or rather, the lack of it. After all, just take a look at it on your right and pinch yourself. It hurts, yes?

$45 Unlimited Wireless Service From Walmart

Posted on October 14, 2009 11:42 AM

Walmart gets its business by providing discount goods, and now it’s going to do the same for wireless services by coming up with its own flavor of wireless service, called Straight Talk. Plans start from $30/month and $45 for unlimited talk, text and data. The icing on the cake is that you don’t even have to commit to a data plan. Walmart has teamed up with TracFone in this venture, though you have to admit the sub-$100 handsets that they’re offering won’t be too attractive. There is, however at least one QWERTY phone offered, so text-crazy people can rejoice. Check out the full press release here.

Powermat to arrive next week

Posted on October 5, 2009 6:45 PM

The Powermat device that is capable of juicing up up to a trio of low-power electronic devices sans wires simultaneously will be arriving in the UK on October 15th, coming in a couple of versions where one is meant for the home/office environment, while the other will be for those who are always on-the-go, coming in a folding model for easy transportation. With this release, you will also need to pick up a range of receiver jackets for the Powermat to recognize the type of device being charged.

Sharper Image Offers Wireless Speaker

Posted on October 3, 2009 9:15 AM

Folks who are looking to get a wireless speaker system for their iPod or media player could take a peek at the Shaper Image Indoor Outdoor Wireless Speaker, which is exactly what its name implies. The device comes with a transmitter than can hook up to your laptop or MP3 player via the headphone jack, and beam the sound to the stereo speaker which can be placed up to 160 feet away. This wireless speaker does seem a little pricey at $69.99, but considering that there aren’t all that many wireless products in the market, it’ll certainly be worth considering.

Sony Powers TV Wirelessly

Posted on October 3, 2009 2:28 AM

It looks like mankind has taken another baby step towards our goal of getting wireless power. This latest bit of news points that Sony has prototyped a system which is able to transmit up to 60W of power to a TV located 50cm away, not sure enough for it to replace your current home theater setup, but we’re certainly getting there. It uses the magnetic resonance method which MIT proposed back in 2006, but Sony came up with a repeater device which enables the range to be increased (which is what we really want, right?) We’re still waiting for the time where we can just come home and our electronic devices start charging on their own, but it seems like we’re still a ways off.

802.11n - 7 years in the making

Posted on September 14, 2009 3:38 AM

After what seems like an eternity (7 years actually), the IEE has finally ratified and approved the 802.11n wireless standard officially, making it over two years since the final draft was given its nod of approval. Well, that hasn't stopped companies from unleashing a torrent of 802.11n products for the past few years, and this rubber stamp just made things official. More to come in terms of wireless routers and similar devices, perhaps?

US wireless consumers pay the most, but do they get the most? (No)

Posted on August 29, 2009 12:06 PM

The US seems to be leading in highest average monthly costs at $53 while Sweden and Finland record the lowest average at $11 for service costs. Interestingly, the US has only 83% penetration with 263 million subscribers while Sweden and Finland record 113% and 115% respectively for percentage of penetration with a combined 11.1 million subscribers. This is in contrast to the yearly outgoing minutes per capita which puts Sweden and Finland at 1714 and 2567 minutes while US records 1453 minutes.

Given the very low averages for some countries, we guess that pre-paid plans might have been taken into account, We would be surprised if there was an actual $11 (or less) plan in Sweden. Still, this supposedly represents a monthly average cost for users of these respective countries. Do you feel like wireless pricing in the U.S has gone the same way healthcare did?

AT&T Looking at Gadgets To Grow

Posted on July 6, 2009 12:54 PM

Business week has an interesting story about how AT&T is looking at connected devices for future growth now that the phone adoption rate is quite high. Among the gadgets that AT&T is looking at, we can find connected GPS or eBooks. The newly formed Emerging Devices group believes that it can pull an extra billion dollars "over the next few years", and considerably more in the longer term.

The company is right to think that it can pull in more money, but to be successful, it also needs to make its services consumer-friendly. Right now, wireless carriers are among the most hated services after lawyers and car dealers because the billing is obscure and the roaming charges are outrageous (especially internationally). Also, AT&T needs to consolidate the billing and have friendlier prices. Paying $40 per month, per device, is just not an option for a mass market. Expect to see more deals like what Verizon did with the Kindle.

Wireless Gigabit Alliance Develops Multi-Gigabit Network Standard Called WiGig

Posted on May 6, 2009 7:59 AM

A new force is emerging in the wireless networking field: Wireless Gigabit Alliance is backed by influential companies like Dell, Intel, LG, Samsung, Microsoft, Nokia, Broadcom and many more. Together, they represent a good chunk of the industry and their sheer size and reach should establish WiGig as a new interoperable standard.

WiGig has been designed to provide ultra-fast data transfers (up to 6GB/sec, theoretically) over relatively short distances (about 20 yards, without walls). WiGig is a device to device (p2p) network and does not require a central HUB or router that could easily turn into a congestion point. Because it is different, its goal is not to replace WiFi or Bluetooth, although you can imagine some overlapping there. WiGig's weak point is that its signal can be easily stopped or strongly weakened by obstacles like walls.

WiGig is based on the 60Ghz frequency, which is available worldwide. This is critical is the success of WiFi is built on a worldwide interoperability. At this point, the specifications will be done by December 2009 but you can bet that teams are ready at work on the hardware implementations. Any company can join the alliance, which has learned greatly from the success of WiFi.

3G Wireless Modem in Macbooks Soon?

Posted on May 5, 2009 1:18 PM

A job listing at Apple is hinting at a possible 3G integration in future computers:

The Comms Software QA team within the Mac Hardware Group is seeking a motivated QA engineer to perform quality assurance testing for new Apple CPU Products. Duties for this position include, but are not limited to: Testing and reporting hardware, software, and device driver bugs for Communications technologies including AirPort (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth v2.0, gigabit Ethernet, and/or 3G Wireless WAN in a detailed, timely manner.

Of course, the less exciting possibility is that Apple wants to test the compatibility of external 3G cards with its computers, but a built-in 3G modem isn't so far-fetched: every other PC maker has something already.