Vuzix Corporation is launching its new line of sunglass-style Wrap video eyewear products in time for this year’s festive season. Bringing an all new form factor together with what they claim is the most advanced performance available, the new Wrap line delivers some great style and versatility for users.

The new European edition Vuzix Wrap 230, Wrap 280 Widescreen, and Wrap 920 are the most advanced wearable display technology available today, says Vuzix.  With a sunglasses-styled design, the Wrap line allow you to watch your favourite movies and video’s whenever and wherever it suits you – neat-o!

With ‘virtual’ screen sizes ranging from 46” to an amazing 67”*– equivalent to home cinema screens – and with the added capability to view much of the forthcoming 3D, movies shorts and games, these glasses could be the must have digital accessory!

(* virtual screen size is as seen from 10 feet , approximately 3m.)

Vuzix’ video eyewear can connect to a multitude of devices, including camcorders, portable DVD players, mobile phones, PC’s, game consoles, and of course the immensely popular Apple iPod family. In fact, with the recent announcement that the new iPod nano now has added video functionality, the Vuzix Wrap line is lining up to be the complimentary partner to Apple’s market leading devices.

Available from October via http://store.vuzix.co.uk/, major online retail outlets and on the High Street in Menkind stores, the new Wrap product line range from £129.99 to £249.99 inc VAT.

iFixit have been at it again, ripping apart all manner of portable devices for our viewing pleasure. This time it’s the Zune HD that gets the treatment, and iFixit have good things to say:

We glossed over one very important detail when we tore apart Microsoft’s new PMP last week. The Zune HD represents a first for Microsoft in more ways than are immediately apparent — it is the first mass-market gadget we’ve seen that has a machined aluminum case!

Microsoft is using the same milling technology to produce the Zune HD that Apple is using on their aluminum notebooks, and that Dell uses to make the Adamo. With the new Zune, Microsoft has beaten Apple at their own game and produced a multi-touch PMP that is smaller, lighter, and vastly easier to repair than the iPod touch.

So, there we have it – good hardware from Microsoft – which to be fair, always has been the case with their PC peripherals, so it’s nice to see it translating to their Mobile devices also.

You can see the full teardown on the Zune HD at iFixit here.

[Via: iFixit]

It seems like it was just yesterday when we reported on Jabra’s teaser for their upcoming bluetooth headset, the Jabra STONE.  Well, in fact, it was just yesterday.  Although the countdown for the release of the Jabra STONE just began, it didn’t stop them from sending out units to members of the press to check out.  Yours truly was one of the few selected to get a first look at this ground-breaking bluetooth headset that is said to “look, feel, and sound better than anything I’ve tried before.”

Read the full article »

Samsung has announced that it has started producing 515Mb Phase-Change Memory, aka PRAM! Interestingly, this is targeted for mobile devices, as it gives high-performance and low power consumption. Samsung says that a handset using PRAM can extend it’s lifetime by 20%.

Er… jolly good – as long as it gives us memory that’s quick and doesn’t thrash the battery, we’ll all be happy

The 512Mb PRAM can erase 64KWs (kilowords) in 80ms, said to be over 10 times faster than NOR Flash memory. In data segments of 5MBs, PRAM can erase and rewrite data approximately seven times faster than NOR Flash.

Er… jolly good - as long as it gives us memory that's quick and doesn't thrash the battery, we'll all be happy

[Via: mram-info.com via: TechOn]

Hopefully you’ve seen the post Simon put up, noting that for our UK readers, we are giving away a Novatel Portable Hostpot (also known as the MiFi 2352 in some countries). Well, what are you waiting for? Get involved, and enter by:

• Drop a comment the podcast post
• tweet using the #intomobile hashtag

This is a seriously good bit of kit, and so you’ve gotta be in it to win it – game on, and may the lucky UK reader enjoy their win!

Hopefully you’ve seen the post Simon put up, noting that for our UK readers, we are giving away a Novatel Portable Hostpot (also known as the MiFi 2352 in some countries). Well, what are you waiting for? Get involved, and enter by:

• Drop a comment the podcast post
• tweet using the #intomobile hashtag

This is a seriously good bit of kit, and so you’ve gotta be in it to win it – game on, and may the lucky UK reader win!

Hopefully you’ve seen the post Simon put up, noting that for our UK readers, we are giving away a Novatel Portable Hostpot (also known as the MiFi 2352 in some countries). Well, what are you waiting for? Get involved, and enter by:

• Drop a comment the podcast post
• tweet using the #intomobile hashtag

This is a seriously good bit of kit, and so you’ve gotta be in it to win it – game on, and may the lucky UK reader win!

Siano Mobile Silicon has announced the launch of a new multi-standard mobile TV receiver chip, the SMS1230.  The SMS1230 supports the major global broadcast mobile TV standards of DVB-T, T-DMB, and ISDB-T, and, in addition, digital radio (DAB/+) and FM Radio.  The new receiver chip, exhibiting the best performance in the mobile TV market, is the high-end member of Siano’s multi-standard MDTV receiver chip family, which includes also the SMS1150, SMS1130, and the low cost SMS1140, launched earlier this year.

Alon Ironi, CEO of Siano, commented, “Siano’s new high-end SMS1230 is targeting customers that are pursuing top-notch DTV reception performance – reception in extremely tough conditions such as vast distances from the nearest broadcasting tower, or in the presence of very strong interfering signals, or while commuting by car or by train at very high speeds.”

The SMS1230 is currently available in sample quantities, while mass volumes will be available starting November this year.

Of course, what we all want to know is which devices this will be in, and which services will make use of it. I still continue to hold a torch for (Broadcast) Mobile TV, but it’s going to need chips like these, that can bridge standards easily, for it to succeed.

OLED-info.com is quoting iSuppli on some news regarding a potential boom of OLED screens in mobile devices…

Apparently iSuppli says that OLED displays for mobile devices are going to rise from 22m to 178m units, between 2009-2015 – that’s quite a growth! However, in a contrasting statement, OLEDs will still only account for 6% of the market in 2013.

If you are wondering what the average OLED screen costs, well apparently the 2.6″ OLED in the N86 cost $7.05 – whereas the equivalent LCD would have cost $6.50. That said, shaving even cents off the BoM (bill of materials) for a device is important when you are shipping millions of units – so perhaps there’s room for that delta to come down slightly, and add another catalyst to this potential sales growth we are expecting.

[Story via: OLED-info.com via: iSuppli]

My buddy Ron over at OLED-info.com has been a busy bunny – he’s been providing analysis on what the screens on a couple of OLED-sceen mobile devices are like. Short summary: not very good.

However, before we get into it, a refresher on OLED:

OLED is an emissive display technology – it means that the OLED materials emit light. This is in contrast to a reflective display – which uses an external light source – an ePaper display for example, or a ‘real’ paper. OLEDs are bright, and provide great image quality, but because they are emissive, when viewed under direct sunlight (or any strong light source) they have a readability problem.

The best display technology for direct sunlight (besides ePaper) is said to be transflective LCDs, which uses a reflective layer under the LCD’s filter. However this reduces the transmissive capabilities of the LCD, and the contrast is compromised as well. With OLEDs, unfortunately, it’s not possible to use a reflective layer as the OLEDs themselves emit light.

So all of that said, what were the handsets with issues? Well those that are not great are the Nokia (NYSE: NOK) N85, and also the Samsung Omnia II. To be fair, it’s not something specific to a particular manufacturer, more a quirk (or feature, as more wily marketing types would have you believe) of OLED per se.

Ron neatly summarises:

Several companies are working to solve this issue – mostly trying to improve the contrast of the OLED displays.The Fraunhofer institute, for example, is working towards OLED contrast optimization in combination with high temperature stability and outcoupling enhancement structures for the automotive industry.

In conclusion, it seems that sunlight visibility is a major drawback with OLED displays, and if you use your phonemainly outside in the sun, perhaps it’s best to get one with a translective LCD. But OLEDs are improving, manufacturers are just learning how to optimize them and hopefully the next generation displays will perform better.

Check out the full article here.

[Story via: OLED-info.com / Video still via: pocketnow.com on YouTube]