The upgrade will be available through the company’s unique in-house software upgrade program, PC Studio 7, and will bring “seamless connectivity and access to GoogleTM mobile services, multimedia functionality and speedy processor performance.”

So what exactly does Android 2.1 mean for the new Samsung Galaxy Spica? First of all, the user experience is supposedly better, as the handset now allows you to customize 9 side-scrolling screens and comes with augmented reality technology that helps it display real-time digital information of your surroundings.

Second of all the i5700 is claiming to be the personal entertainment device you’ve been dreaming on, as it brings enhanced multimedia and messaging functionality. The media browser allows you to browse through your collection, the upgraded camera now offers better picture options, while messaging is now easier than ever allowing you to attach files to MMS and email directly.

The Android 2.1 upgrade for the Samsung Galaxy Spica will be availablethis month in Germany, with the rest of Europea, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Asia, Africa and rest of the world, getting it soon after.

Marvell, the chipmaker, has showcased its version of the tablet  at the Future of Publishing Summit that got underway at NY City.  The Marvell prototype may be seen as a reference design for a 10.1-inch Android-based color tablet , and is expected that companies would push the design as a base to make their own devices. If things work out as planned, guys at Marvell would love to see tablets based on this design to go on sale by the end of this year.  

The prototype device based on Marvell’s own low-cost, power-efficient Armada processors, looks a bit hefty. But we guess we should look at the technology before writing it off for being a chunky piece.  May be, companies who would love to take off from the Marvell design would make sexy, slim pieces later on. The Marvell tablet is said to have capabilities to playback 1080p video, while keeping the battery running to extended hours.

Clearly aimed at publishers, the tablet device has all in it to pose competition for the handful of eReaders already with us. Capable of displaying the text on screen with color instead of E-Ink and also playing video, we guess Marvell has done most of what is needed to stay in the race. With Marvell showing the way, many a tablet maker is likely to pick the design and take it forward from there. Let’s wait to see if devices based on the Marvell design would be in the market by the year-end. And, if they do, we expect the prices to be somewhat close to the $499 that Apple has attached to the iPad. We will wait to know more.

(Via Technologizer)

Spring Design has brought to the market its dual screen multimedia Alex eReader. To be available on www.springdesign.com starting today, the device is the first ever eReader that would offer international versions of the product through its local country partners connecting to local bookstores. If you are someone who can’t resist the lure, please feel free to pre-order your Android-based Alex eReader now.

A charmer of a device, the Alex eReader comes with capabilities that support eBooks in EPUB, PDF, HTML and TXT formats. Further, the full Internet browsing feature that deploys WiFi connectivity would help you read and download books, access online audio and video content, communicate using Gmail and chat and use a slew of Google Android applications. This Android gadget is here to stay.

Google’s bookstore that boasts of with over one million titles, and other bookstores that support Adobe DRM can get connected with the new Alex eReader.  One good thing we like about the Alex eReader is that we will be able to shift content the color LCD screen to the 6-inch EPD screen so that easy reading is possible. A full color 3.5-inch Android touchscreen LCD helps in multi-tasking over the Internet, while functions such as annotating and highlighting or even linking to relevant audio, video, and web links are made possible with the EPD screen. Spring has incorporated technology in such a way that content can be viewed on both screens simultaneously with the Duet Navigator.

Now, if you are someone living far off the US, Spring has made arrangements wherein pre-orders will be shipped before mid-April. The maker has also struck deals with multiple international partners to jointly deliver multi-language versions of Alex for countries speaking Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Korean and Hebrew. We like that.

China has brought to the fore an innovation that has all in it to take on the front runners in the tablet space. The new Hanvon Touchpad BC10C comes across as a multi-touch Windows 7 device that boasts of all properties that could make a top class notebook look silly.

The Hanvon Touchpad BC10C tablet has been presented as a high-end device that comes powered by a 1.3GHz Celeron M ULV 743 CPU and sports GMA4500 graphics. The device comes spruced up with features that range from Wifi and Bluetooth,  250GB – 320GB HDD,

Webcam 2 x USB, Mini HDMI out, VGA out dongle, Mic and speaker port, 5 + 3 shortcut buttons, Internal dual microphone and speakers, SD card slot. All of

253mm x 168mm x 18.4mm in size and weighing just 980g, the device might sail off from Chinese shores to the US and European territory.  Speculations have it that the pricing night be different when it makes it to the US and European regions. We hear that the tablet might cost around $877 in the US.

China will have its first taste of the Hanvon Touchpad BC10C when it launches on March 25. We expect it to soon take off to Europe and American shores very soon after the China debut.

(Via jkkmobile)

According to an unnamed source, the Spring Design Alex e-reader which was supposed to be release in early March 2010, is now all set to start shipping on March 16. Initaly the device was also rumored to be releasing on Feburary 22nd. It is not known what is the reason behind the delay.

The ebook reader is similar to the Barnes & Noble Nook, by having a 6inch e-ink display to display the ebooks and a smaller 3.5 inch touchscreen LCD beneath it for menus, apps, browsing and everything else. The device comes packed with Wi-Fi and EVDO/HSPA 3G connectivity and will be pwoered by Google’s Android operating system. The Alex will also have access to content from Borders’ Kobo-based online ebook store. The device will support multiple formats including Adobe’s ePub for ebooks and MP4, Flash video and MP3 media files will be playable.

When it ships, the Spring Design Alex device is expected to cost $359.

Via SlashGear

Though iPad-maker Apple has not yet commented on the move, we hope that Apple may not say no to competition. But then, we will have to wait to know.

The grapevine says that the B&N e-reader for the iPad is in the works and the company hopes to stay on target when the iPad gets to the mart. Barnes & Noble expects its iPad version to offer customers access to more than one million eBooks, magazines and newspapers in the B& N eBookstore, as well as the existing content in their Barnes & Noble digital library.

The B&N version of its e-book reader software would be suited for Apple’s upcoming iPad, and the confirmation has already come from the B&N stables.

Apple iPad has already begun marketing moves with a stress on the device as an electronic reading platform.

The iPad is expected to be preloading its own iBooks app onto the tablet. In such a scenario, it remains to be seen whether Apple will allow B&N to hop on to the same space with its innovation.

(Via Everything iPad)

Priced at $199 with a two-year contract or $499 off-contract, the new HTC HD2 is running Windows Mobile 6.5 and promises to “bring a never-before-seen mobile experience to entertainment fans across the U.S.” And that’s because the company has signed deals with important content providers like Barnes & Noble, Blockbuster, MobiTV and Paramount Pictures to bring their titles to HTC HD2 users.

As for what’s under the hood, for those who can’t remember it, the new HTC HD2 boasts a large 4.3-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen display with multitouch support, a 5-megapixel autofocus camera with autofocus and LED flash. Along the same lines there’s standard Bluetooth 2.1 and Wi-Fi (b/g) connectivity, a microUSB port, built-in GPS, USB 2.0 High-Speed client and a 3.5 mm stereo audio jack with mic.

Are you in for one?

(source)

The JooJoo tablet has got a new stylish user interface just ahead of a launch schedule. What we have been looking at till now has been a plain UI, but thinks are definitely changing as the run up to the launch is happening fast. The new improved JooJoo comes trendy with customizable wallpaper. The most significant aspect bout the enhancement is that the JooJoo tablet now comes with a single-touch UI for a virtual mouse pointer and dual-touch for scrolling. The color too has changed from black to a lighter champagne hue.

It is believed that the single-touch interface for a virtual mouse pointer and dual-touch for scrolling would come handy when browsing Google Maps and the like. The customizable wallpaper feature apart, the JooJoo also comes with a translucent bar that combines both status and a web address field. In effect, the new UI comes so charming.

Making the most of the delay in launch, the JooJoo maker has tried to upgrade many an aspect in the tablet. One such area that has been given some extra focus is the keyboard, which looks smaller and movable post-spruce up. Other additions include the entry of Flash, which has been implemented. With this feature enabled, the viewer recognizes YouTube-friendly H.264 videos and other similar formats. You will be able to play supported formats from a USB drive.

Likely to start shipping on March 25, the new enhanced JooJoo tablet has kept the $499 tag unchanged even after the additions. What we like about the device is the large screen and the trendier UI. The limited 4GB of storage may be a matter of concern, but then the 1080p video support is an absolute lure.

(Via Engadget)

Porn is omnipresent when it comes to the Internet. And when you really don’t need it, chances are that pornographic material might just pop up from nowhere. So embarrassing could be such situations when porn comes to you even when you don’t need them to. Not anymore. It is as if your prayers have been answered finally. All you have to do is to pick your Paraben’s Porn Detection Stick (PDS) to keep porn images at bay and out of your PC.

The device is a simple looking USB stick. But it comes loaded with software designed to find and remove porn stuff from your PC. Interesting, eh? Wish we had this much earlier so that we could have swept away all those unwanted images from our home or office network. It has been designed in such a way that it works with any computer running Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7.  It works in a manner by which it uses a series of algorithms to analyze flesh tones, shapes and curvatures, face detection and body part separation. Once you deploy the USB, it gets working and zeroes in on the images likely to contain pornographic material and points them out to you.

So what are you waiting for? Just get your hands on a Paraben Porn Detection Stick and stick it in to the USB port on your computer. For results, you need to just double click on PornDetectionStick.exe. All those nude images will be there for you clean up. It has been pointed out that a search of a 500GB hard drive with more than 70,000 images takes only about 90 minutes. Doesn’t that sound good?

Paraben now sells the Porn Detection Stick for around US$99. Pick yours now.

(Via Gizmag)

The ASUS e-Reader is now official. The company has lifted the wraps off its e-Reader  at the CeBIT tech trade show in Hannover, Germany. The ASUS DR-900 is being showcased as a device with a 9-inch monochrome touch screen display and is all set to compete with Amazon’s Kindle DX.

The feature-rich ASUS DR-900 is a charmer with its display boasting of electrophoretic technology. This is courtesy of SiPix, which is a competitor to E-Ink, and has been a major presence in the e-paper market. Display specs read 1024 x 768, 150 pixels per inch, 16 scales of grey. A third of an inch thick and weighing 13 ounces, the DR-900 comes across as a featherweight device with a thinner bezel than the Kindle DX.

Other features include a built in web browser, capability to access RSS feeds and would look luring on the racks. Connectivity rests on wireless mode. However, ASUS has programmed the base models to get connected using 802.11g Wi-Fi.

Battery life could extend up to four days with Wi-Fi enabled, or two weeks with Wi-Fi turned off. On the storage front, the device boasts of 4GB of built-in storage.

(Via PCWorld)