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BG-BL01: Panasonic’s Portable Solar Light Doubles As A USB Charger

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 04:30 AM PDT

We will see more of these devices coming in the next few years, I am sure: Panasonic today announced [JP] the BG-BL01, a portable and solar-powered LED light that doubles as a charger for USB gadgets. The device is sized at just 152×104×24mm, weighs 150g, can house two AA batteries and is splash proof.

Buyers basically get three LED lamps (0.12W×3) that – once charged – work continuously for about 10 hours when set to “high brightness” and 60 hours when set to “low brightness”. It takes about 15 hours to charge the device with solar energy and about 7 hours when using USB.

Panasonic plans to start selling the in Japan on August 26 (price:$75).

Via AV Watch [JP]

Samsung Component Sales “Flat”

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 03:18 AM PDT


Samsung, the former Korean powerhouse, has been busy suing Apple and now we probably know why: their LCD sales are flat and they are attempting to combine their LCD and semiconductor business to reduce accounting loss.

Rumor has it that Apple is reducing their dependence on Samsung in the future, another potential problem for the beleaguered company.

"In the past, the semiconductor market tended to be weaker in the first half and stronger in the second half, but for this year, it is likely to remain flat throughout the latter half," Kwon said according to The Wall Street Journal. Samsung typically sees 70% of its operating profits and 44% of its revenues from the combined sales of its semiconductor and LCD products.

via BGR


Cellphones: Now Causing Less Cancer

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 02:08 AM PDT

According to a Reuters report, the connection between cellphones and some types of cancer is considerably murkier. A team of scientists writing in Environmental Health Perspectives noted that: “Although there remains some uncertainty, the trend in the accumulating evidence is increasingly against the hypothesis that mobile phone use can cause brain tumors in adults.”

Read more…


Hasselblad Bought By Capital Fund, Could The Hasselblad 4 Kidz Kamera Be Coming Soon?

Posted: 05 Jul 2011 01:01 AM PDT

Hasselblad, makers of $10,000+ cameras that once flew to the moon, is now owned by the Ventizz Capital Fund IV, a Swiss/German capital fund. Not much will change, at least internally, but there is some thought being put to expanding the Hasselblad line to the general public, a move that sounds just about ham-handed enough for a Swiss/German capital fund to try.

Considering their flagship device is the H4D-200MS, a 200 megapixel shooter that costs more than a Honda Jazz, I’d worry that Ventizz will dilute the brand by pumping out 12-megapixel, rebadged Panasonics like Leica. However, knowing the Teutonic luxury market that’s probably exactly what they’ll do and people will eat it up.

Hasselblad set for growth under new European owners

30/06/2011 Hasselblad, the premium medium format camera manufacturer, is planning a rapid expansion of cutting edge capture products and is set to target new imaging markets following the company’s acquisition by Ventizz Capital Fund IV, LP, a private equity investor exclusively advised by Swiss- and Germany based Ventizz Capital Partners AG.

Ventizz, which specializes in funding growth in companies across various high-tech industry sectors including communications technology and renewable energy, says it plans ‘no major structural or key management changes’ at Hasselblad.

Announcing the move Dr. Larry Hansen, Hasselblad Chairman & CEO said: “After eight years of ownership by the Hong Kong-based Shriro group, Hasselblad is now moving back to its European roots. History shows that for over half a century we have been the leading manufacturer and partner for photographers working in the medium format environment and seeking highest quality and ongoing innovation. In 2002 we pioneered the revolutionary Hasselblad H-Camera System – the most comprehensive digital camera system of its kind available today, with its unique advancements such as True Focus and instant lens correction in our Phocus software.”

He added: “Ventizz has a very impressive funding pedigree in the technology marketplace and our joint focus now will be on both maintaining our market-leading position with ongoing, advanced high-end camera products and also on exploiting the potential we see in brand new markets.”

Hasselblad has recently launched the H4D-200MS, a top end multi-shot camera delivering unprecedented 200 megapixels.

via Engadget


This $650 Board Is For Audiophiles Only

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 02:58 PM PDT


Are you someone special? Are you rich? Do you wildly misunderstand electronics? Then you’re probably an audiophile, that rare breed of human who thinks that goofy add-ons like this ridiculous $650 board will make a piece of electronics (or analog gear) sound better.

These ridiculous boards reduce “noise” as well as electromagnetic interference because, as we all know, wood is like lead.

Fools and money, etc. etc.

Product Page via OhGizmo


The Romain Jerome Titanic-DNA Watch Reviewed

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 01:15 PM PDT

It takes a lot for a timepiece to be truly controversial. I am not just talking about people arguing whether a design is pretty or not. I mean a real discussion on whether the concept and construction of the watch is in good taste. Few people have been able to pull this off, and in the watch industry one man has been able to do it a few times – Yvan Arpa. For me, this watch sums him up, as well as the legacy he left behind during his time at Swiss watch brand Romain Jerome.

Read the rest here…

HP’s webOS Boss Encourages Team Through Early Reviews

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 11:45 AM PDT

We didn't exactly heart the TouchPad. We didn't hate it, either. We even said that "WebOS and the Palm TouchPad are nearly perfect, an excellent amalgamation of everything that was ever right about Palm." Granted, perfection in this industry lasts about as long as a battery cycle, and we had plenty to gripe about, but as far as the TouchPad goes, we have hope. But day-one reviews haven't been as understanding as we were, which has prompted HP's webOS boss Jon Rubinstein to blast out an internal letter of support to both the TouchPad engineers and the webOS 3.0 development team encouraging them to keep up the work and continue believing in the product.

In the email recovered/leaked by PreCentral, Rubinstein even goes so far as to compare the TouchPad to Mac OS X, which heard words like "sluggish" and "lack of apps" during its first round with critics. "The similarities to our situation are obvious," writes Rubinstein.

He goes on to note that the developer teams and engineers should place weight on both the harsh reviews and the glowing ones. He explains that the webOS audience "gets that webOS has the potential for greatness," while maintaining that the flaws pointed out in reviews were "rightly" reported. He comforts the teams by reminding them that many of the issues barked about by critics are already known to the company, and can be fixed with a few simple OTA updates.

The only problem we see with Rubinstein's plan is that one of the major issues we have with the TouchPad is it's shoddy performance. Sometimes it's slick as a whistle, and at other times, it lags like a worn out kid after a day at Disneyworld. An OTA update likely won't breathe life into that 1.2GHz processor, but luckily, webOS 3.0 really shines on the TouchPad, and any improvements to this beautiful OS are very welcome. And in the words of Rubinstein, “it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

Here's Rubinstein's full email to employees:

Team,

Today we bring the HP TouchPad and webOS 3.0 to the world. The HP team has achieved something extraordinary – especially when you consider that it's been just one year since our work on the TouchPad began in earnest. Today also marks the start of a new era for HP as our vision for connected mobility begins to take form – an ecosystem of services, applications and devices connected seamlessly by webOS.

If you've seen the recent TouchPad reviews you know that the industry understands HP's vision and sees the same potential in webOS as we do. David Pogue from the New York Times says "there are signs of greatness here." (I've included links to David's review and others below.) You've also seen that reviewers rightly note things we need to improve about the webOS experience. The good news is that most of the issues they cite are already known to us and will be addressed in short order by over-the-air software and app catalog updates. We still have work to do to make webOS the platform we know it can be, but remember…..it's a marathon, not a sprint.

In that spirit, Richard Kerris, head of worldwide developer relations for webOS, reminded me yesterday of the first reviews for a product introduced a little over ten years ago:

"…overall the software is sluggish"
"…there are no quality apps to use, so it won't last"
"…it's just not making sense…."

It's hard to believe these statements described MacOS X – a platform that would go on to change the landscape of Silicon Valley in ways that no one could have imagined.

The similarities to our situation are obvious, but there's also a big difference. Like David Pogue, our audiences get that webOS has the potential for greatness. And like me, they know that your hard work and passion, and the power of HP's commitment to webOS, will turn that potential into the real thing.

[via SlashGear]

SleepWell Wi-Fi Handler Adds Hours Of Battery Life

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 09:27 AM PDT

Wi-Fi is a battery hog. When stuck among a bunch of other Wi-Fi devices, most mobile gear will keep polling the access point for data while the other devices get their share. As Duke Today notes, “this means the battery drainage in downloading a movie in Manhattan is far higher than downloading the same movie in a farmhouse in the Midwest.”

New software, called SleepWell, puts the device to sleep while it’s waiting its turn, essentially allowing devices to grab everything they want at once and then hand off the download to the next device. Designed by grad student Justin Manweiler and his advisor, Romit Roy Choudhury, the system can add hours to the average battery.

Manweiler described the system by analogy: “Big cities face heavy rush hours as workers come and leave their jobs at similar times. If work schedules were more flexible, different companies could stagger their office hours to reduce the rush. With less of a rush, there would be more free time for all, and yet, the total number of working hours would remain the same.”

“The same is true of mobile devices trying to access the Internet at the same time,” Manweiler said. “The SleepWell-enabled WiFi access points can stagger their activity cycles to minimally overlap with others, ultimately resulting in promising energy gains with negligible loss of performance.”

The technology is in its early stages right now but some mobile manufacturers, including Nokia, are looking into implementing it.

South Korea Promises Paperless Schools By 2015

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 07:48 AM PDT

The death of print has long been on the minds of journalists, writers, bloggers, etc. For those of us who grew up reading our books on paper, asking for magazine subscriptions, and watching our dads read the paper (on paper) at the breakfast table, it's hard to imagine a world without a book case, and the handful of novels we never got around to picking up yet. In South Korea, there seems to be much less fear over a paperless world, as the country has promised to replace all the paper in its schools by 2015.

The peninsular nation plans on spending over $2 billion developing digital text books, which would then be available on students’ school-supplied tablets. Along with more traditional learning content, students will also get access to paperless materials through a cloud-based system. With the cloud in place, sick students, or those brave enough to pull a Ferris Bueller, will have access to their learning materials from home, such as reading lessons and math tutorials.

While I might miss the smell of fine-pressed ink-stained wood sometime soon, I'm sure South Korean students will enjoy their digital text books. And we can all agree that Mother Earth is probably quite happy to hear the announcement.

[via Engadget]

Livescribe Shuts Down App Developer Program

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 06:39 AM PDT

We were excited back in 2009 to hear that Livescribe was launching an app store. I remember, we were particularly impressed with the fact that a device so small, like the Pulse smartpen, could ignite such a thriving developer community. Unfortunately, Livescribe has chosen a new path, shutting down its developer program to focus on "cloud access, storage and services." While this shut down won't immediately affect Livescribe's app store immediately, certain applications may lose compatibility as future software updates roll out.

Here's Livescribe's explanation:

Our recent introduction of Livescribe Connect, which enables customers to easily send notes and audio, as a pencast PDFT, to people or destinations of their choice like Google Docs, Evernote, email, and Facebook, is an important step in this direction. Applications in our online store will remain available for download and purchase pending compatibility with future Livescribe software updates," signed, the Livescribe developer programs team.

We thought with a couple solid years under its belt, Livescribe's app store was in prime shape to power through 2011. And our disappointment is only a faint echo of the discontent among Livescribe developers, and those with pens like the Pulse and Echo whose main selling point is the app store itself.

Officially, the Livescribe app store SDK and developer site will be pulled on July 22, and no more application submissions will be accepted after that time. On July 8, in just a few short days, the developer forums will be shut down. At that point, Livescribe pen owners will not be able to access the specially designed paper necessary for using Livescribe products.

[via SlashGear]

Lenovo And NEC Launch PC Joint Venture In Japan

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 06:36 AM PDT


The joint venture NEC and Lenovo announced back in January is now reality: the companies today said they have finally set up “NEC Lenovo Japan”, which Lenovo holds a 51% stake in (NEC holds the rest of the shares). The joint venture is limited to the Japanese PC market at this point, but NEC Lenovo instantly gained the bragging rights to call itself the country’s biggest PC maker (about 25% market share).

What’s interesting is that NEC and Lenovo hint at broadening the partnership at some point in the future, both with regard to products and target markets. NEC president Takasu says the two companies “will continue to discuss and assess new opportunities with this global partnership", while Lenovo CEO Yuanqing is “determined to expand this strategic alliance beyond the PC business".

Lenovo has reportedly paid NEC $175 million in company shares to get a foothold in Japan, the third biggest market for computer hardware in the world.

CrunchGear Week In Review: Independent Edition

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 12:00 AM PDT
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