When searching for a nice and classic-looking digital frame in stores you use to take into consideration several important aspects - price, functionalities and brand – and try to compare all the models in order to choose a cost-effective product. Along with Parrot, the first digital picture frames manufacturer, Kodak is also a worldwide leader in photographic products, and one of its popular models is the EASYSHARE EX1011, a wireless digital picture frame announced back in the 2007 at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
It is a large model compared with the other existent on the market measuring 10 inches in diagonal, and among its key features are the Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g module which allows you to receive pictures from the Galley members, on the frame via Picture Mail, edit features directly on it, and listen to the MP3 music coming out from the built-in speakers while watching a nice slideshow with your last trip.
<-234x60 Half Banner - left->This smart digital picture frame provides instant notification when new pictures have arrived and allows you to select if you want to check them right away or at a later time, while it can also play MOV, AVI, and MPEG 1/4 videos from a memory card (SD,MMC,MS,xD, CF or MD) directly from a digital camera. In addition to the music and slideshow features, Kodak EASYSHARE EX1011 can display JEPG and EXIF pictures in thumbnails and using the buttons located on the frame you can copy, paste, delete or print what you like with a PictBridge-enabled printer.
Together with this device you get also the remote control which gives you access to settings like selecting viewing hours and automatic On/Off.
The model has 128MB internal memory and technologies like KODAK Light Management Film for a bright and clear display with large viewing angle, and the KODAK Color Science which enhanced the details and makes colors crisper on the 16:9 wide display placed vertically on the wall or horizontally on a desk.
Measuring 330 x 41 x 41 mm the digital picture frame has a aSi TFT active matrix display area of 225 × 135 mm featuring a display resolution of 800 × 480 pixels, LED backlight, 350 nits brightness and 300:1 contrast ratio.
KODAK EASYSHARE EX1011 comes with an AC power cord, the USB cable and the USB host adapter cable, and you can find it at prices around $250.
<-120x240 Vertical Banner - left->Do you remember the Livescribe Pulse magic pen launched in January? Well, the company has started to ship it and in less than a month it will be available in stores. Now Livescribe made it available for online purchase. There are 2 models from which you can choose: the 1GB at $149 and the 2GB version which costs $199.
So, for those that don’t know much about the smartpen Pulse from Livescribe I will provide the basic details.
It looks exactly like a ball pen measuring 14 x 16 mm at 36 grams, and sporting an ergonomic design with charcoal blue and silver band with black accents, while the exterior made of anodized aluminum.
It is powered by a Samsung ARM 9 processor at 32-bit and 150MHz, featuring a 96 x 18 OLED display type, a high-speed built-in camera with infrared technology capable of recording more than 70 images per second, NAND storage, a 300 mAh rechargeable lithium battery, dual microphones, built-in speaker, USB charging cradle, and comes with the following software: Page Viewer for search/view notes, Pen & Application management, and a gateway to the user’s account, the store and the online community where he/she can share content or store up to 250MB of data online.
The platform on which Livescribe Pulse is working is a paper-based computing model with Anto Technology and Java Development Environment. In order to be able to work with the smartpen Pulse you need to have Windows XP SP2 or Vista operating system, 600MHz processor, 300MB free disk space, a free USB port and Internet connectivity.
"Pulse is a new type of mobile computer that supports the four basic modes of human communication - reading, writing, speaking and listening" said Jim Marggraff back in january. "Using an embedded speaker and display for audio/visual input, and microphones and a pen for audio/visual output, Pulse advances the power and flexibility of mobile computing - it's the missing link that now connects the paper and digital worlds."
So this innovative device that received the DEMOgod award at the DEMO 08 Conference, is a pen integrating computer capabilities that allow you to capture handwriting and record audio in the same time, both being synchronized so that you can replay the sound recorded at a later time as you tap on your notes. It works based on the infrared camera with Dot Positioning System. On the 1GB model you can record up to 16,000 pages, 100 hours of audio or store applications, while with the 2GB version you can store double.
Together with the smartpen Pulse you get access also to the Paper Replay application which synchronizes the audio with the writing and allows you to manage these records with forward, rewind, jump to, pause or speed up. The Dot Paper Notebook is printed with micro dots on all pages so when the smartpen Pulse comes on a dot it knows where the user is writing. With the 3D Recording Headset you receive high-quality recordings even in noisy spaces thanks to the earbuds with embedded microphones.
To recharge the Livescribe Pulse pen you can simply connect it to your computer via the USB Mobile Charging Cradle. With it you can also transfer digital ink and audio or install applications.
A new input device type was showcased recently by SMK to impress us all! It is a pen with which you can write in the air and the characters appear on the monitor placed in front of you. Visitors at TEXPO 2008 have seen the presentation between June 4 and 6 in Shinagawa, Tokyo.
This wireless input device transmits your writing to the display using a built-in triaxial acceleration sensor that detects the position of the pen and characters, and the Bluetooth technology used to send the characters to the monitor over the air. A triaxial accelerometer detects sudden acceleration of the object it is built into and one known example is the hard disk drive protection against drops, which prevents the drive from damaging.
You can write in the air to the monitor from a distance of up to 10 meters; larger space is not required as you can imagine the user couldn’t see clearly the letters displayed.
One possible application of this new input device technology would be in presentations replacing the laser pointers.
Computex 2008 has brought a bunch of LCD displays capable of 3D pictures, but I think display manufacturers should really consider the integration of holographic technologies. Holografika understood this and came up with the HoloVizio technology that provides multiple viewers with a three-dimensional display that naturally changes as people shift their perspective.
This technology is still being researched as part of a 3.7 million EU Coherent Project, which aims at putting together a networked holographic audio-visual platform to support real-time collaborative 3D interaction between geographically distributed teams.
The HoloVizio system treats the 3D problem in a new and innovative way, without the use of stereoscopy. Instead of crafting a screen that tries to fool the brain with stereoscopic images, the HoloVizio system relies on the properties of windows – a two-dimensional surface that portrays shifts in perspective with changes in the light pattern. Thus, HoloVizio incorporates a light-emitting screen made of voxels, which emit light beams of different intensity and color in various directions, so that when a viewer moves around the display, the perspective of the image shifts accordingly. This way, viewers needn’t use goggles and head trackers. This demo clip depicts the whole result: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28_gL6GdXuU
OK, this isn’t the Holodeck you see in Star rek TNG, but it’s a step forward, and it seems the technology will soon be integrated in commercial products.
At online gadget stores you can find various toy gadgets but I’ve found one of the most interesting for having some fun with people that annoy me. It’s a cool venomous snake toy, which looks more realistic than others I’ve seen before.
I would recommend it even to those that are afraid of snakes because if you scary others around it might get you rid of ophiophobia.
These venomous snakes for sale have freaky glowing, flashing eyes, looking like Banana Boas, with realistic movements forward and backward, and you can control them from distance using the small remote control.
On Boysstuff the RC snake is available at £24.95, being powered by 2 x AAA batteries and 2 x AA batteries for the controller. The snake measures 58 x 2 x 5 cm.
