The Creative Xdock Wireless unveiled

At Consumers Electronic Show (CES 2007), Creative, a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products has made one of the biggest announcements of this year mainly focused on streaming music around your home. Creative has unveiled a device the Creative Xdock Wireless, which docks an iPod and plays music beyond cd quality via Creative X-Fi Wireless Receivers. The Xdock Wireless can be directly connected to a powered speaker system or home theater to display photos and play video or music in DTS surround-sound. So, in the crowd of I-Pods Creative seems to dominate with their X-factor.
While the official launch of the product Sim Wong Hoo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Creative, said, “We designed the Creative Xdock Wireless so an iPod can easily become the audio platform for your entire home. Your iPod goes in the Creative Xdock Wireless to play music through Creative X-Fi Wireless Receivers in as many rooms as you want - all upconverted to Xtreme Fidelity.”

Creative has equipped the Xdock Wireless with an analog audio input for other MP3 players and audio devices to take advantage of the integrated audio processing. It is also provided with an USB input. Along with that Xdock Wireless is also equipped with S-Video and composite video outputs.
The Creative Xdock Wireless is available in two prototypes, one is the latest Zen Vision media player which is designed for use with iPod video, iPod photo, iPod mini, and iPod Nano, will be available for $200 and the other will be specially designed for Apple’s video-enabled iPods. The Creative X-Fi Wireless Receiver will be available for $149. Both the products will be available in March this year.

Sony clears the Emmy Sixaxis ‘controversy’

Sony Computer Entertainment America(SCEA) has cleared the mess it created, that Technology and Engineering Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, it had won was for the PS2 Dual Shock controller and not the PS3 SIXAXIS wireless controller, as originally stated. The confusion began when Sony had announced that the PS3 SIXAXIS wireless controller had won a Technology and Engineering Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

They cleared the confusion after National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences contradicted their statement at the press conference.They said, that they would like to confirm that Sony did not win for their PS3 controller, they won for their PS2 Dual Shock analog controller. The award was presented at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on the 8th of January in Las Vegas.
Sony Computer Entertainment America(SCEA) has said that the confusion was created due to the “miscommunication.” They quoted: “In a press release dated January 8, 2007, SCEA announced we had been recognized by NATAS with a Technology and Engineering Emmy Award for the Sixaxis wireless controller.Due to miscommunication between the two organisations, this information was incorrectly reported.”
SCEA also bagged several other awards includingthose for technology and innovation behind the PS3, including the CES Best of Innovations Award for 2007, PC World’s 20 Most Innovative Products Award, Sound & Vision’s Editor’s Choice Award and Digital Entertainment Group’s (DEG) Emiel N. Petrone Digital Innovation Award.
Jack Tretton, President and CEO of SCEA said. “The overwhelming consumer demand and critical acclaim for PS3 is a testament of the platform’s strength and the industry’s desire for a true next-generation entertainment system.”. The president further added: “The full potential of this powerful machine has yet to be realized - what you’ve seen so far is just a taste of what will be on the table for 2007 and years to come.”
Scea’s award winning creation PS3 is displayed at the 2007 International CES tradeshow in the Sony Electronics Booth (no. 14200). The show runs from the 8th of January to the 11th of January in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Centre.Main competitors for the PS3 are X-BOX from Microsoft and WII- from Nitendo.

iRobot Create, the first programmable robot, unveiled at 2007 Consumer Electronics Show

iRobot Create, which is unveiled at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, can pick up clutter and create designs on the floor. Thus, it provides aspiring roboticists, students and robot developers with an affordable, pre-assembled programmable robot—iRobot Create.

iRobot Create, is an affordable, programmable robot designed for aspiring roboticists, advanced high-school and college students, and serious robot developers. Create comes pre-assembled, so developers can design new robots without having to build a mobile robot from scratch. “Innovators dream of creating useful robots, but they often get bogged down with designing a mobile platform that works,” said Helen Greiner, co-founder and chairman of iRobot. “iRobot Create fills a need in the robot industry for a standard, durable hardware platform on which to rapidly develop new, innovative mobile robots.”
The Create platform provides access to robot sensors and actuators via an open interface. It also features standard connections for electronics and threaded mounting holes that allow users to secure their inventions to the robot, streamlining the integration of third-party electronics such as sensors, cameras, arms and wireless connections.
A slew of methods and programming languages can be used to control Create. Beginners can observe the robot’s behavior in one of 10 demonstration modes or they can program the robot directly by downloading short scripts with any basic terminal program. More advanced users can write programs for completely autonomous robot behavior in C or C++ using the iRobot Command Module. Developers can also create custom software and interact with Create using a variety of methods including Microsoft Robotics Studio, a Windows-based development toolkit.
At the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), iRobot will stage ongoing demonstrations of Create at the company’s booth in the Sands Expo, No. 70415, till Thursday, Jan. 11. Attendees will also see demonstrations of Create applications, including a robot that picks up clutter and one that creates designs on the floor.
Create which is based on the core technology of iRobot Roomba, the vacuuming robot that is cleaning millions of homes worldwide, and is compatible with Roomba’s rechargeable batteries, remote control and other accessories. Create can be acquired at a retail price costing $129.99.

Yahoo! has launches, Yahoo! Go : a reinvention of mobile search

Yahoo! has launched a beta version of Yahoo! Go for Mobile 2.0 from the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show, bringing improvements in every facet of the company’s mobile service suite. A user interface redesign and content specifically created for the mobile experience are on order for this large update.It has also announced the release of a search tool, oneSearch, that it hopes will revolutionise the mobile internet.

The tool will be part of the Yahoo Go for Mobile 2.0 application, which has itself only just been announced. Yahoo Go for Mobile 2.0 allows users to access Yahoo Mail, Flickr and Yahoo News from their mobile handsets.
One of the most interesting widgets in Yahoo! Go for Mobile 2.0 is search, which Yahoo! calls oneSearch. oneSearch is designed to understand the type of search the user is trying to perform, returning answers and content rather than just a list of links. While traditional search results are still present, oneSearch will return actual content grouped by relevance first, such as show times in your area when searching for a movie name.
“Yahoo oneSearch changes the mobile search game by fundamentally improving the way consumers’ access and use the internet on their mobile phones,” said Marco Boerries at Yahoo.
“It delivers a mobile-optimized search experience that understands what consumers are looking for and presents answers directly in the results - not just a list of web links to PC sites,” he continued.
The Yahoo Go for Mobile 2.0 beta is available for download now. It is compatible with more than 70 mobile handsets.
Yahoo has teamed up with a number of handset manufacturers including Motorola. Yahoo Go for Mobile 2.0 will be pre-loaded on selected new mobiles from Motorola, some of which were announced yesterday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
“Consumers crave cool experiences on the coolest devices and the desire for seamless connectivity has never been stronger,” said Scott Durchslag of Motorola. “Integrating services like Yahoo! Go 2.0 with Motorola devices enables consumers to stay connected with the people, places and information they want, whenever they want it.”

Verizon Wireless launches V-cast Mobile Television Service

America’s second largest cell phone operator, Verizon Wireless announced Sunday it is planning a new service, V Cast Mobile TV, which will help people on-the-go to watch TV programs. The service is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2007.
With initial launch planned in several major U.S. markets, the ad-supported service will offer live content and other programming 24 hours a day from CBS, Comedy Central, Fox, MTV, NBC News, NBC Entertainment and Nickelodeon. Other content providers, including ESPN, are expected to join the lineup, the company said, which will take the total number of channels to ultimately 20.

The company will be partnering with MediaFLO USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm, to deliver the content. MediaFLO USA operates a dedicated multicast network that delivers programming in a linear format.The service will be accessible on new V CAST Mobile TV handsets through a dedicated V Cast Mobile TV key.

John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Verizon Wireless, told a news conference at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show the service is intended to provide something for everyone. It will be in a TV-format.
The company did not reveal pricing details for the service. Samsung and LG Electronics will be initially making the handsets for the service. The handsets, the Samsung SCH u620 and the LG VX9400, will also have features like V Cast Music, V Cast Video, Mobile Web 2.0SM and Get It Now capabilities. The Samsung SCH-u620 will feature a 1.3 megapixel camera with flash, Bluetooth support and enhanced speech recognition with dictation for multimedia messaging. The LG VX9400 also has Bluetooth, a 1.3 megapixel camera, integrated speakerphone and an external memory expansion slot for music, pictures and video clips.
Verizon Wireless already offers on-demand video clips via its V CAST multimedia network, but the MediaFLO service will be the carrier’s first live mobile television offering.

Nokia Electronics launches the new Nokia N800-the internet tablet

The new Nokia N800, unveiled at CES in Las Vegas, is Nokia’s successor to the 770, Nokia’s first go at an Internet Tablet. The Linux powered N800 is aimed at users that are looking for connectivity from almost anywhere or anyplace.The Nokia N800 Internet Tablet already appeared in stores over the weekend.

The Nokia N800 promises faster performance, full screen finger QWERTY keyboard, easier continuous connections through Wi Fi or via Bluetooth phone, integrated web camera as well as a new elegant design. Like its predecessor, the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet is based on Nokia’s desktop Linux based Operating System. Nokia also announced a partnership with Skype for the N800. Skype for the N800 is expected to be available in the first half of 2007.

The screen has a nice large and bright widescreen display (800×480 resolution) and offers a full width on-screen QWERTY finger keyboard for quick and easy text input. Other features include 128MB RAM, 2 card slots, stereo speakers, UPnP architecture, media player, Opera 8 browser and Flash 7 support.The Nokia N800 measures 75×144x13 (/18) mm and weighs 206g.
The new device allows users to connect to the Internet through a home WiFi network (802.11b/e/g), or use Bluetooth v2.0 to connect via a mobile phone. The N800 Tablet is capable of VoIP calls with video over the Internet thanks to its built-in webcam. The N800 also supports instant messaging and email as well as offers full stereo media support. N800 with the video streaming and GPS capabilities uses a wireless router and is able to play video streamed from a PC and act as a remote control to control video played on another device.

The N800 which weighs 206g (7.3oz), is a tad more than the 770’s 189g (6.7oz), and measures 144mm x 75mm x 13mm (5.7″ x 3.0″ x 0.5″). The device’s battery should provide up to 10 days of standby or 3 hours of Internet browsing according to Nokia. Nokia state that the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet should be available right away in the US and select markets throughout Europe. It will retail for US$399/399EUR. “As the Internet becomes an ever more integral part of daily life, Nokia N800 has been designed to offer quick and convenient access to your favorite Internet services regardless of location,” said Ari Virtanen, Vice President, Convergence Products, Multimedia, Nokia. “The Nokia N800 takes our offering to the next level combining speed, performance and mobility into a stylish, compact design.” In addition to adding Skype functionality, Nokia also will partner with RealNetworks to support the company’s Rhapsody music service.