Enjoy High Quality Video on Skype
Skype will soon be able to enjoy high quality video calls using select Web cams from Logitech, Inc. The announcement was made today in a joint press release. About twenty five percent (25%) of Skype calls involve video, and this collaboration with Logitech gives those users image-perfect clarity and detail not previously available to them.
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Eye-Fi Wireless Memory Card
Uploading photos from digital cameras to a PC and social networking sites has just gotten a lot easier with the introduction of the first wireless memory card. The card by Eye-Fi, Inc., has a capacity of 2GB, and is said to work with virtually all digital cameras in the market.
The management software is compatible with Windows XP/Vista, Mac OS X 10.3/10.4, and Internet Explorer 6/7, and Firefox 2. Setting up and using the wireless memory card requires, off course, an Internet connection and wireless network. Aside from the software, the wireless SD card also comes with a USB reader, and retails for about $99.00. Get all the details from Eye-Fi.
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Preview High Definition Content Online
Akamai Technologies has just launched a Web portal to give consumers a taste of what online high definition video will be like. The site features preview of multimedia content from the NBA, MTV, Apple, CBS, and a few other content providers.
Viewers, however, will need to have a minimum of 7.5 Mbps of available bandwidth to enjoy the real high-def experience. Your experience will be choppy if you do not have a fiber optic Internet connection. The portal can be accessed here.
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iPhone’s Toxicity Exposed by a Greenpeace Report
It is the most popular wireless device in the market, and it has made its manufacturer a lot of money. I am referring, off course, to the iPhone. It’s like a status symbol to some, and has a sex appeal that some in Hollywood would envy. But very little is known about the greeness or environmental-friendliness of its components. That is until the latest report by Greenpeace.
The report, relying on a chemical analysis of 18 of the iPhones internal and external components at an independent chemical laboratory in the UK, found:
- low concentrations of chromium in some of the tested materials
- that half of the materials tested showed significant levels of bromine, and antimony (known to be toxic)
- a high level of chlorine and phthalate esters in one material (this indicates the presence of hazardous PVC)
It was not all bad news for the iPhone, however, because the study also found that :
- no cadmium or mercury were detected
- the concentrations of lead and chromium were relatively low
- the most toxic form of chromium, chromium VI, was not found in the materials that were tested
The findings of the Greenpeace study ranks Apple’s iPhone well below products from Nokia, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson in eco-friendliness. The iPhone debuts for sale in Europe next month, but I don’t see its sales being affected by this study. The Greenpeace report is available for download (pdf), and you may view a related YouTube video from Greenpeace below.
[youtube width=”300″ height=”335″]http://youtube.com/watch?v=dBF_AkaXRG4[/youtube]
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Student’s Youtube video Makes it to Primetime
An iPod Touch video commercial posted on Youtube by Nick Haley, a University of Leeds freshman, will be coming to your living room soon. The 30-second video was posted on Youtube about a month ago, and features material taken from Apple’s Website, with music from a Cansei de Ser Sexy (a Brazilian band from São Paulo better known as CSS) song titled Music is my hot, hot sex.
[youtube width=”300″ height=”335″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKQUZPqDZb0[/youtube]
I’ve seen the video several times, and do not think there is anything special about it (there are scores of videos about Apple’s products on YouTube). But the Apple ad exec that saw it on YouTube thought different(ly). The student was contacted, and the rest, as they say, is history. I do not think this is the first time that a user-generated video will be used by a major company, but it is the idea behind Rollmio which I blogged about here.
Not everybody will be as fortunate as Nick Haley, so if you are a creative type and want to be paid for your videos, Rollmio might be your best chance. If selected, you never know who else will like your ad.
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ZoneBridge: Wireless Music Streaming for your home
Sonos, Inc. has just released the ZoneBridge 100, an addition to the Sonos multi-room music system. Combined with Sonos ZonePlayers and Controller, the ZoneBridge makes it easy to stream music - wirelessly - throughout a home (upto 32 rooms). Sonos devices are not cheap, but they are well designed and if you are a fan of cool-to-the-eyes electronics with Bose-like sound output, then you’ll love Sonos products.
The newly released ZoneBridge hooks up to your router and features an easy one-click setup. Not rocket science. Anybody can have a ZoneBridge up and running in a flash. Once installed, a SonosNet™ - “a secure AES encrypted, peer-to-peer wireless mesh network that enables other Sonos products to control and play music wirelessly” - is activated.
A ZoneBridge is relatively inexpensive - $99.00, but other Sonos devices that are needed to use the ZoneBridge don’t come cheap. The Sonos Controller by itself costs $400.00, and each Zoneplayer runs from $350.00 to $500.00 (depending on the model). You may read the complete news release and check all Sonos products here
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Share Your Music with Ezmo
Ezmo is not exactly a new name in the social networking space (it’s popular in Europe, with roots in Norway), but it has only just become accessible in the US. So what exactly is it? Well, Ezmo is a social networking service that makes it easy to share music with your friends. That is all there is to Ezmo - sign up, upload your music files, and invite your friends. Read more
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Capazoo: Social networking that could fatten your wallet
Social networking Websites like Facebook and MySpace have done very well for their founders. These services, due to their membership numbers, command a premium in advertising revenues. In return, the members get a platform that allows them to share and interact with others. Other that that, there is really no tangible benefits to their members.
But what if there were a social networking site that shared some of its advertising revenues with you? Read more
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SanDisk’s Latest Offering: The Sansa TakeTV
SanDisk’s latest usb device is the Sansa TakeTV video player. This is unlike other mobile devices such as the iPhone, the Nokia N81 8GB, and a host of others already in the market. It has no built-in camera, and you won’t be able to call your mom using this device. Far from any of that. In fact, it is not a true mobile device.
It is simply a usb disk, with a twist: You plug it into a PC, download movies, attach it to its cradle, plug it into most TVs and watch the movies on the TV, using an included remote control. That’s all. Nothing fancy. The Sansa TakeTV video player comes in 4 GB and 8 GB version, and supports a number of video formats, including DivX, XVID and MPEG-4. Retail price is $99.99 and $149.99 for the 4 GB and 8 GB versions respectively.
SanDisk also annouced the public beta of Fanfare, a platform that gives “consumers access to a growing list of TV shows that can be downloaded to the Sansa TakeTV and watched on nearly any TV, at any time”.
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Now Shipping - The Nokia N81 8GB
The Nokia N81 8GB is now available for purchase globally. The N81 8GB did not generate the same type of hype and media blitz like the iPhone, but it packs a punch.
So should you go out and buy this latest device from Nokia? Depends. At more than $600.00, I think it is very expensive, the same conclusion reached about the iPhone. Apple later slashed the price of the iPhone and had to appologise to its angry fans. I don’t think that Nokia will make the same mistake, but you never know. If this is a must-have device for you, you will find all the details at the Nokia Website.
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