Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, April 07, 2008

Thin is in: LG shares a glimpse of its 5 megapixel hottie phone

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/265455816/

Great news, Mr. and Mrs. Tighty Pants: carrying five megapixels in your pocket is about to become a little less obvious! The latest member of LG's storied Black Label line -- other alumni being the Chocolate and the Shine -- is starting to break cover, and for what the slider might lack in sheer visual distinction, it makes up in technical prowess. The as-yet-unnamed slider promises to be the thinnest 5 megapixel cameraphone in the world when it launches, featuring a reinforced glass touchscreen up front (just a little Glimmer-esque, if you ask us) and a shell constructed from carbon fiber. Other than that, LG's being a little stingy with details at this point, saying that it'll unveil the handset's name later this month -- hopefully along with pricing and a full spec sheet. The phone will hit Europe first with a number of other launches across the globe thereafter, finally hitting LG's own South Korea in the second half.

[Via T3]

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Hynix ships fastest one-gigabit LPDDR2 chip for mobile devices

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/265508528/

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Though not quite as impressive as the idea of toppling Intel and AMD within the next ten years, Hynix Semiconductor still has a decent reason to brag today. The South Korean chip producer has announced that it has just started mailing out the "fastest data transferring advanced dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip for mobile devices." Said chip is the one-gigabit LPDDR2 (low-power double-data-rate 2), which was crafted using 66-nanometer technology and features an 800-megabits per second operating speed at 1.2-volts. No word on exactly what devices will see the super-speedy chip packed within, but a company spokesperson did note that it plans on ramping up production during Q4 to meet "growing demand for flat-panel television sets and high-end handheld devices."

[Via Physorg]

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Sunday, April 06, 2008

Adobe Relinquishes Ownership of Photos Uploaded to Photoshop Express [Photoshop]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/264245106/adobe-relinquishes-ownership-of-photos-uploaded-to-photoshop-express

So, one of the big sniggles about Photoshop Express, Adobe's free online photo tweaker and sorta-kinda Flickr clone, is that using the service basically gave full control of your photos to Adobe. No more! They just emailed us that as of April 10, they're only claiming "those limited rights that allow us to operate the service" and they don't "claim ownership of your content and won't sell your images." Score one for internet rights and your mom's Photoshop dalliances. [PS Express Terms of Use]

Smart Green Cell Station Makes Africa a Cleaner Place To Ask "Can You Hear Me Now?" [Green]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/264651617/smart-green-cell-station-makes-africa-a-cleaner-place-to-ask-can-you-hear-me-now

In an effort to clean up Africa's dirty and diesel-reliant mobile network, Swedish start up Flexenclosure has designed a green version of a cellular base station. Called the E-site, it runs primarily on wind and solar power and utilizes an intelligent operating system that adapts to local conditions.

The new design comes at the request of Ericsson, which wanted an alternative to a purely diesel-run base station. Those consume roughly 20,000 liters (5,283 gallons) of diesel per year - an increasingly costly expense with rising world energy prices.

The E-Site draws its power from a wind turbine in the network tower and solar panels on the roof. Clean energy sources charge a battery that then powers the base station at night. The E-site also has a small diesel generator, just in case the batteries run out.

What's even more amazing is the E-site's operating system, which can learn to adapt its power-generating techniques to different situations. For instance, if the batteries are running low at night, but the system knows the sun will rise soon, it can decide to wait it out until morning rather than head straight towards the diesel. Good thinking, E-site! [Cnet]

Toshiba IK-HD1 is World's Smallest HDTV Camera [Camcorders]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/264957048/toshiba-ik+hd1-is-worlds-smallest-hdtv-camera

With vital measurements of 1-6-inches cubed and 2.3-ounces in weight, Toshiba's IK-HD1 waltzes in to easily steal the "Smallest HDTV Camera, Ever" title. Packed to the miniature eyeballs with three CCD chips, the 1K-HD1 can capture video at broadcast-quality at 1080i, but it won't be making its way to your camcorder anytime soon. The tiny marvel is actually intended for professional broadcasting, and needs to be hooked up to a rather sizable control unit, which can be placed up to 90-feet away. It appears Mr Professional Broadcasting wins again. Dammit. [DVice]