AT&T Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus cell phone

The AT&T Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus cell phone will both be available in the coming months. I have been waiting for WebOS on AT&T forever, they need the sales. I have only heard great things from actual users! The Pre+ and Pixi+ are great phones but I agree that Palm needs a new flagship phone. Palm needs new hardware. I’m looking forward to Pre and Pixi GSM version.

AT&T Palm Pixi Plus cell phone photos


AT&T Palm Pre Plus cell phone photos

New T-Mobile Sidekick Cell Phone

New T-Mobile Sidekick cell phone is the option to use colorful shells, to change the way the device looks. New T-Mobile phones – T-Mobile Sidekick features include: “Stereo Bluetooth support, 2-megapixel camera with video recording capability and a microSD slot.”

New Cell Phones – New T-Mobile Cell Phones
T-Mobile Sidekick Cell Phone Photos


T-Mobile Sidekick Cell Phone Photos

Klipsch Shines – An Audio and Solid State Lighting Solution

At last evening’s “CES Unveiled” press event at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas well known audio equipment maker Klipsch Group, Inc. unveiled their LightSpeaker System.  The LightSpeaker System (below) combines wirelessly connected loudspeakers with an LED solid state lamp that can be retrofitted in a conventional ceiling can by simply screwing the unit into the Edison base lamp socket.

The wireless base station can connect up to two audio sources such as an iPod or compact disc player.  The wireless transmitter’s 2.4GHz technology handles up to eight LightSpeakers providing for stereo sound in multiple rooms and the user can set up two separate listening zones. The transmitter or remote will control the sources, zones, lighting levels and volume.  The LED bulb is rated for 40,000 hours of use and Klipsch claims the LightSpeaker reduces lighting expenses by 80 percent, using 10 watts to produce light that’s bright enough to replace up to a 65 watt bulb. (We will try to determine whether actual lumen output of the LightSpeaker is comparable to a 65 watt reflector bulb often used in ceiling cans as we do not expect that the US DOE Caliper program will get around to testing the LightSpeaker in the very near future).  Further adding to the LightSpeaker’s green credentials, Klipsch points out that the LightSpeaker LED bulb contains no mercury as do compact fluorescent lamps.
A basic LightSpeaker system consisting of two LightSpeakers, a transmitter, radio frequency remote, mini jack to RCA plug cable, lenses and trim, retails for $599.  Additional LightSpeakers are available for $249.  Although this may seem pricey, Klispsch makes several points in the graphic below concerning the cost effectiveness of their new product.

Klipsch also point out that installation and set up are quick and easy, and that homeowners can take it with them if they move.
While it’s too early to say if the LightSpeaker will catch on in a big way, it is easy to see that smart companies like Klipsch are exploring products that provide consumers convenient solutions for old problems while offering greener products as well

WRT (With Respect To) Technology

Novel camera technology enables new products, form factors

In a press release earlier this year, Tessera (TSRA) announced a new technology for making extremely small and lower cost camera modules for devices such as camera phones, webcams and security cameras. The size reduction possible with the new technology Tessera calls OptiML™ Wafer Level Camera Technology is impressive as shown in the illustration below.

This reduction in camera size will enable designers of mobile phones and other portable products to fashion still more compact devices. The design of earlier products, particularly the thickness, has often been dictated by the height of the included camera module. Using Tessera’s technology, product designers will be free to incorporate cameras in extremely thin new designs. The reduced size and cost of camera modules will also enable designers to place cameras in entirely new product categories.

As with many prior technologies, when cost and size are reduced adequately, the technology proliferates and becomes ubiquitous, leading to large market opportunities. By making its camera technology available through licensing to the industry, Tessera means to profit as manufacturers roll out new modules, and industrial and consumer products based on OptiML™ Wafer Level Camera Technology. Perhaps the first instance of the new Tessera technology going to market is the recent licensing agreement with Toshiba.

As we look ahead to the new year we will watch for further licensing deals, design-ins and products incorporating this and other steadily evolving optoelectronic technologies.