Electronics Co. unveiled yesterday the world’s first 10-megapixel camera phone at the CeBIT electronics show in Germany, the company said in an emailed statement. The new phone (SCH-B600) represents the latest in a string of firsts for the Korean tech giant in the mobile convergence market.

This new device for its home Korean market sports a massive 10 megapixel sensor mated to a 3x optical zoom auto-focus lens that telescopes out of the back of the phone when activated - just like a normal, dedicated point and shoot camera. The thing is, even dedicated point and shoot cameras aren’t using 10 megapixel sensors. A microMMC memory card slot offers plenty of expansion for those massive photos.

Samsung last year introduced the world’s first 7-megapixel and 8-megapixel camera phones. Ever hold a ten megapixel cameraphone? Naw, neither had we, not until today anyway. Straight from the floor at CeBIT, we’ve got the Samsung SCH-B600 with an integrated 10 megapixel shooter. It’s never gonna come anywhere close to the US or Europe so nuzzle up to your monitor real close-like and take in this beauty.

“The 10 megapixel phone belongs to a different level with other camera phones. Samsung was the first company to introduce a camera phone in the world. And we will continue to bring products with more advanced optical technologies”, said Kitae Lee, head of Samsung’s telecom business.

“We have many researchers who are specialized in optical science and they will help us catch up with famous optic technology firms such as Carl Zeiss and Schneider soon”, he added.The handset’s 10-megapixel digital camera features a 3x optical zoom , 5x digital zoom, and a shutter speed as fast as 1/2000th of a second. Auto focus and fill-light functions will also be employed to deliver higher-resolution photographs.

Needless to say, this will be one of Samsung’s higher-end mobile phones, designed for consumers with a fair bit of spare pocket change.In a first for a camera phone, the new offering also has an auxiliary auto focus light, allowing user to better capture images in the dark. The phone can also play music and receive satellite television broadcasts.

Samsung hopes to begin selling it in the second quarter. The price has yet to be set. Samsung’s 7-megapixel camera, SCH-V770, currently retails at around $1,000. Samsung again adopted the “dual face” design for the mobile, which looks like a bar-type phone on one side and a digital camera when flipped. Lee forecast that this year will herald big changes in the cellular phone market, including the emergence of new mobile convergence products.

The phone is equipped with a 2-inch, 16-million-pixel color TFT LCD, supports satellite digital multimedia broadcasting services and comes with a dual-face and dual-speaker system. It also includes TV-out and MP3 player functions. Earlier this week, Samsung unveiled what it said is the first smart phone equipped with an 8-Gbyte hard disk drive. The SGH-i310 combines a phone, a digital camera and an MP3 player that can store about 2,000 songs.

In this world Roughly 13% of the population is left-handed, meaning there are around 850 million people on planet earth with a preference for using their left hand for a variety of tasks, including throwing, pointing, catching and presumably, using a computer. Astonishingly, there has never been a mouse designed just for left handed computer users until Logitech announced its MX610 left-hand Laser Cordless Mouse at CeBIT today.

Southpaws looking for the latest in musing tech no longer have to switch hit or endure wrist-twisting contortions, now that Logitech has announced a left-handed version of the company’s MX610 laser mouse.

The lefty mouse, due out in April, matches the features of its right-handed sibling, including dedicated buttons for e-mail and IM, volume controls, and four-direction scrolling. Until now, most left-handed computer users have only had the choice of navigating with an ambidextrous-shaped mouse or unnaturally using their right hand to scroll point and click.

A mirror image of the award-winning Logitech MX610 Laser Cordless Mouse, the new mouse features 10 buttons, including e-mail and instant messaging buttons that illuminate when new messages are received within Microsoft Outlook, Windows Messenger, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo! Instant Messenger.

With a wireless range of up to 30 feet, people can take the mouse as they step away from the computer, and still be notified when important messages arrives. The mouse also includes volume up, down and mute buttons for controlling music on the PC.

Logitech’s Tilt Wheel Plus Zoom scroll wheel allows people to effortlessly scroll left, right, up and down, and zoom in and out of images, Web pages and open documents. And, remarkably, Logitech is pricing the new version at $59.99, the same price the company charges for the righty mouse.

Could it be that Guerrino De Luca, the company’s left-handed CEO, is behind the egalitarian move? Regardless, we’re ready to pre-order this one and toss our wrist splint for good. With Logitech’s laser technology, the Logitech MX610 Left-Hand Laser Cordless Mouse tracks more precisely and will work on a wider variety of surfaces than optical mice. Logitech was the first company to introduce a mouse with laser tracking. The precise nature of laser light allows a laser mouse to see much greater surface detail than a typical optical mouse with a red light-emitting diode (LED).

NEC Display Solutions of America, a leading stand-alone provider of flat panel desktop and large-screen displays, today announced its new series of professional LCD monitors - the NEC MultiSync 90-series.
Most folks wouldn’t even consider dropping $1,300 on a 20-inch LCD monitor, not when top-notch products such as the Samsung SyncMaster 204T are available for half the price.

Designed to deliver technology-leading screen performance to image-critical markets, the new NEC MultiSync 90-series, which will replace the award-winning MultiSync 80-series, contains over 25 new or improved features that produce crisper, clearer images; enable better control and connectivity; increase energy efficiency; and provide greater adjustment versatility.

The folks over at PC Magazine have taken a look-see at NEC’s new MultiSync LCD2090UXi pro display, and while they liked what it can do, they’re thinking it’s probably best left to the pros and their expensable pocketbooks.

The new MultiSync 90-series “i” models, which use IPS-based modules, address the color critical needs of markets such as medical imaging, graphic illustration and photography.

Carrying a standard four-year warranty, among the highest and most comprehensive in the industry, the MultiSync 90-series “i” models include the 19-inch MultiSync LCD1990SXi, the 20-inch (20.1 viewable) MultiSync LCD2090UXi and the 21-inch (21.3 viewable) MultiSync LCD2190UXi monitors.

The new MultiSync 90-series “p” models, utilizing VA-based modules, are well-suited to meet the needs of CAD/CAM and other users who demand high resolutions, precise images, adjustment flexibility and advanced features but may not have a need for exacting color reproduction.

The MultiSync 90-series “p” models will include the 19-inch MultiSync LCD1990SXp and the 21-inch MultiSync LCD2190UXp monitors, which will carry a standard three-year warranty.

We’re guessing the $1299 price tag for a 20-inch LCD is all of a review most people will need to hear, but they went on to find that the display’s powerful color controls, automatic ambient light adjustment, and flat-out great color make it definitely worth the consideration of those who can afford it.

The 1600×1200 display also offers a very wide 170 degree viewing angle, and its 8ms gray-to-gray response time isn’t too shabby either.

The picture wasn’t as perfect when using an analog connection, and DVDs showed some background noise, but neither of those should raise a flag for most pros.

“NEC has a history of developing displays with leading-edge technology,” said Ray Froude, Senior Product Specialist, NEC Display Solutions of America. “By involving end-users such as illustrators, animators, and radiologists in our development process, the new MultiSync Professional 90-series not only raises the performance bar in these image-critical markets, it also delivers the features and improvements these professionals demand.”

Although the monitor is not geared towards the gaming crowd, it did an adequate job of displaying fast-motion video. Its 16-ms (black-to-white-to-black) pixel-response rating gets a boost from NEC’s Rapid Response overdrive technology, pushing the all-important gray-to-gray response to approximately 8 ms.

There was some image ghosting and flicker evident on our Doom 3 tests, but game play was still acceptable, and the colors were vibrant. DVD movie playback was generally good, although some background noise was noticeable. The panel has a wide viewing angle; colors and image sharpness remained true at up to 170 degrees on both the horizontal and vertical planes, with only a slight loss of luminance at the extreme end of the arc.

NEC covers the 2090UXi with an almost unheard of four-year parts, labor, and backlight warranty (three years is the standard). The company also provides 24/7 telephone support and a wealth of product technology and troubleshooting information online. Included in the box are two DVI cables and an analog cable, screws for wall mounting, and a comprehensive user’s manual.

The MultiSync LCD2090UXi is designed for high-end users who require accuracy, performance, and image control in a professional-grade LCD monitor. Although its price will scare off most consumers, we can expect some of its high-end features to start showing up in midrange LCD monitors in the near future.

So we managed to get our hands on a Samsung Q1 / Origami device set to roll tomorrow here at CeBIT. Don’t ask how, but it’ll be awhile before we recover from the brutal caning we just received. From the five minutes we spent with it we can tell you, well, it’s an XP Tablet PC with a 7-inch display. Sorry, that’s about it, nothing earth-shattering here folks. In fact, for all the hype, it’s hard to find anything revolutionary or even evolutionary in the hardware specs or loaded software (perhaps that will come when the price is announced). Sure, Samsung did call it a prototype unit, but as the final prototype prior to manufacture we’re told not much will change besides a “brighter TFT LCD.”

Now, beyond what we saw earlier today, Samsung will release their UMPC / Origami device with optional GPS and DMB (and presumably DVB too, eventually) mobile digital TV expansion modules, as well as WiBRO support for when that goes live in Korea around June.

The version we grabbed, the Q1, also supports Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and sports a 30GB hard disk. Unfortunately the whole thing just felt wrong in the hands – very plasticy and without substance. Take a look for yourselves after the break, we’ve got tons more shots.

So what is Origami? We’ll tell ya

Yesterday we had a chance to get Otto Berkes on the line, the man behind Origami at Microsoft, as well as Dustin Hubbard, Group Manager for Microsoft’s Mobile Hardware and Application Development team. We had a few things to ask about what the deal is with UMPCs and Origami, here’s what we learned: Origami is a term originated from Berkes that doesn’t necessarily refer to a device or specific hardware specification, per se, but to an ultramobile PC running Windows Tablet (or Vista, later) and enhanced Microsoft Touch Pack (a suite of apps and utilities meant to optimize using Windows by touch, and not necessarily only by stylus).

Touch Pack consists of a launcher app that better groups and opens apps based on a touchscreen interface; DialKeys, a thumb-based text input system that uses those two onscreen touch inputs on either side; Touch Improvements, a suite of environment optimizations to make using Windows with your fingers a less painful experience; and some other stuff, like Sudoku and an Origami-optimized Windows Media skin to kind of round out the whole thing.

Otto made it pretty clear that Microsoft is aiming UMPCs based on Tablet with Touch Pack at the general consumer, and not necessarily as another device for the already gadget-laden mobile office — we’ll be seeing (and have already seen) initially launches by the likes of Samsung, Asus, and Founder, so keep an eye out for those today.

We did ask about Alexandria, the other Microsoft buzz-video / project we saw the other day, and it sounded like a system MS was working to ease acquiring music and movies online — is Alexandria a service that might be an iTunes-killer, perhaps? We don’t know (we’re working on finding out), but we do finally know what the hell Origami is, and now you do too.

In the course of the slid year, the devices ultrathin you have outsold all far away the other designs of the telephone. Poichè Motorola has dominated the market with the RAZR, many suppliers who have been interfered outside-guard scrambled in order to generate the thin telephones of their own ones. The last Samsung month has freed Mm-a900, relative the first thin telephone.

But being virtually identical to the RAZR in the shape and the function, it has been only met lukewarm enthusiasm. Hour Samsung the relative new hopes more best correctly Sgh-t809 will. Smarrendo from the cover typical of the telephone of vibration, the T809 be impaccato in a design polish of the cursore. Generating one first hitting impression, the T809 characterizes a great screen of full-color, being similar the look and the tact of the televisions high-end of the plasma. Enough thin to insert in the consumers the pockets, the T809 offers 1.3-megapixel an integrated camera, player MP3 with the loudspeakers external stereos and the technology without threads of Bluetooth in order to assess it does not remain hidden long in order.

Plans to be that the ultrathin telephones are better vendors currently, it is surprised that one the measures lucide T809 under 0.6-inches thin. Constructed of plastic, rather than of the metal-alloy like the RAZR and A900, the T809 is a light weight hardly to disopra the 3,0 ounces, but difetta of the rigidity and tact that sturdy the devices previous you have had. Being wider than other telephones, the greater part of the front panel visualizes prominente a great screen of tip of the progress 262K-color. Over, the customers can block to the photos to uneven angle and the video clip with the objective of camera poured them 1.3-megapixel. Under, a 5-way that the navigation keyboard is encircled from Dial, that it removes, that cancels and left skillful keys and.

The external loudspeakers on the inferior angles supply a experience to the open to listen to for music and the sounds. From the part of left, the keys of the volume record the telephone receiver and modify the levels the tonality during the calls and standby, while headset a Jack allows that the listeners enjoy music privately. The just edge contains a rabbet of the card of memory of TransFlash for additional space useful in order to store lime the MP3 and the photos. Opened made to slide, the numerical keyboard is revealed offering comfortable and convenient navigation of menu and messaging of text through text the T9 estimate. From the box it, the Samsung Sgh-t809 comes with a champion battery of Li-Ione from 800 mAh, the race loader, headset handsfree the stereo, gives you of the USB alloy, 32 card of mb TransFlash, CD of the study of the PC and handbook of the customer.

The bottom line: If you own a 5G iPod or an iPod Nano and can’t live without FM radio, we highly recommend the Apple iPod Radio Remote.

The good: The well-built Apple iPod Hi-Fi possesses excellent sound quality for a one-piece system, and it has lightning-quick controls, particularly when using the bundled remote control. It’s also visually appealing and includes design features such as a built-in power brick, handles, and battery operation. A digital (S/PDIF) line-in and a complete set of dock adapters round out the positives.

The bad: The Apple iPod Hi-Fi sounds only marginally better than its competition but costs much more. Despite the remote’s menu button, you can’t navigate the iPod’s menu. There is no video line-out, headphone jack, or dock-connector output. The Hi-Fi’s weight and size take away from its portability. Poorly encoded audio sounds terrible, and the speakers sound much better with higher-quality files/sources.

The bottom line: The pricey Apple iPod Hi-Fi portable stereo speakers are well built and sound great, but they don’t bring anything new to the table.

Canon expands its DVD camcorder line-up with the DC100 DVD model. This new entry-level DVD camcorder provides consumers with an affordable, high quality solution for recording precious memories. With its 25x optical zoom lens, Widescreen HR (High Resolution) recording and 2.7-inch Widescreen display panel, the DC100 model expands ease of use and enhances the affordability of video for entry-level users.

“For consumers who enjoy using video as a medium to capture life’s most precious moments, the DC100 DVD camcorder delivers excellent video quality in a compact package,” said Yukiaki Hashimoto, senior vice president and general manager of the Consumer Imaging Group at Canon U.S.A., Inc. “The DC100 DVD model incorporates all the original Canon technology and features that deliver excellent video quality for family and friends to cherish for years to come.”

The DC100 DVD model records directly to a DVD, allowing consumers to easily put a disc into their home DVD player and watch home movies, from the comfort of their living rooms. The Canon DC100 camcorder accepts the three-inch DVD-R/-RW discs, which can store up to 60 minutes of video (120 minutes on a double sided disc) and are compatible with many home DVD players, both old and new.

Canon chose the DVD-R/-RW format to ensure high compatibility with a range of DVD players and drives. Because it is a digital format, consumers can easily locate scenes without having to rewind or fast forward, create play lists of favorite scenes and are even able to do some quick editing.

The DC100 also comes with Widescreen High Resolution (HR) 16:9 recording, which means you can enjoy full-screen videos on your widescreen TV at home. Canon’s Widescreen HR is technically superior to that of its competitors. The display is a 2.7-inch widescreen panel that perfectly complements the Widescreen HR capability. It records sound in Dolby Digital Stereo.

All in all, a great combination of features for a movie-theatre like experience. What’s more you get all this in one super-slim package.

Few of the features are a surprise for the latest addition in this relatively new line of Canon DVD camcorders. The DC100 has a 25x optical zoom, true 16:9 widescreen shooting, and a 2.7- inch widescreen LCD. The camcorder will also offer popular features such as auto slow shutter, variable or preset zoom speeds, and the usual gamut of automatic and manual controls. This camcorder does lack a card slot, and instead records stills directly to DVD. All other models in the DC line save to a MiniSD card.

The Canon DC100 DVD camcorder will be available at the end of April 2006 for an estimated selling price of $499. Canon will debut the DC100 DVD camcorder in its booth during the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) exhibit in Orlando.

The HTC Tornado Smartphone might be just a touch smaller than the 0.8×1.9×4.5-inch AXIA A308 PDA phone, but that didn’t stop the Malaysian manufacturer from marketing its product as the “world’s smallest PDA Phone on Microsoft Windows Mobile 5 featuring Wifi connectivity.”

Malaysian manufacturer AXIA is claiming to have the “world’s smallest PDA Phone on Microsoft Windows Mobile 5 featuring WiFi connectivity,” in their new A308 device.

Fifth Media Sdn. Bhd. announced the launch of the world’s smallest PDA phone running on Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 OS, AXIA A308.

Measuring only 0.8 x 1.9 x 4.5 inch in size, the handset offers a lot of power thanks to a 416MHz Intel CPU and comes with a 2.2 inch QVGA LCD, 1.3 megapixel camera and miniSD slot.

At 0.8×1.9×4.5-inch the phone is a tad larger than the HTC Tornado Smartphone, but the A308 goes for full PDA functionality with its 2.2-inch QVGA LCD.

In terms of connectivity, AXIA A308 is a quad-phone featuring GSM, GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth and WiFi. “Its compact size and built-in WiFi will set this device apart as a business tool” is the opinion of Bernard Bowiz, Chief Technical Adviser of Fifth Media Sdn. Bhd.

Despite its diminutive stature, the AXIA A308 still manages to pack in the goodies. High speed data transfer is easily addressed with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GSM/GPRS, IrDA, and EDGE compatibility, and the 416MHz Intel CPU is quite nice as well. Other features include an integrated 1.3 megapixel camera, 2.2-inch TFT LCD touchscreen, and miniSD expansion.

Along with the WiFi, AXIA has crammed in Bluetooth, EDGE, miniSD, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and a pleasantly fast 416MHz Intel CPU. Looks good to us, world’s smallest or not.The first AXIA PDA Phone, the A108, was well received when it was introduced last year at the CeBIT exhibition. AXIA A308 is the latest model of the series of PDA phones which combines the familiar form of a regular phone with full PDA functions.

As of yet, no exact pricing or launch information has been made available, but more deets should surface when AXIA makes a more official showing at this month’s CeBit show.

Julius Grohe, Fifth Media’s Director of Global Sales states: “There are no devices currently in the market that delivers on the AXIA A308’s unique proposition of being a compact PDA Phone with WiFi capabilities. Furthermore, the pricing of the AXIA A308 will make the device very attractive.” (Krishana Raghav)

Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPod Hi-Fi during today’s special event at Apple’s Cuperinto headquarters. [Live coverage] The high-end speaker system delivers “breathtaking acoustic performance and room-filling sound unlike any other speaker system designed for the iPod in an innovative, all-in-one design.”

Apple iPod Hi-Fi. We’d heard this was coming, and it’s caught our attention namely because it’s Apple’s first true foray into the iPod accessories market, along with their new leather iPod cases.

The iPod Hi-Fi, which can be powered from a wall socket or by six D-cell batteries, features an integrated iPod dock and is controlled by the 6-button Apple Remote. It’s available starting today for $349.

We did get a good listen in some of the rooms Apple set up on campus to demo the sound in a “real world” environment (our fav was the teenager’s space, replete with dirty laundry strewn about), and yup, it sounds pretty good.

Compatible with all dock connector iPods, the Hi-Fi charges your iPod while docked and offers Tone Control, Large Album Art mode and volume mirroring on fifth-generation iPods and iPod nanos. You know how we wish it was, well, a little less iPod-centric for being a regular old piece of consumer electronics and all, but hey, you know how they play the game. The device also features molded handles, a removable front grille, touch-sensitive volume control buttons, a built-in power supply (no external power brick), and a 3.5-mm auxiliary input. The Hi-Fi measures 17.0” x 6.6” x 6.9.”

“iPod Hi-Fi has been designed and engineered by Apple to deliver unrivaled sound quality, realistic sound imaging and optimal audio performance,” the company says. “its clean, all-in-one design features a unique isolated enclosure system that includes two custom designed wide-range speakers and a tuned, ported bass system, minimizing vibration while maximizing sound quality and allowing users to listen to their favorite music as it was intended with amazing sound clarity and rich, deep bass.”

So how’s the thing feel? Well, let’s be straight up, the Hi-Fi is heavy. Like, way too heavy to want to carry with you to the cabana or the beach, as they described you might despite its alternate six D-cell power source. Click on to see some more shots!

Apple also today introduced new Intel-based Mac mini computers. Available in a 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo processor configuration and a 1.5 GHz Intel Core Solo processor configuration, the new systems feature Apple’s Front Row media software and a new music, video and photo sharing feature that uses the company’s Bonjour wireless networking technology. The new Mac minis start at $599. Of course, there is a big difference between satisfying the faithful’s wildly unreasonable expectations and prancing around on stage just because you know you can get people to watch. Was the media event a waste of time or were expectations just too high? It is left as an exercise for the reader to categorize Tuesday’s revelations.

Added phosphor effect, similar to z26. Useful on ROMs which alternate sprites from one frame to another, resulting in an annoying flicker. When using phosphor mode, a pixels colour is mixed with its previous value, resulting in a blended image that doesn’t flicker, emulating the phosphoresence effect on a real television.

Added ‘pp’ developer commandline argument to set the “Display.Phosphor” property, and ‘ppblend’ to set the amount to blend pixels in phosphor mode. Also added ‘Alt p’ key to enable/disable phosphor effect while ROM is emulated. By default, phosphor mode is only used when necessary, as specified in the stella.pro file.

Since the open-source GP2X handheld gaming console has earned itself quite a devoted little following, we’re sure that several of you will be excited to learn that Gamepark (but not Gamepark Holdings, who had split off to release the GP2X) has released photos of two upcoming models that may or may not pack the same PMP and emulation goodness — these may be geared towards the commercial market — into slightly different packages.

Renamed ‘cheetah’ commandline argument to ‘cheat’. Added per-frame cheatcodes (4 characters long), which are evaluated each frame. Added cheatcode GUI, where cheats can be named, edited, saved, etc.
Cheat codes are now saved to stella.cht file and are automatically reloaded when Stella starts.

First is the the redesigned XGP (Extreme Game Player) handheld, which ditches the swivel screen design that we once opined “looks a bit like the bastard child of a PSP and a Sidekick,” for a more traditional Game Gear / Lynx / Nomad-type form factor, while one-upping the GP2X in screen size (4-inches vs. 3.5), the addition of a DMB TV receiver, and a little standard known as WiFi.

Improved ‘joymouse’ functionality. While in GUI mode, any axis will simulate mouse movement, and any button will simulate a mouse click. So the GUI can be completely navigated without a mouse. Improved CommandDialog and LauncherDialog wrt joymouse functionality. These dialogs are used more than any other on devices without a mouse, so joystick axis movement switches between GUI objects, rather than simulating the mouse. This leads to much faster selection of objects.

The real surprise, though, was the XGP Mini, an obvious rip-off of homage to the Game Boy Micro, which like the GP2X and XGP, sports an SD slot and 64MB NAND memory, but 32MB less RAM than the 64MB found in its brethren.

Added mapping of multiple SDL joystick axis to Event Mapping. Added joystick hat support, and mapping of multiple hats to Event Mapping. Added remapping of paddle emulation to the keyboard or joystick axis (the mouse is still used by default for paddles). Related to this, use more precise analog values when analog axis are mapped to analog-type events (such as paddles).

Treat joystick events as other types of controllers based on the virtual port entry in stella.pro. This means that mappings for a joystick will emulate other devices when necessary. Added ’sp’ developer commandline argument, which sets the “Console.SwapPorts” property and swaps the arrangement of the virtual ports. Useful for games like “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, where the joysticks are normally swapped. Added ability to set which Stelladaptor device emulates which virtual joystick port (’sa1′ and ’sa2′ commandline arguments, which accept ‘left’ or ‘right’).

Although release dates are unknown for either model, the XGP will supposedly retail for around $300, while the XGP Mini (pictured after the break) will cost $150.