Archive for March, 2008
Posted on Mar 28, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:08 am
Pandigital isn’t the first company to bring the digital photo frame into the kitchen, but no one’s done it with this kind of style or versatility.
Witness the company’s new $400 15-inch frame designed to be an HDTV, digital frame, digital cookbook, and a lot more (link is to a PDF). The frame is shown built into kitchen cabinets and as a standalone device – both appealing options.
There’s no WiFi connection in the product yet, but other Pandigital photo fames offer that, so I’d expect we’ll see it here soon, too. And once that’s in place, the digital photo frame will be the perfect FrameChannel hub for the kitchen.
Look for the frame to become available in June.
Posted on Mar 26, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:29 am
Engadget has an interesting post about Chumby – the open, networked digital appliance that serves all kinds of content right to your bedside in a cushy little bundle. Using the device’s first major firmware upgrade, they ask their readers: what would you change about Chumby?
Some of the more interesting or common responses:
- Change the name
- Slimmer design
- Bigger screen
- Better touchscreen
And there’s a lot more there. If you’ve used a Chumby, we’d love to hear your thoughts about this in comments – and don’t skimp on Engadget, either. Give them your comments, too.
Personally? I say keep the name. It’s non-descriptive, sure, but changing it to make it more corporate or descriptive is likely to kill some of the fun inherent in the device – and that’s not worth it.
Posted on Mar 24, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:43 am
Chumby, the open, customizable, and cuddly table-top device that streams content from the Internet and plays music from your iPod, has just gotten more useful: it now supports FrameChannel.
FrameChannel (disclosure in case you didn’t notice the big FrameChannel banner above: FrameMedia, the company behind FrameChannel, sponsors this blog) is a web-based service that streams digital photos and other content like news, sports scores, weather, and comics to digital frames and wireless-enabled gizmos.
Chumby previously offered photo display and other content, but FrameChannel’s over 200 channels of free content, along with its premium channels, greatly expand the options of the kinds of content Chumby users can display on their devices. Adding a commercial service to Chumby also expands the business possibilities for the device.
Posted on Mar 21, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:11 am
WiFi is not long for this world and public hotspots will be disappearing soon, according to Johan Bergendahl, chief marketing officer of Ericsson. In its place, we’ll begin to see cellular broadband offered over HSPA, Bergendahl said last week at the European Computer Audit, Control and Security Conference in Stockholm, Sweden.
In his speech, Bergendahl touts the low-cost of HSPA connections (which are 3G speed) and their growing influence in Europe.
The merit of these claims is dubious: it’s in Ericsson’s interest to promote a technology that keeps people with the mobile phone carriers that Ericsson does its business with — especially one that can create the kind of roaming and overage charges that WiFi never incurs.
It’s an interesting claim, though, and worth noting that it’s on the minds of telecoms. We should hope it doesn’t come to pass; if it does, there are a lot of WiFi devices that won’t work anymore and the era of low-cost, boundless connectivity driving innovation could be ended.
Posted on Mar 19, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:12 am
The shapes and sizes of the screens that will display our data — family photos, news, weather, cartoons — is changing and changing soon. Microsoft’s sphere-shaped Surface is one example of this, as is the announcement by GE researchers that they’ve created a process to manufacture created thin, cheap, flexible OLEDs.
With this process, we could soon see OLED screens that seamlessly wrap around corners or that are integrated into flexible spaces. This could change the design and decorative options for wireless digital picture frames that go in the house or wallet, displays in cars or stores, or even niche computing devices.
And, thanks to the invention of new solar cell, some of those thin, flexible screens should be completely wireless and only get their power from the sun.
Posted on Mar 17, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:12 am
Fantasy sports are a huge and growing hobby in the U.S. A new concept PC would appeal to that space and further show the opportunities for wireless-enabled gizmos.
The Coach’s Clipboard concept would marry a clipboard-shaped touch-sensitive screen with a WiFi connection, 80GB hard drive, and more to create a slim tablet that would stream sports scores and injury news, as well as allow fantasy coaches to make trades, roster moves, and talk trash all from the clipboard, anywhere a wireless signal reaches.
Since it’s just a concept right now, don’t expect to be able to rush out and buy the Coach’s Clipboard anytime soon, but this is a great example of the kind of niche devices that, if priced right, could hit big if they have the right combination of software and data services.
