Archive for June, 2008
Posted on Jun 30, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:10 am
A report from market research firm Forrester Research predicts that by 2013 Apple will be selling digital picture frames, networked clock radios, and other wireless gizmos. The predictions were made in a report published in late May.
These moves make sense, especially as Apple increasingly makes a play to sit at the center of the digital home with devices like the AppleTV and iTunes’ ability to stream content to wireless speakers. Whether they’ll actually happen, of course, is more in doubt. Apple likes big-margin products and this kind of consumer item is often the site of margin-slashing price wars.
Still, Apple has shown a genius from coming late into a market and improving it so dramatically as to make their own category (music players and cell phones come to mind), so perhaps in 2013, we’ll be waking up to our iClocks and using touch-sensitive picture frames throughout the house.
Posted on Jun 27, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:14 am
No doubt sensing a growing market, Microsoft recently announced the availability of Windows Embedded NavReady 2009, a new version of the Windows operating systems for embedded devices designed specifically for use in Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs), such as GPSes.
The new NavReady 2009 OS is designed to facilitate easy wireless connections between cell phones, computers, PNDs, and the Internet. It offers features including:
- Live Search – designed to provide Internet-based searches for points of interest
- Bluetooth Support — to enable wireless connections for features such as phone book access and hands-free use
- MSN Direct — integration with the MSN Direct service, which can provide real-time content such as gas prices and traffic information
- Windows SideShow — support for the desktop gizmos/widgets debuted in Windows Vista.
With a dedicated OS from a major developer, and support for Windows SideShow, the possibilities for using PNDs as a platform for deploying applications is expanded. Now software developers can create applications for these devices that will expand their functionality. Gas prices and traffic reports are of course one set of applications, though others, such as photo slideshows, sports scores, or personal photos displayed when the PND is not in use also seem likely.
Posted on Jun 23, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:12 am
It’s not hard to see where this LCD from NEC is going: the heart-shaped LCD panel is obviously going into digital picture frames for your mom and your valentine (not the same person, hopefully!).
While some may argue that this shape isn’t the most tasteful, go check the picture frame aisles of your local big-box stores and I guarantee that you’ll find traditional frames in the shape of a heart. And why? Because they sell, I suspect.
Having digital frames of the same shape will just help push digital photo frames into more homes and more rooms. And, if NEC can make these panels thinner, perhaps we’ll even get digital Valentine’s cards in the not-so-distant future.
Posted on Jun 20, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:43 am
I’ve written a number of times before about the coming integration of TV set top boxes and the Internet that will allow content streamed over the web to be displayed on your TV.
A company has done that future one better — they’ve added a PC to a their LCD HDTV to create what they’re calling a “Digital Canvas.” The TVs, which come in 34-, 43, and 52-inches, include a 2.1Ghz Intel processor, 2GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, and WiFi.
The TVs seem designed specifically to take advantage of the wireless features as a way to make art installations with motion and video. No reason they couldn’t be used to stream web content to your living room, though.
The Digital Canvas models are being sold through an eBay and start at US$4,777.
Posted on Jun 18, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:43 am
These days we take digital cameras for granted. In fact, they’re so popular that for basic consumer uses, digital cameras have practically buried traditional film cameras.
But it wasn’t always so. Just think: affordable digital cameras haven’t been widely available to consumers for even 15 years yet.
So how did we get to this point? Turns out it starts with an early digital camera that saved photos on audio tape and displayed photos on a TV invented by a Kodak employee named Steve Sasson.
Sasson has a great blog post up about his invention. If you like gadgets, history, or just want to understand how we got here from there, it’s worth a read.
Posted on Jun 16, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:43 am
I wrote a few months ago about a device called the MEDIVista, an LCD screen for hospital rooms that allows patients to watch TV, surf the web, and make phone calls. I’ve also written about the integration of web-connected videogame systems and photo slideshow programs like the Wii Photo channel.
Now, Microsoft is partnering with Champions in Courage, a non-profit that supports children and families with life-threatening illnesses, to bring Xbox 360 consoles to children’s hospitals. The kiosks will be pre-loaded with games, TV shows, movies, and a connection to the Xbox Live network gaming system.
Though I’m not aware of a photo slideshow system like FrameChannel that’s available for the Xbox right now, it would be a natural extension of the Xbox’s web capabilities to add a photo program that would allow the kids using them to see their favorite photos, and pictures of their family and pets, while in the hospital.
