Archive for July, 2008
Posted on Jul 29, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:26 am
GPSes are great, useful devices and very cool for what they are — after all, they know almost exactly where you are at all times and helpes you get where you’re going. Pretty neat. But what if there were a GPS that sounded like one of the coolest cars of the 1980s?
Now there is. The good folks at Mio have created a GPS device co-branded with the classic TV show Knight Rider that simulates the voice of the classic Knight 2000, aka KITT. Anyone who grew up in the ‘80s, or watched much TV then, remembers KITT and its odd voice intoning “Hello, Michael” to David Hasselhoff.
No word on whether the device can do other kinds of speaking or voice recognition, but when you boot it up, it asks, “Hello Michael, where do you want to go today?”
When they develop a GPS that can read all kinds of content — not just GPS data, but also things downloaded from the Internet like news, sports, and TV — then it really will be like living in the future.
Posted on Jul 26, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:49 am
A few months ago, I noted a move by Polaroid away from its traditional film and camera business and towards the emerging portable media player space. Now, the other name most closely associated with photography in the U.S. – Kodak – is also heading towards other kinds of digital media hardware.
Kodak has introduced, and will ship in September, its Kodak Theatre HD Player. The device is a home media server that handles photos, web radio, podcasts, music, and other web-delivered content and pushes it, in HD quality, to HDTVs throughout the house.
The service, of course, suppots Kodak’s Gallery online photo-sharing service, as well as Flickr. But, given that the device is not only photo-specific, but also specifically designed to pull content from the web, it seems that FrameChannel would be an excellent fit as well.
After all, if the goal of the Kodak Theatre HD is to display content on HDTVs, FrameChannel can offer uses not just photos, but also other kinds of web-delivered content, like news, sports scores, cartoons, and more.
Posted on Jul 24, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:26 am
We’ve long thought that both the personal media player (PMP) and GPS markets could be ideal platforms for Frame Channel — both are devices that connect to the Internet wirelessly and download content automatically, one aimed at the car, the other at the portable market.
Until now, though, I’ve never seen a device that combines a PMP and a GPS. But now I’ve seen it.
The CDT GPS PMP (the name bakes in all the ingredients) is a portable unit that combines the major aspects of both devices. It boasts a 3-inch LCD, 2GB of memory, support for all kinds of audio and video formats, a touchscreen, and a wireless data connection.
The device is available only in China right now, but it weighs in at the bargain price of just US$102.
It would be interesting to see this device, or ones like it, hit in the US. It never hurts to pack more features into a small, affordable package.
Posted on Jul 22, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:26 am
The spread of WiFi continues. Chrysler has confirmed that WiFi will be appearing in some of its cars come 2009.
The service will come as part of the company’s UConnect system, which will offer WiFi in the car and a 3G connection to transmit data to and from the Internet. Speeds will reportedly run 600-800 kbps download speeds and 200 kbps uploads.
No details on pricing or availability, but the feature will allow networked gaming, Internet delivery of movies and TV shows, and support for other web-connected services that deliver content to displays.
Posted on Jul 19, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:39 am
Disclosure and Disclaimer: Before you read this post, know that FrameMedia, the company behind FrameChannel sponsors this blog. Also know that, as I write this, I have no inside knowledge of any FrameChannel products or plans and am completely speculating and throwing ideas around. What follows is in no way based on any inside knowledge I have.
****
OK, that said, wouldn’t it be neat to have FrameChannel up and running on the iPhone 3G? The iPhone 3G, with its big, beautiful screen and fast, always-on 3G data connection looks to me like a terrific platform for FrameChannel’s combination of photos and frequently updated news, sports scores, cartoons, and trivia.
Before the iPhone 3G, porting FrameChannel to the iPhone would have been a difficult proposition, especially because Apple was not sanctioning third-party applications and installing them required a complicated hack.
Now, though, Apple has launched its App Store, the equivalent of the iTunes Store for programs that can run on the iPhone and iPod touch. Now, if FrameMedia ported FrameChannel to the iPhone, they’d be able to make it available to anyone with one of those devices and iTunes.
A lot of the programs that the App Store launched with made use of some kind of Internet-connected media, whether it’s voice, photos, music, etc. It would be great to see a polished app like FrameChannel there, with its 200-plus channels of free content.
Like I said above, I’ve no idea if this is in the works, but it would be neat if it were. Readers: I’m curious, would you be interested in using FrameChannel on your iPhone? Let us know in the comments.
Posted on Jul 17, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:39 am
HDTVs and home media servers and streamers are becoming more common parts of our home entertainment landscapes. But, most home media servers are designed to handle standard-definition content only, which doesn’t allow you to take advantage of your HDTV’s high-quality display. This is because home networks, especially wireless ones, can’t usually handle the high bandwidth that HD content demands.
Enter Aztech’s line of HD media streamers. These devices include both a transmitter and receiver and live between your router and TV, ensure that even 1080p HD content can stream smoothly and clearly across your home’s wireless network.
Ensuring this kind of quality will be key to the spread of home media servers in our increasingly high-definition entertainment landscape.
The devices likely won’t be sold to directly to consumers right away. Rather, consumers will get them from cable and Internet providers who are also offering connectivity services. The devices should cost around US$260.
