Intel showcases future tech at IDF

A brand new version of Centrino called Santa Rosa will be introduced in the first half of 2007. It will consist of the Merom processor, the new and improved Crestline graphics chipset and the Kedron wireless LAN adapter. Merom will be one of the first mobile processors based on the new Intel Core microarchitecture and it is expected to be out, together with the refreshed version of Napa (the current dual-core mobile Centrino platform), before the end of the year. According to Intel, Merom, which comes with 4MB of L2 cache, will offer a 20 percent increase in performance over the current Yonah chips while maintaining the same battery life.
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Dog-e-Tag

What's next? As if cameras and minus ion hairdryers for canines aren't enough, the Dog-e-Tag takes the conventional metal dog tag to a whole new level. Being programmable, dog owners can store up to 40 lines of data ranging from multiple phone numbers to home address, to even medical info. If you're afraid your missing mutt needs some TLC by kindly strangers, you can even leave messages like "I like my tummy rubbed" or "I am nine-years-old and I can't see very well". Of course, if it's a lost Rottweiler or Pitbull you're facing, you could try saying very gently "sit, Ubu, sit, good dog" before reaching a hand out for that Dog-e-Tag.

Check it out upclose

Via popgadget.net

Price: US$39.95
Availability: Dog-e-tag
Device: Digital dog tag
Basic specs: 36mm around, 21g, up to 40 lines of info such as cell phone numbers, pager numbers, email addresses, comes in six colors, shock- and water-resistant casing

Light Reading

Don't you love the play on words? This little idea flicked on in the mind of designer Sam Johnson, and is supposed to add light to your bookshelf without looking like a light fixture. The Light is made from a material called Secret Sign, and bent into the shape of a book. Once switched on, the illumination reveals the ttle which is laser engraved on the inside. Another literary great, so to speak.

Via popgadget.net

Price: 85 pounds (US$149)
Availability: At Thorsten Van Elten
Device: Light fixture
Basic specs: 23 x 10 x 28cm, comes with clear cable, switch and plug

Bluetooth watch

Watch out! Seiko Instruments has just announced its Bluetooth watch which apparently acts as an extension to your mobile phone. Just think of the BT Watch or CPC TR-006 ver.1.0 as a mini controller with which you can adjust your handset's ringtone volume, have it alert you on incoming SMS or email, even display the number and name of the caller. Hopefully by the time this launches, Seiko Instruments would have finetuned its watch to offer yet more bedazzling features. And oh yeah, Dick Tracy, eat your heart out.

See bigger image | how it works

Via Akihabara News

Price: N.A.
Availability: Year-end or start of 2007
Device: Bluetooth watch
Basic specs: N.A.

Nokia unsheathes pen-based smart phone

Just when HP revealed that the traditional pen-based PDA market would evaporate (at 30 percent year-on-year) within the next four years without significant product innovation, along comes Nokia with its 6708. Wielding a stylus proudly, the handset's emergence is to meet what the Finnish company sees as a "growing demand for pen-based touch-screen smart phones with handwriting recognition capabilities".

Harking back to its first GSM phone with handwriting input, the Nokia 6108, the 6708 targets at Chinese users. Which may explain why it's the first handset in the company's staple to sport the UIQ platform, rather than Series 60, 80 or 90, since UIQ supports pen-based input which is rather important for Chinese users.

As befits a smart phone, there're advanced voice features, QuickOffice applications, XHTML/HTML browser, music player, video recorder, speakerphone, and PIM, with sufficient memory in the form of 18MB of SD-RAM and 30MB of flash built-in and SD/miniSD card support.

However, it's disappointing to find only a 1.3-megapixel camera onboard even if it does come with antishake and multishot, as well as a 65k-color screen. What's more, this Nokia is no petite performer. It's almost brick-like with a hefty 150g carry weight. No official word as yet on which Symbian version it's running on, though some sites are putting it as the older v7.0.

The triband 6708 is slated for rollout in Q2 in selected Asia-Pac markets. No local pricing was given.

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