We’ve been talking about this phone for a while, but today Motorola and Kodak officially spilled the beans. As we thought, the ZN5′s a phone that’s as much camera as phone, with a 5-megapixel Kodak unit on its back. This is quick-launched by sliding the lens cover, and has a Xenon flash, auto-focus and even auto-stitches panorama shots. The phone itself has CrystalTalk for high sound quality, Bluetooth, full browser and Wi-Fi (for photo transfers, and the web.) Due out in China in July at first, then globally through ’08. Press release below.
Interested in an Eee PC, but can’t justify the $649 pricetag? Reader James points us towards the incredible deal available on oo.com.au.
It doesn’t have the Asus brand name behind it, but it does come with a 12 month warranty, which is actually pretty decent for the $299 price tag.It runs linux, has a 7-inch screen and 1GB onboard memory. Wi-Fi isn’t built in, but the unit does come with a dongle to give you that joyous feeling only wireless internet can bring.
There’s a full spec list below the fold, but if you just need a cheap and nasty laptop, this could out-Eee the Eee PC.
As a general rule, television ads suck. They’re badly written, boring and distract you from what you want to be enjoying. That’s why so many people now download TV shows from the internet.
But every so often, you get an ad that’s actually entertaining. Like the BigPond broadband ad about the Great Wall of China. I actually laughed out loud when I first saw it (although subsequent viewings have taken the edge off it).
However, as good as this ad is, I can’t say I’m convinced by the prospect of Telstra developing a sitcom around it, which is exactly what could be happening according to the Australian.
The idea for a sitcom has been pitched at Telstra, along with interactive games and other engaging experiences to try and promote their broadband offering. Both ideas would revolve around the father and son featured in the original ad.
For those of us who love to give our dolls more realistic props to play with, toy maker IxTEE Productions is putting out a series of 1:6 scaled guns that do everything from lighting up to shooting darts to squirting water.
Those of you need Firefox 3 on the go can now get a portable USB edition of the browser from PortableApps.com. The download lets you launch Firefox from your USB and lets you bring all your extensions and bookmarks with you while making sure that the computer you’re using doesn’t end up saving your info. The file is 8MB and free (though, as with all open source stuff, I’m sure the folks at PortableApps would love it if you threw them a few bucks). [Portable Apps]
Pentagon gadget lab DARPA has just earmarked US$6.7 million to develop “brain-wave binoculars.” Electrodes placed on the user’s scalp records electrical brain activity in an attempt to use the cranium’s unrivaled ability to spot patterns. With time, the binoculars can learn to identify objects that would normally pique the user’s interest and direct them towards it. The binoculars are supposed to help soldiers out in the field by pointing out tanks or enemy combatants that they may have seen, but not noticed.
Despite the ACCC’s draft ruling and eBay’s subsequent delay of their plans to force all sellers to use PayPal and cash on delivery as their only methods of payment, APC is reporting that eBay are actually cutting off seller’s options now.
Apparently, when sellers go to list their items for sale, their hit with a notice that tells them that: “All items listed for sale on eBay.com.au on or after 17 June 2008 will be subject to the following changes:
You must offer PayPal on your listings.
Pay on pick up (ie paid for when picking up the item) can be offered in conjunction with PayPal.
No other payment methods can be added to your listing.”
The official response from eBay was that this was a mistake, caused by the fact that delaying the Paypal-only scheme is a complex matter that requires a fair amount of work.
I’m sure eBay sellers disagree. Considering eBay has stated that they’ll fight the ACCC’s decision, this definitely has an aroma of “up yours” to it.
[APCmag]
If reports from the Financial Review are correct, we’ll soon be able to play with our very own peanut controller when TiVo launches in Australia in mid-July.
Aside from the obvious dilemma of where to spend your money (there’s some new phone launching on July 11, remember?), the mid-July timeframe does work with the previous announcements that Channel 7 made about it launching before the Olympics.
The box itself is likely to cost somewhere around the $700 mark, which isn’t exactly cheap for a DVR. Seven are likely to promote the box’s superior EPG functionality in order to justify that price, although we’ll wait to see how it’s implemented ourselves before we recommend on whether you should spend the money.
The other interesting point made in the Fin’s article is that Harvey Norman are likely to have an exclusive distribution arrangement for 3 months, before it will be available in JB Hi-Fi and Dick Smith’s shops.
I’m sure there are important factors influencing that decision, like scratching the backs of old mates and heavy advertisers, but I think Channel 7 may be overestimating TiVo’s appeal in Australia. Personally – I’m very intrigued, but I would need to see some obvious advantages in TiVo’s local implementation before I dropped 700 big ones. Especially now that Foxtel’s iQ2 is on the market.
UPDATE: Pete Blasina over at GadgetGuy.com.au is reporting that the launch date is officially July 15. Considering his relationship with Channel 7, I reckon this is pretty much guaranteed.
[MIS Australia and GadgetGuy]
