Its Electronica

Reports are swirling around the rumorsphere that $100 price cuts are imminent on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Anonymous but allegedly well-placed sources say Apple will roll out the discounts as early as the end of this month, reflecting plummeting flash memory prices and ambiguous sales figures.

Apple may have to get a little more aggressive on first-gen iPhones, too, as discerning geeks await the arrival of a 3G-compatible version.

$100 price drop on iPhones and iPods coming in the next two months [9to5Mac]

Novatel just released its new Ovation MC930D USB modem that will hit theoretical download rates of 7.2Mbps as well as upload rates of 2.1Mbps, but don’t be surprised when you find that actual performance is way below the given figures. Setup is also a snap with the MC930D as it comes with automatic configuration, and you don’t even need to find any drivers since the flash memory already holds those. Each purchase of the Ovation comes wtih a splitter cable for that added power boost beyond a notebook’s USB port. Local carriers ought to be shipping the new Ovation sometime this month at a yet undisclosed price.

Yes, Google’s Android phones are now attacking in Barcelona.  The first out of the chute is this one from Texas Instruments for an unnamed vendor.  Word is this thing is blazing fast to respond, has nice integration with Gmail, Google Maps, Google searches.  To be sure, this is an early build lacking the update to the SDK that Google is adding, but it holds much hope for the future.

These basic phones were not online and the programs were less than full featured, but that is what you expect in an early prototype.  Word is we’ll see the first results in the 2nd half of the year.  Given high speed processors and a dedicated design team, Google may really have something here.  Stay tuned.

Read [Engadget Mobile]

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Sierra Wireless has unveiled a couple of HSPA mobile broadband modems, namely the AirCard 885E ExpressCard and Compass 885 USB modem. Both of them are rather small and portable in nature, providing users worldwide with high-speed mobile broadband technology. The latter claims to be easy to setup with its ‘TRU-Install’ software installation process, a microSD memory card slot and a laptop clip accessory to provide unprecedented flexibility during use. It also claims to be the only device in its class to come with a connector for an external antenna which comes in handy to strengthen connection to the network in places with sporadic network coverage.

As for the AirCard 885E, it slots into your ExpressCard slot effortlessly, featuring a fixed antenna with no moving parts for a reliable wireless connection. It also comes with a similar ‘TRU-Install’ process. Both devices will support tri-band HSPA/UMTS with receive diversity on all three bands and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM support.

There isn’t a gadget or electronics fanatic out there that isn’t giddy the first time they watch their brand new hi-definition television watching hi-def content. Watching Planet Earth, nature shows on the Discovery Channel, and so on.

But there comes that second moment of hi-def ownership, the one that happens after you watch your local news in hi-def or when you see one of those reality TV shows in hi-def. The moment where you see someone’s face in hi-def that should have really stayed in standard def. You know that old adage “a face made for radio”? I think there’ll be a new one for this era of hi-def: a face made for standard def.”

From an unlikely source comes a possible solution for that.

Over at Sephora.com (yes, the girly makeup and beauty site), the cosmetic manufacturer Cargo is selling a new line of cosmetics: The blu_ray Collection. This line of cosmetics has been specially created for use with hi-def film. According to the website, these products have been “developed in response to the needs of makeup artists shooting in high definition, these specialized products work for high-def and are ideal for perfecting the skin while still giving a natural look.” The set they are selling includes a High Definition Mattifier, Pressed Powder, Blush/Highlighter, Mascara and Gloss. Here’s the list of active ingredients from Sephora.com:

blu_ray High Definition Mattifier:
-Vitamin E: A powerful free radical-fighting antioxidant that moisturizes and repairs minor damage on the surface of the skin.
-Vitamin A: An antioxidant that balances and conditions the skin.
blu_ray Pressed Powder:
-Photochromatic Pigments: Adjust with ambient lighting so that the complexion looks natural yet perfected.
-Optical Blurring Pigments: Create an optical blurring effect for a softer looking complexion.
blu_ray Blush/Highlighter:
-Photochromatic Pigments: Adjust with ambient lighting so that the complexion looks natural yet perfected.
-Optical Blurring Pigments: Create an optical blurring effect for a softer looking complexion.
blu_ray Mascara:
-Panthenol: Contains nourishing and strengthening properties.
-Keratin: Strengthens the natural structure of the lash by providing moisture and nourishment.
blu_ray Gloss:
-Hyaluronic Acid Spheres: Penetrate the skin and soak up water that your skin naturally looses, causing the spheres to swell and immediately plump your lips.
-Amino Acid Peptide Chain: Promote the production of both collagen and elastin while strengthening the essential structure of the skin tissue and regenerating the skin cells to produce a softer and younger looking skintone.
-Pearl Pigments: Creates the illusion of fuller, smoother lips.
-Vitamin E: An effective antioxidant that helps to fight the damaging effects of free-radicals while nourishing and healing the skin.

To get ready for your hi-def closeup, pick up the set (a $130 value) for $59. Otherwise, just stick to radio.

[Sephora.com via Boing Boing Gadgets]

These ultra-compact speakers are smaller than a cellphone and can look “gadgety. Several styles are available, and depending on your tastes you might go for the Keg (cylindrical), the UFO or the Piggy, my personal favorite. To be widely compatible, they feature a standard 3.5mm audio jack connector. Specs in the full post. Product site.

In a first for the application, Microsoft released a standalone version of Outlook. In the past, the e-mail application has always come as part of the different versions of the Office suite. If you wanted just an e-mail client, then you had to look to other companies or to Microsoft’s Outlook Express and Windows Mail for Vista.

Microsoft said the standalone release is in response to customer demand. Takeshi Numoto, general manager of Microsoft Office 2007, said:

Currently, many small and home-based businesses keep their contacts in several different places — some in [their address books], some in spreadsheets. We understand the importance of good customer management and are providing simple and affordable solutions to help small businesses centralize their customer information.

The release will be called Office Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager and will cost US$149.95. Microsoft hopes that it will encourage those who use Outlook at work to start using it at home, and this removes the barrier of having to buy the Office suite to gain access to it.

Unfortunately, this new version is only currently being made available in the U.S., with Microsoft not commenting on other regions.

Read more at ZDNet U.K.

Matthew’s Opinion

It has taken the company long enough to make this decision, and I’m sure people have been asking for it from the very first time Outlook was introduced as part of the Office suite. Not everyone needs Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, but were forced to pay for them if they wanted Outlook.

There may also be some people who use OpenOffice.org or StarOffice, but like using Outlook for e-mail or need to for tying up with work contacts where it is used.

I have to use Outlook at work, but much prefer Mozilla Thunderbird at home. Outlook is very slow and uses far too many system resources for what it does. I also find it frustrating that it uses the Word rendering engine, which can cause headaches if you are running Word as well and it crashes.

With many free alternatives available, I can’t see that many people paying out US$149.95 for a standalone version of Outlook for at home. The one area of the user market Microsoft may catch are those that use Outlook at work and find it easiest to also use Outlook at home.

Looks like the Apple iPhone was the big winner in the US during Q4 2007 as it outsold all Windows Mobile devices combined, but worldwide figures show otherwise with Windows Mobile handsets capturing 12% of the overall market while Apple took 5% less of the worldwide cake. In the big picture though, Symbian takes top spot with 65% market share followed by Microsoft at 11%, while RIM holds 11%. I wonder what happens when the iPhone is released globally? Will we see mad queues for this heavily lusted-after device?

[MWC] The HTC P3470 is an low-end touch phone that has an integrated GPS and the Tom Tom Navigation software. While the recent wave of phones from Sony Ericsson, this HTC communicates with the antiquated EDGE (2.5G) connection that is also in the iPhone (not for long, we hope).

• Windows Mobile 6 Pro
• TI OMAP 200Mhz processor
• Display: 2.8-inch 320×240 touch screen
• 256MB of memory
• Integrated GPS
• GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• Talk time: 5.8hrs
• Stand-by: 240 hrs
• 108 x 58.3 x 15.7 mm, 122g

Bottle Wedge
The Bottle wedge stacks bottles and cans in a neat, pyramid space-saving formation, keeping them totally secure.

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