Casio Adds Life to Mobile Devices

"Using Casio's newly developed fuel cell, a notebook PC will run for 20 hours, compared to five hours using a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, says Akira Watanabe, a spokesperson for Casio. The company plans to include the fuel cell in its mobile products, including notebook PCs, digital still cameras, PDAs, and cell phones, by 2004, he says....

Casio's technology has shrunk the device to the size of a postage-stamp by combining these hundreds of parts into one chip, Watanabe says, allowing it to use the methanol-hydrogen method in small fuel cells.... Once the cells are in mass production, the price should be around the same as for a conventional lithium-ion battery, Watanabe says.... Toshiba aims to commercialize its fuel-cell technology for PDA products within two years, the company says." [PC World]

This type of technology should help mainstream the combination of cell phones, high-speed wireless bandwidth, and content.

Review: Palm i705

"For more than two weeks I used the Palm i705 along side my Blackberry 957 to get true comparison between the industry leading always-on email device and Palm's new entry into this market. As a result, I have mixed feelings about the i705 and how this device measures up to other wireless email products available today....

Conclusion
After using the i705 for over two weeks side by side with my Blackberry 957, the only word that comes to mind is "afterthought". The Palm i705 seems to be a reactionary device based on the advancements of the competition as opposed to a device resulting from a true desire to innovate and evolve the product line. For users who have never had a wireless device, the i705 is certainly a worthy choice if you can justify the cost, however for those who know how always on can be done and done well, the i705 comes up short." [PDABuzz.com]

I was afraid of this. I was really hoping that they would release a color, wireless device that would leapfrog the competition, but no go. I'll keep waiting to see what else comes out.

Location-Based Internet Communities

"Geographic Information System technology has traditionally been relegated to the domain of generating maps and driving directions online. What would happen if you combined a modern GIS system and an online community?" [kuro5hin.org]

A very interesting idea that intrigues me. Last year, I was lucky enough to hook up with Alison Denton and Nina Savar, and we brainstormed all kinds of great uses for GIS and libraries. Of course, we haven't had time to follow through on any of them, but that's another story. GIS fascinates me, especially when combined with wireless access to the data.

"Paul Boutin says in an article in Salon that 'you won't be blogging from your phone soon.' Wrong-o, dial tone breath. I am blogging from my WAP phone now - by email. Sure, it's slow..." [Sean Gallagher, via Scripting News]

As Dickie V. says, "Awesome, baby!"

Sony Ericsson phones boast camera, color

"At least three of the six new phones have color screens and an always-on Internet capability--key features for creating, sending and displaying images on a mobile phone. The industry hopes that such functions will help to drive a new boom in mobile communications.

Nokia, the giant handset maker, does not have any color screen phones in shops as yet, although it plans to launch one with a built-in camera in the middle of the year." [CNET News.com]

This is going to be a big year for wireless and for cell phones. Finally, people won't look at me like I've grown a third eye when I discuss these types of devices in my presentations.

I'm a Sony gal, too, so I'm happy to see them moving forward in this marketplace. I hope they can do it well, because mobile gaming will definitely be an entry point into the Net Gen market. Remember when I noted that the wireless industry targets their advertising for kids ages 10 and younger? This is why.

The Sony Ericsson site has some interesting Flash demos for Gaming, Imaging & Messaging, and Connectivity (always-on). It's a glimpse into the future that will excite anyone under the age of 35 and mystify anyone over that age. If you are 35, you're borderline and could go either way. ;-)

Check out their Press Releases and the Photo Library for more info about the phones. Here's some info just for the P800:

"The P800 is the most advanced mobile phone from Sony Ericsson. It has an integrated digital camera, a colour screen and a wide range of imaging features. Take a picture, compose a colourful Multimedia Message, (MMS), and send it instantly, to an MMS capable devices or to an e-mail address. Add photos to your contacts to see who?s calling, and design your own wallpapers and screensavers. The P800 acts like a mobile and thinks like a PDA. You can store up to 1000 contacts, organize meetings and tasks in the calendar and make notes (written or voiced) in the notepad. The P800 also handles e-mail with attachments, and has four viewers for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Acrobat documents ? plus more than 20 viewers for other document formats on CD. Contacts, calendar, notes and e-mail can all be synchronized with Outlook and Lotus Notes on your PC via Bluetooth? or cable. The Symbian operating system and Java support lets you store new applications and games to customize the P800 to fit your needs. The P800 also supports GPRS, High Speed Data and WAP 2.0 with one button access to the mobile Internet."

Of course, Europe and Asia first, but I can't wait until these puppies hit our shores. Yeah, you'll pay a premium for Sony Ericsson phones, but it would be worth it to me to have all of the above on one device.