Introducing the NEW Dell Studio Hybrid

---

starting price without LCD: $499

For $1,282 I get

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5750 (2.00GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Service Pack 1
Dell E207WFP 20 inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor
3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz (2 DIMM)
320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
6X Slot Load Blu-ray Disc Combo (DVD+/-RW & BD-ROM)
Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ HD Software Edition
PCTV HD Stick USB 2.0 TV Tuner
Remote Control for Windows Vista
Dell Wireless Desktop Keyboard & Mouse
Dell 8 in 1 Media Card Reader
Built-in Dell 1505 Wireless-N Networking
1Yr Ltd HW WRTY, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis, 24x7 Phone Support

Samsung launches SGH-M150 mobile phone

Samsung has launched another handset. SGH-M150 is a candy bar handset. It is dual band GSM 900/1800 facility. It sports advanced messaging capabilities like MMS and email. It has a 1.77 inch 65 colors display. Body thickness is 12.7 mm.

The phone has a VGA camera and music and video players with MPEG 4 video recording. The FM radio has a recording option. The phone is available in various four colors which are light gray, charcoal gray, pure white, lavender pink and ice blue.

The pricing has not yet been disclosed. It is likely to target the mid segment of the consumers. It is learned that the phone will be available first in Germany followed by other European countries and Asia and Africa.

BenQ's S41 Joybook model

BenQ's S41 Joybook model, with a 14.1 widescreen display and a quick response time of 16ms, has now been launched in the Indian markets. It features Laminated Color Metal (LCM) and POP art technologies that allow depiction of various designs on the Joybook's metallic cover, thus giving it a trendy and modern look.

Equipped with Nvidia GeForce 8600M GS graphic chipset and up to 1GB of TurboCache support, the Joybook promises stunning visual performance and the most intense 3D visual effects for latest games. Meanwhile, the HDMI output allows transmission of HD digital video of up to 1080p resolution and supports high-bandwidth, uncompressed digital audio playback via a single cable for connecting HD-enabled equipments such as HD DVD players and gaming consoles. Complete tech specification here.

The S41 Joybook is equipped with a built-in 1.3 megapixel QEye webcam, an internal microphone with noise suppression, echo cancellation functions and dual 1.5W speakers enhanced by SRS TruSurround XT technology for cinema-class audio. For connectivity options, it comes pre-equipped with integrated wireless WAN, 802.11a/b/g/n wireless LAN and built-in Bluetooth.

BenQ S41 Joybook is priced at Rs 47,000 and is presently available at retail outlets only in Delhi.

Splashtop comes to ASUS Notebooks

Complete range of ASUS notebook models provide 'instant-on' Internet and media access

May 29, 2008 - SAN JOSE - DeviceVM today announced the release of their award winning Splashtop™ software on numerous ASUS notebooks. Splashtop is a light-weight operating system that allows consumers to use their computers seconds after hitting the power button. Models spanning a wide range of segments are to ship with Splashtop pre-installed by ASUS starting in June this year.

"The integration of Splashtop into notebooks represents a big step forward in portable computing, where instant 'on' and 'off' is essential," said Mark Lee, co-founder and CEO of DeviceVM. "We are pleased to introduce Splashtop to portable computing together with our partner ASUS."

Branded "Express Gate" by ASUS, Splashtop software enables users to browse the web, watch videos, listen to music, chat with friends, share photos, and more - just seconds after turning on their PC. Express Gate is already available on a wide range of PC motherboards from ASUS. The notebooks announced today are the first to integrate Express Gate for the broad consumer market, including the M70T, M50V and M51Vr multimedia series and the stylish F8Va/Vr series.

"ASUS is always committed to bring customers the most innovative solutions," said Henry Yeh, General Manager, ASUS Notebook Business Unit. "With Express Gate, users will experience a new, fast, and secure way to surf, chat and play on ASUS notebooks for a new computing experience"

**ASUS booth will showcase Express Gate at Computex in Taipei International Convention Center TF1L & 101B, June 3 - 7. Please come by for more information.

About DeviceVM

DeviceVM, Inc. is a privately held software company offering Splashtop, an award-winning 'instant-on' platform that improves the personal computing experience. In cooperation with OEMs and system vendors DeviceVM integrates Splashtop into personal computers worldwide. Founded in 2006, DeviceVM is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in Taiwan and China. Discover more at www.splashtop.com.

Asus Launches R2E UMPC in India
Asus has launched its latest Ultra Mobile PC R2E in the Indian market. Claiming to offer the functionality of a conventional laptop and the user-friendliness of touch panel input on an intelligent digital writing pad, R2E is about the size of a paperback novel.

With its 7-inch LCD screen, the R2E features built-in GPS offering turn-by-turn navigation. It packs in multimedia features such as live TV, with external antenna and remote controller, plus a SunRead glare-proof panel for clear view in bright sunlight.

Specifications
CPU: Intel Stealey A110 (800MHz)
LCD: 7" WVGA (Touch Panel) (Sun Readable)
VGA: Intel 945GU
Web Cam: 1.3 M Camera
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista Premium
Memory: 1 GB DDR II (1GBx1)
HDD: 100G PATA
Card Reader & Other features: FP Reader + GPS (WO/Map)
Free Accessories: USB Keyboard + Car Charger + Link Cable + Car Bag

For business users, the R2E promises total data protection that meets the evolving security needs with both software and hardware solutions. It has a built-in AuthenTec fingerprint scanner with TruePrint technology that reads from the live layer of skin, preventing common skin surface conditions from impairing scanner accuracy. Also, it embeds TPM, a hardware solution that helps to avoid attacks by hackers looking to capture passwords and encryption keys to sensitive data.

The R2E is packed with computing, multimedia and connectivity functions. Built-in Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), Wireless LAN 802.11 a/b/g and a high-resolution webcam offer extensive high-speed connections and wire-free video communication. It runs on Genuine Windows Vista Edition with Microsoft Origami Experience Pack software and ergonomic hardware interface designs.

For handwritten input capability, the new UMPC offers InfoPen software that enables users to record and edit images or documents, while the DigiPen stylus offers an eraser end and mouse control buttons for navigating applications single-handedly. In addition, it features function keys laid on both sides of the front panel.

The R2E notebook comes bundled with a USB keyboard Rashi Peripherals and Net Place Technologies for an approximate price of Rs 64,900.

Nokia E66

Technical specifications
Size

• Form: Slide
• Dimensions: 107.5 x 49.5 x 13.6 mm
• Weight: 121 g
• Volume: 62.6 cc
• Smooth sliding action

Display and 3D

• Size: 2.4"
• Resolution: 240 x 320 pixels (QVGA)
• 16.7 million colours

Keys and input method

• Numeric keypad
• Dedicated one-touch keys: Home, calendar, contacts, and email
• Speaker dependent and speaker independent voice dialling
• Accelerated scrolling with intelligent Navi^TMKey
• Illuminated One-touch keys

Colors and covers

• Available in-box colors: Grey steel and White steel
• Operating frequency
• Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900
• Automatic switching between GSM bands
• Flight mode

Data network

• GPRS class B, multislot class 32
• EDGE class B, multislot class 32
• WCDMA 900/2100 or 850/1900 or 850/2100
• HSDPA, maximum speed 3.6 Mbps (DL)
• WLAN 802.11b, 802.11g
• TCP/IP support
• Capability to serve as data modem
• Support for MS Outlook synchronization of contacts, calendar and notes

Local connectivity and synchronization

• Infrared, maximum speed 115 kbps
• Bluetooth version 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate
  - Bluetooth profiles: DUN, OPP, FTP, HFP, GOEP, HSP, BIP, RSAP, GAVDP, AVRCP, A2DP
• Add-on solutions enable integration into enterprise private branch exchange (PBX) infrastructure
• MTP (Multimedia Transfer Protocol) support
• Print support
• Support for local and remote SyncML synchronization, iSync, Intellisync, ActiveSync
  - Support for PC synchronization with Nokia PC Suite

Call features

• Integrated hands-free speakerphone
• Automatic answer with headset or car kit
• Any key answer
• Call waiting, call hold, call divert
• Call timer
• Logging of dialed, received and missed calls
• Automatic redial and fallback
• Speed dialing
• Speaker dependent and speaker independent voice dialing (SDND, SIND)
• Fixed dialing number support
• Vibrating alert (internal)
• Side volume keys
• Mute/unmute
• Contacts with images
• Conference calling with up to 6 participants
• Video calling
• Push to talk
• VoIP
• Easy dialling directly from home screen

Messaging

• SMS
• Multiple SMS deletion
• Text-to-speech message reader
• MMS
• Automatic resizing of images for MMS
• OMA Instant Messaging and Presences Service
  - Instant Messaging client (OMA IMPS 1.2)
  - Windows Live Messenger application* * service not available in all countries
• Cell broadcast

E-mail

• Supported protocols: IMAP4, Mail for Exchange, POP3, SMTP
• Support for e-mail attachments
• IMAP IDLE support
• Support for Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email
• Support for Nokia Mobile VPN

Web browsing

• Supported markup languages: HTML, XHTML, MP, WML
• Supported protocols: HTTP, WAP
• TCP/IP support
• JavaScript version 1.3 and 1.5
• Nokia Mini Map Browser
• Nokia Mobile Search
• Photography

  • 3.2 megapixel camera
  • Image formats: JPEG/EXIF
  • CMOS sensor
  • 4x digital zoom
  • Autofocus
  • LED flash
  • Flash modes: On, off, automatic, red-eye reduction
  • Flash operating range: 1 m
  • White balance modes: automatic, sunny, incandescent, fluorescent
  • Centre weighted auto exposure; exposure compensation: +2 ~ -2EV at 0.7 step
  • Capture modes: still, sequence, self-timer, video
  • Scene modes: automatic, user defined, portrait, landscape, night, night portrait
  • Colour tone modes: normal, sepia, black & white, negative
  • Full-screen viewfinder with grid
  • Active toolbar
  • Dedicated camera key
  • Landscape (horizontal) orientation
  • Share photos with Share on Ovi

  
  Video

  • Main camera
    - Video recording at up to 640 x 480 pixels (VGA) and up to 22 fps
  • Up to 4x digital video zoom
  • Front camera
    - Video recording at up to 128 x 96 pixels (QCIF) and up to 15 fps
  • Video recording file formats: .mp4, .3gp; codecs: H.263, H.264
  • Audio recording formats: AMR, AAC stereo
  • Video white balance modes: automatic, sunny, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent
  • Color tone modes: normal, sepia, black & white, vivid, negative
  • Clip length (maximum): 60 min
  • RealPlayer
  • Video playback file formats: .mp4, .3gp; codecs: H.263, H.264
  • Video streaming: .3gp, .rm
  • Landscape mode video playback
  • Video calling: up to 640 x 480 pixels (VGA), up to 22 fps
  • Video ring tones

  
  Music and audio playback

  • Music player
  • Real player
  • Music playback file formats: AAC, AAC+, MP3, AMR-NB, AMR-WB
  • Audio streaming formats: .rm, .eAAC+
  • FM radio 87.5-108 MHz
  • Visual Radio support. Read more: www.visualradio.com
  • 2.5 mm Nokia AV connector
  • Nokia Music Manager
  • Nokia Music Store support
  • Nokia Podcasting support
  • Ring tones: mp3, aac, 64-tone polyphonic (25 built-in tones)

  
  Voice and audio recording

  • Voice commands
  • Voice dialing
  • Voice recorder
  • Audio recording formats: AMR, AAC stereo
  • FR, EFR, WCDMA, and GSM AMR
  • Digital microphone
  • Text-to-speech

  
  Personalization: profiles, themes, ring tones

  • Customizable profiles
  • Customizable ring tones
  • Customisable video ring tones
  • Support for talking ring tones
  • Customizable themes
  • Two customizable home screen modes

Sony Ericsson introduced C902

Taking the Cyber-shot to an innovative level, Sony Ericsson premiers its enticing C902 Cyber-shot. A great blend of flair and distinctive characteristics makes the C902 a fascinating device. Mr Sudhin Mathur, General Manager Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, India remarked "There is a change in the trend of more and more people replacing the camera with the camera phones. The Cyber-shot C902 is a perfect combination of style with superb camera features. Its unique camera features lets you capture your beautiful moments with the perfect shot"

To capture those impeccable moments easily, the slender C902 unveils a 5.0 megapixel Auto Focus camera exhibiting unparallel performance with the camera ready in a moment due to its significant slide-out lens cover. Allowing you to captivate the optimum shot with its eight camera touch keys, you can select between camera modes, face detection and photoflash, all in a single touch. The phone's lighting changes from white to blue indicating you are in camera mode. The distinctive feature of the C902 is BestPic that enables you to take 9 photos instantaneously by simply clicking the camera key half way down. You can opt for the best picture and delete the rest. If you love music, drama and action you can create your own multimedia slide show with X-Pict story. Other key features include picture blogging, video recording, image stabilizer, Access NetFront Web browser and 3D Games.

The CCR-70 USB Adapter empowers you to easily transfer images from your phone to your computer. With an inbuilt memory of 160MB, it has the ability to store up to 100 full resolution photos. The C902 has a talk time GSM of up to 9 hrs and a standby time GSM of up to 400 hours whereas a talk time UMTS of up to 3.5 hrs and a standby time UMTS of up to 350 hours. Accessories comprise of great, extra stylish hands free Bluetooth Headset HBH-PV712, added GPS technology GPS-Enabler HE-100, Memory Stick Micro support, removable jewellery, a black compartmentalized leather case and an attractive hand strap. At an appealing price of Rs 20,995, the sleek and classy phone will be available in selected markets from Q2 2008 in two chic colors Swift Black and Luscious Red.

First Look: OpenMoko's Linux-based open smartphone platform

Penguin calls

Last Friday, OpenMoko launched its highly anticipated FreeRunner smartphone, a Linux-based handset that's completely open in both hardware and software, and is designed to encourage third-party modification and customization. Although the FreeRunner's software platform is still incomplete, the device has attracted considerable attention from mobile software developers and Linux enthusiasts.

The FreeRunner handset is obviously a powerful tool for prototyping mobile software, but it isn't clear yet whether it's also ready for adoption as a personal smartphone. We won't have a conclusive answer until we get a handset to test, but we decided to take an early look at the OpenMoko software platform to get a glimpse of what it offers at launch.

In many ways, OpenMoko's platform strategy mirrors the diversity of the Linux desktop software ecosystem. There are a multitude of parallel options with many layers and varying degrees of overlap. This provides end users with an enormous amount of flexibility, but it also creates a lot of complexity. The choices are difficult to navigate, and the lack of a cohesive direction contributes to fragmentation and redundancy. OpenMoko's potential for success will be heavily predicated on the ability to turn choice and diversity into an asset rather than an impediment.

There are currently three separate software stacks that are available for OpenMoko handsets. The original OpenMoko software environment was built on top of GNOME Mobile and Embedded technologies including the GTK+ toolkit. As the FreeRunner launch date approached and the development priorities began to shift towards a stronger emphasis on mainstream consumer adoption, OpenMoko reevaluated its approach and decided to build a new stack on top of Trolltech's proven Qtopia mobile environment. The third stack, which will implement the FreeSmartphone.org APIs, is part of a long-term framework initiative that OpenMoko hopes will eventually ameliorate the problems created by fragmentation and redundancy while still offering developers a full range of choices.

Because the FreeRunner is a completely open device, users will be able to choose which platform they want to use. They will also be able to adopt any third-party software platforms that emerge in the future. We have already seen an impressive variety of Linux desktop environments and graphical shells ported to Nokia's Internet Tablet devices, so it is likely that we will see similar innovation on OpenMoko's handsets. Indeed, developers of the KDE desktop environment have already started working on experimental OpenMoko ports.

OpenMoko's GTK-based stack

The GTK-based OpenMoko stack, which is referred to as om2007.2, offers a moderately conventional finger-oriented interface and a variety of standard productivity, Internet, and entertainment applications. It is a reasonably intuitive environment and it adheres to a very high level of visual consistency. There are a lot of similarities between om2007.2 and Nokia's Maemo platform—both are based on GTK+ and use OpenedHand's lightweight Matchbox window manager. OpenedHand also developed several other important pieces of the om2007.2 stack, including the personal information management suite, which is called Pimlico.

The om2007.2 web browser uses Apple's open source WebKit rendering engine. As many readers are already aware, I'm a big fan of the GTK+ WebKit port and I've been very impressed with its small footprint and excellent support for standards.

In addition to all of the standard applications one would expect to see on a smartphone, a terminal application that supports entering commands with an on-screen keyboard is also included. Users have full root access to a BusyBox shell with all of the standard scripting tools like sed and awk. The stack also comes with a multitude of games, a media player application, a calculator, a package manager for installing additional software, and other tools.

Booting om2007.2	The home screen
The dialer interface	OpenMoko's WebKit-based browser
The application launcher	The media player
The terminal utility

To build new applications for om2007.2, developers will need to set up a cross-compilation toolchain on a Linux system. The OpenMoko wiki offers detailed instructions for this process and also describes how to compile and package a program. Developers who want to go further and modify the underlying platform can use the OpenEmbeded infrastructure, which provides an elaborate build engine for generating package sets.

The platform exposes phone capabilities through the gsmd daemon, which sits between the GSM modem and userspace applications. Instructions can be sent to the daemon through standard UNIX sockets. The libgsmd library is an abstraction layer that wraps the instruction protocol with a simple API. There is also a gsmd command shell tool for testing and debugging that gives the user interactive control over the daemon. A wide range of functionality is accessible through the daemon, including the ability to dial and answer calls, toggle the phone's vibrator, detect signal strength, read and send SMS messages, and retrieve the phone's battery status.

For rapid prototyping and avoiding the hassle of having to set up a compiler toolchain, developers can use Python to create OpenMoko applications. Python isn't officially supported, but the interpreter is available from the main repositories and GTK+ bindings are available from third-party repositories. The Python library for interfacing with gsmd isn't there yet, but there are already several useful Python-based utilities for OpenMoko that send instructions to the daemon by using the command line gsmd control utility. These include the SettingsGUI tool and the SMSTool.

Sony debuts Linux-based in-car nav / infotainment line in Japan

Sony introduced three Linux-based in-car navigation and infotainment devices in Japan today. The NV-XYZ 33, 55, and 77 feature 3D map navigation technology, media players, hard drives, GPS, and PC connectivity. And they are based on a Linux 2.4-series kernel.

The NV-XYZ Navi turns driving into a video game!

The 3D mapping interface shows actual buildings, and knows street addresses, enabling it to identify destination addresses. In the picture at right, it has identified a gas station belonging to a promotional partner. Advertising for many other businesses, such as fast food outlets, appears to be built into the maps.

A touchscreen interface provides a small qwerty keyboard and numerical keypad. The device supports gesture-based map zooming (pictured at left), and drop-down menus. At present, maps appear to be available for Tokyo and other locations in Japan.

In addition to mapping software, the device includes a range of entertainment software, including media players, a Web browser, an email client, a light word processor (the touchscreen includes qwerty and numerical keypad applications), photo slideshow tools, and more. The device's main applications menu is shown at right; click to enlarge.

Linux inside

The units measure 8 x 4 x 1.9 inches (204 x 104 x 49 mm), and weigh 25.4 ounces (720 grams). They are based on a MIPS-based processor of some kind, and boot a distribution based mainly on a MontaVista embedded OS from a cramfs filesystem on Flash memory. They include a 6.5-inch thin-film transistor (TFT) touchscreen LCD display running at WVGA (800 x 480) resolution.

All three units include a docking station enabling the unit to be affixed to the dashboard or console of an automobile (shown above). The station includes a cigarette lighter power plug. They also include a small tethered GPS unit (pictured at right) that is placed in the window. The high-end 77 model also includes an "extended" station, a cradle that fits underneath the driver's headrest in order to position the unit for backseat viewing (pictured below, left).

The 33 (low-end) and 77 (high-end) models include a home PC docking station. All models include cardbus CompactFlash sockets supporting wireless cards. The units have a USB 2.0 client interface, and appear to use the USB mass storage protocol. They also include a memory stick slot for use with digital camera memory sticks.

The devices come with proprietary Windows software called XYZ Desktop (shown at right, click to enlarge) that is used to download DVDs, CDs, maps, and other data into the units from a Windows PC or laptop. However, the units also appear to have wireless networking tools, samba, and openssh software, as well as tinylogin and busybox to provide a minimal shell environment. So, it may also be possible to transfer files using more normal procedures. However, GateKeeper copy protection may prevent this.

Supported video formats include MPEG-1/2/4, AVI (DVD), and WMV. Music formats include MP3, ATRAC3, and ATRAC3plus. The device can playback multimedia as an inset while using the navigation feature (see picture at left, click to enlarge). A remote control unit is included

The units are priced at 155,400, 176,400, and 207,900 yen (currently $1,422, $1,614, and $1,902). They are available in "quality black," and "stylish silver," with the low-end unit also available in "sporty white.

Garmin Nav devices run Gnome Linux


Garmin has posted Linux source code for its Nuvi 8xx and Nuvi 5xxx-series GPS navigation devices. The Nuvi 8xx offers a 4.3-inch, 480x272 display, and appears to be based on a Marvell PXA-3xx processor, Gnome Mobile Linux, and GeoClue location technology.

(Click for larger view of Nuvi 880)

It had been rumored since the Nuvi 880 and Nuvi 860 shipped several months ago that the devices were equipped with embedded Linux, but when LinuxDevices asked Garmin for source code in March, the company replied: "Unfortunately, the information about the operating system of Garmin devices is considered proprietary." The Garmin Linux source code page, however, now lists source code for version 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8 of the Nuvi 8xx software, as well as versions 3.7 and 3.8 for the Nuvi 5xxx.

The Linux-based Nuvi 860 and 880 appear to be identical except for the latter's addition of MSN Direct traffic reports. The 850 model, which lacks the Bluetooth-based hands-free operation available in the 860 and 880, also appears to incorporate Linux.

Garmin's Nuvi 5000

In addition, Garmin's Linux-based Nuvi 5000 (pictured at right) is based on Linux. Designed for truckers, the 5000 model runs off automotive power only, and lacks the Nuvi 880's voice recognition, Bluetooth support, and some other advanced features. However, it offers a larger 5.2-inch display with a higher 800x480 resolution.

A quick look at the Nuvi 8xx source code indicates that the devices run a 2.6.17.7 Linux kernel on a Marvell "Monahans" processor, likely either the Marvell PXA-300 or -310. The kernel seems configured to use 64MB of RAM, and to be patched with Steven Rostedt's real-time patches.

Garmin's source code listing for the Nuvi 800 is nicely organized by license, certainly a civilized touch. And, an included patch file shows lots of kernel .config files. Here's a full list of included open source packages, with a few highlights shown below:

• gnome 2.4.0
  
• gnome-vfs-2.16.3
  
• xserver-kdrive-common-0.1
  
• busybox-1.01
  
• tinylogin-1.4
  
• alsa
  
• blueZ
  
• matchbox window manager
  
• geoclue-0.9

According to a blog by Henri Bergius, the source code list indicates that the unit is based on Gnome Mobile, which was announced over a year ago as part of the Gnome Mobile & Embedded Initiative (GMAE). The GMAE platform (see diagram below) is a subset of the Gnome desktop stack that, like Gnome, is licensed under the GNU LGPL (Lesser General Public License). It comprises C, C++, and Python APIs (application programming interfaces), and is said to include GTK+ (Gimp ToolKit), GStreamer support, Telepathy instant messaging and presence, the BlueZ Bluetooth stack, E-D-S contacts and calendaring, and Avahi network service discovery.


Gnome Mobile/GMAE architecture

According to Bergius, this is the first commercial implementation of GeoClue, a Linux-based "modular geoinformation service built on top of the D-Bus messaging system." GeoClue is designed for creating location-aware applications on mobile Linux devices.

Consumer features of the Nuvi 880

The Nuvi 880 offers voice recognition for hands-free interaction and can recognize shortcut phrases such as "Find address," says Garmin. The unit's Bluetooth radio enables users of compatible Bluetooth phones to make hands-free cellular calls using the 880's speaker and microphone.

The device provides voice directions in numerous voice styles, as well as City Navigator NT street maps, says the company. In addition to 2D maps, the device offers 3D digital elevation maps, plus "millions" of points of interest (POIs). Users can save their own custom POIs, as well as assign proximity alerts for upcoming POIs. For the near-sighted and forgetful, the Nuvi 880 can even be set to automatically mark a parking position when the device is removed from its optional windshield mount, enabling users to find their cars on foot.

Nuvi 880

The three free months of MSN Direct (not available with the Nuvi 850 or 860) provides real-time local weather, traffic, movie times, gas prices, stock information, and local news and events, says Garmin. The Nuvi 880 also offers a route planning feature that lets users save 10 routes, as well as an electronic bread crumb trail of up to 10,000 points for later trip review.

Additional features include an MP3 player, audio book player, JPEG picture viewer, currency converters, games, and an alarm clock. Audio can be fed through the car's sound system using the unit's wireless FM transmitter. There is also a new photo navigation feature that is said to let users download Google Panoramio pictures and "navigate to them." Optional plug-in microSD cards provide Garmin Travel Guides for greater detail.

Specifications posted by Garmin, as well as gleaned from the source code, includes:

• Processor -- Monahans (Marvell PXA/3xx)
  
• Memory -- "solid state" storage, and probably 64MB of RAM
  
• Display -- 4.3 inches (10.9 cm); 3.81 x 2.25 inches (9.7 x 5.7 cm); 480 x 272 pixels, WQVGA color TFT
  
• Expansion -- 1 x microSD slot
  
• USB -- 1 x USB port; optional USB mass storage device is compatible with Windows or Mac OS X only
  
• Bluetooth -- 1 x Bluetooth 2.0; hands-free dialing feature
  
• Dimensions -- 4.9 x 3.1 x 0.7 inches (12.5 x 7.8 x 1.8 cm)
  
• Weight -- 6.2 ounces (176 grams)
  
• Battery -- removable, rechargeable lithium-ion; up to 4 hours
  
• Other features -- FM transmitter; headphone jack/audio line-out; Garmin Lock anti-theft feature
  
• Operating system -- Gnome Linux 2.4.0

Other Linux-based navigation devices that have shipped to date include the popular TomTom Go, the Sony NV-XYZ, and the Naviflash Europe.

Availability

The Nuvi 880 is available now for $1,070, says Garmin, and the Nuvi 5000 is available for $857. Linux source code for the Nuvi 8xx and Nuvi 5xxx navigation devices should be available here. More information on Nuvi navigation devices may be found here.

Developers to test the open-source OS on a real device
evelopers have created an easy way to load Android, Google Inc.'s mobile phone operating system that is still in the works, on Nokia Corp.'s N810
open-source handheld devices.


The development is of interest to people who are trying to build applications for Android rather than to general users. "So, from the point of view of someone who just wants to use his N800 and doesn't necessarily want to experiment for the sake of experimenting, what does running Android get me?" one person asked on the Internet Tablet Talk Web site that is sharing the technique for loading the software on the devices.



"Probably not much," a respondent wrote back. In the future, however, it means that anyone could decide to run Android on the devices and use applications developed for the operating system, the respondent said.
For developers, the discovery is exciting. "Testing on a physical device is way different than testing in an emulator," said Mike Rowehl, a mobile developer who has loaded Android on his N810.

Ericsson with the U500 solution!!!
Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) today announced its U500 mobile platform, a next generation architecture with a triple processor solution and a powerful multimedia subsystem, enabling new multimedia functionality and advanced multitasking capabilities. The U500 will not only pave the way for new consumer services, but also improve the usability and quality of existing multimedia services.

Robert Puskaric, head of Ericsson's mobile platforms business, says: "The U500 is a powerful multimedia platform with performance, graphics and usability, more resembling a mobile computer than today's mobile phones. With the U500 platform Ericsson will keep its world leading position within the multimedia mass market for years to come."

The U500 mobile platform is a response to the rapidly growing demand for advanced multimedia features and services requiring enhanced user experience. Designed for mass market mobile devices, the U500 is capable of groundbreaking features such as high quality camcorder, 12 Mpix camera, WVGA displays, advanced 3D gaming and 3D user interface, CD quality audio performance and high resolution video for a true mobile TV experience.

HTC Diamond Touch and Dream Android

Rumors of an upcoming model, the HTC Diamond Touch, have been around for quite some time now. The Diamond Touch would, according to unconfirmed reports, be an updated version of the HTC Touch, offering a higher resolution VGA display.

Earlier this week HTC announced an event to be held on May 6, where it plans to unveil the "next wave of HTC innovation".

The rumor on the Diamond Touch is a teaser that we hope turns out to be true, as nothing on the release of this model has been confirmed as of yet.

Gadgetorama tells us that the Chinese-language Commercial Times is reporting that HTC will release a new series of Diamond smartphones in the second quarter of the year but that unfortunately there are few other details.

There have also been rumors drawn around another device from HTC, to be released on the same date - the HTC Dream Android. This would be the very first smartphone by HTC that would run on the Android operating system and which would include some iPhone features.

This includes a full touchscreen interface for added convenience and an onscreen keyboard. It would also feature time-sensitive touch gestures, easy navigation with icons, and virtual machine for multitasking, to name a few.

This special event taking place in London, UK on May 6 at 11:30am, has been taglined: "Witness the next wave of HTC innovation". There will be a few different companies including PHONE Mag which will be live-casting the event and we will be sure to keep you updated on this issue.

Whether they unveil only the Dream Android or confirm the rumors and present both models, this is an event that you won't want to miss.