MetroPCS and Kyocera today announced the availability of the Strobe, Kyocera’s newest mobile phone. The candy bar style phone flips open to reveal a second full color screen and keyboard. When folded out, the phone reveals a QWERTY keyboard and resembles a look much like the Sidekick line of phones offered by T-Mobile. The screen is slightly larger than the one on the outside of the phone to simplify the creation or text messages or make playing small games more enjoyable.

The Kyocera Strobe comes with a VGA camera with digital zoom, self-timer, and resolution adjustment. It also has Java support for downloadable games, ringtones, and wallpaper. Several pre-installed applications are included, such as a calculator, alarm clock, and voice memo storage. Additionally, the Strobe is equipped with a WAP 2.0 Internet browser. It has Bluetooth wireless technology, which allows for compatibility with wireless headsets, shared Internet connections, and file transfers. Kyocera said that the battery provides as much as 6 hours of talk time on one charge.

The Kyocera Strobe will be available through MetroPCS, a CDMA service provider that currently has full coverage in cities throughout Georgia, Florida, California, Texas, and Michigan. According to Kyocera’s Web site it will also be available from Alltell wireless, as well as Virgin Mobile.

Via TGDaily

Sony has two new compact cameras to add to its ever-expanding lineup. Both feature large 3″ touch screens that can be navigated by either using your fingertip or an included stylus. Both take advantage of Sony’s InfoLitium batteries with the DSC-T50 capturing 400 shots per charge and the DSC-N2 capturing 300 shots per charge. The DSC-T50 is the new headliner for Sony’s T-series. The DSC-T50 features a 7MP CCD image sensor, Carl Zeiss 3x optical zoom lens and 56MB of internal memory.

The DSC-T50 also includes Sony’s Super SteadyShot optical image stabilization to cancel the effects of shaky hands. The DSC-T50 will be available in black, red and silver. The DSC-N2 ups the ante with a 10MP image sensor. It too features a Carl Zeiss 3x optical zoom lens, but makes do with 25MB of internal memory. And while the 10MP image sensor is a nice addition, the integrated photo album is sure to garner a lot of attention.

The DSC-N2 dedicates a portion of its internal memory to store up to 500 of your favorite photo. Every time a picture is captured to the camera’s 25MB of internal memory or to a Memory Stick Duo card, the camera automatically resizes a second copy of the image to VGA resolution and stores it in the pocket album. Images you wish to save can be protected and played back at anytime.

Sony’s DSC-T50 and DSC-N2 will both be available in October at a price of $500 and $450 respectively.

Via DailyTech

Tokyo (Japan) – In a joint project, Memory-Tech and Toshiba today announced that the two firms have developed a one-side, three-layer disc for both DVD and HD DVD formats. The new technology will pave the way to higher capacity hybrid storage on a single disc.

The new disc is an addition to Toshiba’s existing DVD TWIN format, which support both DVD and HD DVD storage types. The three-layer discs will allow for either two HD DVD layers and one DVD layer, or two DVD layers and one HD DVD. When configured to the former, close to 35 GB can be stored (30 GB of HD DVD and 4.7 GB of SD DVD). Alternatively, the technology can also accommodate a dual-layer DVD (8.5 GB) and one HD DVD layer (15 GB).

According to Toshiba, The TWIN format was created so that consumers could have both the standard definition and high definition versions of a movie on a single disc. Ideally, then, videos can be played on DVD and HD DVD players.

With the three-layer discs, companies can take better advantage of the DVD TWIN technology, either offering extra HD DVD or regular DVD content. Previously, the TWIN discs allowed solely one layer of each format. The TWIN format has yet to be widely accepted, though some companies have found a niche with it, like Japan’s Pony Canyon, who has released titles on the format since April. A likely cause of the slow growth of the TWIN format is the fact that HD DVD itself has yet to see a significant penetration among normal consumers.

Via TGDaily

First consumer-oriented handheld sports a 1.3MP camera, media playback functions. Canadian-based mobile company Research In Motion (RIM) has officially launched its latest handheld, the BlackBerry 8100 “Pearl”. With a 1.3MP camera, music and video playback, and microSD expansion, RIM hopes the new 8100 will help them gain valuable market share with consumers.

The new quad-band GSM phone will be available beginning September 12 from T-Mobile USA and during October from Rogers Canada. Backhanded compliments are the order of the day for the 8100. While still a BlackBerry at heart — RIM OS under the hood with a powerful push email system — the consumer-oriented upgrades may make it a less desirable business handheld.

The most anticipated new feature for the 8100 is its integrated 1.3MP camera with flash. While snapshots are on-par with other camera phones (barring the new 2.0MP models, naturally) the 8100 lacks the ability to record video, or to shoot in burst or macro modes. Compression and white balance are adjustable, but the 8100’s camera still suffers mild artifacting in indoor shots.

In addition to the camera, the other major consumer-targeted feature of the 8100 is the integrated media player. The media player is able to play music files in MP3, MIDI, AMR, WAV, and AAC formats — though not files protected with Apple’s FairPlay. Video is limited to H.263 and MPEG4 files, including DivX. Though a welcome addition, the media player has received universally negative reviews for its poor interface, clunky file-transfer, and lack of basic features such as shuffle or repeat.

To help emphasize the new 8100’s media features, RIM has included a microSD expansion slot for storage. However, in a rather strange design reflection of Nokia’s first-generation “N-Gage” device, the microSD slot has been placed under the battery. While RIM may not expect the card to be changed often, it appears as a removable hard drive when connected. In order for the 8100 to be taken seriously as a media player, an external slot is a necessity.

The 8100 mimics the slimmer form factor of the 7100 series. Wrapped in a shiny black and silver exterior, it uses RIM’s SureType technology to squeeze two letters onto each key. While consumers used to sending SMS messages on the cramped 12-key phone pads may find it a modest but welcome increase in width, fans of the 72×0 series and its full 33-key keypad may instead opt for the more traditional BlackBerry 8700r.

Another new feature that may become a point of debate among BlackBerry devotees is the removal of the iconic scroll wheel. While previous models all used a wheel mounted on the right hand side of the device, the 8100 ditches this in favor of a trackball-like navigator directly below the screen. Though hardcore devotees may cry over the loss of their beloved wheel, it does allow for moving left and right without the use of a “hold shift and scroll” combination.

More pictures of the BlackBerry 8100 are available at RIM’s media page, or at the Pearl’s microsite, BlackBerryPearl.com. Reviews of the BlackBerry 8100 Pearl are available at BusinessWeek, CNET and PCMagazine

Via DailyTech

Many people look upon GamePark’s GP32 handheld console as a revolutionary product in the world of videogames — it was, after all, one of the first platforms to actually encourage homebrew and emulation — and now DCEmu is reporting that the company is poised to launch what it’s calling the GP32’s successor, the “XGP kids.”

Shaped more or less like a tiny PSP, this new model is the third in the XGP lineup (following the original XGP and XGP mini), none of which should be confused with the similarly-named GP2X (this latter console is manufactured by GamePark Holdings, a company composed mainly of disgruntled ex-GamePark employees).

Although not all its specs will be revealed until September 16th, we do know that it will be powered by a 140MHz ARM processor (probably overclockable), sport a 2.2-inch, 220 x 176 LCD, feature 8MB of RAM and 2MB of flash memory, and support USB 1.1 file transfers, but unlike the GP32, will eschew the old school SmartMedia slot for more modern SD cards.

The best part here is the anticipated price (according to Wikipedia, at least); unlike the $300 XGP, $230 GP2X, and $150 XGP mini, the XGP kids is expected to slide in at under a C-note — $75, to be exact.

Via Engadget