Apple, HTC in Trademark Tangle

Apple Computer has an uncanny knack for getting in the way of trademarks... or so it seems...

Previously, when the company unveiled it's eagerly anticipated iPhone, Cisco slapped a lawsuit against it over use of the 'iPhone' trademark. Incidentally, Linksys' VoIP phone is also called iPhone, and Cisco, which happens to be Linksys' parent company, owns the 'iPhone' trademark.

Now with the launch of iPod Touch, Apple is once again in danger of having stepped on someone else's toes... This time round, it's Taiwan-based HTC's turn to feel the heat...

HTC launched the HTC Touch well before Apple's iPod Touch. The HTC Touch features a TouchFLO sweep launcher sitting atop Windows Mobile. It's a keyboard-free and button-free Windows Mobile phone that sports an unraised bezel and a solid glass face among others.

HTC chief executive officer and president, Peter Chou, reportedly said that HTC has registered 'Touch' as a worldwide trademark, and that the company "is proud to share the same vision as Apple over touch screen functions".

While Chou said nothing about whether HTC would sue Apple over use of it's trademark, a top HTC official reportedly made a pointed reference to the ability of Apple and Cisco to 'reach a mutually satisfactory agreement' before footnoting the need for 'further observation' around the 'Touch' trademark rights question.

Meanwhile, as far as precedents go, Cisco's suit against Apple ended in a mutually convenient agreement -- one wherein both would continue to make use of the 'iPhone' trademark in the market.

SONY Rolly

Want to experience a dancing player - well Sony makes it possible.

Sony has unveiled the all-new 'Rolly' digital music player that rotates, flaps its ends, and flashes colorful lights in time to music.








The compact white-colored egg-shaped gizmo could easily fit in your palms. Weighing 300 g and measuring 104 mm long and 65 mm in circumference, Rolly has speakers on each end that are hidden by dish-like covers.

There's only 1 button on the player - an on/off switch. The other functions are controlled by a pair of ring that circle its body.

However, 1 ring is used to move from track to track or album to album while the other controls the volume. The same 2 rings are connected to motors that enable the Rolly to scoot around a table-top in time to the music being played.

The player can stand 5 hours of audio playback. This drops to 4 hours when the device is in motion and 3 and a half hours when Bluetooth streaming is also enabled.

Rolly has 1 GB of internal flash memory and can playback MP3, Atrac, or AAC songs (AAC songs with copy protection from iTunes Music Store aren't supported). It can also receive music streamed via a Bluetooth connection.

With a storage capacity of 600 songs (depending on the songs' audio quality and length) Rolly incorporates sensors that could identify which way is up, enabling volume to be controlled by turning the player clockwise or anti-clockwise and tunes to be switched by pushing or pulling it on the floor.

Users have the choice of either using the special program on a PC, which analyzes music to come up with simple choreography that appears to match the rhythm of the songs, or download packaged moves to tunes from a Sony website.

Sony's Rolly will be launched across Japan by September 29 this year and will be available for Rs 14380 (40,000 yen/US$354).

However, Indian customers still have to wait long since Sony is yet to decide plans for an international launch.

USB Fan

The USB Fan plugs into a USB port of your laptop or desktop computer to provide a steady stream of cool air -- without draining your battery. The fan is controlled by a switch, so you can plug and play whenever you feel like.

It does not need batteries or power socket for powering on; Minimal battery drain, it uses less than five minutes per hour of notebook battery charge.
The high quality, long life & Free of noise motor will not disrupt you when working.
Easy & simple to use ,the Flexible spring neck lets you position it in the angle that you would like to.

It is composed of Soft, safe nylon blades that circulate a steady stream of cool air.
Small, Compact and feather-light, the USB Fan goes anywhere and fits easily inside your laptop case.

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Paramount Pictures chooses HD DVD over Blu-ray

Paramount Pictures announced today that it will drop support for Sony's Blu-ray high-definition format in favor of exclusively supporting the Microsoft-backed HD DVD. The decision further complicates the race between the competing technologies.

HD DVD is better for consumers, and families will be more willing to purchase it, because of its lower price compared with Blu-ray, according to the company, which previously released movies in both formats.

The announcement affects all movies distributed by Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films. Universal Pictures already exclusively supports HD DVD, while Warner Bros. releases movies in both HD formats.

Blu-ray still holds the lead in terms of exclusive support, however. Three of the six major film studios -- Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures and 20th Century Fox -- back Blu-ray, while two support HD DVD. In terms of discs sold, Blu-ray also leads HD DVD by a 2 to 1 margin.

Paramount's move not only deals a minor blow to Sony's disc media and movie divisions, but to the company's PlayStation 3. Consumers will likely be more reluctant to pay $499 for a gaming machine that doubles as a high-definition player, should Blu-ray fail to become the standard.

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Lenovo Introduces 3000 Y410 Notebook in India

Lenovo has unveiled in India the new Lenovo 3000 Y410 notebook with a range of multimedia features and an AUDIO DJ capability that allows the user to play music while the notebook is turned off.

Lenovo said the notebook is ideal for consumers who look for the complete package, reliability and worry free computing combined with high performance and entertainment. The 14.1" widescreen notebook has the audio function panel encased in a stylish and unique design outside the top cover, while the slot-in optical disk drive is at the side panel.

With a host of multimedia capabilities, such as front facing Dolby Home Theater speakers, an integrated microphone for playing and recording audio, an integrated Webcam, an integrated DVD recordable drive and shuttle center along with the latest edition of AUDIO DJ, Lenovo said the 3000 Y410 is the ultimate entertainment notebook, well suited to consumers looking for a high-end life style entertainment PC.

The Y410 also incorporates a 5-in-1 multi-card reader for downloading digital pictures from multiple types of memory cards, three USB ports and an IEEE-1394 interface, which allow high speed communication between two devices, e.g. image transfer from a camera or camcorder to the notebook with no image degradation. In addition, it also has Easy Capture, a multimedia software application for easy photo editing.

The Lenovo 3000 Y410 has security features such as biometric face recognition technology that enhances data security and allows the notebooks to be used by multiple users seamlessly. One touch recovery allows the user to recover a PC to its last backed-up state with the press of a button. The notebook also offers a longer battery life of up to 4 hours.

"PCs today go far beyond being just a business tool. With the Lenovo 3000 Y500 series, we defined TV on the go. Now with the Lenovo 3000 Y410, we define music on the go, offering customers a truly high-end entertainment experience. With the AUDIO DJ feature, the user can choose to listen to music even while the laptop is turned off. The Lenovo 3000 Y410 promises high performance as well as high quality entertainment, all rolled into one sleek package. We are certain this product will provide the ultimate entertainment experience to our consumers," said Anil Philip, Executive Director, Transactional Business, Lenovo India.

Weighing 2.54 kg, Lenovo 3000 Y410 is powered by Intel Core 2 Duo T7100 Processor 1.8 GHz and comes with up to 2 GB RAM and 160 GB hard drive. The notebook also comes with discrete graphic Nvidia GeForce Go 8400M GS for true-to-life gaming experience in select models. Preloaded with Microsoft Vista Home Basic and the Premium edition, the Y410 also offers complete connectivity features such as integrated 802.11 a/b/g wireless LAN and 10/100 Ethernet and Blue tooth on all models.

The Lenovo 3000 Y410 notebook is available in all Lenovo authorized storefronts. Prices start at Rs. 50,000/-. With the launch of the Lenovo 3000 Y410, buyers of Lenovo 3000 select products will be assured of gifts such as Philips VoIP earphones, or Philips wireless headphones and the jackpot gift of 20 Philips home theaters, till offers last.

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Charge mobiles with body heat

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits in Erlangen, Germany, have developed new circuits that can harness electricity from body heat that would otherwise be dissipated into the air. The scientists say the advance could lead to battery-less cell phones and medical monitors that draw energy from their users.

“The idea behind it is that you can replace the batteries or at least you can enlarge the operation times of batteries,” said Peter Spies, electrical engineer and group manager at the institute.

Spies and his team improved upon semiconductors called thermoelectric generators that produce electrical energy in the face of temperature differences.

Normally, a difference of several tens of degrees is required in order to generate enough power, but the difference between the body’s surface temperature and that of its environment is only a few degrees. This produces about 250 millivolts, while electronic devices require at least one or two volts.

As part of their research, Spies and his team incorporated a component into the circuit called a charge pump. The pump temporarily stores the incoming millivolts until they reach 1.8 volts. At that threshold, an internal transistor turns on and delivers the higher voltage to a component that can transfer the electricity to a device.

Matthias Ueltzen, an application engineer at Freiburg, Germany-based Micropelt, a developer and manufacturer of thermoelectrics, said, while the “idea of generating some electric power from the heat of the body is a great idea,” there are certain difficulties, which lie in the low temperature differences between the skin and the outside air.

“Only a very small part of the thermal heat flow can be converted into electrical power, and for that reason, the technology may only work for applications that don’t require a lot of energy,” said Ueltzen.

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