Techstyle News March 2003 (fwd)

From: Eugen Leitl <
>
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 12:26:24 +0100 (CET)

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Date: 17 Mar 2003 11:00:52 -0000
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Subject: Techstyle News March 2003

                         TECHSTYLE NEWS 
                   Issue #23 - March 15, 2003 
                 <http://www.thinkingmaterials.com>

Techstyle News is a free monthly newsletter providing summaries and
commentaries on stories related to the next generation of mobile
technology and style, produced by Thinking Materials. Please send any
comments to .

** *** ***** ******* *********** ************* 
In this issue: 
  Hardwear News: 
    New Samsung wrist watch phone
    Motorola releases design studies of wearables
    Eleksen releases soft fabric keyboard for Orange phone
    Samsung announces ear-based microphone
    Interactive Imaging Systems releases new head mounted display
    Seiko and NTT develop thermal generator for wireless devices
    Toshiba makes fuel cell breakthrough
  Softwear News:
    IXI software used in new Seiko wireless watches
    FastVDO combines bandwidth management technology with wearables
    Leading vendors join interoperability program for instant messaging
  Business News: 
    Survey reveals users plan to spend more on wearable computers
    Samsung invests in OLED displays
    Parkinson patients helped by wearables
    Motorola and Phat Farm in promotional agreement
    Wearables to increase efficiencies, says architecture professor
  Events:
    CHI 2003 in Fort Lauderdale
    Flat Panel Display conference in San Diego

** *** ***** ******* *********** *************
HARDWEAR NEWS 

NEW SAMSUNG WRIST WATCH PHONE

Samsung announced at the CeBit 2003 a new version of its long announced
Wrist Watch Mobile Phone. The GPRS Watch phone features 90 minutes
continous talk and 80 hours of stand-by. It also includes Voice-Activated
Dailing, 40 ring tones and a built-in phone book. The phone weighs under
80g and supports WAP 1.2 plus Bluetooth. It features a 256 color display
with a resolution of 96x64 pixel. It is supposed to go on sale Q4 2003.

<http://www.samsung.com/Features/TechnologyLeadership/Exhibition/cebit2003/>

MOTOROLA RELEASES DESIGN STUDIES OF WEARABLES

Frog Design and Motorola have unveiled the "Offspring" concept design for
a set of wearable devices. The individual pieces communicate via
Bluetooth. A central device - the WDA - serves as the hub, and provides a
wireless connection to an iDEN network. The design is only a concept at
this point, although Motorola is preparing for user testing, and plans to
bring a product based on the design to market within two years.

<http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail/0,1958,2478_2016_23,00.html>

ELEKSEN RELEASES SOFT FABRIC KEYBOARD FOR ORANGE PHONE

Eleksen has announced that its fabric keyboard is now available as an
accessory for users of the SPV Smartphone in the four European countries
that have launched the device - France, Denmark, Switzerland and the UK.
The flexible keyboard can be crumpled and folded repeatedly without
impacting performance.

<http://www.eleksen.com/press/press_releases/pr_11032003_popup.html>

SAMSUNG ANNOUNCES EAR-BASED MICROPHONE

Samsung has unveiled an ear-based microphone at the CeBIT trade show. The
device, according to Samsung, is the first earbud headset to contain both
a transmitter and a microphone. It picks up the sound of speaking directly
via the user's head, filtering out some 90 percent of the background
noise. The ear bud will be available later this year, in both a wired and
a Bluetooth version.

<http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2131568,00.html>

INTERACTIVE IMAGING SYSTEMS RELEASES NEW HEAD MOUNTED DISPLAY

IIS has launched its new product line of head mounted displays, called
Second Sight. The M1110 is the smallest and the lightest head-worn display
in the world, at only 40 grams.  The display connects directly to
virtually any CompactFlash (CF) or PCMCIA slot on PDAs and notebooks.
Thesoftware for Pocket PC based PDAs, allow for full VGA screen
information (640X480 pixels) to be displayed on the M1100 display, giving
the user, access to high resolution content from images to schematics and
more.

<http://www.iisvr.com/products_mobility_ssm1100_specs.html>

SEIKO AND NTT DEVELOP THERMAL GENERATOR FOR WIRELESS DEVICES

NTT Corp, Seiko Instruments and Seiko Epson have jointly developed a
wireless system that runs on a small thermal generator. The newly
developed system uses thermoelectric as a power generator to produce a
voltage from a temperature difference. In the demonstration at ISSCC 2003,
a 1V potential difference was brought about five seconds after a person
started to warm one panel of the system in his hand, which lasted for 60
seconds.

<http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/101/C1507/>

TOSHIBA MAKES FUEL CELL BREAKTHROUGH

Toshiba said it has successfully created a direct methanol fuel cell for
notebook PCs. The breakthrough prototype will deliver an average output of
12 watts and a maximum outout of 20 watts, and one fuel catridge will last
for five hours. The methanol cartridges will be replacable. The fuel cell
will have the same electrodes as with lithium-ion batteries, so the
cartridges connect to a notebook in the same way as those do. Full product
will be available next year.

<http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2003_03/pr0501.htm>

** *** ***** ******* *********** ************* 
SOFTWEAR NEWS

IXI SOFTWARE USED IN NEW SEIKO WIRELESS WATCHES

IXI Mobile, provider of wireless software solutions for new wireless
devices and services, and Seiko have announced that Seiko is using IXI
software to create a new variety of wireless watches and related services
for the mobile market. Wireless network operators and service providers
can offer a new variety of downloadable content to consumers such as
logos, wall paper and other services. The new content and capabilities are
downloaded to the watch over the air using IXI-Manage software.

<http://speed.sii.co.jp/pub/corp/pr/newsDetail_en.jsp?news=396>

FASTVDO COMBINES BANDWIDTH MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY WITH WEARABLES

FastVDO, a provider of rich media and bandwidth management technologies,
has announced a teaming agreement with Xybernaut. Solutions created and
marketed under this agreement will bring high quality video to mobile
users. The goal for the combined solutions is increased quality and
greater efficiency of information technology investments for organizations
or individuals that need high quality video.

<http://www.xybernaut.com/company/public/press/2002/press_release.asp?PRESSID=110>

LEADING VENDORS JOIN INTEROPERABILITY PROGRAM FOR INSTANT MESSAGING

Ericsson has announced the creation of an interoperability test program
for Instant Messaging and Presence Services solutions. Several key testing
partners, including Ecrio, magic4, MessageVine, Motorola, Ruksun Software
Technologies, and Sony Ericsson have agreed to join the program. The
solution enables users to publish and subscribe to other users' presence
information, send and receive instant messages and join community chats.
Ericsson IMPS can be configured as a stand-alone presence service or
combined with Instant Messaging and community chat.

<http://www.ericsson.com/press/20030226-143210.html>

** *** ***** ******* *********** ************* 
BUSINESS NEWS

SURVEY REVEALS USERS PLAN TO SPEND MORE ON WEARABLE COMPUTERS

Users and evaluators of mobile computing and communications solutions know
a lot about wearable computing solutions.  They like what they know and
are planning to spend more on these systems during the next three years.  
However, larger future commitments to wearable computing will require
modification to current solutions and supplier strategy. These are the
results of a survey of 500 respondents made by research firm VDC. The most
often cited expected benefits for installations of wearable computers
included improvement of employee/operator productivity, managing of
personal schedules, and increased profitability in core
operations/business.

<http://www.vdc-corp.com/industrial/press/03/pr03-19.html>

SAMSUNG INVESTS IN OLED DISPLAYS

Samsung is teaming with Vitex Systems, a start-up developing organic
light-emitting diode technology, to build thinner, lighter displays aimed
at the mobile device market. Samsung did not disclose the amount of the
funding. The companies are working to get full-color OLED displays to
market by late 2004.

<http://news.com.com/2100-1041-985983.html?tag=fd_top>

PARKINSON PATIENTS HELPED BY WEARABLES

People suffering from Parkinson's disease seem to walk better when wearing
a head-mounted display, according to Parreha Consortium. The headset
superimposes computer-generated geometric shapes over what patients see,
giving them visual cues that help navigation. The HMD places a monitor
over one eye. When combined with what the patient sees from the other eye,
the effect is of the real world overlaid with a virtual tunnel that
scrolls slowly past as the patient walks. The overlay program was created
by Oxford Computer Consultants.

<http://www.parreha.com/News/parreha_news.htm>

MOTOROLA AND PHAT FARM IN PROMOTIONAL AGREEMENT

Motorola has signed a multi-year promotional marketing agreement with Phat
Licensing for the Phat Farm and Baby Phat brands. The agreement will
provide fashion and technology savvy consumers a wider range of mobile
products and services to complement their style preferences. The marriage
between the Motorola and Phat brands will include the development of
co-branded products, such as Motorola iDEN handsets, technology content
and accessories.

<http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail/0,1958,2434_1983_23,00.html> 

WEARABLES TO INCREASE EFFICIENCIES, SAYS ARCHITECTURE PROFESSOR

Consensus estimates suggest that as much as 30 percent of project costs
are wasted through poor management of the design-construction process. To
that end, George Elvin, architecture professor at University of Illinois,
is leading efforts to study the effects of using wireless-enabled portable
computers that can be strapped to a toolbelt and pen-based electronic
tablets to complete integrated design-construction projects.  Elvin will
present results of a preliminary study at the American Society of Civil
Engineers’ Construction Research Congress in Honolulu, March 19-21.

<http://www.news.uiuc.edu/gentips/03/03arch.html>

** *** ***** ******* *********** *************
EVENTS

CHI 2003 IN FORT LAUDERDALE

The CHI 2003 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems will take
place in Fort Lauderdale, April 5-10. The annual CHI conference is the
leading international forum for the exchange of ideas and information
about computer-human interaction. Among the speakers are representatives
from the University of Glasgow talking about "Multimodal Eyes-Free,
Interaction Techniques for Wearable Devices".

<http://www.chi2003.org/index.cgi>

FLAT PANEL DISPLAY CONFERENCE IN SAN DIEGO

As the display industry continues to move towards flat panels, the CRT has
become an endangered species. From curved CRTs to flat CRTs to flat panel
displays, the future is flat. The US FPD Conference 2003 in San Diego,
April 1-3, will provide critical data and trends for the visitor to take
advantage of the flat panel display evolution. Speakers from, among
others, Sony, Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, and Extreme Devices.

<http://www.displaysearch.com/usfpd2003/agenda2003.htm>

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