- December 16, 2009 11:22 am
Gushing over the 8+ megapixel camera phones grabbing all the headlines and attention in 2009? Psh, that’s nothing compared to what 2011 will bring us. Broadcom announced today a new processor of theirs that will usher in a new era and raise the bar as far as mobile picture/video taking is concerned.
The chip, named the Broadcom BCM2763 VideoCore IV Processor will enable mobile phones and other MID’s to support Full HD 1080p video recording as well as 20+ megapixel stills. But that’s not all. Other features that are currently reserved for stand alone cameras such as multiple shots per second, image stabilization, face and smile detection, and panorama mode will also make their way to the small screen.
For mobile photographers, the above is awesome enough. But pictures and video aren’t the only things mobile devices are being asked to do these days. Joining the increased picture/video chops provided the the Broadcom BCM2763, mobile gaming will also receive a rather hefty bump to the tune of native 1080p rendering that when coupled with HDMI outputs makes the topic of traditional console gaming dying out sound even more likely and closer than one would assume.
Ultimately, the 40nm chip (pricing still unannounced) will bring yet unseen amounts of visual eye candy and multimedia capabilities to mobile devices that will make even such gadgets as the upcoming Nexus One seem like a fisher price toy in as little as 2 years. Technology is practically leap frogging ahead. Can you keep up?
Pocket-Lint
[Image Source]
While talking about there here and now in the gadget world is certainly worthwhile and exciting, looking ahead into the future of geekdom is in my opinion just as exciting and at times more exciting. Letting our minds wonder with what could be allows for some truly amazing concepts — wonderful concepts such as the T-Glove. This do-it-all wonder gadget is a astronaut-like wrist device that combines a phone, MID, GPS, and more all within easy reach of five of your most precious digits. With the embedded RFID chip even more crazy and untold functions can unfold making this seemingly niche gadget all the more useful. Truth is, if this were released tomorrow for a stomach turning price, I’d let my stomach do all the flips it wanted, sell my soul, and possibly even prized paperclip collection….*shifts eyes*. What would you do for one?
Gizmo Watch > James Dyson Awards
- November 16, 2009 4:04 am
Excited I am. The creative line of players while robust and featuring top notch audio quality have often fallen short in terms of usability and UI interaction. Several months ago Creative announced that their “Zii” line of players would have both an in-house OS model as well as an Android model. But these were just MID/audio players to take on the iPod Touch market. The Android model had some pretty awesome specs, though sadly wasn’t a phone nor was it even hinted at being one. I’m not discounting the MID scene. It’s just that I love a good MID/audio player like any other geek, but what I would really love to see is a true uber phone. You know. a be all end all type of gadget. It looks as if my wishes will soon be coming true.
The banner pictured above shows the headline for the Zii Summit 2009 in China. The big surprise is that the Zii line of Android players looks to be transgressing into the phone arena. According to the banner, the specs are fairly mouth watering…
A range of OEM-ready Zii Powered devices will be showcased – powered by ZiiLABS ZMS-05 and ZMS-08 media-rich application processors. The line-up of devices on display include: a Touch Tablet PC, a Netbook, a Web-Box, a 360o Multi-View Camera System, ultra high-performance Speakers, a Piano Keyboard for the PC, and a Portable e-Book Reader. But the highlight of our devices line-up is our Mobile Phone platform. ZiiLABS ushers in a new era of explosive high definition 3D with the Zii Optimized Android Phone platform. The Zii Optimized Android Phone platform gives developers the chance to use the familiar Android OS, but with a difference. Harnessing StemCell Computing Technology found on the ZMS-05 Media Rich Processor, Android is now super-charged with seamless 3D graphics and High Definition video playback performance.
Phone with Fully featured Android Platform
- Accelerated video, graphic and imaging
- Full integration with SurfaceFlinger
The biggest draw for me would be a physically appealing device with the awesome abilities of Android all wrapped around true high-quality audio. Don’t get me wrong, the iPhone has a aesthetically pleasing music player skin and overall UI in general, but it’s only so-so in terms of audio quality. Could this Android powered Zii-phone be the music phone I’ve been waiting for? That’s assuming the fact it ever leaves the Chinese mainland. Still, I reaming ever hopeful.
What about yourselves?
Phandroid
Feeling a little love for Android 2.0 but aren’t necessarily looking for a phone? While the general consensus is that Android 2.0 is going to be a VZW/Moto exclusive for a little bit longer, 2.0 is no longer limited to the DROID. Now hold up a sec because you’re not going to be able to stroll down to your local Best Buy and pick up Android 2.0 on some wonder device. Motorola is also using DROID day to launch the first in a series of devices under their Android Media Platform (AMP). These devices will come in 3.5″, 5″, and 10″ sizes with the mid-sized five incher enjoying the open sunlight today. Mind you, developers are the only ones that get to touch and prod these devices early on. As for the internal goods, the screen itself is negotiable — coming in either OLED or LCD form. The processing power resides in the Texas Instruments OMAP3430 CPU ensuring you have plenty of muscle to tickle your fancy. Cutting the cord thanks to the onboard 802.11b/g/n WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, and optional 3G means my eyebrows are already heading north.
Since this isn’t a phone, size isn’t as important or limited. Seeing this grand opportunity, Moto has gone ahead and stuffed a 3,000mAh battery underneath the hood. This should power the smaller two devices for quite some time with the larger 10″ model getting at least decent cordless runtime. Unfortunately we don’t have anything in the way of price. I guess we’ll just have to sit back and yearn for more.
Can you believe how quickly Motorola is turning around? A year ago they were considered for all intents and purposes, dead. Now they have the DROID which is lined up to be a big comeback. Following up with this MID device series, which if properly marketed and developed appears to be a worthy contender as well, will be another big hit for Moto (and Android). Moto, welcome back.
Engadget > OLED-Info
Don’t you love it when rumors, particularly good rumors transgress from unicorn land into reality? That’s a pretty easy one to answer. Of course you do. Details of an Android packing Dell MID will no doubt get you salivating like a fat piece of properly cooked steak. As far as details go, the device spied above comes with Android 2.0 (Eclair), WiFi/Bluetooth/3G WWAN, 5″ 800 x 400 capacitive touchscreen as well as a dual-LED flash 5mp camera out back. The only thing leaving me concerned is yet again the battery power (or lack thereof) under the hood — a paltry 1,300 mAh. Let’s hope that Dell tweaks the software to the fullest in order to make the most of that toddle battery it’s packin’ inside. Want to see what it looks like? Well come on in…
