Archive for October, 2009

It’s been a busy month at the FCC for LG Electronics.  I count 19 phones that were approved in October.  They are listed below:

FCC filings made today by Wistron Corporation seem to reveal a new laptop coming from Lenovo.  According to the filings, the device is currently known as the 0251.

Antenna placement filings reveal that the device has a 10.1 inch screen.  Profiles of the laptop show a slick tapered design that appears to be quite thin.

In addition to a couple of USB ports and a 3-1 media slot, the 0251 will also feature a mini HDMI port – hopefully this indicates that the device will have decent graphics.  Also, the 0251 will have a ton of connectivity options, including WiFi, Bluetooth and 850/1900 HSDPA data.

The FCC filings don’t reveal any information about the 0251’s processor, memory, graphics or hard drive.  However, Lenovo’s only 10.1” notebook at the moment is a netbook with a 1.6 GHz Atom.

More pics after the jump:

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It looks like Logitech is coming out with a new wireless presenter called the R-R003.  External pics of the device show a simple 5 button layout and a laser pointer integrated into the front of the device.

This shiny digital photo frame passed through the FCC today.  It’s called Parrot by Martin Szekely, and it’s fancy.

The device has a mirror finish, so when you’re not looking at photos you’re looking at yourself.  You can store photos on the 200MB of internal memory, or use an SD card for additional storage.

The Parrot has a ton of connectivity options, including WiFi, Bluetooth and USB.  You can manually upload photos to the device, or automatically display new photos from a feed.  The Parrot also has it’s own email address, so you can email photos directly to the device.  Although this feature seems like it has potential for misuse, either from spammers or friends.

The Parrot is priced at $500, which seems like a pretty high price for what is essentially just another photo frame with a 6 inch screen.  Sure, it has the name of designer Martin Szekely all over the place, but I’m not sure that really adds any value here.

Pandora fans rejoice.  The Livio Radio, which gives you access to Pandora’s Internet radio service without a PC, has passed through the FCC and seems on target for the planned launch in the first week of November.

The device features tasteful retro styling with a single large speaker and oversized volume knob on the front.  The device also has a not-so-retro LCD screen that allows you to navigate through your Pandora channels, as well as thumb up or thumb down songs.  If you get tired of Pandora, the Livio Radio also gives you access to 11,000 other Internet radio stations.  Or, you can plug in your MP3 player to the Livio Radio with through the aux in port.

The Livio Radio will connect to the Internet via WiFi or wired Ethernet connection, allowing you to easily move the device around your house.

The Livio Radio will cost $199.99.  Currently you can preorder the device here, on the NPR site.

The Airport Express is a slick little device, but I believe E-Top may have bested Apple with the 3R161N.  The device features two USB ports and a LAN port, a hard operation mode switch to move between router, access point and WiFi modes, as well as 5 status lights.

Sure, this thing knocks off the Airport Express shamelessly, but at least us PC users now have a portable 802.11n option that actually looks decent.

Earlier this month we reported that a tiny remote control from Flip Video had passed through the FCC.  Today we learned what that remote will control:  FlipShare TV.

FlipShare TV enables you to display PC-based video on your TV.  Friends can also give you access to their videos over the Internet using FlipShare’s Flip Channels functionality.

To make this happen, all you need to do is plug the FlipShare USB key into your PC and connect the FlipShare TV Base unit to your TV via HDMI or AV cables.  And that’s it – pretty simple, huh?

Once connected to your TV, FlipShare TV relies on a simple, 10 foot-style interface that allows you to play video, root through your various video folders, mark videos as favorites, or view Flip Channels, which are videos shared by other FlipShare users.  All of this is controlled by the remote control that we spotted earlier this month.

Overall, FlipShare TV seems like a pretty basic solution that meshes well with the simplicity of Flip’s video cameras.  Sure, it doesn’t provide you with a ton of features, but if all you’re looking to do is quickly view your videos on a TV, then this solution will work well.

However, I am concerned about the throughput of the FlipShare USB key – any interference could degrade the quality of your videos, particularly since your TV and PC may be far from each other.

More pics after the jump:

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Huawei’s B260a Wireless Gateway passed through the FCC today.  In addition to traditional WLAN features, the B260a also works as a 3G wireless router.  All you need to do is plug in your SIM card into the B260a, and you have access to WCDMA wireless goodness.

Interestingly, you can also plug a traditional phone into the B260a to make calls over the Internet.  This is an interesting features, because it allows you to turn your mobile phone into a landline, and vice versa.  That makes me think the B260a may be used by wireless carriers to bring a “landline” into the homes of wireless customers.

Although the B260a isn’t the first device with these features, it does seem like it brings a variety of wireless technologies together in an eloquent manner.

Although it looks a bit odd, the XpressWay Bluetooth headset from BlueParrott is actually a pretty versatile device.  The XpressWay comes with three interchangeable headpieces that allow you to wear the headset over your head, behind your head, or over your ear (like most Bluetooth headsets).

It’s a good idea, particularly if you use your Bluetooth headset at work and on the road.  However, the device is not exactly compact, and the long mic is a bit more obtrusive than most headsets.

Cops rejoice.  This device is only 4.7” tall, 2.3” wide and 0.8” deep, but it can detect the speed of objects up to 375 MPH within +/- 1 MPH.

That’s right, the Pocket Radar fits in the palm of your hand, but gives you a pretty robust set of speed detecting features, if that’s your thing.  Pocket Radar works with objects as large as a car, or as small as a baseball.  All you have to do is point and push the red button.