Archive for February 1st, 2010

GPS rangefinders are a great tool for golfers.  Sure, you can use a laser sight, but a lot of the time you don’t really have a good line of sight, and therefore can’t get accurate measurements.

Jaio is a newcomer to the golf GPS market, and the company’s Beacon unit seems like a solid, feature-packed unit.  The device packs a 2.4” grayscale LCD screen and enough storage to store 50 course maps.  In addition to core rangefinding features, the Beacon has an electronic scorecard, club selector, and team/multiplayer modes.

The Beacon also has robust stat keeping abilities, which help you to track your improvement (or lack thereof).  You can also upload your stats to the Golfsonomy team to compare your scores with others.

You can purchase the Beacon don Jaio’s website, although it doesn’t appear that the shopping cart feature is functional yet.  No word on pricing.

On Friday we spotted HTC’s PB99110 phone on the FCC.  Since our first post, we received several tips that the PB99110 is actually a version of the HTC Nexus One (thanks joerph).

After a close look at both devices, it does appear that the PB99110 is a version of the Nexus One that will support WCDMA Bands I, II and V, unlike the previous version of the Nexus One that passed through the FCC in December (model# PB99100) with support for WCDMA Bands I and IV.  Support for WCDMA bands II and V is particularly important for US users, since it will enable 3G for AT&T.

Similarities between the PB99110 and Nexus One start at the model number – the Nexus One’s model number is PB99100, which is very close to the PB99110.  To date, we haven’t seen two distinct HTC devices that have model numbers that are so similar.

Additionally, the two devices are nearly identical in size (pics above).  According to SAR reports, the Nexus One measures 119mm x 60mm, while the PB99110 measures 120mm x 60mm.  While it’s odd that the PB99110 is 1mm taller than the Nexus One, this is probably due to different antennas in the two devices.

Finally, test reports for both devices show that they use the same battery, model number BB99100 (below).  With these similarities in mind, we can safely conclude that it is highly likely that the HTC PB99110 and the Nexus One are the same device with support for different bands.  This should make AT&T users happy, while giving the iPhone a bit of competition on the home front.

Parking in a crowded city can be a nightmare that involves driving around in circles looking for an open stall.  Nedap has an answer for crowded cities, with their Wireless Space Count System.  This wireless system uses parking sensors, pictured above, to report how many stalls are occupied or available.

Each Wireless Space Count sensor transmits information to a central server, which can then display information to the public on signs, maps or even on mobile devices such as cell phones.  The wireless sensors are powered by an internal battery that lasts for up to 10 years.

Systems like these have already been deployed in parking lots and street stalls around the world.  San Francisco has a similar system that gives users the location of empty stalls via cell phone, while accepting payment from phones as well.

Although a city-wide wireless parking system isn’t cheap, it’s likely that city residents won’t mind playing a premium for the time that a system like this saves.  Plus, wireless sensors can be integrated with payment systems so parking cops can easily ticket drivers that aren’t feeding their meters.

Wacom’s DTU-2231A 21.5” LCD pen tablet made an appearance on the FCC recently, suggesting that the device will be making its way to the United States.  Specs of the device are already available on Wacom’s Japanese site, and include full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080, 512 levels of pressure, and cordless pen input device.

We don’t have any word on availability or pricing.  However, Wacom’s Cintiq 21UX digitizer currently sells from around $1,900, so we wouldn’t be surprised if the DTU-2231A has a price point in this area.

Keyboards, especially those that are shared between many users, can become packed with bacteria, not to mention hair, food remnants, and other unappealing waste.  The spaces between keys are difficult to clean, and really, who has the time to pop off all of the keys on a keyboard for a proper cleaning?

Enter the Cleankeys CP1AW Keyboard from Cleankeys, Inc.  This keyboard doesn’t have your traditional spring loaded keys that sit over a bacteria trap.  Instead, the Cleankeys keyboard is coated with glass or acrylic to ensure that no waste slips between keys.  The keyboard also has a small trackpad in the lower right corner, eliminating the need for a mouse.

Of course, the downside here is that you don’t get the normal feel of a clickable, spring-loaded keyboard.  Instead, the device uses touch capacitance technology that senses the touch of a human finger.  Touch capacitance technology works if you’re wearing surgical gloves, but not if you touch the keys with an inanimate object such as a pencil.  The Cleankeys keyboard also has a tap sensing mode, where any button press, including those by inanimate objects, are recorded.

Wireless and wired versions of the Cleankeys keyboard are available.  You can also select a glass or acrylic surface.  Cleankeys is targeting the keyboard at the medical market, since the Cleankeys keyboard is easily cleaned and disinfected.  However, I’d prefer to see the Cleankeys keyboard in most public environments.

Good Way Technology’s Wireless Audio Box, pictured above, made an appearance on the FCC last week.  The system consists of a USB dongle and wireless audio receiver, which enables you to wirelessly transmit audio up to 45 meters away.  The Wireless Audio Box relies on 2.4 GHz RF, and supports both Mac and Windows operating systems.

While the Wireless Audio Box isn’t revolutionary, it is a simple, easy-to-install solution that appears to be cost effective.  We wish the audio receivers were a bit smaller – they’re not exactly portable – but otherwise the Wireless Audio Box seems like a decent solution to stream music around small to medium-sized households.