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  TECHNOLOGY GALLERIES

  Manifest Technology Blog -- Site: | Articles | Galleries | Resources | DVI Tech | About | Site Map |
    Galleries: | Video Editing Software | DVD Authoring Software | Cameras | Camcorders |
                        | Media Players - iPod / iPhone | Handheld Devices | Mobile Comm - Smartphone Apps |
                        | Portable Storage | Audio Accessories | Power Accessories | Peripherals |

Handheld Devices Gallery - Multi-Function Players -- OLD

E-Book Readers, Handheld Games, Satellite Radio

    by Douglas Dixon


  The 2000s Mobile Digital Revolution:
        Cell Phones to Smartphones, Walkman to Media Players, CD to Flash to Web Services

  Historical perspective on some interesting technology and trends in digital home media.
  They include some sample products illustrating these trends.
  Information and pricing are summarized from public sources as of when they were added,
  and may be incorrect or out of date.

   


E-Book Readers

Electronic books and magazines, E-Ink displays


Sony Reader Digital Book (OLD)


Sony Reader Wi-Fi

  • 6" E Ink Pearl with Clear Touch Infrared Technology, 600 x 800 16 level gray scale
  • Formats -
    • DRM Text : ePub (OPS v2.0, .epub file extension, Adobe DRM protected), PDF (PDF v1.6 or before, .pdf file extension, Adobe DRM protected)
    • Image : JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP
    • Unsecured Audio : Unsecured Audio: MP3 (Non encrypted), AAC (Non encrypted)
    • Unsecured Text : ePub, PDF, TXT
  • 6 7/8 x 4 3/8 x 3/8 inches, 5.9 oz
  • PRS-T1BC - $149 (11/11)

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OLD - Sony Reader Pocket Edition - 5" (8/09)

    Find the Sony Reader Pocket Edition on Amazon.com

OLD - Sony Reader Touch Edition - 6", touch (8/09)

  • 6" touch screen, 800 x 600, 8 level gray scale
  • 6.9 x 4.8 x .4 in., 10.1 oz.
  • $299 - PRS-600SC

    Find the Sony Reader Touch Edition on Amazon.com

OLD - Sony Reader Daily Edition - 7.1", wireless (~ 1/10)

  • 7.1" touch screen E Ink Vizplex display,
    600 x 1024, 16 level gray scale
  • Portrait or landscape (2 pages), Touch screen navigation
  • Fully readable in direct sunlight, high contrast ratio
  • Free 3G wireless access
    HSPA, UMTS, Edge, and GPRS data services (850 and 1900 MHz)
  • Up to 1.6 GB onboard memory user available ), ~ 1000 e-books
  • Dual memory card expansion slots:
    Memory Stick Duo and SD Card up to 32 GB
  • Rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery
    12,000 (ePub) Continuous page turns
    Up to 7 days with wireless, 2 1/2 weeks with wireless off
  • 8-1/8 x 5 x 19/32 in., 12.75 oz. (0.6 in. thin)
  • $399 - PRS-900BC
  • Wireless access to Sony Reader Store and Google Books
  • Reader Library software for PC and Mac, Transfer titles via USB
  • Built-in New Oxford American Dictionary; Six adjustable font sizes
  • Freehand notes and highlight sections of text with included stylus
  • Notes and search with virtual keyboard
  • DRM Text: ePub (Adobe DRM protected), PDF (Adobe DRM protected)
  • Image: JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP
  • Unsecured Audio: MP3 (Non encrypted), AAC (Non encrypted)
  • Unsecured Text: ePub, PDF, TXT, RTF, Micrsoft Word, (Conversion on PC)

Sony Reader Digital Book (10/08)

    Find the Sony Reader on Amazon.com

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Samsung E6 and E101 E-book Readers - 6" & 10", Stylus (early 2010)

  • Built-in electromagnetic resonance (EMR) stylus pen
    • Handwrite and annotate directly on display
    • Prevents mistypes by hands and objects that graze screen surface
    • Variety of pen and eraser thicknesses for drawing and writing
  • Charge four hours, use for two weeks
  • Wireless and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g - download and share certain content
  • Bluetooth 2.0
  • 2 GB flash memory, storing more than 1,200 books or 24,000 memos
  • Google content
  • PR 1/10 - www.samsungusanews.com/index.jsp?menu=post&post=4203
  • E6 6" $399, E101 10" $699, early 2010

Audiovox - RCA Lexi eReader - 6" (~ 5/2010)

  • 6" E Ink display, 800 x 600, 16-level gray scale, 2GB storage,
  • Content exclusively though Barnes & Noble
  • Sync with PC / Mac - Barnes & Nobles Desktop Reader software
  • Adobe Reader Mobile for PDF and ePub formats
  • Rechargeable battery, 7,000 page turns
  • PR 1/10 - http://audiovox2.info/docs/voxx_corp/other/VOXXeReaderFINAL.pdf
  • Expected May 2010, $229

Spring Design Alex - Dual Screen Android eReader - Video (~ 2/2010)

  • Full color 3.5” touchscreen LCD screen
    for web browsing, 320 x 480, 16-bit color
  • 6” E-ink EPD screen (electronic paper display)
    for printed pages and text, 600 x 800, 8 gray scale
  • Or view on two screens simultaneously
  • Browse entire Web, search with virtual keyboard
  • Google Android platform - download apps
  • WiFi b/g and 3G, EVDO/CDMA and GSM
  • Download Adobe ePUB format digital books, Google Books
  • Adobe ePUB/PDF/DRM standard, .txt or HTML
  • Images, videos, music, documents
  • MP4 or Flash videos, MP3 media player - speakers, earphones
  • 2 GB internal flash, Removable SD card
  • Read offline up to two weeks
  • 8.9 x 4.7 x 0.4 in., 11 oz.
  • www.springdesign.com
  • PR 1/10 - Announce - www.springdesign.com/us/...
  • Available 2/2010 - $359

Plastic Logic QUE - 10.5", proReader for business professionals (~ 4/2010)

  • Shatterproof plastic display, E Ink Vizplex technology
  • 10.5 in. touchscreen, 944 x 1264, 150 ppi, 8 gray levels
  • Download wirelessly, Wi-Fi b/g and AT&T 3G network
  • Send documents from BlackBerry smartphone via Bluetooth
  • QUE store powered by Barnes & Noble
  • Native: PDF, ePub, TXT documents; GIF, JPEG, PNG, BMP images
  • Host conversion: Office documents (Word, PowerPoint, Excel), HTML, PDF
  • 8.5 x 11 x 0.3 in.,17 oz. (pad of paper)
  • http://www.plasticlogic.com
  • http://www.QUEreader.com
  • PR 10/09 - Announce - http://www.plasticlogic.com/news/pr_quepremier_oct192009.php
  • QUE WiFi - 4 GB, Up to 35,000 documents, $649 [due April 2010]
  • QUE 3G (& WiFi) - 8 GB, Up to 75,000 documents, $799

Skiff Reader - 11.5", Metal foil e-paper (later 2010)

  • Skiff (formerly FirstPaper)
  • Partners: Hearst Corporation, LG Display. Marvell silicon, Sprint Nextel wireless
  • Skiff Service: Specializes in newspaper and magazine content, also books and blogs
  • LG metal-foil e-paper display - Rugged thin, flexible sheet of stainless-steel foil
    • Silicon thin-film-transistors (TFT) on flexible stainless-steel substrate
  • 11.5 in. display (292.1 mm), 1200 x 1600, 174 ppi
  • Full touchscreen: Finger and stylus operation
  • Magnesium housing: Shatter-proof, crack-proof
  • 3G wireless, WiFi - Skiff service and Skiff Store
  • Built-in speaker, 3.5 mm standard audio jack
  • USB 2.0, mini-USB port for sideloading content
  • 4 GB Internal (with 3+ GB available for content)
  • Expandable SDHC 2.0 standard compliant SD-card slot
  • Marvell CPU processor
  • Rechargeable high-capacity Lithium Ion battery
    • One week life (thousands of page turns
      with periodic wireless use)
    • Recharge 2 to 3 hrs
  • 9 x 11 x 0.268 in. (228.6 x 279.4 x 6.8 mm),
    17 9/16 oz (498 g.)
  • www.skiff.com
  • Available for purchase later this year from Sprint

Pixel Qi - Dual-mode display - E-Reader grayscale and color video (2010)

Pixel Qi ("chee")

  • Fabless ASIC company that specializes in screens; The screen is just a big ASIC chip
  • New class of screens - Both E-Reader grayscale reflective and color video backlit LCD
  • Rival best epaper displays, with fast video rate update (refresh), fully saturated color
  • Read text (e-mail, code, Web site) without wasting battery power on backlight
  • First product is 10.1" screen, for mini-laptops, multitouch tablets, ebook readers
    • LCD mode 1024 by 600, reflective mode triples resolution to 200 dpi
  • Uses 1/2 to 1/4 the power of regular LCD screen
  • Low pricing, use standard LCD manufacturing materials and processes.
  • See IEEE Spectrum Winner 1/10 - http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/hardware/winner-pixel-qis-everywhere-display
  • pixelqi.com

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Portable Game Systems (OLD)

Add Movies + Personal Media


1/10 - Nintendo sales through 2009 (life-to-date worldwide unit shipments)

  • Nintendo DS line - 125 million hardware (DSi 16.4 M), 688 million software
    • Passed GameBoy (total 118.69 M units) as Nintendo largest selling videogame hardware
  • Nintendo Wii - 67 million hardware, 510 million software
    • Best selling Nintendo home videogame console of all time
    • Passed Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) - total 61.91 million units)
  • Forecast Apr 09-Mar 10
    • Wii - 20 million hardware, 192 million software
    • Nintendo DS line - 30 million hardware, 150 million software
  • http://press.nintendo.com/articles.jsp?id=22048

11/09 - Gaming System Hardware - November 2009 US Sales (NPD Group)

  • Nintendo DS 1.7 M, Nintendo Wii 1.26 M, Microsoft Xbox 360 819.5 K
  • Sony PlayStation 3 710.4 K, Sony PSP 293.9 K, Sony PlayStation 2 203.1 K
  • Nintendo was more than half of all video game systems sold in the U.S. through Nov. in 2009 (Nintendo)

1/09 - Total units sold: 96 M Nintendo DS, 50 M  Sony PSP, 30 M Apple iPhone / iPod touch (4/09 - Engadget)

Nintendo DS

  • 4/09 - Nintendo has sold 75 million DS units since launched in 2004 (CNBC)
  • 4/09 - Nintendo sold 600,000 DSi units across North America and Europe 
        during first few days of availability (GameDaily)
        DSi has sold over 2 million units in Japan since on sale in Nov 2008

Sony PSP

  • 3/10 - 60 million total units sold worldwide, North America 17 million sales since 2005 N. Am. release
  • 6/08 - 41 million units sold
  • 3/07 - 25 million hardware units sold, 100 million software title units worldwide

Nintendo 3DS (due 3/11)

  • Top 3DScreen: 3.53 inch widescreen LCD display, 3D view without glasses;
    • 800x240 resolution (400 per eye for 3D)
  • Bottom Touch Screen: 3.02-inch LCD, 320x240, touch screen.
  • One inner camera + two outer cameras 640x480 (0.3 PM)
  • Stereo speakers to left and right of top screen
  • Nintendo 3DS Game Card: 2 GB Max. at launch
  • Lithium ion battery details TBA.
  • Parental controls similar to the Nintendo DSi
  • Succeeds the Nintendo DS series
  • 5.3 x 2.9 x 0.8 in. (closed), 8 oz
  • PR 6/10 - E3 Announcement -
      http://e3.nintendo.com/press-release/
  • http://e3.nintendo.com/3ds/
  • To be released in Japan Feb.y 26, 2011 - 25,000 yen ~ $300
  • Wireless Communication: 2.4 GHz band
    • Multiple Nintendo 3DS systems connect via local wireless
    • IEEE 802.11 with WPA/WPA2
    • Exchange and download while in sleep mode
  • Game Controls: Touch screen, embedded microphone,
    • A/B/X/Y face buttons, + Control Pad, L/R buttons, Start and Select buttons
    • "Slide Pad" for 360-degree analog input
    • one inner camera, two outer cameras
    • motion sensor, gyro sensor.
  • Other Input Controls:
    • 3D Depth Slider to adjust level of 3D effect (or off)
    • Home button to call system function, Power button
    • Wireless switch to turn off wireless communications
    • Telescoping stylus 4 inches fully extended
  • Input/Output:
    • Port for Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS game cards, SD memory card slot
    • AC adapter connector, charging cradle terminal, stereo headphone output jack.

Nintendo DS

  • Dual-screen handheld game console, clamshell design
  • Two 3 LCD screens, bottom touchscreen
  • "More than a game system, more of a personal tool to enrich our daily lives"
  • 04 US - Nintendo DS
  • 6/06 US - Nintendo DS Lite - Slimmer and lighter, brighter screen
  • 4/09 US - Nintendo DSi - Larger screens, thinner, cameras, SD card

Nintendo DSi (4/09)

  • Larger 3.2 in. screens
  • Thinner, slightly longer (74.9 x 137 x 18.9 mm), matte finish
  • Two VGA / 0.3 MP cameras, interior hinge points towards user, exterior shell
  • Audio player: Music player (AAC , not MP3) - adjust speed and pitch, apply filters
        Voice recorder - Modify 10sec. sound clips, apply to songs
  • Camera software: Apply lens effects to photos
        View photo albums and slideshows, edit photos, Trade wirelessly
  • Web browser, DSi Shop - games and applications, Prices free to $8, max $20
  • ARM9E 133 MHz CPU, 16 MB RAM, 256 MB internal Flash memory
        Upgradable firmware
  • SD/SDHC expansion card slot (not Game Boy Advance)
  • Battery life lower,  9 - 14 hours
  • 4/09 US - $169/$149, blue or black
  • Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_DSi
  • www.nintendodsi.com

   Find the Nintendo DSi on Amazon.com


Nintendo DS Lite (6/06) / DS (04)

Nintendo DS Lite (6/06)

  • Slimmer and lighter, brighter screen (4 levels)
  • Adjusted buttons and indicators, longer and thicker stylus
  • 133 x 73.9 x 21.5 mm (5.2 x 2.9 x 0.85 in.), 218 grams
  • 6/06 US - $129

   Find the Nintendo DS Lite on Amazon.com

Nintendo DS (04)

  • Dual-screen handheld game console, clamshell design
  • Two 3 in. TFT LCD screens, 256 x 192, 
        bottom touchscreen, fingers or included stylus
  • Stereo speakers, built-in microphone
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 to interact with near-by players
        online with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service
  • Two ARM processors, 67 MHz +33 MHz co-processor, 3D rendering
  • 4 MB RAM, 256 KB Serial Flash Memory
  • Proprietary game card ROM, up to 256 MB, some small save memory
        Backwards compatible with Game Boy Advance cartridges
  • Battery about 10 hours
  • 5.85 x 3.33 x 1.13 in., 9.7 oz.
  • Released North America 11/04 - $149, 8/05 $129
  • Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_DS
  • www.nintendo.com/ds

Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP)


  • Handheld gaming machine 
  • 2005 - PSP system launch
    12/06 - PSP-1000 launch
    9/07 - PSP-2000 - slimmer and lighter, video out
    11/08 - PSP-3000 - enhanced display, microphone
    10/09 - PSPgo (PSP-N1000) - smaller - flash memory, no UMD
  • Compare - www.us.playstation.com/PSP/Systems/Compare

Sony PSPgo (PSP-N1000) (due 10/09)

  • 6/09 - due 10/09 - $249, Piano Black and Pearl White
  • Smaller and lighter
  • No UMD disc drive -- adds 16 GB flash memory
        Plus Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion
  • 3.78 inch display, 480 x 272, (16:9)
        full-transparent, TFT, 16M colors
  • Sliding Display Panel -
        Clock, calendar, video, music when closed
        Familiar PSP button control when open
  • Game sleep - XMB (XrossMediaBar) while play pauses
  • Bluetooth 2.0- Connect to standard peripherals,
        headphones, head-set, PS3 wireless controller
  • 4.8 x 2.6 x 0.6 in. (128 x 16.5 x 69 mm),
    158g / 5.56 oz (including internal battery)

  Find the Sony PSPgo on Amazon.com

Sony PSP-3000  (11/08)

    Find the Sony PSP-3000 on Amazon

  • New enhanced display, high contrast ratio, response time, wider color gamut
  • built-in microphone for games
    with voice input, Skype phone calls
  • 4.3 inch display, 480 x 272, (16:9) full-transparent, TFT, 16M colors
  • Read-only UMD drive
  • Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion memory
  • 6.7 x 2.9 x 0.9 in. (169.4 x 18.6 71.4 mm?),
  • 6.7 oz / 189 g (including battery pack)
  • 8/08 - $199

PSP Specifications (PSP-3000 -> PSPgo)

  • PSP CPU (1-333 MHz), 64 MB memory, Memory Stick Micro (M2) slot
  • Stereo speakers, built-in microphone for games with voice input, Skype phone calls
  • Analog Video Out / headset connector - Now supports interlaced (was only progressive)
  • Wi-Fi wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11b)
        Infrastructure mode + Ad hoc mode (connects up to 16 consoles)
  • Web browser (Flash content), Internet radio, RSS feeds (streaming audio and video), Skype phone calls
        Remote play (access PS3),  Sony LocationFree (watch live TV)
        PlayStation Network - PlayStation Store to buy and download games and content
  • High Speed USB 2.0 (mini-B)
  • Controls: Directional buttons (up/down/right/left), Analog stick;  Action buttons (triangle, circle, cross, square)
        Start, Select, PS button; Power/Hold switch, WLAN switch; Display, Sound, Volume (+/-) buttons
  • Video: Memory Stick Video Format: MPEG-4 Simple Profile (AAC LC), H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Main Profile (AAC LC)
        MP4 Format: MPEG-4 Simple Profile (AAC LC), 
            H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Main Profile - CABAC only - (AAC LC) / Baseline profile (AAC LC)
        AVI: Motion JPEG (Linear PCM or µ-Lau)
  • Music: Memory Stick Audio Format: ATRAC3 / plus, MP3, MP3 (MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer3), MP4 (MPEG-4 AAC), 
        WAVE (Linear PCM), WMA (Windows Media Audio 9 Standard Only)
  • Photo: JPEG, TIFF, BMP, GIF, PNG
  • Power: Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery pack, AC adaptor, USB power supply
  • AC adaptor, DC IN 5V, DC OUT, Battery pack (1200mAh)

PSP Product History

Sony PSP-2000  (9/07)

  • 33% lighter, 19% slimmer (280 to 189 g, 23.0 to 18.6 mm)
        169.4 x 71.4 x 18.6 mm, 189g / 6.7 oz
  • Video-out port (progressive)
  • Temporarily store game data from UMD, reducing load time during game play
  • Charge through USB cable during data transfer
  • Memory Stick PRO Duo slot ?
  • Colors: Piano Black, Ceramic White, Ice Silver

    Find the Sony PSP-2000 on Amazon.com

Sony PSP-1000 (12/06)

  • 333 MHz CPU, 32 MB
  • 16:9 Wide screen TFT LCD,  4.3 in., 480 x 272, 16 M colors
  • Memory Stick: MP4 video, MP3 and ATRAC3plus audio, JPEG photos
  • IEEE 802.11b (Wi-Fi), ad-hoc networking to up to 16 PSPs, Internet
  • USB 2.0, Memory Stick Duo, Infrared Port
  • 6.7 x 2.9 x .9 inches, 280 g / .62 lbs
  • Removable battery, 4 to 6 hours
  • $199, $249
  • PSP Media Manager software, $19, www.sonymediasoftware.com

    Find the Sony PSP-1000 on Amazon.com

PSP - Universal Media Disc (UMD)

  • 1.8 GB, caddy
  • Prerecorded content: Games, UMD Movies $19-29
  • 2.36 in. / 60 mm diameter, red laser

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Satellite Radio - SIRIUS and XM


SIRIUS Satellite Radio

www.sirius.com

XM Satellite Radio

www.xmradio.com

  • Monthly subscriptions from 70 plus channels starting at $12.95
  • SIRIUS: Also Internet radio access, or $6.99 additional 
  • Plans for live traffic and marine weather service.
  • Removable radios and base stations for home or office use 
  • Position an antenna with a clear view of the sky 
  • Adding terrestrial repeaters in major cities 
        Extend digital signal into buildings, and for mobile use.

Sirius Stiletto 100 (winter 06)

  • Only plays recorded music -- can't extract music to a computer
  • Mark songs to purchase later via the Yahoo! Music Engine.
  • Includes WiFi for SIRIUS Internet Radio
  • Holiday 06 - $349, 2 GB memory, 100 hours live programming

 

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