Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

This isn’t your grandmother’s car anymore. Stuck in traffic and tired of staring at the guy in the car next to you picking his nose?  Well then maybe it’s time to shop for a Chrysler.  Starting in 2009, Chrysler plans to include a new in-dash system called UConnect in all of it’s vehicles.  This technology will allow Bluetooth connectivity, satellite tv, and iPod integration...a veritable rolling hotbed of communication entertainment for consumers. The Internet connection is made possible through 3G cellular connection that allows download speeds of up 800 kilobits per second, and upload speeds of 200 kbps.

Laptops, gaming systems and handheld devices all will now be able to be hooked up and online. Obviously, several safety advocates are not exactly jumping up and down waving their Wii’s in readiness, but, that doesn’t seem to be stopping the engineers at Chrysler.  (And people used to think drinking coffee while you drove was distracting....soon we’ll be brewing it!)

No price is set to date for the UConnect, but one could probably expect a monthly fee to use this option, as with the satellite radio option.

Chrysler plans to roll out their new line including the UConnect in November of 2008. They are hoping it’s going to give them a much needed kick-start with some pretty sorry sales figures as of late. Rival Ford does provide a similar system with their “Sync"… minus the web access. Asked what was able to be downloaded from the web system in the car, Chrysler’s Leung said that anything was fair game. Hold on to your hats boys...it might be quite a ride.

Via [AutoBlog]

We’ve all seen it happen time and time again. What was hot and happening even six months ago, is suddenly a dinosaur. It’s the nature of the ever-evolving technology game. Which is why industry giant Intel may just be well served by sitting up and taking note that the maker of cell-phone chips Qualcomm, just may be a major force to be reckoned with these days. 

With a latest innovation, the Snapdragon, Qualcomm packs a rather mighty punch in a tiny package. An engineer for the company demonstrated a palm-sized circuit board capable of displaying high-definition video. While a fairly high quality video image is nothing new to write home about, what did make it pretty special was it’s microprocessor chip, the Snapdragon. This micro-chip drives the display with less than half the power of a similar chip recently introduced by Intel. Qualcomm designers further sweeten the deal by saying that it will also cost less.

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Want some free WiFi?  All you have to do is a) stay within 100 feet of a Chrysler; b) be able to run fast to keep with the Chrysler or c) hang out at the Chrysler dealer where they demo this baby all day long.  Or you can pay.

Yes, Chrysler is bringing a WiFi router, dubbed UConnect Web, to their cars to help differentiate themselves in the market.  Coming supposedly this August as a dealer installed item with a $449 price tag and a $29 monthly.  The connection service is by Autonet Mobile who has apparently been offering a service like this for the rental company Avis.  How about that?

I expect Chrysler to roll this into offering diagnostics, warnings and safety fun.  I also expect this to be common place in 2 years as other makers can’t afford to lose any marketshare; especially at the hands of something people are willing to fork over cash for.

I like the sound of this.  Chrysler still makes cars huh?

Read [Wall Street Journal]

Last night I had the occasion to play around with the new crop of phones put out by the industry’s big players.  It always surprises me how quickly a phone can feel great or not so great in your hand vs staring at it on the screen.  I was shocked at how quickly I hated one of these supposedly sexy models and how much I liked one I really didn’t think I would.  Here is the run down:

HTC Touch Diamond. One word: HOT!  This little phone is very sexy and after I figured out how to turn the bugger on, it was off to the races.  The skin over the Windows Mobile OS is the best yet in terms of speed and functionality.  I’ve played with a few of these skins and this one is rather remarkable.  The screen is very responsive, and it’s tempered glass feels very high end.  It even has a tilt game with feedback as your little ball hits the obstacles.  Overall, I was very impressed with this diminutive phone and could easily see owning this one. 

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There has been a lot of hype surrounding Sony Ericsson’s newest Windows Mobile QWERTY device, the XPERIA X1. From hands on experience it seems to be really worth the wait.

Combining mobile communication functionality with remarkable multimedia features, the XPERIA has practically been the most-awaited Windows Mobile device for this year. The X1 has a whopping 3-inch wide 800 x 480 touch-screen display, an optical joystick (can you say “whoa!”), 3.2 megapixel camera, A2DP Bluetooth, aGPS, WiFi, and is expandable with microSD (it has 400MB onboard). It also has that QWERTY keyboard to take prime advantage of the Windows Mobile 6 operating system.

As a phone, it’s got quad-band GSM/EDGE, and 900/1700/1900/2100MHz UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (or 850/1700/1900/2100MHz in what must be a US-bound model).

The design is cool and very easy on the eyes. The keyboard touch and feel may flatter it a bit, as the response is not that great. All in all, there’s quite a bit of potential in the XPERIA, and people are going to be pleasantly surprised when it releases this second half of 2008.

Read [BoyGeniusReport]

Google has just introduced two enhancements to its mobile service to provide users a faster mobile search experience through a fast loading mobile homepage and better iGoogle gadget management.

First, they updated their mobile homepage to make mobile access faster than before. When users visit google.com using their mobile browser, Google will cache the homepage so that when users bookmark the homepage, they will have quicker time when loading it during their next visit. This is possible no matter where users came from, whether through the mobile browser or through Google’s mobile search plug-in.

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Popular rock band Pearl Jam and Verizon Wireless under its V Cast service have reached an agreement that will allow Verizon to sell selected tracks from the band’s long-running live bootleg program. Pearl Jam made the deal in line with its current promotional gig for their summer tour which will kicked off in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Moving forward, three tracks from each of Pearl Jam’s shows will be distributed by Verizon via its V Cast service. Likewise, Pearl Jam fans can also either purchase or download those tracks by visiting PearlJamConcerts.com. Those Pearl Jam tracks will be offered in a “dual downloads” scheme, meaning each track will be sent to fans’ mobile phone and at the same time to their computers. Incidentally, those tracks will have Verizon’s DRM system aside from being sold as ringtones and ringback tunes for mobile phones.

And to boost the sales of these Pearl Jam tracks, fans who will be buying the digital music from V Cast will have the chance to win seats to one of the upcoming shows of the band. Winning tickets will be sent to the winner’s mobile phones. The lucky fan can then show the text message at the entrance to the show’s venue.

Read [Reuters] Via [PearlJam.com]

We couldn’t help but be amused by the timing of Nokia’s release of its latest addition to the lineup, the 1508. Just when other phone manufacturers are outclassing each other with the release of new advanced features, here comes Nokia introducing a lowly, plain-jane-looking, basic handset. In fact, the 1508 is so simple that it took only a few sentences for Nokia to come up with an official press release. Or maybe it was just that we are so used to Nokia’s lengthy press releases.

Anyway, what should we expect from the Nokia 1508, a mobile phone as simple as this certainly doesn’t have that much to offer. This candy bar style handset boasts of easy keypad dialing, integrated FM stereo, high-speed data connectivity to the internet via cable, text messaging, built-in speakerphone, 3 minutes of voice recording time and memory that will let you store around 500 phonebook contacts plus 400 text messages.

Well, that pretty much sums up the Nokia 1508’s features. A simple mobile phone that can actually answer our most basic needs. Nokia expects to ship the 1508 sometime during Q3 2008 and it will be available in select CDMA markets. Pricing information is not yet available. But with a simple phone such as this, we wouldn’t expect the price to be too much.

Read [Nokia]

Yes, mobile security is becoming more of a million-dollar-worry for corporations, but what about the hundreds of dollars’ worth of songs on your iPod? Your son’s graduation photos on your digital camera when it gets lost or stolen?

A recent Reuters story details some of the new software and hardware that allows runaway consumer electronics to “phone” home via wireless connectivity; Eye-Fi SD memory cards and GadgetTrak software are mentioned. Both send data back to the original owners, and there are now-famous stories of thieves caught taking pictures of themselves using the Eye-Fi enabled cameras they stole.

I was curious about the relationship between these new security companies and law enforcement: how are police handling the advent of technologies that help them do their jobs? 

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Here we go again: a new survey about security and devices that is brought to you by a company with a vested interest in providing companies security for their devices. Nevertheless, it’s probably true that if you’re using a Blackberry cell phone, Windows Mobile phone or other smartphone for your work, you’re not using the same kinds of password protection you have for your company laptop.

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