| Recall! Nokia Batteries May Experience Overheating
It seems like the fiery battery syndrome isn't restricted to just the realm of laptops. Nokia, the world's largest cell phone maker, has issued a product advisory for their BL-5C battery, because the battery may experience overheating initiated by a short circuit while charging. If this happens, which is said to be "rare", the battery will dislodge. The BL-5C battery, although Nokia-branded, is actually manufactured by Matsushita Battery of Japan. You might better know the Matsushita name through their Panasonic arm. In any case, the battery advisory applies to about 46 million of the more than 300 million BL-5C batteries produced by Matsushita, all of which were manufactured between December 2005 and November 2006. There have been about 100 reports globally to date of this problem. Interestingly, the overheating has only occurred in Nokia phones thus far.
Panasonic unveils 8.1 Megapixel camera
Panasonic today expanded its LUMIX family of digital still cameras by introducing its new LUMIX DMC-FZ18, an 8.1 Megapixel compact camera with an 18x optical zoom. A 28mm wide-angle LEICA DC lens accompanies "Intelligent Auto Mode" for face detection as well as an Intelligent Scene Selector and continuous auto-focus functionality. Similar to the entire 2007 line of LUMIX digital still cameras, the LUMIX DMC-FZ18 includes advanced countermeasures against blurring which include an Intelligent Image Stabilization system, which combines MEGA Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S.) to compensate for hand-shake and Intelligent ISO Control to detect and adjust for motion blur caused by subject movement. The new camera also features a 2.5-inch large, high resolution LCD with 207,000 pixels, a 0.44-inch Electric Viewfinder with 188,000 pixels, f/2.8 brightness and is powered by the high-performance Venus Engine III capable of shooting at ISO 1600 in normal recording mode.
Sony, 3M settle battery patent dispute
3M Co. said Monday it has reached agreement in patent settlement with Sony Corp. over the technology in a type of battery used in laptop computers and cell phones. St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M said in a statement that Sony's Sony Electronics unit is now a licensed source of lithium ion batteries containing 3M cathode technology. .
SouthWing voice-cue headset reaches AT&T
Accessory maker SouthWing this afternoon marked the US launch of the SH440 Bluetooth headset with an introduction for AT&T. The hands-free earpiece overcomes the limited interface of most headsets by providing one of the first complete voice prompt systems for the device class. Wearers are not only guided through pairing the phone by voice commands but are given quick access to battery life and other details while the phone is in use. Those on AT&T's network can issue voice commands to cue audio news and weather info or check voicemail without ever reaching for the actual phone, SouthWing says. Users can also choose from any one of twelve different ringtones, store four favourite numbers for autodialing, and lasts for either 10 hours of continuous use or two complete weeks in standby mode.
Analyst expects Apple earnings of $5.3b
Apple is likely to report revenue and earnings well above its own estimates and above Wall Street predictions for the June quarter, according to American Technology Research senior analyst Shaw Wu. The Cupertino-based company anticipated $5.1 billion in revenue with earnings-per-share of $0.66, but Wu expects $5.3 billion with earnings-per-share of $0.73 based on supply chain analysis to beat out street consensus of $5.28 billion and $0.72. "We see continued Mac strength driven by updated MacBooks and new LED-based MacBook Pros (we are modeling 1.64 million total Mac units, up 8 percent quarter-over-quarter and 24 percent year-over-year) and seasonal iPods (9.7 million units, down 8 percent quarter-over-quarter and up 20 percent year-over-year) with little signs of cannibalization from iPhone," Wu wrote in a research report obtained by MacNN.
Noise-canceling headphones shut out the world
As you may have heard, air travel this summer isn't pretty. You'll be crammed in, delayed and bumped -- if you're lucky. (If you're unlucky, your flight will just be canceled.) Fortunately, not all of this misery is out of your control. Take, for example, the noise-canceling headphones that Bose began making popular a few years ago. Until you try them, you won't believe what a difference such headphones can make. As tiny microphones monitor the mind-numbing roar around you, circuitry in the device creates a sound wave 180 degrees out of phase with the original sounds. Presto: The roar of the engines is magically subtracted from the sound that would otherwise have ground away at your well-being for six hours. You can wear them just to be more peaceful, or you can connect them to a music player, DVD player, laptop or the plane's audio system.
General Motors moves ahead with battery-powered hybrid car plans
General Motors Corp. took another step last week in its quest to develop a car that will be able to travel as far as 40 miles a day on a single electric charge. GM said it signed a contract with battery maker A123Systems Inc. to develop lithium ion batteries specifically designed to power the Volt plug-in hybrid vehicles that GM hopes to put on the market in the next few years. The battery technology used by A123Systems is potentially safer, cheaper and more durable than other designs being tested, the automaker said, which would give GM a boost over Toyota Motor Corp. and other rivals in the race to produce a viable plug-in car for the U.S. GM said it expected to start road-testing prototype vehicles powered by A123Systems' lithium ion batteries by the end of this year or in early 2008.
|
