Samsung Pixon 12 M8910: Snap-happy 12-megapixel touch-screen phone

Less than a week after the Sony Ericsson Satio officially launched as the first 12-megapixel phone, Samsung has announced the equally specced Pixon 12 M8910.

According to Akihabara News, the M8910 will arrive in Europe in June. It will boast a resolution bump from the original 8-megapixel Samsung Pixon, which some users reckoned was basically an 8-megapixel Tocco.

The M8910 features a 3.1-inch AMOLED touch screen. Camera functions include touch-based focus, allowing you to tap on the screen to select what you want to focus on. Samsung describes a fast-saving feature, which is designed to allow you to take the next picture quickly rather than waiting the full amount of time for the phone's brain to wrestle with each dozen-megapixel image.

It also includes a 28mm wide-angle lens and Xenon flash. In addition to stills, the M8910 shoots 720x480-pixel video at 30 frames per second. Which all sounds great, but we'll wait until we've had a hands-on and seen some test shots before we get really excited--after all, there's still the matter of that tiny little phone-size image sensor.

With HSPA and built-in Wi-Fi, you'll get instant upload to Facebook, Flickr, Photobucket, and the like. According to reports, it'll pack quad-band GSM/EDGE, dual-band UMTS/HSPA, Bluetooth and GPS.

Vampiric nerdlings will cower at your floating Bluetooth speakers

Sounds like the future...

While all those pale suckers are indoors playing around with their video games, you could be enjoying the summer heat, lounging in a pool, and aquadancing to your favorite jams with Elima, a Bluetooth speaker designed to make your summer days even brighter.

This little orb packs in a pair of 2-watt speakers on both sides, providing you with stereo sound while it floats around in your pool. You can connect any Bluetooth device with A2DP/AVRCP and stream music from up to 30 feet away. If a call comes in while you're lounging, the Elima will automatically pause your track and pick up the call through the speakers, and all the controls you need to change tracks and lower/raise the volume are seated directly on top of the circle.

Get one now for $40 and don't forget to show off your golden tan to your milky roommates as you walk in the door.

GreatCall unleashes the Jitterbug J

There's a new Jitterbug in town, and it's called the Jitterbug J. Made by Samsung, the Jitterbug J is the successor to the original Jitterbug Dial, which if you'll recall was the phone we dubbed as friendly to seniors thanks to its easy-to-use controls and large backlit buttons.

Now it seems GreatCall, the company behind the Jitterbug, wants to expand its market to include everyone, not just the elderly. If you want a phone that looks and feels like a plain old telephone, no matter your age, then GreatCall is hoping the Jitterbug J will fit your needs.

The Samsung Jitterbug J still maintains that same user-friendly design as on the Jitterbug Dial, with the rubber cushion earpiece, the familiar dial tone when you open it up, and the large text on the screen. But it now includes more advanced features like text messaging and Bluetooth support. It also has an upfront speakerphone button, easier screen navigation, and several ring tone options. GreatCall is also planning to introduce a MyCalendar service that lets you access appointments on the MyJitterbug.com Web site, and your phone can be updated with a view or an event reminder.

The company has also introduced more affordable rate plans for as low as $14.99 a month for the most basic monthly plan (50 anytime minutes). This is good news, but not if you want to use any of the other Jitterbug services. Each text message costs 10 cents, and premium voicemail costs $3 a month.

Other premium Jitterbug services include 24-hour operator services that will help you manage your phone book plus make calls for you (each operator-assisted call will take away five minutes from your allotted minutes in addition to the length of the call); handset replacement insurance; a 24-hour health care advisory called LiveNurse; and 24-hour roadside assistance. These premium services will cost you --the LiveNurse is $4 a month, the roadside assistance is $4 a month, and the handset replacement insurance is $4 a month. There is a Jitterbug Complete Care package that lets you get all three for $9 a month, a savings of $3 a month.

Each Jitterbug J will cost you $147, which is pretty expensive, but there's no contract required. We have a full review of this coming up soon, so stay tuned.

iPhone app to remotely control your Canon dSLR

Still longing for a decent camera on your iPhone? All you need's an app and a Canon dSLR and the dream is yours. Well, not exactly, but OnOne Software's DSLR Camera Remote application lets your iPhone or iPod Touch control most Canon dSLRs going back circa the 20D.

Announced in mid-May but available now, the system is a combination of two pieces of software: the free DSLR Camera Remote Server application, which runs on a Wi-Fi-enabled host computer, and either DSLR Camera Remote Professional ($19.99 with an introductory price of $9.99) or DSLR Camera Remote Lite ($1.99), both of which are available via iTunes or the iPhone App Store. Basically, you tether the camera to the host system and use the iPhone/iPod to communicate with the camera via the computer over Wi-Fi.

The Lite version looks pretty bare bones: it can fire the shutter, show the image, and tell you battery status and number of photos remaining. The pro version supports Live View (assuming the camera does); lets you adjust shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation, ISO, and white balance; choose quality; and zoom during review. It also adds intervalometer capability.

According to the company's blog, "For those of you who are Nikon shooters and are wondering 'Hey, why is this Canon only?' the answer is: 1. Because most of us here have Canon cameras; and 2. This is our first iPhone app and we're not sure how well it will be received." So if you want a version for your Nikon, Olympus, Sony, Pentax, or other model, head over there to request it.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10253307-1.html

The Toshiba NB250-310 Netbook can charge USB gadgets all the time.

(Credit: Toshiba)

The Netbook arena keeps growing, but it's a good thing new features sprout up once in a while to keep our attention going. Toshiba's NB205 line of Netbooks are on their way to the U.S., in two different form-factor flavors: one for lovers of flat-keyboarded black machines, and a slightly slicker model with raised keys and bright colors.

What makes them truly notable notebooks, however, is their inclusion of a sleep-and-charge USB port. Available on other Toshiba models of laptops, the port can charge USB devices even when the Netbook is turned off. This is a great idea: it turns your dormant Netbook into a makeshift backup battery for your travel gear. It's a good thing, then, that the NB205 comes with a six-cell battery standard instead of a three-cell, because if you're like we are at an airport, you're going to use that sleep-and-charge quite a bit.

The NB205's specs are otherwise Netbook-standard: an Intel N280 processor (slightly faster than the more common N270), 1GB DDR2 RAM expandable to 2GB, 160GB HD, Windows XP, a 10.1-inch TruBrite LED-backlit LCD, and 802.11 b/g wireless. There's also a 2-in-1 memory card slot and an RGB port for display connection. Packed with a six-cell battery, the NB205 weighs 2.9 pounds. There's also a built-in hard-drive impact sensor included in all models.

For a difference of 50 dollars, two configurations are available, with Bluetooth available in the NB205-310, but otherwise identical internal specs. The NB205-210, priced at $350, only comes in black and has a full flat keyboard. The NB205-310 is $400, but has a metallic finish, comes in four different colors (Sable Brown, Frost White, Posh Pink, and Indigo Blue), and has a raised "chiclet" keyboard in the style of the MacBook. The touchpads in both models promise to be "laptop-size," and from the photos, they look more than ample.

The NB205 line is Energy Star 5.0 compliant.

T-Mobile goes retro with Samsung T239

T-Mobile's newest prepaid phone would have fit in a couple of years ago, but we have to say that it looks a bit dated today. Indeed, the new Samsung SGH-T239 sports a signature slider design that we've seen many times before. The trim handset is fairly ordinary, but you can choose between gray and maroon models.

Its features include Bluetooth, text and multimedia messaging, a personal organizer, instant messaging, a VGA camera, a wireless Web browser, and a speakerphone. The T239 is $59.99

Android monitors your power readings while you do dishes

This is one of those, "well I didn't really need this, but the fact that this is even possible is pretty frakking cool" stories.

From Moto Labs, those same wacky guys who brought us the Scalable Multitouch display, comes the DIY Android Home Energy Monitor (or AHEM, as in "ahem, look at my clever acronym").

The AHEM can use an average wireless network to track your utility readings and post them on your Google home page. Here's how it works. Wireless Webcams take pictures of the ever-changing dials on the user's utility meters.

How it all works. These guys are quite the talented scientists...and artists. Damn them.

(Credit: Moto Labs)

A motherboard called a BeagleBoard running Android and the AHEM custom applications pushes the pictures up to a designated Flickr photo set.

The AHEM application transcribes the reading numbers into your Flickr image tag. Then, Moto Labs' Google Gadget will automatically chart meter activity on your Google home page.

Check out the site to see all you need to get started and get step-by-step instructions on how to set the whole thing up.