Sony Ericsson Aino with Sony Remote Play and 8.1MP camera

Sony Ericsson announced earlier three new phones – Yari, Satio and Aino – that are gorgeous and easy on the eye and boast some powerful multimedia features. The SE Aino is basically a slender phone with a slider keypad and a 3-inch touchscreen display and interface. Aino will have a whopping 8.1 megapixel camera and will offer a snap-on speaker stand for audio aficionados.



A new amazing feature from Aino is the Sony Remote Play. Aino owners will be able to control their PlayStation 3 remotely from anywhere in the world they have a network connection. With a PlayTV tuner, they’ll also be able to watch, pause and record live TV from free-to-air digital TV channels.

Those without a PS3 aren’t left behind; Sony Ericsson have also announced Media Home, a sync app which pulls media data from a PC to the Aino via WiFi or when docked in the included recharging cradle. As for the wireless remote, that has sound-sensitive LEDs. The Sony Ericsson Aino will hit the market in Q4, price to be announced.

Here are more Aino pictures to drool at.








Official Sony Press Release:

Sound and vision set free with the Sony Ericsson Aino

Keep up to date with the latest videos and music on Aino. Media Go™ helps you transfer, play and organise all your music, photos, videos and podcasts from your PC simply and effortlessly to enjoy directly on Aino via Wi-Fi™. No more wires, no more searching – always the latest fun.

London, UK – May 28, 2009 – Sony Ericsson today showcases Aino. Get the best of two worlds with the keypad combined with an intuitive touch UI in media mode. An intuitive media browser gives users a clear overview and one touch direct access to their content.

Control your PLAYSTATION®3 and access its media content on your Aino anywhere, anytime using Remote Play with PLAYSTATION®3. Remote Play with PLAYSTATION®3, initially developed for PSP, enables users to control and access media content on PLAYSTATION®3 from their phone. This can be done via a local network between PLAYSTATION®3 and Aino in your home or via the internet from anywhere in the world. For TV lovers in Italy, France, Spain, Germany and in the UK users can also enjoy the PlayTV™ service on PLAYSTATION®3 via the Aino. Watch, pause and record live TV from a huge range of free channels via Aino on the go.

Aino also introduces Media Home, an application that pulls media content from Media Go™ on your PC over Wi-Fi™ to your phone automatically. Users just insert their Aino into its charging stand and it automatically synchronizes with all the latest media content on their PC. You are always ready to go with the latest content on your phone.

“Sony Ericsson has established itself as THE Communication Entertainment brand and Aino highlights our commitment to bringing the latest communication technology to the market in fun and innovative ways for consumers to enjoy,” said Alexandre Cardon, Market Business Manager at Sony Ericsson. “Media Home and Remote Play with PLAYSTATION®3 are key steps in broadening the entertainment experiences users can enjoy on their Sony Ericsson phone and gives a taste of our vision of the future.”

Watch movies on the crystal clear 3 inch screen and listen to music in superb quality and with increased freedom - thanks to the stylish Wireless Stereo Headphone MH100 and matching Charging Stand EC100 included with Aino. This powerful phone offers a full range of exciting features to support the entertainment experiences on the phones such as; an 8.1 megapixel camera, Photo flash and Clear audio experience.

Aino
Sound and vision set free

The best of both worlds: traditional keypad and touch UI in media mode
Media Home and Media Go™ - simple to take your content with you
Remote Play with PLAYSTATION®3 – control and access your PLAYSTATION®3 media content from your mobile phone
3 inch 16 million colour screen – surf the web in widescreen
Clear audio experience – listen to music in superb quality
Design matched Wireless Stereo Headphone MH100 and Charging Stand EC100
Aino supports GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS/HSPA 850/1900/2100. Aino will be available in selected markets from early Q4 in the colours Obsidian Black and Luminous White.

The Sony Ericsson Aino at a glance

Camera

8.1 megapixel camera
Up to 16x digital zoom
Photo fix
Photo flash
Video recording
Auto focus
Face detection
Image and video stabilizer
BestPic™
Geo tagging
Photo feeds
Photo light
Red-eye reduction
Send to web
Smart contrast
Touch focus
Music

Album art
Bluetooth™ stereo (A2DP)
Clear Bass
Clear Stereo
Touchscreen media player
Music tones (MP3/AAC)
PlayNow™
SensMe™
Stereo speakers
Web

Access NetFront™ Web browser
Bookmarks
Google™ search (from standby)
Web feeds
Communication

Speakerphone
Polyphonic ringtones
Vibrating alert
Video calling (main camera)
Messaging

Conversations
Email
Picture messaging (MMS)
Predictive text input
Sound recorder
Text messaging (SMS)
Instant messaging
Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync™
Design

Auto rotate
Picture wallpaper
Wallpaper animation
Entertainment

Facebook
3D games
FM radio with RDS
Java
Motion gaming
Remote Play for PLAYSTATION®3
Tracker
Video streaming
Video viewing
Walk mate
YouTube™
Connectivity

A-GPS
Bluetooth™ technology
DLNA Certified™
Google Maps™
Modem
PictBridge
Synchronisation
USB mass storage
USB support
Wi-Fi™
Organizer

Alarm clock
Calculator
Calendar
Flight mode
Notes
Phone book
Stopwatch
Tasks
Timer
Accessories

In-Box:

Aino
Battery
Battery charger
SanDisk microSD™ 8GB
Colour-matched Wireless Stereo Headphone MH100
Design-matched Charging Stand EC100
User guide
Optional:

Wireless Stereo Speakers MBS-400
Snap-on Speaker Stand MS410
Digital Photo Frame IDP-100
Facts and Figures

Size: 104 x 50×15.5 mm
Weight: 134 grams
Colours: Obsidian Black, Luminous White
Main screen: 16,777,216 True Colour TFT
Resolution: 240 x 432 pixels
Size: 3 inches
Phone memory: Up to 55MB
Memory card support: SanDisk microSD™
Talk time GSM: Up to 13 hrs
Standby time GSM: Up to 380 hrs
Talk time UMTS: Up to 4.5 hours
Standby time UMTS: Up to 367 hours
Video talk time: Up to 1 hour 40 mins
Music listening time: Up to 31 hours
Availability and versions
Networks:

Aino

GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
UMTS/HSPA 850/900/2100
Available in selected markets from early Q4 2009.

Legal

1) Facts and features may vary depending on local variant.

2) Talk and standby times are affected by network preferences, type of SIM card, connected accessories and various activities e.g. games. Kit contents and color options may differ from market to market. The full range of accessories may not be available in every market.

© Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, 2009.

Upcoming Asus G51 Gaming Notebook Revealed

Asus has been constantly on the gaming laptop limelight lately, with the monstrous W90 paving the way for 18.4-inch laptop displays. Now Asus has announced a smaller gaming notebook, the G51, to be released at Computex. This notebook is actually very similar to the Alienware gaming notebooks in terms of style, but it has a few distinct tricks up its sleeve.



The new robot looking G51 will appeal to less hardcore gamers with its smaller size, but will sport some powerful components. The Asus G51 will be available with 15.6-inch or 16-inch screens, with the following hardware to choose from.

* Intel Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad processor
* Up to 4GB of RAM
* 1GB GeForce GTX 260M video card
* Optional Blu-ray
* 2 Megapixel camera
* Dual 500GB hard drives
* White glossy shell

The G51 also has a 16:9 widescreen 15.6-inch LED backlit display and up to a terabyte of hard drive space. We don’t know how much the G51 will cost exactly, but pricing estimates fall between $1,300 and $1,500 with a release date coming sometime in July.

Zune HD Officially Available this Fall

This is the real thing, the Zune HD is coming this Fall. Microsoft officially announced it today and made all Zune hopefuls' dream into reality. The specs goes something like this: 3.3-inch, 480 x 272 OLED capacitive touchscreen display, built-in HD Radio receiver, and HD output (utilizing a new dock). Microsoft is set to feature a full multitouch screen in a 16:9 aspect ratio with TV out port on the side (apparently HDMI), and they seemed to indicate that some new touch-friendly apps and games would be headed our way. Coming in 16 and 32GB versions, the device will also support wireless syncing to your computer. Some even speculate the PMP will support 3D Xbox games, if the Zune HD will actually use Nvidia's Tegra chipset. The device will boast an IE-based, customized browser, but let's hope it won't be anything similar to Internet Explorer on Windows Mobile.



Details are also scarce concerning storage capacities, CPU performance, and other crucial numbers, but it seems like they've got more in store come E3.

Microsoft official release:

Microsoft Announces the Expansion of the Zune Entertainment Service to New Platform and Markets; Confirms New Zune HD Portable Media Player

Premium Zune digital entertainment service to be available internationally on Xbox LIVE.

REDMOND, Wash. - May 26, 2009 - Microsoft Corp. today announced the evolution of Zune, the company's end-to-end music and entertainment service, to a new platform and new markets. Zune will extend its video service to Xbox LIVE internationally this fall. This marks an important development in the Zune strategy and brings the Zune brand to more than 17 million international Xbox LIVE subscribers. In addition, Microsoft confirmed the next generation of the Zune portable media player, Zune HD. Available in the U.S. this fall, Zune HD is the first portable media player that combines a built-in HD Radio receiver, high-definition (HD) video output capabilities, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) touch screen, Wi-Fi and an Internet browser.

"The Zune music player is an integral part of the overall Zune experience, and we're proud to be growing and extending our offering beyond the device," said Enrique Rodriguez, corporate vice president of the Microsoft TV, Video and Music Business Group. "Delivering on Microsoft's connected entertainment vision, this news marks a turning point for Zune as it brings cross-platform experiences and premium video content to living rooms around the world."

Zune Service Expands to New Platform

Zune will be a premium partner in the Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace, bringing an exciting catalog of TV and film to the platform. Zune will occupy the first slot within the Xbox user interface in the Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace, exposing the Zune brand experience to millions of new consumers for the first time. At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) next week, attendees will see firsthand how Zune integrates into Xbox LIVE to create a game-changing entertainment experience.

Introducing Zune HD

Zune HD is the next iteration of the Zune device family and brings a new level of listening and viewing experiences to the portable media player category.

* Zune HD comes with a built-in HD Radio receiver so users can listen to higher-quality sound than traditional radio on the go. Users also will have access to the additional song and artist data broadcast by HD Radio stations as well as additional channels from their favorite stations multicasting in HD. If you don't like the song playing on your station's HD channel, switch to its HD2 or HD3 channels for additional programming.
* The bright OLED touch screen interface allows users to flip through music, movies and other content with ease, and the 16:9 widescreen format display (480x272 resolution) offers a premium viewing experience on the go.
* The HD-compatible output lets Zune HD customers playback supported HD video files from the device through a premium high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) audiovisual docking station (sold separately) direct to an HD TV in 720p.*
* Zune HD will include a full-screen Internet browser optimized for multitouch functionality.
* Zune HD is Wi-Fi enabled, allowing for instant streaming to the device from the more than 5 million-track Zune music store.

More information on Zune and related images is available at http://www.zune.net/press and http://www.zune.net/ZuneHD.

About Zune

Zune is Microsoft's music and entertainment brand that provides an integrated digital entertainment experience. The Zune platform includes a line of portable digital media players, elegant software, the Zune Marketplace online store, Zune Pass music subscription service, and the Zune Social online music community, created to help people discover more music. Zune is part of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division and supports the company's software-based services vision to help drive innovation in the digital entertainment space. More information can be found online at http://www.zune.net/en-us/press.

About Xbox LIVE

Xbox LIVE connects more than 17 million members across 26 countries to each other and the entertainment they love. Home of more content from one remote than can be found from any device connected to the television, Xbox LIVE is also a unified online social network bringing friends together, no matter where they are - in the living room or across the world. More information and Xbox LIVE membership can be found online at http://www.xbox.com/en-us/live.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

* Supported 720p HD video files play on the device, downscaled to fit the screen at 480 x 272 - not HD resolution. Zune HD and AV Dock, and an HDTV (all sold separately) are required to view video at HD resolution.

HD Radio™ and the HD Radio logo are proprietary trademarks of iBiquity Digital Corp.

Latest Nokia, Motorola and Samsung Handsets Heading AT&T this Year

Leakfest galore for a number of cool handsets heading AT&T this year. Leading the pack are four handsets from Nokia, followed by two from Motorola and a budget touchscreen from Samsung.

Nokia Mako, Thresher, Grouper and Snapper

The Symbian OS won’t be left out of the fray this year with AT&T. The Nokia Mako is a Symbian S60 3.2-powered device unlike anything we’ve seen from Nokia thus far. This side slider will feature a 2.6-inch QVGA screen, four row QWERTY keyboard, quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900MHz), dual-band HSDPA (850/1900MHz), 2 megapixel camera, aGPS, Bluetooth 2.0, 128MB of on-board memory, microSD expansion and a 2.5mm headset jack. That is apparently all the love S60 will be getting at AT&T this year but hit the jump for details on three mid and entry-level offerings from Nokia headed our way.

The remaining three handsets, the Thresher, Grouper and Snapper, share the same S40-based UI. They also share designs that were seemingly recycled from Motorolas of old. The Thresher is a standard slider with quad-band GSM, tri-band HSDPA, 3.2 megapixel camera, aGPS, Bluetooth 2.1, built-in compass, 140MB of on-board memory, microSD expansion and a 2.5mm headset jack. The Grouper is a flip phone that shares the tri-band HSDPA, aGPS and Bluetooth of the Thresher but drops the camera down to 2.0 megapixels, loses the compass, and lowers the on-board memory to 70MB. For those die hard PTTer’s out there, the Grouper also includes Kodiak PTT 5.2 support. Lastly, is Nokia’s more entry-level offering the Snapper. The Snapper is a flip phone with quad-band GSM, tri-band HSDPA, 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.1, AGPS, up to 70MB of on-board memory, microSD expansion, 2 megapixel camera and Kodiak PTT.








Motorola Heron and Sawgrass

Next in line are two Motorola nature inspired offerings. First up is the Android-based Heron which was first scooped back in April as the Motorola IRONMAN. From the slide, it appears as if the handset was meant to be a Windows Mobile device that was switched over to Android. The specs, which are subject to change of course, give the phone quad-band GSM, dual-band HSDPA/HSUPA, 2.6 inch QVGA screen, 3 megapixel fixed focus camera with auto-flash and aGPS. So the IRONMAN is also known as the Heron — pretty straight forward there.




Next up is the Motorola Sawgrass which apparently is the QA1 “Karma” and showed itself on the recent AT&T rebate form. The Sawgrass will sport quad-band GSM, dual-band HSDPA, 2 megapixel camera, A2DP Bluetooth, aGPS, microSD expansion up to 32GB and a full HTML browser. This handset bears a rather striking resemblance to the Motorola Somerset, which of course was formerly known as the Alexander. Even the little known specs from the Somerset/Alexander (3.5mm stereo jack, A2DP, MMC support, and a camera) line up nicely with what we know about the Sawgrass/QA1 Karma. The only piece of the puzzle that doesn’t quite fit is the camera — Alexander was supposed to sport a killer shooter but this little guy is only packing 2 megapixels.



Samsung Infinity

Last on our the deck is the Samsung Infinity. Hardly as exciting as some of the other handsets we’ve seen from this deck, the Infinity is presumably set to replace the Samsung Eternity — whose name, by the way, now looks to be a blatant lie. Spec highlights for the Infinity include quad-band GSM/EDGE and dual-band UMTS, a low-grade 3-inch touchscreen display that’s hardly on par with Sammy’s recent AMOLEDs, 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, aGPS and a 1,000 mAh battery. The Infinity will definitely make a decent affordable phone when it drops sometime in 2H.



Via: Engadget

Latest iPhone Rumor: New Specs and Launch Date Revealed

With the Palm Pre's looming release next month, it’s time for iPhone rumors and speculation to get hot and heavy. The latest and greatest — July 17 being the rumored launch date, accompanied with a lengthy list of specs. History tells us that when it comes to iPhone rumors, most guesses are a shot in the dark. So here's the buzz: The new iPhone will have double storage capacity of its predecessor at 16GB and 32GB, up from 8GB and 16GB respectively. Battery life will be 1.5 times greater and its processor will be twice as fast as the current model — though. Aesthetically, the back will be a rubberized material and the chrome bezel will disappear. Most of the list of upgrades seem minor, but some are new like a compass with Google like map combined. For the full rumored spec list, see items below.



* 32GB and 16GB storage
* $199 and $299 price points to be maintained
* 3.2-megapixel camera
* Video-recording and editing capabilities
* Ability to send a picture & video via MMS
* Discontinuation of the metal band surrounding the edge of the device
* OLED screen
* 1.5 times the battery life of the current models
* Double the RAM and processing power
* Built-in FM transmitter
* Apple logo on back will glow [please let this be a joke]
* Rubber-tread backing
* Sleeker design
* Built-in compass
* The camera, GPS, compass and Google map combined will identify photo and inform about photo locations
* Turn-by-turn directions