I’m still reeling from this KDDI phone by Naoto Fukasawa (the latest in the au design project series). The English version of the flash site has not been added, so I’m hoping one of our Japanese-speaking readers can supply more accurate details in a few hours. From what I can tell, this has an organic EL display (similar to the Sony NW-A1000 Walkman)—so that smooth top surface of the phone is one big display. This is particularly useful for using the FM radio and the rest of the audio features, because this is a music phone (50MB of memory, from what I can tell, and a miniSD card slot). It also appears to be compatible with the Yamaha NX-A01 cellphone speaker system. Flip the handset open—it’s white on the outside and black on the inside—and neon is packing a 240 x 320 TFT screen, 1.3 megapixel camera and a whole lot of other stuff I can’t translate. The neon is one of 7 new models on tap from KDDI’s au design for the spring.

 

au Design Project neon [Product Page (via mocoloco]

From Gizmodo

Linksys has released a pair of Power over Ethernet wireless network extenders that need only be tethered to a router with networking cables to receive both data and juice. While not quite as convenient as the AuraGrid that we saw at CES (which works over existing cable wiring), the WAP54GP and outdoor WAP54GPE (pictured) seem like good solutions for small offices, larger buildings, or cable-less homes with dead spots. Security is solid on these devices, with WEP, WPA, and upcoming WPA2 support via a firmware upgrade, along with MAC Address Filtering. Available immediately for what Pocket-lint claims is a pretty steep $332 for the WAP54GP and $648 for the WAP54GP, although we saw them on Newegg for $200 and $400, respectively.

More info

Engadget

Taiwan’s Okwap, famous for their Hello Kitty cellphone, appears to have come up with an answer to the age-old dilemma of forgetting which phone number you’ve given your wife, and which one is for, you know, those other calls. Just pick up a matching set of the company’s H133 phones, one clad in white and sporting a halo, the other in black and featuring horns. We’ll leave the decision about which number to give to which parties up to you.

more info

Engadget.com

This is a handy little device. It lets you grab the image from your cellphone or PDA and link it to a PC. From there, it’s PowerPoint heaven, I guess. Or you could just show everyone the blurry rock concert photos you’ve been collecting all these months. In any case, the Project-a-Phone is essentially a stand and a miniature camera. Displays up to 800×600 screen resolution, and 30 frames per second. Weighs 1.2 lbs., costs $199.

Product Page
Link Any Mobile Device to a PC with Project-a-phone [MobileBurn]

From Gizmodo

Xplore Technologies, makers of ruggedized devices for industrial applications, has just announced one of the first Tablet PCs that we’ve seen to feature both an active digitizer and finger touch input. The DualMode AllVue Tablet PC iX104C2DV (one of the worst model numbers we’ve ever come across, which is saying a lot in the electronics industry) sports a Pentium M processor buzzing along at 1.1GHz (don’t hate- remember that it’s an M), 400MHz system bus, 256MB RAM, and a 10.4-inch XGA LCD. The dual mode input method was designed for easy in-vehicle access to certain functions while still allowing precise data input in the field, and the AllVue screen promises enhanced viewability in direct sunlight. Although the iX104C2DV is available immediately, we couldn’t find a price anywhere, which probably indicates that it’s out of our price range.

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Xplore adds EV-DO to their iX104 Tablet PC

 

Xplore is continuing its shady product naming and ruggedized Tablet PC design ways with a new EV-DO equipped iX104 model in the works. We just spied it at the FCC site, so no word on availability, but we’re sticking with our story yesterday that the industry and military targeted iX104 probably doesn’t go cheap, double true with EV-DO.

More info 

From Engadget

Belkin is jumping on the wireless USB bandwagon with this four-port hub. That’s right, it’s packing wireless USB, letting you roam free with any USB device. Using Motorola spinoff Freescale’s Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, this hot connection gives you data rates that are a hundred times faster than Bluetooth. So imagine, you walk into a room with your notebook, plug in the wireless USB dongle and you’re instantly connected to that USB hard drive you have stashed under the desk. No wires, no muss, no fuss. We saw this device in a demo at CES (it’s similar to the one from Ripcord that I told you about earlier), and besides that, it actually works and has an attractively-designed form factor, too. You’ll have to wait until early spring of this year to give it a try, and when it ships Belkin says it will cost $129.99.

Press release [Belkin]

From Gizmodo