“PSP will see a worldwide price cut this month. From March 22nd, European gamers will be able to buy a “base unit” (presumably devoid of stuff like the headphones) for 199 Euro (about 140 Pounds).US gamers will pay $199 from the end of the month, and the Japanese will pay 19,800 yen for a white unit from April 15th.During a press conference in Tokyo today, Sony boss Ken Kutaragi also talked about the company’s plans to add a PSone emulator to PSP, with “selected games” available through digital distribution to be stored on the Memory Stick. (Cynics amongst you might question the use of the word “add”, but there you go.)Although timing on that has yet to be confirmed, Kutaragi was more specific about other new services – including an EyeToy camera peripheral to attach to the USB port, which launches in September, and video voice-over-IP (in other words, video-telephony), which will be available in October. Pricing on all of that’s yet to be announced.Kutaragi also discussed some of Sony’s plans for updating PSP software this year, starting with network update to add Macromedia Flash support this, er, spring (touch wood, eh?), with extended RSS channel support also on the way to allow users to save radio content (podcasts, presumably) and movies.There was no word on previously rumoured services and hardware iterations – for example, we know no more about “Sony Mail” or the rumoured PSP with built-in hard disk – but there was news on the GPS receiver mentioned at E3 last year. It will launch this autumn and have a role in games, starting with Hot Shots Golf.An interesting year in prospect for PSP hardware, then, although – as with PS3 – there are still plenty of gaps to be filled in, presumably at this year’s E3.”
Seven ounce wrist PC runs Linux
A European embedded computing specialist has announced a wrist-worn wearable computer that runs embedded Linux or Windows CE. Eurotech’s WWPC (“wrist-worn PC”) offers a wealth of standard PC interfaces, along with several innovative wearable-specific features, the company claims. It targets emergency rescue, security, healthcare, maintenance, logistics, and “many other” applications. According to Eurotech, the WWPC integrates everything users expect of a PC, in a versatile, ergonomic form factor that supports a variety of wrist sizes. It can be worn over or under work clothes, and has flexible left- or right-handed straps that enclose dual 2-cell Li-polymer rechargeable batteries. Claimed battery life is six hours in “fully operational” mode, or eight hours under normal circumstances. Read more at linuxdevices.com
Review of GSM/UMTS handset BenQ Siemens EF81
“In terms of design, the clamshell by Siemens not at all reminds of Motorola’s products, saving for strap fastening – though its design has already been adopted from RAZR and is a standard de facto. The model’s appearance is quite fresh and is not trite, as it doesn’t look very slim when compared to Motorola RAZR, but still, Motorola V3x doesn’t seem to have vanishing depth. This impression is intensified by the handset’s width and a bit splayed, smooth corners. The best thing about this model is that the front panel is made of polished metal, so one can easily spot the texture – despite all other phones, the material, used here, is solid, you can touch it, feel even. In this regard the device follows the route of Nokia 8800. The main color of the shell is silvery, while the rear part is painted in black. It’s an unusual combination of colors, which creates certain contrast. The rear of the handset is also made of metal, but here you deal with anodized aluminum. The applied materials leave the impression of good quality and reliability of the device. All parts are well-adjusted – one won’t spot any gaps in the construction, and is this worthy of respect.” Read this review here:
Centrix MVP150 PMP focuses on GPS, plays virtually anything
Mobilemag.com has some great news about the new Centrix MVP-150!”Although Centrix is officially marketing its MVP-150 personal media player primarily for its navigational (GPS) functionality, its movie-tainment value cannot easily be dismissed. Based on the Windows CE platform, this juicy little successor to the MVP-100 we looked at last year will take just about anything you direct its way. In the video department, the MVP-150 will take on MP1, MP4, DivX, XviD, AVI, ASF and WMV7/8/9, and in the audio department, you can turn to MP2/3, WMA, AC3, ASF and (ADPCM/PCM) WAV. Unfortunately, there are a few acronyms that are notably missing, like RM, MOV, and OGG, but hey, Centrix has done an exceptional job with the level of support their PMP has.The 4-inch WQVGA (480 x 272) screen is pretty standard issue, as is the battery life at 4 hours of video or 10 hours of audio. This thing is a little beefy, however, at 305 grams. The Centrix MVP-150 is currently available, but look for the manufacturer to start providing them OEM to someone like Mpio or MobiBLU in the future.”