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Designer device due in months

A futuristic new Bluetooth headset that looks more concept that actual product is said to be due to go on sale soon.

The “Orb” wireless earpiece has a clever design that fits around the ear for use as a headset with bone conduction tech and then twists closed to be worn as a ring.

Solving the “problem” of what do you with your headset when it’s not on your ear, a “deluxe” edition of the Orb is said to get a Flexible Organic Light Emitting Device screen to display caller ID, calendar reminders, and voice-to-text info whilst on your finger.

Developed by Hybra Advance Technology and AbsolutelyNew the Orb will come in different ring sizes and is apparently due to launch in January 2010 for $129, while the deluxe version will go on sale in April for $175.

Limited edition designer models with gemstones are also mooted for future release. We will keep you posted.

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Related links:

• News – iStick concept is the stuff of dreams
• Via – Electronista

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Phones Headsets Bluetooth Jewellery OLED

Orb headset that transforms into ring revealed originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:10:47 +0100

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10-megapixel "party camera"

Among a bevy of other snappers, Fujifilm has launced the FinePix Z35, which it claims is “thinner, sexier and bolder than previous models”.

It’s a portable model, with a thickness of just 23.9mm at its thickest point. There’s a sliding lens cover, and a 10-megapixel sensor that hides behind a 3X optical zoom lens. ISO goes up to 1600, there’s face detection, and automatic scene recognition.

The back has a 2.5″ LCD screen, and the camera has a post-to-blog mode, which will let you resize any images to suitable dimensions for posting them on the web. There’s also a micro thumbnail view, which can display up to 100 images at once on the screen.

The FinePix Z35 will be available from September 2009. Pricing will be announced nearer to the date of the launch, says the company. It comes in black, blue, purple, pink, and green.

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Related links:

• News – Fujifilm launches FinePix S200EXR
• Via – Fujifilm Press Release

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Cameras Fujifilm Compact cameras 10 megapixels Digital cameras

Fujifilm launches FinePix Z35 originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:25:41 +0100

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Hands on with the new touchscreen smartphone from T-Mobile

Samsung has announced the launch of a new handset in the US called the Samsung Highlight that will be available exclusively on T-Mobile earlier in the month and we’ve managed to grab one for a hands-on photo gallery.

Like the company’s recently announced myTouch 3G handset, the new Samsung model will opt for a full touchscreen (1.61 x 2.64 inches, 240 x 400 pixels, 262k TFT) interface over a QWERTY keyboard or heavy button focus.

Running Samsung’s TouchWhiz UI, the phone will offer 3G connectivity, GPS and a 3-megapixel camera with video capture.

Coming in a choice of two colours, orange or blue, that orange is really bright up close and personal.

Lacking Wi-Fi, it will offer the standard array of music player, stereo Bluetooth, and a microSD slot for up to 16 GB of removable memory.

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Phones Mobile phones Samsung

PHOTOS: Samsung Highlight mobile phone originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:20:21 +0100

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And plans to sell BeBook reader

Book publisher and retailer Blackwell has announced the launch of its new online eBook store. The store will open with over 45,000 titles available for customers to download directly to their eBook reader or to view on their computer.

The file formats available claim to cover all major eBook readers currently available including Adobe PDF and ePUB versions. In addition, Blackwell has announced a partnership with Endless Ideas to offer the BeBook One in the UK from the beginning of August

“We’re excited to be able to offer our customers the ability to buy eBooks from blackwell.co.uk”, Jessica Armishaw, the head of online for Blackwell, said.

“Academic publishers have been quick to embrace this new technology and as such the number of academic titles available for customers is impressive and perfectly compliments our instore and online offer. While the number of trade titles is growing daily we expect our eBooks sales to grow significantly over the coming months”.

Related links:

• News – Blackwell gets Espresso book printing machine

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Software Online Websites Gadgets ebooks Blackwell Endless Ideas

Blackwell announces eBook store originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:05:13 +0100

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Due before the end of the year

The big question that everyone’s been asking Spotify since it launched, other than “how are you going to make some money?” is “when are you going to launch in the USA?”.

The Observer newspaper has revealed that founder Daniel Ek told them that he’s hiring employees and seeking office space for a launch in the US in the “third or fourth quarter” of 2009. That isn’t far off, by our reckoning, and could be timed to match the 1-year anniversary of its UK launch in October last year.

However, Ek admitted – as he has before – that his company might struggle for profitability before the end of the year. “We still hope to do that, but given the recession and so on, it might take a little longer. It may be next year”. He’s confident: “Why would I go to the US and try to get more extensive licences if I had trouble covering our costs in Europe?”.

In the States Spotify will face fierce competition from Microsoft’s yet-to-be-launched streaming music service as well as companies that operate only in the US, like Pandora. However, Spotify is still eagerly anticipated.

We’ll bring you more details of the launch when we get them.

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Audio Biz Spotify Music software Online

Spotify recruiting for US launch originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:55:33 +0100

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