Samsung's Ultra Editions just got slimmer

If you thought the Ultra Edition 6.9 was flimsily anorexic, you ain't seen nothing yet. The Korean giant has shaved off yet another 1mm, producing a candy bar that's 5.9mm thin. Not good enough? Well, there's its Ultra Edition 12.9 slider which, according to various reports on the Web, will emerge 2mm trimmer after a nip-and-tuck.

The Ultra Edition 5.9 may well be the slimmest candy-bar phone in the world, but it doesn't skim on the feature set. It will apparently come with a 3.2-megapixel camera, onboard music and video player, Bluetooth connectivity and 80MB of internal memory. From the images posted on the Internet, the 5.9 does not have a camera on the screen side. Thus, it's unlikely to have 3G or HSDPA onboard.

The Ultra Edition 10.9, on the other hand, takes the crown for being one of the slimmest sliders out there. Again, small doesn’t mean less here. It packs a 3.2-megapixel camera, 80MB internal memory, a music and video player, and a microSD memory card slot. Like the 5.9, the 10.9 seems to be a non-3G/HSDPA unit.

While Samsung Asia was unable to respond to our query on availability of the new phones in Asia, we do know the Ultra Edition 5.9, at least, will launch in Europe come March. Going by Samsung's usual practice of rolling out its Ultra Editions in a trio, we can expect to see a clamshell model announced before 3GSM next month, to complete the new series. An Ultra Edition 8.9 clamshell perhaps?

Note: The image shown on the left is the Ultra Edition 6.9, not the new Ultra Editions, as official images have not been released.

Suzuki's home-theater-in-a-car

Apart from the droolworthy Aston Martin DBS that Bond totaled in Casino Royale, this ride is next on our hot list. If you're a pistonhead and movie buff with pockets of spare change, Suzuki's concept XL7 Flix (a word play on flicks, geddit?) is a home-theater-in-a-car. Why go for tiny LCD panels at the back of the headrests when you can impress the hell out of your passengers by opening the clamshell roof and elevating a 60-inch projector screen? The front roof panel vents hide a high-intensity digital projection system, while the rear quarter windows swivel to create interior and exterior sound wings. It keeps getting better: Floor strip lighting for a movie-going effect, buckets seats that pivot 180 degrees, high-def DVD player with integrated hard drive for massive A/V storage. And if you want to relive the drive-in era, just aim the projection system toward the side of a building or wall. Batmobile? Ptwah!

Click to see more images:
Via Gizmag

Price: N.A.
Availability: Concept, more info at the official Web site
Device: Movie system in a car
Specs: N.A.

O2's Atom Life and Flame official pictures released

At a press briefing held in Singapore on Tuesday, O2 showcased two new PDA-phones, the Xda Flame and Xda Atom Life. Both handhelds are expected to be launched in the region within the next two months.

According to O2's country manager Low Han Thong, the Atom Life will come with support for 3G and HSDPA, and will feature a large onboard memory. CNET Asia had a look at the prototype display unit and found it came with 1GB storage memory, a miniSD card slot, QVGA display and 2-megapixel camera. A white version, targeted mainly at the female crowd, is expected to be launched at a later date. (Click here for larger images of the Xda Atom Life)

The Xda Flame, which has been circulating on the Web for a while now, is also confirmed for an Asian launch. It is expected to come with a large 3.6-inch display (VGA?), microSD slot, 2-megapixel camera (with flash) and Nvidia GPU (similar to the one deployed in Sony's PSP). Rumor is that Flame will also be equipped with 2GB of memory. (Click here for larger images of the Xda Flame)

We are expecting more incoming information from O2, so do check back for updates here. In the meantime, you can read more about O2's Xda Zinc and Graphite here.

Microsoft plugs in for digital photographers

While this is hardly considered a ground-breaking announcement, Microsoft's recent release of the Photo Info add-in for Windows should appeal to photographers who want to edit metadata on-the-fly.

The new Photo Info software is available as a free download on Microsoft's Web site. What the program does is allow the user to quickly add, change or delete metadata via a tab-browsing interface and provides additional information when you hover your mouse over the pictures. According to Microsoft, initial file formats supported include JPEG, TIFF, WDP, HDP, NEF, CR2 and CRW. No love there for Macintosh users since the add-in runs on only 32-bit versions of Windows XP SP2 and Vista operating systems.

Click here to download the software.

MoGo Dapter

Who can forget the wafer-thin, ExpressCard-compatible MoGo Mouse? Now there's a Bluetooth adapter to accompany it for good measure. The MoGo Dapter may be puny, but it's a heavyweight pretender to the title of world's smallest Bluetooth adapter. When plugged into a USB port, it extends just a wee fingernail out instead of a finger length. How's that for micro convenience? Eenie, meenie, minie, MoGo...

Via Ubergizmo

Price: US$49.99
Availability: Due out Q2 of this year, more at Newton Peripherals
Device: Bluetooth adapter
Specs: Bluetooth 2.0, supports up to seven devices, 1cm in length, 3Mbps transfer rate, 30ft range, 2dbi antenna, 39g

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