No Office Mobile on the WM6-upgraded i600

Samsung i600 users waiting to upgrade their handhelds to the Windows Mobile 6 (WM6) operating system may be in for a slight disappointment. Apparently, the Korean mobile phone maker will not be bundling the Office Mobile application in the WM6 software upgrade. According to Samsung, the i600 will continue to use the Picsel Viewer application for viewing Office documents.

When the Windows Mobile 6 OS was launched earlier this year, one of its main enhancements in the Standard Edition (for smart phones) was the inclusion of Office Mobile. Unlike viewing applications such as Picsel Viewer, Office Mobile offers users the ability not only to view Office files, but also to allow editing of Word and Excel documents on the handheld.

We aren't sure why Samsung has decided not to include Office Mobile in its WM6 upgrade for the i600 or if it will offer Office Mobile as an optional addon. Meantime, we're awaiting the company's response to our questions, and will keep you posted on updates.

Sony Alpha 700 makes landfall in Singapore

It took its time all right. Sony's second dSLR will be hitting retail shelves on the island republic by October 19. While the first Alpha 100 was aimed at amateurs, Mr Keiichi Ishizuka, deputy senior general manager for Sony's Digital Imaging Business, stated that the Alpha 700 is targeted directly at both semi-professionals and professionals.

Yet, the new Alpha makes a weak cousin to full-on professional systems like Canon's EOS 1Ds Mark III and Nikon's D2Xs. In order to face up to these heavy armaments, Ishizuka disclosed that Sony is already on the warpath with a more powerful flagship model though he did not specific a timeline for its debut.

The Alpha 700, which is manufactured in Sony's Minokamo factory in Japan, will be available at the following prices:

Alpha 700 camera body: S$2,199

Alpha 700 camera body plus 18-70mm kit lens: S$2,399

Alpha 700 camera body plus Carl Zeiss16-80mm kit lens: S$3,399

Philips turns heads again with new media player

Our infatuation with all things Philips has spanned a broad range from land-line phones and iPod speakers to dirt-free mice and giraffe-necked laptops, with an occasional remote thrown in for good measure (It should be noted that this crush is based on looks alone, as any good infatuation should be).

So it comes as little surprise that this affinity now extends to its new "Streamium" SA9345 media player, which upholds the company's standards for European aesthetics with a sleek and thin design destined first for the UK market. Where its technicals are concerned, the video and audio player has a 1.8-inch touch-sensitive LCD and comes with either 2GB or 4GB of storage.

But as phones and media players continuing to evolve toward one another, we'd just as soon wait for such features to be built into something like the Philips 598 music phone--the true object of our affection.

Google and NASA team up in robotic panoramic venture

When names like the search engine giant and the US space agency are mentioned in the same breath, it's a sure bet it involves something big.

The GigaPan is a partnership between Charmed Labs, the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute, the NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group and Google. What these hi-tech firms are collaborating on is an automated tripod that works together with an everyday consumer digicam to capture extremely high-resolution panoramic scenes. In fact, these pics are so high-res, they're measured in gigapixels.

Yes, each panoramic image is stitched together with hundreds of individual shots that collectively allow the viewer to literally zoom in and explore a picture in minute detail. At press time, the latest version of Google Earth featured several geographical sites that can be explored as a GigaPan image.

Do the Weeble Wobble

Imagine this scenario. You've had, as the Beatles' soundtrack goes, a hard day's night. You get home ready to do bodily harm to inanimate objects. That's where designer Jin-Sook Kim's modern twist on the Weeble Wobble steps right up to the task. It's really a lamp, but it's also anger management in an airbag. Punch the bag hard enough, and voila, the energy activates the light. To turn it off? Well, no instructions on that, but a couple of high kicks ought to do the trick? Even the "lost in translation" instructions on the Weeble Wobble--"Punch! And then the light on"--adds a certain quirky modernity.

Via Yanko Design

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