Charm your dates with Thrrum

It's always good to impress your gal the old fashioned way with wads of cash or a swanky new ride. But today's women want their men to be well-informed and well-read. That's where Thrrum steps in to help sweep your date off her feet with your amazing knowledge.

Here's how we imagine the scenario. You're out to impress your partner at a posh restaurant and you're at a loss which tipple to order. Now pretend to scrutinize the wine list while pointing the camera on your phone at the name of the alcoholic beverage. With a click of a button, you'll get relevant information, prices and more on the Thrrum Visual Browser.

What's the catch? The software costs US$5.99 and that includes 12 months of access to the camera-phone search service powering the Visual Browser. Currently, it works only on the Nokia N73, N95 and select Sony Ericsson models such as the K810, K850 and T650. You'll also need to have a wireless data service plan from your telco operator.

Now, go on, impress your date with your newfound knowledge.

Via CNET Crave
Picture credit: Thrrum

Is this the new Windows Treo?

The designs of the Treo 500v and Palm Centro are quite different from the previous lineup, including the Treo 750 and Treo 680 PDA-phones. It's therefore not far-fetched to imagine that Palm will introduce a new Windows Mobile device to succeed the 750 and in a new form factor, too. Well, over at the TreoCentral forums, someone claims to have seen the new 800w (second from left in image), a device meant for use on CDMA networks.

According to the source, the new Treo will run Windows Mobile 6 Professional, has a proprietary connector (yucks) and, get this, will come with built-in Wi-Fi. If that is true, it will finally mark the end of Palm's dogged stubbornness not to include Wi-Fi in its PDA-phones.

Even if the 800w is real, a CDMA is useless for our region. But going by Palm's pattern, a GSM version will follow. It's all speculation now, so let's wait and see how it pans out.

Via TreoCentral

This Sony cam has big pockets

Hold it. Snap. One picture in camera.

Do that a thousand times and it's time to switch memory cards. Or is it?

The new Cyber-shot T2 is snazzy, small and boxy. But its big redeemer is its Doraemon-like storage pocket. While it cannot produce a gadget for every occasion like the robotic kitty, in the world of internal storage, 4GB is a formidable amount. In fact, it's twice more than the 2GB Cyber-shot G1. So you can save on that pricey Memory Stick if you want to.

And while the T2 is a step up, storage-wise, from the G1, it also bears a passing resemblance to the newly reviewed T200. The T2 has a 2.7-inch touchscreen and the same Smile Shutter (auto captures pictures when a smile is detected).

You are also buying gimmicks when you get the T2. It has a scrapbook feature for creative image playback on the camera and a "sharemark" folder that stores content for eventual upload to the Web with the Sony PMB Portable software. The software is directly linked to sites like Flickr and YouTube, but there are no details as to whether you can add in your preferred content-sharing site.

According to Sony Electronics Asia Pacific, the T2 will be on sale in Asia by November. Pricing info was unavailable at press time.

   

Dell hides PC in XPS One

Poor Apple. After having Sony gun after it with the Mac mini killer, Dell now is joining the fray.

According to Engadget, the XPS One combines the PC and 22-inch LCD into one unit. But unlike the iMac, which is solely based on a notebook platform, the XPS One uses a desktop Core 2 Duo processor with a laptop ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400 graphics card. Other notable features include a Blu-ray optical drive, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios along with a wireless keyboard and mouse combo.

No news from Dell when, or if, this unit will make its way to Asia yet. But if you are really interested, start saving as this XPS will not leave the factory floor for less than US$2,000 (S$2,924.30)

Via Engadget

iMac and water just don't mix

The new iMacs seem to be getting more than their fair share of problems. After reports of the graphics card freezing up the system, there now seems to be actual freeze in the PC itself.

According to the Apple support forum, more than a few users have experienced condensation behind the glass panel of the LCD. For now, there is no mention of any damage resulting from this, but as we all learned in PC 101, water and computers don't mix (unless you are talking about water-cooled systems).

We have contacted Apple regarding this issue, but at press time there was yet to be a response.

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