Bluetooth headsets made retractable

Think everything's been done for Bluetooth headsets? Think again. We spotted two retractable earpieces that allow for easy stashing away. Simply pull out the earpiece to fit in your ear and clip on the main unit to your shirt or collar. To store the cable, repeat press the auto-winding button. Usage is pretty straightforward.

The bulkier UA-11 model delivers stereo sound. There was only a dummy set so we could not get a feel of it. For the specifications, the unit runs on Bluetooth v1.2, has a 6 hour talktime and weighs 30g. It is able to seamlessly auto-switch between music playback and phone calls and, of course, there's A2DP capability.

The sleeker UA-02 unit comes with mono output and has one earpiece. It supports Bluetooth v2.0 and weighs a lighter 26g.

According to manufacturer Channel Enterprises, the mono earpiece is expected to retail for around US$35 in July 2007. No price was set for the stereo headset as of press time though it is expected to hit the shops in October 2007. Retail locations are not specified as yet.

More images of UA-11 and UA-02:


More CommunicAsia 2007 coverage here.

CommunicAsia 2007 launches

With over 2,400 exhibitors from 65 countries, this year's CommunicAsia is all about digital convergence and interactive digital media (IDM).

At his opening speech for CommunicAsia, Lee Boon Yang, Singapore Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, offically announced the pilot launch of the Digital Concierge service. A joint program by Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore and Singapore Tourism Board, Digital Concierge offers location-based information for tourists through handheld devices like mobile phones and PDAs.

With Wireless@SG hitting over 5,000 hotspots by September, the Ministry of Education has selected five schools to participate in the FutureSchools@Singapore program. By leveraging on the high-speed network, students can engage in immersive digital learning environments as well as customized educational games.

But end-users are not the only ones to benefit. Infocomm@SME was also launched today which targets small and medium enterprises. The program seeks to assist these companies in exploring how technology can change the way they do business. This initiative will begin with an SME Infocomm Resource Center located at the Singapore Polytechnic, which will provide information on commonly used applications like IP telephony, anti-spyware, etc.

In conjunction with CommunicAsia, the CG Overdrive show is being held during the same period. Recognizing the growth potential of IDM, the Government committed S$0.5 billion to fund research and development in this sector last year.

The Singapore-MIT game lab, GAMBIT (Gamers, Aesthetics, Mechanics, Business, Innovation, Technology), was set up to teach game design and construction. EON Reality, an international 3D software provider, will be locating its EONExperience lab in Singapore's soon-to-be-ready Fusionopolis. This facility will showcase the latest 3D and holographic display tools for business and training needs.

More CommunicAsia 2007 coverage here.

The bone conducting headset

Headsets that allow call pickups via bone conduction? NTT DoCoMo's Sound Leaf makes sure that the hearing impaired won't be too left out.

How does it work? Basically once linked to the handset, users can talk by placing the receiver supposedly anywhere on the scalp. You don't need to put the speaker to the ear but, of course, somewhere closeby is recommended. Clearly this will help those who can't hear too well.

The Sound Leaf weighs 52g, is powered by two AAA batteries which can last for about 25 hours of talking. This nifty device was released in the Japanese market in summer 2006 but no information was given as to when we'll see it released elsewhere. This handset retails for ¥8,000 (US$65).

More images of Sound Leaf:


More CommunicAsia 2007 coverage here.

You can gab on that iPhone for 8 hours

According to Apple, you can ditch your fears over the rumor that the iPhone has 45 minutes of talktime. The company announced Monday that the much-anticipated handset will ship with much better battery life than was expected when it was first announced in January. The iPhone will finally be released, as you probably already know, in the US only on June 29.

The numbers from Apple? The company had initially anticipated that the iPhone battery would allow 5 hours of talktime (though rumors around the blogosphere suggested it was actually much less than that). But now Apple is boasting that it'll last a full 8 hours with a whopping 250 hours of standby time. Apple is also saying that you'll alternately be able to enjoy 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback, or 24 hours of audio playback. That's twice as long as the ultra-efficient iPod shuffle.


A comparison chart from Apple pitting the iPhone against its rivals. (Click to see more comparisons)
Additionally, the touchscreen of the iPhone has been upgraded from plastic to optical glass to make it clearer and more scratch-proof. So, with that and the extended battery life, maybe you can take your iPhone on wilderness excursions.

locr geotags your photos; shows nearby pictures

To know when a particular picture was taken, we simply refer to the date and time usually included with the snap. That's old boring stuff and so Web 1.0. locr's GPS Photo application for Symbian devices takes things a little further by also letting you know where you took that picture.

By using geotags, longitude and latitude coordinates are saved into the EXIF data of the images. Once the photo is uploaded onto locr's community Web site, relevant descriptions will be automatically added to the picture from Wikipedia. And in line with all the Web 2.0 buzz about sharing, users can also view photos taken in the vicinity by other people on the handset.

To make all these happen, you'll need either a handset with a built-in GPS chip (for example, the Nokia N95, 6110 Navigator and the upcoming E90 Communicator) or an external Bluetooth GPS adapter.

The locr GPS Photo application is currently available as a free download online. It works on Symbian S60 2nd and 3rd edition devices. According to the company, it also plans to release a version for Windows Mobile in the near future.

More CommunicAsia 2007 coverage here.

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