Touch-and-control Logitech Harmony

There is still a long way to go before HDMI-Consumer-Electronics-Control interoperability takes off prime time. So for the time being, you can either juggle between a battery of remotes or settle with one of those talented universal controllers. The latest trickling into the Asian market is the Logitech Harmony 1000. This is the Swiss company's current flagship model and its pilot touchscreen offering.

The Harmony 1000 puts you in complete control of your home theater, lighting system and household appliances with its large 3.5-inch color touch screen and customizable user interface. Easy on the eyes, they complement its customary activity-based controls and comprehensive online infrared code database to ensure a no-fuss one-touch operation.

On-the-fly multiple room control is now also supported with an optional radio frequency wireless extender, while the bundled charging dock and integrated Lithium-ion battery serves up roughly a week's worth of power. The Logitech Harmony is now available in Singapore at Tangs Technobay for S$899 (US$631.85). Logitech has indicated no immediate plans to launch the product in the rest of Asia.
More info here

Gigabyte i300 now with WM6

Somewhat under the radar is the Gigabyte i300 PDA-phone. It's not surprising because other than its appearances at tradeshows, this GPS-enabled device has seen limited releases in just a few countries. Currently available in Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey, the i300 will now also be sold in Russia.

Equipped with Windows Mobile 5.0, this handheld is a triband handset with Wi-Fi built in. It also features Bluetooth 2.0 as well as USB 2.0 for faster wireless and wired file transfers, respectively.

Last month, Gigabyte made the Windows Mobile 6 Professional upgrade available for the i300. This can be downloaded from the country-specific Gigabyte Web site, depending on where the handheld was bought. Click here to see which other Windows Mobile 5.0 handhelds come with upgrades to the latest version of the OS.

Jaiku widget, now on Widsets

In short, Jaiku is a microblogging service which allows users to post thoughts like how one would do so on a blog, but in a much shorter form. Grammer and sentence structure have no place in Jaiku, or Twitter (a similar service) for that matter, as the posts are totally random.

As Caroline McCarthy of News.com described Twitter, "the beauty of Twitter is that, unlike a full-out blog, there's no obligation to be philosophical, thought-provoking or grammatically sound. Because it doesn't require that kind of extra effort, it's great for people like me who want to jump on the social-media bandwagon but don't have the time to set up something elaborate on WordPress".

According to Nokia, there are currently more than 1 million registered users on Widsets and this is compatible on more than 300 mobile devices. Users can now download Jaiku as a widget on Widset.

Dell selling laptop as world's greenest

The Dell Latitude D630 is the first laptop on the market worldwide to win the highest, gold rating from EPEAT, which measures energy-efficiency and green design elements in electronics.

EPEAT ratings, run by the nonprofit Green Electronics Council, take into consideration low-toxic materials as well as the energy conservation and ease of recycling of computers, printers and monitors. The acronym stands for Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool. When that program launched last year, the pickings were slim. Yet now there are 3 products marked EPEAT gold, 442 ranked next-best as silver, and 62 items rated basic bronze.

The Dell notebook meets EnergyStar requirements of 80 percent efficiency and ships in packaging made from partly-recycled cardboard. Judging by its CNET Editors' Choice award, the Dell D630 performs well, too.

The HP rp5700 Business Desktop as well as Dell OptiPlex 740 and 745 mini-tower systems also received gold EPEAT labeling recently.

Dell this week announced plans to reduce its corporate carbon footprint by 15 percent or more within five years and demand that suppliers disclose their own greenhouse gas emissions. Dell also gives customers the option to pay a few bucks extra per PC purchase to plant a tree. Many mainstream electronics makers, including HP and Apple, are pushing to cut carbon emissions and energy waste.

Via CNET Crave

Radically redesigned Treos

Making its rounds in the rumor mill are images of what seems to be Palm's latest Treos. Technology blog Morning Paper first posted a black-and-white image of the supposed new PDA-phone running Palm OS, followed by a blurry photo of a Windows Mobile (WM) version with a white chassis.

What little can be made out from the images seems to suggest that the white variant uses WM6 Standard. That is Microsoft's smart phone OS, made specifically for devices which do not have touchscreens. If true, this will make it a first for Palm, which has always used touch-sensitive displays for its PDAs and Treos.

The earlier image indicates that the Palm OS black "Gandolf", as it is codenamed, will come with a microSD slot and EVDO. This implies that it works in the CDMA network, which means that it is primarily for the US. There are very few other details, though Morning Paper does claim that Gandolf will be available sometime in Q4, and may possibly cost under US$200, with its main target the youth market.

Though there is no indication of a GSM version for the rumored Palm OS device, the white WM6 version bears the Vodafone badge and should therefore work support GSM network--if the buzz proves true. When contacted by CNET Asia, Palm declined to comment on the rumor.

Click for larger images:

Credit: Morning Paper (via PalmInfocenter)

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