Plenio VXA 2100

7-inch Touch Screen! The Plenio VXA-2100 GPS, with its generous 7-inch wide, touch-screen navigation offers a broad, clear view to guide you to your destination. All the key functions are but a single touch away! And you can even use the expansive screen as an in-car display for DVD players and gaming devices!

The Plenio VXA-2100 offers turn-by-turn voice guidance available in several languages. Plus, you get automatic route navigation to an address or point of interest with turn-by-turn directions and easy-to-follow guidance in a clear voice. The entire US map is included in the provided SD card and there is no need to download mapping information from your computer.

The integrated flip up GPS antenna provides a very clean easy setup and installation. Includes Built-in Media Player. The slim, lightweight Plenio VXA-2100 boasts a built-in media player that provides a powerful entrée to a number of multimedia functions such as picture viewing, playing videos, games and music.

Couple this with the wireless FM transmitter, and you can enjoy video and music files stored on your SD card over your vehicle stereo speakers. Just set your FM radio to a predetermined frequency.

Other outstanding features that make the Plenio VXA-2100 GPS one of the best personal navigation values in the industry include, excellent response speed, accurate and responsive GPS receiver coupled with real-time rendered maps (there is virtually no delay between the actual and displayed position!) and 2D and 3D maps support with day and night-view settings.

Product Features

* Large 7" Wide Touch Screen
* Turn-by-Turn Voice Guidance Available in Multiple Languages
* Outstanding response spped with SIRF 3 GPS receiver
* Automatic Re-routing, Zoom feature & Smart detour
* Built-in Media Player, MP3, Viewing Pictures, Playing Videos, Game

Motorola Aura Cell Phone

Motorola has released a new look for the old V70 which is the Motorola Aura. The V70 was always a striking-looking handset that didn’t sell as well as it deserved.

The newly announced Aura – due to hit shops by the end of the year – updates it with fancy craftsmanship and the world’s first circular display, covered in scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and packing 16 million colours for photo-perfect pics.

Like many swanky handsets from the likes of Vertu and Mobiado, the Aura borrows from fine watch design. The back of the phone has a window into its innards, where hardened steel gears and 150 precision ball bearings slave away just to make its circular motion extra smooth for owners who are too posh to push.

PS3 update 2.53

The new PlayStation 3 firmware scheduled for today unlocks full-screen Adobe Flash support for the console's integrated Web browser. The latest development is a great addition when it comes to sites built entirely in Flash, such as most of Hollywood's official movie webpages.

Alternatively, there have been reports about the PS3 getting more affordable PS3 in 2009. Hopefully, Sony can make this a reality and deliver a slimmer design at the same time. Should we make this our X'mas wish for 2008?

Download ps3 Firmware update 2.53,
Download ps3 update 2.53 and also
Upgrate your System firmware with new updates of ps3 2.53.

Main features in system software update version 2.35, PS3 2.35 Firmware link for PC Users, UK Playstation Website link.

Bamboo Laptop by Asustek to Debut Saturday (PC World)

Asustek Computer plans to debut a nature-friendly laptop PC with a casing made of bamboo on Saturday at Taiwan's IT Month exhibition.

The laptop, first announced last year, is part of Asus's efforts to use renewable materials in products. The shell of the laptop is made of real bamboo, which grows fast and is used widely throughout Asia in furniture, as well as construction scaffolding, food for pandas, and in artworks.

The company on Thursday displayed the first bamboo laptop that's ready for the market. The device is part of Asus's U6V series of notebook PCs and sports a 12.1-inch screen, Intel Core 2 Duo microprocessor, and Microsoft's Windows Vista OS.

Asus plans to sell them at the Taipei IT show for NT$59,900 (US$1,802) each.

The company will launch the bamboo laptops in the U.S. and Europe at a later date, but has not decided exactly when, an Asustek representative said.

IT Month in Taiwan is a time for companies to display products and normally ends up with bargains on IT gear for consumers. The exhibition is hosted in four major cities on the island, including at the Taipei World Trade Center exhibition halls from Nov. 29 to Dec. 7.

Nokia seen outlining smartphone, services push

World mobile phone leader Nokia is expected to strengthen its offering of high-end phones at a media and industry event in Barcelona on Tuesday, where it is also due to outline a push into Internet services.

Nokia still dominates the market for smartphones -- handsets with computer-like features such as e-mail -- but sales dropped in the third quarter from a year earlier and it lost share to Apple and Blackberry maker Research In Motion (RIM).

"I'm sure there will be a few new phones shown on Tuesday and Wednesday, something in the smartphone and touchscreen area," said Handelsbanken analyst Jan Dworsky.
The smartphone business battle has heated up since Apple introduced the iPhone last year, with all vendors trying to grab a bigger share of a market that is seen growing despite the backdrop of economic gloom.

"Smartphones should be a better-performing segment than others in 2009, even though growth will slow down versus 2008," Dworsky said.

While growth in the total mobile phone market slowed to just 3 percent in the third quarter, the smartphone market grew 28 percent from a year earlier to 40 million phones, according to research firm Canalys.

Surging demand for the latest iPhone and Blackberry models helped Apple and RIM to win a larger share of the smartphone market in the third quarter.

"Apple has redefined the whole category," said Sean Dalton, general partner at Highland Capital Partners, stressing the easy functionality of Internet use on the iPhone.

"I think the smartphone market really is two markets: In one there are two players: Apple and RIM. The other market is everybody else. No one of them has materially differentiated," Dalton said.

Nokia has led the smartphone market by a large margin for several years, but its sales fell on an annual basis for the first time in the third quarter as it was only ramping up production of new top-end models.

The drop has worried investors and analysts as it is expected to weigh on the Finnish group's profit margins.

Nokia's share of the market for smartphones fell to 38.9 percent from 51.4 percent a year before, Canalys said. Apple's market share jumped to 17.3 percent and RIM's to 15.2 percent.

To battle new rivals, Nokia said in June it would buy out other shareholders of UK-based smartphone software maker Symbian for $410 million and make its software royalty-free for other phone makers to counter new rivals.

Since then, 59 companies have said they plan to join the Symbian Foundation, including major mobile phone makers, making it larger than the alliance behind Google's Android.

Nokia would contribute Symbian's assets to the not-for-profit organization, the Symbian Foundation, uniting with handset makers, network operators and communications chipmakers to create an open-source platform.

Nokia has said it sees the Symbian Foundation as a faster way to bring new products to the markets. It expects to release the first unified Symbian Foundation software next year and introduce a new platform by June 2010.

Nokia's Symbian acquisition is still pending regulatory approvals, which Nokia expects by the end of the year.

Halo 3 Beta

The pursuit to enter the Halo 3 public beta starts next Monday. The previously announced Halo 3 Beta will, in fact, be available to every eager Xbox 360 gamer when it launches in spring 2007. In a press release teasing the December 4 Halo 3 trailer, Microsoft revealed that gamers will "register for the opportunity to be one of the select members" of the public beta. There will be other ways to enter the beta, which will be revealed soon. In essence, if you want to play the Halo 3 beta, you will have multiple opportunities.



On December 4, the millions of hopefuls in North America and Europe can go to halo3.com to sign up for the beta. You thought the Internet hit a crawl as consumers tried frantically to purchase a PS3? This could be worse. If you don't get it, again, don't fret. There will be other ways to get in on the beta, which we'll learn about before the spring '07 launch.

The 60-second trailer airs in North America during ESPN's Monday Night Football on December 4. The trailer, which will be available online and on the Xbox Live Marketplace following its television debut, features live action and CG footage. It promises to offer "telling new hints" about the upcoming first-person shooter.

"Halo is a pop culture phenomenon! The Halo franchise has changed the face of interactive entertainment and it's only fitting that we take an innovative approach to how we market and advertise the brand," said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft Corp. "This invites a new audience with a rich back story, and continues to galvanize gamers around the world for the launch of Halo 3 in 2007."

The Blockbuster Set-top Box Has Arrived

Blockbuster has officially entered the "battle of the boxes" with the launch of its new set-top box yesterday. The box will serve movies to TVs over the Internet and is going against Netflix's set-top box solutions (Xbox, Roku, and Tivo). Blockbuster's MediaPoint box allows users to watch thousands of movies without the need of a monthly subscription.

To get the MediaPoint player, made by 2Wire, Blockbuster subscribers will have to pay a one-off $99 fee, which also includes 25 pre-paid movies. After that, users pay between $1.99 and $3.99 for each DVD rented, without a monthly subscription fee. Netflix's box also costs $99, besides your chosen monthly subscription. But unlike Blockbuster's 2500 "of the best, biggest and most current movies available", Netflix offers its whole 10,000 DVD collection for rental through its box.

The major difference between the MediaPoint box and Netflix's is that Blockbuster does "progressive playback" in comparison to Netflix's streaming, meaning that the video quality is independent of you broadband's connection speed. By progressively downloading the movie on the box (up to five movies storage capacity), Blockbuster's solution can offer a much more consistent video quality. In comparison, Netflix's service which can reduce the movie's quality if your Internet connection slows down.

Spec-wise, Blockbuster's MediaPoint can store up to five full length feature films (rented films must be viewed within 24 hours of downloading) and can connect to both SD and HD television sets. For the SD crowd, you can connect the MediaPoint to your TV with Composite A/V cables and if you have an HD TV you can use an HDMI cable. If none of the above matches you television set, you can use the box's Component Video and Line Audio connections.

In terms of Internet connectivity, the MediaPoint box can use both wireless and an Ethernet cable from your router. For the full specs, check out MediaPoint's user manual (PDF link).

Cyber Monday Sales 2008

Circuit City Cyber Monday Sale starts on Sunday

Circuit City starts their Cyber Monday Saleon Sunday. Circuit City opened their Cyber Monday Sale also already Sunday.

The Circuit City Cyber Monday deals feature the usual: TVs, GPS, cameras, notebooks and mp3 players.

Check the Circuit City homepage if the Cyber Monday Sale is already live.

GameStop Cyber Monday Sale starts at Midnight

GameStop , a video game retailer will launch their Cyber Monday sale at 12:01am December 1st.
The Cyber Monday deals on GameStop will include $10 to $20 off selected games, up to 50% off selected downloadable games and more.
Shipping is free on all orders above $25.

GameStop does not list specific Cyber Monday video game deals yet. GameStop will have to compete hard with Amazon's Cyber Monday and Walmart's Cyber Monday offers. It will get interesting.

See also this Cyber Monday Sale announcement on GameStop.

Best Buy Cyber Monday Sale

The Best Buy Cyber Monday Sale will go live on December 1, 2008. Until then here are the current coupons and deals at Best Buy:
· Best Buy - Cyber Monday 2-Day Sale Posted on 11/30/08 and Expires on 12/1/08
· Best Buy - $4.99 DVD Sale Posted on 11/29/08 and Expires on 12/6/08
· Best Buy - 2 Day Early-bird Thanksgiving Sale Posted on 11/14/08 and Expires on 11/15/09
· Best Buy - Nintendo Wiis at Best Buy Posted on 10/7/08 and Expires on 12/31/09
· Best Buy - Outlet Center Posted on 6/20/08 and Expires on 12/31/08

Hate traffic and holiday rush? Here’s a solution for you.

Point, Click, Save at Kmart.com on 'Cyber Monday'

With Easy-to-Use Web Site, Free Shipping Deals and Interactive Discounts, Kmart.com Offers Savvy Shoppers A Smart Solution To Online Shopping

Kmart.com makes buying gifts at the top of the whole family's wish list, as easy as point, click and save on "Cyber Monday," Dec. 1. From the comfort of home, shoppers can find Kmart's best deals on a wide selection of merchandise through special savings and shipping incentives available online only for a limited time.

Visitors to Kmart.com can navigate through easy-to-use tabs with unique gift ideas on each page, and even find extra savings with Kmart's hidden ornaments. Hidden animated ornaments can be found throughout the Web site. One click on the holiday ornament and shoppers get an instant coupon worth an extra 10 percent off.

On Cyber Monday, Kmart is offering great prices on an extensive range of merchandise available online only.

UK Bans Apple 3G IPhone Advertisement (PC World)

A video advertisement for Apple's 3G iPhone was banned by the U.K.’s advertising regulator saying that the ad exaggerates the phone's speed and is misleading.

ASA ( Advertising Standards Authority) received 17 complaints about the advertisement, showing a person whizzing through tasks such as opening a news page in a browser, using Google Maps and downloading a file.

All of the tasks "had waiting times of only a fraction of a second," the ASA said in a statement. A voice over says no less than five times that the 3G iPhone is "really fast."

Apple on the other hand told the ASA that the claim is a comparison between the 3G and 2G iPhone models, and that users would understand that performance could vary. The ad did include a text disclaimer that read "Network performance will vary by location."

However, Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found that the snappy visuals combined with the repetition of "really fast" would "lead viewers to conclude that the device actually operated at or near to the speeds shown in the ad."

Also, not all mobile phone users may be aware of the differences between 2G and 3G technology, ASA said.

Apple did not have an immediate comment on the ruling.