AlphaSmart Neo- return of the Tandy 102

Some people just want a portable word processor to carry around with them so they can write whenever they have time. AlphaSmart has just released the Neo which does just that. The Neo is a simple word processor with a monochrome 6 line screen that is attached to a full sized keyboard. It's light and runs on 3 AA batteries. It has a word processor (AlphaWord Plus) installed in ROM which includes a spell checker and thesaurus. It's a definite retro device that some might find useful. At $249 I think I'd just get a Radio Shack TRS-80 Tandy 102 from eBay for less than $50. The specs of the two devices are amazingly similar, which is why I call the Neo a retro device. I had a TRS 102 back in the 80's.

Speech recognition on the Sony U-70

I've just started experimenting with speech input on the Sony U-70. I ordered a Plantronics DSP100 from Amazon for $45. The DSP100 is a noise canceling USB microphone and headset that is optimized for speech recognition. Installing the DSP100 was as simple as loading the software and plugging in the headset. I am using the speech recognition built into the Tablet OS (SP2) and with just a little training I am getting around 90% accuracy. I expect that to go up to around 95% when I finish all the enrollment exercises and use it a while. The engine appears to be the IBM ViaVoice engine that's been repackaged and rolled into the Tablet OS but I am not completely certain about that. It looks the same and the setup screens look like the ViaVoice ones.

This is an exciting alternative to the keyboard and pen and I'm going to beat on it for a while to see how viable it is. Initial impression is very good indeed.

Logitech Laser Mouse

If your standard optical mouse is just not accurate enough, then maybe you need a laser mouse. The Logitech Mx1000 laser mouse is the first mouse using laser technology that I'm aware of and reportedly is better for gaming due to the increased accuracy. It's wireless (RF) and has a Lithium-ion battery for long battery life. The Mx1000 is available already so they must have gotten that critical phone call from iBIZ warning them what happens when you don't get laser certification before you start shipping product.

iUbi Personal Video Player with WiFi

Found this on PVP For You:

Korean iUbi offers a Portable Video Player with wireless access (optional) and touch screen.
The iUbi PMP2020 features a 20GB hard-drive and a 3.5 inch TFT color screen. The iUbi also sports a touchscreen for PDA-like operation. It measures 128x26.7x29mm. Video playback works for 3 hours and audio blayback for 5hours with a fully charged battery.
More details on DAPreview and on iUbi (korean).

With wireless capability and a touch screen this player looks very nice indeed.

Hip-e teen computer

Recognizing the influence teens have over the purchases that parents make on their behalf, an enterprising company has introduced the Hip-e computer. Sporting customizable color skins, the computer has a decent feature set. A 17" LCD screen is coupled with a dock that includes a wireless keyboard and mouse, and the dock has slots to plug in the MP3 player and cell phone the company also offers. There's an 8 in 1 card reader built into the dock and a DVD/CD combo drive included. It's a little expensive at $1699 but it's a one stop purchase for parents who want to give a "cool" computer to their child.

Hip-e also has a notebook computer and matching electronic gizmos on their web site.

Linux to go

LaCie released a 40 GB mobile hard drive that plugs into any computer's USB port. What makes this newsworthy is the $219 device comes with Mandrakelinux 10.0 preinstalled on it. Simply plug this drive into any computer and you have an instant Linux system ready to go. The aptly named Globetrotter has OpenOffice, Evolution, and KDE Kontact preinstalled making for a complete Linux system in a tiny box. No word yet on exactly how small the Globetrotter is but I suspect it's very small. At this low price it's almost worth getting one just to check it out when it begins shipping at the end of August. Thanks to CNET for this heads-up.

USB calculator and keypad

From the "why didn't anyone think of this before" category, Canon has announced a USB number keypad for laptop users that's also a full calculator. The HS-120TKH also sports a 2 port USB 2.0 hub adding even more functionality for the user. Neat idea and this looks like it would be quite useful if you use either the numpad or a calculator a lot. Expensive at $85.

Archos- first music and video player with color screen

Archos has announced the Gmini400 music and video player that sports a 2.2 inch color LCD screen, a 20 GB hard drive, CF Type I slot, a TV out port, and a USB 2.0 interface.

The Gmini400 will play videos: MPEG-4 SP with MP3 or ADPCM stereo sound, near DVD quality up to 640 x 400 @ 30 f/s, AVI file format. Reads XviD and DivX"* 4.0 & 5.0. Play Music Video in MPEG-4.

Audio: Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 kb/s CBR & VBR, WMA (Including copy protected files with Microsoft PD DRM), WAV (PCM & ADPCM). Records stereo sound in WAV (PCM & ADPCM) format.

Games: Mophun game engine – Playback on TV.

The Gmini400 retails for $399.95 and is available at retailers now.

Mpx and BlackBerry

In case you missed it Research in Motion announced a couple of weeks ago that BlackBerry connectivity will be enabled in the upcoming Motorola Mpx and MPx220 mobile devices.

Through RIM's BlackBerry Connect™ licensing program, the Motorola MPx and MPx220 will be able to connect to BlackBerry services including BlackBerry Enterprise Server™ and BlackBerry Web Client™.

This is exciting stuff and professionals who use the BlackBerry services through their work will have total connectivity options with these phones.

Ear Jam

No, not a disgusting topic but a way to make those iPod earbuds you have sound a lot better. Griffin EarJams are covers that snap onto your iPod earbuds that convert them into in-ear headphones. The resultant bass is deeper and with three different ear pieces to choose from you're sure to get a more comfortable fit. Kind of expensive at $20 but cheaper than Sony Fontopias if you already have the earbuds and hey, they're white. iPod people are crazy about white. Think of them as pacifiers for your ears.