Digital radio on the move
Two key players in the digital radio industry have developed a technology that will shrink the size of DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) tuners so they can be fitted into small devices like handheld computers.
Imagination Technologies has teamed up with Digital One, which owns the UK's commercial, digital radio multiplex, to work on a new digital baseband chip and digital receiver module.
DAB tuners featuring the system will be on sale by the end of the year priced at around £150. The two companies are in talks with PDA (personal digital assistant) and mobile phone makers to add the technology into their devices.
Incorporating a DAB tuner not only adds radio functionality with sound quality that is superior to AM/FM transmissions, but enables the device to receive location-specific data like news, weather and traffic reports, at up to 1.7megabits per second.
Wash and go
LG Electronics has announced the next phase in the development of its connected kitchen. Following on from its recently launched online fridge, the company is about to unveil a washing machine that also hooks up to the internet. Unlike the fridge, which sports a screen that enables web browsing and video messaging, the washing machine uses the net for the more mundane tasks of downloading washing cycles. LG claims that this allows it to keep abreast of the latest and most advanced washing programmes. The washer, which debuts at the ERS show at the NEC in Birmingham later this month, is expected to go on sale in the UK next year.
At ERS the company will also parade a collection of more conventional products including a new personalised MP3/Windows Media Audio (WMA) player, the MF-PD370. Due to go on sale later in the month, the tiny player comes with one 32MB MultiMedia card, although it features a slot for a second card.
LG will also unveil an MP3 personal player which features an MP3 encoder, so tracks from CDs and tapes can be archived on to its storage card without having to first be transferred to a PC.
Other new LG products for 2001 include a host of plasma TV screens, and a portable DVD player.
Friendly mac
Want to know what the fashionable tech-heads will be wearing to keep the rain out this spring? Well, they wouldn't be seen dead in anything other than the new Sanyo Fashion House Raincoat. The reason is that the clothes maker has launched a new range of macs that sport a dedicated pocket for the owner's Palm PC.
The pocket features a waterproof liner and static shield lining material to protect the Palm and keep it from moving around.
It's not the first time Palm has entered into an alliance with the fashion industry. Last year it launched a limited edition Palm designed by German supermodel Claudia Schiffer.
Sanyo Fashion House produces a range of clothes under several brands including Burberry, so look out for new PDA-friendly macs that sport that famous check design. The coats have just gone on sale in the US. Prices range from $185-$695. www.sanyofashionhouse.com has more details. (AN)
On its way
The Blackberry, a portable email device so addictive US executives have dubbed it "the crackberry", is to be sold in Britain by British Telecom.
Research in Motion, Blackbarry's Toronto based manufacturer, said 175,000 units would be made for BT Cellnet to sell from July.
The devices incorporate a screen and tiny keyboard, and will be targeted at business users, costing around £400 plus £40 per month line charges.
Companies will also have to install software costing around £2,000 per user. (JS)
