LG's DP570MH combo unit set to become first Mobile DTV released

LAS VEGAS--With mobile digital television (DTV) technology officially in the process of being rolled out, a few new Mobile TV devices are set to hit the market later this year, including LG's DP570MH, a model that combines a portable DTV with a DVD player.
Mobile DTV technology is different from the over-the-air signals you can pull in with a standard ATSC digital TV tuner and antenna. The key to Mobile TV is that you can pick up signals while you're moving in a car or even a fast train. According to LG, the new Mobile DTV standard allows broadcasters to use a portion of the existing 19.4 Megabit-per-second DTV channel capacity to transmit data with "extremely robust characteristics suitable for mobile, pedestrian and handheld applications."

The $249.99 DP570MH has a 7-inch wide-screen display (480x234-pixel resolution) and stereo speakers. The screen is designed to tilt to achieve the best viewing angle. When not in use, the screen folds down, with the total footprint of the device shrinking to about 9.5 x 6.5 inches, according to LG.

As for battery life, LG says that you can get up to 2.5 hours in TV mode or up to 4.5 hours during DVD playback. You get both AC and car power adapters and the DP570MH can also display JPEG images and play WMA music files from its USB 2.0 connection.
Since LG is a co-developer of the chip at the heart of the Mobile DTV standard it's not surprising that it's among the first to put out a Mobile DTV device. The company notes that LG began mass production of the critical component for Mobile DTV reception--the LG2160A integrated circuit chip--in June 2009. The latest version, the LG2160R single chip design, which includes both the tuner and demodulator, was released at CES. And, by March 2010, LG plans to release its next-generation mobile DTV chip, the LG2161R receiver IC. LG says the new chip is, "Even smaller, consumes less power, supports various interfaces and provides improved performance."

Naturally, the company hopes to see its Mobile DTV chips find their way into a wide variety of products, including netbooks and laptop USB accessory receivers. Also, accessories like Tivit will allow you to stream Mobile DTV video to your iPhone, BlackBerry, or notebook PC.

Mobile DTV seems poised to launch later this year, but we suspect it will only take off in 2011 as more stations and devices hit the market along with better coverage. Mobile broadcasting signals have been available in South Korea and Japan for a number of years.

Take wireless charging on the go

WildCharger's products have always left us a bit divided. Though the wireless charging pads certainly work as promised, we haven't rushed out to buy them. Sure the ability to charge several gadgets at once is convenient, and the technology certainly is novel, but we can be content with powering our handset the normal way.

WildCharge, however, is busily expanding its product line, and at CES 2010 the company (now called Pure Energy Solutions) showed the a new Portable WildCharge Pad. At 5.24 inches long by 2.7 inches wide by 0.47 inch deep, the pad can fit one cell phone comfortably. It weighs just 4.23 ounces so it slips easily into a bag or even a large pocket.

It accommodates all current handset skins, which are required to charge your phone using the company's wireless technology. The pad has an internal battery so it doesn't need to be plugged in to operate; just power it ahead of time and you're all set. You even can charge the pad from a larger WildCharge device like the one that we reviewed last year.

The Geek Squad goes electric, thanks to Mitsubishi

LAS VEGAS--Best Buy leased four iMiev electric vehicles from Mitsubishi in a test program for its Geek Squad. The cars, sporting Geek Squad livery, were on display at CES. All right-hand drive, the cars were built to Japanese specifications.

Best Buy will run the cars out of its El Segundo, Calif., store, using them to provide in-house tech support to residents in the area. Given the 80- to 100-mile range of the cars, Geek Squad members will have to reserve them for local calls.

Mitsubishi has been signing up partnerships with various organizations, including utilities and Best Buy, to get the cars into a road testing environment. Data gathered from these lease deals will let Mitsubishi further refine the electric power trains.

Based on the Mitsubishi i Kei car platform currently sold in Japan, the iMiev uses an electric motor producing 63 horsepower and 133 pound-feet of torque. With its 330-volt lithium ion battery pack located under the floor, it emits no CO2 on the road.

Geek Squad members will have to wait 7 hours for a full charge off of a 220-volt power supply. If Best Buy installs Mitsubishi's quick charger, an 80 percent can be achieved in 30 minutes.

Decipher your car's idiot light with CarMD

LAS VEGAS--A new version of the CarMD device and service was released here at CES. Like RepairPal and DriverSide, CarMD now has a database of common repairs for most modern (post-1996) cars, including price ranges and do-it-yourself instructions for some of them.

What makes CarMD different is its hardware: There's a probe that attaches to your car's diagnostic port (it's probably under the dash). The probe reads data from your car's computer. It will display simple info on its LEDs and LCD screen, and if you connect it your computer (via USB) it can tell you a lot more.

The new hardware looks the same as the previous version of the device but is more attuned to safety and emissions than the previous model, reading in additional data about airbags, for example. It's also been updated to handle diagnostics from hybrid cars.

The site itself has been updated with new, folksy, medical-like terminology. It tells you about your car's proposed "cure" and how to keep it "healthy."
The device costs $99 and looks like a good second opinion to your local mechanic. And if you're shopping used cars, you can take the gizmo with you to see what the car's computer knows or to verify the owner's claim that the lit check-engine light is just because the gas cap wasn't screwed on tight a week ago. One thing the CarMD won't do is reset your own car's check-engine light.

Inrix finds traffic detours in Fords and on the iPhone (Record A Route)

LAS VEGAS--It may not be a household name, but Inrix offers services that will save you time and money while reducing pollution. Inrix provides traffic information and smart routing to more than 100 companies offering navigation services. At CES 2010, Inrix announced a partnership with Ford in the new MyFord Touch system, more extensive road coverage, and the Inrix Traffic Pro app for the iPhone.

MyFord traffic
Ford made a lot of news with its

MyFord Touch interface, which features a new Telenav navigation system. Ford is replacing traffic data from Sirius in its navigation systems with Inrix's data, and will include algorithms to help you decide whether it's worth taking a detour around a traffic jam.
Inrix also developed a MapQuest application for Ford, which lets Ford owners look up a location using MapQuest on a home PC, then send it to their cars at the push of a button.

Expanded coverage
Ford might have chosen Inrix for its traffic because its coverage is extending to 260,000 miles of roadway. Most traffic systems--Inrix, too--cover highways and freeways in urban areas. Inrix is switching on coverage for many major surface streets by March of this year.
The company feels it can provide accurate traffic flow data for surface streets because of its network of onroad vehicles sending back speed information. Inrix uses major delivery fleets to gather information, and will be adding information from Ford cars as its service gets deployed in those new models. Further, the company has an iPhone app that not only shows drivers their local traffic, but sends data back to Inrix so the company can get a real-time look at traffic flow on a variety of streets.

Inrix Traffic Pro
We got a look at Inrix's new iPhone traffic app, called Traffic Pro, which offers more features than the basic app. Along with its traffic map, this new app records driving routes, letting you know how long it will take to drive them with current traffic conditions. A valuable tool for commuters, the app uses its forecasting ability to show a bar graph indicating how long it will take to drive a route depending on what time you leave. It can also look at multiple routes to the same destination, indicating the shortest drive time.
Unlike Inrix's free traffic app, Traffic Pro costs $9.99 per year, or $24.99 for a lifetime subscription. The initial release will be for the iPhone, with Android and BlackBerry releases coming later.

A Samsung Windows Mobile Backup software

Do you want to make a copy backup for your windows mobile phone?Do you want to upgrade to a new phone?Do you want to reset your phone to default setting?Now I found and recommend this third party software called GodswMobile Windows Mobile Transfer Suite .

Just backup all your personal information before they are lost.Take care of your valueble information.

GodswMobile Windows Mobile Transfer Suite 1.0Requirement: Pocket PC, Windows Mobile 5, Windows Mobile 6Summary: GodswMobile Windows Mobile Transfer Suite is a package which contains two hot sell software - GodswMobile SMS Transfer and GodswMobile Contacts Transfer. So with this powerful package, you are able to backup and restore text messages and contacts between windows mobile phone and computer easily.

Key Features:

* Backup and restore contacts, including sim card contacts and mobile contacts;

* Backup and restore text message for windows mobile;

* Support backup and restore SMS and Contacts to text file(*.txt);

* Transfer SMS and Contacts from mobile to computer;

* Including an application for windows pc to view,edit and print SMS and Contacts;

* Support set photo and ringtone for contacts on computer directly;

* Support unlimited SMS and Contacts backup/restore;

* Fast backup and restore speed;

* Easy to use - 3 click to finish the backup or restore job;

* Fully support Microsoft Windows Mobile 5 and 6.

* Fully support VGA and WVGA Screen. (Such as HTC Touch HD 2,Pro 2,Diamond

2) Snapshot:

Man builds Lego ATM

An American man has built a working cash machine out of Lego, tapping the toy firm's NXT programmable robotics kit.

The ATM - made entirely from Lego and a HiTechnic IRLink and Codatex RFID sensor - can be used for cash withdrawals and to make change, dispensing notes and coins.It includes a fully functional numeric keypad, a banknote scanner that can be calibrated to accept any currency and a note separator. The 22 pound machine took Ron McRae four months to build and program, incorporating around 8000 pieces and 1800 lines of NXC code.

Scientists Recreate Bing Bang Successfully

Physicists at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) broke a record with their atom smasher Large Hadron Collider when they managed to collide protons at 3 times the energy previously achieved.

Earlier in the day, scientists stepped up efforts to detect the elusive ‘God Particle’ by triggering collision of two proton beams in the world’s largest atom smasher located on the Franco-Swiss border on the outskirts of Geneva.

The two proton beams, set in motion in opposite directions of two 27-km long pipes of the LHC in November last year, were previously moving at 3.5 trillion electron volts (TeV) with each beam of the protons going around the device 11,000 times every second.

Physicists achieved the feat while attempting to collide the two beams at 7 TeV, creating conditions similar at the time of the Big Bang — that is believed to have created the universe.

The success triggered rounds of applause and cheers from the

scientists and journalists gathered in the circular control room, while allaying concerns that the experiment would create a black hole and destroy the universe.

The breakthrough heralds the beginning of a new era in efforts to try to understand profound scientific questions, including whether the sub-atomic particles – quarks – inside the protons and neutrons can be freed; and why these latter particles weigh some 100 times more than the quarks of which they are composed.

The protons in the LHC, which requires 100 megawatts of power to operate, collided at more than 7 tera – or trillion – electronvolts (TeV), a measure of energy given to an electron as it accelerates through a potential of one volt. This was more than triple the levels of previous experiments.

Silent Sound Technology: An End To Noisy Communications

You are in a movie theater or noicy restaurent or a bus etc where there is lot of noice around is big issue while talking on a mobile phone. But in the future this problem is eliminated with ”silent sounds”, a new technology unveiled at the CeBIT fair on Tuesday that transforms lip movements into a computer-generated voice for the listener at the other end of the phone.

The device, developed by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), uses electromyography, monitoring tiny muscular movements that occur when we speak and converting them into electrical pulses that can then be turned into speech, without a sound uttered.

‘Silent Sound’ technology aims to notice every movements of the lips and transform them into sounds, which could help people who lose voices to speak, and allow people to make silent calls without bothering others. Rather than making any sounds, your handset would decipher the movements your mouth makes by measuring muscle activity, then convert this into speech that the person on the other end of the call can hear. So, basically, it reads your lips.
“We currently use electrodes which are glued to the skin. In the future, such electrodes might for example by incorporated into cellphones,” said Michael Wand, from the KIT.

The technology opens up a host of applications, from helping people who have lost their voice due to illness or accident to telling a trusted friend your PIN number over the phone without anyone eavesdropping — assuming no lip-readers are around.

The technology can also turn you into an instant polyglot. Because the electrical pulses are universal, they can be immediately transformed into the language of the user’s choice.
“Native speakers can silently utter a sentence in their language, and the receivers hear the translated sentence in their language. It appears as if the native speaker produced speech in a foreign language,” said Wand.

The translation technology works for languages like English, French and Gernan, but for languages like Chinese, where different tones can hold many different meanings, poses a problem, he added.

Noisy people in your office? Not any more. “We are also working on technology to be used in an office environment,” the KIT scientist told AFP.

The engineers have got the device working to 99 percent efficiency, so the mechanical voice at the other end of the phone gets one word in 100 wrong, explained Wand.

“But we’re working to overcome the remaining technical difficulties. In five, maybe ten years, this will be useable, everyday technology,” he said.

Computer Technology

At a $350 billion a year industry, the computer and semiconductor industry is not only among the largest manufacturing industries in the world, but also, arguably, the most important. Semiconductor technology has enabled the computing and communications revolution, the internet, the cell phone and more. PCs and cell phones continue to sell in growing numbers with even more powerful and more featured-packed devices on the drawing table, all of which will consume more and more powerful semiconductors. Devices that combine entertainment, mobile communications and computing are exploding onto the scene all of which are semiconductor-dependant. Along with that has come WiFi, WiMax and all the other communications that are convenient to use for communications through our cellular devices and computers.

The Basics

Semiconductor is a material that has a resistivity value between that of a conductor and an insulator. The conductivity of a semiconductor material can be varied under an external electrical field. Devices made from semiconductor materials are the foundation of modern electronics, including radio, computers, telephones, and many other devices. Semiconductor devices include the transistor, many kinds of diodes including the light-emitting diode, the silicon controlled rectifier, and digital and analog integrated circuits. Solar photovoltaic panels are large semiconductor devices that directly convert light energy into electrical energy. In a metallic conductor, current is carried by the flow of electrons. In semiconductors,current can be carried either by the flow of electrons or by the flow of positively-charged "holes" in the electron structure of the material.

Silicon is used to create most semiconductors commercially. Dozens of other materials are used, including germanium, gallium arsenide, and silicon carbide. A pure semiconductor is often called an “intrinsic” semiconductor. The conductivity, or ability to conduct, of semiconductor material can be drastically changed by adding other elements, called “impurities” to the melted intrinsic material and then allowing the melt to solidify into a new and different crystal.

The Future

When physicists sandwiched together different types of semiconductor to create the first transistor in 1947, they made bulky vacuum valves obsolete and so revolutionised the electronics industry. Since then researchers have been pushing the boundaries of semiconductor technology hoping for another revolution. Progress towards ultra-high density magnetic recording, and a new branch of nanotechnology are some of the cutting-edge semiconductor research being conducted.

Nanotechnology is the science of making new materials - and structures like minute electronic devices less than one millionth of a metre big - atom by atom. Nanocrystals Technology in the USA have developed a structure known as a Quantum Confined Atom (QCA) believe they will become the building block for a range of new semiconductor devices.

A quantum confined atom is an atom or an ion (atom with an electric charge) trapped within a nanocrystal cage (a tiny cage made from the atoms of a semiconductor). In conventional semiconductor technology, most electronic devices are made from layers of different types of semiconductor. The semiconductor materials used are "doped" with atoms of different elements, which alter their properties so that each layer will have the particular electrical characteristics
needed for that type of device to work. QCA technology however is the direct opposite of this. Instead of the trapped atom altering the properties of its semiconductor host, the semiconductor atoms of the cage modify the properties of the atom they are confining.

Nanocrystals researchers are trapping atoms in spaces between 2 and 10 billionths of a meter in size. At present they are concentrating on trapping phosphorescent ions (ions that emit visible light of a certain colour when light of a different colour or invisible ultraviolet (UV) light is shone at them). By reducing the size of these cages from 10 down to between 2 and 5 billionths of a meter, the researchers found the ions could generate 20 times more light. This meant they were emitting as much light as conventional phosphor particles 1000 times larger. This dramatic enhancement of luminescence efficiency is expected to have an impact all optical devices such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), lasers, displays and fluorescent lamps and should be available commercially within five years. In fact, his nanophosphors could find their first application as early as next year, replacing existing phosphors that convert the X-rays used in medical imaging into light so a picture can be recorded. Because they are so small and efficient, the new nanophosphors can improve the resolution of X-ray images, and allow a smaller dose of X-rays to be used while still obtaining a clear picture. Today there is research being conducted to modulate and enhance other properties such as magnetic properties of the nanocrystals. This would mean QCAs could act as storage materials for data in ultra-high-density magnetic recording systems - all of which will soon be required by our computing devices such as, MP3 players, cell phones and laptops.

Higher Current EMI Filters from Crane Aerospace & Electronics

REDMOND, Wash. – March 25, 2010 - Solutions of Crane Aerospace & Electronics, a business unit of Crane Co. (NYSE: CR), has announced the release of EMI Filters, FMCE-0328, FMCE-0528, FMCE-0828 and FMCE-1528. The new FMCE filters are designed to work with Crane’s Interpoint brand 28 volt input, 1.5 to 120 watt DC/DC converters and are backward compatible and fully interoperable with Interpoint brand FMH, FMC, FMD and FME filters. They have been designed to provide exceptional attenuation performance with a minimal loss of power in the filter as well as to make sure that heat generated in the filter is efficiently dissipated by the device to minimize stress on components, ensuring optimal product life. “We developed these products to improve the attenuation of the filter and to increase the current capability of the product. The improved performance will allow us to meet and exceed requirements of MIL-STD-461 C through F (CE03, CS01, CE102, CS101),” states Michael Osborne, Product Manager with Crane Aerospace & Electronics, Electronics Group. The new filters will be manufactured at Crane’s MIL-PRF-38534 Class H Certified facility in Kaohsiung, Taiwan and are scheduled to begin production in March 2010. They will be available to customers in May 2010. For more information visit www.interpoint.com/015. Crane Aerospace & Electronics, Power Solutions, offers Interpoint brand DC/DC converters and EMI filters with proven performance in the extreme environments of space and defense as well as the high reliability requirements for commercial air and industrial applications.

Advanced Technologies Incorporated

Unmanned Air Vehicles & Rotorcraft Development: ATI designs, fabricates, tests, and documents prototype flight vehicles and hardware for commercial and military customers in the US and other countries. Our experienced team has produced rotary and fixed wing aircraft in manned and unmanned configurations. We also implement limited production capabilities including tooling, suppliers, and production line set-up.

Atlas Tip Jet Helicopters: One & Two-man helicopters developed for European customer. Featured simple tip-jet rotor system with mono-cyclic controls. Detail designed, fabricated, and ground-tested at ATI, flight tested in Switzerland.

Ultrasport Helicopters: One and Two-man helicopters developed for Taiwanese customer. All composite airframe and rotor blades make for simple construction and good performance. Three models were developed as amateur-built kits including an FAA ultra-light category version requiring no license to operate. Over 150 kits have been sold to customers around the world.

Vigilante VTOL UAV: 1000 lb gross weight unmanned helicopter based on the Ultrasport drivetrain and featuring an autonomous flight control system developed by SAIC. Developed by ATI and SAIC for sale to US military and international customers. ATI / SAIC continues to produce and support Vigilante systems for several DOD customers.

MALE UAV: This Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAV was developed by SAIC for a US DOD customer in response to the September 11 attack on America. ATI served as the airframer, designing, fabricating and assembling the airframe, propulsion and electrical systems. ATI also supported the wind tunnel, ground, and flight testing of this system. Rapid prototyping techniques allowed this vehicle to progress from conception to 1st flight in 60 days.

Skydisk VTOL Aircraft: This aircraft was developed by a Swiss company to provide 6-8 passengers the ability to takeoff and land without a runway and cruise at 250 knots. ATI executed the preliminary design of the vehicle, built and tested powered wind tunnel models, built and tested sub-scale free flight models, fabricated full-scale airframe tooling and tool-proof test articles, and built a full scale marketing mockup with a finely detailed interior.