Consumer Electronics Daily News

Shazam Launches On The BlackBerry Storm Smartphone

World renowned mobile music discovery application now available for the popular touchscreen smartphone

Shazam, the world’s leading mobile music discovery provider, announced the release of Shazam on the BlackBerry® Storm™ smartphone. Shazam, which has supported BlackBerry® smartphones since launching on BlackBerry App World™ on April 1, is now compatible with the award-winning BlackBerry Storm. The application features full SurePress™ touchscreen support and is available to BlackBerry Storm smartphone users in the U.S., UK and Canada.

“Since launching on BlackBerry this April, we have maintained our status as one of the most frequently downloaded applications on App World,” said Andrew Fisher, CEO of Shazam.

“BlackBerry Storm users have voiced their eagerness for Shazam and this type of demand highlights the worldwide popularity Shazam has achieved through our mobile music discovery application. We’re thrilled to continue delivering the applications and features our customers want.”

BlackBerry Storm smartphone users will be able to choose from a free, basic version of Shazam with limited functionality or a full-featured version for $4.99 or £5 (one-off fee depending on location). The full-featured version includes unlimited Tags, Tag charts, recommendations for similar tracks, biographies of artists, reviews of tagged music, discographies and the option to buy and share discovered music. Shazam is currently offering a free, seven-day trial of the full-featured version.

All of Shazam’s applications for BlackBerry smartphones are now available for download directly from Shazam’s mobile Website (by typing http://is.gd/IWHh in the BlackBerry browser) and on BlackBerry App World (www.blackbery.com/appworld).

About Shazam Entertainment

Shazam is the world’s leading mobile music discovery application - enabling consumers to experience and share music with others across mobile devices and the internet. Since its launch as the first mobile-specific service to help users discover new music seven years ago, Shazam has created a new way for users to connect to each other through their music tastes and preferences.

Headquartered in London England, Shazam’s solutions enhance the music strategies of more than 75 carriers across 60 markets globally, including AT&T, T-Mobile and Vodafone. It has deployed across multiple platforms such as iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Symbian and Java.

The Shazam Tag Chart, generated by the company’s mobile music recognition service, is constantly referenced by the music industry as a true indicator of market interest in pre-release material and a monitor of the hit potential of a track or artist.

Shazam’s successes have been recognised through numerous awards, including the Mobile Entertainment Award for Best Music Service Provider.

The Shazam name and symbol are trademarks of Shazam Entertainment Limited.

For more information visit Shazam.

Best Buy Releases First-Ever Portable HD Radio Receiver

Insignia™ HD Radio™ Portable Player Provides Digital HD Radio Broadcasting On the Go

Best Buy announced the launch of the Insignia™ HD Radio Portable Player, a first-of-its-kind product innovation, which is now available exclusively at Best Buy on July 12.

HD Radio technology is transforming the radio experience in ways never thought possible. It enables FM radio stations to broadcast their programs digitally, ensuring that listeners will experience clear reception with no audio distortion. Digital broadcasting allows listeners to access – for free – new HD Radio channels and more programming than ever before.

As the first-ever portable HD Radio player, the Insignia HD Radio Portable Player will make it easy for listeners to take the exceptional HD Radio experience on the go. The player offers new and extra FM HD Radio channels with crystal-clear, static-free sound, allowing listeners to take the ultimate sound experience to the gym or for a jog anywhere there is an HD Radio signal.

“The sound quality and LCD screen features of the Insignia HD Radio portable are phenomenal,” said Mike Dahnert, Insignia Portable HD Radio product manager. “Best Buy is proud to be the first to bring such a unique and quality product to our customers.”

“We applaud Best Buy for setting a precedent in the audio entertainment marketplace by offering the first-ever portable HD Radio receiver,” said Bob Struble, President and CEO of iBiquity Digital Corporation, the developer of digital HD Radio technology for AM/FM audio and data broadcasting. “With new HD2/HD3 digital channels, crystal-clear sound, no subscription fees, and now, thanks to Best Buy, the ability to take digital radio on the go, it’s a total win for the consumer and one more indication that the HD Radio momentum is continuing.”

The built-in, rechargeable Lithium-ion battery on the Insignia HD Radio Portable Player ensures long periods of continuous listening and entertainment, and a full-color LCD screen makes it simple to program your favorite preset stations at any time. A stylish armband and a 3.5 mm jack output make it easy to use the player on the go or in your car. Set up to 10 user-selectable preset memory channels to save and enjoy your favorite stations wherever you go.

For aditional information visit Best Buy.

BioAuthorize Launches Its New yadaBlackBook Application

BioAuthorize Launches Its New yadaBlackBook Application for the iPhone and iPod Touch, Enabling Users to Protect Their Contacts Using Their Voice

BioAuthorize Holdings, Inc. of Scottsdale, through its wholly owned subsidiary, BioAuthorize, Inc., received final approval from Apple, Inc. to launch its next application for the iPhone and iPod Touch, yadaBlackBook™, which allows users to protect and maintain as secret, the content of their contacts by using their voice to authenticate their identity. The application is offered through the Apple App Store at $3.99 per download.

“This application utilizes advanced voice biometrics to maintain the secrecy of your contact list with a solution that is needed by everyone using an iPhone or iPod Touch,” said BioAuthorize president and CEO Yada Schneider.

About BioAuthorize Holdings, Inc.

BioAuthorize Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiary BioAuthorize, Inc. (www.bioauthorize.com), is a hi-tech biometric technology company which has developed a technology solution for e-commerce transactions related to the delivery of voice-enabled payment solution process to merchants and their customers for Internet purchases and the developer of the yada™ line of products for both the iPhone and the Blackberry handheld personal electronic devices.

For additional information visit BioAuthorize.

Overwatch Geospatial Systems Releases RemoteView 3.0.6 Featuring V-TRAC & RVConnect

Overwatch Geospatial Systems, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. company, today announced the release of its RemoteView 3.0.6 software upgrade featuring two new product extensions: RVConnect and V-TRAC. RVConnect links RemoteView with ESRI’s ArcMap while V-TRAC offers a full motion video (FMV) exploitation tool. RemoteView now provides geospatial intelligence (GeoINT) analysts with a desktop FMV analysis capability and real-time interoperability with ESRI’s leading geographic information system application, ArcGIS.

In working interactively with ESRI’s ArcGIS, RemoteView 3.0.6 offers a new level of efficiency for GeoINT analysts. With the coordination of RVConnect, redundant workflow processes are eliminated by viewing shared real-time data in both applications. The automated sharing of layers and symbology improves efficiency by reducing the creation and display time, and it leverages ESRI’s geodatabase layers and feature classes for improved output quality in RemoteView.

“Overwatch Geospatial Systems brings greater interoperability to our ArcMap users, giving GeoINT analysts even more capability and efficiency,” said William Harp, Defense Marketing Manager. “ESRI is committed to bringing the most robust capabilities to its GIS user base through continued partner application integration.”

The evolving growth of FMV in the Department of Defense and Intelligence communities has resulted in an increasing demand for integrated desktop video toolsets and capabilities. The V-TRAC Basic extension within RemoteView 3.0.6 provides the ability to integrate and exploit FMV files and data streams into RemoteView’s desktop application, eliminating the need to access expensive, standalone systems for motion imagery exploitation. This new, integrated tool improves mission workflow and allows easy access to mission videos for operations planning.

“We continue to work with GeoINT analysts to identify and meet their evolving needs,” said Overwatch Geospatial Systems’ Senior Vice President and General Manager Jim Dolan. “By bringing products like RVConnect, V-TRAC and RemoteView 3.0.6 to the end user, and providing interoperability with the world-class systems of ESRI, our clients achieve greater efficiency resulting in quicker operational decision support.”

For additional information visit TEXTRON.

Numonyx Introduces M29 Flash Memory For High Speed Embedded Applications

Numonyx® Axcell™ M29W and M29DW Delivers High Performance Plus Pin-For-Pin Compatibility for Memory Intensive 256Mb Applications

Numonyx B.V. today introduced Numonyx® Axcell™ M29W and M29DW, a new high speed, single-level cell (SLC) NOR flash memory that delivers market-leading random access times and higher levels of compatibility for memory-intensive embedded devices.

Optimized for 256Mb applications in the automotive, consumer electronics, communications and computing markets, these latest additions to its Axcell M29 family of products deliver 70 nanoseconds (ns) random access time with the capability to support 60ns, which is significantly faster than the industry average 90ns of competing products. Coupled with pin-for-pin compatibility with existing product architectures, the high performance of the Axcell M29W and M29DW meets a rapidly growing demand in the 256Mb market, one of the fastest growing densities for embedded applications.

“The embedded market presents an incredibly varied number of application segments with broad needs for different solutions,” said Glen Hawk, vice president and general manager of the Embedded Business Group at Numonyx. “Customers recognize Numonyx as a company with the technology and resources to provide the solutions to meet all these needs. Now with the Axcell M29W and M29DW devices joining the already shipping 256Mb M29EW, we are able to provide three different 65nm NOR memory products purposely designed to address those unique needs.”

The 256Mb Axcell M29W and Axcell M29DW are designed to help embedded customers reduce costs and simplify designs by supporting the popular, industry-standard command set. The Axcell M29W supports uniform block architecture while Axcell M29DW provides a parameter block, multibank architecture, supporting reads in one bank while program or erase functionality in an alternate bank. Both M29W and M29DW will support AEC-Q100 certification, a higher level reliability certification required by automotive manufacturers.

Faster Random Access and High Compatibility

In addition to fast 70ns random access time, these new products also provide a dramatically increased programming speed that enables customers to improve programming throughput, time-to-market and total cost of ownership. At speeds of nearly 3.2MB per second, the new memory can provide a full-chip programming advantage of as much as eight times faster than typical competitive products*. With the addition of the 256Mb density devices, the Axcell M29W and M29DW families now extend their density range into this additional segment.

As embedded systems continue to evolve, they bring a growing need for secure solutions for their memory subsystems. Numonyx Axcell M29W 256 Mb flash memory continues to offer “S” secure compatible versions for increased device security.

Quality and Reliability

Based on industry-standard (JEDEC) footprints and command sets, the Numonyx Axcell M29W and M29DW family of products has the benefit of broad industry support, design flexibility and enables embedded customers to scale the memory subsystem across various densities. Numonyx NOR flash memory has been in production on 65nm technology for more than 18 months, demonstrating dependable and proven manufacturing processes.

Availability

Samples of the 256Mb Numonyx® Axcell™ M29W and M29DW product are available now with volume production in September 2009.

For more information visit Numonyx.

EachScape Launches The First Web-Based Drag & Drop Platform For Creating Mobile Applications For The iPhone

Enables Anyone to Quickly and Easily Develop a Mobile Application for the iPhone

EachScape, a provider of mobile application development tools, has announced the launch of its flagship, Web-based development platform designed to allow companies to quickly and easily create mobile applications for smartphones. Initially, EachScape’s platform will enable application development for the iPhone but will soon expand to include others such as Google Android and RIM.

To date, publishing giants Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. and Time Out are using EachScape’s platform during the beta phase to create iPhone applications.

EachScape was founded by mobile veterans Ludo Collin and Bob Fitterman, both of whom have been in the mobile content industry since the late 1990’s. They worked together at Vindigo, the first company specializing on applications on Palm and Windows Mobile, then J2ME and BREW.

“EachScape was created to help media companies and brands capitalize on the exploding popularity of mobile applications, enabling them to quickly design and launch a mobile application,” said Ludo Collin, CEO and co-founder of EachScape. “We believe that consumers will soon come to expect every company to have a mobile application, just as there is an expectation that every company has a Website. With EachScape, unique mobile applications can be built with ease.”

EachScape is the only web-based tool that enables the development of original applications without using templates, meaning that companies can build applications that are native and unique. Using simple drag-and-drop functionality, anyone with even a basic understanding of design can build an iPhone application and keep it current. Application creators have control, meaning they can update and change out their application with greater frequency and ease.

“The popularity of mobile applications stores like iPhone’s App Store and RIM’s App World means that media and brands are overwhelmed trying to quickly build high quality applications,” continued Collin. “EachScape greatly simplifies the development process. If you can design a decent PowerPoint presentation, you can now build and manage your own mobile application.”

Given the popularity of Apple’s App Store, EachScape will initially offer its users the ability to create applications for the iPhone. In the coming months, the company will roll out a capability that will allow its customers to make their applications compatible across a range of platforms.

For additional information visit EachScape.

Introducing AmazonWireless – A New Amazon Web Site Offering Cell Phones & Service Plans

Easy-to-Use Web Site Guides Customers Through the Purchase Process; Rebate-Free Shopping and FREE Two-Day Shipping on All Phones

Amazon.com, Inc. has announced the beta launch of AmazonWireless, a new Web site offering cell phones and service plans, easy shopping without rebate hassles and FREE Two-Day Shipping on a broad selection of phones from AT&T and Verizon Wireless. In addition to expanding selection and adding carriers during the beta test phase, Amazon will be testing different features and gathering input from customers to ensure the best possible customer experience.

“We've taken our eight years’ experience selling cell phones to create a new site that makes a potentially confusing transaction much easier for customers,” said Paul Ryder, vice president of Consumer Electronics for Amazon.com. “The step-by-step purchase process on AmazonWireless makes it easy for customers who already have a plan to upgrade their phones. If you want to establish new cell phone service, we’ve made it simple to find the right phone, service plan and options for your needs. We’ve also eliminated the technical jargon and frustrating rebate paperwork that customers often face when buying a phone.”

AmazonWireless currently offers more than 120 phones, including a great selection of smart phones and the latest models for shoppers on a budget. Customers can shop for phones by carrier, phone feature, price, color and brand. The site’s shopping cart guides customers through each stage of the purchase process, where customers will find familiar Amazon features like bestseller lists, detailed product descriptions and customer reviews.

AmazonWireless is owned and operated by Amazon.com. Customers shop securely with their Amazon.com accounts and benefit from Amazon’s world-class service and security. All phones purchased on AmazonWireless are eligible for FREE Two-Day Shipping.

For additional information visit AmazonWireless.

V.I.O. Launches Exposure Control Firmware Upgrade

V.I.O., the leader in wearable video technology, today launches a new firmware upgrade that expands the Exposure Control options users will have for all POV systems. The latest firmware upgrade improves overall subjective video quality by adding several choices in automatic exposure settings to complement the CLASSIC setting. The additional exposure settings are designed to enhance the performance of video capture by allowing users to adjust their system to match the recording conditions encountered in different performance shooting environments.

The new exposure control settings include:

• COLOR OPTIMIZED: Similar to the POV.1 CLASSIC setting but with tweaks in the algorithm to provide the best all-around color and brightness.
  
• DETAIL OPTIMIZED: Detail enhancements over CLASSIC and COLOR OPTIMIZED that provide for increased detail in the darkest areas of the scene.
  
• TWILIGHT/ENHANCED: Increased sensitivity and optimization for outdoor use specifically designed for twilight/high-contrast scenarios.
  
• SPOT METERING (NARROW): Concentrates the algorithm on the center of the image and discounts the extreme edges of the field of view for difficult lighting situations where the subject is significantly brighter or darker than the rest of the field.
  
• SPOT (WIDE): Similar to Spot Narrow, except with an increased algorithm area to provide a wider spot.
  
• AE Lock--Fixed Exposure Setting: Locks the exposure settings to their current values.
  

The V.I.O. Exposure Control Firmware 1.4 Upgrade can be downloaded as of July 8th 2009 from the V.I.O. website at http://www.vio-pov.com/firmware_update/ for $9.99.

For more information visit V.I.O.

Inlet Technologies Announces Support For Live Streaming To Apple iPhone

Latest Release of Inlet’s Spinnaker Includes Adaptive Streaming Support, Multi-encoder Synchronization and Audio Enhancements

Inlet Technologies, the leading provider of live streaming and on-demand solutions for digital media, announced today that the company is one of the first encoding technology providers to publicly demonstrate and support live streaming to the Apple® iPhone™. Inlet was the first to showcase iPhone streaming at Apple’s World Wide Developer’s Conference last month in San Francisco.

Using iPhone OS 3.0 and the latest release of Inlet’s SpinnakerTM live streaming solution, real-time streaming of live sports, news or other events can now reach an iPhone. Additionally, capabilities similar to Apple’s Stream Segmenter will be built directly into Spinnaker, simplifying the customer’s workflow and eliminating additional hardware from the system. The level of interoperability provided by Spinnaker allows content creators to stream live to the iPhone in popular formats including H.264 video and HE-AAC audio. These new advances enable any broadcaster, sports league or entertainment provider to deliver live content to the iPhone with a minimum of effort.

“We are proud to add this to a long list of industry ‘firsts’ from Inlet. By supporting live streaming to Apple’s iPhone, Inlet is once again at the forefront of the digital media revolution. The iPhone is clearly a pervasive consumer device, offering compelling opportunities to reach viewers,” said John Bishop, senior vice president of strategy and business development, Inlet Technologies. “This also reflects our continued commitment to helping companies increase the reach of their content, in any format to any screen, through intelligent media infrastructure solutions.”

Inlet’s Spinnaker family of live streaming appliances delivers stunning picture quality (in HD or SD), allowing content creators to offer viewers a “living room” experience over the Web. Spinnaker supports all of the major formats, including H.264, VC-1, Silverlight and Flash VP6, and allows content creators to stream multiple formats simultaneously from one source. Spinnaker is ideal for live sports, as it can create real-time highlights without the need for additional file preparation. Users can switch between multiple games or multiple camera angles during a single event. URLs or captions, such as scores and statistics, can also be inserted directly into the live stream. Spinnaker also offers calendar-based scheduling (ideal for recurring events), 24/7 reliability, and is designed to be used remotely, in fleets, or locally.

In addition to support for streaming to Apple’s iPhone, Spinnaker also includes support for other adaptive streaming protocols, including Microsoft Smooth Streaming and Adobe Dynamic Streaming. Other updates include multi-encoder synchronization and numerous audio enhancements. For more details on this latest release of Spinnaker, visit http://www.inlethd.com/?q=products/spinnaker.

For more information visit Inlet Technologies.

Joybook Lite T131: BenQ Does Light Right with New 13.3” Netbook

BenQ is bringing more enjoyment and quality to the lives of today’s on-the-go Internet generation with the official launch of their latest ultra-portable netbook, the 13.3” Joybook Lite T131.  At a petite 1.8kg (3.97lbs.), the T131 effortlessly enables multimedia/Internet entertainment to become a take-anywhere companion for consumers of all age groups.  Everyday digital fun – such as web browsing, video chatting, email, IM, home/office networking, games, and movies – is brought in-hand and on-demand with an eye-pleasing 13.3” super-enhanced UltraVivid™ screen, AMD’s® next-generation Yukon mobile platform, integrated microphone and fun-packed webcam, and WiFi connectivity.

"This newest netbook from BenQ reflects the personality and lifestyle of the Internet adventurer – spontaneous, resourceful, daring, and capable of handling whatever comes its way,” said Peter Chen, General Manager of BenQ’s Technology and Product Center.  “Visuals are exhilarating and performance is without hesitation, ensuring pure and uncompromised mobile enjoyment of the digital age.”   

A svelte 320mm(W) x 240mm(D) x 28mm(H) (12.6” x 9.45” x 1.1”) form belies the considerable capabilities of the T131 netbook.  The large 250-nit CCFL screen is super-charged by BenQ’s exclusive UltraVivid Technology, Display Brilliance Enhancement Film (DBEF™), and a low-reflectivity, anti-glare coating that keeps movies, games, office applications, and Internet activities lookin’ great wherever you go…from bedroom to sidewalk café.  HD audio, VoIP, and smart noise suppression and echo cancellation also promote spontaneity by ensuring video web chats with friends and video conferencing with business clients are always clear-sounding.  Also uncharacteristic of the netbook’s compact size and modest price tag is a big 320GB hard disk drive, high-resolution 1.3MP webcam featuring fun WebCam® Companion®, two built-in speakers, integrated microphone, and high-speed WiFi.  Likewise unexpected in this diminutive netbook is a generously-sized keyboard featuring isolated “Chiclet” style keys for easier, less error-prone typing.  An SD/MMC card reader and two USB ports further testify to the T131’s well-thought engineering.

For additional information visit BenQ.