Wi-Fi

Oregon Scientific announced a new DLP pico projector last week at CES. The Portable WiFi Projector can display FWVGA 854 x 480 at 1,000:1 contrast and a 80 lumens of brightness. If it's plugged into the USB alone, it only shines at 50 lumens. At about 3.2 meters from the wall, it will display a 120-inch wide picture in total darkness. The Oregon Scientific projector will also have a 90-degree hinge, a focus slide, a 3.5mm headphone jack and controls for brightness and power.

The top of the base acts as a touch-based controller for the brightness and volume. You simply slide your fingertip towards the center to reduce both, and slide outwards to increase the volume and brightness.Read more

HP today announced that the Wi-Fi version of HP TouchPad will be available on July 1. Two versions will be offered, a 16GB for $499.99 and a 32GB for $599.99. Preorders will begin June 19.

The first tablet to feature webOS, HP said that "TouchPad users have a next-level multitasking experience, access to the web, premium audio playback with stereo speakers and Beats Audio technology, the ability to find information on the device or in the cloud using the Just Type feature, integrated access to their information with HP Synergy, and HP's exclusive Touch to Share capability for sharing web addresses between HP TouchPad and compatible webOS phones."

Optional accessories will include the HP Touchstone Charging Dock, the HP TouchPad Wireless Keyboard and the HP TouchPad Case.Read more

Have you been waiting to get your hands on the Wi-Fi only version of the HTC Flyer tablet? You can now find it in Best Buy retail stores and online at www.bestbuy.com.

Priced at $499.99, the HTC Flyer has a 7-inch color touchscreen display, a single-core 1.5GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and runs Android 2.3 featuring HTC Sense. Additional features include Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity, Bluetooth 3.0, a 4,000 mAh battery, 1.3 megapixel front facing camera and a 5 megapixel rear facing camera.

Customers who purchase the HTC Flyer (or any other Windows PC or tablet) from Best Buy between now and December 1, 2011 will receive a free Shutterfly 8x8 Photo Book. See offer details.

Best Buy and Nintendo have teamed up to offer 3DS owners free wireless access inside 1,000 Best Buy retail stores. Beginning June 7, once 3DS owners are connected to the network via SpotPass – the 3DS feature that automatically finds wireless hot spots – they will have access to exclusive offers and additional content such as gaming extras and movie trailers.

"Nintendo 3DS turns the page in portable gaming not just because of the stunning, glasses-free 3D visuals, but also in the way it keeps people connected to their friends, their games and their world," said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. "Best Buy provides a firsthand look at the platform with experts to help people understand everything it offers."

"We want our customers to fully tap into the potential of their Nintendo 3DS device, so we're pleased to offer free access to special Wi-Fi and SpotPass content in-store," said Chris Homeister, senior vice president of entertainment for Best Buy. "As a retail partner for SpotPass, this is another way that we’re delivering best-in-class gaming experiences at our stores across the country."

The Nintendo 3DS sells for $249.

It may just look like your standard bookshelf music system, but the new Grace Digital Wi-Fi Bookshelf Music System is the first ever Internet radio system to incorporate 802.11n connectivity.

Grace Digital's micro-system includes two bookshelf speakers featuring 3.5-inch full range drivers, 1-inch tweeters, and a 16 watt RMS Class D digital amplifier. It provides access to over 17,000 radio stations, 20,000 plus on-demand programs, over 35,000 podcasts, and is compatible with Pandora, Sirius XM Internet Radio, CBS Radio, iheartradio, Live365.com, MP3Tunes, NPR, National Weather Service, and (new for 2011) WeatherBug and Rhapsody. In addition, it has RCA inputs and a USB connection, allowing you to connect your iPod, CD player, PC or other audio source.

The Wi-Fi Bookshelf Music System displays song and artist information and features 10 station presets with the ability to save up to 100 favorites. It can also function as an alarm clock radio. It comes with a remote control (with Pandora controls) as well. Read more

Traveling this holiday season via AirTran, Delta or Virgin America? Bring your laptop or Wi-Fi-enabled mobile device and stay connected while you're 30,000 feet in the air! Google Chrome has teamed up with these participating airlines to offer Gogo Inflight Wi-Fi on every domestic flight from November 20, 2010 through January 2, 2011. This promotion will bring free Internet service to more than 700 planes and approximately 15 million expected passengers this holiday season.

"We are constantly working to help provide a better web experience to users around the world," said Sundar Pichai, Vice President of Product Management at Google. "Whether it be building a better browser with Chrome or bringing free Wi-Fi to air travelers this holiday season, we are constantly innovating to ensure users’ access to the web is fast, simple and seamless."

To read more about the promotion, visit: www.freeholidaywifi.com

Samsung has two new products hitting stores in September, the ST80 - a Wi-Fi enabled digital camera - and the HMX-E10, a pocket sized HD camcorder with a swiveling lens.

The ST80 is Samsung's latest point-and-shoot digital cam featuring Wi-Fi and the Samsung's AllShare (DNLA) connectivity. It shoots 14.2 megapixel stills and it records 720p HD video at 30 frames-per-second in H.264 format. The ST80 also has a 3x optical zoom, and a 3.0-inch wide touch-screen on the back of the camera.

Because the camera has Wi-Fi connectivity, you can email your pics or upload images and videos directly to Facebook, Picasa, YouTube, Photo Bucket . The ST80 comes with a Boingo (mobile hotspot provider) account, with more than 120,000 Wi-Fi hotspots available. In addition, using AllShare technology you can sync the ST80 to DLNA-compliant electronics, such as HDTVs and digital photo frames.Read more

Sungale introduced the Kula TV at the 2010 CES trade show. A 4.3-inch portable, Wi-Fi-enabled Internet TV, Kula lets you watch more than 350 local and international channels of online TV programs for free, watch stored video clips, listen to music and view photos.

Kula TV features a 4.3-inch touchscreen LCD display; 2 GB of internal memory (expandable to 16 GB via SD/MMC card slot), a pop-up antenna for even better reception, and it has a built-in rechargeable battery. The TV's menu interface lets you browse TV programs by country, language, or topic.

The Kula can play Audio files in WMA, MP3, WAV, AAC and OOG, view Video formats in AVI, MPEG4, DIVX, XVID, DAT, WMV, 3GP, FLV and Photo file formats in JPG, BMP, TIFF, PNG.Read more

Eye-Fi has a new Wi-Fi enabled memory card just for Mac users, the Eye-Fi Geo X2. The 4GB Geo X2 offers fast wireless photo and video uploads through an 802.11n transmitter, Class 6 read/write speeds, lifetime Geotagging service and also features an Endless Memory mode which makes space available on the card after photos/videos have been uploaded to the computer.

Mac users can wirelessly back-up both photos and videos directly into iPhoto or any other folder their computer. The Wi-Fi enabled memory card can also automatically upload photos and videos directly to MobileMe, as well as Facebook, Flickr, Picasa or YouTube.

The Eye-Fi Geo X2 includes lifetime Geotagging service using Wi-Fi positioning to automatically tag photos with location information. It works with iPhoto '09's "Places," so Mac users can search and sort photos on maps or by location name.

The Eye-Fi Geo X2 will be available in May at Apple Stores for $69.99.

Toshiba this week announced the new UX600 Series LED TV. Featuring a built-in Wi-Fi adapter, the UX600 is Internet-ready right out of the box. It includes NET TV access for on-demand entertainment such as VUDU movies, Pandora Internet Radio, YouTube, Flickr, Picasa, as well as social networking applications Facebook and Twitter.

The UX600 is less than 2-inches thick and sports a 3M:1 contrast ratio, Full HD 1080p images, and Toshiba's ClearFrame 120Hz technology. It also has an automatic brightness control and Dolby Volume for a consistent volume level, even during commercials.

"This is a high quality LED TV that is both simple and fun!" said Scott Ramirez, VP, TV Marketing. "We have packed amazingly deep LED picture quality, robust Internet capability, and a long list of key Toshiba features, into our new slim Air Lagoon design, and included a Wi-Fi Adapter to make it a total pleasure from day one. This is a package people will be excited to own."Read more