Uae Mobiles

The earphone shaped device, called the “Mimi Switch” or “Ear Switch”, is fitted with a set of infrared sensors that measure tiny movements inside the ear that result from different facial expressions, a wink, a smile or a raised eyebrow.

A wink, a smile or a raised eyebrow could soon change the music on your iPod or start up the washing machine, thanks to a new Japanese gadget.The device looks like a normal set of headphones but is fitted with a set of infrared sensors that measure tiny movements inside the ear that result from different facial expressions.

The gizmo - called the “Mimi Switch” or “Ear Switch” - is connected to a micro-computer that can control electronic devices, essentially making it a hands-free remote control for anything. “You will be able to turn on room lights or swing your washing machine into action with a quick twitch of your mouth,” said its inventor, Kazuhiro Taniguchi of Osaka University. “An iPod can start or stop music when the wearer sticks his tongue out, like in the famous Einstein picture. If he opens his eyes wide, the machine skips to the next tune. A wink with the right eye makes it go back. The machine can be programmed to run with various other facial expressions, such as a wriggle of the nose or a smile.”

The Mimi Switch could also store and interpret data and get to know its user, said Taniguchi, chief researcher at Osaka University’s Graduate School of Engineering Science in western Japan. “It monitors natural movements of the face in everyday life and accumulates data,” Taniguchi told AFP in an interview. “If it judges that you aren’t smiling enough, it may play a cheerful song.”

Some may use the device for relaxation - perhaps by changing music hands-free while reading a book - but Taniguchi said it could also have more serious applications to make people’s lives safer and easier. “If the system is mounted on a hearing aid for elderly people, it could tell how often they sneeze or whether they are eating regularly,” he said. “If it believes they are not well, it could send a warning message to relatives.” The device could also serve as a remote control for appliances for physically disabled people, from cameras and computers to air conditioners, or alert medical services if a person has a fit, he said.

The Ear Switch follows on from an earlier device called the Temple Switch that was small enough to fit inside a pair of eyeglasses and also read the flick of an eyelid. “As the ear switch is put in the ears, its optical sensors are unaffected by sunlight,” Taniguchi said.

He said he was planning to patent his new device in Japan and abroad, work on a wireless version, and seek corporate funding to market it for practical uses - something he expected might take two or three years.

Speaker set-ups that let you play music from your iPod out loud have been on the market for a number of years and there’s a huge range to choose from.

But if you want the coolest looking and, arguably, the best sounding one then look no further than the Zeppelin from UK company Bowers & Wilkins, or B&W.

Other systems use electronic wizardry to artificially boost the quality of the sound, with varying degrees of success. The Zeppelin’s amplifiers (all three of them) have circuitry called Digital Sound Processing, but this adjusts the balance at different volume settings rather than tweaking the overall quality.

The reason the Zeppelin sounds so great is basically down to the sheer out-and-out quality of the technologically advanced speakers – for example, lasers are used to maximise the performance of the glass fibre cones. And, unusually for this type of product, the Zeppelin has a proper bass speaker – a Kevlar-reinforced one, no less.

When you play your favourite tunes on the Zeppelin they sound so much better than normal that you feel as if you are listening to them for the first time. You can hear each instrument distinctly and the sound is clean yet warm and engaging. And everything you play sounds good, from soft chamber music to raucous hard rock from the likes of, well, Led Zeppelin.

The system’s dock charges your iPod and can be used to sync it with a computer. You can also plug the Zeppelin into your TV and play video from your iPod – the picture quality is pretty good.

Everything about the Zeppelin is appealing, thoughtfully designed and a joy to use. Take the remote control, for example – it’s shaped like a slightly flattened shiny black egg and nestles comfortably in the hand.

And the dock has a clever spring feature that keeps various types of iPod firmly in place without having to use those cheap-looking white plastic adaptors.

B&W made its name designing studio-quality speakers used by some of the world’s top artists and boasts that many of the tracks on the average iPod are likely to have been recorded using its products. Leading studios that use its famous 800 Series reference speakers include London’s Abbey Road and George “Star Wars” Lucas’s Skywalker Sound.

The Zeppelin, of course, takes its distinctive shape and name from the giant airships that glided through the skies between 1900 and the 1930s. This elegant era of air travel came to a sudden halt after the Hindenburg burst into flames over New Jersey in May 1937 at the end of a transatlantic flight.

But this offering from B&W is one Zeppelin that certainly won’t crash and burn.

Price: Dh2,999

Imagine you’re a gadget maker and are designing a pocket-sized high definition video camera – how much internal memory do you think you’d have to provide to attract buyers?

Enough to record an hour of HD material, perhaps? Or do you reckon you could get away with half an hour? Or just 20 minutes – no, you’d probably think that would be pushing your luck.

Well Kodak’s answer to this question is… 34 seconds. Yes, 34 seconds. That’s how much HD footage you can record on the memory built into the Zi6 pocket video camera. If you set it to shoot in VGA mode, ideal for posting on the internet, you can fit in just over two minutes.

There’s nothing on the box or in the start-up guide that tells you this, with the latter cheekily saying you can insert an SD or SDHC memory card to “take even more videos”. I thought the Zi6 had broken down when it stopped recording after half a minute. This is a major own goal by Kodak because, once you’ve trudged back to the store to buy more memory – a 2GB SD card will hold 45 minutes of video – you discover that the Zi6 is in many ways a great little device.

A few weeks ago I reviewed the mighty Canon HF10 HD camcorder and was amazed by the range of its features and the top-class results it produced. But not everyone wants, or can afford, something as advanced and complicated as that, and the Zi6 is at the opposite end of the camcorder spectrum.

It’s a bit bigger than most mobile phones but still fits easily into your shirt pocket. And it has few features and controls, which makes it simple to use.

I found the Zi6’s small size meant people were much less self-conscious when I pointed it at them than they would have been with a conventional, larger camcorder. The picture on the little onboard screen was really clear. Video was a bit jerky when I watched it on a Mac, though this was not a problem when I plugged the Zi6 into a TV using the supplied cables, and the picture quality was excellent.

You connect the device to your computer using a USB plug that springs out from the side. And the Zi6 comes with software that lets you easily upload those priceless party moments to YouTube from your PC.

I think this sort of pocket camcorder is a great, fun concept but the memory issue lets the Zi6 down. I can’t understand why Kodak does not include an SD card, particularly as flash memory is cheaper than it has ever been.

Price: Dh999

Verbatim

‘These companies are really entering the arms race’

Ford Davidson, chief executive of Seattle-based Dashwire, which makes software for linking cellphone content to the Web. Nokia’s application store Ovi is all set to go live in May, directly competing with Apple’s hugely successful App Store. Microsoft and Orange have also announced their plans

Let’s face it. The release of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 in the region hasn’t come at the best of times. With the global credit crisis, the Apple iPhone 3G currently dominating the touchphone market, as well as Blackberry keeping QWERTY keyboard users satisfied, there seems to be not a lot of room for Sony Ericsson’s first Windows Mobile smartphone (which offers a bit of both). But after trying it out, would I become a convert?

Looks-wise, the X1 is a very well built and designed device; much nicer looking than the iPhone and some Blackberry and Nokia models, so perfect for the average businessman. Its typical tablet size that’s not heavy or bulky slides aside to reveal a very attractive keyboard.

In terms of display, the resolution is probably the phone’s best feature (800×480), but the screen size will be disappointing for touchphone fans. At a mere three inches, you’ll be stuck with using the stylus to select items on the screen rather than your fingertips.

Needless to say, it’s much easier using the keyboard. Being a regular Blackberry user, the keys felt slightly weird at first and took some adjusting, but after a while, it was a breeze. The keyboard is bigger and clearer than most other phones, so e-mailing can be a little bit slower at the start compared to other QWERTY keyboards, but it won’t slow down your working day.

The X1 is based on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, which is a very powerful OS offering a plethora of applications, as well as access to a huge library of third-party software. From Microsoft Office software to fun games, the phone offers a little bit of everything and beats Blackberry when it comes to the built-in features and applications.

The device also fares well with audio and video. With 400MB of internal storage, as well as a microSD card slot for additional storage, you’ll never run out of space for pictures, music or short vids. The Windows Media Player Mobile, can play files as well as stream audio and video. As for the camera, the 3.0MP takes fairly decent photos, but nothing groundbreaking. It is also quite slow between takes.

All in all, although the X1 is nice-looking and packed with features, its assets simply do not justify its steep price.

Price: Dh2,999

ony Ericsson W705 Hi-Tech Walkman Phone

The Sony Ericsson W705 mobile is a true MP3 player – to the point where its ability to play music often threatens to overshadow its ability to make calls.

The company has gone to substantial lengths to make an attractive and small phone, and the W705 excels on both fronts.

Aside from the feels-cheap slide-out keypad, the build quality is very good, with the silver model coming with an attractive gold-coloured trim.

Dimensions of the W705 are 9.5cm by 4.8cm by 1.43cm and it weighs 98g. So it is quite a small, slight and light phone, especially when compared to a larger mobile like the Nokia N85.

Firstly, and most impressively, the W705 is the first dedicated music phone to offer Wi-Fi connectivity. It has some great technologies, including EDGE, HSPA, and a built-in modem and is compatible with most formats and quite easy to use.

Applications such as Google Maps, YouTube, and video-streaming, look great on a large screen of 320×240 pixels. Other impressive features include the always-on internet connection plus the usual collection of tasks, times and alarm clocks.

On the downside, the camera is a fairly standard 3.2 megapixels with a 3x digital zoom, nothing special and certainly nothing to write home about.

Like other Walkman phones, the W705 includes SenSMe – a technology that incorporates mood analysis into the track details, which allows you to create playlists that suit your mood. Also part of this smart package is a shake control, which allows a user to change tracks and adjust the volume by flicking the phone. Cool.

It also incorporates a system called Clear Stereo to actually enhance the music and make it clearer.

It is easy to navigate your music files and the system is very intuitive. The Sony Ericsson W705 also comes with a decent pair of in-ear headphones, with a non-proprietary jack adaptor – saving the hassle of buying another pair.

Overall the W705 is a great phone. It looks fantastic, has all the standard features you would expect from a top-end mobile. And it includes a spectacular music player. It’s just a shame about the phone’s keypad.

Price: Dh1,359

Verbatim

‘It won’t necessarily stimulate sales, but it clearly will keep sales of the Shuffle going forward’

Charles Wolf, an analyst with Needham & Co on the new iPod Shuffle music player. The new 4GB gadget is half the size of the previous Shuffle, and carries up to 1,000 songs – twice as many as the last generation of the device. The new VoiceOver feature announces songs and playlists to users in 14 different languages, according to Apple.