Aircell just got two big thumbs up from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) in regards to in-flight WiFi. They just received an ATG (air-to-ground) and a PMA (parts manufacture approval) from the government agency which will allow the company to expand their in-flight broadband offerings to all of American Airlines’ and Virgin America’s 767-200 fleet. The rollout is set to occur by the end of the year and will initially be offered for flights between LA, San Francisco, New York and Miami, and then expanding to Seattle, San Diego and Washington D.C. The service will be provided by Gogo Inflight Internet. Will this be a curse or blessing to the road-warrior types that use their time on a plane to be disconnected from the world? Or will it annoy everyone with people watching the evolution of dance video over and over again in mid flight? Only time will tell.

Read [MobileTechNews]

Wireless Mobile Group (WMG) is set to integrate Slashpower technology into their new batch of smartphones. This technology will enable you to charge your phone (and not just phones) by just placing it on a pad; it works by magnetic induction. Currently, you can add modules to a regular phone so that it can be charged wirelessly, but it won’t be necessary by integrating Slashpower directly into the batteries of the phone.  Hopefully other manufacturers will hop on the bandwagon and embrace this neat technology, that will get rid of half a dozen cables on my nightstand.

Read [Ubergizmo]

In a very surprising move, Garmin has announced their entry into the mobile phone market with their new nuviphone. Yes, Garmin, the company that everyone knows for GPS navigation systems. Not too many details have been made public, because the phone is set to launch in Q3 of this year. What we do know it that it will feature a 3.5’’ touch screen, high-speed data via HSDPA, web browser, IM and email, local search provided by Google, geo-tagging for pictures, and will have a video-recording camera. I almost forgot to mention that it will have full GPS capability, like its other Nuvi siblings. The UI is not quite finished and polished yet, as they still have over half a year to finish it, but the device doesn’t look too bad, being Garmin’s first venture into the mobile phone business. But then again, the iPhone was Apple’s first mobile phone, and they seem to have gotten it right.

Press Release [Garmin] Via [CrunchGear]

Read [Symbian-Freak] 

Minox is set to introduce the DC 6033 digital camera ideal for the outdoors man (or woman). This 6 megapixel camera is rubberized making it very tough and impact resistant; it can withstand sand, dust, dirt, salt, and is can be submerged in 33 ft of water, where its built-in flash comes in handy to take well-light pictures. It features 16MB of internal memory, a 2'' TFT screen for previewing pictures and adjusting settings, and 4x digital zoom. It also takes SD cards of up to 2GB. Its powered simply by 2 AA batteries and should set you back $300. No word yet on availability.

Read [Aving] Via [Gizmodo] 

Sony just announced a new projector, the VPL-VW40, which has many top-of-the-line features for a (yet unspecified) lower price than older models. It is capable of full HD (up to 1080p, 1920 x 1080), it has a 15,000:1 contrast ratio, adjusts automatically to the level of lighting that is being projected for optimal results (this feature is called Advanced Iris 2). Connectivity wise, it has 2 HDMI input ports and it also features Sony SXRD, which is Sony's response to Texas Instruments' DLP technology, to deliver crisp images. Match this up with a 300'' screen and this quiet projector (22dB at its loudest) could be the centerpiece of your new home theater setup.

Press Release [Sony] via [Newlaunches] 

Ever wish you could shape your mouse into any for you please? Well, there is a new concept, winner of the Red Dot Design Award 2007, called the Moldable Mouse, developed by Lite-On Technology. The mouse itself is made out of clay covered with polyurethane and nylon so that the user can transform the mouse into any shape. The base of the mouse houses the electronics and the batteries and the buttons aren't conventional ones, but RFID stickers, so that the user can place them wherever his/her heart desired. Unfortunately this is still a concept but hopefully a manufacturer will pick up the design and start mass-producing this ergonomically-friendly device.

Via [Techpin] 

This may be the definite death of the HD-DVD format. Financial Times is reporting that Paramount may switch over to Blu Ray thanks to a clause in their contract with HD-DVD that states that they will be able to make this move if and when Warner Bros. goes exclusively with Blu Ray, which is a done deal.

As it stands, Blu Ray has 70% of Hollywood's output, and if Paramount Studios makes the switch to Blu Ray, that would leave HD-DVD with Universal Studios solely. The question is, does Universal Studios have the same clause in their contract with the HD-DVD camp? 

Source [Financial Times] 

Apple just announced new Mac Pros at CES and the specs are pretty amazing. Let me give you the basics: 8 cores standard, support for 8 30'' monitors, and to top things off, it comes with that shiney new aluminum keyboards showcases a couple months ago. Not bad. Here are the full specs:

• 2 Quad Xeons, up to 3.2 GHz. 8 cores are standard.
• Up to 32 GB of RAM.
• 1600 MHz FSB and 800 MHz Ram speed 
• Up to 4 TB of internal storage
• ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT (256 memory) video card, standard, and support for 4 video cards, effectively supporting 8 monitors.

Pricing starts at $2800, which isn't bad for what Apple says is their fastest computer ever. 

Even more specs? Here's the full press release:

Apple Introduces New Mac Pro

Fastest Mac Ever - Eight Processor Cores Standard

CUPERTINO, Calif., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today
introduced the new Mac(R) Pro with eight processor cores and a new system
architecture that delivers up to twice the performance of its predecessor*.
The new Mac Pro combines two of Intel's new 45 nanometer Quad-Core Xeon
processors running up to 3.2 GHz, powerful new graphics and up to 4TB of
internal storage to offer the ideal system for creative professionals, 3D
digital content creators and scientists. The standard 8-core configuration
starts at just $2,799.
"The new Mac Pro is the fastest Mac we've ever made," said Philip
Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "With
3.2 GHz 8-core Xeon processing, a 1600 MHz front side bus and 800 MHz memory,
the new Mac Pro uses the fastest Intel Xeon architecture on the market."
The new Mac Pro features the latest Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5400 series
processors based on state-of-the-art 45nm Intel Core microarchitecture running
up to 3.2 GHz, each with 12MB of L2 cache per processor for breakthrough
performance and power efficiency. With a new high-bandwidth hardware
architecture, dual-independent 1600 MHz front side buses and up to 32GB of 800
MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM memory, the new Mac Pro achieves a 61 percent increase in
memory throughput**.
Every Mac Pro comes standard with the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics card
with 256MB of video memory. The Mac Pro includes a new PCI Express 2.0
graphics slot that delivers up to double the bandwidth compared to the
previous generation, and supports the latest generation of graphics cards from
NVIDIA, such as the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT with 512MB of video memory, or
NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 with 1.5GB of video memory and a 3-D stereo port for
stereo-in-a-window applications. With support for up to four graphics cards,
the new Mac Pro can drive up to eight 30-inch displays at once for advanced
visualization and large display walls.
The Mac Pro is the most expandable Mac ever, featuring four internal hard
drive bays with direct-attach, cable-free installation of four 1TB Serial ATA
hard drives, totaling 4TB of internal storage and support for two SuperDrives.
With optional 15000 rpm SAS drives that can deliver up to 250MB/s of RAID 5
disk I/O performance, the Mac Pro is ideal for film and video editors.
Combined with SATA or SAS drives, using an optional Mac Pro RAID card offers
the ultimate data protection and disk I/O performance on the Mac Pro. The Mac
Pro is easily and conveniently accessible in front and back so users can
connect external devices with five USB 2.0, two FireWire(R) 400, two FireWire
800, optical and analog audio in and out, dual Gigabit Ethernet ports and a
headphone jack.
Every Mac Pro includes Leopard(TM), the sixth major release of the world's
most advanced operating system. Leopard is packed with more than 300 new
features and introduces a brand new desktop with Stacks, a new way to easily
access files from the Dock; a redesigned Finder that lets users quickly browse
and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, a new way to instantly see
files without opening an application; Spaces, an intuitive new feature used to
create groups of applications and instantly switch between them; and Time
Machine(TM), an effortless way to automatically back up everything on a Mac.
Featuring an improved scheduler and other multi-core technology, Leopard is a
perfect companion to the Mac Pro, making applications faster and helping
application developers take advantage of multi-core systems.
The new ultra-thin aluminum Apple Keyboard now ships with every Mac Pro
and built-in Bluetooth 2.0 makes it easy to reduce cable clutter with the
optional Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Mouse.

Pricing & Availability
The new Mac Pro is shipping today and will be available through the Apple
Store(R) (http://www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized
Resellers.

The standard 8-core Mac Pro, with a suggested retail price of $2,799 (US),
includes:
— two 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors with dual-independent 1600
MHz front side buses;
— 2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC fully-buffered DIMM memory, expandable up to
32GB;
— ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory;
— 320GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
— 16x SuperDrive(TM) with double-layer support
(DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW);
— two PCI Express 2.0 slots and two PCI Express slots;
— Bluetooth 2.0+EDR; and
— ships with Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse.

In addition to the standard configuration, the Mac Pro offers numerous
build-to-order options including: one 2.8 GHz, two 3.0 GHz, or two 3.2 GHz
Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors; up to 32GB of 800 MHz DDR2 fully-buffered ECC
memory; up to four 1TB Serial ATA hard drives running at 7200 rpm or up to
four 300GB SAS drives running at 15000 rpm; Mac Pro RAID card; up to two 16x
SuperDrives with double-layer support; NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT or NVIDIA Quadro
FX 5600 graphics cards; AirPort Extreme 802.11n; Apple USB Modem; Apple
wireless Aluminum Keyboard; Apple wireless Mighty Mouse; and Mac OS X Server
Leopard. Complete build-to-order options and pricing are available at
http://www.apple.com/macpro.

*Based on estimated results comparing a preproduction 2.8 GHz 8-core Mac
Pro with a 2.66 GHz Quad-Core Mac Pro running professional applications like
Maya, modo and Logic(R) Pro.

**Testing conducted by Apple in December 2007 using a preproduction 2.8
GHz 8-core Mac Pro with a 2.66 GHz quad-core Mac Pro. All systems were
configured with 4GB of RAM. Results are based on the STREAM v. 5.6 benchmark
(http://www.cs.virginia.edu/stream/ref.html) using OMP support for
multiprocessor-compiled builds. All systems were configured with 8GB of RAM.
Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect
the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Source [Gizmodo]

Would you like to watch some nice high-def Blu Ray movies but don't have $400 for a Playstation 3? Well, if you have exactly half that amount of money you could get a Sony Blu-Ray drive for your desktop or your laptop. It comes bundled with CyberLink's PowerDVD BD Edition, so that you can actually watch the movies. It uses a SATA interface and it is compatible with Windows Vista and XP (no Apple love). Sony says that releasing this device will help consumer adoption of Blu Ray:

“PC-based DVD-ROM drives helped accelerate mass DVD adoption, primarily because they were the least costly way to experience the technology,” said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director, removable storage at IDC.  “Similarly, we expect sub-$200 PC-based BD-ROM drives to be a driver for cost-conscious consumers to experience Blu-ray Disc high-definition video technology.”

Not bad for that ultimate media center PC you've been drooling about.

Press Release [Sony] via [Engadget]