Gadgets and Gizmos

LG VX 9800 Peeks Out Of FCC

LG’s latest QWERTY keyboard phone, the VX 9800 has been revealed in the FCC database today. The phone has an external numeric keypad with a 128×160 screen, and flips open to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard, stereo speakers and a 320×256 screen, much like the Motorola A630. The VX9800 is a CDMA handset and features EV-DO high speed data, a 1.3 megapixel camera with flash, Mini SD and mpeg4 video streaming. The VX 9800 does not run a smartphone operating system, nor does its cousin, the F9100 which has already launched on Cingular.

AMD: dual-core not for gamers

Gamers, AMD’s upcoming dual-core desktop processor, the Athlon 64 X2, is not for you. What you want is the single-core Athlon 64 FX.

So the chip maker said today. According to John Harris, AMD’s head of marketing in North America, despite the performance benefits that the X2’s extra core brings, “the Athlon 64 FX is still the best processor for gaming.”

Harris’ reasoning is that until games start being coded for multiple processors, which he reckons won’t happen until next year, you’ll get better game performance out of the single-core chip.
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Credit card firms push cybersecurity

The stricter guideline from MasterCard, Visa, American Express and other major credit card companies are designed to improve the security practices of online merchants and guard against fraud. Merchants that fall foul of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard could face fines. In extreme cases, the ability to process future credit card transactions may be withdrawn, restricting the ability of these firms to trade.

After 30 June, firms processing more than 20,000 Visa transactions a year will have to perform an annual self-assessment and quarterly network scan, for example. A list of the requirements can be found here.
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MS preparing new mobile IM client

Microsoft is preparing a new IM chat client for Windows Mobile-based devices. The new chat client is based on the user interface of Microsoft’s forthcoming Office Communicator 2005 (code-named Istanbul). Office Communicator 2005 is an enterprise messenger that integrates communications capabilities (including instant messaging, rich presence, PC-based voice and video, VoIP, and enterprise telephony) with productivity and other communications applications.

Microsoft’s Windows Mobile client will offer secure instant messaging and presence sharing across all types of wireless networks, real-time access to business contacts, and a familiar Windows interface.

The first beta release of the client is expected to be released in the second half of 2005.

Sony Clie VZ90 Palm OS reviewed

Undeniably, Sony has made some of the hottest Palm OS PDAs over the last few years. Sadly, these were largely high end products with price tags to match, and the US economy has been weak since 2001. This translated into weak sales and Sony pulled out of the US market in 2004. Sony Clie PDAs lived on in Japan, the the Sony Clie VZ90 became their first Japan-only handheld. The features and price far exceed prior Sony offerings, with the exception of the Clie NZ90 which sported a stunning 2 megapixel digital camera and a very high price tag. Other than the camera, the VZ90 knocks the socks off of the NZ90 which has much less memory and a pedestrian transflective display. What’s that, you say? How could I belittle the NZ90’s excellent display? Because the VZ90 is the first mass production PDA with an OLED (organic LED) screen, and believe me, nothing else you’ve seen compares. The display is incredibly vivid, shockingly bright, superbly contrasty and it doesn’t eat up gobs of precious battery power.

Though Sony has announced that they won’t be introducing new Clie models in Japan, the device is well worth considering if your budget can accommodate the $999 price. Keep in mind that this is a Japanese PDA and both the handheld and manual ship from the factory in Japanese. ICUBE pre-installs Clie Pet’s excellent utility which translates approximately 65% of the interface into English, but the remaining untranslated items mean that you’ll want to be familiar with Palm OS PDAs, preferably Sony Clie models to help fill in the blanks. The user interface is very similar to the Clie UX40 and UX50, and you’ll likely accommodate reasonably well if you’ve owned one of those models. (more…)