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Trimble has rolled out its Copernicus II GPS receiver that ought to see action in many a miniaturized gizmo in the near future. After all, it shares roughly the same measurements as the average thumbnail, being a surface-mount, high sensitivity module. Some of the major advancements found in the Copernicus II receiver include the ability of signal tracking for applications functioning despite being in poor signal environments and a high-sensitivity stationary timing mode for time synchronization. Thanks to its higher sensitivity, performance and faster startup times, the Copernicus II GPS module allows system integrators to add Global Positioning System (GPS) capability to a mobile device with minimal impact on its size or battery life without breaking the bank, and these savings will also be passed down to consumers which is always a good thing considering the global credit crunch at this point in time.

The Copernicus II GPS module is a complete, ready-to-go receiver that provides position, velocity and time data. The receiver features Trimble patented software technology that provides faster startup times and even higher performance in foliage and urban canyon environments. Compatible with active or passive antennas, the Copernicus II GPS receiver can be used in portable handheld, battery-powered applications such as Bluetooth appliances, sport accessories, personal navigators or cameras, computer and communication peripherals as well as vehicle tracking, navigation, and security products.

The Copernicus II GPS receiver will come with version 3.0 firmware, allowing it to generate position fixes with high accuracy in extremely challenging environments and under poor signal conditions, even down to -160dBm. This GPS receiver won’t consume much power at all, where a typical session takes just 120 milliwatts at full power with continuous tracking. Trimble is expected to release the Copernicus II GPS receiver sometime in the third quarter of this year.

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by Thomas Ricker, posted May 15th 2008 at 1:06AM
For those of you continuing to have Grand Theft Auto IV lockups on your PS3 even after the May 7th Rockstar patch… tough noogies. The latest 2.35 firmware won’t specifically help. Sony says that the “minor update” will “improve stability of some PS3 titles” — then clarifies that GTA IV is not part of the vagary. Nevertheless, Sony does say that they “have a identified a solution that should resolve the issue.” So buck up Niko and get on the horn with Sony, God knows the police won’t help.

[Via Joystiq, thanks Warren and Luis C.]

Read — GTA IV freezing / not loading help
Read — 2.35 firmware

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by Donald Melanson, posted May 14th 2008 at 1:01PM It’s far from the first to turn a standard issue Mac laptop into entirely different, but Munk Bogballe has gone a bit further than most with its new Workstation laptop, which turns an otherwise modest MacBook into a full-fledged slab of excess. That includes an anodized aluminum surface, European aniline leather on the underside, and even a specially designed leather bag (which costs a hefty $640 on its own if you want a second one). As for the hardware itself, you get a standard 2.4GHz MacBook under that shiny exterior, right down to the MagSafe adapter, although it is at least topped off with 4GB of RAM and it apparently comes with Windows XP pre-installed for your convenience. If that sounds like the laptop you wish Apple had made, you can get your order in now for £3,500 (or just over $6,700), which also generously includes a donation of one OLPC XO laptop to make you feel a bit better about your ridiculous purchase.

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Filed under: Laptops

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted May 14th 2008 at 10:46AM
Fujitsu’s long-running and questionably-named Handy Drive line of external drives got a bump today with the Handy Drive 400. As you may imagine, the 400 packs 400GB of storage on a 4200rpm platter and connects via USB 2.0. The entire, sleek case measures just 82 x 141.5 x 22mm and weighs in at 230g. It’s available in Japan — US release and pricing surely to come.

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Filed under: Storage

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted May 14th 2008 at 8:57AM
In the latest of a series of when-can-I-get-the-Triac false starts, the three-wheeled electric car of obscene cuteness has a real launch date. No, really. According to AutoblogGreen, Green Vehicles is accepting pre-orders for July delivery of the Triac, which means you could actually be silently cruising the beaches in this thing come summer. For those concerned about safety and all that “not dying” stuff, Green Vehicles has assured the press that a safety cage designed by race car fabrication experts has been integrated into the car’s design. Also, they promise that the lithium-ion batteries are good for at least 2000 cycles, which should last you about 5 years. We’re being told that the Green Vehicles site will be updated today with reservation info, so keep an eye out.

[Via AutoblogGreen]

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Filed under: Transportation

by Paul Miller, posted May 14th 2008 at 8:36AM
We’ve seen this attempted a few times before, but it’s hard to imagine OCZ’s entry into build-it-yourself laptops will be any more successful. The new OCZ DIY Gaming Notebook is a 7 pound 15.4-inch backbreaker, which comes standard with an NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT video card, Intel PM965 northbridge, SATA support for hard drives, 8x dual-layer DVD burner, four USB 2.0 ports, ExpressCard and a fingerprint leader. The problem is that the “optional components” are WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 and a TV tuner, with only the last of those being truly optional on a regular enthusiast laptop. It’s nice of OCZ to provide documentation and a warranty for those who really want to get under the hood of a modern laptop, but we’re guessing most gamers these days would give up a bit of a customization for a straight-up well priced performer. No word on price or availability.

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Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

If you’re looking for the very best in plasma HDTVs, most people know they just need to look towards Pioneer. Their Kuro range of plasma HDTVs have been a huge winner, and now Pioneer are set to announce their newest and best Kuro plasma HDTV ever.

Pioneer already have the darkest, blackest levels on the market, resulting in amazing more true to life images, and now they have just upped their game. Their new 50-inch PDP-5020FD, and 60-inch PDP-6020FD claim to have “Five time deeper (black levels) than the previous KURO models”, and aim towards Pioneers ultimate goal of “pure, absolute black”.

We have seen and heard nothing but great things about Pioneers existing Kuro range, so we can’t wait to see, and expect amazing things from their new models. 5x improvement is quiet an achievement. The two models here sound very similar to the previously announced European PDP-LX5090 and PDP-LX6090, we expect these are just the U.S versions.

Both the 50-inch Pioneer PDP-5020FD and 60-inch Pioneer PDP-6020FD feature full HD 1080p plasma panels, and are 20% slimmer than the previous Kuro’s at only 3.7 inches thick. The deeper blacks and colors are a result of reducing idle luminance leading to 5x better performance than the 2007 models.

A new HD graphic user interface provides great ease of use, and seamless integration with other A/V equipment and networked home media gallery for playback of HD media, photos and music via a PC or USB device. The new plasma’s are also DNLA and PlaysForSure compatible.

Expect to see both models in June! The 50-inch PDP-5020FD will cost you $4,000 MSRP, while the 60-inch PDP-6020FD will set you back $5,500 MSRP.

Sharp has expanded its Professional LCD Monitors with the launch of the TL Professional lcd monitor Line. LCD’s in this product line will have a full 1920 x 1080 2-megapixel high-definition resolution display. To kick off the launch the product line, Sharp has released the 52-inch TL-M5200 and the 46-inch TL-M4600.

Both of these LCD’s give out a high image quality, features and performance which are perfect for teleconferencing, CAD/Simulation, digital signage, corporate, educational, training, hospitality, sports arenas, entertainment and house-of worship. In addition these LCD’s are also easy to install with their lightweight cabinet design, and even come equipped with RJ-45 LAN Control for network connectivity. Other features of these two new LCD’s include Advanced Super View panel, 1500:1 (TL-M4600) and 2000:1 (TL-M5200) contrast ratios, advanced signal processing, an HDCP compatible HDMI input, and a built-in web browser.

The Sharp TL-M4600 and TL-M5200 LCD’s retail for $4,995 and $3,995 at all Sharp retail outlets.

Via [Akihabara News]

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I had a chance to see the Speed Racer movie last weekend, and if you haven’t seen it yet, let me give you my one sentence review: “Even though this film is full of nothing but unbelievable special-effects, action, and characters, it must not be missed.”

Yes, nothing will help you tap into your inner child like the Speed Racer movie. If you really want to delve deep into your inner child, get some of the new Speed Racer Lego sets.

The new sets include the cars from the movie, plus the drivers. These Lego sets include: Speed Racer and Snake Oiler (set 8158), Racer X and Taejo Togokahn (set 8159), Cruncher Block and Racer X (set 8160), as well as the Grand Prix Race (set 8161) which has the Mach 6, Gray Chost, and Cannonball Taylor’s GRX car along with eight minifigures.

Not included with any set are the incredibly curvaceous race tracks that they used in the movie. This is not surprising, considering how square most Legos are. I was actually surprised that Lego was able to do the round bumpers of the Mach 5 quite well.

The Speed Racer Lego sets are all available now at varying prices. Sets 8158 and 8159 are about $19.99, set 8160 is for $39.99, and the Grand Prix Set 8161 is for $59.99.

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Philips has official announced the touchscreen based X800 (pictured above) and Xenium X-Connect (pictured below) handsets. The X-Connect aims a little more at the high end of the spectrum, while the X800 seems to have a nicer look than feature set.

The X800 will feature a 2.9-inch display with a 240 x 400 resolution, 2-megapixel camera, microSD card slot and Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity. Sadly even with the nice look and touchscreen, the X800 is lacking some important connectivity, namely EDGE or Wi-Fi, instead it gives just 2G GSM for all your data needs. The X800 will allow you send or receive both SMS and MMS messages but the mobile web browsing is limited, not only by the previously mentioned 2G coverage, but the WAP 2.0 browsing experience.

The Xenium X-Connect on the other hand seems to be a welcomed handset. The X-Connect will feature a slightly larger 3-inch touchscreen display and have much more as far as connectivity. The X-Connect will include support for GPRS, UMTS and HSDPA, but is still lacking the Wi-Fi. In addition it will also have Bluetooth, USB, a microSD card slot, integrated GPS and is running Windows Mobile 6.

Still unclear for both the X800 and Xenium X-Connect are pricing and availability dates.

Via [Just Another mobile phone Blog] Via [GSM Arena]

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