A few weeks ago Warner got excited about pico-projectors, those ultra-small projectors designed to be integrated into small devices. Although many of these pico-projectors have been demo'd at events like CES, there has been little news about productization.

Today, Display Daily reports from the Hong Kong Electronics Fair that "Sunlink International Holdings and iView Limited introduced the SunView PMP Projector (PMPP), which is believed to be the first commercially available portable product with integrated pico-projector." The SunView PMPP is basically a standard personal media player - 3.5" screen, SD card slot, battery, and runs Windows CE 5.0, including and Office viewer that can display movies, photos, and business presentations. But it adds a pico-projector that can create a useful display up to a 53 inches. The photo above from Display Daily shows the SunView PMPP projecting off one end of the unit. The size is listed at 133 × 79 x 25mm, or 5.2 x 3.1 x 0.98 inches, just a bit smaller than an OQO Model 02.

While I'm sure the battery life is abysmal when running the projector, this is still a remarkable product, at least on paper. I'd love to get my hands on one and see exactly how "useful" that 53 inch image is when showing a movie or presenting in PowerPoint. This should be the first of many products with integrated pico-projectors, which could change our views (no pun intended!) of portable imaging over the next couple of years.

No word on pricing for the SunView PMPP, although it's supposed to be available immediately, presumably in Hong Kong.

NedZad Mujcinovic’s concept for a multi-touch screen e-Book reader makes so much sense, that I would imagine companies interested in the market are already working on their own. Doing away with buttons and relying on a touch screen, especially if there is multi-touch, just seems like a no-brainer way to go. Another nice feature of Mujcinovic’s design for the Livre, is that it has a leather cover. Hmmm? I wonder how soon before he gets hired?

Via Engadget

Microsoft is once again giving Zunes away, one per day. You can head over to the Zune A Day Giveaway page for all the details. This looks to be tied into a promotion for Windows Live Hotmail Mobile, but you can also use an existing Hotmail account or Windows Live ID.

I picked this up from CrunchGear who also points out that the folks advertising and marketing still come up with some pretty wacky commercials, that for the life of me I can’t figure out. Why anyone would see this and want to buy a Zune is beyond me. To think of the money that goes into this kind of nonsense. And the chemicals. Yeesh.

We’ve talked in the past about the blurring lines (and horrible branding) when it comes to mobile devices like MIDs, UMPCs, and the like. It looks like those blurry lines are going to continue to become even more fuzzy from the Personal Media Player (PMP) sector. Electronista is reporting that Archos is readying a new PMP that includes 3G connectivity that allows access to the web using the Opera browser.

Some have already called the iPhone (yours truly included) the first MID, and some are really enjoying using the iPod Touch in the same way, when WiFi is available, (again, that’s the case here.) So media players as web browsers is nothing really new. I am increasingly thinking that the blurry lines defining these devices is largely irrelevant as far as the consumer is concerned. And it seems that those making and marketing these devices feel the same. Given that the focus for UMPC and MID development centers on consuming media and web browsing, as long as the consumer is getting what they need from a small device does it really matter?

Of course the question will come down to marketing. It always does. 

Thoughts?

Rob and I just got done talking with Pankaj Kedia with the Intel Ultra Mobility Group about the wealth of new MID devices being introduced at CES 2008. Intel has 10 partners who are announcing products here at CES, all based on the new Menlow low-power platform. In the Intel showcase there are MIDs from Aigo, ASUS, BenQ, Clarion, Compal, Digifriends, EB, Gigabyte, Lenovo, LG-E, LiteOn, Quanta, Toshiba, USI, and Willcom. We'll have a video up later which shows off the Aigo and the Lenovo devices, both aimed at the Chinese market, although the Aigo is identical to the Gigabyte which will have broader distribution. The Toshiba is pictured at the right in its docking station.

The devices on display are all very different from each other. Most include keyboards of some sort, but not all. Intel has provided samples and is working with 25 partners on new Menlow MIDs, so expect to be seeing a lot of new announcements as the year progresses. The goal is to have new announcements every month or so at events around the world. Intel is seeing the primary usage models for the new MIDs revolving around entertainment and location/GPS applications.

Intel is expecting MIDs based on the new Menlow platform to release in Q2 and Q3 of 2008. Price points will vary depending on the exact device and OEM options, but generally looking at about $500 and up for Linux based MIDs and about $600 and up for Windows based devices. (After all, Windows is decidedly not free.)

Intel also provided a sneak peak at the upcoming Moorestown platform launching in 2009-2010. Watch the upcoming video for more info on this new platform.

This has been rumored, hoped for, and forecast for some time now and it looks like it is going to come to pass. The Financial Times is reporting that Apple is going to start “renting” movies on line through its iTunes store. Apparently an announcement is scheduled for MacWorld in a few weeks, so you never know, it might not happen. But FT.com is reporting that the deal is with 20th Century Fox, and that there is also a component of this that uses Apple’s Fair Play DRM technology to allow consumers to purchase a DVD in a store and then rip it to their computer or iPod. (Like that doesn’t all ready happen.)

So, would you rent movies online?

Interesting. Very interesting. We’re seeing quite a few devices that at first glance appear to be yet another portable media player, but on digging further seem to have quite a bit more functionality, perhaps pushing them closer to MID or UMPC land. Is the Cowon Q5W one of those devices?

I’m not sure, but for a PMP it certainly packs quite a bit of functionality. Yes, it has the features you would expect of a media player. In addtiion it is running on WinCE and you can use a stylus with the onscreen keyboard to enter text on the 5 inch touchscreen. You can also hook up with WiFi and BlueTooth.

Interesting convergence or not?

Via Crave

Newsweek has more details on Amazon's Kindle device and service, which begins shipping tomorrow for $399. Looks very similar to a Tablet PC and UMPC, huh? I doubt it supports ink, but it sure would have been nice. Like Scoble, I wish Microsoft would have gotten their Tablet PC team on to this. It screams tablet. Oh well....

• 30 hours of use per charge
• Weighs 10.3 ounces
• Holds 200 books
• Purchase books via EV-DO through Whispernet - more details to come on price, if any

 I might give this one a try, just for the heck of it.

via Gizmodo

Ok, maybe you aren’t into the whole solar charging game, but you’re still looking for a more natural way to juice up your gear and save a few energy cycles. I posted this on my personal blog last night, but thought GBM Readers might want to take a look at this as well. I’m not sure how well it works with devices other than an iPod, and quite honestly, I’m not going to find out. But this video will tell you how to charge up your iPod with an Onion and a bit of Gatorade.

And if you try it out on an iPod on any other device, let us know.

Via Gizmodo

Amazon.com is gearing up to release its Kindle E-Book Reader on Monday. Seiko Epson is readying their E-Book reader and we’ve also heard news recently from CyBook. Of course not a week goes by without hearing about Sony’s reader. There is obviously a market here, but I’m not in it for a couple of reasons. I’d rather read E-Books on mobile devices that can do more than just be a reader (although some of these devices have other functions.) And, I’ve moved away from E-Books just because for one reason or the other I keep falling victim to the DRM schemes that are there to protect copyright. It’s a big turn-off to find myself with time on my hands, wanting to read a chapter or two, and then discovering I’ve got to re-activate, and be on-line, in order to do so.

I still think there is a real market there, but I think there has to be a better way to make the content more easily and readily accessible. Maybe Amazon will change that.

Check out this PBS video of pianist Christopher O'Riley playing at Carnegie Hall with three children in "From the Top". From what I can tell, he's using a Toshiba Tablet PC. Very cool! I like how he flips the screen around so the keyboard part is in the back. I do that quite a bit to take notes and make presentations.

Thanks to Hugh Sung for the link, who is quite known in these circles for evangelizing the music community with the power and flexibility of a Tablet PC.

I just got an email notification from the Microsoft Zune team that the updated Zune software will be hitting on November 13th for all of us Zune 1.0 owners. Here are more details

Beginning November 13, Zune® will be providing service and software updates for your device and your PC. The updates will be automatic, but you'll need to accept the terms of service in order to receive the latest features.

• Wireless sync
• Extended wireless sharing
• New innovative touch controls
• A built-in FM tuner
• Recorded television content to go
• And more…

Over at the Origami Project forums Kurt has an interesting blog post on how to use an Ultra Mobile PC to listen to Internet radio. The post covers everything from streaming to Codecs, to how to optimize your UMPC for listening. So if you’re looking to turn your UMPC into a portable radio you might want to check this out.

Via UltraMobile PC Tips

Talk of Mobile media and Mobile entertainment these days on the pages of GottaBeMoible.com (and elsewhere) usually centers around Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch, the Zune, and what you can do with media on UMPCs using either the Origami Experience or Windows Media Center. But there are other mobile solutions out there that offer some intriguing alternatives.

I came across this review on ArsGeek yesterday of the Archos 605 WiFi Portable Media Player. The reviewer certainly seems to be in love with this portable media player, and from the review there looks to be good reason. While he takes pains to point out that there are a number of different options that will add even more functionality for more bucks, he also points out that the Archos offers you most of the functionality, if not more in some cases, than the players that get all the attention. And the base price is comes in around the $279 mark depending on which configuration you buy.

Speaking of configurations, the Archos 605 comes in a number of sizes (4GB Flash up to 160GB HD) and has a touch screen, and of course as the name suggests it allows you to connect via WiFi. You can browse the web, albeit with a Opera browser plug-in that costs you extra.

The review points out a lot of pros and cons, but what intrigues me is that these devices seem to be a little bit under the radar compared to the ones we usually hear about that are tied to their respective services.

Check out the review for more.

I’ve never heard of WebGuide before. It is a web based add-on for Media Center that allows you to control your Media Center remotely over the web. In this video jkkmobile demonstrates WebGuide on a UMPC. And guess what? The add-on is free.