07:26 PM by sUnShInE in Miscellaneous | Lounge

Imagine this:

You're shopping at your local grocery store. You walk in, with your handy little shopping cart. You walk over to the info kiosk and grab a small handheld. You scan a barcode with the handheld from a card in your wallet, unlocking it for use, and you're off.

You begin shopping. As you pull items off the shelf, you scan them with the handheld and plop them into your cart. If you decide against the item, you delete it from the unit.

Suddenly the unit beeps, alerting you that if you buy the larger size box of the cereal you just put in your cart, you'll save $2. As you're deciding on whether or not you'll eat that much cereal, and you start scrolling through your itemization on the handheld to see how much you've spent, you get a message that your prescription is ready at the pharmacy for pick up.

Not sure where the pharmacy is located? No problem. The handheld has a map to direct you. But first you want to grab some specialty cheese, and you wonder if the store carries it. You type your search into the handheld, and it pops up the product information, pricing and location for you.

After you pick up the prescription, you head off to the check out. You opt for the speedy aisle. You place the handheld into a machine, swipe your credit card, and walk out the door.

Sounds pretty futuristic, huh? American grocery chain Food Lion will be testing this wifi-based system in five pilot stores in the Charlotte, N.C. area by the end of the year.

05:04 PM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Lounge

International Herald Tribune via Bloomberg News writes today how cooperate missteps cost electronics giant Sony $100 billion in market value.

The article cites Al Ries, an Atlanta-based marketing strategist, saying Sony's problem is that it is too big and too unfocused. The electronics unit makes everything from image sensors for digital cameras to CD players, personal computers and headphones. The entertainment side creates movies, music and video games. The financial arm houses two insurance companies and an Internet bank.

Related to Sony's dismal performance, PalmSource shares fell as much as 16% after Sony said it scrapped plans to introduce new models of its Clie handheld computer in the U.S. this year.

03:45 PM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

BBC News runs a great story how there has been a tremendous boom in the consumption of online newspapers.

According to Timothy Balding, director general of World Association of Newspapers, web audiences for newspapers have grown by 350% over the last five years.

08:51 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Facer Launcher V2.0.6 is out and available at a 15% discount ($16.10 USD) until June 20, 2004.

The best thing about Facer is the plug-in system which allows for other third party applications (beside datebook and to-do list) to be integrated to Facer's Today page.

03:54 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

BargainPDA is the first to bring the news we were all expecting to hear today: "Sony has informed us that they will not release any new Clie PDAs this year in the US. The Clie line will continue in Japan though. This move is of course devastating for a number of reasons." Some more interesting points were revealed:

- This move is a re-grouping, not an exit from the market
- Sony will continue to sell through stock of current models which could last for several months
- Sony will continue to honor all support agreements and warranties
- The Clie line will continue to grow and evolve in Japan
- They believe wireless is very important to mobile devices. To this end they will continue to work hard in the SonyEricsson partnership to bring innovative devices to market
- Beyond wireless Sony feels mobile devices need to be strong in multimedia and gaming

So would you still buy a Sony Clie today knowing that Sony lost its focus on PDAs for now?

04:31 PM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

It is about time to invest in a new notebook.

For the first time, I've been thinking of buying a Macintosh-based computer. Yes, a very big step, because I wasn't exactly fond of Macs in the past (I learned to hate them at college).

But things are different since Panther OS X. I like the fact that Darwin runs on top of FreeBSD and allows to run *nix based programs. In the past, I could have argued that I was missing this or that application not available for Macs. Today, I am not aware of any such restriction any more, thanks to Darwin.

The big con: price. Why is Apple so horrendously expensive? And beside the general high price, here in Europe you pay another 20% premium compared to US prices. My question to you - if you are a Mac-owner: Is Panther OS X and a nice style enough reason for a PC junkie to seriously consider buying a Powerbook? Please help me to make a decision!

02:43 PM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Following our discussion from last week, more other tech sites were also reporting rumors of a possible end of the Sony Clie line. Shaun of PDA247 also confirms that Sony company is going to release an official press statement tomorrow. What is new: Sony Ericsson Mobile Phones will also be discontinued! (that stinks, I own a t610 and think it is a great phone!).

Let's see what news will bring tomorrow.

11:50 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Scheduled to hit the Japanese market June 12, the SONY GU-BT1 is a Bluetooth-compatible GPS receiver/transmitter unit especially designed for Sony's Bluetooth CLIE PDAs.

The personal GPS unit measures 60x89x18mm, weighs 72g, and is capable of running continuously for up to 12 hours on a single recharge.

Price will be around 31,290 Japanese Yen (which is roughly $280 USD).