iPhone rival Ocean rides buzz wave
While the makers of smartphones cower in anticipation of the June release of the iPhone from Apple, a small cellphone service provider called Helio is introducing a device that is getting plenty of buzz.
Helio’s phone, the Ocean, has two keypads. Sliding the phone up reveals a standard phone keypad, while sliding it to the side reveals a full QWERTY keyboard. The 4- inch-long phone has a 2.4- inch display and 200 megabytes of internal memory for video and audio recordings and media files.
Helio gives the phone its own special interface and offers downloadable content, including games, TV shows, movies and music.
The Ocean also handles e-mail, instant messaging and Global Positioning System services. What makes the Ocean stand out is the integration of almost all of these services into its contacts software. Each contact listing has small icons that show your friend’s current status in AIM, Yahoo and Windows Live Messenger.
The Ocean, priced at $295, will be available at dealers this month, giving it a bit of a head start on the iPhone. – John Biggs, The New York Times
A secretary in the kitchen?
You rarely realize your kitchen’s running short of something until you are busy cooking – and then, inevitably, the pencil for the shopping list is missing. Luckily, there’s a gadget that will let you dictate it.
Tap a button on the SmartShopper, state your needs to its built-in microphone, and speech-recognition software turns them into text.
SmartShopper recognizes 2,500 item names and common errands (“dry cleaners,” say, or “post office”), and lets you add items of your own. It also displays each new entry so you can correct it. When you’re going out to shop, it prints out the list, alphabetized, with errands followed by your list of things to get.
Available from smartshopperusa.com, SmartShopper costs $149.95 and comes with three rolls of thermal paper. It also requires four AA batteries. – Ivan Berger, The New York Times
