Minicomputer a fresh catch
Few e-commerce companies scour Asia’s electronics markets like. This company imports and sells cellphones, laptops and accessories fresh from the streets of Tokyo and Seoul. Its latest catch is the Raon Everun ultramobile PC, a minicomputer that is 6 inches long and runs Microsoft Windows XP.
The PC, which starts at $799, has a 4.8-inch touchscreen and a full mini-keyboard with touchpad. It has a comparatively slow processor from AMD – about 500 megahertz in the $799 configuration – but it can run Microsoft Office applications and simple games.
Dynamism sells the device with a 30- or 60-gigabyte hard drive or 6 gigabytes of solid-state flash memory, which the PC uses like a regular drive. A hybrid version with both a drive and flash memory is available for $1,099.
Available later this month, it weighs about a pound and is compatible with the 802.11b/g and Bluetooth wireless standards.
The device can make only Skype and other Internet calls, with the right software. – John Biggs, The New York Times
Calculating cyclists’ power output
Two decades ago, Polar popularized the use of heart-rate monitors as training tools for athletes, both professional and amateur. More recently, dedicated cyclists have added another indicator: their actual power output, usually measured in watts.
Cyclists generally capture that information with special hubs or cranks that contain tiny strain gauges.
Polar is trying an alternative approach. The Polar CS600 With Power, available through bike and sporting goods stores and online retailers, relies on sensors that capture slight differences in chain vibration as well as chain speed to calculate power output.
Unlike some gauges, the Polar system does not require replacing any part of the bicycle, but it does add an unsightly battery pack and several sensors.
At $700, the CS600 is exceptionally expensive for a bicycle computer. But that price is well below the cost of strain-gauge-based alternatives, even excluding the cost of installation, potentially making it attractive to amateur racers or even some recreational riders. And, yes, the CS600 still measures heart rate. – Ian Austen, The New York Times
