The future of the laptop and the tablet PC has been rolled up into one. German designer Evgeny Orkin has developed a concept design for The Rolltop. The Rolltop is constructed of a flexible OLED display that wraps around the removable power supply stand. Tucked into the power stand is a webcam, speaker sound bar, USB ports, and the power supply and power cord.

The screen can either be formed into a 13-inch conventional laptop (well sort of) or rolled flat for a 17-inch tablet with stylus. Another great feature is you can stand it upright with a fold out support leg and watch videos like a flat screen TV. And with multi-touch technology you don’t need a separate mouse and keyboard because everything is right on the screen. It might be hard to type on a digital QWERTY keyboard but it might be like a large iPhone.

I know its just in the concept form but it would really be cool to see one in person and maybe use one some day. To really appreciate the capabilities and possibilities of The Rolltop check out this video from Orkin Design.
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Popularity: 19% [?]

Out with the Old Zune, In With the New Zune HD

The Zune is joining the ranks of cast-off technology as Microsoft rearranges its product line to keep pace with morphing media consumption. Paul Thurott recently blogged, “I met with the Zune folks today and one bit of information than I can discuss immediately is that the Zune HD will be the only device type going forward.”

Microsoft currently produces several models of the Zune: 4GB Zune, 8GB Zune, 16GB Zune, 80GB Zune, and the 120GB Zune. All models wil effectively be discontinued. A backward glance at Zune’s history reveals a rocky three years of difficult competition with other media producers. Launched in an unsuccessful attempt to dethrone Apple’s domination of the mobile media market (still unsuccessful), the Zune somehow managed to gain a sizeable following.
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Popularity: 9% [?]

Duracell has come a long way in the battery charging world and now is trying their hand in Smart Power charging stations. The Duracell myGrid eliminates wires all together and allows you to charge up to 4 devices at one time. It is compatible with Nokia, Motorola, Blackberry, and Apple products like the iPhone and iPod. All you need to do is attach a Power Sleeve or Power Clip to your devices and then when you need to charge just lay it on the ultra-slim power pad. The myGrid will automatically shut off when it is being touched and can detect when metal or moisture comes into contact. It will charge in the same amount of time as your standard charger but without all of the cords.

Duracell also has introduced some new portable battery chargers and other portable device chargers. Their new portable battery charger can recharge AA or AAA NiMH batteries in about 60 minutes. If you are interested in the myGrid it will hit the shelves in October for around $80. And the other 10 Duracell Smart Power devices are in stores now. Here is a Press Release from Duracell that goes over their new line up.
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Popularity: 12% [?]

Whether or not you were expecting it (and you weren’t), Kindle slashed the price of the new Kindle 2 by sixty dollars, bringing the price down to a manageable $299. Still pricey, but not as pricey as buying 1,500 paper books.

The new Kindle, after only two months on the market, is bigger than its predecessor and has a few extra bells and whistles. When it originally came out with a price of $359, customers gobbled it up, making it an instant Amazon bestseller. Now, Amazon hopes it will become an even bigger seller. With an appreciated dip below the three hundred mark, the Kindle is available to a broader market base.

The question is, “why?”
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Popularity: 8% [?]

Even if you forgot your laptop at work or your PC crashes just as you’re about to print a coupon for a late night trip to the store, you can forget your worries if you’re going to print using the new HP TouchSmart Printer.

Today in San Francisco, HP shared the news of a new addition coming to their TouchSmart technology family. Finally, a printer made for the tech-savvy generation. And it’s just a little bulky.

The TouchSmart technology has already been used in HP’s TouchSmart computers. Used in this line of printers, it will allow users to access and print from the web using only the 4.3-inch LCD touchscreen on the printer. The main web-printer relationship will stem from the HP Apps Studio, which will be built into all printers of this line. Various apps will allow users to print maps, news updates, photos from online storage sites, printable coupons, movie tickets, and more. Current partners include Google, USA Today, Coupons.com, Dreamworks, Web Sudoku, Weathernews, and Nickelodeon.
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Popularity: 8% [?]

Digital frames are popping up everywhere these days. Even my grandmother received one for her 85th birthday, right along with a pair of fuzzy, pink slippers. I’m pretty sure that even if she did know how to work it, it wouldn’t tweet. And yours probably can’t tweet, nor can it view pictures on Facebook, Flickr, or Picasa. But the new SilverFrame, the latest and greatest digital photo frame from SilverPac, can do all of the above.

This 10.1-inch touchscreen-operated digital frame is Wi-Fi enabled and actually connects with several photo-sharing social networking sites. But really, it’s more like a mini computer than it is a digital frame. Windows CE 6.0 R2 is the operating system, supporting Windows Sideshow and Live FrameIt. It is also Bluetooth-enabled, allowing users to send images directly to the frame from their mobile phones. Additionally, the SilverFrame has USB ports and a multi-card reader, just in case you’re set on uploading pictures the old fashioned way. Images can be stored on the SilverFrame’s 1GB of onboard memory, and two 1.5W speakers provide impressive stereo quality sound. The SilverFrame even comes with an IR remote control and AC adapter.
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Popularity: 9% [?]

Verizon Claims It Will Sell the Pre in Six Months

As if yesterday’s news that AT&T plans to sell the Palm Pre weren’t enough to keep the Internet buzzing, Verizon’s Chief Operating Officer, Lowell McAdam just announced that his company plans to sell the Palm Pre as soon as six months from now. In addition to their plans to sell the Palm Pre, Verizon also announced that they plan to begin selling the new Blackberry Storm around the same time. That, of course, comes as no big surprise, as they were already the exclusive carrier since last year.

While AT&T and Verizon will most likely benefit from the shared sales of the promising-to-be-popular Pre, it is Palm that is will reap the greatest harvest. Allowing other companies to share in the selling (and having such a short-lived exclusive contract with Sprint) was a smart move on Palms’ part, which is already glowing in the 11 percent uptick of their shares. The increase in their shares came about after yesterday’s announcement that AT&T would also be selling. (By contrast, Sprint’s shares dropped by 3 percent.)
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Popularity: 6% [?]

Apple followers and Windows devotees alike are abuzz over the rumors, spawned from the Wall Street Journal report, that Steve Jobs is cooking up “a portable device that is smaller than its current laptop computers but bigger than the iPhone or iPod Touch.” - (WSJ). In other words, “he’s working on a cool new computer that is about… yea big.”

So… what is it? Let the speculation begin.

And so, speculation takes off on its careening course-sure to start arguments, inspire hateful comments, and keep bloggers busy. But it sure is fun.

So, here’s a bit of speculation. Assuming we have in the not-so-distant future a tablet-like device or a netbook being produced by Apple, what is it going to be like? Here are some general prognostications. Sorry, no pictures yet.
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Popularity: 3% [?]

This Chinavision emulator handheld is like an iPod for retro console games. It plays Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Game Boy Advance, and Neo-Geo games and has 4GB of onboard memory — probably enough to hold the entire library of one of those systems. If that’s not enough you can also stick a mini-SD card in a slot on the bottom for more space.

It looks like it came from an alternate reality, Steve Jobs decided to hell with copyright law and created an iPod for playing retro video game ROMs. In our universe, Jobs plays nice with copyright, so it’s up to a Chinese gadget manufacturer to create the device and sell it to the public for the low price of $87.31 — three for $83.82 each!
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Popularity: 5% [?]

As of last Thursday you can now purchase an iPhone without signing a contract. You can ether get a contract free iPhone at an AT&T store or directly through the Apple store. You can pay the full price of $599 for the 8GB model or $699 for the 16GB version.

If you are a existing customer of AT&T you can purchase only one for the full price. But you can buy as many as you want from Apple and you don’t need to have been an existing contract holder with AT&T. You can activate your new iPhone through iTunes from the comfort of your home.
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Popularity: 3% [?]