TOP TECHNOLOGY NEWS

In the early 1960’s, the film industry toyed breifly with the idea of Smell-O-Vision, pumping scents into movie theaters to enhance the viewing experience. Alas, it was an idea whose time had not yet come. We don’t know if the present is any better a time for such an innovation, but Japan’s NTT seems to think it might be. By attaching a funky little orb peripheral to your PC, the company is enabling smell-enhanced web surfing. This is’t actually the first time we’ve seen prototypes of internet scenting devices, but this is the first one that looks like it might actually go to market (at a retail price of $640).

Intel announced yesterday that it has produced a prototype transistor using a new material called indium antimonide, which is expected to deliver a significant leap in processor performance. The new material, with the chemical symbol InSb, delivers better performance with lower power requirements, so that chips will be able to do more operations while eating up less battery life.

Struggling to see in the dark? Take a picture; it’ll last longer. The MII Flashcam means never having to choose between brief glimpses of your subject and lasting images on your hard drive. This 17-inch flashlight comes equipped with an integrated 3-megapixel camera that also captures up to two hours of VGA video.

The mirrors on most motorcycles can be just about useless. At high speed, they vibrate so badly you’re lucky to make out any shapes at all, much less an oncoming car in your blind spot. But the Reevu helmet may make handlebar mirrors obsolete. With a pair of periscope mirrors mounted in either side of the helmet, the Reevu builds a complete rear view using the rider’s peripheral vision.

There was a time, however difficult it may be to recall now, when Research In Motion ruled the world of mobile messaging and data relatively unopposed. With its push technology, the BlackBerry quickly rose to the top of a relatively small heap of competitors and became the international gold standard in mobile business communications by the end of the 20th century. Meanwhile, competitors like Palm and Handspring (which were separate companies not long ago) continued playing with their own designs for wireless messaging, including the now-defunct Palm.net and the continually evolving Treo line of handhelds. But through ever mounting competition, the BlackBerry has held its ground.

Now a new generation of wireless data phones has emerged and looks likely to pose a serious threat to the BlackBerry’s position as Alpha Phone.

Nokia’s up-and-coming N92 phone goes well beyond music and ringtones. With its 2.8-inch LCD and DVB-H receiver, this thing’s a full-on television. Of course there still isn’t a network capable of supporting this handset just yet, but that’s just a technicality, right? The N92 has a 2GB hard drive, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, and an FM radio receiver, making it a fairly well rounded entertainment handset. Nokia expects to release this thing in mid-2006 for the European market.

From your desk to the street to your airplane seat, the Plantronics Pulsar 590A lets you chat, rock, or work without wires. The lightweight stereo headset includes a noise-canceling microphone on the right earphone, which, though short, does its job admirably. Our calls went through loud and clear. But that’s just a fraction of this headset’s power.

With its universal adapter, you can pair the Pulsar with any computer to listen to your MP3 collection from across the room. No more pulling off the headphones every time you get up to grab a file at work. And when you’re traveling you can use the Pulsar’s in-flight adapter to plug it into the plane’s headset jack so you don’t have to wear those disgusting loaner phones.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Specs:

Price: $199

Weight: 3.5 ounces

Size: 6.8 x 5.3 x 2.3 inches

Specs: Bluetooth 1.2; stereo earphones; noise-canceling microphone; universal phone adapter; desktop charging station; USB charger; in-flight cable

www.plantronics.com

From the “everything is cooler in Asia” file comes this announcement from the Korea Electronics Show 2005. LG is now showing off a new digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) handset that one-ups the whole live-TV-on-your-phone thing. Much like a Tivo, it lets you pause live broadcasts when a call comes in, so you don’t have to miss a moment of your small-screen entertainment.

I’m especially stoked to see the twistable screen that does both landscape and portrait mode without making you hold the phone sideways. No reason LG can’t bring that feature to America.

In a bizarre case of art imitating life, players of the Blizzard Entertainment game World of Warcraft suddenly found themselves dying from a mysteriously rampant plague that ravaged their virtual world.

The plague began innocently enough. Blizzard introduced a new dungeon area in the world, intended to give high-level players a bit of a challenge. But when players reached the boss at the end of the dungeon, they got more than they bargained for — and unknowingly took a little something back to town to share with their friends. The dungeon boss, called Hakkar the Soulflayer, cast a spell called Corrupted Blood.