The TASCAM’s DP-004 Digital Pocketstudio is based on 30 years of easy-to-use cassette Portastudios, and updated with four tracks of CD-quality digital recording. Like those groundbreaking Portastudios, a row of knobs set levels and pan instead of a list of menus.

The DP-004 can record two sources at once to the included 1GB SD Card. A built-in stereo condenser microphone makes it simple to record anywhere you go, perfect for concerts, rehearsals and songwriting inspirations. A pair of 1/4″ jacks on the rear panel allow you to connect your own microphones or sources. You can even switch the inputs to guitar level for recording.

You can connect to the Pocketstudio via two 1/4″ mic line inputs, switchable guitar input, headphone line out or USB 2.0 connection.

For recording options you have four track digital multitrack recording with 44.1kHz/16-bit WAV recording.  The unit records directly to SD cards with autopunch, repeat and record undo functions.  You can also have a dedicated stereo mixdown track.

As for power, just a couple AA batteries will keep this going for nearly 8 hours.

Street price is right at $200 bills.

TASCAM Pocketstudio product page.

Koolspan introduced a microSD card with encryption technology for voice telecommunications and today Certgate introduces encryption technology for data transactions through an integrated smart card chip they’ve developed.

The Certgate microSD card is definitely a gateway for them to get more products into your facility as you need their server network to run the back bone security software that syncs up with the microSD token.

However, it is the most efficient way to expand mobile data security in IT and PKI infrastructures from desktop systems to all kinds of portable devices (laptops to PDAs or smart phones). It is a perfect solution for mobile and desktop applications and highest security demands, because it is based on tamper-resistant strong encryption (2048 bit) within the smartcard and thus allows the usage of low-cost mobile devices.

Without getting to involved with rewording their key features, this is what Certgate bullet points for us: (more…)

SanDisk is all about SlotMusic these days.  SlotMusic is the concept of pre-loaded microSD cards where your music can be played on MP3 players, mobile phones and PDAs.  Complete interoperability and mobility with SlotMusic.

To soften the blow and increase adoption of the SlotMusic concept, SanDisk is offer a very inexpensive MP3 player at just $19.99.  The SlotMusic player may also be purchased with pre-loaded microSD cards for a total price of $39.99.  This price point gives a significant advantage of the iPod Shuffle as you get device and music for the same price of just the Shuffle hardware.

SanDisk put together a great demo presentation about the SlotMusic concept and I highly recommend checking out the link.

Now that we see music making the shift to pre-loaded mircoSD cards, the concept of a microSD duplicator makes a bit more sense doesn’t it?

With the backing of SanDisk and it being one of the largest flash memory retailers in the world, they have the channel and connections to make SlotMusic a success.  It will be interesting to see what artists jump on the wagon and explore the digital distribution of music via microSD cards.

SlotMusic demo.
SlotMusic player product page.

KoolSpan is offering up an encryption solution for cell phones, PDAs, smartphones and the like for end-to-end security. For mission critical applications, say government or defense contract work, a simple and convenient security system for cell phones is serious business.

KoolSpan has made encrypted cell phones simple. With any device that has microSD support the KoolSpan system will work. The solution is simple - just dial the number. If the other phone is KoolSpan enabled, then both phones automatically go [256bit] secure.

The KoolSpan encryption process is based off their TrustCenter management center. Here administrators can create security groups and permit / deny users based off security clearance protocols. All the necessary authentication keys, identity codes and crypto algorithms are pre-loaded into the KoolSpan TrustChip™. From that point on, mobile devices find each other through normal phone calls, and then transparently and automatically authenticate and encrypt sessions for secure end-to-end communications.

The KoolSpan encrypted cell phone solution is plug-n-play with the microSD TrustChip with no further configuration required. The TrustChip runs about $300 USD and isn’t clear on whether a monthly service is required.

KoolSpan TrustChip product page.

GetUSB.info just got word from USB Fever they are blowing out an Ultra-Slim USB MicroSD card reader for only ONE PENNY.

The MicroSD card reader fits inside a USB connector and is ideal for those transferring files from mobile phones and PDAs which support the MicroSD format.

Only $2.99 shipping anywhere in the world so total cost is only $3.00 (more…)

Update: More info here

The other day (literally) a fellow blogger and I where talking about why cell phones are so damn proprietary and if someone could develop a phone with the same open-source mindset as say WordPress (this blogging platform) than our world would be much better off. Well apparently I’ve been living under a rock.

From OpenMoko comes the Neo 1973 open-source cell phone based off the Linux kernel.

We selected chips that have complete documentation publicly available, such as the ARM-based Samsung S3C2410 SOC. We added a debug port with complete access to JTAG and a serial console. This phone is designed for open-source development.

With a sporty 640×480 LCD that holds a beautiful 283 dpi the visual from the Neo 1973 should be amazing.

Unlike the first version of the iPhone the Neo 1973 will have 128MB RAM with 64MB NAND flash and an expandable microSD slot (bonus 512MB card ships with the phone).

So hackers, gadget hounds and side project guru’s I think this is worth a closer look. At just $300 - what a deal.

This first run of release units is more geared towards developers so don’t expect any retail phones to hit BestBuy just yet.

OpenMoko Neo 1973 home page

Kingmax is the first to make a big leap into the 4GB MicroSDHC territory. To get perspective on how small this flash memory is consider a MiniSD card being about 1/2 the size of a US postage stamp. A MicroSD card is 1/2 smaller then that - or about 1/4 the size of a postage stamp.

The Secure Digital High Capacity card (SDHC) is based off Samsung’s 63 nanometer processing technology - currently the world’s smallest. The MicroSD cards are the #1 flash memory used in PDAs, cell phones and SmartPhones. Not only did Kingmax decrease the size but they increased (more…)

The SDG-810 is a sweet little GPS tracker. Not only is the SDG-810 compact and work with Pocket PCs, WinCE, Palm OS, PDA phones and SmartPhones but tracks in real time down to a couple meters (6 feet for you Yanks). The bonus part for the Spectec SDG-810 is a miniSD slot for up to 2GBs of additional storage.

(more…)