ViewSonic Unveils New MovieBooks

ViewSonic claims to enhance movie watching experience with its four new MovieBook models. It's not just about watching movies anymore; it's about watching HD content. These MovieBooks will support playback of up to 1080p HD video content and select models would also feature touchscreen.

ViewSonic has brought out four MovieBook models of different screen sizes - VPD550T, VPD513T, VPD403 and VPD313T. Out of these four VPD550T features ultra-high 800x480 resolution supporting touchscreen. This touchscreen MovieBook model has 8GB internal memory and supports 1080p HD video output. Another VPD513T model has same ultra-high 800x480 resolution screen that supports 720p content and offers 8GB storage. Both these MovieBooks have HDMI out for connecting them to external and bigger displays.

For a bit compact screen size like that of a PlayStation Portable, VPD403 MovieBook offers 480x272 resolution (yes, that's iPhone/iPod screen resolution) and video out support of 720p HD content. This portable movie book offers support for variety of formats and has 4GB internal storage. Going more compact, VPD313T has 3-inch screen size supporting 480x272 resolution with 480p screen and supports variety of audio-video formats.

The interface looks customized and based on Linux Kernel. However, we anticipate more portable movie and entertainment players loaded with Android OS in future.

Besides watching movies, one can also read books, watch photos and listen to music on any of these MovieBooks. The prices of the MovieBooks are as follows:
200 - (Rs. 9,600 approx.)
190 - (Rs. 9,100 approx.)
150 - (Rs. 7,200 approx.)
140 - (Rs. 6,700 approx.)

The new MovieBooks will start shipping in the first quarter of the year. Specifications and details of the new MovieBooks were not available.

Google muses about ads in Street View

It might have been just a trial balloon, but last year Google floated the idea of putting ads in Street View.(Credit: Google)

Could virtual billboards one day show up in Google Street View?

A few months ago, Google gave a presentation to marketing and ad agency types in Europe as part of an event called "Above and Beyond 2009," an educational seminar/infomercial on how Google can help get their clients' messages out to the public. One of the presentations was on the exploding opportunities in mobile advertising, something with which Google is clearly obsessed these days.

In the presentation, Google tossed out the notion that ads may one day appear in Street View, the feature in Google Maps that lets searchers navigate down an ever-increasing number of city and town streets around the world. Those ads would be tied into the listings in the Google Local Business Center and the Google Favorite Places program, which lets participating merchants put signs in their windows with bar codes leading to additional information or special offers.

A Google representative said the company had no current plans to put ads in Street View but noted that Google has already added a link to Street View in the Local Business Center listings that pop up in Google Maps. The convergence of local search, mobile computing, and navigation is one of Google's larger priorities for the upcoming year