Android-run phones are about as unusual as Apple devices starting with ‘i’, unless we count the Apple TV. This next camera applications processor from Ambarella is dubbed the iOne. What’s atypical about it is the fact that the iOne SoC can be expected to support a category of smart cameras based on Android.

The SoC is projected to enable up to 32MP still image processing and high-speed capture of 5MP images at 30fps. It’s claimed to be the first ever low-power 1080p60 decoder accommodating full 3D HD decoding on a mobile OS platform. We’re also looking at 3D photoand video capture with the addition of Ambarella’s S3D pre-processor for stereoscopic HD video and still image shooting with this development.
“Coupling our proven video and imaging processing expertise with the Android platform enables next generation cameras to take a significant leap forward in user experiences and capabilities. The iOne will fundamentally change the way consumers capture, create and share visual content. We are very excited about the possibilities,” trilled Fermi Wang, Ambarella CEO.

A smart camera based on Android and embedding the iOne will be able to work with a number of interfaces including dual CMOS sensor inputs, SATA, Gigabit Ethernet, analog video out, transport stream and much more. Apart from strong support for GPS, Bluetooth, FM, Mobile TV and Wi’Fi 802.11n, the processor can offer concurrent encoding of a full HD 1080p30 stream and a second stream for uploading to the internet or streaming via Wi-Fi.

The iOne employs a triple ARM CPU architecture that’s designed for low-power mobile media applications. A 533MHz ARM-11 deals with real-time camera tasks and allows a camera boot time of less than a second. At the same time, a dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 CPU supplies the energy to operate Android applications.

Ambarella’s iOne SoC is currently being shipped in sample quantities to early access customers. So the word on when we can expect to see smart cameras running Android will obviously have to wait a bit.

Now here's something wicked. Word Lens is an app that instantly translates text that's inside an image. It uses optical character recognition technology, so the next time you don't understand something, just point at it with your iPhone camera and you'll be greeted by an instant translation.

We'll leave it to co-founder Otavio Good to explain how the app works. “It tries to find out what the letters are and then looks in the dictionary. Then it draws the words back on the screen in translation. The translation isn’t perfect, but it gets the point across.” The app is currently a word-to-word translator, so sentences won't end up looking very coherent post-translation. It is, however, a very useful app for travelers, who might just be looking to figure out what a sign says.

Word Lens currently only offers English-to-Spanish and vice-versa translations, but more language packs are anobvious next step, according to Good. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we did French next, Italian and since my mom is Brazilian, Portuguese.”

Tech-industry sources are now focused on when Apple is launching the tablet, and what it will be like, rather than if the device even exists. The Wall Street Journal has an interview with one of the people claiming to have inside information on the elusive product, while another person “briefed on the matter” claims Apple is working on two different material finishes for the tablet’s enclosure.
MacRumors points out to the WSJ report citing people briefed by Apple saying the Mac maker “plans to unveil a new multimedia tablet device later this month,” but doesn't plan on shipping the product until March. “While the shipping time hasn't been finalized and could change, people briefed on the matter said the new tablet devicewill come with a 10- to 11-inch touch screen,” the report (subscription required) adds.

“[...] People briefed on the matter said the new product will come with a 10 to 11-inch touch screen—which would make it closer in size to Apple's line of MacBook laptops than its smart phone,” the same source reveals.

One of these people, apparently briefed by Apple on a deeper level, has reportedly learned that the Mac maker is experimenting with two different case materials for the tablet’s shell. It is unclear whether the company will choose one of them once it’s satisfied with the performance, or both of them, for design variety.

It is also being speculated that Apple is testing these materials to come out with multiple versions of the device at different price points. The product is expected to ship with a $1,000 price tag, justifying its multifunction nature for video, gaming, ebook functionality, etc.

Going by the latest rumors, Apple is set to unveil the new product at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco on the 27th, this month.

Apple's online store is back up featuring a new iPod shuffle that sports a fresh design, as well as fresh features. We did expect the 4GB storage capacity, but we didn't expect the new look, and certainly not the VoiceOver capabilities.

Apple touts this third generation iPod shuffle as “the world’s smallest music player.” The device is nearly half the size of the previous model. The third generation shuffle is significantly smaller than an AA battery, Apple says, and is able to hold up to 1,000 songs thanks to the 4GB of memory it boasts. All the controls are conveniently located on the earphone cord, enabling users to play, pause, adjust volume, switch playlists and enable VoiceOver with a few presses. The VoiceOver feature inside the iPod shuffle will be detailed in a separate article.

This iPod is also significantly prettier than its predecessor, doing away with any sort of play, pause etc. controlson the actual player, for a sleek new look. Adding to the gorgeous aluminum design is a built-in stainless steel clip that makes the shuffle both stylish and ultra-wearable. To round up the features list, Apple claims the iPod shuffle can play your music non stop for ten hours on a single charge.
“Imagine your music player talking to you, telling you your song titles, artists and playlist names,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPod and iPhone™ Product Marketing. “The amazingly small new iPod shuffle takes a revolutionary approach to how you listen to your music by talking to you, also making it the first iPod shuffle with playlists.”

Unfortunately for some, the fresh iPod shuffle only comes in two colors – silver and black. The device can be acquired immediately for $79. Visit Apple's store here to have a closer look at the features and the design of the third-gen shuffle.

Apple computers are not exactly know the ultimate platform for games. For this reason, it is even more remarkable that publisher Ubisoft's announcement makes it seem more and in publications in the segment would like to set.

With Prince of Persia and Shawn White Snowboarding "the company now has two relatively high-Ports announced. Once more with the implementation of the operation of the port experts TransGaming, which with its Cider technology already frequently referred to with such tasks - including for Ubisoft, but also for EA - were finally. The two titles are already in the next month, including on-line Ubisoft Download Store is made available."Ubisoft has an exceptional portfolio of titles that spans an assortment of genres. The availability of their titles on the Mac is a great catalyst for Mac gaming," commented Vikas Gupta, CEO and president of TransGaming.

Current Mac titles from Ubisoft available via download include CSI: Hard Evidence(TM), Petz(R) Catz(R) 2, Petz(R) Dogz(R) 2, Petz(R) Sports, Prince of Persia The Two Thrones(R), and Rayman Raving Rabbids(R).

WD (Western Digital), one of the world leaders in external storage solutions, has introduced two new external hard drives - the My Passport for Mac portable drive and the My Book Mac Edition external hard drive. Pre-formatted for Mac and offering a simple USB interface, these drives offer the Mac community reliable, easy-to-use storage. WD's latest Mac-ready drives work seamlessly with Apple Time Machine or other popular Mac backup software to provide protection for digital photos and media.

My Passport for Mac portable storage devices like the ‘Studio’ that we’ve reviewed, feature a sleek design in a shock-resistant enclosure and are available in capacities of 320GB and 500GB. The new My Book Mac Edition drives areequipped with power-saving WD hard drives with GreenPower technology, USB 2.0 interface and 1TB of capacity."WD listened to the Mac community who wanted the simplicity of a USB external drive that complements the design of their Mac computer. Now our users can choose from a full range of storage solutions that are ready to use with their Mac computers right out of the box," said Sharad Srivastava, Director Sales (India & South Asia), and Western Digital. "From the sleek design of the new My Passport for Mac, to the use of the eco-friendly hard drive technology on the My Book Mac Edition, WD continues to deliver what Mac users are looking for."

My Passport for Mac portable drives feature:

* Compatibility with Apple Time Machine;
* A shock-resistant enclosure designed to guard valuable data from the bumps and jars of everyday life;
* USB-bus powered, which eliminates the need for an external power adapter;
* Mac-ready out of the box formatted HFS+ Journaled;
* 3-year limited warranty; and,
* Sleek and stylish design that complements other Mac products.
The new My Book Mac Edition external hard drives feature:

* A sleek, elegant matte-black finish that complements other Mac products;
* Smart, eco-friendly design that utilizes WD hard drives with Green Power technology and energy efficient power saving feature that turns on and off with user's computer;
* Designed without a fan to run quietly;
* Fully recyclable product packaging;
* Shock-resistant enclosure designed to provide maximum shock protection to guard valuable data;
* Mac-ready out of the box, the drive is formatted HFS+ Journaled;
* Easy, plug-and-play set up; and,
* 1 year limited warranty

My Passport for Mac portable hard drives and My Book Mac Edition 1TB external hard drive are available at select retail stores, online retailers. The MSRP for My Passport for Mac with 320GB is Rs. 6,500 and Rs. 9,000 for 500 GB. The MSRP for My Book Mac Edition 1 TB hard drive is Rs. 16000.

Great news for those planning to upgrade to fit the requirements of Snow Leopard and wanted to save a buck in the process - Apple has secretly beefed up its low end notebook, the White 13-inch MacBook with a 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo (1066MHz frontside bus) processor, double the original memory and better graphics, keeping the ports intact, as well as the price: $999!

Is this the sweetest offer Apple has made this year, or what? The processor has been updated from 800MHz frontside bus to the 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo model with a 1066MHz frontside bus. Old MacBook models used to ship with 1GB of memory; the same money can now nab the customer 2 gigs of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory standard on the polycarbonate MacBook. Apple has also updated the graphics to NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, the standard on the 13-inch unibody MacBook (Late 2008). A smaller update,but worth mentioning nonetheless, is Bluetooth 2.1.Undoubtedly the upgrades are in anticipation of Apple releasing Mac OS X 10.6, Snow Leopard, the newest version of OS X that Apple is actively working on, as far as we know. The changes were first spotted by the eagle-eyed folks over at Engadget. However, although quiet, Apple does mention the upgrades on the Apple Store page, where customers can order a 13-inch aluminum or polycarbonate MacBook (pictured left).

“Starting at just $999, MacBook has everything you need to do everything you need. Advanced NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, a fast Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and more memory standard deliver power and performance,” Apple says. “And MacBook offers a slew of innovative features, including a built-in iSight camera for video chatting on the go, fast Wi-Fi so you can work from anywhere, and a glossy 13-inch widescreen display that makes graphics and video come alive,” the description ends.

For a closer look at the new white MacBook, visit Apple here.

Apple is expected to refresh its line of mini desktop computers sometime around March this year, NVIDIA insiders have confirmed to the folks at tom's hardware. The device is allegedly smaller in size, thanks to the Ion platform it employs. Apple is also believed to have gained preferential treatment from NVIDIA, who allegedly has sent out mere blue prints of Ion to the rest of its partners.

“A large portion of the Apple Mac community is waiting for Apple to refresh the Mac Mini line. We learned today that the next generation of Mac Mini computers will be based on Nvidia's Ion platform,” the source reveals. “An Nvidia partner confirmed to us that Apple was the first to receive samples of Nvidia's Ion platform, which we covered extensively during CES. In fact, Apple received prototype units long before Nvidia partners who opted to work on Ion. We're told that some partners still only have blue prints of Ion,” the report shows.

Being considerably smaller in size, the Ion platform may well lead to the reduction in size of the new Mac mini, the site pointsout. Undoubtedly, Apple will not only beef up the mini inside, but will also add a redesigned case to the unit(s) launching in March, around CeBit.

As far as pricing goes, the new mini is expected to cost no more than $700, for a high-end model, and around $500 for the low-end SKU. This could well be the case with the new minis, as NVIDIA itself stated in the past that it expected Ion products to start at roughly $400, the same source points out.

Older Mac mini rumors said that two port versions were expected to show up on the device, one for use with Apple's old monitors, the other (MiniDisplay Port) for use with the company's new Cinema displays. A new firewire 800 port is also rumored for the new-generation Mac mini.

After much anticipation and a series of articles surfacing on the web, prior to the debut of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, Dell has finally introduced its latest portable computer system, the Dell Adamo. Claimed to be the company’s response to Apple’s thin MacBook Air, or to the Envy notebook from HP’s Voodoo PC, the Adamo appears like yet another sleek-looking 13-inch notebook waiting to be embraced by all those tech fashionistas out there. There aren’t any specific technical details, but the laptop is expected to become available later this year.

A number of blog sites have managed to grab several pictures of Dell’s new pride and joy, which can also be seen in the gallery below. As you’ll be able to appreciate for yourself from these images, the Adamo appears to have combined just the right design elements, allowing it to appeal to those consumers out there that are looking for a PC response to Apple’s MacBook Air.

Despite no specific details on the part of the Round Rock, Texas-based PC vendor, the Adamo is expected to come out with a rather expensive price tag, specifically due to its unique design. Additionally, Dell has said that in the development of the new Adamo it has made useof high quality materials, yet another reason for which the upcoming thin laptop is probably aimed at those with more “generous” pockets.

Dell’s Adamo is undoubtedly thinner than most notebooks on the market, but given these early pictures, it doesn’t appear to be a real competitor for the MacBook Air. However, Adamo’s design features could also set the system as a real challenger for Apple’s MacBook Pro.

The device has been showcased at CES, which is where Dell has also introduced a couple of other new products, including the new Mini 10, another of the company’s portable computer systems ready to take advantage of Intel’s successful Atom platform. The fellows over at engadget were lucky enough to get a hands-on experience with the new Dell laptop, also providing a photo gallery and a video.

As was speculated prior to Macworld Apple announced the availability of the 17-inch MacBook Pro based on the unibody enclosure design revealed in October 2008.

The 17-inch MacBook Pro features a aluminium unibody enclosure, and a revolutionary new built-in battery that delivers up to eight hours of use and up to 1,000 recharges for more than three times the lifespan of conventional notebook batteries. The new 17-inch MacBook Pro has a high resolution LED-backlit display and the same large glass Multi-Touch trackpad introduced with the new MacBook family in October. In addition, the new 17-inch MacBook Pro includes state of the art NVIDIA graphics and the latest generation Intel Core 2 Duo mobile processors. As part of the industry’s greenest notebook family, the new 17-inch MacBook Pro is made of highly recyclable materials, meets stringent energy efficiency standards and is made without many of the harmful toxins found in other computers.

“We’ve developed new battery technology that is better for the user and better for the environment”, said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Apple’s advanced chemistry and innovative technology deliver up to eight hoursof use on a full charge cycle and up to 1,000 recharges”.

Apple uses advanced chemistry, intelligent monitoring of the system and battery, and Adaptive Charging technology to create a revolutionary new notebook battery that delivers up to eight hours of wireless productivity on a single charge and up to 1,000 recharges without adding thickness, weight or cost to the MacBook Pro’s incredible design. The longer battery lifespan equals fewer depleted batteries and less waste, which is better for the environment.The new 17-inch MacBook Pro includes an ultra-thin, widescreen glossy 1920 x 1200 display with 78 percent more pixels than the 15-inch MacBook Pro and a 60 percent greater color gamut that delivers desktop-quality colour in a notebook. The LED-backlit display has brilliant instant-on performance, uses up to 30 percent less energy and eliminates the mercury found in industry standard fluorescent tube backlights.

Measuring just 0.98-inches thin and weighing 6.6 pounds, the 17-inch MacBook Pro is the world’s thinnest and lightest 17-inch notebook. The 17-inch MacBook Pro is the most powerful Mac notebook yet with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors available up to 2.93 GHz, up to 8GB DDR3 main memory and a graphics architecture that allows users to switch between the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor for better battery life and the powerful NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics processor for higher performance. The new 17-inch MacBook Pro includes a 320GB 5400 rpm hard drive standard with a 320GB 7200 rpm hard drive and 128GB and 256GB solid state drives as options. As with the rest of the new MacBook family, the 17-inch MacBook Pro includes a next generation, industry-standard Mini DisplayPort to connect with the new Apple LED Cinema Display featuring a 24-inch LED-backlit widescreen display with a built-in iSight video camera, mic and speakers.

The new 17-inch MacBook Pro joins the aluminium unibody MacBook family in setting new standards for environmentally friendly notebooks with every model achieving EPEAT Gold status. Each MacBook unibody enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminium and comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. The new MacBook family meets stringent Energy Star 4.0 requirements, contains no brominated flame retardants, and uses internal cables and components that are PVC-free. The battery in the new 17-inch MacBook Pro provides additional environmental benefit because its extended lifespan means fewer depleted batteries resulting in less waste.

The 17-inch MacBook Pro is available from $2799 (£1949) by the end of January.

Apple(R) today announced that this year is the lst year the company will exhibit at Macworld Expo. Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will deliver the opening keynote for this year’s Macworld Conference & Expo, and it will be Apple’s last keynote at the show. The keynote address will be held at Moscone West on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Macworld will be held at San Francisco’s Moscone Center January 5-9, 2009.

Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers. The increasing popularity of Apple’s Retail Stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week, and the Apple.com websiteenable Apple to directly reach more than a hundred million customers around the world in innovative new ways.
Apple has been steadily scaling back on trade shows in recent years, including NAB, Macworld New York, Macworld Tokyo and Apple Expo in Paris.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

Acer, the world's third largest PC vendor, is planning to launch a netbook next year with a 10.2-inch screen, the largest netbook screen from Acer so far, a company representative confirmed.

The Taiwanese company's Aspire One netbook has been a hit this year. Launched at mid-year, the device now has Asustek Computer's popular Eee PC in its sights. Acer has forecast shipments of 6 million Aspire One's this year, against estimates of 5 million from Asustek for its Eee PCs.

The Aspire One out now has an 8.9-inch screen, but most companies are putting out netbooks with 10.2-inch screens now. The slightly larger screen sizes are more popular with people who like to view Web pages without scrolling left and right to see the entire page.Asustek, which has offered a 7-inch screen on its Eee PCs, has said it does not plan to offer the small screen size in the future because people don't seem to like it as much.

Netbooks are mini-laptop PCs designed for mobility, typically sporting 7-inch to 10-inch screens and weighing less than 2 kilograms. Most netbook components, including the microprocessor, are less powerful than those of full-fledged laptops so batteries last longer. Netbooks are designed for dealing with e-mail, browsing the Internet and working on word processor or spreadsheet documents, not for heavy-duty gaming, video editing or other multimedia work.

Reports also indicate that Acer plans to launch a rival to Asustek's Eee Top, which is a low-cost competitor to Apple's iMac, a display with computing functions built-in.

Google released an update for its iPhone app that allows people to search on Google faster and easier than ever before. This launch builds on the previous version of the Google Mobile App for iPhone to offer two innovative new ways for users to search the web while they're on the go: by voice and by location.

With the new version of the app, people can conduct a Google search by simply speaking their query into their iPhones. "Voice Search" uses speech recognition technology to transform spoken words into text and then runs the query through Google web search as if it had been typed manually. Additionally, to provide an even faster and more natural experience, when the app is turned on, Voice Search will detect the phone's movement and activate automatically when you want to do a search. This feature allows you to naturally bring the phone up to your ear and speak your search into the phone, just as if you were talking on the phone.This update to the Google Mobile App also uses the iPhone's location detection to further personalize your search results. Now you can just type (or speak) a query like "pizza," "movies" or "weather" and you will receive results tailored specifically to your current location, without having to include a city or zip code in the search.

The voice and location features add to Google Mobile App's existing tools that allow people to access all of Google's mobile services from their phone. To learn more, please visit www.google.com/mobile or download the app from the iPhone App Store by searching for "Google Mobile App."

Pictures of a MacBook nano based on the MSI U100 netbook have surfaced on the web. The 1.6GHz Atom-based machine sports a 10" display, 2GB DDR 2 RAM, a 320GB hard drive, and weighs just 2.2 lbs.

Had someone told us this was an actual netbook coming from Cupertino, we probably wouldn't have rushed to dismiss the allegation. Still, the fact of the matter is that an MSI is still an MSI, even with a beautifully crafted, custom made shell with a backlit Apple logo and everything.

The pictures appeared on Flickr this week, and were spotted by various eagle-eyed tech-based sites. Mickphoto's picture set tries to show the MacBook nano as the real thing, all boxed and sealed up neatly and tidily. The box even contains all the software needed to run Windows XP Pro or Mac OS X 10.5.5. At least two models have been created, according to the photos – a white MacBook nano and a black model. Both have the neat Apple logo on the back, as well as the name MacBook Nano stamped on the front of the display, in a very Apple-like way.According to Gizmodo, specs include:

- MSI U100 MacBook Nano
- Windows XP Pro + Mac OS X 10.5.5
- Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz
- 2G DDRII
- 10" WSVGA LED (1024x600)
- 320GB SATA
- 1kg
- MMC/SD/MS 4

A small group of Maximum PC readers (and editors) tend to glaze over at the mere mention of the Eee PC. For those of you that fall into this category, I’ll do my best to keep it interesting and you’ll be glad to know, this isn’t an ordinary netbook announcement. The now household name that spawned a generation of inexpensive PC’s have unveiled a new form factor that brings the Eee product line closer to being a desktop solution than ever before. First impressions of the product are obvious, it is clearly intended to appeal to the budget conscious crowd who can’t afford an iMac, or simply don’t care to pay the Apple tax. Asus isn’t the first to take on the iMac, but the Eee brand name, and touch screen interface gives it an interesting advantage over its competitors.The Eee Top will come in two variations, the ET1602 and the ET1603. Both models feature a 15.6” touch screen display, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1GB of Ram, and a 160GB Hard Drive. Other less critical features include 802.11n networking as well as a built in card reader and web cam. The two models are almost completely identical with the one exception being the ET1603’s inclusion of the ATI Mobility Radeon HD3450 for graphics. The ET1602 by comparison will only sport Intel integrated. No pricing has yet been announced for either model, and both systems will feature Windows XP Home with a custom touch screen GUI.

So, is this the form factor of Eee PC you were waiting for?

PLEASE NOTE: The features described below revolve around the concept of dual GPU chipsets. As such they are only applicable to the new MacBook Pro range of notebooks. The MacBook and the MacBook Air do not have dual-GPU chipsets.
Apple made a worthy inclusion to its MacBook range via addition of the NVIDIA 9400M and 9600M GT graphics chipsets. However, it is a known fact that Apple has restricted attractive features of the chipset such as the Hybrid SLI -- which would otherwise leverage the power of both the graphic chipsets as a tag-team; furthermore, Apple has also disabled on-the-fly switching between its two graphic solutions -- this requires a needless logout/login process.
So are the NVIDIA chips themselves incapable? Not from what we were told. Further confirmation also comes from a demo shown by NVIDIA to Gizmodo, wherein they confirmed that these graphics chips will soon be heading to different notebooks and also their hardware is very much capable to do all the aforementioned tasks which have been disabled by Apple.The question then is why were the features disabled? Let's take the Hybrid SLI feature -- a likely reason could very well be battery life. Note that the new MacBook's battery is actually lower-specced than the one inside the older MacBooks (the old ones are rated at 5600mAh, while the new ones are rated at 4700mAh). As the notebooks stand, their battery-life isn't that great and it could have been worse under a Hybrid SLI scenario. That could be one possible reason for not including Hybrid SLI. The other -- and this one is more conspiracy theory than plausible -- Apple will enable the feature under Snow Leopard and would like a clear path to encourage users to upgrade to their upcoming OS upgrade.

Of course, it could well be that Apple will enable Hybrid SLI through a free software upgrade program, and in the near future.

As to the login/logout requirement for switching chipsets, the reason we feel is more clear: lazy programmers. Yeah, no reason why this shouldn't have been included right out of the MacBook box. Seriously guys, get working on it already.

Engineers at Panasonic have succeeded in reducing the size of a prototype methanol fuel cell so that it's no larger than a laptop battery pack but provides all-day power.

The fuel cell, which the Japanese company has been developing for the last eight years, was first shown at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January 2006. At that time it was about double the size of a laptop battery, but the latest version, due to be unveiled later this week at an event in Japan, is half the size, Panasonic said Monday.

The new version has a volume of 270 cubic centimeters and can deliver an average power of 10 watts with a peak output of 20 watts, Panasonic said. It weighs 320 grams.

On a 200cc charge of methanol it should be able to deliver power for 20 hours -- considerably longer than the Lithium Ion batteries used in laptop PCs today -- and when the methanol gets low all that's required is a quick refill and it's back to full capacity. This fast recharge is seen as one of the key advantages of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). They are also viewed as more environmentally friendly than Lithium Ion batteries because the only by-product is a little water and carbon dioxide.

Additionally Panasonic has also developed a stand-alone DMFC charger that has a couple of USB power outlets and can be used to recharge dead gadgets such as iPods and cell phones when away from a power socket. The recharger is slightly larger at 360cc and weighs 350 grams.Both will get their first public showing at the Hydrogen Energy Advanced Technology Exhibition 2008 that is due to open Wednesday in the western Japanese city of Fukuoka.

Neither is likely to go on sale soon. Panasonic doesn't have any firm plans for commercialization but said it hopes to have them on the market by the end of 2012.

A handful of big-name consumer electronics companies have been developing DMFCs for the last several years, but are yet to bring the products to market. For the last few years most companies have vaguely stated "next year" as a commercialization date but it's an answer that's given no matter when asked.

That might be about to change. Toshiba recently made the clearest promise yet to DMFC commercialization: sometime during its current financial year, which ends in March 2009. At the recent Ceatec show in Japan the company demonstrated a working cell phone that included a DMFC, but Toshiba isn't letting on yet if this will be its first product.