Yanko design has posted this concept cell phone design (by Tao Ma).  Among the features in the concept are: vibrating call notification, a built-in MP3 player, and operating buttons that look like jewels.

     So, you can’t get this elegant mobile solution quite yet, but it does look like a promising concept.  Until then, the slimmest mobile you are likely to get ahold of is SMS Technology’s M300 Mobile Watch which may be available down under as soon as this month (March).

Thanks to engadget.

Yanko design.

     This stainless steel beauty is slim at 1.57 cm (.61") runs WM5 on an Intel XScale 312MHz processor, and has 128MB Flash ROM, 64 MB RAM.  For connectivity, it has WiFi b/g and Bluetooth 2.0.  Its display is a 3.5" 320×240 pixel display.  It is powered by a 1200 mAh rechargeable and removable battery. 

     Those using their PDA’s for media play will be pleasantly surprised that it sports two speakers on the front of the PDA.

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     XM and Sirius have begun to get serious about their plans to merge, in spite of an FCC provision forbidding just such a merger.  They announced their plans to do so Feb. 19.

     In the face of the obvious questions that arise when such consolidation eliminates competition in a particular market, XM radio tells us that the monthly service rates will not rise, and that they are motivated to keep their services affordable.  Time will tell, of course, whether this is true.  To another top question whether the programming lineup will be affected, XM says that only redundant programming will be eliminated, and subscribers to either/both services will gain "access to a greater portfolio of rich and diverse programming."  This seems to suggest a true merger, wherein nothing is lost.  XM won’t say quite yet whether XM radios will be able to tune in Sirius broadcasts, and Sirius units will play the XM lineup. 

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     Aspyr has release the PC classic Call of Duty 2 for Pocket PC.  It’s optimized to run on hardware with the Intel 2700G or Nvidia GoForce 5500 graphics chip and 300+ MHz Intel XScale processor, 32 MB of external memory available, and 28MB of free RAM.  The standard install will work with these specs, even without the graphics accelerator, although it is recommended.  It has also been optimized to use the new Monahans (PXA3xxx) main processors, now by Marvell (purchased from Intel on June 27 last year).  It is compatible both with Windows Mobile 5.0 and WM 2003.

      For those of you who don’t know, CoD2 is a first-person shooter, set in
the front lines of World War II, with advanced AI that thinks even when
you don’t.  Aspyr has taken care to make practical use of the
touchscreen, something not really yet seen in a Pocket PC FSP.

 Call of Duty 2 for PPC at Aspyr

Call of Duty 2 for PPC at CompUSA

     Transcend, ubiquitous memory manufacturer, has added some super-slim USB flash drives to its inventory.  At 3.1 mm thick, it’s scarcely thicker than a credit card, about as wide as a USB plug, and about 1.6" long.  It weighs a slim 2g.  And it has a loop built-in, perfect for hanging on a lanyard or your keychain.

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