There are only so many ways to lay out the keys on a cell phone for typing words, or so you’d think.

There’s the traditional 10-number telephone keypad with the letters of the alphabet bunched three and four to a button. Even with cutsie abbreviations, typing is an arduous affair. If you want a full typewriter keyboard with one letter per key, then you probably have to settle for a bulkier BlackBerry-like device.

Innovative solutions to this stalemate have been rare, and only the BlackBerry 7100 series with its novel two-letters-per-key design can be judged a raging success. Another notable design, from Nokia, with a funky fold-out keyboard resembling a Star Wars wing fighter, has sold well enough to appear on three devices.

The Fastap keyboard from Digit Wireless offers a surprising new twist: The letters appear on 26 small raised buttons positioned at every corner between the standard keys found on a typical cell phone. The letters are placed in alphabetical order rather than the ‘’QWERTY'’ layout found on typewriters, BlackBerries, Treos and the like.

For now, you can’t get a phone with Fastap through one of the big national carriers, but Digit says that’s due to change next year. That sounds plausible because the Fastap keyboard is already gaining traction with two smaller wireless providers, Alltel Corp. of Arkansas and Telus Corp. of Canada.

Telus Mobility launched the first handset with Fastap in late 2004, and the customer response has been so encouraging the company has introduced two more models with the keyboard, the third arriving last month.

According to Telus, the Fastap keyboard is fueling higher usage of text messaging and other premium services that generate extra revenue. On average, Fastap users send more than twice as many text messages as Telus customers with a standard phone. Likewise, Fastap handsets generate twice as much revenue from text messaging and mobile Internet usage as comparable handsets.

I tried out the Fastap keyboard on an otherwise ordinary LG handset from Alltel. Without a doubt, typing was swifter compared to the usual process of locating a letter on a number key and then tapping it multiple times to choose from among the three or four letters on that button.

Since it’s easy for a thumb to stray onto a number key from the slightly raised perch of a letter button, Fastap is programmed to decide which one the user meant to press. If it comes mid-word, for example, the error-prevention software presumes the number press was accidental, and chooses the letter.

The dedicated letter keys also make it possible to program one or more as a shortcut to an application. On the Alltel phone, for example, holding down the ‘’W'’ key will launch the Web browser, cutting several key strokes from the process. A carrier can preconfigure these shortcuts or allow users to set their own, a freedom Alltel chose not to provide on its handset.

Another trick enabled by the Fastap keyboard is that you can just dial the letters of a vanity toll free phone number (let’s say 1-8XX-NO-SWEAT) instead of hunting for the corresponding letters on the dial pad.

It’s rare that you come across a truly novel new approach to an old problem, and if nothing else, the Fastap keyboard is that. It will be interesting to see if this new mouse trap catches on.

Microsoft has delivered Windows Media Player 11, touting the software as a significant upgrade that offers better search and management capabilities and a stronger connection with portable music players.

Among the more notable features in Windows Media Player 11 is an “instant search” feature for locating music simply by typing in the initial letters of an artist’s name. For instance, by typing in a search for Jessica Simpson, with the first letter “J,” the search tool narrows the list to all music beginning with a “J.”

Microsoft has tightly integrated the player with MTV’s new online music store, Urge. One component of the integration is a music feed technology that works in the same fashion as Really Simple Syndication (RSS) by enabling Urge subscribers to sign up for content streams according to their music preferences.

These feeds can be synchronized with portable media players and refreshed daily. As long as subscribers connect their devices each day to their PCs, the list will refresh.

Previous iterations of the Windows Media Player have been called both unwieldy and unattractive by reviewers and consumers alike. But the new version of the software has attempted to address most of those concerns.

For many years now, music fans have been ripping their CDs or using online subscription services to download tunes, which means that music libraries stored on PCs have grown in size dramatically. With the new edition of the software, Microsoft has tried to make managing enormous music collections much more efficient.

Rather than force users to scroll through a database-like list, for example, Windows Media Player 11 offers the option of moving through tunes according to thumbnails of album art.

According to Microsoft, some 200 portable and home networking devices work with Windows Media Player 11.

Windows XP users can download Windows Media Player 11 at microsoft.com/windowsmedia. Those using earlier versions will be notified of the upgrade through an automatic alert.

Microsoft Press Release here

Beginning the morning of Tuesday, October 31, you’ll be able to download a free system update that provides more than 85 new features and enhancements, including support for native 1080p games and movies, faster Arcade game list display times, and even more choices when it comes to video playback options.

This free update for Xbox 360™ will be distributed via Xbox Live® to all members (Xbox Live Silver and Xbox Live Gold) with no disc or hard drive required. If you don’t have an Xbox Live account, you can sign up free by connecting your console to a broadband Internet connection.

Some of the update features include:

- HD 1080p video mode support over VGA and component cables.
Xbox 360™ HD DVD Player support.

- Stream WMV video from a Windows PC running Windows Media Player 11, Zune software, or Windows Media Connect.

- Play video from storage devices such as USB flash drives, Xbox 360 Memory Units, etc.

- Play video from CD or DVD data discs.

- Xbox 360 Wireless Headset support, including battery level indicator in the Xbox Guide.

- Video support for 50 Hz HDTV modes (DVD and HD DVD only).

- Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel support.

- Set up automatic downloads of newly released Xbox Live Arcade trial games.

- Support for upcoming release of XNA Game Studio Express (separate download and subscription required.)

- Stream music, pictures and video from a Zune device.

Other update features are for Xbox Live, better support for the DVD player (soon to be released) and Windows Media Video support (WMV).

See entire list here.

The world’s leading electronics makers have teamed up to develop a wireless technology to carry high-definition video and eliminate some of the cable spaghetti that links televisions with set-top boxes and other equipment.

Seven companies were to announce Tuesday that they formed the WirelessHD Consortium to free high-definition TVs from the tangle of cables connected to cable or satellite boxes, gaming consoles, DVD players, or even camcorders and other portable multimedia gadgets.

The companies are LG Electronics, Matsushita Electric Industrial, known for its Panasonic brand, NEC, Samsung Electronics, Sony, and Toshiba, as well as SiBEAM Inc. a wireless technology start-up.

Industry analysts predicted the first products to carry the WirelessHD technology won’t hit the market until at least 2008.

But unlike the challenges other emerging wireless formats face in gaining market traction, “the fact that WirelessHD has the backing of all the major electronics companies gives it a leg up,” said Brian O’Rourke, a senior analyst at research firm In-Stat/MDR.

The format is designed to work within ranges of up to 32 feet — and within the same room — using the 60-gigahertz radio frequency band, said John Marshall, chairman of WirelessHD.

It will transmit high-definition video that has not been compressed digitally so users should experience the same image quality they currently get with wired HD-capable video connectors.

Excerpt from article at PC World:

Microsoft’s Office Live service is set to go out of beta on November 15, and will eventually offer small businesses a chance to buy ads from rival Google and others, according to a Microsoft executive.

Office Live is Microsoft’s Web-based service aimed at giving small businesses a Web site as well as providing basic management, worker collaboration, accounting, and customer relationship management capabilities. The service also will be available in beta versions in France, Germany, Japan and the UK on November 15.

Microsoft will also introduce a beta of a new service at that time, Office Live adManager, which lets users purchase online advertising for Microsoft’s MSN.com and Windows Live Search properties, said Baris Cetinok, director of product management for Office Live. And in the next six months, the company also plans to add the ability to let users purchase ads for search engines from Google, Yahoo, Ask.com, and Local.com, he said.

“Small businesses want to be able to do sales and marketing wherever they want,” Cetinok said. “It’s hard for them to figure out how different search engines work. If we can bring these together in one place, they can do real-time results and price comparison … to find out which search engine sends them the most traffic.”

Office Live will be available in three versions: Office Live Basics, which is a stripped-down, free version; Office Live Essentials, which costs $20 per month and can support up to 10 users; and Office Live Premium, which costs $40 per month and can support up to 20 users.

All three versions will include adManager, as well as another new service called Office Live Business Contact Manager, a CRM service, Cetinok said.

Another change to the full version of Office Live will be a simplified Web-site design tool, Cetinok said. The new tool made it easier for users to bring custom HTML to their Web sites, something beta users requested, he said.

More than 160,000 businesses have tested Office Live so far.

Entering the U.S. market at the end of October, the Lexus LS brings a potpourri of amazing technology all wrapped in the usual Lexus goodness.

The ride is magic-carpet smooth. The wood trim looks as tasty as a box of Godiva cherries. In the long-wheelbase version, the back seats even give passengers a back rub worthy of a Swedish spa. (The long-wheelbase version will start at about $70,000, the regular LS at about $60,000.)

But the one feature that will no doubt get the most attention will be the “Lexus Park Assist.” Plenty of luxury cars now have technology to help drivers with parking - the even-pricier S-class sedan, from Daimler-Chrysler’s Mercedes-Benz, shows a rear video with lines indicating where the car is aimed - but the Lexus LS, by Toyota, is actually meant to park itself.

In theory, you would just pull up ahead of a space, make a few minor adjustments on a computer screen then slightly lift your foot off the brake. As you back up, the steering wheel turns this way and that way and there you are.

In practice, “Park Assist” really works only in ideal situations - basically, it helps only when help is needed least.

First of all, for parallel parking, you have to find a space about four feet larger than the car (hardly a tight spot).

You pull up next to and well ahead of the car in front of your intended parking space. Then you put the car in reverse and the review camera turns on. At the bottom of the screen are two choices. Would you like to parallel park or back-in park? (Back-in parking with the system was easier than parallel parking. But, then, back-in parking is always easier than parallel parking.)

If you select parallel park, a green box should appear outlining the potential space. A red box would indicate you can’t fit.

You press some arrows in the screen to line up the green box with the area in which you’d like to actually place the car. If you were doing this in Manhattan you would, by this time, have watched someone in a Mini Cooper drive nose first into the space while you’re poking at the arrows.

When it’s all lined up, you press the box that says “OK.”

Lift your foot off the brake just enough so that the car starts to creep gently backward.

Or maybe not. If you are on any sort of a downward incline, the system won’t work. It operates only at the “creeping” speed attainable on level ground without using the gas pedal. And if you lift your foot off the brake pedal too much, the car starts going too fast and the system won’t work.

Using Parking Assist, ironically, takes practice. If it all goes well, the steering wheel turns at just the right times and you get into the space.

Sort of. It doesn’t really center the car in the space so you have to pull the car forward a bit. It also tends to leave the car a bit too far from the curb.

Perhaps the greatest irony, to me, about the Lexus Park Assist is that it’s an option on a luxury car that costs $70,000.

People with that kind of cash to spend on a new car will probably already have the parking assist thing worked out. It’s called a parking garage with valet service.

The rest of the new Lexus LS seems to have plenty to offer. But, when you’re checking the option boxes, this is one bit of tech we’d leave off.

Mozilla, maker of the popular open-source browser Firefox, will release its most recent upgrade to the software sometime today, dubbed Firefox 2.0, The Seattle Times reports.

Mozilla’s last browser upgrade, Firefox 1.5, was released during the fall of 2005, according to the Times, and independent and company estimates say between 11 percent and 15 percent of the browser market employs Firefox.

Mozilla last week announced the availability of its latest test, or beta version of its browser, dubbed Firefox 2.0 Release Candidate 3 (RC3), and various experts and pundits speculated that the release could be the last test version before the final edition release.

Among Firefox 2.0’s new features will be improved phishing safeguards and enhanced spellcheck options, as well as boosted search capabilities, according to the Times.

Microsoft, which owns the browser space with its Internet Explorer (IE) browser, last week released its latest version, IE 7, and many of its new features are similar to those that will be featured in the Firefox 2.0 release. Microsoft also debuted a tabbed-browsing function, which enables users to view multiple webpages in one browser window—a feature that’s already offered in Firefox 1.5.

Firefox 2.0 will be available for free download and will run on Microsoft, Apple and Linux operating systems.

Key aspects of Amazon.com Inc.’s retailing Web site are improperly built on technologies developed at IBM Corp., Big Blue alleged Monday in two lawsuits against Amazon.

Amazon is accused of infringing on five IBM patents, including technologies that govern how the site recommends products to customers, serves up advertising and stores data.

Some of the patents were first filed in the 1980s, including one titled “Ordering Items Using an Electronic Catalog.”

“Given that time frame, these are very fundamental inventions for e-commerce and how to do it on the network,” said John Kelly III, IBM’s senior vice president for intellectual property. “Much, if not all, of Amazon’s business is built on top of this property.”

Hundreds of other companies have licensed the same patents, and IBM has tried to negotiate licensing deals with Amazon “over a dozen times since 2002,” Kelly said. Amazon.com — which has bought a lot of hardware from Hewlett-Packard Co. over the years but not IBM — has allegedly refused every time.

Thank you Peter Gabriel!  I can’t help but wonder what those money-sucking execs at the labels think orf this behind closed doors.

Ever since music file sharing upended the record business, labels and artists have been doing everything they can to keep copyrighted tunes from ricocheting around the Internet for free. British singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel recently went in totally the opposite direction, posting the musical ingredients of his 1982 classic Shock the Monkey and inviting fans to morph it into something new and original.

The resulting Shock the Monkey remix contest, viewable on www.realworldremixed.com, is one rock musician’s solution to the problem faced by nearly everyone in the media business these days: how to stay relevant when consumers are generating so much of their own content on sites such as News Corp.’s MySpace and Google’s latest acquisition, YouTube.

To kick off the contest, Gabriel did something close to revolutionary for an established musician. Back in March, he posted a so-called sample pack of Shock the Monkey consisting of vocals and other pieces of the original multitrack recording. For most people in the music business, that is the commercial equivalent of hiring kidnappers to babysit.

Gabriel already qualifies as something of an Internet trailblazer. In 1999, he was co-founder of On Demand Distribution, or OD2, one of the first commercial digital download services. OD2 later merged with rival Loudeye, which is now owned by Finnish mobile phone giant Nokia.

For the former Genesis front man, sharing Shock the Monkey was a bold way to generate Web traffic for his record company, Real World. The label, distributed by London-based EMI Group, has an eclectic catalog of artists ranging from Ohio bluesman Skip “Little Axe” McDonald to Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali and Temple of Sound, a group of Pakistanis who mix Sufi mysticism with funk.

“One of the major issues with in-house promotional Web sites is getting enough content,” says York Tillyer, interactive director at Real World, which is based in the village of Box in western England. “We were looking around for something that would generate its own momentum and that would reach out beyond our traditional audience.”

As the Shock the Monkey remixes came in, users could rate their favorites. There were well over 700 entries, testament to the proliferation of music-processing software and home recording equipment. Gabriel then picked winners from the top dozen chosen by listeners. “I was amazed at the number and quality of remixes,” Gabriel says in an e-mail. One remixer managed to credibly combine Gabriel’s vocals with music from the opera Carmen. Another dispensed with the vocals altogether and reengineered the tight, high-energy original into New Age mood music. Gabriel, who says he got tired of listening to his own voice while judging contest entries, gave it an honorable mention.

The effect on site traffic was impressive. In the first two weeks of October alone, the contest generated 33,000 unique users, respectable for a standalone Web site. Some 13,600 people have listened to the winning remix by Multiman, who, according to his MySpace page, is a New York City-area producer (and who won a high-end sound processing console from Real World). Initial indications are that the contest indeed is helping sales of Real World artists, Real World’s Tillyer says.

The contest also achieved something else widely sought after in the media/entertainment world these days: It created a “community,” generating a lively conversation among remixers and listeners as they debated the technical and musical merits of the top entries.

Read the entire Business Week article here

Samsung Electronics has taken the wraps off a 70-inch LCD panel that it hopes will help boost the competitiveness of LCD technology in the big-screen TV sector.

The panel refreshes the picture 120 times a second–double that of the LCD panels used in most TVs. In a demonstration at the FPD International 2006 show in Yokohama, Japan, on Wednesday, images and text scrolling across the panel appeared to move more smoothly than on existing LCD TVs.

Samsung plans to begin commercial production of the 70-inch panel early next year, and it should be available in TV sets in the months following.

Their launch will mark another step by LCD technology into a part of the market currently dominated by plasma display panels (PDPs). When flat-panel TVs first started becoming popular the division between LCDs and PDPs was at around the 42-inch mark, but LCD makers have been steadily launching larger screens.

Competition between LCD and PDP makers is fierce because so much money is at stake. The market in screens for flat-panel TVs is expected to be worth $29.6 billion this year, up 60 percent on last year, according to a report published on Tuesday by DisplaySearch.