World's First LCD Greeting Card

In partnership with American Greetings and Target, Euri Inc. has developed the world’s first digital photo greeting card. Combining sight, sound and a nice LCD screen, this is the perfect card to send to your loved ones across the ocean (an especially great gift for the deployed military servicemember in your life).

This card is capable of storing and displaying up to 50 digital images on a 2.4-inch LCD screen, and you can record a personalized message up to five minutes long (audio only) to go along with it. The card’s packaging opens into a nice coordinated gift box and includes an appropriate-sized mailing envelope so you don’t have to purchase anything additional to send your special card. Its postage costs approximately $2.30.

“With the explosion of social media sites like Facebook, Flickr and YouTube, we’ve seen a transformation in ways consumers communicate and share,” said Josiahs Livingston, director of marketing and product development at Euri. “The digital photo card goes one step beyond - creating both a highly personalized and memorable gift.”

The card can double as a digital photo album. You load your images onto the card via USB, and it’s activated each time it opens. It will last up to three hours on a charge (via USB).

“Once consumers add their favorite photos and message, the card transforms into an emotional and personal experience that can be enjoyed for years to come with mom, dad, an older brother, younger sister or anyone with whom you’ve shared cherished memories,” says Carol Miller, executive director on new product concepts at American Greetings.

This digital card is a great idea and announced to only be available in Target stores for $19.99. I haven’t found these in a Target store yet, so we’ll see.


Another interesting idea from the card’s creator, Euri, is the Euricase. Made for a marriage proposal or an elaborate anniversary/birthday gift, this is a ring box with a full-color LCD display. There are different versions available: The Euricase Classic-L (voice only, $40), Euricase Classic-T (video, $99) and the Euricase Classic-T (metallic case with video, $249).

Visit euricase.com for more information both the digital card and ring box.

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Click Chick’s iPhone App of the Week: NBC Olympics on AT&T
It’s that time again - the Olympics! Last week we saw the Winter Olympics begin in Vancouver, and you can follow the action on your iPhone. With NBC’s Olympics on AT&T app you can see live real-time updates on events, see video clips, highlights, results, schedules and medal counts. You can even follow your favorite athletes on Twitter from within the app.

You also can see your athletes’ bios, sports information and view the TV coverage schedule (and set program reminders). Participate in discussions and comment on public forums or create private forums for you and your friends. This app is easy to navigate through and a great tool if you’re an Olympics fan. Download it for free at the iTunes App Store.

Apple's iPad

As you probably know, last week Apple announced its much-anticipated “e-reader,” called the iPad. As I was watching Apple CEO Steve Jobs’announcement, I cringed when I first heard that name as it brought to mind, um, feminine products. Oh, well, it looks cool and I’m just going to have to deal with the name.

“iPad is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price,” said Jobs. “iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”

The iPad is, as predicted, essentially a giant iPod touch, but it’s 0.5 inches thick and weighs 1.5 pounds - thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook. It has an aluminum backing with a 10-inch screen surrounded by a shiny black border. It uses the standard iPhone/iPod touch connector on the bottom, so if you have an existing iPhone/iPod touch you don’t have to worry about losing another cable.

Supposedly the iPad can run all of the existing 140,000-plus iPhone apps just fine (either at the regular iPhone size or blown up double with some loss of clarity). As an e-reader, Apple will have its own e-reader bookstore when the iPad launches, but I don’t expect it to have the selection (yet) or the $10 bestsellers you can find with Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Also, it’s powered by A4, Apple’s next generation system-on-a-chip. The A4 provides excellent processor and graphics performance, allowing up to 10 hours of iPad battery life.

Pricing isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Available in late March, the lowest models starts at $499 (16GB) and $599 (32GB), which just use Wi-Fi to connect to the Internet. If you want 3G service, the cost is $629/16GB, $729/32GB and $829/64GB. As with the iPhone, the 3G service will be provided by AT&T ($15/month for 250MB or $30/month unlimited data), but the difference is you can cancel the service at any time.

Overall, I think the iPad is a dream for e-reading and watching movies, but I don’t think it can replace a computer yet. The on-screen keyboard would frustrate me after awhile, and that’s one of the big complaints I hear, along with “no removable battery,” “no memory-card slot” and “too expensive!” These are similar to the gripes we heard about the iPhone, but it’s too early to tell. Most of the initial iPhone bashers I know now own one, so we’ll see.

Apple is not quite taking pre-orders yet, but you can have an e-mail notification sent to you to let you know when it’s available (http://www.apple.com).

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Click Chick’s iPhone App of the Week: Diving For Colors
Diving For Colors is the first locally published book to be turned into an iPhone app. App books such as these are becoming more available, and it’s great that this one is homegrown! You can listen to or read the story in English or Hawaiian, turn off the sound so you can read it to your keiki, and either turn the pages manually or let it go automatically. Additionally, at the end of the book, a screen shows up with all the different creatures that appeared in the book.

My daughter is only 2 months old, and when I read it to her, she couldn’t get her eyes off the colorful pictures that popped up with the story. I can’t wait to see what this will look like on my future iPad - I’ll probably be buying more of my children’s books this way. Find the Diving for Colors app for $1.99 at the iTunes App Store.

New Netbooks With Itel’s Atom Chip

If you rushed out and bought a netbook for Christmas, sorry, but you missed out on Intel’s new Atom processor (N450) for the new generation of net-books. From here into the near future, this is the preferred processor for your netbook.

“The Intel Atom processor has fueled an entirely new category of computing over the last year and a half, and we think the growth will continue for devices like netbooks and entry-level PCs built around basic computing and Internet usage models,” says Mooly Eden, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of Intel’s PC Client Group. “We’re excited to be delivering the next-generation Atom platform and working across the industry as we head into a second phase of growth, powering innovative new system designs with better performance, smaller footprints and better battery life.”

Code named Pine Trail, the Atom N450’s best features are the 20 percent improvement in average power and the smaller package size over the previous Atom platform. This translates into a smaller system with a longer battery life, and a 60 percent reduction for the entire net-book platform. In addition, the memory controller and graphics are integrated into the CPU, which is a first in the industry on x-86 chips such as the Atom.

Most of the leading companies, such as Dell, ASUS, Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba, Samsung, Fujitsu and MSI, are now on board with the Atom. The bulk of the systems will feature the new Windows 7 or Home Basic operating system, with some offering Mobiln Linux v2 as an alternative for those who desire a customizable and differentiated user interface. Some of the top-rated systems include the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 ($379), HP Mini 5102 ($424), Toshiba mini NB305 ($399) and ASUS Eee PC 100PE-P ($379).

Worldwide netbook shipments by telecommunications companies such as T-Mobile, Vodafone and Orange are growing and expected to fuel another round of expansion. Intel has been working closely with mobile operators and modem vendors to advance 3G capabilities in net-books. So far, about a dozen service providers offer netbooks in various markets, with the numbers expected to grow with this newest platform.

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Click Chick’s iPhone App of the Week: Star Walk
Living in Hawaii, you might take for granted the fact that our air is clear enough where you can actually see the moon and the stars in the sky at night (as long as it’s not raining). People who live in big cities such as New York or Los Angeles don’t have that luxury.

Tonight, take a moment to enjoy the stars and enhance your experience with the Star Walk app.

This app turns your iPhone/iPod touch into a virtual astronomy guide. Using its Star Spotter function (with your phone’s digital compass), day or night, you point your iPhone at the sky and it shows you a map of the stars/draws out the constellations at wherever you aim your phone.

Star Walk also gives you information about sunrise, sunset, daylight hours, your elevation and moon phases. Star Walk is $2.99 at the iTunes App Store.