Toshiba is set to launch a Bluetooth-equipped portable storage device.
The Hopbit will offer 5GB of storage, enough for around 1000 MP3 audio tracks and 3000 digital images from a three-megapixel camera.
The Bluetooth module will allow users to seamlessly transfer data from other devices such as handheld computers.
It's expected to receive its debut at the World PC Expo, which opens in Tokyo on October 16.
A spokeswoman told PC Advisor the device will retail in Japan at around �260. There are no plans yet for a launch outside Japan.
Will this work 4 us?
Sorry 4 posting twice, my browser locked up.
Toshiba launches Hopbit had drive for handhelds
Monday, 14 October 2002
Toshiba has married its card-size hard disk drive with Bluetooth wireless technology to come up with a portable storage device aimed at PDA (personal digital assistant) users who need large-capacity storage. The Hopbit will be publicly unveiled at the World PC Expo show in Tokyo this week.
The device contains a 5GB version of one of Toshiba's 1.8in hard disk drives. It will hold around 1,000 average-length MP3 audio tracks, 3,000 digital images from a 3Mp (megapixel) camera or 37 hours of Mpeg-4 video encoded at 320x240 pixels and 15fps (frames per second), said Toshiba.
A Bluetooth transceiver embedded in the Hopbit means it can be accessed from the PDA and also from other Bluetooth-equipped devices. Bluetooth's device-linking function and proprietary software should ensure that data remains accessible only to approved users, said Toshiba.
The Hopbit B105H will go on sale in Japan from 1 November and will cost �50,000 (�258) making it an attractive option for PDA or mobile PC users who want extra storage space at a low cost. A similar investment in SD (Secure Digital) memory cards would buy around 768Kb of storage, or around one-seventh the space offered by the Hopbit.
The device measures 110x70x22mm and weighs 180g. A rechargeable lithium-ion battery should allow the Hopbit to run in standby for around 200 hours or in operation for six hours on a single charge.
Toshiba has no plans at present to put the Hopbit on sale overseas although the company will consider it if it's a success in the Japanese market, said Midori Suzuki, a Toshiba spokeswoman.
I'd be satisfied with a 128meg device for my 7650 😊
I think storage is not enough,we need some kind of app or maybe a firmware upgrade so that the device (Nokia 7650) will recognize these bluetooth storage drives or whatever as local drives,so apps could be instaled on them,thus using the phones C: drive only for vital apps
It's nice to ear that at last the card-size hard disk drive with Bluetoothwas announce. I think the price is a bit high. I will buy one when the price is goe down.
Even though this sounds perfect, I dont see it as realistic as it sounds! I would prefer a much smaller in size and capacity MMC Bluetooth reader! Thats quite enough for me! 5gb is FAR too much and I dont think that it is targeted for us mobile phone users so much than PPCS and PALM's
Hi,
As I see it if there were drivers I dont see a problem with installing programs to an E: F: G: whatever you like drive, This would just have to be part of the install option of the third party apps ( i.e. anything not installed direct from the factory ) and if there are these drives available developers would have to give us the option to install there. At the end of the day the icons in 'Menu' are shortcuts to the actual program somewhere on the virtual disks in much the same way as Windows 'Start' menu works right?
One problem I can see right off is using Bluetooth for this. As I understand it Bluetooth will only connect to one device at a time, so you couldnt bluetooth a file from external drive/memory to another phone or the PC. You would have to link that device directly to the disk/ram. Also if youre syncing your phone with BT then you cant sync whats on the BT disk/ram at the same time. You would also have to make sure you close any programs running from the external disk/ram before using the 7650 BT to a different device.
What Id love to see is a smartcard device that connects somehow directly to the serial pads inside the phone, could be with the flat plastic stuff the keypad is connected with routed to a slightly oversized battery cover. There are tons of USB SC readers out there but you gotta hide that circuitry someplace in this jampacked phone, if it can be made flat then a battery cover might even be enough!
Personally Id pay �100 or so for a 64mb SC upgrade with drivers but to get the kind of size circuitry we need it wouldnt be a backyard workshop job. 😉
Stot
did any one try to emulate somthing like this to play mp3s from the PC's HD using BT ????
I am trying but currently working an a more "realistic" application! Ass soon as I finish the one I will get into it more deeply! 😊