SMC Networks announced its newest solution for campus networking, the EliteConnect 2.4GHz 11Mbps Wireless Bridge and the EliteConnect Power Injector, a companion product that allows the Wireless Bridge to draw its power from the Category 5 networking cable using Power Over Ethernet (PoE). SMC says that both products will be available in October.

7-Zip Software announced 7-Zip 3.11, a free software distributed under the GNU LGPL license that supports a multitude of other formats – 7z, ZIP, CAB, RAR, ARJ, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, CPIO, RPM and DEB. 7-Zip says that the new 7z format offers 30-70 percent improvement over the compression ratio in ZIP format based solutions.

DreamQuest Software announced details for the 2nd Annual Wireless Card Game Tournament. The event will be held on the Norwegian Sun, leaving from Miami and visiting great ports like Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Entrants in the card game tournament portion of the cruise will compete via cell phones, laptops or PDAs using the ship’s wireless Internet access to compete in the DreamQuest online gaming lobby. Competitors will challenge each other for prizes.

AccuWeather.com announced that U.S. Cellular has signed an agreement to deliver its BREW-enabled wireless weather application through the carrier’s newest product offering, easyedge Enhanced Wireless Services.

PC Magazine takes a look at Broadcom Corp.’s tiny, low-power Wi-Fi chip called the AirForce One, a technology that promises to put built-in wireless networking into all sorts of electronics gear. The AirForce One is the first Wi-Fi solution to combine a 2.4-GHz radio, power amplifier, 802.11b baseband processor, and medium-access controller on a single CMOS chip that’s smaller than a postage stamp. By putting more than 100 components on a single chip, Broadcom claims the AirForce One requires 70 percent less transmit power, 80 percent less receive power, and 97 percent less standby power than a typical Intel Centrino Wi-Fi solution.

Sony will launch its PSX entertainment system, which combines a satellite TV tuner, a DVD recorder and a PlayStation 2 game player, in Japan later this year at a minimum price equivalent to $719. According to News.com, a version with a 160-gigabyte HDD will sell for 79,800 yen ($719) and be able to record up to 204 hours of television. It will also sell a 250GB version for 99,800 yen ($899).

Representatives at Palm confirmed a shortage of displays had caused the return time for repaired Zire 71 devices to reach up to three weeks, but they said the issue has been resolved and all the repaired units should be in the mail by the end of Tuesday.

Sierra Wireless announced a new product line combining a mobile phone with handheld email and Internet access. Canada.com reports that the first of the Voq line of phones, which include a flip-open computer-style thumbpad for text entry, is expected to be on sale in the first half of 2004. The Voq will be based on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile software, and will include an e-mail solution supports enterprise email systems including Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes, and Novell Groupwise.

Sony said that it would unveil the PSX, which has a television tuner, a DVD recorder, a hard-disk drive and the PlayStation 2 game player into a single white box at the CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) Japan 2003 industry show in Makuhari. News.com reports that Sony plans to launch the machine in Japan before the end of this year and in Europe and the United States early next year.

ExpressSoft announced the release of Express WebPictures 1.86, a picture download manager. You can get your free demo version at the WxpressSoft Web site.