Trimble has introduced its most versatile and feature-packed rugged mobile devices to date–the Nomad series of handheld computers. The Nomad comes standard with an 806 MHz processor, 128 MB of memory and integrated Bluetooth technology. In addition, a range of optional configurations are available including an integrated Global Positioning System receiver, a bar code scanner, a digital camera, and 802.11g Wi-Fi. The Nomad’s design and features make it a powerful mobile computing solution for public safety, land surveying, field service, engineering and construction, utilities, mapping, military and other outdoor or service-related applications.

With Trimble’s Nomad handheld computer, users can easily collect, save and transmit data while in the field. Integrated GPS gives users location data for navigation. Users can also collect bar code information with the Nomad’s integrated laser scanner as well as capture color images for inspections and maintenance with the 2MP digital camera. Plus, users can take advantage of the Nomad’s CompactFlash and Secure Digital slots to add more devices such as memory and RFID.

In addition to its standard built-in features and range of options, the Nomad handheld computer offers top-of-the-line performance with a 5200 mAh rechargeable lithium ion battery, up to 1GB of Flash memory and a daylight-visible VGA touch screen display. The battery provides users with 15 hours or more of active use without a recharge. The Nomad’s VGA display is sharp and clear in sunlight, presenting maps and other graphic-intensive files in better detail than a typical QVGA display. It also comes with Windows Mobile 6, the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system for mobile devices.

The Softplicity research team announced the immediate availability of the newest version of Total Audio Converter, an audio file format converter for the Windows platforms. This slim, yet powerful audio converter provides you with a pain-free ability to convert an audio file to another audio file format. Unique to this application is that conversion no longer involves creating an intermediate file. Now you can convert files, channels (stereo to mono), change bitrate or frequency without trifling away your time.

Keyspan announced its new Presentation Remote Pro is now shipping. The Presentation Remote Pro is a wireless remote control that works with Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple Keynote presentation software. With its laser pointer, mouse and audio controls, 100+ ft range and low MSRP of $79, the Presentation Remote Pro is the ideal tool for every public speaker and presenter in commerce or education as its range covers large meeting rooms and lecture halls.

No software is required. Just plug the receiver into the USB port on a PC or a Mac and the remote begins to work within seconds. Plus, all of the Presentation Remote Pro’s functions are available at a touch of a button at all times. Many other remotes force users to switch between function “modes” in order to use a mouse or media buttons.

Iambic’s Tipper is an indispensable everyday utility that saves time at the restaurant when it comes to pay the bill. It allows users to quickly calculate the total amount per person based on the percentage everyone wishes to tip and it evenly splits the total between 2 or more payers.

Previously available only for Windows Mobile Pocket PCs and Smartphones, Tipper is now available also for Palm OS based handhelds and phones. To celebrate the new edition, this week Tipper can be purchased for only 99 cents through Iambic’s “deal of the week.”

Weeks before he announced an “unacceptable number of repairs” to the Xbox 360, the Microsoft executive in charge of the video game console sold US$6.15 million worth of company stock, or about 20 percent of his holdings.

According to regulatory filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, sold 200,000 shares in four transactions between May 3 and May 30. The total take: more than $6.1 million.

On July 5, Bach was one of two Microsoft executives who spelled out the problems with the Xbox 360 to financial analysts and reporters. The game machine’s design, Bach said, was defective. “Over the past couple of months, the number of repairs for the Xbox 360 console have been unacceptable to us,” he said during a telephone conference call.

To handle the influx of customer complaints, Microsoft said it was immediately extending the Xbox 360’s warranty from one to three years for any problem diagnosed with the three flashing lights error message, dubbed the “red ring of death” by users. To pay for the anticipated repairs, and to evaluate and fix systems still in inventory, Microsoft will take a charge of more than $1 billion against earnings for the quarter that ended June 30.

Toysoft has released a major update to its FakeCall Treo utility. Fake Call is a program that is intended to give Treo owners a way to escape impromptu office meetings and unwanted social interactions–by accurately simulating incoming phone calls. The app gives you a number of clever and discreet ways to activate fake calls at your command. For example you can simply switch the silencer slider or schedule a specific time via an appointment or alarm and your phony call will come in. The program is designed to be identical to the Treo’s usual calling screens and will even simulate a voice on the other end of the line.

SplashData announced the release of the overhauled 2.14 version of SplashTravel in both Pro and Standard variants, featuring live global weather data, live foreign currency conversions, and live flight and airline info. This is mostly a bugfix release but with weekly updates to the program occurring since May, SplashTravel should continue to see additional new features and improvements added in the near future.

Palm has posted and an update that upgrades two of its smartphones, the Treo 700w and Treo 700wx, to the latest edition of the company’s Pocket PC Phone software: version 1.22. Released in January 2005, the Treo 700w was Palm’s first Windows Mobile-run product.

Has it come to this? Robots standing in for doctors at the hospital patients’ bedside? Not exactly, but some doctors have found a way to use a videoconferencing robot to check on patients while they’re miles from the hospital. One is at Baltimore’s Sinai Hospital. Outfitted with cameras, a screen and microphone, the joystick-controlled robot is guided into the rooms of Dr. Alex Gandsas’ patients where he speaks to them as if he were right there.

Besides his normal morning and afternoon in-person rounds, Gandsas uses the $150,000 robot to visit patients at night or when problems arise. The robot can circle the bed and adjust the position of its two cameras, giving “the perception from the patient’s standpoint that the doctor is there,” the surgeon said. A chart-review study of 376 of the doctor’s patients found that the 92 patients who had additional robotic visits had shorter hospital stays. Gandsas’ study appears in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

A group of experts in the field of voice user interfaces, speech recognition technology and navigation have banded together to create a voice-activated system, called DIR-ECT-IONS, that provides mobile phone users with driving directions and store location services via SMS/text messages.

The service, from Dial Directions, is free for any U.S. cell phone user, except for any SMS messaging charges that may be incurred by service providers, the company said. Dial Directions also claims it’s “the first of its kind” and will function with any handset from all U.S. carriers.