Honda just announced a scooter that runs on fuel cell technology called the Honda FC Stack. The scooter power plant is based on a 125cc engine with the fuel cell stack in the middle of the vehicle. No word on when they might hit the market.

If you need a tiny 2.2 GB hard drive that has a USB 2.0 connector and needs no batteries or power cord then the I/O Magic GigaBank 2.2 may be what you need. The standard USB connector folds down into the unit for transport leaving you with a device that’s only 2” x 0.5” x 2.5”. The little drive draws all the power it needs from your Windows-based computer’s USB port. The capacity of the drive is just enough to carry your digital documents and some MP3s along with you. I don’t have confirmation yet but this drive would probably work with Pocket PCs using a USB host port.

I love my Altec Lansing inMotion portable speakers. Pop in the iPod, crank it up, and portable music heaven. So how do you make them better? Introducing the iM3. Fits any iPod (and minis) through the use of adapters, speaker grilles, easier opening and closing, remote control, and that great sound. Pricy at $180 but if you need them you really need them.

The Pentax Optio X is a five megapixel camera with a swivel lens design that looks like a real winner. Sporting a 36 – 107 mm lens (equivalent) on a unique rotating base, the Optio has a two piece design that lets you swivel both the LCD and the lens independently for maximum flexibility. At only 18 mm thick, the Optio is one of the smallest cameras to offer so much versatility. With 14 MB of memory onboard the Optio, you will definitely need extra memory in the form of SD/MMC cards. You can shoot in JPEG format for stills and MOV video, and the Optio also functions as a webcam for your PC or laptop (requires Windows Messenger and Windows XP SP1 or later). 4X digital zoom lets you get up close and personal to your subject for those long shots. The Optio comes with a cradle for charging and connecting to your PC, and has basic video editing capabilities built into the camera. All in all this looks like a very nice camera. No word on pricing was given by Pentax in their announcement. You can find complete specs and info on dpreview.

Samsung announced today they have developed a LCD screen with the touch screen digitizer incorporated into the one piece design. Most screens today are two piece designs with a touch screen panel overlaid onto the LCD screen. This design breakthrough should allow Samsung to make screens that are much thinner than currently available. They expect to use the new screens to produce lighter cell phones initially.Thanks to Kevin of PocketPCTools for this info.

I’m not going to rip iBIZ for their debacle handling the Virtual Keyboard as I’ve done that enough recently. You remember their laser keyboard that isn’t? The keyboard that went from now shipping to waiting for US laser regulation approval to we’re suing our supplier because we don’t even have a prototype? Now you remember.It looks like they delayed long enough for a competitor to release a similar product that also projects a virtual keyboard onto a flat surface via laser. Called simply the Virtual Keyboard (VKB) the keyboard is compatible with the XDA I & II, a couple of Palms, two iPAQ models, and “Laptops/ Desktops via a serial connection”, whatever that means. The VKB is only available in mainland Britain at the present time and will set you back GBP 99.95.

One of the primary drivers for me in searching for good mobile device technology is the hope I will find something that I can incorporate into my arsenal of mobile tools. I look for devices and software solutions that fit into my daily routine and help make my work easier. Good mobile technology must have at least one trait before it makes my toolkit- it must be something that is enabling. What I mean by that is the tool has to enable me to do something better, easier, or quicker. It can’t just be cool (although there’s nothing wrong with that) or have a wow factor, it must be an enabler. Tools like this are appearing all the time which is what drives me to root it out, put it through it’s paces, and ultimately incorporate into my work flow.I spend a lot of time thinking about how this technology can help others. Anyone who is involved in the mobile tech business must realize that what is good for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander when it comes to mobile gadgets. The needs of each person are unique and it’s certainly short-sighted to proclaim that Device A is the be-all for everyone. I try to avoid that mindset but I admit that’s sometimes difficult to do. So I’ve spent the past few weeks observing in the workplace. What I’ve been looking for specifically is the actual usage of mobile gadgets in different work settings, at different companies and locations, to get a feel for what is being used by a wide range of professionals. I have perhaps a unique perspective on this since I’m not in the IT industry, unlike many who are involved in mobile technology. People who are directly involved in the IT industry no doubt embrace technology in their work and personal life because they are familiar with it and exposed to it naturally. What I wanted to examine was how professionals in a totally unrelated field are using mobile technology and how they react to it when exposed to it in a normal business setting. What I observed surprised me.
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If you’re a big OneNote user like I am then you are going to love this. I recently told you about two great PowerToys that I use daily. One feature I’ve been really wanting is the ability to print from any document directly into a OneNote page. Something similar to the Windows Journal Note Writer that prints a document straight into a native Journal page, except for One Note which I use much more than the Journal.I searched high and low and today I found it! OneNote Image Writer PowerToy for Microsoft Office OneNote® 2003 (long name) installs a printer driver that does exactly what I need. It’s especially useful for getting PDF documents straight into OneNote for markup.

I’ve seen the Samsung YP-53 show up on several websites this week and decided to take a closer look and figure out what keeps this from being just another MP3 player. Turns out the Yepp is a USB drive that comes with up to 256 MB of memory and has an FM tuner on board. This would be cool enough but it also has software that connects you to your home PC when you plug it into the USB port of ANY computer with internet access. The connection is a secure connection and would be an excellent way to access your computer from public systems. I couldn’t find out if this also works behind corporate firewalls.

Brando is an online retailer in Hong Kong that I’ve always found to be a good source of hard to find items, like screen protectors in special sizes. I just ran across a really interesting product on their web site and thought I’d share it with you. If you have a cell phone with a camera you have probably pulled your hair out over some of the lousy quality pictures that come out of the phone. Blurry, too far away to capture properly, too close to capture properly, well, you get the idea.Enter Brando with their PDA/ Cellphone Camera Lens Combo Sets. These little sticky lenses are sized to fit over the lens on your PDA or camera phone and provide filtered effects to enhance your masterpieces. The lenses are offered in two sets: set 1 has 3 lenses- tele lens, soft filter, and kaleidoscope-strip; set 2 has a distortion lens, macro lens, and a kaleidoscope- triangle lens. I haven’t used any of these but the idea is a very sound one. Each lens set runs for $18 so it won’t break the bank to give them a try. If anyone has tried these I’m interested in hearing what you think.