Electric Fishwrap

Also filed under “Stuff I Can’t Afford”

Reuters apparently sends its reporters out with this combo:

• Nokia N95 phone ~$580: Acts as 5 megapixel video camera, music player, email device and GPS mapper.
• Nokia Wireless Keyboard SU-8W, ~$110: Bluetooth capable to type up reports. Folds down to an easy-to-use size.
• Power Monkey charger ~$120: Uses our mortal enemy, the sun, to charge our electronic devices. For those times when we’re reporting from a very remote location, like Senegal.
• Tripod and mic for the camera, and assorted cords, ~$200

I could definitely see a need for the phone + keyboard in, say, a prominent murder trial. Imagine live blogging the trial, as Ron Sylvester did at his paper last year (link to blog post of his work last year. Sylvester blogs at Technolo-J. His old blog remains a treasure trove of good information).

Tip of the hat to AndyDickenson.net for the heads up. He also links a video on his site.

The Shelby Star in Cleveland County, N.C. is far ahead of the tech curve as far as most newspapers go. Their new gadget, the Star Car, is an amazing mobile newsroom.

What is the Star Car?
The Star Car is a mobile interactive newsroom. Reporters drive it to wherever something is happening that you need to know about, turn on the equipment, and they can report live online.

You can even track the Star Car and see where it’s been, and there’s an in-dash camera so you can watch the car as it’s on the way to news! How cool is that? How incredible and innovative!

The Wichita Eagle in Kansas also used some technology to blog about a murder trial — live from inside the courtroom. In this incredible post by the technolo-j blog, the reporter explains his work process during the trial.

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