Sunday, April 26, 2009
The Shuttle X 5000TA is a European version of the Shuttle X50 all in one Nettop. that is arguably the sexiest Nettop design, as we have seen at CES, but the X 5000TA now has a price: $641 (with Windows Vista Home). Without the OS the price will go down by about $100. Of course, all that is converted from the price set in Euros. Shuttle plus mentioned versions with larger displays and possibly beefier configurations. We would love to see one of these mounted on a VESA mount - it’s compatible! 
It might sound like a weird move to a niche market, but JVC just launched a 42″ LCD display aimed at… photographers. Why photographers? considering that display can reproduce a much greater range of colors than your typical big LCD display 100% of the sRGB space and 96% of Adobe’s RGB space, whether you’re overly curious. As an amateurish photographer, I would rather spend money on a higher resolution display (this one is about 1 Megapixel), but it’s just me. 
Sony makes another attempt at the projector game with the following two models - the VPL-EX7 and VPL-EX70. Both of them share the ability to throw a 60″ screen at 1,024 x 768 resolution from a distance of 1.8m, thanks to its short focal lens. As for the latter, it falls under the BrightEra category with a contrast ratio of 900:1 and a brightness of 2,600 lumens whereas the former is more handicapped with a 500:1 contrast ratio and 2,000 lumens brightness. There is no word on pricing as at press day.
Nokia adds another Near Field Communication (NFC) device to its line up. NFC is a short-distance communication protocol (<1 feet) that can be used for contactless payments, among other things. The Nokia 6216 Classic stores your payment knowledge (credit card…) in the SIM card, which already has some robust shield features. The 6216 classic is an “average” phone that’s meant for a mass-market. The notion is that more citizens would care about easy payments that they care about installing eye-candy applications, for example.Stable and completed code for Windows 7 will be released to early adopters during the coming week, with mass availability planned for the following Tuesday.
The eagerly awaited Windows 7 Release Candidate 1 will be posted to members of Microsoft's Developer Network and TechNet for download on April 30. RC1 will be made generally available on May 5, Microsoft said late Friday.
Microsoft confirmed the dates after the RC leaked to four torrent sites, causing excitement and frustration that Microsoft didn't appear to be offering a date for release.
This is expected to be the last code cut before Windows 7 is delivered as final product, unless major bugs or faults are uncovered. Microsoft pointedly did not give a date for Windows 7's release to manufacturing when it announced the RC and has been clinging to a 2010 time frame.
The smart money, though, is on release to manufacturing and OEMs this year, as early as this summer. Consumers are expected to get Windows 7 on new PCs and as boxed product in time for the back-to-school shopping window starting in September and October or the holiday shopping season a little later.
Businesses on Microsoft's enterprise accounts are likely to get a slightly earlier lead-time on the new operating system.
Windows XP, the predecessor to Windows Vista, officially launched in October 2001 - in good time for the holiday shopping season - while Windows Vista was delivered to consumers in the fallow, post-holiday shopping period of a February - a fact that meant a disappointing start to sales.
Windows 7 has been pretty much completed from a usability perspective for a while, with people already using the operating system at work.
Windows Experience blogger Brandon LeBlanc said changes since January's beta included bug fixes and improvements to the overall "experience," He pointed to refinements in the new taskbar, the behavior of Aero Peek, Touch, and Windows Media Player.
The eagerly awaited Windows 7 Release Candidate 1 will be posted to members of Microsoft's Developer Network and TechNet for download on April 30. RC1 will be made generally available on May 5, Microsoft said late Friday.
Microsoft confirmed the dates after the RC leaked to four torrent sites, causing excitement and frustration that Microsoft didn't appear to be offering a date for release.
This is expected to be the last code cut before Windows 7 is delivered as final product, unless major bugs or faults are uncovered. Microsoft pointedly did not give a date for Windows 7's release to manufacturing when it announced the RC and has been clinging to a 2010 time frame.
The smart money, though, is on release to manufacturing and OEMs this year, as early as this summer. Consumers are expected to get Windows 7 on new PCs and as boxed product in time for the back-to-school shopping window starting in September and October or the holiday shopping season a little later.
Businesses on Microsoft's enterprise accounts are likely to get a slightly earlier lead-time on the new operating system.
Windows XP, the predecessor to Windows Vista, officially launched in October 2001 - in good time for the holiday shopping season - while Windows Vista was delivered to consumers in the fallow, post-holiday shopping period of a February - a fact that meant a disappointing start to sales.
Windows 7 has been pretty much completed from a usability perspective for a while, with people already using the operating system at work.
Windows Experience blogger Brandon LeBlanc said changes since January's beta included bug fixes and improvements to the overall "experience," He pointed to refinements in the new taskbar, the behavior of Aero Peek, Touch, and Windows Media Player.
Apple's financial results for its second-quarter of 2009 were very favorable despite a few dark spots. But though the company may have posted its most successful non-holiday quarter ever, there are still some signs that Apple is scaling back on costs in order to combat the effects of the current economic situation.
Apple's 10-Q form filed with the SEC noted that the company had 14,000 full-time retail employees as of the end of the past quarter. That number stands in sharp contrast to the 15,600 employees the company reported in the same document filed at the end of the December 2008 quarter.
Did Apple lay off 1,600 retail workers? There are other possible explanations, including shifting workers to part-time status or cutting excess personnel employed during the busier holiday quarter, but given that the figure represents more than 10 percent of Apple's retail workforce, it seems likely that a number of those employees were let go.
That jibes with other figures that Apple's disclosed about its retail segment, too. For example, the company said that it opened only one store in the second-quarter of 2009, compared with four in the year-ago quarter. In looking forward to the rest of the year, CFO Peter Oppenheimer said that Apple planned to open a total of 25 stores in fiscal 2009, half of which would be outside of the country. That's just half of the 50 stores Apple opened in 2008. Retail revenue was down year-over-year as well, going from an average of US$8.5 million per store in the second quarter of 2008 to an average of $7 million per store in this past quarter.
Retail is an expensive segment for Apple, as it requires not just hiring more workers than the company would otherwise employ, but also necessitates long-term investments like property leases and expenses like store construction and maintenance. In an environment where consumer spending has dropped off, that could make the retail segment particularly vulnerable.
Despite that, Apple has yet to close a single one of its retail outlets in the almost eight years that they've been operating. By all accounts its retail stores have been an incredible success in that time, attracting millions of customers and generating substantial revenues for Apple. However, the company's investments there are not without their risks, as Apple notes in the same 10-Q document, saying "The Company would incur substantial costs if it were to close multiple retail stores and such costs could adversely affect the Company's financial condition and operating results."
It seems that Apple has instead focused its cost-cutting measures on personnel to help avoid closing stores, but it's not inconceivable that we could see our first Apple Store shutter if the economy continues in the direction that it's been going.
Apple's 10-Q form filed with the SEC noted that the company had 14,000 full-time retail employees as of the end of the past quarter. That number stands in sharp contrast to the 15,600 employees the company reported in the same document filed at the end of the December 2008 quarter.
Did Apple lay off 1,600 retail workers? There are other possible explanations, including shifting workers to part-time status or cutting excess personnel employed during the busier holiday quarter, but given that the figure represents more than 10 percent of Apple's retail workforce, it seems likely that a number of those employees were let go.
That jibes with other figures that Apple's disclosed about its retail segment, too. For example, the company said that it opened only one store in the second-quarter of 2009, compared with four in the year-ago quarter. In looking forward to the rest of the year, CFO Peter Oppenheimer said that Apple planned to open a total of 25 stores in fiscal 2009, half of which would be outside of the country. That's just half of the 50 stores Apple opened in 2008. Retail revenue was down year-over-year as well, going from an average of US$8.5 million per store in the second quarter of 2008 to an average of $7 million per store in this past quarter.
Retail is an expensive segment for Apple, as it requires not just hiring more workers than the company would otherwise employ, but also necessitates long-term investments like property leases and expenses like store construction and maintenance. In an environment where consumer spending has dropped off, that could make the retail segment particularly vulnerable.
Despite that, Apple has yet to close a single one of its retail outlets in the almost eight years that they've been operating. By all accounts its retail stores have been an incredible success in that time, attracting millions of customers and generating substantial revenues for Apple. However, the company's investments there are not without their risks, as Apple notes in the same 10-Q document, saying "The Company would incur substantial costs if it were to close multiple retail stores and such costs could adversely affect the Company's financial condition and operating results."
It seems that Apple has instead focused its cost-cutting measures on personnel to help avoid closing stores, but it's not inconceivable that we could see our first Apple Store shutter if the economy continues in the direction that it's been going.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
We recently told you about Phanfare’s Photon iPhone application that let’s you order photo prints directly from your iPhone or iPhone 3G. The service is so damn convenient that we just had to give IntoMobile readers a chance to win some free prints. To celebrate the Photon iPhone application, we’re giving away 100 FREE prints each to 10 lucky winners!
Think about what you could do with Photon for iPhone and 100 FREE prints! You can finally send Grandma that birthday picture you took with your iPhone. Maybe you’d like to ave hard-copy prints of that anniversary party shipped to your door. Or, if you’re like us, you’re going to order a year’s worth of those party pics you uploaded to your iPhone.
Each of the 10 randomly selected IntoMobile readers will receive 100 FREE photo prints from Phanfare, including free shipping within the US. The contest is open to our non-US readers, but international shipping will be the responsibility of the winner. You don’t have to have an iPhone to enter, but it sure makes the process a whole lot simpler!
Winners will be randomly selected from the comments section as well as Twitter mentions . You may enter the contest twice - once in the comments section and once in Twitter. You can choose to enter the contest via Twitter or comments alone, but you’ll be getting half the odds of winning.
In an attempt to put an end to tangled headphone wires, designer Ji Woong has cooked up these headphones which are part and parcel of a zipper mechanism. Buying a coat with this built right into the hood, say, would be a surefire seller. The coolest part of all is probably the control mechanism built into the zipper tag - twist the outer-rim for volume adjustment and press on the button at the bottom to lock the control. It would be nice to have some more controls built in there, maybe use the main button for pause/play, throw some track skipping functions in with the volume dial, and a separate lock switch on the back.The only problem when it comes to mobile is which plug to use… 3.5mm would offer the most versatility, but would leave a lot of Sony Ericsson users screwed, along with anyone stuck with 2.5mm. Stereo Bluetooth could solve all of that, but would require a few more controls on the zipper tag.Regardless, cool idea, and it would make sure you never forget your headphones at home again.
Sprint is out with a new mobile broadband product - Sierra Wireless AirCard 402 modem. What’s interesting about this device is that it can work on both PC Card and ExpressCard slots, making sure even the folks with older laptops can use it. Of course, you can always opt for a USB modem, but if you like keeping your USB ports available for other devices (like, let’s say USB rocket launcher), the AirCard 402 is the way to go.The modem works on two CDMA bands (1900 and 800 MHz) and supports EV-DO Rev. 0 and Rev. A where available. Users should expect typical upload speeds of 350-500 Kbps and download speeds of 600 Kbps - 1.4 Mbps. In theory, when stars align and you have the perfect connection, these numbers go way up to 1.8 Mbps on the uplink and 3.1 Mbps on the downlink side.
Finally, there’s one more trick under the hood of the AirCard 402. It’s the built-in GPS receiver, which should help you get around when travelling.
The Sierra Wireless AirCard 402 is already available and you could grab it for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate, and with a Sprint’s mobile broadband contract…
SMC Networks has today launched a new generation of wireless ( 802.11n-draft 2.0 Wi-Fi ) broadband routers with built-in support for 3G Mobile Broadband services. The Barricade SMCWBR14-3GN comes with a USB port to connect your 3G USB modem, thus acting as a handy backup for your land-line.
Naturally all the usual solutions are there too, including a cable/xDSL broadband modem, auto-failover, wireless N access point (WPA and WPA2 encryption), firewall with Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI), 4-port Fast Ethernet switch and a user friendly web-based management interface. Expect it to cost between £75 and £100.
Naturally all the usual solutions are there too, including a cable/xDSL broadband modem, auto-failover, wireless N access point (WPA and WPA2 encryption), firewall with Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI), 4-port Fast Ethernet switch and a user friendly web-based management interface. Expect it to cost between £75 and £100.
Toshiba has launched a wide range of new products. As fans of its pocket-sized Camileo camcorder, we were interested to see the latest additions to the range, which start at just £99 for the new Camileo P10.Despite its low price, the P10 provides full 1080p HD resolution – compared to 720p for the original Camileo. Other features include 2x digital zoom at 1080p or 4x zoom at lower resolutions, and a special Night mode for shooting in low-light conditions. The P10 captures video in the H.264 format used by the iPod, so it’s easy to transfer your video clips onto a Mac or iPod. There’s no built-in memory so you’ll need a memory card. There’s also a super-slim version called the S10, which measures just 18mm thick, priced at £129.99.
Panasonic to develop 1080p twin lens P2 camcorder for 3D captures now
0 comments Posted by Hori at 12:43 PM
You haven’t jumped onto the 3D bandwagon yet, you’ll want to very soon if this year’s NAB show is any indication. Meet Panasonic’s latest conceptual camcorder, which will take P2 memory cards. For the moment, Panasonic’s 3D Full HD Camera Recorder is just a prototype, but it’s pretty clear that they intend to bring it to market asap. It looks pretty awesome.The device will feature a twin-lens system for capturing 3D footage natively in 1080p, and the video streams will be stored on P2 cards. Will it be able to be used for 2D shooting at all? It doesn’t look like it right now. Either way, this is a step in the right direction for Panasonic. Everybody else is doing the 3D thing after all.
ASUS's P30 laptop or P30A, as it's now apparently known would come equipped with Intel's latest and greatest anti-theft technology, but ASUS has only just now gotten fully official with the laptop itself, and dished out all the rest of the specs that at least some folks have no doubt been waiting for. This being a full-on ultraportable, you won't exactly get a ton of power, but you can expect a snazzy LED-backlit 13.3-inch display 1366x768 resolution, along with a low-voltage 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4GB of RAM, your choice of 250GB or 320GB hard drives in either 5,400 or 7,200 rpm variations, a DVD drive, HDMI out, a 4-cell battery, and even some built-in 3G -- all in a package that weighs in at just over three pounds. Still no official word on a price, but it looks like you should be able to pick one up any day now -- or you could just wait for a similarly thin-and-light and slightly more stylish Acer Timeline, your choice.
The company has finally gotten official with the upgraded Studio 15 laptop, and made it available in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. This update is all about the improved 15.6-inch LED-backlit display, with a native 1366 x 768 resolution, that gets paired with some upgraded ATI Mobility Radeon HD4570 graphics available with 256MB or 512MB of on-board memory.Aside from that, you can expect the usual Core 2 Duo processors, built-in 2 megapixel webcam, HDMI out, optional Blu-ray drive, optional backlit keyboard, and it comes in six colors. Prices should remain around $649 for the base model, with things moving up from there.
New and improved and now available.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Asustek has released details of the ASUS P80 business laptop, featuring a 14-inch display and Intel’s new Anti-Theft technology.
The ASUS P80 comes with an Intel Core 2 Duo or Pentium CPU, up to 4GB of DDR2 memory, up to 320GB of hard drive space, and a DVD burner. The P80A and P80Q models include the Intel GMA X4500MHD (with HD decoder) and X4500M integrated graphics respectively, whereas the P80Vc has the NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS 512MB dedicated GPU.
The laptops have 14″ 1366×768 anti-glare LED backlight displays with a 16:9 aspect ratio.
Other features include a 1.3MP web camera, the Intel WiMAX/WiFi Link 5100, optional Bluetooth, a 56k modem, and a Gigabit Ethernet LAN port, as well as two USB ports, a eSATA/USB combo port, a 7-in-1 media card reader, a VGA output. We haven’t find any info on PC Card or ExpressCard slot.
Here’s how Asustek explains Intel Anti-Theft Technology, incorporated into the P80:
“This new technology provides users with the ability to send a “poison pill” remotely, rendering the notebook inoperable by comprehensively shutting it down. As such, the risk resulting from a stolen or lost notebook is eliminated. Once the notebook has been recovered, a local passphrase or recovery token can be used to reactivate the notebook”.
Another laptop’s security feature is AI Pre-boot Finger Login, “from which users have to scan their finger via the scanner prior to system boot-up”, and the AI Secure Delete which “allows users to securely delete any sensitive data completely with no opportunity for others to retrieve them”.
The ASUS P80 weighs 5.3 pounds with a 6 cell battery and runs Windows Vista.
There’s no info on pricing and availability.
The company also plans to launch a smaller version of the notebook - the ASUS P30.
Dell’s Vostro A90, an 8.9-inch netbook for business users, is now available in the US.The 2.4-pound Vostro A90 is a rebadged Inspiron Mini 9 and features the Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor, 1GB of DDR2 memory, up to 16GB of solid state drive storage space, Intel’ 945GSE chipset with the GMA 950 integrated graphics, a 4-cell battery, and an optional 0.3MP web camera. The display has a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels.
The Windows XP-powered netbook also includes stereo speakers, 802.11b/g WiFi, optional Bluetooth, an Ethernet LAN port, three USB ports, a 3-in-1 media card reader, and a VGA output.
Unlike the Mini 9, which is available in various colors, the A90 comes in black only.
Multiple reviewers select the solid Lenovo ThinkPad T61 as the best laptop for business users. Performance is superb in tests, and the laptop runs cool. Rugged construction adds a little to the cost, but ensures that the T61 can stand up to the rigors of the road. Lenovo has the highest reliability and customer support ratings in all large surveys of laptop owners. Unfortunately, the company has cut the ThinkPad T61's warranty from three years to one.Most reviews for the Lenovo ThinkPad T61 cover the now-discontinued 14.1-inch version. However, most comments apply equally to the current version with its improved 15.4-inch display. NotebookReview.com, a highly regarded reviewer of laptop computers, does look at the larger-screened ThinkPad T61.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
It's now officially been "confirmed" by "people close to the situation"... two of them in fact. Apple will release a touchscreen netbook by Fall 2009. Doing so would go against everything they've stated publicly to date, but I think I've figured out how they'll get around that.Digitimes got this party started on Monday by reporting that the Commercial Times said "Wintek will supply touch panels for Apple's new netbook, and shipments will start in the third quarter this year". Dow Jones got in on the party soon after, confirming the story with anonymous sources who they assure us are quite friendly with the "situation". The "monitor screens" will be "between 9.7-inches and 10-inches" and Quanta will be making the computers.
Of course, there are a few problems with this. First of all the second "close source" is either contradicting the first one or just being useless, having yielded up the telling quotation "specifications and functions are still under evaluation." Also, although this doesn't necessarily mean the story isn't accurate, Dow Jones is not where I go to get my reliable Apple news. But the biggest reason this doesn't make sense is Steve Job's famous line, "we don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk." Those are pretty strong words and Apple hasn't really backed off them since day one.
My conclusion? Netbooks are hot and Apple knows it. Just like Sony caved, so too will Apple in their own fashion. Now Jobs is right about that price point but I think I've guessed their workaround, and I'm putting my $799 off to the side now so I don't spend it before September.
The much hyped thin-and-light 13.4 inch Adamo laptop is now available for preorder from Dell, and it's officially a lot less exciting than we'd hoped for.
The starting price for the Adamo is $1,999 and for that you get an Intel Core 2 Duo ULV at 1.2GHz, 2GB of 800MHz DDR3 memory, a 128GB solid state drive, and a genuine copy of Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit. Oh joy. And graphics are delivered by the mediocre Intel GM45 chip.
Sure, this is a luxury laptop and it’s arguably good looking, but put it next to its rival – the MacBook Air, also a luxury model – and it immediately pales in comparison. It also weighs 4 pounds, a pound more than the Air, which is a lot when comparing ultraportables.
Even in the best of economic climates it would be hard to sell this laptop, but right now it should prove damn near impossible. To continue the MBA comparison, the Apple ultraportable is also available with an SSD and uses more powerful 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo’s from Intel, and also has the much more capable Nvidia chipset.
Will be 24" in time for holidays? The first Acer Aspire One had a 9-inch screen and was extremely popular. It will however be phased out and replaced with a 10-inch variant, and an 11.6" version is in the making already. At this rate of growth, we have calculated that the Aspire One will be a luggable by late July.
The line between netbooks and laptops – if there ever was one – is getting more and more blurred, and soon all that remains will be a mainstream laptop with very poor performance. Dell was the first manufacturer to remove ‘small’ from the netbook formula with its 12-inch Inspiron Mini 12. Even the ‘cheap’ part of the recipe is being phased out as new netbooks are getting bigger and more full-featured.
Now Acer is doing the same with an 11.6-inch version of its Aspire One netbook lineup. The new model comes with an Atom Z530 CPU on the Intel “Poulsbo” chipset with GMA500 graphics, which should be capable of HD video playback (720p and 1080i) according to Intel. The screen resolution is 1366x768.
Gaming laptops are often on par with mainstream desktops in gaming performance, but have the drawbacks of being large and heavy. AMD wants to change this with the XGP, which is literally an external graphics card in a box. Unfortunately, this solution also has its drawbacks.Fujitsu Siemens was the first manufacturer to release an XGP box that can be used in conjunction with its 13-inch Sa3650 laptop. On its own, the 3650 is a fairly standard AMD-based laptop with a Turion X2 Ultra processor running at 2.1GHz and integrated Radeon 3200 graphics, which makes it sufficient for most tasks except gaming. When you add the GraphicsBooster, however, graphics performance get a a 470% boost according to Fujitsu. This isn’t particularly surprising, considering that the box contains a Radeon HD 3870 GPU.
One of the obvious drawbacks is that you need an external screen to use the GraphicsBooster, so basically it’s not really a mobile solution. We tried it with Far Cry 2 on an external 22” monitor, and regretfully it wasn’t running very well either, at least not in high resolutions.
Having your 13-inch laptop double as a gaming rig definitely sounds like an interesting idea, but clearly the 3870 isn’t fast enough to satisfy hardcore gamers. It will be interesting to see how future versions of the XPG perform, but for now it’s neither a mobile or cost-effective solution.
Logitech has introduced two new ways to improve your general laptop using experience. If you've ever experienced overheating or had back issues from constantly staring at the screen at a bad height, these could be helpful accessories.Logitech has introduced two new items - the Cooling Pad N100 and the Notebook Riser N110.
Many laptops both current and old are prone to overheating, especially during heavier use when the fans are forced to kick in. The Cooling Pad N100 is a USB-powered fan which distributes air evenly and quietly underneath the notebook. The fan is ultra low-powered to have minimal impact on battery life. The design features comfortable waves so that it will feel good on your lap too.
If you spend hours of every day peering into a laptop screen, you have probably wished at some point that you had an external monitor so you could raise it up and actually look straight into your display rather than looking down into it. A less costly solution is just to get a notebook riser like the N110. It has three tilt angles (20, 30, 40 degrees) so that you can raise your notebook's display to an ideal viewing level. Sit with your head up, shoulders set back and eyes looking straight ahead. To use it for more than watching movies you will need an external mouse and keyboard though, since the angle is better for viewing than typing.
Both of these accessories are suitable for PCs or Macs up to 15.4" in size, and will cost you $29.99.
We already knew the U115, with its hybrid SSD/HDD magic, would manage to have excellent battery life. But what happens when you match up this battery-stretching beast with a mammoth 9-cell laptop battery? You break records, that's what.Not all that long ago, the U115 was reported as capable of achieving 12 hours of battery life on a 6-cell battery. This is due to the fact that the netbook has an HDD for mass storage but runs most basic tasks on a power-sipping SSD. But recent reports from Johannes of the German site Eee-PC.de have put the U115 at a mind boggling 25 hours and 4 minutes on a single charge.
Johannes used a batteryeater test on the lowest possible settings to get his results. Conversely, LaptopMag put the U115 under a more rigorous test of constant websurfing - and it still squeezed out 10 hours and 32 minutes. Your real life usage will probably be somewhere in between.
Frankly, if a laptop gets 5-6 hours of charge I'm fairly happy with it, especially if it doesn't require an oversized battery that juts out awkwardly. But I'm not going to complain about a little jutting when it's getting me 20 odd hours of juice. Finally, a single device on which I can continuously watch 10 hours of movies, listen to 10 hours of music, and all the while work on my various business reports while flying nonstop to Australia. Or perhaps even more importantly, I can finally forget to bring my power cord to work for 3 consecutive days without it mattering anymore.
And Now For Something Completely Different People Helping Robots
0 comments Posted by Hori at 11:15 AM
Miniature smiling robots made out of cardboard are cute, we know this. But cute enough to encourage random New Yorkers to help it make a random journey across Washington Square Park? Read on to find out.Apparently there is no defying the urge to help a harmless, hapless, and completely adorable robot. By itself, it could only wander aimlessly, helpless to overcome obstacles such as park benches and uneven pavement. But with the help of 29 people, this little tweenbot made its journey across the Park in only 42 minutes. Nobody asked them to help it except for the robot itself, which had its destination and a bold "help me" emblazoned across a small white flag protruding from its smiling robot skull.
MSI has let the cat out of the bag, and it's only 14" across. For a full list of specs, read on.
The GX403 is a 14.1" gaming laptop. It will come equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo and a GeForce GT 130M 256MB dedicated GPU. It'll have 4GB DDR2 RAM and a generous 500GB HDD.
The resolution is hardly groundbreaking at 1280x800, but that should be fine for most games. There is also an optional Blu-ray player for watching movies, though again, you won't get close to full HD.
Other specs include an integrated webcam, 802.11b/g/n, HDMI, VGA, eSATA/USB to go along with 2 regular USBs, a card reader, and an ExpressCard. It weighs in fairly light at 4.8lbs with a 6-cell battery and has a special "Color Film Print" finish for "more texture and brightness".
MSI has packaged it's own "Turbo Drive Engine" tech for overclocking when the laptop is plugged in, which should help with gaming. The machine will run Vista Home Premium, and there's no word yet on pricing or availability.
The resolution is hardly groundbreaking at 1280x800, but that should be fine for most games. There is also an optional Blu-ray player for watching movies, though again, you won't get close to full HD.
Other specs include an integrated webcam, 802.11b/g/n, HDMI, VGA, eSATA/USB to go along with 2 regular USBs, a card reader, and an ExpressCard. It weighs in fairly light at 4.8lbs with a 6-cell battery and has a special "Color Film Print" finish for "more texture and brightness".
MSI has packaged it's own "Turbo Drive Engine" tech for overclocking when the laptop is plugged in, which should help with gaming. The machine will run Vista Home Premium, and there's no word yet on pricing or availability.
Nokia has unveiled the latest in its Eseries of smartphones targeted at push-email business users in the UK.
The Nokia E75 is being touted as offering the benefits of full desktop email functionality in a mobile handset, and is the first device to offer the latest Nokia Messaging email user interface.
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Nokia said that the complete integration of its email and messaging services would allow for an efficient three-step email setup. The E75 has also been configured to offer access to both corporate and consumer email accounts, including Yahoo Mail, Gmail, Hotmail, Mail for Exchange and Lotus Notes Traveller.
The SIM-free model is available now from Nokia retail outlets and online stores in the UK for £379.
Unlike other E-series handsets, the E75 features a slide-out Qwerty keyboard and two customisable home screen views offering business and personal user interfaces.
The handset also offers integration with Nokia's web-based Ovi services, including Ovi Files for storing and accessing files and documents on a PC even when it is offline.
Nokia Maps, which works with the onboard Assisted-GPS, is preloaded for enhanced startup performance, and Nokia is supporting the N-Gage games service on an Eseries device for the first time.
The E75 goes on sale from Nokia direct today, and from Carphone Warehouse on a £35 pay-month tariff from 28 April, and from Orange Business on a £40 pay-month tariff from 4 May.
Asus is well-known for the Eee PC line of their notebook because they are small, cheap, and a cool design. However, the Eee PCs quickly turned into the so-called netbooks because they are smaller than a notebook and mostly because they are very portable and are used to access Internet anywhere you can find a Wi-Fi spot.
The Asus Eee PC 900 Netbook features a 8.9-inch display which supports a maximum resolution of 1024 x 600, an Intel Mobile 900 MHz processor, and a memory of 512MB of DDR2. The Eee PC 900 comes in Galaxy Black or Pearl White, but personally I prefer black because white gets dirty and all of that.
As a graphics card (which probably doesn’t matter at all), Asus has chosen an Intel UMA card. The Eee PC 900 Netbook comes packed with a 4GB SSD, HD audio and built-in speakers, SD/MMC (SDHC) memory cards support, and (of course) built-in 802.11b/g. The wireless features is indispensable, however, I appreciate the fact that I can rely on HD audio, and memory card support, while the 4GB SSD is more than enough for me, and I think for everyone as you don’t need games and other software to shorten your storage.
You probably guessed that the Asus Eee PC 900 features Linux as the OS which runs pretty well meaning that the netbook is not slow, and you won’t get any errors.
On the netbook’s sides you will find 3 x USB ports, an earphone jack, a microphone jack, a slot for Ethernet RJ45 10/100 Mbps, and a 15pin VGA-out slot. The Asus Eee PC 900 Netbook measures 22.5 x 17 x 3.38 centimeters, and it weighs only .99 kilograms.
This netbook is perfect when it comes to Internet - it automatically detects & connects to Wi-Fi hotspots, it helps you to easily manage IMs like Yahoo, MSN, Gtalk, and Skype, but also emails, photos, videos, and other documents. This means that you can surf the web while chatting with your friends, and uploading them photos on Flickr, and videos on YouTube.
The Asus Eee PC 900 Netbook is available now in stores for a price ranging between $300 and $400 depending on your location. Please note that the price may be higher or lower depending on how you choose to pay, or discounts respectively.
The Garmin-Asus alliance caught some of us off-guard, but if a merger is what’s needed to get a quality product out in the market then we’re certainly not against it. That seems to be the case with the Nuviphone. Now known as the nuvifone G60, it was first announced in early 2008, but it is only now that we’re getting an approximate release date for their GPS-enabled mobile phone. June is when it is expected to be released, and barring anymore delays, I’d say it’s high time this baby is made available. However, one small caveat possibly standing in its way to success is its Linux Mobile OS. With Mac OS X Mobile and Android making great strides in the mobile scene, does LinMo have what it takes to lure consumers to their side? That’s what we’ll have to wait and see.
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