Friday, October 2

Radiation: 5 Best and Worst phones

Researchers have been divided over the effects of cellphone radiation on human beings. While some studies suggest a link between long-term (10 years or more) cellphone use and cancer, many maintain that there is not conclusive or demonstrated evidence that cell phones cause adverse health effects in humans.

US-based Environmental Working Group (EWG) is among the organisations who believe that there is compelling evidence to prove the link between cancer and cellphone radiation. The group recently came out with five safest and five worst mobile phones in terms of cellphone radiation. The study is based on SAR or Specific Absorption Rate. SAR according to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association is “a way of measuring the quantity of radio frequency (RF) energy that is absorbed by the body.” For a mobile phone to get FCC certification in the United States, the maximum SAR level must be less than 1.6 watts per kilogram. In Europe, the level is capped at 2 watts per kilogram while Canada allows a maximum of 1.6 watts per kilogram.

Here’s looking into the EWG’s 5 Best and Worst mobile devices for radiation.
Best: Samsung Impression
Maximum radiation: 0.35 Watts per kilogram (W/kg) (based on reported radiation level when held up to your ear)

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

SAR when held at the ear: 0.35 W/kg

SAR when worn on the body: 0.83 W/kg
Best: Motorola RAZR V8
Maximum radiation: 0.36 W/kg

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

SAR when held at the ear: 0.36 W/kg

SAR when worn on the body: 0.86 W/kg
Best: Samsung SGH-T229
Maximum radiation: 0.38 W/kg

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

SAR when held at the ear: 0.38 W/kg

SAR when worn on the body: 0.69 W/kg
Best: Samsung Rugby (SGH-A837)
Maximum radiation: 0.46 W/kg

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

SAR when held at the ear: 0.46 W/kg

SAR when worn on the body: 0.57 W/kg
Best: Samsung Propel Pro (SGH-I627)
Maximum radiation: 0.47 W/kg

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

SAR when held at the ear: 0.47 W/kg

SAR when worn on the body: 0.68 W/kg
Worst: Motorola MOTO VU204
Maximum radiation: 1.55 W/kg

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

SAR when held at the ear: 1.55 W/kg

SAR when worn on the body: 0.58 W/kg
Worst: Blackberry Curve 8330
Maximum radiation: 1.54 W/kg

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

SAR when held at the ear 1.54 W/kg

SAR when worn on the body 0.99 W/kg
Worst: Motorola W385
Maximum radiation: 1.54 W/kg

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

SAR when held at the ear: 1.54 W/kg

SAR when worn on the body: 1.13 W/kg
Worst: Kyocera Jax S1300
Maximum radiation: 1.55 W/kg

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

SAR when held at the ear: 1.55 W/kg

SAR when worn on the body: 1.18 W/kg

Worst: TMobile myTouch 3G
Maximum radiation: 1.55 W/kg

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

SAR when held at the ear: 1.55 W/kg

SAR when worn on the body: 1.43 W/kg


Wednesday, August 26

Sony unveils slimmer PS3: $300, lands in September

Hardly a surprise, but Sony got on stage today at GamesCom and confirmed what we've all known deep down in our hearts: the new, slimmer PS3is really real. It'll be out in the first week of September (September 1 in North America and Europe, September 3 for Japan), and will retail for $300 (or 300 Euro, or 29,980 Yen). It's smaller and lighter, has a 120GB HDD, and packs "all the same features" of the regular PS3 while consuming 34 percent less power and taking up 32 percent less space. Existing PS3 SKUs have their prices dropped a hundie apiece tomorrow in anticipation, so be sure to grab a space heater while you've still got a shot -- though we're not sure why you'd pay $300 for an 80GB PS3 when you can wait a couple weeks and get 120GB in a cuter package. A couple pics of the unveil are after the break.

The new 3.0 firmware will be released concurrently with the PS3 slim, which should provide a breath of fresh air for existing machines. Other new features of the PS3 slim include BRAVIA Sync, which allows you to control the PS3 XMB over HDMI through your BRAVIA TV remote, and System Standby to shut off the PS3 when the BRAVIA TV is off. Sony also claims this new machine will run more quietly than existing PS3 systems, which is good news for people who like to watch movies or have conversations in the general vicinity of their game console. There's also a Vertical Stand, which will retail for $24. Not so awesome is Sony's removal of the Install Other OS feature... farewell, Linux. We hardly knew thee.

Courtesy: www.engadget.com

Wednesday, August 12

HP Pavilion Elite makes an offer you (probably) can't refuse: Blu-ray, Win 7, quad-core CPU for $650

Sure, it's not as sleek as some of the other options out there, but the specs of this HP Pavilion Elite e9110t desktop, for the $649.99 asking price, are pretty stunning: a 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Quad processor, NVIDIA GeForce G210, 6GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive , 802.11n, Blu-ray player, and a free Windows 7 upgrade when it finally launches. Offer ends this Saturday, August 15th, but if you're interests have piqued and your wallet has giving the go-ahead, dealnews has all the details and pertinent coupon codes.

Courtesy: www.engadget.com

Saturday, July 25

Microsoft sees first annual sales decline in its history for fiscal 2009


Microsoft's fiscal year 2009 just came to a close, and the new milestones for the company aren't too boast worthy. Year-over-year, the company saw a 3.2 percent decline in sales, its first drop in the company's history -- guess that third quarter report was a pretty good indication of things to come. Net profit, too, fell 17 percent to $14.57 billion. Looking at just the fourth quarter, sales fell 17 percent to $13.1 billion, and profits saw a pretty massive 29 percent drop, to $3.05 billion. Attributing to the decline were legal charges and severance claims from laid off employees, a referral of revenue from the Windows 7 Upgrade program, and of course overall drop in PC and server sales across the industry. So far the stock market has acted as you'd expect, and shares have dropped a notable eight percent. Despite all this gloom, let's not forget that the boys in Redmond are still pulling a profit -- and hey, cheer up Steve, you've got one helluva bright light for fiscal 2010.


Sunday, July 19

Toshiba launching Blu-ray player by year's end


Need a little something to get you over the Saturday lull? Gnaw on this. Japan's own Yomiuri is reporting today that Toshiba is expected to finally admit defeat and enter the dark, devious world of Blu-ray later this year. For those keeping tabs, we've heard both confirmations and denials about the outfit finally caving and supporting the format it once battled so valiantly, but this seems to solidify it. If machine translation is to be believed, the company's first DVD / Blu-ray deck is slated for release somewhere in the world by the year's end. The article also mentions that Tosh is strongly considering a Blu-ray recorder for the Japanese market, though no further details on that are available. C'mon Toshiba -- get this bad boy to the States before Christmas.

AMD's Neo to hit nettops, all-in-one PCs soon


AMD's Neo ultra-portable platform was seen as something that just might rival Intel's mighty Atom in the oversaturated netbook space when it debuted back in January, but up until now, the system has remained largely in the background. Indeed, it has only found its way into a select few machines, none of which have managed to gain any sort of traction beside the sea of Atom-based alternatives. Now, however, it seems as if the chips -- which were originally engineered for ultraslim, thin-and-light laptops -- may find themselves shoved into an array of nettops and all-in-one PCs. Here lately, a slew of underpowered SFF-type desktops and PC-in-a-monitor type units have found favor with bargain hunters, and Bob Grim, the outfit's director of client marketing, isn't looking to miss a golden opportunity. To quote:
"We've known all along that this type of technology would really work well in multiple platforms and multiple types of form factors. These CPUs perform better than the Atom processor, and the graphics are superior. These things... can play Blu-rays, they can play games."There's still no word on who exactly plans on equipping their future machines with this here platform, but considering just how tired we are of Intel's sluggish N270 and N280, we'll take all the competition we can get.
Courtesy: www.engadget.com

Saturday, June 20

Microsoft extends XP downgrade availability to 2011. When will it end?


Hold onto your hats folks, 'cause Microsoft has just done the unthinkable and extended availability of its Windows XP downgrade option, again. This latest move, of course, follows complaints that new licensing issues with Windows 7 could cause some serious headaches for businesses still hanging onto XP, and basically force them to either stock up on XP-ready systems before April 23rd, 2010 or face the possibility of Vista-only downgrades thereafter. The new deadline isn't quite as clear cut as past ones, however, with Microsoft saying only that the XP downgrade option will be available for 18 months after the release of Windows 7, "or until the release of a Windows 7 service pack, whichever is sooner." So, as ComputerWorld notes, if Microsoft pushes an SP1 update out the door six months after Windows 7 is released, folks could well be out of luck yet again -- at least until Microsoft sets a new deadline, that is.


LG 15-inch OLED TV on sale in December


We knew that LG's 15-inch OLED TV was entering into production this summer, now we've got a ship date: December. This according to an interview with Won Kim, LG's VP of OLED sales and marketing. While 15-inches is small, it easily trumps the world's first production OLED TV, Sony's $2,500 11-inch XEL-1, and is a reasonable size for the bedroom (if you must) or kitchen counter. No word on specs but we expect the production set to offer the same million:1 contrast, 1,366 x 768 pixel resolution, and 30,000-hour shelf life as the prototype unveiled in January. The TV will launch first in Korea for an undisclosed price that is bound to be punishingly expensive.
Courtesy: www.engadget.com

Friday, June 5

Sony announces new PS3 motion controller


Sony just announced the rumored new motion controller for the PS3 -- the prototype looks like a wand with a color-changing ball on top. It's designed to work in conjunction with the PlayStation Eye, with the wand overlaid on-screen with a weapon or tool. Unlike Microsoft's Project Natal, Sony says they've learned "some experiences need buttons," which is why there's still a controller involved. The system is said to be "sub-millimeter" precise, and it was demoed drawing and playing a shooter -- it's sort of the middle ground between Natal and Wii Motion Plus. Sony says it'll launch in the spring of 2010, but I don't know what pricing will be like yet.



Tuesday, June 2

Acer launching world's first Android-based netbook in Q3


Acer's been straightforward with the fact that it's been dabbling with Android on netbooks. In fact, the entire industry seems to be. Now we've got word that Acer will in fact launch an Android-based netbook in the 3rd quarter of 2009. The move was announced by Acer's global president for IT products, Jim Wong. The Android netbooks will run Atom (sorry Tegra hopefuls) and presumably cost less than Windows XP-based netbooks that require an estimated $25 tithe to Microsoft. Acer will continue to offer Windows-based netbooks along side the Android builds. Whether Android, an OS designed for smartphones, will succeed in gaining back market share lost to Microsoft remains to be seen. But if Microsoft's boasting about consumers wanting netbooks offering the same OS experience they're used to is true, well, how can Android succeed where those early Linux distros failed?

Windows 7 goes on sale October 22nd


We knew good and well the next iteration of Windows would be generally available this fall, but now we've a date to circle in our datebooks: October 22nd. Yep, the fourth Thursday in the tenth month of this year will mark the first date in which you -- the general consumer -- can purchase Win7, which gives you plenty of time to figure out which of the 94 variants will suit you best. Have fun!

Courtesy: www.engadget.com

Sunday, May 24

Dell now offering Studio XPS 13 with Ubuntu


Dell's been showing Ubuntu lots of love over the past few months, so it's no real shock to see the Linux-based operating system slide on over to Dell's hottest (literally and figuratively) 13-incher. The Studio XPS 13 can now be ordered with Ubuntu 8.10 or 7.04 right from the factory, though it seems you'll be forced to upgrade to Jaunty Jackalope once the rig hits your doorstep. Ah well, you won't find us kvetching over added options, so we'll just pencil on a smile and raise a glass to diversity at Round Rock.
Courtesy: http://www.engadget.com/

Wednesday, May 6

TEC's Lingo mouse touts itself as world's smallest, most likely to get lost in laptop bag


That Ulysses S. Grant greenback you were about to fork over to Thanko? Hold onto it for now, as TEC's Lingo mouse might be more tempting. While more traditional in function than the aforementioned deskless variant, its claim to fame is a self-appointed "smallest mouse" title. While we doubt that's really the case, at 27.5 x 60 x 19 mm and 0.8 ounces, it certainly makes a good argument. Since we know you're dying to hear the nitty-gritty details: 800 dpi, 2.4GHz with a range of up to 32.8 feet, and about 15 hours battery life with automatic shutoff if left dormant for five minutes. No indication of stateside release, but if you find somewhere to import it, at least shipping won't be too terrible, all things considered.



Nokia's E52 brings 8 hours of talk, 23 days of standby


Check it suits, Nokia just spat another E-series device into the boardroom. What the E52 lacks in looks it makes up for with battery specs: 8 hours of talk or 23 days of standby. Otherwise it's an A-GPS, WiFi, HSUPA data, and 3.2 megapixel candybar with generous support for your IT environments via built-in mobile VPN, Call Connect, and choice of corporate email options including Nokia Messaging, Exchange, and yes, Lotus Notes too for all you accountants. Ships in the second half of the year for €245, pre-subsidy and pre-tax. Get your corporate funk on with the video after the break.


Tuesday, May 5

HP ProBook 4710s hands-on


The design is almost startlingly nondescript, but not so minimal that it feels like they aren't trying. Build quality isn't legendary -- there's a little bit of keyboard flex, as noted by Laptop, and the whole thing feels a bit overly plastic -- but on the plus side it's lighter than it looks and should certainly hold up well to most pursuits. The keys have a bit of casual wobble to them, but they're clacky in the right sort of way, and very well defined. The screen is oh-so-thankfully non-glossy, and plenty fine to look at, but the lid on the back is regretfully smudgetastic. Overall it seems like there's plenty there for the money, but it's not going to have high-end business buyers confused in the slightest.


Microsoft to distribute Vista until at least January 2011, ending mainstream support by April 2012


Just because Windows 7 is right around the corner doesn't mean Microsoft intends to immediately sweep Vista under the rug and forget about it. After some confusion around the 'nets today, a company spokesperson confirmed with PC World that its policy is to back an OS for at least four years from launch, meaning January 2011 here, but also said it plans to cut ties and drop mainstream support for the three consumer models within three years, before April 2012. Despite the minimum, most Windows variants have seen longer lifecycles -- XP, for example, had mainstream support for eight years after launch. Business and Enterprise users will still receive security updates until April 2017. Sure, it's good to see people will still have the option for Vista further down the road, but we don't expect a lot of OEMs or consumers will be opting for it once 7 goes gold.


Saturday, April 25

Official: Windows 7 RC publicly available May 5th


According to the cats and kittens in Redmond, the Windows 7 RC will be officially available to MSDN and TechNet subscribers on April 30th, and will be made publicly available on May 5th. End transmission... and bust out the champagne.



Sunday, April 19

Toshiba's leaked product roadmap gets us hot, extra bothered by fuel-cell powered L01 MID


If the roadmap posted after the break is to be believed (and we think it is) then Toshiba is set to capture a lot of attention with its Snapdragon-based handhelds over the coming year. Techblog.gr has what it claims to be the Toshiba Device Roadmap through 2010. They've shown us a PowerPoint sample off-line that seems to support the claim. Of course, this isn't the first time Tosh has leaked an entire product cycle and the named devices align nicely with some of the prototypes Toshiba was showing-off at CES in January (see gallery below). Toshiba was already off to a good start in 2009 with its incredibly thin 4.1-inch TG01 running atop Qualcomm's snapdragon platform. It just gets better from there. First we've got the TG02 (launching in Q4) update to the TG01 that adds IPX4 water resistance without changing the specs or the dimensions. The TG03 ups the ante again with the inclusion of a 3-channel speaker for a better video experience. Also in Q4, Tosh looks ready to launch a 15-mm QWERTY slider version of the 9.9-mm TG01 with new capacitive (!) touchscreen called the K01. All other specs look unchanged including WinMo 6.5. Next is the K02 clamshell with primary 3.5-inch WVGA display and QWERTY on the inside coupled with a secondary LCD and 10-key on-screen keypad on the outside. The K02 features a resistive touchscreen, HSPA data, and same QSD8x50 chipset found in the TG01 (and all the other devices on this roadmap). Last, but by no means least, is the 7-inch L01 looking every bit the love-child of a Nokia N800 and HTC Advantage. The very same device that was shown powered by a DMFC (fuel cell) at CES in January. Interesting since Toshiba has promised a consumer device powered by a fuel cell before March of 2010. Unfortunately, it's limited to WinMo 6.5 (with a hint of a Windows Mobile 7 in 2010) and the same WVGA resolution seen on the smaller screens when it launches. Assuming the leak is true, of course.


Courtesy to engadget.com

Nintendo's $19.99 MotionPlus Wiimote add-on ships to US on June 8th


Alright, so maybe the rumors weren't that far off, but the Big N just did us a solid by establishing US availability of its MotionPlus Wiimote accessory a few weeks ahead of when we were expecting. Granted, it's downright baffling that these things still aren't out on the market, but we're fully anticipating perfection from something that has been in the Crock-Pot® for so long. Shortly after E3 2009 concludes (June 8th, to be precise), Nintendo will ship its MotionPlus add-on stateside. The device itself will run you $19.99, though you could wait until July 26th to pick up the totally attractive Wii Sports Resort for $49.99, which naturally comes bundled with one of the accessories.

Saturday, March 28

ASUS 15.6-inch Eee Top all-in-one now shipping


Good news, pre-orderers. ASUS' 15.6-inch Eee Top all-in-one PC is now shipping from legitimate e-tailers around the web. Just in case you've fogtotten just under six bills buys you a 1.6GHz Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive and Windows XP Home. In other words, netbook components tucked within an LCD. Of course, we'd recommend holding off for the much larger, much more HD-friendly ET2203 and ET2003, but it's your loot.

Saturday, March 14

Dell's multi-touch Studio One 19 PC makes exclusive debut in Japan




Well, well. Japan just scored an exclusive on this new multi-touch Studio One 19 PC from Dell. The All-in-One "entertainment PC" comes in a variety of colors to match your kitchen decor with specs that max-out on options such as a Core 2 Quad processor, 4GB of memory, 750GB hard disk, 6x USB, integrated 1.3 megapixel webcam, and NVIDIA GeForce 9400 graphics, and Blu-ray player. The 18.5 inch display features a 1,366 x 768 aspect ratio with touch or non-touch glass panels -- capacitive or resistive... that's the question. Prices start at about ¥149,800 which translates to a tax inclusive price of about $1,538 of the green stuff.


iPhone OS 3.0 is coming, preview on March 17th


Courtesy: www.engadget.com

Monday, March 9

Apple touch-screen netbook in Q3?


Boom: Apple netbook in Q3 -- that's the rumor being spread by the Commercial Times / DigiTimes tag-team of electronics tattlers. Apparently, Wintek will supply the touch-panels to Quanta computer who'll be tasked with assembling Apple's netbook. Take this one with a grain of salt though -- while these two Taiwan-based magazines tend to be accurate with insider info related to Taiwan-based companies like Acer and ASUS, they can often be wide of the mark with rumors related to foreign companies. Unless of course we missed the launch of the Blu-ray Xbox 360 and G5 PowerBooks.


Thursday, February 12

Mitsubishi temporarily suspends production of LaserVue HDTVs


Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America that the outfit has "temporarily suspended production of LaserVue televisions due to a problem with manufacturing equipment used to produce LaserVue TVs. Mitsubishi Electric engineers are taking the necessary action to ensure that the company resumes production as quickly as possible, while maintaining the highest standards for product quality and reliability. So far as I know, this isn't a sign of sudden discontinuation, as Mitsu has affirmed that it's "expecting production to resume in early 2009."

Courtesy: www.engadget.com

Saturday, February 7

Windows 7 SKUs announced: your worst nightmare has come to pass

The following will be the actual new SKUs for the OS:
Windows 7 Starter (limited to three apps concurrently)
Windows 7 Home Basic (for emerging markets)
Windows 7 Home Premium (adds Aero, Touch, Media Center)
Windows 7 Professional (Remote Desktop host, Mobility Center, Presentation mode)
Windows 7 Enterprise (volume license only, boot from virtual drive, BitLocker)
Windows 7 Ultimate (limited availability, includes everything)This information has been confirmed by Microsoft... who never listens to us. At least most consumers will only see Home Premium and Professional options at retail, which is more akin to the XP options of yore, and means WMC will be "baseline" for most PCs.Update: Just to be clear, we've checked specifically with Microsoft on all six versions, and the placement of Home Basic in emerging markets. There's now a full breakdown after the break.
Windows 7 Starter
Available worldwide to OEMs on new PCs
Missing Aero UI tweaks
Limited to 3 simultaneous applications Windows 7 Home Basic (Vista equivalent: $200)
Only available in emerging markets
Missing Aero UI tweaks Windows 7 Home Premium (Vista equivalent: $260)
Available worldwide, to OEMs and in retail
Includes Aero UI tweaks
Features multi-touch capabilities
Adds "premium" games
Adds media capabilities (Media Center, DVD playback, DVD creation, etc.)
Can create home network groups Windows 7 Professional (Vista equivalent: $300)
Available worldwide, to OEMs and in retail
Includes all features of Premium
Adds enhanced networking capabilities (Remote Desktop host, domain support, offline folders, etc.)
Adds Mobility Center
Adds Presentation Mode Windows 7 Enterprise
Available only in volume licenses
Includes all features of Professional
Adds Branch Cache
Adds Direct Access
Adds BitLocker Windows 7 Ultimate (Vista equivalent: $320)
Limited OEM and retail availability
Includes all features of Enterprise
Courtesy: www.engadget.com

Dell's Mini 9 selling for just $249 -- who needs a subsidy?



If you thought last month's $99 Mini 9 was just too cheap (unlikely), or were scared off by the two year contract that came along with the offer (rather more likely), check out Dell's latest deal. The company is selling its lowest-spec Mini 9n, offering 512MB of memory and Ubuntu installed on a 4GB SSD, for just $249. That's $100 less one went for for last September. Can't live without Windows? You'll still need to pony up another $50, but will at least get an extra 4GB of storage out of the deal. Surely one of these two bargain portables will fit into your budget and your lifestyle, but don't spend too long deciding which -- this deal expires on February 12.


Dell XT2 specs and availability leaked, launching on Weds?


It has 1.2GHz SU9300 or 1.4GHz SU9400 Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs, a 12.1-inch multitouch display, up to 5GB of DDR3 memory, and either 80GB worth of platters or 64GB of SSD. Base weight is 3.62 pounds, just over the 3.5 pound target the company had been aiming for, and if this source is correct the machine will be getting an official unveiling on February 11


Friday, February 6

Acer's 10.1-inch Aspire One netbook trickles out


First shipments of Acer's 10.1-inch Aspire One netbooks are now underway in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Large volume shipments are on schedule for the rest-of-world beginning mid-February according to the DigiTimes' typically reliable Acer sources. And after watching the 8.9-inch Aspire One steal the crown of world's best selling netbook away from ASUS, we thought you'd like to know that Acer's version of the 1.6GHz Atom N270 netbook with 1GB of RAM, SDHC card slot, 3x USB, and optional 3G was nearly here. Still no pricing unless "aggresive" means something specific to you.

Intel ships Atom N280 for 720p netbooks -- NVIDIA's Ion points, laughs


With ASUS' Eee PC 1000HE up for pre-order, it's clear that netbooks are ready to make the jump from Intel's lowly 1.6GHz Atom N270 to the suped-up 1.66GHz N280. In fact, Intel just confirmed shipments of its new Atom processor to PC makers. Now don't let us hear you bellyaching about that being a meager 0.06GHz jump -- the magic isn't in the clock but in the faster 667MHz (up from 533MHz) front-side bus and new GN40 chipset with hardware-based 720p video decoder. That easily bests the Atom N270 pairing with the customary 945GSE chipset without any increase in power consumption. Think about that when trying to make a 10-inch netbook choice between ASUS' Eee PC 1000HE (with new N280 proc and GN40 chipset) and Acer's new N270-based Aspire One.


Tuesday, February 3

First Acer-branded smartphone a Glofiish DX900 rebadge?


There's bound to be more, but the first leaked Acer handset expected to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress is no more than a rebadge of a device obtained through its acquisition of E-Ten. The Glofiish DX900 was announced in mid-2008 with dual-SIM support, GPS, a 3 megapixel camera, and a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen riding a Windows Mobile 6.1 OS -- that all stays the same. In other words, if the leak is accurate, then this particular device will see a new logo and that's about it. Still, the MWC invite specifically said "smartphones launch".


Toshiba TG01 with 4.1-inch WVGA touchscreen: a world's first Snapdragon


Finally, an honest to goodness Qualcomm Snapdragon device is about to land in the form of the Toshiba TG01. The 9.9-mm thin handset will feature a 4.1-inch WVGA (800 x 480 pixel) touchscreen display, HSDPA data, GPS, WiFi, a microSD slot, and custom Tosh 3D GUI to hide the Windows Mobile 6.1 uglies within. Most notable is that 1GHz Snapdragon chip that Toshiba claims makes the TG01 considerably faster than any device currently on the market with the promise to "revolutionize the mobile entertainment world."
All courtesy to http://www.engadget.com/

Friday, January 16

Lenovo trots out new trifecta of unexciting desktops


Sure, the IdeaCentre K220 may pack a Core 2 Quad CPU, upwards of 4GB of DDR3 RAM and an optional Blu-ray drive, but that's nothing we couldn't slap together ourselves in a few minutes. The K230 ups the ante a bit with room for 8GB of memory and Windows Vista 64-bit, while the lower-end H200 (shown above) becomes Lenovo's first desktop with an Atom under the hood. All three machines will be available this month starting at $449, $499 and $399.99 (bundled with the ThinkVision L195 monitor), in order of mention.

Courtesy: www.engadget.com

Tuesday, January 13

Apple's 24-inch LED Cinema Display goes touchscreen courtesy of Troll Touch


Anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing Apple's 24-inch LED Cinema Display knows that it's hard to lay off on the touching. No one knows that better than Troll Touch, who has just announced a touch panel integration kit for Apple's freshest LCD. The touchscreen gets powered internally via USB, and the custom touchscreen overlay design doesn't alter the panel's form factor in any way. Those looking to dive in from scratch can order a touch-enabled version now for $2,299, but those looking to simply upgrade their own can ship it to Valencia, California along with $1,399 marked for integration.

Sunday, January 11

Windows 7 Beta goes public

But this time, you don't have to head over to your favorite torrent tracker to get it. Microsoft just began its Windows 7 Beta Customer Preview Program, which means you can head on over to your favorite internet, download the ISO, burn a DVD and start living the ultra-fantastic lifestyle of a Windows 7 user. The Beta expires August 1, 2009, and Microsoft is of course pilling on the caveats in case this destroys your computer with fire -- and limiting this first run of downloads to 2.5 million users.
The recent update: Oops. Microsoft's Windows 7 download servers have crashed under the strain as has the Microsoft blog reporting the crash.

Courtesy: www.engadget.com

Saturday, January 10

Dell Mini 10 hands-on




No wonder Dell's calling it a "perfect 10." The multitouch trackpad is really similar to the one on the newest Macbooks, but it's a little less intuitive -- the buttons are pushed into the corners, so a middle press doesn't do a lot. On the other hand, it's a little more useful -- not only can you do the usual zooming and scrolling, laying three fingers on the pad brings up a slick little launcher screen.
Price is not available now.



Friday, January 9

Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera hands-on


Polaroid's PoGo Instant Digital Camera isn't for the hardcore geeks -- it's stuck with a 5 megapixel sensor, no optical zoom whatsoever and an LCD monitor that was fanciful in 1998. What it can do, however, is churn out photo stickers in around 60 seconds after a photo is taken without the need for an external printer. Have a look at the March-bound unit below, and look, your kids will love it.


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