Monday, September 01, 2008

MSI's 8.9-inch Wind U90 in the flesh, Linux version shipping for 339 Euro

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/379587465/

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While MSI's 8.9-inch Wind U90 first made an appearance in June at Computex, it took MSI this long to flesh out all details -- which is actually a relief, given the ridiculous quantity of Eee PC SKUs ASUS has managed to pump out in the meantime. We just got to handle the new laptop, and we think MSI might have a winner here. The laptop is shipping with SUSE Linux exclusively to start, with an XP version in the works, and boots quite rapidly to the full OS. SUSE has never looked better, and we think these two might be quite the pair. MSI has kept the full keyboard of the 10-inch Wind, and merely bumped up the bezel while cutting the price; all the other specs are the same. MSI is planning on shipping this at the end of September or beginning of October for 339 Euro (no word on a US release), and is also working on a six cell battery to fix the paltry 2 hours of battery the Wind currently gets from the three cell.
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Posted by Augustine at 8:59 PM

Texas Instruments' Pico projector prototype caught on tape

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/379672858/

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Our friends at Engadget Spanish got a look at Texas Instruments' DLP Pico projector, which both Optoma and Toshiba have expressed interest in. The little unit pumps out a WVGA (we think) 1000:1 image, which they found quite satisfactory, in addition to 0.5 watts of sound. The built-in battery should run the thing for a couple of hours. Action-packed video after the break, en español!

Continue reading Texas Instruments' Pico projector prototype caught on tape

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Posted by Augustine at 8:58 PM

CTL releasing Atom-powered 2go nettop for $149

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/379867944/

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CTL, the same cats who brought us the 2go PC laptop, are apparently working up an equally cheap and not-exactly-flashy nettop PC. The 2go PC Nettop will reportedly range in price from $149 to $299 depending on specifications, and the baseline model will feature Intel's DG945GCLF motherboard, Intel's Atom 230 processor, 1GB of Kingston DDR2 RAM, a GMA 950 graphics accelerator, support for one HDD and one optical drive, six USB 2.0 ports and an Ethernet jack. The Essential Plus Edition ($199) adds in Ubuntu and an 80GB 7,200RPM hard drive (while slashing RAM to 512MB); the $299 Essential Performance Edition comes with Windows XP Home, a 160GB hard drive and 1GB of memory. There's no word just yet on when the 4.5-pound boxes will be released, but we'd expect 'em to surface pretty quietly.

[Thanks, Nate]
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Posted by Augustine at 8:58 PM

LG's 42- / 50-inch PG6900 plasma packs built-in 160GB hard drive

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/380260742/

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While we new LG had a pair of DVR-packin' plasmas lined up, nothing was officially official until now. The 42- and 50-inch PG6900 plasmas were designed to hold up to 86-hours of programming (SD, we assume) on its 160GB of internal hard drive space, and the 8-day EPG should give you a pretty decent view of what's coming on in the near future. Additionally, you'll find a 30,000:1 contrast ratio, Energy Star compliance, a DVB-T tuner (plus an analog tuner), three HDMI 1.3 ports, 100Hz refresh rate and integrated speakers which are said to be "invisible." Look for these to pop up soon (at least in Europe) for $1,799 and up.

[Via Gizmag]
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Posted by Augustine at 8:57 PM

Raon Digital Everun Note gets a price, brochure

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/380789549/

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Raon Digital hasn't exactly been keeping many secrets about its Everun Note "UMPC notebook," but it's now finally dropped the veil of mystery around one of the biggest still remaing: the price, and it's also now detailed everything else in convenient brochure form. As UMPC Portal reports, the Everun Note will boast a suggested retail price of $879, which puts it well below the likes of the VAIO UX but considerably more than your average netbook, which it also kinda, sorta competes with. Oh, the perils of bucking the usual product categories. Hit up the read link below for the full brochure.
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Posted by Augustine at 8:55 PM

Stanford's autonomous helicopters learn new tricks by watching

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/380878802/

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While a great many scientists are attempting to create autonomous bots for uses in surgery, a team of Stanford whiz-kids are having a bit more fun with it all. The crew in question has concocted an artificial intelligence system that "enables robotic helicopters to teach themselves to fly difficult stunts by watching other helicopters perform the same maneuvers." Dubbed a demonstration in "apprenticeship learning," the robots can actually learn by observing rather than having to be programmed, meaning that entire airshows could be reeled off by planes that simply keep an open mind when warm-ups are underway. Of course, they could also be used for more serious applications -- mapping out hot spots of California wildfires, finding land mines in war zones, etc. -- but even if none of that pans out, we're cool with inventions being used purely for entertainment.
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Posted by Augustine at 8:54 PM

Sunday, August 31, 2008

HTC wars: Touch Pro, Touch Diamond and S740 go head to head

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/378794855/

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Now that the cat's out of the bag it was no trouble tracking down HTC's S740 this morning, and just for kicks we rammed the phone up against the Touch Pro, which we subsequently rammed against the Touch Diamond and an iPhone for a generally violent display of smartphone force. It is worth noting that while the S740's keys are similar to the Touch Pro's, they're not quite as deep or clicky, which leads to a rather sub-par typing experience by HTC's standards. That glossy mirror finish on the phone screens isn't doing them any favors either -- even when wiped smudge free it seems to impede viewing -- and we must say the Touch Pro's matte finish makes the Diamond and iPhone 3G look cheap in comparison. Oh, and when asked about the Dream, the HTC rep quickly replied "we don't know anything." It was worth a shot, right?
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Posted by Augustine at 7:28 PM

Texas Instruments' new LED-based DLP projection shines in person, due Q4

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/378862103/

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Delta Electronics might've jumped the gun a bit with its claim of firsties on Texas Instruments' new "PhlatLight" HD LED DLP projector tech. Delta hasn't brought even a prototype to IFA, but over at Texas Instruments there's a Vivitek version of the lamp-free projector tech, which TI claims will be the first to market sometime in Q4 of 2008. The specs they rattled off are undoubtedly impressive: 50% better color range, 500,000:1 contrast ratio, 30% less power draw, and of course 1080p to put a feather in the cap. In TI's darkened viewing room the image was certainly impressive, but we're guessing specs like these could carry over nicely into our less-than-ideal bedsheet setup back home.

[Via Engadget Spanish]
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Posted by Augustine at 7:28 PM

MSI's Wind U90 to boast 8.9-inch display

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/378963152/

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Well, that took long enough, now didn't it? We've been hearing about an 8.9-inch MSI Wind for months now, but it has just now popped up on the outfit's website. The Wind U90 will pack an Atom N270 processor, built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam, stereo speakers, microphone, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, 512MB or 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a 1,024 x 600 resolution panel, 80GB hard drive and a 4-in-1 card reader. Additionally, you'll find an Ethernet port, three USB 2.0 sockets, VGA out, a 3-cell battery (optional 6-cell available upon request) and a weight of 2.2-pounds. Your guess is as good as ours when it pricing / availability, but hey, we're just thrilled to know this thing is destined to be more than a trade show crasher.

[Thanks, Peter]
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Posted by Augustine at 7:27 PM

HTC's Android-driven Dream revealed in glorious spy photos

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/379018408/

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Sure, we've seen some blurry videos and managed a few stolen glimpses when Andy Rubin demonstrated this beast, but now we've gotten our hands on a slew of pictures showing off a very real T-Mobile-branded Dream in all its Android-running glory. Not only does this confirm the design spied in those FCC docs as well as show off that nearly-done version of Android, but it seems to confirm the fact that this will be headed to T-Mobile, and sooner rather than later judging from the looks of the above device. Needless to say, our inner-geeks are completely geeking out right now. Hit the gallery below for a handful of other views of the phone. [Warning: read link is a forum, requires registration, and is in Chinese]

[Thanks, Michael]
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Posted by Augustine at 7:27 PM

Demand for HP's Mini-Note growing fast?

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/379177282/

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HP has always been confident that the 2133 Mini-Note would sell quickly, to the point where the company planned to build some two million units this year, and it sounds like that bet's paying off -- China's Apply Daily is citing sources at HP Taiwan quoting worldwide sales growing 50 percent monthly. That's pretty good for one of the more expensive small laptops on the market -- we'll see if that rumored cheaper edition moves even more.

[Via Brighthand]
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Posted by Augustine at 7:26 PM

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