Thursday, October 23, 2008

Pithy quotes

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/sethsmainblog/~3/417536544/pithy-quotes.html

Hughtrain8166 From an interview I just did with Hugh at gapingvoid

Everyone isn't going to be a leader. But everyone isn't going to be successful, either.

Success is now the domain of people who lead. That doesn't mean they're in charge, it doesn't mean they are the CEO, it merely means that for a group, even a small group, they show the way, they spread ideas, they make change. Those people are the only successful people we've got.


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Signaling strategies

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/sethsmainblog/~3/428454337/signaling-strat.html

134633529_7e39771e44 It's impossible to see everyone. You can't handle the input of what every consumer is buying or thinking or looking at. So, we resort to signaling strategies.

A few celebrities wearing Uggs in the middle of the summer sends a signal to fashion wannabees everywhere: these are hot. It doesn't matter too much if they actually are hot, all that matters (to these wannabees and the retailers that serve them) is that in the past, when beautiful people in Santa Monica did something, it was an effective signal to the market.

There are all sorts of signaling strategies consumers look for. Political endorsements, end cap displays at stores, large scale ad campaigns, The New York Times bestseller list--each is seen as a bellwether for what our friends and those we admire are about to do.

Marketers may be selfish, but we're not stupid. Once a signaling strategy is seen to be effective, we seek to game it. 25 years ago, driving cross country to go to my first day of work at Spinnaker Software (I was the 30th employee) I drove through Chicago. And I passed a Spinnaker billboard. Wow! This company was going somewhere if they had billboards all over the country. When I got to work in Boston two days later, I discovered that this was the one and only billboard they had in the country, strategically erected on the road to the big CES trade show. They were signaling the buyers of the big stores.

Various bestseller lists, because of their unwillingness to be transparent, is easily and often gamed by publishers and musicians and websites that focus their efforts on the sort of places that report to the list.

There are three reasons you need to care about the increasing amount of effort spent gaming the signals:
1. As a consumer, don't be fooled. The more important a signal is, the more likely it is that marketers are gaming it.
2. As a signaler, be careful. As you sell out and permit yourself to be gamed, you make it more and more likely that consumers won't be influenced by you.
3. As a marketer, beware. The effort you expend gaming one signal or another is almost never worth the distortion that gaming produces. Instead of spending your time delighting authentic voices, you're corrupting a signal. Which means that you end up being really good at signal corrupting but not so good at winning in your market. For every Uggs, there are 100 companies that spent too much money and time influencing a few, only to discover the market didn't care.

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Print2pdf Adds Advanced PDF Conversion to Windows [Featured Windows Download]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/427570027/print2pdf-adds-advanced-pdf-conversion-to-windows

Windows only: Free PDF conversion tool Print2PDF isn't as click-and-go friendly as a tool like doPDF, but it does offer a serious amount of control over the looks, permissions, and security of your PDFs. Like other PDF apps, Print2PDF installs itself as a printer, but after you hit "Print," you can add watermarks, passwords, change the read/edit/print permissions, add attachments and auto-email, manually change the compression levels, and do much more. Print2PDF also integrates itself directly into Microsoft Word, Excelt, and Internet Explorer, and supports encryption for sensitive documents. It's probably more than the average home user needs, but office workers may find its options seriously handy. Print2PDF is a free download for Windows systems only.

Print2PDF [602 Software via The Download Blog]


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iBlacklist Filters Callers on iPhones [Featured IPhone Application]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/428940188/iblacklist-filters-callers-on-iphones

Jailbroken iPhones only: Brazilian developers Daniel Antonio and Alexandre Kremer have a nifty application for the iPhone, iBlacklist, which allows you to send particular callers directly to voicemail. And by "particular callers," I mean "your ex." Also: collection agencies, micromanager bosses, your mother who just doesn't approve. You get the picture. At only $12, it's a lot cheaper than an hour with a shrink to maintain your sanity. Other features include the ability to filter out SMS notfications from certain number, and even set up scheduled times when calls won't be let through (particularly useful for keeping your weekends boss-free). But what about those of us who don't have an iPhone?

Simply change the name of a contact to "Do not answer." Do not, repeat, do not include the name of the contact. Because then you might hem and haw, maybe even feel a bit guilty when you hit "ignore" and send them to voicemail. The goal is for an automatic response. Call comes in; "Do not answer" appears as the caller ID; press ignore. No muss, no fuss, and it works on any cellphone. Everyone has someone they'd rather not talk to right now, or possibly ever. How do you keep them from getting all up in your phone's business? Let us know in the comments.

In the meantime, iBlacklist is available for $12 in the iTunes App Store on jailbroken iPhones only via Cydia. If you haven't jailbroken your iPhone, yet here's how (Mac, Windows).

iBlacklist [iblacklist.com.br]


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Tiny Watcher Detects System Changes, Rolls Back If Necessary [Featured Windows Download]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/428952437/tiny-watcher-detects-system-changes-rolls-back-if-necessary

Windows only: Free application Tiny Watcher monitors your system for changes to your registry, drivers, and first-time programs and provides you with options to undo any unwanted changes. The application's site judiciously provides a list of pros and cons that are spot on. Pros: It's lightweight and only runs when you need it, it detects most important changes that can happen on your system, and it's configurable. Cons: It's not a real-time monitor, so you'll only be alerted of changes after the fact, and it doesn't automatically clean up messes for you—you still have to identify and tell it what you want to reverse. Tiny Watcher is freeware, Windows only. If you want a touch more protection when you're trying out new software, check out how to safely install software in a virtual layer with previously mentioned apps like Altiris SVS or Sandboxie.

Tiny Watcher [Donation Coders via FreewareGenius]


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Convert PDFs to Word Online with Three Clicks [PDF]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/429014940/convert-pdfs-to-word-online-with-three-clicks

Stuck with a PDF file and no application that will let you edit it? PDF UNdo Online is easy, free, works on any computer and there's no registration required. Click to browse your computer for an Adobe PDF document, click to convert it into a Microsoft Word document, then click to download the converted file. Now you can edit it to your heart's content in any application that supports Word documents. A perfect complement for PDF Online, which can convert your edited file right back to PDF. Thanks, PauletteDandoo!


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New in Labs: Canned Responses

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OfficialGmailBlog/~3/428074966/new-in-labs-canned-responses.html

Posted by Chad Parry, Gmail engineer Hello, you've reached Chad's mailbox. Thanks for your email about the latest Labs feature: Canned Responses, or email for the truly lazy. I'm on paternity leave so I won't be able to respond personally. Instead, I hope you'll enjoy this automated message. If you're sick of typing out the same reply every time someone emails you with a common question, now you can compose your reply once and save the message text with the "Canned responses" button. Later, you can open that same message and send it again and again. It couldn't get any easier unless Gmail automatically pushed the Send button. If you're lazy enough to think that would be a good idea, then read on, friend. Gmail already lets you create filters based on a combination of keywords, sender, recipients, and more in your incoming messages. Turn on Canned Responses in Labs, and you can set a filter to grab one of your saved responses, create an automated reply, and hit the Send button for you. You can set up different automated messages for different keywords, jus! t like < href="http://groups.google.com/group/gmail-labs-suggest-a-labs-feature/browse_thread/thread/e57beaec76ba0bbe/63e33b1937ed6b4f?lnk=gst&q&pli=1">you said you wanted. (We're friends, so I trust you to use this power responsibly.)

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This iPod is Full of Air

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yankodesign/~3/427358993/

It really is! Hear me out. The iBangle is Gopinath Prasana’s vision of a future iPod where the devices have become darn close to becoming jewelry. If you factor in inflation and the cost of Apple products today - might as well call it jewelry because it’ll cost as much. I digress, the iBangle is a thin piece of aluminum (of course) with a multi-touch track pad. To achieve the perfect fit, a cushion inside the ring inflates to keep itself taught against your wrist. Unisex? Maybe.

Designer: Gopinath Prasana

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Whatâs Black and White and Read All Over?

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yankodesign/~3/427387299/

The obvious answer is concept cell phones with E ink displays. Despite their lamentable lack of color range, E ink mobiles are just all the rage these days. This concept from Anthony Reed stays a bit more inside the box with simplistic grid styling that keeps everything well within the gray scale range of the display.  When all you have to work with is black and white, maybe its best to embrace it fully instead of covering it up in flashy case graphics.

Designer: Anthony Reed

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Samsung Drops GPS, Slider Symbian Smartphones

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5066286/samsung-drops-gps-slider-symbian-smartphones

Samsung is still supporting another, non-Google open operating system for mobiles, showing off a couple of Symbian-based smartphones at a recent event in London. The Samsung I7110 doubles as a phone and a navigation device, while the Samsung L870 is being marketed as a fashion slider.

The I7110 comes with a GPS navigation program with geo-tagging, pedestrian and driving navigators. It also packs a 5MP camera, multiple codec support, 50MB of internal memory (expandable up to 16GB with a microSD slot), and an FM transmitter to push music and driving instructions through an in car radio.

Meanwhile, the L870 comes with a 2.4-inch QVGA display, a 3MP camera, FM radio, a music player, Bluetooth, and 100MB of internal memory (expandable up to 4GB). Instead of navigation programs, the slider has a more traditional set of smartphone software—push email, document viewers and the like. Prices weren't available yet for either phone.

With Extensive Product Portfolio

Samsung offers a variety of Symbian smartphones at the Smartphone Show 2008

The Smartphone Show, London, UK, October 21 2008 - Samsung Electronics, a leading provider of mobile phones and telecom systems, showcases an extensive portfolio of Symbian smartphones at this year's Smartphone Show (Oct. 21~22) in London, United Kingdom.

Samsung sees a great growth potential in the open Operating System based smartphone market, and has invested a lot of R&D and marketing resources in this market for past several years. Consequently, Samsung plans to offer a wider range of open OS mobiles this year, demonstrating significant progres! s in ope n OS and smartphone technology. Your browser may not support display of this image., the ultimate mobile entertainer with an 8-megapixel camera and Symbian OS, was recently launched and extremely well received by users and industry professionals all around the world.

Geesung Choi, President of Samsung's Telecommunications Business, said: "I'm sure that we will see more and more demand for smartphones with open Operating Systems thanks to the increasing need for flexibility and customization on mobiles, and the introduction of various mobile applications. Samsung's new Symbian OS-based smartphones such as Your browser may not support display of this image. shows our strategic focus on the open OS phone market."

"We will reinforce our open OS and smartphone leadership not only by providing more products, but also by opening our new developers collaboration program 'Samsung Mobile Innovator'." He concluded.

At this year's Smartphone Show, Mr.Ho-Soo Lee, Executive Vice President of Mobile Solution Centre, Telecommunication Business of Samsung Electronics, will deliver the keynote speech, 'Eight Reasons to Innov8,' on Tuesday, October 21.

Samsung's newly announced Symbian smartphones at the Smartphone Show include:

Samsung I7110

As a mobile navigator, the I7110 boasts advanced GPS navigation with geo-tagging, pedestrian navigation and driving navigation. The I7110's AMOLED LCD screen provides sharp and vivid image even in daylight for perfect pedestrian navigation in the palm of your hand. Through its FM transmitter, the I7110 enables its users to receive the voice guides on the move by transmitting to an in car radio.

With Samsung I7110, users will be able to enjoy a 5 Megapixel camera with Auto focus and LED flash. It also comes with the latest digital camera features including smile shot and blink shot functions. The I7110 also provides advanced video recording and play features, supporting multi-codec files to enable its users to! easily transfer without the hassle of converting files. It features 50MB of internal memory with micro SD slot, allowing users to store and enjoy various contents on the device up to 16GB.

To offer seamless connectivity, the I7110 comes with HSDPA connectivity and Wi-Fi connectivity. For easier web browsing, the phone also provides an 8-way optical mouse. The I7110 supports a 1200mAh battery that delivers 11 hours of talk time, meaning this slim and stylish smartphone offers long lasting multimedia experience.

Samsung L870

Like a fine tailored suit, the L870 is encased in a magnificent stainless steel body softly brushed with an elegant hairline pattern, and a 13.5mm slim and sleek outline, which can perfectly complement every outfit and style.

Leveraging the capabilities of S60 platform, L870 brings full connectivity that surpasses expectations for a handset device. The applications and features of S60 software are not only easy to learn and use, but also enable maximum productivity. A high speed internet browser provides access to more than 6,000 open applications which are compatible with L870 so users can customize the device for their individual needs.

L870 features many useful Samsung pre-installed applications such as an advanced task manager Checkit, PIMs (Personal information manager) homescreen, Team manager and business card recognition function. With these applications, users will experience a better time and life managing experience than ever.

L870 boasts many other latest applications and interfaces. A creative user interface (UI) features three different themes, and a 2.4-inch QVGA TFT display, a 3-megapixel camera, FM radio with RDS, music player and Bluetooth v.2.0 supports are all embedded within L870 for satisfying visual and audio entertainment needs.

Samsung I7110 Specifications:

Network HSDPA 3.6 Mbps (900/2100), EDGE / GPRS (850/900/1800/1900)
OS Symbian OS V9.3, S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2
Display 2.6" 262K QVGA AMOLED Camera 5 Megapixel CMOS with AF and LED Flash, Smile Shot, Blink Shot
Video Video Player (DivX / H.263 / H.264 / WMV / MP4, RV)
VGA 30 fps / QVGA 120fps Video recording
H.263+AMR NB
Audio FM Radio with RDS DNSe 2.0
Music Player (MP3/ AAC / AAC+ / eAAC+ / WMA / RealAudio)
Value-added Features GPS Navigation: Pedestrian & Driving, Geo-tagging
Optical Mouse, Accelerometer, FM Transmitter
Embedded 3D Games : FIFA 2008, Asphalt
Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA)
Connectivity Bluetooth v2.0 / USB v2.0 / Wi-Fi
Memory 50MB User Memory + External Memory slot (up to 16GB)
Size 118 x 52 x 12.9 mm
Battery 1200 mAh
Talk time: up to 11 hrs/ 6 hrs (EDGE/WCDMA)
Stand-by time: up to 427 / 451 hrs (EDGE/WCDMA )

* Notice: Pedestrian map is available currently in only 10 cities in
Western Europe.

(Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Helsinki, London, Madrid, Milan,
Munich, Paris, Rome)

Samsung L870 Specifications:

Standard HSDPA (2100MHz) 3.6Mbps + EDGE/GPRS 900/1800/1900
Display 2.4" QVGA 16M Color TFT
Camera 3-Megapixel Camera
OS Symbian 9.3 S60 3.2
Features New Thematic UI, Quick Office document viewer
Push Email (Visto, Seven, Intellysync, Good)
Advanced PIM Applications
Music Player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, RA, AMR, WMA)
Video Player (H.263 + AMR, MPEG4, Real One, WMV)
FM Radio (RDS) Bluetooth v.2.0 EDR USB 2.0 (Full Speed)
Memory 100MB internal memory + Micro SD up to 4GB
Size 103.5 x 50.5 x 13.5mm

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Scientists Discover New State of Matter, Could Be Used To Upgrade Microchips

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5067499/scientists-discover-new-state-of-matter-could-be-used-to-upgrade-microchips

McGill University researchers have discovered a new state of matter to go along with good ol' solid, liquid, gas, plasma and a handful of quantum states—it's called a quasi-three-dimensional electron crystal. While the name sounds like something that would sap Superman's powers, this new state of matter could be used to fabricate modern transistors and continue Moore's Law... possibly indefinitely.

The quasi-three-dimensional electron crystals were discovered in a device scientists cooled at ultra-low temperatures – roughly 100 times colder than intergalactic space. They then exposed it to the most powerful magnetic fields possible on Earth, which made it "pop" from a 2D electron system to a semi-3D one. It could also help improve transistors, allowing for greater density on a single microchip. Looks like Gordon Moore can rest assure that his law won't be broken for another long while. [Science Blog]

(Note: That's not a picture of the new state of matter, by the way.)

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Samsung INNOV8: 8MP Cameraphone With a Digital Photo Frame Mode

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5066288/samsung-innov8-8mp-cameraphone-with-a-digital-photo-frame-mode

Samsung also included this puntastic entry into its offerings at London's Smartphone Show. The INNOV8, Samsung's first 8MP camera phone, comes with a 2.8-inch 16 million color LCD, 8GB or 16GB of flash memory (with an eternal SD card slot), an optical mouse, HSDPA and WiFi connectivity and a GPS navigation and geo-tagging service. The camera part of the mobile utilizes smile shot, blink shot and face recognition, and you'll also get a couple media editing programs thrown in for good measure. No word yet on price or availability, or whether the lens is good enough to make the 8MP sensor worth it.

Samsung Reinforces Its Leadership In Smartphone Market

With Extensive Product Portfolio

Samsung offers a variety of Symbian smartphones at the Smartphone Show 2008

The Smartphone Show, London, UK, October 21 2008 - Samsung Electronics, a leading provider of mobile phones and telecom systems, showcases an extensive portfolio of Symbian smartphones at this year's Smartphone Show (Oct. 21~22) in London, United Kingdom.

Samsung sees a great growth potential in the open Operating System based smartphone market, and has invested a lot of R&D and marketing resources in this market for past several years. Consequently, Samsung plans to offer a wider range of open OS mobiles this year, demonstrating significant progress in open OS and smartphone technology. Your browser may not support display of this image., the ultimate mobile entertainer with an 8-megapixel camera and Symbian OS, was recently launched and extremely well received by users and industry professionals all around the world.

Geesung Choi, President of Samsung's Telecommunications Business, said: "I'm sure that we will see more and more demand for smartpho! nes with open Operating Systems thanks to the increasing need for flexibility and customization on mobiles, and the introduction of various mobile applications. Samsung's new Symbian OS-based smartphones such as Your browser may not support display of this image. shows our strategic focus on the open OS phone market."

"We will reinforce our open OS and smartphone leadership not only by providing more products, but also by opening our new developers collaboration program 'Samsung Mobile Innovator'." He concluded.

At this year's Smartphone Show, Mr.Ho-Soo Lee, Executive Vice President of Mobile Solution Centre, Telecommunication Business of Samsung Electronics, will deliver the keynote speech, 'Eight Reasons to Innov8,' on Tuesday, October 21.

Samsung's newly announced Symbian smartphones at the Smartphone Show include:

Samsung INNOV8

Recognized as Samsung's first ever 8-megapixel camera phone, the
Samsung INNOV8 is perfect for users for capturing and storing precious
memories in style. It comes with the Symbian OS V9.3, S60 3rd Edition
Feature Pack 2, which helps users to easily download various
ready-made applications for Symbian mobiles.

Using the latest in imaging applications such as smile shot, blink
shot and face recognition, memorable moments can be stored at the
highest quality. Users can enjoy personalizing and editing their
photos, videos and music with Movie Maker and Story Board
applications. The handset also acts as a digital photo frame, allowing
users to display their favorite images. A 1200mAh battery provides a
long enough battery life to enjoy all the multimedia experience
without worrying about limits on size and time.

Samsung INNOV8's crystal clear 2.8" 16M color LCD, is perfectly
designed to provide users with the best possible photography, video
and gaming experience on-the-go. The 8GB or 16GB Flash memory and
external memory slot up to ! addition al 16GB provides sufficient
contents storage.

Samsung INNOV8 offers the best ever mobile web browsing experience.
With an optical mouse and 4-way navigation key, users can enjoy
PC-like browsing experience. The 7.2 Mbps HSDPA high speed Internet
and WiFi connection deliver a convenient and seamless internet
experience wherever users are. The phone is equipped with A GPS
technology, offering navigation and geo-tagging service.

Samsung INNOV8 Specifications:

Network HSDPA 7.2 Mbps (900/2100), EDGE / GPRS (850/900/1800/1900)
OS Symbian OS V9.3, S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2
Display 2.8" QVGA 16M TFT LCD
Camera 8 Megapixel CMOS with AF and Dual Power LED
Smart Reader, Image Stabilizer, Auto-Panorama Shot, Smile Shot,
Blink Shot, Wide Dynamic Range (WDR), Face Detection
Video Video Player (DivX / H.263 / H.264 / WMV / MP4)
QVGA 120 fps Video recording, VGA 30 fps recording
Video Editing
Audio FM Radio with RDS
DNSe 2.0
Music Player (MP3/ AAC / AAC+ / eAAC+ / WMA / AMR/ RealAudio)
Bluetooth Stereo Headset (A2DP)
3.5pi output
Value-added Features A-GPS
Optical Mouse, Accelerometer
Embedded 3D Games : FIFA 2008, Asphalt
Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA)
Connectivity Bluetooth 2.0 / USB 2.0 / Wi-Fi
Memory 8GB / 16GB Flash + External Memory slot : microSDHC™ (up to 16GB)
Size 106.5 x 53.9 x 17.2 mm
Battery 1200 mAh
Talk time: up to 300 / 510 min (3G/2.5G)
Stand-by time: up to 330 / 310 hrs (3G/2.5G)

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Hardcore Computer bringing oil submersion cooling to the masses

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/427483847/

Filed under:

Hardcore Computer bringing oil submersion cooling to the masses
Dousing your gaming rig in oil is a technique we've seen from custom shops before, but not quite like the offerings from Minnesota-based start-up Hardcore Computer. Its Reactor line of submerged gaming rigs, shipping to real, live customers in about a month, use custom enclosures to dunk everything from the CPU to the SSDs in a blue-dyed, non-conductive concoction that we hope is mineral oil (it doesn't break down and go rancid like canola). A pump circulates the liquid through a side-mounted radiator for cooling while all the wet components slide out of the top for potentially mess-free maintenance. You can get your choice of Core 2 Extreme processors, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, and even three GeForce GTX 280 GPUs stacked right on top of each other if you have the bank. Prices start at about $4,500, which isn't as bad for a crazy setup like this, with a well-spec'd, triple-SLI machine coming in just under $10k. We'd certainly call that hardcore -- despite the gushy center.

Update: It looks like Maximum PC spent some time soaking in this one and posted some early impressions and a bunch more pics. As it turns out the goo inside isn't blue after all; it's just lit-up that way.

[Thanks, Havok and Jamie]
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Google opens the floodgates, open-sources Android

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/427551927/

Filed under: ,


Making good on a promise it made at the very beginning, Google has today announced that the source code underpinning its Android platform for mobile devices is available for free to anyone who wants a crack at it. The code is being provided through the newly-announced Android Open Source Project, which will give the public at large the opportunity to make contributions to the platform's all-important core -- a first for a mobile operating system with true mass-market appeal. Theoretically, the move should position Android to benefit from a fairly democratic, speedy evolution, and it'll also give anyone with a few spare chips lying around the chance to build a smartphone of their own without shelling out a dime in licensing fees. We're really looking forward to seeing Android pop up on a whole bunch of devices for which it was never intended -- but we have to admit, in a sick, totally twisted sort of way, we're looking forward to some truly deranged individual porting Windows Mobile to the G1, too.
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AT&T's Samsung Epix now epically official

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/427656021/

Filed under: ,


It's already been floating around for a day or two, but Samsung and AT&T have decided to go ahead and follow up their latest WinMo smartphone's release to stores with... oh, you know, some actual press material. The i907 Epix rundown goes something like this: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, 3.6Mbps HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, 2-megapixel cam, AGPS with AT&T Navigator, Video Share support, 320 x 320 2.5-inch touchscreen display, and one of those crazy "optical mice" for on-screen navigation when using the touchscreen itself is just too much trouble. Get it now (or yesterday, if you were really on the ball) for $99.99 on a two-year contract.
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