Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, November 24, 2008

Video: Dell's Mini 9 hacked with touchscreen

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/24/video-dells-mini-9-hacked-with-touchscreen/

Add another trick to Dell's Mini 9. The mod-happy netbook has already been seen hanging out with GPS and OSX and now the inevitable: a touchscreen. Fitted with one of those ubiquitous eBay touch panels, user Deldotb of the myDellMini forums loaded up the appropriate Ubuntu drivers and kicked the rather unresponsive USB 1.1 panel to life. Unfortunately, he had to sacrifice a USB port for the privilege. See the Tux Paint "hello ~~world~~ works" video after the break.

[Via Jkkmobile]

Continue reading Video: Dell's Mini 9 hacked with touchscreen

Filed under: Laptops

Video: Dell's Mini 9 hacked with touchscreen originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 04:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPod touch gets Street View, beats iPhone 3G at tennis

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/24/ipod-touch-gets-street-view-beats-iphone-3g-at-tennis/

Some good news for iPod touch owners: one enterprising individual going by the nom de mod timmyj9 has figured out how to enable the Street View functionality in the media player's version 2.2 firmware -- albeit with some glitches. If your iPod touch is jailbroken, and if you enjoy this sort of illegitimate activity, feel free to hit the link below for some thrilling step-by-step directions. And if that wasn't exciting enough for you, we've just espied a video that pits the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G against both a first and a second generation iPod touch in a fight to the death (or more accurately, TouchSport Tennis). Admittedly, this is not the most scientific of benchmarks, but the clip (after the break) clearly shows the 532MHz second generation iPod touch rocking the 3D graphics faster than its 412MHz iPhone 3G counterpart. As expected, neither the original iPhone nor the first generation iPod fare nearly as well as their siblings.

Read - Modification Enables Street View on iPod touch
Read - Second Generation iPod touch Faster than iPhone

Continue reading iPod touch gets Street View, beats iPhone 3G at tennis

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

iPod touch gets Street View, beats iPhone 3G at tennis originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Touch Pro breaks free on Verizon

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/24/htc-touch-pro-breaks-free-on-verizon/

If it's just gotta be Windows Mobile then the HTC Touch Pro is about as good as it gets. After HTC jumped the gun yesterday, the Touch Pro is up and dancing the QWERTY slide on Verizon's website exactly as rumored. $419.99 minus that $70 mail-rebate makes it yours for $350 with two-year contract. Right, $50 more than with AT&T.

[Thanks, Leindurstit]

Filed under: Cellphones

HTC Touch Pro breaks free on Verizon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP Mini 1000 now supporting 3G

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/24/hp-mini-1000-now-supporting-3g/

HP Mini 1000 now supporting 3G

When we got comfy with the HP Mini 1000 last month, there was talk of a full 3G spec'd version coming in December. Lo and behold we're not even out of November yet and one owner has managed to get online with his brand spankin' new 1000. User dplxy over at the Pocketables forum put in some quality time with customer support from both HP and AT&T to figure out how, saving you some minutes by describing the how-to. Full instructions are at the read link, but the gist of it is you need to download a WWAN driver from HP, manually extract and install it, and then slot your SIM card into the battery compartment. Speeds are reported to be solid but, with the lowly three cell battery struggling to keep the thing broadcasting, you'd better hurry up and find what you're looking for. It's unlikely this will work with older versions of the Mini 1000, which are believed to lack the hardware internals, but give it a shot and let us know what you find, yeah?

Filed under: Laptops, Wireless

HP Mini 1000 now supporting 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First pics of Motorola's MOTO QA30 QWERTY slider

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/24/first-pics-of-motorolas-moto-qa30-qwerty-slider/

First pics of Motorola's MOTO QA30 QWERTY slider

Sliders are typically known for offering the best of both worlds: the sophisticated, clean looks you want hiding the ugly, QWERTY keypad you need. Motorola's bucking that trend with the chunky MOTO QA30, looking rather utilitarian open or closed and featuring the sort of squat form-factor that didn't exactly woo us on the UTStarcom TXT8010. The 2.5-inch 320 x 240 screen is a bit on the small side, but an integrated 3.5mm headphone jack and stereo Bluetooth 2.0, plus support for up to 32GB microSD cards, should make this a reasonably good choice for anyone needing a texting-friendly handset that can serve up some tunes. No word on price or availability, but we'd guess "affordable" and "soon."

Update: Jed commented to let us know U.S. Cellular recently featured this phone in an ad, dubbed the HINT and listed as being available as December. So, now you know what "soon" equates to, at least.

Filed under: Cellphones

First pics of Motorola's MOTO QA30 QWERTY slider originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Krave ZN4 hands-on over at Engadget Mobile

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/24/motorola-krave-zn4-hands-on-over-at-engadget-mobile/

Motorola's only -- yes, only -- touchscreen phone in the US market is on sale with Verizon, offering VCAST TV, two touch-sensitive surfaces (you'll just have to read the hands-on to find out exactly what that means), and a 3.5mm headphone jack, among a host of other lustworthy features. But is the total package any good? Head on over to Engadget Mobile for the scoop on the Krave ZN4!

Filed under: Cellphones

Motorola Krave ZN4 hands-on over at Engadget Mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Saturday, November 22, 2008

Samsung Omnia makes official Verizon appearance

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/samsung-omnia-makes-official-verizon-appearance/

Not that we've any reason to be shocked here, but Samsung's Omnia is indeed coming to Verizon Wireless. 'Course, most everyone with any remote affiliation to Big Red is frenzied over that other phone today, but those with a soft spot for Windows Mobile 6.1 may want to give this one a bit of attention. You know the highlight specs by now -- a 5-megapixel camera / camcorder, full HTML browser and an expansive touchscreen -- but the nitty-gritty details are still being withheld. As of now, the link on Samsung's website tunnels straight to an error page, forcing us to be content with the knowledge that somehow, someday, this phone is destined for a life on VZW's shelves. Enlarged screengrab is after the jump.

Continue reading Samsung Omnia makes official Verizon appearance

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung Omnia makes official Verizon appearance originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung shows clean lines on 1080p SyncMaster 2494HS LCD

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/samsung-shows-clean-lines-on-1080p-syncmaster-2494hs-lcd/

It's missing the nearly iconic glossy black bezel that has become such an expectation on Samsung displays, but the SyncMaster 2494HS would still be welcome at our cluttered work desk. The 23.6-inch panel sports an all-business, matte black motif with a native 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, 300 nits of brightness, a 5-millisecond response time, 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, inbuilt stereo speakers and DVI / VGA / HDMI inputs. The LCD is expected to go on sale in Japan next month for around ¥40,000 ($423), but if we were the betting type (an we're not), we'd expect it to roll onto fresh, moist US soil in due time.

[Via Impress]

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

Samsung shows clean lines on 1080p SyncMaster 2494HS LCD originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujifilm's 3D camera gets the hands-on treatment

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/fujifilms-3d-camera-gets-the-hands-on-treatment/

Fujifilm's 3D camera gets the prototype hands-on treatment

It's been a few months since Fujifilm showed off a prototype 3D shooter at the Photokina show in Cologne, and CNET Asia has now managed to spend a little time with the chunky bronze and gunmetal box. Unlike other tech we've seen that does 3D in one shot, this one sports a pair of lenses and sensors to capture light in stereo, while on the back a 2.8-inch LCD alternates between the two images at 60 fps to give an apparently convincing 3D effect. Better, though, should be the 8.4-inch 3D photo frame under development, and Fuji's Frontier photo labs are also being upgraded to produce lenticular prints (the sort you can tilt left and right to see different things) that are said be "really good." The camera itself is scheduled to drop around September of 2009, but since even looking at the results of your work is going to be a bit of a challenge at first we're not entirely sure how popular the thing will be. Regardless, we're glad someone is paving the way.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Fujifilm's 3D camera gets the hands-on treatment originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:11:00 EST. Please see our terms f! or use o f feeds.

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Scalado demonstrates zero-lag cellphone camera

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/scalado-demonstrates-zero-lag-cellphone-camera/

Great news for all you aspiring paparazzi -- it looks like someone has finally figured out how to eliminate that nasty camera phone shutter lag. By sending image data directly to the camera's display and capturing it as a modified SpeedTagged JPEG when the time comes to immortalize that precious moment (or romantic indiscretion), the Scalado Camera Solution not only takes nigh-on instantaneous photos, but also provides high quality, real-time preview, pan and zoom. With several camera phone sensor and module manufacturers (including Aptina, OmniVision Samsung, and MtekVision) already on the SpeedTags tip, it looks like that laggedy old camera phone may soon be a thing of the past. Don't believe us? Take a look at the demo video yourself. It's after the break.

[Via Slashphone]

Continue reading Scalado demonstrates zero-lag cellphone camera

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Scalado demonstrates zero-lag cellphone camera originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS Eee PC 1002HA hands-on and video: looks a lot like the S101

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/asus-eee-pc-1002ha-hands-on-and-video-looks-a-lot-like-the-s101/

The folks over at Laptop have gotten some quality face time with a pre-production model of ASUS' 10-inch Eee PC 1002 HA, and they seem to like a lot of what they're seeing. It boasts stylings reminiscent of both the Eee PC S101 (trackpad) and the 1000H (keyboard), and as such is basically a hybridized version of the two, though the test model "wouldn't power on" so we can't got much further than that. We do however, know that it'll house a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom CPU with 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive, and that it'll have a two-cell battery which ASUS claims will give users five hours of juice (though that sounds pretty suspect to us). The Eee PC 1002 HA is expected to ready to roar on the first of December for $499, but if you simply can't wait until then to have a look at it, hit the read like for more photos and a really, really interesting video.

Filed under: Laptops

ASUS Eee PC 1002HA hands-on and video: looks a lot like the S101 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: Writers on the Storm

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/switched-on-writers-on-the-storm/

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

What happens when the efficient menu-driven user experience of the BlackBerry meets the discoverable new user experience of finger-driven touch? The answer for the BlackBerry Storm has been that the BlackBerry experience wins, and who loses depends on what you were expecting from RIM's first departure from a physical keyboard. While adorned with a few on-screen buttons and simple gesture support, the Storm is much less of an iPhone-like experience than, say, the T-Mobile G1.

The Storm's main advantage over other BlackBerry devices is that it has a larger screen, not necessarily one that is controlled by touch. However, to accommodate the removal of its trademark keyboard, RIM has taken touch-screens into a literal new dimension by requiring users to depress the screen to activate a button on the screen, which lowers and springs back like a giant keyboard key.

The screen's ability to respond to presses as a physical button (like the trackpad in Apple's new MacBooks), helps provide a more natural feel to typing on the Storm; the feedback is certainly more satisfying than the solely visual feedback that the iPhone gives. Just because it feels good, though, doesn't mean you should do it.

Continue reading Switched On: Writers on the Storm

Filed under: Cellphones

Switched On: Writers on the Storm originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP's Shanghai-packing xw9400 workstation available now

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/22/hps-shanghai-packing-xw9400-workstation-available-now/

We caught a glimpse of the HP xw9400 quite a while back when it was first announced, but it's now available on HP's site and we've got the full details on the mammoth's innards. There are quite a few customizable options, including AMD's Dual-Core Shanghai Opteron CPUs (from 2.0GHz to 2.5GHz), up to 32GB MHz DDR SDRAM, NIVIDIA nForce Professional 3600 or 3050 chipsets, and available NVIDIA Quadro FX cards with up to 1GB of memory. There are also five internal and two external drive bays and eight USB 2.0 ports. The behemoth starts at $2,399 and runs as high as $6,299. Hit the read link for the widest array of specifications you can possibly ever imagine.

[Via Information Week]

Filed under: Desktops

HP's Shanghai-packing xw9400 workstation available now originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Nov 2008 06:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP's Shanghai-packing xw9400 workstation available now

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/22/hps-shanghai-packing-xw9400-workstation-available-now/

We caught a glimpse of the HP xw9400 quite a while back when it was first announced, but it's now available on HP's site and we've got the full details on the mammoth's innards. There are quite a few customizable options, including AMD's Dual-Core Shanghai Opteron CPUs (from 2.0GHz to 2.5GHz), up to 32GB MHz DDR SDRAM, NIVIDIA nForce Professional 3600 or 3050 chipsets, and available NVIDIA Quadro FX cards with up to 1GB of memory. There are also five internal and two external drive bays and eight USB 2.0 ports. The behemoth starts at $2,399 and runs as high as $6,299. Hit the read link for the widest array of specifications you can possibly ever imagine.

[Via Information Week]

Filed under: Desktops

HP's Shanghai-packing xw9400 workstation available now originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Nov 2008 06:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Friday, November 21, 2008

Sagem Orga Crams AGPS System Aboard SIM Card For Non-GPS Phones [GPS]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com:80/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ylFM7mOHEYo/sagem-orga-crams-agps-system-aboard-sim-card-for-non+gps-phones

Sagem Orga, in partnership with BlueSky is targeting the array of cellphones (and presumably mobile-internet enabled PCs and such) that currently don't have GPS with this new invention: a SIM card with AGPS aboard. Clever stuff indeed, packing all the chips for a "highly accurate GPS receiver", wiring and antenna into a thumbnail-sized space. We've got to wonder how good its satellite fixes will be with such a small device though, and since it looks like every gadget that comes out has GPS aboard nowadays, adding GPS to a device via its SIM card might just be a temporary stopgap option. But it'll undeniably have lots of applications when it hits the market. [BGR]

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