Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/67bpTamljbw/get-ready-for-cheap-nvidia-graphics-cards
If it pans out, we should be in for some sweet deals—last time Nvidia played hard ball with ATI, they threw bricks, cutting their top-end graphics cards by $200 just a month out the gate, and let loose its GeForce 9800 GTX for around $200 as well. It could be a Merry Christmas after all. [Digitimes via Maximum PC]
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/KUETjYeLARg/sony-ericsson-xperia-x1-review
Price: $800 (no carrier or contract required)
Verdict: The Xperia X1 is kind of a mixed bag. For every good thing the phone does, there seems to be something detracting from it as well. From a hardware standpoint, this is a well built phone that feels extremely solid in the hand. But at the same time, it's not exactly the lightest or slimmest phone available (even for a slider). The 528MHz Processor and 256MB RAM also give the X1 enough horsepower to run smoothly...most of the time.
The 800x400 VGA screen is beautiful, considering all that resolution is tightly packed into a 2.8-inch screen. Videos and images are bright, vibrant and sharp. The fact that it uses resistive touch techonology, however, is not so great. But my favorite hardware aspect of this phone is the keyboard. The keys are well spaced, responsive and I rarely have typos in my texts; this lets me worry about what I'm saying instead of whether or not I'm typing gibberish. The phone also has an optical sensor stuck in the middle of the four-way directional pad that lets you flick your thumb over its surface, and it will scroll up and down, side to side. It's an interesting use of tech, but feels slightly awkward, a bit gimmicky since there's already a touchscreen and a d-pad make the sensor somewhat unnecessary.
On the! softwar e side, the big sell for the Xperia are its custom panel interfaces, which range from different types of homescreens, a media player interface, and even a Google-oriented screen. While selected, these panels serve as the default screen for your phone and all navigation tracks back to the panels. In theory, this is a good idea. But when you're in a panel that isn't built around a today-style screen, and you quickly want to check any missed calls or text messages you may have, this interface becomes a bit of a nuisance.
But the one panel that does stand out is the Media Player. Sony Ericsson took their design cues from the PSP and PS3 and created an interface that is equally appealing as it is functional. Clean and streamlined, the media player features large icons and buttons that work well without a stylus. From the screen, you can watch movies, listen to music, view photos or even bring up your contacts list to make a quick call. Aside from the keyboard, this is probably my favorite feature of the Xperia X1.
In terms of calls, signal strength and call clarity were generally good in the parts of the Bay Area I tested in, but phone screens could be better designed. When you hit the call button from your home screen, it brings up your keypad with a list of recent calls. A series of icons for call logs, favorites, and contacts sit above the keypad. In the call log subscreen, it's a bit tough to tell what are missed calls, dialed calls, and received calls at first glance.
Battery life is great, as I can make calls, browse the internet, and watch videos at a moderate level for two or three days without charging it. The 3.2 MP camera has a pretty good sensor that takes crystal clear photos, and uses your touchscreen taps to autofocus on a specific object. But a slow shutter—especially in low light—detracts from the camera experience. Other than that, the software experience on the Xperia is pretty standard WinMo fare.
Overall, the custom software upgrades Sony Er! icsson a dded to WinMo 6.1 are good, but feel tacked on; ths ranges from random 6.1 elements popping up over the custom UI when you get a call or text, text messages and missed calls that go unreported or the frozen screens that occur when you try to transition to another panel/app. It feels like Sony Ericsson chose WinMo by default, not because it's the mobile OS they really wanted.
To be blunt, the Xperia X1 isn't quite up to snuff with the top smartphones in the market from an overall standpoint. Whether you're talking about its $800 price tag, stylus-based resistive touchscreen or 3.2 MP camera, this is a phone that would have fared better amongst early adopters a year or two ago. This is not to say the Xperia X1 is a bad phone—on the contrary, it's a very respectable piece of hardware. It's just not good enough to justify the cost when better, cheaper phones are available. [Xperia on Giz]
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/14/verizons-samsung-saga-shows-its-face-as-anticipated/
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Verizon's Samsung Saga shows its face, as anticipated originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/14/matrox-iris-gt-smart-camera-brings-windows-ce-to-atom-land/
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Misc. Gadgets
Matrox Iris GT smart camera brings Windows CE to Atom-land originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/14/amd-says-its-ignoring-netbooks-will-focus-on-ultraportables/
Filed under: Laptops
It seemed earlier this week that AMD's new Conesus chips would take on Intel's dominant Atom platform in the netbook market, but it sounds like that was just wishful thinking -- according to CEO Dirk Meyer, the chipmaker is "ignoring the netbook platform" in favor machines "above that form factor." AMD says that it's seeing high return rates on netbooks, a phenomenon it's chalking up to an unsatisfactory user experience on smaller machines. Of course, that doesn't quite jive with the sales numbers being posted by Acer, ASUS, and HP -- and although return rates are indeed higher for Linux machines than for XP, we're puzzled as to why AMD cares about anything other than raw chip sales to OEMs, since we were under the impression that that's how AMD makes money. Of course, really smart companies don't just sell what people want, they convince people to want what they sell, and that seems to be AMD's tactic: it says that the higher-powered, dual-core Conesus with ATI RS780M graphics will deliver a full-featured user experience that more people will spring for, even if it's in a slightly larger package. We'll see if this strategy plays in the market -- while we'd love to see a machine like the Inspiron Mini 12 with some real horsepower in it, it's hard to argue with a $280 Atom-based Eee.AMD says it's "ignoring" netbooks, will focus on ultraportables originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/14/oblongs-g-speak-the-minority-report-os-brought-to-life/
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Continue reading Oblong's g-speak: the 'Minority Report' OS brought to life
Oblong's g-speak: the 'Minority Report' OS brought to life originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/15/intel-core-i7-listings-show-up-on-newegg-to-tease-you-then-spli/
Filed under: Desktops
Intel Core i7 listings show up on NewEgg to tease you, then split originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Nov 2008 05:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/16/canonical-brings-ubuntu-to-arm-powered-devices/
Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops
Canonical bringing Ubuntu to ARM-powered devices originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Nov 2008 06:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments| anyone following the vdimm i7 issue? Nehalem News - The latest news on Intel's next generation microarchitecture. |
| Core i7 - Is High VDimm really a Problem? (AnandTech)-bet365-happy ... Numerous articles and forum posts have been popping up recently about the potential of high VDi ...,i bet you will be happy 365 days here. |
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/14/asrocks-instant-boot-from-0-to-vista-in-4-seconds/
Filed under: Desktops
Continue reading ASRock's Instant Boot: 0 to Vista in 4 seconds
ASRock's Instant Boot: 0 to Vista in 4 seconds originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Nov 2008 06:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/14/american-airlines-getting-in-on-that-cellphone-boarding-pass-fad/
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation
American Airlines has joined its peers at Continental in offering boarding pass barcodes that you can download to and display on your BlackBerry, iPhone, G1, or whatever have you. Presently the airline is only offering the option on domestic, non-stop flights departing from O'Hare -- LAX and Orange County will start on the 17th. Some eastern yanks might be asking, "What, no JFK or Logan? Where's the east coast love, AA?" Don't get too bent out of shape, boys and girls -- tech-savvy business travelers love their BlackBerries, so we could see this pop up just about everywhere before long.American Airlines getting in on that cellphone boarding pass fad originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Nov 2008 07:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/M53w68ix4fM/review-the-worlds-thinnest-lcd-hdtvs
It's not every day that you get to check out the world's thinnest LCD HDTV, let alone all three "ultrathins" currently in production, but that's what's going down. Sharp's super insane new flagship, the Limited Edition Aquos LC-65XS1U-S, arrived at my door in a bulletproof shipping container, 138 pounds of metal and glass measuring 65 inches diagonal that you can barely see from the side. Yes, in spite of its full-frontal gravitas, it measures only an inch thick at its edge, and a slightly more flexed 2 inches in the middle. It's gorgeous and ridiculous and designed to hang on a wall with no more protrusion than a dainty sketch in a frame—only it can blast Casino Royale at 1080p, 24 frames per second, while your face melts, and I'd have to sell my car twice over to buy it.
I love you Giz readers too much to stop with something that none of us can actually afford—and if you can afford it, you'll be decent enough to not let us know—so I called in the new slender 1080p models from Hitachi and JVC, too. As much lower-priced sets, I thought they'd just be the icing on Sharp's Limited Edition cake, but they turned out to be, in their own right, fine specimens. Let's review, shall we?
Who Thin?
Hitachi's Director's Series 1.5 UltraThin UT37X902 (37 inches listing for $1,900) got its name because it's an inch and a half thick across its entire panel. It is a monitor with speakers, but no tuner and the barest of inputs—one H! DMI and one VGA—to help it keep trim. JVC's LT-46SL89 (46 inches for $2,400) on the other hand is a true TV, with digital HD tuner, 3 HDMI ports, 2 analog inputs with option of component, composite or S-Video, and a PC VGA input. That adds a bit to the girth—while most of its main panel is one-and-three-quarter-inches thick, there's a middle section that is a fat three inches.
To give you a sense of comparison, Pioneer's fairly slim and lightweight first-gen Kuro plasma is nearly 4 inches thick, with a slimming bezel that measures about half that. Pioneer isn't content there, though—its newest Kuro Elite monitors are quite trim, and you'll recall last CES the company showed off an unbelievably thin half-inch plasma screen that's presumably nowhere near production.
WTF Thin?
The XS1 achieves its thinness in part by farming out its functionality: An accompanying AV box, tethered by a single long HDMI cable, doesn't just handle all of the inputs, but the digital tuner and AquosNet internet access as well. It's so integrated into the TV's life that without it that, though I was able to run a video source directly, I couldn't even touch picture settings.
The thing about thin is that it's not cheap, and as such, manufacturers aren't at liberty to cut out performance to slim down the screen.! This is probably why the biggest successes in TV sales—Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and LG—haven't expressed outright interest in marketing slim product. In fact, Sharp is smarter than JVC and Hitachi, aiming the thin concept at particularly spendy customers (Russian oil barons, professional golfers, Alaskan governors who may soon sign book and/or TV deals), rather than just going thin to differentiate itself at the Best Buy.
You Can't Afford It
The sleek all-metal Sharp 65-inch XS1 Limited Edition costs $16,000. The 52 incher costs $11,000. The build materials have a lot to do with the cost. A critically acclaimed, plastic-encased 3.7-inch thick Pioneer 50-inch plasma (that weighs 13 fewer pounds) lists for around $4,000, and sells for as little as $2,500. So you're not a sheikh, I'm not a sheikh, why are we talking about a sheikh's TV? Favia said the company went for a "no compromise" approach, and as hard as I looked, I found just one technical compromise, one most (sheikhs) could live with. If the damn thing didn't cost so much, the XS1 would be one of my favorite TVs ever.
Speaking of the Kuro, I placed a first-gen model side-by-side to calibrate and compare, and though the Sharp LCD wasn't always as perfect as the Pioneer plasma, I was surprised to see how well it kept up. Even though the LCD is equipped with 120Hz Fine Motion Enhanced blur reduction, I realized that during the action sequences in Casino Royale it went with native 24p (24-frames-per-second) movie playback. There wasn't any noticeable blur. In fact, thanks to the massive LCD's dazzlingly snappy 4-millisecond response time, I found that you really didn't need 120Hz at all.
Contrast Is King
In the all-important land of contrast, this Sharp scores big. Sharp has, in the past, been criticized for confusing contrast with an overuse of darkness. The XS1 is obviously a ground-up redesign, but in that arena in particular, I found I could tweak settings to walk the line between crushed and ! bleached blacks. You don't see charcoal gray when you're supposed to see pitch black, and yet dark textures are plainly visible.
This has much to do with the tight grid of RGB LEDs behind the main panel that light only what's needed. This technique has recently earned Sony and Samsung high praise for contrast and color reproduction, but it has a third crazy attribute: The 65-inch Sharp is capable of using less energy than the 46-inch JVC and even the 37-inch Hitachi, because it lights only what it needs and doesn't require the constant glare of a fluorescent light source.
When it comes to specific wattage demands, the Sharp hovered in the low to mid 100s with peaks upwards of 200W. The plasma was averaging 250 or higher, maxing out during the brightest scenes at 400W. The JVC's 46 incher could be set, using the backlight slider, anywhere from 98W to 200W, and the Hitachi similarly ranged from 83W to 171W. Though nice and slim, both of these sets use constantly lit fluorescent lamps.
While contrast on these smaller TVs didn't immediately seem as good, I got a sneaking suspicion that LED backlighting is, at least in part, a psychological trick. See, constant FL light means that, when watching 2.35:1 widescreen movies, you get a touch of gray in the bars at top and bottom, at least you do unless you dial down the backlight and sacrifice some whiteness. With LED backlighting, the LEDs behind the letterbox's black bars are simply turned off. You perceive that contrast to be better since there are fewer dead giveaways of less-than-perfect contrast.
I'm not trying to uncover a mystery here; I'm just saying that once I ignored the light shining through the black bars, I was happy enough with the contrast and color—demonstrated below by Disney's new Sleeping Beauty Blu-ray, our friend HD Guru Gary Merson's favorite color-gamut test source along with, naturally, Southland Tales—on both the JVC and Hitachi. Sometimes "good enough" is actually "good."
The La! st LCD I ssue
The funny thing is that two of the three test TVs suffered from an annoying LCD-related problem, and it wasn't the cheaper two. Both the Sharp and the JVC, which in many ways could not be more different as TVs, lost color saturation and even shifted in tint when viewed from the most peripheral angles.
Viewing angle issues are far from new: Projection TVs and LCDs have continued to suffer from them for years and years (in some cases decades). And maybe you think that it's no big deal, since most people watch a TV sitting head on. But I think that ultrathin TVs—intended to hang flush on walls, and without a pivoting mount—should be especially good looking at every angle where the picture is remotely visible. The Hitachi alone managed to hold its colors to the very edge, losing only brightness, as you'd expect.
New Hope
In the end, I think this review session did more to renew my faith in LCD technology than it did to sell me on the whole ultrathin thing. I spent years at line shows wondering why anyone would buy an LCD when plasma was an alternative, and even the amazing rise of Sony and Samsung in the LCD space was clouded by the simultaneous rise of all those extra-crappy savings-club TVs.
It's worth noticing that these ultrathin sets don't hail from the current Korean, Japanese or Chinese TV powerhouses. But as flagships from their companies, they do an even better job boding well for the whole industry, at least from a technical perspective. Plasma can still enjoy its high noon, but at a cost—nothing here looked better than the Kuro, but it took twice the energy to deliver that marginally better picture. And when it comes to hanging these bastards on the wall, well, let's see if Pioneer's still going to make good on that ultra-ultrathin promise from last CES. If not, these LCDs are going to be the slim-o-cizers to beat. That is, until the first 40-inch OLEDs hit the market. [Sharp Aquos Limited Edition XS1; Hitachi 1.5; JVC SuperSlim]
Hardware wise, there is of course the 480 x 800 screen which is the centerpiece—everyone says what the pictures and videos have been telling us since the beginning: it's beautiful. Less fantastic, though, is the resistive touch screen (which is cheaper and less-responsive than a capacitative touchscreen like the iPhone 3G's). HTC goes with resistive on almost all of its phones to ensure they'll be accepted by the Asian market, in which recognition of complex characters written with a stylus is key (styli are the only thing that doesn't work quite as well on a capacitive screen).
TouchFLO, HTC's custom Win-Mo GUI has a ton of room to be awesome on this screen, and makes Windows Mobile look as good as any other phone out there now. But there's one huge problem: unless you stick with making calls, taking photos and using a few of the built-in widgets like weather and stocks, you'll often find yourself dropping back into Win-Mo 6.1's default interf! ace, whi ch looks MUCH less pretty on the HD's beautiful screen. That means getting your media on the phone and accessing it is still just as painful as on any other Win-Mo piece. Ahem, HTC? Android? Think it's about time.
So yeah, given that this phone is useless on all of the US 3G networks, the import market will be next to 'nil. But here's hoping the Touch HD is merely a prelude to a similar device running Android, complete with luscious US 3G bands, sometime soon.
[Mobile Tech Addicts, CNET UK, Slash Gear, Phone Arena]
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