Friday, October 30, 2009

Remains of the Day: Smartphone Cost of Ownership Edition [For What It's Worth]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/_14AHB3mD6A/remains-of-the-day-smartphone-cost-of-ownership-edition

We take a look at how Verizon's Droid stacks up to the iPhone and other popular smartphones relative to your pocketbook, ReoCities wants to resurrect GeoCities, and you may want to update your Windows Remote Desktop client with Windows 7 powers.

(Click the image above for a closer look.)




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Posted by Augustine at 9:25 AM

Android-Based Asus Smartbook Arrives Early Next Year [NetBooks]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/6cUQpnH5SqU/android+based-asus-smartbook-arrives-early-next-year

That on-again, off-again Asus Eee PC with Android OS, and 1GHz Snapdragon processor is, well, back on again. Asus now calls it their "secret weapon" and says it should arrive early next year for about $180 bucks.

Maybe all the interest in Android 2.0 got them interested again.

As a reminder, Smartbooks are just Qualcomm's name for netbooks that use ARM-based processors, which are needed to run Android. (Acer actually ported Android to Atom processors for its Aspire One netbook). Nvidia is also pushing its ARM-based Tegra chip for Smartbooks. [Shanzai (translated)]




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Posted by Augustine at 8:31 AM

Acer debuts 23-inch T230H multitouch monitor

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/29/acer-debuts-23-inch-t230h-multitouch-monitor/

Acer hasn't exactly been slacking when it comes to Windows 7-related hardware, but it looks like its still putting the final touches on its launch line-up, with it now rolling out a new multitouch monitor to complement its range of laptops and desktops. What's more, at a full 23-inches, the company's new T230H monitor best similar offerings from Dell and HP in terms of sheer size, and it packs some respectable specs across the board, including a full 1920 x 1080 resolution, a 2ms response time, a promised 80,000:1 contrast ratio (take that with the usual grain of salt), and an HDMI port in addition to DVI and VGA. Still no official word on US pricing, it seems, but this one will apparently run €349 in Europe (or just over $500).

[Via Engadget Korea]

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Acer debuts 23-inch T230H multitouch monitor originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 8:29 AM

LG launches official site for GW620 Android phone, sort of

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/29/lg-launches-official-site-for-gw620-android-phone-sort-of/

LG's GW620 handset may be easy to miss among all the other current Android-based offerings, but it looks like LG is now starting to ramp things up a bit to help it get noticed, with it recently launching (inadvertently, judging from the copy) the official site for phone complete with some fresh new images and promo videos. While there's expectedly not much in the way of new details, LG's ads and promo videos (check one after the break) do seem to position the phone squarely in CLIQ territory, with LG even going so far as to dream up a series of mascots (including a "Social Butterfly") to demo the phone's social networking capabilities. Head on past the break to see for yourself, and keep an eye on the link below for what should soon be the "official" official website.

[Via Android-France]

Continue reading LG launches official site for GW620 Android phone, sort of

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LG launches official site for GW620 Android phone, sort of originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 8:29 AM

Homebrew head-mounted Linux system for telepresence, looking silly

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/29/homebrew-head-mounted-linux-system-for-telepresence-looking-sil/

Sure, viewable eyewear (such as that made by Vuzix) might look like fun, but even with the display balancing on the bridge of your nose you need to find a place to wear that video source. What our man Pascal Brisset did is design a Linux system around a Gumstix Overo Fire computer-on-module, a Vuzix VR920 head-mounted stereoscopic 640 x 480 display (complete with 3D tilt sensor and 3D magnetic compass), WiFi, and Bluetooth modules -- the whole shebang resides in (and on) the eyewear, just the thing for secure telepresence and augmented reality applications (or just extra-private web browsing). And he did it all for under a grand. In order to implement his design, Pascal had to design and custom manufacture a digital-to-analog video converter board using direct-to-PCB inkjet printing. As Hack A Day notes, one can easily question the wisdom of "a pair of microwave transceivers and a LiPo battery strapped directly over one's eyes and brain," but that's the price of progress, right?

[Via Hack A Day]

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Homebrew head-mounted Linux system for telepresence, looking silly originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 8:29 AM

27-inch iMacs having performance issues?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/29/27-inch-imacs-having-performance-issues/

It's not at all clear what the root cause of the problem is, but we've noticed a big uptick in people complaining about performance issues on new 27-inch iMacs on Apple's support boards. The most common symptom seems to be incredibly slow Flash video playback, but people are also claiming that there's a bug forcing the hard drive to spin down, that there's a corrupted Snow Leopard build preinstalled, and even that the problem is bad permissions, which is basically how an OS X user gives up trying to figure things out. Apple hasn't said anything yet, but neither of the 27-inchers we have here are having problems, so we're keeping our fingers crossed while we wait for an official resolution. Video of the issue after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read - First Apple Discussions thread
Read - Second Apple Discussions thread

Continue reading 27-inch iMacs having performance issues?

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27-inch iMacs having performance issues? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 8:28 AM

Motorola DROID user guide unearthed in its entirety

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/29/motorola-droid-user-guide-unearthed-in-its-entirety/

We're not sure how much more Motorola DROID tidbits you need to whet your appetite until its November 6th Verizon launch, but in hopes of keeping those cravings at bay, we've got the entire user guide here. No revelations so far, but seeing as we're already in possession of the phone, we weren't really expecting any. See it for yourself either via the gallery below or as a PDF just past the read link.

[Thanks, BBLeaks]

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Motorola DROID user guide unearthed in its entirety originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 8:28 AM

Cisco FlipShareTV streamer outed in FCC documents

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/30/cisco-flipsharetv-streamer-outed-in-fcc-documents/

Flip Video remote, meet your family. One of Cisco's latest FCC filings happened to keep its user manual outside the seal of confidentiality, giving us a pretty good look at FlipShareTV, a setup for streaming recorded video from the computer's FlipShare software, out the USB dongle transmitted wirelessly to the receiver connected to the TV... and that's about it. Nothing too thrilling here, and there's no indication of price or release date. More pictures below -- any Flip enthusiasts actually excited by this?

[Via Zatz Not Funny]

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Cisco FlipShareTV streamer outed in FCC documents originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 8:28 AM

Intel and Numonyx pave the way for scalable, higher density phase change memory

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/30/intel-and-numonyx-pave-the-way-for-scalable-higher-density-phas/

Both Intel and Numonyx have been talking up phase change memory for years now, but for some reason, we're slightly more inclined to believe that the latest breakthrough is actually one that'll matter to consumers. In a joint release, the two have announced a new non-volatile memory technology that supposedly "paves the way for scalable, higher density phase change memory products." Put as simply as possible, researchers have been testing a 64Mb chip that "enables the ability to stack, or place, multiple layers of PCM arrays within a single die," and the two are calling the discovery PCMS (phase change memory and switch). We know, you're drowning in technobabble here, but if these two can really apply Moore's Law to density scaling, you'll be thanking 'em as you pick up your $50 6TB hard drive in 2014.

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Intel and Numonyx pave the way for scalable, higher density phase change memory originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 8:28 AM

ASUS' Android-based 'secret weapon' smartbook launching in Q1

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/30/asus-android-based-secret-weapon-smartbook-launching-in-q1/

We got our first glimpse at a computing future filled with low-cost, ARM-based ASUS smartbooks running Android on a 1GHz Snapdragon processor all the way back on June 1st. Since then, however, the pencil-spinning boys in Taiwan have been poo-pooing plans to launch such a device due to what ASUS called an uncertain market opportunity -- or was it pressure from Wintel, we never can tell? Then yesterday, ASUS' Jerry Shen pulled an about-face at an investor meeting in Taipei with talk of launching a $180 smartbook in Q1 of 2010. Bristling with confidence, Shen goes so far as to call it a "secret weapon" in a category offering potential for huge, Eee PC-like growth. Well, with the first big-name smartbooks just starting to ship, even a dozen or so sales could be considered statistically significant.

[Via Shanzai]

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ASUS' Android-based 'secret weapon' smartbook launching in Q1 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 8:28 AM

MIT's Affective Intelligent Driving Agent is KITT and Clippy's lovechild (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/30/mits-affective-intelligent-driving-agent-is-kitt-and-clippys-l/

If we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times, stop trying to make robots into "friendly companions!" MIT must have some hubris stuck in its ears, as its labs are back at it with what looks like Clippy gone 3D, with an extra dash of Knight Rider-inspired personality. What we're talking about here is a dashboard-mounted AI system that collects environmental data, such as local events, traffic and gas stations, and combines it with a careful analysis of your driving habits and style to make helpful suggestions and note points of interest. By careful analysis we mean it snoops on your every move, and by helpful suggestions we mean it probably nags you to death (its own death). Then again, the thing's been designed to communicate with those big Audi eyes, making even our hardened hearts warm just a little. Video after the break.

Continue reading MIT's Affective Intelligent Driving Agent is KITT and Clippy's lovechild (video)

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MIT's Affective Intelligent Driving Agent is KITT and Clippy's lovechild (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 8:28 AM

Android 2.0 ported to original T-Mobile G1 (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/30/android-2-0-ported-to-original-t-mobile-g1-video/

Did you hear? Google's got this little OS called Android that has reached the ripe, mature age of 2-point-Oh. With the giant eclair now sitting on Google's front lawn and the SDK out in the wilds, what was poor Akira Harada to do with all that code knowing that the Motorola Droid was still days away from shipping? Port it to the original Android device, the T-Mobile G1 / HTC Dream, naturally. It's a rough port, not even close to being optimized but it should whet your appetites for all those official updates and delicious home-cooked ROMs we expect to be arriving in the hallowed halls of the XDA forums in the days ahead. See it after the break... roll it!

Continue reading Android 2.0 ported to original T-Mobile G1 (video)

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Android 2.0 ported to original T-Mobile G1 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 8:28 AM

LG roadmap predicts 'OLED panels will cost less than LCD panels in 2016'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/30/lg-roadmap-predicts-oled-panels-will-cost-less-than-lcd-panels/

Speaking at the FPD show in Japan, Won Kim, VP of LG Display's OLED sales and marketing group laid bare its OLED plans for the future. Pretty significant as LG is one of only two players currently manufacturing production OLED TVs; though unlike Sony, LG has yet to ship anything -- that bit of consumer magic begins in November. So here's the deal: LG will release 20-inch and larger OLED panels in 2010, 30-inch and larger in 2011, and 40-inch and larger OLED panels in 2012. While 40-inch OLEDs will still be "fairly expensive" in 2012, Kim predicts that "OLED panels will cost less than LCD panels in 2016." We'd love to believe that but it sounds overly aggressive to us considering the enormous investment panel manufacturers have made in LCDs (they'll be milking profits just as long as they can) and new push towards 3D televisions. Besides, LG's been all over the map with its OLED dates so let's not go carving anything in low-temperature polycrystal silicon just yet.

[Via OLED-Display.net]

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LG roadmap predicts 'OLED panels will cost less than LCD panels in 2016' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 8:27 AM

Rechargeable zinc-air batteries promise a lot, we'll see if they deliver in 2010

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/30/rechargeable-zinc-air-batteries-promise-a-lot-well-see-if-they/

Is there any other field of technology that promises as many revolutionary innovations as battery makers do yet delivers so few? We've heard of battery life being made four times, eight times, even twelve times better... and seen pretty much none of it pan out in any sort of meaningful way. Zinc-air batteries are also nothing new, but now some whizkids up in Norway have figured out how to make them rechargeable and set up an entire company, ReVolt, for their commercialization. With more than double the energy density of regular Lithium-Ion batteries, safer operation, lower cost of production, and environmentally friendlier ingredients, ReVolt's tech sounds as sweet as anything, but we'd advise waiting for the pudding-based proof before getting excited. Plans are for small hearing aid and cellphone batteries to show up in 2010, and if all goes well there, larger cells for electric vehicles could also follow. Sure.

[Via PhysOrg]

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Rechargeable zinc-air batteries promise a lot, we'll see if they deliver in 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 8:27 AM

Thursday, October 29, 2009

ASUS to launch 3G, WiMAX-equipped e-book readers by March, 2010?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/29/asus-to-launch-3g-wimax-equipped-e-book-readers-by-march-2010/

We've already heard some talk that ASUS might possibly be launching an e-book reader before the end of the year that may or may not be the world's cheapest, and it looks like some unnamed execs at the company have now dropped a few more details on the matter. While it's all still far from official, CENS reports that ASUS' e-book reader could hit both American and European carriers by March, 2010, and that it'll include both 3G and WiMAX versions (plus WiFi, naturally), but presumably not a version with both 3G and WiMAX. As previously rumored, the e-book reader is also said to have a larger than usual 9-inch screen, and those same unnamed execs reportedly say its price will be "competitive" with the Kindle and Sony's e-readers.

[Via SlashGear]

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ASUS to launch 3G, WiMAX-equipped e-book readers by March, 2010? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 2:24 PM

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