Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Thursday, April 08, 2010

Plastic Logic expects to ship QUE proReader in June

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/07/plastic-logic-expects-to-ship-que-proreader-in-june/

So, Plastic Logic perhaps isn't for sale, but what about that long-awaited QUE proReader of theirs? Well, we just got an update on that front. A hapless tipster who pre-ordered the devices way back on January 9th just got an email from Plastic Logic saying they should expect a June 24th ship date now. Pre-orderers at least have the opportunity to confirm or deny that they still want the device, and won't be charged until it ships. So, will it be worth the wait? And more importantly: what color will your hovercar be?

[Thanks, Shane B.]

Plastic Logic expects to ship QUE proReader in June originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Apr 2010 20:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Intel's Intelligent Home Energy Management device is an OLED beauty, sadly just a concept

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/07/intels-intelligent-home-energy-management-device-is-an-oled-bea/

We know, the last thing the world needs is another home tablet (see Sony Dash, HP Dreamscreen and Chumby), but bear with us for a second on Intel's Intelligent Home Energy Management proof of concept. Instead of providing just the typical weather, Pandora, and video memo apps, the Atom Z530-powered screen also manages your home's energy consumption. The idea is that the WiFi-enabled device works with your local energy company to provide data as well as suggestions on how to lower that insane monthly bill. It also apparently can update you as to what government subsides are being offered and deals on more power efficient appliances. If that all sounds too earthy to you, we at least can tell you it's one beautiful gadget -- the 11.2-inch capacitive OLED screen is simply stunning and the user interface that's been built on top of Windows XP isn't so bad looking itself. For now the whole thing is just a concept, but Intel was quite confident in saying that we will see gadgets with its Home Energy platform popping up sooner or later. We just hope someone picks up that beautifully designed hardware. Don't you worry you can see it too in the video demo after the break.

Gallery: Intel Intelligent Home Energy Management system hands-on

Continue reading Intel's Intelligent Home Energy Management device is an OLED beauty, sadly just a concept

Intel's Intelligent Home Energy Management device is an OLED beauty, sadly just a concept originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Apr 2010 21:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Dell refreshes Latitude E series with latest Intel chips

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/08/dell-refreshes-latitude-e-series-with-latest-intel-chips/

Targeted at the enterprise, there's plenty of stuff in the Latitude E series (which has been floating around here and overseas, but is finally official) that Joe Consumer couldn't care less about, like "Distributed Device Management" and "Client Configuration Toolkit" to handle massive rollouts of identical computing environments across a company. Still, there's plenty of Latitude left over for those of us with simpler, lower volume tastes. The new E6410 (14.1-inch, pictured) and E6510 (15.6-inch) start at $1,129 and $1,164, respectively, with a rugged version of the 14.1-incher, the E6410 ATG rounding out the crew. All the laptops offer Core i5 and Core i7 processors and DDR3 RAM, with options for discrete NVIDIA NVS 3100M 512MB (non-switchable) graphics and the Latitude ON instaboot auxiliary system. Of course, outside of those basics you can go wild with the configuration options Dell is so well known for. 4-cell batteries come standard on the 1-inch thick systems, but you can ramp up to a 9-cell, or even add on a 12-cell battery slice, and Dell promises roughly an hour per cell with the integrated graphics. The ATG model can be configured exactly like the E6410 outside of a lack of discrete graphics, but adds in MIL spec STD 810G for shock, vibration, temperature, humidity and altitude resistance. Check out a family press release after the break.

Gallery: Dell Latitude E press shots

Continue reading Dell refreshes Latitude E series with latest Intel chips

Dell refreshes Latitude E series with latest Intel chips originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

AMD's hexacore Phenom II X6 will offer Turbo Core automatic overclocking

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/08/amds-hexacore-phenom-ii-x6-will-offer-turbo-core-automatic-over/

AMD might be playing catch-up with Intel at the moment, but at least it's keeping the distance fairly close. Intel has yet to fully transition its desktop line over to its Turbo Boost-boasting Core 2010 series, yet its competitor has already announced its own, imaginatively titled, competing technology in the form of Turbo Core. It's a less sophisticated auto-overclock, whereby three of the six cores are decelerated in order to give the other trio some extra voltage and speed for more serialized workloads. The truly impressive thing is that operation under the Turbo Core mode and the default hexacore arrangement will fit within the same power envelope as current Phenom II X4 CPUs, while AMD also reassures its loyal users that the new Phenom II X6s will be compatible with existing AM3 and AM2+ sockets. Nice. The table above, provided by AnandTech, confirms the models we heard about a couple of weeks ago, though we'll have to wait a little bit longer to get confirmation on pricing.

AMD's hexacore Phenom II X6 will offer Turbo Core automatic overclocking originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 03:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

source

AnandTech | Email this | Comments

ICD's Tegra 2-toting Gemini tested, briefly enjoyed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/08/icds-tegra-2-toting-gemini-tested-briefly-enjoyed/

It's only been a single day since the Tegra 2-powered ICD Gemini promised us a world in which tablet PCs could magically make calls, sport webcams and play Flash content (yes, we're still a bit sore about that), but somehow one man has already managed to get his hands on a prototype of the wannabe iPad killer. The verdict? "Blisteringly fast," according to Stuff.tv, albeit buggy and thoroughly unready for market. The website liberally praised the large, 11.2-inch screen for superb color and detail even as it found the resistive touch controls sluggish, and was blown away by how quickly the 1GHz Tegra 2 dealt with web browsing on Android OS. Sadly, it seems there wasn't time to get Hulu running on the device, and important features (including those webcams) weren't working on this early prototype. But don't worry, the publication says the feature-packed slate won't even hit the company's native UK until August, when ICD expects carrier deals to be signed. Now, Stuff, assuming you haven't returned that shiny tablet -- how about you shoot us some video?

ICD's Tegra 2-toting Gemini tested, briefly enjoyed originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 04:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Stuff.tv | Email this | Comments

Canon debuts XF305, XF300 pro camcorders with direct-to-CF recording

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/08/canon-debuts-xf305-xf300-pro-camcorders-with-direct-to-cf-recor/

Looking for a pro-level video camera that's somewhere south of an ARRI ALEXA or RED ONE but still impressive-looking enough (and feature-packed) to not be mistaken for an average, off-the-shelf prosumer camera? Then you might want to consider Canon's new XF305 and XF300 models, which both come in under $8,000 and not only offer the usual native 1080p recording, but support for recording directly to CompactFlash cards as well. Both cameras also use the same MPEG-2 4:2:2 50Mbps codec and DIGIC DV III image processor, and pack the same 4-inch LCD, 0.52-inch electronic viewfinder, built-in stereo microphone and dual XLR audio inputs, while the XF305 adds support for multi-camera or 3D setups as well. Hit up the gallery below for a closer look, and look for both cameras to be available in later June.

[Thanks, Stephen C]

Gallery: Canon XF305, XF300 press shots

Canon debuts XF305, XF300 pro camcorders with direct-to-CF recording originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 05:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

source

Canon | Email this | Comments

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

CallTrack Plots Your Calls on a Google Calendar. [Downloads]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5510164/calltrack-plots-your-calls-on-a-google-calendar

CallTrack Plots Your Calls on a Google Calendar. Android: Google Voice tracks all your calls in a searchable list. If you can't get down with Voice, or want even more convenient tracking, CallTrack plots all your calls, or just particular calls, on a Google Calendar of your choosing.

The app itself consists of nothing more than a few settings, to choose which types of calls (incoming, outgoing, or missed) should be recorded, and which calendar to write to. I set up a new calendar ("Calls," because I'm creative), then headed to the Calendar app and made sure it was selected in the My Calendars settings. From then on, CallTrack could record my calls to that calendar, and I could dump my existing call log into the calendar, if I had a backlog that I deemed important. Having a day-by-day record of your phone activity, and the length of each call, can certainly help out those tracking their time and expenses for work, and help out anyone who's experiencing an odd memory lapse.

CallTrack is a free download for Android phones. Thanks for the tip, bradmann!

CallTrack [Cyrket]

The Multi-Touch Office [Featured Workspace]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5510841/the-multi+touch-office

The Multi-Touch Office Today's featured workspace begs one question and one alone: Why settle for a multi-touch enabled tablet when you can have a multi-touch enabled console sporting a 42" screen?

Lifehacker reader kame9031 works at 31FPS, a company specializing in multi-touch interfaces, home automation, and related electronic design. We'd love to say that it's his great office with the plants and multiple monitors that caught our eye, but what really got our attention is the Cyclon—his mammoth 42" multi-touch computer running Max OS X. Unfortunately the great videos on the 31FPS site aren't embeddable so we can't show them off here. You can however check them all out by visiting this link—No really, go visit and see the videos.

If you want to read up on the Cyclon you can visit the 31FPS project page for the build here. Otherwise, check out the photos below of his office to see where the design magic happens.

If you have a workspace of your own to show off, throw the pictures on your Flickr account and add it to the Lifehacker Workspace Show and Tell Pool. Include some details about your setup and why it works for you, and you just might see it featured on the front page of Lifehacker.

The Multi-Touch Office [Lifehacker Workspace Show and Tell Pool]

How to Turn an iPhone Into a Wireless iPad Camera [IPad Apps]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5511115/how-to-turn-an-iphone-into-a-wireless-ipad-camera

The iPad doesn't have a built-in camera, but you can give it something better. By putting an app onto each an iPad and an iPhone, you can connect the two via bluetooth and have a wireless camera for your iPad.

All you need to do is download the Camera A and Camera B apps onto your iPad and iPhone respectively—note that Camera A will set you back a buck while Camera B is free. Once you've got the apps on your devices, make sure bluetooth is switched on, and open the apps. Ta da! You'll see everything your iPhone's lens sees on your iPad.

To take a picture you'll tap the camera icon at the bottom of your iPad's screen. A pop up prompt will ask you if you really want to save the photo and that's it, you're done. Oh, and if you want photos to save to both your iPhone and your iPad each time, then you can flip the little toggle switch in the lower right of the screen:

How does this witchcraft work? Based on the fact that I just saw my iPhone lock screen twice moments ago, I'd say that the apps are allowing your iPad to mirror your iPhone's display. I guess that means that you could also use this app setup to truly turn your iPad into a gigantic iPhone. [Camera A and Camera B]

Update: Keep in mind that this app will only work with an iPhone 3Gs and not other models.

LG Mini GD880 Phone Has New HTML5-Supporting Phantom Browser [Cellphones]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5511312/lg-mini-gd880-phone-has-new-html5+supporting-phantom-browser

LG Mini GD880 Phone Has New HTML5-Supporting Phantom Browser On sale later this month after first tantalizing us at MWC in February, LG has confirmed the Mini GD880 will support HTML5 in its "Phantom Browser," the first time it's been reeled out by the South Koreans.

They reckon it's much faster and has a more stable internet experience, built using the most recent Webkit standards. Up to 10 browser windows can be open at once, and while it's not running Android a healthy amount of Google's apps are supported in the browser—Latitude, Gmail, Calendar, Maps and Buzz.

Rehashing what we know about the rest of the specs—the HSDPA phone has a 5.0MP camera, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, FM radio, and 3.2-inch display. While it's running LG's S-Class OS (not exactly the best OS we've come across), the specs are little additional features such as Air Sync, which updates all of the phone's data OTA to your PC, and vice versa, make it worth checking out if you're after a "lite" secondary phone I think. On sale later this month, it'll hit Europe first with other countries following soon after. [LG]

Toshiba's 1080P Camileo S20, H30 and X100 Camcorders Hit US This Month [Camcorders]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5511365/toshibas-1080p-camileo-s20-h30-and-x100-camcorders-hit-us-this-month

Toshiba's 1080P Camileo S20, H30 and X100 Camcorders Hit US This Month It's taken several months, but finally the US has caught up with the rest of the world and can now pick up Toshiba's Camileo S20, H30 and X100 pocket camcorders with prices starting at $180.

All models shoot full 1080p video and have 3-inch LCD screens, YouTube keys for easy upload, and take SD/SDHC cards. HDMI and USB 2.0 ports will hook them up to TVs and computers.

The S20 is the cheapest one (that's the skinny one above), and costs $180—it's got a 4x digital zoom and also shoots 5MP photos. The H30 (below) costs $250 and has a 5x optical zoom and 4x digital one, and can shoot 10MP photos. Lastly, the X100 costs the most at $400 but has a 10x optical and digital zoom, and takes 10MP photos. All hit shops April 19th. [SlashGear]

Toshiba's 1080P Camileo S20, H30 and X100 Camcorders Hit US This Month

iPad vs. JooJoo... fight!

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/06/ipad-vs-joojoo-fight/

Sure, they might be worlds apart in quality, usefulness, and desirability, but even still, comparisons are inevitable. The iPad (right) and the JooJoo (left) hit the hands of consumers on the same weekend, offer large-screen browsing experiences controlled entirely by a capacitive touchscreen, and... well, you get the idea. So, how do the two devices stack up externally? It's a pretty fair fight, hardware-wise. The JooJoo is thicker and heavier, but also scores a good amount more screen space -- its 16:9 ratio almost turns it into an extruded lengthwise version of the 4:3 iPad. Unfortunately, that screen is a real let down when viewed off axis, and isn't nearly as responsive or accurate as the iPad's in use. Both of the devices offer scratch resistant glass fronts and brushed aluminum backs, though there's a bit of give to JooJoo's materials that smacks of slightly lower quality. You can read the reviews to get an idea of how dramatically different these two devices are in actual use, but if you want to satisfy a baser lust for straight-on comparison shots, hit up the gallery below.

Gallery: iPad vs. JooJoo... fight!

iPad vs. JooJoo... fight! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Mystery buyer orders $8.5 million in Microvision PicoP Laser Display Engines, planning world's greatest rave?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/06/mystery-buyer-orders-8-5-million-in-microvision-picop-laser-dis/

Mystery buyer orders $8.5 million in Microvision PicoP laser engines, set to hold world's greatest rave?

Remember Microvision's little announcement last week that it would be selling its PicoP Laser Display Engine to OEMs, hoping they'd find ways to stuff the thing into little gadgets of all sorts? The company has apparently been doing just that with aplomb, already scoring an $8.5 million order from one top secret client that will "embed the PicoP engine inside a high-end mobile media player for release in late 2010." Unfortunately, this fancy-pants media player isn't set to be announced until just before release, meaning we have many months of delicious speculation ahead of us. Projector Zune? Screenless iPod? Yet another pico projector you have no interest in buying? The possibilities are endless.

Mystery buyer orders $8.5 million in Microvision PicoP Laser Display Engines, planning world's greatest rave? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PicoProjector-info.com | source

source

MarketWatch | Email this | Comments

Western Digital VelociRaptor VR200M review roundup: fast, capacious, but no SSD

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/06/western-digital-velociraptor-vr200m-review-roundup-fast-capaci/

While it's only a matter of time before solid state storage becomes cheap and reliable enough to replace magnetic media for good, companies like Western Digital are still finding ways to keep those platters a' spinning. Take this new WD VelociRaptor VR200M, for instance. Critics agree that while it doesn't offer anywhere near SSD levels of performance, it's certainly the fastest rotational SATA drive ever tested -- 15 to 30 percent improved over the last generation of VelociRaptors, depending on the benchmark -- and at roughly 50 cents per gigabyte for the three-platter, 600GB WD6000BLHX ($329), it offers more capacity than any SSD you could hope to buy without refinancing your third vacation home. Reviewers note that with a 15mm drive height, you still won't be dropping one of these speed demons in your new laptop, and your desktop might be better off with a cheaper 7200RPM drive paired with a similarly inexpensive SSD, but if you're looking for that single drive that does it all, the new VelociRaptor is your best bet. Hit the links below for the full skinny, and a deep, deep dive into the fascinating world of IOPS, read speeds and write times.

Read - TechReport
Read - AnandTech
Read - PC Perspective
Read - HotHardware
Read - Tom's Hardware
Read - ExtremeTech
Read - LegitReviews
Read - StorageReview
Read - DesktopReview

Western Digital VelociRaptor VR200M review roundup: fast, capacious, but no SSD originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

source

PR Newswire | Email this | Comments

Sharp squeezes DivX HD playback into new Quattron HDTVs

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/06/divx-hd-videos-are-easier-to-see-in-these-sharp-lcds-than-their/

Apparently there was still a HDTV or two without the DivX stamp, but that should be mostly resolved now after a new deal with Sharp. The new AQUOS LE820 LCDs -- featuring the apparently astonishing Quattron quad-pixel technology -- are able to play 1080p DivX HD files from a connected USB drive. Not quite the embedded content service we saw at CES, but as previous announcements have revealed, DivX has been very effective at squeezing a toe in the door and eventually widening it to include more devices and compatibility. The best part? We don't have to re-rip all those DVDs prepared for the upcoming Galaxy S smartphone.

Sharp squeezes DivX HD playback into new Quattron HDTVs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)