Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Friday, May 13, 2011

Fujitsu's TH40/D convertible tablet slides into Japan, packs Atom Z670 and Windows 7

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/13/fujitsus-th40-d-convertible-tablet-slides-into-japan-packs-ato/

A slide-out tablet running on Windows 7, you say? Not to be confused with the Samsung Sliding PC, what we have here is the Fujitsu LifeBook TH40/D that's just been announced for the Japanese market. Inside this 2.4-pound convertible laptop you'll find a 1.5GHz Oak Trail Atom Z670, 1GB of non-expandable DDR2 RAM, a 10.1-inch 1,024 x 600 touchscreen, a 120GB 4200rpm hard drive, and a battery life of around 6 hours. Other tidbits include 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, a couple of USB 2.0 ports, HDMI-out, an SD card slot, and a teeny optical trackpad placed next to the short space bar. Can't say we're digging some of the limitations on this TH40/D, but if you still want one, then be ready to fork out about ¥80,000 ($990) at the end of June.

Fujitsu's TH40/D convertible tablet slides into Japan, packs Atom Z670 and Windows 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 May 2011 00:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Akihabara News, IT Media | source

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Apple patent application suggest iPod nano could become even more of a 'fashion accessory'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/13/apple-patent-application-suggest-ipod-nano-could-become-even-mor/

There's no guarantee that it will show up in the next iPod nano -- or any iPod nano at all, for that matter -- but a newly published patent application has now offered a few more hints about how Apple might make such a device even more wearable. Titled simply, "Environment Sensitive Display Tags," the patent application details how a small, wearable device could use a variety of sensors and inputs (including a camera, microphone, accelerometer -- even a thermometer) to obtain information about its surroundings and translate that into a visual element that's displayed on the screen. So, for instance, the camera could be used to create a background that matches your shirt or jacket, or the accelerometer could be used to make a screen saver react to your movements (like the rain drops illustrated above). All of which, the application suggests, could serve to make the device even more "aesthetically pleasing" as a "fashion accessory."

Incidentally, the patent application also noticeably features "Games" as a menu option in some of the illustrations -- which would be new to the current variety of iPod nano -- but there's no mention of it in the actual claims. And, given that it was filed back in November of 2009, the application's authors could well have simply been working on the assumption that games would simply carry over from the previous generation.

Apple patent application suggest iPod nano could become even more of a 'fashion accessory' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 May 2011 04:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung and LG to showcase high pixel density LCD panels for tablets at SID 2011

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/13/samsung-and-lg-to-showcase-large-high-pixel-density-lcd-panels/

It's a well-known fact that LG's already dominated the pixel density race in the smartphone market thanks to the Retina Display inside the iPhone 4, but we've yet to see similar technologies making their way to larger devices. That could change very soon, however, with Samsung and LG both announcing larger high-density panels to be showcased at SID 2011 next week. From Samsung we'll be seeing its 10.1-inch 300ppi prototype LCD panel, which rakes up an astonishing resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 under the battery-friendly PenTile RGBW matrix (not to be confused with AMOLED and Super AMOLED's RGBG arrangement). What's more, Samsung also teases "commercial availability" for this technology later this year.

Things are a bit vague with LG -- no specific resolutions are mentioned in the pre-show announcement, but we're told that the company will introduce "a full line-up" of "ultra-high resolution" Advanced High Performance In-Plane Switching (AH-IPS) products, including 3.5-, 4.5-, 7-, 9.7, 55-, and 84-inch panels, with a "greater number of pixels than the PPI that can be recognized by the human eye at a typical distance" -- a proclamation typically reserved for the iPhone 4's 326ppi Retina Display. Of course, LG could be misleading here -- the 9.7-inch panel brought up in the press release could just be the exact same 1,024 x 768 IPS display on the iPad, but we'd be surprised if LG doesn't have a similarly-sized prototype to fire back at Samsung's 10.1-inch 300ppi panel. Well, keep an eye out for our SID 2011 coverage next week and we'll let you know what goodies we find.

Continue reading Samsung and LG to showcase high pixel density LCD panels for tablets at SID 2011

Samsung and LG to showcase high pixel density LCD panels for tablets at SID 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 May 2011 02:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thursday, May 12, 2011

Samsung's 64Gb toggle DDR 2.0 NAND flash memory with 400Mbps transfer rate hits production

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/12/samsungs-64gb-toggle-ddr-2-0-nand-flash-memory-with-400mbps-tra/

Get ready for it speed freaks, Samsung's toggle Double Data Rate 2.0 MLC NAND chips are now in production -- an industry first. The 64 gigabit flash chips manufactured using 20nm processes boast an impressive 400Mbps transfer rate. That makes these toggle DDR 2.0 chips about three times faster than toggle DDR 1.0 (a 133Mbps interface) or ten times faster than the 40Mbps SDR NAND flash in widespread use today. Look for 'em in future teardowns of tablets, SSDs, and smartphones.

Continue reading Samsung's 64Gb toggle DDR 2.0 NAND flash memory with 400Mbps transfer rate hits production

Samsung's 64Gb toggle DDR 2.0 NAND flash memory with 400Mbps transfer rate hits production originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 May 2011 01:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

This Isn't a PC, It's a Murderbox [Master Race]

Source: http://kotaku.com/5800755/this-isnt-a-pc-its-a-murderbox/gallery/

There are the kinds of PC that the average person can build, or buy. Then there are the kinds of extravagant PC the average person will likely never buy, but will simply dream of from afar. This is the latter.

It's called a murderbox. Horrible name, beautiful computer. Billed as "a complete, custom built liquid cooled PC", each murderbox uses the "latest hardware" and is "painstakingly assembled" by its creators.

As for specs, those are up to you. But be warned, prices start at $6000, and "depending on the amount of custom work involved" you could be looking at a PC costing nearly $20,000.

Like I said, too much for the average gamer, but if you were rich, the build quality looks like they might actually be worth the money.

The gallery above has examples of three murderboxes. The company's site is below.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 coming May 17th, with Gorilla Glass screen and spill-proof keyboard (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/11/lenovo-thinkpad-x1-coming-may-17th-with-gorilla-glass-screen-an/

Man, Lenovo isn't even trying to keep the ThinkPad X1 under wraps anymore. The slinky new MacBook Air competitor has just slipped out in a video commercial on the company's own YouTube channel, where it shows off a keyboard that's both backlit and spill-resistant, and a Gorilla Glass screen that is apparently girlfriend-proof. See the video after the break and circle May 17th as your acquisition date if you're after one -- that's when Lenovo promises the X1 will be arriving.

[Thanks, Jon]

Continue reading Lenovo ThinkPad X1 coming May 17th, with Gorilla Glass screen and spill-proof keyboard (video)

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 coming May 17th, with Gorilla Glass screen and spill-proof keyboard (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 10:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Xoom WiFi to get Android 3.1 update within the 'next several weeks'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/11/motorola-xoom-wifi-to-get-android-3-1-update-within-the-next-se/

Google said yesterday that the new limited edition Galaxy Tab 10.1 would be getting updated to Android 3.1 in the next couple of weeks, and it looks like it will be a similar situation with the WiFi-only Xoom. Motorola has just announced that it will receive the update "within the next several weeks." It also reaffirmed that the Verizon 3G Xoom is rolling out over the air this week, so you should be receiving it soon if you haven't already. Full press release is after the break.

Continue reading Motorola Xoom WiFi to get Android 3.1 update within the 'next several weeks'

Motorola Xoom WiFi to get Android 3.1 update within the 'next several weeks' originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 10:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Optimus Black review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/11/lg-optimus-black-review/

If you asked us to design our ideal Android phone, it might well end up looking like LG's Optimus Black. The handset that was once known under the codename "B" features a clean, elegant and exceedingly thin exterior, which is garnished with a 4-inch IPS display capable of generating 700 nits of brightness. There's the usual litany of added features, too, like a 5 megapixel shooter with the ability to record 720p video, a special G-Key for motion controls, and Wi-Fi Direct for peer-to-peer file transfers. Of course, looks and headline features are just the tip of the iceberg that is user experience, so if you want to know about the mountainous whole, join us after the break for a deep dive with LG's latest Android phone.

Gallery: LG Optimus Black review

Continue reading LG Optimus Black review

LG Optimus Black review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 11:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google makes Chome Web Store available worldwide, adds in-app purchases and flat five percent fee

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/11/google-makes-chome-web-store-available-worldwide-adds-in-app-pu/

Google has just announced that it's making the Chrome Web Store available to the "entire userbase of Chrome," and in 41 different languages no less, although those outside the current markets will apparently only have access to free apps initially. What's more, it's also now added in-app purchases to the mix -- which it notes developers can add to their apps with "literally one line of code" -- and it's announced that it plans to "keep it simple" by simply charging developers a flat five percent fee instead of opting for some of the more complicated fee structures out there. As for how the Web Store has been doing so far, Google revealed that there has been 17 million app installs to date, although it provided few details beyond that.

Developing... see our liveblog of Google's I/O 2011 keynote for the latest.

Gallery: Google I/O Keynote 2011 Day 2 Webstore

Google makes Chome Web Store available worldwide, adds in-app purchases and flat five percent fee originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 12:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kinect Has Finally Found Its Way Into the Women's Change Room [Video]

Source: http://kotaku.com/5800705/kinect-has-finally-found-its-way-into-the-womens-change-room

European clothing giant TopShop ran a little test in a Moscow store recently: hook a Kinect camera up to a mirror and let the ladies try on clothes without having to actually try them on.

It sounds good in theory, and in some instances looks good in theory, but its practical use is limited somewhat by the fact they're at an actual store. With change rooms available, and the clothes actually in their hands. Why see a poorly-fitting virtual representation of an outfit when you can walk ten metres and see what it looks like in the flesh?

Still, it's a neat idea!

[via TDW]

Google Music: An Island in the Cloud [Google]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5800597/google-music-an-island-in-the-cloud

The promise of Google Music is that it lets you listen to music anywhere. Aces! Except, for all the unifying promises of its online locker, Google Music does kinda the same thing as your hard drive: It isolates your songs.

It's basically the Skull Island of music services.

You know how it works: You take the music you already own and upload it to the Web where you can get at it from your phone or browser. Essentially, you're taking the island of music on your computer and dropping it in the cloud.

But it's still an island. It's still a self-contained unit. You have to manage it yourself. It won't grow unless you manually add tracks to it. There's no serendipitous discovery. No social component. No Pandora or Last.fm-style suggestions that drop tracks you've never heard before, but already love. Google isn't offering you a vast, new catalog. It's just offering to hold your shit for you.

You know what would have been a really exciting announcement? If Google announced that it was finally commoditizing music. That—not some online tune ghetto—is the next step for music services. That's the leap we need to make.

Consider NavTeq. Garmin, Magellan , Yahoo Maps, Mapquest, Lowrence, and even XM Radio all rely on the same NavTeq data set. Garmin and Magellan can set themselves apart with pricing, features and form factors, even though both use the same basic commodity to deliver what users ultimately want.

At some point in the future music services—like Rdio and Spotify and likely iTunes and God help me even fucking Rhapsody—will likely be completely commoditized. They'll all have the same catalogue, but will differentiate themselves by their discovery, sharing, interface and delivery features.

I don't want another place to simply store songs. I don't want to be isolated. I want to connect with new albums and people and artists. I don't want to just move from one island to another. I'm ready to be rescued.

*Assuming your library fits in Google or Amazon's locker. If it's too big, you're still going to have to keep some of it on that island in your desktop.

Image: Shutterstock

The First Android Tablet Built for Humans [Tablets]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5800628/the-first-amazing-android-tablet

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is amazing in two ways.

It's the first tablet that's as immaterial as the iPad 2, in form and weight and feel. (In fact, it is slightly more so, by a gram and a millimeter.) That's amazing. What's more amazing, maybe, is the fact that it's amazing.

It's not quite as rigid, not as sturdy or deliberately constructed. That's because the back is plastic, glossy and thin. And like the Motorola Xoom, it's proportioned in a way that it's really meant to be used in landscape—it's too tall, too long in portrait mode. But it's still the first Android tablet, the first non-iPad tablet to feel the way that tablets this size should feel. (It's interesting how closely this resembles an iPad in practice, but anyways.) Every millimeter, every gram counts, and in the Galaxy Tab 10.1, the math is beautiful.

More on this later. But even if it's exactly the same as the Xoom and every other Android Honeycomb in terms of power, performance, features—this is the new Android tablet to buy. Because it's the first one to feel right.

Lighting Science demos Android @ Home bulbs, promises dead-simple home automation (hands-on)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/11/lighting-science-demos-android-home-bulbs-promises-dead-simpl/

'Tis amazing what a partnership with Google can do. Unless you're a frequent patron of Home Depot, there's a slim chance you'd ever heard of Lighting Science prior to this week's opening I/O keynote. Now, said company is leading the Android @ Home charge, and based on what we learned yesterday at its booth, we're feeling better than ever about home automation's chances in the mainstream market. Company representatives noted that this Google-led mesh networking solution -- which beams out commands on the 900MHz frequency band -- is the first HA solution that's truly designed to be ultra-low-cost and easy to implement. Compared to Z-Wave and Zigbee, there's far less technical expertise needed to start automating things in your home, and there's no need to take out a second mortgage to open your garage door with your handset. Oh, and there's zero chance anything fails due to congestion on the 2.4GHz band.

We pressed the company on pricing details, and it stated that the wirelessly enabled light shown above would be priced "at parity" with the non-wireless counterpart available today. At last check, that puts a single bulb at around $30. In order to make these kinds of devices compatible with existing Android phones and tablets, a couple of WiFi-to-900MHz adapters will be available. From Lighting Science alone, you'll soon see a light switch, security lamp and a regular wall wart on sale to handle the transfers. In other words, you can pick up a dirt-cheap plug, toss it in your guest room, and immediately give your Nexus One the ability to dictate Android @ Home products. Not too shabby, but what does this mean for the broader industry?

Gallery: Lighting Science demos Android @ Home bulbs: hands-on at Google I/O

Continue reading Lighting Science demos Android @ Home bulbs, promises dead-simple home automation (hands-on)

Lighting Science demos Android @ Home bulbs, promises dead-simple home automation (hands-on) originally appeared on ! Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 06:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Charlotte Motor Speedway, Panasonic flip the switch on the world's largest HD screen

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/11/charlotte-motor-speedway-panasonic-flip-the-switch-on-the-world/

Charlotte Motor Speedway and Panasonic held an event yesterday to celebrate the completion of the new world's largest HD screen, which measures at 16,000 square feet (200 feet wide and 80 feet tall). Of course, the only natural thing to do when face with a screen this size is to play videogames on it, and CMS got very meta by bringing out NASCAR driver and simulation racing fan Dale Earnhardt Jr. to turn a few laps on the track in iRacing on the brand new display. The 720p display, located on the backstretch, is big enough for fans seated along the front stretch of the track between turn four and turn one to have a clear view of replays, standings and stats all the way across the track. Its official debut will take place May 21st during the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and will also take a turn as a massive HDTV airing clips of Top Gear USA during a History Channel sponsored race the week after. You can see the videogame rig, screen and ceremonial oversized remote above while video of them actually playing is available at the source link.

[Thanks, Jeffery]

Charlotte Motor Speedway, Panasonic flip the switch on the world's largest HD screen originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 08:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft's Rock and Rails touchscreen lets you massage your photos with both hands

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/11/microsofts-rock-and-rails-touchscreen-lets-you-massage-your-pho/

If you ever get tired of poking away at your smartphone's screen like a doorbell, you're not alone. The forward-looking folks over at Microsoft Research have been working away at a new touchscreen system designed pick up on more natural, whole-hand movements, effectively allowing users to break free from the finger-based paradigm that governs most tactile devices. Developed in coordination with engineers at Microsoft Surface, the company's Rock and Rails interface can detect three basic hand gestures: a balled fist, which holds items on the screen, an extended hand that can align objects (see the cell marked "d," on the right) and a curved paw, around which users can pivot images (see cell b). This taxonomy opens up new ways for users to crop, re-size or generally play around with their UI elements, though it remains unclear whether the display will trickle down to the consumer level anytime soon. For now, it appears to operate exclusively on the Surface, but more details should surface when the system's developers release a paper on their project, later this year. Hit the source links to see a video of the thing in action.

Microsoft's Rock and Rails touchscreen lets you massage your photos with both hands originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 00:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

CrunchGear | source

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Microsoft Research (1), (2) | Email this | Comments

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