by Donald Melanson, posted Aug 18th 2008 at 11:17AM The HTC Dream may have already cleared the FCC, but at least one analyst that has actually seen the very first Android-based device, Moe Tanabian of IBB Consulting, says that it will only be hitting stores around Thanksgiving in November, and not September or October as many were expecting. He also says that its “unclear” whether the phone will support Microsoft Exchange or not (at least right out of the gate), and that users may have to rely on Gmail if they want to receive push email. Among other tidbits, he also confirms that the device will have access to T-Mobile’s own App Store-like service, and that it’ll come with Google’s advertising software pre-installed, which he says could not only lower the cost of the phone, but allow for lower monthly service fees as well. (Read the full post about ‘Analyst says first Android phone will ship in November, possibly without Exchange’…)
Hang around computers enough, and you’ll certainly have heard rattling coming from a computer (or laptop). Sometimes that is because of vibration caused by the PC, which rattles against the table. These Nexus Dampers aim to stop this kind of irritating noise by providing some rubber boots for your computer or laptop, which essentially absorbs the vibrations. The added benefit of this is that it raises your laptop or PC a little, which in turn gives it better airflow for cooling. Tags: gps, tech, lcd, pvr (Read the full post about ‘Nexus Dampers To Quiet Things Down’…)
Nervian has announced its new CardReader Pro that is meant to be integrated with your Mac Pro and PowerMac G5 case without causing any disruption in the flow of design. It takes just three steps to install it, where you have a choice of slipping it under the upper or lower handle of the Mac Pro/PowerMac G5 case. It will remain in place securely thanks to a special latch mechanism, and is connected to the computer via a USB 2.0 cable. It will support up to 52 different formats, including the newer SDHC standard. You will be able to pick up the CardReader Pro from Nervian this October in either black or white colors. (Read the full post about ‘Nervian CardReader Pro’…)
Earlier this week we reported on how ISPs in Italy had been told to start blocking access to the bittorrent tracker site The Pirate Bay (TPB). They did as they were told, but TPB fought back, creating a new domain and working hard to make blocking the service very difficult for the ISPs.
One thing the people/organizations involved in pushing for the block probably didn’t expect though, was that the popularity of TPB would actually increase once the block was imposed.
(Read the full post about ‘The Pirate Bay is more popular in Italy after ban’…)
Canon is a household name when it coems to printers, and this time round we have a couple of those on parade for the masses - the PIXMAP MP480 and the PIXMA MP190. Both of these will fall under the all-in-one fold, featuring printing, scanning and copying functionality as well as interesting and practical features such as a new Auto Scan Mode that detects the type of document being scanned – Photo, Post Card, Business Card, Magazine, Newspaper, Document – and is smart enough to crop and save files to PDF or JPEG format based on image type automatically. That surely takes out a whole lot of guesswork, and you don’t have to tear your hair out in frustration as you try to teach your aged dad or mom on the finer points in scanning along with the plethora of settings most scanning software comes with. (Read the full post about ‘Canon rolls out next generation photo printers’…)
During the Flash Memory Summit, held last week in California, a rumor gathered pace that Seagate is about to pounce and acquire SanDisk.
The rumor varied from Seagate just wanting SanDisk’s SSD division to going after the entire company. Some even suggested such a move would be bad for both companies. Both Seagate and SanDisk are either refusing to comment or not responding to correspondence regarding the issue.
Back in June Seagate CEO Bill Watkins confirmed the storage company is moving into the SSD market, initially focusing on business customers.
(Read the full post about ‘Is Seagate about to buy SanDisk?’…)
by Thomas Ricker, posted Aug 18th 2008 at 4:45AM HP just unveiled a pair of rugged (MIL-STD 810F tested for dust, altitude, and high temperature) Centrino 2 12-inchers with the launch of its 2530p laptop and 2730p tablet. The 2730p bests the HP 2710p launched last year with the inclusion of a touchpad and new jog-dial along the side for use when the tablet is in slate mode. HP is also offering improved ULV (up to 1.2GHz) and LV (up to 1.86GHz) Core 2 Duo processor options and faster, 1.8-inch 5400RPM hard drive (up to 120GB), 80GB SSD, and Qualcomm’s Gobi dual EV-DO / HSPA wireless option for near-complete WWAN support globally. (Read the full post about ‘HP’s rugged EliteBook 2730p tablet and 2530p laptop for suits and Gobi squares’…)
by Thomas Ricker, posted Aug 18th 2008 at 5:08AM Well, there it is, the Lenovo IdeaPad U8 launched official at the Beijing games just as we expected. With the launch come the final specs for this Asia-only MID we’ve seen incubating now for months: 4.8-inch touchscreen; the latest, sub-3 watt processor from Intel (uh hem, that’d be a Silverthorn-class Atom); 350-grams and 21 x 173 x 84-mm; up to 2GB memory and 6GB flash storage; dual-cameras; support for China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting (CMMB) digital television via that protruding USB dongle; and 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, EDGE data and China-specific TD-SCDMA 3G, presumably. Expect to see it trotted out tomorrow as Intel’s San Francisco IDF gets underway — with any luck, (Read the full post about ‘Lenovo’s IdeaPad U8 makes official Olympics debut’…)
No, it’s not a predictor of impending quakes, but the GraGraph will sound an alert and tell you how large the earthquake is on the Richter scale (anywhere from 3 to 10). Hopefully, you’ll never have to use it, so for that reason, it has a built-in LCD clock, alarm and night-light! The GraGraph will also record prior seismic activity. It runs on 4 AA batteries. This is a Japanese product, but you can snag one from an importer of Japanese products. Gimme! (Read the full post about ‘GraGraph home earthquake meter’…)
by Thomas Ricker, posted Aug 18th 2008 at 1:33AM Oh Toshiba, has it really come to this? After a humiliating loss to Blu-ray, Tosh just unveiled its new $150 XD-E500 DVD player. It’s no run o’ the mill DVD player mind you, this unit touts Toshiba’s new eXtended Detail Enhancement (XDE) technology — that super-duper resolution upconverting tech meant to fill the void between ubiquitous upconverting players and Blu-ray. Unfortunately, the player demonstrated offered just “subtle but noticeable sharpening of the image” when compared side-by-side (in a controlled demonstration) with an unnamed $70 upscaler — to its credit, Tosh did not try to compare its new player with an HD-capable Blu-ray machine. (Read the full post about ‘Toshiba stubbornly launches the un-Blu-ray, XD-E500 DVD player’…)
