News Archive for 08/04/28
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Nokia's "Comes With Music" program, offering those who purchase Nokia phones nearly unlimited free access to a large music database, could cost the company more than it would make. The Register writes that Nokia would be responsible for footing the bill for downloads that exceed the estimated limit of 35 songs per user, charged wholesale per unit. The move reportedly pressured Ed Averdieck, former Managing Director of Nokia Music, to leave his position.
Late last week, Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer
Novelty TV maker HANNSpree announced the launch of its Starlight Blue 15-inch LCD TV on Monday. The TV's design theme is a night sky, with a sparkled blue surround that curves out to form points meant to mimic a crescent moon. The TV's stand is likewise uniquely styled, resembling a planet's orbiting rings. The display's resolution is rated at 1024x768 pixels, with a 500cd/m2 brightness and 500:1 contrast ratio. Video is clear up to 150 degrees off center in the horizontal plane and 135 degrees in the vertical.
The music site Project Playlist has been hit with a lawsuit filed by the record industry, Reuters reports. Some nine labels, including companies owned by Warner, EMI and Universal, have filed suit in the US District Court of Manhattan, accusing the site of numerous copyright infringements. The site lets users search for songs and create streaming playlists, in a much more targeted fashion than services such Pandora or Last.fm; the site does not, however, have a license for any of the content it offers, even though it makes money on advertising.
The 3.06GHz processor and fellow chips in Apple's new iMacs are part of a special run of Intel's existing technology rather than an early introduction of Centrino 2 technology, Intel has confirmed with Electronista. Although the processors match the same core clock rates and 1,066MHz system bus speeds as those for the upcoming platform, the processors are now known to be unlisted speed grades that include special support for the faster bus speeds (up from 800MHz).
The WiMAX Edition of Nokia's N810 Internet tablet may already have a price, an online listing suggests. Retailer Buy.com is selling the system for a price of $456, a reduction from a supposed list price of $479. Nokia has not formally announced the cost of the N810 WiMAX, and has in fact declined to assign a release date beyond a rough estimate of "summer." This is meant to coincide with the official launch of Sprint's Xohm WiMAX service.
Entry-level camera maker DXG today introduced one of the least-expensive HD-capable camcorders on the market. The DXG-569V is capable of recording a full-speed, 720p (1280x720) picture and uses a similar H.264 encoding technique, letting users edit videos directly in newer video editing tools or upload videos to YouTube without having to first change video formats. The camera primarily trims costs by dropping optical zoom in favor of a 2X digital zoom with LED flash for focus.
Netgear has debuted a new series of small form-factor, 6-bay network attached storage (NAS) devices under the ReadyNAS nameskae. They include 1.5TB, 3TB and TB offerings, delivering centralized network storage to up to 200 users. The devices support RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, and auto-expandable X-RAID2. They also feature dual redundant Gigabit Ethernet ports for failover protection. The ReadyNAS Pro products support up to six SATA I or SATA II hard drives via six lockable, hot-swappable disk trays. Three USB 2.0 ports enable the connection of USB drives or printers.
In spite of attempts to blur distinctions, BlackBerry and iPhone owners are still fundamentally opposed when it comes to what they like about their phones, according to new research from ChangeWave. Research in Motion's attempts to focus on media functions with the Curve and Pearl have still resulted in most customers preferring the phones for e-mail, with 56 percent of users citing BlackBerry line's signature "push" mail as their primary desire. Nearly all other features were distant concerns, with ease of use, the keyboard, and size all cited by less than 10 percent of the responding group.
T-Mobile will carry two new Sidekick messaging phones this summer, according to an apparent leak from TmoNews. Danger and at least one of its partners will release a mystery device nicknamed the "Gekko" on July 27th; a second known as the "Aspen" will follow shortly afterwards on the 30th. Details of the devices are unknown, though the possibility exists that the phones will either be special editions of existing models with new artwork in addition to possible replacement models.
Verizon is claiming to have had extremely healthy financial results in its first quarter, despite intense competition and a failing American economy. Total revenues increased 5.5 percent to $23.8 billion, while operating income went up 14.1 percent to $4.3 billion. The company notably claims that its Wireless division gained more customers than any of its rivals, at a net increase of 1.5 million; this is despite the threat posed by Sprint's Simply Everything plan, and the iPhone carried by AT&T.
Early supercomputer developer Cray said today that it was working with Intel for mutual help on advancing supercomputers. The teamwork will see Cray help Intel develop the technology for clusters as well as to improve the in-processor technology, such as newer generations of multi-core processors. In return, Cray will make its first use Intel's processors for its own supercomputers, replacing AMD Opterons and more specialized supercomputer chips.
AMD on Monday announced it will be adding Business Class platforms to its line-up of multi-core CPUs. The maker's dual-core Athlon and triple or quad-core Phenom CPUs, coupled with AMD 780V chipset and optional ATI Radeon integrated graphics support are featured in the Business Class. The benefits of the new platforms will include up to 24-month image stability when installed in first-issue desktops, and a minimum 12 months in subsequent models. Furthermore, all are energy efficient thanks to Energy Star 4.0 rating.
A German accessory maker, Fanatec, says it has developed a new gaming wheel in collaboration with the country's most famous sports car builder, Porsche. The 911 Turbo Wheel is based on Porsche's most popular vehicle, and includes not just a wheel but a 6+1 gearshift, along with gas, brake and clutch pedals. Force feedback is provided by three different motors, and the wheel's handle is covered in "automotive-grade" leather.
Japanese electronics maker Planex today launched a pair of networked hard drives it says streamline loading web video on portable players. The DigiJuke 500GB and 1TB both include facilities to download clips from YouTube or similar Flash videos directly to the drive and convert them into "universal" video. Although the conversion software is built for Windows, clips are saved in MPEG-4 and will play properly on video-capable iPods as well as the PSP, PS3, and the Wii.
HP on Monday added two new desktop PCs for business users to its range, with the Compaq dc5850 and Compaq dx2450. The two are some of the first HP PCs to use AMD's triple- and quad-core Phenom X3 processors. The latter is the value-oriented offering, and can be configured with a choice of AMD processors, ranging from the 2.1GHz Sempron, through the 2.8GHz Athlon and to the 2.5GHz Phenom. Four memory slots allow for expansion up to 4GB while NVIDIA and ATI graphics cards are offered as options. Operating systems are Windows offerings that include a range of Vista and XP Professional interfaces, as well as FreeDOS.
ASUS is enjoying enough success with its Eee PC line that it's considering marketing the micro systems under a separate brand, according to claims circulating in its home country of Taiwan. The company's plans to launch the E-DT desktop and monitor as well as an Eee TV reportedly has the company looking to drop the ASUS name from the systems to create a whole lineup. Moving to a separate name would let the company expand the Eee name to include more expensive systems without affecting the normal ASUS line.
NVIDIA has opted for a low-key release today in its unveiling for the GeForce 9600 GSO, a new entry-to-mid range video chipset. The card uses the same single-slot design and chip features of the 9600 GT but scales down both clock speed and the memory path to trim the price. The GSO runs its core at 550MHz (down from 650MHz) and its 384MB of memory at an effective 1.6GHz (down from the 1.8GHz of the GT's 512MB of memory). A 192-bit memory interface also shrinks the complexity of the chip from its 256-bit counterpart.
Memorex on Monday launched a visual redesign of its MMP media player line that introduces a much simpler interface as well as a new form factor. The Clip & Play (pictured) aims at the same audience as the iPod shuffle or Sansa Clip and comes in a very small, squarish design that can be hooked to a shirt edge or belt during exercise. Despite the size, Memorex finds room for a two-line OLED screen that itself allows extra features such as an equalizer and an FM radio tuner. The jukebox plays MP3 and WMA for up to 10 hours on a charge and sells for $50 with 2GB of built-in flash.
On the fifth anniversary of iTunes, Apple Monday morning introduced a major performance upgrade to the iMac that marks the first refresh since the aluminum design was introduced in August of last year. Every system uses Core 2 Duo processors based on Intel's new 45 nanometer Penryn architecture and in many cases go beyond Intel's maximum speeds: all models include a 1,066MHz system bus that is still unavailable on any official mobile Core 2 chip, and the top-end model runs at 3.06GHz. All additionally include a larger 6MB of Level 2 cache, while an optional GeForce 8800 GS provides faster 3D for gaming on the 24-inch models.
Nokia this morning stepped out of its routine to launch three new minimalist cellphones that target the new mid-range. The 6600 fold has some of the company's most advanced displays and centers around a hidden screen on the outer shell: while the surface appears blank, double-tapping the shell lets users check for the time or missed calls. Inside is one of Nokia's first OLEDs which provides a full 16 million color palette. Like the 3555 and 6555, the clamshell creates a seamless back which is reportedly more comfortable than on traditional flip phones.
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