News Archive for 08/08/21
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Canon's Chinese branch has leaked details for the EOS 50D, the latest in the company's sport and high-speed photography camera line, offering user anti-shake technology in the camera hardware, among other features. The new model is based around 15.4 Megapixel DIGIC 4 sensor, but experiences a miniscule drop in framerate (6.3 frames per second, versus a former 6.5). Light sensitivity should also be enhanced, running from ISO 100 to an extremely high ISO 12800, while the 50D's buffer is able to store up to 16 RAW images, or 60 JPEGs.
AT&T on Thursday announced the launch of ConnecTech, a tech support program that attempts to cover a broader base of in-home needs. Services such as home theater or TV equipment installation, PC or home network set-up, and a broad range of repair services are now offered, even for non-AT&T customers. Support can be obtained over the phone or in home, AT&T claims next day installation seven days a week.
Kodak on Thursday pushed the cost of digital photo frames down slightly courtesy of the EasyShare P520. While small with just a five-inch 4:3 screen, the photo screen has the American camera maker's touch-sensitive border controls for changing settings without dirtying the screen. It also permits swappable borders to match the look of a given home with a less artificial look than some devices.
Multimedia player and navigation device maker Viliv unveiled a couple of interesting portable consumer devices at the Intel Development Forum this week, including the S7 UMPC and S5 Mobile Internet Device (MID). The 7-inch S7 features a swiveling touch screen with a resolution of 1,024x600 resolution and packs Intel's Atom processor in either 1.3GHz, 1.6GHz or 1.86GHz guises along with 1GB of RAM memory. The specs get even better, as Viliv promises a choice of 30GB or 60GB hard disk drives, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR support, with a battery life rated at over eight hours.
Australia-based Fusion electronics announced it will soon release its CA-1P500 automotive head unit that is unique thanks to its internal iPod docking station. The head unit's faceplate tilts open to reveal an open space that will house the iPod touch, fifth- and sixth-generation iPod classic as well as the second and third-generation iPod nano. Users will be able to control their tucked-away iPod via the head unit's controls and view current artist and track information on the head unit's OLED display while their portable music players are charged.
Kodak has placed an order with Chi Mei EL (CMEL) for 7.6-inch OLED displays for use in the company's digital photo frames, according to today's report. CMEL specializes in manufacturing OLED panels and is owned by LCD maker Chi Mei Optoelectronics. The supplier is expected to start production of the 7.6-inch panels in September and ship them to Kodak in time for sale during the holiday shopping season.
New York-based Peek will launch a mobile device that will act as a sort of modern-day pager with the ability to send and receive emails exclusively. Peek will partner with T-Mobile to provide the data service to deliver and send emails via Gmail, Yahoo mail, AOL and other popular email services. The email device will sport a full QWERTY keyboard, but not bring with it any other features users have come to expect from cell and smart phones, such as a web browser, digital camera, text messaging or music support.
Chipmaker Intel has made an important step forward in its development of wireless charging technology, increasing the efficiency of the system, according to a Thursday report. The technology involves a magnetic field emitted by a desktop counter, which can then send 60 watts of power up to two or three feet, using 25 percent of the energy in the process.
Newertech today announced new additions to its line of computer accessories, and lower prices on some of its established products. New items include NuPower iBook batteries; a 4400mAh battery for PowerBooks, said to boost capacity by 37 percent over its OEM counterpart; and a 4400mAh version for the 14-inch iBook G3, which boosts lifespan by 18 percent.
Planar on Thursday announced it is now shipping its first 3-chip HD projector based on DLP technology. Called Viper, the projector features a 1,280x720 native resolution and can throw up images in excess of 110 inches. It was designed with custom home theater applications in mind and uses one of Texas Instruments' higher-end DLP chipsets.
At the Intel Developer Forum late on Wednesday, Intel showed off its newest Classmate PC, which is due to complement and not necessarily replace the company's current educational notebook. Unlike the current offering, the new Atom-powered notebook will feature a touch-screen that allows it to be used as a tablet. The PC will compete with the upcoming dual touch screen educational notebook from OLPC, though it will beat it to market by at least one year.
Microsoft's rumored Xbox Live Starter Pack has already turned up through a flyer advertising the bundle to guests at this week's Leipzig Games Convention, including members of NeoGAF's community. The pack is as predicted in earlier leaks and would include the 60GB hard drive otherwise available only with the new Xbox 360 Pro, an Xbox Live wired headset, and a three-month pass for Xbox Live Gold.
ASUS is gearing up for a new netbook that would borrow some aspects of larger notebooks, say alleged contacts in the distribution chain for the company's native Taiwan. The N series would have a 10.2-inch LCD like the Eee PC 1000 or the upscale S101 and would still use an Intel Atom processor, but would be capable of running Windows Vista and carry up to a 320GB hard drive versus the 80GB maximum of most netbooks.
T-Mobile is planning to escalate its competition significantly in November with not just its primarily iPhone rival the HTC Dream but also two other devices, a release schedule leak at TmoNews shows. The carrier is now believed to be picking up Motorola's ZINE ZN5 on November 3rd as one of its best camera phones, with a Kodak co-designed five-megapixel camera. It will lack support for T-Mobile's 3G but will have Wi-Fi for faster short range access. No word has been given as to whether it would support the provider's HotSpot@Home VoIP calling feature.
Toshiba Matsushita Display (TMD) and Idemitsu Kosan say they have devised a new form of screen, one which could substantially improve the performance of cellphone displays. The technology is based on an OLED variant called SMOLED -- Small-Molecule Organic LED -- and in a sample, 2.2-inch QVGA screen, consumes an average of just 100mW of power. Its luminosity half-life is meanwhile rated at 60,000 hours, close to seven years of continuous operation, or 30 times longer than previous TMD designs.
Newcomer American firm OpenPeak is developing a home phone system that would take many of the design principles of the iPhone to fixed lines, according to a scoop at Wired. The OpenFrame would revolve around a large, portrait-style touchscreen display with some phone functionality built-in but which will also have support for extra functions both out of the box and through third-party apps.
Samsung's newest Blu-ray player, the BD-P2550, seems to have gone straight from the electronics manufacturer to store shelves, skipping the pre-release news stage often associated with upcoming consumer electronics. The BD-P2550 can be currently purchased via Best Buy's web store, and sports features such as Ethernet and USB 2.0 ports for firmware upgrades and connection of other devices, respectively. The former will let users to download the BD-Live update when it becomes available, enabling them to download the latest BonusView content such as new movie previews and special features.
Rogers today became the first carrier in North America to ship the BlackBerry Bold, RIM's first smartphone to ship with 3G for GSM-based phone networks. Apart from using the faster HSDPA connection to download apps from a Rogers portal, the Canadian edition of the handset follows the reference model closely and centers around a much sharper 480x320 LCD as well as GPS, Wi-Fi, 1GB of permanent, lockable onboard storage and a two-megapixel camera with flash and video capture.
Bose on Thursday introduced the second generation of its SoundDock digital music system, the Series II, that becomes the first Works with iPhone-certified product from the company. While the new SoundDock looks only slightly different from the original, it features added functionality and will support both the original iPhone and iPhone 3G without requiring that they use Airplane Mode. A new auxiliary input will allow users to connect other MP3 and CD players as well as music phones to the updated SoundDock.
Apple has been exploring the possibility of adding external Serial ATA (eSATA) to its Mac lineup through a unique method, the company has revealed through a newly published patent filing. The application both references adding the format to a computer for outside storage but also the possibility of an outside computer accessing this storage through a switching mechanism; holding a key on startup or toggling a hardware control on the host computer would start up a low-power mode that makes its internal storage available as though it were external drive attached to the other system.
Logitech started Thursday by introducing the Speed Force Wireless, a wheel controller it boasts as the first to support force feedback on Nintendo's Wii console. The feature is officially sanctioned by Nintendo and will first see use in EA's Need for Speed Undercover, which will rumble the wheel based on road conditions and other in-game events. More games should support the feature soon, Logitech promises.
Sony Ericsson today broke newer ground with the launch of the TM506, the company's first ever cellphone for T-Mobile's US branch. The clamshell is pitched as a fashion device but is also one of T-Mobile's few 3G phones, supporting faster UMTS data speeds and better call quality over the 1,700MHz band. Faster-still HSDPA access is also promised, though whether this applies to T-Mobile's network or only on the 2,100MHz band is unknown.
A new flyer spotted late Wednesday by Joystiq readers suggests Microsoft will slash prices for all its Xbox 360 consoles by $50 or more. Electronics retailer Radio Shack's September 7th flyer is now listing the Xbox 360 Elite for $400, or $50 below its official price today; the just-introduced 60GB Xbox 360 Pro will already be taking a price cut to $300, while the Xbox 360 Arcade would be the first current-generation console to drop below $250 and would sell for $200.
Microsoft is enlisting celebrity talent and its own co-founder to kick off a campaign to mend Windows Vista's reputation, the Wall Street Journal said Thursday. The newspaper claims to know insiders who say the company has paid Jerry Seinfeld $10 million to appear alongside Bill Gates in Microsoft's widely publicized "edgy" TV ad campaign and will allegedly stress the concept of "Windows not Walls," removing barriers to communication with the operating system.
Microsoft on Wednesday unveiled a new technology for viewing and relating photographs called Photosynth, offering users a three-dimensional, 360-degree view of almost any environment. Microsoft claims the software provides users with the ability to share "the places and things [they] love using the cinematic quality of a movie, the control of a video game, and the mind-blowing detail of the real world."
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