News Archive for 09/04/08
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The yet-unannounced sequel to the LG Viewty, the GC900, could be scheduled to arrive first in the UK via Orange, according to a rumor posted on Omio. The information allegedly comes from the Q2 release schedule for Orange UK, which indicates that the device will launch sometime in June. The same source suggests the Samsung 'Preston' and LG GW520 'Calisto' will launch around the same time.
Active Storage has announced the XRAID ES, a RAID storage system for Mac OS X that is available with 4TB and 16TB capacities. The device offers data transfer speeds of up to 744MBps using the RAID 5 configurations. Redundant power supplies, cooling systems and Fibre Channel connections are designed to prevent complete system failure if a single component malfunctions.
Comcast is set to launch an "enhanced cordless phone" that will offer e-mail, voice-mail, basic web access and a universal address book, according to Cable Digital News. The advanced functionality will be provided in conjunction with the company's VoIP services, using a new Docsis/PacketCable-powered multimedia terminal adapter (E-MTA) to provide the IP-based digital interface to compatible handsets.
Barnes & Noble is allegedly working on an e-book reader to compete with products such as Amazon's Kindle, according to TheStreet.com. If true, the device could provide the company with fresh entry into the expanding market for specialized products with integrated wireless connectivity. The unnamed insider claimed the bookstore chain has decided to partner with Sprint, after unsuccessful attempts at talks with Verizon.
Today's deals at DealNN include a wide range of storage devices. Amazon.com's Gold Box deal of the day for today features the Seagate Barracuda 1TB SATA bulk hard drive priced at $79.99. That's a price drop of $100 off the original price and it includes FREE shipping. Make it an external hard drive with the Startech InfoSafe USB SATA HDD enclosure priced at $31.24 with FREE shipping at Buy.com.
A new handset built by Sharp has shown up for testing on the FCC website and is expected to be the previously leaked 2009 Sidekick LX. Other hints that point to this include the Danger logo being present on the FCC label, and the device's support of the 1,700MHz AWS spectrum, or the same band T-Mobile uses for its 3G network. T-Mobile is the carrier of previous Sidekick models.
The HTC Snap smartphone, which was being shown off at the CTIA expo last week, will be coming to T-Mobile and is internally known as Captain to T-Mobile users, an examination of the firmware reveals, according to a recent WMExperts report. Also, the handset's model number is S522, and the shipping firmware does not contain code for the Inner Circle feature. Inner Circle would essentially be an integrated application that would filter out e-mails from a list of pre-selected "favorite" contacts, bringing them to the top of the list in a user's inbox.
Samsung recently announced the upcoming release of its latest dual-SIM handset, the B5702. The quad-band handset can be used worldwide and has a dedicated LED light to indicate which of the two SIMs an incoming call is directed towards. Users can also customize ringtones, screensavers and themes dedicated to each SIM. A shortcut key on the side of the phone lets users switch from one SIM to the other without rebooting the phone.
Wireless provider US Cellular is soon due to get a number of handsets added to its range, including the HTC Touch Pro and BlackBerry 8230 Pearl Flip smartphones as well a number of more mainstream models. The Touch Pro, which is currently available at Sprint and Verizon, will be released on Friday, April 17th, according to a Wednesday PhoneArena report. It features a 2.8-inch touchscreen, 3.2-megapixel camera and sliding QWERTY keyboard, as well as Windows Mobile 6.1.
British cellular carriers O2 and Vodafone are being asked by the government to share their 3G spectrum as part of an effort to supply rural broadband. Although the two providers are currently the exclusive holders of the 900MHz band for faster wireless data, officials at the independent regulator Ofcom are asking the two to allow at least one other carrier to share the space and build out coverage in those areas that aren't already served.
Cox Communications' upcoming cellular network may have an app store not unlike Apple's for the iPhone, the cable provider's wireless VP Stephen Bye said yesterday. He cautions that nothing is definitive but tells the Wall Street Journal that Cox is considering a central store for software to avoid a "comparative disadvantage" versus the iPhone and other phones and networks with simple, recognizable locations for software. Unofficially, the company is understood to already be tapping mPortal to develop such a store.
Corsair is set to release an ultra-fast 256GB solid state drive, according to a Tuesday HotHardWare report. The move would effectively double the company's current number of SSD offerings and would share Samsung technology. The new SSD has a new controller, however, and and integrated 64MB of cache that improves performance significantly. When the new SSD arrives in stores, it is likely to be called P256, and will sport a SATA 3.0Gbps interface and be housed in a heavy-duty aluminum enclosure.
People should not expect to find Android on Acer netbooks in the near future, executives from the latter company have stated. While HP is known to be testing Android for netbooks, and ASUS and Dell are rumored to be interested, Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci argues that the software is not yet suited to netbook functions. "Android in my opinion is for communications," says Lanci. "And Windows comes at the market from the computing side. An ideal solution would offer both. So right now we are using Android for our smartphone, and we are testing it on our netbooks. But I think everybody in the industry is testing Android on netbooks."
Super Talent says it has become the first solid state drive manufacturer to actually release a solid-state drive with a 512GB capacity with a model in its 2.5-inch MasterDrive RX series. The largest capacity model is only available in a multi-level cell (MLC) chip, with a 230Mbps read speed and 160Mbps sequential write speed. Two other MLC SSDs make up the range available, in smaller 256GB and 128GB capacities. Models with 128GB and 256GB of storage will also soon become available in longer-lasting and faster (200Mbps write speed) single-level cell (SLC) flash memory arrangements. All five have internal RAID controllers.
iPhones running the OS 3.0 update and the Palm Pre are both likely to spur the next wave of smartphone sales in the next three months, according to a new ChangeWave study. Of those looking to buy a device in the 90 days following the March survey, iPhone demand is technically remaining flat at 30 percent; however, about 20 percent of the total group said they would be more likely to buy an iPhone now that iPhone OS 3.0's features are public.
At the same time as it announced the Aspire One 11.6-inch netbook on Tuesday, Acer also said it would soon release the 13.3-inch Acer Aspire 3935 notebook, the 15.6-inch Aspire 5935 and 18.4-inch Aspire 8935. The ultra-portable 3935 will be less than one-inch thick and available only in a golden brown color. To make typing easier and more comfortable, Acer gives the Aspire 3935 the same larger "chiclet" keyboard as the Timeline, along with touch-sensitive shortcut keys. Like in the Aspire One and Timeline, the 3935 has a multi-touch trackpad for pinch and other gestures.
RIM's BlackBerry Storm sequel may unveil a significantly different input scheme, a Dutch spokesman for the company has said in an interview today. Responding to criticisms of the Storm's current typing method, RIM's Alain Segond von Banchet says the next Storm will use a different method for input.
Acer on Wednesday announced the newest addition to its Aspire One netbook range with an 11.6-inch version. Apart from the new size, what differentiates the new model from existing ones is its soft-touch keyboard, 1-inch thickness and multi-gesture touchpad. The latter lets users leaf through pages by swiping their finger and zoom into pages by pinching their fingers while in contact with the touchpad.
Mitsubishi this morning overhauled its high-end HDTVs with several new models in two categores. The Home Theater line has been updated with the 737 and 837 series; the DLPs introduce a new extra-thin bezel and now support 3D for movies and eventual TV shows that can address the format. They also now scale up to a large 82 inches and have improved image processing, including a more advanced video calibration mode for those refining high-end home theaters.
ViewSonic has recently and quietly announced it has added the VG2427 to its range of LCD monitors. The 24-inch panel has a 1920x1080 native resolution in a 16:9 aspect ratio and sports a 20,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio as well as 300cd/m2 brightness. Its stand swivels and is height-adjustable, while two hidden stereo speakers and a pair of USB ports are built-in.
OCZ has swung its attention towards Macs by launching storage and memory specifically geared towards iMacs, MacBooks and Mac minis. The Vertex Series Mac Edition is specifically validated in Apple's testing centers to work in the MacBook and MacBook Pro and provides much faster speeds than the stock rotating hard disks, reading data at 240MB per second and writing it at up to 170MB per second (100MB sustained). OCZ vows not only faster load times but also the improved battery life and impact resistance inherent to most SSDs.
Acer has launched itself into direct contention against systems like the MacBook Air and ThinkPad X301 with the release of the Timeline series. The notebooks have screens at 13.3, 14 and 15.6 inches but use ultra low-voltage Core 2 Duo and Solo processors to keep the systems light and, combined with LED-backlit displays, extend their battery life well past other designs. Acer's smallest system weighs just 3.5 pounds, and battery life measures as much as 10 hours with an optional 80GB solid-state drive; even with a rotating hard drive, systems still net as much as 8 hours.
The various components that will go into the 2009 iPhone are reportedly being shipped for assembly. The Taiwan-area newspaper Commercial Times claims that multiple suppliers are sending their parts off for the widely assumed June launch and that shipments of iPhones themselves could range between 2-3 million in the quarter following Apple's launch; it's implied that some of these may include old models being cleared out.
Intel at its Developer Forum in Beijing today demonstrated the first public example of Moorestown, its next major update to the Atom processor. The first practical version is described as about 10 times more power-efficient than today's Atom chips courtesy of a smaller 45nm manufacturing process, power management and other optimizations. At the same time, the design is also smaller thanks to building in both the graphics and memory controllers into the main core while leaving just input and output to a second chip.
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