News Archive for 09/09/23
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iRiver has set a local price for its e-book reader, the Story, which is now available to pre-order for Korean buyers. The device carries a price of 358,000 KRW (~290 USD) directly from the company. The package includes a 2GB SD card, folding case, and two free book downloads.
Nintendo this evening confirmed repeated leaks by formally detailing its price cut for the Wii. The console's regular price will fall from $250 to $200 as of September 27th. The box will continue to include the regular bundle of the system, a Wii remote, a nunchuk and Wii Sports.
A handful of images have leaked of what are widely believed to be the first Microsoft-branded phones. The renderings slipped out by Gizmodo appear to confirm the Turtle, a vertical QWERTY slider that also appears to have a touchscreen, as well as the Pure, a more conventional touchscreen with a side-sliding keyboard. Both have a very rounded design influenced by Sidekick creator Danger, which Microsoft bought out last year, and an interface mockup that borrows heavily from the visual style of the Zune HD.
Jabra on Wednesday published a teaser site for its upcoming Stone headset. The animation shows what appears to be a headset that docks flush with its charger, creating the appearance of a pebble. Although the device is obscured in the official teaser, Gizmodo posted several alleged photos of the headset removed from the dock.
Three custom-order PC builders today became some of the earliest to pick up AMD's ATI Radeon HD 5800 series as a video option. CyberPower has added the option to three of its systems and will see the Core i5-based Xtreme 4200 and Phenom II-based Gamer Dragon 9500 come with a Radeon HD 5850 as standard while the Core i7-founded will ship with a Radeon HD 5870. Prices start from $927 for the Gamer Dagon and mode up to $999 and $1,393 for the Xtreme 4200 and 5200 respectively.
Microsoft and i4i are once again squaring off in court in their ongoing legal battle over a patent regarding custom XML used in Microsoft Word is continuing, with both sides confident of their eventual victory. At a recent appeal, i4i made a statement that said Microsoft used the same arguments it has made unsuccessfully at the original trial.
Quickly following the UK release, Toshiba has brought out an American version of the Qosmio X500. The 18.4-inch desktop replacement notebook is the PC builder's first to use a Core i7 processor and revolves around the 1.6GHz quad-core chip's added power for games and movies. It similarly comes with a 1GB GeForce GTS 250M for video. The 1080p display is stock, though for the US release Toshiba notes that not every model will have a Blu-ray drive.
The previously spotted Samsung Galaxy Lite will not be released in October, as previously expected, according to a recent Dialaphone report. Instead, Samsung has reportedly moved the release for the Anrdoid 1.5-powered device back to sometime in 2010, with the assumed reason being to allow the larger Galaxy to spend more time on the sales floor.
Monster Cable today upgraded its non-Beats in-ear headphones with the addition of the Turbine Pro. The new pair purportedly has "reference" level audio, although specifications aren't given, and have a new custom-designed ear tip design that should provide better insulation from the outside world than Monster's previous design. A set of the older ear tips remains in the box.
Avid has formally unveiled the Digidesign Eleven Rack, a new music processing unit. The hardware is aimed at guitarists, and simulates a number of different amps from the likes of Fender, Vox, Marshall and Soldano, as well as stompboxes by companies like Ibanez, Electro-Harmonix and Univox. Convolution-based cabinet and mic emulations are used, the latter simulating dynamic, condenser and ribbon designs.
Fujifilm on Wednesday announced the release of its latest instant-film camera, the Instax Mini 7S. Unlike Polaroid's PoGo digital cameras, which rely on a built-in printer, the Instax Mini 7S uses Fujifilm's Mini Instax 2-inch by 3-inch film. The film has a printed area of 1.8 by 2.4 inches, which is then developed as the finished photo.
Fon today formally rolled out its once-teased Fonera 2.0n router. The new update adds 802.11n Wi-Fi speeds but is better known for adding built-in clients for several services independently of computers. Owners can upload content to Facebook, Flickr, Megaupload, Picasa, RapidShare and YouTube when the relevant computer is turned off; it can also download BitTorrents and send Twitter updates to signal when a transfer has been completed or a guest connects to the public hotspot.
LG has released specs for its upcoming Chocolate BL20 handset via a developer page devoted to the device. As previously believed, the touchphone will get a 2.4-inch screen with a 240x320 resolution, along with a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus. LG calls it a "simple touch phone" that can connect to HSDPA data networks with 3.6Mbps speeds. There is otherwise quad-band GSM network support and dual-band UMTS compatibility.
Dell at IDF revealed that it's about to ship a version of the Inspiron Mini 10v with Moblin Linux. The system is initially aimed at developers but will give everyone a simpler-to-use alternative to Ubuntu for web browsing and media playback. It specifically uses Canonical's Moblin Netbook Remix, a variant tailored for the screens and interfaces common to the mini notebooks.
Microsoft is being accused of finding a loophole that has thus far saved it from paying some $707 million in software licensing taxes, according to a blog entry from Seattle-based technologist and writer Jeff Reifman. The software giant is based in Redmond, Washington, but it records its software licensing revenue from an office in Reno, Nevada. Microsoft does this to save on taxes because of different laws in the two states, Reifman says, and so would have saved hundreds of millions of dollars over the past 13 years.
The PlayStation 3 could face shortages during the holidays if its current sales rate keeps up, SCEA chief Jack Tretton warned today. He explained that PS3 sales have tripled since the price drop to $300 and the slim redesign and that it's "conceivable" a sustained surge could lead to some stores running dry due to demand finally outpacing supply. He didn't provide a more specific estimate for when this could happen.
Taiwan's Teclast has shed some light on its latest upcoming portable multimedia player, the T58. Most significantly, it will run on Google's Android open source operating system and confirmed specs include 720p video playback, with supported video files that include RMVB, AVS, H.264, MPEG-4 and WMV9. Wi-Fi is integrated, with GPS a strong possibility.
Intel used a presentation at IDF to unveil Light Peak, a new interconnect standard for PCs. As implied by the name, the technology uses fiber optics instead of wires to transfer data and consequently has much more bandwidth. Even in its first generation, it's expected to transfer at about 10 gigabits per second, or over 20 times faster than USB 2.0; it could transfer the entire contents of a typical Blu-ray disc in about 30 seconds if working at top speed, Intel claims.
Dell today backed its Alienware updates with the addition of Intel's mobile Core i7 processor as an option to three of its self-labeled systems. The Studio XPS 16, Studio 15 and Studio 17 all have the choice of either the 1.6GHz or 1.73GHz quad-core processors as a build-to-order upgrade. The high speed choice boosts the price of a Studio 15 to $999, while the larger Studio 17 to $1,099 and the lone Studio XPS update to $1,249.
TRENDnet has unveiled the 150Mbps Mini Wireless N USB Adapter, a network link it claims is the smallest 802.11n Wi-Fi adapter ever. The device is only slightly longer than its USB connector and is built for netbooks and other PCs where it's preferable to leave the adapter attached even when the system is in a bag. It still supports full-size features like Wi-Fi Protected Setup.
Taiwan's MSI has uncovered the Big Bang, an upcoming PC motherboard. The hardware is based on Intel's P55 platform for Core i5 and i7 processors, but is most notable for integrating the Lucid HYDRA 200 chipset. The technology copes with a recurring problem in video cards, which prevents ones from different manufacturers from being used simultaneously.
Intel at its second Developer Forum keynote officially unveiled its first Core i7 processors for notebooks. Once codenamed Clarksfield, the quad-core processors share the same Nehalem architecture and 45 nanometer process as the desktop part but are designed to consume much less power, although more at peak than the Core 2 Quad. The top-end Core i7 Extreme consumes 55W where regular quad Core i7 mobile chips will use 45W.
Qualcomm's PTV media player gained substance today through a leak that appears to show a real prototype of the device. Although less elaborate than the concept drawing, it reflects the basic all-touchscreen design and the existence of a stand to keep the player upright for watching the player's signature FLO TV digital over-the-air video. A 3.5mm headphone jack and speakers are also visible in the BGR shot.
iRex today branched out to the US for the first time with its first e-book device intended specifically for the US. The DR 300SG has an 8.1-inch touchscreen e-paper display but centers first on its 3G access for accessing stores. It should support the Barnes & Noble bookstore out of the box for downloads but also recognize several other store format,s including Fictionwise, LibreDigital and Newspaper Direct as well as the universal EPUB format.
Designer Joey Roth has announced the Ceramic Speakers, a pair of cone-styled speakers made from porcelain, cork and Baltic birch. The set includes an amplifier based on the Tripath 2024 T-Amp, with a mix of gold plating, stainless steel sheet metal and cast iron. The system uses 1/8-inch jacks, and 16-gauge oxygen-free copper speaker cables with banana plug connectors.
Toshiba UK on Wednesday announced it has added a new flagship gaming notebook, the 18.4-inch Qosmio X500. The system is just the second notebook driven by Intel's mobile Core i7 CPU, which normally runs at 1.6GHz but can operate at 2.8GHz when in Turbo Boost mode. Toshiba also regards it as a media system beyond the processor and gives it both a 1080p display as well as a Blu-ray burner and HDMI-CEC support for remote control from other peripherals.
Palm's decision to open development to everyone has left it facing more webOS app submissions than it can take, the company's Developer Community Manager Chuq Von Rospach admitted this week. After developers complained that they weren't getting responses regarding their own apps, the official told those affected that more have arrived "than we could handle well" and that three extra people have been recruited just to streamline app testing.
Computer sales will fare much better than feared but won't get any help from Windows 7, according to revamped estimates from Gartner. The analyst firm had recently predicted a 6 percent drop in shipments for all of 2009 but now believes the numbers will only drop 2 percent compared to 2008. Most of that, however, is attributed to an expected growth in holiday sales instead of any pent-up demand for Microsoft's new OS, which may actually worsen results as PC makers may put too much faith into the upgrade.
By means of an official letter, the USB Implementers Forum has criticized Palm for using a workaround to sync the Pre with Apple's iTunes software. The letter is in response to an earlier complaint from Palm, which accuses Apple of violating its USB-IF membership agreement by deliberately blocking third-party devices through iTunes updates. The updates exploit USB Vendor ID numbers, according to Palm, in a way that breaks the "letter and spirit" of USB-IF terms.
More than 15 phone manufacturers will release over 30 new smartphones running on Microsoft's upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system before the end of 2009, the copmany's GCR Mobile Team Unit senior director Benjamin Tan said recently. Tan was speaking to a group of reports at the time, according to a Wednesday Digitimes report. Among the phone manufacturers slated to introduce models are HTC, Acer, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and HP.
(Updated with more specs and links) Alienware this morning touted a symbolic milestone as the first company to ship a notebook with Intel's mobile Core i7 processor. The 15-inch m15x can be equipped with a 2GHz Core i7 920XM that not only gives it a quad-core processor but should support Hyperthreading for as many as eight effective cores. Despite the clock speed, the system should outrun the Core 2 Extreme and many higher clocked dual- and quad-core older systems.
A leaked note today has all but confirmed Nintendo's plans to cut the Wii's price to $200. The memo sent to Engadget tells staff that Nintendo will announce the cut on the 25th and have it take effect on the 27th. Such a schedule is consistent with Nintendo's past practices of announcing minor console updates on Fridays and of shipping updates on Sundays.
South Korea's Communications Commission on Wednesday cleared a path for Apple to legally sell the iPhone in the country. The organization said (subscription required) that it would waive a normal rule that requires domestic location software and instead let individual carriers obtain permission for Apple on its behalf. The iPhone's operating system code base and policies on third-party software would previously have prevented the device from arriving in Korea as-is.
AMD's graphics label ATI tonight claimed to set a new benchmark for graphics with the Radeon HD 5800 series. The new video hardware is theoretically twice as fast as the 4870 and has an extremely large set of 1,600 stream (visual effect) cores -- enough to calculate 2.72 teraflops per second. Besides handling twice as many rendering tasks at once, the 5800 is also running a sixth-generation engine that shades and tessellates geometry more quickly, more GDDR5 memory bandwidth (150Gbps), and much improved techniques for antialiasing and anisotropic texture filtering.
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