News Archive for 09/10/06
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| MacUpdate Weekend Sale | :This weekend MacUpdate has slashed prices on Painter 12 and Painter Lite. Painter 12 retails for $429, but has been reduced by 54% to $199. Painter Lite has seen a 58% price cut from $69 to $29. Hurry, because these deals are only available until May 19th 2013. |
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The Sony PRS-600 Reader Touch Edition provides users with a different approach to eReaders than its predecessors or its rival, the Amazon Kindle. The eReader supports various formats including text, Microsoft Word and Adobe PDFs, and features an overhauled desktop software. The included application connects to the Sony eBook store with reduced priced eBooks, such as New York Times bestsellers for $10. The app synchronizes with the eReader, transferring eBooks, RSS feeds and "Collections" which are similar to iTunes playlists, but for books. Our latest review exposes the pros and cons of the new device.
An apparent scoop suggests Dell has decided to bring its Mini 3i to the US after all, but not in its original form. A contact claims it's due in the "next few months" but that it will be an upgraded version of what was shown recently in China. Build quality should improve, but it would also upgrade from a 3-megapixel camera to a 5-megapixel model.
Sony at CEATEC is showing one of its most advanced displays to date. The 56-inch TRIMASTER SRM-L560 monitor has a near-4K resolution, which translates to 3840x2160 pixels or four times the resolution of 1080p. Despite this, the LED backlit TV has a 176-degree viewing angle from all sides and is meant to be a color-accurate preview for video pros and others who need large screens.
Microsoft today acknowledged that it has debated porting the Zune software and its according services to the Mac or even to portable Apple devices like the iPhone and iPod. Director of Communications for TV, Video and Music Jose Pinero explained to Mary Jo Foley that it's one of "a lot of options" for platform expansion but also stressed that the Zune platform isn't tied to players like the Zune HD or even necessarily to Microsoft. Its own platforms take highest priority but aren't exclusive.
Epson on Tuesday announced that its PowerLite Presenter projector is now shipping. At the same time, Epson introduced the EX31, EX51 and EX71 multimedia projectors for small businesses, which replace the outgoing EX30, EX50 and EX70 projectors. Compared to their predecessors, the new projectors are nearly a third smaller and a fifth lighter, while increasing brightness levels to 2,500 lumens.
A Vietnamese site's access to a prototype has confirmed that Palm is developing a GSM version of the Pixi for use on carriers beyond Sprint and outside of the US. The dissection shows a superficially identical device but, apart from the choice of network, that the phone may carry just 4GB of internal storage instead of 8GB in the version first headed to the US. Its 2-megapixel camera and GPS should remain intact.
AT&T on Tuesday afternoon confirmed rumors and said it would allow voice over IP apps like Skype to work on the iPhone's 3G access. It had previously forced these apps to use Wi-Fi and justified the change of heart by arguing that it had taken a "fresh look" at the Apple smartphone's support for the feature as part of periodic reviews. Apple and the FCC have both been notified of the move.
HTC's CEO Peter Chou today said that his company's just-revealed HD2 should ultimately reach the US. He declined to say with which carrier, but the executive told SlashGear that it would first show in early 2010, or a few months after the European release. Most other details are also likely to wait until next year.
Orange UK on Tuesday said it would ship the Motorola DEXT tomorrow, October 7th. It was available for pre-order on September 22th at the carrier, and its release Wednesday should mark the worldwide debut of the Android-powered device.
Two environmental advocacy groups have praised Apple in a joint report, newly distributed to the media. ChemSec and Clean Production Action claim that Apple is one of the more respectable companies in eliminating bromine and chlorine from its products, through an "innovative program that restricts the use of nearly all bromine and chlorine compounds across all their product lines," the groups say. A number of smaller Apple products -- including iPods and iPhones -- are now free from any PVC or BFRs (brominated flame retardants), and its computers are said to be mostly free of PVC, and entirely free of BFRs.
Despite Microsoft's ambitions, only a small portion of the existing computer base is likely to jump ship for Windows 7, a new Retrevo study found today. About 12 percent of existing Windows users plan to upgrade their existing PCs to the new operating system, and 47 percent plan a "wait and see" approach before making their decisions. Mac users are also largely unswayed by the release with only three percent indicating they might change platforms.
(Update with official news) AT&T may back away from its policy against Internet calling apps on the iPhone based on a leak circulating just before the fall CTIA show. Those close to the provider's executives reportedly told the Washington Post it's "close" to accepting voice over IP apps on all phones, including data-heavy devices like the iPhone. When this would take effect, if at all, isn't clear.
Verizon today inadvertently confirmed two of its planned Android phones in an image attached to its news of the event. The photo shows Google chief Eric Schmidt holding a previously unseen phone that represents the largely mysterious HTC Desire. It moreover reveals that the phone is likely a cosmetic redesign of the touchscreen-only Hero and that it will have the same Sense UI as the version found on other carriers.
TomTom on Tuesday has announced the upcoming release of an entry-level GPS automotive navigator for European markets, the Start. The device is customizable through the use of a choice of skins of different colors, as well as downloadable opening screens. The device is meant for users who rarely drive, or those who have not previously used a navigation device.
Hard drive maker LaCie on Tuesday introduced two new external hard drives that were designed by Phillippe Starck. Both sport a sculptured magma motif from the world-famous designer, which is touch-sensitive in the Starck Desktop. This drive is covered by a 3mm aluminum shell, and has Starck's signature orange LED that indicates the drive's status. The touch interface is customizable, allowing users to open certain applications depending on how long they stay in contact with the touch surface.
Not to be left out of Windows Mobile 6.5 introductions, Sprint today launched the Samsung Intrepid as its own entry. The smartphone is a mixed-input model with both a 2.5-inch touchscreen and a fixed QWERTY keyboard that in theory give the phone the advantages of 6.5's more touch-friendly interface without giving up hardware controls. It's also a true world phone with quad-band GSM calling and basic GPRS data as an option beyond Sprint's usual CDMA and EVDO Revision A networks.
HTC on Tuesday used the kick-off for Windows Mobile 6.5 to launch its widely publicized new flagship smartphone. The HD2 is the first Windows Mobile phone ever to have a capacitive, multi-touch screen and can respond much more quickly and accurately to finger input than the resistive screens most Microsoft-based phones are forced to use. It additionally supports pinching, flicks and other gestures in many apps, making it the first Windows Mobile phone to support iPhone-like commands.
Canon USA on Tuesday said it has added two new multimedia projectors to its REALiS lineup. This includes the WUX10 Mark II and SX80 Mark II, both of which use Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCOS) technology. Canon has introduced a new feature on the pair, which is called Photo Image Mode and allows users to perform advanced color management adjustments to account for ambient light conditions. Settings include choice from three types of lighting, light and color intensity, as well as color temperature.
H2O Audio on Tuesday showed off three new products for music listening around water. The Surge Pro earbud headphones, the Surge Sportwrap neckband headphones as well as an updated Interval Waterproof Headphone System are all built to withstand heavy perspiration common during exercise routines, and can be submerged without any ill effects in up to 12 feet of water.
Research and development company Eolas Technologies has filed a lawsuit against over a dozen companies, including major technology businesses such as Apple, Adobe, Amazon, Google, eBay and Sun. Eolas accuses the companies of violating two US patents, 5,838,906 and 7,599,985; the broadest of these is the first, which allegedly covers all "fully-interactive" embedded web applications. The second is an extension, specifically covering embedded apps using plug-in and AJAX (asynchronous JavaScript and XML) code.
At CEATEC, Sony is showing off three portable consumer electronics prototype products that use its flexible OLED technology. Conspicuously missing was an OLED TV from the electronics giant, such as its 21-inch OLED prototype shown off earlier in the year. The non-functioning VAIO notebook Sony did showcase was behind a Plexiglas case and was not powered on. It also was seen before, and sports a 0.2mm thick flexible screen that covers both the screen and keyboard area.
Google and Verizon this morning struck a deal to bring Android phones to the cell carirer's network. The two say they will "co-develop" multiple phones designed by third-party hardware makers and expect to start launching Android-based phones within the next several weeks. They also plan to include both Google- and Verizon-made apps on the phones in question.
Back-to-school notebook sales were as strong as ever this year but skewed in favor of cheaper systems, the NPD Group said today in a new study. About $1.6 billion of the $7.6 billion spent between late July and mid-September went directly to notebooks, or about as much as was spent last year despite ongoing economic problems and rendering them "recession-proof." However, the revenue came at the expense of system prices: while more systems were sold, the average price of a school notebook fell from $804 last year to $624 this year.
At the ongoing CEATEC show in Japan, Panasonic showed off its next-generation IPS-Alpha plasma prototype panel. While specs aren't yet available, subjectively the new display has very true black levels, while fast-moving scenes are reproduced without much noticeable blur. Panasonic hung a 2008 model next to the IPS-Alpha for comparison purposes, showing off the advances it has made in the past year.
Fleshing out its early phone lineup, Kempler & Strauss added a second but more advanced device to its mix. The Billionair 6 is a conventional touchscreen phone that runs on Windows Mobile (likely 6.1) but adds a custom interface nicknamed slidetouch that includes multiple home screens, top-level widgets, and carousels for large lists like the installed apps or contacts. An accelerometer auto-resizes the interface for most tasks when the phone is tilted on its side.
Western Digital this morning started up a new grade of external hard drive for both its desktop and portable lines. The My Book Elite, My Book Studio and My Passport Elite both now have added visual details as to their in-use storage; while the My Passport's basic gauge is new in the first place, the new My Books get an e-paper display that shows the exact space free and the drive name even when the disk isn't plugged in. Every model comes with Time Machine-like continuous backup software as well as the option of 256-bit hardware encryption.
Popular UK online music shop 7digital this morning launched its US store. The primarily web-based service focuses on price and is offering some newer albums as well as many older ones at $7.77. Songs can also run as low as 77 cents each, and all downloads are platform-independent, 320Kbps MP3s that should work with Apple devices as well as most other portable players. The store has long had access to all four major music labels as well as key independents.
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