Tech News and Reviews
Archive for November, 2009
Lenovo begins $200M buyback of Lenovo Mobile
0902 days
by Arlene.L
in Cellphones
Of the many trends in consumer electronics, today’s announcement by Lenovo highlights two of the biggest: 1) PC makers are desperate to get in on that handheld smartphone action, and 2) China is the place to do it with its 700 million mobile subscribers. That’s why Lenovo is putting up $200 million in cash and stock to reacquire its former mobile business sold to a group of investors last year; a move made possible by Lenovo’s recent return to profitability. Although Lenovo says its focus will be on the Chinese market, don’t be surprised when you see Lenovo branded handsets headed to downtown stores or your favorite high-street shops — assuming the deal passes shareholder approval, of course.
Buy cheap Lenovo cell phones from the excellent China cell phones wholesaler and dropshipper! http://www.ownta.com/wholesale-dropship-cell-phones/wholesale-dropship-china-brand-mobile-phone/lenovo-1/
FedEx Senseaware tracks everything about your package, probably causes OCD
0902 days
by Arlene.L
in Peripherals
What do you get when you throw cellular and GPS radios in with an accelerometer, a thermometer and a light sensor? If you answered a decently featured phone, you’d be almost right. FedEx has concocted the above tracker to be able to tell you everything about the package it’s in — if it has been opened, dropped, outside of temperature range, or insufficiently loved by its deliverator. The GPS and cellular signals are used to provide a real time position, and all that data is fed through a web platform for the increasingly obsessive sender to monitor. It is now being deployed with 50 medical clients — who actually have a use for all the intel — and once production ramps up and economies of scale kick in, the opening price of $120 a month is expected to drop rapidly. You can expect the Senseaware tracker to show up worldwide some time next year.
Zemno’s $500 DeskBook Pro docking station is strictly for zealots
0
It may lack wireless connectivity, but it’s sure got the look. Zemno’s latest portable docking station is probably the most elaborate that we’ve ever seen, boasting an Apple-esque appearance that’s designed to mesh well with Cupertino’s latest MacBook models. The company claims that any lappie under 15-inches in size can be used with its DeskBook Pro, though we’re guessing only the hardcore drumbeaters would actually shell out $499.99 for something such as this. As for functionality, the port-laden slate allows for up to two hard drives to be docked simultaneously or any combination of hard drive, battery, or peripheral device with access to 16 input / output connections. The device also supports ModBays, which are interchangeable accessories designed to conveniently slip in and out of the DeskBook Pro. Hit the read link for the full list of I/O ports, but only if you managed to not be appalled by the aforesaid MSRP.
Nikon D3S unboxing and hands-on!
0903 days
by Arlene.L
in Digital Cameras
Our Black Friday just got significantly more awesome — a new Nikon D3S showed up on our doorstep a moment ago, along with a super-hot NIKKOR AF-S 24-70 f/2.8G ED lens. We’re just about to dive into this thing’s incredible ISO 102,400 performance (well, we will when it get a little darker) and full-manual 720p24 video mode, but for now we thought we’d hit you up with some unboxing shots — check ‘em out!
ASUS’ USB 3.0-equipped P6X58D Premium motherboard now available
0903 days
by Arlene.L
in Peripherals
Eager to get in all the USB 3.0 hard drives, SSD drives and… other hard drives cropping up these days? Then you’re in luck, as ASUS’ brand new, USB 3.0-ready P6X58D Premium motherboard is now finally available to order. Of course, being an early adopter doesn’t come cheap, and this particular motherboard will run you a hefty $309.99 That will get you a board that runs with the best of ‘em, however, including support for a Core i7 processor, room for up to 24GB of RAM, three PCI-Express 2.0 slots, a pair of 6Gb/s SATA interfaces, four plain old USB 2.0 ports and, most importantly, two for USB 3.0.
Buffalo busts out its first 12x Blu-ray burner, powered by USB 3.0
0903 days
by Arlene.L
in Peripherals
Sure, your computer doesn’t have a USB 3.0 plug, and there’s no such thing as a 12x Blu-ray disc for mass consumption just yet, but we shouldn’t let those pesky details get in the way of progress. Buffalo just announced the BR-X1216U3, which is the “world’s first” (er, not exactly, but anyways…) 12x Blu-ray burner, and which incidentally pulls off its wondrous feats through the power of USB 3.0. Of course, it’s backward compatible with USB 2.0, for burn speeds up to 7x, but with 12x on the table that’s just slumming it. The drive is out now in Japan for 39,100 yen (about $448 US).
Xbox 360 Elegant Edition shows Microsoft how it’s done
0
You know, we’ve pretty much all been enamored with the Zune HD’s industrial design, but one unintended consequence for Microsoft was that it made its console look even more childish and toylike. It was inevitable, then, that a group of industrious Swedes would take up arms against this injustice and right the world with their Elegant Edition mod. Featuring three 120mm cooling fans, an aesthetic borrowed straight from the 1980s, and absolutely no shame about its bulk, this mod is cooler than the original in both the literal and colloquial sense. We’ll accept no arguments to the converse. Better still, if you’re willing to part with some cold hard cash, these fellas will build one for you too. We’ve got a few less glamorous shots of the redressed box after the break.
Korean 3D television broadcasts in Full HD just weeks away
0903 days
by Arlene.L
in Peripherals
With LG predicting a 3D television market in excess of 30 million units by 2012 and Samsung busily promoting its related world’s firsts, you’d better believe that these powerful South Korean “chaebols” have their government’s full support when it comes to delivering 3D content. Just today the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) announced its drive to start beaming 3D broadcasts in Full HD quality sometime in 2010 — licensing begins in January with first broadcasts expected mid-year. Unlike those 3D satellite broadcasts tested in Japan and the UK, Korea will deliver its 3D content through its terrestrial networks. Of course, Korea’s pay-TV providers want in on the action too, with CJ HelloVision set to offer 3D content through its video-on-demand offerings in the next “week or two.” CJ HelloVision will initially target about 300 households with plans to extend the service to 1,000 homes by 2012. Viewers will need yet another set-top box to view 3D content likely limited to “cartoons” at first. Pricing has not been set and it’s entirely possible that 3D VoD titles will be free at first in order to build momentum and to ensure viewer lock-in of the all important child demographic.
iTunes tagging comes to London iPod nano owners: a European first
0
Hard to believe it but iTunes tagging has finally arrived in Europe. Well, Great Britain. The UK? Fine, England. Ok, ok, to those parts of London where you can tune into Absolute Radio 105.8FM — the only European station to have inked a deal with Seattle-based Jump2Go (developer of the tech) and Britain’s own Unique Interactive. Owners of the new iPod nano with built-in FM radio can now tag songs they’re listening to for later purchase from the iTunes store when docked. Video demonstration after the break for you London newbs.
Hard to believe it but iTunes tagging has finally arrived in Europe.
Lenovo’s Snapdragon smartbook gets Android, pictured properly (Updated)
0
That’s right, sailor, Qualcomm has been dishing some more info on the future of smartbooks, and we now know that the Lenovo number we noticed being teased earlier this month will be driven by a vanilla copy of Google’s Android OS. Other data of import includes a purported battery life of more than eight hours and always-on connectivity through 3G (provided by AT&T in the US), WiFi and “other radios,” all of which should go nicely with that 1GHz Snapdragon chip under the hood. If you ask us, and you should, this looks like the perfect candidate for a bit of USB-mounted Chrome OS glory. (more…)