Tech News and Reviews
Archive for January, 2010
Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus now on Verizon’s site
0845 days
by Raymond.J
in Cellphones
Congrats, Palm, you’re now officially on a second US carrier. Yep, the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus are now up for sale on Verizon’s website — you’ve read the review, are you taking the plunge?
ASUS DR-950 touchscreen e-reader spotted in the ‘wilds’ of ASUS UK’s office
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Sure, we’d love to be hanging out with this device in person, but we suppose this is second best. ASUS UK has some shots of the upcoming DR-950 e-reader, sporting 9-inches of grayscale SiPix e-paper. It admittedly looks pretty great under these idealized lighting conditions, and the homescreen interface looks simple and oh-so-touchable. Hopefully we get to put the device through its text-to-speech, 3G and ePub paces soon enough.
BeBook Neo e-reader launches with WiFi and WACOM capabilities
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We’re still patiently waiting for Endless Ideas to launch a 3G-equipped e-reader to compete with the masses, but ’til then, we suppose we’ll have to be satisfied with the WiFi-toting BeBook Neo. Boasting a 532MHz Freescale CPU, Vizplex display (800 x 600 resolution), 512MB of internal storage, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB 2.0 connectivity and an SD expansion slot, the 6-inch, February-bound Neo brings to the table very little that we haven’t seen elsewhere — in fact, it’s a dead ringer for Onyx International’s Boox. Naturally, you’ll find support for a multitude of file formats (ePUB, PDF, HTML, JPG, PNG, etc.), and the internal battery is good for 7,000 page turns on a full charge. The company is also playing up the unit’s ability to access a wide variety of third-party ebook venues, which gives you the option of purchasing books from any given outlet rather than a predefined store. There’s also WACOM tech built in, which should delight those who love to annotate and add text mark-ups. We’re told that future software updates will add a multitude of new features, but it’s tough to say if that promise is enough to coax you into dropping $299 on a pre-order.
LG eXpo Mobile Projector hands-on
2846 days
by Raymond.J
in Cellphones
As Windows Mobile 6.5 handsets go, LG’s eXpo on AT&T is very near the cream of the crop — it’s got Snapdragon and a biometric scanner, after all — but we all know that the spec sheet doesn’t tell the whole story with this one. Really, people care about this phone because of the trick $179 pico projector that you can optionally bolt underneath. Besides being insanely cool, the concept makes sense considering the eXpo’s target demographic — business users probably want to be able to share documents and PowerPoints on the go, right?
Improv Electronics Boogie Board brings the chalkboard into the 21st century
1846 days
by Raymond.J
in Peripherals
When we hear “paperless LCD writing tablet” our mind starts racing, but unfortunately the new “Boogie Board” tablet from Improv Electronics is more of an update of the chalkboard than anything. The unit is based on a power-free reflective LCD technology (similar to the technology in Fujitsu’s Flepia readers), with 50,000 erase cycles, and you can draw on it with anything that can apply pressure (stylus, finger nail, blunt trauma). Unfortunately, it ends there. There’s no connection back to a computer. Sure, not bad for $30, and for people who draw often and are tired of their dry erase board or burning through reams of paper it makes sense, but for anyone who draws something they’d like to keep they’re likely going to have to look elsewhere.
Sony’s secret kill switch: myth, rumor or hearsay?
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Could there be something lurking deep inside your Sony laptop or TV programmed to break the device as soon as the warranty expires? That may sound like a crazy conspiracy theory not far off those involving the mysterious deaths of engineers, but it’s a theory that continues to persist to some degree in Japan, and even seems to have grown in recent years. As Telegraph.co.uk reports, the belief in a secret timer or “kill switch” has been around for the past twenty years or so, but it apparently took on some newfound momentum amid the rash of Sony laptop battery failures, which even prompted some Sony execs to publicly deny that such a switch exists. The kill switch apparently isn’t completely pervasive though, as the PlayStation 3 is supposedly “exempt,” thereby explaining its considerable success in Japan — although there’s some talk that’s because it’s a Trojan horse for Sony’s next big scheme: mind control disguised as 3D glasses.
duaLink cable charges two iPhones on one USB port, no problem
0847 days
by Raymond.J
in Peripherals
The duaLink cable for iPod and iPhone contains its own miniature USB hub, a single USB connector on one end, and two iPod connectors on the other end. If the promise of charging and / or syncing multiple devices from the same USB port hasn’t blown your mind, the company has been thoughtful enough to place the whole shebang in a housing that seems to be a little more durable than the (admittedly not so durable) stock Apple cable. We don’t believe that this will be compatible with the iSlatelet, but if we hear anything to the contrary (you know, from “leading industry analysts”) we’ll let you know. Available now from CableJive for $26, hit the source link to get started.
How would you change RIM’s BlackBerry Storm2?
0847 days
by Raymond.J
in Cellphones
It’s sort of stunning how many stellar smartphone options Verizon Wireless customers suddenly have, but lest we forget that RIM’s hotly-anticipated Storm2 was rockin’ the suburbs late last year. For those who sprung, we’re curious to know if you’re happy with your decision. Do you think RIM adequately addressed the gripes from round one? Is the display responsive enough? Was the addition of WiFi what sealed the deal? Are you annoyed that you didn’t hold out for the new Palm lineup? Feel free to get really real in comments below — we get the impression that Waterloo needs all the feedback it can get when it comes to QWERTY-less mobiles.
Archos 5 gets Android 1.6 update, for real this time
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Archos disappointed quite a few users last month by pushing out an Android 1.6 (a.k.a. “Donut”) update for its Archos 5 internet tablet only to yank it shortly thereafter due to a “last-minute major issue,” but it now looks like it’s finally set things right — the update is once again available for download, and it apparently works just fine this time. Among other things, the update optimizes applications for the Archos 5′s high resolution screen, and adds features like Quick Search to help you find music, contacts and other information more easily. Hit up the link below for all the necessary upgrade details.
3D stole the show at CES 2010
0847 days
by Raymond.J
in Peripherals
Not sure why we’ve been putting this off, but we’ll just come right out and say it: there’s no doubt that this was the year for 3D at CES. We walked the show floor for countless hours and can tell you that just about everyone was showing something related to 3D at their booths. Most of these demos required a bit of a wait to experience them (thanks, hype), and everywhere you went people were talking about 3D. Granted, not all of that talk was positive, but it was talk nonetheless. Whether or not the technology will be seen in history as a success in the market place is obviously still up in the air, and much like a finely crafted episode of Lost, 3D at CES this year was littered with more questions than answers.