Tech News and Reviews
Archive for March, 2010
Dual Electronics iPod touch GPS cradle review
Mar 24th
The notion of an iPod touch GPS cradle has two big factors working against it from the start. For one, dedicated navigation units are readily available for as little as $100 (or less) and, in general, get the job done quite well. Secondly, more and more cellphones are becoming more and more capable as navigation devices and, again, are relatively inexpensive (phone contracts aside). On the other hand, a lot of people have iPod touches, and most of them really like their iPod touches. So, in that respect, there is a potentially big market for something like Dual Electronics new iPod touch GPS cradle. Will it actually help carve out a new niche in the crowded navigation market? Read on to find out.
AT&T’s Palm Pixi Plus and Pre Plus hands-on
Mar 24th
We just spent a few fleeting moments with AT&T’s just-announced Pre Plus and Pixi Plus from Palm, and they’re pretty much exactly what you’d expect: GSM remixes of the models available on Verizon (we weren’t allowed to take a peek at the SIM slots, but rest assured, there’s an AT&T carrier logo up there at the top left). Both devices seemed relatively zippy — yes, even the Pixi — though that can naturally change pretty quickly once you’ve got a few cards chugging away. We were delighted to see that Palm loaded our very own Engadget app on their demo devices — a good way for booth stoppers-by to catch up on show news, eh? Check out the gallery below, and keep an eye out for more coverage throughout the day!
Samsung Galaxy S hands-on ！
Mar 24th
Samsung dragged the Galaxy S out for us to gawk at this morning at CTIA and after the 30 minute video presentation, we were itching to actually check it out in our hands. Let’s just get this out of the way right off: the 4-inch WVGA 800 X 480 Super Amoled display on the Galaxy S is nothing short of stunning. Put side by side with an iPhone under some very harsh lighting, the difference between them — feel free to have a peek at the video after the break — is pretty astounding. Everything is bright and crisp, text legible, and the colors are jaw-droppingly beautiful. Touchscreen performance? This is another standout on this Android 2.1 device and coupled with Samsung‘s 1GHz Application Processor, not only is it responsive but the UI is smooth and fast. The Galaxy S can shoot HD video at 720p using its 5 megapixel cam, plays it back with aplomb, and did we mention the display? The spec sheet lists this as triple-band HSPA device living in the 900 / 1800 / 1900 realm — and while US availability was announced for this year, no word on what carrier — so we hope to see that 900 swapped out with 850. This is one for the wish list friends, and we’re seriously hoping that wish gets filled long before this year’s holiday season.
Dell Inspiron Mini 10 shipping April 1st with integrated Clear WiMAX
Mar 24th
Dell’s vanilla Atom N450-based Mini 10 just started shipping a couple of months ago, and if you’ll recall, we spotted one slip through the FCC’s oh-so-vulnerable database with WiMAX built-in. Today at CTIA, Clearwire spilled the news that it’ll be providing the service for a 4G-infused version of the netbook come April 1st. What’s interesting is that Clearwire only mentions it being for sale “through select Clear retail locations, telesales and Clear.com,” so it’s still unknown if it’ll be offered up through the Round Rock powerhouse itself (as the Studio 17, Studio XPS 1640 and Latitude E4300, etc. are). The machine will be sold for $249.99 after an instant rebate, though no specifics were mentioned concerning a per-month data plan price. If we were the betting type, we’d say it’ll probably run you 40 bones for every 30 days based on existing rates.
HTC EVO 4G, Nexus One, and Droid face off on the charted field of battle
Mar 24th
 HTC EVO 4G |
 Google Nexus One |
 Motorola Droid |
| Android OS | 2.1 with Sense UI | 2.1 | 2.01 |
| Carrier | Sprint | All2 | Verizon Wireless |
| Network technology | 1x / EV-DO Rev. A / WiMAX | Various (including 3G) | 1x / EV-DO Rev. A |
| Processor | 1GHz Snapdragon | 1GHz Snapdragon | 550MHz TI OMAP 3430 |
| RAM | 512MB | 512MB | 256MB |
| Screen size | 4.3-inch | 3.7-inch | 3.7-inch |
| Resolution | 800 x 480 | 800 x 480 | 854 x 480 |
| Touch | Capacitive multitouch | Capacitive multitouch | Capacitive multitouch |
| Physical keyboard | – | – | Slide-out landscape QWERTY |
| Internal storage | 1GB | 512MB | 512MB |
| Expandable storage | microSD | microSD | microSD |
| Rear camera | 8MP w/ LED flash | 5MP w/ LED flash | 5MP w/ LED flash |
| Video recording | 1280 x 720 | 720 x 480 | 720 x 480 |
| Front camera | 1.3MP | – | – |
| Battery | 1500mAh | 1400mAh | 1400mAh |
| WiFi | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g |
| HDMI out | Yes | – | – |
| Kickstand | Yes | – | – |
As you’ve probably noticed, we have something of a propensity for charts — hey, organization is key to a well-balanced life, right? Since we last tackled an Android device faceoff, the sheer number of competitors has branched out far and wide, but despite the propagation / fragmentation, including today’s unveiling of the HTC EVO 4G, three clear frontrunners have taken most of the spotlight for being the pinnacle of the Android experience: the aforementioned, HTC / Google’s Nexus One, and the Motorola Droid. Here, the latter device is looking a bit long in the tooth, but that physical QWERTY keyboard and its volcanic rise to prominence gives it some strong staying power. Cold, hard data isn’t going to tell the full story, but until you can get to try each of these yourself — all at the same time, if you’re lucky — it’s a great place to start.
Verizon vs. AT&T: Pre Plus edition
Mar 24th
Sure, Verizon and AT&T shout at each other across our TV airwaves all the time, but how often do we get to see two exactly same phones running on both carriers? The Pre Plus and Pixi Plus have just such a distinction, and we stopped back by the Palm booth with our Verizon Pre Plus in hand just to prove to ourselves we weren’t dreaming. Naturally we couldn’t keep ourselves from a little browser battle (check out the video after the break, the winner may or may not surprise you!), and we even caught the two phones commiserating about that dismal plastic USB jack flap of infamy. Sure, we’re longing for a new webOS device, and have a hard time thinking AT&T will reverse Palm’s fortunes alone, but there’s something special about this new era we’re entering with the likes of Palm and Google where you can (almost) choose your device and then your carrier, not the other way around.
Origin’s Eon15 gaming laptop offers less bang, saves more buck
Mar 24th
While some high-profile custom PC vendors are on their way out, Origin PC is just getting started. The company recently launched the Genesis, a desktop that melts gamers’ faces at the same time it incinerates their wallets, and the Eon18, a laptop that… honestly does just the same. Come to think of it, flame seems to be a recurring theme for the company, but before you work yourself into a burning hot rage because of your inability to afford Origin product, consider the new Eon15. With only room for a single powerful mobile graphics chip and a single storage drive, it won’t be setting new 3DMark or I/O benchmarks like its cousins, but it will let you get away with a 1080p screen, Core i7-820QM processor, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, a GeForce GTX 285M and even a snazzy paint job for a merely painful, rather than excruciating, price. Configurations start at $1,900 — hey, it’s not like you were gonna be using those paychecks for anything else, right?
China Telecom launching Palm Pre, BlackBerry handsets this summer
Mar 20th
We’ve been hearing that China Telecom would be grabbing hold of Palm and RIM’s respective stables of smartphones since early last year, but at long last we’ve some official quotes to prove those whispers correct. According to a new report over at the Wall Street Journal, Chairman and Chief Executive Wang Xiaochu has affirmed that it will offer an undisclosed amount of BlackBerry devices in China this May, while Palm’s Pre (no word on the Pixi) will hit this July. These deals could certainly bode well for the carrier; as it stands, it’s going up against China Mobile — which already sells BlackBerry handsets — and China Unicom, which is home to Apple’s iPhone. Unfortunately, pricing details weren’t available, but we’re guessing those will pop sooner rather than later.
Chuwi P7 EOS S PMP Player with TV-out and OTG Functions – 8GB
Mar 20th
Chuwi P7 EOS S gets 5.0 inch 800×480 pixels, combines with the shuttle design, Chuwi P7 EOS S will be the leader of stylish. It adopts SC9800 chip, operations more fluently. Chuwi P7 EOS S MP5 player is following of Chuwi P7 series, compatible with TS、AVI、MP4、MPG、MKV、PSP、DAT、VOB、WMV、ASF、PMP、RM、RMVB，MOV，M2V video formats, video decode up to 1280p, There are TV-out and OTG functions, that convinient for you.
Product page: http://www.ownta.com/chuwi-p7-eos-s-pmp-player-with-tv-out-and-otg-functions-8gb.html
Meizu M6SL 2GB MP4 Player
Mar 20th
The Meizu M6SL MP4 Playe is more than just an MP3 player for music. The MEIZU is a multi-functional personal media player that stores and plays: music, videos, photos and recorded audio. In addition, the player also features an FM tuner, voice recording, a stopwatch, clock and alarm, calendar, E-book functions, synchronized lyrics display, calculator and games. The touch pad controls and easy to use file browser make this unit intuitive and hassle free. And, thanks to its compact size you can take the stylish miniplayer slim anywhere you go.
The 26 hour battery life ensures that you’ll never run out of power on long trips or during your daily routine. In addition, the 2GB of storage holds up to 60 hours of music, 24 hours of video and 1600 photos. A built in microphone gives you the option to record audio, whether it be a class lectures or just conversation with friends.
Product page: http://www.ownta.com/meizu-m6sl-2gb-mp4-player-black.html
