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Monday, February 7, 2011

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Lenovo ThinkPad X120e review

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 10:30 AM PST

Most things deserve a second chance, right? Hey, if they promise improvement, we think so, and that's exactly what we're giving Lenovo's ThinkPad X120e. If you recall, the previous X100e was quite a disappointment, and that's actually putting it rather nicely -- not only did the 11.6-inch system redefine the term "lapburner," but it struggled to last 3.5 hours on a charge. It was bordering on tragic, but Lenovo's ready to right all those wrongs with the X120e. While it has kept the chassis and the wonderful chiclet keyboard unchanged, it's subbed out AMD's older Neo chip for the long awaited Fusion Zacate APU. The same platform already proved to be pretty awesome in HP's Pavilion dm1z with an almost perfect blend of power, graphics, and endurance, but does the X120e reap the same benefits? At $399 ($579 for our review unit), is the perfect, affordable ThinkPad ultraportable finally here? Has Lenovo finally gotten it right? And how does it compare to the other new Fusion affordable ultraportables or notbooks, as we've taken to calling them? We've got those answers alright – hit the break for our full review.
Lenovo ThinkPad X120e review

Look and feel

The X120e has the same exact chassis as the X100e, and considering that's what we liked so much about the original, we've no qualms with that. We prefer the matte, black plastic cover to the ThinkPad Edge's glossy, fingerprint-attracting lid and the fact that the entire thing is one uniform color. However, there's a small part of us that wishes the lid had the same soft, rubberish coating as other classic ThinkPads. Still, those that are fans of the traditional ThinkPad look will join in the appreciation of the simple, yet refined aesthetic. The all-plastic system feels as good as one would expect, and the screen hinges feel solid and don't wobble.

The X120e is slightly wider and longer than the average 10-inch netbook, but it's still incredibly portable. The 1.1-inch thick machine was compact enough to fit into our shoulder bag and leave us with plenty of spare room for our DSLR and oversized wallet. We still take a bit of an issue with the horizontally protruding six-cell battery -- it juts out the rear, which isn't only awkward, but it also puts the system at 3.3 pounds. That's still lighter than HP's 3.4-pound Pavilion dm1z, but no doubt the ThinkPad's battery is oddly placed in comparison to HP's improved battery design. The one major difference between the former X100e chassis and the X120e? The addition of a HDMI port. Other than that, the laptop is still home to three USB 2.0 ports, VGA and Ethernet sockets, a mic / headphone combo jack, and a SD card slot. The yellow colored USB port can charge your gadgets even the system is powered down.

Keyboard, touchpad, and screen

The X120e has the same keyboard as the Edge 11 and the X100e, and our extreme love for the black, matte curved keys is stronger than ever. As we've said many times before, it feels as if the keys have been molded especially for our fingertips and the deck itself doesn't have any flex or noticeable bend. Writing the brunt of this review on the panel itself didn't require us to shift our usual hand position too much, either -- the function row has been shrunken down, but there are two full sized Shift keys.

Like the X100e, there's no lack of ways to push around the cursor on the X120e -- there's the signature red TrackPoint (or nub) smack in the middle of the keyboard, and a smaller 3.0 x 1.5-inch touchpad below. We still prefer the pointing stick, but the touchpad is decent for navigating as well. It's smaller than that on the dm1z, but it does have two dedicated buttons rather than those sometimes-frustrating integrated button ClickPads. That said, the multitouch gestures on the HP system seemed more responsive, and while two-finger scrolling on the ThinkPad works, it's jittery in comparison.

Thankfully, Lenovo's also kept the matte 11.6-inch, 1366 x 768-resolution display untouched. Cutting out the sometimes distracting glare of glossy displays, the matte screen is still sufficiently bright and horizontal viewing angles continue to be better than vertical ones. Tilting the screen back to about 40 degrees caused a bit of color distortion, but it didn't really prove too problematic when watching the Rango trailer with the X120e on our lap. The webcam on the top of the bezel is still optimized for low-light situations. That still creeps us out just a bit, but it did work quite well when we turned down the lights -- our face was still pretty clear to our friend on Skype. The speakers on the front lip of the laptop were quite loud at full blast, and while they were fine for hearing that call and Jon Stewart's voice in a Daily Show clip, listening to Wiz Khalifa's "Black and Yellow" was fairly tinny.

Performance and graphics

Just like the Pavilion dm1z, the ThinkPad X120e is powered by AMD's dual-core 1.6GHz E-350 processor, though it has 4GB of RAM compared to the HP's three gigs. (There entry level $399 X120e will have a single-core E-240 CPU, 1GB of RAM, and three-cell battery.) The benchmarks below prove much of what we already knew about AMD's Fusion Zacate – it absolutely wrecks the previous Neo platform and Intel's Atom on performance, while handily beating Intel's integrated graphics. Those high numbers also translated to really peppy everyday performance. There's no doubt that the system just felt faster than any Atom netbook or Neo-powered system we've used. The machine kept up with us as we wrote this review in Microsoft Word Starter 2010, had over eight tabs open in Chrome (one of them being Pandora), and simultaneously ran TweetDeck, Trillian, Skype, GIMP, and Windows Media Player in the background. Even when we threw a 1080p clip into the mix, the system remained really responsive. Similar to the dm1z, we saw a bit of lag when we tried to install a large file like Batman: Arkham Asylum, but you can always pull out the 320GB, 7,200rpm hard drive and throw a SSD into this sucker. Sure, it'll cost ya, but can you really put a price on faster install and launch times?


PCMarkVantage 3DMark06
Battery Life
Lenovo ThinkPad X120e (AMD Zacate E350) 2465 2080 4:56
HP Pavilion dm1z (AMD Zacate E350)
2510 2213 5:02
Lenovo ThinkPad X100e (AMD Athlon Neo) 1511 1060 3:27
HP Mini 5103 (dual-core Intel Atom N550) 1523 143 6:16
ASUS Eee PC 1215N (Atom D525 / NVIDIA Ion 2) 1942 181 / 2480 5:42
Acer Aspire One 721 (AMD Neo Neo K125)
 1814 1235 3:30
Dell Inspiron M101z (dual-core AMD Neo K325) 2572 1311 3:35
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 11 (Core i3 ULV) 2964 1105 4:42
Alienware M11x (Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300) 2689 654 / 5593 4:30
Notes: the higher the score the better. For 3DMark06, the first number reflects score with GPU off, the second with it on.


Of course, that processing power is coupled with some really nice graphics on the same chip, and as we mentioned AMD's Radeon HD 6310M core absolutely trounces Intel's GMA 3150 netbook and GMA 4500 ULV graphics solutions. Similar to the dm1z, it scored a couple hundred points less than some netbooks with NVIDIA Ion 2, but when it came to doing normal graphics intensive stuff we couldn't tell the difference. Streaming and local high-def video were no challenge for the little system even when output to a 42-inch HDTV using ASUS's WiCast. We should note, that we encountered a "video card" error when we tried to play a 1080p .mov file in Windows Media Player – HD .wmv files played fine in the Microsoft program, but we had to download VLC Player to get the .mov clips working. Lenovo's looking into that issue, but we assume it's driver related as we didn't have that issue on the E-350-powered dm1z. As for gaming? We saw the same sort of experience as the dm1z -- in WoW: Cataclysm, our gnome was prancing and jumping around the screen at 27fps with the resolution set at 1024 x 768. And Flash games, like Canabalt, sailed along.

Battery life and heat

So, the X120e gains some performance, but has Lenovo improved those real pain points – battery life and thermals? Yes and yes! While the X100e only lasted for three hours and 27 minutes on our video rundown, which loops the same standard definition clip with brightness at 65 percent and WiFi turned on, the X120e's 57Whr six-cell battery ran for four hours and 56 minutes. Yep, that's a good extra hour and a half more. In our regular everyday use – writing this review, surfing the web, and chatting with coworkers – we were able to squeeze out about five hours and 45 minutes. It's not as much as a netbook, but given the extra power we think it's probably worth the slight hit for most people, and hey, it's still enough juice to let you keep the AC adapter home without worrying when you head out to the coffee shop for the day. Either way, it beats the absolutely stunning Lenovo IdeaPad U260's rather embarrassing two hours and 56 minutes. Man, we wish that thing had a bigger battery and a slice of AMD's Fusion.

Remember when the X100e made our jeans feel like we had just taken them out of the dryer? Well, the X120e does no such thing. The palmrest and underside of the system stayed quite cool during our long periods of use. However, much like the dm1z, the left vent seemed to be working overtime and made a noticeable sound. We guess we'll take that over burning temperatures any day.

Software

The X120e we reviewed booted a very clean Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) desktop. Other than the Recycling Bin, Lenovo kept it largely pristine, though its ThinkVantage tools – its Power Controls, Internet Connections, etc. -- are buried throughout the OS. We tend to prefer the stock Windows 7 tools for connecting to WiFi or adjusting power settings. Other than its own software, there aren't too many traces of third-party programs, though there is a "Free Skype voice and video calls" shortcut in the Start menu that launches a Skype install. That didn't bother us much since we were just going to install it anyway.

Wrap-up

It's a good thing we believe in second chances, eh? The X120e is without a doubt an improvement over the X100e in terms of battery life, thermals, and performance, and considering we've always loved its classic looking chassis and amazingly comfortable keyboard, we're obviously pretty taken with the affordable little laptop. But the real question: do we like it better than HP's dm1z, which is priced around $450? That's a tough one, but when it comes to value, there's no doubt that HP's dm1z is the better choice – it has virtually the same specs as the ThinkPad (okay, one less gig of RAM and Windows 7 Home Premium), but comparable performance and battery life for $100 less. We assume for that reason alone many will snatch up the HP, however, if you're looking for something a bit more professional looking combined with some great ergonomics, the X120e may just be worth the extra cash.

Motorola Droid Bionic in FCC?

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 10:11 AM PST

It's common knowledge that the Droid Bionic is the ever-so-slightly-lower-end CDMA cousin to the mighty Atrix 4G, lacking a little RAM and compatibility with the interesting Laptop Dock. Otherwise, though, you've still got that lovely 1GHz Tegra 2 action and dual-band 802.11n, which is actually how we came to suspect that this device that just passed the FCC today is indeed the Bionic. Dual-band WiFi support is still exceptionally rare -- the Atrix 4G has it, of course -- so when you add that in with a CDMA cellular radio, that gives us plenty of evidence to work with. No word on a release date yet for this thing, but let's hope it doesn't trail the Atrix by long, right?

X-47B unmanned stealth bomber completes its first flight (video)

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 09:49 AM PST

The evil geniuses at Northrop Grumman successfully completed the first flight of its X-47B unmanned stealth bomber a few days ago at Edwards Air Force Base in Edwards, California. In the air for a full twenty-nine minutes, the tailless, fighter-sized UAV flew to 5,000 feet and completed several racetrack-type patterns, before landing safely at 2:38 pm PST. The aircraft will continue to undergo tests at Edwards AFB before heading to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, later this year. The ultimate goal is to get this bad boy taking off and landing on US Navy carriers. Carrier trials are currently slated for sometime in 2013. Video, PR after the break.


Show full PR text
Northrop Grumman X-47B First Flight - US Navy Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Feb. 4, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - News)-built U.S. Navy X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) aircraft successfully completed its historic first flight at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB), Calif.

Conducted by a U.S. Navy/Northrop Grumman test team, the flight took off at 2:09 p.m. PST and lasted 29 minutes. This event marks a critical step in the program, moving the team forward to meet the demonstration objectives of a tailless fighter-sized unmanned aircraft to safely take off from and land on the deck of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier.

A social media version of this release that includes photos, video clips, and additional quotes and background material, is available at http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pa...

"First flight represents the compilation of numerous tests to validate the airworthiness of the aircraft, and the robustness and reliability of the software that allows it to operate as an autonomous system and eventually have the ability to take-off and land aboard an aircraft carrier," said Capt. Jaime Engdahl, the Navy's UCAS-D program manager.

Northrop Grumman is the Navy's UCAS-D prime contractor and leader of the UCAS-D industry team.

"Designing a tailless, fighter-sized unmanned aircraft from a clean sheet is no small feat," said Janis Pamiljans, vice president and UCAS-D program manager for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector. "Commitment, collaboration and uncompromising technical excellence among the Navy, Northrop Grumman and the UCAS-D team industry partners made today's flight a reality. We are indeed honored to have given wings to the Navy's vision for exploring unmanned carrier aviation."

Taking off under hazy skies, the X-47B climbed to an altitude of 5,000 feet, flew several racetrack-type patterns, and landed safely at 2:38 p.m. PST. The flight provided test data to verify and validate system software for guidance and navigation, and the aerodynamic control of the tailless design.

As with all test programs, first flight represents the culmination, verification and certification of pre-flight system data collected and analyzed by both the Navy and Northrop Grumman. Airframe proof load tests, propulsion system accelerated mission tests, software maturity and reliability simulations, full system taxi tests, and numerous other system test activities were all completed and certified prior to first flight.

The aircraft will remain at Edwards AFB for flight envelope expansion before transitioning to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., later this year. There, the system will undergo additional tests to validate its readiness to begin testing in the maritime and carrier environment. The UCAS-D program is preparing the X-47B for carrier trials in 2013.

The Navy awarded the UCAS-D prime contract to Northrop Grumman in August 2007. The six-year contract calls for the development of two X-47B fighter-sized aircraft. The program will demonstrate the first-ever carrier launches and recoveries by an autonomous, unmanned aircraft with a low-observable-relevant planform. Autonomous aerial refueling will also be performed after carrier integration and at-sea trials.

Samsung announces PL20 and ES80, brings 2011 pocket camera lineup to 12 total

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 09:26 AM PST

Brace yourself, Samsung has new point-and-shoots to fill in what little pockets of consumerism weren't intrigued by any of the company's five CES shooters... or even the five more announced just weeks later. First up is the PL20 (pictured left). A 14 megapixel CCD sensor, 27mm wide angle lens, 5x zoom, digital image stabilization, 720p 24fps HD video with Smart Filters. That one comes out in March for a penny under $120, with a choice of silver, pink, black, and tomato red (Sammy's description). For the ES80, subtract two megapixels from the sensor, nix the HD recording, keep the color options, bump the release date one month, and subtract $20. You get the idea. Full details and press release after the break.
Samsung PL20 and ES80 press images


Show full PR text

Samsung Launches the Value Packed PL20 and ES80 Compact Cameras

Samsung innovations put the fun and simplicity into taking and sharing photos

SEOUL, Korea – February 7, 2011 - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today announced two new compact cameras, the PL20 and ES80 –stylish point-and-shoot cameras which will bring fun and great quality photography to everyone. The cameras make clear, sharp images accessible to all users, through a combination of high-quality features and cutting edge innovation, all at an affordable price.

The PL20 packs a 14-megapixel sensor, a 27mm wide angle and a 5x optical zoom, plus HD movie recording, into a simple to use and stylish device. It also removes the need for the ongoing purchase of AA batteries with a unique Li-ion rechargeable battery to keep the fun lasting longer.

The ES80 provides another smart point-and-shoot option for consumers who seek affordability and value in their camera technology. The camera offers easy-to-use features such as an internal charging system which helps to ensure that power isn't lost at that crucial photo moment. The ES80 also boasts 12-megapixel resolution and a 5x optical zoom to make taking great quality images effortlessly simple.

Both the PL20 and the ES80 come in four vibrant colors – Silver, Tomato Red, Pink and Black – meaning there's a model to suit every taste.

"The PL20 and ES80 are fantastic point-and-shoot cameras, designed to create a fun and easy photography experience which can be enjoyed by everyone," said Mr. Hyunho Chung, executive vice president and head of the Digital Imaging Business, Samsung Electronics. "Together they make taking great pictures simple and fun for any photographer, and are driven by our desire to add value for users while retaining an affordable price. The PL20 and ES80 are further evidence of Samsung's commitment to meeting the needs of each and every photographer out there, regardless of their level of expertise or their budget."

Smart Auto selection

Both cameras include Samsung's innovative Smart Auto feature, with multiple modes for automatically selecting the best setting for the photographer's chosen theme, and automatically adjusting that mode to match with the surroundings in which you're shooting. So no matter if you're taking pictures during the day or at night, in portrait or landscape, the cameras produce beautiful photos.

HD Movie and Special Effects on the move

The PL20's ability to record 720p HD quality movies at 24 frames per second means even if you leave your camcorder at home, the PL20 can fill the gaps easily, and with a high quality result. The PL20 also includes Samsung's Smart Filter technology - artistic filters in modes such as 'fish-eye', 'miniature' and 'sketch' - so you can add special effects to your pictures in an instant.

Powerful Portrait technology

The ES80 packs a number of additional features into the affordable model. Face Detection automatically detects and recognizes up to 10 different faces at the same time, guaranteeing that your favorite faces will be focused, even when taking a group picture. Beauty Shot adjusts brightness and face tone, and Smile and Blink detection mean that if your eyes are closed during shooting, the camera will automatically shoot another shot for you. The Self Portrait feature automatically focuses on your face and emits a guiding sound, so you know when it's ready to shoot with you in the frame for great shots!

LG Optimus 2X review

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 08:35 AM PST

The world cried out for a dual-core smartphone and LG and NVIDIA answered the call. Actually, the world only ever dreamt about multicore mobile architectures up until late last year, but sometimes that's all it takes to get those zany engineers engineering. So here we are, in early February 2011, beholding the world's first smartphone built around a dual-core processor, the Optimus 2X. This is a landmark handset in more ways than one, however, as its presence on the market signals LG's first sincere foray into the Android high end. Although the company delivered two thoroughly competent devices for the platform with the Optimus S and T in 2010, they were the very definition of mid-range smartphones and the truth is that Samsung, HTC and Motorola were left to fight among themselves for the most demanding Android users' hard-earned rubles. So now that LG's joined their ranks, was the wait worth it?
LG Optimus 2X review


Hardware


Nothing much has changed since we first met this phone under its codename of Star a couple of months back. One uninterrupted slate of glass covers the entire front, broken up only by the earpiece grille at the very top. Four capacitive touch buttons keep the 4-inch WVGA LCD company, along with a front-facing camera just to the right of the LG logo. As we said in our preview, this is an uncomplicated and restrained design, evidence perhaps that LG chose to spend its time and money on what lies beneath the skin.

The glass front slopes off on its left and right edges before being engulfed by a metallic frame that wraps around the whole handset. Fit and finish between the two is absolutely perfect. The third component to the 2X's external setup is a flexible matte plastic cover that accounts for its entire rear section. It's stupendously easy to remove and replace while still forming a very good seal with its surrounding elements. The austere black back (there'll be brown and white versions too) is decorated with a silver column running through the middle brandishing a "with Google" slogan, which ends in a slight bump near the top, designed to accommodate the 8 megapixel camera module. We're happy to see another little glass cover here protecting the lens from accidental damage.

Overall, the Optimus 2X feels very well put together. It is rigid and unyielding, and although its construction materials are nothing special, the cumulative result is a highly pleasing one. Attention to detail is evident throughout, as even such simple things as the power / lock button and volume keys (the only physical controls on the 2X) feel perfectly measured and built. The screen does suffer from a bout of excessimus bezelitus and we'd have preferred non-capacitive Android buttons, however those are design decisions we'll just have to live with at this point. You'll find the bezel at least partially justified when you open up the rear and see how densely packed the 2X's internals are.

Tegra 2

The star of that internal show is undoubtedly NVIDIA's Tegra 2 system-on-chip. It's highlighted by two 1GHz Cortex-A9 CPU cores and eight GeForce GPU cores, yet still finds the room to include native HDMI and dual display support. Pairing those two together means you can see content on your Optimus 2X and your nearest HDTV at the same time, though that capability isn't available when playing back video (only the bigger screen gets the moving picture feed). We still found plenty of use for the dual display functionality, particularly when browsing or showing off pictures on the handset, but it also helps tilt-controlled games like the preloaded Shrek Kart transform the 2X into a very slick-looking motion controller for big-screen gaming. It takes quite some graphical prowess to be able to execute this "HDMI mirroring" technique, particularly when displaying 3D games and not just stills, but the 2X does it without a sweat.


That HDMI cable -- bundled in the box, as it should be -- is also put to good use with 1080p video content, which looks sharp and plays back flawlessly on the 2X. As we noted above, the mirroring capability is dropped when handling video, but that's unlikely to be an issue because we can't imagine a usage scenario where you'd need to see a video feed on both displays. Getting the HDMI connection up is a zero-setup affair and playback switches between devices on the fly -- disconnect your HDTV while watching a video and it flips over to the Optimus 2X and its integrated speaker; hook it back up again and within a second it's back booming at you from the HDTV. Just seamless. Scope out the video below for a demonstration of this phone's video-crunching credentials.


Once you get past those well executed headline features, however, there's a certain scarcity of real utility to be had from this dual-core chip. The trouble is that smartphones haven't really lacked for processing firepower in a good long while. What applications do you run on your mobile that can choke a 1GHz CPU, whether it be a Snapdragon, Hummingbird or an A4? There aren't many, right? And there are even fewer that have such a demanding overhead while running in the background -- which happens to be NVIDIA's big selling point for Tegra 2, that it allows you to multitask without ever getting bogged down. The chart below illustrates this well, but it also provides your absolute best case scenario -- you'll need to be engaged in a CPU-intensive process while decoding music in the background, another CPU job, and downloading / installing applications. As soon as you back off, say by switching off the background music and allowing your foreground process to have all the processing power (and thereby complete its task more quickly), the benefits of having a dual-core machine will become far less tangible.

The conclusion therefore is that, yes, multitasking maniacs will find their mobile lives accelerated by having that second core, but the rest of the world might very well shrug its shoulders and ask "is that it?" Like a city dweller owning a supercar, the Tegra 2 buyer will have to be wary of the fact that his hardware will far exceed his daily needs and will only show its true, brilliant colors on rare occasions and under just the right circumstances.

Display

A 4-inch WVGA (800 x 480) LCD might sound like standard fare for modern Android phones, but LG's panel is a notch above the average. It's bright and well saturated, retaining its color fidelity even at oblique viewing angles. We wouldn't say it's any competition to the IPS displays available on Apple's iPhone 4 or Sharp's IS03, but then again, not many are. In the absence of such advanced display tech or Samsung's snazzy Super AMOLED, we reckon LG has given us the next best thing with the 2X's screen.

All that said, our testing unit had a manufacturing defect that exposed some backlight bleeding at the very top (see image below). We don't expect retail units to suffer from the same flaw, so we'll let this one slide unless and until we hear of the issue showing up in other handsets.

One thing we touched on in our Optimus 7 review was LG's preference for less sensitive capacitive touchscreens than the competition. It was a commendable choice on the Optimus 7, helping us minimize unintended inputs, however we found the experience on the Optimus 2X rather less satisfying. Far too often our gentle swipes failed to move the stoic homescreen from its position and we had to apply that extra bit more pressure to get it to register. Adapting to this peculiarity is probably just a question of habit, but it's still something to bear in mind.

Camera

Spanning a full eight megapixels, LG's camera sensor can surely get you all the dots you need, but what is it going to fill them up with? A great amount of detail, as it turns out. In the full-sized image of the bike rack above, we can read the small print next to the bike's code number without difficulty, while noise is kept in check admirably well. In fact, you're more likely to decry the noise-reducing blur, which is sprinkled in judiciously, than any signs of excessive graininess. The integrated LED flash is very bright, to the point of washing out any subjects that get too close (a habit the 2X has obviously picked up from its family mate, the Optimus 7), though we reckon that'll be well appreciated by all the nightclub amateur photogs. Overall, the Optimus 2X packs a very impressive little camera, particularly when you consider it essentially comes as a free extra on something you're keeping in your pocket anyway, and its full suite of adjustment options adds to those credentials. We enjoyed having exposure compensation as an easily accessible option, while playing around with the negative image effect, which does what its name suggests, was also a good deal of fun.
LG Optimus 2X camera sample images

We do have a couple of dissatisfactions to express, however. The first is that colors look a little washed out. London can be a dreary place at this time of the year, but the Optimus 2X made it look that extra bit bleaker than it really was. This isn't a massive issue as there's a litany of color adjustment programs out there (plus the phone offers a vivid mode of its own) and we'd sacrifice some saturation for all the extra detail quite happily. The second thing that ailed us was that the camera app takes a little while to process each image before being ready for the next, yet leaves you without a visual clue to the fact it's still working. Consequently, users bashing the "New" button to start composing a new image are left frustrated and a little confused as to why the phone isn't responding to their input.

The front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera should be thought of strictly as a video calling facilitator. Chromatic noise sneaks in almost as soon as you step out of perfect lighting and the pictures you take with it won't be of use for too many purposes. As to video on the Optimus 2X, it can be recorded at resolutions up to 1080p -- we saw no obvious processing lag or frame rate stutters at all -- and does a good job of emulating the camera's stills performance by capturing plenty of visual and aural detail. Check out the video below for an idea of what to expect, it was shot using the Super fine quality setting.


Loudspeaker, earpiece and battery life

The loudspeaker on the Optimus 2X is a direct imitation of Apple's iPhone arrangement -- it sits behind the right grille you see above and does a very decent job. Sound output is hard to muffle too, as some of it escapes through the back of the phone, a handy little imperfection to its design. The earpiece is also up to par, with call quality being no better or worse than the competition. The 2X does warm up during extended calls, but again, we can't think of any comparable phones that don't.

Battery life was an important aspect for us with this phone, for obvious reasons. Our happy discovery was that the Optimus 2X can keep up with the current crop of Android multimedia powerhouses, perhaps even outlasting some of the less frugal among them (Desire HD, we're thinking of you). This is mostly down to Tegra 2 having a minimal power draw when idling. We managed to cross the 24-hour standby mark on a day when we did about an hour's worth of calls, a few minutes of HD video, and some sporadic music playback, all while keeping push email notifications and the 3G and WiFi radios constantly on. Note that for the majority of that time the screen was turned off and the processor didn't really have much work to do, but the experience illustrates that you can take a dual-core smartphone on the move, provided you don't expect anything more from it than you would from its single-core brethren. The camera turned out to be the biggest battery drainer, with 1080p decoding and encoding following up in close second, both predictable outcomes. We can't conclusively say whether the Optimus 2X is more or less power-efficient than its contemporaries -- efficiency being a function of both power consumption under load and the duration of load times, the latter being shorter on a faster chip -- but we didn't feel any more restricted by its longevity than we did when using the likes of the Galaxy S, Desire HD or Droid X, its direct competitors in the Android big leagues.

Software


Not to put too fine a point on this, LG, but why does your dual-core beastphone feel like an 18-month old HTC Hero?

The final code simply doesn't look to have been optimized as well as it should have been -- a suspicion corroborated by our unfortunate knack for finding ways to crash applications.

Reading the spec sheet, you'd expect lag on the Optimus 2X to be measured in flaps of a hummingbird's wings, but the mildly tweaked Android homescreens plod along in a fashion that's appreciably worse than what you'd get on the real Hummingbird devices, Samsung's Galaxy S variants. UI responsiveness on the 2X can be described as mediocre, which we find a mind-boggling development as the hardware is certainly fast enough. It's important to note that applications load up as fast or faster than most other Android handsets we've come across, it's just that navigating to them and through the 2X's menus didn't feel as snappy as we would have liked. The final code simply doesn't look to have been optimized as well as it should have been -- a suspicion corroborated by our unfortunate knack for finding ways to crash applications. For example, our review unit's Gallery app crashes each and every time we exit it via the Back button after entering it through the Clock application. We found that bug without even looking for it, never a good sign.

Worse yet, the 2X's relatively unresponsive behavior isn't exactly sparing system resources. We installed Advanced Task Killer (which we also managed to crash, woohoo!) on the 2X and even after clearing out all the apps running in the background, the highest amount of memory we could free up was 210MB. That means that of the device's 512MB of available RAM, a good 300MB are taken up by the OS itself. That's a hefty footprint to have when you consider that 256MB of RAM was the standard among smartphones until not too long ago.

One of the culprits for this lack of frugality is the Music app, which is impossible to shut down because its controls are integrated into Android's window-shade slide-down menu. That integration in itself isn't actually the worst idea in the world -- and neither are the rest of LG's moderate modifications to the Android interface. Contact pages are spruced up in a well organized and logical manner, the messaging application has a delightful little drop-down preview of your latest unread text, and the calendar and weather / clock widgets are also nice extras to have. There's a boilerplate social networking updater, which can send your status out to Twitter, Facebook and Myspace at the same time. That part's good, the Twitter for LG and Facebook for LG apps are not.

The Optimus 2X's saving grace is the same as that of many a Motoblur handset: LauncherPro. Anyone familiar with the remedial effects of installing this little Android skin on their phone will know that a laggy default UI is just something you look at for the 30 or so seconds it takes you to open up the Market and download Federico Carnales' masterwork. Any qualms we have about the Optimus 2X's smoothness evaporate into thin air with LauncherPro in effect, and we even noticed the phone's unlocking animation -- whose appearance remains unchanged -- felt snappier.

LauncherPro patches over, but it doesn't fully heal LG's gaping software wound. We still managed to clunk applications into dysfunction, which was an unfortunate reminder of what lies under the skin. LG's evident weakness on the software front shouldn't be overstated in terms of its impact today -- app glitches were sporadic rather than regular -- but it's a major sticking point if you're hoping the company will deliver a competent Gingerbread for the 2X. After all, Froyo has been around for over half a year, yet the best thing we can say about LG's treatment of the OS is that "it doesn't crash too often." Would you really bet your mobile updating future on a track record like that?

Tegra Zone


The recurring theme through our hardware testing was that Tegra 2's full potential has yet to be tapped. NVIDIA is working hard on correcting that and has enrolled the makers of the Unreal Engine into its development program to ensure that upcoming graphically intensive games make full use of the extra power its new hardware offers. The Tegra Zone, a preloaded app on all Tegra 2 devices, will be central to this effort. It'll present NVIDIA-curated games, videos, trailers, and app recommendations that showcase its chip's superiority. Devs are being encouraged to create graphically fancier versions of their games specifically for Tegra 2 -- as the makers of Galaxy on Fire 2, Dungeon Defenders and Samurai 2 have already done -- with a presence in the Zone serving as their reward. You might call it fragmentation, but NVIDIA would call it just good business.

Either way, NVIDIA's developer connections and considerable budget look likely to secure Tegra 2 a bright and increasingly useful future, but as of today, its biggest contribution to the smartphone realm is 1080p video recording and output plus a dash of added gaming oomph.

Wrap-up

We started off by talking about LG's failure to make itself known among the Android elite to this point. Up till now, the Korean giant has never so much as hinted at threatening the incumbents atop the Android pile, and the 2X is therefore its most significant smartphone launch, well... ever. It carries the hopes and aspirations of an entire multinational corporation, and if you want any evidence of how important mobile hardware is becoming, just go check out LG's latest quarterly and annual fiscal results. This phone matters. And it should matter to us just as much as it does to LG, because everyone benefits from having another legit big-timer competing at the high end. Then maybe we won't have to sit through umpteen different variations on the Galaxy S formula from Samsung or HTC's exhibition of "13 ways to repackage a Desire HD."

The good news for LG is that it's built a very solid foundation for itself with the Optimus 2X -- Tegra 2 is an undeniably powerful, multicore architecture, one that's only going to expand in importance and value as we move forward, and the rest of the phone's specs all match up to our basic expectations of a top tier handset. Construction is robust, finely detailed and generally unobtrusive. The screen may not have anything Super about it, but as LCDs go, it's a very good one. Where we were left disappointed, however, was in the company's software execution. Neat little tweaks to Android's default interface failed to obscure the fact that the Optimus 2X is neither as responsive nor as stable as it should be. You might be able to rectify those flaws by installing one of the inevitable avalanche of custom ROMs that this device will benefit from, but we're here to review LG's own performance and we find the failure to deliver a reliable platform inexcusable.

The Optimus 2X offers great, benchmark-elevating hardware, but can't earn our seal of approval until it gets its software kinks straightened out. As it stands today, it's a great toy for developers and enthusiasts that offers the rest of us a tantalizing glimpse at what the likes of the Atrix 4G, Galaxy S2 and others might bring as the rest of the smartphone world makes its move toward multicore devices.

TI announces OMAP 5: two high-performance and two low-power cores, devices next year

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 08:24 AM PST

We're still waiting for the first OMAP 4 devices to hit the market, but TI's planning ahead -- way ahead -- with its announcement today of the OMAP 5 platform that really kicks things into high gear. The headline feature would be the inclusion of two Cortex-A15 cores, each running at up to 2GHz; Cortex-A15 is the fastest architecture ARM has announced to date, featuring performance roughly 50 percent better than Cortex-A9 at the same clock speed. What's more, there are another two Cortex-M4 processors along for the ride, ready to take over less intensive tasks at much lower power consumption to improve device responsiveness. The platform can support up to four cameras operating at the same time, offer 3D playback, recording, and 2D upsampling to 3D at 1080p resolution, and control up to 8GB of RAM. The chips start sampling to device manufacturers in the second half of this year with retail devices expected in the second half of 2012. Follow the break for the full press release.

Show full PR text
Not just a faster horse: TI's OMAP™ 5 platform transforms the concept of 'mobile'

- New OMAP 5 platform creates disruptive mobile experiences akin to Henry Ford's transformative automobile advancements

- Mobile computing, stereoscopic 3D, gesture recognition and computational photography intensified by TI's best-in-class applications platform

- Sophisticated multi-core processing, including ARM® Cortex™-A15 MPCore™ processors

DALLAS (Feb. 7, 2011) – Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) announced today the next generation of its popular OMAP™ family: the OMAP 5 mobile applications platform, which is positioned to transform how mobile devices, such as Smartphones, tablets and other mobile form factors are used, making them even more valuable in our daily lives. More information on the OMAP 5 platform can be found here: www.ti.com/wbu_omap5_pr_lp.

Imagine carrying only one productivity tool while in the office, on the road or at home – a single mobile device which provides PC-like computing performance with mobile power levels. Imagine using the same device to conduct a stereoscopic 3D (S3D) video conference for work. Imagine being in a meeting and projecting a document from this device, which you can edit by simply touching the projected image on a surface. Imagine going home and switching the device to your personal operating system to drive a next-generation game on your HDTV using wireless display technology. These capabilities are only highlights of what the TI OMAP 5 platform uniquely delivers. To see more experiences enabled by the OMAP 5 platform, view a video here: www.ti.com/wbu_omap5_pr_v.

Highest performance, lowest power...yet again
The 28 nanometer OMAP 5 applications processors carry on the OMAP family tradition of delivering significant increases in performance and functionality, while lowering power consumption compared to their predecessors. Specifically, they offer up to 3x processing performance and five-fold 3D graphics improvement, yet provide a nearly 60 percent average power reduction compared to a sample user experience on the OMAP 4 platform. Additionally, the OMAP 5 platform's software is designed for maximum reuse to ease migration from the OMAP 4 platform.

"The next decade will bring a revolution in mobile computing, as devices continue to converge, attempting to become one single device that meets all of our computing, entertainment, and complex day-to-day needs and interests. However, the bridge to true mobile computing enablement was missing until today. The OMAP 5 platform will be at the heart of driving the mobile computing revolution by delivering the highest computing, graphics and multimedia performance possible within the low power budget required by mobile form factors," said Remi El-Ouazzane, vice president, OMAP platform business unit, TI.

Sophisticated, multi-core processing: harmonized for the best possible user experience
The OMAP 5 processor leverages two ARM® Cortex™-A15 MPCores™ – the most advanced ARM architecture to date – capable of speeds of up to 2 GHz per core in the OMAP 5 implementation. With a 50 percent boost in performance over the Cortex-A9 core (at the same clock frequency), combined with up to 8GB of dynamic memory access and hardware virtualization support, the Cortex-A15 core can enable true mobile computing experiences, such as the ones referenced above.

The OMAP 5 architecture utilizes an intelligent combination of many different processing cores – each tailored and power-optimized for specific functions – and all harmonized to provide the best possible user experience. In addition to the two Cortex-A15 cores, the OMAP 5 processor includes individual, dedicated engines for: video, imaging and vision, DSP, 3D graphics, 2D graphics, display and security. The processor also includes two ARM Cortex-M4 processors for offloading real-time processing from the Cortex-A15 cores to improve low-level control and responsiveness of mobile devices.

"We continue to see high performance mobile devices, such as advanced Smartphones and tablets, requiring increased processor performance while remaining within the restricted mobile power consumption boundaries," said Mike Inglis, EVP and general manager of the ARM Processor Division. "The OMAP 5 processor highlights the advantage of the ARM business model. The relationship enables product differentiation through the integration of low power multi-core ARM processor cores with the partners' own system-on-chip technologies, including power management, audio and video processing. ARM is proud to have contributed to the OMAP 5 platform, which enables OEM customers to leverage the extensive ARM software ecosystem to quickly deliver innovative new mobile solutions."

Next-generation natural user interfaces
Natural user interfaces (NUI) – how we interact with the world around us in an intuitive, natural way – are taken to the next level with the OMAP 5 platform's advanced support for S3D, gesturing (including proximity sensing), and interactive projection.

The OMAP 5 processor can support up to four cameras in parallel, as well as record and play back S3D video in 1080p quality, and perform real-time conversion of 2D content to S3D at 1080p resolution. The new processor can also deliver advanced short- and long-range gesturing applications, as well as full-body and multi-body interactive gestures, utilizing either 2D or S3D cameras. The OMAP 5 processor, coupled with a TI DLP® Pico™ projector and a camera, can also enable interactive projection where the user can actually "touch and drag" projected images on both a table top or wall.

Additionally, the OMAP 5 processor can interface with and leverage a wide variety of sensor technologies to enable touchless sensing, such as proximity sensing, capacitive sensing and ultrasonic sensing.

Computational photography – the industry's next frontier
Today, most mobile devices are equipped with built-in cameras; however, due to the physical limitations of the device, picture and video quality is not on par with stand-alone consumer electronic products, such as digital SLR cameras. In order to close this quality gap, computational algorithms are used to compensate for these limitations. The OMAP 5 processor includes hardware and software resources that enable the development and deployment of such algorithms, such as camera stabilization, motion blur reduction, noise reduction, high dynamic range and face-based processing. The new processor also goes a step further by using the same OMAP 5 hardware resources with vision algorithms to extract features and data from the picture, in order to implement applications such as face recognition, object recognition and text recognition. These vision capabilities can also be used as the foundation for many different and exciting augmented reality applications.

Industry's best all-around applications processor platform
The OMAP 5 platform sports an impressive list of features and benefits supporting everything from open source platforms to complementary TI technologies, including:

Strengthening the OMAP 5 platform's value, TI leverages its open source community involvement to benefit customer product development. Early extensive work in community projects translates to a significant quality and schedule advantage for device manufacturers, including power, memory and performance optimization. Additionally, TI's pre-integrated software packages for popular Linux-based distributions help manufacturers achieve maximum system-level performance while driving a faster time-to-market.

Availability
TI's OMAP 5 platform is expected to sample in the second half of 2011, with devices on the market in the second half of 2012. The OMAP5430 processor is offered in a 14x14mm Package-on-Package (PoP) with LPDDR2 memory support. The OMAP5432 processor is offered in a 17x17mm BGA package with DDR3/DDR3L memory support.

These products are intended for high-volume mobile OEMs and ODMs and are not available through distributors. TI also plans to develop compatible ARM Cortex-A15 processor-based solutions for broader market applications across TI's product portfolio.

Takara Tomy's Ningen Gakki musical toy lets you smack your friends to the beat (video)

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 08:00 AM PST

Takara Tomy's Ningen Gakki musical toy lets you smack your friends to the beat (video)
If you want to get your conductive body orchestra going, you no longer need 15 bikini models and a bunch of conductive paint. You just need a Ningen Gakki, coming this summer from Takara Tomy. It has four conductive patches on the limbs of its vaguely anthropomorphized shape. If two people each touch one of the patches and then touch each other a circuit is created and a note is played. Up to four people can play songs or drums by clapping hands or, as you can see in the video below, generally slapping each other about. The notes don't appear to get louder the harder the hit, but perhaps that's for the best.

iPad / MIDI hardware options detailed, awesome (video)

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 07:22 AM PST

If you have an iPad and you're looking for ways to incorporate it into your music-making setup, the kids at Create Digital Music have put together a handy guide to the wonderful world of iPad / MIDI integration. Featuring the Apple Camera Connection Kit (which plays well with MIDI USB, by the way), various apps, and quite a bit of video, there should be plenty to keep the music-lovin' geek entertained. Our favorite video, which we attached after the break, features an unholy collaboration between the FunkBox iPad app and a x0xb0x sequencer / synth. But what are you waiting for? Hit the source link to get started.

O2 UK says it's getting the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (update: other UK carriers, April launch)

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 06:55 AM PST

Now that the Xperia Play is finally official ahead of a full unveiling at MWC next week, carriers are ready to hop on the bandwagon -- or at least one is: O2 in the UK. Other than a brief tweet, no other details are given at this point, though the quick support of a major European carrier has to be good news for Sony Ericsson considering that device subsidies are no longer a sure thing... and without question, the Play represents something of a Hail Mary for one of the most badly bruised and beaten titans of the wireless industry. Pricing on contract is, of course, a huge open question -- as is North American support -- but hopefully all will be revealed on the 13th.

[Thanks, Ed]

Update: Pocket-lint says it can "exclusively confirm" that Vodafone will be getting the phone as well, suggesting that Sony Ericsson may not be pursuing exclusivity periods here -- at least, not in the UK.

Update 2: Pocket-lint is additionally reporting that Orange and T-Mobile UK (collectively known as Everything Everywhere) are signed up to get it in April, which would put it around the same time as the Xperia Arc. Still no word on what this might mean for North American launches.

First Verizon iPhones now being received, FedEx now awaiting your impatient calls

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 06:33 AM PST

If you got in quick and ordered your Verizon iPhone early you might just be getting a surprise in the mail this morning. We've heard from a number of people that their special somethings were out for delivery, but our man Chris was the first to provide conclusive proof, freshly in the door and photographed for your viewing pleasure. Still haven't ordered yours and are on the fence? We can help.

[Thanks, Chris]

Plextor announces the M2S line of SATA III-packing, 480MB/s SSDs

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 06:19 AM PST

Plextor's invasion of the SSD space continues unabated with the announcement today of the new M2S series drives. These 2.5-inch internal drives feature a SATA III 6Gb/s interface for read speeds up to 480MB/s, 128GB DDR3 cache, and are available in one of three denominations: 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. And you know how you were just saying how much you love Acronis True Image software? Well, they come with it! Look for 'em in Europe and the UK in March, with further availability and pricing to be announced. PR after the break.
Show full PR text
Plextor to Storm UK with Fastest, Long-Life and Stable SSDs

Plextor to launch the fastest M2S Series SSD with SATA III 6Gb/s Interface

February 7th, 2011 – Plextor are excited to reveal they will be launching their first solid state drive (SSD) in the UK next month – the world-class 2nd generation M2S Series.

Plextor has a deserved, solid reputation for high performance, high quality products, especially in the storage sector. This leap into the SSD sector in the UK and Europe is a new move for the ever-expanding manufacturer, and a demonstration of their continued position as pioneers in a market likely to grow rapidly in future years. SSDs are increasing in popularity as a complement alongside traditional HDDs and the technology may eventually replace the HDD entirely for the OS and working environment.

Available in 3 capacities (64GB, 128GB and 256GB), the perfectly engineered 2.5" internal M2S Series SSD is one of the first of its kind to support the new SATA III 6B/s interface and boasts exclusive technologies to increase speed, stability and lifespan – offering up to 10 years of performance which doesn't degrade over time as other SSDs might. With read speeds of up to 480MB/s, write speeds of up to 330MB/s and performing significantly highly in benchmark tests, the M2S is currently the fastest SSD available on the market.

The M2S Series is the must-have device for tech-savvy home or business users who demand consistently high quality, unbeatable speeds, stability and a long product life through day to day use.

Key Features:

* One of the first SSDs to support SATA III 6Gb/s - read speed of up to 480MB/s
* 2.5" Internal SSD in three capacities: 64GB, 128GB and 256GB
* Features the world's most advanced control chip for high performance
* Exclusive 'Instant Restore Technology' for stability
* Generous 128GB DDR3 cache to improve data transfer speeds
* Dynamic Wear Levelling system improves data allocation for longevity
* Latest Windows 7 TRIM command for data-wiping efficiency
* Bundled with Acronis True Image software for easy migration
* Unrivalled 3 year on-site warranty and service support

All-new SATA III 6Gb/s Interface for the fastest transfer & writing speeds possible:

With a sequential read speed of up to 480MB/s and a write speed of up to 330MB/s, the MT2 series is exceptionally fast and one of the first products in the market to feature the all-new SATA III 6Gb/s interface. This additionally supports the previous generations including SATA 3GB/s and SATA 1.5GB/s.

Featuring the world's most advanced control chip for unrivalled performance:

The MT2 series is catapulted into leadership with the inclusion of the server-grade Marvell 88SS9174 control chip – currently the industry's most advanced and also used in central processors. This pioneering technology gives the MS2 Series the edge, with the fastest read/write speeds, increased stability and an enhanced lifespan.

These benefits are increased further thanks to a generous 128MB DDR3 cache which serves as a temporary storage buffer. Its high speed interface reduces read/write times of the flash memory, particularly with data which is frequently modified, in order to transfer data faster and increase the SSD lifespan.

Exclusive 'Instant Restore Technology' for life-long high performance:

Traditionally, SSDs become 'dirty' after long periods of use (similar to HDDs becoming defragmented) and as such, suffer a loss in performance over time.

The unique 'Instant Restore Technology' developed by Plextor and integrated into the M2S Series is an intelligent solution to prevent this performance loss from occurring and provides unrivalled, long term stability.

The M2S boasts the latest Windows 7 TRIM command, providing more efficient methods of data-wiping, and a 'Dynamic Wear Levelling' system which writes data into blocks equally to provide a highly efficient data allocation process, reducing the number of memory wipe-outs.

Such forward-thinking design and technology enables the M2S Series to overcome the problems associated with long term use, maintaining a no-compromise level of performance throughout its use, offering a lifespan of up to 10 years.

No-fuss software to help migrate from HDD to SDD:

The M2S Series bundles Acronis True Image Software, making it quick, easy and fuss-free to migrate data from a traditional HDD to the MS2 Series SSD.

The process clones the entire partition/drive, ensuring no data is lost during the upgrade and even eliminating the need to re-install the operating system.

Exceptional warranty and service to offer complete peace of mind:

Plextor offers phone support across Europe in 11 languages with local phone numbers for users to dial, with additional email and website support.

Unlike many others of its kind, the M2S offers an added level of reassurance with the Plextor 'Fast Warranty Service' – a 3 year on-site warranty across the EU, Norway and Switzerland (1 year elsewhere), enabling users to arrange repairs of non-working products directly with Plextor - so users can feel secure in the knowledge that this must-have device is covered for longer, and avoid the hassle of returning goods to the retailer/third party.

Read/Write Performance

64GB - Read up to 370MBps and Write up to 110MBps
128GB
- Read up to 420MBps and write up to 210MBps256GB
- Read up to 480MBps and write up to 330MBps

Pricing, Availability & Specifications:

The M2S will be launching in Europe and UK in March 2011. Further details including pricing on the M2S Series will be announced in March.

More information can be found at:

www.plextor.com
Facebook: Plextor Europe
Twitter: @ plextoreurope
YouTube: plextorofficial

About Plextor

Plextor is a leading brand of high-performance digital media solutions for professionals, consumers and enterprises. Since entering the European market in 1994, Plextor has introduced a number of award winning products, including CD/DVD recordable drives, Blu-ray drives, Portable HDD storage solutions, Media Players and Networked Attached Storage devices.

Pyxis 'Operating Environment' hits .NET, leaves no embedded chip unturned (video)

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 05:54 AM PST

Pyxis 'Operating Environment' hits .NET Micro Framework, won't leave any embedded chip unturned (video)
Almost exactly one year ago we got a little demo of Pyxis courtesy of Thomas Holtquist. It was basically a micro-OS, bringing simple application launching and other functionality to the very limited hardware of Arduino. It didn't have anything on Windows 3.1, never mind XP, but it certainly made interacting with DIY hardware a lot easier. Now Pyxis 2 is here, the so-called "Operating Environment" has been ported to the .NET Micro Framework. .NET MF is basically a version of Microsoft's .NET platform but stripped down and optimized for embedded circuits and the like, and Pyxis 2 makes app development and execution on that platform much easier. It's all demonstrated in the video below, and all the source code is ready and waiting to satisfy the needs of your development environment.

Cisco looking to acquire Inlet Technologies, get even hipper with streaming

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 05:24 AM PST

Cisco looking to acquire Inlet Technologies, get even hipper with streamingWe haven't heard a lot about Inlet Technologies over the years, a company that works mostly behind the scenes on advanced encoding technology, but it was right there on the cutting-edge of the Blu-ray bandwagon back in 2008. Now it's looking set to become the latest addition to Cisco, with that company announcing intent to drop $95 million and see the acquisition through. It's not entirely clear what Cisco will do if it picks up this toy, but it certainly sounds like mobility is on the mind of Enrique Rodriguez, Cisco's Service Provider Video Technology Group General Manager:
Cisco's Videoscape platform will play a key role in reinventing the TV experience, and the acquisition of Inlet will enable our customers to leverage the network as a platform to deliver innovative video experiences to consumers on any device.
If that name sounds familiar, until recently Enrique worked at Microsoft on, among other things, the Zune and Media Center. That might also give another clue to where Cisco is going.

Show full PR text
Cisco Announces Intent to Acquire Inlet Technologies
Acquisition Will Support Cisco's Videoscape Strategy

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Feb. 4, 2011 – Cisco today announced its intent to acquire privately-held Inlet Technologies, a leading provider of Adaptive Bit Rate (ABR) digital media processing platforms. Based in Raleigh, N.C., Inlet will strengthen the capabilities of Cisco's Videoscape TV platform, allowing service and content providers to deliver compelling video experiences to any device over any Internet Protocol (IP) network.

"Service and content providers have a tremendous opportunity to deliver exciting video experiences as media consumption increases across mobile, desktop, and smart devices," said Enrique Rodriguez, senior vice president and general manager, Cisco's Service Provider Video Technology Group. "Cisco's Videoscape platform will play a key role in reinventing the TV experience, and the acquisition of Inlet will enable our customers to leverage the network as a platform to deliver innovative video experiences to consumers on any device."

Cisco Videoscape is a comprehensive TV platform for service providers that brings together digital TV and online content with social media and communications applications to create a truly immersive home and mobile video entertainment experience. Inlet's advanced ABR technology, which is used in streaming multimedia over managed and unmanaged networks, adapts the quality of the video stream based on real-time network conditions.

Inlet brings to Cisco a strong team that understands the complexities of delivering ABR video over IP networks to any device. Upon the close of the acquisition, Inlet employees will be integrated into Cisco's Service Provider Video Technology Group.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will pay approximately $95 million in cash and retention-based incentives in exchange for all shares of Inlet. The acquisition is subject to various standard closing conditions and is expected to be complete in the first half of calendar year 2011.

About Cisco Systems
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com

# # #

Cisco, the Cisco logo, and Cisco Systems are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including the expected completion of the acquisition and the time frame in which this will occur, the expected benefits to Cisco and its customers from completing the acquisition, and plans regarding Inlet personnel. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results due to a variety of factors, including, among other things, the potential impact on the business of Inlet due to the uncertainty about the acquisition, the retention of employees of Inlet and the ability of Cisco to successfully integrate Inlet and to achieve expected benefits, business and economic conditions and growth trends in the networking industry, customer markets and various geographic regions, global economic conditions and uncertainties in the geopolitical environment and other risk factors set forth in Cisco's most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Any forward-looking statements in this release are based on limited information currently available to Cisco, which is subject to change, and Cisco will not necessarily update the information.

Scientists grow nanolasers on silicon chips, prove microscopic blinkenlights are the future

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 04:53 AM PST

Scientists grow nanolasers on silicon chips, prove microscopic blinkenlights are the future
What you see above may look like a nanoscale Obelisk of Light, ready to protect the tiny forces of Nod, but that's not it at all. It's a nanolaser, grown directly on a field of silicon by scientists at Berkeley. The idea is to rely on light to transmit data inside of computers, rather than physical connections, but until now finding a way to generate that light on a small enough scale to work inside circuitry without damaging it has been impossible. These indium gallium arsenide nanopillars could solve that, grown on and integrated within silicon without doing harm. Once embedded they emit light at a wavelength of 950nm, as shown in the video below.

[Thanks, Paul]

Samsung SCH-R910 Forte takes its TouchWiz and LTE show to the FCC

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 04:13 AM PST

Samsung SCH-R910 Forte brings its TouchWiz and LTE show to the FCC
MetroPCS is getting ever closer to its first LTE handset. The SCH-R910 Forte, which we last saw courtesy of Mr. Blurrycam a few weeks ago, has just had its FCC test results posted for the world to see. If you've missed prior reports, we're told it will sport a 1GHz processor and five megapixel camera, but none of that is confirmed just yet. Sadly no test photos were released, so we'll have to keep waiting for glamour shots, but we do now know where the FCC label can be found: inside the battery cover. That's one less mystery to ponder today.

HP twirls out TouchSmart 610 and 9300 all-in-one PCs

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 03:45 AM PST

When almost every other computer manufacturer has copied its touchscreen all-in-one, what's a company like HP to do? Create a totally crazy pivoting and reclining one, of course! Yep, HP's newest TouchSmart 610 and 9300 Elite Business PC may look like typical 1920 x 1080-resolution, 23-inch all-in-ones when positioned upright, but that all changes when their screens recline up to 60 degrees or the entire body of the rig swivels around to do a 180. It's one seriously flexible AIO, but the new design isn't just about yoga-like tricks -- it aims to make touch interaction more comfortable and ergonomic, and on that vein HP has also updated its TouchSmart 610 consumer model with its latest TouchSmart software layer, which includes finger-friendly Hulu, Netflix, and Twitter apps as well as a TouchSmart Apps Center. The 9300 Elite Business all-in-one, as you may have caught from its name, is meant for enterprise and "customer spaces" (aka kiosks, counters, etc.), and thus only comes loaded with Windows 7.

Spec-wise, the 610 can be configured with Intel and AMD desktop processors, up to 16GB of RAM, a terabyte of storage, a Blu-ray drive, while its 1.3 megapixel camera and Beats Audio speakers come standard. Naturally, the 9300 has to keep up its professional reputation, and though it cuts out the Beats, it gains Intel's latest Sandy Bridge processors, a 160GB SSD option, and a higher quality two megapixel cam with facial recognition software. You know, for "enhanced security." So, when can you pick up one of these monsters? The $900 610 is expected to start shipping on February 9th, while the 9300 will hit in May for an undetermined price. We're hoping to bring you a full review of the 610 soon, but we can tell you from our early look at it that the viewing angles were sufficiently wide and the tilting mechanism fairly rigid. Man, it's already turning out to be quite a week for HP -- that webOS event is coming up on Wednesday, but in the meantime you'll want to hit the break for the full TouchSmart press release and a short video of the reclining mechanism in action.
HP TouchSmart 610 and TouchSmart 9300 hands-on

HP TouchSmart 610 and TouchSmart 9300 press images




Show full PR text
HP Redesigns the TouchSmart PC Experience
HP TouchSmart PCs offer high style and performance with reclining display for exceptional comfort

PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 7, 2011 – HP today unveiled its first touchscreen desktop PCs to feature a 60-degree reclining display, enabling users to adjust the display's position for a comfortable user experience.

With a sleek, clean appearance, the new HP TouchSmart610 Consumer PC and HP TouchSmart 9300 Elite Business PC recline from upright to almost flat, providing consumers and business users increased comfort for longer-term use and making it easier for businesses to engage customers.

"As a leader in touch computing, HP has made each iteration of the TouchSmart PC more intuitive, resourceful and fun for users," said James Mouton, senior vice president, Desktop Organization, Personal Systems Group, HP. "The latest generation is no exception with a new design that makes it easier and more comfortable to use, and it allows businesses to integrate the TouchSmart where convenience, space constraints and appearance matter."

Ergonomic design enables users to do more and share more
 From creating art projects, to playing games, to enabling natural front- desk interaction where eye contact is important, the new HP TouchSmart PCs offer consumers and businesses increased range of motion, superior viewing and an intuitive touch experience.
Both the TouchSmart610 Consumer PC and TouchSmart 9300 Elite Business PC feature a 23-inch diagonal high-definition (HD) display(1) that reclines up to 60 degrees and tilts forward up to five degrees.

The wide-angle, LED backlit LCD screen provides optimal viewing angles, even when reclined, while advanced multitouch technology allows for an accurate response.
The TouchSmart PCs' simple one-cord setup and slim, all-in-one design
save space and allow them to fit into any room or business environment. For a clean and uncluttered appearance, control features are conveniently located to the right and left sides of the display.

Intuitive software, Beats Audio for immersive, personalized entertainment
With its refined industrial design and the latest version of HP TouchSmart software, the TouchSmart610 consumer PC makes it easier and more comfortable than ever to surf the web, edit photos or access social networks.(2)

In addition to touch- optimized applications from Hulu, Netflix, Rhapsody® and Twitter, as well as HP's exclusive RecipeBox and webcam applications, users can add new applications via the TouchSmart Apps Center.(2) The TouchSmart610 also features Beats Audio. A high-performance technology developed by HP and Beats by Dr. DreTM, Beats Audio allows listeners to hear music the way the artist intended it – just as it sounds in the studio.
For the gaming enthusiast, select models of the TouchSmart610 are available with Ubisoft®'s real-time strategy game, R.U.S.E.TM – a $49.99 value. Users will enjoy using multitouch navigation to deceive and manipulate enemies as they lead their nation to victory.

The TouchSmart610 also features the new HP LinkUp application, which allows users to wirelessly link a notebook PC to the TouchSmart using a home network.(3) Accessing and viewing applications, files and content from a notebook on the TouchSmart's large HD screen creates a more comfortable and productive experience.(1) Changes are saved directly to the notebook so there are no file transfer hassles.

Innovative touchscreen PC technology for businesses
Ideal for customer-facing environments in hospitality, retail and healthcare, the HP TouchSmart 9300 Elite Business PC combines HP's powerful touchscreen technology with essential business benefits. Businesses can configure the TouchSmart 9300 to meet a variety of workplace preferences, including desk or counter positioning, wall mount(4) or kiosk placement.

The TouchSmart 9300 delivers superb computing performance with second-generation Intel® CoreTM processors and a choice of Windows® 7 operating systems. It also offers up to 16 gigabytes (GB)(5) of memory and an optional 160 GB(6) solid-state drive to enhance productivity and interaction with touchscreen applications. In addition, employees can log in using the HP TouchSmart Elite 9300 Business PC's high-resolution, adjustable webcam(2) with facial recognition software for enhanced security.

The HP Interactive Solutions Partner Program for independent software vendors (ISVs) delivers touch-based customer solutions to businesses. Tikatok, a division of Barnes & Noble, has piloted several interactive kiosks as part of Barnes & Noble's new Educational Toys & Games department. The kiosk, designed as a life-size book, features an interactive demo of Tikatok's proprietary online application. The demo is hosted on HP TouchSmart PCs and allows children to try out the book creation module or read books that other children have created at Tikatok.com.

Chico's FAS, which offers women's clothing and accessories through Chico's, White House|Black Market and Soma Intimates stores, has rolled out HP Business TouchSmart PCs in almost 1,100 stores. The PCs provide one-touch application access, enhanced employee training sessions with full-motion video and a technology platform for management packages.

Pricing and availability(7)
 The HP TouchSmart610 Consumer PC is expected to be available on Feb. 9 in the United States at a starting price of $899.99. The HP TouchSmart 9300 Business PC is expected to be available in May in the United States; pricing will be provided closer to availability.
Additional information is available at www.hp.com/personal.
24/7 service and support

HP PCs are backed by HP Total Care, the company's award-winning service, solutions and support, both in and out of warranty. With HP Total Care, consumers can reach support agents 24/7 by phone or online support options like the HP consumer support forum, which features mobile functionality that allows visitors to browse content and post questions or comments from any mobile device, no download required.

HP PCs also come with built-in support through the HP Support Assistant, a simple software application that allows PCs to run smoothly right from the start. The software maintains PC performance and resolves problems with automated updates and tune-ups, onboard diagnostics and guided assistance.

About HP
HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world's largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.
(1) HD content required to view HD images. (2) Internet access required and sold separately. (3) Wireless access point and internet service sold separately. (4) Wall mounting hardware sold separately. (5) Maximum memory capacities assume Windows 64-bit operating systems or Linux. With
Windows 32-bit operating systems, memory above 3 GB may not all be available due to
system resource requirements. (6) For hard drives, 1 TB = 1 trillion bytes. Actual formatted capacity is less. Up to 14 GB of hard
drive is reserved for system recovery software. (7) Estimated U.S. street prices. Actual prices may vary.
R.U.S.E, Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. Intel and Core are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corp. in the United States and other countries. Windows is a U.S. registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning expected development, performance or market share relating to products and services; any statements regarding anticipated operational and financial results; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include macroeconomic and geopolitical trends and events; the competitive pressures faced by HP's businesses; the development and transition of new products and services (and the enhancement of existing products and services) to meet customer needs and respond to emerging technological trends; the execution and performance of contracts by HP and its customers, suppliers and partners; the achievement of expected operational and financial results; and other risks that are described in HP's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to HP's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2010. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

© 2011 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

Sony VAIO YB now shipping AMD Fusion to your door for $600

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 03:14 AM PST

The wait on AMD's Fusion has been so long that we feel like we should pop open the bubbly every time another laptop ships with it. Latest off the assembly line is Sony's VAIO YB series, which gives you a 1.6GHz processor to make similarly-clocked Atoms AMD-green with envy, 4GB of RAM and 500GB of hard drive space, an 11.6-inch glossy screen with 1366 x 768 resolution, and up to six hours of battery life for $599.99. It's available in silver and pink varieties today, or you can wait a little while longer for Amazon to get stock of its lower-specced variant, with 2GB of RAM and 320GB of storage, which will cost you $50 less. See more of the VAIO YB in our CES hands-on gallery below.
Sony shows off VAIO laptop with AMD Zacate goodness inside (hands-on)

Circboard brings fast typing to console controllers (video)

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 02:46 AM PST

Circboard brings fast typing to console controllers
Entering any kind of text using a console gamepad is an exercise in frustration. Certain games have offered innovative solutions, like Beyond Good and Evil's infinitely spiraling letters, but none quite as simple as Circboard. It basically splits the keyboard into bunches, with the left analog stick on an Xbox 360 controller selecting a group of letters and then the right stick or buttons grabbing a specific letter. Shoulder bumpers handle space and backspace, while the left trigger does caps. Simple, easy -- and as of now just a demo. But, the team is looking to get its idea into a variety of games and other console apps, and they're looking for investors. You always did say that mutual funds were boring...

Update: Alfredo wrote in with some prior art that might make patenting this approach somewhat... difficult.

Nokia E7 starts shipping to 'select markets'

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 02:00 AM PST

"Better late than never" has been Nokia's rallying cry when it comes to releasing high-end devices, but we can't begrudge the delay we've experienced with the E7, this phone was gorgeous back in September and it's still a beauty today. The QWERTY-equipped sibling to the N8 brings a 4-inch Clear Black Display -- whose name is no exaggeration, it's as sharp and vibrant as any AMOLED screen we've seen so far -- together with the latest version of Symbian, an 8 megapixel camera round the back, 16GB of onboard memory, and a finely crafted aluminum body. The slideout keyboard on this device is easily among the best we've ever handled, although the same can't be said about the mechanism for opening it up. Nokia hasn't been specific about the markets the E7 will be arriving in over the coming days, but the UK seems a lock and distribution should expand rapidly from there. Jump past the break for Nokia's press release and a sweet little video promo.
Nokia E7 detailed hands-on

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All-in-one business smartphone, the Nokia E7, arrives in stores

Espoo, Finland – The highly anticipated Nokia E7 will begin arriving in stores in select markets this week, with broader availability building up quickly in several markets.

With its tilting 4 inch ClearBlack display, full qwerty keyboard and a fast access to a wide variety of apps directly on the homescreen, the Nokia E7 is the key to having a successful day in or out of the office. Importantly, the device supports business applications from leading enterprise technology partners including Microsoft and IBM.

Key features of the Nokia E7
- Easy access to private and business email
- Create, edit and share office documents and view PDF files with Adobe Reader
- Fast, secure intranet access with the built-in VPN
- High-resolution photos and HD video with the 8 megapixel camera and dual LED flash
- HDMI connectivity to project files, videos and images onto large screens
- 16 gigabytes of on-board flash memory
- USB-On-The-Go, enabling easy file sharing by connecting a USB stick to the smartphone

For business users, Nokia E7 provides direct, secure and real-time access to email, calendar, contacts, tasks and the corporate directory through Microsoft Exchange servers, as well as Office Communicator Mobile, developed by Microsoft for Nokia smartphones, which brings presence and corporate instant messaging.

Additionally, a wide range of entertainment and social services available on the Nokia E7 make it the perfect off-duty companion, and the Ovi Store offers a wealth of apps such as Bloomberg, Angry Birds and Sports Tracker.

The new arrival offers drive or walk navigation in 80 countries. The latest commercial version of Ovi Maps, available immediately via Ovi Store or Ovi Suite, adds visibility to subways, trams and trains, real-time traffic, safety alerts, visibility to parking and petrol stations, speed limit warnings, and improved search and location sharing capabilities.

Carl Zeiss joins the Micro Four Thirds revolution

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 01:21 AM PST

Another big name is jumping headfirst into the increasingly popular Micro Four Thirds waters with the announcement from Olympus today that Carl Zeiss has signed up as a member of the MFT System Standard Group. What that basically entails is that the folks responsible for some of the finest optics in the world will start making lenses directly compatible with Olympus and Panasonic's camera standard. You could, of course, have tracked down adapters to get Distagon glass working with your GF2 before, but it sure is nice to see the big boys producing hardware designed specifically for this relatively new category of camera. Full press release after the break.

[Thanks, Ken]
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Carl Zeiss AG joins the Micro Four Thirds System Standard Group


Announced jointly by Olympus Imaging Corp. (President : Masaharu Okubo) and Panasonic Corporation in 2008, the Micro Four Thirds System standard has rapidly grown in popularity. Now, support for the standard is expanding with the decision of Carl Zeiss AG to join the Micro Four Thirds System standard, and the company is releasing lenses compliant with the standard.

For more than 160 years, the lenses of Carl Zeiss AG have been defining the state-of-the-art in optical technology. Now, as Carl Zeiss AG joins the Micro Four Thirds System group, ZEISS HD Video lenses will be available to users of Micro Four Thirds cameras, contributing to a vastly expanded product line and enhancing the joys of digital imaging with the Micro Four Thirds System.

As the originator of the Four Thirds System and Micro Four Thirds System standards, Olympus Imaging Corp. will continue to develop and enhance the product lineup for both standards to meet the diverse needs of our customers.

Carl Zeiss AG
A long-established optical systems manufacturer based in Germany, founded in 1846 by Carl Zeiss. It develops and manufactures a large variety of optical products such as astronomical telescopes, microscopes, eyeglasses and optical sight devices as well as high-class camera lenses.

Carl Zeiss Website
http://www.zeiss.de/en

Outline of the Micro Four Thirds System standard
The Micro Four Thirds System standard was designed and developed to maximize the performance potential of digital imaging technology, and to extend the benefits of the Four Thirds System standard for digital camera systems.

When compared to the Four Thirds System standard, the primary distinguishing features of the Micro Four Thirds System standard are:

Approximately 50% shorter flangeback distance (mount-to-sensor distance)
Lens mount outer diameter approximately 6mm smaller
Electrical contacts in mount increased from 9 to 11
* Image sensor diagonal dimensions are the same for both Four Thirds System and Micro Four Thirds System standards.
The Micro Four Thirds System standard enables users to enjoy the same high image quality of the Four Thirds System's 4/3-type image sensor in a much more compact body, and also take advantage of significantly more compact lenses, particularly in the wide-angle and high-power zoom range. The Four Thirds System standard offers the benefits of compact, lightweight performance, and the new Micro Four Thirds System standard takes this still further to enable development of ultra-compact interchangeable lens type digital camera systems unlike anything seen before. The new Micro Four Thirds System standard also incorporates a greater number of lens-mount electrical contacts for the support of new features and expanded system functionality in the future.

Four Thirds Web Site ： "Benefits of Micro Four Thirds"
http://www.four-thirds.org/en/microft/index.html

Aptera: no production vehicles until we get funding, from the government or elsewhere

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 12:47 AM PST

Ah, funding. So necessary, yet so tedious to get. Aptera -- an automotive startup that has warmed our hearts with its eco-friendly, three-wheeled prototypes -- has been seeking government funding to take things "next level" ever since 2008. After being laughed out of the building at first, the company reapplied and managed to get its 2e certified as a "car" by the US Department of Energy. Unfortunately, miles (and miles) or red tape have held Aptera back ever since, and even today, they're still waiting to see if Uncle Sam will be shelling out to further their initiatives. Rather than putting its head down and realizing it's no GM, the company has pushed out a newsletter explaining the current situation. Essentially, it's dead-set on holding out for more funding -- be it from the DoE's coffers or elsewhere -- in order to maintain quality and keep the per-unit costs down to a reasonable level. According to Aptera: "We would obviously love to accelerate the process, but the government has to make sure they complete their comprehensive evaluation and we have to let the process run its course." Bummer.

TiaLinx's Cougar20-H surveillance robot can peer through walls, see you breathe

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 11:58 PM PST

You may be able to outrun it, but you probably won't be able to hide from TiaLinx's new Cougar20-H surveillance robot. While it might not look like much, the bot packs an impressive RF array that's not only able to detect movement within a building (though concrete walls, no less), but is even able to detect a person breathing inside a building at "long standoff distances." Perhaps not surprisingly, complete details are largely being kept under wraps (the bot was developed with some help from the U.S. Army), but this isn't simply a prototype -- it'll be rolling out next month and is expected to be put to use byvarious law enforcement and government agencies. Head on past the break for the official press release.
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TiaLinx, Inc. Announces Launch of the Cougar20-H, a Mini-Robot with a Long Standoff Capability to Detect Motion and Breathing Inside a Compound

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Feb. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TiaLinx, Inc., a developer of a remotely controlled mini-robot integrated with mm-wave miniaturized radars, today announced the launch of the Cougar20-H. The mini-robot system is capable of performing dual functions as motion detection as well as probing for the breathing of a person in a compound that is remotely controlled at long standoff distances.

The lightweight and agile mini-robot with tractable arm has been integrated with TiaLinx's fine beam ultra-wideband (UWB), multi-Gigahertz radio frequency (RF) sensor array. The system provides long standoff surveillance of a premise to track movement as well as to detect motionless live objects. TiaLinx's real-time UWB RF Imaging development was sponsored by an SBIR Phase II from the Army's PEO AMMO, PM-CCS.

Through a software-controlled interface which is integrated into a laptop, Cougar20-H can be remotely guided from long distances to perform mission-critical tasks. Integrated multiple cameras allow day and night visibility of a premise under surveillance for enhanced situational awareness. Capability to probe the compound at standoff keeps the Cougar20-H out of harm's way.

The RF Scanner is mounted on a lightweight arm and transmits wideband signals that are highly directional and can penetrate reinforced concrete wall at an extended range. In the receiver, a signal detector circuit is employed to capture the reflections from targets. Amplitude and delay information are then processed in an integrated signal processor.

"Cougar20-H has the capability to sense-through-the-wall (STTW) at farther distances than Cougar10-L that was launched last month. Cougar20-H can also be remotely programmed at multiple way points to scan the desired premise in a multi-story building and provide its layout. In contrast only Cougar10-L is capable of scanning a premise horizontally for unexploded ordnance (UXO) as well as vertically to STTW," commented Dr. Fred Mohamadi, Founder and CEO of TiaLinx. "TiaLinx is constantly upscaling its UWB RF Imaging core competence to enable standoff sensing of a premise for enhanced situational awareness."

About TiaLinx, Inc.

TiaLinx, Inc. is a privately held company that develops advanced electronic modules with very small form factor, highly integrated functionality and advanced performance for a wide range of military and commercial applications. Utilizing its 37 granted patents and many more pending patent applications specifically related to the on-chip and wafer-scale beamforming and phased arrays and high-power miniature V-band power amplifiers and transmitters, the Company is uniquely positioned to supply robust RF Imaging devices economically by enabling revolutionary advancements in semiconductor and sub-system designs. Since 2006, TiaLinx has received 7 Phase II and CPP awards from various government agencies.

TiaLinx was ranked as one of the top 3 companies performing advanced research projects sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) during the DARPATech 2005.

The Company was selected as recipient of the U.S. Army's Commercial Pilot Program award in 2009. Twenty-five companies were selected out of the 487 recipients of the Phase II awards. Within the top twenty-five companies selected, TiaLinx was the only recipient with the advanced radio frequency imaging technology for sense-through-the-wall applications.

TiaLinx was also the recipient of the 2010 Defense News Technology and Innovation Award for its Eagle5-P product selected by a panel of experts who recognized recent advances in defense technologies by U.S. companies and defense agencies. In all, the panel considered more than 80 nominations of products that came to market last year.

In December 2010, VME and Critical Systems recognized the high-power V-band transmitter and receiver of TiaLinx as Editor's Product of Choice.

For further information, please visit the Company's website at http://www.TiaLinx.com.

Best Buy Buy Back becomes official, free through February 12th

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 11:05 PM PST

Best Buy's gadget repurchase program has become official during the Super Bowl, courtesy of a silly commercial starring Ozzy Osbourne and Justin Bieber. The ad's actually a lot less cringe-inducing than it might have been, though the content of the program still doesn't seem to make much fiscal sense to us. You have to buy into it at the time of purchasing a gadget -- that requirement is set aside until this Saturday as a sort of grace / enticement period -- and Best Buy depreciates at a very aggressive annual rate, arguably cutting more of your trinkets' value than the incumbent options like online auction sites. Skip past the break to see the two gentlemen at opposite ends of their careers selling their souls to the almighty dollar, along with Best Buy's full press release and Buy Back Program details.
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Best Buy to "Future Proof" Tech Purchases with Buy Back Program at No Cost Through Feb. 12

Customers can buy new gadgets with added confidence from an upfront re-purchase schedule, instant payment on redeemed gear

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) has launched a multi-media campaign to promote its new Buy Back Program and a special week-long offer to "future proof" technology purchases for free. Beginning with tonight's Big Game commercial featuring star appearances from Justin Bieber, and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, the campaign encourages customers to take advantage of a special offer to receive the Buy Back Program at no cost when purchasing gear at Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile through Saturday, Feb. 12.

"We have abundant evidence that one of the biggest barriers to buying new tech devices today is fear of obsolescence"

Best Buy officially launched Buy Back in January as a solution for customers who want to keep up with the greatest gadgets but are concerned that their gear will become obsolete. Best Buy customers may purchase the Buy Back Program when buying a new product at Best Buy and redeem it at a later time, for up to 50 percent of the original purchase price paid in the form of a Best Buy gift card, as long as the device is in good working condition and includes all original parts.

"We have abundant evidence that one of the biggest barriers to buying new tech devices today is fear of obsolescence," said Brian Dunn, chief executive officer of Best Buy. "We don't think that should get in the way of benefiting from all that today's technology has to offer. So to celebrate the arrival of this program, we're offering it free on everything from mobile phones and laptops, to tablets and TVs. The Buy Back Program is not only unprecedented for Best Buy, but we believe it can transform CE retailing as we know it today."

Best Buy is waiving its upfront Buy Back Program price from now through Saturday, Feb. 12 on the complete range of consumer electronics covered by the Buy Back Program, including post-paid mobile phones, laptops, netbooks, tablets and televisions. Ordinarily, the cost of the Buy Back Program varies by product category, with protection for any laptop, netbook or tablet, for example, being $69.99.

The multi-media promotional campaign that launched on tonight's Big Game broadcast continues February 7 with full-page ads in national daily newspapers, and throughout the month with additional TV commercials, Best Buy cover insert ads and a robust website featuring details about the Buy Back Program, complete with instructional video and longer-form TV spots at www.bestbuy.com.

The campaign reinforces how Buy Back delivers a level of assurance, transparency and convenience that distinguishes it from other options like trade-in programs or reseller markets. With Buy Back, Best Buy customers don't have to wait for payment, and can immediately apply the value of their Buy Back product redemption to the purchase of new products at any Best Buy or Best Buy Mobile store.

Better yet, consumers know what they'll be paid up front, with a schedule that is available at the time of Buy Back Program purchase and is based on duration of product ownership. Best Buy will buy back qualified products anytime within two years for laptops, netbooks, tablets and post-paid mobile phones, and four years for televisions.1 Customers may receive up to 50 percent of the product's original purchase price paid in the form of a Best Buy gift card if redeemed within six months of the effective date.2 The gift card may be used to purchase new products of their choice. The percentage back is based on the purchase effective date.

Electronics redeemed through the Buy Back Program are evaluated by Best Buy's built-in team of Geek Squad Agents, and distributed among Best Buy's aftermarket, trade-in and recycling programs. To learn more about the Buy Back Program and find the Best Buy store near you , visit www.bestbuy.com.

Sprint expected to introduce Kyocera Echo at event later today, HTC Arrive also indirectly corroborated

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 10:44 PM PST

Businessweek has managed to track down an insider with information on the plans of both Sprint and Kyocera, and he (or she) has been talkative enough to confirm that a Kyocera Echo is all set for launch on the Now Network at an event later today. Sprint's tagline for said event was that it'll deliver an "industry first" that makes us believe "the impossible is possible," and with all due respect to Kyocera, neither of those really sounds like the company's upcoming Android handset. The first time we got wind of the Echo, however, it was accompanied by a tip about a Windows Phone 7-based HTC Arrive, a more likely candidate for that industrial innovation prize -- there are no CDMA WP7 devices quite yet. We could imagine the Arrive being a carrier-specific brand name for HTC's 7 Pro, which is already expected on Sprint and has even cleared the FCC in a CDMA flavor. But again, that doesn't fully satisfy the bluster about the impossible becoming possible, so maybe Sprint will have even more to show us -- we'll be attending its shindig tonight to make absolutely sure.

Solar Wind bridge concept could power 15,000 homes, grow vegetables

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 09:48 PM PST

Why just use solar power or wind power when you can use both? Designed by Francesco Colarossi, Giovanna Saracino and Luisa Saracino as part of an Italian design contest to re-imagine a decommissioned bridge (for which it placed second), this so-called Solar Wind concept would have solar cells embedded in the roadway (an idea that's already catching on) and an array of 26 wind turbines underneath, which the designers say could produce enough energy combined to power 15,000 homes. To make the design greener still, the designers have even included a "green promenade" that would run alongside the road, which they suggest could be used to grow fruits and vegetables that'd then be sold to folks driving by. Incidentally, while it's less focused on technology, the design that placed first in the contest (a so-called "vertical village") is pretty impressive in its own right -- check it out after the break.

Canon trots out Canon Rebel T3 and Rebel T3i DSLR cameras

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 08:52 PM PST

Not looking for a new PowerShot? How's about a new DSLR? Canon has just rolled out a new entry-level Rebel and a new flagship Rebel this evening, with the T3 (1100D) and T3i (600D) offering mild updates over their predecessors. The EOS Rebel T3 will ship at the end of March with a EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II zoom lens for $599.99, offering up a 12.2 megapixel CMOS sensor, DIGIC 4 Imaging processor, nine-point autofocus system and a 63-zone dual-layer metering system. You'll need to provide your own SD, SDHC or SDXC card, but unlike entry-level bodies of the past, this guy will capture full-motion video at 1280 x 720. There's an ISO range of 100 to 6,400, a pop-up flash and a newfangled Basic+ non-technical interface that should help beginners grow accustomed to more technical aspects of photography without the steep learning curve.

Stepping up, there's the new T3i, which boasts an 18 megapixel CMOS sensor, an ISO range of 100 to 6,400, support for SD / SDHC / SDXC cards, DIGIC 4 Imaging processor, pop-up flash, integrated Speedlite settings (to go along with a few new Speedlite flashes also introduced today) and a tilt / swivel LCD monitor. It'll ship at the start of March for $799.99 (body only), or $899.99 bundled with a EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II zoom lens. Hit the source links below for the devilish details, not to mention information on two new telephoto lenses (the EF 500mm F/4L IS II USM and EF 600mm F/4L IS II USM).
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CANON EMPOWERS THE MASSES TO TAKE BETTER PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEO

WITH THE NEW EOS REBEL T3i AND EOS REBEL T3 DIGITAL SLR CAMERAS

Two New Speedlites and a New EF-S Lens Round Out the Photographic Journey

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., February 7, 2011 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, today announced the EOS Rebel T3i and EOS Rebel T3 Digital SLR Cameras, providing numerous intelligent high-end features at attractive price points. Complementing the award-winning EOS Rebel T2i DSLR, the EOS Rebel T3i, Canon's new flagship Rebel, offers fun and easy-to-use features for beginning photographers, and the EOS Rebel T3 provides a more attractively priced option for those looking to experience the pleasure of shooting with a DSLR camera. For the young enthusiast learning photography or the adult looking to learn more, Canon's new Feature Guide instruction will walk Rebel T3i users through functions and provide recommendations for various settings, a great hands-on learning tool. Point-and-Shoot users looking to step-up to a DSLR will enjoy the T3i camera's Scene Intelligent Auto mode, the most intuitive automatic camera mode available in a Canon Rebel camera to date, providing complete scene analysis and optimized settings. One of the most sought-after and requested features for a DSLR camera is now part of the new EOS Rebel T3i, Canon's three-inch Vari-Angle Clear View LCD screen, ideal for properly composing those difficult overhead shots. Comfortable, lightweight and affordable, Canon's new EOS Rebel T3 is a great camera to welcome users to the world of DSLR photography.

"Everyone today is a photographer, and for those looking to capture stunning images and do more with photography, Canon has introduced the EOS Rebel T3i and T3, offering the right balance of high-end features and easy-to-use guidance at a great price. So regardless of experience level or budget, there is a Canon Rebel camera suited to a user's needs and lifestyle," stated Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Imaging Technologies and Communications Group, Canon U.S.A.

Boasting Canon's EOS HD video capture, 18-megapixel resolution, a three-inch Vari-Angle Clear View LCD screen, new Scene Intelligent Auto, new Video Snapshot technology and new Feature Guide instruction, the EOS Rebel T3i DSLR has plenty of reasons for Mom and Dad to step up to a DSLR. Canon's new EOS Rebel T3 DSLR camera offers users a small, lightweight interchangeable lens camera with fun options. The Rebel T3 features HD movie capture, 12-megapixel resolution and Canon's new informative Feature Guide, to help educate and instruct users as they capture great images, along with the inherent speed and low-light image quality of a Canon DSLR camera. Both new Rebel models are compatible with Canon's complete line of more than 60 Canon EF and EF-S lenses.

New EOS Feature Guide

Canon has also included a new EOS Feature Guide on both new Rebel cameras with an enhanced Quick Settings Screen that now includes detailed descriptions of camera settings. The EOS Feature Guide is designed to help first-time users and beginning enthusiasts better understand each camera setting with descriptions and guided recommendations for when to utilize certain settings. Along with an explanation of camera settings and modes, the Feature Guide includes easy-to-understand directions of how to use particular settings such as aperture adjustment in Canon's Creative Auto mode:

Basic + Function

Canon helps beginners get more creative with photography by letting even the most entry-level novice make camera adjustments with easy to understand setting options. In automatic shooting modes such as Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Action and Night Scene, Canon users can access a quick menu screen to make adjustments as per the scene's ambience. When shooting in one of Canon's "Basic Zones" users can make adjustments as per the scene's lighting or scene type. An easy-to-read menu lets you select an ambience setting from Vivid, Soft, Warm, Intense, Cool, Brighter, Darker to Monochrome, while a Lighting setting allows users to select from Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten light, Fluorescent light or Sunset.

Rebel T3i Digital SLR Camera

An A+ for Automatic Mode

Canon aims to make everyone a better photographer and has enhanced the capabilities of the Rebel T3i's automatic mode with new Scene Intelligent Auto technology, re-branding the green mode dial setting with a boxed "A+" design. This new camera setting now takes Picture Style into account as part of the camera's "Auto" setting. By analyzing faces, colors, brightness, movement, and contrast, the camera will dynamically adjust picture-style parameters to match the subject and control vividness. Previously, the automatic setting on a Rebel DSLR adjusted exposure, focus, white balance, and Auto Lighting Optimizer, however on the new Rebel T3i, Picture Style Auto is also taken into account as part of the new Scene Intelligent Auto technology. By incorporating this fifth parameter the camera more intelligently analyzes scenes and adjusts settings based on the subject matter being shot. So when the camera is photographing a face it will reproduce more natural skin tones or blue skies for more vivid landscapes, a flashy red car for more saturated color and evening sunsets for more expressive images.

Fun Rebel Features

For the first time in a Rebel DSLR, the new Rebel T3i features a large Vari-Angle three-inch Clear View LCD screen with 1,040,000 dot/VGA resolution plus anti-reflective and smudge-resistant coatings for bright clear viewing from any angle. The large Vari-Angle screen helps compose low-angle or overhead shots whether capturing still images or Full HD video clips. Photographers will enjoy the convenience of capturing an overhead shot of a parade or low-angle shots of their children on the Vari-Angle screen.

Canon's new EOS Rebel T3i DSLR gives creative photographers some fun in-camera tools that enable users to apply Creative Filters to images after they have been shot without altering the original file. Canon's new Creative Image Filters, familiar to Canon PowerShot and EOS 60D users, help make a great image more dynamic by creating an altered copy of the image through any of Canon's four artistic filter options:

* The Soft Focus effect filter helps dramatize an image and smooth over shiny reflections.
* The Grainy Black and White filter can give a different nostalgic perspective to any shot.
* Canon's "Toy Camera" filter deliberately adds vignetting and color shift for a creative option when shooting a colorful scene.
* Users can also make a scene appear like a small-scale model, simulating the look from a tilt-shift lens, with Canon's Miniature Effect filter, great when shooting any scene from a high vantage point.

Each of these filters can be applied to a captured still image in-camera to create a second "filtered" JPEG version, leaving the original JPEG file unaffected.

Another addition to the camera's Live View function is Canon's new Aspect Ratio feature whereby the Live View screen can display cropping lines for 1:1, 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratios in addition to the standard 3:2 ratio. These cropping lines make it easier to compose images in Live View, and they can help to expedite printing when using Canon's supplied Digital Photo Professional software. Custom aspect ratios are also applied to JPEG images captured directly in-camera.

EOS HD Video Specs

The EOS Rebel T3i with Full HD video capture at 1920 x 1080 resolution in selectable frame rates of 24p, 25p or 30p will grab the attention of film students and independent filmmakers alike. The Rebel T3i incorporates two Canon proprietary technologies for rendering amazing HD video, a DIGIC 4 Imaging Processor and a large APS-C–sized CMOS sensor capturing fine detail and color with an amazing cinematic depth of field. The Rebel T3i DSLR allows for three video recording modes – Full HD and HD in a 16:9 aspect ratio and Standard Definition (SD) in a 4:3 aspect ratio, all at selectable frame rates.

EOS HD Video: Ready For A Close-Up

When shooting Full HD video, the Rebel T3i digitally provides additional zoom power without sacrificing quality. The new Movie Digital Zoom feature, a first for Canon DSLRs, allows users to achieve 3x to 10x magnification while shooting Full HD video. Unlike standard digital zoom for still images, Movie Digital Zoom crops the video image directly from the CMOS sensor at Full HD resolution to preserve video quality and still provide amazing additional telephoto power beyond just the lens. The Movie Digital Zoom feature is great for those times when the lens isn't enough to get you in close, but this feature provides the extra boost without a loss in video quality so a child's smile on stage is just as clear and bright.

EOS Video Snapshot

Canon's new EOS Video Snapshot feature borrows some innovation from Canon's VIXIA line of camcorders for capturing, assembling and playing fun-to-watch video clips. EOS Video Snapshot enables users to capture the video highlights of family vacations, parties or milestone events, with the same ease as taking photos. Consumers can now record a series of two-, four- or eight-second video clips automatically. The scenes are assembled by the camera into continuous Video Snapshot Album files for easy playback and can even be further edited in camera or through Canon's Video Snapshot Task software on a compatible personal computer for added flexibility and fun.

Valuable Additional Features

Along with the adjustable LCD screen, the new EOS Rebel T3i DSLR features a class-leading 18-megapixel Canon CMOS sensor, a proprietary DIGIC 4 Imaging Processor, a 9-point Autofocus system and a 63-zone dual-layer metering system. Capable of capturing kids at play or wildlife on the move, the Rebel T3i can shoot up to 34 consecutive full resolution JPEG still images or up to 11 consecutive RAW images at speeds up to 3.7-frames-per-second to either SD, SDHC or new extended capacity SDXC memory cards.

The Rebel T3i includes an ISO range from 100-6400, allowing it to capture beautiful images without the need for a flash during milestone events such as birthday celebrations, yet it still includes a built-in pop-up flash for those times requiring a little extra light. For the first time on a Rebel camera, the T3i features a built-in Integrated Speedlite Transmitter making it even easier to do multi-flash shoots and provide images with greater ambience. The new Integrated Speedlite settings are now even easier for beginners shooting with multiple flashes.

Pricing and Availability

The Canon EOS T3i Digital SLR camera is scheduled to be delivered to U.S. dealers in the beginning of March, and will be sold in a body-only configuration at an estimated retail price of $799.99. It will also be offered in a kit version with Canon's new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II zoom lens at an estimated retail price of $899.99. It will also be available in a second kit version with Canon's EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens at an estimated retail price of $1099.00.

Rebel T3 Digital SLR Camera

Canon is happy to introduce a chic camera for beginners to ease into the exciting world of DSLR photography and videography; the new EOS Rebel T3 Digital SLR camera. The Rebel T3 is designed to be the camera that can be expertly handled by anyone and allows great-looking photos to be taken with ease and style. The Rebel T3 is excellent in low-light shooting situations and simple to handle and operate.

Putting big imaging power in a small body, the new EOS Rebel T3 DSLR features a 12.2-megapixel Canon CMOS image sensor, a proprietary DIGIC 4 Imaging Processor, a 9-point Autofocus system and a 63-zone dual-layer metering system. With individual pixels measuring roughly 10x larger than a pixel from a point-and-shoot camera sensor, the Rebel T3 is able to absorb more light with less noise, making it ideal for capturing high-quality images in dimly lit situations. The increased efficiencies in gathering light also make the camera better suited to freeze fast-moving objects such as capturing images of children at play at speeds up to 3-frames per second. Compatible with SD, SDHC or new extended capacity SDXC memory cards, the Rebel T3 also shoots 1280x720 HD movies for amazing image quality for both stills and video. The Canon Rebel T3 features an ISO range from 100-6400 for capturing beautiful images in various light settings while also including a built-in pop-up flash. Designed for easy operation through the camera's mode dial, users can go from taking great still images to great video quickly and easily, with simple to understand icons and buttons.

Pricing and Availability

The Canon EOS Rebel T3 Digital SLR camera is scheduled to be delivered to U.S. dealers at the end of March, and will be offered in a kit with Canon's new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II zoom lens at an estimated retail price of $599.99.

New Kit Lenses

Along with these DSLR cameras, Canon is also introducing a new kit lens, the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II zoom lens, the standard kit lens for both the Rebel T3i kit configuration and the Rebel T3 kit configuration.

The new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II zoom lens features the wide-angle to mid-range zoom flexibility with the advantage of Canon's optical lens-shift image stabilization system that yields up to a full four stops of image-shake correction. The version II of this lens includes new IS algorithms to distinguish between normal photographing and when the camera is panning to automatically provide the optimal level of image-shake correction.

New Canon Speedlite 320EX and Canon Speedlite 270EX II

The new Canon Speedlite 320EX is designed to provide DSLR users with a lightweight and versatile external flash solution. Along with the new Speedlite 320EX regular flash functions, it includes a built-in LED continuous light option that is capable of providing full-time illumination for short distances when shooting video on a DSLR or PowerShot digital camera. Ideally paired with the new EOS Rebel T3i, the new Speedlite 320EX enables bounce flash shooting with six positions including ceiling bounce for vertical shooting, and rear-wall bounce. The Speedlite 320EX also includes a new remote firing function and can remote fire any EOS DSLR camera that has a built-in wireless remote control function or Integrated Speedlite Transmitter such as the new Rebel T3i, EOS 60D, or EOS 7D DSLRs. The new Speedlite 320EX provides photographers with all the great lighting options Speedlites are known for with the added capability to shoot HD video with a full-time LED light option.

The new Canon Speedlite 270EX II, the successor to the popular 270EX Speedlite model, is a compact, lightweight external flash option for Canon cameras including select Canon PowerShot models. Ideal for use with the new EOS Rebel T3, the new Speedlite 270EX II uses only two AA batteries and enables bounce flash shooting with four position steps from 0 degrees to 90 degrees. Like Canon's high-end Speedlite flash models, the 270EX II allows users to control flash functions and input settings using the camera's LCD monitor. The flash also features a quick-lock mechanism and a metal mounting foot for secure and easy attachment and reliable contact. In addition to the features of 270EX model, the Speedlite 270EX II adds a remote firing function similar to that of the Speedlite 320EX. Both new Speedlites can also be used as slave flash units in E-TTL wireless autoflash configurations with other E-TTL compatible EOS and PowerShot cameras. Canon's Speedlite 270EX II is the new compact and versatile lighting tool for photographers empowering them with multiple light options, compact-size and portability.

Pricing and Availability

The Canon Speedlite 320EX is scheduled to be delivered to U.S. dealers in April for an estimated retail price of $249.99. The Canon Speedlite 270EX II is scheduled to be delivered to U.S. dealers in the beginning of April for an estimated retail price of $169.99.

Canon intros PowerShot SX-230, ELPH 100 / 300 / 500 HS

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 08:01 PM PST

Eschewing the CCD of the past, Canon's new PowerShot lineup -- we know, it sounds like a familiar tune, but hear us out, these are new -- all boast a 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensors. The quartet enjoys the 12.1 megapixel HS (High Sensitivity) sensor introduced a year ago with S90 and G11. In fact, the ELPH nomenclature has nixed "digital," "SD," and "IS" in favor of the more simplistic (but still elongated) "ELPH HS." So without further ado, the PowerShot ELPH 500 HS features a 3.2-inch touch panel screen, 4.4x optical zoom, ultra-wide angle 24mm lens with optical image stabilization, and color options including siiver, brown, and pink. The ultra-slim ELPH 300 HS has a 2.7-inch LCD, image stabilization, 4x zoom and a 24mm wide angle lens. On the lower end of the spectrum, the 100 HS comes in five colors, has a 4x optical zoom, a 3-inch LCD, and a 4x optical zoom -- otherwise, it shares many features of its bigger 300 HS brother. Meanwhile, the (non-ELPH) SX230 HS has a 14x zoom, GPS, and a 3-inch LCD. Price and release date? All are due in March (the 100 HS in the beginning of March, the rest by the end), with the 100 / 300 / 500 HS going for $199.99, $249.99, and $299.99, respectively, and the SX-230 for $349.99. Peruse the pics below -- enjoy!
Canon PowerShot SX230 HS, ELPH 100 / 300 / 500 HS

Mobisante's MobiUS smartphone ultrasound system secures FDA clearance, now needs to graduate from WinMo

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 07:29 PM PST

The concept of a smartphone-based ultrasound imaging system is far from new, but Dr. Sailesh Chutani -- Mobisante's CEO and a former bigwig at Microsoft -- is bound and determined to take things beyond the drawing board. The aforesaid company has just landed what may in fact be the most important part of the production puzzle: 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration. That's a major seal of approval, and pretty much allows the company to move forward with plans to get ultrasound technology into remote villages and rural hospitals where it's simply not feasible to purchase a $20,000+ system. Of course, there's still many years of work between now and then; the existing build only works on Toshiba's WinMo-based TG01 smartphone, and current estimates still put a $7,000 to $8,000 price tag on the whole MobiUS package. If it can reach critical mass, it's hoping to halve that asking price, and if things keep progressing, this may very well be the company that makes an ultrasound stethoscope a reality. Here's hoping this is just the firm's first celebration of many to come.

Inhabitat's Week in Green: solar pyramids in UAE, Tequila turns to biofuel, and green lamps galore

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 06:45 PM PST

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.
Alternative energy projects powered up around the globe this week as Inhabitat showcased a series of solar pyramids designed to energize Abu Dhabi and the Netherlands rolled out plans for a bike path paved with photovoltaics. Meanwhile India announced that it will launch a series of solar-powered cellphone towers this year, and a 19-year-old American teenager created a parabolic solar death ray -- and promptly proceeded to burn down his garden shed.

In other news, Tesla jolted the auto world with plans to launch its upcoming Model X in 2013, and a team of researchers from the University of Illinois discovered that the same plant that produces Tequila actually yields a pretty potent biofuel as well. We also learned that Toyota plans to power its upcoming hybrids with lighter, more powerful Lithium-Ion batteries, and we were impressed by the streamlined classic stylings of Mitsuoka's electric Himiko car.

Finally, this week we washed away the winter blues by shedding light on 15 green lamps that bathe your interiors in energy-efficient illumination. We also shared 6 green lighting tips that will help you cut your energy bills and 5 tips for home renovations that will keep your house cozy in the worst winter weather.

Nokia E6 in the wild?

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 06:00 PM PST

Considering rumors we've heard of a VGA display, we'd assumed that Nokia's E6 would probably have a large touchscreen -- but these shots we've just received look... well, a little different. Instead, it seems that Espoo's planning to gently massage the winning portrait QWERTY formula already well established by the E71 and E72, bumping out a proper big brother to the E5. Around back, you see an 8 megapixel camera (possibly the same EDoF unit that's in the E7) along with a dual LED flash; on front, that could very well be a VGA display, we suppose, considering the uptick in pixel density that everyone's been pushing the past year. If we had to guess, this puppy is a lock for MWC -- but in light of the crazy rumors floating around Nokia the past few days, all bets are off.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]
Nokia E6 in the wild?

White iPhone 4 starts to get Best Buy, The Source shelf space

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 05:18 PM PST

This shelf tag was apparently spotted this weekend at a Best Buy in Houston, and it speaks for itself: white iPhone 4, AT&T, $599.99 off contract (the same price as the black). Of course, we all know this thing is coming within the next few weeks at this point -- there's just too much evidence pointing in that direction -- but the fact that we've got big box retailers printing and placing tags for it now suggests that it's coming sooner rather than later. Oh, and in case you're wondering, that QR code link is dead at the moment -- we've linked it below in case you want to give it a shot.

Update: Looks like The Source (Canada's version of Radio Shack) is also making room. See for yourself after the break. Thanks, Anonymous!

[Thanks, Joel P.]

Sony Ericsson makes Xperia Play official in Super Bowl commercial, full launch coming February 13th

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 04:06 PM PST

Sony Ericsson has finally stopped teasing, winking, and nodding knowingly and has just come clean -- the Xperia Play is most definitely real and it'll be one of the first devices announced at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. We're treated to a date and time, February 13th at 6PM GMT, a pair of full frontal shots of the Gingerbread-running, gamepad-wearing smartphone, and the full version of that creepy ad we saw for it a couple of days back. Missed it on the Super Bowl? Scope it out after the break.

P.S. - Missed our coverage of Super Bowl Media Day? Catch up here!



Motorola's Xoom Super Bowl commercial tips hat to Apple's '1984' spot (video)

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 03:38 PM PST

We saw it teased right around 48 hours ago, and now Motorola's full Xoom Super Bowl ad is out and about for the world to see. It aired just moments ago during Super Bowl XLV, and it's fairly obvious where it took inspiration. It's easily one of the best tech spots we've seen in quite some while, and as much as Motorola has been hyping its Honeycomb-based superslate, we'd say it better sell quite a few to recoup what it's already lost in marketing -- even at $800 a pop, it'll still take a boatload. The real question, however, is this: will today's America even get it? Hop on past the break and mash play if you missed out.

P.S. - Missed our coverage of Super Bowl Media Day? Catch up here!

Show full PR text
Created by Anomaly New York, the ad entitled "Empower the People" is set in an Orwellian, 1984-esque world where technology – and people – are limited by restrictive platforms. Enter Motorola XOOM - the tablet to create a better world - and a new day with optimism, openness, freedom and empowerment.

Motorola XOOM redefines the tablet category by providing more ways to have fun, connect with friends and stay productive on the go. Out of more than 20,000 products announced at CES last month, the Motorola XOOM was named "Best in Show" by CNET and lauded with numerous accolades and awards.

As the first tablet running Google's new Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system, the XOOM is powerful and fundamentally different than anything else on the market.

Verizon locking WiFi on Motorola Xoom until you buy one month of data service?

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 03:35 PM PST

Call us crazy, but we're having a hard time interpreting this line of fine print in any other way:
"To activate WiFi functionality on this device, a minimum of one month data subscription is required."
That's listed under Best Buy's most recent ad highlighting the world's first Android 3.0 tablet, and it most certainly sounds both ominous and ridiculous. Hardcore Verizon followers may remember the days of Big Red crippling Bluetooth radios in phones in order to "coerce" users to purchase ringtones and such from them rather than snagging one on the subway from Tom, Dick and / Jane, so we definitely wouldn't put something like this by the company. It's hard to say how this will be implemented once the $800 Xoom hits retail shelves, but it's certainly hard to believe that this is a Best Buy policy (and not a Verizon mandate). We'll be digging for more details (after all, this could all be some strange, terrible dream), but we'll be straight with you -- we don't like the potential implications here.

Update: We're hearing from some Best Buy Mobile employees that these simply won't be able to be sold without being first activated on Verizon's network, so even though you could theoretically cancel the same day, you'll still likely get hit with a one-time activation fee (and possibly one month of data). Then again, there appears to be typos on the flyer, so you may want to wait for Verizon's official word before getting up in arms.

[Thanks, Michael]

Best Buy ad prices Motorola Xoom at $800, affirms February 24th launch date

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 03:34 PM PST

The evidence for a Motorola Xoom launch on February 24th just became that bit more compelling, courtesy of this here Best Buy ad. It promises Moto's Android tablet will be in stores a couple of weeks from now, decorated with a daunting $799.99 sticker. That price agrees with one of our earliest leaks on the matter, purportedly from Verizon's own systems, so all the pieces seem to be falling into place for a pretty exciting end to February for Android fans. This flier also has some data tariffs on it, starting at $20 per month for a 1GB allowance and stretching up to a 10GB limit for $80 (identical to VZW's pricing with the Galaxy Tab). Doesn't really sound like the most appealing proposition we've ever heard, but maybe if those prices remain static once the Xoom gets its 4G upgrade, we could learn to love them.

Update: Motorola's official Xoom portal just went live, presumably as its Super Bowl ad finally aired.

Mercedes F-Cell World Drive gets off to an inauspicious start

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 01:51 PM PST

Mercedes F-Cell World Drive gets off to an inauspicious start
Circling the globe on hydrogen power sounds like a bit of a challenge, what with the lack H2 pumps and all, but Mercedes-Benz set off to show that it could do just that -- with the help of a mobile filling station, natürlich. It's the F-Cell World Drive, and unfortunately, things got off to something of a bad start with two cars running out of fuel on the very first leg of the journey, one with Autoblog's Michael Harley at the wheel, no less. This first leg apparently began with a trip down an unrestricted bit of the Autobahn and, well, it seems the drivers of the cars decided to see what the little green B-Class F-Cells could do. The answer is 110mph, and of course moving along at this rate of speed did little for their range. The two cars came up 20km short of their first planned refueling stop, heavy right feet resulting in consumption of 1.5Kg of hydrogen per 100km distance -- roughly equivalent of 45mpg and way less than the 71mpg equivalent the cars usually manage. We're told day two, when drivers kept the speed to around 70mph, progressed much more smoothly, with both cars covering their expected legs without issue.

Euromasters electric classic Porsche replicas let you be a rebel without a gas tank

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 11:07 AM PST

Euromasters electric classic Porsches let you be a rebel without a gas tank
The Porsche 356 Speedster and Porche 550 Spyder are some of the most iconic sports cars of all time, minimalist design and racing pedigree making their mark -- and of course James Dean losing his life in a Spyder certainly helped it to gain some notoriety. Restored models go for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the one you're looking at above goes for much less. It's a replica made by California company Euromasters, and it's all-electric. Specs on that plus the Spyder replica are identical, including 120hp motors, top speed of over 100mph, a range of over 200 miles, and 0 - 60 in a very brisk 5.6 seconds -- almost four seconds faster than an original road-going 356. The Speedster was unveiled at the LA Auto Show late last year and both it and the Spyder are now up for order. $49,900 if you want the Speedster, another $5,000 if you want the James Dean Edition Spyder. Just be careful if you get one: we doubt these Little Bastards are much safer in a crash than the originals.
Euromasters Electric Porsche Speedster Replica
at 12:00 PM

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