Fujifilm has a hit on its hands with the retrotastic X100 camera, selling for a whopping $1,200 but still flying off shelves. That popularity resulted in some shortages, and a stoppage of production due to the disaster in Japan made that situation worse. Now the company is announcing a resumption of production, so the 12.3 megapixel compact with a 23mm fixed lens should be hitting store shelves again in the next week or so. Place your orders now, if you haven't already, and get that sepia filter warmed up so that your pictures can look as vintage as what you're shooting them with.
Deadmau5 (also known as Joel Zimmerman) is one of the largest names in the electronic and house music scene -- and he also happens to be a major tech head. Recently, the Canadian producer added some impressive new gear to his productions, in the form of a massive LED-covered cube and signature mau5head (that's pronounced "mouse-head" in case you couldn't guess). Read along after the break for an exclusive look at exactly what's going on inside the mind of Deadmau5 -- both literally and figuratively.
The first thing we asked Joel was what came first: the tech or the music? He told us that they both kind of came together, but that he was first a techie. He started producing chiptune tracks at age fifteen (which happens to be a genre quite familiar to a certain unnamed podcast), and served as the technical person at a dance radio station in Canada in his late teens. Thus, it makes sense that his productions are technologically advanced, and that's most certainly the case of the most recent edition. The main setup consists of the LED cube and helmet, which are both linked together on one main server via Ethernet.
The larger piece of kit in the production is the huge cube that also serves as a platform and DJ booth. The cube has 36 tiles, and amounts to over 2800 individual F11 LEDs in all. It has a 1600 x 1200 native resolution, and can display virtually any color imaginable. Continuing with the techie theme, the opening motion-graphics sequence is an old-school simulation of Super Mario, albeit with a Deadmau5 character trying to beat Mario to the castle. It's entertaining, and mirrors Joel's own affinity for gaming. He also hosts a personal Minecraft server called -- what else -- Mau5ville that he allows fans to join.
The other half of the luminous pair takes the form of the artist's trademark logo: his head. There are actually two different versions -- one completely covered with LEDs, and another simpler one with neon-lined edges. We got to check out the neon one, which weighs in at over eleven pounds. Though both are essentially the same, the LED model weighs almost three times as much. On both, there's a camera up front that shows a view of what's going on outside, since the entire helmet is completely solid and there aren't any eye holes. There's a set of color video goggles on the inside that displays whatever the camera sees, so all interaction with knobs and sliders has to be dealt with in a different perspective. Essentially, he appears to be looking straight outward, but sees what's going on below him. There are also eight fans around back to keep cool while spinning tracks. (The LED one has six on the rear and two in the neck area to stimulate air-circulation.) We were also told the LED helmet sports over 1,000 individual diodes alone. We tried multiple times to get our paws on the LED head, but it wasn't at the venue during sound check and had to be shipped back to Toronto immediately following his set.
The central server outputs signals to another box loaded up with Pixel Mad, a piece of software designed for digital signage. Pixel Mad controls all the LEDs for a given track -- and there's a hefty number of those to keep track of. Data then flows through a router that further breaks the content into separate windows for each tile. We were told that each track has around 15-16 levels of video for motion graphics, so there's a huge amount of data continuously moving from the booth to the stage. The system is controlled by one man in the front of house responsible for linking the graphics to whatever track is currently playing. Interestingly, the entire production was designed by Mark Phillips, who is also responsible for creating the visuals and effects in many a Daft Punk production.
Beyond the current gear in use, we asked Joel about his thoughts on other trends in tech and the music world. First off, Joel is a BlackBerry user, and he cites the physical keyboard as the main reason for sticking with it. He told us that he's interested in other devices, but that the tactile feedback is irreplaceable. One other device he can't live without is an external USB charger to keep his phone charged up all the time. "I can't have my phone dying on me" he explained. We asked about current touchscreen producing and mixing products, and while he believes certain parts of the experience could benefit from the addition, most of it would detract from the performing experience. He likened performing with that to be "more hunched over like checking an email... you have to pay attention to it and only it."
Joel also let us know that he's involved with a new app based on the TouchOSC open sound controller app, and that he won't stop using gadgets in his performances any time soon. Beyond the music, his gear makes up another sizable portion of the Deadmau5 experience and the helmet has become a major symbol in electronic music culture. Obviously, we're looking forward to version 2.0 and to whatever other tricks the mau5 has in store.
After reading a heartwarming review of the European-spec HTC Incredible S we're left wondering when we, the colonies, will get ourselves a taste. The US-spec Incredible 2 looks to be coming soon enough, but our neighbors to the north will keep the S moniker, and are said to be getting it soon. It's believed to be hitting Bell on April 4th, and now the above image purports to show the phone also listed in Virgin's inventory system. The price is $499.99, while a carbon fiber shield is going for a bargain $24.95 -- useful if you want that Atrix look but are hoping for PlayStation certification thanks to the Adreno 205 graphics here.
The United States Navy has been working on next-gen weaponry ever since the last-gen was present-gen, and if the next next-gen ever actually arrives, well... we don't stand a chance at lasting very long. According to Wired, the Navy's Office of Naval Research is expecting laser technology (as it relates to weaponry) to mature in the next score, and if all goes well, a free-electron laser could be mounted on a ship during the 2020s. As of now, FELs produce a 14-kilowatt beam, but that figure needs to hit 100+ in order to seriously defend a ship; unfortunately for those who adore peace, it seems we're well on our way to having just that. When it's complete, these outrageous pieces of artillery will be capable of "burning incoming missiles out of the sky [and] zapping through an enemy vessel's hull." Something tells us that whole "You Sunk My Battleship" meme is just years from reappearing in grand fashion.
As much as we love our rumormongering, a good hard confirmation never goes astray around these parts, and we've just heard directly from Moto that its Xoom tablet will be arriving in the UK next week. When precisely, we don't know, but the major electronics retailers will all be playing their part -- Dixons (and its subsidiaries Currys and PC World) plus the Carphone Warehouse were specifically named. As to pricing, we've seen pretty strong indications that it'll be £500 for the WiFi-only version and £600 for the 3G-equipped one, though there's no immediate confirmation about which (or if both) will be coming next week. Either way, the important thing is that the world's first Honeycomb tablet will be on sale in some form just as soon as the next British fiscal year gets started.
One thing's for sure: Cowon's D3 Plenue is vastly different (and superior) to the firm's AMOLED-equipped S9 from 2008, and it's also catering to a vastly different sect of consumers compared to its ultra-capacious X7. This beaut is one of the few pocketable Android-based PMPs available today, offering up a gorgeous 3.7-inch AMOLED capacitive touchpanel (800 x 480), dedicated media controls along the edges, Android 2.1, WiFi, 1080p video output, a built-in microphone and a battery good for up to 21 hours of use. As with every other Cowon player, this one also supports every file format ever conceived, including FLAC, APE and OGG -- three that the audiophiles in attendance will definitely recognize. The real question here is simple: does having Android on a non-connected (cellular, anyway) device really do you much good, and moreover, is it really worth the $357.99 asking price? We'll discuss these points and more in our full review just after the break. Join us, won't you?
Per usual, Cowon has really nailed the design here. We've always been fans of the company's aesthetics, and the trend continues here. The unboxing experience is one of the best around, and the D3 itself is just lovely to hold. It's light, slim and pocketable, yet intensely rigid and solid. There's nary a hint of low-quality here; everything from the tough-as-nails capacitive touchscreen to the stiff, soft-touch back is just marvelous to hold and admire. We also can't help but applaud the company for tossing in a few extra physical buttons along the right edge. Aside from the conventional volume rocker, you'll also get a track forward, track backward and a play / pause button, all of which can be toggled from your pocket without having to activate the display. Super handy, for obvious reasons.
We should also point out that the 3.5mm headphone jack resides on the bottom, right alongside the proprietary USB connector and DC input. As with the iPod touch, some folks will loathe it, while others love it -- we're a bit indifferent on the topic, but it obviously works best with right-angle plugs. Cowon also double-dipped on the storage front; while there's 32GB of internal storage from the get-go, there's also a side-accessible microSD card slot if you'd rather push things to 64GB. We definitely appreciate not having to remove a rear cover in order to access this here slot, but on the other hand, this design decision also ensures that the battery is tightly encased and impossible to access. Not a huge deal, but there it is.
Software
In the past, we've lamented the fact that Cowon's homegrown software builds weren't exactly ideal, and there's no question that our interest was piqued when we heard that the company would be relying on Android for the D3. That said, Android 2.1 is already a bit dated, and while the core is certainly here, it's heavily disguised. Cowon has definitely reworked the OS for its own purposes, and in doing so, we're left with a music app that's actually less intuitive than Google's own, an email app that's laughable compared to Gmail, and no access whatsoever to the Android Market. If it sounds like a train wreck, that's because it is. We can't deny that things are fairly pleasing to the eye at a glance, but the eye candy matters less and less as you actually try to use the device.
The preloaded applications are all so-so, and the inability to easily find and download new ones is a real deal-killer. As it stands, you'll have to scour the murky APK download market online, and then drag / drop those files into a pre-established APK folder within the file system. We should probably take this opportunity to point out that the D3 isn't as Mac-friendly as the company's prior offerings; we were never able to drop anything (music, apps, etc.) onto the device from a Mac, but things went smoothly when shifting over to Windows 7 Professional. It's theoretically possible to get Skype on here, and we actually managed to complete a Skype call over WiFi, but the app takes ages to load, and due to the lackluster microphone quality, folks on the other end couldn't wait to rid themselves of our intrusion. Being the argonauts that we are, we also tossed Google Maps on here for kicks; sadly, there's no GPS or A-GPS, so even with a live WiFi connection, the app refuses to pinpoint your location.
After using it for a week, we found ourselves a lot less impressed with Android on a PMP. In fact, we felt it unnecessary, at least when bona fide Android Market access is forbidden. You might say that you'd rather have the ability to sideload Angry Birds than to have no options at all for installing it, and we'd have a tough time arguing that; however, there's essentially no hope that this device will ever see Froyo, let alone Gingerbread, and the hardware just isn't powerful enough to run Google's mobile OS in a satisfactory manner.
Performance
Speaking of which, it's about time we touch on just how sluggish the D3 is. We can't put a finger on what sort of processor is tucked inside (update: looks like a 720MHz chip), but judging by the above-average battery life (21 hours for audio; 10 for video) and below-average performance, we're guessing it's of the "slow" variety. More often than not, we'd have to swipe two or three times before the device would recognize our touch, and while pinch-to-zoom is supported, you won't be making much use of it if the device requires two to three seconds to understand what you're trying to do. Even changing orientation from vertical to horizontal takes three to five seconds, and while one or two of these would be forgivable, the entire experience becomes bogged down in no time flat. Have a look at what we mean in the video below:
Even loading up the Music app, which should be the point where this device thrives, is a painful experience, and sifting through your artists / albums / playlists takes a shocking amount of finagling. The web browser manages to perform decently, and Bluetooth support seemed fine. Both BT-compatible sources as well as headphones paired up nicely, but don't dare try to multitask if you're blasting music out over the short-range airwaves. Sadly, the battery here actually falls short compared to prior Cowon devices; the 32GB iPod touch can last well over 30 hours on a single charge when playing back audio, while Cowon's D3 isn't even rated to last longer than 21 hours.
Sound quality
It wouldn't be a proper Cowon review without a section dedicated to audio quality, as -- quite frankly -- that's the one place where you can count on the company's players to be superior to the competition. Thankfully, nothing has changed in this regard. When A-B'ing the D3 to a Nexus One and an iPod touch, we consistently felt that the audio quality from the D3 was superior. Music just felt fuller and less hazy, and if there's one saving grace on this entire thing, it's the world-class sound quality. We'd also like to throw a round of golf claps in Cowon's direction for the thorough amount of included EQ options; we usually aren't ones to screw with a producer's mix, but the equalization options included here are most certainly worth a listen. Dollars to donuts you'll find one that you enjoy even better than the stock mix, and we're guessing you'll also be shocked at how well it enhances things without comically distorting a particular frequency range.
Wrap-up
Cowon's D3 Plenue is awfully close to being a stellar PMP. The sound quality is truly unmatched, the build quality is worth writing home about, and the 3.7-inch AMOLED display is lovely to gaze at. Unfortunately, those pros are overshadowed by a laundry list of gripes, including a disturbingly sluggish overall experience, no access to the Android Market, the omission of an A-GPS / GPS chip, a terrible Music application, the inexplicable use of a proprietary USB connector and the inclusion of a second-rate email application. It's also $357.99, which is nearly $60 more than a 32GB iPod touch and just $30 shy of matching the 64GB iPod touch. We hate to make the obvious comparison, but there's no honest-to-goodness reason for choosing this over Apple's darling. Heck, at least that one ships with a camera for video calling and includes a processor that doesn't make you wait between each panel change.
We'd love to love the D3, and we've no doubt fallen for its superior aural qualities, but there's just too many pitfalls here (and too lofty a price point) to recommend for the masses. As for the audiophiles would could care less about anything else other than auditory bliss? Go right ahead, but be sure to let us know how you're planning to deal with your heightened blood pressure -- that painfully slow Music app is bound to have some negative side effects.
It was a release candidate just about a week ago and today it's all ready to go. Firefox 4 for Android has just been released from the Mozilla labs and is now prowling the mobile internet. You can get yours at the Android Market, in no less than 10 languages, though there'll be no Flash playback. Still, tabbed browsing, extreme customizability, and bookmark / tab / history coordination between desktop and mobile (via Firefox Sync) are all nice to have, as is the promised threefold improvement in speed over the stock Android browser. Pretty nice list of improvements for some freebie software, wouldn't you say?
We've seen many a theoretical demonstration of lightning-quick networks, but most use some rather special purpose hardware -- like lasers and such that your average ISP doesn't have hanging around. However, this new benchmark of 448Gbps is a little more impressive because it was achieved on commercial fiber hardware. A few teams of researchers were the ones shoveling the bits, including the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, the National Inter-university Consortium for Telecommunications (CNIT), and good 'ol Ericsson. It's said to be the world's first transmission line operating at that speed, and what's most impressive is that it'll be tested on further network segments in the coming months ahead of becoming an actual product at some point in the not-too-distant future. Not soon enough.
An unmanned cargo ship built by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is set to go up in flames tomorrow in the name of interplanetary research. Along with a load of space station junk, the Kounotori 2 spacecraft is packing something akin to a black box, also known as a Re-entry Breakup Recorder (REBR), that will collect and transmit data about the ship's final moments. The space station's crew will activate the REBR before Kounotori 2 begins its final assignment. As soon as it starts showing signs of re-entry, the sensor will begin to collect data including temperature, acceleration, and rotation rate, and will then break away from the craft for a final free fall to Earth, at which point the REBR will dump its findings. Scientist hope the device will help answer questions about exactly what happens when things fall apart during re-entry. If all goes according to plan, the REBR will plunk down in the ocean sometime later, but its host will never be seen again... farewell, Kounotori 2.
Do you enjoy the produce-slashing action that Fruit Ninja affords, but feel constrained by the meager display capabilities of handheld devices? Well, some German students from FH Wedel University of Applied Sciences have created a VR version of the game to make your dreams of having more massive melons fly at your face come true. Using a CAVE four-walled virtual environment to display the hurtling fruit and a modified Wiimote to do the slicing and dicing, players can exorcise their cantaloupe and kumquat demons in a life-sized fruit cleaving frenzy -- with none of the Gallagher-style mess. See it in action after the break, just be sure to don your Kikou first.
Among the many great feats of his career, film director James Cameron counts the rather unorthodox achievement of being able to convince NASA to use a stereoscopic camera on its next Mars rover project. Unfortunately for him, us, and the hard working folks over at Malin Space Science Systems, technical snags have been encountered in the integration of the jumbo mastcam (pictured above) with the rover's hardware and the resulting delays have caused NASA to nix the idea altogether. You might think that 3D visuals of Red Planet gravel will be no great loss, but the MSSS cams also had zoom lenses attached, whereas the research project will now be returning to tried and true fixed focal length imaging. Ah well, such is the bumpy road to interterrestrial enlightenment. NASA's rover, titled Curiosity, is set to begin its voyage in November of this year, while Cameron and co remain upbeat about the future, saying they're "certain that this technology will play an important role in future missions."
This is weird. UK carrier O2 has decided to do exactly what we've been asking mobile operators to do for donkeys' years -- it's going to allow users to chew through their data allowance in whatever fashion they like, without imposing artificial surcharges for tethering secondary devices to your phone. Up till now, you'd have had to swallow a salty £7.65 ($12.24) charge each month to get your tether on with O2, but for whatever reason, that has now been scrapped for subscribers on pay-monthly deals. Hit up the source link for a detailed list of O2's new contract options -- they don't include any unlimited 3G data plans, unfortunately, but we'll take what we can get for now.
The stat guardians at IDC are among the most reliable sources for keeping track of the latest developments in the smartphone market, but we've got to say their forecastshaven't always benefited from the same accuracy. It's with this disclaimer that we present you the world of 2015 as seen through the IDC prism. In just four years' time, says the data, Windows Phone 7 (or whatever version it reaches by then) will have ascended to occupy a fifth of the market and second spot overall behind Android, whose leading position is expected to stabilize somewhere around the 45 percent mark. Apple and RIM are projected to hold steady with shares close to where they are today. It has to be humbling for the IDC, which predicted Symbian would continue to dominate all the way into 2013, to now have to foretell of its almost complete extinction (a mere 0.2 percent) and total irrelevance in the smartphone market. Alas, while the new prediction sounds very reasonable today, four years of unknown unknowns is a mighty long time to try and forecast through, and we have a feeling we'll be looking back and chuckling at this within a few short months -- probably (hopefully!) in the midst of a massive webOS revival.
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IDC Forecasts Worldwide Smartphone Market to Grow by Nearly 50% in 2011
29 Mar 2011
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. March 29, 2011 – The worldwide smartphone market is expected to grow 49.2% in 2011 as more consumers and enterprise users turn in their feature phones for smartphones with more advanced features. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, smartphone vendors will ship more than 450 million smartphones in 2011 compared to the 303.4 million units shipped in 2010. Moreover, the smartphone market will grow more than four times faster than the overall mobile phone market.
"Overall market growth in 2010 was exceptional," said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. "Last year's high market growth was due in part to pent-up demand from a challenging 2009, when many buyers held off on mobile phone purchases. The expected market growth for 2011, while still notable, will taper off somewhat from what we saw in 2010."
To capture the strong consumer demand for smartphones, manufacturers have unleashed a steady stream of new models and features over the past two years. The battle for mind and market share has also resulted in stiff competition among the smartphone operating systems.
"Android is poised to take over as the leading smartphone operating system in 2011 after racing into the number 2 position in 2010," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team. "For the vendors who made Android the cornerstone of their smartphone strategies, 2010 was the coming-out party. This year will see a coronation party as these same vendors broaden and deepen their portfolios to reach more customers, particularly first-time smartphone users."
Nokia's recent announcement to shift from Symbian to Windows Phone will have significant implications for the smartphone market going forward. "Up until the launch of Windows Phone 7 last year, Microsoft has steadily lost market share while other operating systems have brought forth new and appealing experiences," added Llamas. "The new alliance brings together Nokia's hardware capabilities and Windows Phone's differentiated platform. We expect the first devices to launch in 2012. By 2015, IDC expects Windows Phone to be number 2 operating system worldwide behind Android."
This planet we call home needs another iDock about as bad as we need another Charlie Sheen running around aimlessly, but no matter -- we're getting one, and it's being delivered from JBL. The company has just outed its first-ever iPad speaker dock, the OnBeat. Truth be told, it's capable of handling iPod touches, iPhones and iPads (no word on the iPad 2), but it's clearly engineered to hold the largest of the bunch best. Aside from providing joints and jams to those situated in your living room (or basement, if that's how you roll), it can also pipe Netflix and YouTube content directly to one's television via a composite video output, and if you're running around sans an iDevice, the 3.5mm auxiliary jack ensures that any other source will still function just fine. You'll also be able to charge and sync any docked devices, but you'll be asked to dole out $149.95 in order to bring one home when it ships next month.
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HARMAN Brings Entertainment Experience on iPad® to Life with JBL OnBeat™ Speaker Dock
Company whose legendary JBL brand brought the first sound to cinema introduces the new loudspeaker dock, bringing the same dynamic sound to the next wave of technology: iPad®, iPhone® and iPod® devices
For more information: http://www.jbl.com/onbeat
STAMFORD, Conn. – HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated (NYSE: HAR), today announced the release of its new JBL OnBeat™ loudspeaker docking station, the first JBL® dock to bring your next-generation entertainment experience to life, delivering realistic, dynamic sound with any iPad®, iPhone® or iPod® device.
Bringing Netflix® movie streaming, gaming, Skype™ conversations, YouTube clip watching and more to an entirely new level with HARMAN's signature sound quality, the JBL OnBeat dock features dual Phoenix full-range transducers with computer-optimized DSP equalization, creating a richly detailed soundstage. A universal connector that firmly docks an iPad, iPod or iPhone lets you rotate iPod and iPhone screens to portrait or landscape orientation for the best video display, and an infrared remote (IR) puts you in full control of system functions and music navigation from across the room.
Stream action-packed movies and intimate family photos and videos, and share the hottest content on the Web in your living room with family and friends through the addition of an optional composite cable that can send video content from the device directly to your TV.
"Imagine what moviegoers must have felt when they heard sound paired with film for the first time in history. This is what we hope to accomplish for the next era of entertainment experiences with products such as the JBL OnBeat for the iPad, iPhone and more," said David Slump, president, HARMAN Consumer Division. "Our goal is to awaken our senses to the power that great sound and music can have on bringing media to life through the most cutting-edge devices out on the market right now."
The new JBL OnBeat also features a USB connection to sync and charge devices when connected to the iTunes® music library (cable not included), and a 3.5mm stereo mini-jack auxiliary input that connects to virtually all portable media devices (cable not included). The dock has the dynamic JBL Weave design styling that is as sculptural as it is conversation-starting. Brackets to attach the iPod, iPhone and iPad to the dock are included in the package. The JBL OnBeat also serves as a charging station for your iPod or iPhone while it is docked.
Pricing and Availability
The JBL OnBeat loudspeaker dock is available in April in black for $149.95. For additional information or to purchase, visit http://www.jbl.com/onbeat.
Lenovo may have just launched the much delayed LePad in China, but it's already giddying us with a surprisingly early date for said Android tablet's successor. At last night's opening banquet for the 2011 Chinese IT Leadership Summit, CEO Yang Yuanqing revealed that the second-gen LePad will be slimmer (which is a given these days), and is expected to be launched in September or October -- merely three or four months after le original LePad's upcoming global launch in June. Shedding no light on specifications, Yang added that the next LePad was developed in parallel with its predecessor under a separate team, allowing it to come to fruition in just nine months. Very well, but actually making it to the market is an entirely different story, so we shall sit tight and watch -- hopefully Mr. Blurrycam will deliver the goods beforehand, too.
Acer's had its fair share of Iconia's land in the past few months, but none are as breathtaking (and potentially world-changing) as the Iconia-6120. Said machine was priced at €1,499 earlier in the year, but that doesn't mean an awful lot to folks situated in America and the Great White North. As of today, consumers in both of those nations have a price and release date to ponder, with $1,199.99 (both US and CAD) netting you a touchbook with two 14-inch Gorilla Glass touchpanels, a Core i5 CPU, 4GB of memory, integrated Intel HD graphics and a 64-bit copy of Windows 7 Home Premium. You'll also get USB 3.0 support, a 640GB hard drive, a 1.3 megapixel camera, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, an HDMI output, gigabit Ethernet, a chassis that weighs in at 5.95 pounds and a battery that'll probably sputter along for nine or ten minutes (on a good day). Lookin' to dive right in? Amazon, as well as "other" fine e-tailers, should be taking orders momentarily.
Acer Iconia Touchbook Dual-Screen Tablet Provides Engaging, Natural Way to Interact with Digital Data
World's First and Only Tablet Featuring Two 14-inch Touch Screen Displays Now Available for Pre-Sale in the U.S. and Canada
SAN JOSE, CA – March 29, 2011 – Acer today announced that its much anticipated dual screen tablet, the Iconia-6120 Dual-Screen Touchbook is now available for pre-sale in North America. Providing a powerful, immersive touch experience like no other, it is the world's first and only tablet to offer two touch-enabled 14-inch high-definition widescreen LED backlit LCDs.
Intuitive to use and customizable to individual needs, it combines the power of Intel Core i5 processing with the familiarity of Windows 7, and is destined to change how people use technology to engage with the world. A winner of this year's prestigious "Last Gadget Standing" award at CES, the Iconia was noted for incorporating the best features of any notebook or tablet device.
With the flexibility to use a finger, type on a virtual keyboard, or use a combination of both, the Iconia Touchbook provides many ways to make the computing experience a truly personal one. Consumers can customize what is shown on each screen, allowing them to watch a video on the top screen and browse their multimedia library on the bottom one, or view a single web page across the two displays. Using the bottom screen to manage and control the action on the top screen keeps presentations, movies or web pages free of icons and other navigational tools.
Extremely durable and scratch resistant, the Iconia's 14-inch LCDs are made of ultra-thin Gorilla® Glass from Corning, a renowned manufacturer of extremely durable glass. With a wipe and clean coating, it's easy to keep the displays shiny and smudge-free.
"The Acer Iconia Touchbook delivers a computing and visual experience like no other," said Eric Ackerson, senior product marketing manager, Acer America. "Whether the Touchbook is used by a small business owner or a student, its unique dual screen design enhances the interaction they will have with their digital data. Our compelling design and applications will let them discover new and much more personal ways to communicate and enjoy the computing experience, regardless of whether it's work related or for personal enjoyment."
The Heart of Iconia – the Acer Ring Control Interface The unique Acer Ring Control Interface makes navigating by touch simple and intuitive. By placing five fingers in a circular pattern on the bottom display, the Acer Ring appears, providing instant access to favorite applications and features. From this point, consumers can use their fingertip or launch the virtual keyboard to change the tablet's settings, surf the web, capture screen images, post photos and status updates to a social network, watch a movie and more, all in the manner most comfortable and natural to them.
AppCards Provide Quick and Easy Access to Productivity and Entertainment-Based Applications Appearing on the either side of the Acer Ring is a unique set of Iconia touch-based applications, called AppCards. Using a finger, users can scroll to the one they want, and simply tap it to have instant access to a range of compelling programs ideal for either business or home use.
• TouchBrowser is specifically designed to offer a more comfortable web surfing experience when using touch input. Upon launching, web content will flow across both screens. A toolbar at the bottom of either screen provides easy control over the open pages. To enter a website address, consumers can use the virtual keyboard or enter it using handwriting gestures. A pinching action will zoom in on the content on the page. Pages can be added to Favorites by simply tapping the Add Favorites icon.
• MyJournal is a handy place to keep clippings of websites and other information. Images can be captured from any web page and organized onto a single, easy-to-view page. It includes pre-set tabs for News, Sports, Entertainment, Politics and Business. The selected website content on the tabbed pages is automatically updated each time it's opened. A toolbar at the top of the page makes it easy to edit, resize, rename and move clips to other pages. In a business environment, a professional will find this feature useful in tracking news on competitors or to keep an eye on the stock market. A consumer can follow a local news story, their favorite sports team or keep an eye on their favorite celebrity's latest antics.
• Social Jogger simultaneously connects to three of the most popular social networking sites -- Flickr, Facebook, and YouTube, presenting them a simple interface on one screen. Users can check posts and updates on one screen at a glance, and use the other screen to view one of the sites in more detail, surf the web, view photos or work on a spreadsheet.
• Scrapbook is a convenient place to store website and photo images and other content. It includes a pen tool for drawing or entering handwritten text, such as adding comments or reminders. From there, images can be exported to the clipboard for insertion into other applications, or saved as an image file.
• TouchPhoto, TouchMusic and TouchVideo provide direct access to multimedia files stored on the tablet.
"The Acer ICONIA Dual Screen is a great demonstration of how hardware and software together enables new ways to interact with your PC," said Soren Lau, senior director of marketing in the Original Equipment Manufacturer Division at Microsoft. "With Windows 7, you get the familiarity of Windows with support for multi-touch, so you can flick through videos and files with a fingertip, or use the touch-based on-screen keyboard."
Easy-to-use Tools Make Navigating Intuitive and Fun Appearing directly on the Acer Ring are a number of useful functions and tools, including Virtual Keyboard, Gesture Editor, Capture, Webclip, Window Manager and Device Control. Tapping the desired tool's icon brings it up for immediate use.
• The Virtual Keyboard gives users the ability to enter data and navigate in a familiar fashion. Combined with its touch capabilities, the Iconia Touchbook is a flexible and powerful tablet designed for maximum efficiency and productivity. When both palms are placed on the bottom screen, the virtual full-sized keyboard instantly appears. Adaptive typing and predictive text allows for quick data entry and minimizes mistakes. A numeric touchpad with handwriting recognition converts handwriting to text. The palm rest area can also be customized with any image on the computer – a company logo or a scenic background -- so users can personalize the tablet even more.
• Gesture Editor is a simple and quick way to instantly launch specific applications, access favorite websites, or even to lock the computer with a simple finger motion. A set of pre-defined gestures is included, but customized gestures can be created in just five easy steps. For example, simply drawing a $ (dollar sign) on the screen can launch a financial or accounting application, or a (checkmark) can open a to-do list.
• The Capture tool allows users to clip parts of an image (a photo, illustration or a webpage) and save it to the Scrapbook application for further editing. It's a great way to collect images for use in a PowerPoint presentation. And it couldn't be easier to do. With the picture on the top screen and the Scrapbook page opened on the bottom display, users just tap the Capture tool, run their finger around the desired image and then tap the area to open a menu that will allow them to drag and drop it onto the Scrapbook page. The captured image will automatically be added as a thumbnail image above the scrapbook page for quick and easy viewing. They can then drag and drop the desired thumbnail onto the page, where it can be rotated or resized with pinching actions.
• The Web Clip tool is specifically for clipping parts of web pages to save to MyJournal. Tap the screen, select the area to crop, tap and drag on any of the corners of the selected area to size it, and then tap the area again to open a menu to paste the content into MyJournal, Scrapbook or copy it to the clipboard. It can also be saved as a bitmap file.
• Window Manager provides a touch-friendly interface for controlling the various open windows on the displays. Users can customize which screen the application appears on as well as its size.
• Device Control is an easy way to access and adjust power, display and volume settings, wireless connections and various devices connected to the HDMI, VGA and USB ports.
Clear.fi makes data sharing convenient in small office environment or the home Making it easy to share multimedia content, the Acer Iconia Touchbook features clear.fi, Acer's digital media sharing solution. Clear.fi automatically connects all Acer devices on a network (smartphones, notebooks, desktops, HD media players and storage devices) and then gathers and organizes media files by type (video, music, photo, pre-recorded TV). Users can browse the categories and then drag and drop the media to any of the connected PCs or devices for playback.
No-Compromises Tablet Features Leading Technology for Maximum Productivity and Fun A super charged tablet filled with enough leading technology to rival many desktop and notebook PCs in performance, the Iconia-6120 Dual-Screen Touchbook is powerful enough to handle demanding applications and graphic intensive multimedia files. Featuring an Intel® Core™ i5 Processor with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology(2), 4GB of memory and Intel® HD graphics, the Touchbook is equipped for heavy lifting. In addition, Dolby® Advanced Audio™ v3 brings vibrant sound to business presentations, movies, music, and games.
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit provides a familiar computing environment and is compatible with today's most popular applications and media formats, and supports full web browsing with Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1. For professional environments, customers can upgrade using Windows Anytime Update to Windows 7 Professional to attain business-class PC: manageability, security and the ability to run the applications used within most organizations today, including Microsoft Office.
To maximize productivity, the Touchbook includes the new USB 3.0 standard with a top speed that's 10 times faster than standard USB 2.0; a 25GB high definition video file can be transferred from an external USB 3.0 storage device in just 70 seconds and stored on the roomy 640GB SATA hard drive(3). Two 2.0 USB ports and an HDMI port are also included.
A 1.3 megapixel HD webcam is ideal for face-to-face videoconferencing or for staying in touch with business associates, friends and family. Connect reliably with 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ or Gigabit Ethernet LAN from work, home or while on-the-go. Weighing in at just 5.95 pounds(4), it's as convenient to carry as any notebook computer, and fits comfortably in a briefcase or backpack.
U.S. Configurations, Pricing and Availability With an MSRP of $1,199.99, the Acer Iconia-6120 Touchbook is available for pre-sale now and will be available in April at leading retailers nationwide.
Canada Configurations, Pricing and Availability With an MSRP of $1,199(CAD), the Acer Iconia-6120 Touchbook will be available in April through authorized Canadian resellers.
Can't get enough New York Times over your Whispernet? Worry not, dear Kindle reader, for Amazon's on a roll with its announcements today, the latest of which is that a subscription to the NYT on its world-conquering e-reader will also grant users access to the paywall-protected NYTimes.com online portal. No complex rules or conditions, you'll just be one of the insiders who get unfettered access to all the fine old school journalism practiced at Times towers. See Amazon's press release after the break or hit the source link to learn more about the $28-a-month (for international users) subscription.
Update: The sub price is $20 in the USA, the $28 cost we first saw relates to those signing up from the UK and other international markets. Thanks, russke!
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Kindle New York Times Customers to Receive Free Access to NYTimes.com
Kindle New York Times subscription will include online access at no additional charge SEATTLE, Mar 28, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
(NASDAQ:AMZN)--Amazon.com, Inc. today announced that customers who subscribe to The New York Times for Kindle will be receiving access to The New York Times Web site at no additional charge. The date for Kindle New York Times subscribers' free online access is yet undetermined; subscribers will receive further communication via e-mail in the coming weeks.
"Customers love reading The New York Times on their Kindles," said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President of Kindle Content. "Given The Times' transition to a digital subscription model, we're excited to be able to offer Kindle subscribers online access to all the digital content available at NYTimes.com at no additional cost."
"The Times' digital subscription plan was designed to offer access to our high-quality journalism across a variety of platforms," said Yasmin Namini, senior vice president, marketing and circulation, and general manager, reader applications, The New York Times Media Group. "New York Times readers on Kindle are a very loyal and important audience, and we are pleased be able to include online access as part of their subscription experience."
The New York Times is the bestselling newspaper in the Kindle Store.
For more information and to order The New York Times for your Kindle, visit www.amazon.com/nytimes.
Barack Obama is quite likely the most computer literate president (which isn't saying much) these united states have ever had. So it's really no surprise to hear that the BlackBerry wielding prez also owns an iPad and, gasp, his own computer -- except, perhaps, to Univision's Jorge Ramos. Obama's incredulous stare and jocular response to the questions are as hilarious as they are candid in their casual delivery. See for yourselves in the video after the break.
Like a desperate suitor unable to take "no" for an answer, Nokia's come back to the ITC with fresh allegations about Apple using its patented technologies without proper authorization. On Friday, the International Trade Commission made an initial determination that Apple wasn't actually making use of five patents held by the Finnish company -- a ruling that has yet to be ratified by the Commission itself, notably -- which Nokia predictably "does not agree" with and is now countering with the addition of seven more patents it believes have been infringed. Those relate to multitasking, data synchronization, positioning, call quality, and Bluetooth accessories, and affect "virtually all products" in Cupertino's portfolio. Rather boastfully, Nokia informs us that a total of 46 of its patents are now being actioned in some sort of lawsuit against Apple, whether you're talking about the ITC, US, Dutch, German, or British courts. As the old saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, send in the lawyers. See Nokia's press release about this latest legal activity after the break.
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Nokia files second ITC complaint against Apple
Alleges Apple infringes additional Nokia patents in virtually all products
Espoo, Finland - Nokia has filed a further complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) alleging that Apple infringes additional Nokia patents in virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players, tablets and computers.
The seven Nokia patents in the new complaint relate to Nokia's pioneering innovations that are now being used by Apple to create key features in its products in the areas of multi-tasking operating systems, data synchronization, positioning, call quality and the use of Bluetooth accessories.
This second ITC complaint follows the initial determination in Nokia's earlier ITC filing, announced by the ITC on Friday, March 25. Nokia does not agree with the ITC's initial determination that there was no violation of Section 337 in that complaint and is waiting to see the full details of the ruling before deciding on the next steps in that case.
In addition to the two ITC complaints, Nokia has filed cases on the same patents and others in Delaware, US and has further cases proceeding in Mannheim, Dusseldorf and the Federal Patent Court in Germany, the UK High Court in London and the District Court of the Hague in the Netherlands, some of which will come to trial in the next few months.
"Our latest ITC filing means we now have 46 Nokia patents in suit against Apple, many filed more than 10 years before Apple made its first iPhone," said Paul Melin, Vice President, Intellectual Property at Nokia. "Nokia is a leading innovator in technologies needed to build great mobile products and Apple must stop building its products using Nokia's proprietary innovation."
During the last two decades, Nokia has invested approximately EUR 43 billion in research and development and built one of the wireless industry's strongest and broadest IPR portfolios, with over 10,000 patent families. Nokia is a world leader in the development of handheld device and mobile communications technologies, which is also demonstrated by Nokia's strong patent position.
It's skinny, it's fast, and it can do some seriously fun stuff with its gyroscope accelerometer. Yes, we're talking about the Galaxy S II, Samsung's upcoming followup to one of Android's biggest successes to date, the Galaxy S. The new handset will bring with it a revised version of Sammy's Android skin, TouchWiz 4.0, which will harness the motion sensors inside the phone to allow you to zoom in and out of webpages as well as navigate the UI with the movement of your hands. Basically, instead of the traditional pinch-to-zoom, resting two fingers atop the screen will allow you to zoom in by bringing the S II closer to your face or zoom out by holding it further away -- a naturalistic gesture that makes all the sense in the world to us. Moreover, when adding new widgets to your home panels, you'll be able to move between them by propelling the phone laterally. It's quirky and appealing stuff, see it on video below.
[Thanks, Lawrence]
Update: We initially thought this was done using the gyroscope inside the Galaxy S II, but as commenter ClioCreslind helpfully points out, it's far likelier that Samsung's using the phone's accelerometer to achieve its new fanciness.
While Spotify still isn't available to US households, the streaming music service just made its first jump to European audio receivers with the help of Onkyo. Having already made its first move to the living room on Sonos systems back in September, Spotify Premium subscribers in Finland, France, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the UK can now stream 320kbps audio while browsing their personal, what's new, and starred playlists from televisions connected to any 2011 networked home cinema receiver from Onkyo, starting with the new 7.2 channel TX-NR609. With any luck, Onkyo will soon be updating its Onkyo Remote iOS app to replace the need for a power-hungry TV just to browse Spotify's 10 million tracks. Sorry North America, at least you've still got dibs on Rdio.
Sigma provided most of the details for its new DP2x compact camera when it announced it back in February, but it left out two key ones: pricing and availability. It's now finally (mostly) come clean on both those counts, however, and announced that the high-end compact will run $800 and be available in "late April." As for the camera itself, you'll get a 14-megapixel FOVEON X3 sensor that's said to be twelve times larger than those found in similarly-sized cameras, along with a fixed 24.2mm F2.8 lens, full manual controls with RAW image support, and an new AF algorithm that promises "high-speed" autofocus. Full press release is after the break.
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Sigma Corporation Announces Pricing and Availability of DP2x Compact Camera
Updated 14-megapixel camera now features Analog Front End and high-speed auto focus
RONKONKOMA, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sigma Corporation of America (www.sigmaphoto.com), a leading researcher, developer, manufacturer and service provider of some of the world's most impressive lines of lenses, cameras and flashes, today announced pricing and availability for the company's new DP2x compact camera.
The camera, which will be available for purchase in late April for the MSRP of $800, is the successor to Sigma's DP2 and DP2s cameras.
The DP2x continues to feature the 14-megapixel FOVEON X3® direct image sensor (2,652× 1,768× 3 layers), and will now also include Analog Front End (AFE) and high-speed auto focus. AFE is also used in the DP1x compact digital camera and SD15 DSLR and converts full color data, which the FOVEON X3® capture system records, into a digital signal. This enables the camera to reproduce high-definition and richly colored images. In addition, the new AF algorithm provides high-speed auto focus, ensuring convenient shooting.
"The DP cameras have been extremely popular with Sigma's camera users, and we know that they will be very pleased with the latest enhancements to our DP2 series," said Mark Amir-Hamzeh, president of Sigma Corporation of America.
To locate an authorized Sigma dealer near you, visit http://www.sigmaphoto.com/where-to-buy-sigma. To use Sigma's Lens Finder Tool to find the best lens to suit your needs, visit http://www.sigmaphoto.com/sigma-lens-finder. For information about Sigma Corporation of America, visit www.sigmaphoto.com.
About Sigma Corporation
For 50 years, Sigma Corporation's expertise and innovation has driven the company's core philosophy of "knowledge, plus experience, plus imagination," with an emphasis on producing high-quality, high-performance photographic technology at moderate prices. This family-owned organization is the largest, independent SLR lens manufacturer in the world, producing more than 50 lenses that are compatible with most manufacturers, including Sigma, Canon, Sony, Nikon, Olympus and Pentax. Sigma Corporation also produces digital SLR cameras and high-definition digital compact cameras. The company is headquartered in Japan, with offices strategically located throughout Europe, Asia and North America. For information, please visit www.sigmaphoto.com.
While one group of Android phone makers is swinging towards locking their hardware down, Sony Ericsson is resolutely headed in the other direction. The Swedo-Japanese consortium has just announced it will provide a secure and legal way for eager Android hackers to gain full control of the bootloader on some of its upcoming 2011 Xperia line of phones. All four models are covered, the Xperia Play, Neo, Pro, and Arc, however you have to make sure you buy a handset that isn't SIM-locked to a carrier and then there are territorial considerations to take into account. Warranties may still be voided by fooling around with your Xperia's software (again, depends on individual handsets and markets) and SE warns gravely of the potential for "physical injuries or material damage" if you freak your Android into overheating or worse. So proceed with caution, but know that Sony Ericsson is by your side*.
* Subject to terms and conditions, repair charges may be incurred, Android upgrades are promised but never guaranteed.
Nokia loves telling the world about the 150 million Symbian handsets it will ship in the years to come. Problem is, that's far from a factual statement -- it's a goal, a hope, and something that will only be possible if developers and fans don't abandon the platform wholesale as the company transitions from Symbian to Windows Phone smartphones over the next two years. As such, Nokia is desperately trying to convince us that Symbian and the Qt developer framework are far from dead. In an open letter of encouragement to developers from Purnima Kochikar, VP of Nokia Forum & Developer Community, Purnima attempts to coax devs into fine-tuning their Qt skills in preparation for a "strong portfolio" of new Symbian products with "GHz+" processing and faster graphics coming in 2011 and 2012. Presumably she's talking about the T7, X7, and E6 leaks among others. And because Symbian is still the leading smartphone platform in markets like China, India, Russia, and Turkey, she hints that Nokia will likely continue to support Symbian well beyond the transition to Windows Phone, at least in select markets.
Of course, hardware has never really been Nokia's issue so it's nice to hear Purnima commit to a first major Symbian user experience update this summer that includes the new home screen, icons, browser, and navbar we've already seen, in addition to a "fresh look and feel" to the Ovi Store and Maps with the latter also getting a integrated social media services update. The Symbian update -- some of which has already been seen on the C7 Astound -- will come to "all users" over the air. Too late to save the platform but just in time for the Symbian faithful.
Another dusty gem's emerged from the vintage gold mine that is AT&T's Tech Channel archive, and this one's packed full of useful information and some classic Jetsons-style animation. The Thinking Machines pits man against computer to explain how the things reason, and it does so with a soundtrack that's straight out of, well, 1968. Unsurprisingly, the film's populated by giant, button-laden switchboards, early computer graphics, ladies sporting beehives, and gents rocking unfortunate facial hair, but if that doesn't do it for you, it also offers genuine pearls like this: "Best of all, they never get bored. Like other machines, they can do the same monotonous chores all day long without complaining." Someone should tell that to the disgruntled Roomba residing in our hall closet. Check out the full video in all its dated glory after the break.
Surely you remember the Kyocera Echo, that dual-screen Android 2.2 phone that Sprint unveiled way back in February. Well, if it managed to pique your interest, then you'll be glad to know that Sprint's thrown up quite the unique reservation page that will let you reserve the phone now for $200 (after a $100 mail-in rebate) to ensure you'll have it on its April 17th release date. The company warns that there'll be limited quantities, so if you want to be the only one in town rocking a dual-screen smartphone, hit the source link and punch in your info -- and don't forget to try your hand at a game of Bottle Bustin' Bandits while you're there for a chance to win one of these phones.
We'd heard March 31st for this thing, but hey -- are we about to complain when it goes on sale early? That would be a definitive "no," and we're happy to report that Samsung's SCH-LC11 Mobile Hotspot with 1x, EV-DO Rev. A, and LTE compatibility on Verizon's network is now being offered on the carrier's website for $99.99 on contract after a $50 instant discount. That makes it the cheapest way to get five devices attached to some of the fastest wireless broadband around -- sure, you can do it with a Thunderbolt, but it'll run you a little more upfront and you need a voice plan. Who's in?
Oh snap! Look who just ate Apple and Google's lunch here? Minutes ago, Amazon rolled out its very own music streaming service which is conveniently dubbed the Amazon Cloud Player. Existing Amazon customers in the US can now upload their MP3 purchases to their 5GB cloud space -- upgradable to a one-year 20GB plan for free upon purchasing an MP3 album, with additional plans starting at $20 a year -- and then start streaming on their computers or Android devices. Oh, and did we mention that this service is free of charge as well? Meanwhile, someone will have some catching up to do, but we have a feeling it won't take them too long.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Update: As some readers have confirmed, it appears that the Cloud Player will support music purchased from iTunes as well, presumably from the post-DRM era.
Update 2: Press release after the break.
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Introducing Amazon Cloud Drive, Amazon Cloud Player for Web, and Amazon Cloud Player for Android Buy anywhere, play anywhere and keep all your music in one place Start with 5 GB of free Cloud Drive storage - upgrade to 20 GB free with purchase of any MP3 album
SEATTLE, Mar 29, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced the launch of Amazon Cloud Drive (www.amazon.com/clouddrive), Amazon Cloud Player for Web (www.amazon.com/cloudplayer) and Amazon Cloud Player for Android (www.amazon.com/cloudplayerandroid). Together, these services enable customers to securely store music in the cloudand play it on any Android phone, Android tablet, Mac or PC, wherever they are. Customers can easily upload their music library to Amazon Cloud Drive and can save any new Amazon MP3 purchases directly to their Amazon Cloud Drive for free.
"We're excited to take this leap forward in the digital experience," said Bill Carr, vice president of Movies and Music at Amazon. "The launch of Cloud Drive, Cloud Player for Web and Cloud Player for Android eliminates the need for constant software updates as well as the use of thumb drives and cables to move and manage music."
"Our customers have told us they don't want to download music to their work computers or phones because they find it hard to move music around to different devices," Carr said. "Now, whether at work, home, or on the go, customers can buy music from Amazon MP3, store it in the cloud and play it anywhere."
Store Music for Free
Customers automatically start with 5 GB of Cloud Drive storage to upload their digital music library, and those who purchase an Amazon MP3 album will be upgraded to 20 GB of Cloud Drive space. New Amazon MP3 purchases saved directly to Cloud Drive are stored for free and do not count against a customer's storage quota.
Adding Music to Cloud Drive
Amazon's easy uploading process makes it simple for customers to save their music library to their Cloud Drive. Files can be stored in AAC or MP3 formats and will be uploaded to Cloud Drive in the original bit rate. Customers can hand-pick particular songs, artists, albums or playlists to upload or simply upload their entire music library.
Cloud Player for Web
Customers who have a computer with a Web browser can listen to their music. Cloud Player for Web currently supports Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari for Mac, and Chrome. Cloud Player for Web lets customers easily manage their music with download and streaming options. Customers don't need to worry about regularly updating software on their computer to enjoy music, and Amazon MP3 customers can continue to use iTunes and Windows Media Player to add their music to their iPods and MP3 players.
Cloud Player for Android
Cloud Player for Android is now bundled into the new version of the Amazon MP3 App; it includes the full Amazon MP3 Store and the mobile version of Cloud Player. Customers can use the app to play music stored on their Cloud Drive and music stored locally on their device. Features include the ability to search and browse by artist, album or song, create playlists and download music from Cloud Drive.
Secure Storage
Customers never need to worry about losing their music collection to a hard drive crash again. Files are securely stored on Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) and each file is uploaded to Cloud Drive in its original bit rate. Customers can buy music anywhere and know that their MP3s are safely stored in Cloud Drive and accessible from any device.
Store More than Music
Cloud Drive allows customers to upload and store all kinds of digital files; music, photos, videos and documents can be stored securely and are available via web browser on any computer. In addition to the 5 GB of free storage, customers can purchase storage plans starting at $20 a year for 20 GB.
The second bit of news for Canadian Netflixers in less than 24 hours deals with the other pressing issue facing the service in the Great White North: bandwidth caps. While they exist in the U.S., many Canadian ISPs have set the max amount of data allowed at much lower levels and they may cut further if a recent CRTC decision on usage-based billing stands. In response, starting today Netflix.ca accounts all have a new Manage Video Quality setting that lets users select Good / Better / Best bitrates as defaults for their video streams. According to CPO Neil Hunt's blog post, previously watching 30 hours of Netflix would typically consume up to 30GB of data, while now it can be as low as 9GB under the "Good" setting. Of course, dropping bitrate means lowering picture quality accordingly, despite promises that "the experience continues to be great." Even with HD and 5.1 audio available, PQ probably isn't your highest priority if you've turned to streaming, but it remains to be seen if customers find the compromise suitable, and whether a similar option comes to U.S. users facing similarly limited connections.
We saw the Fujitsu LifeBook AH572 way back in January at CES, and at the time, we were intrigued by the prospect of Sandy Bridge speed and 3D capability -- it boasts a passive 3D display and dual cameras for recording in the third dimension -- for an eminently reasonable $999. Well, were you able to resist the wave of laptops from the rest of computing's usual suspects, you can now get your hands on Fujitsu's 3D lappy packing Intel's latest silicon, a 500GB HDD, and Blu-ray combo drive to boot. Sound good? Hit the source link to grab some of the laptop love for yourself.
Earlier this year, HTC allowed its previously Verizon-exclusive brand name out to prowl the globe with the Incredible S, and now it's doing the same with the heretofore Sprint-only EVO moniker. The EVO 3D, says a tweet from HTC's French mouthpiece, is coming to the land of baguettes, stylish mustaches and stripy pullovers, though a little bit of mystery remains as to when exactly its arrival shall be. Whatever the schedule (the EVO 3D's set for a "summer" release in the US), the rest of Europe's unlikely to be left out, meaning a 4.3-inch superphone with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1080p video recording in 2D and 720p in 3D, HTC's newest Sense skin and Android's freshest Gingerbread build, is headed out to the Old World. And that, fellow pilgrims, is a mighty awesome thing indeed.
Is your Motorola Droidphone hungry for some Gingerbread? Well, the lucky little guy can now get its taste with the recently released Android 2.3 builds for Droid X and Droid 2 from My Droid World. Droid Life's got all the details, including a hands-on video (provided after the break) and complete instructions for rooting your device and downloading the OS. Gingerbread brings you the new blue Blur, a customizable dock, an app management shortcut, an overhauled camera app, and super fast navigation speeds, among other things. So for you eager beavers who just can't wait for an official release, follow the source links below and feed your phone.
You've seen one quadrocopter juggle a ball autonomously while gliding through the air, but how's about a pair of them working cooperatively? Yeah, we've got your attention now. The Zurich-based lab that brought us the piano-playing and ball-bouncing quadrocopter is back with a simply breathtaking display of robotic dexterity and teamwork. Like all mad scientists, they call their Flying Machine Arena research "an experiment," though we see it a lot more as a Pong-inspired dance of our future overlords. We all know how far video games have come since two paddles batted a ball between one another, right?
Most of you may not believe it, but the internet as we know it didn't really exist a mere 20 years ago. Paul Baran, an engineer of the ARPANET (an early attempt at a networked information superhighway) has passed away today at the age of 84. As the father of packet-switching -- the basis of all online information exchanges -- he was initially scoffed at by major communications players like AT&T, who thought the tech was too advanced to be realized at the time. However, after the US Department of Defense saw the need for an effective large-scale information network following WWII, the ARPANET was eventually -- and successfully -- built based on these packet-switching concepts and evolved to form the current interweb. We've definitely lost a visionary in the field of networking, and here's to hoping the next generation of like-minded innovators has the same perseverance and success.
Looks like "Team 250" is primed to add a few new members now that the EPA has revealed its official MPGe ratings for Smart's Fortwo EDs. Rated at 94 miles-per-gallon in the city and 79 on the highway, the car takes motorists 63 miles per charge -- making it slightly less able than Nissan's Leaf with its 73 mile range, 106 MPG in town, and 92 MPG on the open road. Now that the Fortwo ED has its governmental blessing, interested parties can lease one from selected dealers -- sorry folks, buying's not an option -- for a hefty $599 per-month, which seems staggeringly high compared to the $349 monthly lease rate for the larger, more capable Leaf. Perhaps the Smart squad won't be getting many new teammates after all.
If you've been following the development of Tesla's first production car, the Roadster, you probably already know that it can do up to 240ish miles on a charge -- or an awful lot more in perfectly ideal conditions. Cumulatively, though, they can go much, much further. Tesla has sold around 1,500 of the things since they were introduced in 2008, and the company is able to keep track of just how far each has covered. Together that first batch of cars has just covered its 10 millionth mile, which is probably enough to drive to Pluto or to some other arbitrary feat that usually gets bandied about when these sorts of milestones are achieved. Suffice it to say it's a long way. Tesla says roughly 500,000 gallons of gasoline were saved compared to what would have been burned in conventional supercars, but given the pretzel-like contortions required to climb in and out of these things we're left wondering just how many backs were broken in the process.
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Tesla Roadster Drives 10 Million Miles and Counting
Tesla owners all over the world have collectively saved 500,000 gallons of gas
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Tesla Motors announced today that electric Roadsters in more than 30 countries have now covered over 10 million real-world miles, the greatest collective distance covered by any electric vehicle maker to date.
Roadsters have collectively saved 500,000 gallons of fuel and over 5.3 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. Over 1,500 Roadsters have consistently outperformed the best traditional supercars worldwide, to the delight of their owners.
"We owe this achievement to Roadster drivers around the world and their pioneering adoption of electric vehicles," said Tesla Motors cofounder and CEO Elon Musk. "The Roadster has proven to the world that electric cars can be incredibly fun and practical. Most importantly, these vehicles have provided Tesla with a real-world test fleet that allows us to stay on the cutting edge of electric powertrain engineering and technology."
The Roadster launched in 2008 as the only highway-capable EV in the world, and today it still has no equal. Accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and traveling 245 miles on a single charge, the Roadster set the bar for performance and range for electric driving. The Roadster is also credited with catalyzing the automotive industry to pursue a zero-emissions future.
Tesla launched the Roadster 2.5, the fourth iteration of the vehicle, last year, demonstrating the company's continuous innovation and close feedback loop with engineers and customers. The Roadster continues to break new barriers, setting records for distance traveled on a single charge by an EV, and proving itself to be an ideal sports car for cold-weather driving.
From Vancouver, Canada to Melbourne, Australia, the Roadster has proved that drivers don't need to compromise on performance, style or even range to go electric. Tesla is actively building on what it has learned from the Roadster to make its next vehicles just as groundbreaking.
About Tesla Motors
Tesla's goal is to produce a full range of electric cars, from premium sports cars to mass-market vehicles – relentlessly driving down the cost of electric vehicles. It is currently the only automaker in the United States that builds and sells highway-capable EVs in serial production. Palo Alto, California-based Tesla designs and manufactures EVs and EV powertrain components. Tesla has delivered more than 1,500 Roadsters to customers in North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific Region. The Tesla Roadster accelerates faster than most sports cars yet produces no emissions.
Remember this guy, the QB robot that was priced at a whopping 15 grand? Seemingly, the webcam wheeler inspired a team of young minds at the University of Waterloo, who've unleashed the DIY in themselves to build one of their own. TIPI, or Telepresence Interface by Pendulum Inversion, was designed to give humans the feeling that they're not actually talking to a six-foot tall cyclops cyborg with an LCD face and webcam eye, but rather, evoke the emotions drawn when speaking the old, conventional, face-to-face way. Thanks to this team of mechatronics engineers, the low-cost TIPI uses an accelerometer, gyro and pendulum to balance by itself and can be remotely controlled while communicating via its Beagle Board and Polulu Orangutan SVP brain. Head past the break to see the robot struttin' its stuff -- oh, and get ready to rave. You'll see what we mean.
They're a far cry from being beautiful, but they're also tremendously more powerful than that joke-of-a-machine you're using now. In an effort to help those who live and breathe within Excel experience a life filled with fewer frustrations, Lenovo is cranking out a pair of new desktops for the working world. Both the ThinkStation E30 and ThinkCentre M81 can be outfitted with Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs, and the E30 can be equipped with an 80GB or 160GB SSD, NVIDIA's Quadro / NVS graphics, up to 16GB of memory, USB 3.0 and a SATA III interface. The M81 steps down a bit with integrated Intel graphics (or a discrete ATI option), but both rigs are optimized for fast start up and shut down time under Lenovo's Enhanced Experience (EE) 2.0 for Windows 7 program. The bad news? $629 and $599 starting points in order of mention, and you'll have to wait until late April / early May to get your grubby paws around one. Full release is after the break, per usual.
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Lenovo Revs Up New Workstation & Desktop Engines for Powerful Performance
Unleashes ThinkStation E30 Workstation & ThinkCentre M81 Desktop for Business Professionals
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – March 29, 2011: Lenovo announced today the ThinkStation E30 workstation and ThinkCentre M81 desktop – two new solutions that bring users speedy performance with 2nd generation Intel® Core™ processors, rapid boot up/shut down and extra productivity features. Designed for creative, engineering and financial professionals who rely on specialized software applications to power their work, users get workstation-class performance and reliability starting at an affordable $599. Meanwhile, the ThinkCentre M81 desktop equips large businesses with the advanced computing features employees need to be most productive.
"Workstation users need the kind of performance that lets them do more each minute. The ThinkStation E30 workstation builds on our strong workstation platform, combining new rapid processing for data-crunching with more vivid and intense graphics capabilities," said Tao Gu, executive director and general manager, Workstation Business Unit, Lenovo. "We created the ThinkStation E30 workstation to offer extremely powerful processing on a software-certified solution at desktop prices."
Hard Core Workstation-Class Performance
The ThinkStation E30 workstation builds on its predecessor, the E20 which was named Editor's Choice by PC Magazine for entry-level workstations in 2010. It offers choices of 2nd generation Intel® Core™ processor technology with up to four cores for super fast computing when including an Intel® Xeon™ processor. Both the ThinkStation E30 workstation and ThinkCentre M81 desktop can take advantage of Intel® Turbo Boost™ technology to overclock on performance-laden tasks. Only Lenovo machines can stay in Turbo Boost+ mode longer for greater performance due to specific proprietary thermal engineering enhancements.
In addition to traditional hard drive storage, the ThinkStation E30 workstation offers choices of 80 or 160 GB SSD for snappy performance opening, rendering and saving/closing files. For creating and consuming 2D and 3D content, the powerful workstation offers choices of NVIDIA Quadro or NVS graphics. The workstation features SATA III for twice as fast and USB 3.0 for 10 times faster data transfer speeds compared to SATA II and USB 2.0. And with up to 16 GB of 1333 mHz Error Correcting Code memory, memory-related failures are virtually eliminated.
Dynamic Business Computing
The ThinkCentre M81 desktop, available in tower and small form factor, comes equipped with choices of 2nd generation Intel™ Core® processors, storage up to 160 GB SSD and choices of Intel HD graphics or ATI discrete Radeon graphics. It also comes with SATA III and USB 3.0. For more screen real estate and extra productivity, users can drive four independent displays by adding a discrete graphics card.
Both the ThinkStation E30 workstation and ThinkCentre M81 desktop are optimized for fast start up and shut down time under Lenovo's Enhanced Experience (EE) 2.0 for Windows 7 program. EE 2.0 features 20 second on average faster boot up than a typical Windows 7 computer1 thanks to Lenovo's RapidBoot technology which uses a range of proprietary optimization techniques. The ThinkStation E30 workstation logs a 57 percent faster boot time and 38 percent faster shut down time over previous models, while the ThinkCentre M81 desktop starts up 30 percent faster.
Driving Extra Productivity
Both machines are loaded with extra features for a productive computing experience. The ThinkStation E30 workstation carries certifications from leading independent software vendors in engineering, digital content creation and financial markets, including AutoCad, SolidEdge, Adobe and SolidWorks, along with support for Red Hat Linux. The ThinkStation E30 workstation also offers an optional Blu-ray player as well as features nine USB ports for connecting to external hard drives and other peripherals. Both machines also come with a DVD burner/player and address office place security by including port disablement and Lenovo's Hardware Password Manager to manage encrypted hard drives.
Lowering Energy Costs
The workstation and desktop deliver high levels of energy efficiency with reduced environmental footprints. The ThinkCentre M81 desktop saves 56 percent more energy than previous models, features Energy Star 5.0 models and includes the new Power Manager utility for managing energy settings on desktop fleets. It also uses 42 percent recycled materials in its construction. In addition to high marks for energy efficiency with its 80 Plus Gold certified power supply and Energy Star 5.0 rating, the ThinkStation E30 extends Lenovo's commitment to the environment through using 65 percent recyclable materials in plastic parts and meets several environmental certifications including EPEAT Gold, TCO and GREENGUARD.
Pricing and Availability2
The ThinkStation E30 workstation will be available starting in May and late April for the ThinkCentre M81 desktop through business partners and www.lenovo.com. Pricing for models starts at approximately $629 and $599, respectively.
Yes, you read that right. Sprint is actually going out on a limb and officially opposing AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA. Apparently, it thinks that the transaction would "reduce competition and harm consumers" if it's allowed to go through, and it's vowing to "fight this attempt by AT&T to undo the progress of the past 25 years and create a new Ma Bell duopoly." It further goes on to note that the combined company would be almost three times the size of Sprint in terms of wireless revenue, and that it and Verizon would "overwhelmingly dominate" the US wireless industry and have "unprecedented control" over the post-paid market. Full press release is after the break.
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Sprint Opposes Proposed AT&T Acquisition of T-Mobile USA Transaction would reduce competition and harm consumers
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), March 28, 2011 - Sprint Nextel [NYSE:S], the nation's third largest wireless provider and a leader in advanced wireless broadband technologies, announced today its opposition to AT&T's proposed $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile USA.
The transaction, which requires the approval of the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission, and will likely spark a host of hearings in the U.S. Congress, would reverse nearly three decades of actions by the U.S. government and the courts that modernized and opened U.S. communications markets to competition. The wireless industry has sparked unprecedented levels of competition, innovation, job creation and investment for the American economy, all of which could be undone by this transaction.
AT&T and Verizon are already by far the largest wireless providers. If approved, the proposed acquisition would create a combined company that would be almost three times the size of Sprint in terms of wireless revenue and would entrench AT&T's and Verizon's duopoly control over the wireless market. The wireless industry moving forward would be dominated overwhelmingly by two vertically integrated companies with unprecedented control over the U.S. wireless post-paid market, as well as the availability and price of key inputs, such as backhaul and access needed by other wireless companies to compete.
"Sprint urges the United States government to block this anti-competitive acquisition," said Vonya McCann, senior vice president, Government Affairs. "This transaction will harm consumers and harm competition at a time when this country can least afford it. As the first national carrier to roll out 4G services and handsets and the carrier that brought simple unlimited pricing to the marketplace, Sprint stands ready to compete in a truly dynamic marketplace. So on behalf of our customers, our industry and our country, Sprint will fight this attempt by AT&T to undo the progress of the past 25 years and create a new Ma Bell duopoly."
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 49.9 million customers at the end of 2010 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 6 in its 2010 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation's greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
By now you've seen the announcement for WWDC 2011 (coming June 6th), but what you may not have heard yet is that this one is going to be a little different than some of the dev cons from years past. Namely, unlike the events in 2008 through 2010, you won't see the announcement of a new iPhone (or iPad... or anything else hardware related). We're hearing the same kind of chatter from sources that solid writers like Jim Dalrymple of The Loop and All Thing D's John Paczkowski have been reporting today -- that this WWDC is going to be all about the future of iOS and OS X.
Of course if that pans out, all eyes are going to be on the company's Fall event, which seems like an increasingly likely place to launch a new phone -- especially considering the fact that the iPod's place in Apple's lineup has become diminished thanks to the success of its mobile devices. The timing also sets Apple up nicely for a brisk season of holiday phone purchases. As for the iPad, Daring Fireball's John Gruber speculated that we might see some kind of new model at this year's Fall event, and while that seems highly unlikely to us given the recent launch of the iPad 2, a new tablet would make a perfect companion to that new phone. What September holds is pure speculation right now, but for the time being, it looks like you can just get comfortable with your iPhone 4.
The United States Navy has been working on next-gen weaponry ever since the last-gen was present-gen, and if the next next-gen ever actually arrives, well... we don't stand a chance at lasting very long. According to Wired, the Navy's Office of Naval Research is expecting laser technology (as it relates to weaponry) to mature in the next score, and if all goes well, a free-electron laser could be mounted on a ship during the 2020s. As of now, FELs produce a 14-kilowatt beam, but that figure needs to hit 100+ in order to seriously defend a ship; unfortunately for those who adore peace, it seems we're well on our way to having just that. When it's complete, these outrageous pieces of artillery will be capable of "burning incoming missiles out of the sky [and] zapping through an enemy vessel's hull." Something tells us that whole "You Sunk My Battleship" meme is just years from reappearing in grand fashion.
Lenovo may have just launched the much delayed LePad in China, but it's already giddying us with a surprisingly early date for said Android tablet's successor. At last night's opening banquet for the 2011 Chinese IT Leadership Summit, CEO Yang Yuanqing revealed that the second-gen LePad will be slimmer (which is a given these days), and is expected to be launched in September or October -- merely three or four months after le original LePad's upcoming global launch in June. Shedding no light on specifications, Yang added that the next LePad was developed in parallel with its predecessor under a separate team, allowing it to come to fruition in just nine months. Very well, but actually making it to the market is an entirely different story, so we shall sit tight and watch -- hopefully Mr. Blurrycam will deliver the goods beforehand, too.
We saw the Fujitsu LifeBook AH572 way back in January at CES, and at the time, we were intrigued by the prospect of Sandy Bridge speed and 3D capability -- it boasts a passive 3D display and dual cameras for recording in the third dimension -- for an eminently reasonable $999. Well, were you able to resist the wave of laptops from the rest of computing's usual suspects, you can now get your hands on Fujitsu's 3D lappy packing Intel's latest silicon, a 500GB HDD, and Blu-ray combo drive to boot. Sound good? Hit the source link to grab some of the laptop love for yourself.
Most of you may not believe it, but the internet as we know it didn't really exist a mere 20 years ago. Paul Baran, an engineer of the ARPANET (an early attempt at a networked information superhighway) has passed away today at the age of 84. As the father of packet-switching -- the basis of all online information exchanges -- he was initially scoffed at by major communications players like AT&T, who thought the tech was too advanced to be realized at the time. However, after the US Department of Defense saw the need for an effective large-scale information network following WWII, the ARPANET was eventually -- and successfully -- built based on these packet-switching concepts and evolved to form the current interweb. We've definitely lost a visionary in the field of networking, and here's to hoping the next generation of like-minded innovators has the same perseverance and success.
Yes, you read that right. Sprint is actually going out on a limb and officially opposing AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA. Apparently, it thinks that the transaction would "reduce competition and harm consumers" if it's allowed to go through, and it's vowing to "fight this attempt by AT&T to undo the progress of the past 25 years and create a new Ma Bell duopoly." It further goes on to note that the combined company would be almost three times the size of Sprint in terms of wireless revenue, and that it and Verizon would "overwhelmingly dominate" the US wireless industry and have "unprecedented control" over the post-paid market. Full press release is after the break.
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