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Tuesday, September 6, 2011

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Hitachi Deskstar and CinemaStar drives dish up 1TB on a single platter

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 11:44 AM PDT

No self-respecting drive head wants to travel further than is strictly necessary to fetch that bloody MP3 you just clicked. That's why Hitachi's effort to cram 1TB onto a single platter with a cosy 569 gigabits per square inch makes a lot of sense: it reduces the distance between chunks of data, thereby improving the HDD's sequential transfer rates while also lowering its calorie consumption. You'll find these ultra-dense discs in the new 1TB Deskstar 7k1000.D and 5k1000.B models, which started shipping today, as well as in the CinemaStar range coming later this fall. Sure, Seagate got there first, but we'll happily overlook that fact as soon as Hitachi decides to serve up a five-platter 5TB whopper to go with our lettuce. Full specs in the PR after the break.
Show full PR text
Hitachi GST Ships One Terabyte Per Platter Hard Drives

New Family of Deskstar and CinemaStar Hard Drives Reach Areal Density Milestone;
Optimized One-Disk Design Offered in 250GB to 1TB Targeting 3.5-inch HDD Industry Capacity Sweetspots

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As the first to ship a multi-disk 1TB hard disk drive (HDD) in 2007, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) today announced that is has achieved yet another 1TB milestone by squeezing it on a single disk. Leveraging the company's strong R&D heritage and time-to-market leadership, the new one terabyte per platter (1TB/platter), one-disk, Hitachi Deskstar™ 7K1000.D drive family is now shipping worldwide. Featured in both Deskstar and CinemaStar™ brands, Hitachi is providing a full range of capacities, 250GB – 1TB, on both low RPM CoolSpin™ and 7,200 RPM platforms.

With the addition of the new Deskstar and CinemaStar drives, which are first in a family of 1TB/platter drives, Hitachi continues to offer one of the broadest most reliable product lines for desktop and mobile solutions. For the ultra thin and light notebook market, Hitachi delivers the 7mm z-height Travelstar™ Z5K500 drives (636 gigabits per square inch "Gb/in²"). And now, ideal for high-performing desktop computers and the consumer electronics (CE) market, Hitachi presents the new 1TB/platter Deskstar and CinemaStar family drives (569 Gb/in²).

"The areal density race continues and while having the highest capacity is appealing, reaching 1TB per platter is equally important as it serves a full range of applications and opportunities across the industry's largest market volume," said Brendan Collins, vice president of product marketing at Hitachi GST. "As we ship our first 1TB per platter drives, we know we're delivering capacity, reliability and value to a broad customer base. Not only are we shipping our 1TB per platter drives to our own Branded Business, but we are shipping to our channel partners as well, enabling them to design affordable HDD-based solutions at attractive price points."

Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.D and Deskstar 5K1000.B with Coolspin Technology

The Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.D hard drive family provides the ideal combination of performance, capacity, reliability and value required for today's power-friendly consumer and commercial desktop computers, as well as external storage solutions, PC gaming systems, and desktop RAID arrays. Built using Hitachi's proven 7,200 RPM platform, the drive delivers amazing speed with a 6Gb/second Serial ATA interface and a 32MB cache buffer. With eighth-generation power management technology and power-saving HiVERT™ innovations, this new drive provides up to 15 percent idle power savings over the previous model.

Hitachi is also offering the new Deskstar 5K1000.B drive family with low power and cool operation. With CoolSpin technology, along with other Hitachi power management techniques, the Deskstar 5K1000.B delivers a 23 percent idle power savings over the Deskstar 7K1000.D, enabling a new generation of cool and quiet personal computing devices.

The low power profile of both the Deskstar 7K1000.D and the Deskstar 5K1000.B drives helps reduce overall system power requirements for developing energy-efficient systems.

Hitachi CinemaStar 7K1000.D and 5K1000.B

HD, IPTV and Internet TV growth are driving the demand for cost-effective storage-based TVs and DVRs for consumers to record, playback, surf and stream their favorite movies and shows from their TVs. In the CE space today, approximately 90 percent of HDD demand is for single-disk capacities ranging from 250GB to 500GB, which can be served by Hitachi's new 1TB/platter CinemaStar family. The new Hitachi CinemaStar 7K1000.D and 5K1000.B product lines give customers a dedicated 3.5-inch family that delivers a balance of performance, power, acoustics and capacities that is optimized for this market. With more than 10 features and technologies optimized for A/V streaming, the new CinemaStar 7K1000.D and 5K1000.B offer a variety of capacity and RPM choices for DVRs, set-top boxes and video surveillance systems. All 1TB/platter 7,200 RPM and Coolspin versions ship with a 32MB cache buffer and a 6Gb/second Serial ATA interface.

The Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.D and 5K1000.B CoolSpin versions are shipping today to distributors and channel partners. CinemaStar drives are expected to ship in the Fall. Please visit www.hitachigst.com for more information.

Intel adds 16 CPUs to Sandy Bridge stable, slashes prices on some older silicon

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 11:21 AM PDT

It's been a few months since AMD threw down the gauntlet on Intel with its lower-priced Llano lineup, and now Chipzilla's responded with some new bargain basement Sandy Bridge silicon. The refresh includes 11 new desktop CPUs: a Core i5 chip, three Core i3s, and a handful of dual-core Pentium and Celeron processors as well. There are also five new mobile chips, including three new quad-core Core i7s (2960XM, 2860QM, and 2760QM), and the dual-core Core i7-2640M and Celeron B840. In a separate nod to these tough economic times, Intel cut the prices on a few of its existing models, too. Granted, it's only a six-percent discount at the most, but we're sure you can put those dollars to good use elsewhere in your next DIY rig.

BlackBerry Torch 9850 officially coming to Verizon September 8th for $200

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 11:03 AM PDT

After over a month of speculation and rumors, Verizon is ready to get the BlackBerry Torch 9850 into the hands of eager customers. At a cost $50 higher than its arch CDMA nemesis (not to mention a couple weeks behind), Big Red has jumped aboard to offer the touch-only smartphone for $200 with a two-year agreement. The devices will begin selling online September 8th, with units showing up in stores a week later. If you're looking for the full scoop on Verizon's new OS 7-powered digs, continue below to check out the full press release.
Show full PR text
Verizon Wireless Introduces BlackBerry Torch 9850 Smartphone

BlackBerry Torch 9850 to be Available on the Nation's Most Reliable Network

09/06/2011

BASKING RIDGE, NJ - Verizon Wireless today announced the new BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850 smartphone will be available online at www.verizonwireless.comon Sept. 8, and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores on Sept. 15.

Watch videos, play games and stay productive on the largest display and highest resolution on a BlackBerry smartphone to date. Powered by the new BlackBerry® 7 operating system, customers can enjoy the next generation BlackBerry browser with optimized zooming, panning and HTML 5 performance. BlackBerry® Balance is now integrated, allowing secure access to business information while preventing it from being copied into, sent from or used by personal applications. Customers can stay connected to their personal and business lives while in or out of the office.

Key features:

3G coverage on the nation's most reliable network
3.7-inch high-resolution touchscreen display (800 x 480) with trackpad navigation
1.2 GHz processor
Global Ready™ - Quad band with support for UMTS, HSPA, GSM, GPRS and EDGE allowing customers to enjoy wireless voice and data service in more than 200 countries, including more than 95 with 3G speeds
5-megapixel camera with flash and 720p HD video recording capabilities
Wi-Fi b/g/n, GPS and Bluetooth® 2.1
16 GB microSD™ card pre-installed, with support for up to 32 GB microSD card

BlackBerry 7:

Liquid Graphics™ technology combines a dedicated high-performance graphics processor with a blazingly fast CPU and stunning high-resolution display to deliver a responsive touch interface with incredibly fast and smooth graphics.
Premium version of Documents To Go is now included at no additional cost, offering customers enhanced document editing features, as well as a native PDF document viewer.
The newest release of BBM™ (BlackBerry Messenger) now extends the real-time BBM experience together with a range of apps including gaming and social networking.
Updated Social Feeds app has been extended to capture updates from media, podcasts and more, all in one consolidated view.
Universal search capability now supports voice-activated search, allowing customers to simply say what they want to find on their device or the Web.
BlackBerry Balance administrator can remotely wipe business information from the device while leaving personal information intact.

Pricing and availability:

BlackBerry Torch 9850 smartphone will be available for $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.
Customers that purchase a BlackBerry Torch 9850 smartphone will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan beginning at $39.99 for monthly access and a smartphone data package starting at $30 monthly access for 2 GB of data.

Native Instruments Maschine Mikro just wants to make the world dance, forget about the price tag

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 10:42 AM PDT

Besides looking like the illuminated dance floor in our favorite club, the Maschine from Native Instruments also inspires envy among the MIDI brigade for its wealth of features and reasonable $600 price tag. Come October and the Maschine will be supplemented by an equally Tony Manero-tastic Mikro version, for those with even stricter spouses or bank managers. Despite the reduction in size, you'll still get the 16-key drum sequencer and the full version of the production software. Making its debut at the same time will be iMaschine -- an iOS app that helps you sketch out hooks and loops on the go. The Maschine Mikro arrives worldwide on October 1st for $400 and iMaschine will set you back $5.

Sony adds lenticular sheet to laptop for webcam-enhanced glasses-free 3D

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 10:22 AM PDT

It looks like those not fond of 3D glasses will soon have another means to add an extra dimension to their laptop. Sony's now showing off a simple lenticular sheet that can be placed on top of a standard laptop screen for a 3D effect. That will initially be available for Sony's VAIO S series laptops and, most interestingly, it comes complete with some head-tracking software that takes advantage of the laptop's webcam to adjust the 3D image based on your position. Unfortunately, as simple as it may seem, it's still not exactly the cheapest solution -- you can expect to shell out €129 (or about $180) when this option becomes available next month.

[Thanks, Ron]

Sprint files suit to stop AT&T / T-Mobile merger

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 10:05 AM PDT

Looks like the US government isn't the only party looking to stand in the way of AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile. Sprint today announced that it has filed suit in federal court in the District of Columbia against AT&T, Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile. The filing outlines the carrier's concern that the proposed deal would harm consumers, corporate customers and carriers (such as, you know, Sprint), while transforming AT&T-Mobile and Verizon into a "duopoly." Of course, this isn't the first time the carrier has let the world know that it's not particularly pumped about the whole proposal. See the full litigious press release after the break.
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Sprint Files Suit to Block Proposed AT&T and T-Mobile Transaction

WASHINGTON--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Sprint Nextel [NYSE:S] today brought suit against AT&T, Inc., AT&T Mobility, Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile seeking to block the proposed acquisition as a violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in the District of Columbia as a related case to the Department of Justice's (DOJ) suit against the proposed acquisition.


"Sprint opposes AT&T's proposed takeover of T-Mobile," said Susan Z. Haller, vice president-Litigation, Sprint. "With today's legal action, we are continuing that advocacy on behalf of consumers and competition, and expect to contribute our expertise and resources in proving that the proposed transaction is illegal."

Sprint's lawsuit focuses on the competitive and consumer harms which would result from a takeover of T-Mobile by AT&T. The proposed takeover would:

Harm retail consumers and corporate customers by causing higher prices and less innovation.

Entrench the duopoly control of AT&T and Verizon, the two "Ma Bell" descendants, of the almost one-quarter of a trillion dollar wireless market. As a result of the transaction, AT&T and Verizon would control more than three-quarters of that market and 90 percent of the profits.

Harm Sprint and the other independent wireless carriers. If the transaction were to be allowed, a combined AT&T and T-Mobile would have the ability to use its control over backhaul, roaming and spectrum, and its increased market position to exclude competitors, raise their costs, restrict their access to handsets, damage their businesses and ultimately to lessen competition.

RIM officially trots out BlackBerry App World 3.0 to 7 OS devices

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 09:39 AM PDT

Better late than never, ey? RIM finally got with the program and rolled out their official version 3.0 upgrade to BlackBerry App World. The updated application portal had already been available to Beta Zone members early last month and was slated for an August 22nd debut, but apparently missed that release window. We've already seen the cosmetic improvements the Waterloo-based company's brought to the app hub, with a redesigned home screen, refreshed icons, MyWorld downloads folder and the ability to share apps via your choice of social messaging service. The service still lacks the compelling selection of rival OS app markets, but hopefully the company's renewed focus'll bring more devs to its 7 OS club. If you're rocking a BB handset, drop us a line below and let us know your take on RIM's refresh.

Growing Up Geek: Joseph Volpe

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 09:00 AM PDT

Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today, we have our very own Associate Editor, Joseph Volpe.



Let's get this out of the way. I did not grow up a geek, I was a sorcerer trapped in the body of a husky little boy. Or, so I managed to convince myself for years on end, wearing my Mother's Argentine poncho, and wielding a carved wooden staff (my wand, ahem!) and a yellow glass marble -- all tokens of my extended magical abilities. Before you wonder aloud if I spent much of my time sitting alone at recess convincing bugs to transform into Popples, I will tell you now that you are wrong. I did, in fact, have plenty of company in my (failed) attempts at insect transmogrification. Esoteric interests, it would seem, are the flame to the kindred weirdo's moth.



Russia factored wildly in my youth. Aside from the Cold War themes omnipresent in every 80s film I watched obsessively, and my unrestrained glee for a country frozen in an unending winter, I had my third eye fixed squarely on its governmental research into psi phenomena. Yes, I was a seven-year old who carted around a paperback copy of Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain and engaged any unwitting adult in my quest to harness telekinesis. To the credit of my immediate family and one slightly freaked out Grandma, my repeated mental attempts to move the crystal napkin holder were graciously humored over pancakes and eggs.



My early life wasn't all a vain attempt at unlocking my sixth sense. No, I had other loves -- namely books, comics and video games, but not in the way you'd think. While most children were happily rotting themselves into contented alpha states in front of the boob tube, I was poring over fantasy novels, concocting potions and searching graphic novels for the "knowledge" that would get me out of this earthly realm. Jean Grey was somewhat of an early hero to me; the X-(Wo)Man who would later become Phoenix had the power pack combo of psychic powers I'd always wanted. Ours was a love / hate relationship that ended in bitter resentment. (She never shared her secrets!) I'd moved on from my fictitious frenemy when I unearthed a book at primary school called The Girl with the Silver Eyes about a young child with (surprise, surprise) psi abilities born from prenatal drug use. Cue me repeatedly questioning my poor Mom as to the list of medications she took while I was in utero. Any other mother would have found this alarming, but mine was only further charmed.



Technology was something I took for granted back then, since its silicon circuitry lacked the magic I so desperately sought after. My father was a computer programmer and we always had a plethora of personal computers stationed around the house. One of my earliest memories is even of him bringing home the first Macintosh. I wasn't aware then that at-home computing was a rarity for the time, nor that it was a nascent market. I'd accepted computers the way most young kids accept a new baby, or puppy. Year after year, model after model, we aged together, developing an intimate bond that just seemed natural. When AOL first swung open the dial-up gates to the World Wide Web, I was there trading insights with folks in the New Age chat rooms.

It was about this time, my early teen years, that I also decided to take a serious swing at coding. I'd sit in our basement for hours on end, feet up on the desk, head buried in some dense how-to for Hypercard or C++, vainly attempting to make sense of the programming languages I couldn't seem to master. Four months in, and I'd numbly settled into the realization that programming was not my calling. French, however, would turn out to be my bag(uette).



From the age of two and continuing up until around 17, my heavily opinionated Sicilian extended family had me fingered for a career as a Pediatrician. I know, pediatrics and the supernatural aren't what I'd call bosom buddies either, so you'll understand the internal disconnect I had for my planned future. Thankfully, a little something known as the PlayStation and Next Generation magazine would come along and permanently derail medical school from my pre-arranged life track.



Midway through a presentation I'd created to get them to purchase a still unreleased PlayStation for Christmas, I saw a look in my parents' eyes that said, "This kid has no intention to actually play video games." And they were right. I didn't and never have really had an interest in defeating Bowser, rescuing Zelda or bringing down Dr. Robotnik. Mine was a pure love for the industry and its inner machinations. I pored over processors and discussions about phong shading the way most follow news of the Brangelina horde. It was clear to me then what had to be done. I'd learn Japanese, move to San Francisco and work as a video game journalist. Some of these things happened, but none in the way I'd intended.



And so it went that I dove head first into foreign language study, 4.0 GPA territory and enough extra-curriculars on my booked up schedule to exhaust even the brownest of brown-nosers. Here, my friends, is the moment where fringe geek intersected with overachieving nerd and completed my ascension to the freak throne. I bought video games to collect them, read industry magazines to analyze them and lived in Japan in the hopes of reporting on them. As you can probably tell, I didn't succeed in that goal. Oh, I became a journalist, no doubt, but the fascination with 3D gaming took a turn for the general gadget category somewhere in my Akihabara wanderings.



Now, I proudly bear my geekdom badge as it's been legitimized by a certain reputable online publication. Gone by the wayside are my dalliances with the supernatural, and my preternatural obsession with the video game industry. In their stead, I now pursue with an equally obsessive zeal research into quantum mechanics and ancient astronaut theory, swapping out The Boy Who Could Fly from my Netflix queue for What the Bleep Do We (K)now!? And don't worry, I still carry my inner husky boy with me -- except now he knows that real magic lies in the specs.

Joseph Volpe is always on the Twitters doling out nuggets of pop cultural ephemera to anyone who dares follow him (@jrvolpe). He cannot promise to side with humanity in the face of an Anunnaki return.

ASRock Vision 3D 2nd Gen HTPC leaks with Sandy Bridge on board

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 08:41 AM PDT

ASRock 3D Vision 2nd Gen
The tiny box that AnandTech called, "the best SFF HTPC [they had] ever reviewed, hands down," is finally joining the Sandy Bridge brigade. A tipster was doing a little Google-fu when he came across a listing for the unannounced Vision 3D 2nd Gen Series. The specs are certainly a worthy upgrade to last year's Computex standout, including a switchable 1GB GeForce GT540M card, 1333MHz RAM and an HMDI 1.4a port. You still get a Blu-ray drive, NVIDIA's 3D Vision, a media remote, four USB 3.0 jacks and your choice of Core i3, i5 or i7 processors -- so this isn't exactly a complete overhaul. Check out the gallery below from a few images and some screenshots of the listing.

[Thanks, TheRealBamse]
ASRock Vision 3D 2nd Gen

Acer's Liquid Mini gets Ferrari-fied, doesn't get any faster

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 08:40 AM PDT

Acer's Liquid Mini won't be breaking speed records anytime soon, but at least it can look like a red hot racer, now that it's received the Ferrari treatment. Following in the Liquid E's skid marks, this Liquid Mini Ferrari Edition features a vibrant red exterior emblazoned with the automaker's iconic shield, and ships preloaded with engine ringtones, racing-themed wallpaper and other apps. Under the hood, however, lies the same, Gingerbread-based handset, replete with 512MB of RAM, a 3.2-inch display, five megapixel camera and rather underwhelming 600MHz processor. No word yet on when the device will be hitting the raceway, but you can get a closer look at the source link, below.

Sony Alpha NEX-5N on sale, NEX-7 available for pre-order

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 08:01 AM PDT

Our network of eagle-eyed tipsters have given us the heads-up that Sony's $700 NEX-5N is ready to buy online, and curious camera fans can check out last month's hands-on before deciding to part ways with that much cheddar. The company is also taking pre-orders for the monstrous NEX-7, which costs $1,350 -- slightly more than we'd expected. This camera has a 24.3-megapixel sensor, can shoot AVCHD video and stills up to 10 fps and can probably see the turn of the universe, or something. This one will make its way to homesteads in November, giving you just enough time to learn how to record everyone's disappointed faces -- come Christmas morning -- in eye watering detail.

[Thanks, Sammy]

White Galaxy S II lands at Vodafone, ignores post-Labor Day etiquette

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 07:39 AM PDT

Summer may have drawn to an unofficial close, but that clearly hasn't stopped the Galaxy S II from wearing all white. Today, the albino version of Samsung's Gingerbread handset officially made its way to Vodafone, just a few days after launching in the UK and more than a month after leaking in "official looking" images. The blanched, 4.3-inch smartphone is available for free with a two-year, £36 per month price plan (roughly equivalent to $58 per month), though it's still unclear whether it'll be making its way stateside anytime soon. If you're looking to brighten up your pocket, you can grab your own at the source link below.

Amazon's 7-Eleven lockers are very real, very gray, slated for Friday activation

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 07:18 AM PDT

After an arduous expedition that must've lasted hours, an intrepid frontiersman in the Seattle area has finally unearthed the Holy Grail of convenience store cubbies -- Amazon's elusive delivery locker, at 7-Eleven. GeekWire's John Cook discovered the prototype lockers at a 7-Eleven in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, where store clerks told him that the system wouldn't be activated until Friday. According to Cook's description, the setup consists of about 40 different sized containers, centered around a keypad and monitor (neither of which was illuminated during his visit). All told, the array of P.O. Box-style cabinets stands about seven feet tall and is completely devoid of Amazon branding. The in-store pick-up program may roll out of a nationwide basis next summer, but you can check out a photographic sneak preview at the source link, below.

Philips Fidelio DS3801W, another ring-shaped AirPlay speaker, does the FCC tango

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 06:58 AM PDT

Philips Fidelio Speaker
Those of you who kinda dug JBL's On Air, but wished it was just a tad more wheel-like, will probably love this AirPlay-enabled speaker from Philips that just passed through the FCC. Burdened with the name DS3801W, this ring-shaped Fidelio unit not only packs WiFi, but a USB port for charging and playing back music from your iDevices, as well as an "MP3-Link" jack (which appears to be just a 3.5mm audio plug) for all your non-Apple players. We got a brief hands-on with its battery-packing sibling, the DS3881w, at IFA and we expect this unit to ship for a little less than that model's $330 price point. Check out the source link for a bunch more images, as well as the user manual and all the RF exposure reports you can handle.

Unannounced Nokia Symbian Belle handset is a mysterious phone within a phone (video)

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 06:37 AM PDT

Half the fun of trade shows is when unexpected beans get spilled at PR stalls and here, my dear Watson, we have another intriguing example. A TechBlog.gr pundit picked up a new Nokia 700 at IFA and was confronted with a stored promo video depicting a totally different and unfamiliar high-end handset. It looks slightly curved like the N9, runs the latest version of Symbian and possesses a rather attractive edge-to-edge LCD. The main gist of the promo is a wireless platform called Air Cloud, which apparently allows the phone to pair up with an audio system via NFC. Word on the street is this could be the N8's successor -- the so-called 801 -- but there's not a great many clues to back that up. In any case, check out the video after the break and savor that fleeting sense of infinite regress.

Fujitsu's waterproof Arrows Tab F-01D sails through FCC, frolicking beach advertisement films itself

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 06:16 AM PDT

Oh, sure -- Fujitsu's highly intriguing waterproof Arrows Tab may have an LTE future on Japanese airwaves, but what about the Yanks? Based on an FCC filing that just went public today, it looks as if they may be getting an F-01D to call their own, too. We're surmising that the initial shipment will contain WiFi-only models, as a GSM notice tucked within makes quite clear that "user access to all functions related to GSM900, DCS1800, W-CDMA Band I, VI and IX will be disabled." 'Course, this could be Fujitsu applying for FCC approval without intending to hawk it on these shores -- it's not uncommon for overseas gadgets to boast FCC labels to suit jetsetting owners -- but we'll be keeping our fingers crossed for more global aspirations. A waterproof tablet to use on your next beach excursion? Sign us up... so long as there's a daylight-viewable LCD in there.

Sony nabs former U.S. Department of Homeland Security official

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 05:55 AM PDT

Sony spent a fair bit of time at last week's IFA press conference assuring the press and consumers that it's doing its darnedest to stay on top of the security issues that have plagued it over the past year. It's hard to imagine a move more representative of such a stance than the hiring of a former U.S. Department of Homeland Security official. The company announced today that it has done just that, scooping of former U.S. National Cyber Security Center director Philip Reitinger for a senior vice president position. And in case there was any question as to the reasoning behind the decision, a Sony spokesperson addressed the issue, stating, "certainly the network issue was a catalyst for the appointment." Fair enough, Sony.

Nokia wants you to create its next iconic ringtone, if you have what it takes

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 05:37 AM PDT

On the streets, in crowded restaurants, and even in movies, you've likely heard the same song ad nauseam for the last seventeen years: the rockin' default ringtone used on virtually every Nokia device since 1994. And while it's evolved over the years, Espoo's always taken upon itself to choose the next version of the iconic tune. For the next iteration, however, the company is leaving it up to you to be the creative genius, and is offering a reward of $10,000 for the best one. Five submissions will be chosen as runner-ups, each getting their entry offered in the Ovi store as well as a smaller cash prize for their efforts. So if you've always wanted to hear your own creation blasting out of millions of phones each and every day, now's your chance -- you have until October 2nd to get that spark of musical innovation.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Gamer stuffs PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles into one case, clears shelf space for the trifecta

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 05:11 AM PDT

Sure, we've all thought about how nice it would be to have our PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles in the same enclosure. But, as many similar thoughts go, we left it at that. Not content with letting a good thought simmer, Reddit user timofend accepted the challenge and built himself a gaming mega-machine -- he stuffed the new slim model of Microsoft's console into a PC tower alongside an older 80GB PS3. Looking to save some funds in the process, the über-gamer skipped out on a liquid cooling system -- but he notes that when both machines are running simultaneously, they each hover around 100 degrees Farhenheit (38 degrees Celsius). Hey, we're not complaining... but really, timofend, can we please see a NES / Dreamcast / O.G. PlayStation combo in your next masterpiece? To take a peek under the hood, hit the gallery below.
PS3 and Xbox 360 in PC Tower

BMW developing laser headlights, officially over LEDs

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 04:32 AM PDT

We know, our whip doesn't have LED headlights either, but that's not stopping BMW from pressing on with its laser powered successor. Purportedly ready "within a few years," the updated beams boast an intensity a thousand times greater than their forebearers, all while consuming less than half the power -- helping EV drivers eke out a little more range. With each laser diode one hundred times smaller than its LED counterpart, Bavaria reckons the tech will help it design and package future light fixtures that are more bodacious than those from its competition in Ingolstadt. There's no firm date for availability, but the company says the new lighting tech will debut on the production version of its i8 concept. Sounds great, so where do we sign up for our frickin' laser bimmer?
Show full PR text
BMW develops laser light for the car.

Following the introduction of the full LED headlight, laser light is the next logical step in the development of vehicle headlight technology. BMW is planning this step, thus further expanding its lead in innovative light technology.

Munich. As a globally successful carmaker within the premium segment, the BMW Group attaches the utmost importance to advanced technology in all sectors of automotive manufacturing. Exclusive innovations and technological leaps secure BMW's lead amongst the competition. In the field of exterior vehicle lights, BMW also leads the way for example with full LED headlamps for the BMW 6 Series and with new developments such as the "Anti-dazzle High- Beam Assistant", as well as with "Dynamic Light Spot". The term "Dynamic Light Spot" stands for a marker light system that automatically illuminates pedestrians in good time, thereby guiding the driver's attention.

After LED technology, laser light is the next logical step in car light development. BMW engineers are currently already working on the introduction of laser light as a further pioneering technology for series production within a few years. Laser light could then facilitate entirely new light functions for even more safety and comfort and at the same time contribute significantly through its higher degree of efficiency towards a saving in energy and fuel respectively.

Laser light produces virtually parallel light beams.

By definition, laser lighting is radically different from sunlight, and also from the various types of artificial lighting in common use today. For a start, laser lighting is monochromatic, which means that the light waves all have the same length. And it is also what is known as a "coherent" light source, which means that its waves have a constant phase difference. As a result, laser lighting can produce a near-parallel beam with an intensity a thousand times greater than that of conventional LEDs. In vehicle headlights, these characteristics can be used to implement entirely new functions. Also, the high inherent efficiency of laser lighting means that laser headlights have less than half the energy consumption of LED headlights. Simply put, laser headlights save fuel.

The intensity of laser light poses no possible risks to humans, animals or wildlife when used in car lighting. Amongst other things, this is because the light is not emitted directly, but is first converted into a form that is suitable for use in road traffic. The resulting light is very bright and white. It is also very pleasant to the eye and has a very low energy consumption.

Laser diodes are already in use today in the consumer sector.

Completely safe laser lighting technology is already in use in a variety of consumer products, though in many cases this is a product feature that goes unnoticed by the customer. That won't be the case when this technology is used in cars, however, as planned by BMW. Here the whole point is that the advantages should be noticeable and visible. A further feature of laser technology, which has important implications, is the size of the individual diodes. With a length of just ten microns (µm), laser diodes are one hundred times smaller even than the small, square-shaped cells used in conventional LED lighting, which have a side length of one millimetre. This opens up all sorts of new possibilities when integrating the light source into the vehicle. The BMW engineers have no plans to radically reduce the size of the headlights however, although that would be theoretically possible. Instead, the thinking is that the headlights would retain their conventional surface area dimensions and so continue to play an important role in the styling of a BMW, while the size advantages could be used to reduce the depth of the headlight unit, and so open up new possibilities for headlight positioning and body styling.

A further advantage of laser lighting technology, and one which the BMW engineers intend to use to full effect, is its high inherent efficiency. A single statistic will make this clear: whereas LED lighting generates only around 100 lumens (a photometric unit of light output) per watt, laser lighting generates approximately 170 lumens. With statistics like this, it is not surprising that BMW is also planning to take advantage of laser lighting technology to increase the efficiency of the overall vehicle. And appropriately enough it is in a concept vehicle from the new BMW i sub-brand, the BMW i8 Concept, that laser lighting will get its first airing. After all, BMW i stands for a new premium concept that is strongly oriented towards sustainability.

Laser lighting: high efficiency and safety.

Safety is a key consideration in the development of laser lighting for use in passenger cars. For BMW, the complete eye safety of this technology for all road users and its complete reliability in day-to-day use have top priority. Importantly, therefore, before the light from the tiny laser diodes is emitted onto the road, the originally bluish laser light beam is first of all converted by means of a fluorescent phosphor material inside the headlight into a pure white light which is very bright and pleasant to the eye. As a result, in future it will be possible to use laser light to implement all the familiar – including more recent – BMW lighting functions such as Adaptive Headlights, the "Dynamic Light Spot" spotlighting system and the "Anti-Dazzle High-Beam Assist". It will also be possible to use BMW laser lighting to implement completely new functions, which will have only minimal power consumption.

Samsung Stratosphere aims to be Verizon's first QWERTY-packing LTE device

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 04:05 AM PDT

Verizon's LTE network may be praiseworthy for its blazing-fast mobile broadband and high-end devices, but there's one area of the carrier's 4G lineup that's always needed improvement: variety. From renders revealed by PocketNow, it's apparent that one of the next-gen handsets slated for release soon (perhaps even this week) is the QWERTY-laden Samsung Stratosphere, also known as the SCH-I405. If true, this would be the very first LTE device that comes with a hardware keyboard, finally giving us a new option aside from the 4.3-inch slates that have dominated Big Red's offerings for so long. It's rumored to have an "awesome" screen (Super AMOLED Plus?), Android 2.3.4 preinstalled, 2GB internal storage and 5MP rear / 1.3 front cams; not much of a spec sheet to go off of, of course, but at least we know it's unique. With several other LTE handsets taking the stage between now and the holidays, there's no reason to make them all look the same... right?

Baidu, Dell join forces to produce line of smartphones and tablets in China

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 03:00 AM PDT

Just a few days after introducing its own Android-like OS, Baidu is now looking to expand its mobile reach to the hardware front, with the help of Dell. According to Reuters, the Chinese search giant has joined forces with the PC manufacturer to produce a line of tablets and smartphones within China, in the hopes of capitalizing on a market of more than 900 million mobile subscribers. A Dell spokeswoman declined to offer a launch date for the new line of products, but sources close to the matter say they could launch as early as November. Details on the devices remain equally opaque, though Dell seems intent on resurrecting its tablet / handset unit, following the demise of the Streak 5. "We have a partnership with Baidu and you know we have the Streak 5 tablet, so the partnership will be in that space," the company's rep explained, adding that future releases would involve Baidu's mobile app platform, as well. Today's announcement also comes after Dell's Chinese sales grew by 22 percent during the first quarter of this year, though it remains to be seen whether or not this alliance will have much affect on a market currently dominated by Apple and Lenovo.

LG developing slimmer Optimus 3D handset, might be ready for 2012

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 02:11 AM PDT

The LG Optimus 3D certainly isn't the slimmest smartphone we've ever seen, but it looks like the chunky handset is about to get seriously streamlined. In an interview with Pocket-Lint, LG developer Dr. Henry Noh confirmed that his company is working on a thinner version of its 4.3-inch phone, hinting that it may be ready for release by next year. Noh didn't offer specifics on dimensions, but acknowledged that the current version, at 11.9mm (0.47 inches) thick, definitely isn't the "sexiest phone on the street" -- something he hopes to change. "Eventually, we want to make it so that having the 3D won't necessarily mean that it's going to be thicker," Noh explained. "That's going to be a differentiating factor that comes for free to the user." Doing so, he claims, could help LG's glasses-free 3D device distinguish itself from its 2D competitors:

"These days, all the phones look the same. They have a huge screen - 4.3-inches is normal these days - and next year they're moving even larger. And they have a fixed number of touch buttons. They're the same thickness. They have the same camera. And even the same OS. It's so boring."

Of course, it remains to be seen whether or not this strategy actually pans out, but it's definitely something we'll be keeping an eye on.

Samsung Epic 4G Touch available for pre-order on Wirefly, early adopters get a $50 price break

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 12:38 AM PDT

There's nothing new whatsoever about high-demand phones becoming available for preorder, but it's not every day that you get a discount for being the first kid on the block to get one. As if there's any concern about pushing inventory of the Samsung Epic 4G Touch -- Sprint's variant of the Galaxy S II -- Wirefly is making the phone even more enticing by slashing $50 off the cost, bringing it down to $150 when signing up for a two-year agreement. Doing the math a different way, lighter on the checkbook plus a Samsung Galaxy S II equals happiness. Head to the source link to check out the deal.

Samsung Galaxy Note tops benchmarks, price sheets (video)

Posted: 05 Sep 2011 10:32 PM PDT

We had a feeling the Samsung Galaxy Note would be a hit on the benchmark scene, but now its unsurprisingly speedy results are documented. Greek site TechBlog installed Quadrant Standard on one of the phone / tablet hybrid demo units at IFA 2011 and produced a benchmark score of 3,624, exactly where we'd expect a Sammy-branded 1.4GHz dual-core CPU to end up; in comparison, our review of the 1.2GHz Samsung Galaxy S II produced an outcome of 3,396. Here's the letdown: the Galaxy Note is expected to top the charts in pricing as well, as it's being reported that we should see the device show up in Scandinavia by year's end for no less than €715 ($1,000 in the US). Let's hope those benchmarks are worth the cost, because there's one thing that can't be denied -- it makes the HTC Jetstream feel like a bargain.

Wicked Lasers' S3 Krypton laser is bright enough to blind astronauts (video)

Posted: 05 Sep 2011 08:41 PM PDT

Wicked Lasers S3 Krypton
If you ever plan to lead a PowerPoint presentation projected on giant white board orbiting the Earth (we'll leave the logistics of that one up to you) there's only one laser that will get the job done -- Wicked Lasers' S3 Krypton. The Guinness Record-pending laser produces about 86 million lux and can be seen from up to 85 miles away, well beyond the edge of our atmosphere. Of course, at roughly 8,000-times the brightness of the Sun, serious safety precautions are needed when operating the S3. Goggles are a must (and bundled with the handheld laser), while sensors and a microprocessor regulate current to keep the tube of aluminum from overheating in your hands. The top end model is available now for $1,000 but, if blinding astronauts isn't on your agenda, lower-powered versions can be had starting at $300. Check out the video after the break.

Verizon's Pantech Breakout rendered, is four inches of LTE goodness

Posted: 05 Sep 2011 07:06 PM PDT

Verizon's LTE lineup will soon be expanding like a balloon. With this week's launch of the Motorola Droid Bionic and eventual release of the Samsung Stratosphere and LG Revolution 2, 4G shoppers will soon have options aplenty to choose from; why not throw another one into the mix? The LTE-enabled Pantech Breakout -- which passed through the FCC as the Apache -- now has some higher-quality renders, courtesy of PocketNow. While most of the phone's specs are in line with the HTC Thunderbolt and Samsung Droid Charge, it differs by offering a smaller 4-inch WVGA display, Pantech's custom Android UI and a 10-device mobile hotspot. There's still no word on pricing or release date, though we were expecting to see the device come out last week; we can't think of many people completely devastated by the delay, but it will at least provide much-needed variety to Verizon's arguably stale 4G setup.

New York Times' magic mirror helps you get dressed, puts the 'wall' in 'paywall' (video)

Posted: 05 Sep 2011 05:39 PM PDT

Forget crosswords and Krugman, because the New York Times has created a new bathroom companion that looks infinitely more entertaining than either of them. Like some of its Snow White-style predecessors, the Times' "magic mirror" prototype uses Microsoft Kinect to detect and follow your movements, while deploying voice recognition technology to execute your commands. With this omniscient slab affixed to your wall, you can surf the web, flip through your wardrobe and send reassuring e-mails to your teenage daughter, whom you should have driven to school a good 30 minutes ago. An RFID reader, meanwhile, can recognize tagged pharmaceuticals or other products, allowing you to instantly access information on your prescription meds by placing them in front of the reflective LCD. You could also use the mirror to browse through the Times' full slate of articles and video content, meaning you can read about extravagant weekend getaways and urban gentrification from the standing comfort of your sink. Unfortunately for all mankind, the magic mirror is still in the prototype phase and the NYT's Research & Development Group has yet to offer a timetable for its release -- but you can see it in action for yourself, after the break.

Soulo karaoke mic for iPad coming to a thin partition wall near you

Posted: 05 Sep 2011 04:52 PM PDT

We've just seen First Act's wireless karaoke kit for the iPad passing through the FCC, suggesting it may be on track for a fall launch. The hardware will count for nothing if the accompanying app from sister company Seven45 Studios hits a dud note, but we guess it looks functional enough. The receiver makes up for its dock-hogging ways by providing a video output so you can check your lyrics on a bigger screen. It should also register your wails, screeches and caterwauls at a distance of up to 20 feet from the AA-powered mic. No word on pricing or availability just yet, but you can warble your interest at the second source link below.

Amazon CEO's flying water tank crashes, leaves dent in his space travel dream

Posted: 05 Sep 2011 04:11 PM PDT

In a moment of profound candidness, Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos has revealed that the mid-air failure of his unmanned spaceship 11 days ago was "not the outcome any of us wanted." The searing truth of his statement is certainly borne out by the fact that NASA has poured millions of dollars of funding into Bezos's space company, Blue Origin, in the hope that it will one day ferry people to the ISS and replace the scuttled shuttle program. Indeed, Blue Origin's latest craft looked every inch a shuttle-beater until it suddenly went berserk at 45,000 feet, forcing the Asimovian onboard computer to cut power and nose dive into the ground in an effort to avoid civilian casualties. Not an ideal result, to be sure, but Jeff is hardly likely to give up on his starry ambitions -- everybody knows he has a thing for thrusters.

Must See HDTV (September 5th - 11th)

Posted: 05 Sep 2011 03:52 PM PDT

Check out our highlighted picks of the week right here, followed after the break by our weekly listings of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Sons of Anarchy
SAMCRO is back in action. This isn't the highest profile cable show on this week (don't forget the Entourage and Rescue Me season finales) but as it comes back for a fourth season we are always ready to see what's going down in Charming, CA. After the events of last season things will kick off 14 months later, but we doubt a stint in prison will have changed many things for our favorite motorcycle club.
(September 6th, FX, 10PM)

9/11
If you weren't planning on making next weekend an all 9/11 memorial event, we'd probably recommend steering clear of your TV. From CBS to USA to History to A&E there's memorial specials and previously unseen footage everywhere you look. A wonderful opportunity to heal as a nation from the tragic events of a decade ago or a crass display of network executives cashing in on our collective grief? Your choice.

NFL
Professional football is finally back. After it seemed like the lockout might last forever we're getting the season under way on schedule. Both Engadget HD fantasy football leagues have drafted and our favorite teams will kick off in Tampa Bay on Sunday, but the league gets its official kickoff Thursday night as the Packers face the Saints on NBC. We know what we'll be watching.
(September 8th, NBC, 8:30PM)



Blu-ray & Games
  • Dead Island (PS3 & Xbox 360)
  • Resistance 3 (PS3)
  • Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (PS3 & Xbox 360)
  • Rise of Nightmares (Xbox 360)
  • Bloodrayne: Betrayal (PS3)
  • Scarface
  • The Office Season Seven
  • Fringe: The Complete Third Season
  • Scream Trilogy
  • Everything Must Go
  • Hanna
Monday
  • Children of 9/11 (special presentation), NBC, 10PM
  • Swamp Loggers (fall premiere), Discovery, 10PM
  • The Glades (season finale), A&E, 9PM
  • American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior, 9PM
  • The Bachelor Pad, ABC, 8PM
  • Top Gear UK, BBC America, 9PM
  • The Lying Game, ABC Family, 9PM
  • The Closer, TNT, 9PM
  • Rizzoli & Isles, TNT, 10PM
  • Patton Oswalt: Finest Hour, Showtime, 10PM
  • Death Valley, MTV, 10:30PM
  • Miami/Maryland college football, ESN & ESPN 3D, 8 PM
Tuesday
  • Sons of Anarchy (season premiere), FX, 10PM
  • It's Worth What?, NBC, 8 PM
  • America's Got Talent, NBC, 9 PM
  • Take The Money And Run (season finale), ABC, 9 PM
  • Combat Hospital (season finale), ABC, 10PM
  • Born To Dance, BET, 10 PM
  • Dirty Money, Discovery, 10 PM
  • Top Shot, History, 10 PM
  • Web Therapy, Showtime, 11 PM
  • Awkward, MTV, 11 PM
Wednesday
  • Rescue Me (series finale), FX, 10PM
  • SEC Storied: Herschel Walker, ESPN, 8PM
  • Inside The NFL (season premiere), Showtime, 9PM
  • Paranormal Witness (season premiere), Syfy, 10PM
  • Buried Treasure, Fox, 8 PM
  • Melissa & Joey, ABC Family, 8 & 8:30 PM
  • America's Got Talent, NBC, 9 PM
  • Inside NASCAR, Showtime, 10 PM
  • Damages, DirecTV 101, 10 PM
  • Law & Order: UK, BBC America, 9 PM
  • The Hour, BBC America, 10 PM
  • Necessary Roughness, USA, 10 PM
  • Rescue Me, FX, 10 PM
Thursday
  • Saints/Packers football (season premiere), NBC, 8:30PM
  • Burn Notice (summer finale), USA, 9PM
  • Futurama (season finale), Comedy Central, 10PM
  • Suits (season finale), USA, 10PM
  • Wilfred (season finale), FX, 10PM
  • Louie (season finale), FX, 10:30PM
  • LA Ink, TLC, 10PM
  • Arizona/Oklahoma State college football, ESPN & ESPN 3D, 8PM
Friday
  • Friends With Benefits, NBC, 8 & 8:30PM
  • 9/11: The Days After, History, 9PM
  • Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again, HBO, 9PM
  • Torchwood (season finale), Starz, 10PM
  • Strike Back, Cinemax, 10PM
  • Haven, Syfy, 10PM
  • Iron Man Anime, G4, 11PM
  • Wolverine Anime, G4, 11:30PM
Saturday
  • NASCAR Sprint Cup Series @ Richmond, ABC, 7:30PM
  • Cops (season premiere), Fox, 8PM
  • US Open Tennis: Women's Championship, CBS, 8PM
  • Voices From Inside the Towers, History, 9PM
  • The Love We Make: Paul McCartney And The Concert For New York City, Showtime, 9PM
  • Portraits From Ground Zero, A&E, 10PM
  • Jabberwock, Syfy, 9PM
  • I Faked My Own Death, Discovery, 10PM
  • Doctor Who, BBC America, 9PM
  • 24/7: Mayweather/Ortiz, HBO, 10PM
  • Notre Dame/Michigan college football, ESPN, 8PM
Sunday
  • Cowboys/Jets football, NBC, 8:15PM
  • 9/11: 10 Years Later, CBS, 8PM
  • Making The 9/11 Memorial, History, 8PM
  • Twin Towers, USA, 10:21PM
  • Rebirth, Showtime, 9PM
  • Curiosity, Discovery, 8PM
  • Dinosaur Revolution, Discovery, 9 PM
  • True Blood (season finale), HBO, 9 PM
  • In The Flow with Affion Crockett (season finale), Fox, 9:30 PM
  • Breaking Bad, AMC, 10 PM
  • Curb Your Enthusiasm (season finale), HBO, 10PM
  • Entourage, HBO (series finale), 10:30 PM

Nokia N9 coming soon to Mexico, passport-totin' San Diegans

Posted: 05 Sep 2011 03:31 PM PDT

Still bummed that Swedes, Kazakhs and Swiss peeps get a shot at Nokia's N9, but you don't? Well, southwestern yanks with gratuitous access to cheap transportation might soon be in luck, as the Mexican arm of the Finnish conglomerate will soon start hawking the elusive MeeGo flagship. Naturally, no word on how much it'll set you back, but if you're making the trip anyway, mind slinging one our way?

[Thanks, Mary]

HTC Jetstream hits AT&T store, gets benchmarked

Posted: 05 Sep 2011 02:44 PM PDT

Thinking about picking up an (inconceivably expensive) HTC Jetstream? After all, it just slipped into AT&T's online store this weekend. We'll just leave this link to HotHardware in the source below, in case you want to check out some comparative benchmarks before trading $700 for a two-year contract. Not that it performed poorly mind you, it raced neck-and-neck with Lenovo's IdeaPad K1 -- we just like think charts and tables are cool. Videos too -- hit the break to see the folks at HotHardware give the 10-inch slate a quick hands-on.

Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 6PM

Posted: 05 Sep 2011 02:36 PM PDT

It's Monday, and we're still here to help by letting you peek into the recording booth when the Engadget HD podcast goes to mp3 at 6PM. It's not our regular time, but it's a holiday anyway right? So take a peek at the live stream, chat and list of topics after the break.
Microsoft confirms Media Center will be in Windows 8
DirecTV's new HD UI revealed to testers, is prettier and faster than the current one
DirecTV adds AMC-HD next week, too bad Mad Men is still six months away
Dish Network's Tailgater brings you portable satellite TV, won't cool your beer (video)
Dish reportedly launching Blockbuster movie streaming service next month
Starz ends renewal negotiations with Netflix, will pull movies from streaming in February
Netflix lands in Brazil, 43 other Latin American countries within the week
Hulu launches streaming in Japan for about $20 US monthly
Sony's new internet TV box, projector and Blu-ray player make an appearance at IFA
Haier's mind control TV prototype hits IFA, we go foreheads-on (video)
Sony's head-mounted 3D visor is real, HMZ-T1 arrives in Japan November 11th
Sony HMZ-T1 headset hits IFA, we go hands-on (video)
Toshiba's glasses free 3D TV launches in Europe as the ZL2 this December
Must See HDTV (September 5th - 11th)



Live broadcasting by Ustream

Toshiba Qosmio DX730 all-in-one brings Regza styles to your desktop

Posted: 05 Sep 2011 01:47 PM PDT

Here's one that momentarily escaped our attention during all the IFA hullabaloo: the Qosmio DX730, which Toshiba says borrows both its design and 'Resolution+' picture processing technology from Regza TVs. The base model bears a rather lousy Pentium processor, but the range also includes Core i3 and i5 models, along with up to 6GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, a Blu-ray drive, TV tuner and Onkyo speakers. The multi-touch Full HD 23-inch panel also works in its favor. Pricing has yet to be announced, although Akihabara reports a similar bunch of models in Japan starting at a rather incredible ¥120,000 ($1500). We'll have to rely on the Dell Vostro 360 to keep Toshiba's expected margins firmly in check.

BAE's infrared invisibility cloak makes tanks cold as ice, warm as cows

Posted: 05 Sep 2011 01:12 PM PDT

Warfare's constantly evolving. Daylight battles became late-night duels, and pre-noon skirmishes shifted to sundown slaughters -- some might say we're just getting lazy, but either way, thermal imaging now plays quite the vital role. Now BAE and the FMV -- Sweden's equivalent to DARPA -- have a way to mask the heat signature of heavy machinery. Adaptiv is a wall of 14 centimeter panels that monitor the ambient heat and match it, so it can't be picked out from the background radiation. The tech can also be used to replicate the profiles of other things -- you know, like a spotted calf or a Fiat 500. BAE believes the tech is scaleable for buildings and warships, the only downside being that all future commanders will have to make sure their operations are finished before dawn. Wouldn't want your soldiers to see that five o'clock (AM) shadow, now would we?
[Thanks, Rob]

IFA 2011 wrap-up

Posted: 05 Sep 2011 12:38 PM PDT


As with the end of any massive and absolutely chaotic consumer electronics trade show, it's with mixed emotions that we pack up our gear and prepare to depart IFA. We hope you've enjoyed our countless news stories, hands-ons, and liveblogs -- all neatly organized just after the break (so you can count, if you really want). But now it's time to say goodbye to Berlin -- until next year, at least. We've also organized a small sampling of photos that didn't really have another home here, but should give you an idea of just how huge and diverse this show really is. Click on through to the gallery below, and jump past the break for a roundup of all our IFA 2011 coverage. Wiedersehen!
IFA 2011 wrap-up

AUDIO
Altec Lansing shows off an iPod dock, AirPlay speaker, plus headphones for the ladies
Philips GoGear 3 Android PMP hands-on (video)
XtremeMac showcases the Soma Stand, Soma Travel and more at IFA (video)
Creative Zen X-Fi3 hands-on (video)
Philips Fidelio for Android speaker docks get your little green robot bumpin'
Tivoli Audio announces PAL+ and Model 10+ clock radios, we go ears-on
Samsung announces Galaxy S WiFi 3.6 handheld
Creative doles out Sound Blaster gaming headsets, Recon3D audio platform / sound cards
Creative keeps stabbing at the MP3 market, reveals bantam ZEN X-Fi3

CAMERAS
Fujifilm X10 hands-on (video)
Toshiba announces Camileo Clip, X200 and X400 camcorders
Samsung MV800 MultiView camera hands-on (video)
Panasonic shows off twin-lens 3D camera prototype, announces HDC-Z10000 3D camcorder

CELL PHONES
Acer W4 hands-on (video)
Nokia 701 hands-on
Nokia 500 hands-on
Samsung Galaxy R, Wave M, M Pro, W, Xcover, and Wave Y hands-on (video)
Samsung Wave 3 hands-on (video)
Samsung Galaxy Note hands-on (video)
Samsung Galaxy Note announced: 5.3-inch display, built-in-stylus, custom 'S Pen' apps
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S hands-on (video)
Sony Ericsson announces Xperia arc S at IFA, coming in October
Samsung announces three Wave handsets, dripping in Bada 2.0 and ChatON
Samsung's ChatON messaging service brings free texting to Android, iOS and BlackBerry (video)
Galaxy S II LTE and Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE announced, set to debut at IFA

COMPUTERS
Dell teases XPS 14z, says it will be available 'later this year'
Samsung to sell limited edition, crystal-studded Series 9 laptops
Lenovo announces U300s Ultrabook, U300 and U400 IdeaPads, we go hands-on (video)
Toshiba's Portege Z830 is an ultraslim, ultrasexy Ultrabook
Sony announces VAIO L Series all-in-one PC
Samsung unveils Series 7 laptops, we go hands-on
Acer Aspire 3951 photos leaked, new Ultrabooks to launch in September

HDTV
The coolest thing I saw at IFA: LG's passive clip-on 3D glasses
Sony's new internet TV box, projector and Blu-ray player make an appearance at IFA
Haier's transparent organic TV eyes-on (video)
LG's 'Dual Play' TVs let gamers share a single screen, different perspective
Zero1 VooMote Zapper remote control for iOS hands-on (video)
Haier's mind control TV prototype hits IFA, we go foreheads-on (video)
LG goes big with stylus-equipped PenTouch plasma TVs
LG PZ850 Pentouch Plasma TV hands-on (video)
Toshiba's glasses free 3D TV launches in Europe as the ZL2 this December
Samsung's Smart TV update will feature YouTube 3D videos
Zero1.tv's Voomote Zapper brings remote-controlled universality to iOS users
Netgear announces Universal Push2TV HD, dual-band WiFi adapter for Blu-ray players and TVs
LG 3D Game Converter adds depth to regular 2D games
LG launches Nano LED backlit LW9800 HDTVs
Elgato EyeTV Mobile eyes-on (video)

TABLETS
Apple wins German injunction against Samsung, Galaxy Tab 7.7 pulled from IFA
Pocketbook A10 hands-on (video)
Galaxy Tab 7.7 disappears from IFA floor, not a trace left behind
Archos 80 G9 and 101 G9 hands-on (video)
Samsung's Galaxy Tab 8.9 goes LTE for T-Mobile at IFA
Boogie Rip eWriting pad stylus-on (video)
Lenovo announces IdeaPad A1, the $199 Android tablet, we go hands-on (video)
Toshiba AT200 hands-on (video)
ViewSonic launches ViewPad 7x and 10pro, budget-friendly 7e to follow in Q4
Toshiba announces AT200 tablet, 10.1-inch display and only 7.7mm thick
Samsung Galaxy Note hands-on (video)
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 hands-on (video)
Samsung Galaxy Note announced: 5.3-inch display, built-in-stylus, custom 'S Pen' apps
Toshiba's rumored ultra-thin tablet plays peek-a-boo at IFA?
Hands-on with the Sony Reader Wi-Fi (video)
Samsung's Series 7 Slate PC hands-on
Will Toshiba's next tablet be named the Excite? Trademark filings suggest so
Toshiba rumored to be announcing ultra-thin tablet at IFA after chunky Thrive did anything but
Galaxy S II LTE and Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE announced, set to debut at IFA
Sneak peek at Archos Gen 9 tablets: 1.6 GHz dual-core A9 processor, 250GB HDD for €400 in June
Archos planning to launch high-end tablets at IFA later this summer?

OTHER
Mophie cuts the price on the Juice Pack Boost and Powerstation, raises the battery capacity
S-Walker Electric Transporter hands-on (video)
LG Hom-Bot 2.0 Smart Robot Vacuum Cleaner hands-on (video)
Samsung CEO says 'never' to webOS
Live from Samsung IFA 2011 press event
Hands-on with the Sony Reader Wi-Fi (video)
Sony's new Reader Wi-Fi is the world's lightest 6-inch e-reader with multitouch screen
Live from Sony IFA 2011 press event
We're live from IFA 2011!
Siemens shows off iPad-controlled homeConnect appliances
LG launches 'RoboKing Triple Eye' smartphone-controlled vacuuming robot
Samsung's IFA app unveils Galaxy Tab 7.7, Wave 3 and Galaxy Note
LG announces LSM-100 Scanner Mouse, saves valuable desk space

Andy Pad, Andy Pad Pro now available within Europe, for not a lot of money

Posted: 05 Sep 2011 11:59 AM PDT

If you've been twiddling your thumbs in anticipation of the Andy Pad's arrival, twiddle no more, because the budget-friendly Android slate is now available across most of Europe. Both the 8GB model and its 16GB Andy Pad Pro counterpart appeared on the British manufacturer's website today, with the former priced at £129 (about $208) and the latter running for £179 (roughly $289). Both of the seven-inch tablets run on Gingerbread and offer up to six hours of battery life, though the Pro features a capacitive touchscreen (1024 x 600), compared with its little brother's 800 x 480 resistive display. If you need a little low-cost Android love in your life, hit up the source link to grab one for yourself.
at 12:15 PM

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