Monday, September 22nd, 2008
The good news is that Intel are finally ready to ship the Dual Core Atom. The question is ‘How long will it take netbook builders to use the chip?’ I’d say we’ll see the latest netbooks, UMPC’s etc running on a Dual Core Atom in time for Christmas. Disagree with me? Look at it this way, what better time for a manufacturer to release high end ultra mobile device? Think of all those people looking for Christmas presents for their gadget-hugging loved ones (P.S I love gadgets!)
The new Atom, named the 330, is just 45-nanometer big and has the same 1.6GHz bus speed like the single core version. For your money, you’ll get 1MB of level 2 cache and will support for DDR2 667 memory.
My moneys on either Asus or Dell being first out of the door with a dual core Atom based netbook
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Thursday, September 18th, 2008
Good news for anyone using Google maps on their mobile; Street View is now available. This latest feature in the Google Maps onslaught comes bundled into the latest update. Users in the US can now access 360-degree snaps of locations shown on Google Maps - check out the view from the restaurant before ever going near the place!
This new feature should, in theory, make navigation on foot far simpler as the user can view a visual image of where they want to be. The new Google Maps application also features business reviews and can provide walking directions to any location you want.
Google Maps is available for BlackBerry or Java-enabled mobile phones.
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Wednesday, September 17th, 2008
A bit of interesting news for Nokia tablet fans; it looks like the next generation devices will have OMAP and 3G although no device has been announced as yet. The news was confirmed by Dan who’s just started bloggin over at Thoughtfix.
It also looks like the Nokia tablets will be getting higher definition cameras which will be ideal for content creation (you have to admit the current offering is pretty crappy).
The announcement (link at bottom of this page) simply gives details of the platform enhancements.
To be honest, it’s about time Nokia looked at their tablets. So far, they’ve been underpowered in the processor department and they’ve also been left trailing in connectivity capability. The most important question now is ‘how long before we see one of these new tablets?’
Link: TabletBlog - maemo
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Tuesday, September 16th, 2008
If I was launching a new handset to market I definitely wouldn’t choose a name that sounds like a competitors product… unless I had some cunning plan up my sleeve. Ah well! Ok, let’s be frank from the start; a 2.8″ touchscreen! Don’t get me wrong, I love touchscreen technology but in order to view anything on the Touch 3G you’ll being zooming in at every opportunity. Would it really cost too much to build a slightly larger handset? Admittedly, HTC claims that the Touch 3G has four times the resolution of most other phones but you’ll still have to get used to that zoom function in order to “…Browse full-screen pages…”.
Ok, enough of bad points. The Touch 3G is actually a very attractive phone. Don’t take my word for it, check out the link to the images at the end of this post.
The Qualcomm MSM7225 CPU (528 MHz) and 192 Mb RAM should be more than adequate when it comes to running the Windows Mobile 6.1 OS. Just like the iPhone 3G the HTC Touch 3G features GPS and A-GPS - I’ve used these features quite extensively and to be honest I’ve had mixed results. Let’s just say ‘must do better’!
The HTC Touch 3G has plenty of connectivity options which should the most ardent hardware fan happy:
- Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for stereo wireless headsets
- Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g
- HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
In addition to an attractive handset you’ll get the following features:
- HSDPA internet connectivity (of course!) up to 7.2 MBs
- 2.8-inch touch screen, with four times the resolution of most phones
- Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
- Next generation TouchFLO™ (the HTC touchscreen user interface)
- 3.2 megapixel camera for quality stills and video
- microSD™ slot for expandable storage
Ok, it looks good so far…but so did the iPhone 3G when it was launched!
Before I forget, here’s the link for the images. Enjoy.
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Monday, September 15th, 2008
Do the bugs in your iPhone 3G irritate you? Me too. Be irritated no more; Apple have launched firmware version 2.1 which should fix all your woes!
One of the most important fixes is the issue of battery life in the latest iPhone. According the firmware upgrade, most users will see significant improvements…the jury is out for now. In addition, the number of dropped calls and application crashes has been reduced.
Here’s the full list of fixes, pulled off the Apple site:
Update includes:
* Decrease in call set-up failures and dropped calls
* Significantly better battery life for most users
* Dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes
* Improved email reliability, notably fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts
* Faster installation of 3rd party applications
* Fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes for users with lots of third party applications
* Improved performance in text messaging
* Faster loading and searching of contacts
* Improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display
* Repeat alert up to two additional times for incoming text messages
* Option to wipe data after ten failed passcode attempts
* Genius playlist creation
You’ll also find a step by step on how to install the update here - scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Posted in Apple | 2 Comments »
Thursday, September 11th, 2008
It looks like MSI Korea are going at the netbook market yet again although I’m not sure where these new devices fit in. Officically, U100-6B102 and U100-6B106 are notebooks but, once again, it’s getting pretty close to blurring the distinction between netbook and notebook.
The two new MSI devices are in reality upgraded versions of U100 laptops. New features include increased battery life (with 6-cell battery) and a pretty decent storage capacity. Bluetooth capabilities come as standard on both computers and they also support 802.11n.
The 120GB U100-6B102 model is scheduled to be in stores by mid-September. The 160 GB U100-6B106 has been available for sale since 9 September. A real bonus for anyone that likes to be picky; there are three colours to choose from options: White, Black or pink.
No screenshots yet, I’ll find some and update soon.
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Wednesday, September 10th, 2008
Research In Motion (RIM) today unveiled the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 smartphone, the first BlackBerry phone to come in the popular flip form factor (I have to admit, it’s a pretty sexy mobile).
With the BlackBerry Pearl Flip you get the traditional power and capabilities of a BlackBerry smartphone in a cool looking design. One quick flip of the handset opens up a world of possibilities with the industry’s leading mobile messaging solution and a wide range of impressive Internet and multimedia capabilities, all in one powerful yet approachable smartphone. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip features quad-band EDGE, weighing in at only 3.6 ounces and measuring approximately 3.9” x 1.9” x 0.7” with a 240 x 320 internal LCD display. The Pear Flip comes with all the usual Blackberry features: emails, text messages and phone calls - but you don’t have to open the handset to access the functions.
When you think about it, and considering recents figures showing a strong growth in sales by RIM I’d expect this new Blackberry to attract a lot of interest from the general consumer market.
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Tuesday, September 9th, 2008
There’s an article over at jkkmobile about a soon to be launched netbook from Samsung. From the images on aving, it looks like a very attractive bit of kit - very slim and easy on the eye. It looks like the device will also have WWAN thrown in to keep the masses happy.
Hardware specs look ok as well: 8.9″ or 10″ screen, Intel Atom CPU, webcam, VGA output, 3x USB 2.0, ethernet port and mic in/audio out. Check out the shots and you’ll see all of this.
The Samsung Netbook is due for launch in October (don’t be surprised if there are delays). The netbook market is fast becoming saturated with players trying to wrap the game up - to be fair, it’s going to take a pretty impressive offering from Samsung to make a dent in the sales of Asus.
Posted in HP, Medion, Samsung | No Comments »
Monday, September 8th, 2008
I don’t really talk much about mobile phones here unless they some features that are relevant to the UMPC/MID/netbook market. The LG KC910 isn’t one the devices but I’m really impressed by the spec on this mobile, in particular the 8-megapixel camera!
But that’s not all. The LG KC910 also features a touchscreen. The KC910 follows in the footsteps of the Viewty range, bringing the following features with its camera:
- Xenon flash
- Auto and manual focus
- Face tracking
- Smile/blick detection
To top it off the KC910 can also record at 120 frames! Apple could take some hints here. The 910 can also play a huge range of media including DivX and Xvid movies with the added bonus of high quality sound courtesy of Dolby.
Before I forget, it’s also got WiFi, 3G/HSDPA support and built-in GPS. The Jogging Buddy should keep all you hardcore pavement bashers happy as well. The KC910 should be out sometime in October however no prices have been announced - I guess this little beast is going to make a hefty dent in your wallet.
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Friday, September 5th, 2008
Dell have finally gone official with their netbook. The device will be launched as the Inspiron 910 Mini 9 - I wonder if they paid a branding company to come up with that name!
There are three models available for the Inspiron netbook (and I have to admit that the pricing makes the Inspiron 910 netbook look it might capture a good chunk of the UMPC market). The following specs have been lifted directly from Dells site so there should be no debating what this new device will look like:
- All models - 8.9″ 1024×600 display
- 1.6GHz Atom N270 CPU
- USB, Mini card slots, Card Reader etc
- RAM, OS, webcam and SSD all vary in size, depending on the version you buy - the lowest spec starts at $349 and comes with 512MB of RAM, no camera, 4GB SSD, and Ubuntu (custom interface) apparently with a custom Dell interface. The next model costs $399 and has 512MB of RAM, 0.3MP webcam, 8GB SSD, and to cripple it you’ll get Windows XP Home. The most expensive model is $449 and has 1GB of RAM, 16GB SSD, 0.3MP webcam, and is also running Windows XP.
- No Bluetooth as standard - that’ll cost you an extra $20.
Don’t forget that, in the Dell tradition, these are pre-configured netbooks. Using the Dell website, you can build the Inspiron 910 to suit your needs.
One last point, buy a buy a top or middle range model will give you savings of $55 and $40 respectively - this brings the XP version pricing in line with the Ubuntu model! I wonder if Dell have had a little nudge from Microsoft?
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