Biggest news this week has been in gaming, with Nintendo announcing the latest iteration of their DS handheld. The DSi introduces new multimedia features - for instance a 3-megapixel camera - and an even thinner body, at the expense of battery life. Don’t get too excited, though; the US won’t see the DSi until “well into” 2009.
In netbooks, ASUS slipped in a few new models at both the low and high-end of the market, with the Eee PC 900HA and 904HA offering bargain 160GB storage while the S101 corners the more-fashionable (and expensive) end. That’s a niche the ASUS N10 already occupies; that netbook ran the review gauntlet this week, proving “technologically clever” but simply too expensive. ASUS - and MSI, whose Wind U90 was panned too - must be looking enviably at Gigabyte’s M912M convertible touchscreen netbook, which was good enough to pull a credit card from the wallet of one reviewer.
Moving from small screens to large, Panasonic wheeled out their 150-inch plasma prototype and promptly gave every child within a forty mile radius square eyes. At $140,000 it’s even more expensive than the new Lamborghini Estoque concept - the company’s first four-door saloon, and a 170mph one at that - I know which I’d prefer.
On smaller wheels, but then with a smaller price-tag, WowWee’s Rovio WiFi robot came out shining in reviews this week, and could just be the toy to beat come the holidays.
In cellphones, Nokia finally debuted their S60 Touch OS in the shape of the 5800 XpressMusic. A touchscreen multimedia device with HSDPA and, from next year, Comes With Music - offering unlimited audio downloads for 12 months - it’s not going to challenge the iPhone but the consensus is that it’s a sign of good things to come from the Finns.
Speaking of good things to come, how about Denon’s flagship SACD player? It looks to be hewn almost from solid aluminum and should have equally reliable audio performance. Less convincing is the recently-leaked Amazon Kindle 2 ebook; has the retail giant taken a step backward with ergonomics, in mistakenly chasing aesthetics?
SlashGear also brought you an interview with the Sleek Audio guys, on the eve of their lossless wireless system; we’ll have the full review of their SA6 earphones this coming week. We also featured a hands-on report of ShopSavvy, the award winning Android app running live on the T-Mobile G1. Finally, because it’s always fun to see expensive things falling great heights, check out this Samsung SSD drop-test demo. A three-story fall and yet it still works? I’m not sure we could say the same about anything else from this week.
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Written by Chris Davies on October 5th, 2008 with no comments.
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The MW702 and MS802 are two new handsets from Gigabyte from the GSmart range. Both PDA phones shares the same specifications including Marvell PXA270 520MHz processor with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS, a 2.8 inch 65k color TFT LCD at 240 x 320 resolution, 256MB ROM, 128MB RAM, GPS navigation, 3MP camera with autofocus, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, Mini USB 2.0 port and microSD memory card slot. The Gigabyte GSmart MW702 offers EDGE, meanwhile the Gigabyte GSmart MS802 supports HSDPA connectivity. These handsets will be available soon in Hungary. [Slashphone]
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Written by Joe Gadget on September 29th, 2008 with no comments.
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Fresh news on the Gigabyte M528 saga, as Expansys do an abrupt about-turn and confirm that yes, the Mobile Internet Device does in fact include a 3G HSDPA modem. Previously the reseller had suggested that the MID, which is up for preorder on both its US and UK sites, would not ship with 3G but leave it as an option.
The M528 will be one of the first MIDs to be available on the market, and the idea that it would lack ubiquitous connectivity led some to question whether it could truly be described as a Mobile Internet Device in the understood sense of the phrase. Gigabyte claimed to have an optional HSDPA modem available, but it does not show up on their site or elsewhere.
Somewhere along the line, someone at either Gigabyte or their resellers needs to step in and make sure the information getting out to potential customers is correct. This isn’t UMPCPortal’s fault, it’s a failure on the part of both manufacturers and retailers to clearly define what it is that’s on offer, something doubly important when that device is pretty much spearheading a new niche. Many people have already reportedly cancelled their preorders based on the idea that the M528 lacked HSDPA; both Expansys and Gigabyte will be hoping that they now reorder, but it’s a chunk of contradictory publicity that won’t do either any favors.
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Written by Chris Davies on August 21st, 2008 with no comments.
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Intel have announced a new IPTV consumer electronics System on Chips (SoC), Media Processor CE 3100, intended for advanced cable set top boxes and direct integration into digital TVs. Previously known as Canmore, CE 3100 includes an IA processor core with multi-stream video decoding and processing hardware capable of high-definition media. It also features a 3-channel 800 MHz DDR2 memory controller, dedicated multi-channel dual audio DSPs, a 3D graphics engine enabling advanced UIs and EPGs, and support for multiple peripherals, including USB 2.0 and PCI Express.
Both hardware and software video decoding is supported, meaning that the CE 3100 is able to process both broadcast TV and optical media playback together with internet-based content. Yahoo! has also been involved, bringing multimedia and information widgets to the CE 3100 and allowing users to browse web content - such as Flickr and Twitter - while watching TV. Yahoo! are calling this the Widget Channel.
Gigabyte has already developed a set-top box using the Media Processor CE 3100 and including the Yahoo! Widget Channel, which Laptop Mag spent some hands-on time with; they reported it smooth and sleek, with promising functionality such as Blockbuster films on demand. Samsung and Toshiba are both confirmed as looking into using the CE 3100 in upcoming products.
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Written by Chris Davies on August 20th, 2008 with no comments.
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Retailer Expansys has listed the Gigabyte M528 MID for preorder on its US and UK sites. According to the listing, the 4.8-inch touchscreen device will cost $684.99 in the US and £429 in the UK, figures that tally with the Taiwanese pricing Gigabyte recently confirmed. Although both Expansys sites now list the MID as “ordered on request”, an earlier screenshot suggested availability on September 17th.
Aside from the touchscreen, the M528 has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, GPS, 3G HSDPA and dual cameras (VGA up front, 3-megapixel with autofocus round the back). Storage is courtesy of a 4GB SSD, while the processor is an 800Mhz Silverthorne/Poulsbo (Menlow).
One suggestion is that pre-orders have already taken up all units that were available for delivery on the 17th. The M528 US price is roughly the same as that of the aigo MID, recently announced in Hong Kong.
[via jkkmobile]
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Written by Chris Davies on August 14th, 2008 with no comments.
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The fight got dirty in the netbook arena this week, as Monday saw VIA’s Nano CPU take on Intel’s Atom with a 1080p smack-down video only to become mired in controversy when bloggers ran the tests themselves and came up with wildly different outcomes. Still, we had Lenovo’s finally-official IdeaPad S10 and S9 to cheer us up, together with the rumor that Gigabyte plan a 10-inch dual-core version of the coveted M912 tablet-netbook.
Of course, ASUS couldn’t bear to be out of the headlines for a single minute, and so announced the S101 (the size of an Eee, the branding of an Eee, but it’s not an Eee) together with a cloud storage option. Netbooks are so much the niche of the moment that this week’s “He Said, She Said” editorial was all about whether the best value comes from there or from a second-hand laptop off of eBay.
On the desktop, preliminary ASUS’ Eee Box reviews showed that while the company might take some criticism for over-announcing, their tech really can be impressive all the same. We also saw an impressively monolithic Lego PC case, which for once isn’t multi-colored.
Leaks, rumors and upcoming devices were much in evidence during the week, with the prospect of a 32GB iPhone 3G tipped after Toshiba announced a flash drive that size in half the space. We also heard about Intel’s next-gen notebook platform, Capella, which is tipped for Q3 2009. Fujitsu navigated the FCC with their U820, the US version of the U2010 UMPC, while photos purporting to be the new MacBook casings showed up too.
In gaming, there was the usual blend of the sensible and the bizarre: the former satisfied by the news that Grand Theft Auto IV would finally get a PC release, the latter by libraries tempting young people through the doors with the promise of Guitar Hero.
Normally we leave most cellphone news to our sibling sites, PhoneMag and SlashPhone, but a few stories crossed over to SlashGear in the past few days. The week started with a demo video showing the difference in browsing speed between iPhone firmware 2.01, freshly released, and the existing firmware 2.0 (make sure to listen out for the Teen Choice awards in the background). It ended, however, with controversy over HTC, Google and the Android cellphone OS project, as the handset maker was forced to reiterate its Q4 2008 release schedule after analyst doubts. Conveniently we received a leaked video purporting to be the HTC Dream shortly after.
We’ve been running more than the usual amount of editorial content here on SlashGear over the past couple of weeks, and we’d be interested to hear your thoughts. Want more or prefer less? We’re keen to keep bringing you the best in consumer electronics, so let us know what you think.
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Written by Chris Davies on August 10th, 2008 with no comments.
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According to Engadget Chinese, Gigabyte are preparing a 10-inch version of their M912 convertible touchscreen netbook. Not only will the larger netbook - they suggest the M1012 - have a bigger display than the 8.9-inch M912 but it will also use Intel’s upcoming dual-core Atom 330 CPU.
The bigger chassis would allow for a larger keyboard, closer to full-size, while the improved processor would supposedly equip the netbook for 1080p high-definition playback. It’s not entirely clear where Engadget Chinese’s information comes from, but it’s no great stretch to imagine Gigabyte wanting to build on the early success of the M912.
Any release, however, would be delayed primarily by the availability of the dual-core Atom 330. Intel themselves have confirmed that the processor is likely to reach the market only by Q4 2008. ASUS have previously committed to plans to introduce a dual-core Eee PC model by the end of the year.
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Written by Chris Davies on August 7th, 2008 with no comments.
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It’s become somewhat traditional to start the week’s review with what’s happening in the netbook world, a niche that’s arguably the fastest developing right now in consumer tech. Fujitsu kicked things off with the proclamation that budget ultraportables “don’t add up” and that the current race to the bottom line doesn’t give manufacturers enough room to make profit; Fujitsu were rumored the week before to be planning a netbook of their own, only with the emphasis on build quality rather than solely the price tag. Sony also picked up a few netbook-in-progress rumors, tipped for Q4 2008, and HP revealed that they’re working on a follow-up to the 2133 Mini-Note that will be less sturdy but also less expensive.
LG, too, are said to have a netbook in the works, with a model tentatively named X110 running Intel’s Atom CPU and made for them by MSI. It’s uncertain whether, if this turns out to be true, the X110 would be a rebadge of the MSI Wind or a whole new design. Finally, ASUS confirmed they wouldn’t be letting up the pressure as firm most associated with the segment; there’s talk of an “all day” battery and cloud storage option for release later on in 2008.
What will hopefully be available alongside that is a dual-core Atom option, with Intel confirming this week what many suspected: that the new processor’s release would slip from Q3 to Q4. It’ll apparently be priced at around 1.5x the current single-core Atom, and use the same motherboards and socket.
Available now, however, is Gigabyte’s M912 netbook, which differentiates itself (and justifies its $600+ price) by virtue of a convertible 8.9-inch touchscreen. Initial reviews look mighty convincing; this could be the machine to encourage users to spend a little more than for a basic Eee 901.
Apple celebrated some impressive financial results by stirring up controversy, as giggling execs suggested they had something “very exciting” to announce later in the year, and a “product transition” to boot. The latter is believed to be a refresh for the MacBook and/or MacBook Pro lines; however multiple theories have been put forward for the former. My personal favorite (or maybe just the top of my own Apple wish-list) is a MacBook Touch multitouch tablet.
In entertainment, Samsung took the well-packed wraps off of multiple new HDTVs in four of their ranges, while a new - far smaller - screen was on offer from Cowon in the shape of the Bluetooth-equipped P5 PMP. A rumored fresh PSP from Sony has also been making the rounds, courtesy of some photos purporting to be the device. Nintendo fans, meanwhile, can maybe get pre-emptively excited at the prospect of extra storage on the Wii, as Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime describes it as “a mainstream problem” that they are examining with “urgency”.
Finally, the chumps of the week award goes to Yahoo! Music, who announced they are shutting up shop at the end of September. Of course, bricks & mortar record stores close all the time, but they don’t take their DRM servers offline at the same time - anybody with legally purchased tracks from Yahoo! Music won’t be able to re-licence on another machine. The company’s suggestion? Bypass their DRM by burning music to a CD and then ripping it back. Classic.
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Written by Chris Davies on July 27th, 2008 with no comments.
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