Posted Oct 29th 2007 9:29AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Desktops
Intel's first 45-nm processors have just rolled off the
assembly line in the form of the quad-core QX9650 desktop CPU. This 3.0GHz Yorkfield-class proc based on Intel's
Penryn microarchitecture brings a 1,333MHz front side bus to Intel's Core 2 Extreme family of processors. Sounds a lot like Intel's 65-nm 3.0GHz Core 2 Extreme
QX6850 Kentsfield-class processor launched in July, eh? Not so. According to benchmarks already announced by
Bit-tech,
Hot Hardware,
PC Perspective, and more, the new processors are smokin' fast while consuming "much less" power in the process. With final thoughts like, "the new Core 2 Extreme QX9650 is simply the fastest processor for gaming, media encoding and just about anything else you could do on your PC," really, what else does the average consumer need to know? Overclockers, silencers, and enthusiasts: these links are for you:
[Via
I4U News]
Read -- PC World review
Read -- Hot Hardware review
Read -- Bit-tech review
Read -- PC Perspective review
Posted Oct 29th 2007 8:59AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Handhelds
Those sitting tight for
Cybook's Gen3 e-book reader can finally do something other than just wait for it. That's right, Bookeen's latest is finally on sale, and just as
promised (the
second time, that is), it's available now (read: in October) for $350. If you're wondering what all that coin will get you, you can look forward to 8,000 page flips without a recharge, a daylight-readable 800 x 600 resolution display, 2.5-millimeter stereo headphone jack, 64MB of storage, an SD expansion slot and USB connectivity. So go on, bust out that credit card and count down the minutes till it arrives on your doorstep.
[Via
Teleread]
Posted Oct 29th 2007 8:32AM by Conrad Quilty-Harper
Filed under: Displays
As if there wasn't enough temptation to get into
debt, credit card manufacturers are now looking to stick fancy displays and keypads
directly onto cards. The "Credit Card Embedded Authentication Device" was put together by Innovative Card Technologies and eMue Technologies, and uses the screen and keypad to provide security for online and mobile based banking transfers: the user enters their pin into the card, which gives back a one-time use code to authorize online transactions. The card will get its "consumer debut" -- whatever that means -- in Paris this November, at the Cartes & IDentification event.
[Via
Bsams]
Posted Oct 29th 2007 8:08AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio
Right
on schedule, you're looking at the just announced co-branded Skype phone: the 3 Skypephone. Sure, mobile Skype clients are already in worldwide use. This, however, marks the first time a carrier has fully embraced Skype which traditionally has been seen as a threat to carrier tariff schemes. Under 3's plan, Skype VoIP calls and IMs are free to any other Skype user just as long as you're under contract or top up your pay as your go account with at least £10 (about $21) each month. The £49 (about $101) 3G phone with 2 megapixel camera and microSD slot will be available in the UK on Friday; Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Macau and Sweden sometime later in the year. Wanna see it in a video? Sure you do, locked-and-loaded right after the break.
[Via
T3]
Continue reading 3 Skypephone is free in the UK
Posted Oct 29th 2007 7:39AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Transportation
Granted, we'll still give the
Tesla Roadster the upper hand in terms of sheer sexiness, but Mitsubishi is hoping to attract any wandering eyes by unveiling a sporty new all electric whip of its very own. Shown recently at the Tokyo Motor Show, the compact i-MiEV will reportedly be powered by a pack of Li-ions that can enable drivers to scoot about 100 miles before needing a recharge. After it's out of juice, it'll take around 7-hours at 200V or 14-hours at 100V to charge it back up. Most notable about this ride, however, is the proposed release date: 2009. This figure was recently moved up a year from the original 2010 projection, but unfortunately, no details surrounding a price or specific launch markets have been disclosed. Be sure and hit the via link for a bevy of photos.
[Via
Autoblog]
Posted Oct 29th 2007 7:19AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Are you
that guy in our comments always asking the now wearisome question, "
Will it blend?" Yeah? Good, this is for you. The Brando USB blender, $25 and an earful of 70's game show jingles as punishment for your deeds. Oh, and because you're
that guy you should heed Brando's warning: do
not eat the balls. Good advice for any occasion, really.
[Via
Pocket-lint]
Posted Oct 29th 2007 6:21AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Cellphones
We're still waiting for it to grace AT&T's pages, but it looks like the WinMo 6 Standard
Pantech Duo C810 is now available in most AT&T retail stores for $249 with two-year contract.
Phonescoop has the full spec rundown and video hands-on of AT&T's new quad-band GSM / HSDPA dual-sliding QWERTY. Besides that rough, chubby look the phone also sports more than a few operational oddities including a mysterious "turbo mode" and the fact that sliding the phone open and shut does not answer or hang-up your calls. Fat? Sure, but still trimmer than the
Helio Ocean also manufactured by Pantech. Check the video review after the break.
[Via
Pocketnow]
Continue reading Pantech Duo C810 pops for AT&T retail
Posted Oct 29th 2007 4:39AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Laptops
US netizens can now call dibs on Lenovo's 3000 Y410 laptop for the home. That's right, a
consumer laptop -- their first for the US market. Released without fanfare, the new 14.1-inch glossy 1,280 x 800 model starts at about $700 depending upon the configuration you track down at your local big box -- another first for Lenovo. That gets you a 1.46GHz Pentium Dual Core T2310 proc, 1GB of memory, 160GB 5400rpm disk, dual-layer DVD writer, 6-in-1 media card reader, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, ExpressCard, and Intel X3100 graphics with 1.3 megapixel camera, Dolby Home Theater speakers with sub-woofer running atop a Vista Home Premium OS. The 1.02-1.45-inch thick / 5.5-pound sled doesn't look half bad either... for Lenovo. Now we're just wondering if the build quality and support matches that of their ThinkPad lineup. If so, then Lenovo's got themselves a winner here.
[Via
c|net news]
Posted Oct 29th 2007 2:43AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Displays
Like to sit real close to your TV? Good, 'cause you'll need to be
PC-close to take advantage of these new 1080p LCDs from Sharp. Sharp's no dummy though, as they've fitted their new 22-, 26-, and 32-inch sets with HDCP-loving DVI-D and mini D-Sub for PC connectivity and 2x HDMI, S-Video, and 2x composite for your home entertainment and game console hookups. The new AQUOS P range feature built-in tuners, a 400cd/m2 brightness, 176-degree viewing angle, and a 2,000:1 contrast on the 32-inch before dropping off to 1,200:1 by the time you reach the 22-inch set. The LC-32P1-W, LC-26P1-W, and LC-22P1-W models are expected to range from ¥240,000 ($2,101) to ¥180,000 ($1,576) when they pop on November 22nd in Japan.
[Via
Impress]
Posted Oct 29th 2007 2:17AM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video
We could hardly believe it ourselves, but the
open source community has parlayed that
game-changing v1.1.1 TIFF exploit / file system hack into a full-on ready to rumble instant installer for AppTapp on the iPhone and iPod touch. Check out TUAW for the steps and further details, but we tried it on our v1.1.1 touch and it worked like a damn charm. In fact, we think this is finally what's going to get us to upgrade that virgin 1.0.2 iPhone we've been using. Fingers crossed.
Update: We upgraded that iPhone and it worked well, just like the touch (albeit a bit slower, since it's pretty clear all the upgraders are slamming the AppTapp download servers). Our hats go off to the dozens of hackers that developed this one, this is impressive stuff.
Posted Oct 29th 2007 1:24AM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Cellphones
The FCC hath spake: TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners (a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs), the two private equity firms looking to buy out the paradoxically national-regional carrier Alltel, have been given the greenlight. The two firms will pony up $24.7 billion (about $2050 per customers) to take
Alltel,
flush with cash and new customers, off the public market, with the expectation of closing the deal by November 22nd and paying some $71.50 cash per share to current shareholders. Two words: cha-ching.
[Via
MoCoNews]
Posted Oct 29th 2007 12:48AM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Cellphones
You can chalk this one up to our bad in assuming best intentions, but when
Apple said no cash for iPhones, they damn well meant it -- enough to extend the policy out to no cash for anything that could in turn purchase an iPhone. Turns out you can't even use your Apple bucks to buy an iPhone anymore, not even if someone bought you an Apple Gift Card with
their credit card. Ok, for a lot of you this isn't a big deal, but who gets hit hardest? Try all those teenage Apple fanboys begging various family members for small denomination gift cards that will add up to the iPhone they've been after. We've never heard any company being so adamant about keeping non-paper trail for every single damned purchase, but now we're just left wondering how long until someone (or some state) sour from this bitter pill decides to challenge Apple on that whole
US dollar bills being "legal tender for all debts, public and private" thing.
P.S. -No we're not lawyers, but yes, we're aware that it's probably completely legal for Apple to do. But that doesn't make it right, nor does that mean it will go unchallenged, you feel us?
[Thanks, Kevin]
Posted Oct 29th 2007 12:45AM by Chris Ziegler
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Wing who? T-Mobile today has announced the long-rumored
Shadow, a Windows Mobile 6 Standard device that looks not just better than its Wing stablemate, but arguably better than just about any comparably-equipped smartphone on the market today. Besides the "slick, slider design" and a juiced version of the standard Windows Mobile 6 UI, the Shadow features a rotating jog dial front and center, 2 megapixel camera, WiFi, and a new version of T-Mobile's myFaves interface allowing users to call, email, text, or MMS the peeps in their "fave five." Like what you see? If you do, good, because it turns out this is
just the first in a whole line of upcoming Shadow-branded phones for the carrier -- a line that'll be focusing on multimedia connectivity and slanting the work / life balance a little more to the "life" side than some of HTC's and T-Mobile's other smart devices (ahem, Wing, we're looking straight at you). Grab the Shadow starting this Wednesday in "sage" or "copper" for a surprisingly reasonable $149.99 on two-year contract.
Posted Oct 28th 2007 10:12PM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Gaming
Nintendo's as cagey as tech companies come, but the WSJ is reporting on a recent and unusual high level, high impact strategy presentation where in top 'Tendo execs revealed what's described as a change in its current business model: using its foothold in the video game market to sell casual gamers and non-gamers products focused more on utilitarian functions. You know, boring stuff -- like, stuff that's
not games. What they want to sell Nintendo wouldn't specifically say, but they're focusing first on the flagship portable, the
DS, rolling out what the WSJ describes as "features [that] will be useful in places like train stations, amusement parks or museums and [that] could be accessed wirelessly," as well as a new "television-programming feature for the Japanese market... to check television listings, run searches by keyword and genre, and highlight each family member's favorite programs." Maybe this pseudo-DVR like functionality will somehow play into their
forthcoming 1seg tuner, but precisely how the rest of this completely underwhelming and disappointing news will manifest itself is currently up to one's imagination -- something Nintendo's apparently lost. We have heard, though, they might be getting back into the playing card business, and possibly in keeping with that vertical integration, opening up a string of Nintendo themed casinos. Not a bad business to be in. [Warning: subscription required]
Update: TG Daily is reporting Iwata also said Nintendo has
no plans to drop the price on the Wii. We're stunned. Like, wow. Nintendo's not intending to drop the price on their already super cheap console that's been sold out for a year straight? Search us.
Posted Oct 28th 2007 7:32PM by Conrad Quilty-Harper
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
While there's no easy way to account for
everybody Leopard user's crashing, Unsanity's Application Enhancer is apparently the cause of many a BSOD turning up on a range of user's systems during a system update to
Mac OS X 10.5. If, after selecting "update," you're getting a perpetual blue screen, follow Apple's instructions for booting into single-user mode to remove the offending software. If you haven't updated yet, make sure you get rid of the software before you do: alternatively, do a fresh install and it'll overwrite any of the conflicts you would encounter otherwise. And remember to backup, backup, and backup.
[Thanks, Dilan J.]
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