Tue19Aug20080921AM
Filed under: Cellphones
Now that the Treo Pro’s been uncovered, the sleek black handset just can’t stay out of the spotlight — it’s popped up today in several more high-res shots, a quick hands-on video, and even what looks like official press photography. Specs are still up in the air — we’re hearing there’s a 400MHz processor and 128MB of RAM behind that 320 x 320 screen and original Xbox-looking exterior, but we won’t know for sure until this thing gets official, which we’re guessing will happen within the week. Video after the break.
Read - Lots of hands-on shots
Read - Slashgear post with press photography
Continue reading The Treo Pro makes its video debut, inches towards launch
Permalink | Email this | Comments
No Comments »
Tue19Aug20080921AM
Filed under: Transportation
We’ve got the Jack Johnson playlist locked and loaded, our polarized Oakleys are firmly ensconced, and those khakis are tucked snugly into our tube socks. It’s time to ride, fool. The Powabyke X-6 is the electric bike for the bore in all of us, masquerading perfectly as a traditional road bike, complete with the old “battery disguised as a water bottle” trick. The six-speed electric bike weighs in at 48.5 pounds, with an battery-powered top speed of 15mph — the max allowed by law — and a 15 mile range. The battery can be detached and charged indoors, but replacements run a few hundred dollars, so don’t lose sight of that sucker. The X-6 should be out in the UK this September for £750, about $1,395 US.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
No Comments »
Tue19Aug20080921AM
Filed under: Laptops
We know it’s been a tough few days since the
last Eee PC launch, but ASUS has now thankfully come through with four more ever so slightly different models to feed your questionable appetite, this time for Taiwan. Those include the 1000HD XP, 904HD XP, 901 XP and 900 XP (16G), each of which, obviously, run XP, and at least two of which (the 901 and 900) come in some of the same eye-catching colors that Korea got a taste of the other day. Somewhat curiously, only the 901 XP is listed as having an Atom processors, while the others are simply described as packing an “Intel Mobile” processor. Otherwise, you can expect the usual range of specs found on countless similar models, with prices coming in at the local equivalent of $444 to $539.
[Via Slash Gear]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
No Comments »
Tue19Aug20080920AM
Filed under: Gaming
Yeah, we get it, those arcade glory years were indeed glorious, but we’re a bit past the point of needing a retro cabinet at home large enough to house an entire army of quarter gremlins just to rock a bit of MAME standing up. Retro Space chucks the cabinet chubbiness, keeps all those mashy buttons, robust joysticks and spinny white ball things we know and love, and adds in a full-powered PC and a 24-inch 1920 x 1200 LCD. It’s a tad bit boxy, but we’ll probably manage to overlook that for another decade or two. No word on price, but expect something in the two or three thousand dollar range.
[Via Boing Boing Gadgets]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
No Comments »
Tue19Aug20080920AM
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Google feels really badly about that several month-long stretch where it kept any and all updates to its Android SDK out of the public limelight, developers, honest, but it wants to make it up to you. It seems that yesterday’s 0.9 release, which represented the first official SDK available with a platform even remotely resembling what Google intends to release on retail devices this fall, was just the first in a string of goings-on leading up to the grand 1.0 launch in the coming months according to a new roadmap published on the Android site. To start, there’ll be “additional Android 1.0 (pre) SDK releases made available, as necessary” in September, followed by the first 1.0-compatible release in the Q3 to Q4 timeframe (that’s any time between now and the end of December, for you calendar-disadvantaged folk). Finally, the Android source will leak out in the fourth quarter along with the first “Android 1.0 devices” — pay special attention to the plural “devices” there — and an announcement about Android Developer Challenge II. It gives us a warm fuzzy to see that Google’s interested in keeping its devs engaged with these contests on an ongoing basis, because let’s be honest: “prize money” has a much nicer ring to it than “VC money” ever will.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
No Comments »
Mon18Aug20080936AM
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Wireless
This one’s a bit morbid, but the technology behind it all is actually quite interesting. Japan’s own Nichiryoku has evidently created a unique urn retrieval system that enables family members with deceased loved ones to return to a reverent storage facility, swipe an RFID card, and watch their late mother / father / etc. emerge from the underground for viewing. Aside from saving space and money, this also provides mourning kin with a sense of security, as we’re told that the urns are kept where even minor acts of God won’t disturb them. Check out a demonstrative video just after the break.
[Via CScout]
Continue reading RFID-activated retrieval system brings urns up for viewing
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
No Comments »
Mon18Aug20080936AM
Filed under: Cellphones
The HTC Dream may have already
cleared the FCC, but at least one analyst that has actually seen the very first
Android-based device, Moe Tanabian of IBB Consulting, says that it will only be hitting stores around Thanksgiving in November, and not September or October as many
were expecting. He also says that its “unclear” whether the phone will support Microsoft Exchange or not (at least right out of the gate), and that users may have to rely on Gmail if they want to receive push email. Among other tidbits, he also confirms that the device will have access to T-Mobile’s own
App Store-like service, and that it’ll come with Google’s advertising software pre-installed, which he says could not only lower the cost of the phone, but allow for lower monthly service fees as well. Of course, you’ll have to take that with all the usual analyst caveats for the time being, but we’re sure we’ll be hearing plenty more to back it up or shoot it down before the September / October / November launch.
[Via Electronista]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
No Comments »
Mon18Aug20080936AM
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Good news, open source fans — copyleft licenses just got a big boost from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which ruled last week that the open source Artistic License is valid and enforceable, and that violating the terms of the license constitutes copyright infringement. (You might be familiar with the Artistic License — it’s what governs Perl.) That’s a big deal, as it’s the first open source license to get put to the test — while traditional EULAs have been upheld for years, open licenses hadn’t been directly litigated like this yet, and it means that similar licenses like the GPL and Creative Commons now stand on firmer ground. As you’d expect, OSS advocates like Lawrence Lessig and the Open Source Initiative are all pretty pumped about the ruling, with Lessig calling it “huge and important news.” We’d agree wholeheartedly, but here’s some food for thought while you celebrate in the comments: if you’re okay with FOSS software developers enforcing open-source license agreements, are you also okay with commercial software developers enforcing their own EULA restrictions? We can think of one in particular that seems to have people pretty ticked off.
Read - InformationWeek article
Read - Lessig blog post
Permalink | Email this | Comments
No Comments »
Mon18Aug20080936AM
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
If you’ve been putting off that purchase of Popcorn Hour’s evolutionary A-110 HD media streamer or all new B-110 motherboard, here’s a decent compilation of facts and opinions to help you make up your mind once and for all. The cats over at DigitalReviews took the time to not only detail, test out and report back on the newest duo from the company, but it also revisited the original (and heralded) A-100 in order to give a better comparison. Overall, critics did tend to prefer the A-110 over its predecessor, but the minor list of changes made it a hard sell for folks teetering on upgrading. The B-110 was seen as an even tougher sell, with only the hardcore DIY crowd likely to even find it worth investigating. Nevertheless, we won’t spoil the rest for you — head on down to have a look for yourself.
[Thanks, Anton]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
No Comments »
Fri15Aug20080908AM
Filed under: Laptops
According to a report in USA Today, starting on Saturday the TSA will be relaxing its policies on laptop removal from bags, and will be letting specific bags types ride through the X-ray machines with their cargo intact. The agency will allow travelers using bags which provide an unobstructed view of the computer inside to keep their laptops tucked away during the screening process, though they’ll still require “accordion” or “backpack” style bag-users to grab a bin. The TSA isn’t naming names or attaching labels to specific bags, but has provided guidelines to fliers suggesting what style would be most conducive to not getting shaken down every time you go to the airport. Of course, the TSA could have been doing this since the start of their time-wasting (and false-security-inducing) process, thus saving us innumerable headaches… but that would have made too much sense.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
No Comments »
Fri15Aug20080908AM
Filed under: Robots, Transportation
ESA is showing off its new “ExoMars” bots, Bruno and Bradley, who are being prepped for a 2015 mission to the red planet. The six-wheeled bots are being designed to carry a significant scientific payload, oriented around the search for life, but won’t slouch in the maneuverability department, with six independently rotating wheels. In addition to independent movement, the wheels can also be locked into “wheel walking mode,” where treacherous terrain can be traversed by crawling instead of rolling over it. On the AI front, Bruno and Bradley have significantly better AI than their progenitors, being able to plot their own courses and therefore cover more ground. The mission will involve traversing the planet and drilling six feet into the ground for soil samples, which the rover will be able to examine in its on-board laboratory. The only problem now is funding: ExoMars is looking to cost about double the 650 million Euros initially approved for the project in 2005, and there’s no guarantee (yet) that the extra cash will be there when they need it.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
No Comments »
Fri15Aug20080908AM
Filed under: Desktops
It’s one thing to see a device unboxed in pictures, but we all know a video tells a million (give or take a few) words. HotHardware’s Dave Altavilla has posted up a sub-5 minute clip detailing the ins and outs of ASUS’ Eee Box B202, and even from an enthusiast of all things cutting-edge, he was pretty impressed by the Atom-powered machine. The most interesting bit is probably the video playback test; we won’t spoil how it handled (or mishandled) 1080p playback for you — jump on past the break and have a look for yourself.
Continue reading ASUS Eee Box B202 detailed and tested on video
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
No Comments »
Fri15Aug20080908AM
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Believe us, we’ve seen a variety of unorthodox thermometers before, but this one just shines in a very special way. Brando’s USB indoor / outdoor thermometer ($22) is pretty self-explanatory, but we’ll humor you a bit by going into detail. The unit itself is powered via your USB port and provides a much more precise reading than those silly weather websites that just take samples from an area nearby. There’s even software bundled in to log readings every second for 12 whole hours. Science project, anyone?
[Via Coolest Gadgets]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
No Comments »
