Monday, 29 November 2010

Armatix Handgun Comes With High Tech Safety Measures The Armatix Smartgun Can Only Be Fired By A Single User

Munich, Germany-based Armatix GmbH has developed new technology to make
our firearms safer and prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.ย
The Armatix Smartgun uses a biometric radio wristwatch that acts as a
safety, preventing the gun from firing unless it is in the hands of its
approved user.
The Armatix Smartgun includes both the pistol and the wristwatch
, the latter of which is personalized to the user and accessible via a
fingerprint.ย Touch the watch's screen with the authorized fingerprint,
the watch will then unlock the gun which can fire only when in direct
proximity to the watch.ย The rear butt of the gun includes an LED
light, showing green with the gun is armed and ready to fire, and red
when the gun is locked and unauthorized for use.
Naturally, this technology could help to prevent the illegal trade of
stolen guns.ย While the Armatix Smartgun could likely be hacked, these
biometric security measures will give criminals a hard time in
attempting to re-sell a stolen firearm.ย Additionally, these safety
measures will prevent the misuse of guns at home, where pistols and
other firearms may be used by children without the approval of their
parents.
The .22 caliber Armatix Smartgun will begin shipping next month for
roughly $10,000.ย Here's to hoping this smart blend of technology can
help save a few lives and begin to blunt the efforts of illegal gun traders.

AT&T Imposes SMS Messaging Plans with Feature Phones AT&T Requires New Messaging Plans with Every New Feature Phone Out There

After the recent pricing war between AT T and Verizon which saw both
companies lower their unlimited voice and data plans for smartphones,
now we hear that AT T is getting ready to impose new SMS messaging plans
for all features phones it activates.
The company wants apparently to cash in on the messaging capabilities of
certain phones it sells. In fact there s a whole list of handsets that
once purchased from AT T will require you to also get a new messaging
plan. These phones include the Pantech Reveal, Pantech Impact, Motorola
Karma, Samsung Flight, Samsung impression, Samsung Magnet, Samsung
Solstice, Samsung Mythic, Samsung Propel, LG Xenon, LG Neon and LG Vu.
Whenever purchasing one of these phones you ll also have to be prepared
to pay around $20 per month for the new messaging plans. There are
various plans available at just $20 per month.The Messaging Unlimited
plan will be available for $20. With the Messaging 200 and Data
Unlimited Plan you get 200 SMS/MMS for $5 and an unlimited data plan for
$15. The Data Unlimited AT T Navigator plan will also be available for
$20.
The new pricing scheme doesn t sound that bad and it only applies to new
AT T customers that want to purchase a new �Quick Messaging � device.
Existing customers can t be forced to sign up for the new messaging
plans for their current handsets but they can rest assured that they
will be required to once they decide to upgrade their handset.
Other plans will also be available from AT T for Quick Messaging/Touch
phones so get ready to ask your local AT T representative about
specifics. Family plans for Quick Messaging devices are also going to be
offered so you ll have plenty of choices to make. After all if AT T will
force you to get a messaging and data plan why not get the one that
suits you best?

Apple Tablet Live: Apple Tablet Includes New iWork Version New iWork User Interface Available for the iPad; Keynote, Pages & Numbers Priced at $9.99 Each

It s not only iBooks that we re looking with interested today when we re
talking about the iPad. Apple s hot new tablet is not only go
ing to help us better enjoy our favorite music and TV shows or let us
read our favorite book in digital versions.
The device can help professionals too and Apple has made sure that it
has a brand new version of iWork ready for us. The Apple team behind
iWork has worked for over a year to modify its user interface in order
for us to feel comfortable editing documents and presentations on the go.
The new iWork version includes Keynote, Pages and Numbers and it will be
interesting to edit documents on a multitouch-ready device like the
iPad. Multitouch is basically the key element here. Without it, browsing
through menus and quickly dealing with all those tasks your boss
requires you to perform while on the go will probably be impossible.
Presentations, spreadsheets and simple document editing will not be done
with a mouse and a keyboard anymore. Instead we have the iPad and the
custom iWork suit created for it. And Apple is going to offer the entier
iWork apps package for just $30 or just $9.99 each.

Eizo Reveals New 30-Inch Color-Accurate Display Eizo ColorEdge CG303W Covers 98% Of RGB Color Spectrum

Eizo has released a new 30-inch color-accurate display for digital
imaging professionals.ย The Eizo ColorEdge CG303W color-accurate
display features a 30-inch display and hand-tuned color accuracy across
98% of the Adobe RGB color spectrum.
Eizo's ColorEdge CG303W color-accurate display features a 2560×1600
resolution spanning 30-inches, a 1
78-degree vertical and horizontal viewing angle and an 850:1 static
contrast ratio.ย The unit is designed for graphic imaging professionals
who need color-accuracy when developing image content for print or other
display media.ย To ensure color-accuracy, the gamma levels on each Eizo
ColorEdge CG303W are hand-tuned at the Eizo factory.ย The color
settings can also be managed by the user with the included
ColorNavigator software package.
The new Eizo ColorEdge monitor connects to a computer or other source
via two DVI-D ports (one of which is HDCP compliant) and two USB 2.0
ports.ย It'll be available to imaging professionals in Japan mid-March
for about $4,400 after conversion.ย No word yet on a U.S. arrival, but
if history rings true Eizo will likely plan a U.S. release as well.Read
| Or scroll down for further on topic reading.

Apple Tablet (aka Apple iPad) Official Images Revealed Apple iPad Official Imagery Goes Live

Those of you who didn't eagerly crowd around the computer screen to
watch official live coverage of the iPad's unveiling may have yet to see
shots of the elusive device. Apple released the press pictures of the
new device, which you can now see below.As explained in Mike's post, the
iPad will come in with a 9.7-inch screen, and will come in at only
0.5-inches thick. It borrows a lot of styling queues from the
iPhone.Check out the gallery below for more hot iPad pictures, or
gadget porn .

Apple Tablet: iPad or MacBook Air, Apple Tablet or Apple Notebook? Or Why Buy an iPad Rather Than a MacBook Air

The Apple Tablet is probably the year's most hyped device, but now,
knowing almost everything about it, one good question comes to mind, why
would anyone buy the iPad and not go for a MacBook or maybe the thin
MacBook Air?
First thing that comes to mind is pricing. Yes,ย the magical and
revolutionary device sells for $499, $599 and $699 on the Wi-Fi model
that has 16, 32 and 64GB of flash storage, while the Wi-Fi + 3G model
(by now you probably already know that 3G is optional and it costs more)
should be sold at $629, $729 and $829, respectively.
But look, that 64GB model which boasts 3G connectivity is not far from
the starting price of a MacBook laptop with a 15.4-inch display and more
than decent specs. So why not buy a MacBook instead of the iPad? Could
it be that the device appeals to you from an aesthetic point of view, as
we have to agree, it looks pretty stylish. Of course it does, but so
does the MacBook Air, except for the fact that the thin and light
notebook starts selling at some $1,499. #gallery-1 { margin: auto; }
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So does that mean the iPad is a good buy? We don't know. That's why
we're asking you. Is it?

iCall iPhone VoIP App Gains 3G VoIP Calling Apple Lifts 3G VoIP Restrictions, iCall First App to Take Advantage

What with Apple having updated its iPhone developer SDK to allow for
VoIP calls over cellular networks iCall have been quick to take
advantage in now offering what they bill as the first, and presently,
the only iPhone and iPod Touch App to embrace VoIP functionality on 3G
networks.
The iCall iPhone and iPod Touch App, which is already available to
download via Apple s iTunes store (making iCall impressively quick off
the mark), is especially interesting not only thanks to offer 3G VoIP
calling but, also, as there s a strong chance that iCall will also work
with the newly unveiled Apple iPad (the iPad offers 3G " the 3G version
anyhow " and comes with both integrated microphone and speaker).
I applaud Apple's decision to allow iCall to extend its functionality
beyond Wi-Fi and onto the 3G networks, � said Arlo Gilbert, iCall s CEO.
�This heralds a new era for VoIP applications on mobile platforms,
especially for iCall and our free calling model. I hope that now more
developers will begin using our VoIP as a platform to integrate VoIP
into their applications.
The iCall iPhone and iPod Touch App is yours to download for free with a
free trial of its services but, after this trial, you have several
options such as an unlimited talk plan coming in at some $10 per month
(US/Canada) and a bill per call service though, if you are prepared to
put up with ads, you ll find yourself rewarded with free calls.

Toshiba Ready To Release 64GB SDXC Card World's First 64GB SDXC Card Coming in Spring

Toshiba's North American division has developed the world's first 64GB
SDXC card, and they claim, the data can be transferred on and off the
card at the fastest transfer rate ever for the SD card form factor. The
fast transfer rates won't just stop at the high-end SDXC cards –
Toshiba is bringing the same transfer tech to their smaller, cheaper
SDHC cards.<
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This spring, Toshiba will unleash three new SD cards, the aforementioned
64GB SDXC card, as well as a 32GB card and 16GB card of the SDHC
variety. All three new cards will feature the new transfer tech,
bringing you a speed of 60Mbps read and 35 Mbps write. Toshiba's new
high speed interface is called UHS104 and as you'd guess, is highly
propitiatory proprietary.
All of the new cards will use CPRM copy protection to keep your data
secure, and they'll all use the standard SD card slots. The SDXC card
will use Microsoft's new exFAT file format (which is optimized for thumb
drives, got to assume it'll be handy on SD cards as well), while the
smaller cards will use the more conventional FAT32.
The SDXC standard applies to all SD cards that will feature memory
between 32GB and 2TB of storage. The older SDHC standard fits for 2GB
and 32GB of storage.ย As you can imagine, these cards won't be cheap.
No word on pricing has been announced, but speculation has the SDXC 64GB
card cost in excess of $600+

LaCie Unveils Enterprise External Storage LaCie Quadra External HDDs To Feature 128-bit Encryption, 8TB Of Storage

The folks at LaCie aren't newcomers to the external HDD space and today,
they've introduced a whole new family of external HDDs aimed at the
enterprise space. They'll be apart of the new Quadra line and, as you
would expect, will come with a ton of features you don't find in your
average external HDD.
Each model in the new Quadra line will offer six levels of data
protection, as well as government-grade 128-bit AES encryption. LaCie
is including desktop software to allow you to create up to 10 different
user accounts to give access on the external HDDs to certain people,
without giving everybody the admin password.
Each of the hard disks in the drives are SATA based and will spin at
7,200RPM with 32MB of cache memory. These are high quality disks, and
LaCie predicts that each drive will have a MTBF (mean time before
failure) of 1.2 million. All the drives will include a 5-year warranty,
which includes product replacement.
Each HDD will come with specialized 24k gold plated data cables for
super-fast data transfer, and LaCie's press release points out that
users who use the LaCie 4big Quadra external HDD (their biggest
offering) and have it configured for RAID 50 (5+0) can expect transfer
speeds of 700Mbps.
In addition to the security user management software, LaCie is also
throwing in Genie backup software, which they've included with HDDs
before. The drives will come in three cases, the smallest being the
LaCie d2 Quadra ($300), the LaCie 2big Quadra ($650) and the LaCie 4big
Quadra ($1350). Of course, those prices are with the default storage
sizes, which can be customized with between 1TB and 8TB. No word on when
we can expect these to start shipping.

Lenovo IdeaPad G560 Notebook Begins Selling 15.6" Lenovo G560 Running Core i3 Processors, Features LED-backlit Display

Folks from Lenovo have added to their IdeaPad series with the sportier
Lenovo G560 notebook PC. A powerful machine that features an Intel Core
i3-330 processorย (1066MHz 3MB) that clocks in at 2.13 GHz, the new
IdeaPad G560 boasts a 15.6-inch widescreen WXGA LED-backlit display that
does 1366&#215;768 pixel resolutions, has 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard
drive (5400 rpm) that comes bundled with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.
Designed to bring a much better user experience, the new Lenovo IdeaPad
G560 has built-in Intel HD graphics to render video for you, a
dual-layer DVD burner and a 2-megapixel webcam. On top of that, there's
a six-cell lithium-ion battery, VGA port, HDMI output, two USB ports,
USB/eSATA combo, a multi-card reader and an ExpressCard slot.
The new Lenovo IdeaPad G560 is available right now and sells for an
affordable $899, but be advised Lenovo says it will be on your doorstep
within 17 business days . Why not 19 or 21, we don't know why, either!
Sounds pretty solid from our end, what do you guys think?

Motorola Google Phone Apparently Confirmed Are We Looking at the Google Nexus Two, Already?

Sick and tired to hear about the good and the bad for Apple's iPad, we
just caught wind that Motorola is apparently working on a Google phone
(dare we call it the Google Nexus Two?). Announced by the company's CEO,
Sanjay Jha, during a conference call meant to discuss their quarterly
financial results, it looks like the Google-badged smartphone will be
similar to HTC's Nexus One.
Chief exec Jha has failed to give us anything official regarding
hardware, features or just how similar the new device it's going to be
compared to the Google Nexus One, and also managed to keep tight-lipped
regarding the handset's availability.
But we can speculate. Right? Some rumors have it that the Motorola
Google Phone is going to aesthetically related to the Droid and the
MOTOROI, while other think it's going to be more like the Motorola
Shadow &#8212; that slick QWERTY slider we've been seeing around for a
while now.
Given the success the company had with the Droid, a Google Nexus Two by
Motorola would prove right not only from the user's point of view, but
from a business aspect, too.
Needless to say that we'll keep you posted when we get more on that.

Sky to Broadcast 3D Premier League Live Games This Weekend Nine UK Pubs to Enjoy Live 3D Football/Soccer: Arsenal vs Manchester United

Sky is getting ready to launch its 3D sports channel in UK pubs. Like
anywhere else in the world, TV networks are starting to consider
broadcasting shows, movies and sport events in 3D. And Sky is going to
do just that starting this weekend.
The football, or soccer game, depending on where you re reading these
lines from, between Arsenal and Manchester United will be broadcasted in
3D in nine pubs in London, Manchester, Cardiff and Edinburgh.
That s basically how Sky wants to test its 3D live coverage of football
matches and those lucky fellows going over to their favorite pub to
watch the game between these two European super clubs will be pleasantly
surprised to be able to watch the game in 3D.
However there seems to be a little problem with all this beta testing
strategy. Sky is going to mix special glasses with lots of beer and a
football game that might cause some complicated debates in those pubs.
Not exactly the perfect environment to test a new technology, is it?
Once this first test is complete, Sky is going to bring its 3D channel
to more pubs in the UK starting this April. After that the network will
make Sky 3D available to its Sky+HD customers and offer them various
programs in 3D: movies, sport, documentaries and entertainment.
In order for regular consumers to take advantage of future 3D broadcasts
they will need special TVs capable to offer 3D. Furthermore special 3D
glasses will be required to be used with those fancy new 3D TVs. So in
case you re anxious to enjoy Sky 3D when it becomes available later this
year you should go ahead and get ready to buy new TV sets for your
living rooms. Otherwise you ll have to stick to regular HD shows, which
aren t that bad, are they?

iPad Enemies Speak Out Apple Event Protested By Free Software Activists, Startup Claims Apple Ripped Off His UI

We've known about the iPad for less than 24 hours, but that hasn't
stopped people from speaking out against it. I'm not talking about
people who want to know why it can't multitask or why it doesn't have
widescreen, or why people got so excited over a 10-inch iPod Touch
&#8211; some out there have much deeper reason to hate the new tablet
from Cupertino.

While most of the tech community was giddy with excitement yesterday
(including inside the TFTS war room where we covered), Ars Technica
covered that a small protest was going on outside the Yerba Buena Center
to protest Apple's closed software platform and favor of DRM. Protesters
handed out fliers that mimicked the Apple invitation for the event but
instead said Come see our latest restriction, while they held signs
that said Entering Apple Restriction Zone .
The protesters all were organized by the Free Software Foundation and
they had four talking points for why they didn't like the iPad &#8211;
#1 &#8211; no free software, #2 &#8211; No installing apps from the Web,
#3 &#8211; No sharing music or books, #4 -ย Apple can remotely disable
purchased content from the cloud.
John Sullivan, the FSF operations manager who was leading the protest,
said they wanted to petition Steve Jobs personally to ask him to remove
all DRM from the iPad. Of course, it's not Jobs who added DRM &#8211;
it's at the behest of the book and music publishers, and what good is a
music or bookstore with no publishers? At any rate, seven protesters
showed up to protest Apple's latest 'restriction and Sullivan thought
it had gone well.
Remember that great iBooks UI they showed off on the device? That's very
similar to a program sold on the Mac called Delicious Monster. Delicious
Monster was a program for cataloging your book collection and looked
very similar. According to co-founder Wil Shipley, Apple hired away most
of his team to work at Apple, and then the iPad blatantly rips off their
UI design for the stored books.
No word on if Shipley will press legal action (he probably won't). The
FSF told Ars Technica's reporters that they planned to protest Apple
Stores the day the iPad is released, so it doesn't end here.

Nokia Doesnโ€�t Like Appleโ€�s โ€�Biggest Mobile Companyโ€ Claims Nokia Corrects Steve Jobsโ€� Keynote Claims; Nokia Still Number One Mobile Company

One strange thing happened during the iPad
keynote this week. Just before Steve Jobs unveiled the new product he
showed us again Apple s performance during these last few years. At a
certain moment he claimed that Apple is �the largest mobile devices
company in the world. � He wasn t talking only about iPhones but about
MacBooks and iPods too.
Steve Jobs even placed the Apple logo on top of Nokia and I bet the
Finnish company really hated that moment. In fact, Nokia decided to
respond to Apple and set the record straight. Apparently Nokia is the
�biggest mobile company by far � and it has been the biggest mobile
company for the last 12 years.
Mark Squires, the head of social media for Nokia wrote on the Nokia blog:
sometimes there are articles floating around on the sphere that get my
blood pressure rising to what my doctor is prone to call an
�unreasonable level for a man of your years/weight/physical condition'.
Reading coverage of one of our competitor's much hyped web pad event
this week, I was surprised to see that, by revenue, they were claiming
in their leader's keynote to be the largest mobile devices company in
the world �.
The difference between the two companies is even larger if you use the
more common measure: the number of devices sold. By that comparison,
Nokia has been the largest mobile devices company in the world for a
dozen consecutive years.
In case you forgot, the two companies have sued each other and both
filed with the ITC in order to ban the imports of the other company.
Will Nokia go after Apple for these �biggest mobile company � claims?
We ll just have to wait and see whether Apple will want to publicly
answer to Nokia in the following days before we decide who shall win
this pissing contest.

Adobe Talks About the Flash Support on the iPad Adobe Wants Flash, We Want Flash, Apple Doesn’t Want Flash

Imagine what would have happened if Steve Jobs would have pointed Safari
to a web page containing lots of Flash in it during yesterday's keynote.
But then again Apple is a very good machine that doesn t do that kind of
errors. The iPad s presentation has impressed the audience with a new
Apple product that s really out of the box.
The fact still remains that we still don t really need the iPad. But, we
will still get it, not because we need it to help us perform better at
work or enjoy better eBooks or movies at home. We ll get it because it
looks good, it s capable to perform some very smart tricks and it s
pretty affordable.
The main two problems with the device are the lack of multitasking and
Flash support. Both can be corrected but both are annoying and they will
definitely hurt our iPad experience.
It looks like Adobe has already filed a response to the lack of Flash
support on the iPad:
It looks like Apple is continuing to impose restrictions on their
devices that limit both content publishers and consumers. Unlike many
other ebook readers using the ePub file format, consumers will not be
able to access ePub content with Apple's DRM technology on devices made
by other manufacturers. And without Flash support, iPad users will not
be able to access the full range of web content, including over 70% of
games and 75% of video on the web.
If I want to use the iPad to connect to Disney, Hulu, Miniclip,
Farmville, ESPN, Kongregate, or JibJab " not to mention the millions of
other sites on the web " I'll be out of luck.
Adobe and more than 50 of our partners in the Open Screen Project are
working to enable developers and content publishers to deliver to any
device, so that consumers have open access to their favorite interactive
media, content, and applications across platform, regardless of the
device that people choose to use.
So what say you Apple? Are you going to include Flash support in a
following iPad update or that s too much to ask already. I ll ask you
later for multitasking, although I m pretty convinced that s something
that s about to arrive with iPhone OS 4.0.

Apple iPad & Photographers: Why Apple Missed A Trick iPad’s Lack of Integrated Card Reader & USB A Glaring Oversight

I would hardly term myself as anything other than an amateur
photographer but it must be said that Apple appear to have overlooked
another market segment that the iPad may (otherwise) have appealed to
only if the iPad were to come with an onboard memory card reader.
Let s be honest here, memory card readers really aren t all that special
(a great many notebooks have been sporting them for years) but one thing
they most certainly are is extremely useful " and this is especially
the case for (but not limited to) photographers.
Admittedly Apple are set to offer an add-on in the guise of an external
card reader that ll plug into your iPad (taking the form of a dongle)
but, lets be honest here, why couldn t Apple have built one in, after
all the iPad could have been a great tool for photographers allowing
them to upload their images directly from memory cards and show clients
(say, as a fashion or wedding shoot) somewhat more enticing (or not)
previews of their images in a manner far more accessible than merely
asking clients to stare at a DSLR s relatively tiny LCD.
Did it not occur to Apple that the iPad would, aside from making a great
eBook reader, also make a great backup and preview device for
photographers " if not whilst in the field then as a device with which
to showcase their work elsewhere?
To have added an onboard car reader would hardly have been a major
technical challenge and yet if you want to access material stored on
memory cards you ll need to carry around additional clutter (and this
will undoubtedly put many people off from using the device in this
fashion). A crying shame really as, what with WiFi and (more so) 3G
connectivity, photographers could have not only used the iPad to
showcase and backup images but could also have used the device to upload
images to online galleries, email imagery directly to clients whilst on
location, etc, etc.
There is, perhaps, one light at the end of the tunnel as thanks to the
iPad sporting wireless connectivity Eye-Fi WiFi memory cards could (just
could) ease the strain in allowing imagery to be sent to the iPad
wirelessly. Quite whether the iPad will prove compatible with Eye-Fi
WiFi touting memory cards is, however, open to question. That said, if
your DSLR uses SD or SDHC cards this may be a possibility but the fact
is most prosumer DSLRs don t really cannot be glossed over. Add to that
the fact that the iPad comes sans integrated USB port and, well&#8230;
It really doesn t matter which way you look at it, Apple have missed an
opportunity to give their iPad far wider appeal which is, all said and
done, either a glaring oversight or, if you excuse me being somewhat
direct, just plain daft.

Apple iPad vs Apple iPhone 4G, Which Will Win Out? Or What Will the iPad Bring to the iPhone 4G

We have plenty of reasons to want to buy Apple s iPad and we have plenty
of reasons to wait until Apple decides to address some of the issues it
comes with: no Flash support, no multitasking, no iPhone OS 4.0 and
other technical inconsistencies (lack of webcam, USB and microSD ports.)
But maybe we re looking at the whole picture from the wrong point
of view. Maybe Apple hasn t �fixed � some of the iPad issues ahead of
actual launch in order not to divulge anything about the upcoming iPhone 4G.
Let s start at the beginning, shall we? The tablet was rumored to be an
iPhone on steroids and that s exactly what it is. It has almost the same
design, the same black bezel, the home button, the 30-pin connector, the
same keys. But Steve Jobs failed to mention anything about the iPad s
OS. Only after a little digging the user finds out that we re talking
about iPhone OS 3.2, an OS version that s not available to the iPhone
and the iPod touch.
So what s happening to iPhone OS 4.0? It looks like Cupertino is saving
it for later. After all launching the iPhone 4G with iPhone OS 4.0 on
board does sound kind of special.
iPhone OS 4.0 might contain some of the goodies which we re waiting for:
multitasking and Flash support. Once the new firmware arrives most
iPhone versions and the iPad should be able to get multitasking. And
while multitasking seems pretty logical, Flash support might still not
be coming with OS 4.0.
Therefore it appears that Apple is ready to experiment with the iPad in
order to offer an even better iPhone experience. The iPad brings some
features which we expect to see in the iPhone 4G: new LED-backlit
touchscreen display, better battery, 1GHz proprietary chip and Wi-Fi n.
The iPad is a feasible project that runs a pretty solid OS. It also
packs some very interesting hardware solutions that might be ported to
the iPhone 4G. Considering what the competition has to offer, the new
iPhone simply has to offer a 1GHz processor if not better, up to 64GB of
storage, a long-lasting battery and a new touchscreen display. All those
resources should enable multitasking and other perks on the new iPhone,
right Apple?
And while we don t exactly need an iPad in our lives, we ll gladly
replace the iPhone 3G or 3GS with the iPhone 4G once Steve Jobs
announces it this summer. So there you have it folks, in a virtual
matchup between the iPhone 4G and the iPad, the next-gen iPhone should
definitely win.

BigTrak Returns As BigTrak Jr Iconic 80’s Programmable 6-Wheeler Gets Reinvented for 2010

If you re �of a certain age then, like me, the very mention of the
name BigTrak will conjure a particularly fond trip down memory lane and
now, if you would like to relive inputting commands such as right 90,
forward 5, fire laser you ll be pleased to know that BigTrak is set to
make a comeback in the guise of BigTrak Jr.
Set to become available later this year, though no specific release date
has been confirmed as yet, BigTrak Jr " which seemingly comes in at
around half the size of the original BigTrak, as pictured below &#8211;
will be capable of storing up to 32 programs and it ll even see new
accessories such as a rocket launcher attachment and a digital camera
though, again, details concerning these attachments is pretty sparse
right now (so we are unable to offer any indication as to the resolution
of the camera, etc).
BigTrak Jr is expected to hit retail this Summer and will carry a price
tag of some $40 (circa pound sterling30 in the UK).

Did McGraw-Hill Get Bitch-Slapped During iPad Keynote? McGraw-Hill Punished for Tablet Leak During Steve Jobs Keynote

A day before Apple s media event at the Yerba Buena Vista Center in San
Fransico McGraw-Hill s CEO decided to spill the beans and confirmed on
TV that Apple is going to launch a tablet that will run iPhone OS. He
also implied that McGraw-Hill will offer lots of eBooks to fut
ure tablet owners.
Nobody bothered to deny everything the next day, not even Apple. But
that doesn t mean that McGraw-Hill didn t have to suffer the wrath of
Apple. Remember when Jobs talked about the eBook features of the iPad?
At a certain point a huge slide displayed the names of Apple s future
partners that will fill the iBook Store with eBooks. Guess what name was
missing from that board? You got it, McGraw-Hill wasn t there!
Is this Apple s response to the accidental confirmation of the tablet
from Terry McGraw:
On the other hand it looks like McGraw-Hill is trying to convince
everyone that they haven t said what we know they said on TV. Steven
Weiss, a spokesman for the publishing company commented on the situation:
Mr. McGraw 's speculative comments about Apple's pending launch, which
he shared earlier in the day in a call with investors, were simply
intended to suggest that if the new device were to use iPhone
applications, many of our education products would be compatible with
the technology and could be made easily available on it.
It remains to be seen if future McGraw-Hill will provide content to
Apple s iPad owners. Although in the end Apple will probably get over
the whole thing as Cupertino needs as much content as possible in its
future eBook store in order to properly fight the Kindle and Amazon s
collection of digital books.
In all fairness we have to also consider the fact that we might just be
wrong. Maybe Terry McGraw simply said something everyone already knew:
Apple tablet and iPhone OS . And maybe Apple didn't care as the
company didn't have an agreement with McGraw-Hill which would explain
why Steve Jobs didn't mention them during the keynote.

Plen Robot Controlled by Android App Android Gains Android Control via Smartphone

There s just something beautifully poetic (from a geeky perspective
anyhow) about an android being controlled by Android and that s exactly
what s occurred thanks to an Android OS app having been developed that
will offer control of the Plen robot via your Android powered smartphone.
The Android App, which can be seen controlling a Plen robot in the video
below, communicated via Blu
etooth and can control Plen s every move allowing you to make him (it is
a him, isn t it?) walk, dance, shuffle and generally lark about to your
heart s content.
Of course, to experience the joy of controlling this particular robot
via your Android smartphone you re going to have to splash the cash to
the tune of around a considerable $3,000 and, if you re already thinking
you are up for laying out such a sum you can head over to AudioCubes who
ll happily ship a Plen to you. You ll need to act quickly though, as
only 50 Plen robots are initially being offered.

Motorola Zeppelin Smartphone Caught in the Wild Android-powered Motorola Zeppelin to Debut at MWC

This is not the first time we hear news about a so called Motorola
Zeppelin, and probably not the last time, either. The Android smartphone
which we first though was intended for a release in China (at least the
specs we had back then, inclined to a communist release) has just been
spied again, revealing quite a few interesting specs and features.
Unlike previous reports that were talking about a 3.1 and a 3.7-inch
display, it looks like the Motorola Zeppelin will boast a 3.2-inch
touchscreen display that does 480 x 240 pixel resolutions. On top of
that we've been tipped that there's also a 5-megapixel camera, a
built-in GPS sensor and the company's MOTOBLUR interface.
There's no word as to what exactly the Zeppelin will run, be it Android
2.0 or Android 2.1 (although we have our fingers crossed for the
latter), but I guess we'll find out more next month in Barcelona at the
Mobile World Congress when Motorola is expected to officially introduce
the device. That's when we'll know more regarding pricing.

LG Joins Android Party With GW620 Android-powered LG Smartphone Hits UK

South Korea's LG has decided to finally get in on this Android thing.
Roughly 15 months after the first release of Google's Android, LG is
just producing their first Android-equipped smartphone. The phone, the
GW620, will be released exclusively in the UK with Virgin Mobile and
T-Mobile as the carriers.
The GW620 is also being billed as the LG Intouch Max by Virgin Mobile,
and it's also the fir
st Android phone for that carrier as well. As for the phone itself
(first covered by us last year), it comes equipped with a 3-inch HVGA
resistive touchscreen. It will feature a slider design with a slide-down
QWERTY keyboard.
For a camera, it will feature a 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash.
Unfortunately, it seems that LG's engineers have been working on this
thing since Android first came out back in October 2008 because they've
only bothered to include Android 1.5 on the phone &#8211; which means
you'll miss out on all the new Google apps that come with Android 2.x
and higher.
Apparently, LG, T-Mobile and Virgin Mobile are all a bit confused on
when the phone is coming out. LG originally said the device was coming
in December 2009 &#8211; it didn't, but that's fine, we've seen delayed
gadgets before. Unfortunately, T-Mobile UK's web page listed the phone
as coming in February 2010, even though users could buy the phone right
on the same page. After being mentioned in the high-profile CNET UK did
the error get fixed.
Both T-Mobile and Virgin Mobile are giving the phones away for free with
telcom service packages. We've seen a lot better Android phones, but the
attraction here is the cost &#8211; free. If you live in the UK and want
to get in on the Android craze for free, then the LG InTouch Max is for you.

Video: Hitler & The Apple iPad The (Seemingly) Obligatory 'Hitler Responds' iPad Video Surfaces

Yes, it s been done before with a host of products and yes some may
argue that its all getting a little long in the tooth now but having
seen Hitler s response to the Canon 7D last year (also worth watching)
we now get to see Der Fรผhrer s response to Apple s iPad and, as
expected, he s not at all happy (really, is he ever?).
In honesty, we really would have not featured this video were it not for
the fact that there s some pretty sound criticisms made here by the
video's creator; criticism s that, it has to be said, we re hearing a
lot of here at TFTS from readers " in particular the lack of
multitasking, lack of Flash support (meaning the iPad does not offer
full web support which is extremely disappointing) and, no, he s not
particularly happy with AT T getting the scoop on the iPad either.
As I say, sound well founded points raised in this video.
(Please note, as there is some choice language in the video we are
obliged to offer a parental advisory)

Mvix ULTIO Pro Full HD Home Theater Media Player ULTIO Pro 1080p HD Media Center with PVR Functionality

Whilst the official launch of the Apple iPad is, understandably,
currently dominating the site lets not forget that there are other
product announcements occurring, such as Mvix introducing their new
ULTIO Pro 1080p Home Theater Media Player.
The ULTIO Pro 1080p Home Theater Media Player is a hard disk based media
player which comes in two specific models (sans integrated HDD " add
your own " and, if opting for the premium model, a 2TB hard disk) and,
aside from offering broad HD video codec support taking in H.264, MKV,
Dixv HD, MOV, VC-1 and FLV (amongst others) also comes complete with PVR
(Personal Video Recording) functionality allowing you to record TV
programming. It also, notably, comes with embedded Torrent client and
NAS (Network " Access-Servers) capabilities. Wireless N WiFi
connectivity is also on offer here but its not offered as standard
(rather, its an optional extra).
�Mvix Ultio Pro is the amalgamation of high definition media playback
and recording, � said Mike Mallon, VP of Business Development at Mvix.
�We ve been working on the personal video recording (PVR) technology for
some time and we re happy to combine HD media playback and recording in
a single device that should serve as the ultimate solution for home
entertainments and business videos. Our aggressive pricing structure
with a comprehensive set of features is likely to set highest standards
in high definition entertainment. �
Already available to pre-order the Mvix ULTIO Pro 1080p Home Theater
Media Player, as stated previously, is being offered in two versions
with the standard version (sans HDD) coming in at $169 whilst the
premium version with 2TB hard drive, comes in at $348.

Griffin Unveil Apple iPad Accessories Post iPad Launch Griffin iPad Case, iPad Sleeves & iPad Screen Care Kit

Following on from the TFTS team offering you up to the minute details
live as the Apple iPad was officially launched yesterday (see our
complete Apple iPad launch coverage here) Griffinย have been quick to
unveil a range of iPad accessories taking in an iPad case
, iPad sleeves and an iPad screen care kit.
The newly announced Griffinย iPad accessories specifically comprise of
the Elan Passport Folio Case for iPad, which opens like a book to ensure
that the iPad s mulittouch display is protected whenever not in use, the
Elan Sleeve Slipcover Case for iPad, which comes with a flip tab and
stain-resistant synthetic outer shell with smooth micro suede interior,
the FlexGrip silicone case, the Jumper (a neoprene sleeve) and, lastly,
the Screen Care Kit for iPad which comprises of a �premium reusable
cleaning cloth and low-glare matte-finish static peel screen protector.
Listed as coming soon (expect them in the Spring), in terms of pricing,
you re looking at around $50 for the Griffin Elan Passport Folio Case
and the Elan Sleeve Slipcover with the FlexGrip silicone case coming in
at $30 and the iPad Screen Care Kit at $25.

MSI Planning To Release 10-inch, $499 Tablet MSI Tablet Powered By Tegra, Specs Still Up In The Air

Despite the 10-inch $500 tablet market tablet getting a strong entry
yesterday, MSI is planning to solider on with their own 10-inch
touchscreen tablet which will sell at a $499 price. The device will come
out in the second half of 2010 in the United States, and will be priced
at $500.
MSI's tablet will be powered by NVIDIA's Tegra 2 technology and will be
running MSI's own flavor of L
inux. MSI demoed the device at CES to the press, but only after Apple's
announcement did they announce their prospective release date and
pricing. It's a bit odd that they would go head-to-head with Apple in
the price.
Don't write this off as an iPad rip-off. The iPad isn't perfect, and if
Apple faces competition from more well-equipped rivals (ahem, Nexus One)
it could drive them to improve the second edition of the iPad.
Despite showing prototypes at CES, MSI isn't ready to confirm what
internal specs the new tablet will have, other than it'll have the Tegra
2 chipset. MSI is hoping to adjust hardware based on market demand, and
they'll include different models of their new tablet line.
One place Apple might have an advantage over them is the dimensions of
the device. We've seen the iPad is thin and light. People who tried the
MSI tablet prototype at CES report that it's thicker and heavier than
it looks.
No word on an exact date, but keep your eyes peeled for the MSI tablet
sometime in the second half of this year.

Panasonic To Spend $1.1 Billion On Solar Technology Panasonic And New Subsidiary Sanyo To Invest Heavily In Solar Power

hium-ion batteries) but for Sanyo's experience in green technology.
Sanyo's eneloop brand of gadgets is marketed as Earth-friendly,
low-power consumption models, but Sanyo also produces a wide variety of
solar panels and other solar technology.
Panasonic is pledging to become one of the world's biggest producers of
solar panels. They are planning to invest $1.1 billion in solar
technology over the next five years. When they're done &#8211; they hope
to be in the top #3 of total solar panel sales worldwide. Surely, a big
goal. More specifically, they want to be #1 in Japan before 2012.
Panasonic isn't just doing all this for the good of the Earth &#8211;
they expect to make big money on providing solar panels. President Fumio
Otsubo said that his company fully expects to make $33 billion in
revenue by 2018 from solar panel sales. By comparison, they made $77
billion in revenue from all of their markets in 2009 &#8211; so they
expect solar panels to be a new large market for them.
Despite their new focus on solar technology, Panasonic isn't going to
give up on their other, consumer products.
I think the most significant factor will be 3D TV. With 3D TV and its
related products, including camera recorders and editing tools, we will
strengthen our television operations to make it one of factors to go
against Samsung, Panasonic president Otsubo said at a press conference,
mentioning the recent 3D craze and Panasonic's rivalry with South
Korea's Samsung.
At any rate, it looks like Panasonic is moving heavily into green
technology in this new decade.

ASUS Eee Pad Tablet Confirmed The Same Day Apple Tablet Debuts ASUS Exec Picks a Bad Day to Reveal Plans for Eee Pad Tablet

Not sure about you guys, but I was thinking that no other company would
even dare to make any official announcements today, as Apple is all
geared up to bring some amazing news that will take the tech world by a
storm. However, it looks like ASUS don't care much about the whole hype
around the Verizon iPhone release date, the iPhone 4.0
OS or the highly rumored Apple Tablet, and today, Vice-president Eric
Chen, has confirmed the company's plans to start manufacturing the ASUS
Eee Pad tablet.
What's even more interesting is that the company exec didn't bring much
to the table except for the obvious ARM-based processor, 3G connectivity
and the fact that ASUS is paying particular attention to the user
interface, comparing it with the iPhone. You look at the iPhone, for
example. The reason the iPhone is so successful " and call quality is
really not that good " is the UI function, I think, is just the best.
So this is also the way that we need to improve, he mentioned.
Other than the above, the Nvidia Tegra 2-powered Eee Pad is also going
to play video or something, when you like ; and can we speculate it's
going to be 720p quality, and not 1080p?
For now there's nothing official regarding availability and pricing, but
does anyone care, knowing that in 1 hour mark, Steve will be on the stage?

Asus G51J 3D Notebook Readied for a Release Next Month New Asus G51J 3D Laptop to Feature Nvidia's 3D Vision Active Shutter Technology

Although Apple have managed to monopolize the day with their Special
Event where they took the wraps off the new iPad, smaller companies
didn't call it quits and got the balls to announce new products. One of
them is ASUS who have confirmed this morning that they're actually
working on an Eee Pad tablet and who have announced availability for
their 3D noteb
ook, the ASUS G51J 3D, starting February.
The ASUS G51J 3D laptop has made it to TFTS some 3 months ago when we
learned that the device is going to feature Nvidia's 3D Vision active
shutter technology and an impressive 120Hz 15.6-inch LCD panel that does
1,366ร—768 pixel resolutions and which requires you to wear special 3D
Vision shutter glasses (60Hz on each eye, which makes it 3D). Other
specs include a GeForce GTX 260M graphics card (1GB), an Intel Core i7
processor and built-in Altec Lansing speakers.
The fun thing about the G51J is the fact that it brings an USB-based IR
transmitter to enable spatial depth in 3D games, probably why the
notebook ships with a 3D Avatar game, with Resident Evil 5, World of
Warcraft, Borderlands, and Batman: Arkham Asylum, waiting in queue to be
converted.
Expected to be released sometime next month, the ASUS G51J 3D notebook
will cost some $2,750.

BlackBerry Tour 9650 Teased as Coming Soon BlackBerry Tour2 (Essex) Official on RIM's Facebook Page

If the BlackBerry Tour 9650 made a first appearance online in October
2009 and then a later unofficial debut on the Christmas Eve, today, the
good folks from RIM have updated their Facebook account by officially
confirming that the Tour 9650 (also known as BlackBerry Tour2 or
BlackBerry Essex) is indeed under the hammer and that it's coming soon
&#8212; with us having absolutely no idea what soon means, although
we've been hearin
g rumors that it's either spring or summer 2010.
Although RIM hasn't released any details concerning the smartphone's
debut, what we know so far is that the BlackBerry Tour 9650 is not that
much different from the original Tour when it comes to size and overall
appearance, but gets a new optical trackpad to replace the trackball for
better functionality and Wi-Fi connectivity, while other appealing
changes might include a snappier processor that will be borrowed from
the Storm 2.
BlackBerry Tour2 is supposedly featuring a 3.2-megapixel camera,
built-in GPS and BlackBerry Maps like the Tour did.
No word on much the new smartphone it's going to cost, but we're
sticking close to a $150 price tag if you're going for a contract.

BlackBerry Magnum Makes a Video Appearance Touchscreen & QWERTY Keyboard Hybrid BlackBerry Smartphone to be Launched Soon?

The BlackBerry Magnum appears to be RIM s first hybrid smartphone. We
have talked about it earlier on here at TFTS and today we seem to have a
more than welcomed hands-on video for you of the Magnum in action.
I guess what happened one night is that a BlackBerry Bold and a Blac
kBerry Storm met for drinks and a movie. Before you know it one thing
led to another and the Magnum appeared. The Magnum took the looks and
the QWERTY keyboard from the Bold and the touchscreen from the Storm.
When I say it looks like the Bold I really mean that. It seems that the
original Bold was the source of inspiration for the Magnum. Almost all
the buttons are in the same places. The keyboard looks the same and
event the back is similar. Sure it lacks the trackpad but you ll have a
SurePress screen to do all the menu navigation you want.
The video below shows the Magnum being compared with two of RIM s
hottest smartphones, the Bold 9000 and the Bold 9700. What it doesn t
show is the operating system. It will be interesting to see where RIM is
going with its touchscreen UI.
After we ve just seen the iPad, which comes with a great user interface,
we can t but wonder what the next iPhone will bring. Naturally we will
also start to ask questions about the competition and their future
products. Besides Android and webOS we ll be looking forward to see RIM
ready to impress us with a couple of new phones this year.
The Mobile World Congress in Spain is getting closer and closer and one
could only hope that cell phone manufacturers will have some very hot
handsets to show us.
The MWC is a good place to unveil a product like the Magnum, although,
as you can clearly see in the video below, the prototype is not quite ready.

Archos 7 Tablet Specs Leaked Android-powered 7-inch Archos Tablet Revealed

Today, details on an exciting new tablet were released to the public.
No, not the ASUS Eee Pad, and not any other tablets you may have heard
of. I'm talking about the Archos 7 tablet, which will be the bigger
version of the Archos 5 tablet. The 7-inch tablet will be running
Android, which seems to be Archos' OS of choice for such a thing.
The Archos 7 tablet wil
l be running Android, with the 7-inch touchscreen coming in at a
resolution of 800 x 480. The UI has turned some heads, as the
screenshots of the device show it having the Google Experience and the
included internet-enabled apps (Maps, Market, Gmail) but no web browser,
which would be an odd exclusion for a tablet.
Not much is known about the internal workings of the device, other than
it'll have 8GB of flash storage when it ships. For comparison, the
Archos 5 tablet will come with an 800MHz processor and 128MB of RAM
&#8211; and so it's likely the Archos 7 will come with comparable stats.
According to leak, the Archos 7 will have a forward facing webcam, a
dual speakers, and a microphone, all of which the Archos 5 didn't have.
Archos is/was better known for their PMP products, which, back in the
day, were a strong competitor to Apple's iPods. It should be no surprise
that Archos is going to have a strong media playing capability on their
tablet. The Archos Media Center software (that plays media on the
device) is being revamped from previous Archos tablets. It will now have
support for lyrics plugins as well as high-quality APE codecs.
It's being released in March in the UK with a price of pound sterling150
($243). No word on a release date in the US, but the Archos 5 is being
sold in the US for $250, so expect it to be sold for at least that much.

Dell Mini 5 Gets US Approval FCC Approves Dell Mini 5 For AT T's 3G GSM Network

Just over a week ago, we saw Dell CEO Michael Dell show off the Dell
Mini 5 and spi

ll the beans that it was coming soon, and now, we've learned that the
device has made it through FCC approval in the United States. It will be
running on AT T's GSM networks with 3G connectivity.
There is some discussion on the internet has to if this is a phone or a
tablet-like device. The Dell Mini 5 will feature a 5-inch screen, and
will be running Android. The rumored specs of the devices, as compiled
by AndroidandMe are as follows, a 5-inch screen, a 1GHz Snapdragon
processor and a 5-megapixel camera.
On the software side, Michael Dell showed it running Android 1.6
(considering the recent success of Android 2.0 and 2.1, I'm sure an
update, either before or after launch, isn't out the question). In
addition to the 3G, it'll also have WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity.
When asked about the release date, Michael Dell only said it would be
out in a couple months , and declined to answer how much it would cost.
It's possible that they're in negotiations with AT T to offer the phone
subsidized.
AT T said that they would be taking the brave leap into the world of
Android phones this year by releasing five Android phones this year.
It's now believed that the Dell Mini 5 is one of those phone, albeit, a
tablet-like phone.

Google Nexus One Phone Support Now Live Nexus One Live Tech Support Promises 'A Superior Nexus One Customer Experience' Says Google

Until now if you ve been having technical issues with your Nexus One
smartphone you ve had the option of hitting the Nexus One support forums
or emailing your issues to Google, neither of which, it has to be said,
seemed especially customer focused " but now that s all changed thanks
to Google launching a dedicated Nexus One phone line allowing those
experiencing technical issues to speak with live tech support operatives.
Yes, arguably, it really should have been available at the point of
lunch of the Nexus One but considering that Google s support systems
are, in truth, fairly lacklustre across the board the launch of this
dedicated support phone line for the Google smartphone is somewhat of a
departure for Google who appear to have taken it well and truly on board
that its customers genuinely need somewhat more of a fallback in times
of need that merely shooting off emails or posting on forums (for other
users invariably to answer in the absence of any official responses).
By design, we focused initially on providing the best possible
customer support through our on-line channel, and our experience in the
four weeks since the Nexus One launch enabled us to significantly
enhance that on-line support offering. We have been able to address a
large majority of customers' inquiries successfully through on-line
support, in combination with phone support from our partners, HTC and
T-Mobile, a Google spokesperson said. That said, our approach with our
new consumer channel is to learn fast and continue to improve&#8230;Live
phone support from Google, combined with an optimized on-line support
experience, enables a superior Nexus One customer experience.
The new Nexus One support line, which can be accessed by dialling (888)
48NEXUS (63987), is open from between 4 a.m. and 7 p.m. PST.

FujiFilm JZ (JZ300 & JZ500) Long Zoom Cameras FujiFilm JZ 10X Zoom Compact Cameras with Advanced CCD-Shift Image Stabilisation Get Official

If you re in the market looking for a new compact digital camera but you
re also looking for a little extra reach than compacts tend to offer
then you may be interested in FujiFilm s newly announced JZ Long Zoom
cameras, namely the FujiFilm JZ300 and FujiFilm JZ500, which boast 10x
optical zoom paired with FujiFilm s advanced CCD-shift image
stabilisation which ensures you gain �blur-free images even at the full
zoom range .
The newly unveiled FujiFilm JZ300 and FujiFilm JZ500, aside from
sporting 28mm wide-angle, 10x optical zoom lenses in bodies that are no
less pocket friendly than other compacts (indeed, they come in at a mere
23mm in thickness), additionally boast 720p HD video capture
capabilities, up to ISO3200 sensitivity and, of course, in being compact
point and shoots, a veritable host of auto and scene modes including
Portrait Enhancer and (in the case of the JZ500) Face Recognition and
even Pet Recognition.
The new FujiFilm JZ Long Zoom compact cameras, which offer up 12.1 and
14.1 megapixel resolutions (JZ300 and JZ500 respectively) come with
�approximately 40MB of integrated memory which can be supplemented with
SD and SDHC memory cards and are set to hit retail in February (JZ300)
and March (JZ500) with pricing coming in at around $160 and $250 (again,
respectively).

600GB 2.5-In Savvio 10K.4 Hard Drive Enterprise Storage Solution Unveiled New 2.5-IN Savvio Seagate HDD to Offer 600GB of Storage to an Enterprise Near You

It s definitely not every day that we get to look at a 600GB hard drive
and I don t think I m exaggerating when I am saying that each and every
one of us would love to get this 2.5-inch drive and place it inside our
machines. Our storage problems would be over, wouldn t they? Well
unfortunately we might not afford the Savvio 10K.4 since it s rather an
enterprise solution than a personal hard drive.
The Savvio comes with double the capacity of �its near competitor �
which is definitely impressive. Add to that a 2 million hours Mean Time
Between Failure (MTBF) and you ll have an extra reason for wanting it.
The drive is meant to �enable new levels of data density in external
storage arrays � and comes with features like Protection Information for
protection of data-in-flight, self-encrypting drive for data-at-rest and
PowerChoice which will help you save power when the drive is idling.
Howard Shoobe, senior manager, Dell Storage Product Management said
about the new hard drive:
Our customers face challenging storage needs requiring the most
efficient use of space and power while maintaining the highest
performance possible. The new 2.5-inch 10K-rpm 600GB capacity point
allows a doubling of capacity within the same rack space of current
3.5-inch 15K 600GB drives while increasing overall system-level
performance and decreasing power usage.
So if you happen to own a company that requires lots of data then your
IT guys should definitely check this impressive storage solution. We don
t have pricing details for you at this point but don t expect the 600GB
beast to come that cheap. And if you do get the Savvio for your home
computer or home theater setup, then let us know how it performs. I m
sure it will take a while until you fill it with content so that MTBF I
was talking about above is definitely most welcomed.

Asus EeeTop ET1610PT AIO Unveiled Neew EeeTop With 15.6" Touchscreen Display Surfaces, Powered by Atom D410 CPU

Asus have added to their EeeTo

p range of AIO PCs with the introduction of the Asus EeeTop ET1610PT
which, aside from sporting a 15.6 � touchscreen display, comes with
Intel s new Pine Trail Atom D410 CPU under the hood.
The Asus EeeTop ET1610PT, which, incidentally will also be offered sans
touchscreen (namely the ET1610P), offers a screen resolution of 1600 x
900 pixels with the display being powered by Intel s GMA X3150 graphics
chipset and will additionally sport either 1GB or 2GB RAM, a 160GB hard
drive, Gigabit Ethernet supplemented by integrated WiFi connectivity
(802.11b/g/n), a 5-in-1 card reader and a 0.3 megapixel webcam.
Due to hit the European market any day now, the Asus EeeTop ET1610PT
(and the non-touchscreen EeeTop ET1610P) will ship with Windows XP "
though if you want to upgrade to Windows 7 (especially if you re opting
for the touchscreen touting variant) you re offered MS s latest OS as an
upgrade option " and is expected to retail at around the 400EUR price
point.

Buffalo Reveals TeraStation III WSS NAS New TeraStation NAS To Bring 4TB of Storage, SMB Support

The storage experts at Buffalo have shown off their latest creation, the
new TeraStation III network-attached-storage unit. The device will ship
with up to 4TB of storage, and it'll have support for all the major
network application protocols. Needless to say, it's being aimed at

the enterprise market.
The new TeraStation III is built on Buffalo's new x86 hardware platform
and has its own 32-bit processor onboard, although Buffalo has been
quiet about the specifics of the internals of their NAS. Getting right
down to it, the TeraStation III has four quick-swappable SATA hard drive
ports, a heavy duty power supply and RAID technology built-in.
For security and backups, the TerraStation III uses Microsoft's SMB
network apps protocol and runs Windows Storage Server 2003. The drives
will be formatted in Microsoft's NTFS file system, as well. Buffalo says
in their press release that NTFS provides extremely granular file and
folder permissions , which they feel will appeal to their customers.
Buffalo picked Windows Storage Server 2003 because of it's filed with
features, tons of developer support, and it's also easy to setup file
sharing on the OS. However, not everybody cares to use Windows Storage
Server 2003, and Buffalo also has got you covered. The TeraStation III
will also include support for other network apps protocols like NFS,
AppleTalk and Netware.
As you can imagine, such a high-end WSS NAS isn't going to be cheap.
Buffalo will be selling them for $1,599 with 2TB included or for $1,999
with 4TB included.

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