February 9th, 2010 / Gadget-News / gadgets / No Comments
It feels like the Tour isn’t quite aged enough to be replaced — especially when you consider that the downright ancient Pearl 8100 series is still sold on carriers around the world — but it seems that Verizon (and Sprint, naturally) might be champing at the bit to move on to a newer model with WiFi and a complete eradication of the pesky trackball. Verizon’s posted a Java app to its site with the file name “vvmail_9650.jad,” a reference to the Tour2’s model number. Of course, the Tour2 itself has yet to be announced by RIM in any capacity — let alone for a specific carrier — so we’ve got some hurdles to jump before this is on shelves, but if nothing else, we can safely say it’s coming to Big Red sooner or later.
[Image via BGR]
BlackBerry Tour2-compatible visual VM on Verizon suggests release is growing near originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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February 8th, 2010 / Gadget-News / gadgets / No Comments
We knew Android 2.1 was coming for the Droid, but we’ll confess — we didn’t expect it to come this soon. Motorola is now reporting via its official Facebook page that it’s “happy to relay the 2.1 upgrade to Droid will start to roll out this week,” going on to tease that it “will have more information to share on other device upgrades later.” There’s no detail on what the Droid update will entail or whether it’ll roll out to every user this week (we doubt it), but by all indications, this is a promising sign that Moto’s keeping the pedal to the metal, we’d say.
[Thanks, andrewcweaver]
Motorola: Droid update to Android 2.1 ‘will start to roll out this week’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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February 8th, 2010 / Gadget-News / gadgets / No Comments
Still pictures? That’s so 20th century.
Camera makers must figure by now that if they don’t have high-definition video, they don’t have squat, and Canon’s latest models are no exception.
Canon added to the pile of pre-PMA 2010 announcements on Monday with its newest low-end SLR, the EOS Rebel T2i. This camera has a new 18-megapixel sensor, a Digic 4 processor, and can shoot full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) at 30fps. It can also shoot standard-def, 640 x 480 video at 60fps, or blast out full-size 18 megapixel stills at 3.7fps.
It’ll cost $800 for the body only, or as a kit with Canon’s popular, low-end EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens for $900.
The press release doesn’t state the size of the T2i’s image sensor but it’s almost certainly the APS-C standard used in previous Rebels, or 22.2 x 14.8mm.
The T2i follows on the heels of last year’s not-so-surprising hit camera, the Canon 5D Mark II, which was one of the first single-lens-reflex cameras to shoot HD video, following the pioneering Nikon D90.
But the real power feature of the 5D Mark II was its low-light sensitivity, which let you take decent pictures in low light by dialing the ISO up as high as 64,000. While the T2i doesn’t go quite that high — and the quality of its images at high ISO levels remains to be seen — it does support ISO settings up to 12,800.
Not in the market for a big-ass SLR? Canon’s also got a handful of [...]
February 8th, 2010 / Gadget-News / gadgets / No Comments
We already caught a fair amount of play time with Inbrics’ Android-based M1 at CES, but it looks as if the company is fixing to “officially” reveal it next week at Mobile World Congress. We’re still debating whether or not this thing is a bona fide smartphone or yet another MID that’ll have a tough time gaining acceptance in this cruel, cruel world, but either way, it’s apparently on track for release later this year. According to details scooped up by Pocket-lint, the company is hoping that the M1 will double as a media controller for AV junkies, and if all goes well, Europeans could get their hands on it “in 2010 or early 2011.” Just as long as it’s prior to 2012, we’re cool.
Inbrics’ Android-based M1 slated to ship this year originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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February 8th, 2010 / Gadget-News / gadgets / 1 Comment
Artists frequently turn to technology for inspiration or commentary, utilizing components such as chips, ink cartridges and disk drives to make their art. Remember the Mona Lisa created from motherboard bits or the motorcycle from old hard drives?
Now, London-based artist Nick Gentry has created turned forgotten floppy disk drives into art. Gentry has created mixed media painting with floppy disks playing the central role.
“The whole world was totally reliant on these physical media formats,” he says. “Now suddenly we are at a time where they are obsolete, replaced by countless intangible data files. Will humans be compatible with our own technology?”
Inspired by Brazilian-born artist Vik Muniz’s giant world map made entirely of old computer parts, Gentry adopted floppy disks as his medium.
“I looked at using the disks in a grid to create photo-fits, constructing imaginary faces and identities that could draw connections to the personal information stored on the disks,” he says.
For instance, a metal circular hub on the reverse side of the disk worked as a metaphor for the human eye.
The number of disks varies in each painting. A small one can use up to 6 disks, while larger paintings can take up 100 disks or more.
“I ask people to donate the disks through my website but mainly I buy them,” Gentry told Wired.com. “They are still relatively cheap to buy as they are seen by most people as junk.”
To create a piece, Gentry starts with a preparatory sketch that is [...]
February 8th, 2010 / Gadget-News / gadgets / No Comments
The iF Design Awards won’t officially be handed out until the big ceremony at CeBIT next month, but some of the winners have now already been announced, and they include a few surprises. One of those is this new Qisda QCM-330 smartphone, which is said to be Android-based, and packs a 4-inch, 1,280 x 1,024 screen (supposedly, although the actual resolution will likely differ given the aspect ratio), WiFi and HSDPA connectivity, a 3 megapixel camera, and an accelerometer, among other, as yet unnamed specs. It’s joined by the LG GD880 we previously spotted in the wild, along with a slew of phones headed for Vodafone, including the Compass slider, and the Krystal (pictured after the break), which apparently packs displays on both sides and some augmented reality-type features (like on the fly translation of newspapers). Rounding out the lot are the decidedly more ordinary Vodafone Sting, Shilpa, Quincy and, our personal favorite, the Larry. Hit up the link below for a closer look at those.
Continue reading Qisda’s ultra high-res QCM-330 smartphone and more surface ahead of iF awards
Qisda’s ultra high-res QCM-330 smartphone and more surface ahead of iF awards originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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February 8th, 2010 / Gadget-News / gadgets / No Comments
The iPad’s $500 starting price was lower than people expected, but Apple could still make price cuts if the device fails to gain traction among consumers, says an analyst.
Recounting his meeting with Apple executives, Bill Shope of Credit Suisse said Apple indicated it would consider lowering prices if initial demand appears to be slow.
“While it remains to be seen how much traction the iPad gets initially, management noted that it will remain nimble (pricing could change if the company is not attracting as many customers as anticipated),” Shope wrote.
If Apple did make price cuts shortly after the iPad launch, it would be reminiscent of the original iPhone release. Apple sold the original 8GB iPhone for $600 when it hit stores in June 2007; two months later, the company dropped the price to $400.
Wall Street analysts estimate Apple will sell between 1 million and 5 million iPads in its first year. Charlie Wolf with Needham & Company said that because Apple is defining a new category of devices, sales of the iPad are likely to ramp slowly, but “the $500 starting price point is low enough to attract a sizable portion of the early adopter crowd, consisting of iPhone and iPod owners.”
Via The Wall Street Journal
See Also:
Hands-On With the Apple iPad
Would You Buy an iPad? Wired Readers Weigh In
With iPad, Apple Still Has a Fatal Attraction for AT&T
What the iPad Means for the Future of Computing
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
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February 8th, 2010 / Gadget-News / Digital Camera Reviews / No Comments
Panasonic’s recently unleashed Lumix DMC-FX550 has just been pretty extensively reviewed over at Trusted Reviews. Up first, the Lumix DMC-FX550 — a 12.1 megapixel affair with a 5x zoom lens. The reviewer found the touchscreen to be mostly useful and functional in conjunction with the hardware controls. The 1280 x 720 pixel resolution video recording is found to be nice quality, though the cam loses points for its mono audio, which is deemed “not too good,” while the startup time for the camera — about 3 seconds — is also a bit slow. Ultimately, however the DMC-FX550 is not very much of an upgrade over the previous DMC-500 model, though the reviewer gives it points for build quality. Hit the source link for the very exhaustive, full review.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX550 reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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February 8th, 2010 / Gadget-News / gadgets / No Comments
We’ve always heard to strike while the iron’s hot, and that’s exactly what Peratech seems to be doing. Just weeks after we heard that the company’s pressure-sensitive touchscreen methodology was being seriously considered by the powers that be, along comes Samsung Electro-mechanics to take ‘em up on their offer. For those unaware, Samsung EM provides components to loads of leading phone makers, which could mean that Paratech’s pressure sensitive 5-way input device is on its way to your next mobile as we speak. These so-called Navikeys will supposedly provide a greater level of immersion when interacting when phones, and we get the feeling that those aging dome switches are feeling mighty frightened by all this encroachment. The best part? Paratech claims that a “Navikey using QTC from Samsung EM is already being used in a Tier 1 mobile phone,” so here’s hoping that we find out exactly what phone that is in the near future.
Peratech’s QTC sensor technology headed to your next cellphone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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February 8th, 2010 / Gadget-News / gadgets / 2 Comments
Computer geeks over the weekend had a dorkgasm at the sight of a report hinting at an upcoming MacBook Pro equipped with Intel’s latest mobile processor.
Readers of MacRumors.com spotted Geekbench benchmark results for what appears to be a MacBook Pro featuring a 2.66GHz Core i7 M620, a high-end dual core processor featuring Intel’s Hyperthreading and Turbo Boost technologies.
The benchmark results appear plausible, as they suggest the alleged Core i7 MacBook Pro outperforms 2.66GHz MacBook Pros with the current Core 2 Duo chip. However, take this with a grain of salt. You have to wonder why an Apple employee would run this test and post the results in public.
Geekbench creator John Poole told Wired.com that Geekbench results can be faked, but he believes the Core i7 MacBook Pro benchmark is real.
“If the system information for this system has been faked, it’s a convincing fake; there aren’t any inconsistencies in the system information, the Mac OS X build number matches Apple’s numbering scheme for new hardware builds, and the processor matches people’s expectations for what will appear in the refreshed MacBook Pro,” Poole said. “In other words, I believe this result is authentic.”
Intel announced its latest mobile chips at CES 2010, and many notebooks are beginning to ship with the new processors. Observers believe Apple will upgrade its MacBook Pro family to include the new Intel chips.
MacBook Pros received an upgrade in June 2009, and Apple typically refreshes its notebooks every six or seven months. So if the Geekbench [...]
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