ASUS Eee Note EA-800 priced at $230, launching in Taiwan this week

Woah, it was only last week that we finalized the naming scheme for ASUS's LCD-equipped note taker, yet today the company's announcing that it'll be available to buy this week in its native Taiwan. Even better news is the $230 price tag (NT$6,999), which makes the Eee Note quite the affordable little device. It's versatile too, thanks to a built-in camera and microphone for recording of notes and a 3.5mm headphone jack for playback. Running on Linux, the 8-inch tablet (1024 x 768 res) is said to be capable of 13.5 hours of uninterrupted use, which doesn't match the similarly monochromatic e-readers out there but is a decent compromise for the functionality on offer. Hong Kong should be the next market on its global tour, to be followed by Germany, Italy and Russia around the turn of the year and China and the US in Q1 of 2011.

Via : engadget, Computerworld

Dell Vostro V130 updated with more ports, fancy 'Hyperbaric' cooling

Back when we reviewed the Dell Vostro V13 we had a few complaints, including the fact that it lasted less than three hours on a charge and lacked an HDMI port. Well, Dell's gone and taken care of at least one of those issues with its new Vostro V130. The original thin and light chassis has been kept in tact, which means there's still the same old battery issues, but Dell's freshened up the 13.3-inch magnesium alloy laptop with an HDMI port, extra USB socket, a SIM card slot, new Core i3 / i5 ULV processor options, and some new Intel "Hyperbaric Cooling" technology. We don't know much about that new cooling stuff, but apparently it will help the .65-inch thick system stay cool and quiet. Oh, and did we mention it now comes in that bright red hue?! The small business machine still starts an impressive $429 and is available today. If you're looking for more details hit the break for the full press release and the gallery below for some glossy shots.

Via : engadget

Acer Liquid Metal Headed To AT&T And T-Mobile?

Acer officially announced the Liquid Metal Android smartphone at the end of October, and said that their latest Android smartphone would be available in the UK in December.

Now it seems that the Acer Liquid Metal is also headed to the US, and will possibly be available with US networks AT&T and T-Mobile, as both networks are currently considering stocking this new Android smartphone.

As a reminder, the Acer Liquid Metal will come with Android 2.2, Froyo, and featyures a 3.6 inch touchscreen display, plus there is also an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230 processor and a five megapixel camera.

The five megapixel camera has a number of features which include image stabilization, and it is also capable of recording HD video in 720p, there is also integrate 802.11n WiFi, DLNA and uPnP.

There are no details as yet on when the Acer Liquid Metal will be available with either AT&T or T-Mobile in the US, as soon as we get some more information we will let you guys know.

More @ geeky-gadgets

Consumer Cellular introduces touchscreen Samsung A697

Will a touchscreen phone sell on a carrier that is mainly geared towards folks of an older generation? Consumer Cellular is going to find out. They’ve announced the release of the Samsung A697, a handset with a 3-inch touchscreen. Other than a 2 megapixel camera there’s not much else to boast, though it seems Consumer Cellular is focusing on the user interface. At least the price is right: $60, plus $35 activation fee. If customers open a new line or open a new line on an existing account, they’re eligible to receive double their plan’s minutes for the first three months. That promotion runs through the end of the month.

Via : prepaidreviews

Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 Gets Android 2.1 Update

Sony Ericsson has taken its time to upgrade its Xperia range of smartphones to a more recent version of Googe’s Android OS, one model which is now finally getting updated to Android 2.1 is the Xperia X8.

Sony is rolling out the update at the moment, and it has listed which serial numbers of the smartphone are getting the Android 2.1 update over on their blog.

Android 2.1 brings a number of new features to the Xperia X8, something which will be welcomed by X8 users, you can find out more information over at the Sony Ericsson blog.


Via : geeky-gadgets

Nokia hit 3m Ovi Store downloads a day milestone

Nokia has announced that Ovi Store downloads have reached 3m per day, while more than 400,000 new developers have signed up in the past year. Among the downloads, 92 developers have each seen their apps downloaded more than 1m times; altogether, Nokia is seeing more than 1 billion downloads per year.

Meanwhile, Qt adoption – the runtime system which has been adopted for cross-platform use on both Symbian and MeeGo devices – is also strong, with Nokia seeing 1.5m downloads of the Qt SDK. According to BLStream CEO Anton Gauffin, the coders responsible for gaming title Crazy Hamster, “without any promotion or marketing dollars, in a few weeks we’ve hit 200,000 downloads in Ovi Store faster than we did with App Store.”

More than 250,000 users sign up to Ovi every day, Nokia reckons, which makes for a considerable audience. The real worth of Qt won’t be seen until high-end MeeGo devices arrive in 2011, however, where it will debut to an established ecosystem of titles rather than having to build a software base from scratch.

More @ slashgear

Nokia C7 Review

The Nokia C7 could well be described as the less outlandish sibling of the N8: a more sober design, more mainstream camera and more affordable price tag, for what’s the second Symbian^3 smartphone from the company. Alternatively, it could be a business bargain. First impressions at Nokia World 2010 were solid, but does the day to day experience live up to the sturdy chassis? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.

More @ slashgear

3 million downloads served by Nokia Ovi Store daily

Available in more than 190 countries across the globe, Nokia’s Ovi Store is constantly growing in popularity.

The Finnish company has just announced that its application store is now serving 3 million downloads each day. That’s still not comparable with the 10 million daily downloads served by Apple’s App Store, but it’s an important milestone nevertheless.

More than 165 million people are now Ovi users, and Nokia says 250,000 new users are registering every day.

The most popular applications in Ovi Store at the moment are Q Torch, Angry Birds, and EA’s Need for Speed Shift HD.

Via : unwiredview

Android Handsets to Double Up as Credit Cards

We'd dreamt of a day when our cell phones will become our credit cards. That day doesn't seem like some far-fetched futuristic concept now, with Google's Eric Schmidt working towards the same. At the Web 2.0 Summit, he said that the upcoming Android 2.3 (or Gingerbread) mobile operating system will support a technology called Near Field Communication (NFC). NFC is a short-range, high frequency wireless technology that can swap data from two devices kept at most 4-inches apart. It works in a similar 'contactless' way that our office access cards or the smart-cards used by many public transport systems do.

Now the idea is to embed these NFC chips into cell-phones. There are only a few handful phones as of today that have this chip. But Android 2.3's compatibility with them gives hardware manufacturers a good reason to put one of these in their next Android phones. They could replace your credit cards while making payments at shops or restaurants. But Google has no plans to get their hands dirty into making specialized mobile payment software themselves. Eric said they'd rather partner with traditional credit card players (like a VISA or Mastercard).

More @ techtree

Qualcomm talking to AT&T

Seems Qualcomm wasn't kidding when it said selling off MediaFLO's spectrum was a possibility now that it's cutting off direct-to-consumer mobile TV services. BusinessWeek is reporting that the company has sat down recently with "several carriers" -- though only AT&T is being called out by name -- presumably with the goal of fleshing out just how much dinero it could land for offing the spectrum MediaFLO uses to deliver programming. Qualcomm paid close to $700 million for the spectrum over the course of the last decade, and it lies in the 700MHz block -- a block both AT&T and Verizon will be using extensively as they build out their next-gen networks -- so it stands to reason they'd both love to buy in, likely at a healthy premium over what Qualcomm originally paid. There was a time that we loved the idea of multicast mobile TV programming, but at this point, doesn't it seem like everything should be going to beef up wireless broadband?

More @ engadget

LaCie serves up SSD-based USB 3.0 FastKey

Get it straight, vaquero -- this ain't your mum's flash drive. LaCie's newest diminutive slab of aluminum is a solid state drive for your keyring, boasting transfer rates as high as 260MB/sec, 30/60/120GB capacities, a rugged metal casing and a USB 3.0 interface. You'll also get AES 256-bit encryption and 4GB of online-accessible Wuala storage, but you best not lose it. LaCie will be dinging your credit card for $149.99, $249.99 or $479.99 from least capacious to most, so you may want to take out an insurance policy on this guy before taking it out into the wild. Safety first and all.

Via : engadget, LaCie

HTC Merge emerges on Verizon site a little early

Far be it from us to tell Verizon how to do a product launch, but showing off a 360-degree view of the HTC Merge before the phone's even been announced doesn't seem like the soundest strategy to us. Of course, we doubt anyone intended for this Flash module to have become public knowledge like it has, but sure enough, a forum member over at Android Central spotted it among VZW's web properties and now we can all take a multidimensional look at this upcoming Android handset. Yes, that includes seeing it with its sliding QWERTY keyboard open -- you can find more imagery of that after the break -- though the pivotal questions of when, for how much, and "can you disable Bing?" remain unanswered for the time being. Ah well, let's just enjoy the eye candy.

More @ engadget

SteelSeries Shift MMO Keyset comes optimized for online

Outside of Word documents and IM clients, one of the most intensive uses of keyboards nowadays is in massively multiplayer online games. But, gaze upon the button array before you and you'll notice that there's nary a single concession to your ten-hours-a-day WoW habit. SteelSeries is today looking to rectify that situation with its all-new MMO Keyset, which you can see above, attached to the company's already available Shift gaming keyboard. This assortment of oddly titled keys comes with an exhaustive set of customization and macro options, so even the most hardcore of online raiders should be able to extract some added value from it. We're not sure that utility will ever add up to the $25 (€25 in Europe) asking price, but then we've never managed to get our Night Elf Mohawk to Level 80, either.


More @ SteelSeries

Rugged POV.HD video system captures 1080p

The POV.HD video system is a new offering from V.I.O positioned as a more professional-grade alternative to other film-through-hell helmet cameras such as the GoPro HD or Drift Innovations HD170. Its two-ounce IP67 certified camera sports a six-element glass lens and a native 1080p CMOS sensor that can capture a 142 degree field-of-view -- claimed to be the widest on the market -- in full HD at 30fps. The head unit can also be adjusted to record 720p at 60fps with a 92 degree FOV for faster shots. A separate recording unit features Texas Instruments' latest Da Vinci DM368 processor and supports a real-time video pipeline while storing up to 4.3 hours of 1080p H.264 video footage on a 32GB of SDHC. It's also equipped with a two-inch LCD viewing screen with exposure and footage tagging controls. Priced at $600, V.I.O is currently accepting pre-orders, which if made between November 15th through December 17th, are guaranteed to arrive by December 22nd -- just in time for your family's' homebrew holiday response to Jackass.

More @ PR Newswire, VIO-POV, engadget

Motorola Droid 2 Global hands-on

At this point we're completely amused that the Droid 2 Global has managed to leak out, get advertised, go on sale, and even arrive in customers' hands without so much as a PR peep from Verizon, so we leapt at the chance to get a quick hands-on with it last night here in NYC. Nothing here you wouldn't really expect, and we weren't able to run any performance tests on the speedbumped 1.2GHz processor, but we were able to solve the mystery of that camera bulge: turns out the Droid 2 Global is a hair thinner than the standard Droid 2, and the bulge pops out just enough to make up the difference. It's not dramatic, by any means -- if we hadn't been looking, we probably wouldn't have noticed. Oh, and it's definitely running Blur on top of Android 2.2, so you know, that's "awesome." Anyway, at the rate we're going we'll have a full review up and this thing will be discontinued before Verizon ever formally acknowledges it, so hit the gallery for a quick hands-on with The Droid That Doesn't... Exist.

More @ engadget

Panasonic Lumix GF2 reviewed

Panasonic's DMC-GF1 proved itself as a tasty go-between, filling the gap between high-end compact and DSLR. The GF2 will soon arrive and, according to Photography Blog, if anything it slots in a little closer to the compact side of things thanks to a new user interface that ditches many buttons and dials in favor of touchscreen menus. This will drive some users mad, but ultimately the up-rated features here still make this a worthy choice over the GF1, including video recording at 1080i60 and a new body that's a fifth smaller and seven percent lighter than before despite still containing a pop-up flash, 12.1 megapixel sensor, and image quality that's about as good as you're going to get out of a shooter this size.

Via : Photography Blog, engadget

Sharp 3D Android smartphones heading west in 2011?

The handful of 3D smartphones we’ve seen tipped so far have only ever been planned for release in Eastern countries like Japan, but Sharp has said it’ll bring models to the US in 2011.

3D phones may not be too far from UK shelves as Sharp reveals that it plans to ship 3D phones to the US next year. 3D phones have so far been thought of as ultra-niche devices that won’t make it to release outside of Japan and Korea, but now that the US is tied into the 3D smartphone fad, the European market can’t be too far behind.

Sharp has unveiled several 3D models so far, powered by the Android OS. The Sharp Lynx SH-OC3 features a 9-megapixel camera and Android 2.1, while two Galapagos-series smartphones come with a 9.6-megapixel camera and 8-megapixel camera plus Qwerty keyboard. Which of these will make it onto US shelves? As yet we don’t know, but it marks one more tantalising step towards a UK release. And that’s something we’re looking forward to, even if 3D phones end up as popular as watch phones.

Via : fonehome

Sony Ericson Plans to Unveil Two Mobile Devices?

Sony Ericson Plans to Unveil Two Mobile Devices?

It would be right to say that the XPERIA mobile devices from Sony Ericsson always get a lot of attention. Not so long ago the Android XPERIA X10 as well as X10 Mini Pro got the so awaited 2.1 update.

Then success of the Z12 as well as X10 came. The handsets come with a 4.3-inch screen and it is expected they can record 1080p HD videos. Moreover, a video leaked on the Internet that shows two new mobile devices, such as the X7 mini as well as X7. In fact, the X7 handset has a slight resemblance to the X12.

The X7 will be equipped with the 4.3-inch WVGA that offers the resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. It will come with a camera that measures 8 megapixels. The camera is able to shoot at the resolution of 720p HD. With the help of an HDMI output, you will be able to hook it to a bigger display.

As for the X7 Mini, it will be equipped with a 3.5-inch display that offers the same resolution. The greatest thing about this handset is its camera that measures 10.1 megapixels. It is enabled with 3x optical zoom.

It is expected that the two handsets will be available in the first quarter of 2011.

Via : dailytechmag

Sony Ericsson Xperia X12 snaps leak online

Images of the latest Sony Ericsson Xperia model, the X12, have leaked online, with Russian bloggers giving it the once over and revealing what it's wearing under the hood.

Codenamed Anzu, it features a 4.3 inch LCD display running at an 854 x 480 resolution with a 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230 chip powering the show, the same as can be found in the HTC Desire Z.

As for the OS, it's currently stuck on Android 2.1, with 2.2 due for inclusion before its retail release. Sorry for those hoping for a Gingerbread smartphone, but you're going to have to wait until some time in 2011 until the X12 makes that particular jump.

No news on pricing or release yet, or even an official name yet, but we'll keep you posted on whatever comes of the Anzu. For now, enjoy a few more snaps of the phone below.

Via : techdigest

Sony Ericsson Anzu Previewed

Eldar Murtazin of Mobile-Review is at it again. The serial phone leaker had just days ago announced that Sony Ericsson is planning to come up with a new high end Android device codenamed the Anzu. That handset, which the company might christen the Xperia X12 has now been previewed by the man himself and he doesn’t seem to be very impressed. Eldar, has a history of reviewing soon to be launched handsets which somehow manage to end up with him much before most others would have even heard of it.

This time around, its the turn of the Anzu which is likely to become the flasgship Sony Ericsson handset when launched. The Anzu boasts of a 4.3 inch, 854*480 pixel LCD display, an 800 Mhz Qualcomm MSM7230 processor (which as you now know, is also used on the T-Mobile
G2). This handset was earlier thought to be running the latest version of Android – the Gingerbread. This prototype however runs Android 2.1 much to our disappointment.

The Anzu also adds a no longer exciting 12 megapixel camera to the spec sheet. This particular sample however could only snap pictures at 3 megapixels . It would also be able to do 720p video recording which has of late become the de facto standard for video recording on any self respecting smartphone. The problem with the Anzu is that by the time it arrives, there could be contenders that could be doing full HD recording and playback.

Eldar also claims that the Anzu’s build quality is a step down from that of existing Xperia handsets – but then this was just a prototype so there is chance that many of the things you are seeing here would have been changed when the final version arrives in the next few months.

Via : onlygizmos

Sony Ericsson Anzu aka Xperia X12 Previewed, Release Date Is Early 2011

Eldar Murtazin is a very popular figure in the gadget world as he always manages to get his hands on devices that others dream of touching. The last phone to fall into his hands is the rumored Sony Ericsson Anzu, a device that should become SE’s flagship device in 2011.

The Sony Ericsson Anzu is powered by a 800MHz processor from Qualcomm, the same CPU found in the T-Mobile G2 aka HTC Desire Z, and Android 2.1 OS. Murtazin says that the SE Anzu will run on Android 2.2 Froyo at launch, while users will be able to download Android 2.3 Gingerbread soon after.

If the CPU will be clocked at this speed, then the Sony Ericsson Anzu should run stock Android UI in order to prevent any lag. Still, I can’t understand why would someone put a 800MHz CPU when the competition will bring smartphones with dual-core 1.2GHz processors to the market.

Sony Ericsson might be crazy, but the Anzu will feature a 4.3-inch touchscreen with a 854 x 480 resolution, HDMI output, and a 12-megapixel camera on the back capable of shooting 720p HD video. Again, others will bring 8MP cameras capable of recording 1080p videos. In 2011 filming 720p videos will be so… 2010.

If you want to read the full Sony Ericsson Anzu aka SE Xperia X12 preview then hit the link right here. Check out the gallery below and let me know what do you think about this smartphone!

Via : mibz

Sony Ericsson Xperia X12 enjoys public outing

Those of you hoping the phone that Sony Ericsson codenamed Anzu, but should be released as the Xperia X12, would be packing Gingerbread out of the box are in for a disappointment as a Russian insider has got his hands on the device and dismissed the rumours.

The early-model device pictured is said to be running Android 2.1, with 2.2 expected to be loaded up come launch day, and 2.3 not coming until later on in 2011.

But despite the lack of next-gen Android action, this device does look like a sexy bit of kit, and is packing some decent hardware on board too.

It has a 4.3-inch LCD display with a 854 x 480 resolution and it runs via the same chip that you'll find inside a HTC Desire Z, the 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230 .

Its camera is 12 megapixels and it is capable of shooting 720p HD videos as well.

There's no release details for the codenamed Anzu as of yet, but as always we'll keep you posted.

Via : pocket-lint

Sony Ericsson Xperia X12 Details Leaked

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X12 has been leaked with both details and photos having emerged thanks to mobile-review.


The new smartphone is thought to be the successor to the Xperia X10 and will run on Android 2.2. It's expected that the mobile will be updated to Android 2.3 when it gets released.


The Xperia X12 will have an 800MHz processor , which may seem like a downgrade from the 1GHz chip, but the technology is new and it is better overall technology with improved operation and graphical processing.

The touch-screen on the Xperia X12 is 4.3 inches in size and has a resolution of 854*480 pixels. A 12 mega-pixel camera is also present which will double to record HD 720p video. Other noticeable features include a HDMI-out port.

Sony Ericsson will be hoping the Xperia X12 can compete with the top offerings from other companies including the Samsung Galaxy S, Nokia N8 and Apple iPhone.

More @ 3g

Dell intros XCD28 and XCD35 Android phones

If Windows Phone 7 isn't your thing and the upcoming Venue doesn't interest you -- or hey, if you just live in India -- you might be interested to know that Dell has just introduced a pair of new India-specific (for the moment, anyway) Android phones designed specifically to be sold for a song without getting a carrier subsidy involved. First up, the XCD28 sports a 2.8-inch display (hence the name), a 3.2 megapixel cam, 200MB of internal storage expandable with up to 16GB worth of microSD, and FM radio; it sells for Rs. 10,990 (about $247) devoid of a contract. Moving upmarket a bit, the Rs. 16,990 ($382) XCD35 goes with a 3.5-inch capacitive display. Both devices feature 3G support for India's up-and-coming high-speed networks, WiFi, Bluetooth, and that overwhelming sense of freedom that comes with not signing a contract at the point of purchase. Look for the XCD28 to be available right now, while the 35 follows next month -- no word on when we might see them outside India, but it turns out they're little more than rebranded versions of ZTE's Racer and Blade, so you can just pick 'em up in ZTE livery if you're elsewhere.

Via : Dell Community, engadget

HTC Mecha / Incredible HD pictured for Verizon with a fancy '4G' symbol

If you weren't so keen on that LTE-enabled LG handset for Verizon that we saw recently, feat your eyes on this puppy. What we're looking at here is allegedly the HTC Mecha -- which may be known at retail as the Droid Incredible HD -- and from the looks of it, it'll be the first true EVO 4G equivalent from HTC for Big Red. And yes, when we say "EVO 4G equivalent," we mean 4G network support, too: you'll notice a little "4G" symbol up there toward the right side of the status bar, suggesting this will likely be among the company's inaugural LTE phones early next year. Android Central's source says that the phone is getting 9Mbps down and 5Mbps up in testing right now... so let's just hope those speeds hold up when the network actually launches.

Via : Android Central, engadget

iOS 4.2 reportedly delayed, iPad WiFi issues to blame

Sorry, Apple mobile device users, your first little pre-holidays gift has been delayed. Apple has reportedly canceled today's expected iOS 4.2 release, the controversial one that might or might not be lacking AirPrint. We'd hoped to solve that particular mystery before the weekend, but it seems we'll have to wait a little longer thanks to a serious looking connectivity bug plaguing the iPad. Many users of the Golden Master version of 4.2 reported that a WiFi connection could be established by their devices but, once made, they were unable to actually do anything on the 'net, and not being able to do anything on the 'net is what we like to call a Very Bad Thing. No word on exactly when a new version will be available, but it should still drop within the next few weeks.

Via : engadget

FIC launches 10.1-inch Windows 7 Tycoon tablet, prices it at $660

Way back at Computex, a little orange tablet brazenly called the Tycoon seared our retinas and won our hearts. Now it's going on to charm early adopting tableteers everywhere. Well, everywhere in Taiwan, anyway, with maker FIC indicating it will sell its first tablet on Saturday, priced at NT$19,800. That equates to roughly $660 American, for which you'll get a 10.1-inch model with Windows 7 installed on a 120GB HDD, powered by an Atom N455 processor with 2GB of memory. The OS is said to have been adjusted to make it more finger friendly, though we don't have any details on exactly how, nor do we know when this little guy might be making an appearance outside of Taiwan. We just hope they kept the tangerine sheen.

Via: DigiTimes Systems, Taipei Times, engadget

Nokia E7 starts shipping December 10th

We can imagine that the wait's been an excruciating one for wannabe E7 owners who've been restraining themselves from buying an N8 instead... but the good news is that the wait isn't that much longer. Nokia has announced on Twitter today that the 4-inch tilting QWERTY handset -- a phone Espoo has labeled the true successor to the storied Communicator series -- will start shipping out on the 10th of next month, though exact availability dates and times will undoubtedly vary a bit from market to market. The company has been quick to note that today's wild Symbian Foundation news has no effect on the existing range of Symbian^3 devices being launched as we close out the year, so the question is: who's buying?

Via : engadget, @Nokia (Twitter)

PlayStation 3's Bluetooth headset slims down

My, what a difference a couple years makes. As we suspected, Sony is updating its old Bluetooth headset design with a decidedly more elegant model. Here's what we've got: dual mics, USB pairing, in-game status indicator, a charge cradle that doubles as a desktop mic, and of course, a giant mute button for when you have only moments to smack yourself in the ear and curse loudly about your good-for-nothing teammates. It's also smaller and glossier -- and rocking the same $49.99 price tag. When's it arriving? Soon, later this month. When is that, exactly? Have patience.

Via : engadget , US PlayStation blog, Joystiq

Samsung confirms Continuum dual-display Android handset for Verizon

After a rather large complement of leaks, Samsung has finally confirmed its Continuum phone for Verizon, via Twitter of all places. The phone will ship on November 11th. Samsung is billing it as the "first phone with a dedicated ticker display," referring to the secondary 1.8-inch color screen below the capacitive touch buttons. There's a Samsung Mobile event happening at 6PM EST that will undoubtedly shed more light on this Android handset, but for now we expect the specs to be in line with other Galaxy S-series handsets. You know, except for the ticker part. Samsung is also proud to announce that it's shipped 3 million Galaxy S phones in the US, a sizable chunk of the 7 million or so sold globally so far.

Via : engadget, AndroidGuys

Pentax Optio RZ10 reviewed

Pentax's Optio RZ10 looked fairly impressive on paper, and even when we handled it at Photokina, we reckoned it would be quite the standout in the bargain-bin point-and-shoot arena. Turns out that's not exactly the case. The fine folks over at PhotographyBLOG have put this pup through its paces, and while the handling, build quality and price all felt right, the image quality... well, didn't. And as you well know, there's hardly a silver lining to find when a camera's images aren't up to snuff. Even at ISO 200, critics spotted startling amounts of noise, "smearing of fine detail and loss of color saturation, with all three problems getting progressively worse as you work your way up the range to the true top speed of ISO 1600." At right around $200, it's still a well-priced compact, but with cameraphones getting progressively more adept, do you really need yet another ho hum gadget to push through airport security? Hit the source link for the fully skinny.

Via : engadget

HTC 7 Mozart gets its microSD card swapped

Man, Microsoft really isn't keen on having you swap out the microSD card that ships within its Windows Phone 7 devices, eh? After finding that the HD7's card could be replaced if you threw caution entirely to the wind, we're now seeing that the same is true with HTC's 7 Mozart. But unfortunately, you're still facing the same dilemma -- should you seriously risk destroying your phone forever just to get a capacity bump from 8GB to 32GB? One Andy Hamilton answered that with a definitive "yessir," and in the source link below, he proceeded to initiate an iFixit-level teardown in order to unearth the deeply concealed 8GB SanDisk Class 4 microSD card. He made a few mistakes along the way that you'll want to pay attention to if you end up tossing your own mobile on the operating table, but seriously, watch where you slide that X-Acto knife.

Via : engadget, Life in the Fast Lane

Amazon to enact 70 percent revenue share for Kindle newspaper and magazine publishers

Magazine and newspaper publishers are about to get a larger piece of the Kindle pie -- 70 percent, to be exact. That's what Amazon's now offering, in an effort that's clearly aimed to attract more periodicals to the service. Only catch is, all versions of the periodical have to work for all version of Kindle, in all geographical regions where the publishers has the rights to distribute -- a small price to pay, especially since it keeps the customer base pretty wide open. Interested parties, you probably already know where to look.

Via : engadget, Kindle Publishing, Amazon

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 detailed

It might not be November 9 all around the world yet, but NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 580 has already had its spec sheet dished out to the world, courtesy of CyberPower's seemingly early announcement. The new chip will offer a 772MHz clock speed, 512 processing cores, and a 192.4GBps memory bandwidth, courtesy of 1.5GB of GDDR5 clocked at an effective rate of 4GHz. CyberPower is strapping this beast into its finest rigs, and for additional overkill it'll let you SLI up to three of them within one hot and steamy case. Now let's just wait patiently for midnight to roll around and see what the reviewers thought of NVIDIA's next big thing.

Via : engadget, TweakTown, CRN, MainGear

Toshiba Folio 100 now shipping its Tegra 2-powered Froyo wares around Europe

If you're LG, you wait until Android becomes a tablet-worthy OS before bringing out your Tegra 2 slate. If you're Toshiba, you're too busy shipping your 10-inch Froyo tablet to care. The Folio 100, powered by NVIDIA's latest and greatest ARM SOC, is making its promised Q4 2010 arrival today, as it begins shipping all across Europe. There are still no release plans for the US, but Euros can now enjoy a 1024 x 600 resolution, 16GB of internal storage, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, mini-HDMI, USB and SD card-reading ports, and up to seven hours of battery life. €399 ($560) is the last price we heard for this Android Market-deprived slate, though we'd recommend trying one in person before letting go of that cash -- our own impressions of the Folio 100 weren't overwhelmingly positive.


Via : engadget

Gigabyte's Booktop T1125 convertible tablet also converts into a desktop

Convertible tablets are a hardly a rarity, but while their non-convertible cousins may be getting all the press lately how many of those can morph into a mighty desktop? Okay, the T1125 isn't exactly mighty with its Core i5 or i3 ULV processors, but its sideways dock does let it turn into a respectable desktop, still leaving that 11.6-inch touchscreen available for use. USB 3.0 ports are on-offer for your high-speed peripherals, Optimus tech to boost battery life, and THX-certified dual-channel speakers will let you properly shatter Grandpa's teeth on the go. The T1125 is set to ship sometime later this month for $1,299, fingerprints not included. For now, however, check out a thorough hands-on from our pals at Netbook News -- it's just past the break.

Via : engadget

Jawbone intros Jambox portable bluetooth speaker

Since 2006, Jawbone's been making noise-canceling bluetooth headsets boasting modern design and military-grade sound. This is not one of those. This is the Jawbone Jambox -- a wireless bluetooth speaker -- and it's what happened when the company decided to let the music out. Functionally it's almost exactly the same as a Jawbone Icon, down to the pairing process, three-button controls and MyTALK upgradable software platform, but instead of a tiny mono earpiece you're getting a stylish portable speakerphone with a 3.5mm input jack and some serious stereo potential. We've had it playing for several hours now, and while it's not going to be the life of a large party even at maximum volume, it pumps out a terribly impressive amount of clear, room-filling sound for its size. If you pick it up or set it down on a table, you'll feel the vibrations nearby.

Via : engadget

Acer Aspire RevoView network media streamer ships

Hard to say if it's too little, too late, but one thing's for darn sure -- Acer definitely has a lot of competition to shake off if it wants this Aspire RevoView to truly succeed. Announced originally way back in May, this here network media streamer is just now gaining an image, price and release date. It's able to fetch content from USB hard drives, an internal 3.5-inch HDD, a memory card slot or the world wide web, but the latter seems contained to just YouTube, Picasa and Flickr for the time being. It'll push things out via an HDMI socket on the rear, and the bundled remote will keep your keister firmly planted while it's in operation. No word on whether or not this fellow will ever leave the confines of the UK, but it'll go on sale there next week for £119.99 ($193).

Via : engadget