Electronic Arts ready to embrace Android

Thought EA had no love for Android or Windows Phone 7? Not quite -- it's just the existing market opportunities that the company doesn't seem to enjoy. CFO Eric Brown told the Deutsche Bank 2010 Technology Conference that the game publisher is actually quite bullish on Google's rapidly popularizing mobile OS and plans to 'position its mobile business' accordingly, but first he said this: "I think the next big positive way to push better growth in mobile will be the deployment of an App Store equivalent for the Android operating system." Since we're fairly certain Brown would be aware of a little thing called the Android Market, we figure he's talking about the same mysterious reason that caused Gameloft (which produces a number of Android titles already) to circumvent the Market in favor of their own online store. One thing's for certain on the EA Mobile front: the company really needs to update their smartphone games page to support a wee bit more than the "Google Android-Powered T-Mobile G1."

Via : engadget, Electronic Arts at Deutsche Bank, Gamasutra, Mobile Entertainment

Dell Inspiron Duo hybrid netbook / laptop

We'll freely admit how smitten we are with Dell's concept, the Inspiron Duo. While it's supposedly coming to retail by the end of the year, it's so special that every time we spy new photos or video footage of it, we watch joyfully. Of course, Intel doesn't need to watch from afar, as demonstrated in a new video -- they simply asked Dell's Inspiron Product Marketer, Dave Zavelson to show it off on film.

The Duo, in case you've been hiding under a rock since before IDF, is a 10-inch netbook with a swivel screen which enables you to use it as a sort of tablet... you know, those things that everybody's cranking out these days. It also boasts a dual-core Atom N550 CPU and Windows 7 Home Premium. Regardless, we still haven't heard any pricing or definite availability info yet, but the video is below.

Via : engadget, channelintel (YouTube), Pocket-Lint

First Panasonic GH2 picture

Finally we have the first image of the Panasonic GH2! The deisgn is closer to the current Panasonic G2 than the older Panasonic GH1.

The GH2 has following specs:
- 18 Megapixels multiscale sensor (16 effective Megapixels)
- 100-12.800 ISO (But I dont know how it takes the 12.800 ISO pictures)
- 1080i60 24Mbit/s AVCHD video recording
- The GH2 has one LSI with three cores (instead of current two cores of the GH1)
- Improved AF speed (0.099 second with the 14-140mm kit-lens)
- High-speed burst shooting of 5 fps with 16 MP
- Super high-speed burst shooting of 40 fps (lower resolution)
- Touch screen LCD
- announced 21 September at photokina
- (FT3)Two new sources just told us the camera has real 1080p60 output “masked” as 1080i60. This because AVCHD specification does not include 1080p60. You have to set it to 60p (manually) in Final Cut (or other editing software). This rumor has to be confirmed by our sources so take it with a grain of salt!

Via : 43rumors.com

Dell Duo: The netbook that thinks its a tablet

The trouble with a tablet is that when it comes to typing, well you're left with an on-screen option, which just isn't going to be as fast as the QWERTY keyboard offering that you know and love.

Dell's latest concept, shown off at Intel's Developer Forum aims to solve all that.

Called the Dell Duo, it is a 10-inch netbook with a swivel screen that allows it to switch from a tablet to a netbook with a swivel of the screen.

While the likes of HP and Toshiba have offered swivelling screen technology before, this design take a different approach rather like a rotating door rather on two side axis rather than from a central pivot on one side.

You simply swivel it around within its frame to make the transformation.

This hybrid powered by a dual-core Atom processor, and runs Windows 7 Premium.

No word on release date or how much it will cost.

Via : pocket-lint.com

Memorex intros Mirror for Photos external HDD

Taking a note from Clickfree, are we Memorex? The company that continually attempts to blow everyone away is back with its latest gust, Mirror for Photos. It's an odd name for an external hard drive, particularly when you realize that it functions nothing like bona fide photo backup drives that are designed to tether to your DSLR. At any rate, this here drive ships with software (PC and Mac compatible, in case you're curious) that instructs the HDD to backup to a host machine as soon as it's plugged in. Sounds great in theory, but we've always found it superbly annoying to try and halt those automated processes when you're just trying to drag and drop a critical meeting file while darting out the door. The unit itself measures in at 3- x 5- x 0.5-inches and gets all the power it needs from a USB connection; it's on sale today at Toys R Us (yeah, seriously) for $79.99 (320GB) / $99.99 (500GB) / $119.99 (640GB).

Via : engadget, Memorex

Lenovo U1 Hybrid Laptop Shipping this January... In China

The Lenovo U1 is shipping this January! The Lenovo U1 is shipping this January! The Lenovo U1 is shipping this January... to China.

This is good news for fans of the tablet/netbook hybrid first unveiled at CES last January, which sports one of the more innovative designs TabletPCReview has seen in a long time, as the move could mean a US launch is looming (perhaps Lenovo is waiting for Android 3.0). The U1 is a Windows 7 netbook with a screen that pops out to become a fully-functional tablet complete with dedicated processor and OS.Lenovo U1

When Lenovo first showed off the device, the tablet ran a custom Linux operating system, but Lenovo shelved the unit, pushing it back its original April 2010 release, in order to swap in Android.

As TabletPCReview reported in June, following conversations with Lenovo reps, when the company first began developing the U1, Android was not yet a player in the mobile OS landscape. But because of the changing market, Lenovo was forced to adapt quickly. As Lenovo explained, the move was not entirely difficult because of Lenovo's Android experience with the LePhone, a popular smartphone in China that runs Android.

Lenovo will also be launching the 10.1-inch LePad tablet to the Chinese market in December. Lenovo did not reveal the LePad device specs when it was announced in July, but Engadget is reporting that the LePad is actually the tablet portion of the U1 (tablet sold separately?).

In comments made in regards to the LePad and its market rival, the iPad -- which recently launched in China -- Lenovo chairman Liu Chuanzhi said, "We [Lenovo] are lucky that Steve Jobs has such a bad temper and doesn't care about China. If Apple were to spend the same effort on the Chinese consumer as we do, we would be in trouble."

Via : tabletpcreview.com

How would you change Pixel Qi's 3Qi display?

Yeah, Pixel Qi's 3Qi display is a wee bit more niche than your average superphone, but we just know a handful of you DIYers out there took the plunge on this one. Mary Lou Jepsen's pride and joy went on sale back in July, offering crafty modders the chance to swap their lackluster netbook panel for an E Ink slayer. We were personally thrilled with the results, but we still saw a few things that could've been ironed out given the time, money and technical insight. If you've also taken the leap, we're oh-so-curious to know how you would redesign the dual-mode 3Qi. Make it sharper? A higher resolution? A different size? Something else entirely? No walls allowed here -- get creative down in comments below.

Via : engadget

CTL 2goPad SL10 Windows 7 tablet available to pre-order for $499

That's right, folks: you've been looking around, dying for a Windows 7 slate to throw down your money on... so here you go. The CTL 2goPad SL10 (which we first spotted at Computex) features a capacitive touchscreen, an Intel Atom N450 CPU, a 250GB hard drive, and 2GB of RAM. Of course the tablet also fully supports both HTML 5 and Flash, and has a 1.3 megapixel webcam to boot. The 2goPad SL10 is available to pre-order now at $499, and orders are expected to begin shipping on October 15th.

Via : engadget, 2go PC

Belkin India Launches Bluetooth Music Receiver for iPhone/iPod Touch

Belkin India, a provider of interconnectivity solutions across computing and consumer electronic devices, has introduced a new Bluetooth Music Receiver that lets users play and control the music on their iPhone/iPod Touch through their home stereo system without ever going close to it.

The new Bluetooth Music Receiver allows users to route their iPhone/iPod Touch music wirelessly to any stereo or set of speakers, while also offering buttonless, multi-device pairing. Users can now plug in the Belkin Bluetooth Music Receiver into their home stereo, pair up to six Bluetooth devices with it without pressing a single button and enjoy remote control directly from their iPhone/IPod Touch for a truly unfettered musical experience.

Belkin said its Bluetooth Music Receiver provides a great functional alternative to music lovers and iPhone/IPod Touch users who would like to listen to music at home through an existing set of speakers or home theater system. They would normally have to connect their iPod, smartphone, or MP3 player to it using a direct stereo jack and would typically have to return to the stereo whenever they want to select a new song or adjust the volume. However with a Bluetooth wireless receiver, they can wirelessly set up the connections from the comfort of their couch and enjoy great stereo sound and playlist control directly from their devices along with the freedom of pairing multiple devices without pressing a single button.

Mohit Anand, Director, India Sub continent, Belkin India, said, "Belkin has a strong history in offering innovative iPod/iPhone accessory products that can revolutionize the digital experience of our discerning customers. The elegant and unobtrusive design of Belkin’s Bluetooth receiver transmits up to 33 feet away from the base devices and remembers up to 6 paired devices. It therefore affords users the unmatched convenience of wirelessly setting up the connection with their devices and getting great stereo sound and playlist control right from the comfort of their couch."

Features and Benefits:
- Features Bluetooth v2.1 with EDR for superior wireless performance
- Transmits up to 33 feet away
- Remembers up to 6 paired devices
- Cables included: 3.5 mm-to-RCA and 3.5 mm-to-3.5 mm

- Elegant, unobtrusive design
- Compatible with all devices enabled with A2DP stereo Bluetooth

The Belkin Bluetooth Music Receiver is available with all the major resellers and LFRs and is priced at Rs. 2,399/- with a one-year warranty.


Via : itnewsonline.com

Microsoft: Xbox 360 “easily” has 5 years left in lifecycle

Microsoft has some pretty high hopes riding on the Kinect, their new motion-sensing gaming device for the Xbox 360.

Xbox product director Aaron Greenberg recently sat down for an interview with industry website Gamasutra to discuss the Kinect, which is set to launch this November, and how it will extend the life cycle of the Xbox 360

Greenberg pointed out that this launch will not merely be another hardware add-on, but will be treated as somewhat of an all-new platform or generation for the five-year-old console.

“We’re five years in. We think we have another good five years-plus, but that remains to be seen – but easily there’s another five years’ life,” he told Gamasutra.

Microsoft certainly isn’t skimping on the marketing budget for the Kinect. They have spent hundreds of millions of dollars thus far on the launch, more than what they invested for the release of the Xbox 360 itself, and the company is hoping to see some very large returns for their efforts.

“We believe this will be the biggest launch in our history, for Xbox. We will sell more Kinect sensors than we did [systems] at Xbox 360 launch,” Greenberg said. “Our estimates that we will sell in excess of 3 million units this holiday,”

While the Kinect will only have 15 titles available during the initial launch, Microsoft feels that this will be enough of a draw to meet their sales goals. They also believe that a planned second-wave of games next year from Japanese developers will be even more of a positive boost for the system.

But at $150 plus another $50 – $60 per game, will consumers really be that eager to buy this holiday season? Indeed, that does remain to be seen.