Callaway Upro mx offers touchscreen GPS to golfers

The folks at Callaway just announced the Upro mx, a followup to the device they so humbly referred to as the "iPhone of golf GPS technology." PNDs for golfers aren't exactly rare, but the new Upro claims to be the only one packing "hi-resolution actual aerial photography" of 25,000 different courses. It also boasts a multi-gesture touchscreen and optical finger navigation, as well a slew of viewing modes: Virtual Green offers exact putting distances, Smart View displays the best angle for each shot, and ProMode features video flyovers. Who knows, if they could land a Bill Murray tie-in we might actually be enticed to pick up a club and ... Oh, who are we kidding? The Upro mx hits stores in May at $199, and you can check out a video of the device in action after the jump -- that is, if you swing that way.

Via : engadget

LG Optimus 2X and Optimus Black priced at €499 by Amazon Germany

Amazon's German outlet has started listing LG's two latest and undoubtedly greatest phones: the Optimus 2X (seemingly renamed the Optimus Speed here) and the Optimus Black. Both run Android 2.2 on 4-inch screens, with the former offering a dual-core Tegra 2 processor capable of 1080p video recording and HDMI output, and the latter cranking up the display brightness to a quite unreasonable 700 nits. The Optimus Black also has one of the thinnest profiles on a smartphone of its class at 9.2mm, and will be one of the first phones to offer WiFi Direct connectivity.

Via : engadget

Layar Player lets AR loose on iPhone apps

Layar's been the go-to platform for augmented reality on Android since 2009, bringing you the useful, the creepy, and the just plain weird -- and now it's unleashing the beast on iOS, again (it's already available as a dedicated app). The Netherlands-based company just launched Layar Player, a free tool that allows anyone -- with a little developer know-how -- to create their very own AR iPhone app. Accompanying the announcement are three brand new Layar Player-enabled apps: the Bing-sponsored Snowboard Hero, which incorporates a special AR mode for collecting points; a contractor locator called Layer Trade; and VerbeterdeBuurt, an app that acts as an AR community bulletin board. The company's press release touts the "democratization of augmented reality," and while we can get behind their AR-for-alll message, we've already seen Layar used in ways that give us the willies.

Via : engadget

Intel SSD 310 Series 80GB Review

At the end of last year Intel announced a new SSD product, diminutive in size but not performance, the Intel SSD 310. Available in 40GB and 80GB capacities, the mSATA SSD promises to deliver mainstream SSD speeds in a form factor an eighth of the standard 2.5" SSD size. The SSD 310 is finding its way into a variety of products - serving as the main drive in ruggedized tablets to duty as a dedicated boot drive in standard notebook PCs. No matter how it's used though, the Intel SSD 310 may be a glimpse into the future as SSD form factors shrink and shift away from typical 2.5" drive bay constraints.

Via : storagereview

Intel SSD 310 Series 80GB Review

At the end of last year Intel announced a new SSD product, diminutive in size but not performance, the Intel SSD 310. Available in 40GB and 80GB capacities, the mSATA SSD promises to deliver mainstream SSD speeds in a form factor an eighth of the standard 2.5" SSD size. The SSD 310 is finding its way into a variety of products - serving as the main drive in ruggedized tablets to duty as a dedicated boot drive in standard notebook PCs. No matter how it's used though, the Intel SSD 310 may be a glimpse into the future as SSD form factors shrink and shift away from typical 2.5" drive bay constraints.

Via : storagereview

Intel 310 Series 80GB SSD Review – A New Way To Look at Notebooks!

Our featured picture does a great job of portraying how truly small Intels new 310 Series 80GB SSD really is.

It offers the punch of the X-25m in 1/8th of the size and Intel is gambling that this is going to add a whole new dimension to notebook configurations. First up to bat with the 310 will be new Lenovo Thinkpads destined for market in 2011 but don’t think other oems aren’t far behind.

The 310 series SSD started shipping in units of 1000 to oems in December with prices at $99 (40GB) and $179 (80GB) per and don’t be surprised to see a healthy premium on these new notebooks when combined with a hard drive. Its a combination that may be the best push forward in bringing the SSD into mainstream sales as now anyone can have the power of the SSD with the storage of a hard drive in a factory purchased laptop.

Via : thessdreview

Intel's mSATA SSD 310 reviewed

The forecast for speedy, razor-thin laptops is looking pretty sunny right about now, because it seems Intel's SSD 310 truly does bring the power of a full-sized solid state drive on a tiny little board. Storage Review and The SSD Review thoroughly benchmarked the tiny 80GB mSATA module this week, and found it performs even better than advertised -- easily tearing through 200MB / sec reads and 70 MB / sec writes -- which put it slightly behind Intel's legendary X25-M series but well ahead of the company's X25-V boot drives. While we're still not seeing Sandforce speeds from Intel's tried-and-true controller and 34nm silicon and they might not make Toshiba's Blade run for the hills, we can't wait to test it out in some new Lenovo ThinkPads when they integrate the SSD 310 later this year. Oh, by the way, that big green board up above isn't the drive. It's actually the tiny one on top.

Via : engadget

Toshiba intros laptop that CHANGES COLOUR

Toshiba has come up with a laptop, the Dynabook Qosmio T750, which has a lid which changes colour - the first of its kind, the Japanese giant claimed.

Well, sort of. The blue-lidded box – the colour is called "shiny ocean" – sports "shimmering" metallic colours that run from turquoise through to deep blue and purple depending on the angle at which you're looking at it.

The trick lies in Toshiba's use of several polyester laminate films, each comprising thousands "nano-technology" layers, and which together give a metallic look without actually using any metal – so it's good for the environment, Toshiba claimed.

Via : reghardware

Toshiba Dynabook Qosmio T750 laptop

It's been a long time since we used a laptop that had a monochromatic display -- it was a giant white block of a thing that is not missed -- but flip around just about every laptop we use today and you find a backside that stubbornly refuses to change color no matter the light that hits it. Is that a problem? Not really, we think it's quite fine since we're not often staring at that bit, but for Toshiba such tedium simply won't do, so it's introducing the Dynabook Qosmio T750 with a color-shifting lid.

Via : engadget

BlackBerry Curve Touch Revealed, Could Lack Physical Keyboard

Research in Motion could be planning to make a radical change to its long-running Curve series -- an upcoming model will reportedly forgo a keyboard and instead be designed around a touchscreen.

An image and some of the specifications for the BlackBerry Curve Touch have appeared on the Web. If these are not a hoax, they give the world its first glimpse of a new strategy from RIM to produce consumer-oriented touchscreen-only models.

The long-running Curve series has sold by the million, and over the years has been through a number of redesigns. But whatever the details, every Curve model has a physical keyboard.

This won't be true if the Curve Touch is released, as it's reportedly going to happen late this year or early next year.

Via : brighthand

Blackberry Curve Touch Gets Leaked

The Blackberry Curve Touch wants users to think of the Blackberry line as more than a great messaging or business device, they want us to think of it as a sleek smartphone that’s capable of competing with the big boys (Apple and Google) and looking at the device, codenamed “Malibu” it sure looks like they are at least off to a good start in terms of design.

The phone, leaked by the team at CrackBerry is said to feature a touchscreen with an 800Mhz Qualcomm MSM8655 processor, hardly good enough to compete with the likes of most Google and all iPhone based devices, while offering a 3.25-inch HVGA display.

Via : inquisitr

BlackBerry Curve Touch and Montana leak,BlackBerry Curve Touch and Montana leak

A couple of weeks ago, four new BlackBerrys leaked out and got us seriously excited about RIM's 2011 lineup. Today we've reached maximum 'Berry overload, though, as more unannounced devices have made their way onto the Internet.

First up is a device that CrackBerry is referring to as the Curve Touch. As you can see above, it looks a lot like the Storm 3 that was leaked earlier this month, although its specs are slightly more low-end.

Set for launch some time in late 2011 or early 2012, the alleged specs for the Curve Touch are:

* 3.25-inch, 480x360 display
* 800MHz Qualcomm MSM8655 processor
* 5 megapixel camera with HD video capture
* 1GB Flash storage with microSD slot
* 512MB RAM
* NFC, microUSB, Bluetooth 2.1

Via : phonedog

BlackBerry Curve Touch picture and specs leaked

Phone companies just can't keep their documents from falling into internet-friendly hands, and RIM has been particularly clumsy this year.

After a host of handset leaks earlier in the month, the company's product roadmap has now made its way to BlackBerry blog Crackberry.

Some of the products are old news – the Playbook, for example – and some are merely the CDMA versions of the leaks we've already seen (the Sedona is the Curve Apollo, the Montana is the Dakota and the Storm 3 is the Monaco).


Via : techradar

Samsung Galaxy Fit specs

The Samsung Galaxy Fit is one of Samsung’s 2011 budget phones. We’ll get a closer look at this year’s Mobile World Congress, but want to know a little more about this budget beaut? Read on…

We’ve spent the last few weeks talking a lot about dual-core phones and what they’ll do for Android, but the Samsung Galaxy Fit uses a low-powered 600MHz processor. Before you chuck it into the nearest muddy puddle, consider a few things though.

Via : fonehome

Samsung Galaxy Ace, Galaxy Fit, Galaxy Gio and Galaxy Mini

The most advanced phone in the group of four, the Samsung Galaxy Ace is a black slabby device with a fairly modest specification compared to top-of-the-range Android handsets.

The Galaxy Ace comes with a 3.5" 320 x 480 pixel display, an 800 MHz processor with 158Mb of RAM and Android 2.2. On the back is a 5 megapixel camera with what appears to be very basic video capture capabilities. The Galaxy Ace also comes with WiFi (including 802.11n support), 3.5G and GPS plus a microSD slot and a 2GB memory card.

Although the Galaxy Ace lacks the screen resolution of many more expensive rivals, the display is large enough to be useful and the overall specifications make this a handy smartphone for most consumers. Samsung give a recommended retail price of about €360, which does seem expensive to us. The Galaxy Ace should be available in some markets from February onwards.

Via : mobilegazette

Samsung Galaxy portfolio adds four handsets as Ace, Mini, Fit and Gio

Galaxies tend to be large and full of stars, planets, miscellaneous bits of rock, spaceships and aliens. So Samsung’s Galaxy series is looking a bit thin, with only the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab shining bright enough to see with a gadget telescope. Until now, because Samsung’s just expanded its universe by four Galaxy products – the Ace, Mini, Fit and Gio.

Via : stuff.tv

PlayStation phone named Xperia Play

Engadget has published an exclusive preview of Sony's upcoming PlayStation Phone, which is due to appear at next month's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Reportedly named "Xperia Play", the device features a four-inch 854x480 multitouch screen that slides up to reveal PlayStation-esque controls. Gaming buttons include a D-pad, four action buttons (triangle, circle, square and x), two shoulder buttons, and two circular touchpads that serve as analog sticks.

Overall, Engadget says the device is comfortable to use and has a better build quality than the PSP Go. The site has posted a demo video of the Xperia Play running a few emulated games, including Ridge Racer Revolution, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, Gundam Battle Assault 2, and Super Mario Bros. 4. Sony hasn't been clear about what games will be supported at launch, nor has it mentioned pricing or a delivery method, but we imagine that will be covered at MWC.

Via : techspot

PlayStation Phone unofficially unveiled to the world

Considering Engadget was the website that kicked off this latest, lengthy bout of PlayStation Phone rumours back in October, it's only fitting that the tech blog should also be the one to close it.

Just weeks before the device is expected to be unveiled to the world at Mobile World Congress in February, Engadget has gotten hold of what looks to be a finalised PlayStation Phone, otherwise known as Xperia Play.

Via : pocketgamer

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc

Last week we asked you to tell us your most desired Android phone of 2011 so far. Hundreds of votes later, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc has come out on top, just ahead of the Motorola Atrix.

Yes, it’s true. Our readers’ most-wanted phone of 2011 so far is the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, the 8.7mm slim Android 2.3 phone revealed in January at the CES tech show. It doesn’t have a dual-core processor and can’t crank out 1080p video like some rivals, but it eventually raced to the top of the poll — which has become our most popular poll ever — with 21.64 per cent of the vote.

Just behind it was the most powerful Android that’s been officially unveiled in 2011, the Motorola Atrix. It has the dual-core processor, a higher-resolution screen and the Motoblur UI — enough to win the Atrix a commendable 20.44 per cent of the vote.

Via : fonehome

Leaked Facebook v1.9.0.26 From BlackBerry Bold 9700 OS

Just a quick one before I sign off for the night. We were sent an OTA link for the Facebook v1.9.0.26 that was spotted in the latest OS 6.0.0.448. I have no idea if these are just for the 9700 series devices though I am pretty sure it will only work on OS 6.0 plus devices.

Via : berryreview