Hasta La Gadget!

Sony’s CyberShot TX1 may be best known as one of the cameras designed for use with Sony’s amazing Party-shot dock (and, really, that’s enough for us), but it’s also a fairly capable point-and-shoot in its own right, as evidenced by a full set of sample photos provided by the folks at PhotographyBlog. They were apparently particularly interested in the camera’s capabilities throughout its ISO range (from ISO 125 to 3200), and the results do indeed seem to be fairly impressive (especially for a compact point-and-shoot), with noise kept mostly in check even at the highest settings. Hit up the link below to check ’em out for yourself, along with a quick video demonstrating the camera’s low-light video capabilities.

Update: Hey, the WX1 has it’s own gallery of sample shots, too!

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Sony CyberShot TX1 parts with its Party-dock for some sample pics originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Look out, Intel — six cores are mightier than four, don’tcha know? Shortly after introducing a six-core processor in the server sector, AMD is reportedly angling to issue a hexa-core chip over on the consumer side. The chip maker has confirmed to Maximum PC that a six-core slab of silicon (codenamed Thuban) will be released in 2010, with the real kicker being that it’ll be fully backwards compatible with existing AM3 and AM2+ mainboards. It’ll be based on 45nm process technology and will boast an integrated DDR3 controller, 3MB of L2 cache and 6MB of L3 cache, and while the outfit wouldn’t confirm, word on the street has it that the final product will sport a Phenom II X6 moniker. So, Core i9 — what have you to say now?

Filed under: Desktops

AMD to bring six-core ‘Thuban’ processor to the consumer realm originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Carbon nanotubes are kind of like peanuts. They both seem pretty simple at first glance, but with a little work, you can make pretty much anything out of ’em. Take this case, for example, as MIT boffins have discovered that by forming the tube-shaped molecules of pure carbon into minuscule springs, they could be “capable of storing as much energy, pound for pound, as lithium-ion batteries.” The real kicker is exactly how they’d do it — “more durably and reliably.” Essentially, these newfangled cells could be left alone for years on end without losing their charge, and unlike conventional batteries, these wouldn’t suffer from performance degradation when exposed to temperature extremes. Of course, anything as pie-in-the-sky as this is probably at least a decade or so out from Walmart shelves, but considering that the group responsible has already filed a patent, we’d say they’re pretty confident in the possibilities.

[Via Physorg]

Filed under: Science

Carbon nanotubes find yet another purpose, could star in ultra-reliable batteries originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audi's electric e-tron gets digital in PlayStation Home.

(Credit: Audi)

Automakers are like forum trolls. Every time you turn around another one of them is yelling, “First!”

This time it’s Audi claiming to be the first carmaker to develop its own virtual area in Sony’s PlayStation …

Originally posted at The Car Tech blog

It’s looking more and more likely that 2010 will be the year of the tablet. Add Microsoft to the list of tech giants rumored to be developing a touchscreen tablet, along with two touchscreen phones to compete with the iPhone.

ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley claims receiving tips that Microsoft is developing a touchscreen tablet featuring technologies used in its Surface touchscreen table. She tacks on a rumor about Pink, a “Microsoft-branded (but not Microsoft-manufactured) phone,” with a January 2010 launch date. No indications when, exactly, a Microsoft Surface-powered tablet would emerge. Perhaps next year as well?

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Microsoft is waiting for Apple to show its tablet hand before trotting out its revamped tablet,” Jo Foley writes.

ZDNet’s details on the devices are scarce, but more interesting is the mounting evidence suggesting tablets will be a buzzing product category next year. In August, Wired.com received tips that Dell and Intel are collaborating on a touchscreen tablet due for release next year. Also, an analyst told Wired.com he’s heard Nokia and HTC are working on tablets as well. And of course, there has been a plethora of reports citing sources who claim Apple will deliver a touchscreen tablet in 2010.

On top of these hints, market research firm Display Search now projects the touchscreen market will triple in the next few years, from $3.6 billion to $9 billion. The iPhone played a significant role in driving touchscreen technology into the mainstream, analysts told Wired.com.

Of course, just because tablets are likely to be trendy among manufacturers in 2010 doesn’t mean they’ll be hot sellers. We’ll have to wait a little longer to learn more about how these new tablets will differ from the scores that have come and gone in years past.

See Also:

• Why 2010 Will Be the Year of the Tablet
• Rumor: $800 Apple Tablet Coming in October
• Analyst Predicts Apple Will Unleash Touchscreen Tablet Next Year …
• How an Apple Tablet Could Pit iTunes Against Amazon.com
• Analyst Claims to Have Seen Apple Tablet

Photo of the Microsoft Surface, whose technology is rumored to appear in a tablet next year: Marilink/Flickr