May 15
HP revamps consumer desktop line-up
Posted in: Today's ChiliHP unveils three new consumer desktops with updated designs and specifications.
May 15
NTT DoCoMo’s Fujitsu LOOX F-07C goes official, dual-boots to Windows 7 and Symbian (updated)
Posted in: breaking news, cellphone, Japan, keyboard, mobile phone, MobilePhone, official, phone, qwerty, slider, smartphone, symbian, Today's Chili, video, windows 7, Windows7
Yes, ’tis quite a shock for a Monday morning, but it turns out the dual-booting Fujitsu LOOX F-07C smartphone is indeed legit. According to NTT DoCoMo’s preliminary spec sheet, this 7.69-ounce landscape slider handles both Symbian and Windows 7 (Home Premium, 32-bit Japanese edition) with its 4-inch 1,024 x 600 LCD (that’s 297ppi right there!), along with a 1.2GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of LPDDR400 RAM, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, 32GB of eMMC disk space, and expandable memory via microSDHC. You’ll also find a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with face detection on the back, coupled by a VGA front-facing camera. Of course, the main concern is how the battery life fares here: we’re told that in “mobile phone mode” you get up to 600 hours of generous standby time and up to 370 minutes of 3G talk time; whereas in Windows 7 mode you’ll have to make do with just two hours, and then you’re forced into mobile phone mode when the battery level is low. If you’re itching to get yourself an eccentric F-07C, then watch out for its launch in June or July. Full list of specifications and press release after the break.
Update: ASCII’s just posted a few real-life shots of this device, and mentions a retail price of around ¥70,000 ($860). Oh, and there’s HDMI-out via a USB adapter.
Update 2: Akihabara News has a hands-on video — check it out after the break, and be sure to take a gander at its photos as well.
NTT DoCoMo’s Fujitsu LOOX F-07C goes official, dual-boots to Windows 7 and Symbian (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 May 2011 23:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
May 15
Lenovo ThinkCentre Edge 91z leaks out: a 21.5-inch all-in-one desktop with optional boot drive
Posted in: desktop, leak, leaked, leaks, lenovo, SSD, Today's Chili
If you’re looking for a sleek, angular slab of an all-in-one desktop computer, Lenovo may have the machine for you, as we’ve just intercepted plans for this unannounced ThinkCentre Edge 91z, and she’s most definitely a beaut. According to the leaked PDF, Lenovo will fully reveal the 21.5-inch, 1080p desktop in just two days and ship it in June, but for now we can tell you that it can be configured with low-power Intel Core i7 processors, discrete ATI graphics and a 80GB mSATA auxiliary SSD — the latter of which Lenovo says can boot in just 20 seconds. You’ll also find HDMI output and VGA input to connect (or use the 91z as) a second screen, a “spill proof” wireless keyboard, VESA mounting options and a built-in carrying handle. Expect prices to range between $700 and $1200 when it hits the market, if these slides are correct.
[Thanks, Andrew]
Lenovo ThinkCentre Edge 91z leaks out: a 21.5-inch all-in-one desktop with optional boot drive originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 May 2011 23:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
May 15
Inhabitat’s Week in Green: floating trains, dead bees, dirt-powered phones and Cornish pasties
Posted in: Ford, philips, solar, solar power, SolarPower, Today's ChiliEach week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.
Did you know that the cell phone in your pocket could be causing the collapse of bee colonies? This week Inhabitat reported the alarming news as Swiss researchers confirmed that cell signals confuse bees and are leading to their deaths. We also looked at a Bill Gates-funded plan to power cell phones using dirt, and we spotted a new phone battery that can be charged by yelling at it — much to the chagrin of everyone else on the bus.
Alternative transportation got a boost this week as Japanese engineers unveiled a levitating high-speed electric train that flies over the earth, and we shined a light on Berkeley’s new solar-powered Impulse racer, which is gearing up to blaze a trail in the 1,800-mile World Solar Challenge. It was a big week for biofuels as well as Ford and Georgia Tech unveiled plans to create the first hydraulic hybrid U.S. school bus and UK scientists cooked up a plan to power cars with Cornish pasties.
In other news, this week a New Jersey Toys “R” Us unveiled plans to build the largest solar roof in the United States, and HyperSolar rolled out a magnifying film that can increase the efficiency of photovoltaic panels by 300%. In green lighting news, we watched Google flip the switch on its brilliant Android-controlled LED bulb, and we announced the Philips and Inhabitat Bright Ideas Lighting Design Competition, which is awarding $1,000 to the designer of the most stunning eco-friendly lamp. Finally, we got excited for the start of summer with a look at the Lapin Kulta Solar Kitchen, which will be serving up sun-cooked meals all across Europe!
Inhabitat’s Week in Green: floating trains, dead bees, dirt-powered phones and Cornish pasties originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 May 2011 22:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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May 15
Switched On: Chrome alone
Posted in: Android, Apple, Chrome, chrome os, ChromeOs, Google, ios, mac os x, MacOsX, Microsoft, operating system, OperatingSystem, os x, OsX, switched on, SwitchedOn, Today's Chili, Windows, windows phone, WindowsPhoneEach week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
About a year after the debut of the first Android handset, Switched On discussed the threat that Chrome OS posed to Android. To reprise it briefly: Like chief rivals Apple and Microsoft, Google has two operating systems trying to bridge the rift between consumer electronics and traditional computing, but Chrome is different than Mac OS and Windows in an exceptionally important way.
Rather than trying to refine the traditional software experience (as Apple has done with the Mac App Store and other iOS-inspired developments in the queue) or move that experience forward to tablets (as Microsoft is doing with Windows), Chrome OS is not looking to carry forward any legacy beyond the browser.
Unlike with Mac OS vs. iOS or Windows vs. Windows Phone, the battle isn’t over which apps make sense, but rather the irreconcilable difference around whether apps to begin with. This makes Google’s suggestion that the two operating systems might merge at some point less credible, and sent a mixed message to developers about whether to focus their efforts on apps or the web. At Google I/O 2011, however, the company clarified its position.
Continue reading Switched On: Chrome alone
Switched On: Chrome alone originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 May 2011 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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May 15
NVIDIA CEO disappointed by Android tablet sales, blames pricing and poor app selection
Posted in: Android, honeycomb, marketing, NVIDIA, pricing, sales, slate, Software, tablet, tegra 2, Tegra2, Today's Chili
It won’t have escaped your attention that just about every Honeycomb tablet shipping in the first half of this year features, or will feature, NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 hardware. Unfortunately for NVIDIA, reception for the Android 3.0 slates has been a little underwhelming, and the company’s Chief Eloquence Officer, Jen-Hsun Huang, has had a few words to say about it. He sees the relative paucity of tablet-optimized Android apps as a weakness, while also expressing the belief that cheaper WiFi-only models should’ve been the standard shipping config rather than fully fledged 3G / 4G variants as Motorola has been pushing with the Xoom. All in all, his is a very sane and accurate analysis, but Mr. Huang loves to look to the future as much as he enjoys talking about the present, and in his opinion all these major downsides have already been “largely addressed” by “a new wave” of Android tablets. He doesn’t specify the devices that constitute said wave, but his emphasis on thinness and lightness leads us to believe he’s talking up Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 models. Hit the source links to read more from the bronzed stallion in charge of NVIDIA.
NVIDIA CEO disappointed by Android tablet sales, blames pricing and poor app selection originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 May 2011 20:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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May 15
Windows Phone 7 ‘Mango’ to bring Office 365, Facebook Chat, more Xbox Live integration?
Posted in: mango, Microsoft, Today's Chili, update, windows phone, windows phone 7, WindowsPhone, WindowsPhone7, xbox, xbox live, XboxLive
The Windows Phone Dev Podcast unearthed some seemingly legit Windows Phone 7 screenshots last week that revealed a few new features apparently headed to the mobile OS, and it’s now back with another batch that show yet more additions said to be included with the so-called “Mango” update. That includes support for Facebook Chat and Office 365 (plus SkyDrive and SharePoint), as well as a revamped Games hub that suggests even more Xbox Live integration (including a rather interesting new “Automatic Sync” option). What’s more, the lock screen will apparently now show the album art if there is a song currently playing, and it seems there will be some new group messaging options as well. Of course, all that’s still unconfirmed by Microsoft, but you can judge all the screenshots for yourself at the link below.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Windows Phone 7 ‘Mango’ to bring Office 365, Facebook Chat, more Xbox Live integration? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 May 2011 19:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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May 15
Latest Boxee Box update leaves surround sound speakers silent on stereo sources (Update)
Posted in: audio, boxee, Today's Chili, update
It wasn’t long after the Boxee Box v1.1 update started to roll out that users with surround sound systems found a major issue with it: besides the removal of volume controls (confirmed to return as an optional setting in the next update), there was an undocumented change to the way it handled stereo PCM audio sources for users with surround sound systems. Instead of sending it on to the user’s receiver as a two channel source so it could be processed to fill all the speakers, it is sent as a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio source and only plays audio through the front left and right speakers, with no audio coming from the center channel or rear speakers. That’s a major problem for people trying to watch Netflix streams, MLB.tv, listen to certain lossless audio files or any other stereo audio source and enjoy an audio experience that takes advantage of their setup.
A Boxee developer on AVSForum indicated the change was due to a licensing agreement between the manufacturer of the box, D-Link, and Dolby, and would need to be left up to them for a fix. We’ve reached out to both Boxee and D-Link for word on their issue and while we haven’t received a detailed response (expect more information tomorrow at the earliest), there is a notation on the JIRA bug tracker for the issue by “yuvalt” indicating the team is working on a fix for this and other issues which will hopefully be available within days. Check out the forum threads for more detail on the issue as well as temporary workarounds, we’ll let you know if we get an official response on why this is happening and if / when there’s a fix incoming.
Update: Per Boxee VP of Marketing Andrew Kippen, the problem was the result of a “miscommunication” and a fixed update for that and the volume control toggle will roll out this week. Check after the break for his words verbatim, but owners of the Box can rest easy knowing their surrounds will be back to work shortly.
[Thanks, Neil]
Latest Boxee Box update leaves surround sound speakers silent on stereo sources (Update) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 May 2011 18:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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May 15
Apple’s iTunes #1 Music Retailer in U.S.
Posted in: amazon, Apple, itunes, Music, Today's Chili, Web SitesThis article was written on April 03, 2008 by CyberNet.
Over the last year or so, we have watched as Apple’s iTunes has become an ever increasing influence in the music industry. It was just last June (2007) when they passed Amazon and took over the #3 position as largest music retailer in the United States. In February (2008), Apple announced that they had become the #2 music retailer and surpassed Best Buy which was another huge milestone for them (this was likely data from December that they were reporting on). Standing in their way of first place up until now has been discount department store Wal-Mart. News today is that for the first time ever, iTunes has passed Wal-Mart and they are now the number one retailer of music in the United States according to the NPD Music Watch Survey conducted by the NPD Group.
Ars Technica was the first to report on this saying that they received documents that had come from Apple. Apparently certain Apple employees received an email memo with charts showing their first place position, and one of them passed them on to Ars. The charts show that this data is for the month of January, and so clearly sales of gift cards around the holidays really helped them out. According to the latest survey, the stats are as follows:
- iTunes – 19%
- Wal-Mart (in-store and online sales) – 15%
- Best Buy – 13%
- Amazon – 6%
Other stores that make up the whole include Borders, Target, Circuit City, Barnes & Nobles, and a few others.
One thing that’s really going to help out Apple is that more and more people are learning about digital downloads and actually starting to use them. Physical sales of music are continuing to decrease while digital downloads are increasing. There are multiple music download sites out there, but iTunes remains one of, if not the most well-known site out there. Apple’s takeover of first place also means that the sales of full CDs will probably continue to decrease. When people walk into a retail store to purchase their music, they really have no choice but to buy the whole CD. When they purchase online, they can pick which songs they really want and most of the time, people don’t bother to get the whole album.
Now we’re just wondering if they will be able to hold on to the first place position in the months to come, or if it was the sales of thousands upon thousands of iTunes gift cards that helped push them into the #1 position.
Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com
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- Happy 5th Birthday iTunes Music Store!iTunes Sells Over Five Billion Songs!Best Buy Snatches Up Napster for $121 MillionIs DRM Finally on the Way Out?Moof Imports and Plays Your iTunes Library Online, Kind of
May 15
HP Touchpad and Pre 3 pricing revealed… by Playboy Magazine (update: just estimates)
Posted in: HP, price, pricing, qwerty, QwertySlider, smartphone, tablet, Today's Chili, touchpad, webos
Hey, we’re growing kind of close to that “summer” release window for HP’s marquee mobile devices, aren’t we? Playboy Magazine sure thinks so, as its latest issue (June) comes with pricing for the Pre 3 and Touchpad, information we haven’t yet heard from anywhere else. The 3.6-inch smartphone with a sliding keyboard is expected to land at the industry-standard $200 on contract, while its 9.7-inch tablet brandmate should make itself available for $500 without any subsidies. These numbers are stated authoritatively, as if already known, though we’d still urge a note of caution until HP itself blurts the prices out. Skip past the break to see evidence of the Touchpad pricing as well.
Update: False alarm, people. The author of the Playboy article — yes, Playboy reads Engadget, apparently — got in touch with us to say that the numbers quoted were just price estimates rather than concrete insider intel. Oh darn.
HP Touchpad and Pre 3 pricing revealed… by Playboy Magazine (update: just estimates) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 May 2011 17:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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