Hasta La Gadget!

After a few years of marketing FLO TV through Verizon and AT&T, Qualcomm has struck out on its own to sell a standalone FLO TV, this here FLO TV Personal Television. It seems like a bit of an odd choice in the current media consumption climate, and the price is certainly steep at $250, along with the $9+ monthly subscription fee, but Qualcomm naturally has its reasons. Basically, if people want a second screen to watch FLO TV on, or already have a non-FLO phone that they’re happy with, this gives them the option, and then there’s the all-important family car ride where you might hand this device to your kid, but wouldn’t be so likely to toss them your own phone. Unfortunately, the lack of a hefty carrier subsidy means the $250 pricetag doesn’t seem too in line with the quality of this device — particularly the screen, which pales in comparison to those found on the similarly priced Zune and iPod touch (at least on the prototype device we played with). The touchscreen interface is pretty simple and reasonably quick, though touch detection isn’t exactly first-tier, but basically this whole device is as straightforward and no-frills as it looks. Check out a quick hands-on video after the break.

Continue reading FLO TV Personal Television hands-on (video)

FLO TV Personal Television hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Can’t say we’ve ever seen this beaut from Lenovo before. Unassumingly tucked away along a number of already-released laptops at the Intel booth, the 11.6-inch IdeaPad U150 is a lightweight with some interesting textures tattooed on its exterior. There wasn’t a lot of details at the booth beyond its name, but from what’s been unearthed via an xmit online product listing, it’s got a Core 2 Duo SU4100 with integrated GMA X4500 graphics, meaning we’re falling away from netbooks and into CULV territory. Performance-wise, we couldn’t get into it far enough to check the full specs and run some tests, but as you can see in the video after the break, the boot time is not-quite-noteworthy 30 seconds long. Small, light, and more umph than Atom? Sounds like a winning combination, if the price is right. No official word on that, but xmit lists approximately $770 as the cost to own.

[Product page via Liliputing and Netbooked]

Continue reading Lenovo IdeaPad U150 found hiding in plain sight at CEATEC (video)

Filed under: Laptops

Lenovo IdeaPad U150 found hiding in plain sight at CEATEC (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While Fujitsu’s design entrants already boggled our minds here at CEATEC, KDDI au is looking to take things one step further by actually shipping a pair of decidedly futuristic handsets in Japan. Just months after the iida sub-brand was formally launched, the Ply and Prismoid are making their debuts on the show floor. The latter sports a 2.7-inch primary display, a 0.6-inch OLED sub-display, a microSD expansion slot and a design to die for; the former packs a 3.2 megapixel camera, 1seg TV tuner and a 3-inch panel. Have a look at the gallery below (and video past the break) if you’re yearning to see just how lovely a dumbphone can be, and trust us when we say you’ve only yourself to blame if you carelessly let this opportunity pass you by.

Continue reading iida Ply and Prismoid phones strut their stuff at CEATEC (video)

Filed under: Cellphones

iida Ply and Prismoid phones strut their stuff at CEATEC (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At this point, Panasonic’s 50-inch 3D plasma is just another one joining the fray, but considering how highly hyped the technology behind this was, we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to throw our eyes on it for a bit at CEATEC. The 1080p panel was strikingly thin (or well mounted to give that impression), and the viewing angles were fantastic. The glasses that Panny provided, however, were relatively annoying (no surprise there). It should be noted that the actual spectacles sit pretty far off of your face, which simultaneously enables those with actual glasses to partake in the 3D experience while frustrating those without by giving them a cute blue rim that refuses to leave the periphery. As for image quality, the G-Force demo looked downright stunning, with depth being easily perceived and fast moving action whisking about seamlessly. Still, we’re having a hard time believing a family of four would sit down and use these glasses for a two-hour presentation, but hey, we’re not going to give up on the marketing squads just yet.

Filed under: Displays

Panasonic’s 50-inch 1080p 3D plasma spotted, watched at CEATEC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Can you name them all? Don’t worry, it’s a lot to keep track of. Clockwise we have the HTC Tilt 2 (AT&T), Toshiba TG01 (not announced for US), HTC Imagio (Verizon), HTC Pure (AT&T), Samsung Intrepid (Sprint) and LG GM750 (not announced for US). It’s a pretty diverse roundup, with two QWERTY phones in the mix and an incredible variety of home screens and themes, though all six do house touchscreens — resistive, of course. Check out a super quick meet and greet after the break.

Continue reading Windows Mobile 6.5: a family portrait

Filed under: Cellphones

Windows Mobile 6.5: a family portrait originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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