Tuesday, August 21, 2007
_
Lexmark today introduced three Wi-Fi all-in-one …
11:43PM Wilson Rothman | Lexmark today introduced three Wi-Fi all-in-one printer/scanners, the fax-equipped X6570 ($150), the photo-centric X4850 ($150) and the deluxe X7550 ($200). A step up from the Wi-Fi line it rolled out in April, the new models use Lexmark’s better smudge-free evercolor2 ink. [Lexmark] More »
_
Logitech Alto Cordless Notebook Stand Includes Keyboard and USB Hub
11:40PM Wilson Rothman | Logitech’s ergonomically designed $100 Alto Cordless stand has three high-speed USB ports for high-powered peripherals, plus integrated wireless technology to connect to the included keyboard. As a nice touch, it folds up into a tidy rectangle for stowing or lugging around. My only beef is, why sell a wireless-enabled USB dock with a cordless keyboard, but not a cordless mouse? Or is that next in the Logitech bag of tricks? More »
_
Samsung Achieves 160GB 1.8″ Hard Disk Drive, Beats Only Self
11:11PM Wilson Rothman | This week, Samsung quietly let it slip that it had reached the 160GB mark for its 1.8″ HDD, the Spinpoint N2. The previous record for 1.8″ HDDs had been 120GB, held by, yep, Samsung. In case you’re not an Apple fanboy, this is extra good news because 1.8″ is the HDD format required by iPods. They are also making their way into teeny, tiny camcorders by Samsung and its customers competitors colleagues. Pricing has not been announced, but the 120GB Spinpoint N2 costs $249, so the 160GB version will be higher still. And from what market research Samsung has done, there’s no reason to lower prices just yet: “The 1.8inch HDD market will grow at a tremendous pace with annual sales expected to increase up to 65% by 2010 as consumers demand smaller, more compact technology devices,” states Andrew Higginbotham, director of hard drive sales and marketing, Samsung Semiconductor Inc. According to TSR, the market research institute, the HDD camcorder segment of the camcorder market will grow from 4 million units in 2006 to over 8 million units by the end of 2011. Sounds like the sky’s the limit, at least until flash memory catches up in capacity—and price. More »
_
Sony VPL-VW60 Full HD Projector Has 35,000:1 Contrast Ratio (sure it does)
10:10PM Jesus Diaz | It won’t be able to destroy entire planets, but the new Sony VPL-VW60 Full HD SXRD-based projector looks impressive even while knowing that its 35,000:1 contrast ratio, which more than doubles last year’s VPL-VW50, is relative. Still, the rest of the specs are quite impressive. galleryPost('sonyVPLVW60', 4, 'Sony VPL VW60'); More »
_
Adobe Beefs Up Flash 9 with H.264, AAC and Hardware Support
10:09PM Charlie White | Adobe’s introduced a powerful new component it’ll be placing into its Flash Video Player 9, adding support for that red-hot H.264 codec, the video compression routine that’s behind Blu-ray, HD DVD and lots of HD goodness all over the videoscape. Adobe’s also heightened the efficiency of Flash audio, adding AAC audio compression. Perhaps the most important part of the announcement is the addition of hardware acceleration for playback of all different types of full-screen video. More »
_
LG U990 has 5 Megapixel Camera, Touchscreen, Sexiness
8:20PM Addy Dugdale | Here’s the LG U990, a new cellphone with 5-megapixel camera with Image Stabilizer, auto-focus and Schneider Kreuznach optics. The twisting collar around the lens doubles as a shuttle dial to get your way through its amazing high-speed 120FPS video footage. And there’s 3G HSDPA, 170MB internal memory, a 240 x 400 touchscreen and a music player. No price yet, but we want. [Akihabara News via Ubergizmo] galleryPost('lgu990', 4, 'LG U990'); More »
_
$2 Plastic Pocket Shots (of Booze)
3:20PM Brian Lam | Pocket shots are like those little gel packs that marathoners use to go the extra mile. Except instead of energy-giving sugar, these are filled with vodka, rum, and whiskey. [Wired, Thanks Rob] More »
_
Nike and Transformers Combine Powers To Birth Marine Convoy
12:15PM Gizmodo US Edition | The only good that came out of Michael Bay’s mutilation of Transformers is that cool shit like this Nike/Transformers toy keeps coming out. Similar to the Optimus Prime and Megatron toys from earlier this year, this Nike Free 7.0 transforms into a character known as Marine Convoy. Unlike the other two, Marine Convoy seems to be an original character who shamelessly displays the Nike Swoosh across his chest and wears the shoe he transforms into. Like most of these offbeat Transformers toys, it’s Japan only and costs 2500 Yen. [Hype Beast] galleryPost('niketransformersmarine', 7, 'Nike Transformers: Marine Convoy'); More »
_
How To Avoid a $3000 International iPhone Data Bill
12:05PM Brian Lam | $3000 iPhone data bills for international roaming, it’s fair to assume that many of us don’t really know what the exact policy is jet set iPhone living. The skinny is this, from AT&T directly: “For $24.99 per month, iPhone users get 20MB of data use outside the US. If you don’t have a plan, the cost is $.0195/KB. If you are on the plan, the overage charge is $.005/KB.” Originally, I was told that the $25 would cover unlimited international data, but it turns out that this only covers the 20MB, so that’s the final word. More »
Cameras
