Google Chrome OS ‘business version’ coming in 2011
Posted by Jeff | Filed under General Babble
[Thanks, Amrita]
Google Chrome OS ‘business version’ coming in 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Original source : http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/08/google-chrome-o…
Olympus Pen E-PL1 spins up a review cycle
Posted by Jeff | Filed under General Babble
Olympus’ E-PL1 is a camera on a mission — it not only shrinks the entry-level price tag for Micro Four Thirds cameras to $600, it retains the same 12.3 megapixel sensor, image processor, autofocus and metering systems of its elder, the E-P1, while introducing its own advantages that even the pricier E-P2 doesn’t offer (hello, integrated flash!). With a 720p movie mode, a 14-42mm kit lens, and access to the growing catalog of Micro Four Thirds glass, it really looks like a guaranteed win for the company, but it’s always good to run it through a few tests to make sure. While it sports a body rather richer in plastic than its senior siblings, we’re told the E-PL1 still feels robust in the hand, and its control scheme is commended for being accessible to novices and including a dedicated video recording button. Image quality is ranked, as was to be expected, right on par with the costlier models with only the more professionally inclined ISO 3200 and 1/2000th shutter speed proving limiting. Get reading for fuller impressions as well as some sample video shot with the E-PL1.
Read – Photography Blog
Read – Pocket-lint
Read – dpreview
Read – CNET
Read – Imaging Resource
Olympus Pen E-PL1 spins up a review cycle originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Original source : http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/08/olympus-pen-e-p…
Verayo launches next-generation of ‘unclonable’ RFID chips, hackers get wide-eyed
Posted by Jeff | Filed under General Babble
If there’s one thing a security company should avoid, it’s tempting the hackers to unravel their promises. As we’ve seen time and time again, there are few (if any) completely uncrackable technologies, but Verayo sure seems confident about its next-generation RFID chips. Dubbed “unclonable,” this new product family — which is led by the Vera M4H — promises to make mass transit tickets, secure IDs and access cards more secure, and unlike the original, this one touts a “non-networked, unlimited authentication” feature. We also get the impression that the company has worked to drive costs down with this newfangled line, but we’re still not sure we’d trust our lives to this thing. Anyone down to really put these claims to the test?
Verayo launches next-generation of ‘unclonable’ RFID chips, hackers get wide-eyed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Original source : http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/08/verayo-launches…
Fujitsu’s LifeBook UH900 gets reviewed, notable flaws found
Posted by Jeff | Filed under General Babble
There’s no question that Fujitsu’s LifeBook UH900 is a niche device; much like Sony’s VAIO P, there’s just not a lot of demand for an expensive clamshell with an extremely high resolution and an exceptionally cramped keyboard. That said, there’s a curious seduction surrounding this thing, and critics over at Pocketables seemed to agree. After spending some long days (and nights, don’tcha know?) with the Japanese version of this here device, they came away with a huge mixed bag of emotions. On one hand, the snappy performance and excellent portability made it difficult to put down, but the downright dreadful 2 – 2.5 hours of battery life more or less forced them to. There’s also more gentle gripes about the screen color, the “toy-like” build quality and “useless multitouch.” For us, that’s probably one flaw too many to accept, but the forgiving among us should definitely check out the full skinny before making a final call.
Fujitsu’s LifeBook UH900 gets reviewed, notable flaws found originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Original source : http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/08/fujitsus-lifebo…
Acer working on frameless laptop with touchscreen keyboard?
Posted by Jeff | Filed under General Babble
Would you believe that Acer is working on a frameless laptop with touchscreen keyboard? As far-fetched as the idea might be, it’s certainly plausible, expected even. The idea, as rumored by DigiTimes, involves doing away with the display’s frame by printing colors directly onto the back of the display’s reinforced glass substrate from Corning (a la Gorilla Glass presumably). Coupled with a touchscreen keyboard, the rumored device should be impossibly thin by traditional laptop comparisons. Keep in mind that we’ve already seen this Frame Zero concept pictured above from Fujitsu and Acer’s arch-rival ASUS has been showing off its dual-display laptop prototype with touchscreen keyboard for months. Even the OLPC XO-3 plans to eschew the clickity keyboard in favor of a touchscreen version. And anyone who has ever seen a scifi movie knows that tactile keyboards and display bezels have no role to play in our computing future anyway, so we might as well get things started now — or in the second half of 2010 according to DigiTimes‘ sources.
Acer working on frameless laptop with touchscreen keyboard? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Original source : http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/08/acer-working-on…
LG’s ultraslim X300 launching in Asia, Middle East and South America this month (updated)
Posted by Jeff | Filed under General Babble
An 11.6-inch display fit within a thickness of 17.5mm. Sure, we’re mixing up our measurement systems, but whichever way you slice it, the X300 is one extremely thin device. LG has now announced that availability in the Asian, Middle Eastern and South American markets will be forthcoming this month, though all we know on the topic of price is that it’ll “vary country-by-country.” With up to 2GB of RAM, integrated 3G, and a 128GB SSD option on tap, we’ll even forgive the inclusion of a 2GHz Menlow CPU (Atom Z550) that places the X300 closer to Sony’s VAIO X than the Core 2 Duo-driven MacBook Air that it aspires to be associated with. Check out our hands-on pics over here while we wait, hope and pray for a release on more familiar shores.
Update: We’ve now come across LG’s Korean pricing, which is set at 1,590,000 Won ($1,424).
[Thanks, Sascha and juanvaldez]
Gallery: LG X300 official pictures
LG’s ultraslim X300 launching in Asia, Middle East and South America this month (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Original source : http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/08/lgs-ultraslim-x…
Panasonic’s VT25 3DTVs will be nearly 50% off Japanese prices, launch this week at Best Buy
Posted by Jeff | Filed under General Babble
Good news for those who found themselves a few yen short after hearing the Japanese prices of Panasonic’s first 3D plasma HDTVs — their American counterparts will be considerably cheaper. Even at a recent line show the company kept the MSRPs close to its chest, but March 10 Best Buy’s 24 hour location at Union Square will sell the first full HD 3D home theater system, consisting of the aforementioned VT25, DMP-BDT350 Blu-ray player and active shutter glasses. Japan’s Nikkei pegs the bundle price at around $3,000, with 50-inch televisions by themselves arriving for around $2,500. Compare that to the ¥430,000 ($4,813) price in Japan and you’ve got an idea of the discounting going on so Panasonic can hit its targets of 1 million 3DTVs (worldwide) sold in 2010. Can’t get to Manhattan by Wednesday? The Panasonic/Best Buy team up will reportedly place demos at 300 or so stores shortly, rising to 1,000 locations by the end of the year. Unfortunately they won’t be able to advertise an Academy Award for Best Picture winner (catch Samsung’s ad last night?) in the 3D demo reel, but between Avatar and this week’s box office smash, Alice in Wonderland, we’re sure there will be at least a few people interested in taking 3D home once it’s available.
Panasonic’s VT25 3DTVs will be nearly 50% off Japanese prices, launch this week at Best Buy originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Original source : http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/08/panasonics-vt25…
Sanyo Eneloop lite Ni-MH rechargeable batteries are cheap, less filling
Posted by Jeff | Filed under General Babble
If you’re a gadget fan (and let’s face it: you are) then there’s simply no excuse for using disposable batteries. Environmental concerns aside, rechargeables have advanced such that it just makes economic sense to switch. We’ve been unapologetic fans of Sanyo’s Eneloop series of Ni-MH batteries for years. Hell, we like any modern rechargeable that’s sold fully charged and is capable of maintaining that state even after years inside the family junk drawer. Today, Sanyo is announcing its Eneloop lite series scheduled for a June 22nd launch in Japan with a global release set for sometime later. These cells are meant to tempt you by their relatively low, up-front purchase price of ¥780 (about $8.64) for a pair of 1.2V 950mAh AAs or ¥640 ($7.09) for a pair of 1.2V 550mAh AAAs — each capable of about 2,000 recharges saving you at least $1,000 over their lifetime. They’re not going to power your hotshoe flash but they will handle the relatively low to medium power requirements of all the remote controls in your life. Do it.
Continue reading Sanyo Eneloop lite Ni-MH rechargeable batteries are cheap, less filling
Sanyo Eneloop lite Ni-MH rechargeable batteries are cheap, less filling originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Original source : http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/08/sanyo-eneloop-l…
Nokia wants patent on self-regenerating phone batteries, piezoelectrics and much magic involved
Posted by Jeff | Filed under General Babble
In Nokia’s own words, what we’re looking at is a “piezoelectric kinetic energy harvester.” Working along the same principles as kinetic wristwatches have done for a long time already, Nokia’s idea is to capture the energy generated by the phone’s movements and to refashion it into beautiful, clean-as-a-whistle electric power. By allowing the heavier internal components to move on rails within the phone as part of a “force-transferring assembly,” the Espoo think tank has figured out a way to capitalize on all the small forces of acceleration and rotation that we subject our phones to on a daily basis. It would seem overly ambitious to expect this to replace the trusty old charger, but we give credit to Nokia for even thinking about it. Check out some schematics of how this would work after the break.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Nokia wants patent on self-regenerating phone batteries, piezoelectrics and much magic involved originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Original source : http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/08/nokia-wants-pat…
