Sprint scored a rare rib on CDMA rival Verizon when it went straight past the Verizon-exclusive Treo 700w to launch the 700wx, but as the old saying goes, all good exclusivity agreements come to an end. New rebate verbage spotted by a customer on Verizon’s website makes mention of a $100 rebate on the 700wx — $150 for the soon-to-be-outmoded 700w — and even better, the rebate expires February 19, suggesting that there’s a sliver of hope we’ll see a launch in the next few weeks. To be fair, the re-upped model is nearly identical to its predecessor save for an extra 32MB of RAM, correcting a major complaint from current owners but otherwise adding little to no excitement value. No word on pricing, but hey, at least we know we’ll be getting $100 off whatever it might go for.
It looks like Sprint customers wont’ be the only ones in the spotlight this spring as Verizon Wireless will also get their hands on the global BlackBerry codenamed “Cyclone.” The details are pretty slim at this point other than it’s going to be built on the 8800 series, runs OS 4.2, has a hybrid CDMA / GSM radio for talking on the other side of the pond, and a media player with expandable memory. RIM was even so kind to through in a some AGPS and Bluetooth 2.0. All we have to say is WOW!
Our own Vincent recently attended the launch of the much-anticipated successor to Windows XP in New York. He’s provided us with a couple of teaser videos to check out. Microsoft is well known for having big acts when they launch an OS, these guys are no Rolling Stones, but they definitely rock.
So you’ve just taken a great picture of your friend doing something really crazy on your cell phone. Now what if your best bud wants a copy of it? Well, soon you can just whip out your handheld printer from ZINK and print out a nice 2×3 of him acting like an idiot. Basically the printer is about the size of an average cell phone that can print off pictures using a specialized piece of paper. The picture is created by heating up and putting varying amounts of pressure on the polymer paper.
The obvious upsides to this unit is the fact that it has no liquid ink. No ink = no mess. This unit is still in testing, so we’ve not seen just how well the pictures turn out. Who knows, if it does well enough, this could be something to revolutionize the printing industry. Pricing is expected to be around $99 for the printer and around $19.95 for a 100 pack of paper. The only thing you’ll have to worry about is what your friend will do when he finds out you’ve made copies of his little incident for everyone.
Peer to Peer networks are very popular these days, though most of them have very shady and not-quite-legal intentions. One legal P2P network that will be debuting soon comes to us from NDS that creates PVRs for DirecTV. A PVR with it’s own P2P network, I like the sound of that.
The first thing you have to look at is their new “Distributed DVR†which essentially lets you share the content stored on the PVR with any of the PC’s on your home network. Now that by itself is enough to make me want one. But here’s the kicker, they’re going to introduce ShareTV, a P2P network that allows subscribers to view and download content from any other ShareTV user. And from there you can transfer it to your PC. Theoretically, this would enable users access to content from channels to which they do not currently subscribe. (I’ll pause to let you get your minds out of the gutter) I’m not sure how this will make the MPAA feel, but if they can get all of the legal issues, I think this will revolutionize the PVR market.
Looking for the perfect gadget for the bookworm in your life this Valentine’s Day? Yes, I know, chocolates and flowers are great, but if you want to get them something that they’ll never expect this is it. A Dooney & Bourke Limited Edition Portable Reader. Sony’s Reader line has become increasingly popular of late, and this special leather edition will make a perfect gift.
The Reader has a 6-inch 800×600 screen, USB cable, wall charger, a cloth carrying bag, and a $25 gift card for Sony’s CONNECT store all in a special red gift box. This limited edition Reader is only available through sonystyle.com until February 9th and will set you back around $500. If you don’t have quite that much in your budget, you could always just get them a real book
Ok, first off, I know that this product is neither a revolutionary piece of technology or cool gadget. But with the recent cold snap that we’ve had here in the Midwest I can’t resist. Now that we have that out of the way, this thing is just cool. Imagine that you want to lay down on the couch and throw on a blanket and post in your blog or troll your favorite forums. Well, anyone that has done this knows it’s a pain to actually maneuver the blanket so that you’re not only covered, but you can still work on your laptop.
This new product called the Slanket aims to make that task a whole lot easier. Take that same warm blanket and picture large cuffed sleeves for your arms. Now you can wrap up and lie down on the couch and work comfortably. The Slanket currently comes in 5 different colors and will set you back just under $50
If you’re one that likes to keep your Mac Mini accessories, well, mini, the Happy Hacking Lite 2 is going to fit right in with your collection. Fujitsu obviously designed this little guy with the Mini in mind, it’s total width is less than twice the size of the Mac mini, measuring in at just under a foot long. Surprisingly, with that reduction in size they still manage to get all of the essential keys on there, and still have room to get a couple of USB 1.1 ports on there.
Don’t you PC users fret either, it’s still compatible with Windows too, and no word on Linux support. The Happy Hacking Lite 2 will run you about $52, but there is a catch. It’s currently only available in Japan. No word on when they’ll be coming stateside.
If that last round of HTC Athena pics didn’t quench your thirst for all things shiny and detachable, you may want to head over to the blog of one Lucretius, who’s managed to get his hands on one of the coveted devices and snap shots of every nook and cranny of it. For those that don’t have the specs memorized yet, the device itself packs a 5-inch VGA touchscreen, Intel Bulverde PXA270 624 Mhz chipset, integrated GPS receiver, an 8GB hard drive, a 3 megapixel digital camera and, of course, that detachable QWERTY keyboard on display above, among other goodies. While Lucretius doesn’t provide a full review of the device, he does mention that it has “impressive” battery life and that the VGA screen is “amazing.” Check out a couple more pics of it after the break, the click through for the full spread.
LAS VEGAS, USA (AVING Special Report on ‘CES 2007′) — Samsung expects to launch its 2-generation Blu-ray player ”BD-P1200” in March.
< AVING Special Report Team for 2007 International CES: Editor & Publisher, Brain Park, Min Choi, Kevin Choi, Joshua Shim, Rose Kim, Alliyah Seo, Jun Lee, Nikki Hwang, Daniel Seo >
So you’ve just taken a great picture of your friend doing something really crazy on your cell phone. Now what if your best bud wants a copy of it? Well, soon you can just whip out your handheld printer from ZINK and print out a nice 2×3 of him acting like an idiot. Basically the printer is about the size of an average cell phone that can print off pictures using a specialized piece of paper. The picture is created by heating up and putting varying amounts of pressure on the polymer paper.
Peer to Peer networks are very popular these days, though most of them have very shady and not-quite-legal intentions. One legal P2P network that will be debuting soon comes to us from NDS that creates PVRs for DirecTV. A PVR with it’s own P2P network, I like the sound of that.
Looking for the perfect gadget for the bookworm in your life this Valentine’s Day? Yes, I know, chocolates and flowers are great, but if you want to get them something that they’ll never expect this is it. A Dooney & Bourke Limited Edition Portable Reader. Sony’s Reader line has become increasingly popular of late, and this special leather edition will make a perfect gift.
