Those investigators over at Retrevo have done a lovely study on the holiday season in terms of people who own one of the following: iPhone, Android based phones, or BlackBerrys. Turns out they’d like accessories for their phones rather than for themselves. In their first study it was found that owners of iPhones and Android based phones both prefer gadget accessories over clothing, books, or perfume (I’m not sure why perfume was chosen instead of, say, movies, but it is what it is.) Only BlackBerry owners found it more enticing to receive a jacket for their back rather than a jacket for their device, and only by a few percentage points.
On the other hand, it was Android users who say they’d spent the least amount of money on their phones, while BlackBerry owners were in the middle and iPhone users said they were the biggest spenders.
Then it’s iPhone users blasting away the competition in all four categories when asked whether they had done the following: felt Fashion Aware, Bought Cases to Decorate their Phone, felt their Case is a Form of Self-Expression, and Would Spend More than $50 on a Case.
Finally, when asked what accessories they’d buy for their phones this holiday season, headphones seemed to always be on top or certainly a competitor, cases and camera accessories trailing slightly behind or equal for iPhone and Android people, and BlackBerry Owners can’t seem to make up their mind, but more than likely won’t be accessorizing their cameras at all.
NOTE: As always, take these stats with a cup of sugar, as it is just simple percentages and no study is 100% accurate. ALSO: Let’s cross our fingers for enough of a pool of people using Palm devices to add them as a category next year.
Remember The Fingerist, the guitar headstock-themed speaker and case for your iPhone or iPod touch? You know, the one with the shoulder strap for public (and private) performances with all of your favorite music making apps? Well, it seems that it’s finally available in the states. Indeed, there has been so little fanfare behind this announcement that the company responsible, Evenno, hasn’t even acknowledged it on its site. But don’t worry: we found this bad boy for $150 on Amazon. And if that’s not enough, iLounge has done a series of hands-on photos (see the More Coverage link, below). Or, if you’re like us, you can skip the thing altogether and groove to Rick Wakeman after the break. We do have one more thing to say about the Fingerist, however: at least it’s not endorsed by this guy.
Such a bunch of little cuties! These are Asetek’s new liquid CPU coolers that are aimed at supporting PCs with 92mm fans. These three new liquid coolers are made for OEMs and system builders, the models including a single exhaust port, single-CPU cooler; a dual exhaust port, single-CPU cooler; and a dual exhaust port, dual-CPU cooler. Get yourself some cool, quiet speed!
In the press release you’re going to see below, they mention that all Asetek liquid CPU coolers come fully filled, sealed, and assembled so that you might use them with ease. Funny they still have to mention that – no wonder that Apple I sold for two hundred grand a couple weeks ago in London. But you don’t give a hoot about that, this is a PC post, filled with the coolness of fast computing to the max.
There’s three models here: The Asetek 545LC, The Asetek 565LX, and The Asetek 585LX. The first one is a single exhaust port, while the other two are dual exhaust ports, number 2 being a single-CPU cooler and number 3 being a dual-CPU cooler. The first is made for overclocking your gaming PCs and working quietly, the second made for powerful engineering and on-screen heavy-load activities such as video and audio editing, and the third is made for essentially the same stuff as the second, but with the dual-CPU capability. Check out the full press release below:
New Asetek Liquid CPU Coolers Support PCs with 92mm Fans
Tuesday, 23 November 2010 23:00
?Additions to Liquid CPU Cooler lineup enable system builders to offer liquid cooling in smaller gaming PCs, 3U servers and workstations ??Asetek Inc., the world’s leading supplier of liquid cooling solutions for computers, today announced three new liquid CPU coolers for OEMs and system builders, designed for chassis utilizing 92mm exhaust fans. The products include: a single exhaust port, single-CPU cooler; a dual exhaust port, single-CPU cooler; and a dual exhaust port, dual-CPU cooler. These new Asetek products provide superior overclocking for compact gaming systems, and ultra-quiet computing and improved productivity for 3U servers and mainstream workstations.??“Our OEM and System Building partners are telling us space saving design is increasingly important in commercial applications as businesses seek to increase productivity without adding real estate,” said Steve Branton, Director of Marketing at Asetek. “Consumers, particularly outside North America, also appreciate compact design. Asetek’s new 92mm liquid CPU coolers enable companies such as BOXX Technologies to help their customers achieve these goals.”
“BOXX has built a reputation for designing and manufacturing high performance workstations that run cool and quiet in creative environments,” said Shoaib Mohammad, Director of Marketing and Business Development at BOXX Technologies. “The integration of Asetek liquid CPU coolers into our line of performance-enhanced XTREME solutions has enabled us to continue our commitment of providing digital professionals with the ultimate in record-setting performance in systems that remain reliable, stable, and quiet.”
• The Asetek 545LC is a single exhaust port, single-CPU cooler that supports high performance gaming PCs and workstations, utilizing chassis with 92mm fans. The 545LC enables significant factory overclocking in gaming PCs or whisper-quiet workstation performance within these compact, powerhouse chassis.?
• The Asetek 565LX is a dual exhaust port, single-CPU cooler that supports the 3U server and workstation markets. The 565LX delivers a performance boost to systems designed to run CPU intensive software including powerful engineering, animation, video and audio editing applications, while maintaining ultra-quiet operation.?
• The Asetek 585LX is a dual exhaust port, dual-CPU cooler that supports the dual processor 3U server and workstation markets. The 585LX delivers a performance boost to dual CPU systems designed to run CPU intensive software including powerful engineering, animation, video and audio editing applications, while maintaining whisper-quiet operation.?
All Asetek liquid CPU coolers are fully assembled, factory filled and sealed, making them as easy to install in mass production environments as an air cooler and chassis fan. Asetek standard liquid CPU coolers are available with mounting systems that are compatible with today’s popular Intel and AMD processors. Factory sealing eliminates any end user maintenance, commonly required with component-built liquid cooling systems. The 565LX and 585LX are available immediately to System Builders, Integrators and OEM customers. Scheduled availability for the 545LC is mid-December.
?About Asetek?Asetek is the world leading system thermal and acoustic management solution provider to OEMs servicing the gaming, workstation and performance PC markets. The company’s liquid thermal management systems deliver superior thermal and acoustic performance in a factory sealed unit that sets new standards for reliability and suitability to large volume production. Leading OEMs use Asetek’s liquid cooling products in systems where end users demand exceptional performance, low noise and maximum reliability. ??Founded in 2000, Asetek has offices in San Jose, California, Denmark and Asia. For more information, please visit http://www.asetek.com.
Contact:
Steve Branton
Asetek, Inc.
+1-408-823-4486
steve.branton@asetek.com
As you might well be aware, the new magazine for iPad, Project, was released this morning. Amid reports that it’s both cool and … not innovative enough, comes a punch from Chris Bell (who’s working with the magazine to “guide it along”) at Rupert Murdoch, whose “The Daily” newspaper will perhaps attempt to compete with Project in the future: “As Project went on sale, reports emerged that Rupert Murdoch will soon launch an iPad-only newspaper called The Daily, after it came to him in a dream or something. Which, like all Murdoch products, shall doubtless enrich humankind with its impartial political analysis and rolling coverage of shit exploding. Also: hi-def nudity, fingers crossed. But the point stands: the irascible Aussie despot doesn’t throw his corked hat into the cyber ring until he’s sure of a market.”
That quote above comes direct from a post over at Project’s online blog counterpart – whether this blog will end up working side by side with the magazine is yet to be seen. Chris Bell goes on to describe working on the mag, saying it’s not at all like Minority Report (as some publishers expected (me, for example)), but more “like making a normal paper magazine, but about 1,000 times more fiddly.” — Props to Nick Rizzo for directing us to this article.
Then there’s MacStories who accessed the magazine early on the Italian App Store and posted a bunch of screenshots showing the innards of the first issue of this magazine. One of the first and most interesting aspects of the Projects app answers my previous question — included is a formatted for iPad version of Project’s blog.
MacStories goes on to say that besides the lovely moving pictures and videos, they easily draw comparisons to the functionality seen in other iPad mags such as Wired’s app, Fortune, The New Yorker, and other Conde Nast publications. What’s unsettling is the idea that you can’t select text, you can’t zoom, and there’s basically no options for how you’re going to view what you want to view. MacStories describes the app as a “PDF with some interactive elements and pretty navigation” in it’s user interface.
So basically this magically beautiful magazine doesn’t reinvent the iPad based publication, but does score points for being well designed graphic design wise. Feel free to add your two cents below should you happen upon a copy today. TRON for crying out loud, TRON!
Today is my wife’s birthday. She isn’t sentimental about birthdays or most holidays, so I won’t get in trouble for not remembering to wish her a happy birthday before she ran out the door, rushing to get our son to pre-school on time. I’ll probably get in trouble for how much I spent on her present. She asked for a spa day. A massage and a facial. I’ll never understand why women like to get their faces poked at as a gift, but she doesn’t understand why I sit in front of the television twiddling my thumbs for hours at a time.
The Internet has made us connoisseurs even of things about which we know very little, so after some investigation I discovered a very nice hotel in our area also had one of the top-rated spas in the country. I ordered her a gift package called the “Indulgence,” which includes five hours of treatments and pampering, including lunch. I can ruin the secret and tell you this because my wife has almost no interest in following technology, so she won’t be reading this column.
The spa required me to come and pick up the gift card in person. I would have liked to simply hand my credit card over to my Web browser and be done with it, but that couldn’t happen. They couldn’t even send the card overnight, and like a good procrastinator, I only discovered this spot yesterday, so there wasn’t time for me to wait for the spa to send it by mail. So, while she was dropping off our son, I was on my way downtown to speak to a living, breathing person about a gift card purchase. How quaint.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. That wasn’t actually the first birthday errand I had to run this morning. First, I had to take a trip to the airport. Over the thanksgiving holiday, my wife lost her cell phone. She wasn’t sure at first when it happened, but by the time we had picked up our rental car and installed the rented car seat in Newark, New Jersey, she realized that it was missing. So, we did what everyone does when they realize their cell phone is missing. We gave it a call, then sat quietly and listened for it.
My mind is trained to ignore cell phone ringing. I’m not sure when this happened, but ringtones don’t catch my attention as easily these days. It’s the same for car alarms. I wonder if any thief has ever been stopped by a car alarm. Most of the time when I hear a car alarm, I get annoyed at the car’s owner for letting the alarm wake me up in the middle of the night. I don’t ever think that the car might be getting broken into as I’m trying to fall back asleep, and I certainly never run to the window to see what’s the matter.
We’re at a point where it might be better to simply leave the car unlocked with the alarm turned off than to risk a false alarm at 2AM. I used to leave my car unlocked in my driveway. The other day I opened the door to find the glove compartment and center console open and tossed. Someone had broken in, or whatever you call it when no actual breaking is involved. There is nothing of value in my car whatsoever, not even interesting or important paperwork. The mess was a hassle, but the most expensive thing in my nine-year-old Camry is the child’s car seat in the back. As long as that was still present, I was completely unperturbed. But now I keep my car locked, mostly out of spite to the would-be robbers.
In any case, the phone did not ring. Like I said, I tune out ringtones, but I can somehow sense a phone vibrating across the house. It’s like a Spidey-sense. Spider-Man can sense danger, I can sense a phone on vibrate. Still, nothing.
It didn’t take her long to remember what had happened to it. She had tried to cross through a security gate with the phone in her pocket. It was a forgivable mistake, even for frequent travelers like us. We were loaded for bear on that trip, with all our usual carry-ons, plus a stroller, a toddler and an armful of winter coats for when we got off the plane in the frigid northeast. We live in Texas, so a hoodie counts as a winter coat here.
I was trying out one of those new-fangled x-ray-friendly laptop bags. It would have been extra convenient, except that the TSA decided to pull me aside so they could swab it, which more than eliminated the time saved using the bag. They also swabbed my son’s carry-on. He’s two. His carry-on has Lightning McQueen on the front, and a bumper shaped like a car tire. He hasn’t even seen the movie “Cars,” but he pointed at the carry-on in the store and said “car,” so we bought it for him. Needless to say, it hadn’t been involved in any bomb-making scheme, so we were free to go. But in all the commotion, she forgot her phone in the little plastic and rubber bowl that she sent through the x-ray. The TSA, so mindful of my x-ray-friendly bag and the diapers and change of clothes in my son’s tiny suitcase, were not kind enough to call after her to retrieve her phone.
The lost and found offices were also closed for the holiday, so we weren’t even positive it was at the airport until Monday. I’m not sure how this could be, that it is impossible to get in touch with the TSA over the phone. Clearly there are people working, but they don’t answer the phone. We tried calling her cell phone repeatedly, but they did not answer that phone, either. Oh well, at least the phone was safe and secure when I called after the weekend.
The TSA made me prove it was mine over the phone before they would put it aside to make sure nobody else claimed it. Stupidly, I gave them the only verifying information I could think of: the password to unlock the phone. Thankfully, cell phones today can’t hold a charge beyond a day or so. The phone wouldn’t power on. They decided to put the phone aside until I brought a charger to the airport and verified my claim in person. At last, a dead battery proves useful.
I’m still getting ahead of myself. Before the spa trip, and before the airport, I had one first birthday errand to run. Or rather, one errand to sit, since there was no running involved. I had to logon to my wife’s Facebook account. She hates Facebook and never checks her own profile page. I created the profile for her so that she could see some of the photo albums her friends were posting to the site, since they were tagging her in photos, after all. The few status updates that have been posted in her name have been from me, and I make this clear when I post them.
I noticed when I woke up this morning that some of our mutual friends had been leaving happy birthday messages on her wall. Thanks to Facebook, they had beaten me to the punch, and also reminded me that I had forgotten to say “Happy Birthday” before she left the house. I had thought about it last night before bed. I should have set an alarm on my phone.
I posted a short message from her account explaining that it was not she posting the message, it was me. I left her email address and thanked everyone for wishing her a happy birthday, on her behalf. When the emails start coming in, I wonder if she’ll be mystified by the flood of well-wishers. I still haven’t been able to reach her on the phone this morning, and I refuse to send her a happy birthday message over email. That’s something you do for an old college friend, or a long-lost elementary school buddy. Not something you do for your wife. Which means that most of her friends will beat me to the punch, and she’ll think I forgot her birthday this year. But she’s not sentimental, and she’ll forget everything when I give her the gift card for the spa day, and her returned iPhone.
Now I have three months to think of a plan for Valentine’s day. Like I said, she’s not sentimental, but I’m setting the alarm on my phone right now.
Oh hooray! Drinks and hearty appetizers will be served? I love it! But wait a second, does it say what I think it says? “You are invited to an evening of informal (and off the record) conviviality with our Communications staff and key Googlers.” Could this mean they’re giving out super secrets we’re just supposed to keep to ourselves?! Or maybe it’s just a fun night to hang out and get friendly. Either way, super exciting, and soon! December 13th, 2010.
Looks like it’ll be an evening event, three hours long, and right up over there in Mountain View California. Look at that nice chandelier! I bet it’ll be just such a nice night of warmth and hugs and super secrets. Keep your eyes peeled for more info (if we’re allowed to speak!) Maybe they’ll have some Gingerbread cookies, if you know what I mean.
Despite the more recent releases of the Curve 8500 series and the Curve 3G, RIM has never really offered up a true successor to the venerable Curve 8900 — a device some would argue remains the prettiest that Waterloo has ever manufactured. Indeed, with the QVGA display and meager cam on the 3G, there’s a pretty magnificent gap between it and the business-class Bold 9700 / 9780… so we’re pretty excited to see a new model called the Curve 8980 get FCC approval. Oh, and what’s more, the filing’s now got access to a user’s manual and external shots where you can definitely picture this as being a proper optical pad-equipped follow-on to the 8900 of old, complete with a 3.2 megapixel cam with flash and — if we had to guess — a high-res display adopted either from the 9780 or the 8900. No word on a release, but here’s the kicker: as far as we can tell from the filing, it’s EDGE-only just like the device it replaces, which is pretty inexcusable for a device that’d presumably be released in 2011. Add 3G, though, and they’ve got a desperately-needed new model to slot in underneath the Bold.
Cowon knows how to make Personal Media Players. They’ve got a myriad of the devices available now, with more coming down the pipe, and now it looks like one more is set to join the fray just in time to hit Christmas wish-list. Though, their newest effort isn’t just another PMP. This new device, aptly called the Cowon 3D, features glasses-free 3D technology, and still manages to pack in all of the other features people expect in their PMPs.
Of course, the company is saying that the Cowon 3D is the first 3D PMP available on the market. Much like the Nintendo 3DS, Cowon’s PMP is able to display 3D images to the user without the need for glasses. The Cowon 3D will also let you fully enjoy 1080p HD video, as well as through the output so you can enjoy it on your HDTV. You’ll be able to use the Cowon 3D to browse the Internet, look at your photos and videos, as well as listen to music.
The device features a 4.3-inch touchscreen display, with a resolution of 800 x 480, and it will come in sizes of 32GB or 64GB. For the 32GB, you’ll have to pay $430, and $510 for the 64GB version. Both of them are due to hit retail shelves some time in December. The big question, though, is whether or not the device is meant to convert standard 2D images into 3D ones, or if the device’s User Interface and 3D-based movies will be the only thing users experience in 3D.
The portable gaming market is looking like it will get a bit more interesting in 2011, as Panasonic seems intent on launching their own portable console. After being unveiled last month, there were some who believed that it would be a pipe-dream, and never make it out of the gate. But Panasonic doesn’t see it that way, and they’ve moved onto the testing stage for the device, focusing on consumers in the United States.
Recently, Panasonic began sending out emails to US-based consumers, informing them that they had been chosen to test the Jungle, the company’s portable video game console. Panasonic’s spokesman out of Tokyo, Akira Kadota, has confirmed that the emails were sent out to consumers, but would not go into detail about the console. The price, let alone the specifications for the device, are still unknown at this point.
It is known, though, that Panasonic won’t be focusing on the “traditional” video game strategy. Unlike Sony and Nintendo, Panasonic’s Jungle portable gaming device will focus on multiplayer gamers, like Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG). The only title that’s been talked about so far, is a Battlestar Galactica title, which will let you play as either a human, or a Cylon. The console itself will feature a QWERTY keyboard, as well as a touchpad.
When it comes to AMOLED and Super AMOLED, the display technology is synonymous with Samsung. But Samsung doesn’t want to just focus on the here-and-now. They’ve already shown off what a 4.5-inch flexible AMOLED would look like, so why wouldn’t the company show off a concept design of what it would look like to see that technology on a bigger screen? That’s exactly what they did at this year’s FPD International.
Samsung is starting to show that, here in the near future, one market they will be focusing on is going to be the foldable and flexible. Especially when it comes to consumer electronics. They took some time out of their busy schedule to showcase what they believe the next stage of home entertainment will look like. Their idea, is that you should be able to enjoy your 3D entertainment wherever you are in the living room, thanks to your TV being folded in a particular way.
Samsung is also going to push for their future-tech 3DTVs to range in sizes, so you don’t just have to enjoy it in your living room. We don’t see this happening in the next year or so, but we do see Samsung having a lot of cool things to show off in the next few years. We can certainly hope we’ve got some foldable, flexible TVs to look forward to in the future.
