It seems that Acer likes to sneak some of their netbooks under the radar. Of course, we don’t necessarily think they should try and hide these. After all, an 11.6-inch capacitive touchscreen netbook seems pretty great to us. And sure, these models seem to be upgrades to two Acer model netbooks that still haven’t been released, we’re still plenty excited.
The two previous version of the PT line-up, the 1820PT and 1820PTZ were announced at the end of last year, but as was aforementioned, they have yet to make it to the market. Nevertheless, that doesn’t seem to be stopping Acer from trucking on ahead, and manufacturing netbooks that might make you not want to necessarily buy the previous versions. Specs wise, the 1825PT is packed with a 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor, has 4GB of RAM, and a 250GB hard drive. The 1825PTZ features a 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 processor, 250GB hard drive, and 3GB of RAM. That should obviously make it a bit cheaper than the PT as well.
The details tell us that both netbooks will come with Windows 7 Home Premium Edition, which means more customization than the Windows 7 Starter Edition that makes an appearance on most netbooks. Pricing about the netbooks is currently debatable, but apparently it’s shown up in Italy for €693.15, which is about $942. Hopefully, if this device does indeed make it to the States, the pricing will drop significantly. Of course, it’s a capacitive touchscreen, so we might be hoping a bit too hard for the impossible.
Today marks the departure of Jerome B. York, a member of Apple’s Board of Directors. York is the Chairman, President, and CEO of Harwinton Capital, and was the former CFO of IBM and Chrysler. He is still considered one of the driving forces behind both company’s turnarounds. He joined the board of directors for Apple when many were considering the fate of the company to be dire, and as Jobs puts it: “He has been a pillar of financial and business expertise and insight on our Board for over a dozen years.” York will be missed by many.
CUPERTINO, California—March 18, 2010—Apple® is sad to announce the death of Apple Board member Jerome B. (Jerry) York. York, the chairman, president and CEO of Harwinton Capital, joined Apple’s Board of Directors in 1997. He was the former CFO of IBM and Chrysler, and former vice chairman of Tracinda. He is widely acknowledged for his contributions at Chrysler and IBM during their turnarounds.
“Jerry joined Apple’s Board in 1997 when most doubted the company’s future. He has been a pillar of financial and business expertise and insight on our Board for over a dozen years,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “It’s been a privilege to know and work with Jerry, and I’m going to miss him a lot.”
Jerry York was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1938. He graduated from the United States Military Academy, and received an MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Michigan. Trained as an engineer, York worked his way up through Chrysler to become CFO.
We’ve got to hand it to iBUYPOWER. They know how to release the computer that just look fun to use. The Paladin series, announced today, is no difference. This is one of those products that we just want to touch. Sure, it doesn’t hurt that the innards of these things make us want to actually use them. The company has officially announced the latest in their Paladin series, and these are definitely a chip off the old block.
Each of the four different variations of the Paladin are issued with the new Intel Core i7 980X Extreme Edition Processor, which makes the system quite the healthy benchmark demolisher. As the press release reads, the new systems are “extremely overclockable, and allow unmatched multitasking capability.” We just love the word overclockable. It’s unique. In any event, iBUYPOWER is banking on the fact that gamers won’t have to worry about how many windows/browsers they have open anymore, let alone if they’re listening to their favorite music or using GameSpeak, due to their machine’s power.
The Paladin F950, F970, and XLC V3 are all equipped with 12GB of DDR3 memory, provide at least 1 TB of storage, and have Blu-Ray Disc players. They all also keep with the liquid-cooling tradition of iBUYPOWER, and offer the “upgrade” for free. Graphics wise, you can choose from an ATI Radeon card, or go with the NVIDIA GeForce variation if you wish. The F970 and XLC V3 are packed with an 80GB Solid State Drive (SSD) and have been upgraded to Windows 7 Ultimate. If you’ve got $2,159 lying around, then you can start shopping now at iBUYPOWER’s website to pick out your favorite piece. Full press release just below.
El Monte, CA – March 18, 2010 – iBUYPOWER, a leading innovator of gaming PCs, is excited to announce four new Paladin gaming systems all powered by the new Intel Core i7 980X Extreme Edition Processor. The new 6 core processors are extremely overclockable, deliver benchmark shattering performance and allow unmatched multitasking capability. Gamers need not be concerned with having multiple browsers open, team speak, or MP3s files playing while gaming due to the new processor’s revolutionary hyper-threading technology.
The four new configurations all feature the finest components available, including the newest ATI Radeon and NVIDIA GeForce high-definition video cards, which all support DirectX 11 graphics. The Paladin F950, F970 and XLC V3 all pack 12GB of DDR3 Memory, provide at least a 1 TB of storage space and a Blu-ray drive. The fully loaded F970 and XLC V3 also come standard with an 80GB solid state drive and have been upgraded to Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate. Additionally, like all iBUYPOWER desktop systems, the newest Paladin model all feature free liquid CPU cooling.
Gamers looking to get the most out of their new six core systems can take advantage of the iBUYPOWER Labs’ Power Drive Overclocking Service, which overclocks the CPU by as much as 30% and comes standard on the Paladin XLC V3. Other innovative iBUYPOWER exclusive products and services include the Harmony Sound Reduction System, the Internal USB Expansion System, and iBUYPOWER’s Specialized Advanced Packaging System with expanding foam inserts to prevent damage during shipping.
The new Paladin systems start at $2,159 and are available now at www.iBUYPOWER.com.
Customers with more specific gaming needs can configure a fully customizable system at www.iBUYPOWER.com. All iBUYPOWER systems also come standard with 1 year limited warranty and lifetime technical support.
As expected, Palm isn’t doing that hot. The company declared at the end of last month that their lacking smartphones sales had made them decrease their revenue expectations, so the numbers we’re hearing today aren’t that surprising. And while the number of smartphones they shipped is significant, it’s unfortunately not a good representation of the number of smartphones they actually sold. Still, the company has high hopes for what’s to come.
In total, Palm has announced that they lost $22 million, part of their $366 million profit. Based on shipped products, the company had a 23% increase from the previous quarter, effectively shipping 960,000 smartphones. However, the number they actually sold is drastically lower, topping off at 408,000 units. And while we’re not going to directly compare those numbers to the iPhone’s estimated 8.7 million units sold in the same time frame, we feel like we should at least point it out. No, we’re not expecting Palm to compare in numbers, but it goes to show that the company is still fighting an up-hill battle.
Palm’s CEO, Jon Rubinstein, said that the company’s under-performance is certainly disappointing, but he wanted to stress that the potential for the company is still strong. He also stressed that they are making great improvements on future products (which hopefully means more handsets, and not just different version of the existing ones), and that the changes they’re making to improve sales are having an impact. He also noted that they are looking forward to future carrier launches, which we’re taking to mean AT&T here in the States. Unfortunately, those may already be seeing some major delays. We’re hoping that Rubinstein’s hope is not ill-fated, as we would love to see some more products (and better numbers) from the company that brought us webOS. We’ve got our fingers crossed.
It looks like we’re getting one step closer to having that future we’ve all imagined. You know, that future we all envisioned when we first played Sim City 2000. Or when we saw Blade Runner for the first time. We may not have flying, or even levitating, cars right now, but at least we’re moving in the right direction. And thanks to prototypes like the Solar Powered Road, we can start to think that it may not be another 100 years before we get there.
Solar Roadways received a grant from the Department of Transportation last year, for $100,000, with the intent to build a road that can display warnings for pedestrians, as well as drivers. From the picture, you can see that the two children have stepped onto a panel that would reside in a crosswalk. Subsequently, the road in front of the drivers would light up with LEDs, displaying the message. In this case, you see “SLOW DOWN” displayed quite nicely, and easily read. The panels themselves also come with a heating unit, so that when it snows, the panels are still readable. Microprocessors within the panels work as the communication between panels. Basically, it sounds like Solar Roadways have covered all their bases.
Considering the company’s hard work, we’re not surprised that the company is up for an award. They are one of five selected for the 2010 EE Times ACE Award for the “Most Promising Renewable Energy Award.” But, while we’re excited to see this prototype in still images we’re looking forward to the video which should be out later this month. And what’s next for the company? They want to make parking lots, bike paths, and driveways out of the same panels. We’re hoping that Solar Roadways does indeed get to see their panels in the real world, because we love the future. And, better options for safety.
Even though one of your longest-lived dreams might be to own a yard, sometimes you don’t always get the big one. In fact, if you’re in the city, you may have a yard that’s tucked nicely by a tall fence, cramping its potential. And if you’re not a fan of push-mowers, then maybe this scooter mower is the best thing you’ve ever seen.
This is just a concept right now, designed by Vicky Petihovski, but we can definitely label this one a winner. If it ever sees the light of day, that is. What you see is what you get. It’s a scooter, with a lawnmower shoved inside of it. So, while you may still be standing up to reduce the grass in your kingdom, at least you’re not walking. And, sure, there may be mowers out there that you can sit down on, your yard just may be too small for those. So, here’s your best option. It’s an electric motor, so it probably wouldn’t be as loud as a normal mower, which is a good thing.
Or, if you’re a fan of the Segway or any of its variations, maybe this is just something you have to get to complete your collection. Then again, maybe a race is the best way to spend your time, when you’re not slicing up all that grass.
While the hard drive that came with your Xbox 360 (unless you got the Arcade edition) may be plenty big, there’s still some trouble when you want to take your game somewhere other than your own console. While bringing the hard drive is easy enough, using something as small as a USB device, or Microsoft’s Memory Unit, would be preferable. Microsoft is looking to make the former happen, with a software updated that’s coming this Spring.
According to Joystiq, they’ve confirmed that Microsoft has put into motion a software update that’s supposed to be issued this Spring. There aren’t any other details about the update to mention, but the addition of USB storage is pretty big news. Microsoft was pretty determined to push their Memory Units (which amass to 512MB), so this means you can use a USB memory stick of any size to move your files.
So, what can you move? Xbox LIVE Arcade games, Xbox LIVE Indie games, Games on Demand, DLC, and Title Updates. Oh, and you can put full Xbox 360 games on there. Yes, you read that right. Instead of installing the game on the hard drive, you’ll be able to put it on the memory stick and go on your way. Of course, just like installing the game to the hard drive, the disc will have to be in the disc try to authenticate the product, but that’s nothing new. Anyone else as excited as we are for this?
So close, but no cigar. Having whipped Motorola DROID owners into a great frothing heap of anticipation regarding the promised Android 2.1 update, the latest to leak out of Verizon is that the OTA firmware has been delayed. ”The OTA software update for the DROID by Motorola is TBD” reads the message on Verizon’s internal systems, “A new date will be communicated as soon as possible.”
So far there’s no sign of a replacement timescale for the update, which users were expecting to begin receiving today. Neither is there any hint from Verizon as to what might have impacted on the upgrade; there’s talk of some sort of last-minute bug, but nothing official. Still, it looks like DROID owners can stand down from OTA alert, there may be some wait involved.
How much would you pay for a miniature Android smartphone? Sony Ericsson are hoping the answer is “plenty”, as recently revealed pricing for their XPERIA X10 mini and XPERIA X10 mini pro handsets in Europe suggests. The two phones may only have 255-inch displays but you’re looking at €300 or more.
The XPERIA X10 mini is expected to be €300 ($410) while the X10 mini pro comes in at €330 ($450). The latter adds a slide-out QWERTY keyboard but otherwise functionally the two are identical: 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and geotagging, 3G connectivity and Sony Ericsson’s own Mediascape and Timescape apps with their “Rachel” UI.
All well and good, but we were expecting budget price-tags when we first caught sight of the two new Android devices, and these numbers just don’t quite add up to us. Our preference still lies with the X10 mini pro – check our hands-on report from MWC 2010 to find out exactly why – out of the two, but frankly there are other smartphones we’d go to first with our money.
We already have push-to-talk and audio MMS messages, but leave it to Apple to try and reinvent – and re-patent – their own system. According to a new patent application made in November 2009, Apple envisage a setup whereby audio notes are transmitted via the voice channel rather than a carrier’s data backend server, thus removing one potential point of overload. The outgoing message could be recorded audio or it could be text automatically converted into audio for transmission through the voice channel.
“For example, once received [by an iPhone], the vocalized phone number can be passed to an audio output device that (in the case of a speaker) generates an audible rendition of the vocalized phone number. In another case, the vocalized phone number is forwarded to a voice mail server where the receiver records the vocalized phone number as a voice mail message for subsequent playback.” Apple patent application
At the other end, the recipient’s device could then handle the audio message in various ways, depending on how it has been configured. Most straightforward would be playback via the speaker, as with push-to-talk, but Apple also describe a system whereby the audio messages could be recorded in a visual-voicemail-style app for ad-hoc playback.
Alternatively, they could be transcribed back into text for reading on-screen. Apple reckon the setup could be a boon for avoiding situations where people want to check their messages but looking at the display isn’t necessarily safe, such as while driving.
