28
Apr
Weekend Washbag - For Him
I’ve never done it myself, of course, but crashing out on the floor of a chum’s flat can be a soul-destroying experience, particularly if it’s on a school night and you find yourself facing a slog to work the next morning, unshaven, unkempt and reeking of stale cider.
See price
28
Apr
Fortune.com is reporting that sources close to both AT&T and RIM are saying the much anticipated 3G blackberry, named Meteor, will have it’s previously scheduled June release pushed back until as late as August due to concerns about call quality. However some are speculating that the real reason is because AT&T is trying to avoid competing with the new iPhone, which is also rumored to have a June release date. It’s expected to be released on the first anniversary of the original iPhone. RIM is expected to release a touchscreen 3G Blackberry later this year that is intended as a direct competitor to the iphone.
The delay is not good news for RIM as demand for it’s current offerings, including the Pearl and Curve is slowing. Users and the market in general are ready for some fresh new products. AT&T offered up no comment, and a spokeswoman from RIM also declined to discuss the matter when contacted by email, citing that they will not discuss “rumors and speculation.”
Read [Fortune]
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28
Apr
If you’re a laptop-toting AT&T internet customer, your trips to Starbucks are about to get cheaper: AT&T is rolling out Wi-Fi access at more than 7,000 Starbucks locations around the U.S. The service, unlike the T-Mobile Wi-Fi currently available in most Starbucks stores, will be free to "qualifying" AT&T broadband customers. "Qualifying" means customers who subscribe to the company’s higher-speed residential broadband service, small business broadband packages, and AT&T U-Verse packages.
Customers of AT&T’s cellular service, including iphone-toting, EDGE-using suckers like me, will still have to pony up for full wireless access, though the company is promising "a mix of free and paid connection options." In the San Antonio stores where the rollout begins today, customers can buy a two-hour pass for $4, or order a monthly subscription for $20.
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson offered the following statement, helpfully translated into more intelligible Swedish Chef-ese by the encheferizer.
"Veet zee pooer ooff oooor Vee-Fee netvurk, und thruoogh oooor pertnersheep veet Sterboocks, ve’re-a strengzeeneeng oooor ebeelity tu meet zee needs ooff tudey’s mubeele-a cunsoomer furtooelly unyvhere-a und iferyvhere-a," Stephenson said. "Expundeeng oooor reech ecruss cumpuny-oopereted Sterboocks luceshuns neshunveede-a helps us breedge-a zee gep betveee oooor vured und vureless ooffffereengs und effffurms ET&T’s cummeetment tu cunnect peuple-a veet zeeur vurlds, iferyvhere-a zeey leefe-a und vurk. Bork bork bork!"
AT&T and Starbucks Begin Nationwide Wi-Fi Rollout (press release)
See also: Starbucks Ditches T-Mobile and Brings in AT&T as Exclusive Wi-Fi Provider
Photo credit: 177/Flickr
28
Apr
by Darren Murph, posted Apr 26th 2008 at 8:14PM
Oh yeah, you’ve options oozing everywhere for a bona fide gaming desktop that takes up some serious square footage in your domicile, but what about those looking for a potent portable? And we’re not talking laptops, either. Falcon Northwest’s FragBox 8500 — which sports a chassis that hasn’t changed much in years — was recently reviewed by the folks over at PC Magazine, and put simply, it was deemed a “game system without apologies.” Checking in at $1,895, critics found the internals to be “neatly put together,” the unit as a whole satisfactorily mobile and yes, they confirmed that “you will definitely be able to play the DX10-heavy versions of Crysis and World in Conflict at very decent frame rates.” Did you hear that? They said Crysis. Head on down to the read link for the full review of the Editors’ Choice-awarded machine.
Filed under: Desktops
28
Apr
by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Apr 27th 2008 at 3:14PM
Finally, the EU’s Giove-B GPS satellite was shot into space by the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Strapped atop a Soyuz-FG rocket, the Giove-B reached orbit at 8:01am this morning, and is the second satellite launched for the nascent next-generation European Galileo satellite navigation system. This particular model is kitted out with dual redundant rubidium atomic clocks that the ESA says are “the most accurate in space”. The next bird — just three of thirty — is slated to go up in 2010 with a full-system launch around 2013. Until then, it looks like they’ll be stuck using the US’s crappy, less-sensitive GPS network (boo hoo).
[Via Physorg]
Filed under: GPS
28
Apr
by Ryan Block, posted Apr 25th 2008 at 3:26PM
So we’ve got it on authority that the second-gen iphone is already well into testing, and numerous units are floating around in super secret pockets. A trusted source got a chance to check one out, here’s what we’ve heard.
It could ship (or be introduced) as early as July — but it’s worth noting that none of this is necessarily finalized, and any of it could change between now and its introduction. You really never know with Apple!
P.S. -Image via ipod Observer, MacRumors points out it’s probably just a case (which we’d likely agree with); we’re not by any means claiming the image above is the new iPhone, just an example of what it could look like given the info we received.
Filed under: cellphones
27
Apr
LG, like Apple, is slowly taking its time in delivering the second iteration of their super-duper touchscreen phone, the LG Prada. Yes, you read that right, there will be a follow-up to the original “iphone killer,” and I’m sure you will appreciate some of its newfound features. It retains the original soap bar form factor, of course, although this time it’s touted to possess a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Other goodies include a 3-inch touchscreen, HSDPA network support, Wi-Fi, dual cameras (with the main one being 5-megapixel strong), FM radio and support for up to 8GB of expandable memory. Full HTML browsing is provided by an unspecified browser, and you can let it talk to your computer via Bluetooth or USB 2.0. Is LG going to release it this year? The short answer: yes. The long answer: yes, by the last quarter of 2008. Which by then we would have all probably become zombies under the command of Steve Jobs and his unstoppable 3G iPhone minions.
Read [ePrice]
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27
Apr
Renault and Nokia of Brazil are collaborating on a special edition Sandero. Known as the Sandero Nokia, this vehicle prides itself in being Renault’s first in Brazil to come with a “mobility solution.” Each purchase will ship with a Nokia N95 that contains an A-GPS receiver, pre-loaded Nokia Maps service, and Bluetooth connectivity. It will be integrated with the Nokia LD-3W GPS module and the Nokia CK-20W, an automobile accessories kit.
Some of the key features of the Sandero Nokia include an audio streaming function that enables the driver to listen to music stored on his Nokia N95 through Sandero Nokia’s speakers via a wireless connection; access to maps of the main cities in Brazil that are already included in the memory; and a Bluetooth System for telephone calls which allows drivers to utilize a microphone inserted into the upper part of Sandero Nokia’s windshield and to listen to calls through the vehicle’s audio system.
There will only be a thousand of these special edition vehicles manufactured, retailing for approximately €17,650 each. Guess you’d take extra caution when bringing this puppy out for a spin, eh?
27
Apr
Plustek has rolled out its TVcam VD100 that not only functions as a standard USB webcam, it also works as a DVB-T TV tuner. This allows you to free up one USB port for other devices, since this takes up just a solitary one. Each purchase comes with the necessary software for PVR functionality, including scheduled recordings and an Electronic Programming Guide. The webcam itself touts a maximum resolution of 640 x 480, and is specially designed to clip right on top of a slim display (notebook or LCD, its your call). The Plustek TVcam VD100 measures 67.5mm x 26mm x x25.5mm and tips the scales at 86 grams. At £61, you get to kill two birds with one stone.
27
Apr
The PS3 is still in its first iteration to date, but it already is packing in a third generation heat sink, courtesy of Furukawa Electric. This new version brings some improvements over the launch PS3s, featuring a smaller size, a lighter weight and at a price that is hard to resist. The first two generations of PS3s required a large heat sink to cool both the RSX and Cell chips, but this time round it uses two separate ones while doing away with copper heat pipes. This also drops power consumption down to 135W, a far cry from the launch PS3’s 200W. Not that the PS3 ever had any major heating issues before, it would be nice to see the Xbox 360 be as reliable as Sony’s offering.
