Gadgets Log

Downloads of Apple Applications Close to 1 Billion

2009-04-11T13:48:00.000-07:00

Apple is close to reach the 1 billion mark from its Apple store, and plans a prize give away for the person who downloads the billionth app.
The prize basket includes MacBook Pro and an iPod Touch. The most popular downloads in the free apps category, Facebook and Google Earth. In the paid apps category, Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D have been the most popular downloads.

eweek

Content producers try to limit Boxee, the media center conversion software

2009-02-19T04:02:00.000-08:00

Boxee a software that can convert computers, Apple TVs and other products into media centers is being restrained by the major studios content owners. The big feature here is a free access to Hulu's entire catalog on your TV. Boxee now announced that Hulu will no longer be supported.

From Boxee blog:
"two weeks ago Hulu called and told us their content partners were asking them to remove Hulu from boxee. we tried (many times) to plead the case for keeping Hulu on boxee, but on Friday of this week, in good faith, we will be removing it. you can see their blog post about the issues they are facing. "

Again how much handle you, as a producer have, on a free content on other media outlet. This software is allegedly easy and intuitive - If that means fewer ads and the link to partner sites is not as strong as login to Hulu.com directly through a computer, then you can see the reasons.

Washington Post

Twitter estimate worth $250M

2009-01-26T09:42:00.000-08:00

Twitter, just after turning down $500M offer from Facebook has allegedly signed with IVP to raise $250M.

Until now they raised $20M from several investors, among them Spark Capital and Bezos Expeditions.

Twitter

Windows 7 thoughts

2009-01-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

Cnet ran this article about Windows 7. Getting closer to having a Mac interface, sometimes too pretty - making simple tasks confusing, especially for XP people who skipped Vista.

I downloaded the Beta and still contemplating installing Windows 7 in dual-boot on one of my computers. Maybe I will wait for the retail version.

Cnet

Fanboys got release date

2009-01-19T06:40:00.000-08:00

The movie about a group of people sneaking to the Sky Walker Ranch to see Episode One before its release is finally getting a release date - February 6th.

I thought this movie is going to stay forever in the can, since they finished shooting in 2006.

Good enough reason for totally necessary shots of Kristen Bell in a Leia costume plus onset cast promo shot.

Gizmodo

Site is back up

2009-01-19T06:27:00.000-08:00

Site is back up after Google re-enabled my account. 3 months and still, no idea why it's been disabled but thanks to the Goog for the activation.

Asus releases the G50V, new gaming notebook

2008-10-02T17:50:00.000-07:00

The G50V based on Intel Centrino 2 mobile platform, NVidia GeForce 9700M GT, 4 GB of ram and dual hard drives(2x250 GB) for the price of $1,699.

The G50V is one of the first notebooks that comes with NVidia's Discrete Graphics Engine (DGE).

Asus had some exclusive features: one-touch overclocking, secondary display for checking mail/IMs/CPU usage while gaming, LED lighting, LAN-pack.

ASUS Press

Sandisk declined Samsung bid

2008-09-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

Samsung has mad an $5.8 billion offer to buy Sandisk, the largest manufacturer of memory cards.
Some of the reasons must be the large amount of royalties Samsung pays for the use of Sandisk flash technology and the wide distribution and retail brands for Sandisk's products.

Currently Sandisk works with Toshiba through agreements. Sandisk provides the technology and knowledge, while Toshiba provide the chips and operates the factories. SanDisk then puts these chips in products such as microSD cards for cell phones, SD cards for digital cameras, and USB drives.

LCD TV Scarlett LG61: a little more attention to frame design

2008-09-16T18:11:00.000-07:00

The LG61 LCD TV considers back and frame design as much as picture quality.

With its 1.7 inches thick - the slimmest LCD with an HD tuner, "The LED-lit cut-out in the lower part of the bezel surrounded also serves as a decorative focal point, giving viewers a subtle indication of the TV’s status by emitting a scarlet-colored glow when the TV is on."

The LG61 comes with an Intelligent Sensor - adjusting brightness and color to the room lighting conditions 100Htz technology to eliminate motion blur and comes with dynamic contrast ratio of 50000:1

Specifications
Full HD Resolution
TruMotion 100Hz
50,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio
Intelligent Sensor
24p Real Cinema
4* HDMI (1.3 Deep Color)
Invisible Speaker
AV Mode (Cinema, Sport, Game)
Expert Mode / ISF Ready

LG Press

Panasonic introduces new line of Blu-Ray players

2008-09-13T19:08:00.000-07:00

The new models DMP-BD35 and DMP-BD55 brings more accurate colors due to PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus video processor, developed by Panasonic in collaboration with Hollywood's cinema studios. HD audio decoder, which supports the 7.1-channel surround. The high quality image and sound are incorporated in the UniPhier chip. Both models can connect to the web to download images, subtitles and other data.

Yahoo Launches iPhone Social Networking Application

2008-09-11T17:11:00.000-07:00

Yahoo announced wednesday (Sep. 10) an application that integrates mobile messaging and social networking contacts in one interface. The search engine oneConnect aggregates content from social networking sites such as Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube into one application.

The app is available for free in Apple's Application Store, and it is expected to be available on other devices in the near future.

informationweek

The First Gates-Seinfeld commercial for Vista

2008-09-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

The commercial

Thoughts on the commercial

I get that they are trying to be subtle and gradually introduce you to their campaign, and maybe later take a more blunt approach.

I guess Vista is like new shoes that need time to break-in and feel comfortable. The question is how long. Perhaps until your legs feel numb and veiny.

Toshiba to feature Eco-products at IFA 2008

2008-09-06T16:35:00.000-07:00

Toshiba showcased their environmentally friendly products and technologies at IFA 2008 in Berlin, Germany. IFA is one of Europe's largest consumer electronics trade shows.

Toshiba aims to improve the value and eco-efficiency of its products and business processes and to reduce carbon dioxide emitted from Toshiba group products by the equivalent of 117.7 million tons per year in 2025 compared to the year 2000.

Some of these innovations are in LCD TVs - the low environmental impact 42XV515D with advanced brightness control that reduces the number of backlights, weighs 19% less and reduces CO2 emissions. Notebook PCs - the Portégé R500 lighter model reduce CO2 emissions and improved battery life. The SCiB - Super Charged ion Battery, a rechargeable battery that recharges to 90% of capacity in less than five minutes.

Toshiba Press

Xbox 360 gets drastic price cut in Japan

2008-09-02T17:33:00.000-07:00

While there are rumors of a price cut in US, Microsoft announces that they are about to cut the price of the Xbox 360 by 30% to better compete with their rivals during the holiday season.

The entry level model (without hard drive) new price will be around $183. The standard model with 60GB, $275. The high-end model with 120GB will cost $368. The new prices will take into account in September 11.

A New $1000 Spray Makes Electronic Gadgets Waterproof

2008-08-13T17:30:00.000-07:00

The spray, "Golden Shellback Splash Proof Coating" forces the water to roll off electronic devices.

A reporter for KPIX-TV tossed a spray-coated Blackberry in a tub of water and it continued to play.

The technology could be implemented in emergency situations, bio-medical devices and historic preservation.

The product will be available to public later this year.

Source: Local6 News

Researches developed electronic eye camera

2008-08-10T12:27:00.000-07:00

Researches from University of Illinois and Northwestern university created a camera similar to the human eye in size and shape. The camera consists of single-crystalline silicon detectors and electronics, configured in a stretchable, interconnected mesh," according to the University of Illinois.

This technology will put an entire image in focus. In today's camera, images taken are more sharper in the center than near the edges. The technology could be considered a leap forward in developing a bionic eye like the one worn in "The Terminator."

No more contacts or lasic eye surgery, silicon will be mounted on your retinas!

Cnet News

Sony to Invest in Expansion of Lithium Ion Battery Production

2008-08-07T20:51:00.000-07:00

Sony announced that it will invest around 40 billion yen in strengthening and improving its lithium ion battery production.

Lithium Ion batteries, first introduced by Sony in 1992, combine high power capacity with compact size. Used in various devices from mobile phones, notebooks and digital cameras, to power tools and health care products.

The investment is made in order to construct new production facilities in Japan and expanding production from 41 million cells per month to 74 million in 2010.

Source: Sony Press

Dell to enter music player market

2008-07-31T21:54:00.000-07:00

PC makers Dell have been testing in recent months a digital music player, on sale from September. Dell's player, new attempt in the Apple-led market - companies like Microsoft and Sony have tried to enter the music player market in the past, dominated by Apple's iPod and iTunes service.

The new player would connect through Wi-Fi connection to online music services and the price is planned to be less than $100.

LG sales of touchscreen phones reach 7 million units

2008-07-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

LG sales of touch screen phones reached 7 million units for the end of the second quarter. LG were the world's first to introduce a full touchscreen mobile, the Prada phone.

The top seller of LG's touch-based phone is the Viewty - a professional level 5 megapixel camera phone, with 2 million units sold.

Venus - a touch sensitive InteractPad, and Voyager handset that incorporates a touch screen and a Qwerty keyboard sold 1.6 and 1.3 million units respectively.

Toshiba introduces 1.8" Hard Disk drive, 160 GB

2008-07-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

Toshiba presented 1.8" SATA hard disk drive, the first with a capacity of 160 GB.

The new drive will have improved rotation speed over previous models of the same size - 5400 rpm and better interface speed of 1.5Gbps.

The new 160GB drive, MK1617GSG, and an 80GB drive, MK8017GSG, will enter mass production in August.

Sony plans a movie download service for its PlayStation 3

2008-06-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

The service will be launched this summer in US and later in the European and Japanese markets.

The first rumors about a movie download service came out in 2005 in a interview with Sony executive. In December 2006, Financial Times article gave information about this service, available for the Sony PSP and being a possible rival to Apple's iTunes. PSP owners could download media from Sony's website to their PC and transfer it to the PSP flash card.

Past attempts of Sony creating online content ditribution failed. They closed Connect Store in March this year, because of the failed AMTRAC format becoming an alternative to MP3. The store was launched in 2004 as a response to iTunes. Also Sony sold Movielink, their joint effrot with several big studios, to Blockbuster.

eFluxMedia

Gates to step down from Microsoft

2008-06-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

Microsoft's chairman Bill Gates is stepping down from running the company.

Gates, one of the world's richest men, is planing to devote his time to charity work. Gates programmed his first computer at the age of 13. After 2 years in Harvard, he dropped out to found Microsoft with his friend, Paul Allen. Their big break came when they signed a deal with IBM develop their operating system software later known as MS-DOS.

Gates will remain as Microsoft's chairman and dedicate his work to finding new vaccines and financing projects in the developing world.

Mozilla Firefox 3 out:: over 8 million downloads in 24hrs

2008-06-18T14:40:00.000-07:00

According to Mozilla, the new version of their browser Firefox 3 passed the 8 million mark within 24 hours. The company attempted to set a Guinness record for most downloaded software, and wait for approval of the result.

The question is how many of these people switched from Internet Explorer, or are they long time Firefox users waiting for the end of Beta testing for version 3. And if they are IE users, will they stick to using the other browser.

I've been using Firefox 3 through the beta stages and I think the most noticeable aspect is the significantly low usage/efficient management of memory than in version 2. Another good improvement is organizing bookmarks. One thing really annoying is the autocomplete address bar now shows more information, title and description with the URL - very irritating to scroll through - but you could turn it off.

22 inch wide LCD Monitor under $200

2008-05-30T17:06:00.000-07:00

This LCD 22" wide screen Samsung monitor goes for $189. So what's the catch? It's a recertified product, it supports VGA and DVI, but not HDMI. And because it's recertified the warranty expires after 90 days. Still, it's a great deal.

Via: Cnet News

Motorola takes mobile experiences to a new level with the Moto Z10

2008-05-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

New array of applications are available now on the Moto Z10, a 3G device based on Symbian OS. The device can offer displaying full feature films to capturing, editing and sharing high quality video clips.

In addition to the preloaded software and content, hundreds of applications and content titles have been made to be available for the Symbian community to explore.

Some of the software titles that comes with the Moto Z10:
Media authoring software like ArcSoft Media Editor™ Mobile Edition for editing photos and creating videos. ShoZu - for sending and sharing media on the social networks, blogs and photo storage sites, Google Maps and Google Mail and the Opera Mobile browser.

Motorola Press