Kogan intros world’s second Android phone
We’ll be totally honest — we pretty much blew Ruslan Kogan off when he proclaimed that he was about to push out a $199 Android phone by the year’s end. And truthfully, the guy still hasn’t totally delivered, but you won’t find us kvetching about more Googlephones, regardless of MSRP. The Agora (AU$299; US$192) and Agora Pro (AU$399; US$256) are available for pre-order as we speak, though neither one is scheduled to ship out until the end of January. For those unfamiliar with Kogan, it’s an online-only enterprise that has wares built specifically to its dimensions in China, and so far as we can tell, it’s as legit as they come. As for specs, the Agora packs a 2.5-inch touchscreen (320 x 240), 3G networking, a backlit QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth 2.0 and a microSD card slot; the Pro adds in GPS, 2-megapixel camera and WiFi. So, with unsubsidized prices this low, are you willing to take a chance?
TiVo’s win over DISH Network upheld by court of appeals: It’s over
Bad day for DISH Network, first its satellite is gone for good and now comes word its appeal to overturn TiVo’s lawsuit has been denied. That should put an end to the legal push and pull between the companies, with TiVo firmly on top, DISH customers could have their DVRs pulled out from under them. Win in hand, TiVo has a lot more leverage against other providers to put its service on their boxes, (which might not be the worst thing if you’ve used some cable DVRs) and leaves the company looking a lot more lively.
Vista on Intel Atom, into our hearts
Check it out, ’cause you’re looking at what must be the world’s smallest QWERTY device capable of running Windows Vista Home Premium SP1. At least it will be when it makes its debut in Japan come June. Measuring just 188 x 84 x 25.9mm and 470grams, all that power / battery conservation / smallness of the Willcom D4 (aka, Sharp-built WS016SH) comes courtesy of a 1.3-GHz Atom processor pumping away beneath that sliding / tilting 5-inch, 262k color, LED-backlit 1,024 x 600 touchscreen hiding a 64-key QWERTY keyboard. Inside you’ll find 1GB of memory, a 1.8-inch 40GB disk, 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, microSD slot, HD audio codec with mono-speaker, and Opera browser riding atop Japanese PHS (W-SIM) or 802.11b/g WiFi.
RED unveils Scarlet mini camcorder
RED just unleashed its promised Scarlet “pocket professional” camera at NAB 2008, and it’s certainly a sight to see. The teensy 3K resolution camcorder is based on a 2 / 3-inch Mysterium X sensor, can shoot at 1 to 120 FPS and records to dual CompactFlash cards, which can handle up to 100MB per second of REDCODE RAW HD video. You can preview your shot on the 4.8-inch LCD, and there’s a 8x RED zoom lens included. HMDI, HD-SDI, FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 inputs are built in, and the device is compatible with “many” RED ONE accessories. WiFi control is also included. In typical RED fashion, the only promises about the final product is that “specifications, delivery dates and design are subject to change… count on it,” but this is certainly a good start. No pre-orders are being accepted at this time, but the price is purportedly to going to be a bit under $3,000, and the release is slated for early 2009.
Nokia’s 6212 with Bluetooth NFC: Let the pairing revolution begin!
This is the day we’ve been waiting for. While the 3G Nokia 6212 classic doesn’t look like much, what it lacks in style is more than made up by the genius of Bluetooth-enabled Near Field Communication. If you remember the video we showed you way back in March of 2007, the combo makes device pairing and transferring content like photos, video, music, calendar data, contacts, etc. as easy a touching the phone to a NFC-enabled picture frame, cellphone, speaker, or headset like Nokia’s own NFC-variant of the BH-210. It will also work with NFC payment systems. According to Jeremy Belostock, the Head of Near Field Communications at Nokia, “NFC-capable handsets such as the Nokia 6212 classic are set to change the way mobile phone users interact with devices and services in their surroundings.” You said it Jeremy, you said it. Expected to start shipping in Europe and Asia in the Q3 for about €200.
8800 GT upgrade kit available for older Mac Pro desktops
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT upgrade kit available for older Mac Pro desktops
Owners of first-generation Mac Pros, rejoice. Unless you already laid down the cash for one of those upgrade kits meant only for early 2008 machines, that is. For the rest of you, Apple has delivered a new NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT upgrade kit built specifically for your machine. As expected, the card itself looks the same — twin dual-link DVI ports, 512MB of dedicated GDDR3 RAM, etc. — but the Apple store now carries two distinct products to distinguish between the card compatible with early 2008 rigs and the Mac Pros before it. If you’ve managed to hold off buying a new machine this long, you can order yourself an all new graphics card right now for $279.
Universal’s Blu-ray release plans uncovered, details later today
We won’t have to wait long to find out Universal’s plans for Blu-ray, Reuters just noted that later today the studio will announce plans to release about 40 movies on the format in the second half of the year, including Doomsday. The only studio to support solely HD DVD from the beginning will come out with all three of its Mummy films: The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, and The Scorpion King July 22 (sounds like someone’s bitter about HD DVD and taking it out on Blu-ray owners to us), with catalog releases jumping over from red like Miami Vice, Knocked Up, American Gangster and others before the year is out. Keep an eye out for specifics later on, like whether those U-Control and community features from the HD DVD versions will make the jump intact
Limited Edition Joy Division Zune makes us dance, dance, dance to the radio
Listen to the silence, let it ring on. Microsoft is said to be releasing a limited edition, Joy Division Zune featuring an adaptation of Peter Saville’s pulsating cover art from the band’s Unknown Pleasures debut. The launch is meant to parallel the June 10th release of the Joy Division DVD and could, in one fell swoop, lift the Zune above its L-7 image. Then we could go on as though nothing was wrong and hide from these days we remained all alone.
Asus Eee PC 900 hits the US
We’re serious this time, people. No more kidding around with those international ship dates, we’ve got ourselves a real live release date from Asus: May 12th. The hotly-anticipated Eee PC 900 with that relatively bountiful 8.9-inch screen is going to sell for a starting price of $549, with Linux and XP versions available at launch.
10-inch Eee PC coming this year, Atom in June
Jerry Shen, ASUS CEO, is casually twisting Eee PC fans into a tizzy this morning. At the launch of the 8.9-inch Eee PC 900 in Taiwan, he uttered the magical phrase “10-inch Eee PC” for the first time. Expected sometime later this year, Shen said that the 10-inch screen will be the biggest allowed on the Eee PC. Good for you Jerry, but we’ve got the feeling that you’ve completely forgotten about the original promise of a $200, 7-inch laptop. Surely we’re due for a price drop now that the 900 is out, right?