2010 January | dailygadget.info

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Jan 31 2010

Mobiado’s 712ZAF yet another way to rid yourself of bothersome $100 bills

Posted by: in Mobile

Cash weighing you down? Credit limit too high? Luxury phone specialist Mobiado might just have the answer with its latest creation, the 712ZAF candybar. Billed as the successor to the Luminoso, the Vancouver-based company’s latest execution of conspicuous consumption features a 2.2-inch QVGA display, AGPS, two-mic dynamic noise reduction, a 5 megapixel camera with flash, and quadband EDGE plus UMTS 900 / 1900 / 2100 (Mobiado has always had a bad habit of simply calling out “WCDMA” without specifying UMTS or HSPA, but on that tiny display, it really doesn’t matter too much). The aluminum frame is surrounded with a ceramic coat in your choice of six colors; no word on price or availability, but we’ll venture a guess that breaking open your piggy bank isn’t going to cover it.

Mobiado’s 712ZAF yet another way to rid yourself of bothersome $100 bills originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 31 2010

Samsung S5620 ‘Monte’ possibly leaked, looks better than it sounds

Posted by: in Mobile

We know the FCC’s already gotten a gander at this thing, but the general public… well, that’s another story altogether. Daily Mobile has a bunch of shots of what it claims to be Sammy’s upcoming S5620 Monte, a silly name from a company that certainly hasn’t shied away from funny branding in the past (one quick look at the Corby or Rant should be able to verify that for you). Anyhow, we’re told to expect a TouchWiz-powered feature phone here with a 3-inch display, HSDPA, and a 3.5mm headphone jack which you can clearly see in some of the pictures. A quick look at the FCC filing also reveals WiFi, though the lack of WCDMA testing indicates that we won’t have 850 or 1900MHz 3G support — in other words, North Americans are out of luck as usual. If we had to guess, this one might get the covers pulled off at MWC next month.

Samsung S5620 ‘Monte’ possibly leaked, looks better than it sounds originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Entelligence: Lessons from the iPad launch

Jan 31 2010

Entelligence: Lessons from the iPad launch

Posted by: in GPS

Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

It was quite the week for Apple, first with its best-ever earnings and then the launch of the iPad. While Apple didn’t create this category of device, it did answer the fundamental question of why this form factor needs to exist. The meta lesson is that the story told is as important as the hardware, software and services being sold — and while everyone may not be convinced, I do think Apple will win over the majority of a skeptical audience with high expectations. But there’s also four important lessons that Apple taught the market this week, as it enters a space that’s been mostly a failure.

1. Define what your product does. The first thing Apple did was answer that question immediately and then define what the product needed to do. Apple explained what capabilities need to be in the this class of device and then went on to show how each of those features not only worked but were optimized for the iPad. That’s something we’ve seen lacking in this category to date.

2. Leverage what you’ve done before. I believe the iPad is likely to do well with consumers as it leverages Apple’s previous successes with the iPod and the iPhone. At the base level, that’s compatibility and synchronization with iTunes as well as backward compatibility with existing applications. That’s important — as a user I can use my existing content library and my application collection. It also means that iPad has 140,000-plus applications at launch. But it’s more than that. Apple is not only leveraging its ecosystem of devices and software, it’s leveraging the lessons it spent a decade teaching consumers. Apple taught its market about MP3 players, digital music, smartphones, capacitive multitouch screens and mobile apps. It can now go directly to selling the form factor, as well as new features such as productivity and e-books.

Entelligence: Lessons from the iPad launch originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 31 2010

Sony’s John Koller: Apple’s entrance into gaming market drives consumers to PSP

Posted by: in GPS

Um, okay? Just days after Apple introduced its exceedingly underwhelming iPad while simultaneously attempting to convince that masses that said product was the portable gaming device they had been waiting their whole lives for, Sony’s own hardware marketing honcho has come forward and extolled Cupertino’s decision to finally make the gaming leap. In a recent interview, John stated the following:

“Apple’s entrance into the portable gaming space has been a net positive for Sony. When people want a deeper, richer console, they start playing on a PSP.”

While we can’t seem to shake the suspicion that Mr. Koller is drawing links that probably don’t exist (at least fully) in reality, research firm NPD does show that sales of the PSP have “nearly tripled since the iPhone went on sale in June 2007.” Of course, it’s not like the PSP has gained functionality, become the home of more than a few killer titles and spawned a UMD-less sibling since the heydays of ‘07, but hey — who are we to question the suit?

Sony’s John Koller: Apple’s entrance into gaming market drives consumers to PSP originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 31 2010

CE-Oh no he didn’t? Part LXVII: Steve Jobs lashes out at Google, calls Adobe ‘lazy’

Posted by: in GPS

According to a report in Wired (and a source whom the publication says “could not be named”), Steve Jobs spoke to an audience of Apple employees at a town hall in Cupertino and… pulled zero punches. If you believe what you read, Jobs tackled a handful of major issues that have been buzzing the company lately, namely its run-ins with Google on a number of topics, and the lack of Flash support in its mobile devices (most notably in the upcoming iPad). On Google, Jobs had this to say: “We did not enter the search business. They entered the phone business. Make no mistake they want to kill the iPhone. We won’t let them.” According to the attendee, another topic was brought up but Steve wouldn’t let the Google issue go, stating his thoughts on the company’s famous ‘Don’t be evil’ line. In Steve’s words? “It’s bullshit.”

Furthermore Jobs had a handful of choice words for Adobe, calling the company “lazy” and claiming that “Apple does not support Flash because it is so buggy. Whenever a Mac crashes more often than not it’s because of Flash. No one will be using Flash. The world is moving to HTML5.” Of course, these amazing nuggets of wisdom come from a source which Engadget cannot verify, so it’s possible there are misquotes or items taken out of context, though from the sounds of things, this kind of talk falls right in line with what we’d expect from the man who said Microsoft “had no taste” and makes “really third-rate products.” We eagerly await Eric Schmidt’s response.

CE-Oh no he didn’t? Part LXVII: Steve Jobs lashes out at Google, calls Adobe ‘lazy’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 31 2010

PMA leak roundup: Olympus, Fujifilm and Hasselblad plan new shooters

Posted by: in GPS

Not sure if you’ve heard, but PMA is just around the corner. You know — that camera show? At any rate, Photo Rumors has a trio of new leaks to swoon over this fine evening, starting with black and white (saywha?) shots of Olympus‘ supposedly forthcoming SP800 (or SP-800UZ, if we’re talking specifics). The megazoom shooter is said to boast a 30x optical zoom, 14 megapixel sensor and image stabilization, though no further details have been let loose just let. Moving on, Fujifilm seems to have a whole gaggle of new cams planned for release this week, including a megazoom of its own and a whole host of point-and-shoot offerings. Finally, Hasselblad is expected to one-up the H3D by introducing the H4D, which we fully suspect will have a 489 megapixel sensor and a price tag that far exceeds 93 percent of salaries here in America. Hit the links below for the goods, and hang tight — PMA kicks off in earnest in just a few weeks.

PMA leak roundup: Olympus, Fujifilm and Hasselblad plan new shooters originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 12:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 31 2010

8.9-inch ExoPC Slate has iPad looks, netbook internals, Windows 7 soul

Posted by: in GPS

Yes, we realize that it’s hard to provide too much visual differentiation between tablet PCs with large, ebony bezels, but we can’t help but think that this 8.9-inch multitouch tablet looks a lot like another, recently announced 9.7-inch multitouch tablet. Nevertheless this one’s quite different on the inside, delivering “the web without compromise,” meaning full browser support with flash courtesy of Windows 7 on an Atom N270 at 1.6GHz, with 2GB of DDR2 memory and a 32GB SSD with SD expansion. Yeah, those specs are familiar too, and while we’re not thinking this will deliver the sort of snappy performance seen on the iPad, it will certainly be a lot more functional. Battery life is only four hours, but at least it’s user-replaceable, and a price of $599 matches the 32GB iPad. Likewise it will be available in March — or you can get a non-multitouch prototype for $780 right this very moment. If, that is, you speak enough French to manage the order page.

Gallery: ExoPC Slate tablet PC

[Thanks, Jean-Baptiste]

8.9-inch ExoPC Slate has iPad looks, netbook internals, Windows 7 soul originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 31 2010

MSI’s new CX420, CR420 and CR720 laptops put Intel’s new processors to good, workaday use

Posted by: in GPS

Smell that? That’s a smell of a real man’s budget computer, doing real manly things like task processing and pixel churning. MSI’s new CX420, CR420 and CR720 laptops aren’t much for looks, but under the hood you can find new-gen Core i Series processors across the board and ATI Radeon HD5470 graphics in the CX420 (pictured). Sure, there’s only Intel integrated HD graphics in the CR420 and CR720, and the 1366 x 768 14-inch displays in the CX420 / CR420 are a bit of a letdown, but knowing MSI we’re sure the prices for this trio will more than make up for any mild disappointments on the spec sheet. Hit up the PR for the full breakdown, but there’s no release date to be found just yet.

MSI’s new CX420, CR420 and CR720 laptops put Intel’s new processors to good, workaday use originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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