Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Dell Gets All Defensive About Latitude XT Tablet Pricing

from Gizmodo by

latitudeshot.jpgWhile we sorta groaned at the Latitude XT's $2500 base-model pricetag along with everybody else (cause it's expensive!) we didn't piss and moan too much because we knew that the DuoSense technology making it the only input device on the market that combines a pressure-sensitive pen with multitouch into a single surface is new, hot shit. And that's never cheap. But Dell is a little touchy about the feedback, so they've publicly defended the price on their Direct2Dell blog, with a chart showing how much more awesome it is than other tablets and quips like "we are talking about cutting-edge technology here."

dellchart.jpg The sorta interesting claim about the price itself is that it's only "a slight premium to our competition (emphasis on the word 'slight')," which is based on the math its "non-standard features" only carry a 13 percent premium over the competition. If you're still not convinced it's worth it, they're going to be following it up with more posts explaining why you're wrong.

The problem is that however much it surpasses other tablets, when you come down to it, $2500 is still two-and-a-half grand, and that's just for the base model. You bump the processor to dual core, the RAM to 2GB and expand the hard drive to 80GB, you're talking closer to $3,000 for what's really the acceptable spec configuration. And that kind of money makes most consumers antsy, however fancy your wares. We know we'll be waiting for it to plunge to more plebian prices, though we do appreciate the tech inside, Dell. [Direct2Dell]

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Virtual Cable nav system superimposes route guidance on your windshield in 3D

We've seen quite a few next-gen nav device concepts, but none with as much potential as the Virtual Cable, from a New Jersey company called Making Virtual Solid. The system uses a laser, a set of lenses, and a moving mirror mounted in the dashboard to project a 3D route-guidance line above the road ahead, as though it's actually out in front of the driver. Besides making driving that much more like a video game, the company says mass-produced versions will cost somewhere around $400 as a factory-installed option, and can be easily interfaced with existing GPS systems. Sadly, there don't appear to be any live videos of the system in action, but judging from the number of patent applications and incredibly detailed schematics and explanations on the website, the vapor factor seems pretty low. Check the read link for a set of video mockups of the system in action.

 

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Toshiba, IBM, Samsung and others in pact with the 32-nm devil

Toshiba just announced its membership in an alliance to develop system chips using 32-nm circuitry. That's well below the existing 45-nm processes used in manufacturing Intel's Penryn, for example. The alliance includes IBM, AMD, Samsung, Infineon, Freescale, and Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing. No surprise really, what with Tosh already in bed with IBM to develop chips using 32-nm processes. The agreement is good until 2010 and covers design, development, and the production of the itty bitty circuitry. A move which should reduce manufacturing costs for the alliance with the savings passed along to us consumers.

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iPod touch SIP-VoIP application: free on New Year's Day


Remember that VoIP hack for the iPod touch. Right, the one that requires an external mic. Well, mark your calendars Jailbreakers, the software will be available for download on New Year's Day. SIP-VoIP is free, but your donations will gladly (and rightfully) be accepted.

[Thanks, RadicalxEdward]

 

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New earpiece design puts a microphone inside your head

Finally, you no longer have to mess with annoying bone conducting headsets to get your message heard in noisy environments. A Japanese company called NS-ELEX has created a new type of earpiece / microphone called the "e-Mimi-kun" (good ear boy), which utilizes air vibrations in the ear to deliver your voice to the other end of the line. Apparently, the design reduces outside noise by a factor of six, and a Sanyo chip used in the device further reduces sound levels, making things up to ten times quieter. The earpiece can be tethered to a phone, or work wirelessly via Bluetooth. No release date or pricing info available right now, but we're pretty sure stock brokers will snap these up like hot-cakes.

[Via PhysOrg]

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