Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, June 01, 2009

Olidata Conte ultraportable finally shows itself, looks mighty good

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/31/olidata-conte-ultraportable-finally-shows-itself-looks-mighty-g/

My, my Olidata -- why on Earth have you been depriving our wandering eyes from this beauty for so long? After being originally introduced at CES, we've heard precisely nothing since... until now, obviously. At long last, the striking Conte ultraportable has found its way outside of the lab over in Italy, sporting an ultrathin frame, chiclet-style keyboard, a bezel that's a bit too wide for our tastes, an HDMI output and a price tag starting at just €799 ($1,129). From what we can gather, a few versions of the machine will be available, one of which sports an SU2700 CPU, 13.3-inch LED-backlit display, a 120GB hard drive, 3GB of RAM, Bluetooth, WiFi and a multi-touch trackpad. Another variant is slated to include a Core Solo SU3500 CPU and a 120GB HDD, while yet another gets a Core 2 Duo SL9400 and a 128GB SSD. Peek the read link for a few more looks, including one of the most bizarre advertisements we've ever seen for a mere laptop.

[Thanks, Andrea]

Filed under: Laptops

Olidata Conte ultraportable finally shows itself, looks mighty good originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 May 2009 11:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft showing off Windows 7-powered Viliv S5 MID at Computex

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/31/microsoft-showing-off-windows-7-powered-viliv-s5-mid-at-computex/

Being that Release Candidate 1 just hit the tubes, we weren't really expecting a big Windows 7 presence at Computex this year. Much to our surprise, Viliv has announced that it will be showcasing the first official Win7-powered MID at the Taiwan-based show later this week. The heralded S5 will be the lucky device, with a duo of WiMAX-equipped cousins (X70 EX and S7) hanging around to demonstrate live video streaming. Needless to say, we'll be doing everything we can to drop by and see how things are going.

[Via CNET]

Filed under: Handhelds

Microsoft showing off Windows 7-powered Viliv S5 MID at Computex originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 May 2009 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ultra-powerful laser could make incandescent light bulbs more efficient

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/31/ultra-powerful-laser-could-make-incandescent-light-bulbs-more-ef/

Look, LED light bulbs are fanciful, great for Ma Earth and a fine addition to any home, barber shop or underground fight club. But let's be honest -- even the guy that bikes through blizzards to get to work and wears garb that he grew in his basement isn't apt to shell out $120 a pop to have what's likely the most efficient light bulb American dollars can buy. Enter Chunlei Guo from the University of Rochester, who has helped discover a process which could morph a traditional incandescent light bulb into a beacon of burning light without using nearly as much energy as before. In fact, his usage of the femtosecond laser pulse -- which creates a "unique array of nano- and micro-scale structures on the surface of a regular tungsten filament" -- could enable a bulb to increase output efficiency in order to emit 100-watts worth of light while sucking down less than 60-watts of power. Per usual, there's no telling when this new hotness is likely to hit the commercial realm, but one's thing for sure: we bet GE's paying attention.

[Via Physorg]

Filed under: Household

Ultra-powerful laser could make incandescent light bulbs more efficient originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 May 2009 16:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Qualcomm's 1.3GHz QSD8650A Snapdragon chipset is 30% stronger, uses 30% less power

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/01/qualcomms-1-3ghz-qsd8650a-snapdragon-chipset-is-30-stronger/

Toshiba's TG01 made us quick fans of the 1GH Snapdragon processor. Now we hear that Qualcomm will have its 1.3GHz QSD8650A chipset on the market for sampling before the end of 2009 -- that means new smartphone and smartbooks (get used to it netbook fans) in 2010 running 30% faster while using 30% less power (and just 10 milliwatts in standby) thanks to the use of reduced 45-nm manufacturing processes. The new chipset supports multi-mode UMTS and CDMA 3G connectivity in the same 15 x 15-mm package as well as featuring enhanced 2D acceleration and 3D graphics core, integrated GPS, high-def video recording and playback, Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi, and support for WXGA (1280x800 pixels) displays pumping out your choice of MediaFLO, DVBH, or ISDB-T digital mobile television. The new chipset makes for a snug fit right in between the existing 1GHz QSD8x50 chipset and Qualcomm's dual-CPU 45-nm QSD8672 chipset running up to 1.5 GHz. After seeing the TG01 in action, you'd better believe that we'll be hunting down all the Snapdragon devices we can find at Computex this week.

Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops

Qualcomm's 1.3GHz QSD8650A Snapdragon chipset is 30% stronger, uses 30% less power originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung's Pixon 12: a dozen megapixels of cameraphone nonsense in June

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/01/samsungs-pixon-12-a-dozen-megapixels-of-cameraphone-nonsense-i/

After failing to show at the Mobile World Congress event in February, Samsung's rumored 12 megapixel cameraphone has finally arrived. Meet the Pixon 12 and its 3.1-inch AMOLED touchscreen with a Sammy promise of fast shutter speeds and quick browsing. As a camera, the Pixon 12 (M8910) brings a dedicated shutter button, touch auto-focus (wherever you touch becomes the focal point) that locks in to track moving subjects, Smart Auto mode that adjusts to conditions, and a 28-mm wide angle lens. The unit also saves images relatively quickly (for a cameraphone) so that you can fire off the next shot within 2 seconds. Just remember, more megapixels do not make for better photos especially when jammed tightly into a sensor small enough for a cellphone. And 12 megapixels translates to files ranging from 2MB to 18MB and beyond depending on the compression used (Samsung doesn't say). So ask yourself: is it really worth the storage space and the associated delays when uploading images to Samsung's Share Pix service (with Facebook, Picasa, Flickr integration) over the Pixon 12's built-in WiFi and HSUPA data? No rush, you've got time to decide -- Pixon 12 will be hitting Europe in late June, other regions sometime in August. One more pic after the break.

Update: Full specs just came in: 150MB of on-board storage (up to 16GB MicroSD expansion); quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, HSPA 900/2100MHz; Xenon + Power LED flash; 720 x 480 pixel videos at 30fps; internal GPS, and FM radio with RDS.

Continue reading Samsung's Pixon 12: a dozen megapixels of cameraphone nonsense in June

Filed under: Cellpho nes, Digital Cameras

Samsung's Pixon 12: a dozen megapixels of cameraphone nonsense in June originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 02:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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