Thursday, June 04, 2009

Five new Moorestown-based MIDs announced at Computex

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/04/five-new-moorestown-based-mids-announced-at-computex/


Pardon us while we take this opportunity to snag a nap, but seriously, we just cannot muster any excitement whatsoever about Mobile Internet Devices. Stuck somewhere between capable smartphones and these newfangled smartbooks, MIDs seem to be carving out a niche that precisely no one cares about. Though, we can say we're stoked about the forthcoming introduction of Moorestown -- the Atom needs a successor in the worst way. At any rate, those still hanging on in hopes of a turnaround have introduced new MIDs today at Computex, with EB, Quanta, Inventec, Aava Mobile and Compal (despite its recent skepticism) showcasing their wares. If you honestly think you could see yourself purchasing one of these unwanted devices in the next year or so, we've got plenty of images down there in the read link.

[Via MIDMoves]

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Five new Moorestown-based MIDs announced at Computex originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 8:37 PM

Compal shows off Android-running, Snapdragon-powered smartbook

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/04/compal-shows-off-android-running-snapdragon-powered-smartbook/


As if it wasn't clear already, smartbooks are one of the big trends (if not the biggest) to emerge out of this year's Computex, be they Snapdragon or Tegra-powered. Just as interesting as the devices themselves, however, is the fact that a number of manufacturers are looking at using Android as an OS for 'em, including big players like ASUS, and now Compal. While's ASUS' Snapdragon-based offering was impressive enough, Compal looks to have slightly outdone it by adding a customized interface at start-up, which is apparently just a taste of further "optimizations" to come. Details are otherwise a bit hard to come by, but you can head on past the break for a hands-on video courtesy of techvideoblog.com.

Continue reading Compal shows off Android-running, Snapdragon-powered smartbook

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Compal shows off Android-running, Snapdragon-powered smartbook originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 8:35 PM

Video: hands-on with ASUS' Eee Keyboard at Computex

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/04/video-hands-on-with-asus-eee-keyboard-at-computex/

We first caught sight of ASUS' totally weird Eee Keyboard -- a full PC with an Intel Atom N270 CPU built in -- way back at CES in January. Well, our friends at Engadget Chinese have laid hands on it at Computex, and it's looking a bit different than what we expected... and a whole lot more awesome. The 5-inch, 800 x 480 pixel touchscreen display/trackpad on the right side of the keyboard, is, as it turns out, running a standalone version of XP, and serves as the main display for the PC, with the external monitor functioning in a secondary capacity. The LCD boasts shortcuts to most of the included software -- including Skype, MSN, and music playback controls. Our friends found the touchscreen to work extremely well, and though we don't know anything rock solid about pricing or availability yet (we hear it will launch by the end of June, we do know that it will come in two flavors -- wired and and UWB wireless -- with the wireless version housing a battery which gets about two hours of use before needing a charge. There's a video (in Chinese) showing this badboy off after the break. Hit the read link for a full gallery of photos.

Continue reading Video: hands-on with ASUS' Eee Keyboard at Computex

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Video: hands-on with ASUS' Eee Keyboard at Computex originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:54:00 EST. Please see ! our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 8:35 PM

Pharos Traveller 137 now available, can use both AT&T and T-Mobile 3G

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/04/pharos-traveller-137-now-available-can-use-both-atandt-and-t-mobi/


We're not sure what kind of wilded-out party people need a single phone that can use both AT&T and T-Mobile 3G in the States, but your dreams have finally come true: the Pharos Traveller 137 is finally available. Hope you like Windows Mobile 6.1, cause that's what you're getting for your $350 on two-year T-Mo contract or $600 unlocked. Expensive, yes, but you're basically getting every feature you can think of and Pharos says the 137 is WinMo 6.5-ready, so there's an upgrade path here -- too bad no firmware will ever make that resistive touchscreen feel good.

[Via PhoneScoop]

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Pharos Traveller 137 now available, can use both AT&T and T-Mobile 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 5:53 PM

Apple Patent Describes Mid-Call Music, Video, Picture Sharing for iPhone [Apple]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/87VamwAWARg/apple-patent-describes-mid+call-music-video-picture-sharing-for-iphone

Apple Insider has scrounged up an Apple patent, filed in late 2007, that just, you know, immediately clicks. It's for instant media sharing during iPhone calls, and it makes plain old video calling look downright boring.

The application explains it thusly:

An individual may call his friend to discuss music, but in order for the friend to listen to the music, the individual either may have to send the music to the friend using a device other than his telephone, or he may have to end the phone call and use the telephone to send the friend an email with the music attached.

This capability extends to pretty much anything, from photos and videos to voicemail and "others", and implies that the data could be streamed in real time, not just transferred and downloaded.

Carrier reluctance and technical network limitations are the most obvious obstacles to something like this actually coming to pass in the near future, though the patent has a clever solution for the latter problem:

There may also be two audio data streams to transmit. In order to transmit all of the streams over the same communication path, the control circuitry may employ a multiplexer to combine together any video streams, and to combine together any audio streams, the multiplexer may then combine into one fixed stream the two combined streams.

In other words, this is more than an airy-fairy "wouldn't it be cool" concept—Apple seems to have given it some s! erious t hought, and a bit of real engineering attention. And the more the better: this is one of those concepts that, once you see it, just seems like it needs to happen. [AppleInsider]




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Posted by Augustine at 12:40 PM

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