Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Samsung X420, X520 CULV laptops outed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/01/samsung-x420-x520-culv-laptops-outed/

Now, details are slightly thin here (as well as machine translated), but we're getting word of two new Samsung laptops on the horizon -- the 14-inch X420 and the 15.6-inch X520. The X420 will supposedly boast a 1.3GHz Intel Pentium dual-core SU2700, Intel GMA X4500M graphics, 3GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive, with not an optical drive in sight. Similarly the X520 will also feature the ultra-low power consumption SU2700 CPU, 4GB of DDR3 RAM and a 320GB HDD. The X520 will weigh in at 2.09 kg with its 6-cell battery, while the X420 will supposedly weigh 1.7 kg. We're hearing these bad boys are coming to European soil in mid-October, and while we don't have any solid pricing information -- both have been estimated to run somewhere in the €700 range (around $1,000).

Filed under: Laptops

Samsung X420, X520 CULV laptops outed originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netgear ships ultra-speedy WNDR3700 dual-band router

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/01/netgear-ships-ultra-speedy-wndr3700-dual-band-router/

If you've grown increasingly incensed by those annoying dropouts caused by your 80s-era wireless router, it looks like Netgear has your cure. Though, we must say, there's at least a decent chance you don't have the coinage to procure said medicine. At $190, the RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router (WNDR3700) is one of the pricier WLAN routers on the market, though the amenities list is pretty impressive. The ReadyShare feature enables any USB hard drive to be viewed on the network, while the DLNA support and "real-world" throughput of 350Mbps shines up an already glistening device. There's even a broadband usage meter for those unfortunately dealing with Comcast caps, and if you actually use this as a remote media server, you'll definitely want to keep an eye on that.

[Via HotHardware]

Filed under: Networking

Netgear ships ultra-speedy WNDR3700 dual-band router originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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e-Detail's dual-screen Prezenter gets Atom upgrade, becomes Averatec PT1400

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/01/e-details-dual-screen-prezenter-gets-atom-upgrade-becomes-aver/

Last we saw e-Detail's dual-screen Prezenter tablet it packed an underpowered AMD Geode processor, a hefty $1,800 price tag, and no US release date to speak of. While it's been well over a year now, it looks like most of those have now changed for the better, with the device apparently finding a new distributor and a few new upgrades. Now branded as the Averatec PT-1400 "Prezenter," the device packs the same dual 14-inch and 7-inch touchscreens as before, but gets a more powerful Atom Z520 processor (upgradeable to a Z540), along with an 80GB hard drive (or optional SSD), 1GB of RAM, and 802.11n WiFi, among other standard specs. Unfortunately, there's no word on a price just yet, but it will apparently go on sale in North America, Japan and Korea sometime this month, and be available in your choice of black or white. A slightly smaller 12-inch version is also apparently set to follow at a later, unspecified date.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

e-Detail's dual-screen Prezenter gets Atom upgrade, becomes Averatec PT1400 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android-based Archos gets pictured, briefly priced by B&H

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/01/android-based-archos-gets-pictured-briefly-priced-by-bandh/

We still gotta wait until September 15th for the whole scoop, but B&H has gone ahead and spoiled some of the mystery of Archos' Android-based Archos 5, giving the internet tablet its own listing in a number of different storage capacity options, pictures in tow, as well as a $130 DVR station. Prices are currently listed as TBA, but fortunately it looks like the fine fellows at ArchosFans managed to capture the page when there were more concrete dollar signs on each model, to the tune of $294 for 16GB SSD, $370 for 32GB SSD, $320 for 160GB HDD, and $420 for a 500GB HDD. In the DVR station pic we spotted "HD" listed in the video names, which gives us hope that even more of those February leaks are coming to fruition. Screenshot of the with-price listings after the break.

[Via ArchosFans; thanks, Steve and Axel]

Gallery: Android-based Archos gets pictured, briefly priced by B&H

Read - 500GB HDD listing
Read - 16GB SSD listing
Read - 32GB SSD listing
Read - DVR Station

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Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCs

Android-based Archos gets pictured, briefly priced by B&H originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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UC Berkeley researchers tout world's smallest semiconductor laser

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/01/uc-berkeley-researchers-tout-worlds-smallest-semiconductor-lase/

Scientists at the Norfolk State University may laid claim to a "world's smallest laser" title just a few short weeks ago with the aid of some newfangled "spasers," but it looks like the folks at UC Berkeley at hot on their heels with some tiny lasers of their own, and they've now announced what they claim to be the worlds smallest semiconductor laser. Unlike Norfolk State's solution, the Berkeley researchers apparently relied primarily on standard semiconductor materials and fabrication technologies commonly used today, but devised a new means to squeeze the visible light into a 5 nanometer gap (about the size of a single protein molecule), while also using some newly-engineered "hybrid surface plasmons" to keep the light from dissipating as it moves along. That, the researchers say, represents nothing short of a "new milestone in laser physics," and could pave the way for everything from new nanolasers that can probe, manipulate and characterize DNA molecules to new breakthroughs in computing that could see light replacing electronic circuitry "with a corresponding leap in speed and processing power."

[Via DailyTech]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Science

UC Berkeley researchers tout world's smallest semiconductor laser originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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