AT&T slinging HSPA 7.2 to six cities this year, adding backhaul capacity too

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/09/atandt-slinging-hspa-7-2-to-six-cities-this-year-adding-backhaul/

If there's one thing AT&T's network could use, it's more network. Particularly in major cities (we're looking at you and your dastardly street parking situation, San Francisco), AT&T's 3G network is perpetually overwhelmed, oftentimes forcing users to switch to EDGE just to tweet about how awful the coverage is. Thankfully, the operator is making good on its earlier promise to roll out HSPA 7.2Mbps to select cities, with Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami now destined to get lit this year. Potentially more interesting, however, is the deployment of "additional backhaul capacity to cell sites," which will also support LTE when the time comes. All told, around 2,000 new cell sites should be added before the year's end, and at least a half dozen 7.2Mbps-capable smartphones should be in AT&T's portfolio by the same deadline. Feel free to express your joy in comments below -- that is, if you can get comments to load on your existing 3G connection.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

AT&T slinging HSPA 7.2 to six cities this year, adding backhaul capacity too originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

Archos 9pctablet hands-on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/09/archos-9pctablet-hands-on/

We wouldn't want to jump to conclusions, but Archos might just be onto something with its upcoming 9pctablet, which is due to launch alongside Windows 7. The Windows 7 bit isn't an accident, since it's really the first OS from Microsoft that makes it conceivable to use much of the OS with a finger, rather than the stylus. It's not all there, of course: Archos had to build its own touchscreen keyboard to replace Microsoft's woefully inadequate implementation, and there's an optical mouse sensor on the side of the display and a stylus buried within to pick up the slack.

Overall the hardware seems very solid and astonishingly dense, and despite the recent advancements we've seen in thin and light laptops, it's pretty incredible that Archos has a full Atom-based PC running inside this thin, fanless slab. What wasn't so incredible was the resistive touchscreen, at least on the unit we were playing with. Our touches kept getting misread inexplicably as an inch below where we were tapping, and it didn't feel like a "light touch" resistive model at all -- no confusing what we felt with capacitive, though perhaps we got a faulty unit. This is probably a scenario where resistive makes sense, but we'd say Archos has a lot of work to do on the drivers or **something to make this more usable. The good news is that there will be an optional, super-slim external keyboard, which should make input on the 9 a bit less of a chore.

Gallery: Archos 9pctablet hands-on

Filed under: Tablet PCs

Archos 9pctablet hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

Leica gets official with M9 and X1 cameras, hands-on ensue

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/09/leica-gets-official-with-m9-and-x1-cameras-hands-on-ensue/

No surprises here (at all), but Leica's 09/09/09 event has just led to the formal unveiling of the full-frame, 18 megapixel M9 rangefinder and the compact X1. The former (which is shipping now) supports all Leica M lenses and ships with a "newly developed glass sensor cover designed to guarantee the suppression of the infrared portion of the light spectrum." There's also a quick-access ISO adjustment button alongside a few other hotkeys, a full metal housing, Kodak-sourced CCD, a fresh microprocessor-controlled shutter (which is supposedly "near silent") and a staggering £4,850 ($8,004) price tag. As for the X1, you'll find a 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor (APS-C), a fixed-mount Leica Elmarit 1:2.8/24mm lens, numerous "auto" modes for the newbies in attendance, a maximum ISO of 3200, 2.7-inch rear LCD and a Live View function that replaces the optical viewfinder. Expect to hear more regarding price when the January 2010 ship date nears, but for now, feel free to peruse the hands-on galleries linked below.

Read - Leica M9 announcement and hands-on
Read - Leica X1 announcement and hands-on

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Leica gets official with M9 and X1 cameras, hands-on ensue originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

Intel Atom N470 1.83GHz CPU coming to netbooks early next year

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/08/intel-atom-n470-1-83ghz-cpu-coming-to-netbooks-early-next-year/

We know how relieved you were when you found out that rumors of Pineview's delay were greatly exaggerated. But have you heard this one? In addition to the N450 1.66GHz system-on-a-chip due to hit the streets in early 2010, Intel is said to be releasing the N470, which will run along at a cool 1.83GHz and sport a 667MHz FSB, hyperthreading support, and a TDP of 6.5 watts (which, considering you won't need a separate graphics controller, is none too shabby). It really makes the whole concept of microprocessor without its own graphics seem a little 2009, doesn't it? Not a bad deal all around -- provided this thing comes in at a decent price point it's sure to put a smile on the face of netbook manufacturers and consumers alike. But NVIDIA? Not so much.

[Via liliputing]

Filed under: Laptops

Intel Atom N470 1.83GHz CPU coming to netbooks early next year originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

Advertising does not create demand; it only helps to map certain products to demands that already exist - http://bit.ly/jZbI3 - agree?

Read More...

Summary only...