Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Now Available [Now Available]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/zJoY68YxssU/now-available

MSI's first AMD Neo-based netbook is available today, along with a new home video monitoring kit from Vue.

• The Vue Personal Video Network kit we reviewed a few months ago is shipping today. The package comes with a base station and two wireless cameras. Check out Jason's thoughts for a better rundown, but in essence he found it to be an easy-to-use surveillance system that produces acceptable video quality. Whether or not ease of use is worth the premium over just setting up a webcam is your call. The base system runs for $300, and additional cameras can be added for $99 each. [Press Release]

• MSI's Wind U210 notebook is now available. The latest addition to the Wind family falls in the same price range as most netbooks, but some subtle differences under the hood set it apart from the crowd. For one, MSI went with a 1.6GHz AMD Neo processor instead of the standard Intel Atom N270 we're all used to seeing by now. The U210 also bumps up the RAM from the 1GB that has become the netbook norm to a healthy 2GB. Unfortunately, ION graphics are a no-show. AMD's integrated graphics solution drives the 12" display. The Wind U210 is available today for $430. [Amazon]

Apple tablet rumors strike back: 9.6-inch with HSDPA and P.A. Semi processor coming February 2010?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/15/apple-tablet-rumors-strike-back-9-6-inch-with-hsdpa-coming-feb/

Now that all that iPod mess is over and done with, looks like it's as good of time as any to return to the world of Apple tablet rumors. A report from Taiwan Economic News starts us off right, with "industry sources" telling the outlet it'll have a 9.6-inch multitouch screen, built-in HSDPA (so much for Verizon), a P. A. Semi processor, a "long lasting battery pack," and a $799 to $999 price tag. Most to all of that sounds fairly familiar, but coming along with it is a new timeline: shipments will reportedly be delivered to Apple this December in preparation for a launch in February 2010. As for component providers, Taiwanese company DynaPack will reportedly be the exclusive supplier of battery packs, as much as 300,000 per month, while iPhone screen-maker Wintek will be doing the display duties here, too. The author in question here does appear to have some manufacturing sources -- it looks like he was right about the Acer Timeline -- but at this point, we're not ready to believe anything without some photographic evidence of Steve Jobs personally adding the magical unicorn tears.

[Via TabletAge; thanks, Philip]

Filed under: Handhelds

Apple tablet rumors strike back: 9.6-inch with HSDPA and P.A. Semi processor coming February 2010? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sinchun's 8.9-inch UMPC-891A holds onto the past with XP

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/15/sinchuns-8-9-inch-umpc-891a-holds-onto-the-past-with-xp/

Sinchun got the price right: 2999 Yuan (about $439 US), and the netbook-style specs make a lot of sense for this form factor. Unfortunately, Windows XP does not. Paired up against a stylus-driven 1024 x 600 touchscreen, Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and a variety of smallish SSD options, there's plenty of room for 7's touch enhancements to shine on the UMPC-891A -- but not enough expanse for them to choke up. Of course, there's nothing stopping you from slapping it on yourself. The biggest point of caution here is the 2 hour quoted battery life -- let's hope the Archos 9pctablet brings us a truly helpful amount of battery life in the UMPC space.

[Via Cloned In China]

Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCs

Sinchun's 8.9-inch UMPC-891A holds onto the past with XP originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Freecom's MediaPlayer II NAS and media streamer aims high, scores low

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/15/freecoms-mediaplayer-ii-nas-and-media-streamer-aims-high-score/

Freecom has released enough diverse disk-based products over the past few years to inspire hope that its latest attempt to bridge the network-attached storage and media streamer divide would succeed. Not the case, according to Register Hardware's review. File copies to the device were quick enough over USB, but once tethered on Ethernet got rather slow (10 minutes for a 1GB file, 36 minutes for 1,024 1MB files), and even worse over WiFi (14 and 44 minutes, respectively). So, that whole NAS aspect doesn't exactly work out. Neither does the streaming side, with an inability to open H.264 or WMV9 files, and while it can decode high-definition MPEG2 files, it fails to play them smoothly. It can open DivX and Xvid files, and can even play DVD ISO files, but, sadly, that's where the positives end for this £115 ($190), 500GB multi-tasker.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Freecom's MediaPlayer II NAS and media streamer aims high, scores low originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seagate launches FreeAgent Theater+ HD media player, we go hands-on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/15/seagate-launches-freeagent-theater-hd-media-player-we-go-hands/

Remember when Seagate introduced its Betamax-esque FreeAgent Theater HD way back at CES this year? Of course not -- you were locked onto the Palm Pre keynote. At any rate, the next generation of that very device somehow made it through the product development stage and now sits in our very hands, and we have to say, it's no more modern in person than it is in press shots. Equipped with the usual assortment of ports (HDMI, component, composite, Toslink, Ethernet and two USB) ports, the FreeAgent Theater+ HD media player gets all of its content from a FreeAgent Go USB 2.0 hard drive (sold separately or in a bundle) or whatever you shove into those USB sockets. You can count on 1080p output and a pretty standard UI, and while it's wired-or-die right now, Seagate's hoping to pop out a USB WiFi adapter ($69.99) for it next month.

We've yet to really put this player through its paces, but we can say for sure that it's not made for abuse. The mostly-plastic box is staggeringly light, and one drop from atop your AV rack could lead to utter disaster. Furthermore, this is really only useful for those wound tightly around Seagate's finger; the bulk of its functionality relies on having a FreeAgent USB drive at your disposal, and if you've selected any other portable HDD, you'll have to deal with connecting it the old fashion way and ditching the "clean look." At $149.99 sans an HDD, it's one of the cheaper options on the market, but it still can't beat Popcorn Hour's heralded lineup when it comes to value and format support. Those looking for an all-in-one deal can opt for the $289.99 bundle, which throws in a 500GB FreeAgent Go drive. Have a look at retro ex! emplifie d in the gallery below.

Gallery: Seagate launches FreeAgent Theater+ HD media player, we go hands-on