Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

ASUS O!Play HD2 finally launching this week

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/04/asus-o-play-hd2-finally-launching-this-week/

It was back in March that we last heard about / saw ASUS's O!Play HD2, so it's totally understandable that you've completely forgotten about the sleek-looking multimedia server. But don't you worry, it's back now and ready to make sure you never forget that it is the "world's first USB 3.0 multimedia center." Launching this week in the UK for £109 and in the US on October 25 for $129.99, the O!Play HD2 is a lot like the previous O!Play Air HD with its streaming capabilities and 1080p support, but it's been updated with a USB 3.0 port for speedy HD movie transfers, a slot for a 3.5-inch hard drive, and an iPhone remote control. With support of tons of video / audio formats it'll probably be a solid alternative to the streaming-only boxes, but we'll wait on the reviews to make a call on that one. Hit that read more button for a full rundown of the specs and a flowery press release.

Continue reading ASUS O!Play HD2 finally launching this week

ASUS O!Play HD2 finally launching this week originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 21:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMIMON crams 1080p streaming into its WHDI Stick, your laptop might have a new BFF

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/05/amimon-crams-1080p-wireless-streaming-into-its-whdi-stick-has-t/

We can't say there's been a shortage of WHDI-enabled laptop-to-TV streaming solutions in the last few months -- ASUS has its WiCast, HP its Wireless TV and BriteView its HDelight -- but we've got one major complaint about them all: the large size of the transmitter. As you've probably heard us whine about before, each of those products requires a fairly chunky box be attached to the laptop itself via both HDMI and USB. But it's looking like it won't be that way for too long -- AMIMON, the company behind that WHDI technology, has engineered the WHDI Stick. The picture above is a clear sign of its prototype status, but the company's created the 3.2 x 1.2 x .61-inch device to really let the world, or at least manufacturers, know that it's shrunk down the package, but hasn't messed with the features -- it can still stream uncompressed 1080p/60Hz HD from a laptop to an HDTV with minimal (less than one millisecond) latency. We're planning to check it out in action at CEATEC this week, but AMIMON doesn't expect products based on the prototype to hit the market until the end of Q1 2011. Hit the break for the press release and the gallery below for some more pictures of the Stick.

Gallery: WHDI Stick

Continue reading AMIMON crams 1080p streaming into its WHDI Stick, your laptop might have a new BFF

AMIMON crams 1080p streaming into its WHDI Stick, your laptop might have a new BFF originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujitsu dual-touchscreen concept phone hands-on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/05/fujitsu-dual-touchscreen-concept-phone-hands-on/

Back at Mobile World Congress in February, the mobile UI gurus at TAT showed off their interpretation of a dual-screen phone interface using TI's powerhouse OMAP4 testbed. Seemed a little pie-in-the-sky at the time, but frankly, the concept device being shown off by Fujtisu at CEATEC this week -- created with TAT's involvement, it turns out -- seems virtually ready for production. Or the hardware did, anyway; the software was spartan by comparison, obviously designed to call out a few key use cases where having two giant, glorious 960 x 480 displays right next to each other might come in handy. We were shown browser and email list scrolling across both displays -- boring, if not obvious -- but what really piqued our interest was a cool photo sharing feature whereby you fling photos you want to share from a gallery on the bottom display to a list of contacts on the top one -- very TAT, if we do say so ourselves. Both displays can be rotated between portrait and landscape, creating either a nicely-sized clamshell or a gigantic flip, not an uncommon shape among Japanese phones. Indeed, given the form factor, the entirely-Japanese interface, and Fujitsu's history, we're sure this was designed entirely with the Japanese domestic market in mind -- and we wouldn't be at all surprised to see it show up in a retail capacity there within a year or so. Follow the break for video.

Gallery: Fujitsu dual touchscreen concept phone hands-on

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Fujitsu dual-touchscreen concept phone hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 00:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Data Robotics debuts 8-bay DroboPro FS with automatic offsite backup option

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/05/data-robotics-debuts-8-bay-drobopro-fs-with-automatic-offsite-ba/

It was inevitable, really. First comes the business-oriented DroboPro, then comes the network-savvy Drobo FS. Mash the two together, and out pops the DroboPro FS. Design wise, it's the same 3U form factor that DroboPro users will recognize, but internally, Data Robotics has bumped the CPU speed from 800MHz in the Drobo FS to 1GHz here. There are eight total bays within, and a pair of gigabit Ethernet jacks around back; by default, the second port is used to connect to a different subnet (possibly for offsite file replication), while users can opt for a protection mode during setup if they'd rather it act as a fail-safe (in case the primary port kicks the bucket). More important than all of that, though, is the new Drobo Sync feature, which will be exclusive to the DroboPro FS for at least the time being. During setup, users simply input the IP address of another DroboPro FS; once that's plugged in, they can schedule automatic offsite backups as often as each hour or as infrequently as once per day.

Here's the thing: this automatic offsite sync only works with a pair of DroboPro FS devices, so you'll need to pick up two from the start and have 'em shipped to different addresses if you're interested in taking advantage. The good news, however, is that an intelligent syncing system specifically scans for minute file changes, so if you only change two cells in a 105MB Excel chart, only a few chunks of data will have to fly over your network rather than resending and overwriting the entire 105MB file. As for pricing? Given that these are meant for small biz, it's up there -- the empty base unit goes for $1,999, while at 8TB model (2TB x 4) lists for $2,699 and a 16TB behemoth (2TB x 8) sells for $3,299. The company also has plans to sell a two-device bundle (8TB units) for $6,399, aiming this at folks who want an offsite solution from the get-go. The box itself is available today from CDW, B&H and a few other e-tailers, and even if you're not feeling spendy, you can hit that More Coverage link for a chance to win yourself a gratis Drobo FS. It's a win-win, we tell ya.

Gallery: DroboPro FS press photos and data sheet

Continue reading Data Robotics debuts 8-bay DroboPro FS with automatic offsite backup option

Data Robotics debuts 8-bay DroboPro FS with automatic offsite backup option originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 01:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TDK's see-through and curved OLED display eyes-on (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/05/tdks-see-through-and-curved-oled-display-eyes-on/

Remember the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pureness? At a list price of $1,000, it'd be hard to forget -- but with a monochrome see-through display, the whole transparency thing was little more than a novelty on a phone that served little practical purpose. TDK might have the solution with its new transparent QVGA OLEDs, available now to manufacturers in monochrome and in a lovely color variant by the end of the year. At two inches, they offer 200ppi pixel density and are more secure than you might think: the light only shines in one direction, so you actually can't see any data from the back even though you can still see through the display. At a glance, the display's didn't seem as vibrant as the best AMOLEDs on the market, but then again, these are passive matrix -- and you can really tell in our videos after the break where the refresh scans stand out. Guess that's the price you pay for transparency, right? We've also got some video of the 3.5-inch flexible OLED screens TDK's got on hand; they're not transparent, but considering the long, narrow resolution, we can't help but think they'd make for amazing wristwatches (or high-tech glowstick replacements at raves).

Gallery: TDK's see-through and curved OLED display eyes-on