Two display LG cell phone with a touch screen

One of the first LG cell phones with a touch screen LG KF600 Venus. It has been created in continuation to Chocolate series. However, the main screen is not touch sensitive it's only the small one that can be controlled by touch.

Venus has two displays in the front and that makes it different from other LG mobile phones. The bigger display on top is a 2" 240 x 320 pixel screen. The second display is a 1.5" screen with resolution of 176 x 240 pixels and is called "InterractPad". This is where you can press buttons with your fingers. I think this idea is very interesting and somewhat useful.

The number of buttons and functions displayed on the lower screen can be different which helps simplify controls on the phone as opposed to two soft buttons, two hard buttons and a 4 position joystick with OK button as it used to be in older phones. Now the controls may be customizable by users.

Speaking of the technological aspects of LG KF600 Venus it's a pretty nice phone with decent features built in. Bluetooth and MP3 player have become standard features in modern mobile phones and KF600 is not an exception. It has 64 MB of built in memory and a microSD card expansion slot which is enough for this model.

As for the camera it has a pretty good 3.15 megapixel camera that can shoot photos and videos. The picture quality is very good as always it was in LG mobile phones, so no problems here.

Connectivity - one of the main features for some people. Venus will allow you to view office documents and e-mails right on the phone itself. It has a quad band GSM, features USB 2.0 for PC connections and EDGE for fast internet.

In general LG KF600 Venus is a good cell phone but it does not have some features that I would want to see in it. For example a top spec camera and 3G connectivity are missing here however I would like to see it in my next cell phone.

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Convert photos to DVD without computer at all

Nowadays personal computers can do almost everything, you can use them in all domains, from work to entertainment. However, more and more simple one-function gadgets appear, main adventage of which is that they are completely standalone and do not need computer to operate. While it may sound strange, in some situations they can be handier than big and almighty PC will be, especially when you use it for 1-2 main functions only. For example, if you like digital photography, and want to show your pieces of art to friends or family, you would probably prefer to watch them in a slideshow on a TV screen than on a tiny camera's display. Unfortunately, such task requires computer and some time to convert or select photos. This gadget will make this job a lot easier. In fact, it does not require computer at all!

Digital Photo to DVD Converter is created to simplify all photo transfers from memory card to DVD. It converts all photos to JPEG and videos to MPEG, than it burns it on a blank DVD disk and that's it - disk is ready to be watched on a DVD player or PC. It creates index files to make photo viewing even more comfortable. Built-in card reader for six types of memory cards supports all most popular formats that digital cameras use (Compact Flash, Smart Media, Memory Stick, Secure Digital, Multi-Media Card, Microdrive), and if plugged to a PC it can be used as a card reader too. When the DVD player is not around, this gadget can show photos all by itself with help of RCA and S-Video ports. The controls are very simple - plug-in your flash card, place a blank DVD inside, and after a single press of a button and couple of minutes the Photo-DVD will be ready to watch.

Of course, the simplification has its flaws. First, you cannot control how much photos you want to transfer - they all will be transferred to DVD. Second, it does only basic slideshows, while with help of PC you can create beautiful slideshows with music and visual effects. Third, some photos need correction before they can be shown; this gadget will not provide such functionality. If you need a quick and simple tool to convert all photos from your camera into a PhotoDVD, than you will probably be interested with such $199.95 priced device.

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Cell phone in a wristwatch - first successful attempt

As gadgets make their way into our lives, more and more usual thing that we are accustomed to transform into multifunctional tools with help of new technologies. One of the most interesting topics is a wristwatch-related gadgets. Wristwatches became the man's companion since the XIX century; even now, it is a very popular accessory, which shows not only the time, but also its owner's status. There were many attempts to transform them into a high-tech gadget, from a built-in calculator to cell phone abilities. Unfortunately, all those modifications, especially cell phone ones, while being high-tech and pricy, lacked one very important thing - usability. They were too big and bulky, too ugly and too expensive to be popular. However, as the time goes by, new contestants appear... Maybe this one will win the customers attention?

Van Der Led WM2 look stylish, seems like it is the first multifunctional wristwatch with a cell phone function that you will be not afraid to wear. While it can attract with its looks, it remain highly packed with functions inside. Imagine that inside of this small case is hiding a quad-band GSM cell phone with 1.3 inched touchscreen capable of showing up to 262 thousands colors; Bluetooth with AD2P support; 1.3 megapixel camera for making photos and videos; 1 GB of flash memory for MP3 and MP4 storage and playback; FM radio receiver and many more! It is simply amazing how all such things are made inside a wristwatch, and they remained usual-sized (62 x 45.5 x 17.6 mm). Digital number pad can be found on the wristlet; buttons are not big but remain usable. This cell phone watches are designed to be paired with Bluetooth headset, which is included in the package, but if you forgot your Bluetooth headset at home you will be able to talk without it, by holding them near your ear (a funny situation indeed). It even has vibrating functions, so you will not miss the call even if the sound is off, and 7-colored LED light will help you notice it. It has all functions the average mobile phone has - GPRS, WAP, PIM manager with calendar and appointment functions, Photo ID and voice recording, and can be connected to the PC via built-in USB port. Its battery life cannot be compared to simple watches, but for such a technical marvel it is not small - manufacturer claims that it will hold up to 300 minutes in call and 240 hours in standby mode.

This popular idea of combining cell phone and wristwatch has finally come to pleasant result. This watch looks and feels like an ultimate high-tech gadget, holding plenty of functions inside it combine usability, technology and style into one interesting mix. Rumors go that it is Symbian powered… If it is true, than this will be a tiniest smartphone on the market. It can be purchased for 299.99 Euros.

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Aviva shower station

Do you know that waking up on the right side of the bed forecasts a good day? Don't let anything ruin your day, especially when that day is your single day off. You still don't have no idea what am I talking about, don’t you? It is about your morning shower ritual that may often go totally wrong and spoil the whole day. It is about those unreachable shampoo bottles and shower lotions that fall from the shelves over your head.

So thank Richard Solo for the Aviva shower station that will give you a great day right from the start. The Aviva shower station represents a set of three plastic devices. One is a shampoo dispenser, the other one is a conditioner dispenser, both squeezing out soap liquids just with a button push. Once you run out of liquids the gadget's lift off wall bracket allows an easy filling. The third item represents a real AM/FM superior quality radio station with an extra large speaker and with an in-built digital clock.

Do you need a place for some accessories? The Aviva station includes handy hooks for shower puffs and razors storage. Its installation takes just a few minutes as its adhesive silicone surface adheres to any wall. The device comes in two colors, white and satin silver and requires only 4 AA batteries for the radio to work. Have a good day with the Aviva shower station.

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New Nikon dSLRs near

Photography Bay seems to be cranking on its reputation as rumor central for the photography community. In addition to today's intimations about new Canon dSLRs, and a suggestion that Sony is discontinuing the DSLR-A700, the blog deconstructed a post on DPReview to hint at a new midrage Nikon full-frame dSLR targeted to compete with the Canon EOS 5D, and quotes speculation from bythom that a Nikon D90 and D3X

Photography Bay seems to be cranking on its reputation as rumor central for the photography community. In addition to today's intimations about new Canon dSLRs, and a suggestion that Sony is discontinuing the DSLR-A700, the blog deconstructed a post on DPReview to hint at a new midrage Nikon full-frame dSLR targeted to compete with the Canon EOS 5D, and quotes speculation from bythom that a Nikon D90 and D3X will appear some time between May 12 and June 16. Nikon USA's comment: "You will be absolutely the first to be NDA'd if there is any legitimate product news coming from Nikon. Until then, everything you see about new products is an unsubstantiated rumor, and as you know, we're unable to comment on rumors."

The D80 is certainly ripe for replacement, and "D3X" might make a nice name for a midrange full-frame model.

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One day our 5D Mark II will come

In today's episode of "I'm going to post a Canon EOS 5D Mark II rumor," Photography Bay says that Canon's German Web site displayed some information about the possible follow-up to the company's EOS 5D. The short blurb that purportedly appeared on the German site says that the camera will have a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor,

In today's episode of "I'm going to post a Canon EOS 5D Mark II rumor," Photography Bay says that Canon's German Web site displayed some information about the possible follow-up to the company's EOS 5D. The short blurb that purportedly appeared on the German site says that the camera will have a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor, be able to shoot 6.5 frames per second, and will be available this June. For those keeping track, that's up from 15.3MP and 6 frames per second the last time Photography Bay predicted the imminence of the 5D Mark II. While those new details might turn out to be true, I don't believe it. It would be especially easy to fake a leak like this, and Photography Bay seems to be having too much fun posting rumors lately.

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BlackBerry Delayed Until August

A technical glitch in an upcoming BlackBerry release will prevent an iPhone-Blackberry showdown in June, according to Fortune. AT&T will delay the launch of the BlackBerry 8900 from June to August after concerns about call quality, the magazine reported Thursday, citing unnamed sources. The 8900 will be Research in Motion's first 3G BlackBerry for AT&T, and it had been expected to make its debut right around the same time as Apple is expected to launch a 3G version of the iPhone. UPDATED 6:10pm PT - The device would be the first 3G BlackBerry for AT&T's network, not in general, as the BlackBerry Global Edition launch last year runs on Verizon's 3G EV-DO network. Thanks to mrtokyo below for pointing that out.

A technical glitch in an upcoming BlackBerry release will prevent an iPhone-Blackberry showdown in June, according to Fortune. AT&T will delay the launch of the BlackBerry 8900 from June to August after concerns about call quality, the magazine reported Thursday, citing unnamed sources. The 8900 will be Research in Motion's first 3G BlackBerry for AT&T, and it had been expected to make its debut right around the same time as Apple is expected to launch a 3G version of the iPhone. UPDATED 6:10pm PT - The device would be the first 3G BlackBerry for AT&T's network, not in general, as the BlackBerry Global Edition launch last year runs on Verizon's 3G EV-DO network. Thanks to mrtokyo below for pointing that out.

RIM and Apple are the two major smartphone companies in the U.S., and that head-to-head competition is expected to intensify when Apple releases the enterprise-friendly software update known as iPhone 2.0 in June. RIM has a lock on the corporate smartphone market in this country, and has been making inroads into the consumer market. Apple is taking the exact opposite tack, going after consumers with the initial iPhone release and announcing plans to put a suit on the iPhone in March.

Fortune speculates that the delay might be an excuse for AT&T to avoid having two competing 3G models on display at the same time in its retail stores, which makes some sense. As the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., however, AT&T is used to balancing phones from multiple vendors.

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Dell Goes Green with new Eco PC

This mini new greeny and earth friendly PC by DELL looks pretty sleek. It would be good if it was green but black is an alright color since the keyboard looks pretty sleek too. Its supposed to be 70% less energy-consuming and 81% smaller than a mini tower sized PC.

“I think it’s the right thing to do,” said Michael Dell. “These are important issues. When you think about our industry, we produce 260 million computers a year. There’s a responsibility that comes with that.”

This mini new greeny and earth friendly PC by DELL looks pretty sleek. It would be good if it was green but black is an alright color since the keyboard looks pretty sleek too. Its supposed to be 70% less energy-consuming and 81% smaller than a mini tower sized PC.

“I think it’s the right thing to do,” said Michael Dell. “These are important issues. When you think about our industry, we produce 260 million computers a year. There’s a responsibility that comes with that.”

Its noted that Dell said the company will invest more in technology to reduce its energy consumption and participate in programs such as efforts to plant more trees. In fact, Dell is expanding its “Plant a Tree for Me” program for private consumers to “Plant a Forest for Me,” for companies buying in bulk.

It comes in recycled and recyclable packaging, (duh) and lets hope it’s friendly to consumer pockets too.

Good job Micheal Dell !

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Vigor Evo HD PC is sturdy and ugly

For those who intend to travel the world and don’t want to get their data compromise or damage, you might like to see this new NextComputing Vigor Evo HD PC.

Its a unique PC that has a sturdy aluminium casing, with shock resistance thrown in and a special LCD screen at the side with a protective layer mounted on it. It supports twin processors, up tp 3TB of storage, and a few decent PCIe or PCI-X slots too.

Vigor Evo HD PC specs:

For those who intend to travel the world and don’t want to get their data compromise or damage, you might like to see this new NextComputing Vigor Evo HD PC.

Its a unique PC that has a sturdy aluminium casing, with shock resistance thrown in and a special LCD screen at the side with a protective layer mounted on it. It supports twin processors, up tp 3TB of storage, and a few decent PCIe or PCI-X slots too.

Vigor Evo HD PC specs:

* a mounting kit, convenient for mobile environments such as humvees and helicopters
* modular processor boards which support up to (2) single, dual or quad-core AMD Opteron or Intel Xeon processors
* storage capacity that surpasses the leading ruggedized systems by offering up to (3) 3.5″ drives at 1TB each or (13) 200GB/7200RPM hard drives plus internal RAID 0, 1 and 0+1 capabilities
* superior graphics with up to (4) PCIe or PCI-X 64-bit slots for single or double width cards
* integrated 17″ LCD is covered by a disposable protective screen, featuring anti-glare, hardening, and optical enhancement coatings
* support for any COTS keyboard, allowing for the use of the latest rollup, portable, or ruggedized keyboards

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Samsung Unveils Soul Phone

Samsung Soul was showcased at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2008 at Barcelona for the first time in February. Starting from France, UK, and Germany, Samsung Soul will be available through major European mobile operators and in most of GSM supporting open markets during April and May.

Samsung Soul was showcased at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2008 at Barcelona for the first time in February. Starting from France, UK, and Germany, Samsung Soul will be available through major European mobile operators and in most of GSM supporting open markets during April and May.
Samsung Soul is a slim, lightweight and stylish product which has 2.2 inch display and comes with a 5-megapixel AF digital camera and multimedia mobile combined into one single device. Features such as face detection, image stabilizer and Wide Dynamic Range (WDR). It also has the Magical Touch by DaCP™, navigation indicators on the keypad of the phone change according to the user’s needs, making navigation of the menus simple, intuitive and direct. The navigation panel’s icons change according to function. For example, when in music mode, music related icons will light up on the navigation indicators. When in camera mode, camera related icons such as zoom and brightness icons will appear.

Users can enjoy super-fast Internet access through the 7.2 Mbps High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) browser and share images or video taken with the phone. With 7.2 Mpbs HSDPA, users can also easily download songs at a faster speed compared to average 3G networks. Other featues such as FM radio, Bluetooth and microSD slot are included. Samsung Soul is available with three different colors – ‘Sterling Steel,’ ‘Soul Gray’ and ‘Platinum Silver”. The retail price is around 400 Euro.

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How To Use Portable Firefox, ThunderBird, FileZilla, and Pidgin Over SSH On Unprotected Networks Using Any USB Drive

A few years ago I started using PortableFirefox on my USB drive to browse with. It was easier to always have my stored form data, bookmarks, and other browser settings with me regardless of which computer I happened to be using. The problem was I'd often find myself on a public WiFi network and didn't like the fact that my passwords and other personal data could be discovered by any average joe running a sniffer.

In this guide we're going to provide you with step-by-step instructions on how you can browse, email, FTP & IM over SSH on your USB drive.

DISCLAIMER: This guide is intended to help you secure your PortableApps traffic over unprotected networks. It will NOT help you perform questionable activities, protect you from monitoring software, or keyloggers. We are not responsible for any lost data, damages, or errors which result in misconfiguration of your system. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK - IF YOU BORK YOUR SYSTEM WE CAN NOT HELP YOU. This guide probably doesn't even work and should be used by absolutely no one.

That said, throughout this guide, we will tell you to type stuff. When you actually type do NOT include the quotes. For example, if we say type "1234" you should type 1234 and not include the quotes.

A few years ago I started using PortableFirefox on my USB drive to browse with. It was easier to always have my stored form data, bookmarks, and other browser settings with me regardless of which computer I happened to be using. The problem was I'd often find myself on a public WiFi network and didn't like the fact that my passwords and other personal data could be discovered by any average joe running a sniffer.

In this guide we're going to provide you with step-by-step instructions on how you can browse, email, FTP & IM over SSH on your USB drive.

DISCLAIMER: This guide is intended to help you secure your PortableApps traffic over unprotected networks. It will NOT help you perform questionable activities, protect you from monitoring software, or keyloggers. We are not responsible for any lost data, damages, or errors which result in misconfiguration of your system. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK - IF YOU BORK YOUR SYSTEM WE CAN NOT HELP YOU. This guide probably doesn't even work and should be used by absolutely no one.

That said, throughout this guide, we will tell you to type stuff. When you actually type do NOT include the quotes. For example, if we say type "1234" you should type 1234 and not include the quotes.

* Step 1: Download the PortableApps Suite


Download and install the PortableApps Suite (Standard) on your USB drive. (The suite takes several minutes to install - select the drive you want to install to, and leave the default settings selected.) When finished click on "StartPortableApps.exe" in the root of your USB drive. This will launch the PortableApps menu which will appear in your System Tray.

* Step 2: Download PuTTY Portable


Next, download and install the PuTTY Portable SSH client to your USB drive. Save the file to your desktop and then from the PortableApps menu select "Options - Install a New App." Select the downloaded file (named something like "PuTTY_Portable_0.60_Rev_3.paf.exe") and follow the install instructions.

* Step 3: Configure PuTTY Portable for Dynamic Tunneling


This step assumes you already have an SSH account. If you don't, there are plenty of places where you can get one (like here.) Chances are if you have a Linux web host, they offer you SSH access already.

1) Click on the PortableApps menu, and run PuTTY Portable.
2) Type in your host name, and then in the left hand menu select "Connection - SSH - Tunnels."
3) In the "Source Port" box type 7070 and click the "Dynamic" radio button. Click "Add" and confirm you see the text "D7070" in the text box under "Forwarded ports."
4) Click on "Session" in the left hand menu and under "Saved Sessions" type the name for your session (I usually just type the hostname).
5) Click the "Save" button.

* Step 4: Configure Firefox Portable for Secure Browsing


Launch Portable Firefox from the Portable Apps menu. Download and install FoxyProxy, and then restart Firefox.

1) Click on the PortableApps menu, and click on Firefox Portable.
2) Click on "Tools - FoxyProxy - Options." Click on the "Add New Proxy" button.
3) Type "Secure SSH" in the "Proxy Name" box.
4) Click on the "Proxy Details" tab. Make sure "Manual Proxy Configuration" is selected, and type "127.0.0.1" in the "Host Name" box. In the "Port" box type "7070" and then click the "Socks Proxy?" radio button. Leave the default value of "SOCKS v5" selected.
5) Click the "OK" button to close the FoxyProxy settings window. Close the FoxyProxy Options window.
6) In the Firefox address bar, type "about:config" and hit Enter. You will see a list of configuration options for Firefox.
7) In the Filter box type "dns" and look for the "network.proxy.socks_remote_dns" setting. By default it is set to "False." You want it to be set to "True," so double click on the value to change it.
8) From "Tools - FoxyProxy" in Firefox select "Secure SSH" to enable SSH browsing.

* Step 5: Configure Portable Thunderbird for Secure Email


The first time you launch Portable Thunderbird it should step you through a wizard to setup your email. You can either follow the wizard or cancel out.

1) Launch Portable Thunderbird from the PortableApps menu.
2) Follow or cancel out of the setup wizard. (If you cancel you'll want to setup your email later of course.)
3) Click on "Tools - Options - Advanced" and click on the "Config Editor" button.
4) In the "Filter" box type "proxy" without the quotes. You will now see three settings highlighted.
5) Double click on "network.proxy.socks" and enter "127.0.0.1" in the box, and click "Ok."
6) Double click on "network.proxy.socks_port" and enter "7070" in the box, and click "Ok."
7) Double click on "network.proxy.socks_remote_dns" to change the value from "False" to "True" and then close the Config Editor window.

(You may be wondering why we're selecting "Remote DNS" in all these settings. If this setting was not selected, your apps would use your local DNS which would leave a trace of where you'd been surfing in the DNS logs of the servers on the local network. By selecting remote DNS, you are now using the remote DNS servers on your SSH host which will not show up in local DNS logs.)

* Step 6: Configure Portable Filezilla for Secure FTP

Download and install Portable Filezilla using the same method that you used to install PuTTY Portable, and start Portable Filezilla.

1) In Portable Filezilla click "Edit - Settings" and in the left hand menu, click on "Proxy Settings" under "Connection."
2) Select the "SOCKS5 Proxy" radio button and for host enter "127.0.0.1" and for "Port" enter "7070" then click the "Ok" button.

* Step 7: Configure Portable Pidgin for Secure IM


Download and install Portable Pidgin using the same method that you used to install Portable Filezilla and Portable PuTTY.

1) Click on "Tools - Preferences" and click on the "Network" tab.
2) Under the "Proxy Server" section select "SOCKS 5" from the drop down menu. Enter "127.0.0.1" for "Host" and "7070" for Port.
3) Click the "Close" button.

* Step 8: Launch your SSH Session


Launch PuTTY Portable from the PortableApps menu. Double click on your saved SSH session and login with your SSH username and password. Minimize your SSH window.

* Step 9: Test your apps!


Whew! If you've made it this far, gratz! In Portable Firefox go to http://www.whatismyip.com and have a look at the IP address listed. Then select "Tools - FoxyProxy" and select "Completely disable FoxyProxy" and hit refresh. The first IP address listed is the IP of your SSH host, and the second is your local IP.

If you configured everything correctly, you should be able to now switch back to "Secure SSH" in Portable Firefox and browse over your SSH tunnel, effectively shielding your traffic from the local network. Now launch ThunderBird, Filezilla, and Pidgin and configure your accounts. Your PortableApps traffic for the apps your configured is now being routed over your SSH tunnel which helps shield usernames, passwords, and sites visited from any prying eyes on unsecure networks.

We strongly recommend using a fast USB drive with security features. No sense in carrying all your personal browsing around without securing it right? We've personally tested ATP Petito and Sandisk Cruzer drives, and both offer high transfer rates and security features. If you're looking for enterprise level security, consider using an IronKey USB drive which utilizes hardware encryption to secure the data on your USB drive. The drives we recommend are listed below.

To secure your data even further, we suggest giving Folder Lock a try. Folder Lock uses 256-bit BLOWFISH encryption and we've used it before to secure data on external USB drives.

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Close Call: Apple's OS X Almost Looked Exactly Like Mac OS Classic (From the Book Inside Steve's Brain)

There's a gem of a story—one of many—in Leander Kahney's new book, Inside Steve's Brain, about the biggest OS X mistake Apple never made: The original plan UI was to take the old crusty crap interface from Mac OS Classic and drop it on top of the core. Thankfully Steve Jobs called the entire UI team a "bunch of idiots" and they used the beautiful tech demo mockups as the basis for what you see on leopard's OS today. Close call, eh?

After buying NeXT, Apple had to figure out how to turn NeXT-step into a Macintosh operating system. At first, the job looked so big that Apple's programmers decided they should take the old interface in Mac OS 8 and try to graft it on top of the NeXT-step codebase..."We assigned one designer to OS X," he recalled. "His job was pretty boring: make the new stuff look like the old stuff."

But Razlaff thought it was a shame to put an ugly facade on such an elegant system, and soon, had designers creating mockups of new interface designs...to show off advanced technologies under NeXTstep's hood.

Jobs called Razlaff into a meeting before ever seeing the prototypes, immediately called them "a bunch of idiots" and complained about the old Mac interface.

There's a gem of a story—one of many—in Leander Kahney's new book, Inside Steve's Brain, about the biggest OS X mistake Apple never made: The original plan UI was to take the old crusty crap interface from Mac OS Classic and drop it on top of the core. Thankfully Steve Jobs called the entire UI team a "bunch of idiots" and they used the beautiful tech demo mockups as the basis for what you see on leopard's OS today. Close call, eh?

After buying NeXT, Apple had to figure out how to turn NeXT-step into a Macintosh operating system. At first, the job looked so big that Apple's programmers decided they should take the old interface in Mac OS 8 and try to graft it on top of the NeXT-step codebase..."We assigned one designer to OS X," he recalled. "His job was pretty boring: make the new stuff look like the old stuff."

But Razlaff thought it was a shame to put an ugly facade on such an elegant system, and soon, had designers creating mockups of new interface designs...to show off advanced technologies under NeXTstep's hood.

Jobs called Razlaff into a meeting before ever seeing the prototypes, immediately called them "a bunch of idiots" and complained about the old Mac interface.

One of the things he hated most were all the different mechanisms for opening windows and folders. There were at least eight different ways...

The meeting ended with Jobs and Razlaff, now a creative at Frog Design, figuring out how to fix the UI issues, and Jobs asked for the mockups to be made into prototypes. Three weeks later Jobs dropped a compliment on the man.

This is the first evidence of three-digit intelligence at Apple I've seen yet.

And this was just the start. And over the next few weeks, Jobs and Ratzlaff's team would meet once a week where the CEO would pore over mockups and code based executions, pixel by pixel, until the UI was done.

I got through a copy of Leander's book this weekend, and to my delight it was very fact, quote and anecdote dense, not only relying on many previous interviews but lots of original reporting, as well. (Like the story above.) There are people at Portfolio complaining that Jobs didn't participate in the book, but anyone who knows anything about Jobs knows that he does not typically comment on these projects. What you'll find is some crossover with previous historical treatments by other authors, but put together in a unique way. Leander's does not dote on the history or sequence because it is organized by, well, mannerisms of Steve's Brain, dissecting how the man thinks between many anecdotes like the one above.

The book is pretty good at highlighting the evidence of his genius, chalking up the control-freakiness that he has a rep for as a strategy. (As a comparison, his Pixar is relatively open with news.) But I would have liked a little more discussion here about one or two things. Like Apple TV's lack of support for DivX, while Jobs is lauded for being open to new business models even if they threaten old ones, for example. But this is a minor point — the book covers a lot of ground and does it over a nice stretch; to about the time where the iPhone launched plus the SDK and bricking debacles.

And even though it's meant for business nerds, who is to say that we all couldn't use a little bit more evil/genius? One could use this as a guide to pretending to be Jobs, at work, at home, and in bed I mean at work. I call everyone here on staff a friggin idiot every day, and it seems to be working ok. CHEN WHERE ARE MY TPS REPORTS!? And of course, there are dozens of new interesting stories in the book like the one above. [Inside Steve's Brain]

P.S. Leander adds "please buy my book." I told him I'd just photo copy the whole thing and mail it by US Postal to whoever wants a copy and send him the bill for the stamps. That might take awhile, so if you want, pick up a copy before then.

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Crave reviews MSI Turbobook GX600 (Verdict: Ugly, underpowered... but it has a turbo button!)

Over at Crave UK, they have a review of the MSI Turbobook GX600, an utterly non-remarkable, garishly-blinged little laptop that seems both underpowered and overpriced, except... it's got a Turbo button, hearkening back to the good old days of the 486!

Anyhoo, back to the turbo button. MSI says pressing it will instantly overclock the Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 CPU by approximately 20 per cent, taking it from 2.4GHz to around 2.8GHz. It also says if you hit it while the laptop is booting, it'll decrease boot time from 1 minute or longer to around 40 seconds.

Over at Crave UK, they have a review of the MSI Turbobook GX600, an utterly non-remarkable, garishly-blinged little laptop that seems both underpowered and overpriced, except... it's got a Turbo button, hearkening back to the good old days of the 486!

Anyhoo, back to the turbo button. MSI says pressing it will instantly overclock the Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 CPU by approximately 20 per cent, taking it from 2.4GHz to around 2.8GHz. It also says if you hit it while the laptop is booting, it'll decrease boot time from 1 minute or longer to around 40 seconds.

We've only played with it for a short time, but with the turbo button enabled, it scored a very decent 6,070 in PCMark 2005. With the turbo button disabled, it scored 5,409. That's better than we expected, but why not just have it overclocked by default and get rid of the turbo button? When would you not want to go turbo?

The reason is because turbo buttons are cool, guys. They are like elevator door close buttons: even if a turbo button doesn't work (or may as well just always be left on), you somehow feel more in control of your computer's speed while wildly jabbing the button.

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MSI Wind blows west with yet another low-end subnotebook

Hidden amid overburdened UMPCs and unportable subnotebooks is what was once called the Handheld PC. This now-mythical beast turns on instantly, does most of the productivity stuff you want, and briefly ruled in the form of NEC's MobilePro, a great writers' tool that suffered from poor connectivity options and a wallet-rogering $900 price tag.

MSI's Wind, like HP's recent Mini-note and the rampaging Asus Eee, get close. However, they're still insisting on filling these things with relatively power-hungry computer hardware and full-scale operating systems, which is a dreadful shame.

Now, we're all Eee-lovers, for sure, but the horrors of Vista have made us all too happy to be running XP and similarly-configured builds of Linux. It builds an illusion; namely, that such things are lightweight, stripped-down tearaways. Well, they ain't. I still hanker for an update of NEC's old wonder.

Hidden amid overburdened UMPCs and unportable subnotebooks is what was once called the Handheld PC. This now-mythical beast turns on instantly, does most of the productivity stuff you want, and briefly ruled in the form of NEC's MobilePro, a great writers' tool that suffered from poor connectivity options and a wallet-rogering $900 price tag.

MSI's Wind, like HP's recent Mini-note and the rampaging Asus Eee, get close. However, they're still insisting on filling these things with relatively power-hungry computer hardware and full-scale operating systems, which is a dreadful shame.

Now, we're all Eee-lovers, for sure, but the horrors of Vista have made us all too happy to be running XP and similarly-configured builds of Linux. It builds an illusion; namely, that such things are lightweight, stripped-down tearaways. Well, they ain't. I still hanker for an update of NEC's old wonder.

Instant on? Check. A full day's battery life? Check. Such conveniences seems but a dream to anyone who's wrestled with the slow-booting, energy-hungry reality of the modern portable. Was it really so hard to live without internet? Was it really so hard to live with Windows CE?

Yes, yes it was! It was fucking horrible, is what it was. But the basic idea—a large but genuinely portable productivity clamshell with good connectivity and no pretensions above its station—is, I submit, a good one.

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Sony Cybershot DSC T-70 Review: True Gadget

Gadget which interpreted as a device to grasp felt fit attached to Sony Cybershoot T-70 digital camera, because its measure which really can be grasped. The body which made from aluminum alloy material also makes this camera felt steady.

Though optical zoom attached at lens is only 3X, but zooming mechanism designed to take place in camera body, makes this camera so brief and ergonomic. Besides made by famous lens factory of Carl-Zeiss, lens at Sony Cybershot equipped with image stabilizer mechanism which will prevent unfocused picture as the result of camera shake or photo without flash lamp.

Buttons size made to be small, causing a few difficulties for big finger user. This thing so disturbing, for example at the time of user will change lens focal length passed zoom button at top of camera body.

Most of navigation controls based on touch screen. LCD screen measure that is big enough makes touch screen function becomes so ease. Unfortunately, stylus is not available. Protector and stylus must be bought separately.

When we try makes a picture with best photo quality, interval time between shutter button releases pressing with photo recording almost not felt. We tolerate it, remember that Sony Cybershot DSC T-70 powered by Bionz processor which is functioning to quicken photo process and lessens noise at photo.

If at most compact digital camera class pixel is starts look plain and disturbs at ASA/ISO 400, hence at Sony Cybershot T-70 noise starts to stand-out at ASA 800. At bright weather and enough lights, Sony Cybershot gives rich color photo result. Meanwhile, picture quality at low lens focal length mode (small optical zoom number) shows more soft-focus characteristic than picture recorded with big lens focal length mode. As a whole, this camera gives photo result which tending has inclined contrast but richer tonal distribution (dark - bright) compared to other compact digital camera.

This digital camera also figures in face and smile detection facility. Smiling object can trigger photo taking. This facility can be deactivated if not required.

In our record ability test at available light condition, this camera difficult to find focus so that its result often not sharply. In condition like this, fill-in-light is hardly required.

As small size camera, Sony Cybershot DSC T-70 can give good record result. Its ability to minimize noise grain in ISO 400 making it remains great at minimum light condition. So, this camera is well-matched for user which required briefness and handy.

Cybershot DSC T-70 Review
Specs:
Resolution (pixel): 8,286 Megapixel
Photo resolution (min/max): 640 x 480 pixel / 3264 x 2448 pixel
Video resolution (min/max): 320 x 240 pixel, 8,3 fps / 640 x 480 pixel, 30 fps
Record media: Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick PRO HG Duo
File format (photo/video): JPEG / MPEG1
Lens focal length (equivalent 35mm camera): 3X Optical zoom (38-114 mm), 6X digital zoom
Aperture (diaphragm): f/3.5 – F/4.3
ISO/ASA: 80 – 3200
Shutter Speed: 1/2 Second – 1/2000 second
Micro Focus: 1cm
View finder: No
LCD Diagonal: 3 inches (16:9)
Connection: USB 2.0, Dock
Battery: Lithium Ion
Battery charger: Yes
Dimension: 90 x 56,4 x 20,7 mm
Weight: 128 gram

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Olympus SP560UZ Review: Supreme Lens

For compact digital camera class, reach angle from Olympus SP560UZ lens felt special. Can be seen from its 18X optical zoom number which equivalent with lens focal length 27-486 mm at 35 mm camera. This focal length is ideal to record nature panorama, sports photo, or even animal photo.

This focal length number can increase if at lens is attached by tele converter TCON-017 series and ring adapter CLA-10 (optional) and will make lens focal length to reach 826 mm. If it combined with digital zoom feature, hence Olympus SP560UZ will have focal length till 4626 mm. At our test, several times this camera experiences slow focusing process when lens positioned at highest focal length (optical zoom 3X).

To get best photo result, when making a picture of moving object, it is better if you applies Sport/Action photo mode in order to get high shutter speed for balance the camera shaking and freezes object movement. If needed, activates the burst facility at Olympus SP560UZ to record some frame at the same time (15 frames per second) in once shutter release buttons. To anticipate camera shake which can cause blur photo, this camera figures in image stabilizer mechanism which will change light sensor position and powered by TruePic III processor.

One of superior feature at Olympus SP560UZ is Shadow Adjustment. In our test, this feature is functioning well and so helping to correcting shadow at object which out of reach by fill-in-light. Similar function with Shadow Adjustment is Face Detection mode. This function will detect the existence of face people at shoot frame and automatically gives ideal lighting for face. Moreover, Smile Shot photo mode detects smile at the face in shoot frame, then triggers shutter release. However, Olympus SP560UK still having weakness when recording high contrast object. At border part of contrast photo (usually is border line between darks and bright part) there is often a color that disturbing. This thing called as chromatic abrasion. At our test, chromatic abrasion comes up in purple trim lines form.

If you will make a picture with slow shutter speed or even with long lighting time (bulb), we suggest to apply low ISO/ASA style. In our test, photo with long lighting time and high ISO will make pixel becomes harsh so causing TruePic processor to do noise reducing. Picture will become blur and losing the detail.

As a whole, at enough light condition, this camera is good enough to records color.

Olympus SP560UZ gives good enough result. Suitable for user that love to travel and require various record angles like panorama and also significant photo object enlargement.

Olympus SP560UZ Review
Specs:
Resolution (pixel): 8,0 Megapixel
Photo resolution (min/max): 640 x 480 pixel / 3264 x 2448 pixel
Video resolution (min/max): 320 x 240 pixel, 15 fps / 640 x 480 pixel, 30 fps
Record media: - xD Card
- Internal memory 47 MB
File format (photo/video/audio): RAW, JPEG / AVI / WAV
Lens focal length (equivalent 35mm camera): 18X Optical zoom (27-486 mm), 5,6X digital zoom
Aperture (diaphragm): f/2.8 – F/4.5
ISO/ASA: 50 – 3200
Shutter Speed: 1/2 second – 1/2000 second
Macro focus: 1cm (Super macro)
View finder: Yes, with diopter correction facility
LCD Diagonal: 2,5 inches
Connection: USB 2.0
Battery: AA (4X)
Battery charger: Yes
Dimension; 116 x 78,5 x 78 mm
Weight: 365 gram

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First Intel Centrino 2 notebook debuts Down Under

This appears to be a first: Australia-based Pioneer Computers is marketing a notebook based on Intel's "Montevina" Centrino 2 processor and new ATI graphics.

The mobile Centrino 2 processor isn't due until later this quarter but that's not stopping Pioneer from hawking a notebook based on the next-generation Penryn chip and ATI "Radeon M82" graphics.

The processor specifications for the Pioneer DreamBook Style 9008 speak for themselves: "Intel Core 2 Duo Centrino 2 processors (45nm Penryn CPU, Montevina Platform)."

The Thermal Design Power (TDP or thermal envelope) of the processor is listed as 25 watts. The front-side bus is spec'd at 1066 MHz. The low TDP and faster front-side bus distinguishes it from the current generation of Core 2 Duo mobile Penryn chips, which have higher TDPs and slower front-side buses.

The notebook is also listed with an "Intel Cantiga PM45" north bridge and "ICH9M" south bridge. These two components constitute the chipset.

Another intriguing aspect of the computer is the ATI graphics chip listed as "ATI Radeon M82 256M GDDR ll VGA Card PCI-E." This is otherwise known as an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 series chip.

The notebook is also listed as offering a 2.5-inch 320GB hard disk drive and a solid state drive option.

Intel will roll out its first wave of mainstream Centrino 2 mobile processors by June then follow this up in September with additional chips including the first quad-core mobile processor.

The Pioneer notebook was first sighted by Australian PC Authority.

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New MacBook design in store this year?

Apple might be set to overhaul the design of its flagship notebooks later this year, according to a report.

AppleInsider believes that the MacBook and the MacBook Pro are due for a face-lift, but doesn't provide specific timing for the new rollout. If Apple follows through, the MacBook will get the most significant overhaul, moving from a plastic chassis to an aluminum one that's already in place on the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and iMac computers.

It would make sense for Apple to have a common bill of materials for its notebook line, and to have all the Macs look more or less the same. The substance of the design tweaks aren't clear from the report, although it does say that "thin-is-in" techniques used to great aesthetic effect on the MacBook Air will be part of the new design.

It's also expected that the new notebooks will use Intel's Montevina notebook technology when they arrive, although that would be a quick turnaround from the Penryn notebooks Apple released earlier this year. And this would also be a likely time for Apple to add the multitouch trackpad found on the MacBook Air and newest MacBook Pros to the regular MacBook.

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HP uncovers the 2133 Mini-Note PC

Surprising virtually no one, Hewlett-Packard has finally officially announced its new low-cost, low-power NetBook-style mini-laptop, called the 2133 Mini-Note PC. Of course, we've been following every detail of this system for months, including the presumed launch date, but they're finally officially on sale starting today, from $499-$749.

We've had a chance to play around with an early test unit for about a week now, and so far we like it a lot. Like the Asus Eee PC or Intel Classmate, the 2133 Mini-Note is a smaller-than-ultraportable laptop that trades high-powered specs for portability and price. The HP 2133 keeps the compromises to a minimum, however, with a decent 1,024x768 resolution on its 9-inch screen, and options for 2GB of RAM and even a 7,200rpm hard drive. Its best asset is a unique keyboard, which manages to cram in nearly full-size keys, as opposed to the tiny, hard-to-use keys found on other small laptops.

Our main sticking point was the pokey VIA processor (although VIA's integrated Chrome 9 graphics runs the Vista's graphical interface smoothly), especially with Intel's new Atom ultramobile chips around the corner, and skimpy battery life with the default three-cell battery (you can also get a larger battery, but it's so big as to defeat the purpose of having tiny laptop like this).

The upshot on NetBook-style laptops like this is that they're best for basic tasks, such as Web surfing and working on office documents--but that's 90 percent of what we spend our time doing on laptops anyway.

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Why HP chose Via chip over Intel for Mini-Note

The Via C7-M offered what HP needed now, according to Robert Baker, a notebook product marketing manager for HP. "Via gave us that right mix of performance and price for the type of environment that this product is going into--content consumption." And the chip's low power requirements were a plus too. "Their power (efficiency) is where we needed it to be for this platform. Web surfing, creating Power Points," Baker said.

CNET Reviews saidthe 2133 Mini-Note performed at "an acceptable level" when "surfing the Web and working on office documents" but "doing very much more than that, or open too many windows at once, and things will start to bog down." And CNET Reviews added this: "We won't kid you--this CPU (1.6GHz Via C7-M) did not perform well at all on our standard benchmarking tests."

Timing also factored into HP's decision to go with Via's C7-M. Intel's low-cost Atom processor--which will compete directly with Via chips--is not shipping yet from Intel. Though Baker did not cite the Atom explicitly, he alluded to timing exigencies. "The other key thing was we were designing for education. We had to bring the product to the market now. A slip of a month kills you," he said. Educators need to get their hands on units "so they can make decisions for purchases they'll roll out during the summer when they're doing the vast majority of their purchases."

HP will, however, consider other processors such as the Atom when it's time to refresh the lineup. "There will be an interim refresh about six months in. If the Atom is the right processor, that's what we'll go with. We'll look at everything in the market at that time," he said. Via is slated to bring out a higher-performance "Isaiah" processor in the June time frame. HP will also look at that, he said.

The design for the 2133 was not driven by the wow factor, which is an Apple forte. "We didn't say, hey, we want something cool." The design was a result of a long process of "taking feedback from our customers. All those conversations were well over a year ago. This has been in development for a year now."

Whether ultra-compact, low-cost notebooks like the 2133 (starting at $499) and the Eee PC constitute a sea change in notebook buying habits nobody can say yet. To date, small, fully-functional notebook PCs--which the 2133 is intended to be--have carried a high premium. Look no further than the MacBook Air, said Baker. The Air starts at about $1,700 and jumps to above $3,000 with a solid state drive (SSD). The svelte, 2.8-pound HP 2510p subnotebook for corporate customers starts at about $1,500.

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Review: Canon Rebel XTi Is A Solid Entry Level DSLR

You're ready to junk the point and shoot. You've been reading photo forums for years. You've taken digi-photog classes. You understand white balancing, color temperature, ambient light, ISO speeds, RAW, and aperture. You're dialed in. You're ready to graduate to a more advanced shooter.

But where to start?

The Canon's Rebel XTi is a cost-effective way to knock your digital photography up a crucial notch. Spouting a 10.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, a 2.5-inch LCD display, and the ability to fire off 3 frames per second, it's light years away from any point and shoot out there but is it really the first stop you want to make on the the road to prosumer DSLR nirvana?

The truth is, it's not a bad jumping off point. The XTi features more than enough shooting options to keep the emerging photographer content. 10.1 megapixels provide ample resolution for printing photos — even up to 13 x 19-inches. The frame-rate, although not as fast as Canon's more advanced offerings (like the EOS 40D) is great for taking sharp pics with great color and little noise. The 2.5-inch LCD is great for viewing your snaps or tweaking settings in large, easy-to-read text.

Switching from a point and shooter to a DSLR also unleashes a whole new set of problems. Chief among them is dust. Once a lens is removed from the body of a camera, CMOS sensors within the camera generate an electrical charge that attracts airborne particles like Brit-Brit attracts straitjackets. You won't even notice the dust until you go to shoot (pictures of) aunt Mavis on her 108th birthday only to find her splotched with gray flecks. The argument could be made that aunt Mavis is already splotched with gray flecks since she's older than the Panama Canal; try taking a picture of a less desiccated relative — you'll see the same thing. Canon has a two-pronged solution to this which includes a cleaning system that runs every time you switch on or off your camera and a way to make dust spots so you can deal with their effects in software.

The XTi has a few issues that make it less than perfect. The first, and most minor of quibbles is the lack of data entry wheel on the back of the body. This flaw forces you to hold a button and spin the top wheel to adjust the exposure compensation. Secondly, the camera feels, well, small in hand. (For the record I don't have large hands.) Third, the plastic build quality feels cheap compared to Canon's 20/30/40D/5D bodies which are all magnesium.

The Canon Rebel XTi is a great starter SLR for amateur photographers wanting to improve the quality of their shots. For the money you can't go wrong, especially considering the price will plummet once the newer XSi has been out on shelves for a while. So really, what are you waiting for? Oh the XSi to be reviewed? Don't worry, we'll have a write-up on it very soon. —Dave Bullock

WIRED Low-cost entry level SLR with tons of features from its higher priced siblings. 10.1 megapixels of image capturing hotness. Dust zapping, sensor shaking cleaning system.

TIRED Feels small and a little chintzy. Plastic body build quality feels cheaper than the more expensive Canon bodies.

$600 ($550 street, soon to be less)

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Cyborg keyboard lives up to its name

Often when we talk about keyboards it's for some features that are practical but ultimately mundane--until we get to gaming gear, that is, when all bets are off. Case in point: Saitek has released its new "Cyborg Gaming Keyboard," which was first shown at CES in January, and it fully lives up to its name.

The fortified design and accents make the PK17U model looks like a game device in and of itself, or perhaps something from the instrument panels of the Galactica or the Enterprise. Particularly impressive are its backlighting features, which has three colors that can be mixed into various hues and controlled in levels of intensity.

Favorite keys can also be programmed to light up independently. And for the most serious warriors, the keys have metal-plated caps just in case things get out of hand--literally and figuratively.

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HP Pavilion dv2608TX Review: Glossy Pavilion

Glossy looks of course gives elegant impression at a product. HP also launches their Pavilion series in glossy taste which not only beautiful but also had smart specification that consumers need.

Pavilion dv2608TX is one of dv2000 series which majored by HP as notebook mobile for computing needed. Black piano polish with line pattern makes beautiful the notebook physical as a whole and this pattern used also by other HP “dv” series. Besides design, HP also gives enough features, started from output facility; S-video and VGA, HDMI, card reader, wireless, expansion slot and multimedia.

Multimedia factor looks dominant in Pavilion dv2608TX by adding Altec Lansing speaker along the length of LCD 14,1" below panel. In the result, sound produced of course more energetically if compared to as of class notebook. HP also applies QuickPlay system by providing quick button to access photo, music, and DVD movie. Just need to touching the button hence you can swiftly enjoys the multimedia feature.

To support the performance, Pavilion dv2608TX uses Core 2 Duo T7250 (2GHz) processor which fused with DDR2 1GB memory and GeForce 8400M-GS graphic chip. But for VGA only provided 64MB internal memory because assumed has fulfilled for notebook requirement. WEI notes (Windows Experience Index) from bundled Windows Vista Home Premium reaches 3,5 which meaning its computing is still pertained medium only, not for serious gaming.

Its fair enough to compares the Pavilion dv2608TX ability with Asus F9S which having equivalents enough specification (except F9S uses Core 2 Duo T7500 and 7800mAh battery). Audio-video speed average test is equal enough and only diverse in second calculation only. Big difference only at battery endurance, by relying on 4-cell battery, dv2608TX is exhausted quicker in around 20-40 minutes compared to F9S which using 9-cell. But at least this notebook have been ideal for daily usage, even its weight is felt heavy enough to be brought all day long.

HP Pavilion dv2608TX Review
Price Range: $1399
Specs:
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 (2GHz, 4MB cache, FSB 800Mhz)
- RAM: 1GB, DDR2 PC5300
- Chipset: Intel GM965
- Graphic Card: nVidia GeForce 8400M G
- Harddisk: 160 GB SATA
- Optical Drive: DVD±R DL LightScribe
- Screen: 14,1 inches, 1280x800 pixel
- Soundcard: Connexant CX20549, HD-Audio
- Battery: 4700 mAh
- Dimension: 33,9 x 25,2 x(3,4-4,2) cm
- Weight: 2,48 kg
- Feature: WiFi, Bluetooth, LAN, card reader (5-in-1), USB (2 port), FireWire, Webcam, Express Card, HDMI, VGA-out
- Operation System: Windows Vista Home Premium

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APC UPB80 Review: Backup Battery for Notebook

Possibly you often live at important situation when notebook is required but in fact the battery power is in dying condition. The solution is undoubtedly with brings backup battery when at outdoor or office. The problem, notebook battery is designed according to certain notebook model, causing became separate problem if you had 2 different notebooks. But APC has the solution. They launch a backup battery product that compatible with various notebooks, Universal Notebook Battery (UPB80).

APC UPB80 is Lithium-ion Polymer battery with dimension 25,5x16,5x1,6 cm which is thin enough to inserted in your notebook bag. This battery offers 80-100 watts output power which can back up notebook power till 8 hours (depends on notebook absorption). It’s very easy to use; just connect this module to notebook port power. In its package has been provided various connectors power for notebook like Acer, Apple, Compaq, Dell, Sony, Toshiba, and others.

Even its easy to use, but user need to pay attention also to the output level for notebook which applied because every notebook of course different. UPB80 provides 6 different output types (15-24 volts) which must be selected manually through available switch. To know the energy status, UPB80 which its weight is less than 800 grams is provides power level indicator, so that can be known the available power capacities. Battery charging time to full condition is quickly enough, only 3,5 hours.

APC UPB80 Review
Price range: $200
Specs:

Output
Battery Output Voltage: 15,16,18,19,20,24
Battery Output Voltage (mAH): 3000 - 4700

Batteries & Runtime
Battery Volt-Amp-Hour Capacity: 88
Battery Type: Lithium Polymer
Battery mounting: Stand alone battery stack
Expected Battery Life (years): 2 – 4

Physical
Net Weight: 0.91 KG
Maximum Height: 254.00 mm
Maximum Width: 165.00 mm
Maximum depth: 15.00 mm
Shipping Weight: 1.05 KG
Shipping Width: 191.00 mm
Shipping Height: 305.00 mm
Shipping Depth: 51.00 mm
Color: Charcoal
Units per Pallet: 144.00

Environmental
Operating Environment: 0 - 40 °C
Operating Relative Humidity: 0 - 95%
Operating Elevation: 0-3000 meters
Storage Temperature: -20 - 50 °C
Storage Relative Humidity: 0 - 95%
Storage Elevation: 0-3000 meters

Conformance
Regulatory Approvals: BSMI,cUL Listed,C-tick,CE,FCC Part 15 Class B,GS Mark,TUV,UL Listed,VCCI
Standard Warranty: 1 year repair or replace

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Nikon goes superzoom with P80

Nikon had been eschewing the superzoom category in recent years, with the notable exception of the S10, which had a 10X optical zoom lens and wouldn't qualify as a superzoom in the current market. Now, Nikon has introduced the 10MP Coolpix P80, which includes an optically stabilized 18X optical, 27-486mm equivalent zoom lens, a 2.7-inch LCD screen, as well as an electronic viewfinder (EVF) for a more SLR-like experience. The camera also includes manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, and program-exposure modes, along with 15 preset scene modes.

In case your picture doesn't turn out to your liking, Nikon includes its D-Lighting in-camera fixes, as well as in-camera red-eye fix. To help you get it right the first time, the company also includes Face-Priority AF, which in this incarnation can see up to 12 faces in a scene and use them to determine focus. Sensitivity ranges from ISO 64 to ISO 3,200 at full resolution, though you can bump that up to ISO 6,400 if you don't mind that the resolution drops to 5MP. Similarly, the camera's continuous-shooting mode offers a choice of four or six frames a second at full resolution, but you can step up to 13 frames per second, though the resolution drops to 3MP.

Nikon says that the Coolpix P80 will hit stores later this month for a price of about $400.

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CTIA 2008 - HTC Touch Dual out in US soon

At the recent CTIA 2008, US cell phone lovers will be glad to know that the HTC Touch Dual will debut in US in the next few weeks. The HTC Touch Dual is a close cousin of the earlier HTC Touch with the new Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and a slide-out keypad. It also features Wi-Fi, 3G, and the interesting TouchFLO user-interface which is close but not as good as the Apple’s multi-touch on iPhones, IMHO.

The HTC Touch Dual US version will have a 400MHz Qualcomm processor, 256MB of ROM and 128MB or SDRAM, a 2.6-inch touch-sensitive TFT-LCD screen, 3G, HSDPA, and GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity, as well as Bluetooth, a MiniUSB port, dual cameras and a MicroSD card slot.

Here is the full press release:

Debuting in the United States, the HTC Touch Dual Incorporates an Intuitive Touch Screen, Slide-Out Keypad and Windows Mobile 6.1 Software

HTC offers customers an enhanced mobile experience through the introduction of Windows Mobile 6.1 software updates for a variety of HTC devices.

LAS VEGAS — April 1, 2008 — HTC Corp. (TAIEX: 2498; “HTC”), a global leader in smartphone design and manufacturing, revealed that the popular HTC Touch Dual™ will debut in the United States this quarter. Announced today at the Cellular Telecommunication and Internet Association (CTIA) Wireless 2008 spring conference, the HTC Touch Dual™ combines an intuitive touch screen with integrated TouchFLO™ technology and slide-out keypad and Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional software, making it easier for customers to communicate on the go.

“HTC has witnessed incredible support and demand for the Touch product portfolio, and we are pleased to provide our customers with the opportunity to experience additional iterations of the Touch product family,” said Jason Mackenzie, vice president of HTC America. “The Touch Dual will be among the first devices in the United States to run Windows Mobile 6.1 and will be followed by a range of 6.1 updates for several other HTC products.”

Software Upgrades Available on HTC Devices

In partnership with Microsoft and key mobile operator partners, HTC will continue to extend the functionality of many current HTC devices both in the United States and abroad by providing Windows Mobile 6.1 updates. Windows Mobile 6.1, an update to Windows Mobile 6, provides new timesaving features, easier phone navigation and management, stronger security safeguards, and support for Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008. Some of HTC’s most popular smartphones including the Touch by HTC and Mogul by HTC from Sprint, AT&T Tilt, Alltel Wireless’ HTC Touch and PPC6800, and the HTC TyTN II, will be among the first of many devices available for a Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrade.

Supporting existing customers and enhancing their experiences continues to be a focus for HTC; Sprint and HTC recently provided an update for the popular Mogul by HTC, making it the industry’s first EV-DO Rev. A-capable handset while also enabling additional GPS functionality.

“Windows Mobile enhances people’s lives by providing them with an experience that keeps them close to what’s important to them — anywhere, anytime,” said John O’Rourke, general manager of the Mobile Communications Business, Microsoft. “HTC has a history of providing a great selection of popular Windows Mobile phones, and we are pleased to bring the latest in software to a range of its products around the world.”

HTC Touch Dual Availability and Features

Best Buy will be the first to offer the HTC Touch Dual, which will be available through select Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile retail outlets, online at BestBuy.com and htc.com.

“At Best Buy we are committed to providing customers with a wide selection of high quality handsets,” said David Ryan, director of merchandising, Best Buy Mobile. “We look forward to adding the innovative HTC Touch Dual to our current lineup of unlocked phones.”

Taking user control to a whole new level, the HTC Touch Dual combines an intuitive touch screen and keypad within a stunning design. The versatile device offers an interactive cube interface for quick and easy navigation to e-mails, text messages, calendar appointments and contacts. Features include the following:

* TouchFLO™, a touch-screen technology that allows finger-touch scrolling, panning and photo zooming
* Slide-out 20-key keyboard for quick dialing, text messages and e-mail
* Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
* Microsoft Office Mobile for working on documents and getting your Outlook e-mail
* Live HTC Home™ featuring time and weather display, quick launcher, and one-touch ring-tone settings
* 2 megapixel camera for shooting photos/videos and a second camera for video calls
* Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900Mhz) and HSDPA (850/1900Mhz) connectivity

Come Visit HTC America at Booth 1624
At CTIA Wireless 2008, HTC will show the latest lineup of HTC devices, including the Touch Dual. Those interested should stop by booth #1624, located in the C hall, to see the latest innovations from HTC.

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HP 2133 Mini-Note PC Review: Eee PC another Competitor

Small laptop markets with cheap price get new participant. Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP), the biggest and in demand personal computer producer (PC) in the world will launch newest mini laptop. The laptop which designed for school student is starts to enter the market next month.

In the presentation yesterday, HP confesses that they will be serious to enter mini laptop business which in advance is dominated by Intel Corp. and Asustek Computer Inc.

"Our newest technology intentionally designed to increase market share in school" said one of HP executive.

According to him, school is the institute that is so needed cheap laptop to increase the quality of education. But, the company which bases in Palo Alto, California, US, affirms that the cheap laptop will not lose important functions. The product which named as Mini-Note will be equipped by sophisticated feature, like the other HP laptop has. Especially for the internet and word processing job.

With 8,9 inches screen measure and weight less than 1,4 kgs, the cheapest Mini-Note series is sold at the price US$ 499 with bases on Linux operating system. Mini-Note will get costlier Windows Vista. Processor speed starts from 1,0 GHz until 1,6 GHz is made by via Technologies, one of famous microprocessor producer in the world.

The feature which absence in Mini-Note, compared to other laptop, is the optical drive for DVD and CD-ROM.

Mini-Note will compete hardly with Classmate from Intel and Eee PC from Asustek. Moreover, with XO laptop made by company from Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, One laptop per Child. Intel sells thousand units of Classmate since launched last year.

HP 2133 Mini-Note PC (KR922UT) Review
Price range: Price: $499.00
Specs:
Operating system: SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10
Processors available: VIA C7-M ULV processor (1.0 GHz, 128 KB L2 cache, 400 MHz FSB)
Memory: 512 MB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Hard drive: 4 GB Flash Module
Display size: 8.9-inch diagonal WXGA
Graphics: VIA Chrome 9
Integrated camera: VGA camera
Wireless: Broadcom 802.11b/g
Network interface: 10/100/1000 NIC
Weight: 2.8 lb (1.27 kg)
Dimensions: 255 x 165 x 27 mm
Audio: ADI1984HD High Definition CODEC; 24-bit DAC; Integrated stereo speakers; Stereo headphone/line out; Stereo microphone in
Ports:2 USB 2.0, 1 microphone in, 1 headphone/line-out, 1 external VGA monitor, 1 RJ-45, 1 AC power
Slots: 1 Express Card/54, 1 secure digital
Battery: 3-cell (28 WHr) high capacity Lithium-Ion

Other Mini-Note Specs Link

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HP Pavilion TX1209 Review: New Tablet PC from HP

Do you still remember about Tablet PC? This gadget form is like notebook, but has touch screen, so the input process - like writing or drawing - can be done above the screen uses stylus. But if you rather forgot with Tablet PC, we can understand it. The Tablet PC popularity nowadays is decline if compared to the launch time in 2002. IDC data also shows that sale of Tablet PC in 2007 is around 3,3 million units, or only 1,2% from total sale of all PC in around the world.

But the Tablet PC sale fact doesn't make big manufacturer delays their newest Tablet PC launch. One of it is HP which launches Pavilion TX1209. This US$ 1484 gadget has 12,1 inches screen with widescreen format, and equipped by AMD Turion TL-58 (1,9GHz), RAM DDR2 1GB and graphic card nVidia GeForce 6150 (onboard).

First time use it, we directly impressed with HP accuracy in designing this gadget. To change from notebook to Tablet PC, the process is so easy because the axis which felt smooth and flexible to be turned around. You wouldn’t get difficulty to change screen display (from landscape to portrait position and on the contrary), because the existence of arrow symbolic button in screen side. HP also carefully designs every button (Power, WiFi, and the multimedia application) in sides of notebook so that easy to access in notebook and also Tablet PC mode.

But when applies it, we also discovers some TX1209 lacking, mainly when working as Tablet PC. One of them its weight which reaching 2,1 kgs, so heavy for 12,1 inches notebook class. Besides we also discover that the air output from heat firing canal felt hot enough. Both constraints make the usage of this peripheral as Tablet PC felt unable to please.

Its performance as notebook also can be said average. The battery endurance is also less ideal if you often apply this peripheral outside room.

Honestly, we are not a Tablet PC fans, and the presence of HP Pavilion TX 1290 not changing our opinion. In performance side, this product is not special, and still be added by it weight and temperature which bothering it use. The presence of Multi-touch touch screen technology applied by iPhone also makes touch screen technology in tablet PC felt very old.

HP Pavilion TX1209 Review
Price range: $1484
Specs:
Processor: AMD Turion64 X2 TL-58 (1,9GHz)
RAM: DDR2, 1GB
Graphic Card: nVidia GeForce Go 6150
Harddisk: 160GB, SATA
Optical drive: DVD Writer SuperMultu (DVD±R 8x)
Display: 12,1 inci (1280x800 pixel)
Sound card: HD Audio, Realtek ALC62
Dimension: 30,6x22,6x4 cm
Weight: 2,1 kg
Feature: WiFi, Bluetooh, Card reader, USB (3 port), WebCam (1,3MP), Express Card, S-Video, Fingerprint scanner, Expansion Port 3

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CTIA 2008 - Nokia N810 Internet Tablet WiMAX Edition Coming Soon

At the recent CTIA 2008, the new Nokia N810 Internet Tablet WiMAX Edition debuts amid a flurry of response. Its a beautiful piece of work with Wimax!

The Nokia N810 Internet Tablet WiMAX Edition is expected to be released in the U.S. during the summer of 2008 where WIMAX is available.

It features a big 4.13-inch touchscreen, a built-in webcam for video calls, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Mozilla browser, integrated GPS , 2GB of internal memory and a microSD expansion slot. Nokia says this thingy can also “access the Internet over WiFi or via conventional cellular data networks by pairing to a compatible mobile phone via Bluetooth technology”.

The Nokia N810 Internet Tablet WiMAX Edition has the newly updated OS2008, which includes support for Chinese characters showing up in the browser , an enhanced e-mail client , RSS feeds and “Seamless Software Update functionality” too.

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Xacti CA65 Review: Another Waterproof Camcorder

Here you are the 6 megapixel pocket camcorder which great for rain season. Not only drizzling rain, brought to snorkeling until 1,5 meter deep, or even having snow skating also not a problem. Its unnecessary protects this Sanyo Xacti CA65 in underwater casing when recording video clip.

Be knowledgeable, this camcorder with 2,5 inch TFT LCD which able to be turned around to 285º have been water proof designed. So in rain, swims and also when snorkeling, you can be still record without need to worry your camcorder to become broken.

But, Sanyo reminds in order not to souse this Xacti CA65 in water for more than one hour, as well as having to lets it minimum 10 minutes dry before using it again. Other note is to pay attention to water temperature, which may not be above than 40ºC. Of course, battery slot and memory card may not be opened applies wet hand.

Its Super Macro Mode enabling shot in around 1cm distance from subject when lens arranged at wide angle. For long shot, use its 5X optical zoom. When recording video (VGA, 640x480), photo at 6 megapixel resolution also can be taken. Moreover, 6 megapixel pictures can be taken at ISO 1600.

With 7,04x11,14x4,05 cm dimension, CA65 is not too big when grasped so that can accompanies you to record anywhere. This Xacti CA65 which using Secure Digital memory card is available in three color choices: white, yellows, and turquoise.

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Sony Ericsson Z555i Review: Stylish Clamshell

Candybar phone of course has many fans, but Sony Ericsson has never forgotten clamshell phone line. Z555i is presented by Sony Ericsson to complement the line of fold phone product and sweet design product.

A statement of style, it is the slogan carried by Z555i. The design is unique with diamond pattern. Not merely expressing its user style, but also to draw the attention. This triband phone comes up in two color choices: Diamond Black and Dusted Rose.

But Z555i it’s not simply styles, inside it is be full of innovative feature, Gesture Control. Through this feature you can inactive the ring tone or "snooze" alarm function only by wave the hand above this 95x49x16mm gadget. I think it’s would easier compared to Shake Control at W580i.

Moreover, Dynamic Theme which will change the appearance according to season! Color and design from phone theme, system menu, and Home screen can change automatically every year changes. This is not impossible thing because it connected with Z555i calendar feature.

Z555i applies 2 screens. Inside, Sony Ericsson installs 1,9 inch TFT screen, 176x220 pixel. In the outside it use monochrome (128x36 pixel) screen which will hidden when phone isn’t in an active condition.

Other Z555i feature is standard. Besides 1,3MP camera, this 95 grams gadget also supports EDGE, FM radio and music file player feature. Its internal memory which only 12MB can be said too minimum even Sony Ericsson is offer expansion slot for Memory Stick Micro memory card type. Yes, these not yet 3G phones of course makes the style lover as main target.

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