Thursday, May 19, 2011

Panasonic DMP-BDT210 review

After the online content hubs of last year, is the next big thing in Blu-ray players iPhone control? It seems a bit harsh on the squillions of Android phone owners, but Panasonic has fitted its latest high-end 3D Blu-ray deck with an iPhone app as well as Skype video calling and a wave-controlled disc ejection system.

The latter isn’t some kind of hydro electric powered system but something rather more twee; you wave your hand across the top of the machine and the disc tray opens. Unfortunately the sensor is in the middle of the top of the machine (a mottled black plastic design that’s different to the brand’s lower-end Blu-ray players, 3D or otherwise) so unless you put the BDT210 on display for all to see, this feature is largely worthless.

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Bugatti Grand Prix Inspired Desk Is An Easy Way To Blow A Quarter Million

If you ever find yourself caught up in a Brewster’s Millions type situation where you have to spend a lot of money really quickly, I highly recommend the custom furniture offerings of Luzzo Bespoke. Specifically, their Bugatti Grand Prix racing car inspired desk that features intricate details that reflect the company’s design sensibility of the 20′s and 30′s. If you were hoping to find something that looked like the Veyron, you’ll want to move on.

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Belkin GripVue for iPod Nano 6G review

 Apple's sixth-generation iPod Nano is a remarkable feat of engineering, with its tiny multi-touch screen. Some would go so far as to say it's too small, and easy to drop.

For this reason, it makes sense to protect your investment with a case to prevent scratches or worse damage to the casing and screen. Belkin's GripVue is a tough rubbery case that acts much like Apple's Bumper strip for the iPhone 4. It stretches a little to help take it on and off - useful as the pack includes not one but three cases: blue, grey and black. The thickness of the case helps to prevent scratches on the screen, although it's still wise to use a screen protector as well. 

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Facebook granted patent for tagging digital media

It's taken the US Patent and Trademark Office four and half years to consider it, but Facebook now finally has a patent on one of its central features: photo tagging. Applied for in October 2006 and just granted this week, this legal doc gives Mark Zuckerberg and a couple of his buddies credit for designing a method for identifying users in "a selection of an item of digital media." That could be photos, video, audio, or text -- the main drive of the patent is that it lets people associate a given chunk of media with a person and inform others of this association.

Continue reading ...
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Garmin Montana 650t Rugged Handheld GPS Device with 5MPix Camera

Garmin introduces a new rugged handheld GPS device, the Montana 650t with 5 Megapixel auto-focus camera for taking geotagged photos. The rugged device is durable and waterproof and is built to withstand numps, dust, dirt and humidity.

The Montana 650t features a 4-inch 272×480 dual-orientation sunlight readable touchscreen. It sports high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver and HotFix satellite prediction for locating your position quickly and precisely; and a built-in 3-axis tilt-compensated electronic compass, which shows your heading even when you’re standing still, without holding it level.

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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Secret Apple launch planned for 19 May?

http://cdn.pocket-lint.com/images/Ay0k/secret-apple-launch-19-may-0.jpg?20110517-093321There's nothing quite like an Apple rumour to get the online world a buzz with excitement. And the latest rumour is that Apple has a special event planned this week - on 19 May.

BGR is reporting a "solid Apple source" as stating that "something big" is being planned for 19 May, as it's the 10-year anniversary of the opening of the first Apple Stores (in McLean, Virginia and Glendale, California).

The source claims that Apple staff are being lined up for extra night shifts where they'll have to lock their phones away whilst working and sign a NDA with Apple.

The Apple Stores have received "hardware to install" for the event - although nothing is to be opened by anyone yet and Apple staff have received password protected training instructions via email.

Black curtains are also apparently going to be put up to stop the frenzied fanboys from snooping in.

It's all very cloak and dagger.

So what could the event be in aid of?

The iPad 3 is highly unlikely as it's far too soon for a follow up to the 2. The iPhone 5 could be on the cards, although all indications point to a September release for the next-gen handset. Mac OS X Lion is a good shout - a "Summer 2011" release is stated by Apple (May isn't quite summer though).

It may well be that Apple uses the date to go live with its iCloud services - although launching a platform that doesn't really need a physical store presence would be a strange thing to launch in Apple Stores.

Our best bet then? A one-day sale, Debenhams-stylee. They could call it the iCross sale...

What do you guys think? What has Cupertino Computers got up its sleeve for the 19th (if anything)? Give us your thoughts using the comments below.

Via: bgr.com Via: appleinsider.com


www.pocket-lint.com
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Apple's MacBook Air duo to receive Sandy Bridge and Thunderbolt upgrade in June or July?

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/05/mba-rumor-05182011.jpgThe Taiwan-based supply chain for Apple products will begin shipments of new 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch MacBook Air models featuring Sandy Bridge platform and Thunderbolt interface in late May for launch in June or July, according to makers in the supply chain. While Apple's PR representatives in Taiwan have neither confirmed nor responded to the report, it has long been understood that Apple always keeps silent about its new products not yet launched, the sources emphasized.

Main supply chain makers for the new models remain about the same as for the existing MacBook Air, with Quanta Computer solely responsible for assembly, Catcher Technology supplying casings, Auras Technology a main supplier of thermal modules, Shin Zu Shing supplying hinges, and Simplo Technology and Dynapack supplying batteries, the sources pointed out. However, none of the makers have confirmed their participation in making new MacBook Airs.

Based on history of Apple's taking deliveries, the order volume of new MacBook Air in the month of initial launch, June or July, will be considerably large and prices are relative high compared with orders from other vendors. Therefore, Taiwan-based supply chain makers rest the hope on Apple orders for revenue contributions.

In addition to Apple, other vendors of notebook PCs have scheduled increasing monthly shipments to meet traditional peak sales in the third quarter, and consequently shipments in June will be the monthly peak in the second quarter, the sources noted.

Since MacBook Air is symbolic of ultra-slim notebook PCs, other vendors including Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Acer and Asustek Computer are also offering slim models of notebook PCs but these models are inferior to MacBook Air in thickness due to consideration of production costs and sales price.

Apple shipped over 2.7 million notebook PCs in the first quarter of 2011, historically the second highest quarterly level and only 5% lower than the shipment volume in the preceding quarter. The 5% sequential drop was lower than the corresponding industry average decrease of more than 10%, and this was mainly due to booming sales of new MacBook Pro models. Along with shipments of the new MacBook Air, Apple's notebook PC shipment volume in the second quarter is expected to rise by 5-10% on quarter and may attain 3.0 million units.

www.digitimes.com
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Monday, May 16, 2011

Nokia N8 in your own words: A reader review retrospective

http://www.cnet.co.uk/i/c/blg/cat/mobiles/Nokia/nokian8october.jpg 
The Nokia N8 was the most divisive, controversial mobile of the last year and our fabulous readers -- that's you! -- had plenty to say on the matter, both sticking up for the Finnish flagship phone and utterly tearing it to shreds. Here's the best of a brilliant bunch of user reviews.

Engines thinks Nokia has blown it: "This was supposed to be Nokia's latest and greatest but it is just so full of problems that it should not have been released onto the market." Marcin Szyjduk agrees: "The phone would be quite good but it crashes like five times a day or crashes for a long time like two-three days! I seriously don't understand how Nokia could launch that phone!"

Some, however, found their dream phone. "It's great with everything and working great, it's the best multimedia phone ever. It's so beautiful and very fast with a good battery life and the camera is just perfect," gushes Ozhin Williams.

Inn gadget couldn't be happier with the phone, but was less pleased with our review: "This is a fully loaded smartphone and NO other phone comes even close to this one. Comparing this to iPhone and saying it's not as usable is something I would expect it from a layman, but certainly CNET seems to have found a new low in tech reporting."

Andrew Grimshaw is thrilled: "The camera is one of the best I have ever seen integrated into a phone." The camera is undoubtedly the best thing about the N8, but is it the only good thing? "Eventually I got so frustrated I simply stopped using it and bought myself an iPhone 4 -- best decision ever -- though I do miss the camera," says Peter Wilson. "People giving 5 stars are hard working salesmen," writes Lamarr, rather cynically.

We found the phone's software unintuitive, and so it proved for many of you. "To go back [in the browser]," writes Nigel Plummer, "you have to go into a menu then hit 'back' which gives you a choice of your last screens. You then have to choose the one you want, hit 'select' then confirm that the page can reload. All that just to go back!"

We'll give the last word to The Leif, as he puts it so succinctly: "A living nightmare. I received the device for free on an upgrade, delivered to my door at 09.45, 25 hours later I sent it back. Awful. Even for free. DON'T GO THERE."

In spite of all the controversy, your user ratings came out exactly the same as ours: an average of three stars. Maybe we were right all along. It's always great to know your thoughts, so why not write your own user review? Speak your brains!







crave.cnet.co.uk
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Samsung's 11.6-inch Series 9 now shipping in the US, priced at $1,160

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/05/samsungseries9.jpg
It's been about a month since Samsung's 11.6-inch Series 9 laptop first surfaced for pre-order on Amazon, and now it's finally available for shipping. Touting a $1,160 price tag, this duralumin-enclosed little beast packs an Intel Core i3-380UM processor, 2GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD. The 2.3-pounder also ships with 802.11b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 3.0 and WIMAX 4G capabilities, along with a 1.3-megapixel HD webcam and a 1366 x 768 display with 340 nits of brightness. The newest addition to the Series 9 family is available on Amazon, Circuit City and Tiger Direct, but if they don't suit your fancy, you can check with Samsung to find a full list of retailers, below.

Via Netbook News

source Amazon





www.engadget.com
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Sunday, May 15, 2011

Chinese Tabtech M009S Android 2.2 tablet on sale – £75.99 via Amazon

If we didn’t know any better, we might think that £75.99 for a 7″ Android tablet running Android 2.2 was quite a bargain. For that small amount of money, buyers get a resistive 800×480 screen, a 0.3megapixel camera, Flash Player support (!) and access to the Android Market…of sorts.
Tabtech M009S android tablet
The amazon listing comments make for interesting reading. The Tabtech M009S would appear to ship with a Chinese language version of the Android Market, which rather makes us doubt its legality, plus a stylus for getting the most out of the resistive toushscreen.
Which makes it a bit of a punt. But could be fun to try or useful if you need a disposable internet device for a stag weekend in an East European danger spot.

www.eurodroid.com
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