Archive for December 22nd, 2009

Step aside, VAIO P, Fujitsu’s managed to take too-small screens on netbooks to new heights with the UH900, and the addition of a touchscreen makes you seem seriously early 2009. So, how does it perform? UMPC Fever is feeling it, with a CrystalMark score helped along by the UH900′s SSD, even if done few favors by the 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor. Unfortunately, while the touchscreen display does offer multitouch gestures, they seem rather laggy — as demonstrated in the video after the break. And thus we witness the odd disconnect of “laptops” and “phones,” as the screen size and processor speed borders on a merging point and the interaction styles (or at least the execution on those styles) almost couldn’t be further apart.

Continue reading Fujitsu LifeBook UH900 in action: good benchmarks, so-so multitouch

Fujitsu LifeBook UH900 in action: good benchmarks, so-so multitouch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hey Brando! You’re awesome for being your usual self — $49 isn’t too bad for this next-gen product (also the first USB 3.0 hard drive enclosure sans drive we’ve seen), and it doesn’t burn our eyes either. Now, maybe those drive manufacturers can start sorting out those extortionate SSD prices? We’ve seen the numbers and not even the 7200rpm hard drives have made it over half the theoretical speed of USB 2.0, let alone reaching ten times that on 3.0. Still, there’s no harm in making the early jump — it is backward compatible after all, and if you don’t mind paying for juice you can’t use, who are we to stop you?

Brando begins deluge of anonymous USB 3.0 hard drive enclosures originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading USB Hourglass flips itself, generating random numbers in the process

USB Hourglass flips itself, generating random numbers in the process originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Epic shows off Unreal Engine 3 running on iPhone / iPod touch

Epic shows off Unreal Engine 3 running on iPhone / iPod touch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer‘s just outed a new line of laptops, the TravelMate Timeline series. Aimed at business customers, the TravelMate Timeline 8571, 8471 and 8371 are 13.3, 14.1 to 15.6-inchers, respectively, with a range of Core 2 Duo CPU options, Intel GM45 Express chipsets, up to 4GB of SDRAM, also boast 802.11a/b/g/Draft N WLAN, Bluetooth and gigabit LAN. These Windows 7 bad boys also come with Acer’s Bio-Protection fingerprint security, which might furnish you with some small peace of mind on the road. The TravelMate Timeline series range in price from $899 to $999, and are available now. For full specs, check the press release after the break.

Continue reading Acer busts out TravelMate Timeline laptops for the business type

Acer busts out TravelMate Timeline laptops for the business type originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just after finally making them official and just ahead of what will surely be a blowout of devices at CES, Intel has let loose the dogs of benchmarking upon its highly anticipated Pine Trail Atom platforms: the N450 for netbooks and the D510 for nettops. On the portable side it’s HotHardware doing the testing, pitting the new Asus Eee PC 1005 PE (which we just reviewed ourselves) against some of its earlier Atom brethren, finding it out-paces the single-core N270 in terms of sheer CPU performance but is generally trumped by the dual-core 330, while its integrated GPU loses out handily to any machine with an Ion processor. But, in terms of battery life, it bested them all. The story is similar over at PCMag, which tested the D510 in a prototype nettop and found that its performance was no better than earlier 330-spec’d machines, but that its power consumption of just 19W under full load undercuts the thriftiest nettops — it’s quieter, too, thanks to a complete lack of fans. So, perhaps not the speed boost you might have been looking for, but fine battery life abounds, eh?

Intel’s netbook and nettop Pine Trail Atom platforms explored, benchmarked originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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“The Atom is dead, long live the Atom.” The long awaited upgrade of Intel’s netbook platform is gathering pace, and latest to join the ranks is Samsung with its 3G and GPS-equipped N150. Powered by Qualcomm’s Gobi 2000 chip, the connectivity on this lite laptop will not go lacking, though Sammy disappoints with the rest of its specs. According to a very early listing on Neobits, the 10.1-inch screen sticks with a now barely acceptable 1,024 x 600 resolution, while RAM and storage are limited to the eons old 1GB and 160GB, respectively. Windows 7 Starter Edition, a 4,400mAh battery, and the typical 3 USB ports, 802.11b/g/n wireless and a 3-in-1 card reader fill out the rest of the unremarkable data sheet. Still, the presently listed price is under $374, which is right on par with the N140, meaning complaints are allowed (but should be kept to a low hush of disgruntlement, ya dig?).

Samsung N150 brings 3G and GPS to Pine Trail party, spotted at FCC and retail sites originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kudos where it’s due: not many design houses use tanks in their illustrations of a new road safety concept. Transparentius, as with most good ideas, is remarkably simple — you jack a camera onto the front of a truck, or lorry as they’re known in some places, and then project that image onto the back of your hulking transporter. The effect of this is to render the truck figuratively transparent for the driver behind, who is enriched with a lot more information about what lies on the road ahead. No word on how the rear projection is achieved or how sunlight glare is overcome, but knowing Art Lebedev, you can bet both challenges are solved in the most unaffordable fashion possible. Anyhow, now that you’ve got the idea, we’re throwing this one over to you dear mod-loving friends — can you build this without remortgaging the house?

[Thanks, Dennis]

Art Lebedev’s Transparentius eliminates opacity, improves road safety originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Disney and Apple — now, where have we heard about these two mingling in content related activities before? Sure enough, whispers of a potential tie-up regarding a $30 per month TV service for iTunes are turning into more of a gentle roar, with The Wall Street Journal reporting today that both CBS and Walt Disney Company are “considering participating in Apple’s plan to offer television subscriptions over the internet.” Naturally, this comes from those ever present (and perpetually undisclosed) “sources,” but considering that the outfit just shelled out for Lala, we wouldn’t put anything past it. As the story goes, CBS is considering offering up content from CBS and CW, while Disney could include programming from ABC, Disney Channel and ABC Family networks; details on the purported program are obviously still under wraps, but we know that both of these guys would be looking for some sort of monthly compensation in exchange for access to their lineups. Whatever the case, it’s being bruited that Apple could complete licensing deals and introduce the service sometime in 2010, so we’ll be keeping an ear to the ground for more.

Disney and CBS interested in Apple’s subscription-based iTunes TV idea? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 05:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA’s Ion technology may be hogging the limelight when it comes to netbook graphics, but Broadcom’s no stranger to the space. After giving Acer’s Aspire One HD playback capabilities that it could only dream of just months prior, the company’s newly announced Crystal HD platform could provide Intel’s Atom N450 with the multimedia boost it badly needs. The nitty-gritty details are still being withheld, but we’re told that “top-tier OEMs including Asus, Dell and Samsung” will be slapping this into their upcoming N450-based netbooks. If you’re curious as to why you should care, the BCM70015 promises “near flawless” HD video playback, including support for Flash Player 10.1 and Blu-ray flicks. We’re told to expect it to start popping up in forthcoming machines throughout 2010, and if you’re looking to soak up anything else in the meanwhile, a promotional video awaits you after the break.

Continue reading Broadcom’s Crystal HD tech to liven up HD capabilities of N450-based netbooks

Broadcom’s Crystal HD tech to liven up HD capabilities of N450-based netbooks originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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