SlashGear Week In Review - Week 41 2009
After spending most of Friday curled in a ball twitching and drooling after losing power and Internet access for almost 12 hours, I am glad to be back online and in the 21st century again. Just in time to hunker down and dose myself with a nice helping of week in review for your perusal. Chris reviewed the GSM Palm Pre and found the camera wasn't as good as some of its peers but found plenty to like in the end. The webOS operating system stands apart from rival OS'. Buffalo announced the HD-HU3 USB 3.0 drive and controller that will be shipping in Japan this month. The drive isn't even that expensive; I hope it comes to America too.
According to a former Apple employee who came forward early this week, the computer maker has been working on that much rumored tablet since 2003. The first prototype was abandoned because of construction costs and poor battery life. Kempler & Strauss unveiled a cool watch phone called the W PhoneWatch this week that also includes a Bluetooth communicator. The thing reminded me a lot of the LG GD910.
Microsoft pulled several prototype mice of the future out of its hidden R&D stock this week to show off what the future of the pointing device would be like. The mice all looked a bit different, but sported similar touch technology inside. The Motorola DEXT is set to hit Orange in the UK on October 7. The DEXT is the European version of the Motorola CLIQ.
Tuesday we posted up a review of the HTC Touch2 Windows smartphone. We liked the device despite the reduced specs compared to some of the other Windows mobile handsets that hit the market at the same time thanks in part to its smaller form factor. The same day we looked at the Touch2 we also posted up a full review of Windows Mobile 6.5, which left us looking forward to Windows Mobile 7.
Western Digital unveiled a new external hard drive called the My Passport Elite this week that has a docking station and an illuminated capacity gage. That means you can tell at a glance if you have space left on the drive. Super Talent pulled the wraps off a new branded Toshiba SSD called the UltraDrive DX. The SSD has two levels of data security and the price isn't too bad for the smaller capacity versions.
The TI OMAP-DM5x coprocessor was unveiled this week promising 20MP and 720p camera phones soon. How great would it be for the next iPhone to have a decent camera? Microsoft may be sleeping with the enemy soon with rumors of Zune and Zune Pass compatibility for Apple devices. I would love to get a working subscription service for my iPhone.
Acer's forthcoming Timeline 1820p multitouch windows 7 tablet computer leaked this week. The little notebook looks pretty cool and has a very portable form factor. Rumors that Dell was bringing its Mini 3i Android phone to the US popped up this week. The device is already available in China and word is that it may be hitting AT&T.
AT&T finally opened its 3G network up to VoIP applications this week. The move opened the door for Skype and Google Voice users to take advantage of VoIP away from Wi-Fi networks. Amazon debuted its popular Kindle eReader internationally this week. The device even has 3G capability globally and at home, the device got a price cut to $259.
Dell teased us again with its Adamo XPS this week. We still don't know what's inside that thin case, but the profile sure makes me want one. I am afraid to find out what the thing will cost. Kempler & Strauss unveiled its Billionair 7 GSM quad-band phone this week. The name is curious since the handset is actually pretty cheap.
The Sony Vaio CW notebook debuted this week starting at $799. That is actually pretty cheap for a Vaio machine and it can be had with some nice specs, though the options will drive the price up considerably. Sony also offered up the official specs on its Vaio X notebook this week. The notebook is tiny and has a 2GHz Intel CPU and more.
Psystar may be in the middle of a bankruptcy and getting sued into oblivion by Apple, but that hasn't stopped the Mac clone maker from offering its Mac cloning tech to other companies. I seriously doubt anyone steps up until the suit is final, Apple will fight this with all they have. Kohjinsha unveiled a slick dual display netbook at CEATEC this week. The two 10.1-inch screens stack on top of each other for storage and more portability.
Iomega unveiled an updated StorCenter ix2-200 this week with larger HDDs that are swappable. The device sells for $699.99 for the 4TB and a 1TB is $369.99. KDDI unveiled a prototype methanol fuel cell for mobile phones this week that provides 320 hours of run time for the device. That is a lot of run time; I can't wait for this to hit the market — several years from now.
Photos and specs for a couple upcoming, cheap, video cards from ATI leaked this week. The HD 5750 and HD 5770 should offer good performance for well under $200 each. Barnes & Noble announced that it is working on a new eReader with Plastic Logic that will have a color screen due to hit in the Spring of 2010. I wonder how Amazon will respond.
Mad Catz showed off a new distressed Rock Band wireless guitar controller for the Xbox this week. The thing looks like it needs to be replaced as soon as you get it; I guess that is the point. We love it when geeks mode two already cool things into one really cool device. One enterprising geek has taken a NES console and modded it into a HTPC computer complete with NVIDIA Ion graphics. Yeah, it's cool and I want one. We heard grumblings from inside the Microsoft Pink project that things are not well and the entire project is in jeopardy. If the rumor is to be believed the entire Pink project could fail and possibly take Windows Mobile with it. Friday saw the confirmation that NVIDIA Ion 2 was set to launch this year. You can bet machines running it will be on the market in time for holiday shopping.
Well there you have it, another week in review! If the storms stay gone and my junk rural electric co-op can keep my lights on, I will see you next week!