SlashGear Week In Review - Week 41 2010
This was a big week for mobile phone fans with the unveiling and leaks of hoards of Windows Phone 7 handsets. Among those handsets was the HTC HD7 also known as the Schubert. The specs of the handset leaked Monday. T-Mobile's pricing for the Samsung Galaxy Tab in the US also leaked early in the week. The device will be $399 with a new contract after a $50 MIR or $649 sans contract.Vuzix's WRAP 920AR augmented reality glasses started shipping early in the week. The glasses are aimed at the pro market and have a giant price tag of almost $2000. Another of the Windows Phone 7 handsets came out this week with the Samsung Omnia 7 being unveiled. The handset has a 4-inch screen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 5MP camera, and 8GB of storage among other things.
HTC offered up details on what handsets running Windows Phone 7 would be landing on what carriers and the dates when they will be there. Among the handsets was the HTC 7 Surround that will hit AT&T in the US and TELUS in Canada on November 7. A lady offered up directions last week for making a very cool Storm Trooper helmet that is made from milk jugs. The helmet looks very much like the real thing and would be a great Halloween mask for a kid.
We spent some hands on time on video with the HTC 7 Mozart this week. The handset is a Windows Phone 7 offerings and looks very cool. We also went hands on with the Samsung Focus WinPo 7 handset. The thing has a 4-inch super AMOLED screen and a lot more.
A sweet steampunk Iron Man costume won a Marvel costume contest at Comic com in NYC. The thing was very cool and deservingly won the first place. We also spent hands on time with the Venue Pro WinPo 7 handset. This is a big phone with a QWERTY keyboard and a 4.1-inch screen.
A new app for Android smartphones turned up that is called Lego Mindroid. The app is designed to allow the user to control Lego Mindstorm NXT robots. Lexus unveiled the world's most advanced driving simulator this week. The thing is on rails in a building the size of a football field and has a full-size car under the massive dome.
Some images of the Palm Pre 2 surfaced from France that shows a handset looking much like the older phone. Hopefully, this smartphone will be better than the original that didn't fare too well in the market. We reviewed the Acer Aspire TimelineX 18030T this week. The GPU left us wanting more, but overall the notebook is very good.
Sony pulled the wraps off several of its TVs with Google TV service built in this week. The sets ranged from 26-inch to 46-inch offerings and included a cool Google TV remote with a keyboard built-in. The coolest Wii Remote ever was unveiled at Toys R Us from Lego called the Lego Play and Build remote. The thing comes with several blocks that can be connected to the front of the controller and will ship this month.
The iPhone 4 has a 82% higher rate of damage than the iPhone 3GS. That makes sense with twice as much glass to crack in a drop. TomTom unveiled a new custom printing option for some of its GPS devices. The GPS devices can be printed with images TomTom offers or the users own images that are uploaded.
Lensbaby unveiled a new optic called the Scout with Fisheye that will fit different DSLR cameras. The Scout optic is not movable like other offerings from the company. Apple is having an event on October 20 for media with a Lion behind the Apple. Presumably, the event is for a new OS version, I'm not lion.
T-Mobile has unveiled new prepaid mobile plans with voice, text and data at different price points. There are also some new plans strictly for mobile data as well. The MeeGo mobile operating system has finally come to the N900 for those that have been waiting. The N900 can be dual booted with MeeGo and the factory OS for those brave enough to try it out.
We went hands-on with the HP Envy 17 3D notebook late in the week. The notebook has a 17.3-inch screen and while too big for mobile use, the 3D effects were very nice. A man from the UK created a mobility scooter that is set to take on the world's record for fastest scooter. The man is aiming at 70mph top speed and the scooter uses a 125cc engine from a motorcycle.
Former Apple CEO John Sculley has taken the blame for the near death of Apple on his shoulders. He gave an interesting interview about his time at Apple this week that is worth a read. A cool new projector concept for kids has turned up called KLEXL smart projector that lets kids draw on the wall without getting grounded. The projector is a concept, but I could see this selling well. Thanks for reading this week's Week in Review!