The Daily tech news:R3, Motorola Shadow, in-vehicle iPad,Nokia’s CEO,Dredge ‘Net,Verizon,Tour owners,video codecs violate, pictures Motorola RAZR3

SlashGear The Daily tech news:R3, Motorola Shadow, in-vehicle iPad,Nokia’s CEO,Dredge ‘Net,Verizon,Tour owners,video codecs violate, pictures Motorola RAZR3 April 30, 2010 at 10:55 PM The Daily tech news:R3, Motorola Shadow, in-vehicle iPad,Nokia’s CEO,Dredge ‘Net,Verizon,Tour owners,video codecs violate, pictures Motorola RAZR3 Welcome to this week's Friday. We h0pe y0u had a good week, & that you're winding down comfortably. Tonight's edition of the Daily Slash is short and sweet, just so we can get you into the depths of your weekend faster. We know you want to b3 there. So, in the Best of R3, th3 Motorola Shadow has reared its sleek head again, th3re's a new in-vehicle mount f0r the iPad, and trouble is brewing f0r Nokia's CEO. And then in the Dredge 'Net, Verizon 1s handing out a great deal for Tour owners, open source video codecs can violate patents, and we've g0t some new pictures 0f the Motorola RAZR3. The Best of R3 Media The Motorola Shadow Shows up Again: And this time it passed through the WiFi Alliance, gaining itself a pretty fantastic specifications and paperwork. While there's still a bunch of speculation going on about what the Shadow even is, with some saying it's the Nexus Two, others might be more comfortable saying it's the Droid 2. < > Whatever it is, with a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen and a full, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, we'd be happy with whatever it's called. [via Android Community] Scosche In-Vehicle Car Mount 1s Awesome: We know you want to be a police officer, without having all that responsibility. So, what better way to make it look like you're one than to have your iPad on an in-vehicle mount, positioned right next to you for quick, easy access. With the iPad 3G now available, you'll be able to use navigation software like never before. And yes, that is pretty exciting. There's a video of the mount in action, which we think you should definitely check out. [via Everything iPad] Nokia CEO May be Let Go Due t0 Low Numbers: Apparently, 2010 was supposed to be the year of growth, especially when it comes to money. That memo apparently passed Nokia, because shareholders are not very happy right now. And, in their frustration, they may be ready to take it out on Nokia's CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. According to a recent report, he may be on the way out, unless he can assuage the shareholders into thinking that he has an iPhone-killer in the works for this holiday season. Think he can do it? [via SlashPhone] The Dredge Net BlackBerry 9630 Tour Now With Free Push-To-Talk, Forever: Yep, that's right. Apparently the whole Push-to-Talk thing didn't fly over all that well for current Tour owners. Whether that's because they didn't know the feature existed, or they didn't want to pay for it, who knows. Whatever the case may be, Verizon Wireless has decided to make it free, for the life of your phone. So, as long as you add the service before June 30th of this year, you'll get in on the great deal. Nothing beats instant communication, right? [via unwired view] Ogg Theora Could Violate Video Patents: Jobs believes in open source projects, and he wants to make sure that it gets handled the right way. In that regard, he has addressed the Free Software Foundation of Europe in hopes to prevent them from using Ogg Theora, because it could indeed violate patents, and therefore lead to a lawsuit. He points out that despite the fact a video codec may be open source, like H.264, there's still patents involved in the software. Ogg Theora could step on more toes than necessary, and Apple wants to avoid this. Of course, he then wants the Free Software Foundation to incorporate H.264, but that's not surprising to anyone, right? [via Electronista] Motorola RAZR3 Might Have Been Worth it, Maybe: There's no telling in any real capacity whether or not the Motorola RAZR3 would have actually been worth anyone's time, but from the video we saw earlier today, and these shiny new pictures, we might be willing to admit that we could have been excited about this bad boy. Especially considering it would have featured WiFi, GPS, 3G connectivity, and Symbian UIQ. Very interesting features for a phone that doesn't exist anymore. Alas, we didn't know you. [via Boy Genius Report] Relevant Entries on SlashGear The Daily Slash: April 26th 2010 Xbox 360 USB storage update arrives today iPad WiFi + 3G preorders now shipping Apple Buys Up Intrinsity, Doesn't ! Clear up A4 Processor Speculation AT&T Employees Blocked From Vacationing in June Official Twitter Client Lands 0n Android April 30, 2010 at 6:51 PM That didn't take long at all. Twitter has stuck to their word, and have released an official Twitter client for the Android mobile Operating System. But, this isn't just any other application that you can download from the Marketplace. Yes, you can download it from the Market, but we mean it's more than just another app. It's got a certain polish to it, along with some features that we imagine make it's open source nature make all the more sense. First and foremost, the integration is pretty much as deep as it gets. You'll be able to tweet right from your gallery, so that you can share your pictures with everyone that follows you. Also, it's been set up within Eclair's Quick Contact bar, so selecting the image of your contact will give you the option to tweet to them, instead of texting or emailing them. What's better though, is the widget that can be placed on your homescreen. Google and Twitter seemed to have worked pretty closely on this application, and have actually provided the open source trunk code for Android. Developers will also have access to the APIs, so that they can utilize the official application's features in their own applications. That coincides nicely with the other social networking app, Facebook, that is also pre-loaded. If you've got your contacts mingled with your Twitter list, you'll be able to see their updates in your contact list, along with your Google Talk friend's list as well. Bad news though? Android 2.1 (or later), so if you haven't upgraded yet, perhaps now is a good time. [via Twitter] Relevant Entries on SlashGear Google TV and Android Coming to the Living Room Acer Liquid A1 gets previewed: speedy Android but little customization Seesmic Interview Offers Hands-On Time With Seesmic for Windows Phone 7 Series Seesmic Shows Off Twitter Client for Windows Phone 7 Series Evernote for Android released Time Warner Launches Business Class 4G Wireless Data in Texas April 30, 2010 at 4:47 PM We're in the year of 4G. As 2010 is just kicking off, we've already got so many things to look forward to when it comes to the next generation of wireless speeds. Time Warner wants to make sure that its business class of customers are taken care of when they're out and about, and there's no better way to do that than to provide their own 4G data card. It's just a USB drive that will connect you to Time Warner's wireless 4G network. However, right this moment, the service has only been launched in certain cities inside the Texas state line. Inside Time Warner's 4G service area, customers can see download speeds up to 6 Mbps. Though, luckily enough, if you manage to find your way out of that 4G service area, you'll still get access to 3G speeds. So, where are those areas? 4G service is available in Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi, and Wichita Falls. But, there's good news here, bundled up with the rest of the good news. While the Business Class 4G Wireless data service is being launched in Texas, you'll be able to access Time Warner's 4G network outside of Texas, too. Those markets are: Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greensboro, North Carolina, as well as Honolulu and Maui, Hawai'i. Even better, if you find yourself outside of the Time Warner 4G footprint, you can still access 4G speeds in cities like Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, and Houston. Time Warner hopes to roll out to Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C., later in the year as well, amongst other cities. [via Hot Hardware] Relevant Entries on SlashGear Time Warner Cable launches 4G service in select areas TWC's twisted Plan for the Glowing Video Streaming Business Time Warner Cable mobile WiMAX on the way FON teams up with Time Warner Cable Warner Bros launches HD DVD to Blu-ray trade-in program Boy Scouts Add Video Game Belt Loop and Academics Pin for Playing Games April 30, 2010 at 4:30 PM You have to know times are changing when the premiere body of getting kids outside is now giving out belt loops and pins for doing the complete opposite. Or, perhaps they're just trying to keep the family time as high as possible. Either way, welcome the latest editions of the Boy Scouts trophy system: belt loops and academics pins that show off your ability to play video games. Of course, there's more to it than that. It wouldn't be the Boy Scouts if it were that simple. Well, perhaps simple is a relative term here. In any case, for a Scout to get their hands on a belt loop, they need to complete three requirements: Explain why it is important for a rating system with video games; with an adult, create a schedule that includes playing video games, along with doing your chores and homework; and finally, learn to play a new video game that's been approved by your parent, guardian, or teacher. As for the academics pin, the Scout will need to complete three of nine tasks, which include: With your parents, create a plan to buy a video game; teach an adult how to play a video game; and compare two game consoles, which includes listing reasons why you would want to buy it. We like where the Boy Scouts are going with this: it pretty much breaks down that kids are going to play video games anyway, so why not incorporate it into the Boy Scouts way of life? At least that way they learn while they're playing. Plus, they get pins and belt loops. [via Boy Scouts] Relevant Entries on SlashGear Retro video game belts make a statement Can you spot the rip-off? Free game from Chrysler teaches teens to drive The Mobile Protector from Strap Ya NERF Switch Shot EX-3 shoots darts and plays Wii Robot Balances on a Ball for Best Act in Town [Video] April 30, 2010 at 4:20 PM Robots can look amazing, or they can look about as simple, and fundamentally robotic. But, either way, they can usually do some pretty impressive things if the right mind is behind them. This time around, while it may not seem all that exciting, one scientist has created a robot that can successfully balance on a ball, as it moves around on the floor. There's even a video to prove it, if you don't believe us. Just take a look after the jump. Dr. Masaaki Kumagai is the Director of the Robot Development Engineering Laboratory at the Tohoku Gakuin University in Tagajo City, Japan, and he's a master at building robots. He's manufactured them in almost every capacity imaginable: quadruped robots; bipedal robots; robots that crawl; and believe it or not, robots on skates. After a student came up to him and said that he should build a robot that balances on a ball, Dr. Kumagai agreed to do it. And, sure enough, he did it. The robot in question is driven by three omnidirectional wheels, which allows it to not only stand still, but also move around in multiple directions while on the ball. As for the blue thing it's riding on, well that's a plastic-coated bowling ball, and apparently the robot is already being used as a little mobile transport for trays. However, it can also be used to carry around heavier objects for people, as you can see in the image above, while it carries around a cinder block. It may seem like a simple enough idea, and the robot may not win any aesthetic prizes, but like we said, when handled by the right individual, a robot can do some pretty extraordinary things. Just imagine a construction worker travelling around with one of these things, carrying, or even helping to carry items too large or heavy to lift on their own. [via Spectrium Ieee] Relevant Entries on SlashGear The Waboba Ball – bounces on water The 8 Ball USB Hub The SoundBall – for a bit of noisy fun Spyke – The Robot Does Skype Video Calls The Monkey Groan Ball to get rid of your daily stress PowerColor HD5970 Eyefinity 12 Prototype Can Handle 12 Screens April 30, 2010 at 4:13 PM Ah, the progression of technology. It feels good to watch, doesn't it? Especially when it takes leaps and bounds like this. Meet the PowerColor HD5970 prototype, which is set to blow the doors off everything we had seen before. Six screens was great a month ago, but, let's face it that was a month ago. So, what's next? How about 12 screens? The PowerColor HD5970 Eyefinity 12 prototype reveals plenty in the title. Yes, it does have 12 Mini DisplayPorts. On top of that, there's 4GB of DDR5 memory. Now all we have to do is wait for someone to post a video, or even pictures, of the HD5970 Eyefinity 12 powering 12 screens of goodness. Rumor has it that we have to wait for Computex this year, before PowerColor is going to show anything off. Ah, just more to wait for. [via Engadget] Relevant Entries on SlashGear ATI Eyefinity gets tested and a few flaws surface Intel whips out notebook with multiple OLED screens ASUS 5870 EYEFINITY 6/6S/2GD5 packs six DisplayPorts Cypress Semi shows off 14-inchTrueTouch touchscreen with unlimited finger tracking Optimus Popularis 3D prototype shot released Soopa Scoota is a Bike for Daredevils April 30, 2010 at 3:57 PM While there are other bike concepts out there that may seem more out of the ordinary than others, we would like to put on the table that this one takes the cake. And to be honest, we're not even exactly sure if "scooter," or "bike" are the right names for this thing. Though, we will say that it looks like a lot of fun. Especially from the concept images. Plus, it's got a name like Soopa Scoota, and that's just awesome. You're saying it out loud right now, aren't you? We did it, too, so don't feel bad. Apparently this design is about as concept as it gets, and the designer doesn't know when, or even if, it'll become a reality in the future, but we can keep our fingers crossed. It definitely looks like a strange mix between a motorcycle and a bike, and we imagine there's plenty of daredevils out there that would love to race down a hill with their face only a few inches away from the ground. If the Soopa Scoota does make it to the market, we wouldn't be surprised to hear that it costs a few hundred bucks. Especially when you consider the "lightweight," "aerodynamic," and "extreme" features of the Soopa Scoota, how could it not be? And who wouldn't pay for it, right? Let us know: would you ride this thing? [via DVICE] Relevant Entries on SlashGear Store your bike on a tree The Bike Mower – the environmentally conscious riding mower Cervellum Bike Digital Rearview Mirror Lex ! uses your bike to deliver your message to everyone around you Bike concept for 10 to 15-year-olds is coolest bike ever Fusion Garage's JooJoo to Get 3G and Unlocked USB in the Coming Months April 30, 2010 at 3:41 PM The good news just keeps on coming for the JooJoo. It's about time, too, considering early reviews aren't necessarily the brightest. And, while Fusion Garage's CEO, Chandra Rathakrishnan says that new software, along with a European launch, are on the way, this new bit of news from the company's head is definitely a little bit more worthwhile. According to Rathakrishnan, there's two big extras coming. The first, and perhaps most notably (considering you'll have to buy another model, if you were one of the 64 to buy the first, we mean), is the confirmation that there will be a JooJoo with 3G connectivity. And, best of all, it's apparently coming in a matter of only 3 months. So, if you were waiting for 3G, there you go. At least you know it's coming. Eventually. As for the other big change, the company is going to allow for USB mass storage, thanks to unlocking the USB port on the tablet. This would indeed make it stand out from the competition, but not necessarily push it ahead of the pack. And, considering the iPad WiFi + 3G iPad is available today, we'd imagine that has a bit of a jump on the situation. Though, if the HP Slate is dead (or not), along with the Courier from Microsoft's demise, maybe the JooJoo just got a little boost. Or not. Your call. [via Ubergizmo] Relevant Entries on SlashGear Fusion Garage's JooJoo Still Out of Customer's Hands Joojoo shipping date to be delayed until March 25th Fusion Garage on Arrington suit: "sad rants of a person championing a losing cause" Fusion Garage announce JooJoo (aka CrunchPad): $499 on sale Friday TechCrunch file lawsuit over JooJoo Samsung NX10 Comes in Black and White for a Limited Time April 30, 2010 at 3:24 PM It's been a few months since we've brought up the Samsung NX10, but now that it's back, apparently Samsung wanted to make sure that it caught all the passer-by's eyes. Because how many simple, boring, one color cameras can you have, right? It's always better to give your customers a little bit of choice. Even if it is just for a limited time. For example, this white and black version of Samsung's mirrorless APS camera. The Samsung NX10 features a mirrorless interchangeable lens system, and the company is still boasting that it has the fastest autofocus of its class. Additionally, there's a APS-C side CMOS sensor for good measure. Shots come in up to 14.6-megapixels, while the camera is perfectly capable of shooting at 720p, 30fps HD video. And when we mentioned it back in January, we noted that it would be launching in the Spring of this year. Well, sure enough, we're officially in Spring, and now here's a limited edition version of the same camera. Most interesting, though, is the back display. It's a 3-inch AMOLED display, which probably makes this one of the sexiest cameras out there. The white and black coloring definitely makes it stand out, and we imagine it'd be a great accessory to bring along with you if you happen to have the desire to photograph wolves all sneaky-like in the snow-covered forest. Still no word on what it costs, though. But considering the paint job and the "limited" nature of the camera, we imagine it'll be costly. [via Wired] Relevant Entries on SlashGear Pics of Samsung NX10 hybrid DSLR hit the web Samsung NX10 digital camera gets official Pentax announces Special Edition K2000 in White finish Samsung WB2000 10MP digicam tipped for May launch Samsung NX5 digicam tipped by accessory listing MacBook Pro 13-inch Review (Early 2010) April 30, 2010 at 3:07 PM Apple's recent MacBook Pro update brought a long awaited processor update and new GPU options, but much of the attention was lavished on the larger models in the company's professional notebook range. In contrast, the 13-inch MacBook Pro saw a more modest refresh; check out the full SlashGear review after the cut. Frustrating to many frequent travelers, Apple saved the Core i5 and Core i7 processors for the 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro refresh, leaving the 13-inch notebook with Core 2 Duo chips. Our test unit has a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor paired with 4GB of RAM, a 250GB hard-drive and integrated NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics borrowing 256MB of the notebook's memory. Options include a faster, 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo processor, up to 8GB of RAM and a 320GB hard-drive, or alternatively up to 512GB of SSD storage. The slot-loading DVD burner is still in place, and the previous array of ports remain: gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 800, Mini DisplayPort, two USB 2.0, an SD card slot, combined audio in/out and a Kensington lock slot. Unlike the 15-inch MacBook Pro there's no Full HD display option, only the standard 13.3-inch LED-backlit 1280 x 800 panel; we don't so much miss the extra pixels, but we wish Apple would offer an antiglare screen finish. Standard wireless options include WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, while there's also an integrated webcam, a backlit keyboard and the usual multitouch trackpad. Apple reckons the non-swap 63.5Wh battery is good for up to 10hrs runtime with wireless turned on. Physically, then, little has changed from the last generation 13-inch MacBook Pro, and that's generally a good thing. Measuring 12.78 x 8.94 x 0.95 inches it's still a relatively compact machine, and though the 4.5lb weight makes it heavier than other 13-inch notebooks the upside is the sturdy unibody aluminum build quality. Display quality is on a par with the previous model, being bright and crisp with deep, rich colors. Of course, if you're the sort of frequent-traveler to whom the 13-incher will appeal, you may find reflections in the display prove frustrating if working outside. The MacBook Pro 13's CPU marks it out as the only Pro-line Apple notebook to lack an Intel Arrandale processor. While that may be a price consideration on the company's part, it does mean users miss out on newer features like Hyper Threading, which create "virtual" cores for use by compatible software. We ran our usual Geekbench benchmarking tests on the notebook, a synthetic test of processor and memory performance, and the MacBook Pro scored 3702 overall. That's actually a little less than the previous generation 13-incher we tested midway through last year, which scored 3892, though it's worth noting that particular machine was the 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Pros not the entry-level model of the time. (SlashGear 13-inch and 15-! inch, Mid 2009 Review) MacBook Pro (13-inch Early 2010) MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2009) MacBook Pro 15-inch Core i7 Review In day-to-day use, the MacBook Pro kept up with everything we asked for it, though it understandably lacked the responsiveness of its more powerful, larger siblings. The absence of Hyper Threading is only noticeable in apps that have been coded to support it: this includes titles such as Adobe's Photoshop and other graphics and video design packages. Arguably Apple has made a sensible choice with their CPU picks: the type of buyers who'd be doing video editing is perhaps unlikely to choose to do so on a 13-inch notebook. When it comes to media playback, Internet access, mild video processing and other day-to-day chores, the 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo is more than sufficient. As for the graphics, without the discrete GPU from the 15- or 17-inch machines (or their intelligent switching technology) it's another good reason for video pros to look elsewhere, but the rest of us should find it a noticeable boost from the previous -gen MacBook Pro 13's GeForce 9400M. It's certainly decent enough to deal with iMovie – though you probably won't want to do much multitasking while it's rendering – and HD playback isn't a problem (though of course you'll want to output to a standalone display for Full HD, since the notebook's own display won't support it). Apple still refuses to fit an HDMI port for ready connection to an HDTV, but at least the Mini Di! splayPort now includes audio-out. Battery life fell short of Apple's 10hr prediction, which presumes nothing but light web browsing and text editing with the screen brightness set to half (still a reasonably viewable setting, to be fair). With more typical use, throwing some music and video into the mixture, we managed between roughly 7-8hrs of wireless use, which is impressive. Loading up a DVD or gaming obviously had an impact on that figure, as did video editing, pulling it down to more like 4-5hrs. The 13-inch MacBook Pro remains in the shadow of its bigger, more expensive range-mates, though given the price increase for the entry-level 15-inch model (up to $1,799, now that a discrete GPU is standard across that line) in comparison to our $1,199 review unit (or even the $1,499 2.66GHz version) it's a costly step up for their improved graphics and processing performance. $200 does get you a considerably better machine than the plastic-bodied MacBook (SlashGear review), however, which has a slower processor, half the RAM, poorer graphics and promises less battery life. Unless you simply have to come in at under $1k, that's certainly where we'd expect to see the new 13-inch MacBook Pro bite into sales. Existing owners of the last-gen 13-incher probably shouldn't upgrade this time around, but this new version has plenty to recommend it to new buyers. http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/ MacBook Pro (13-inch Early 2010) Specification MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2009) Specification MacBook Pro 15-inch Core i7 Specification Relevant Entries on SlashGear New MacBook Pros coming early next week? MacBook Air refresh delayed by ULV Core i3/i5 shortage? MacBook Pro Core i7 hits 90C in testing App! le MacBook Pro 15 gets $50 matte display option Unboxing – Santa Rosa MacBook Pro HP tablet not so dead after all? April 30, 2010 at 12:48 PM Color us curious; while yesterday's TechCrunch article claiming HP have axed their Windows 7 slate project has been widely reported, the company itself has remained stubbornly quiet. Now, Netbooknews has heard from its own source at HP that in fact the tablet hasn't been axed; in fact, the source says it's "very, very improbable if not even an impossible piece of news!" That same source has apparently been keeping them updated on the various minutia of the tablet project – down to the design of the packaging – and while we don't know their identity we also know Netbooknews to be a trusted source of mobile computing information. Right now, given the amount of speculation around HP and their recent Palm acquisition – and our own excitement at the possibility of a webOS based tablet – it's entirely possible that this whole chapter could turn out to be untrue. We're still waiting on an official comment from HP themselves. Relevant Entries on SlashGear Rock Band Weekly DLC – Grateful Dead Rock Band – Now with The GrateFul Dead A Dead or Alive MMO on the way? Courier and Slate may be dead, but the Hanvon B1! 0 and F10 live Dead Space Trailer not approved for the US Nokia N8 browser gets video demo: multitouch, Flash & more April 30, 2010 at 12:23 PM Nokia have offered a reasonable number of video demos of the new N8 smartphone, but one thing we've not seen before is how the Symbian^3 handset's browser works. A video has been quietly added to YouTube demonstrating not just page rendering but kinetic scrolling, multitouch pinch-zooming and flash support, but if we were you we'd watch it sooner rather than later: one version has already been taken down. Video demo after the cut The browser is also shown flipping between portrait and landscape orientation, and we're pleased to see that generally the full extent of the N8's 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen display is used rather than cluttering it up with menu bars. So far – and bear in mind this is a prototype running non-final software – it looks reasonable slick, though zooming is a little jerky. The N8 is expected to arrive in Europe come Q3 2010, with a US launch shortly after. The first Symbian^3 device from Nokia, it has a 12-megapixel camera with autofocus and a Xenon flash, and can record 720p HD video footage. [via The Nokia Blog] Relevant Entries on SlashGear HTC Leo multitouch display gets video demo Nokia X6 arrives in UK this Friday Sony Ericsson Idou video demo shows browser Flash support Nokia N97 live demo vi! deo from Barcelona HTC Hero Flash demonstrated by Adobe Moore's Law CPU scaling "is now dead" claims NVIDIA VP; GPU parallel computing is the future April 30, 2010 at 11:57 AM Earlier this month, SlashGear columnist Michael Gartenberg pondered whether Moore's Law was still relevant to PCs; obviously NVIDIA chief scientist and vice president Bill Dally has only just got the memo. The engineer has penned a guest column for Forbes on the limitations of current CPU technology, and more specifically the fact that – while processor speed has increased pretty much as Moore predicted – the power scaling! part of Moore's Law has ended. "As a result, the CPU scaling predicted by Moore's Law is now dead," Dally suggests, before suggesting that parallel computing will be our saviour. "Going forward, the critical need is to build energy-efficient parallel computers, sometimes called throughput computers, in which many processing cores, each optimized for efficiency, not serial speed, work together on the solution of a problem. A fundamental advantage of parallel computers is that they efficiently turn more transistors into more performance. Doubling the number of processors causes many programs to go twice as fast. In contrast, doubling the number of transistors in a serial CPU results in a very modest increase in performance–at a tremendous expense in energy." Bill Dally, NVIDIA Of course, what's the best known parallel computing platform around at the moment: why, it's NVIDIA's own CUDA architecture. That's now found in GeForce, ION, Quadro and Tesla GPUs from the company, and can be turned to not just graphics crunching but general processing. The problem with multicore processors of the sort that Intel and AMD are producing, Dally says, is that they consume too much energy per instruction; because of that it's pointless trying to hook up several of them in parallel. To be fair, Dally's points do make some sense when you consider the generally growing power requirements for high-performance chips; however, we don't think Intel or AMD will be quite so ready to go along with the NVIDIA VP's suggestions. Relevant Entries on SlashGear Microsoft acquire ICS parallel computing specialist Intel Larrabee only mostly dead Rock Band Weekly DLC – Grateful Dead NVIDIA unveils low profile Quadro NVS 420 NVIDIA demo GPU-based Interactive Ray Tracing Pandigital Photo Mail DPF with AT&T 3G drops imminently April 30, 2010 at 11:34 AM Remember the Pandigital Photo Mail Digital Photo Frame? We mocked its name and wretched press shots back in January, but also lauded its integrated AT&T 3G for wirelessly receiving new images sent to a dedicated email address. Pandigital have just announced that the $179.99 will go on sale within the next couple of weeks, and they've also confirmed pricing for their pre-pay photo download packages. While the sticker price for the frame comes with 300 wirelessly-delivered photos, Pandigital are selling a further 100 for $9.99, 400 for $29.99 or 700 for $49.99. Although we'd love it to be subscription-free, we guess that's the price you have to pay for avoiding WiFi; this strikes us as the ideal DPF for a grandparent who doesn't have broadband. There's also a 6-in-1 media card reader and USB port for side-loading images (with no charge, obviously) to the Photo Mail frame's 1GB of internal memory, which can then be rotated and resized, and have their brightness and colors tweaked. Finally, it'll play back AVI videos and MP3 audio. [via Photography Blog] Press Release: Pandigital Begins Shipping Photo Mail Digital Photo Frame Connected to AT&T Nationwide Wireless Network, Photo Sharing is Timely and Convenient DUBLIN, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Pandigital today announced it is now shipping its highly anticipated Pandigital Photo Mail® Digital Photo Frame to several national retailers. The Pandigital Photo Mail Digital Photo Frame is a next-generation, wirelessly-connected digital photo frame that displays photos emailed directly to its dedicated email address. Customers can share that address with family and friends to allow them to send photos directly to the frame from their own email account – whether it's from a computer, smart phone or any email-enabled device. Incredibly easy to use, photos can be viewed on the Pandigital Photo Mail frame very quickly. The frame connects to email wirelessly through AT&T's nationwide wireless network, so emailed photos are transmitted rapidly and reliably. "We're coming up on a fun and busy time of year where families are together often for special occasions like Mother's Day, Father's Day, graduations and summer vacations, and the Photo Mail frame is a great way to enjoy and share photos taken at these get-togethers," said Dean Finnegan, CEO and founder, Pandigital. "With the frame, customers have a convenient, reliable way to view their photos and then share them quickly and easily with their family and friends." Pandigital Photo Mail frames are shipping to popular national retailers now and will be available for purchase by customers in the next several weeks. The Pandigital Photo Mail Digital Photo Frame will have a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of $179.99. The price of the frame includes the ability to receive 300 photos emailed to the frame with no service fee to the customer. Additional photo allotments may be purchased directly from Pandigital: 100 for $9.99, 400 for $29.99 and 700 for $49.99. "Photo sharing is simple and timely with the Photo Mail frame connected to AT&T's wireless network," said Glenn Lurie, president, emerging devices, resale and partnerships, AT&T Mobility. "With this new era of connected frames, photos will no longer be held captive on a camera or a smart phone. Grandparents will have convenient, up to date access to a grandchild's latest adventure and parents will have the ability to stay in touch visually with their children away at college." Customers are alerted by the frame when new photos are emailed to its dedicated email address by friends and family so that they may quickly accept the photos in a single step to then begin enjoying them. Because the frames can receive photos from a smart phone or other email-enabled device, photos can be sent from virtually anywhere, even on-the-go. Traditional Digital Photo Frame Usage and Extra Features Give it Full Functionality In addition to having the capability to receive photos via email, the Pandigital Photo Mail Digital Photo Frame can also be loaded with photos via its 6-in-1 media card reader (Compact Flash, SC, XD, MS, MSPro and MMC) or via a direct connection to a computer or digital camera. The frame can also be connected to a Wifi network via an add-on wireless adapter. The Pandigital Photo Mail Digital Photo Frame has an 8-inch back-lit LED display that displays photos in vibrant color and a picture-enhancing 800×600 resolution. The 4:3 aspect ratio preserves the original format of the photos, ensuring that they are not stretched or cropped. Plus, with a full 1GB of internal memory and Pandigital's memory optimization mode, consumers can enjoy up to 6400 images on the display. Also, images can be rotated and resized, and brightness and color settings can be changed. The Pandigital Photo Mail Digital Photo Frame also can play back AVI video clips and MP3 music files. Maintaining the upscale style of the Pandigital line, the new Pandigital Photo Mail Digital Photo Frame features a traditional look with a real wood frame, photo matting and a glass screen cover, so it looks great in the home or office. Relevant Entries on SlashGear Pandigital Photo Mail LED Digital Photo Frame gets 3G image downloads Pandigital Kitchen Technology Center is wireless cooking wonder Pandigital PhotoLink Handheld Scanner is portable; for photos Android HTC prototype device shots Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on price drop Acer TimelineX 1830T, 3820T, 4820T and 5820T priced April 30, 2010 at 11:18 AM Acer's TimelineX range of notebooks may have had a patchy launch, but the company – or at least their German arm – has finally followed up with some hard release details and pricing. The 13.3-inch Acer Aspire TimelineX 1830T will land in early June for €549 ($731), while the 13.3-inch 3820T will be €699 ($931), and both the 14-inch 4820T and the 15.6-inch 5820T will start from €749 ($997). Interestingly, while Acer had previously announced that the Aspire TimelineX 1830T would have a choice of Centrino or Core 2 Solo CPUs, according to this new release the ultraportable will get a choice of Core i3 or Core i5-520UM processors. Meanwhile the other models will be offered with various Core i3, i5 or i7 chips. Specific release windows for the 3820T, 4820T and 5820T are unconfirmed, but we're guessing they'll arrive in Europe roughly at around the same time as the 1830T. [via NetbookChoice] Relevant Entries on SlashGear Acer TimelineX 3820T, 4820T, and 5820T – they're back Acer TimelineX 3820T, 4820T and 5820T get quietly official [Update: they've been pulled] Acer Aspire TimelineX 1830T with Core i5-520UM breaks cover Acer Aspire TimelineX Calpella notebooks debut March 22nd SlashGear Week in Review – Week 13 2010 RIM oust Motorola from top 5 phone vendors; Samsung see major growth April 30, 2010 at 10:54 AM Motorola have dropped out of the top five worldwide mobile phone manufacturers ranking, according to analysts IDC, with RIM taking their place. The move – which pegs Nokia in first place, followed by Samsung in second, LG in third and RIM sharing fourth place with Sony Erics! son – is being described as a sign of growing smartphone demand. Motorola, who have been a member of the top five since IDC began tracking worldwide quarterly figures in 2004, shipped 8.5m handsets in the three month period at the start of 2010; in contrast, RIM shipped 10.6m. Western Europe has shown a strong pick-up in both smartphones and featurephones, while interest in the former was high in both the US and Canada. However, both countries saw decline, with only a renewed interest in messaging-centric featurephones keeping things buoyant. Asia/Pacific, meanwhile, saw strong growth, predominantly due to entry-level smartphone sales in the Chinese market. However, as for the manufacturers themselves, it's only when you look at the market share figures themselves that you begin to see the real movement. Nokia are down from 38.4-percent to 36.6-percent year-on-year, despite unit shipments being up by more than 14m, while Samsung have increased their market share to 21.8-percent and shipped almost 50-percent more devices than a year ago. Relevant Entries on SlashGear Samsung's t509 cell phone Motorola RAZR Z slider phone Motorola Snap Samsung Below the Belt on YouTube Video of Motorola Upcoming Phone Samsung Unveils The Thinnest Phone In The World (For Now)! Ainol V8000HDW PMP gets reviewed: slick 1080p from HDMI output April 30, 2010 at 10:38 AM PMPs should have HDMI ports. It's a pretty straightforward – and common-sense – idea, but most big-name portable media player manufacturers would far prefer to fit a proprietary socket and then sell you a pricey adapter cable afterwards. Ainol may not be a brand name you're familiar with, but judging by MP4nation's review their new V8000HDW certainly should be on your shortlist if you're keen on HD playback. That's because as well as a decent 6-inch 800 x 480 display, the V8000HDW supports more codecs and file containers than you can shake a stick at, together with offering an HDMI 1.3 port for hooking up an HDTV. That means you can play up to 1080p Full HD video – including AVI, MP3, TS and MKV – directly from the Ainol PMP itself. Onboard storage ranges from 1GB to 32GB (plus there's a microSD card slot), and the Sochip SC9800 chipset the PMP is based on is apparently swift enough to keep even 1080p playback chugging along nicely. Unfortunately viewing angles aren't great, so this probably isn't the media player for communal viewing, but then of course you could always connect up a much larger display if you'd prefer. If you're tempted, we've found the 8GB model available for $159. Relevant Entries on SlashGear NAD T587 is Full-Feature Blu-Ray Player with BD-Live Yamaha BD-S2900 is latest high-end Blu-ray offering Third-gen HD DVD players unveiled by Toshiba Curse of the iPhone copycat: Ainol's gaming, entertaining V2000 RAmos T11TE touchscreen PMP packs 1080p HD Microsoft pushing H.264 HTML5 video in IE9; Flash has "reliability, security & performance" issues April 30, 2010 at 10:25 AM Apple and Microsoft might not always agree, but it seems they coincide when it comes to Flash video. After Steve Jobs posted a lengthy critique of Adobe's technology yesterday – followed by a reasonably swift rebuttal from the company themselves – Microsoft's Dean Hachamovitch, general manager for IE9, has waded in to throw some support HTML5 and H.264's way. According to Hachamovitch, "in its ! HTML5 support, IE9 will support playback of H.264 video only." Now, before you conclude that Flash is dead, it's worth reading on to where he adds "Flash remains an important part of delivering a good consumer experience on today's web." However, the technology "does have some issues, particularly around reliability, security, and performance" he insists, and also points to the thorny matter if IP ownership for codecs as being another issue to take into account. This decision to plump for H.264 is more because the W3C – the internet standards body – don't specify a codec for HTML5-funneled video. [via Slashdot] Relevant Entries on SlashGear Flash 10.1 still ahead of HTML5 on desktop & mobile [Video] HTML5 and Flash can work together insists Adobe evangelist [Video] RipCode allows iPad to play Flash video Quake II gets HTML5 port for in-browser gaming [Video] Mac OS X 10.6.3 release imminent? Courier is dead, long live Courier? April 30, 2010 at 9:20 AM Ah, Courier, we hardly knew you. "We have no plans" Microsoft say "to build such a device at this time." Now, perhaps it's my tablet-addled, ever-hopeful mind, but that doesn't sound quite the same thing as "you won't see a Courier-style device." In fact, you could easily interpret it as a carefully worded workaround: we're not going to build a Microsoft Courier, the company says, but other firms might. After all, they've already mention that "its technologies will be evaluated for use in future Microsoft offerings." Wishful thinking? You're probably right, but I'm remembering MSI's dual-display prototype that's been wheeled out at a few trade shows now, and recent talk of a Toshiba Tegra 2 based "dual-screen model running Windows." Both have been anecdotally compared with what we've seen of the Courier project. Of course, that dual-display MSI notebook is facing problems of its own, the biggest being battery life. According to a recent Engadget report, MSI's Andy Tung has said that "the two screens are a major drain on the battery, and even with a higher density battery and the Menlow CPU we are only getting three hours [of runtime]." The prediction is that the device won't arrive until Q4 2010 at the earliest. That's a similar timescale as attached to the Toshiba tablet, which was fingered for late 2010 with Compal doing OEM duty. Toshiba themselves have confirmed that it's on the cards, though is set to be more expensive than a single-screen Android version they're also apparently looking into. To be honest, such a move – providing a software solution, rather than taking the helm in hardware – would be a better fit with Microsoft's general approach: giving OEMs the OS and letting them do their own thing with the physical product. That's certainly the way they've played it in the past with the Tablet PC functionality integrated into various iterations of Windows, whether as a standalone version (like Windows XP Tablet Edition) or, as in Windows 7, baked into certain feature builds of the platform. There's also the much-underrated OneNote digital journal app to consider, software which – while it will work perfectly well on a regular computer – really comes alive when used with pen input, with handwriting recognition, the ability to search through inked notes, OCR from pasted in photos and just the sort of life-recording that Courier seemed to promis! e. Microsoft have been pushing pen and touchscreen input more and more with each OS release, and OneNote has been gradually making moves from the distant cousin of Office to an inclusive part of the Office Home and Student package. If it were me in charge, I'd avoid dipping my toe into competitive hardware waters – risking defining the niche to the detriment of manufacturers coming up with their own alternatives – and instead focus on pulling the technology in OneNote into a custom Windows build (multitouch and gestures included), and linking it up with the existing online tools like Windows Live Spaces blogs. NVIDIA have been telling us for months that their latest Tegra chipsets can deliver not only 1080p HD performance but extreme power frugality, and it's not unusual to find Tablet PCs with dual-mode displays that can automatically flick between finger-touch and stylus input. Alternatively we've seen plenty of rival chipset manufacturers with products capable of driving multiple simultaneous displays. You'd need to solve three key issues for it to work: price, battery life and market positioning. The first is always going to be tricky, matching not one but two touchscreen panels with wireless-enabled components small enough (and sturdy enough) to make for a pocket- or bag-friendly device. Battery life is, as MSI have discovered, a make-or-break factor; however, when you ditch Intel's CPUs and look to ARM-based platforms, far more interesting things are possible. Look at the 10+ hours of runtime Apple's iPad is capable of for evidence of that. Hardest still, though, is giving would-be buyers a reason to welcome a Courier-style device into their lives. Apple have a head-start in a way, what with the almost devotional levels of appeal the brand has to many people; the iPad was guaranteed a strong debut for that reason alone. For all that the "it's just a big iPod touch" criticism must have rankled over at Cupertino, in the end it at least drew connections between the iPad and a paradigm consumers were familiar with. The growth of blogging, sharing-focused microblogs like Tumblr and social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter are all strong examples of spontaneous – and personalised – content manipulation and distribution that Microsoft could, if they're clever, use to illustrate their new idea. Yes, perhaps it's unlikely, but several months ago we were ready to write off Project Pink over talk of internal collapse, and Microsoft still brought Kin out to play. Time will still tell whether that particular project succeeds, but at least Microsoft showed they were willing to give it a chance. Relevant Entries on SlashGear Microsoft Courier Not Heading Into Production Courier and Slate may be dead, but the Hanvon B10 and F10 live Microsoft planning mid-2010 launch for Courier: perfect note-taking tablet Microsoft Courier tipped in innovation JobsBlog article Microsoft to unveil HP-made slate PC (Courier?) on Wednesday? iPhone HD prototype finders outed April 30, 2010 at 8:24 AM In the ongoing iPhone HD saga, we've seen the engineer who lost the prototype handset named, various legal strategies played – including an evidence-collecting police raid – and now, finally, the names of the people in the center of all this: the person who took the smartphone from the bar, and his friend who helped him to hawk it around tech blogs. Wired has been chasing down the identity and various details on! Brian J. Hogan, the 21 year old who removed the iPhone HD from the bar at which Apple engineer Gray Powell left it, while CNET turned their attention to Sage Robert Wallower, his 27-year-old friend who, they say, acted as "go-between" in negotiating the sale of the prototype. Hogan is known to have retained legal advice, and both say they are willing to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. Neither has been charged with any crime, with Stephen Wagstaffe, chief deputy district attorney, only stating that the felony criminal investigation was still being looked at, and that his team were "still collecting facts." However, he also said that Hogan "is very definitely one of the people who is being looked at as a suspect in theft." "I'm not the person who found it. I didn't see it or touch it in any manner. But I know who found it … I think I have already said too much" Sage Robert Wallower It's not directly clear whether Wallower is the unnamed individual who, according to Wired's piece, "offered to call Apple Care on Hogan's behalf, according to Hogan's lawyer." The site has named themselves as one of the tech blogs offered the prototype, but they claim to have ceased contact "after the tipster made a thinly veiled request for money." Hogan was later paid $5,000 for the device, though his lawyer insists that he thought that was so that the buyers "could review the phone," presumably rather than outright selling it. "This thing has gotten completely, completely out of control," lawyer Jeffrey Bornstein reckons, "he made a mistake, he should have just immediately turned that phone in." Relevant Entries on SlashGear Apple "saddened" by Foxconn engineer suicide; waiting for investigation results iPhone GPS module from partfoundry – requires jailbreak Apple iPhone HD Leak Gets Further Identification Foxconn engineer commits suicide after losing iPhone 4G prototype Nissan Eporo robot car gets updated QuickSnap ice cube trays make getting ice out easy April 30, 2010 at 8:08 AM My dad was always telling me how bad things were in his day when I was a kid. He had to walk to school in the show, uphill both ways, with bailing wire for shoestrings and so on. I've actually got it pretty easy and the worst thing I can think of to tell my son about how bad I had it when I was a kid was that we had to use ice trays. No stinkin' door dispenser, things were rough. The thing I remember about ice trays was that it was nearly impossible to get the ice to come out. My grandmother had this metal ice tray with a lever, but you would get frostbite trying to get a cold drink with that thing. I also remember the cheap 6-trays for buck things that would snap before the ice came out sending shards of frozen plastic into your skin. Maybe I had it worse than I think. Yanko Design has a new concept ice tray called the QuickSnap. When you flip it over there are little white tabs on the bottom that you press to eject the ice. That means no twisting, no frostbite, and no severed arteries with blue plastic sticking out. Relevant Entries on SlashGear MobiBLU Cube 2 an improvement The Rubik's Cube Table MobiBLU O Cube speakers Time Cube Clock – Won't stay a cube for long Space Cube – Smallest PC in the world Audiophilleo1 USB to SPDIF transport device is very expensive April 30, 2010 at 7:56 AM Audiophiles will spend massive amounts of money on gear to get the best sound possible. For that reason most of the gear that is audiophile grade carries a massive price tag. A new product called the Audiophilleo1 has been unveiled with audiophile grade price tag of $895. The device is a converter that turns USB signals to S/PDIF audio. The device claims to make use of the best software and hardware available to produce low jitter output regardless of the cables used. The device was designed to create a replacement for high-end CD transport. Features of the device include upgradable firmware, asynchronous USB transfer, fixed frequency clocks, 192Khz 24-bit sample rate, and a fully differential ECL galvanically isolated transformer-less output stage. The device also has a 12V trigger to control amps, and a remote control along with an OLED display to help with configuration of the device. Relevant Entries on SlashGear IOGEAR's GBMH221 will WOW you Collapsing glasses have built-in case Virtual Assistant from NEC DIY GSM GPS tracking device PrimeDTV unveils PHD-HM5 HD media player Volkswagen bik.e fits in the spare tire compartment of a car April 30, 2010 at 7:40 AM VW has unveiled its first ever 2-wheel design at the Auto China 2010 show. The electric bicycle sans pedals is dubbed the bik.e and is powered by batteries. Is it just me, or does this thing look like the design was based on the Kool-Aid man's smile? The bike is designed to fold down quickly and store away in the spare tire area of a car. Autoblog Green reports that it has been told the bik.e will actually be commercialized. The bike has a 12.5 mile range and has a top speed of 12.5 miles per hour. VW wasn't clear on where the bike gets it power, but Autoblog Green presumes it gets juice from the car DC power system and the wall outlet. I can see this being something that people in crowded cities that have to park a long way from their destination might like. Relevant Entries on SlashGear Vespa GTS 250 with integrated touch-screen computer and LCD The VW Minibus radio The Accutire Digital Tire Pressure Guage Volkswagen App My Ride Contest Asks Developers to Create Apps for Vehicle Systems Volkswagen concept car dubbed Viseo James Cameron helps NASA design 3D camera for Mars rover Curiosity April 30, 2010 at 7:27 AM James Cameron certainly helped give 3D a huge boost in the box office with his record setting film Avatar. Avatar has gone on to break just about every record a film can break. Thanks to Cameron's 3D notoriety, he has been working with NASA to develop a new 3D camera that will be fitted to the next Mars rover. The rover is called Avatar, Money, Curiosity and is set to launch in 2011. I hope that its launch fares better than the launch of that balloon I talked about this morning. Cameron feels that the public will better understand the Mars mission if the rover can capture 3D footage, plus it will make for great stock film for when the Na'vi take over Mars in Avatar 10. The 3D camera was reportedly cut from the rover design previously due to budget concerns, but Cameron convinced NASA to include it. The 3D camera will be installed on the main mast aboard Curiosity. The real mission of the rover is to study the habitability of Mars and whether it can or did support any microbial life. Relevant Entries on SlashGear Mars Phoenix ends its mission 3D version of Avatar will be offered on Blu-ray, coming November? GM and NASA team up on Robonaut 2 humanoid robot Land Rover Defender survives another incarnation NASA turns 50 today Courier and Slate may be dead, but the Hanvon B10 and F10 live April 30, 2010 at 7:08 AM The Microsoft Courier and the HP Slate may be stillborn, but if you have tablet dreams that don't involve the iPad you still have a few choices. I still think it's odd that HP put so much fanfare into the Slate only to kill it off, but we can hope the Slate turns up again running WebOS. Two of those alternative tablet choices will be the Hanvon B10 and F10 tablets. Jkkmobile reports that it has received an update on the status of the machines. The B10 will run an Intel ULV743 CPU at 1.3GHz and is in volume production now. Shipping for the device is set at the end of May for China, but when the rig will hit the US is unknown. The F10 will run an Atom Z530 CPU at 1.6GHz and is not yet set for volume production and it could be another three months before production kicks off. The F10 will not have multitouch and will only work with the supplied pen though it and the B10 will come with a mouse pointer. Relevant Entries on SlashGear Hanvon Windows 7 multitouch slate spied [Video] Microsoft to unveil HP-made slate PC (Courier?) on Wednesday? Hanvon BC10C multitouch Win7 tablet gets tested: premium feel Hanvon BC10C and BA10E multitouch tablets get CeBIT 2010 video demo Pegatron Atom slate gets video hands-on Black Dwarf storage array video work log is tedious, yet cool April 30, 2010 at 6:53 AM There are few things better in this world to a geek than a project like building a sweet SFF RAID array for storing lots of data. The project is all the better when all the parts for said project are free thanks to companies like Newegg. A dude named Will Urbina has taken 16TB of storage, crammed it inside SFF computer case, and powered the works with a Quanmax Industrial KEEX-2030 Atom mainboard and Make has offered up the build video. The board has an Intel Atom N270 CPU and controls the hoard of 3.5-inch HDDs inside the machine. The rig is powered by a 120W PSU and is designed for 24/7 uptime. The drives used are 5400 rpm units to reduce power requirements and the case as even made by hand to fit the works. The entire project is very cool and the finished product is slick indeed. This guy makes me feel like my computer building chops are on par with my 5-year-olds. Relevant Entries on SlashGear OWC's 2TB RAID Array Cowon D2TV PMP Iomega UltraMax and Black Series External Drives for Macs Oneill NavJack – this jacket does navigation for those on the go Black iRiver SPINN shows up in Korea Lala plug gets pulled on May 31 April 30, 2010 at 6:40 AM I don't think anyone will be really surprised by the announcement by Lala that it will beclosing its doors on May 31. When Apple gobbled up the service, many expected it to be integrated into Apple offerings and shut down and that is exactly the case. Lala reports that users of the service will be able to continue using Lala through the 31 of May, but no new customers are being accepted. Any credits that users still have in Lala will reportedly be transferred over to iTunes. This may not be all bad news. TechCrunch reports that the hope is the closing of Lala signals a new iTunes.com. There are lots of iPhone and iPod users out there who have long wished for a subscription service from Apple, this could be the first sign that one is in bound. Relevant Entries on SlashGear Lala and the Shift from Apps to Services Rumor – Saturo Iwata pulled the plug on Goldeneye for XBLA Google Audio music download store coming October 28th? Plug and Play Speaker Concept Electronic Musician's Emergency Adapter Kit FireFly Intel Atom mainboard debuts April 30, 2010 at 6:31 AM We are familiar with the Intel Atom line of CPUs from the proliferation of the processors inside netbooks and nettops. The processor finds its way into the other product types as well like mobile devices. A company called InHand Electronics has announced a new Atom-based mainboard called the FireFly. The board is full function but small and low priced at the same time. The board is for OEMS looking to develop UMPCs and other devices. The CPU is the Atom Z510 at 1.1GHz and the chipset is the Intel US15W. Up to 1GB of DDR2 RAM can be placed on the board. It has six USB 2.0 post hosts, WiFi option, Bluetooth 0ption, and a 20-channel GPS option. Onboard expansion slots include a microSD slot, ExpressCard slot, and Ethernet is built-in as well. The board has graphics supporting 3D and resolutions up to 1600 x 1200. The little board can run Linux or Windows XP Embedded. Relevant Entries on SlashGear Brando's eco friendly Firefly Lamp Draganfly R/C Chopper put to the test Asus P6X58D Premium mainboard for Intel LGA1366 CPUs launches Intel Atomizes Silverthorne Dual-core Intel Atom 330 delayed until Q4 2008 Hercules unveils new XPS 5.1 and XPS 2.0 multimedia speaker systems April 30, 2010 at 6:18 AM Hercules has all sorts of products in its offerings from netbooks to accessories for the iPod and lots more. The company has now added new speakers to its mix for computers. The new speaker kits include the XPS 5.1 70 Slim and the XPS 2.0 35 USB. The XPS 5.1 70 Slim speakers have 70W of total power and the front channel speaker is designed to mount to a flat panel monitor. The frequency response is 30Hz to 20kHz and the system uses a multifunction remote. The XPS 2.0 35 speakers get all the power and connectivity they need from a single USB connector. Total power for the speakers is 2.5/3 watts and a volume knob is on the front of one of the speakers. The speakers are shielded to prevent any interference. Relevant Entries on SlashGear Hercules unveils eCafe EC-1000W netbook Hercules unveils DJ Console Mk4 Hercules announces XPS 2.150 Multimedia Speaker Hercules XPS Ultra Slim speakers coming soon Hercules DJ Console MK2 Aussie space balloon launch goes off reservation, car killed April 30, 2010 at 6:03 AM A group of scientist in Australia were trying to launch a balloon with a scientific payload when things went wrong. The conditions were described as calm at the Alice Springs Airport at the time of the incident, but judging from the video posted of the crash, the winds were far from calm at the time. The balloon appeared to be anchored to a crane and when it came loose the payload drug across the ground causing a number of Aussie scientists to soil themselves en masse. All I'm saying is that judging by the folks running from that massive metal payload, there were some skivvies as equally wrecked as that balloon. The thing that really has me curious though is how the heck will the person who owns the car that got smashed explain that to the insurance company. Someone should have considered that winds aloft can be an issue when launching a gigantic balloon. Relevant Entries on SlashGear DIY – Water Balloon Siege Machine GameStop/EB Games Taking PS3 Preorders Today? GameStop Taking Wii Preorders Today Apple iPad Reminder: Pick Your Reserva! tions Up Tomorrow at 9AM Man in Korea Killed by a cellphone? Facade Printer: the most exciting inkjet you'll see [Video] April 30, 2010 at 6:02 AM If HP's inkjets were as interesting as this DIY Facade Printer, the company wouldn't have had to buy Palm just to get some press coverage. The handiwork of German product designers and engineers Martin Fussenegger, Michael Haas and Julian Adenauer, the inkjet-with-attitude is capable of precisely firing individual colored dots from up to 20 feet away, creating huge – and surprisingly accurate – murals on whatever wall is unlucky enough to get in the way. Video demo after the cut The printer was constructed from a converted paintball system, hooked up to an industrial PC running custom software. Using the touchscreen, images in SVG format can be loaded from a USB drive and overlaid onto a digital photo of the blank wall; that allows the artists to frame the painting exactly. A laser is then used to indicate on the wall exactly where the paintballs will be fired – useful if you discover you're currently standing where some high-speed Dulux will soon be approaching – before 5-10cm dots are created by the 200km/h colored balls. Thanks to nifty paint technology the end result can last on the wall for as long as months or as little as a few hours, reacting to UV light to fade away. Meanwhile the paintball shells are made of gelatine and will decompose in rain. [via Designboom] Relevant Entries on SlashGear Fastest inkjet printer ever Epson WorkForce 610 and 1100 printers released Sony touchscreen photo printer patent with wireless image transfer OLED inkjet printing tech promises cheaper, larger displays Dell claims world's fastest laser printer title with 5130cdn printer Motorola RAZR3 prototype gets video demo April 30, 2010 at 5:52 AM News that Motorola had canned their RAZR3 project all the way back in November 2008 was met with collective indifference, but beyond a small photo of the handset we've been left hanging as to what happened to the company's prototypes. One such example has leaked to Travis the Tech Man and he's been showing it off on video. Video demo after the cut The rumored specifications turn out to be largely true: it has a GSM HSPA modem, GPS and Nuance voice-recognition, together with a 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash. The form-factor is obviously reminiscent of early RAZR models, but there's a large touchscreen display on the front of the flip with a physical lock switch on the side to prevent accidental taps while it's in your pocket. Motorola apparently intended to launch the RAZR3 early in 2009, but reportedly yanked the project after deciding to shift their focus to Android instead. Considering they've since produced some of the more interesting devices running the Google OS, that looks like a mighty good decision. [via fonearena] Relevant Entries on SlashGear Motorola RAZR3 aka Ruby axed in UIQ to Android transition? Motorola MCU3E wireless set-top box transcoder prototype Motorola Media Mover will reach production ODROID Android prototype shows up again in PMP demo [Video] Motorola abandon Symbian for 2009 Android holiday line-up? eviGroup Wallet Android MID on sale in May for €199 April 30, 2010 at 5:18 AM Since we've apparently entered the culling phase of the tablet story arc – goodbye HP slate and Microsoft Courier, we'll miss your shiny renders – it's good to know that devices are still entering production rather than being canned. French firm eviGroup have just announced that their Wallet Android MID has entered production and should be on sale, for €199 ($264), from May. Carrypad chased up some details from director Nicolas Ruiz, including how he sees the Wallet facing against the Archos 5 Internet Tablet and what sort of help they've had from Google. Ruiz defines the Wallet as a "professional" MID, versus the Archos device's multimedia focus. "We want to have the same build quality that Archos 5 but we don't want to be a challenger" he explains, adding that "we will deliver Wallet with a lot of accessories directly in the package." A car cradle is one such accessory tipped for inclusion. As for the Google support, think along the lines of "none". According to Ruiz, eviGroup attempted to contact Google regarding getting the Wallet approved and adding access to the Android Market, but they heard nothing back. The Wallet has a 5-inch resistive touchscreen and is believed to use a Samsung ARM11 processor in a semi-rugged design (the company's latest prototypes moved away from the iPhone-stylings of the early mock-ups, thankfully), but there's no word on whether €199 gets you the integrated 3G talked about previously. Relevant Entries on SlashGear eviGroup's larger Wallet tablet to be Atom powered? eviGroup's Wallet MID gets first hands-on play [Video] eviGroup Wallet Android MID gets new design, status update Wallet MID gets closer to release, US launch possible eviGroup Wallet Android specs revealed: promising MID Bridgestone QR-LPD flexible e-paper gets video demo April 30, 2010 at 5:05 AM Bridgestone probably aren't the first company you'd associate with e-paper, but it seems they've been thinking about more than just tires of late. They've rolled out a new flexible e-paper screen at Display 2011 in Japan this week, called QR-LPD or Quick Response Liquid Powder Display, which judging from this machine translation uses electrically-charged black and white particles held in a liquid substrate. The system apparently boasts fast response times, with Bridgestone claiming a 0.2s response to charge change (though that's when in air, not in suspension). As well as allowing the panel to bend, the plastic construction is being billed as safer than regular glass screens. Bridgestone also had a touchscreen-integrated battery powered tablet prototype using the QR-LPD display, though there's no talk of a commercial release. [via The Digital Reader] Relevant Entries on SlashGear e-paper brightens up to save power IFA 2007 – Exclusive PVI Flexible e-Paper video demo Bridgestone color e-paper display revealed Bridgestone readying e-paper with 0.8s refresh time, color option E-Ink has some new e-paper displays ASUS Eee PC 900AX resurrects 8.9-inch netbooks April 30, 2010 at 4:40 AM You could be forgiven for assuming the 8.9-inch netbook segment had died; while we've seen a few convertible tablet netbooks using sub-9-inch panels, predominantly to shave off a few extra millimetres from a machine intended to be carried around, regular netbooks have gravitated to 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 panels. So, quite a surprise to see the new ASUS Eee PC 900AX, an 8.9-inch relaunch… with a few caveats. Biggest of those caveats is having to fight the nagging sensation that ASUS are charging you for a brand new netbook when all you're getting is a new badge. Under the hood is Intel's Atom N270 processor, the 1.6GHz chip that basically kick-started the netbook segment a couple of years back, and here paired with the same old 1GB of RAM and 160GB hard-drive. In fact everything about the Eee PC 900AX screams "classic" (and that's being kind), with its 4-cell battery (good, they reckon, for just 4hrs use), two USB 2.0 ports, VGA, audio in/out and 8.9-inch 1024 x 600 display. ASUS have even left it with WiFi b/g rather than upgrading to 802.11n, and it runs Windows XP rather than Windows 7 Starter Edition. No word on pricing or launch date, but we're hoping ASUS see sense and give the 900AX a suitably budget tag. [via NotebookItalia] Relevant Entries on SlashGear ASUS considering Qualcomm for future Eee PCs ASUS axing all 8.9-inch Eee PC netbooks in 2009 ASUS 11.6-inch Eee PC coming this month Asus Ion 2 Eee to hit in April ASUS predict $200 Eee PC netbook in 2009; focusing on 10-inch models BenQ DC T1260 12MP touchscreen camera with high contrast processing spotted April 30, 2010 at 4:28 AM BenQ have outed their latest digital camera, the point-and-shoot DC T1260, and as well as offering a 12-megapixel CCD, wide-angle 4x optical zoom and the company's HDR image enhancement technology – which combines multiple frames to work around high contrast images having reduced visibility – there's also a touchscreen for easier control. The T1260 follows hot on the heels of the DC E1260, spotted earlier this week, which has the HDR system but lacks the 3-inch touchscreen. There's also 720p HD video recording at 30fps, an ISO range from 100 to 3200, and a minimum shutter speed of 1/2000. BenQ have also squeezed in a few preset modes, including those catering to fireworks and night scenes (which can boost shutter speed to 2s and 15s respectively), while the touchscreen can be used to selectively focus on a portion of the scene and – when you lift your finger – automatically fire off a shot. Alternatively, while viewing photos in the gallery, you can circle sections of a shot to zoom in, and then resave that crop as a new frame. There's smile and face detection, auto-face-tracking and the disturbingly named "self-love portrait" which we're hoping is intended to make grabbing MySpace-style pictures easier. No word on pricing or specific availability for the new touchscreen camera. [via iTechNewsNet] Relevant Entries on SlashGear BenQ DC-E600 Digital Camera BenQ releases 7MP digital camera Nokia N87 12MP tipped to replace N86 [Video] BenQ Will Released HDMI compatible 24″ LCD Benq's Slim and Sleek DCS-X835 Digital Camera iPad jailbreak promised soon after 3G model's release April 30, 2010 at 4:15 AM We've already heard about the first iPad WiFi + 3G deliveries being made – early – to preorder customers, but today's the day when the cellular-enabled iPad makes its official debut at Apple Stores. Interestingly, it sounds like the iPhone Dev Team are ramping up for an iPad jailbreak release too; according to their blog, the "Spirit" jailbreak – the underlying technique of which was demonstrated within 24hrs of the iPad WiFi's launch at the beginning of the month - will be made public "at some point after" the iPad WiFi + 3G going on sale. In fact, Spirit won't just impact both iPads, but the iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch 3G too, together with earlier devices (that already have jailbreak systems in place). It's an untethered jailbreak, but does not include a carrier unlock. However, the team also point out that since the hack takes advantage of security weaknesses in the iPhone OS that are also in place for non-jailbroken users, it's likely that Apple will move quickly to address the flaw. Their advice is to back up your device's "SHSH blobs" asap, before Apple's fixing-team spring into action. Instructions on how to do that – together with links to the tools you'll need – are here. Remember, the iPad 3G is supplied carrier unlocked, so if you're just looking for a way to use the tablet with networks other than AT&T you'll be able to do so simply by slotting in a new microSIM. Meanwhile, Apple Stores will be closed today from 4pm to 5pm to prepare for the iPad 3G's retail debut. Relevant Entries on SlashGear Untethered iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 2G/3G and iPad Jailbreak promised [Video] Another geek shows off untethered Jailbreak for iPod and iPhone Apple iPad jailbreak already achieved [Video] iPod touch 2G redsn0w Jailbreak patch released iPhone 1.1.2 firmware released – Jailbreak no longer works 37064