Digital Technology News, Camera, Camcorder and Cool Gadget Reviews

Dell have finally outed their new flagship business notebook, the Dell Latitude Z 600, a 16-inch machine that’s packed full of wireless technologies.  The Latitude Z 600 has a matte-finish 1,600 x 900 display, backlit keyboard, choice of Intel Core 2 Duo 1.4GHz SU9400 or 1.6GHz SU9600 processors, up to 4GB of RAM and up to dual SSD drives for storage, as well as an optional wireless charging stand (around $200 each for the stand and the notebooks’ wireless module) and optional UWB-based wireless dock with USB, DVI and other connections.

The Latitude Z also has a 2-megapixel webcam with autofocus, which can be used to log users in via facial recognition, scan business cards and input details from them automatically into Outlook, and create PDFs by photographing physical documents.  A capacitive touch-strip along one side of the keyboard calls up a menu of shortcuts, which Dell call “EdgeTouch”.  Of course, there’s also WiFi, Bluetooth and integrated 3G, and the whole thing weighs 4.5lbs.  Battery life is tipped at either 4hrs from the 4-cell or 8hrs from the 8-cell pack, though the latter doesn’t fit completely flush with the body of the notebook.

Dell have also given the Latitude Z a quick-start feature, called Latitude ON, which rather than being a simple secondary Linux OS is actually a whole separate ARM-based Linux system living inside the notebook.  Kept entirely separate from the main system, it offers speedy access to contacts, Exchange email and the browser.

The device is up at a preorder price of €389.99 and the reseller is offering discounts on the device if you order five or more units. Exactly how large those discounts are is unknown. The exact shipping date isn’t specified, but it could well be the 6th along with the F1.

The A1 has a Qualcomm 8250 CPU running at 768 MHz and runs the Android 2.0 donut OS. Other features include 512MB of RAM, a 3.5-inch touchscreen with WVGA resolution, and GPS. The device operates on the HSPA/WCDMA networks at 850/1900/2100mHz. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are also built-in along with a 5MP webcam.

We had originally assumed that Lenovo’s IdeaPad S12 would be the first netbook to ship with NVIDIA’s Ion platform, but since that rig was delayed until Windows 7 could make its retail debut, HP decided to swoop in and claim the honors. You heard right — the recently introduced Mini 311 has just become the first netbook in the universe with NVIDIA’s Ion to actually ship to end users, and it’s up for order right now starting at $399.99. ‘Course, you’ll be asked to pay extra for a white chassis ($20), Atom N280 ($25), Bluetooth ($25), 802.11n ($25) and integrated WWAN ($125), but at least that 1,366 x 768 resolution display comes standard.

The Viliv S10 may be a size increase for the Korean company, but at 10-inches the convertible touchscreen netbook is still very much an ultraportable.  Steve from MID Moves had a chance to grab some hands-on time with the S10, suggesting that the netbook is better put together than Gigabyte’s TouchNote; you can see his video after the cut.

Hardware specs for the S10 are a choice of 32GB or 64GB SSDs, 1GB of RAM and optional 3G.  There’s also a choice of 1.33GHz Atom processor or a faster 2.0GHz chip which we’re assuming is the Atom Z550.  Viliv are claiming up to 10hrs runtime from the standard battery.

One thing to note; unlike what Steve says in the video, the S10 is on course to launch in Q4 2009, not 2010.  Pricing is expected to begin at just over $500 and rise according to options. Read the rest of this entry »

An NVIDIA executive has confirmed that the company is working with Google to produce Tegra-based Smartbooks running Google Chrome OS.  Talking to jkOnTheRun’s Kevin C. Tofel, NVIDIA’s GM of mobile business Mike Rayfield revealed that the company expects to see Tegra-based smartphones using Windows Mobile and Android, while Smartbooks or netbooks would use Chrome OS or Windows CE.

These OSes, Rayfield, suggests, would make the most of Tegra’s frugal power requirements.  The chipset can play back video content with power draw of 1W or less, while an Atom CPU, he claims, would require several times that.  Nonetheless, Tegra is capable of high-definition playback, and NVIDIA believe that in combination with the surge in internet-based apps, consumers will happily give up “dehydrated laptops” running traditional Windows desktop OSes and instead choose longer runtimes, broader connectivity and increased HD performance from Tegra Smartbooks.

Meanwhile, Mobinnova have apparently confirmed that their Smartbook, presumably the Foxconn-manufacturered Mobinnova Elan, has been ordered by various carriers in Europe and North America, and will reach the market by the end of the year.  Another machine, produced by Compal, will also apparently go on sale before 2009 is out.

WiFi-sharing enthusiasts FON have released their latest router, the Fonera 2.0n.  As the name suggests, the Fonera 2.0n packs 802.11n support, but they’ve also packed it with social networking integration, hard-drive sharing, Twitter status updates (for when someone connects to your router), BitTorrent downloading and webcam hosting.

With four ethernet ports the Fonera 2.0n can do the usual wired networking of local PCs, but there’s also a USB 2.0 port for hooking up a printer, hard-drive or webcam (or a USB hub, from which multiple USB devices can be shared across the network).  You can set the Fonera 2.0n to automatically upload photos from a USB drive to Facebook, Flickr or Picasa, as well as set it to download BitTorrent files, MegaUpload files and RapidShare files; there’s also a YouTube uploader.  All of these can be used when your PC or Mac is turned off, via the web-based UI.

Of course, the main point of choosing FON over other routers is that it means other FON users can access your connection, and you theirs, meaning less paying for WiFI hotspots when travelling.  You can even make a little money, as FON members without their own shared hotspots are charged for connecting.  The FON Fonera 2.0n is available in Europe and the US now, priced at €79 and $99 respectively.

MIT researchers have come up with a retinal implant that sends images from a glasses-mounted camera directly to the brain, via the optic nerve.  Intended to bring some degree of vision back to the blind, the system should begin real-world testing in around three years time, according to MIT electrical engineering professor John Wyatt.

While the vision the implant allows for won’t be as clear as true 20/20 sight, what it will do is allow users to recognize faces and navigate more freely.  The MIT team are banking on that being a boost to self-confidence: “If they can recognize faces of people in a room, that brings them into the social environment as opposed to sitting there waiting for someone to talk to them” explained one project member.

The system works by wirelessly sending information from the camera in the eyeglasses, via an inductive coil, to a titanium-clad microchip either inside or attached to the outside of the eyeball.  That chip triggers electrodes which simulate light hitting the cones and rods inside a healthy eyeball, signals which are then sent to the brain.  The hope is that the chip will last for ten years use at a time.

HP have outed their new video conferencing system, HP SkyRoom, with the promise of live conversation and desktop collaboration for up to four users simultaneously and at potentially HD resolution.  First mentioned back at the launch of the flagship Z800 workstation in March, SkyRoom already has some high-profile contented users including an F1 team.  It uses data transfer technologies that NASA used with their Mars rovers, thanks to sub-100ms latency.

While SkyRoom is software, HP are also pushing a hardware bundle to accompany it.  The HP SkyRoom Standard Accessory Kit comes with a “high resolution” webcam and headphones (or alternatively powered speakers).  However any reasonable PC can be used; SkyRoom requires a Core 2 Duo 2.33-GHz or equivalent processor with 2GB RAM, though unfortunately there’s no Mac support. Read the rest of this entry »

Intel is showing off a laptop concept under the code name Tangent Bay at IDF that is very cool. The machine has three OLED screens right above the keyboard that are all touch sensitive. The screens can be used to organize information and presumably launch apps.

Music files can be moved between the OLED screens using a finger swipe and video can be dragged to the main display as well if desired. It sounds like nothing more than the same old extended desktop trick grafted to a notebook with three small displays built-in.

ASUS have outed two new Republic of Gamers notebooks, the G60 and G71X, offering Intel Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors respectively.  The two new laptops each have NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 260M with 1GB of dedicated memory, driving a 16-inch 1,366 x 768 display in the case of the G60, and a 1,920 x 1,200 in the G71X.  Both machines have Blu-ray drives, dual HDDs set up in RAID arrays (640GB total in the G60; 1TB total in the G71X) and both HDMI and eSATA ports.

There’s also speedy wireless (a/g/n on the G60, b/g/n on the G71X) and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, together with gigabit ethernet, a 2-megapixel webcam and Altec Lansing speakers.  Other ports include S/PDIF, Firewire and four USB 2.0, and each machine has 4GB of DDR3 memory; the G60 also throws in a backlit keyboard and “manga themed” casing.

The ASUS G60 Republic of Gamers notebook is available now, priced at £1,449 ($2,366), while the ASUS G71X Republic of Gamers notebook comes in at £1,849 ($3,019).  Both are supplied with Windows Vista Ultimate, but are eligible for free Windows 7 upgrades when the new OS arrives on October 22nd.