Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

The widely popular Samsung UpStage, which is currently available on Sprint, is going to be available in red. The two sided phone will be available in the new color on June 18th, and will still retail for $99 with a two year contract. The UpStage functions as both a digital audio player and a mobile phone, with one side of the device dedicated to the phone, and the other dedicated to the audio player. Bundled with a MicroSD slot, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and Bluetooth, the UpStage is the perfect phone for music and entertainment fans. Again, the UpStage will be available in red starting June 18th, and will retail for $99 with a two year contract.

Product [Samsung] Via [Engadget]

Although US carriers seem to carry the older and crappier (by comparison) phones, T-Mobile might decide to change this and add the N90/N95 phones from Nokia to their lineup. This, of course, means two things. The first is that subscribers won’t need to shop around for an unlocked phone. The second thing, is that customers won’t have to pay outrageous fees for an unlocked phone, and can get these two slick media phones at a discounted price with a new plan.

Again, this isn’t completely confirmed, but it’s showing up on Mobile/Cellular Technology’s T-Mobile profile page, so we’ll see what happens.

Read [Engadget Mobile]

So you may or may not have heard the news, the news being that Apple has delayed it’s next OS release until October. Originally planned to be unveiled at WWDC, Leopard has been pushed back due to the iPhone, Apple’s anticipated mobile phone. Everyone seems to be complaining, yet not everyone is thinking about Apple’s priorities and why they pushed back OS X, rather than pushing back any of their other products and projects.

Imagine how much media and word of mouth advertising has gone into the iPhone. Almost everyone owns a mobile phone and would love a sleek new one. Not everyone owns a Mac and either knows how or wants to upgrade to a new OS. Apple will sell at least ten times more iPhones than boxes of Leopard. Plus, they haven’t really promised, at least via physical media or television, that Leopard will be out this spring/summer. However, since Apple put out an ad during the Oscars, a widely watched event, many people have started planning their mobile phone and minutes purchases around it - and when their shiny new iPhone isn’t in stores in June, people would be very disappointed.

Continuing the new trend of Vista Compatible monitors, Envision has released their own monitors designed to take advantage of features in Microsoft’s new OS, Windows Vista. Included in this new lineup are two 19” displays, one of them being Vista Premium Certified, and one 17” display. These three new screens also feature anti-glare hard coating that makes them almost unscratchable, as well as a black casing with a slim design, complementing Macs and PCs alike.

The new Vista Premiun Certified G918w1 comes with a 19” widescreen display, allowing room for Aero Flip and Windows Sidebar, as well as many applications. Included is DVI output with HDCP, allowing protected HD video to be unlocked, as well as 720p and 1080i compatibility.

The G918w1 is equipped with a 1440x900 screen with an 800:1 contrast ration and a 5 millisecond response time, making it great for games, movies, or entertainment in general. The screen also adjust, allowing many viewing angles. This new 17” LCD goes for $219, and will be in stores very soon.

The H1781 and H1981 are both Vista Ready monitors, and come in two flavors, 19” and 17”. The displays carry a 1280x1024 resolution, 700:1 contrast ration, and 5 millisecond response time, making these monitors perfect for gaming and entertainment as well. The 17” will go for $199 and the 19” will go for $229, and will both be in stores soon.

As hard as it is to believe, many XM users don’t seem to want Howard Stern on their receivers. However, many users do and believe the two competing companies, XM and Sirius, should merge. Users have created a petition for the merger, encouraging new sattelite radio companies to pop up and compete. The petition can be signed online by anyone, and is targeted at gaining attention from members of Congress as well as the FCC.

There are several ways to support the merger. You can write a letter to the FCC, sign the petition, or send a letter over to NAB. Opinions must be heard in order for this merge to occur.

Read [Orbitcast]

Jaguar is taking it one step higher as usual, with it’s new XJ sedans featuring HD Radio. The XJ is known for it’s breathtaking interior and superior technology, and Jaguar believes that adding in an HD Radio reciever will boost the luxury sedan’s status. Receivers will be optional and will cost about $500 extra.

“Given that customer demand is increasing rapidly, we predict that the number of HD Radio stations will continue to grow and expect it to exceed 3,000 within the next few years.”

However, this is a big step for HD Radio, as Jaguar was one of the first companies to push AM/FM radio in cars. Jaguar’s implementation can cause the number of HD Radio users and subscribers to skyrocket, making it a popular alternative to AM, FM, or Sattelite. Jaguar is so confident in their choice, that they believe there will be over 3000 HD Radio stations within the next few years.  The 2008 XJ sedans will include the radios as an optional $500 add-on.

Read [Radio Ink]

A new ad for the Apple TV has surfaced on TV, making an appearance this morning on CNBC. The ad, a rather clever one as well, shows how Mac users can download movies to their Mac, to their iPod, and now view it on their TVs. The ad features Jack Black’s School of Rock and displays a Mac, an iPod, and a TV, showing how they all connect to view your already-owned media in new and many different ways.

Read [TUAW]

If you thought they’ve hacked the AppleTV to bits already, you haven’t seen anything yet. The now-proclaimed ‘Mac nano’ has been hacked with RSS, enabling users to read their favorite feeds directly from their sofas. Enabled through a newly-created menu item, the RSS plugin retrieves the feeds from a file, which is manually edited and saved by the user.

Along with RSS, the bloggers at twenty08 have also enabled game emulation, using several popular emulators from Richard Bannister. However, this is simply using the previously discovered SSH method to launch the emulator (which happens to be compatible with the Apple TV) therefore not making it a new hack or plugin. Nonetheless, Apple TV owners will surely welcome these two new features, making their Apple TV’s a bit more valuable by the day.

Read [Engadget]