Full FeedMicrosoft offers Windows Mobile 7 preview
Inside Microsoft has offered up some details on their newest mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 7. Of course, Microsoft is now playing catch-up to Apple’s revolutionary touch interface and is also introducing new ways to interact with mobile devices, namely my rotating and shaking the device, and also (a feature set way too in the future) by camera-recognized gestures.
Another area that will get a much needed upgrade, will be Pocket Internet Explorer, where tabs are now utilized and websites will be displayed just like at a full screen PC, very similar to on the iPhone. Mobile browsing on Windows Mobile phones is tedious and hopefully Microsoft will improve on this area.
Is this the end of the HD format war?
It has been rumored for the last couple of weeks but now its official: Warner Bros., the only movie studio that until now was releasing movies in both formats, has decided to go exclusively with Blu-ray, starting in May of this year. This means that the score is now 6 for Blu-ray (Sony, MGM, Disney, Fox, Lion’s Gate, Warner) and 2 for HD DVD (Universal, Paramount). So, is this the end for the HD DVD camp? Will all those cheap HD DVD players that were bought over the holiday season become obsolete in the near future? Will this be Sony’s only triumphant proprietary media format you know, after being not so successful with Betamax, UMD, MemoryStick and Minidisc?
For some reason I’ve been supporting HD DVD since the beginning, for various reasons: they seem to be the underdog, I dislike Sony and their proprietary formats, the name is catchier, and finally, they offer cheaper players. But I still don’t think HD DVD is going the way of the dodo, the consumer still has the final word and what drives consumption is only one thing: price. HD DVD disks are cheaper to manufacture than Blu-ray disks and HD DVD players are cheaper than their Blu-ray counterparts. I believe we are going to start seeing even cheaper HD DVD players and HD DVD movies as a counterstrike.
A battle has been won, but the war is not over yet.
Via [Ars Technica]
Related5.1 sound from one speaker - Polk Audio Soundbar 360
Are you a home theater aficionado, but hate the wiring? Well, Polk Audio is set to unveil their SurroundBar 360 DVD Theater at CES. The two piece system consists of an all-in-one “bar of sound” speaker set and a main console featuring a DVD/CD player, AM/FM receiver, signal processing amplifier (Stereo Dimension Array). It also features multiple inputs,1080i DVD upconversion and an HDMI output. Is $1200 the price to pay for a system that can output 5.1 surround sound from just one speaker? You be the judge.
Via [Engadget HD]
Related
Asus 2G Eee PC now available, in color
Good news for those out there waiting for Asus’s 2G Eee PC, it is now available and shipping, a whole month before promised. Now you have 3 more colors to chose from, blue, green and pink. Remember, this $300 version comes with 2 GB of SSD storage (as opposed to 4 GB), 512 MB of soldered-on RAM and no webcam, be hey, you seriously can’t go wrong with this Linux/Windows capable machine that weighs in at only 2 lbs for only 3 bills (and tax).
RelatedToshiba listening to its customers: Now offering a laptop with Vista or XP
Sure, Microsoft offers the possibility of downgrading from Vista to XP for free (if you’ve purchased Vista Business or above), if Vista isn’t right for you, but who wants to go through the hassle of calling up Microsoft and asking for a new activation key for XP and go hunting for drivers? Well, Toshiba is now including recovery disks with Vista AND XP in their Dynabook Satellite T31 line.
The specs on the T31 don’t look bad either, featuring a:
- 2GHz Core 2 Duo T7250 or 1.86GHz Celeron 540 processor
- 15-inch WXGA (1,280 x 800) display
- 512MB RAM
- 80GB hard drive
- 4 USB 2.0 ports, Firewire, PCMCIA, built-in card reader, VGA and S-Video outputs
Not bad for a laptop that will cost you between $1,573 on the low end and $1856 for the people with deeper pockets.
Read [AkihabaraNews] Via [Engadget]
RelatedSamsung BD-P1400; Blu-ray goodness on the cheap!
Just when you thought that the HD DVD camp was the only one offering cheap players at Wal-Mart, Samsung is now offering their BD-P1400 via Amazon for $300, which makes it the cheapest (but is it the best value, knowing that you could get a PS3 for $400) Blu-ray player available. The specs aren’t half bad either, it can handle resolutions of up to 1080p via HDMI and it does Dolby True HD and DTS HD for the audiophiles out there. You even get 5 free Blu-ray movies with purchase.
Product [Amazon] Via [CrunchGear]
RelatedAnother HD-DVD player for $200 at Walmart
Wal-Mart is now selling another Hi-Def video player for what appears to be the sweet spot of $200. The Venturer SDH7000 HD DVD player is no-name brand, based in Ontario, Canada, with manufacturing plants in China. The SDH7000 has support for 1080i with an HDMI hookup and also has Ethernet connectivity for downloads and updates.
A $200 price for an HD DVD player is pretty good, but it doesn’t seem as impressive knowing that Toshiba has the HD-A2 HD DVD player for the same price which makes the launch of this Venturer player somewhat anti-climatic.
The cheapest Blu-ray player available is currently the Sony BDP-S300 which Wal-Mart has for $348, but you can always get a 40GB PS3 for $400, which seems like a better deal. Let the format wars continue!
RelatedDVD’s with unskippable commercials
Just when you thought DVD’s where the last place you’d see the lovable Geico lizard appear and talk you into buying their auto insurance, IBM comes out with a patent that might ruin (for some) the joy of watching a DVD without commercial interruption. With this new method of showing video ads, content publishers (movie studios, for example) could start offering ad-showing discs at a lower price.
The method is described like this:
When DVDs are inserted for playback, the disc would check to see if the viewer had purchased the ad-free version or the (presumably) lower-priced version with unskippable commercials. If it’s the latter, the disc player would phone home to an online service to download commercials or play ads embedded on the discs themselves.
Now, it would be impossible to use this method on current DVD players, but as described by Ars, they could potentially bring this technology to HD DVD’s.
[…] the HD DVD spec requires players to have an Ethernet port for online connectivity. While the connectivity is intended for things like software and firmware updates as well as interactive content, there’s no reason why it couldn’t be used to download car commercials in 1080p.
While this might be a good idea for those who are budget-minded and wouldn’t mind a seeing couple of commercials (ads are everywhere anyways) to save a couple of bucks, lets just hope they don’t raise the price of commercial-free movies effectively implementing an ad-tax, where again, regular consumers get screwed.
Read [Ars Technica]
RelatedUnboxing, initial impressions of the Nokia N810
The Nokia N810 has been unboxed and if your are interested in an updated version of the N800 Internet tablet then this should be right up your alley. The N810 comes in a box containing the device (obviously), a car mount, wall charger, battery, headset, USB cable, a neat little screen-cleaning cloth, a stylus and the user manual.
A nice addition to the N810 is the included slide-out keyboard, however it has been found to be lackluster, so if you are considering doing any serious typing you may want to consider picking up a full sized Bluetooth keyboard.
If you were exited about the added GPS functionality, again, you may want to reconsider:
“The built-in GPS hardware is a nice addition, but the free mapping software is disappointingly limited, and users who want voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation will have to pay more for the full version of WayFinder’s software, which is expected to be available by December.”
Overall the device was found to be impressive, but due to the limitations of the GPS software and somewhat “mediocre” keyboard, you might want to hold off for now, or possibly get the older N800 which has been found for as low as $200 on eBay.
Read [Ars Technica]
RelatedSmartphone fight: Motorola Q9 vs. BlackJack II
As a former Samsung BlackJack user, I was looking forward to the BlackJack II, but I was also quite interested in the Motorola Q9, you know, the GSM version of the Q that was recently released. Well, these two very similar phones were matched up, comparing every detail so that you, the consumer, can make a more informed decision when you walk in that AT&T store. Lets get to the similarities, they both feature integrated GPS, QWERTY keyboards, 2-megapixel cameras, 3.5G connectivity and run Windows Mobile 6 Professional.
Now, here is where it gets ugly, the differences:
- Signal: The Q9 wins.
“Really nothing to complain about, the Motorola Q9 holds a 3G signal like Britney is trying to hold on to her kids…”
- Keyboard: The Q9 wins again, the layout was found to work great, plus the Q9 is a bit wider than the BlackJack II, allowing more room for keys.
- Navigation: The BlackJack II takes it with the d-pad, which also doubles as a scroll wheel.
- Screen: Hello Moto! The Q9 has a much brighter and overall more impressive screen than the BlackJack II.
- Speaker quality: The Q9 takes this one, yet again:
“Hate to say it, but best speakers on any Windows Mobile device we’ve ever heard. Period! Volume and sound clarity and quality overshadow anything else.”
- Call quality: Tie
- Built-in applications: The BlackJack II takes this one due to a built-in RSS reader, a nice Windows Media skin, a world clock and “one of the best searching programs”.
- Speed: The Q9 was found to be a bit speedier, but no benchmarks or other tests were performed.
- Battery life: The Q9 takes this one again, probably due to the extended battery. Again, no formal testing was made, so its really hard to judge what would happen in a real world situation.
- Connector: The Q9 wins, Motorola is adhering to the miniUSB standard, which is easier to find.
- Look: A tie. The BlackJack II is slimmer and sleeker making it more pocketable, however the Q9 is sharper and has a cool looking blue lights and a back lit keyboard.
Overall its hard to give just one clear winner as smartphones can be both loved and hated, but hopefully these few points will help guide you to the best for choice for you.
Read [BoyGeniusReport]
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Palm Pre Information & Updates
Palm just introduced their next-gen smartphone, the Palm Pre, and next-gen operating system, Palm webOS. Gadgetell's got the latest Pre and webOS information and news for you right here.
