Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Security flaws in Apple’s Safari web browser are nothing new. Apple has been very good at keeping quiet about security issues regarding Safari, but its giant rival, Microsoft, has been taking a different and more vocal approach. Last Friday, Microsoft released Security Advisory (953818) that warns users of a “blended threat” caused by the combination of a security hole in Safari and the way Windows XP and Vista handles executables located on the desktop.

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Nope that’s not a portable GPS unit. In fact, its the latest portable media player offering from iriver, dubbed the “P.ple P10.” First introduced at CES 2008, the P10 was expected to release Q1 2008, but iriver was a little late in their delivery. Regardless, the company has now officially launched their iPod Touch rival in two forms: The iRiver P10 Standard ($328) and Pro ($398). Spec-wise, both models sport a 600MHz processor running a stripped down version of Windows CE, 4-inch TFT touch screen, 800x480 pixel resolution, e-book reader, and a 33GB hard drive. Both models also support PDF, Word and Excel files, and can playback Flash, MPEG, WMA, XivD, MP3, and WAV file formats. However, the P10 Pro adds an electronic dictionary (in English, Chinese, and Japanese) and a DMB digital TV tuner that’s only usable in Korea (so, I doubt this will make it Stateside).

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Polaroid has given their ZINK printer a price tag and release date - July 6th at Best Buy and July 20th through Target—both selling it for $149. The pocket-sized product will be marketed as the Poloraid PoGo, which is short for Polaroid-on-the-go. The Polaroid PoGo supports full color printing through cell phones and digital cameras via Bluetooth or USB (PictBridge compatible). The PoGo weighs a measly eight ounces, but don’t let the size fool you. It can print 2x3-inch borderless photos in less than 60 seconds. It’s a shame that Polaroid has quit the instant film market, but if you miss those old school Polaroid cameras, this is as close as you’ll get to sharing your photos instantly.

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With the gaining popularity of ultra-portable and low-cost notebook computers, like the Asus Eee 701 PC, HP 2133 and 3K RazorBook 400, it is no surprise that Dell is jumping in on the mini notebook arena. Fortunately, Gizmodo was able to spot the company’s supposed offering when Brian Lam caught Micheal Dell at the All Things Digital conference carrying a small red notebook sporting the Dell logo. Unfortunately, Dell is being tight-lipped and wasn’t willing to spill the beans on the specs.

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Originally priced at $399, the ultra-portable RazorBook 400‘s price tag has been slimmed down by $100. The Linux powered ultra-portable laptop boasts a less than 8 second boot up time, but unfortunately, the RazorBook 400 isn’t quite up to par with the Eee PC 701 performance wise. Granted neither notebooks can be considered “powerhouses”, however, the Razorbook’s $100 price difference might just be enough to offset its lackluster performance for casual users. Whether or not its sudden price cut is related to its performance woes, it seems 3K Computers is fed up with bloggers comparing it to the Eee PC and has therefore released a statement defending the RazorBook’s measly 400MHz processor:

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After several cries and complaints, Sprint has finally explained its decision to cap its “unlimited” data usage plan to 5GB a month, plus 300MB a month of off-network roaming. According to Sprint, the new limit is plenty enough, since it only affects 0.5% of customers. Sprint also notes that the limit applies to both existing and current consumer and individual accounts, but not corporate, business, public sector, or government contracts. The company states that the Simply Unlimited plan is exempt from the new rule—as the limit only applies to data cards and phone-as-modem plans. Interestingly, Sprint is permitting customers to go over the limit only if they do not exceed the limit in two out of three consecutive months—otherwise, termination is possible. However, Sprint is being gracious enough to inform users of the new limits prior to termination, giving customers a chance to change their usage habits. To aid monitoring data usage, the company will allow customers to check their data usage via Sprint.com starting June 8.

If 99.5% of customers are not going over the 5GB limit, than why is Sprint enforcing it? Granted 5GB of bandwidth should be plenty for most users, is it really worth losing the 0.5% of its “hardcore” customer base? Wouldn’t keeping the 0.5% and removing the limit give Sprint the competitive edge its needs, by being the only wireless provider to offer a true “unlimited” data plan?

Via [MobileCrunch]

• Sprint confirms July 12 release date for the BlackBerry Tour 9630
• Comcast brings WiMAX to Portland, more cities to follow
• 300,000 Pres sold in June, predicts an analyst

Worth about $20 billion, the search engine industry no doubt belongs to online giant Google. According to the market research firm comScore, Google currently holds 61.6% of the search engine market, while Microsoft only holds 9.1%. After failing to buyout Yahoo, it appears Microsoft is shifting its game plan. In an effort to gain market share from Google, Microsoft has now launched a cashback program to users of its Live Search, the company’s online search engine. The program works by offering visitors rebates on products they buy through using the search engine. Microsoft says that 700 merchants offering over 10 million products are participating in the program. Merchants include: Barnes & Noble, Circuit City, eBay, Foot Locker, Sears, OfficeMax, Home Depot, and Hewlett-Packard, to name a few. The participating merchants have agreed to pay Microsoft a fee for each purchased product generated through Live Search. Microsoft will then forward the fee to the user (buyer) in the form of a rebate (up to 30% of the purchase price).

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Sprint is probably the only wireless carrier to offer a true unlimited data plan. However, according to a Sprint employee on the SprintUsers forum, this may no longer be the case. A reportedly leaked internal memo has revealed that Sprint is now enforcing a monthly 5GB data usage cap on its Phone as Modem (PAM) and data card plans, thus, joining the other carriers that are also limiting data usage to 5GB (AT&T and Verizon). Additionally, the memo says Sprint users that roam on another network will only be allowed 300MB of data per month.

“Sprint reserves the right to limit throughput speeds or amount of data transferred and to deny, terminate, modify, or suspend service if usage exceeds 5GB per month in total or 300MB/month while off-network roaming. Check your subscriber agreement rights on Sprint.com”

It should be noted that there has not been any official announcement by Sprint, so at this point it’s only a rumor at best. But, the leaked memo mentions that Sprint will be updating its Terms of Service to put the new limits into effect on July 13. Despite the new revelation, it is unknown whether or not the wireless company will actually be enforcing the new rule. What exactly does “reserve the right” mean? Does this only apply to heavy users, or to the entire member base? Regardless, the good news is that Sprint customers may be able to terminate their contracts earlier, due to the change.

Read [SprintUsers]

• Sprint confirms July 12 release date for the BlackBerry Tour 9630
• Comcast brings WiMAX to Portland, more cities to follow
• 300,000 Pres sold in June, predicts an analyst

In what might be a world’s first, AU Optronics has unveiled its touch-sensitive Curved Display at the 2008 Society for Information Display in Los Angeles. The Curved Display is manufactured by using a special thinning technology and a conventional TFT-LCD process on glass substrate. Sporting a 100mm curved radius, it utilizes a backlight system that is capable of providing a uniform level of brightness and contrast, with no loss in picture quality. AU Optronics hopes to bring its curved display technology to watches and car dashboards. No word on price or availability.

The company also has plans to showcase its ultra-thin 1.9-inch TFT-LCD for mobile devices, which is capable of offering 400nits in brightness. The new thin displays weigh 2.1g and measure a thickness of 0.63mm, 0.06mm skinnier than the company’s previous achievement a year ago. Other technologies AU Optronics will be highlighting are its in-cell multi-touch technology that adds touch functions to the TFT manufacturing process without the need for additional glass and its Grease Free technology that eliminates smudges and fingerprints on touch screens.

Read [PR Newswire] Read [PC Magazine]

• Sprint confirms July 12 release date for the BlackBerry Tour 9630
• Comcast brings WiMAX to Portland, more cities to follow
• 300,000 Pres sold in June, predicts an analyst

If you thought Westinghouse’s 52-inch 2160p Quad HDTV was impressive, check out what Samsung showcased at the 2008 Society for Information Display (SID) in Los Angeles—an industry first, 82-inch Quad HD LCD. Sporting a 3,840 x 2,160 resolution, the massive TV panel utilizes a red/green/blue LED backlight, which results in a 50% increase in color saturation. The new ultra-high definition TV features a 120 Hz refresh rate, which displays an image 120 times per second, effectively doubling the frame rate over today’s 60 Hz standard.

Samsung has not revealed availability details, nor pricing information, but if Westinghouse’s 52-inch 2160p panel costs $50,000, I’m sure Samsung’s 82-incher will cost way more. Likewise, the company says it will also introduce its ultra-high definition 82-inch “e-Board” at SID, which features a touch-sensitive surface that Samsung hopes would replace traditional white-boards.

Read [The Korea Times]

• Sprint confirms July 12 release date for the BlackBerry Tour 9630
• Comcast brings WiMAX to Portland, more cities to follow
• 300,000 Pres sold in June, predicts an analyst