The first renders of the HTC Rezound have appeared online, thanks to some of the device's cases going up for pre-order. You can see that, like the Sensation XE, the phone has red-glowing soft keys -- a bit of a departure from HTC's traditionally conservative design language.
If you recall, the phone formerly called Vigor is said to have a 4.3-inch screen, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 1GB RAM, Beats Audio and an 8MP rear camera. Now that you know what the Verizon 4G cellular telephone will look like, you'll be able to pick one out of a lineup when it's available, which should be on November 10th for $300 on contract.
OCZ Technology's pushing SSDs on step further this morning, with the introduction of the Octane SATA 6Gbps and Octane-S2 SATA 3Gbps SSDs. These guys promise "record-breaking access times" and up to 1TB of capacity, with Indilinx Everest internals playing things out on the inside. Oddly enough, the company claims that this is the world's first SSD to hit 1TB, but in fact, we saw the first one from pure Silicon way back in early 2009. At any rate, the company claims that these guys can deliver up to 560MB/sec of bandwidth and 45,000 IOPS, and they rely on a proprietary page mapping algorithms allow for steady mixed-workload performance.
The Octane series also includes a number of features unique to Indilinx -- including latency reduction technology -- enabling both read and write access times as low as 0.06ms and 0.09ms, respectively. Aside from that 1TB flagship, there will also be 128GB, 256GB and 1TB models, and while no pricing details are being outed just yet, we're told to expect around $1.10 to $1.30 per gigabyte. Interested? They'll start shipping on November 1st.
HTC may be busy pondering its Android 4.0 future, but Sony Ericsson is apparently ready to take a bite out of Google's Ice Cream Sandwich. Yesterday, in a post on its Facebook page, Sony Ericsson's Dutch branch stated that it will indeed upgrade its Xperia lineup to the latest Android OS, though it didn't offer any details on release dates.
Sony Ericsson is currently rolling out the upgrade to Gingerbread 2.3.4 across its entire 2011 Xperia smartphone portfolio. This software upgrade will be available through a phased roll out in select markets. Beyond Gingerbread 2.3.4, we plan to upgrade our 2011 Xperia smartphone portfolio to the next Android platform made available to us.
The company went on to say that all official software announcements will be posted on its blog.
Ice Cream Sandwich here! Ice Cream Sandwich is here! And in the world of Android, that can only mean one thing (besides a bunch of nerds whining about not having their update yet): Oh god I need to know what's next.
The name might already be settled, but for now, what you think will be coming down the pipe in the next iteration of Android, and more importantly, what alphabeticalized dessert it'll be named after.
When Al Gore first created the internet (hard wink, everybody), the plan was for Big Brother to collect your data, not Silicon Valley titans. Now Google, the company that mainly tends the gates to the web's vast array of information, is stepping up to its "Do No Evil" motto, and making encrypted search the norm -- for account users. While Gmail's long had SSL set as a default login, good ol' Joe Public's had to specifically access Mountain View's dedicated encrypted search page for anonymous surfing privileges. No longer, as Gmail users signed in to Goog's suite of web services will be automatically redirected to https://www.google.com where their searches and results will be hidden from prying eyes. The protection doesn't extend out to web advertisements, so those specific clicks willdeliver the same metric-relevant info that helps marketers optimize their hyper-targeting.
Wait no more. Google and Samsung have just made the long-awaited Galaxy Nexus. Those with bantam hands need not apply, as this 4.65-inch behemoth is bound to bring back talk of Sidetalkin'. Naturally, Ice Cream Sandwich is onboard, with Google finally revealing the version number as 4.0. Other specs include an HD Super AMOLED display (1,280 x 720), a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 5 megapixel rear camera (with LED flash), a 1.3 megapixel front-facing cam, 1080p video recording and playback, a newfangled panorama mode, a 3.5mm headphone jack and Bluetooth 3.0. You'll also find USB 2.0, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, an embedded NFC module, accelerometer, compass, gyro, proximity sensor and even a barometer -- yeah, a barometer. Finishing things out, there's 1GB of RAM, 16 or 32GB of internal storage space and a 1,750mAh battery. As for radios? There's an HSPA+ model on tap, while an LTE version will "be available depending on region."
Focusing on Ice Cream Sandwich for a tick, Android 4.0 will bring "an entirely new look and feel to Android," boasting a redesigned user interface, bolstered multitasking / notifications, full-on NFC support and a new People app, which enables users to browse friends, family and coworkers' photos whilst peeking their status updates from Google+. ICS also introduces Face Unlock, which taps into facial recognition protocols in order to unlock your handset. And then there's Android Beam, an NFC-based technology that allows you to "quickly share webpages, apps and YouTube videos by simply tapping two phones together." According to Goog, the "lock screen, home screen, phone app and everything in between has been rethought and redesigned," and this is quite the beastly phone to launch with.
Not sure why, but the thought of gooping out all the slimy mess from inside a pumpkin makes me a bit queasy. This Halloween, I'm going to keep my hands clean and give this power-drill-propelled Pumpkin Gutter a shot.
The Pumpkin Gutter by Dakota Products looks and works much like the beater wand from a hand mixer, except this is designed to fit into a standard drill chuck. Its fast-spinning steel blade quickly and cleanly tears out all the stringy material and slime without damaging the seeds. It can even thin the pumpkin's walls for more elaborate Jack-O-Lanterns. Get it for $12 here.
Sometimes you just want to make notes on your forearm. Put that permanent marker down though, because PhD student Chris Harrison at Microsoft Research have created a new system that allows touchscreen interaction on hairy and uneven surfaces. It uses a short-range depth camera instead of the infrared sensor we've seen on similar devices, which allows it to gauge the viewing angle and other characteristics of surfaces being used -- and it can even handle pinch-to-zoom.
That is the Logitech M525 wireless mouse, a rather unassuming hunk of plastic and rubber with a scroll wheel that also tilts for navigating pages both horizontally and vertically. Sure, you get your choice of white or black, for what that's worth, but probably the most distinguishing feature is the battery life. This £35 ($40) pointer gets up to three years on a single pair of AAs. In the states you get a few more color options, including green and blue, and all versions use Logitech's proprietary wireless connection, which lets you connect up to six devices to a single tiny dongle. The M525 is available now in the US and should be available in the UK before the month is out.
How did you spend your weekend? If you're Apple, the answer is simple, really: selling a whole lot of iPhones. Cupertino this morning announced that iPhone 4S sales have reached four million -- quite an impressive number compared to what its predecessor was capable of, a fact no doubt helped by the addition of some carriers, like Verizon and Sprint here in the States. The handset is currently available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK, with plenty more countries coming by the end of the year.
Where have all the split-keyboard phones gone? It's been roughly seven years since the days of the Nokia 6820, a messaging device with an innovative form factor, but handsets with a similar mold have become extreme rarities in the market -- if they even make it to the market at all (remember the MotoSplit?). LG's hoping to gain some ground in this area by officially announcing the DoublePlay, a unique Android 2.3 handset with dual touchscreens and split QWERTY. Here's the scoop: the DoublePlay's powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU and offers a 5MP rear-facing camera capable of capturing 720p HD video.
Where it gets interesting, however, is in the DoublePlay's design -- it uses a 3.5-inch display on top, sliding out to reveal a 2-inch internal screen sandwiched in between both halves of the keyboard. As it turns out, both screens can be used separately or in tandem with each other, depending on your needs. No pricing or availability was specifically announced, but the presser appears to coincide with the 2011 National Texting Championship beginning October 26th, so the phone will likely launch around the same time. Perhaps we have a device here that'll be a legend in another seven years?
Unless you travel with just the clothes on your back, you're going to be spending part of your vacation awkwardly wrangling a heavy suitcase through airports and in and out of taxis. Cursing American Tourist for their single handle designs all the while.
You'd think that by now luggage manufacturers would have realized this and provided ample places to grip, pull and tug a heavy suitcase. But they haven't. Instead, it took a Quirky inventor to come up with a third-party solution called the Lift. It's literally nothing more than an adjustable, heavy-duty, nylon t-strap that wraps around a suitcase. But what makes it awesome is the inclusion of extra handles located all over the strap, making the whole kit and caboodle easier to lift. It attaches with plastic seatbelt-like buckles so you can easily pop it off for inevitable luggage inspections, and is currently available for pre-sale on Quirky for just $24 get it here.
You didn't think the latest iPhone would be saved from Colorware's paint-dipped hands, did you?
Lo and behold, the company's swatches are currently ready for application on the 4S. Similar to its iPhone 4 treatments, you'll be able to spice up your device -- and its earbuds -- with a mixture of glossy, metallic and soft-touch coatings (excluding mainly the front face, which remains stock black or white). Colorware'll gladly sell you a fresh 16 or 64GB model for a whopping $1,500 or $1,700, respectively, or you can mail yours in to get a Benetton-esque makeover for just $250. More here.
The elevated radiation levels discovered in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward have been confirmed—thankfully—as not having originated from the damaged Fukushima power plant. So what was causing the Geigers to jump? A stash of radium-226 under a home's floorboards.
The mystery, though, is how they got there.
Japan's Science Ministry discovered the cache Thursday which consisted of numerous bottles and vials containing a white, powdered substance believed to be radium. Some containers bore the label, Nihon Yako ("Luminous Japan")— radium-226 can be used as a luminous paint.
Radiation levels at the surface of the bottles measured 600 microsieverts per hour. The elderly owner of the home said she was unaware of the materials stored beneath her. She reportedly had lived in the home from 1953 until February of this year while receiving about 30 mSv of exposure annually. Radium, when inhaled or ingested, accumulates in the bones and for every 100 mSv of exposure, increases one's chances of dying from cancer by one half percent.
Authorities have removed the isotopes from the property and stored them at a radioactive isotope disposal agency for the duration of their 1,600-year half life.
With what has to be the first crop circles officially confirmed to be related to space travel, NASA is continuing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of manned space flight with a series of complex corn mazes highlighting their achievements.
Space Farm 7, as the program's called, has enlisted seven of the top agritourism farms across the country to each create a unique, elaborate corn maze that highlights the progress and successes of the agency since it put a man into orbit. The mazes are strategically located near NASA's research centers, and each design represents the unique contributions made by each location.
According to StatCounter, it's taken roughly two years for Redmond's latest to surpass XP and become the world's most popular operating system. October 2011 marks the first time that Windows 7 has overtaken XP globally, with a 40 percent share of the market versus the latter's 38. As for Vista, it's been holding steady at around 11. Not that it's much of a surprise, as in North America, Windows 7 took the crown back in April of this year. Rounding out the top five, are OS X (though it's not clear whether that captures all of Cupertino's beasts) and Linux, which come in at 7 and 0.82 percent respectively.
NVIDIA's 3D Vision is impressive and all, but one trade-off you'll have to accept when you put on those active shutter glasses is a markedly dimmer field of view than what you'd get if you settled for plain-Jane 2D gaming. Well, the outfit just unveiled the second generation of the technology -- appropriately named 3D Vision 2 -- and this go 'round it promises not to strain your vision quite so much. These shutter glasses have a lens that's 20 percent larger, promising a brighter experience. As an added perk, the frames have been rejiggered to be lighter and more flexible so that you can comfortably wear headphones without pinching your lobes.
As for the newest 3D Vision monitors and laptops, those panels promise reduced ghosting, as well as 120Hz 2D gaming. If a new rig's not in the cards, the company also assures us that these glasses will be backward compatible with older 3D Vision panels. Look for them this month in the form of either standalone frames ($99) or as part of a $149 kit.
Sometimes, smartphone screens are just not big enough. Linking it to a projector is helpful but it's hardly portable and before you know it, the battery's gone. The Monolith, a triple-threat iPhone case that works as a projector and a battery pack, can light up your room while keeping your gear booboo-free.
The case, made by Japanese accessory maker Century, is said to be capable of providing about three hours of image projection at sizes up to 60 cm (in 16:9 format), in 640×360 resolution, with a 1,000:1 contrast ratio. But with a brightness of a mere 12 lumens, it's certainly no makeshift movie theater. At best, you'll probably end up using it for a viral video party … if you're entertained by three hours of that stuff.
If you are (and I'm not judging you!), you won't have to worry about killing your battery life; the 1,900 mAh battery will either cancel out the drain or boost your iPhone's lifespan up to 50 percent without projector usage and takes four hours to fully charge. For $260, it's a pricey battery pack, but you can decide whether the novelty of having a handy projector is worth the investment. The monolith is available in black or white. More here.
Finally, a Live Strong-style bracelet that does more than serve as a smug fashion accessory!
The Budwrap is a silicone wrist strap that securely stores your ear buds. You just tuck the buds under two integrated flaps, wrap the loose wire around it and insert the jack into a small hole in the band.
This Kickstarter project is getting funded and for the next three days (until the campaign ends) Budwrap is giving away a free, bonus bracelet for donations of $15 or more. More here.
