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Showing posts from January 4, 2011

Toshiba to Show Glasses-Free 3DTVs at the 2011 International CES

Toshiba has announced they will show their new glasses-free 3DTVs at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. The glasses-free 3D technology uses small lenses in front of the television screen to disperse light to different points in front of the TV. If the viewer is sitting at the correct angle, they can see the 3D effects. Glasses-free 3D technology has been criticized in recent months for its failure to match the quality of 3DTVs using active-shutter glasses technology to create the illusion. In addition, these glasses-free TVs have not yet reached the larger sizes that today's 3DTVs have reached, with Toshiba's models being displayed in 12-inch and 20-inch versions only. These glasses-free 3DTVs are due on sale in Japan by the end of December, but aren't expected to reach the United States until larger screen sizes are feasible and cost-effective, likely sometime in 2011. Other manufacturers, such as Sony and Sharp, are re

72" 3DTV Announced—Largest 3DTV Yet

LG Electronics has announced their newest 3DTV—the largest 3D display yet. The 72-inch television will be demoed at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) next week in Las Vegas, Nevada. The TV, formally titled the LZ9700 3D LED TV, operates using a panel of LEDs located directly behind the screen. The TV includes a 400Hz processor to assist in processing 3D images, as well as features like LG's TV Apps, Media Link, and even a Magic Motion Remote Control. LG's LZ9700 3D LED TV will be available for purchase in early 2011. More details can be found on LG's website and in the recent press release (downloadable PDF).

Freescale i.MX 6 Processor Series For Mobile Devices

Freescale Semiconductor today introduced the i.MX 6 series of quad-, dual- and single-core applications processors designed to deliver outstanding performance and scalability to manufacturers targeting the hottest-selling smart mobile, automotive infotainment and embedded device categories. The FreeScale i.MX 6 series integrates one, two or four ARM Cortex-A9 cores running at up to 1.2GHz each in order to deliver up to 5x the performance of Freescale’s current generation of applications processors. This performance provides additional headroom for unbounded user experiences in next-generation tablets, smartbooks, smartphones and e-book readers. The i.MX 6 series can deliver up to 24 hours of HD video playback and 30-plus days of device standby time. Integrated power management capabilities reduce the need for external PMICs and help to ensure only those components required for a task are powered. Freescale plans to begin sampling i.MX 6 series devices later this year.

AMD announces first Fusion chips: 10+ hour battery life with DirectX11 graphics

Is this real? Is this happening? It's been over four years since AMD and ATI completed their $5.4 billion merger with the promise of Fusion hybrid CPU / GPU chips, and after what's seemed like nearly endless delays , the company's delivering here at CES 2011. And it's delivering in a big way -- the first Fusion chips are a direct assault on Intel's Atom and the netbook market, offering what AMD says is better CPU performance, vastly better GPU performance with DirectX11 support, dedicated 1080p HD video processing and HDMI out, and "all day" battery life that can hit 10 or more hours. There are four total chips in two families built around the new " Bobcat " CPU core to start: the " Zacate " E-Series for mainstream laptops, AIOs and small desktops will have an 18W TDP and come in the 1.6GHz dual-core E-350 and the 1.5GHz single-core E-240, while the " Ontario " C-Series for HD netbooks and "other emerging fo

Opera Software Set to Showcase New Tablet Browser at CES 2011

Last year, Opera Software gained attention at the CES by demoing the breezy Opera Mini for iPhone, which went on to become the first non-webkit based alternate browser for the iPhone. This year, the browser maker will be demoing its new browser tailor-made for Android based tablets and netbooks. “In 2011, tablets are a new must-have. Opera is creating waves with the first public preview of Opera for tablets,” said Christen Krogh, Chief Development Officer, Opera Software. “Opera for tablets brings the same trusted Internet experience to tablets and netbook PCs as users have come to love on their mobile phones and desktops.” Opera for tablets will be based on the yet to be unveiled Opera Mobile 10.5. As you can see in video embedded below, the user interface has been tweaked for bigger screens. Nevertheless, according to Haavard K. Moen, Opera for tablet will be supporting a wide range of form factors, and should be able to adapt itself to both small and large screen s

The most reliable (and unreliable) blogging services on the Web

Blogging services have been around for a long time, with pioneers like Blogger paving the way for WordPress.com and more recent arrivals like Tumblr and Posterous. There are millions upon millions of blogs out there, many of them residing on these services. One big bonus of using a blogging service is that they take much of the pain away from having a blog since they handle the hosting for its users and everything is already set up. Once you publish, the responsibility for keeping that content available online rests firmly on the shoulders of the blogging service. With that in mind, we decided to test five of today’s most popular blogging services to see how reliable they actually are. Which services we tested, and how We included Blogger , WordPress.com , Typepad , Tumblr and Posterous in this survey. There are of course other services out there as well, but we chose to focus on these since it’s quite likely that if you’re currently on a blogging service, you’re on one of

Predictions for Google's 2011

1. More free storage in Google Docs: at least 20 GB. 2. A new HTML5 interface for Gmail that loads faster, stores email offline and integrates with other Google apps like Google Calendar and Google Docs. 3. An updated Android keyboard that uses Google Scribd data to provide useful suggestions. 4. Google Earth as a WebGL web app and vector-based maps in Google Maps for desktop. 5. A database of things, where you can store important names, book titles, products, concepts and useful information about them. 6. Data sync for Google Chrome extensions. 7. Chrome for Android, with data sync, web apps, session restore, Cloud Print, built-in Flash and smarter address bar. 8. Google's search engine will answer complex questions using inferences. 9. Google Personal Alerts will notify on your mobile phone if there's something interesting around (one of your friends, a store that offers a discount for one your favorite products, a museum you wanted to visit, a shop reco

The 20 Best How-To Geek Linux Articles of 2010

Recover Data Like a Forensics Expert Using an Ubuntu Live CD There are lots of utilities to recover deleted files, but what if you can’t boot up your computer, or the whole drive has been formatted? We’ll show you some tools that will dig deep and recover the most elusive deleted files, or even whole hard drive partitions. Recover Data Like a Forensics Expert Using an Ubuntu Live CD Move Window Buttons Back to the Right in Ubuntu 10.04 / 10.10 One of the more controversial changes in the Ubuntu 10.04 beta is the Mac OS-inspired change to have window buttons on the left side. We’ll show you how to move the buttons back to the right. Move Window Buttons Back to the Right in Ubuntu 10.04 / 10.10 How to Create Your Own Customized Ubuntu Live CD We love Live CDs, but it’s a hassle installing the same packages every time you need to do a virus scan or recover accidentally deleted data. We’ll show you how to roll your own Ubuntu Live CD, with all the packages you want, and even more n

URL Design

You should take time to design your URL structure . If there’s one thing I hope you remember after reading this article it’s to take time to design your URL structure. Don’t leave it up to your framework. Don’t leave it up to chance. Think about it and craft an experience. URL Design is a complex subject. I can’t say there are any “right” solutions — it’s much like the rest of design. There’s good URL design, there’s bad URL design, and there’s everything in between — it’s subjective. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t best practices for creating great URLs. I hope to impress upon you some best practices in URL design I’ve learned over the years and explain why I think new HTML5 javascript history APIs are so exciting to work with. Why you need to be designing your URLs The URL bar has become a main attraction of modern browsers. And it’s not just a simple URL bar anymore — you can type partial URLs and browsers use dark magic to seemingly conjure up exactly the full URL y

Apple Holds Smartphone Lead, But Android Is Gaining

While Android surges among new smartphone buyers, Apple’s iOS continues to hold on to the overall marketshare lead, although it remains within spitting distance of a fading BlackBerry OS and a hard-charging Android OS, according to the latest figures from the Nielsen Company. According to November 2010 data, Apple holds 28.6 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, up slightly from 27.9 percent in October. BlackBerry OS slipped again in November to 26.1 percent, down from 27.4 percent in October and 33.9 percent in June. Android OS, meanwhile, closed the distance on Apple — reaching 25.8 percent in November, compared to 22.7 percent in October and 15 percent in June. Android OS is still the best-selling smartphone OS among recent acquirers in the last six months, with a 40.8 percent share, compared to 26.9 percent for iOS and 19.2 percent for RIM. While Apple’s marketshare remains stable, Android continues to climb and BlackBerry OS shows no signs of halting its slide. Whil

Apple iPhone alarm problems persist worldwide for a third day

Apple iPhone users worldwide are still complaining about malfunctioning alarms, even after Apple said its iPhones alarms would work on Monday.  Many iPhone owners took to social-media websites such as Facebook and Twitter to sound off on sleeping in, arriving late to work and even missing meetings and planes after recurring alarms set in the iPhone's Clock application failed to go off this morning. Twitter user @AshleyMGreene wrote "Really iPhone!? Not a good way to start the year off with a phone who's alarm doesn't go off. Good thing my ringer was realllly high this AM." A tweet from @pattikurtz said "Woke up VERY late this am. Just found out that the iPhone's alarm app is broke!" To which user @mjbehrendt replied , "Steve just thought you needed more sleep." A fake Steve Jobs account, @ceoSteveJobs has found a lot of inspiration in the alarm problems, tweeting "Sorry about the iPhone alarm glitch. We had absolutely no

Skype to Add Video Calling App for iPhone, iPod Touch

Skype, the innovative Internet calling service, is set to offer a video chat application that will run on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. This will be the first true video calling for iPhone and its cousins, since the current FaceTime system does not allow non-members to participate. You can only make a Facetime call if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch enabled with FaceTime, and, as this writer knows, it can get pretty lonely out there when there is such a small base of potential callers to draw on. The new Skype app will bring free video calling to appropriate Apple mobile products. Even iPad users will be able to use it, although they won't be able to initiate the call—they still can receive video chats from contacts. The app will work over both 3G and Wi-Fi networks, allowing users to access the feature across a variety of connections. It will allow users to turn on the video feature to activate any video chats from contacts. The new app is compatible with iPhone

SBN Tech bringing new Android videophone to CES

CES is a magical time of the year for geeks with new gadgets and gizmos hitting the market in force. Some of the gadgets are junk that we just don’t want and others are really cool products that try to forge new markets. A company called SBN Tech has announced that it will be bringing a new video phone to CES 2011 that runs the Android OS that sounds more like a tablet to me. The phone is called the IP Video Phone and will provide features that are sort of like those of a tablet computer. It will offer Skype, email, Think-Free Office apps, Twitter and Facebook integration, plus access to YouTube and internet radio along with a lot more. The video phone has a 10.1-inch screen with a resolution of 1024 x 600 and it has a front mounted camera for video calls. The company isn’t specific on which version of Android the machine runs citing Android 2.x as the OS. It has a SD card slot for storage and a kickstand on the back for propping it up. Pricing and availability are unknow

Toshiba announces unnamed Tegra 2-powered Android tablet, waits only for Honeycomb

Let the Tegra 2-powered, Android Honeycomb tablet announcements begin! Apparently (and understandably) staying away from a Folio 2 moniker, Toshiba is kicking off CES with its new unnamed 10.1-inch Android tablet, and we have to say from our brief look at a non-working unit a few weeks ago, it may just have what it takes to stick out from the rest.. at least on the spec and manufacturing quality front. The tablet has a capacitive, high 1280 x 800-resolution display along with an accelerometer and ambient light sensor (or what Toshiba has dubbed as Adaptive Display technology). It also has a 5 megapixel rear camera as well as a 2 megapixel front-facing one. Yep, this one is well stocked and just a quick look at the pictures below will show that the slab has got full sized USB and HDMI jacks, a single mini-USB socket, and an SD card slot. While we couldn't turn on the dual-core Tegra 2-powered tablet, which will eventually run "the next version of Android designed f

Vizio turns to Android for new tablet and smartphone

  Vizio is branching out from its familiar territory of making home entertainment devices, and entering into the competitive mobile market. After tipping its hand in a commercial during the 2011 Rose Bowl Game, Vizio is preparing to release an Android-based tablet and phone that will be displayed at CES. The upcoming Via Phone and Via Tablet both have 1 GHz processors and will have access to the Android Market. The Via Phone will ship with a 4-inch touchscreen, front-facing camera, and a standard 5 megapixel camera. The Via Tablet will have an 8-inch job, WiFi, three audio speakers, and a front-facing camera. Both phones will run an as-yet-unnamed version of Android, but it will likely be customized. Vizio plans to make its products communicate with each other. The WSJ says the company’s strategy will be about inter-connectivity and consistency, including an interface on phone and tablet that resembles the look of Vizio’s HD televisions. There will HDMI ports and apps that

Breakdown of the Notion Ink Adam Demo Video

  The real world use demo video of the Notion Ink Adam is finally live. The video looks okay, though the Adam screen isn’t quite in focus, and the narration text doesn’t stay on the screen long enough, so be prepared to pause a number of times if you want to read. You can watch it embedded below. The video shows off the Eden paneling system along with a number of the built-in apps such as: e-mail, calendar, navigation, calculator, canvas app, office suite (with PDF viewed), file browser, e-book reader, and weather. The video looks okay, though the Adam screen isn’t quite in focus, and the narration text doesn’t stay on the screen long enough, so be prepared to pause a number of times if you want to read. Here’s the video, followed by a full breakdown. The hardware The hardware looks like the images we’ve seen. The device looks slightly thicker than I expected, but overall it looks slick, and certainly stacked with slots. From what I saw, on

Nexus One: The Ballad of the Forgotten First Child

      I’ve had a good life. My parents gave me all the freedom in the world. They came together and made me beautiful and pure. I was allowed to use all of my gifts and show the world just how good I could be. My father always gave me the newest toy robots he could build, as quickly as he could, until now. Suddenly, I’m an afterthought. My father met someone else and had another child. Now, it feels as if he loves my half-brother more. Now, the newest toys go to him, and not me. I’m not the favorite any more – I’m just the first son, sitting in the shadows. My name is Nexus One. When I was born, I was the apple of my parents’ eyes. My father, Google, and my mother, HTC, worked hard to make sure I was raised properly; I was smarter, faster, and have always been comfortable in my own skin. I was the epitome of what my father wanted. In the turbulent 11 months since my birth, when those around saw what my father had made in me, they shouted for me to change the worl