Mobile Devices

If you don’t listen to or watch the TED talks, you are really missing out. They basically get a lot of very smart (mostly high profile) people and give them 17 minutes to talk about what they want. It’s all about improving the world, not making money or getting AMD’s 45nm architecture up and running. In his talk Hector Ruiz walks us through this childhood in Mexico, AMD’s 50×15 program, and a lot more. As TED talks go, it’s not one of my favorites, but it’s interesting because it’s Hector.

After an early announcement and months of waiting, Lenovo’s ultraportable IdeaPad U110 has finally arrived. Not only can consumers order one today, but we actually have one in-house. I’ve only been able to test it out for a few hours now, but here are a few photos to get you excited for the upcoming review.

Just to get the basics listed–the system starts at $1899 and comes in both red and black. It runs a Core 2 Duo L7500 processor and has an 11.1-inch display. It has no internal optical drive, but ours came bundled with a USB one–it’s not red, but it is covered in Lenovo’s soft-touch material (found on the X300’s palm rest). Our model uses a 120GB 1.8-inch disk (no SSD option, yet) and it weighs in at about 2.3 lbs.

That’s it for now, except I can say that the notebook is incredibly cool. After spending lots of time with the X300 (which is about the same price if you account for the X300’s standard 64GB SSD) I didn’t think the U110 would be too exciting, but it’s quite interesting. It’s very different from a ThinkPad, but it still has a lot going for it. Gadget lovers will appreciate all the extra attention Lenovo paid to it (texture LCD cover, touch sensitive back-lit controls, intricate heat vents, etc.) and road warriors will really like the 11.1-inch size. As for the price and practicality, we’ll look into those in the review.

BLOCKBUSTER has just announced that you can not only rent your favorite games at BLOCKBUSTER but also purchase them and the systems that play them. The company will begin rolling out the latest games, game systems and supporting accessories for Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360, and plans to introduce Nintendo DS games for rental and sale at BLOCKBUSTER locations nation-wide.

To keep up with other game retailers, BLOCKBUSTER will be offering a loaded PS3 bundle at select locations for $499.99 that includes:
- 40 GB Sony PS3 Game Console
- PS3/Blu-Ray Remote
- HDMI Cable
- Spiderman 3″ on Blu-Ray disc
- “Transformers” PS3 Game
- BLOCKBUSTER 12-week PS3/Blu-Ray rental card (one free rental a week for 12 consecutive weeks)

Joel’s Opinion

I’ve been reading that BLOCKBUSTER wants a slice of the gaming action and this is a very aggressive move, and one that makes a lot of sense. When you think of all of the foot traffic going in and out of a BLOCKBUSTER, it makes sense to try to sell just about anything you can.

I was in a BLOCKBUSTER the other day and happened to notice some games for the Wii featuring Diego. With my son’s latest obsession being just that, I took a second look. That second look led me to rent a Diego movie. I didn’t purchase because the price wasn’t competitive and it wasn’t immediate obvious that I could, but I’m sure that will change soon, too.

I stopped by AMD’s recently announced blog again today just to see what’s up. The main link from AMD’s virtual press room has slipped down a few notches since it was originally launched on April 15th (see our coverage), but is still there near the top.

I clicked on the link expecting to see one of two things. First, it could be that there was no new information. After our initial read about AMD’s 50×15 plan, maybe that was all they had to say. Or second, more blogs about more technical information. What I did not expect to see is that which I saw, namely that this particular blog is little more than an AMD marketing ploy. I realize the blog is written by AMD’s chief marketing officer… but I mean seriously, at what point do you separate your job from your blog?

The blog is little more than a slightly more personal version of something you’d expect to read in a brochure. Is that what AMD wants to get out there right now? Do we not want to know some more intricate details about something on the inside of AMD? Something that then, even from a marketing point of view, might bring consumers in closer to the fold, closer to the company, closer to the product by gaining a greater understanding of something other than outright marketing positions?

I may be way off base here, but when I read a blog, even one like Dessau’s written as the chief marketing officer, I don’t expect it to be all about his job. I expect it to be more personal, more insightful, more cross-discipline even. Something along the lines of: “Hey, I was speaking with Dirk the other day and he was explaining this really technical thing to me in a way that I thought I might put in my blog so you (the reader) can get a better understanding of why the X3 or X4 is something special.”

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a blog where we don’t see hard-and-fast “propaganda”, but rather useful information? Dessau’s entire April 28 blog entry could be summed up in this phrase: The X3 is a targeted product between the dual-core and quad-core computers. Well, duh! It’s looking more and more to me like Barcelona and its native quad-core was a bad, bad idea.

I feel like I need to play Rod Kidwell’s character in Jerry Maguire saying to Dessau, “Show me the money, Nigel”. The money, of course, referring to “useful information” in this case. Oh well.

Read more in Dessau’s blog, and also in Pat Moorehead’s blog.

BenQ recently launched the BenQ C36 music phone, successor to the BenQ C30, with enhanced multimedia functionalities, upgraded 1.3-megapixel camera and a spacious 2” LCD display perfect for viewing photos and videos. 

The the BenQ C36 music phone comes with unique top key design which brings direct access to FM radio, mp3 player and camera function faster, and easier with more ease and fun.

Weighing a mere 78g, the BenQ C36’s spacious 2” LCD display is perfect for viewing photos and videos.  The upgraded 1.3-megapixel camera supports AVI video recording and playback, and can also do double-duty as a webcam when connected to a PC. 

The BenQ C36’s multimedia functions includes a built-in FM radio with recording and schedule recording functions and a MP3 player supports MP3, WAV, MIDI and AMR formats.

The BenQ C36 cell phone also adds an e-book reader and a photo editor for touching up photos. It also comes equipped with dual speaker for sharing music with friends and a handy MicroSD card slot and USB connectivity to store and transfer all the music, photos and videos.

In Grand Theft Auto IV, players can have some drinks at a bar and then attempt to drive drunk. While under the influence in the game, the screen becomes blurred and the car is harder to manuever. This “intoxication” lasts only a few minutes, but Mothers Against Drunk Driving feels that because of it, not only should the game be reclassified as Adults Only, but Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games should consider stopping the distribution of the game.

According to MADD:

“Drunk driving is not a game, and it is not a joke … Drunk driving is a choice, a violent crime and it is also 100 percent preventable.”

Rockstar Games has responded by saying that it believes that the audience for the game is “sophisticated enough to understand the game’s content”.

I think as more people play the game, they’ll find even more objectionable content in it. MADD is upset about the drunk driving, but I’ve seen videos of strip clubs and a bunch of other “mature” content, so I don’t think we’ve even see a portion of the “mature” content brewing in GTA IV.

Read more at The Associated Press

What looks like a couple of phones duct-taped together is actually the WND Wind DUO 2200. This unique handset reminds me of Siamese twins - it features two of nearly everything, including displays, SIMs, keypads, colors, and 2 megapixel cameras. It will feature 180 hours of standby time, but here’s something to get you thinking - what happens when both phones ring simultaneously? I think this is perfect for the couple who cannot bear to be apart from one another even for a second, and it definitely helps build up trust between two people as they share one physical handset. Pretty weird, this. No idea on pricing though.

by Darren Murph, posted May 1st 2008 at 10:52AM
We know, it’s tiresome scouring the streets for an AC outlet when you’ve got oodles of sunshine surrounding you. That’s where Devotec Industries’ Solar Charger comes in. The smallest (and freshest) addition to the company’s line weighs in at under 80-grams and measures just 95- x 43- x 10-millimeters, and packed within you’ll find an 1800mAh battery. Of note, users can also juice up the device via USB or AC for when cloudy days swoop in, and it comes bundled with a slew of tips to handle the most popular handsets out there. Yeah, it does take a full day of sun (12-hours, to be precise) to get this thing fully charged (or 4-hours by AC / USB), but then again, it’ll only set you back £19.99 ($40).

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Filed under: Misc. gadgets

by Thomas Ricker, posted May 1st 2008 at 3:26AM
We know it’s coming in Q3 but the price of Garmin’s hotly anticipated Nuvifone has always been a mystery. Until now. We just received a screenshot that a helpful reader snagged from a Garmin survey. In it, our tipster was asked the following question:

“Now, how likely would you be to buy the Garmin nüvifone (for yourself or as a gift) if offered by AT&T for $499.99 with a two year contract? You would be required to have both a data plan that would include unlimited Internet browsing and unlimited Navigation for $19.99 per month and one of the standard voice rate plans for a monthly fee.”

So dear readers, we ask you… does that sound reasonable for a 3.5-inch touchscreen cellphone with GPS navigation, 3.5G data, WiFi, audio and video playback, and 3 megapixel camera?

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Filed under: cellphones, GPS