Well it’s finally official. After months of leaks, Steve Jobs re-introduced the world to the iPhone 4. And yes, it’s just “4″ this time since it’s still running on a 3G network. Most of the new additions are on the software side, but the iPhone itself got some significant upgrades as well First of all, it’s 24% thinner than the last iPhone, and sports a nice stainless steel casing with dedicated volume buttons. The 3.5″ display has a 960 x 640 resolution, 4 times sharper than its predecessor.. Jobs calls it a “retina display” because of its a 336 DPI resolution; that’s higher than printed text, and even beyond what the human eye is capable of distinguishing. In other words, it’s a bit of overkill on Apple’s part. The iPhone 4 uses the same “A4″ chipset as the iPad, allowing for faster processing, and a bump in battery life.
Apple also announced a bunch of new apps for the iPhone 4, including iBook with PDF support, and a Netflix app. They’ve also added iMovie, allowing you to edit movies on the go, and output them in resolutions up to 720P. That should pair nicely with the phone’s new cameras, capable of recording video in HD.
The iPhone 4 will be released later this month, and will come in black, or white. There’s two capacities to choose from, a 16GB for $199, or a 32GB model for $299 (with a 2 year contract I believe).
The keynote is still live, so Apple has yet to update their site with official specs. We’ll fill you in on all the details as they come in.
Sources:
macrumors
Gizmodo
Engadget
In terms of tech fads, tablets are the new netbooks. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the company behind the eee PC is coming out with an “eee Pad”. Asus unveiled their new tablet in two sizes, a 12″ (EP121) that’s powered by a CULV Intel Core 2 Duo processor, runs Windows 7, and has an estimated battery life of 10 hours. The 10″ model (EP101TC) will run “Windows Embedded Compact 7″.
Press Release
Stay Connected and Multitask with the Eee Pad
Engineering excellence meets stunning design in the ASUS Eee Pad, an ultra-slim and light yet high-performance slate device designed to provide users with a real time cloud computing experience. The Eee Pad will be available in two configurations.
The 12″ Eee Pad EP121 is a full-featured slate computer that serves as a multimedia player, e-reader, and compact computing device. Powered by a CULV Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor and the Windows® 7 Home Premium operating system, it effortlessly handles multitasking tasks whether enabling users to check their email and calendars, have video conferences, or process Microsoft Word and Excel documents simultaneously. The ASUS Eee Pad EP121 offers two convenient modes of character input-an embedded virtual keyboard or an innovative hybrid keyboard/docking station design. All of this power is available in a personal computing device that delivers up to 10 hours of usage.
For users seeking additional mobility, ASUS is proud to present the 10” Eee Pad EP101TC that runs Windows Embedded Compact 7, which provides an engaging user experience and delivers instant connectivity to the Windows world. It also provides a familiar full-featured user experience across various connected devices and cloud computing services.
Asus also showed off a sweet docking station with a built-in keyboard that essentially makes the tablet a notebook when connected. Sadly, it won’t be out till the first quarter of 2011. No official pricing figures yet, but Asus tells engadget they’ll be $399 and $499 respectively.
via engadget
| LG is known for their mobile phones. Iriver is known for their MP3 players. Combine the two and you should have one stellar DAP phone. At least that’s what the two Korean companies have in mind when partnering up to make the “LG-LB4400″. Iriver not only handled the music portion, but designed the phone’s interface as well. We don’t have the full specs, but the phone has a 2.8″ AMOLED touchscreen display, supports a wide range of formats including FLAC, OGG, AAC, and APE, and has a 3MP camera. |
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Here’s a video of the LG-LB4400 in action
The LB4400 looks like the best of both worlds. Pricing and availability info haven’t been released yet, but it looks like it’ll only be sold in Korea.
via Akihabara News
If you don’t feel like spending half a grand on an iPad, then consider the Archos 7 home tablet. It has a high res 7″ touchscreen display, runs Android, has great file support, and an estimated battery life of 42 hours for music . The best part? It only costs $199. That’s an unbelievable price for what you’re getting.
Archos 7 home tablet Specs
- Capacity: 8GB plus microSDHC expansion
- OS: Linux, Android 1.5
- Display: 7.0″ touchscreen (800 x 480)
- Audio: MP3, WMA, OGG, AAC, and FLAC
- Video: WMV, AVI, MPEG-4, H.264, FLV, MKV, MOV (with resolutions up to 720P)
- WiFi (802.11 b/g)
- USB Slave/Host (connect external drive, or add a keyboard/mouse)
- Battery life: 42 hours for Audio, 7 hours for video
- Dimensions: 203 mm x 107 mm x 12 mm
With their trend of rebranding Chinese players, I haven’t taken Archos seriously for a few years, but this tablet has certainly gotten my attention. The size is just right, and you really can’t beat $199 for a fully-featured Android tablet. The Archos 7 home tablet is now shipping at the official Archos store, and is also available for Pre-order at Amazon.
Archos Store
Archos 7 at Amazon
Any Metal Gear Solid fans in our audience? I bought the first game in the popular stealth action franchise around the same time I got my PlayStation, but I never did finish it. Getting anxiety from sneaking around, and constantly getting spotted (!) probably had something to do with that. I still admire the series from a distance however, and have tried my best to keep up with the multiple, and often twisted story arcs. Next month the next installment, titled “Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker”, arrives on the PSP, and Sony is pulling out all the stops to market it. They’ve created a Limited Edition W-250 series Walkman featuring a camouflage design. They’re also throwing in the game’s soundtrack, and a code that unlocks “hidden characters with special Walkman apparel.” The “Metal Gear Solid Walkman” is available to pre-order at Sony Style for $59.99, the same price as the regular models.
LINK
Samsung has a new player on the horizon called the YP-RB. It’s new only in name, as it looks nearly identical to last year’s YP-R0 (aka R’Play). Just about every spec is the same except one. The RB boasts double the battery life of the R0, getting an estimated 60 hours of playback on a single charge.
YP-RB Specs
- Capacity: 4, 8, and 16GB plus microSD expansion
- Display: 3.0″ Touchscreen (400 x 200)
- Audio: MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG, and FLAC
- Video: AVI, Divx, Xvid, WMV, MPEG-4, and H.264
- FM Tuner/Voice Recorder/DMB-TV (in Korea)
- Battery Life: 60 hours for Audio, 10 hours for Video
- Dimensions: 52.4 x 101.2 x 11.4 mm
The YP-RB will hit stores in Korea this Summer. No word on pricing or a worldwide release.
LINK)
(via PMP Today
Samsung has a new player on the horizon called the YP-RB. It’s new only in name, as it looks nearly identical to last year’s YP-R0 (aka R’Play). Just about every spec is the same except one. The RB boasts double the battery life of the R0, getting an estimated 60 hours of playback on a single charge.
YP-RB Specs
- Capacity: 4, 8, and 16GB plus microSD expansion
- Display: 3.0″ Touchscreen (400 x 200)
- Audio: MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG, and FLAC
- Video: AVI, Divx, Xvid, WMV, MPEG-4, and H.264
- FM Tuner/Voice Recorder/DMB-TV (in Korea)
- Battery Life: 60 hours for Audio, 10 hours for Video
- Dimensions: 52.4 x 101.2 x 11.4 mm
The YP-RB will hit stores in Korea this Summer. No word on pricing or a worldwide release.
LINK
(via PMP Today
Sony just added a new pair of earbuds to their lineup, and I can safely say, they’re unlike anything I’ve seen before. Called the “Qlasp”, they have a clip-on design that attaches to your earlobe. If that wasn’t “different” enough for you, they also come in some funky color combination. The new pair seems tailor-made for the punk skater boi demographic, though I am curious to try them out myself.
Sony Qlasp (MDR-PQ4) Specs:
- Type- in-ear earphones
- Driver: 9 mm (CCAW adopted), dome type
- Impedance : 16 ohms at 1 kHz
- Frequency Response : 6 – 23,000Hz
- Plug : Gold-plated L-shaped stereo mini
- Cord Length (Approx.) : 3.9 ft., Litz cord, Y-type
The Qlasp are available right now at Sony Style for a reasonable price of $24.99.
Qlasp Earbuds at Sony Style
| Blink and this deal will probably be gone. Sony Style is selling an 8GB E340 series Walkman (refurbished) for $39.99 and Free Shipping. The player has been coming in and out of stock the least few days, so don’t give up hope if it says it’s sold out. The E340 series has a 2.0″ display, support for MP3, WMA, AAC, H.264, WMV, and MPEG-4, an FM tuner, and an estimated 30 hours of battery life.
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Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer’s Conference commences on June 7th. Will that be the day we finally see the rumored 4th generation iPhone? Oh wait, we already saw it. Thanks Gizmodo! In all seriousness, I’m wondering how Steve Jobs will present the phone. So much of his keynote presentation is built upon hype. Jobs talks about every new product like it’s the greatest invention in the world. Line after line, he tells everyone what they’re missing, and what he’s going to do to solve it. The anticipation builds until Steve pulls the device out of his jeans pocket, to a mix of applause and frenzied shutter noises. Everything usually goes his way, but not this time around.
The last time I recall something like this happening was with the Sony PSP Go. Sony accidentally leaked the product weeks before the start of E3, gaming’s biggest expo. It was obviously going to be a major part of their presentation, but because of the leak, the unveiling was rather low-key, and somewhat awkward. The iPhone is a much bigger product launch of course, and Jobs is a master when it comes to keynote deliveries, so I’m looking forward to seeing how he handles the leak on stage.
WWDC isn’t just about the iPhone. It’s a great expo to learn about emerging technology, and software that Apple and others are working on. It’ll take place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco from June 7th -11th.
Apple WWDC 10
