Archive for May, 2009

Rainbow of Dell Inspiron desktops now available

Posted in Dell by Conner Flynn on May 12th, 2009

dellinspironslimcolors-sbDell’s customizable addition to their Inspiron line will give you way too many color options to choose from. These include the 537 and the 537s. You have eight color choices in all and your choice of Intel Celeron, AMD Sempron, Core 2 Quad and Phenom X4 CPUs, up to 8GB of RAM, integrated Intel graphics or ATI Radeon GPUs, and up to 750GB HDD for the slim tower and 1TB for a mini-tower.

Or you could always just fire up the Della site with a gallon of ice cream and peruse what they have there. The starting price is $299 and they’re all available now.

Microsoft “Pink” specs leak

Posted in Zune Phone by Conner Flynn on May 12th, 2009

Microsoft "Pink" specs leakHere’s some more Zune/Windows Mobile rumors. According to Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet she has specs for Windows Mobile 7 Chassis 1, the heart of that rumored “Pink” smartphone. Here’s the rundown.

Chassis 1 phones will all have 3.5-inch or larger multitouch displays with ARM v6+ processors and OpenGL ES 2.0-compatible graphics hardware, 256MB or more of RAM and 1GB or more of storage, as well as at least a 3 megapixel camera, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, compass, and accelerometer. And a 3.5mm headphone jack is required. Get this. NVIDIA’s Tegra platform is specifically listed as meeting the core CPU requirements, as well as TI’s OMAP 3 platform and “Qualcomm 8k,”.

Android-based Alpha 680 netbook spotted

Posted in Netbook by Conner Flynn on May 12th, 2009

Android-based Alpha 680 netbook spottedIf you are in the market for an Android-based netbook that looks like it belongs on a fire truck, you are in luck my odd friend. This is the first pic we’ve seen of Skytone’s Alpha 680 in the wild.

Looks like it has a nice large trackpad and comfortably sized keyboard. Of course the swiveling screen is cool. But that color. It’s hard to get past the brightness. Also, check out the D-pad controls on the screen. When it arrives it will run you around $250. Ouch, that is red.

WSJ confirms Microsoft’s motion-sensing 3D camera for Xbox 360

Posted in Xbox 360 by Conner Flynn on May 12th, 2009

Xbox 360 getting full-body motion control?Craving news about Microsoft’s full body motion control trick? The Wall Street Journal can help. They’ve confirmed that Microsoft is in fact “developing a new videocamera for its Xbox 360 videogame console that will allow players to control games with the movement of their bodies,”.

Unlike Nintendo’s Wii, the Microsoft camera won’t require gamers to “hold any hardware in their hands to control in-game action,”. We may just see it debut at E3.

MotoMap GPS device for bikes

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on May 12th, 2009

MotoMap GPS device for bikesStephen Dettman loves bikes. That’s why he designed the MotoMap GPS Device for Bikes concept. The concept uses two new technologies. Powerfilm flexible solar panels and e-ink flexible displays. First where do you put it? It tackles the hardware mounting issue by wrapping around the fuel tank with magnets in the adjustable straps. It should stay in place even in an accident.

When not in use, flip it around so that the solar panel can work, storing up juice. We won’t be seeing it anytime soon, but it’s an interesting idea. Even if it does somewhat resemble a saddle for your bike.

D-Link adds CAPTCHA anti-trojan security to routers

Posted in D-Link by Conner Flynn on May 12th, 2009

D-Link adds CAPTCHA anti-trojan security to routersWe are all familiar with those annoying know captchas that can be found on sites all over the web. The idea is to make sure that you are human. Well, D-Link has added it to their latest router range. Yep. Routers with Captcha-capability built-in, hoping to prevent attacks from malware and spyware.

The new firmware will also also work with current models, where the distorted letters and numbers combination are added to common router settings pages. The D-Link router models that feature CAPTCHA include the DIR-615, DIR-625, DIR-628, DIR-655, DIR-825, DIR-855, DIR-685 and DGL-4500.

New Zune phone in June?

Posted in Zune Phone by Conner Flynn on May 12th, 2009

Z2K bug makes 30GB Zunes fail at 12AM, December 31stAnother Zune phone rumor has surfaced. If it all pans out we may have a Zune phone this June. It all started with a Twitter update from the Microsoft Office 2010 team that stated, “June 2009 will be an important month for Zune lovers”, followed by another tweet mentioning “New product launch, that’s all I’m allowed to say. Hold off from buying an iPhone/Pre. :) ”.

That suggests that this is more than a new Zune portable media player. Something to do with E3? That’s about all we know at the moment. At any rate, looks like it will be Zune this June.

Atree J2 PMP

Posted in Portable Meda Players by Conner Flynn on May 12th, 2009

Atree J2 PMPLike a primitive Terminator, the Atree J2 portable media player from Korea sports a glowing red eye and possible plans of human extinction. The Terminator eye is used to navigate through the system’s menu, sort of like the iPod’s scroll wheel.

All of the popular video and audio file formats are supported, and the J2 features a TFT display at 320 x 240 resolution, 5.1 virtual surround sound mode, integrated FM tuner and a Korean-to-English dictionary. Internal memory will be expanded by a microSD memory card slot.

Asus mainboards launch with new DTS surround sound feature

Posted in ASUS by Shane McGlaun on May 12th, 2009

asus-p5q-pro-sbAny PC gamer or multimedia fan will tell you that a fast CPU and good graphics are only parts of what you need for a full gaming computer or HTPC. One of the most important parts of these types of systems are often overlooked — sound.

DTS has announced that a pair of new Asus mainboards are now available that feature new DTS surround sound technology. The tech is called DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC and the Asus P5Q Pro Turbo and M4A79T mainboards are the first retail products to offer the sound technology.

Viewsonic set to enter 3G smartphone market

Posted in Viewsonic by Shane McGlaun on May 12th, 2009

viewsonic-sbWith the global economy in tatters, most technology companies are seeing profits fall and demand for their products at all time lows. One of the few categories still posting growth in the economy are smartphones. Consumers are looking to the smartphone to provide Internet access and voice calls to replace a normal phone and laptop.

Viewsonic has announced that it plans to enter into the 3G smartphone market. The firm says that the first region to get the new smartphones will be China, but the company doesn’t say when we can expect to see the phones hit China.

Spore Hero and Hero Arena coming to Wii and DS

Posted in EA by Shane McGlaun on May 12th, 2009

sporehero-sbI am a big fan of Spore on the PC. My son likes the game very much as well proving that gamers of all generations find something to like with Spore. Aside from the PC, Spore was also offered on the Wii leaving Xbox and PS3 gamers in the cold.

EA has announced that a couple new Spore titles are coming to Nintendo platforms this fall. Spore Hero for the Wii and Spore Hero Arena will expand the Spore franchise. Spore Hero for the Wii is a story driven game that takes players on missions to save their planet. Along the way, players can find new parts and upgrade their characters.

Logitech unveils new black guitar controller

Posted in Logitech by Shane McGlaun on May 12th, 2009

logitechblackguitar-sbBack in January when I was at CES Logitech was showing off their red wireless guitar controller specifically for the Guitar Hero games. The controller was very cool, but was a very hard to find item available in only certain areas.

Logitech has now announced a new black version of the Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller Premiere Edition that will be available globally. The guitar is licensed for Guitar Hero only and will only work with that game, Rack Band fans are out of luck.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 netbook revealed

Posted in Netbook by Conner Flynn on May 11th, 2009

Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 netbook revealedThough it won’t be officially introduced until tomorrow, Lenovo will be announcing their IdeaPad S10-2 netbook. It’s a thinner form factor than the previous IdeaPad S10. The body also weighs less and it will be available in four different colors.

This netbook will feature a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, a six-cell battery and Windows XP. The battery will give you up to six hours and this new version will have a larger touchpad. Some other features include an extra USB port and the option of adding 3G.

Samsung Vice hits Bell Canada

Posted in Samsung by Conner Flynn on May 11th, 2009

Samsung Vice hits Bell CanadaSamsung announced the availability of its new Vice for the Canadian market via Bell. The 3G phone features a sliding full QWERTY keyboard with standard number keys that should make texting, emailing, and Facebook easier.

The phone also comes with a 2.2-inch color display, 2MP digital camera, built-in GPS, Bluetooth 2.0, integrated media player, and a microSDHC card slot for expansion. You can get the Samsung Vice through Bell Canada for $49.95 with a 3-year contract.

Indian students design an air-powered motorcycle

Posted in Automotive by Conner Flynn on May 11th, 2009


The air-powered bike you see in the video above was designed by a team of engineering students from India. To help combat the ever-increasing pollution levels in the atmosphere, they designed themselves a working model that runs on air rather than gasoline.

Sure, it will only cover 18km/h. But at least this bike isn’t dirtying the air. It only emits Oxygen. This bike runs on air and emits air. That’s an eco-win all around. Now if they can just figure out how to get more out of it…