Archive for June, 2011

HTC ChaCha rumored to get processor upgrade

Posted in HTC by Reuben Drake on June 6th, 2011

HTC has reportedly upgraded the processor of the HTC ChaCha. The phone was unveiled back at Mobile World Congress and runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) with deep Facebook integration via a customized Facebook button. The phone should arrive this summer.

According to ITProPortal.com the HTC ChaCha has had it’s processor upgraded from a 600mhz Qualcomm processor to an 800mhz Qualcomm processor, which is an increase of 33%. It should make it noticeably faster if this is true.

Sony VAIO Z21 ultralight arrives early in Europe

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on June 5th, 2011

Four store listings at Italian online shop F2F have leaked Sony’s plans for an upgraded VAIO Z in Europe. All of them will feature Sandy Bridge Core processors, very fast SSD storage, fingerprint readers, and built-in 3G. Sounds good and the HDMI has also been upgraded to put out 3D video, but that’s not all. The webcam uses the low-light Exmor sensor technology.

The base system will cost you $2,648 equivalent price but with a 2.3GHz Core i5, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD mated to the Z series’ signature 13.1-inch, 1600×900 display. Of course once you get up to 2.7GHz Core i7 and 256GB SSDs it gets much more expensive at $3,584.

i’mWatch Android-powered Watch

Posted in Android by Conner Flynn on June 5th, 2011

The i’mWatch from Blue Sky Italy is the world’s first Android-powered watch. Because let’s face it, your watch needs apps too right? It is powered by a Freescale ARM9 IMX233 CPU with 64MB of RAM, 4GB of storage and a 1.54-inch TFT touchscreen display.

The 600mAh battery will deliver 2 hours of talk time or 48 hours of standby time. The i’mWatch can also be paired up with your iPhone, BlackBerry or Android phone. The i’mWatch Android-powered watch retails for €249 (or $360). Want one?

Hannspree SN22A1 Touchscreen All-in-one PC

Posted in PCs by Conner Flynn on June 5th, 2011

The Hannspree SN22A1 all-in-one computer might just replace your desktop. It packs in a 21.5-inch multitouch display that uses a LED backlight for power efficiency. It is powered by a 1.66GHz Intel dual-core D510 processor, 3GB of DDRII RAM, a 320GB HDD, an integrated optical drive, a memory card reader, four USB ports and Microsoft Windows Home Premium is running the show.

Some other specs include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and an integrated 1.3MP webcam. The Hannspree SN22A1 all-in-one PC is available for £349.99 or $574.

Asus Lamborghini VX6S laptop

Posted in ASUS by Conner Flynn on June 5th, 2011

Asus unveiled it’s 12 inch Asus Lamborghini VX6S laptop at Computex 2011, with its orange-yellow finish and a leather finished keyboard. Needless to say, it got a lot of attention. It features an Intel Atom NM10 processor and AMD Radeon HD 6470M graphics and has a 12.1 inch display, Bluetooth, Wireless N, 500 GB hard-drive, card-reader, and Windows 7 Home Premium OS.

Looks like there’s also a 6 Cell 58 Wh battery. And of course the Lamborghini emblem is on its back as a finishing touch.

Pentax unveils GPS add-on for DSLR cameras

Posted in Pentax by Conner Flynn on June 5th, 2011

The O-GPS1 is a GPS unit that allows geotagging of images. It attaches to your camera and allows the camera to add latitude, longitude, altitude, UTC capture time and direction as image metadata. Then you can use the data to place images in mapping software like Google Earth or just use it to organize your files.

If you own the K-5 and K-r models, you can use the ‘Astrotracer’ feature which predicts the movement of celestial objects and uses the sensor shift mechanism to track the movement to give astrophotographs with single points, rather than star-trails. Stargazers will love this feature.

Kingston Wi-Drive Wireless SSD

Posted in Kingston by Conner Flynn on June 5th, 2011

Forget wires. Kingston’s new Wi-Drive is a solid state drive designed to provide wireless storage for smartphones and tablets. It’s equipped with 802.11 Wi-fi. Kingston is promising up to 4 hours of battery life from the internal battery and the Wi-Drive will be able to stream multiple file content to four Apple iPad devices simultaneously.

Chances are you are low on memory, so these drives will do the trick. The Kingston Wi-Drive comes in two sizes: 16GB for $130 and 32GB for $175. They are available now.

Batarang controllers to be shown at E3

Posted in gaming accessories by Conner Flynn on June 5th, 2011

Looking for some Batman inspired controllers to accompany your Batman Arkham Asylum game? These Batman: Arkham City batarang controllers are for the Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers and feature bat-start and select / back buttons, dual rumble motors, comfort-soft grips, and seven switchable versions of LED color.

The PlayStation 3 version has an internal battery, detachable charging cable, and batman-themed USB RF receiver. The Xbox version is wired and not as cool. They will be on display next week at E3 and will hit store shelves when Batman: Arkham City ships in October.

Mad Catz’ exclusive Xbox 360 wireless headphones

Posted in Xbox 360 by Conner Flynn on June 5th, 2011

You might remember that Mad Catz scored the exclusive rights to produce Xbox 360 wireless headphones not long ago. Well here they are here and apparently they don’t need to be tethered to your controller for voice chat or plugged into a wall to charge. The new Mad Catz Warhead 7.1 gets everything it needs from a base station connected to your console. Using USB and optical cables directly from the Xbox 360 to the tower shown above, and it will supposedly deliver enough 5.8GHz bandwidth for virtual Dolby surround sound on four pairs of headphones at once — plus wireless Xbox LIVE audio chat. Pretty awesome.

The USB base station will also give you an on-screen battery readout, and there’s a second swappable battery pack in the base station’s charger. It will be under $300 this holiday season.

Red HTC Inspire 4G exclusively at Radio Shack

Posted in HTC by Conner Flynn on June 5th, 2011

AT&T has allowed Radio Shack to offer an exclusive red version of the HTC Inspire 4G, and it has now been made official and is available now. You can get the phone for just $29.99 on a two-year AT&T contract or for $550 off-contract.

That gets you a 4.3-inch WVGA display, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, an 8 megapixel camera with an LED flash and Android 2.2 with Sense. Radio Shack will still sell you a black one for the same price, but the red one is nice and flashy.

Verizon Unveils LTE-based Galaxy Tab 10.1 Tablet

Posted in Samsung by Conner Flynn on June 3rd, 2011

That’s right. Verizon has unveiled the new 4G LTE Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet. The LTE-based version is similar to the Wi-Fi version, but you will be able to surf the internet on-the-go without needing to depend on a Wi-Fi hotspot.

If you want it, the LTE-based Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is available in 16GB and 32GB of storage capacities for $530 and $630.

Onkyo TX-NA809 High Quality AV Amplifier

Posted in Onkyo by Conner Flynn on June 3rd, 2011

The Onkyo TX-NA809 is a 7.1-channel AV amplifier that features the Vida VHD1900 HQV video processor and Wide Range Amplifier Technology. It is compatible with a wide variety of music formats and has support for “radiko.jp”, which gives you interruption-free radio reception.

The company also provides the Onkyo Remote app for iPhone and iPod touch owners if you want to control it from a distance. The Onkyo TX-NA809 will hit Japan on September 6th for $2,041.

Sony Pictures hacked by Lulz Security, claim 1,000,000 passwords stolen

Posted in Sony by Conner Flynn on June 2nd, 2011

You shouldn’t kick someone when they are down, but that is just what Lulz Security has done by breaking into SonyPictures.com. It claims to have stolen the personal information of over 1,000,000 users, stored in plain text format.

Lulz says that it was done with a simple SQL injection. Part of the group’s exploit is even posted online in a RAR file, which contains over 50,000 emails and passwords of users. Poor Sony. They just can’t catch a break. The Playstation store was only just restored and now this.

Pac Man and Pac Man S released for Facebook

Posted in Facebook by Conner Flynn on June 2nd, 2011

Pac Man has been and continues to be one of the most popular arcade games ever. It never gets old. I don’t know how many quarters I fed into that machine when I was younger and I can still go back and play it now and again.

Now Pac Man is headed to Facebook thanks to Namco Bandai Games Europe. You will be able to play the regular version of Pac-Man and Pac-Man S, a version of the game with social functions built in. Get playing and chomp some ghosts.

The PlayStation Store is back

Posted in PS3 by Conner Flynn on June 2nd, 2011

It’s been a long time coming, but the Playstation store is finally back. Awaiting you is a huge lineup of new downloadable games, demos, add-on content, themes, avatars and videos. Also, PlayStation Plus has been updated with new full game trials, free games and DLC, free avatars and more discounts.

I know. You want to know about your free games from the Welcome Back program. Well, they aren’t ready yet. But I, like you, am waiting. Can’t be long now.