Anyone that is interested in the Dell Vostro A90 can now pick it up in the United States. The Vostro A90 has a 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor, Intel 945GSE chipset, 512MB RAM, 8GB SSD, and 8.9″ monitor. The laptop can be upgraded to 16GB SSD and 1GM RAM. Windows XP Home Edition comes installed on the machine and WiFi/Bluetooth is built-in. The starting price is $349 and the upgraded model is $424.
Microsoft is working on a new Zune code-named “Zune HD.” However it may have a hard time competing against the iPod and iPhone because it looks like it may not have features that immediately distinguishes itself from the rest of the other digital music devices. The known specifications include:
- 3.6″ OLED full touchscreen
- NVIDIA Tegra powered
- 4GB, 8GB, 16GB and 32GB versions
- HDMI Connection to stream straight to your TV
- HD Radio
- Web browser
- Wi-Fi compatible, with wireless marketplace
- Home AV packs, Car packs, Charge packs
These specifications have been confirmed by Neowin.
RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis said that BlackBerry is not done with building more touchscreens despite the problems that they have been having with the Storm. “That’s our first touch product, and you know nobody gets it perfect out the door. You know other companies were having problems with their first releases.” Through the aforementioned statement Mike implied that there will be more touchscreens on the way.
Other features RIM is working on includes a way to improve the performance of their web browser on BlackBerry devices. RIM shipped about 50 million BlackBerry devices since they launched in 1999. Laptop Magazine has a more thorough interview with Mike.
Nokia Corporation has just announced their results for the first quarter of 2009 and it is not looking good. They made a profit of $160 million, but that is a drop in 90% from the year before. In 2008, Nokia’s first quarter profit was $1.6 billion. Revenues were also down. This year in the first quarter, sales were about $12.2 billion and last year it was $16.7 billion for the same time period.
“The macro [economic] environment is causing many people to trade down and purchase lower priced handsets,” stated Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. Nokia is facing pressure from the smartphone competition. Apple and RIM are selling them by the millions.
For right now this device is only available in Japan. iRiver is selling the LZR RAcer Aquabeat Underwater MP3 player for $130. It can hold up to 2GB of music. Yeah the headgear looks ridiculous, but at least you have musical company while doing laps around the pool.
[Gizmodo]
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has introduced the Amazon Kindle 2 device today. The device has a much slimmer design than the previous Kindle. Page turns are faster and the battery life is longer. There is over 7 times the storage from the last Kindle. Over 230,000 books are available now for about $9.99. About 103 of the current 110 New York Times best sellers can be purchased. There is also about 1,200 blogs that can be read on the device.
The price is confirmed to be at $359 and the device will ship on February 24.
“Kindle 2 is everything customers tell us they love about the original Kindle, only thinner, faster, crisper, with longer battery life, and capable of holding hundreds more books. If you want, Kindle 2 will even read to you — something new we added that a book could never do,” stated Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “While we’re excited about Kindle 2, we know that great hardware is useless without vast selection. That’s why the Kindle Store offers customers over 230,000 books.”
The memory has 2GB and a 600×800 electronic paper display with 16 shades of gray. The older Kindle had 4 shades of gray. About 1,500 books can be stored. The older Kindle could store about 200.
I think one of the best features built into the new Kindle is the Read-To-Me feature. If you prefer to have the book read to you, there is text-to-speech conversion. The voices can be read in male or female. It works for anything that can be read such as books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc.
The WiFi connects via Amazon Whispernet. Books can be downloaded in less than 60 seconds.
David Hasselhoff should be proud.
Technology Students Mess with Dormitory Lights - The funniest videos clips are here
As you know, Amazon.com plans to be releasing the Kindle 2 on Monday. Above is a picture that the device is rumored to look like. The e-book device is also rumored to be available starting on February 24 at a price of about $359. The specs are slightly different from the first model.
One analyst claims that the first model of the Amazon Kindle sold about 500,000 units in 2008. The new Kindle appears to be quite a bit thinner the first. The keyboard has a roundish touch. The next and back buttons look like a mouse click button that comes built in to a laptop. And the screen looks more crisp.
More details to follow after the announcement on Monday.
Apple iPhone Heading To The Gulf
Apple has decided to introduce the iPhone to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. These two countries will be the first new markets that Apple will be entering in the new year. Emirates Telecommunications (”Etisalat”) will be selling the iPhone later this month.
When the iPhone was introduced to Egypt in December 2008, the country blocked the GPS feature. But this will not likely happen in Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. One of the barriers for introducing the phone in the Gulf Coast countries is the language barrier. The launch date is rumored to be on February 15.
Google Android Going Down Under
The first phones that will have the Google Android mobile operating system built-in will be revealed later today. High Tech Computer (HTC), a Taiwanese company that manufactures mobile phones developed the G1, Google’s first phone to have Android. HTC developed the phone with Singapore Telecommunications and plans to release it in Australia starting February 16. Plans will start at A$59 per month to run the phone.
Over one billion people in the world do not have access to clean water. Water-related diseases constitute 80% of sickness and is the leading cause of death all over the world. Therefore Playpumps International has created a mechanism that resembles a playground toy for many third world countries. The Playpump will be installed near schools and can gather about 1,400 liters of water per hour at 16rpm from a depth of 40m.
Is this child labor? Not necessarily because these kids would otherwise have to fetch water from far distances without the Playpump. This is also a good way for children to have fun at the same time. There are advertisements placed on the water tank that pays for the maintenance of the Playpump. In the U.S., a new brand of bottled water will be released called Love One. The proceeds from the purchase of these water bottles will go towards the Playpump.
[via Technabob]