Gadgety News

I know what you’re thinking.  You’re thinking “what the heck is that!?!”

Well, it’s the iCEphone of course.

The In Case of Emergency Phone is aiming to be the “Swiss Army knife of mobiles”  and dubbed as a micro-notebook by its manufacturer.

Well, it’s no surprise that things have gone this far as everyone is cramming more and more into their mobile blowers.

I saw the Asus R50a a few days ago and thought that was nifty - so what’s this got then?

For starters the iCEphone has software that can not only walk you through common medical emergencies like administering CPR, but it can one-touch dial your doctor, the nearest hospital and 911 at the same time.

The makers, Medical Phone, decided that the only way to get everything into a handset just larger than an N95 was to use a Jacobs Ladder-style hinge.

This funky hinge connects the 3 panels that feature a full QWERTY keyboard, a 3-inch 400 x 240 resolution touchscreen and a mouse / track pad.

Other goodies are dual SIM card slots, HSDPA support, quad-band GSM connectivity, GPS, a 3.1megapixel camera, WiFi and a 532MHz Freescale iMX31 CPU.

It’s almost out in Thailand and then should be hitting the UK sometime in Spring when it will cost around £700

If you want to see more………… feast your eyes on the vid below

Icephone site via UnwiredView

The N7010 is pretty much a full featured laptop with its 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo Processor, 16-inch 16:9 LCD, Blu-ray ROM drive and HDMI-out.

It also packs up to 4GB RAM, 256 MB ATI HD 3470 video card, SD card reader, 1.3 MP Camera, eSATA port, Bluetooth, 802.11N wi-fi and hard drives come as big as 320 GB.

Nice but nothing outstanding - so why have it on this wonderful blog?

Well - look at the pic a bit closer my friends…………go on - click the pic to make it easier for yourself!

The cool part about the Lifebook N7010 is the 4-inch, 480×272 pixel touchscreen integrated into the keyboard area.

It works as an application launcher, but according to Fujitsu’s Paul Moore, you can use it as a second (really teeny-small) screen, with the ability to drag whatever you want down to the second screen like any other external monitor.

Aside from the app launcher, its intended to be used as a CD/DVD control panel, or as a photo viewer.

This groovy feature is considered to be an industry first for laptops but it probably is worth noting that it isn’t connected in any way to Windows Vista Sideshow.

The N7010 will begin shipping on November 10 and will start at $1500 on the Fujitsu website.

Fujitsu

Personally the thought of a brown laptop does not thrill me in the least.

But the Asus Eee PC S101 actually manages to make that brown casing not look so bad close up.

If you’re already gasping for this “mocha” coated chunk of Eee PC goodness you’ll be pleased to know that it comes loaded with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom chip, 1GB of memory, 32GB of solid state storage (split between a 16GB SSD and the rest via SD card), a 10-inch 1,024×600 res display, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and a copy of Windows XP.

It weighs in at just 1.06Kg and measures a mere 266×192×38mm.

It’s gonna cost you somewhere just shy of £500 though.

Those lucky folks over at UMPC Fever managed to get their grubby little mits on one of these and have published what can only be termed as an extremely in-depth report.

They start from staring at the classy black cardboard box right up to a loving close up of the hinge.

You’re excited; I can tell.

Go click on this now!

Apricot Computers has returned to the UK with an entry into the netbook market.

Apricot’s “PicoBook Pro” is an 8.9-inch netbook boasting optional WiMAX support that will be priced at £279. Oh, and it’s tiny!!!!!

It runs either Linux or Windows XP, has a 60GB hard drive and boasts a battery life of 4 hours.

They even throw in 1GB RAM, wireless LAN 802.11a/b/g and a VIA processor, graphics and chipset.

The PicoBook Pro is light, weighing in at 0.98kg, gets a “generous-sized” keyboard, VGA output, Bluetooth, two USB 2.0 ports and a memory card slot.

Apricot Computers claims the device is green as it uses tree-loving ultra-low voltage (ULV)/1.2GHz and fast-booting in under 30 seconds.

It’s available to order now to be shipped on 1 November.

For £279 you get Linux pre-installed, XP will be charged extra.

While most of us are wondering or just looking forward to Stevie J’s next keynote on October 14th those clever so-and-so’s over at bbGadgets may just have unlocked the secret behind Apple’s Oct 14th MacBook event teaser.

They’re assuming that the Apple logo is a 1.5″ standard thingy, so they measured the laptop to have a 13.3″ diagonal length.

That’s the same size as the current generation MacBook, which would seem to support all of those other ‘Brick’ rumours that are flying around but I haven’t reported on……..

bbGadgets

Word on the street is that the employees at NVIDIA have had their grubby little paws all over the latest Apple notebook and given it high-fives all round for its superior hardware prowess. 

Sources claim that the new model will get rid of Intel’s factory standard platform and replace it with components supplied by either Apple or an outside party………

A possible switch to a NVIDIA chipset commonly used for Intel-based notebooks, would give Apple faster video acceleration and more advanced power management.

Further speculation on a possible release date suggests that the notebooks could be available as soon as October 14th - like, next week people!

Again, lots of speculation abounds but it has been eight months since there’s been any updates to the range - could the time be now?

And as Morrisey once said - How Soon Is Now?

AppleInsider

Sony has announced two new VAIO notebooks today that both have optional Blu-ray drives - The VAIO NS and the VAIO CS.

The NS Blu-ray drive can also write DVDs and CDs.

The NS has a 15.4-inch LCD and uses Sony XBRITE-ECO LCD technology, an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and has 3GB of RAM.

The Blu-Rry version will sell for about $1000 and it can be had in blue, white, and silver.

The CS comes in four colours including the boozy sangria and cosmopolitan - The Blu-ray version will go for about $1070.

The screen is a 14.1 inch number and uses the XBRITE-ECO LCD. The computer uses an optional Intel Centrino 2 CPU and up to 3GB of RAM.

“With these new units, Sony is now offering consumers a host of multi-media PC options to choose from,” said Mike Abary, senior vice president of VAIO product marketing at Sony Electronics. “And with a starting price of around $1,000 for the NS model, we’re expecting a new audience to experience HD entertainment on their computers.”

Sony

Say hello to the now officially titled Inspiron Mini 9 which is set to be Dell’s Eee PC botherer.

While we’ve seen various pics and specs before we now have prices to go with them along with an October release date.

The XP version starts at but £299 or you can save £30 by opting for the Ubuntu version which is set to retail at £269.

The official spec list reads: 1.6GHz Intel Atom chip, 1GB memory, Intel GMA 950 graphics, 8.9in 1,024×600 display, up to 16GB SSD, three USB, Ethernet, VGA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 1.3 megapixel webcam and 4-cell battery. It measures a titchy 232×172×32mm and weighs in at just over 1Kg.

No news about the red or (red) version so at the moment you can get in any other colour as long as it’s black.

Ah……..Commodore.

The very name evokes those halcyon days of me, my bro and my cousin gathered around the VIC 20 listening to the tape loading, crashing and loading again.

Now the mighty C has joined the netbook market with the new C7-M processor powered lappy.

The very Commodore looking netbook, named UMMD 8010/F, presents an 80GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM and the usual array of wireless connectivity in the form of 802.11b/g and Bluetooth, although the latter will be optional.

Opting to run the C7-M processor instead of Intel’s Atom 1.6Ghz offering taken up by many other manufacturers, the netbook will come with the choice of Microsoft XP or GNU Linux operating systems. 

The 10-inch screen, .3 mp webcam and a digital array microphone are quite a let down however. 

It will be available in four colours; white, black, grey and sweet pink.

Prices start at an unbelievable £325 considering the better specced models out there in this ever increasing market.

But it should be out in the next month or so if you’re really wanting a Commodore again.

The Samsung X360 is pretty impressive.

Its size and weight (very light and very thin) and is ready to taunt the MacBook Air.

It has a 13.3-inch, 1200 x 800 pixel screen and by all reports is also very good.

It’s also all ported up, more so than Apple’s notebook: direct HDMI out, three USB ports, Express Card slot, 7-in-1 flash card reader, external optical unit included, and fingerprint reader for security.

For Windows users the Samsung X360 looks like a great choice but Apple fanboys will argue that a revision of the MacBook Air is just around the corner and that the Sammy wont play OS X.

For me though on the surface of it all the winner is the Samsung X360.

The only drawback for me is the lack of colour choices - you get the usual ‘Piano Black’ but even for an ardent fan of black such as me - it would be nice to have a choice.

Sammy aint pulling any punches either as it’s being branded it as “lighter than air” and say it’s the “lightest notebook in its 13.3 inch class” since it weighs just 1.27 kg.

Under the hood there’s a 45nm Core 2 Duo mobile processor and it comes with an external DVD drive.

The battery life is claimed to be 10 hours, by Samsung.

It’ll be available in September in some European countries, and Russia, China and Hong Kong, but there’s no info on the US release or pricing.

LG has decided to join the throng and have launched the LG Netbook X110 at IFA in Berlin.

Available in white, black and pink, the mini laptop will be powered by Intel’s Atom 1.6Ghz chip, have an 80GB hard drive and 3G support right out of the box.

The LG Netbook hooks up to WLAN 802.11 b/g and 10/100 Ethernet for fast and stable connectivity and pretty pictures arrive to your peepers via a WSVGA 10-inch widescreen.

Following the UK launch, Phones 4u will be initially selling the Netbook in pink and white, there will be a black variant available in due course.

This neat little Cellrun shares a bit of DNA with the old ‘lamp style’ iMac, a bit of notebook, a bit low-cost desktop Eee PC.

But with that it looks like it’s carving its own niche as a low-power cool designed desktop genre.

The specs include an 18.4-inch widescreen LCD, built-in stereo speakers and microphone and an Intel Atom graftings away inside.

The Lluon A1 is intended to be a multimedia PC since it’s got an IPTV function which requires it to be dual boot (Linux for the IPTV and Windows for regular PC functions).

I’m very inerested to see it in action and in the plastic.

Up til now there’s no pricing info but, what I do know is,  it’ll be hitting the shops mid-September in Korea, Europe and North America.

Just have a gander at Fujitsu’s latest lappy. 

To say it’s small……it makes the EeePC look like it could do with some exercise!

The Loox U/B50N has a 5.6in screen blasting out that 1,280×800 res and measures just 171×135×33mm when folded up.  Ahhhh - bless!

Also known as the Lifebook U820 in the Good ol’ US and U2010 everywhere else it is powered by a 1.6GHz Atom chip and sports a 1GB of RAM and 60GB hard drive.

The colourways are quite varied from the conservative black or silver, to a more outgoing pink or beige (what is it with brown these days?).

My choice would be the tokidoki version

Granted, it’s not the prettiest notebook you”ll ever see.

There are also nicer split keyboards out there in the battle against RSI.

But, when you spit that keyboard; there’s only another screen inside!

Yup - two screens folded up into one keyboard.  What would be really neat is if that secondary screen was also a nice glass touch interface in an iPhone stylee.  Just an idea

EKI, the designers, are looking to ship this to OEM’s (Original Equipment Manufacturer) this year. It’s also looking to sell the patents - you fancy that?

If the aesthetics of this notebook are tweeked and made a little slicker I can see it doing well

EKI suggests that OEM manufacturers could sell it for between $1,000 and $2,000 - perhaps after a trip to the stylist?

via Tech Digest

Apple’s famously super slim MacBook Air may be getting itself a processor revamp soon.

Word on the interblogsphere is that retailers have been told there’s a new MBA a-coming and that it’ll sport Intel’s latest 45nm Penryn processor rather than the older 65nm chip it current runs on - which would mean speeds up to a much more respectable 3GHz if it happens.

Other possibles are better graphics from Centrino 2 and maybe a beefed up battery.  RAH!

It’s all rumour, whispered suggestions and hearsay at the moment, but hey - it’s been a week or so since the last rumour aint it?

The noises on the grapevine (well, Fudzilla) say that Acer’s funky-small Aspire One laptop is now available in three groovy varieties:

The A110L, A150L, and A150X.

The A110L is rockin an Atom N270 CPU, Intel’s 946GSE chipset, 512MB or 1GB of RAM, 8GB of NAND flash storage, an 8.9-inch 1024 x 600 display, 802.11b/g, and three USB ports.

The other two models are similarly stacked save for a 120GB hard drive in place of the flash storage, and are offered with Linpus Linux, or Windows XP.

Want?

Retailers in Germany already claim to have the A110L in stock now, selling for €329 (around £280 or there abouts).

Crave have got an Eee PC 901 and Acer Aspire One in the same room. Once they’d met and sniffed at each other for a while they were unleashed to see who would come out top dawg.

There was much love for the Eee PC 901’s £319 price tag and 8.9-inch screen.  Also the 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and 20GB solid-state hard drive along with 20GB of free online storage were given the nod of approval.

They point out that the Acer Aspire One has a wider range of configurations that start at a pocket-friendly £220.

The One also has an 80GB mechanical hard drive and an optional 3G module for surf-anywhere Web access.

Battery life and keyboards may be the deciders.

I like the Eee but have yet to get my mits on an Aspire One so what do Crave say?

Click the clicky thing for their gallery and words of wisdom.

Crave

Dell are looking to unleash their “Dell E.”

This is not a purveyor of fine spicy sausages but an Eee taunting notebook that will also pull the pig-tails of the MacBook Air.

Dell’s saying that the Dell E will appear in two device types; an 8.9-inch model clearly meant to take on the Eee 900, and the 12.1-inch “E Slim” which actually looks positioned to take on the MacBook Air and X300, at a mere 0.8-inches thick!

The E Classic model for super low-end use, and E Video and E Video+ for more RAM, larger flash storage, webcams and Bluetooth in the + model.

Rollout looks to be ppencilled in for August / September-ish for the E  and E Slim respectively, and a followup for both of those in October of WWAN, with WiMAX after that.

Pricing sounds like the Dell E starts at $299.

Click the pic for an overview ;0,

Engadget

Samsung SDI, the manufacturer’s display team (not in the acrobatic sense - as far as I know), has been showing off a 12.1-inch laptop with an AMOLED display!

It has 1280 x 768 resolution and what appears to be a ~shudder~ touchy-odd-flat keyboard.

The prototype is being tarted around at SID 2008.

As to what’s going on at the rear of the screen - could it be another display panel or just a stand?

Answers on a real thin postcard please.

OLED Display.net

Owners of Alienware’s M15x have started to find that their machine is overheating and/or developing cracks in the frame for no apparent reason.

This isn’t the first issue that has plagued the m15x - the edge lighting had a few problems before a software fix. 

Not what you’d expect after forking out over £1500!! 

For that you could get a NovaTech X80r Pro!

Alienware have said that the company is “aware of the issue and working hard to figure out what’s going on.”

Hmmmmm…………………