samsung-OLED TV
It’s approaching mid 2010 and you know what’s missing. Jetpacks. Jetpacks and those 30-inch and larger OLED TVs we were promised. Hell, the largest OLED TV available for retail currently is only 15-inches… if you can both find and afford it. Now OLEDNet claims that Samsung Mobile Display — you know, the cellphone AMOLED guys — is purchasing equipment in preparation for bringing its 5.5 generation facility on-line in the first half of 2011. That should give Samsung the ability make 42-inch AMOLED TVs on a trial basis by the end of the twenty-eleven. But with relatively cheap LCDs steadily closing the gap on OLEDs size, contrast, and power savings advantages, well, we’ll believe it when we see the first big screen OLED TVs in our living rooms. And with 3D LCDs (and plasmas) all the rage amongst distracted and financially-vested television manufacturers, we don’t see that happening anytime soon.
OLEDNet
May 14th, 2010 in
laptops | 276 views
Sharp
Hoping to get your hot little hands on the tinker-friendly edition of Sharp’s Snapdragon-powered IS01 Android MID? If you live in Japan, today’s your lucky day — assuming you’re willing to overlook the possibility that the developer’s version has been thoroughly neutered. According to a Japanese press release, JN-DK01 dev kits are now shipping, but apparently sans cellular modem (no phone calls, no 3G data) and without API support for FM and 1Seg connectivity. You’ll still get to play around with that 960 x 480 mulittouch LCD, experiment with IrDA and download Android Market apps over WiFi, but we’re not quite seeing the point of working with a cheap-feeling Android 1.6 device stripped of its coolest toys.
Sharp
docomo-xperia
Japan’s wireless networks have a longstanding, legendary reputation for existing in some parallel plane that’s technologically light years ahead of the rest of the world, but that reputation’s unquestionably in greater danger today than in any point in the past fifteen years. Why? Though the featurephones offered by NTT DoCoMo, SoftBank, and KDDI are ultra high-spec beasts, they’re still featurephones at the end of the day — and this comes at a time when smartphones are finally becoming true cultural phenomena across the remainder of the developed world (and, in some cases, the developing world).
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Sony Walkman W252
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is coming out for the PSP soon, and in classic Sony style, we’re being treated to a custom-painted W252 Walkman to celebrate the event. This wearable MP3 player can fit 2GB of your favorite stealth action theme music, and gets the party started with six preloaded tunes from the Peace Walker soundtrack. Beyond that, you’re getting that gorgeous camo outfit and the same water-resistant durability as the less Limited W250 models. Full PR and one more pic after the break.
Engadget
Windows 7, Mac OS X, and Ubuntu 10.04 meet up for an OpenGL benchmarking session
So these three operating systems walk into a bar one night … alright, we’ll behave. With all the Steamy conversation about gaming on non-Windows desktop platforms going on, we thought you might care to peek at a little OpenGL performance comparison review. As the chief cross-platform API, it’s the only way we’re going to be seeing the latest games running natively on Mac OS and Linux, but how will that experience compare to the market leader? As it turned out, Windows maintains superiority in this field, with frame rates that were habitually above those on the latest Ubuntu and well ahead of what you might get on Mac OS 10.6.3. It’s still early days — after all, Steam’s non-DirectX cupboard is pretty bare right now — but at this point in time, OpenGL gaming is a crown that Microsoft retains with relative ease. Hit the source for all the line graph evidence, and let’s hope things improve for the rest of us in rapid fashion.
Not down with piecing together a gaming rig for yourself, eh? We’ll forgive you… this time. Thankfully for you, Digital Storm forgives eternally in situations such as this, with the pre-fab PC builder today cranking out one of its most beastly rigs to date. The Black | OPS Assassin is hailed as the planet’s “most advanced vertically cooled PC,” boasting an Intel Core i7-930 that’s factory overclocked to 4.4GHz. Other specs include 6GB of DDR3 RAM, an EVGA X58 motherboard, 750 watt power supply, Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) and your choice of an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 (1.2GB), ATI Radeon HD 5870 (1GB) or GeForce GTX 480 (1.5GB). Go on, wade over and start customizing — that $2,387 base price won’t sting too badly.
Show full PR text
Digital Storm Debuts Black | OPS Assassin – The World’s Most Advanced Vertically Cooled PC
Black | OPS Assassin system boasts vertically cooled chassis design, three massive 180mm fans & industry leading Sub-Zero cooling system to deliver overclocks of 4.4GHz or more…
Fremont, Calif. – (May 10, 2010) – Digital Storm, the predominant name in computer system integration and engineering, proudly debuts the industry’s most vastly superior vertically cooled gaming PC – Black|OPS Assassin.
The Assassin is Digital Storm’s latest system under the Black|OPS brand, notorious for benchmark busting performance. Each Assassin system contains an innovatively designed chassis that naturally promotes vertical heat dissipation by taking advantage of heat’s naturally tendency to rise. With three enormous 180mm fans positioned at the bottom of the chassis, cold air is pumped into the machine & warm air is forced out through the top of the chassis. Next, Assassin receives Digital Storm’s Sub-Zero Liquid Cooling System treatment which not only removes performance inhibiting heat from the processor, but also from the motherboard’s chipset and voltage regulators. The combination of these processes results in outrageous overclocking potential, with recorded overclocks of 4.4GHz and higher.
For hardcore gamers and enthusiasts who want the most astonishing graphics performance imaginable, Assassin is able to efficiently cool a three-way SLI configuration of NVIDIA’s GTX 480s with minimal graphic card fan noise. Digital Storm has also rotated Assassin’s motherboard 90 degrees clockwise, allowing for neat peripheral cable organization. The sleek, modern looking chassis is made entirely from aluminium and features a large side window that cleanly displays the world’s best hardware within.
“Assassin is the system that performance enthusiasts have been waiting for. The pairing of exceptional components, patented processes and bleeding-edge design enables components to be pushed far beyond what any other gaming PC on the market today can promise,” remarked Rajeev Kuruppu, Digital Storm’s Director of Product Development. “The ability to effectively remove component damaging and performance inhibiting heat is phenomenal, but I’m astonished by how quietly we were able to accomplish this. The phrase whisper quiet is an understatement.”
Digital Storm’s Black|OPS Assassin gaming PCs are backed by the company’s Standard 3 Year Premium Parts and Labor Warranty are available for purchase at www.DigitalStormOnline.com. The base configuration for the Performance configuration has a starting price of $2,387.
For images or additional information, please contact Digital Storm Media Representative Brian Metcalf at brianmetcalf@maxborgesagency.com or 305-576-1171 x11, or visit http://www.digitalstormonline.com/compblackops.asp
To learn more about Digital Storm’s complete product offerings, please visit www.DigitalStormOnline.com.
verizon and google
Verizon Wireless is working with Google Inc. on a tablet computer, the carrier’s chief executive, Lowell McAdam, said Tuesday, as the company endeavors to catch up with iPad host AT&T Inc. in devices that connect to wireless networks.
Not much by way of detail here, but Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam just confirmed that his company is working on tablets with Google in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
A Google spokesman declined to comment on the Verizon tablet, but said anyone can use the company’s mobile software to create phones and other devices.
Google has said it is working with hardware makers and carriers to create lightweight computers that run its software. As rivals such as Apple Inc. introduce tablets like the iPad, the Internet giant is seeking to spur the adoption of its online software and advertising system through its own partnerships.
“They were able to get out of the box faster,” Mr. McAdam said. Verizon has been handicapped by its CDMA network technology, less common than AT&T’s GSM, but the executive said his company will have devices ready to show early next year once its new network is in place.
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May 10th, 2010 in
laptops | 305 views
What’s that, you say? The iPad pre-order button is now propagating itself over on Apple’s global assortment of online stores? The Australian retail is already taking your hard-earned change, while we just saw first-hand the UK variant go down, go up with an iPad pre-order icon on the front page, then subsequently hidden again behind a yellow sticky note within minutes of this writing. We imagine the rest of the stores will be following suit (if they haven’t already). Ladies and gentlemen of the pro-Apple persuasion, better double check your bank accounts — in case you forgot, the full launch is May 28th.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
