Acer Liquid Metal gets official in the UK with Android 2.2 and Breeze UI

After seeing quite a few leaks, Acer just made its Liquid Metal handset official. The 3.6-inch slate runs Android 2.2 Froyo atop an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230 processor. Inside all that molten metal you'll find 802.11n WiFi, support for 14.4Mbps HSDPA, DLNA/UPnP streaming support, Dolby Surround technology, and an image stabilized 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash capable of recording video at 720p (30fps). Acer's new handset also features a new Breeze UI and SocialJogger app that aggregates Twitter and Facebook feeds. Look for it to land in brown in the UK starting mid November for £299. A silver version should arrive in early December. Still no word on that AT&T compatible jobbie that passed through the FCC. One more image and the full press release after the break.

EKING S700 E-notepad from China is world's first

A company in China called Shenzhen Guangxuntong Communications Technology has just launched the world's first E-notebook called the EKING S700. The essence of the product is its extensive functionality for mobile officing applications. It packs some cool features like dual mode input technologies such as resistant touch control and electromagnetic induction touch controls. Other features include 3G support, a 7-inch display screen and an array of features such as scanning and managing name cards, ebooks, GPS, document editing and approval (long distance), handwriting technology, music player, games and a lot more. These systems add two level of protection to documents that fit the confidential bill with a fingerprint recognition system followed by military-grade protection against threats and viruses.

ViewSonic launches world's first dual boot tablet

ViewSonic launched two new tablets: the ViewPad 7 and what's being claimed as the world's first dual boot tablet, the ViewPad 10. Leila Makki reports.

The ViewPad 10 tablet device not only wins bragging rights for its dual boot capability but thanks to its Intel Atom 1.66GHz processor, may very well be the "fastest Android tablet available right now," or so says ViewSonic. The 10-inch capacitive touch-screen display runs both Android 1.6 and Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium. 

There's a G-sensor (basically an accelerometer) built into the device with multi-touch and pinch to zoom. However, the ViewPad 10 only has a front-facing 1.3 megapixel webcam for videoconferencing and limited functionality with the dated Android 1.6 OS. 

The ViewPad 7 is a sleeker tablet running the latest Android 2.2 operating system.The seven-inch capacitive multi-touch touchscreen comes with full 3G phone capability with a full size SIM card slot. It also features built-in Wi-fi, Bluetooth, GPRS and comes with both a front-facing VGA camera and a back-facing three megapixel camera.

For those who feel there are already too many devices piling up in their stuff drawer, ViewSonic has introduced an upgrade scheme where consumers can trade in old hardware like netbooks and laptops and receive up to £125 off a new tablet. The upgrade programme is only available for the Viewpad from participating retailers. Go to www.viewpadupgrade.com to learn more.

The ViewPad 7 will retail for £399 expected to hit stores on 15 November whereas the ViewPad 10 will be available at £499 from the 1st November.

please sign in to rate this article

 

Nikon My Picturetown 3D service converts 2D pics to 3D for glassless viewing on NF-300i Digital Photo Frame

Since it’s the age of 3D Nikon has decide to take the technology to their Digital Photo Frames instead of to the source i.e. the camera. They’ve announced that a new service will be up and running soon that will allow users to convert a standard image into a 3D picture that’s viewable with the naked eye. The service is called ‘my Picturetown 3D’. Typically it’s an extension of Nikon’s existing ‘my Picturetown’ service that was designed to help you share and store image files on the net. The NF-300i is one of the frames that will support this service and Nikon also plans on delivering 3D image and video contents to the device. You’ll also be able to share 3D images with other frames. 

Microsoft Xbox 360 with enhanced flash memory of 4GB is out for Rs. 15,000

Microsoft India recently announced to launch latest version of Xbox 360 for with 4GB internal flash memory.

Microsoft India earlier launched 250GB Slim Xbox 360 for Rs. 22,000 in August,
The specifications of the device includes 45nm 3.2GHz Xenon PPC microprocessors and the same 500MHz ATI built Xenos GPU. It also incorporates the same cooling setup with heatsink and two small fans that ensure proper cooling. The 4GB Xbox 360 also has Kinect port, five USB ports and onboard optical digital audio.
It also includes has a Wi-Fi adaptor, touch-sensitive buttons for power and eject functions.
The enhanced version of Xbox 360 in black colour will go on sale from end of October at the price of Rs. 15,000.

Maruti Suzuki Kizashi launch in Nov., will the car make it big in India?

Come November and Maruti will be seen launching Kizashi, Maruti’s latest and first entrant to country’s D segment automobile market. Maruti Suzuki Kizashi will be auto maker’s first and probably the most courageous attempt to debut into the country’s mid sized sedan market which is already ruled by some of the big and most experienced players in the segment including Toyota, Volkswagen, Honda and more.
Maruti which has remained the uncrowned king of the small and compact segment cars has poor understanding of the D segment and definitelylacks much of experience in handling the premium customers. The same is proved by company’s poor performance with Baleno, Grand Vitara and SX4.

The new car Maruti Kizashi will come with an approximate price tag of Rs. 18 lac and is pitted against Honda Civic, the much popular and successful mid sized sedan in the country. Kizashi which was launched in the US and Japan in 2009 was displayed at the Auto Expo in Delhi in 2010 where company announced its plans to launch it in India. The sedan is expected to create a niche for itself among the big players and looks, price and performance will decide that for it. Today customers have a wide choice in the C/D segment and to make them shift towards Maruti will be a gigantic task for the automaker.

Kizashi is the first car by Maruti Suzuki that comes in a price bracket of Rs. 15-18 lac and to justify the expensive price tag Maruti needs to show a lot of creativity with the car in terms of muscle, style and looks to be able to hit the right cord with the Indian luxury car customers. Kizashi features a 2400cc engine with a peak power of 131 KW @6500 rpm and maximum torque of 230@ 4000 rpm. The vehicle has 6-speed manual transmission and accelerates from 0-60 mph in 8.0 seconds. The sedan boasts of a well sculpted body that oozes muscularity. It is the perfect combination of Japanese craftsmanship and European looks.

The interior of Kizashi are equally stylish and feature rich. It has a spacious cabin and comes with leather seats. The instrument panel is equipped with Bluetooth and iPod connect. The safety features include an exceptionally rigid unibody, 6 airbags and four wheel disc brakes.

It remains to be seen that whether Kizashi makes it big at the D segment as it did for the hatchbacks and compact cars in Indiaor slips into the segment of low cost bigger sedan. Kizashi is definitely a make or break situation for Maruti in the mid size sedan segment.

Spice Mobile Launches 3D Phone in India, No Glasses Needed

The M-67 3D is India’s first 3D phone and comes with an auto-stereoscopic display, which allows users to view 3D videos without using any kind of special glasses.

Even though the manufacturer doesn't say what kind of technology is behind the phone's 3D display, but it most likely has limited viewing angles.

Besides its rather small 2.4-inch display, the device also employes a special media player that lets users switch between 2D and 3D modes.

The handset is also including a 3D Image Viewer, as well as 3D UI, which boosts the phone's 3D experience.

The 3D phone is also dual SIM and comes with a 2-megapixel camera with digital zoom, scene mode, white balance and color effect, MP3 player.

Other key features of the phone include: FM Radio, FM Recording, 3.5 mm audio jack, microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 16GB).

Spice M-67 3D will be available on the market soon and will be sold through 50,000 retail outlets, as well as 750 SpiceHotSpot stores all over India.

The 3D phone has been price tagged at Rs. 4,299 (about $97 USD), which seems extremely cheap for such a technologically advanced handset.

I got my doubts on the 3D display that the phone is advertised with, as well as the quality of the technology behind it.

Especially, that it has been designed and manufactured by a handset maker that is know for its entry-level mobile phones. 

Nokia C5-03 a budget smartphone

Nokia has launched an inexpensive smartphone today. The phone packs in a 3.2 inch resistive touch panel supporting a resolution of 640 x 360 pixels, a 5 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi. Bluetooth 2, Micro SD card slot, FM radio and powering all this will be Symbian^1 (i.e. S60 5th Edition). The phone will operate on the quadband GSM/EDGE and triband WCDMA (900/1900/2100). It measures 105.8 mm x 51.0 mm x 13.8 mm (L x W x H) and weighs 93g. The C5-03 sports a talktime of 11.5 hours and standby time of 24 days, it is scheduled to go on sale later this year for $240.

Strand Craft 122 super yacht listed on JamesList for $27.6 million

All you luxury yacht lovers, who had fallen head over heels with the concept Strand Craft 122 super yacht, here is some interesting news for you. Well, for starters, the super yacht is no longer just a concept. The concept has materialized into a reality and is actually up for grabs on JamesList. For a cool €20 million ($27.6 million) Gray Design of Sweden is actually willing to build you your very own Strand Craft 122 super yacht. The powerful super yacht that can achieve speeds of 55 knots features high gloss mahogany inlays on the foredeck and all-glass atrium covering the cockpit. The retro-futuristic styled interior is made up of four large, bedrooms, reception and salon areas alongside comfortable crew cabins. But the highlight of this super yacht as our readers might remember was the concept supercar that came parked in the yachts garage. Ending all speculation surrounding the mystery car, we give you all details on the concept creation you will find housed in this super yacht.

The specially designed concept car is a handcrafted carbon fibre supercar which is a completely one-off design closely resembling the genetic form and fashion of the mothership. Powered by a rear mounted, 880hp twin-turbo V12 engine, this specially designed supercar boasts of a top speed of 375 km/h and can reach 0-60 mph in 3.2 seconds. The hydraulic garage door rises upwards and deploys a retractable passarelle to become a dockside driveway.

Dell Venue Pro with WP7 Unveiled

At Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 launch event, Dell has unveiled new Venue Pro slider smartphone.

This is the same Windows Phone 7 running Dell Lightening handset that was unveiled back in April. Yes, this one of its kind portrait slider that has 4.1-inch touchscreen and a portrait QWERTY keyboard. Dell Venue Pro would be first available via T-Mobile in the early November. Its pricing details are currently unknown.


Dell Venue Pro has massive 4.1-inch WVGA OLED capacitive multi-touch display that has been manufactured by Samsung. On top of that, Dell has used Gorilla Glass surface for the better durability and making it scratch resistant. Gorilla Glass has also been used in the recently introduced Dell Streak tablet-smartphone. 

Internally, the Dell Venue Pro will have 1GHz Qualcomm's Snapdragon QSD8250 microprocessor that will make Windows Phone 7 run smoothly with 1GB ROM and 512MB DDR SDRAM.


Photography would be fun with 5 megapixel autofocus camera. Venue Pro will support H.263, H.264, 3GP, MPEG4, WMV and DivX video formats. Now this might give some competition to Android 2.2 and bada OS running Samsung smartphones that support DivX out of the box.


Other features of the Dell Venue Pro include Wi-Fi *(802.11 b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.1 EDR, G-sensor, eCompass, Proximity sensor, light sensor, FM Radeo, GPS and 1400 mAh battery. 

Binatone brings Android Touch Tablet to India at Rs. 9,000

Binatone, the UK-based leading international telecom giant, enters in Indian Market with the launch of its Touch Tablet at a very affordable price as low as Rs. 9,000. The all new Home Surf Touch tablet, which is almost as slim as the iPad, runs Android 1.6, has an 8 inch resistive screen, Wi-Fi, 2 GB onboard storage, 128 MB RAM and is powered by an ARM 11 667 MHz processor. But the killer is the price: Rs 9,000, which is less than half that charged by other Android tablets available in the market today. The 8” Home Surf Touch Tablet based on Android technology powered by Google.

The New Digital Casio Calculator

Kids these days. Why, when I was taking Calculus, we had to use graph paper, and the pixels on our TI-83s were so big that you couldn’t tell whether you were looking at paraboli or hyperboli! The games were simpler back then, too. Drug War. Race. Janky Asteroids. Now you’ve got a full-color screen and more power than I had in my third computer!

Yeah yeah, time goes on. And Casio is attempting to take the crown from Texas Instruments by putting out this ridiculous beast, the Prizm SMPR. Sure, the 9850 does color, but not like this. You’ll probably be playing Game Boy Advance games on its ~165×165 screen and its 65,536 colors.

Casio has made the colors correspond to different functions or classifications of data, and includes a bunch of pictures with mathematical qualities (naturally-occurring curve functions and such). Not bad, but at $130, I suppose it’s more aimed at the seasoned graphing calculator aficionado than the high school junior. Kids, I tell you, they don’t know how good they have it.

HTC Desire HD and HTC Desire Z Smartphones Launched

HTC Corporation, a global leader in mobile phone innovation and design, today launched the next generation HTC Sense while showcasing two new flagship smartphones, the Desire HD and HTC Desire Z which epitomize the perfect blend of innovative hardware design and mobile services with operators in Asia, including : Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone in Taiwan, SoftBank in Japan, CSL in Hong Kong, Vodafone in India and Australia, Korea Telecom in Korea, SingTel、Starhub and M1 in Singapore, Maxis in Malaysia and Mobiphone in Vietnam.

“The support of our customer and partners inspires us to innovate and drive the user experience to a whole new level and HTCSense.com is a great example of this,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. “HTCSense.com, and the new HTC Sense user experience comprise a holistic approach we’re taking to enhancing the experience our customers have on our phones.”

Lu Shyue-Ching , Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Chunghwa Telecom: ”Chunghwa Telecom and HTC have enjoyed a long and successful partnership which has contributed to the growth of Taiwan’s mobile telephony market. Smartphones like the HTC Desire have been well received and the premium HTC Desire HD will offer even greater consumer choice, which I believe will add to the growing popularity of the Android OS in Taiwan. Chunghwa Telecom’s emome and HTC will offer consumers more intuitive services and limitless delight. For example, HTCSense.com prevents access to valuable data should you lose your mobile phone, while the mPro mobile briefcase offers backup for your contacts, calendar and email, providing added security and peace of mind.”

Harvey Chang, President and Chief Executive Officer, Taiwan Mobile Co, said: “Location-based and mapping services is one of the hottest areas in mobile applications today, but the actual experience can often be slow and not up to expectations. HTC has anticipated this by delivering mapping functions which not only offers instantaneous map data views and updates, but allows users to manipulate the maps to fit their needs and orientation instead of the other way round. This attention to the small but critical details and user needs is just one of the key ways that HTC and Taiwan Mobile demonstrate care and attention to our customers.”

Yvonne Li, President Far EasTone, said: “The mobile industry is constantly evolving and changing, and users play an important role in shaping these changes. That’s why one of the core tenets of Fareastone’s brand philosophy is being able to continually meet the challenge of meeting their needs by providing even more innovative, interesting and convenient services. This resonates with HTC’s brand commitment, focus on innovation and dedication to providing intuitive and considerate services. We are delighted to be able to offer the HTC Desire Z following the success of the HTC Aria, and are fully committed to this partnership, which we believe will create an even better experience that will touch the hearts of users.”

Availability and pricing: The new HTC Desire HD and HTC Desire Z will be available through mobile operators and retailers across major Asian markets from November 2010.  The HTC Desire HD will be available at all Chunghwa Telecom and Taiwan Mobile retail stores and authorised dealers, with the HTC Desire Z available through Far EasTone outlets. The recommended retail prices for the HTC Desire HD and HTC Desire Z are NTD20,900 and NTD18,900 respectively.

Nintendo Celebrates Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary With A ‘Mario Red’ Wii

Of course the blinding red hue of this Wii console isn’t that exciting to be honest, but what it comes with is. The Mario edition Wiis will include a pre-installed special copy of Super Mario Bros. on the Virtual Console where all of the coin blocks now bear the number 25 instead of a question mark. They’ll go on sale on November 11 in Japan for ~$240 (¥20,000) and I’m going to assume will be available in limited quantities.

A whole Family of Sony Google TVs announced with prices, go up from 24” to 46”

The reality of Google TV is beginning to… well, to get real. We’ve seen the Sony prototypes at IFA, the Sony controller that leaked on NBC and now we’ve got a whole ‘family' of Google TV’s from Sony with models in various prices ranges depending of course on the size you want. The models - NSX-24GT1, NSX-32GT1, NSX-40GT1, NSX-46GT1 correspond to the sizes of the TV. For example the NSX-40GT1 is a 40-inch TV and so on. The price list has also made it out this time. The NSX-32GT1 will set you back a cool $1299.99, the NSX-40GT1 is priced at $1499.99 and the NSX-46GT1 at $1899.99. The price tag on the 24 incher is still unknown. Let’s be honest here, we didn’t expect these to be cheap but they aren’t too high priced either all things considered.

Shop for the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible on the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book 2010

Neiman Marcus’s Christmas Book is one of the most awaited Christmas offerings every year. The car to land in this year’s book is none other than the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible. Now you might say that the car is not due for sale till next spring. But anything is possible in Christmas. And bending the rules solely for the Christmas season and Neiman Marcus, Chevrolet is building a special-edition run of 100 convertibles, which is dubbed the Neiman Marcus Edition Camaro Convertible. There is no doubt that this $75,000 special edition car is sure to appeal to every car enthusiast. The special edition car’s "Deep Bordeaux" exterior paint and "ghosted" rally stripes make sure it commands attention.

The tri-coat metallic paintjob shifts the colors with the light. Finishing touches to the exterior are provided by a color-matched cloth top and windshield. The interior features leather accents, amber-and-black-colored leather seats, red accents on the console, steering wheel, and shifter, as well as Deep Bordeaux accents on the dash and door panels. As for performance the car is based completely on the 2011 Camaro SS Convertible and boasts of no upgrades.

The book along with the car is on display at in Neiman Marcus' flagship store in Dallas. Orders open at noon Eastern October 19.

Gresso Luxor World Time mobile phone for globetrotting businessmen

Here is one mobile phone that is sure to be usurped by the globetrotting business men and women of today. Created by Gresso, the aforementioned phone is christened Luxor World Time and is truly a one of a kind creation. Making use of not one but six different watch mechanisms, this mobile phone beckons those who follow the universal time. Boasting of a power reserve of 10 years, the watch on the back panel of this mobile phone displays time of the five main world business centres: Tokyo, Moscow, Paris, London and New York while the owner sets the time ‘sixth’ time by himself.

The screen and the face of the clock are fringed with two 97-carat sapphire crystals with high-gloss coating. The case is produced from ultra-strong and superlight titanium alloy and coated with high-tech ceramics. A bezel made of planished steel with black PVD coating is present on the front panel while a decoration from genuine Italian leather adorns the back panel. What is more, each key on the keypad of this mobile phone is made of sapphire single crystal and polished manually.

The exquisite phone with a timepiece on its back panel has an asking price of $6000. Gresso also offers prospective buyers of this model a personalization option which allows buyers to create unique image of one’s mobile phone and the opportunity to select various elements of design and materials (smart crocodile or carbon leather, titanium, high-tech ceramics). For this, buyers can also log on to the Gresso websiteand try out different variations of the phone courtesy the Configurator service.

If you aren’t a globe trotter but are still a fan of Gresso’s luxe phone, you may want to check out Gresso’s Luxor Collection or even the Gresso Grand Monaco Red Alligator Skin cell phone which has been designed exclusively for women.

Guess the Gadget and win Pantaloon Gift Vouchers

Motorola Droid Pro is the latest in the range with even more goodies and in an all new shell

Now Android hasn’t really been an OS for the hardcore business users. Let’s face it; it’s really designed around social networking although it does have quite a few business-friendly tools as well. Motorola is going to town with their Droid rage of Android devices as a new one is out called the Moto Droid Pro that has incorporated a new look around Android. They’ve decided that the slide out QWERTY is just not what the business guys want so out came the candy bar form with a QWERTY keypad. It looks similar to Palm Pixie doesn’t it? The Droid Pro is loaded up with a 1GHz OMAP 3620 processor with an MDM6600 chipset, 512MB of memory and 2GB of onboard storage (very handy). It also features 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1.

Dell Streak Unveiled for Rs. 34,990 in India

Dell has just launched its smartphone-tablet device Streak in India. Arriving with a bang, the Dell Streak would be sold in India for a whopping Rs. 34,990. This device is available with Tata DoCoMo post paid connection with 500MB Free data connection usage for the first six months. This tablet-smartphone has a 5-inch multi-touch supporting capacitive display. Running Android 1.6 mobile op, the Dell Streak is expected to get Android 2.2 Froyo update before the end of this year.

Streak's surprise arrival might shake Samsung Galaxy Tab's launch which is due any time this month.

Amongst the hustle of Apple iPad and the freshly announced Samsung Galaxy Tab, the new Dell Streak makes an early official entry to lure the Indian consumers. A blend of tablet with smartphone, Streak can actually make and receive voice calls. The 5-inch capacitive multi-touch supporting Gorilla glass screen offers 800x480 pixel resolution. Its Gorilla glass screen offers high-quality crystal clear image and is scratch-resistant. Dell has added ultra-intelligent facial proximity and ambient light sensors that auto-adjust the screen brightness and also save the battery life accordingly.

The Dell Streak houses 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 processor along with 512MB ROM and 512MB SDRAM. For the shutterbugs, Streak carries a 5 megapixel auto focus camera with dual LED flash and a VGA front facing camera. A video chat function, to make the best of front facing VGA video camera, is on the anvil. The tablet will also have 2GB internal storage that is meant only for file system and OS.

Yes, Dell Streak runs Android 1.6 which is a bit surprising but the company promises to release Android 2.2 Froyo for it soon. Last month, UK based Dell Streak owners received Android 2.1 update. 

Take a look at basic specifications of the Dell Streak:

• Sharp 5-inch capacitive multi-touch Gorilla glass WVGA (800 480) display
• 1GHz Snapdragon ARM-based mobile processor from Qualcomm
• UMTS / GPRS / EDGE class 12 GSM radio with link speeds of HSDPA 7.2 Mbps / HSUPA
• 5 MP auto focus camera with dual LED flash
• VGA front-facing camera enables video chat functionality down the road
• User-removable (and replaceable) battery
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• Integrated 3G + Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) + Bluetooth 2.1 (think headsets, external keyboards, stereo headsets, etc.)
• Micro SD slot expandable up to 32GB.

Panasonic says welcome to The Jungle, a new age in portable console gaming

So Panasonic is also into the portable gaming console market now with their system that’s named ‘The Jungle’. I have no idea why they’ve called it that if you do, please let us in on it. It looks like a little netbook complete with a full QWERTY keyboard and what looks like separate navigation controls above it, possibly touch sensitive. There’s no word on the size or display resolution of the screen but Engadget says - super high-resolution display. It’s got a 3.5mm earphone jack, mini HDMI port and a micro USB port and is running on a custom Linux OS. There’s also word that Panasonic will launch a Battlestar Galactica title for the device, and a web show called Online Underground. I’ll admit that sounds a tad exciting. ‘The Jungle’ console has also show up on an MTV’s on Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory show.

New Jaguar C-X75 is super-fast, super-clean, super slick hybrid concept

Jaguar is out with their new C-X75 which is quiet literally a ‘super’-car. It’s part automobile part rocket ship and part nature lover since it’s a hybrid. Maybe that’s a little bit exaggerated but read on. According to Crave.co.uk, it’s faster than the Lamborghini LP640, has a greater top speed than a Ferrari 458 Italia, and is cleaner than the Toyota Prius. Sounds a bit undeliverable. The C-X75 is powered by a floor-mounted lithium-ion battery pack, electric motors at each wheel and if that you’re out of juice with no electric socket in the close vicinity, no problem. The car is also equipped with two 70kW (94bhp) micro gas turbines with a 60 liter tank for fuel. The fuel mixes with air and can ignite and charge the batteries. The batteries can work in tandem with the turbines and the company says with this in motion, the C-X75 should go from 0 to 60mph in just 3.5 seconds. Top speed would be 205mph. I have just one thing to say… WOW!