An Android Phone That Can Beat the iPhone?

Android phones are being thrusts into the consumer market from all angles these days. In this podcast, the panel goes into detail on Android phones’ strengths and why these new smartphones are more than just an ‘iPhone wannabe.’ With every Android phone that comes out there is always something unique and new about it. That panel digs deep to predict what Android phone will be the next ‘it’ phone, and what carrier and marketing efforts will be needed for an Android phone to out sell the iPhone. Read More!

LaCie Brings USB 3.0 to Dual-Drive RAIDs

Lacie's 2Big USB 3.0 will offer throughput of up to 275 MB/s and capacities up to 4 terabytes.

Peripheral and storage vendor LaCie has announced its 2Big USB 3.0 dual-drive RAID system, which the company claims is the first of its kind on the market. The 2Big USB 3.0 offers a dual disk configuration supporting up to 4 TB of storage and RAID 0 and RAID 1 support—and, thanks to a USB 3.0 bridge controller from Symwave—can push up to 275 MB/s, which is the kind of number that makes high-definition video editors get a gleam in their eye.

“Our customers have long awaited a robust, super fast interface to enable a better workflow. Symwave’s industry-leading dual SATA bridge controller enabled us to address this demand, and to achieve the highest speed ever obtained with a dual-disk solution,” said LaCie marketing director Minh Lê, in a statement. “LaCie intends to lead the market transition to USB 3.0 technology and will launch a full range of products in the coming months.”

LaCie plans to ship the 2Big USB 3.0 in early 2010, and will have the drive on show at CES in January. No specific ship date, capacity options, or pricing information has been announced. Read More!

Nokia ships E72 and 5800 Navigation Edition to the USA

We know it's the N900 you're jonesing for, but if you're looking to let those "other guys" put Maemo 5 through the ringer while you continue to use an OS that's been around the block, Nokia's got two more for you to choose from starting today. Both the QWERTY-packin' E72 ($407) and eager-to-route 5800 Navigation Edition have started to ship to America (according to the company, anyway), with the former listed as "coming soon" on Nokia's webstore and as "in stock on December 10th" over at Amazon. The latter is available to order now for $299 sans contract, so good luck holding off for Google Maps Navigation to make this thing look dated.

Update: Seems this is the second time Nokia has stated that its E72 was available in the US, so we'd probably wait for at least another notification or two before pulling the trigger. Can't ever be too careful!

[via: E72, 5800 Navigation Edition ] Read More!

ZyXEL to debut 'world's first' LTE router at CES 2010

If we're able to avert this looming "spectrum apocalypse" we've heard so much about, it looks like 2010 will be the year that many of you get to partake in LTE. What better way to indulge your lust for airborne data than ZyXEL's newest, the ZLR-2070S LTE CPE/SOHO router? Apparently "the world's first," this guy features two VoIP ports, a four port 802.11n wireless switch, a USB port for storage or printer sharing, and data rates up to 50Mbps. Not bad, eh? We expect to hear more about this one in short order it will make its society debut at next year's CES. Read More!

IEEE will push next 802.11 to 1Gbps speeds, two-letter designations in 2012

WiFi, you've come a long way, baby. Since those groovy days of plain 'ol 802.11, to your first single-letter designation, all the way up to your latest 802.11n ratification you've gotten faster, broader, and almost everywhere. Best of all, you've still got room to grow. If all goes well and Cusack's documentary doesn't prove accurate in 2012 you'll grow to 802.11ac, delivering a blistering 1Gbps and beyond. That's more wireless bandwidth than we'd know what to do with right now, but we'll find a way to use it. We always do. Together. Read More!

Haier's Theater PMP sports a 3-inch touchscreen, recession-friendly price

There are PMPs in every shape and color, and while we've never been particularly fond of Haier's contributions to the segment, its latest might just find a home in that all-important lower-end of the spectrum. It packs a three-inch capacitive touchscreen of undisclosed resolution, an FM tuner, voice recorder, support for plenty of audio formats, a rather more spartan list of video formats (apparently just AVI and MPEG4), and comes in either four or eight GB sizes. Earth-shattering? No, but at prices of $89 and $99 it's a good value. well, the bigger of the two is, anyway. Who wouldn't drop another $10 for twice the capacity? Read More!

Intel's Larrabee graphics processor delayed, downsized to mere software development platform

Well. NVIDIA has to be loving this. Intel has announced today that not only is its Larrabee graphics chip delayed, that chip which promised to usher in a new era of post-GPU computing, but that it's been downgraded to a "software development platform." Intel isn't even saying what that "software development" will be aimed at, though we have to assume it would be some future version of the hybrid GPU / CPU chip. As to when the kit itself might arrive is anybody's guess, Intel is merely saying "next year." Meanwhile we can look forward to Intel's first example of a GPU / CPU hybrid in the upcoming Pineview Atom processor, which kicks those lackluster integrated graphics to the curb and moves everything onto the CPU. Who knows if that will be enough to quell the NVIDIA's quiet takeover of the higher-end netbook space with its ION graphics, but with Intel's current track record in the graphics space, we doubt it.

[via: Cnet] Read More!

Dell creates communications division for push into handheld market

Turns out Mini 3i is only the beginning. Dell has announced plans to create a new Communications Group with a focus on mobile phones and similar portable devices. Current consumer division head and former Motorola exec Ron Garriques will take the helm. Not much else to say at this point, but make no mistake, Dell is now officially in the phone business for the long haul.

[via: The Wall Street Journal] Read More!

ViewSonic Releases Two New IPS Panel LCD Displays

ViewSonic announced the commercial availability of its 23” VP2365wb and 26” VP2655wb IPS panel LCD displays. The company says the monitors leverage the power of “true IPS panel technology,” making them ideal for professional designers, manufacturers, and even movie production. The 23” VP2365wb IPS true color monitor couples wide viewing angles with 1920×1080 full HD resolution, while the 26” VP2655wb IPS monitor offers 118% NTSC wide color gamut by OptiColor, super wide 178/178 degree viewing angles and 1920×1200 resolution.

“IPS panel technology is a must have for professionals in image-rich industries, such as graphic artists. Without enhanced viewing angles and accurate color reproduction, they simply cannot do their jobs,” said Jeff Volpe, vice president and general manager of ViewSonic North America. “Our new LCD monitors are designed with these professionals in mind, providing them with a true picture and color quality to make projects come alive.”

ViewSonic says these two monitors have their strongest pixel performance guarantee and come with a three-year limited warranty on parts, labor and backlight. The monitors are now available with the VP2365wb for an ESP of $399 and the VP2655wb for a respective $1,299. Read More!

Fujitsu LifeBook UH900 has multitouch, world-beating ambitions

What's in a name these days? If we didn't call this a UMPC or told you it can run Windows 7, it could just be a pretty huge clamshell smartphone. The freshly announced LifeBook UH900 sports a 5.6-inch "vivid glare screen," (we'll put that down to a bad translation), 3.5G wireless connectivity, and even goes so far as to lay claim to being the world's smallest multitouch-capable PC. Take that, VAIO P! Still, the 62GB SSD and WXGA display resolution obviously set it apart from the phone crowd, as will the Atom Z530 inside -- it might outperform your ARM CPU, but will also ensure you never leave the house without a charger (just 3-hours in eco mode). Fujitsu has yet to spill pricing details, but CNET informs us the non-UMTS version will be ready in January, with the more advanced hotness coming at a later date. Read More!