A lens that can look behind itself -- the very idea of it nearly boggles the mind, but it's what the Fisheye-Nikkor 6mm f2.8s claims to be able to do, delivering a viewing angle of 220-degrees. This gargantuan fisheye lens was introduced in 1972, and was reportedly only available through special order. The price of getting your hands on one today? Oh, only about £100,000 ($161,210 American) for a lens in mint condition, and only from Grays of Westminster, a London Camera shop that deals exclusively in Nikon products. It isn't the first time this prodigious piece of glass has shown up, two years ago an identical lens hit eBay to the tune of $34,020 -- a veritable bargain, by comparison. Check out the source link below to peek at the sale. Wallet can't take the damage? Scope out "more coverage" for a bit of Nikon history.
Maingear's Shift is a force to be feared, but it generally requires an entire wing of one's home to be assembled and configured. Hyperbole aside, there's no question that Maingear's aiming to branch out somewhat after the aforesaid rig's successful run, today teasing an "all new line of desktops." We're told to expect smaller designs with "clean" aesthetics, Vertical Exhaust cooling technology and third-generation Intel Core processors (with factory overclocked options, naturally). Prices are slated to start at $899, though there's no real clue as to when we'll see these things up for pre-order. Here's hoping you didn't plop down an order last week, huh?
Up until now, we haven't actually had any confirmation of what Samsung's upcoming superphone would be named. We've had plenty of reason to believe that it'd simply be the third iteration of the famed Galaxy S line, and even an Amazon Germany page predicting as much, but it's another thing entirely to see the term "Galaxy S3" used by Samsung itself. Indeed, that's exactly what's happening with the release of its Mobile Unpacked 2012 app, which will allow prospective users to stream the event as it happens in London on May 3rd, while also gathering facts and figures once the event passes. Whether or not the whole GSIII thing sticks remains to be seen, but if you're curious, we'll also be on hand to liveblog every revealing second of it.
Bathtime isn't just for luxuriating in champs and bubbles as part of an MTV-guided tour of your Manhattan high-rise (we're looking at you Ms. Carey). It's also for taking some well-deserved time off to undo pent up stress and get yourself clean with the help of an audiovisual assault. Which is why Kohler's rolling out a new line of its Underscore baths with VibrAcoustic tech that incorporates lighting, sound and vibrations to help "bathers... drift into deep relaxation" -- just not so deep they pass out and drown. The systems range in price from $1,055 to $4,634, with the Chromotherapy feature reserved for the higher end models, and come bundled with a touchscreen unit that can connect to mobile devices for audio streaming. Of course, there are also four pre-loaded tracks composed by a sound therapy specialist specifically calibrated to sync your breathing up with preset beat and chord patterns and get you to calm down. It's a whole new world of hygiene just waiting for you to take the plunge. So, if you've got money to burn and New Age-y predilections, this is your next bathtub.
We've covered no shortage of wearable gizmos over the years here at Engadget -- in fact, we've given 'em their own category -- but we most certainly haven't spent enough time praising one of the pioneers of the segment. Thanks to a highly pleasing Google Doodle, we're given the perfect chance to take a harder look at one Gideon Sundback, the electrical engineer responsible for developing the zipper. It's been called a "fly," prominently featured in an Outkast song and positively shunned on the Snuggie, and it's also a huge, huge part of worldwide culture. For those looking to learn more about the man, the myth and the mystery, head on down to the Wikipedia link below; if you just want to unzip your browser, well... click here.
Just under two months after LG's Optimus Vu got priced for the hometown market, in flies news that another hue will soon be on those very same shelves. The 5-inch, 4:3 ratio'd Android smartphone will soon hit South Korea in white, purportedly targeting the "younger" market -- you know, folks who like "cool" things (LG's translated words, not ours). Folks can look for the device -- which should remain unchanged outside of the external color -- to hit SK Telecom as early as next week, but there's no word on when (or if) it'll spread to other markets.
Looks like Espoo's finally ready to do the Tango with Lumia owners. According to a report on Nokiapoweruser, updates for localized variants of the 710 and the China-only 800c have been spotted on NaviFirm, indicating a planned firmware rollout for those WP 7.5 devices is underway. Users in Belgium, the Netherlands and Vietnam who download the software should see that previously dormant internet sharing ability enabled, in addition to the installation of a trio of Nokia apps -- Sportstracker, News and Creative Studio -- as standard on handsets. No word on when the company intends to release the package to other markets, but with this latest news, it can't be far off now.
Reckoning it's about time you replaced that copy of Windows 8 Consumer Preview? Microsoft is right there with you. According to the outfit's Building Windows 8 Twitter account, the next major installment of Win8 is due out in "the first week of June," with the Windows 8 Release Preview to hit the intertubes at that time. Go ahead and take off the whole week in preparation -- we're sure you can think of a few DIY activities to bide your time in the event of a Friday release. (Oh, and in case you're wondering, this is just yet another step in the march to a hopeful October ship date for the final build of Windows 8.)
We've been fortunate enough to hitch a ride on Boeing's 787 within the Land of the Rising Sun, but now the Dreamliner has hopped the Pacific with passengers on board, departing Tokyo Narita and landing at Boston's Logan International Airport around noon on Sunday. The JAL service marks New England's first Asia route, enabled by the 787's efficient design which lets airlines fly to lower-demand cities without wasting fuel on empty seats. The 787 will be making the 6,869-mile journey four times a week through May 31st, at which point daily service will begin, with flight 7 departing Boston at 1:20PM and arriving in Tokyo at 4 the following afternoon. Passengers on flight 8 will leave Tokyo at 11:30AM and land in Boston at 11:20AM on the same day. This is likely to be your best opportunity to ride a US-bound Dreamliner until United begins service later this year, so hit up the source link to get your fix, priced upwards of $1,500 for dates throughout the summer.
It's not every day that ST-Ericsson crosses our radar twice, but in addition to reportedly signing a deal with HTC for developing low-end handset chips, the company just announced its plans for a turnaround. The message? A heavier focus on SoCs for smartphones and tablets, along with a push for even more partnerships to develop those products. While that all sounds rosy, ST-Ericsson is also ceding its application processor business -- employees, R&D and all -- to STMicroelectronics. All told, between the loss of its application processor business and other reshuffling, the company expects to shed around 1,700 jobs -- and save about $320 million annually. Those bittersweet details and more await you in the press release after the break.
Major League Baseball has Cooperstown, Robots have their HOF in Pittsburgh and now we finally have a Hall of Fame to call our own. Today marks the inaugural set of Pioneers, Innovators and Global Connectors inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame, having taken place at an Internet Society conference in Geneva, Switzerland. The web HOF is part of an initiative by the nonprofit organization to "celebrate the advancements of 33 talented people who have made significant contributions to the design, development, and expansion of the internet." Among these are folks such as the Father of the Internet Vint Cerf, ARPANET engineer Paul Baran and the 45th US Vice President Al Gore, just to mention a few names. Between the 2012 inductees there were nine different countries represented, 11 PhDs, 11 published authors and a winner of an Academy Award and Nobel Prize. Interested in knowing who else made it in? The full list of inductees can be found at the source below.
Today is officially Ivy Bridge day, in case you didn't already know. Intel took the wraps off the latest member of its processor family and the internet wasted no time putting the flagship Core i7-3770K through its paces. The 3.5GHz quad-core desktop chip comes packing not only some architectural tweaks, but a brand new integrated GPU in the form of the HD 4000. Oh, and it does all this using a brand new 22nm manufacturing process and 3D "Tri-Gate" transistors. What does that mean for you, the user? Lower power consumption, better performance and, surprisingly, unbelievably fast media transcoding. When AnandTech turned its eyes towards Quick Sync, the on-die media transcode engine introduced with Sandy Bridge, the 3770K practically buried the competition. Using Cyberlink Media Espresso the new chip turned a DRM-stripped Blu-ray of Harry Potter (130 minutes of 1080p video) into an iPad friendly format in just seven minutes without taxing the CPU.
At idle, power consumption hasn't changed much, but when TechSpot put the pedal to the metal things looked quite a bit different. The new i7-3770K sucked down just 147 watts, which was even four watts less than lower clocked i5-2500K. And, of course, it delivered much better performance. In fact, in Bit-Tech's tests, the only chip that was able to routinely best it was the hexa-core 3960X Extreme Edition -- and even that CPU barely eked out its victories. While AMD's offerings simply can't compete with Intel's on pure performance or power consumption, it does still outrun run Chipzilla's GPU. The HD 4000 is, undeniably, a huge step forward for the Core line, but it falls just short of matching the A8's integrated Radeon on Tech Report's tests. For more benchmarks than your heart can handle check out the pile of links below.
HTC's hotly anticipated One X isn't supposed to ship to AT&T customers until May 6th, but there's a reason we're emphasizing the whole "supposed" thing. One lucky reader has seemingly managed to convince one particular store to sell them a handset early, with $199 (and a new two-year agreement) being all it took to grab hold of what'll undoubtedly be one of 2012's strongest Android phones. There's a gallery of shots below as proof, and if you'd like to try your luck at a local outfit, we certainly won't step up to stop you. (But look, you'll probably be waiting a few more weeks -- just sayin'.)
April's been kind to fans of Sprint's forthcoming HTC EVO 4G LTE, as it's brought us leaked pics of the handset and its ruby-red kickstand, proffered a video preview of it in action, and even gave a glimpse of how it's made. We also found out that pre-orders weren't set to start until May 7th, but Sprint's gone ahead and put the pre-order page up a bit early. See for yourself at the source link below, where forgetful Now Network customers can get Sprint to send them an email reminder to plunk down their hard-earned cash and reserve the new EVO in a couple weeks. Wouldn't want to forget and be among that second wave of owners, now would you?
Well, wouldn't you know it, but T-Mobile -- the only nationwide AWS service provider in the US -- objects to Verizon's purchase of additional AWS spectrum. The company's CEO, Philipp Humm, recently took his concerns to the chief of the FCC's wireless bureau, Rick Kaplan, where he argued that Verizon's proposal to shed Blocks A and B of the 700MHz spectrum simply wouldn't be fair shake. According to Humm, Verizon is merely looking to offload its less desirable assets (as Blocks A and B are more prone to interference). While T-Mobile's leader presents a valid point in that Verizon has merely squatted on its current AWS licenses, we can't help but think that Humm would relish in the opportunity for T-Mobile to bid on these licenses. Further, if Verizon were effectively prevented from establishing a nationwide AWS network, it'd certainly reduce competition in the auction house, and therefore bring cheaper licenses to T-Mobile's doorstep. Given that everything in question here is not corporate property, but rather a public resource, what do you think is the best way forward?
Nokia announced earlier today the release of Browser 2.0 for its Series 40 devices, which of course includes the colorful Asha lineup. The update promises an overall speedier and easier browsing experience, this in large part due to the application condensing data by up to 90 percent. In addition to these enhancements, there's also a novel Download Manager in the refresh, giving users the ability to choose where they'd like to save content without leaving the app. Also included in the update is a new multitasking-while-browsing feature (finally!), as well as a social-sharing bit that lets you push out page URLs to sites like Twitter, Facebook, Sina Weibo and RenRen. Browser 2.0 will be native on future Series 40s, but for now those whom already own a small chunk of the 150 billion can grab the goods from the Nokia Store or wait for the OTA package to hit your device.
President Obama may be quite cozy with tech -- what with his predilection for the iPad and those town hall meetings on Facebook -- but he's well aware of its dark side, too. Today he announced that the US will freeze assets and cancel the American visas of Iranian and Syrian agencies tracking dissidents and pro-democracy groups via satellite, computer and phone networks. Among the entities getting the blacklist treatment are the Syrian cellphone company Syriatel, the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian internet provider Datak Telecom. Amid election-year pressure to confront Iran, Obama also addressed the ongoing threat of the country acquiring nukes, but also paid lip service to social media's role in a democracy. "These technologies should be in place to empower citizens, not to repress them," he told an audience of 250 people, according to Reuters. Still, given the limited impact of previous sanctions against Iran, it remains to be seen just how much of an effect Washington's actions have on the human rights situation in either country.
Potential bad news to start out the week for Microsofties: a judge from the US International Trade Commission has issued a preliminary ruling that finds Microsoft's Xbox 360 infringes on five of Motorola's patents. While the decision is by no means final -- which means that the Redmond outfit could ultimately prevail -- a permanent ruling would force Microsoft's hand to seek proper licenses for the technologies, most of which relate to H.264 video encoding. Now it goes back to the lawyers to present their case in front of a panel of ITC judges. Who wants to set odds on the outcome?
That was quick. A mere five days after saying goodbye to his cohorts at Microsoft, former Windows Phone GM Gavin Kim has landed at Mobile NQ as its Chief Product Officer. By joining the mobile privacy and security firm, Kim will be working with a couple of former Samsung colleagues at Mobile NQ -- co-CEO Omar Khan and PR maven Kim Titus. The real question is, with this being Gavin's third career stop in a year, how long will the reunion last?
College pranks usually involve livestock, panties, the use of permanent marker on an unconscious, not-so-innocent partygoer or a combination thereof. But when you gather the cream of the geek crop at a hallowed higher learning institution like MIT, those playful tricks turn into wide-scale works of technical wonderment. Unbeknownst to members of the Earth and Planetary Science departments that inhabit the site of this larger-than-life hack, their building -- long a target for the university's mischievous overachievers -- had its grid-like layout of windows converted into a fully workable version of Tetris, complete with colored "pieces" and increasing levels of difficulty. So, is this merely a case of public performance art or just high-minded shenaningans from some very capable, idle hands? Check out the video below to view this Cambridge, MA-based tomfoolery and decide for yourself.
In keeping with Elop's focus on Asia-based production, Nokia's just broken ground on a new manufacturing facility in Vietnam. The site, located in the country's Bac Ninh province, spans over 17 hectacres and is slated to begin production of mobile devices when it's completed in early 2013. The move marks a shift in strategy for the Finnish company, eyeing unmet demand for smartphones in the region, an area it's deemed a "high growth [economy]." In addition to supplying that emerging market with its portfolio of products, the new plant will also help to create job opportunities for locals -- a welcome turn of fortune given Espoo's recent track record of worldwide layoffs. You can check out the presser below for additional bits surrounding its newly minted Vietnamese arm.
Huawei's annual earnings report is out and it's a mixed bag, since while turnover increased by 11.7 percent to 203.9 RMB ($32.3 billion), profits plummeted 53 percent to 11.6 billion RMB ($1.8 billion). Revenue from overseas sales (138.4 billion RMB) equated for over half the company's total income and it boasted of having sold 150 million consumer devices, including 20 million smartphones in the year. The company didn't provide reasons for the drop in profit, emphasizing that it's increased R&D spending by 34.2 percent to 23.7 billion RMB ($3.75 billion) and that in any event, it's got around $30 billion of assets that can shoulder the brunt of a bad year.
However, the company may not see a rosy 2012 either, after both America and Australia refused to give the company big infrastructure deals (Huawei's bread and butter) thanks to allegedly close relationships between the company and the Chinese government. It seems to be following a similar trajectory to rival ZTE, which also felt margins squeeze as it entered the global retail space and felt the heat when its political dealings were thrown in the spotlight.
While you impatiently await the release of Precise Pangolin this Thursday, we've got some news to hold your little aubergine-loving heart over. Canonical's own Mark Shuttleworth took to the web to announce Ubuntu 12.10, codenamed Quantal Quetzal. If you were hoping the Linux distro would take the tongue-twisting titles down a notch with the next release, well, you're out of luck. We don't have too many details to share release, but Shuttleworth does say that Unity will continue to be tweaked and improved. A visual overhaul is expected to get underway starting with Quetzal, to work out all the bugs in time for the next LTS release, 14.04. Now all you have to do is wait till October 18th for its proper release. (For the more impatient and daring, the first alpha is scheduled to land on June 7th and the first beta on September 6th.) Thankfully, there should be enough new stuff to play with in 12.10 to distract you for at least a little while.
Norton's Identity Safe is a free online service that aims to end the curse of forgotten passwords. If you've got a few social networking accounts, then keeping track of all your keys can be tough. This service remembers all of your log-in details and inputs them automatically when you next visit. It'll warn you about malicious websites and even lock away sensitive data (credit card numbers, social security codes) so if your paperwork goes missing -- you aren't in too much trouble. The companion smartphone / tablet app offers the same integration across all of your devices and is available now for Windows, OS X, iOS and Android gear from today.
Netflix has posted its earnings report for Q1 of 2012, and reveals its streaming subscriber count in the US is currently 23.4 million, after reaching 21.67 million back in January. While the company noted a net loss of about $5 million, the letter from CEO Reed Hastings and CFO David Wells claimed it is still on a "rapid return" to profitability after last year's missteps and international expansions. Worldwide it now counts a total of 26 million subscribers to the streaming service, although it lost another million or so subscribers to discs, which currently number 10.09 million.
Facebook just filed an amended S-1 (that all important document that officially announces its public offering plans) with some new financial info. Now included in the charts and graphs is everything you wanted to know about Q1 of 2012 at Facebook (but were afraid to ask). The new SEC filing reveals that revenues are way up at the social network over last year (a whopping 45 percent higher than Q1 of 2011), but down slightly from last quarter (six percent), settling at a more than respectable $1.058 billion. Facebook was even able to slap a per-user amount on its 900 million active monthly members -- $1.21 -- that's the average revenue for each person with an account at the site. Of course, membership has continued to grow, with 532 million stopping by daily, up from 372 million just a year ago. Of the cash it took in, $872 million of it was ad revenue, which is down from Q4 of 2011 ($943 million) but up significantly from Q1 of last year ($731 million). If you're a sucker for financials hit up the source link.
We'll soon be putting Fujifilm's new interchange able shooter through our own wringer, but in the meantime we found an apt low-light comparison with two of its non-reflex brethren. Although blogging photog Steve Huff admits the tests are "crazy" and depend on the camera's own auto-exposure choices, the results do give some food for thought. How would the pricier rangefinder-bodied X-Pro1 stack up against the Sony NEX-7 and Olympus OM-D E-M5? If we had to guess -- and we really do, given his methodology -- the noise levels on the Fuji at ISO 3200 and 6400 look to be slightly better than the Sony and smaller-sensored Olympus. If you'd like to take a stab at judging for yourself, follow the link below.
Dropbox is one of those tools that makes our lives a lot easier around the Engadget compound and our various satellite lairs. So, it only makes sense that we'd get a little excited when the company updates and improves the file syncing service. Now, sharing is a bit simpler, with the ability to generate a public link for any file or folder and have it open in a web-based viewer. This can be accomplished both from the website and on the desktop by right clicking and selecting get link. Those using the beta version of the Dropbox desktop client have enjoyed some of these features for sometime, but now the full suite of file viewing and folder sharing options are standard issue for all. Check out the PR after the break.
Bill Buxton has spent most of his career getting between humans and computers. While his initial focus was on music and digital instruments, that eventually led to an interest in human-computer interaction, and pioneering work with multitouch systems and other user interfaces. He worked with the famed hotbed of innovation Xerox PARC in the late 1980s and early 90s, and was later Chief Scientist for software firm Alias Wavefront before claiming the same title at SGI Inc. when that company acquired the former in 1995. After a time running his own Toronto-based design and consulting firm, he moved on to Microsoft Research in 2005, where he continues to serve as the organization's Principal Researcher.
We recently had a chance to pick his brain and get his thoughts on a range of issues, including state of design at Microsoft, the future of natural user interfaces, and whether we're really entering a "post-PC" era.
While some might deem the One X's combination of svelte unibody profile, quad-core power and 720p display to be downright witchcraft, we knew differently. Fortunately, there's now scientific proof to back us up, courtesy of PCOnline, which has performed a delicate autopsy on the Chinese variant of HTC's new flagship. To explore that polycarbonate shell, a narrow plastic tool to is eased in behind the screen and around the face of the device, with the majority of the phone's tightly packed innards -- including the Tegra 3 processor -- attached to the display half. Some contacts, however, were left on the inside of the unibody, including the NFC chip. Most of the quad-core thinking parts were clustered around the 8-megapixel sensor, while the battery dominated the center of HTC's big hitter. Anyone who gets their kicks from the gentle undoing of all that engineering hard work can watch it unravel in grisly detail at the source below.
Microsoft has updated its SkyDrive cloud storage and sharing app for Windows Phone -- you know, the one that offers more free storage than a certain competitor. New features include a batch-select tool to make moving files around easier while on the go, the ability to directly manage folder permissions and the quick sharing of files with approved recipients in your People Hub. Version 2.0 is currently available for download in the Marketplace -- even for low-end Windows Phones.
In other news, Microsoft has revealed pricing for its just-launched Skydrive app on Windows desktops, setting you back $10, $25, or $50 a year for an additional 20GB, 50GB or 100GB. Scrapped in the process is the 25 gigs of free storage that Microsoft once offered to new users, now dropping that pro-bono capacity to just 7GBs, save for the lucky few that opted in before the company announced its new pricing structure.
In Boston this fall, you won't need to keep up with your train ticket anymore -- as long as you don't leave your smartphone at home. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and Masabi have joined forces to bring a rail ticketing to handheld devices via iPhone, Android and BlackBerry apps. Headquartered in London, Masabi has launched similar tech for transit companies in the UK, eliminating ticket lines for many smartphone-wielding passengers. Software will allow riders to purchase tickets and passes that are validated with a barcode scan by conductors equipped with mobile devices of their own. MBTA is looking to cut costs and provide added convenience with the new system instead of adding more ticketing kiosks to its stations. The aforementioned apps will be developed alongside focus groups and a small pilot group this summer with a full rollout to all MBTA customers expected to happen this fall. Looking for a bit more info? Hit the coverage and source links below to read on.
Rumors and leaks have been flying fast and furious about Samsung's next handset to be graced with the Galaxy moniker, and we've just gotten one more tidbit. Other than the event invite Sammy sent out last week and a recent video teaser, official info on the handset's been hard to come by. However, Vodafone's just put up a page indicating the carrier will, indeed, get the new superphone and is letting you register for updates on its status. So, we now know at least one carrier that'll have the handset, the question is who else is in line to get the Galaxy?
Microsoft has agreed to sell on around 650 patents to Facebook in a deal worth $550 million. The Haüs of Zuckerberg will stump up the cash in exchange for various social networking patents that were registered by AOL and sold to Redmond for $1 billion a fortnight ago. Microsoft will hold onto the remaining 275 in its portfolio and cross-license those that it's sold on, as well as 300 patents that AOL kept hold of. If you're interested in reading the phrase "protect Facebook's interests over the long term," then head past the break for the official word from the men who invented poking.
This is a vaguely awkward message for NVIDIA to be putting out. On one hand, the company is best buddies with Intel and is hoping to see its next-gen GPUs bundled with a large portion of the Ivy Bridge notebooks that will ship this year. But to reach that target, it must risk irking Chipzilla by emphasizing the limitations of Ivy Bridge's integrated graphics. That's exactly what happened at a recent presentation, when NVIDIA told us there'll be "nothing Ultra" about the performance of a regular Ivy Bridge Ultrabook because the integrated HD 4000 graphics will only handle around 43 percent of current games. By contrast, if you add in a GeForce GT 640M you'll find that 100 percent of current games are playable with frame rates over 30fps and high detail settings, including Battlefield 3, Batman: Arkham City, Crysis 2 and many others. If you leave the lightweight Ultrabook spec behind and combine Ivy Bridge with a GT 670M GPU then you can go even higher -- as we just discovered in our review of the MSI's GT70 gaming laptop. Fortunately, Intel was pretty magnanimous about HD 4000 when it briefed us, and readily accepted that enthusiasts will still want discrete graphics, so we don't imagine the slide above will cause too many hurt feelings.
When NVIDIA unveiled its next-gen Kepler GPU, we were a bit surprised to see its first mobile iteration show up in a so-called Ultrabook. Sure, it was impressive, but we couldn't help but wonder how this mobile chip would perform if someone crammed it into a rig with some real power. Now that Intel's let the cat out of the bag (and into the Ivy) that day has come. Behold: the MSI GT70 gaming laptop. Living up to its next-gen CES promises, this 17.3-inch behemoth falls squarely in the desktop replacement category, at 8.6 pounds, and packs a new 2.3GHz Core i7-3610QM processor, NVIDIA's latest GeForce GTX 670M chip with 3GB of video memory, 16GB of DDR3 RAM and a fancy RAID 0 dual SSD setup -- all wrapped in one hefty, formidable package. So how powerful a combination do Ivy Bridge and Kepler make? Let's find out.
Now that Intel's let the cat out of the bag (and into the Ivy), it's high time we took a look at what manufactures are going to do with those fancy new processors. Behold: The MSI GT70 gaming laptop, one of the first gaming beasts out of the door with Intel's next generation architecture. Living up to its next-gen CES promises, this 17.3-inch behemoth falls squarely in the desktop replacement category, at 8.6 pounds, and packs a new 2.3GHz Core i7-3610QM processor, NVIDIA's latest GeForce GTX 670M chip with 3GB of video memory, 16GB of DDR3 RAM and a fancy RAID 0 dual SSD setup -- all wrapped in one hefty, formidable package. So how powerful a combination do Ivy Bridge and NVIDIA make? Let's find out.
We hear that pilgrims have already started flocking to the town of Ivybridge (population 12,056) in the forested depths of southwest England. Very soon though, you'll be able to pay homage to Moore's Law without travelling further than your favorite online retailer, because the third generation of Intel Core processors has just launched and should be available to buy before the end of this month. These include eight different variants of Core i7 for desktops and notebooks (including Ultrabooks of course), plus five types of Core i5 destined for desktops only. Those watching out for cheaper dual-core i5, i3 and Pentium-branded options will have to wait a little longer, because today's launch is all about the high-end. And just how high is 'high'? Judging from the gossip we've heard, and from benchmarks of leaked desktop and notebook chips, we're looking a significant improvement over Sandy Bridge. But if you want the first official boasts, then read on.
Is your computer positioned just that little bit too far away from your home router to get consistent internet access? Amped Wireless is here for you with a pair of USB adapters that promise you'll never have to tilt your machine to maintain signal again. The UA1000 pushes out 500mW of power over the 2.4GHz band, will clip to your laptop screen and, if you connect it to two USB ports instead of one it'll be even more powerful. Meanwhile, the UA2000 can switch between its high-range 2.4GHz and low-interference 5.0GHz radios to ensure the best reception in the darkest corners of your home or office. The former will set you back $80 while its dual-band cousin retails at $100 and you can pre-order both from today.
Now that the Ivy Bridge cat is out of the bag, you can expect to see a deluge of press releases from PC makers over the coming weeks, each of them saying that this computer or that is getting refreshed with Intel's latest processors. From Acer, at least, we expect multiple announcements: it's only ready to talk about a couple of desktops today, with news around laptops and Ultrabooks coming later. Right now, you can choose from several configurations of the Predator AG3620 gaming tower, with the top-shelf $1,200 model packing a 3.4 GHz Core i7 3770 CPU, NVIDIA GT630 graphics, 16GB of RAM and 2TB of storage space. On the budget end, the $799 Gateway D4860-UR14P will feature a 3.1 GHz Core i5 3450 processor, 6GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive. Both are available now -- you know, if you've been waiting for precisely this sort of thing.
Interesting times to be shopping around for a processor, but what about a new cooler to go with it? This unassuming little work of art is the copper special edition of the NOFAN CR-95C, which is rated to cool CPUs of up to 100W TDP without the need for a fan. Judging from all the Intel and AMD leaks, that level efficiency ought to have you covered regardless of whether you opt for Ivy Bridge or Trinity -- so long as you don't mind hanging around until June, because FanlessTech reckons we won't see it go on sale any sooner.
Canadians looking to hunt down the smallest addition to HTC's One series are in luck. According to a MobileSyrup tipster, it'll arrive on Bell next week, in all its aluminum unibody glory. While the One X looks to be confined to Rogers in the Land of the Maple Leaf, both the One S and One V are going to be offered by Bell Mobility. The mole also hinted at pricing below CND $300, matching those entry-level credentials we've explored just recently. Not a fan of Bell? Don't get disheartened -- the Android 4.0 minnow will also make an appearance on Telus, so 'chin' up.
Canadians looking to hunt down the smallest addition to HTC's One series are in luck. According to a Mobile Syrup tipster, it'll arrive on Bell next week, in all its aluminum unibody glory. While the One X looks to be confined to Rogers in the Land of the Maple Leaf, both the One S and One V are going to be offered by Bell Mobility. The mole also hinted at pricing below CND $300, matching those entry-level credentials we've explored just recently. Not a fan of Bell? Don't get disheartened -- the Android 4.0 minnow will also make an appearance on Telus, so 'chin' up.
We'll take a dedicated microsite over ole Mr. Blurrycam any day of the week. HTC's latest Verizon LTE handset is now an Incredible step closer to being official. The HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE has popped up on Big Red's DroidDoes site, complete with specs and a $300 on-contract price tag. The ICS smartphone will be powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor with a gig of RAM, and packs a 4-inch super LCD qHD display, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with a VGA shooter up front, an LTE hotspot mode with support for up to 10 devices and Beats Audio on board for "studio-quality sound." The Buy Now link brings you to the Droid RAZR Maxx's product page, so it's not quite clear when you'll be able to pick up an Incredible. You can take a closer look right now, however, at the elaborate dedicated Verizon page at our source link below.
Nokia's buried-but-beloved N900 smartphone has performed many parlor tricks in the past, but its latest role as a carbon-fiber swaddled cyborg cranium just might take the cake. Using the equally forsaken MeeGo OS, a roboticist by the name of Sascha hacked his way into the phone's three-axis controller and other components in order to bring his Bioloid creation to life. The smartphone's video streaming and remote access functions may also give this bipedal mech a leg-up on the last N900 robo we admired -- but we'll need to see some video of it all in action before we make that call. Meanwhile, let's just hope that this unholy union of rejected parts doesn't become self-aware and turn on the company that cast it away.
If you're like us, there's nothing you hate more than having to go to different sites to pick up your pneumatics and abrasives. Thankfully, Amazon, that aggregator of all things with a price tag, has launched AmazonSupply, a site serving a broad range of industrial and business categories, including such favorites as fasteners, power & hand tools, fleet & vehicle maintenance and cutting tools. The site also offers up such Amazonian favorites as free shipping for Prime customers. AmazonSupply features some 500,000 plus items at present and 365-day returns. More info can be found in the press release after the break.
TiVo's rebranding its Premiere line of DVRs in order to eliminate customer confusion in the lineup. The range will now comprise of the Premiere, while the Premiere XL is unsurprisingly renamed Premiere XL2, while the quad-tuner Premiere Elite is now called the Premiere XL4. The first two are suitable for over-the-air programming, while the latter is limited to those of you with cable or FiOS subscriptions. New livery and branding should arrive in stores soon, although TiVo's website is yet to reflect the changes.
It may not have all the glitz of a Spotify or an Rdio, but eMusic is the one of the OGs of the online music game, serving up MP3s to internet citizens since the late-90s. The site today is celebrating the launch of an Android app, which brings curated radio stations, music recommendations, playlist mixes and downloads (with a subscription) to the Googley mobile OS. The app, which was created in conjunction with the folks at music discovery app, We Are Hunted, is available for devices running Android 2.3.3 or higher. More information can be found in the press release after the break.
While they may not be the Sony ultrabooks we're still all itching to see, the company's E Series 14P laptops have reappeared with some Ivy Bridge bones. According to Sony Australia, the previously Intel Core i3 processor has been bulked up to a third-generation 2.1GHz Core i7-3612QM, capable of 3.1GHz with Turbo Boost. That's not the only difference, with the 14-inch display boosted to 1600 x 900 and a new choice between AMD'S Radeon HD 7670M or Intel's HD Graphics 4000 to provide the graphical horse power in the updated hardware. The aluminum-splashed laptops, priced at $1,500 AUD (around $1,608 USD), will still house Sony's Gesture Control functions. This should allow you to navigate around websites and media playback with some arm flailing -- provided you're using Microsoft perennials like Internet Explorer 9 and Windows Media Player. These updated specs are tinged with some (minor) bad news; it looks like the pink iteration won't be getting the same improvements seen on the black and white models. Regardless, monochrome fans can hit up the source for all the new details.
Folks in Canada using Samsung's Smart lineup of home theater equipment have a new app to be excited about, thanks in part to Cineplex Entertainment. The two companies have teamed up for a video-on-demand app, dubbed Cineplex Store, which will allow owners of "select models of Samsung's Smart TVs, Blu-ray players and home theater systems" to purchase or rent videos from the comfort of their couches. Pricing is set from about three to five bucks for 48-hour unlimited play rentals (from the time you hit play within a 30-day period), while buying titles outright will cost ya between $10 and $20 -- all without any pesky contracts. Notably, for those prices you'll also be able to store your content in a "digital locker" and rack up Scene points with Cineplex. While it appears that there's nary mention of which Smart devices are compatible, you can hit up the source link below and the press release after break for more details.
