Uruguay places the first OLPC XO order; Negroponte says Windows is “key”
29 Oct
Posted by admin as Laptops
The OLPC XO found itself in a couple different headlines today, first with the Laboratorio Tecnológico de Uruguay stepping up to become the first official government purchaser of the “$100″ laptop, committing to buy 100,000 of the green machines, with the potential to buy a further 200,000 by 2009. The deal’s been coming for a while but was just made official today, marking the first major order for NickNeg’s baby — and a big win over Intel’s Classmate PC, which was also in the running. Speaking of NickNeg, the man with the plan also made the news today by saying that OLPC has been working with Microsoft from the start, saying “It would be hard for OLPC to say it was ‘open’ and then be closed to Microsoft. Open means open.” Apparently, OLPC has been earmarking some of the first engineering models from each developer build for Microsoft, and Redmond has pushed for and gotten changes in the device, particularly the inclusion of an SD slot. There’s still no word on if we might see an XO preloaded with XP, but from the looks of things, it’s going to happen sooner or later.
We’ve drooled all over GamePark’s GP2X F-200 handheld in the past, and it looks like the company is finally ready to let us have one of our very own — the touchscreen Linux-based handheld emulation monster is shipping right on time for $169. Features include SDHC support, improved 8-way D-pad, the 320 x 240 QVGA touchscreen, and all the other features that’s made the original F-100 model so popular. Hit the read link to get hacking.
Switchback UMPC shipping, manufacturer Black Diamond acquired
29 Oct
Posted by admin as Tablet PCs, Laptops, Handhelds
It’s been a bumpy ride for the rugged SwitchBack UMPC we first saw over a year ago — the developer, Black Diamond Advanced Technology, was purchased by Roper Mobile Technology, and plans for a multiple-OS support were axed in favor of an Windows-only system — but the device is finally shipping, as is a BackPack expansion module that extends the unit in various ways. Features include a 5.6-inch touchscreen with your choice of XP or Vista on a 1GHz Celeron M with 2GB of RAM and up to 120GB of storage with SSD options, that funky Alien-looking keyboard, a hot-swappable battery, optional Bluetooth 2.0, 802.11g, and GPS radios, and military-grade shock, vibration temperature, and immersion resistance. The optional BackPacks can be outfitted in almost limitless configurations, with plans for digital cameras, biometric security units, RFID readers, USB 2.0 ports, Type II slots, and audio in / out. There’s still no word on price, but Roper says the SwitchBack and a basic BackPack with audio I/O, serial and USB ports, and video-out are available immediately.
No surprises here, but the Pantech Duo (split-personality and all) has officially arrived in late October, just as we were led to believe. Ready to rock texters’ worlds on AT&T, the Duo does indeed boast Windows Mobile 6, a QWERTY keypad and a numeric ‘board for your convenience, UMTS / HSDPA compatibility and a 320 x 240 resolution display. The unit measures in at 4.02- x 1.97- x .83-inches, and if you dig what you’re seeing, it can be yours today for $199.99 if you’re cool with signing a two-year agreement.
SanDisk was trumpeting its 8GB microSDHC cards all the way back in June, but it’s taken until now for the company to ship the little buggers — but we’re also getting an 8GB Memory Stick Micro (also known as M2) version as a reward for our patience. The 8GB SDHC card will set you back $139, while the M2 stick is $149, and both should be in stores worldwide now, according to SanDisk.
Those sitting tight for Cybook’s Gen3 e-book reader can finally do something other than just wait for it. That’s right, Bookeen’s latest is finally on sale, and just as promised (the second time, that is), it’s available now (read: in October) for $350. If you’re wondering what all that coin will get you, you can look forward to 8,000 page flips without a recharge, a daylight-readable 800 x 600 resolution display, 2.5-millimeter stereo headphone jack, 64MB of storage, an SD expansion slot and USB connectivity. So go on, bust out that credit card and count down the minutes till it arrives on your doorstep.
Right on schedule, you’re looking at the just announced co-branded Skype phone: the 3 Skypephone. Sure, mobile Skype clients are already in worldwide use. This, however, marks the first time a carrier has fully embraced Skype which traditionally has been seen as a threat to carrier tariff schemes. Under 3’s plan, Skype VoIP calls and IMs are free to any other Skype user just as long as you’re under contract or top up your pay as your go account with at least £10 (about $21) each month. The £49 (about $101) 3G phone with 2 megapixel camera and microSD slot will be available in the UK on Friday; Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Macau and Sweden sometime later in the year. Wanna see it in a video? Sure you do, locked-and-loaded right after the break.
Even if it’s smaller, cooler, and cheaper than its higher end brethren, that unfortunately doesn’t mean it’s better: the formerly G92-codenamed NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT sits in the middle of the 8800-series with a single slot configuration that uses 100 Watts less power than the top of the range model, but with a lower clock speed and six less “stream processors.” It’s a fair bit higher spec than the GTX and GTS models though, with the same “stream processor” (what the hell are these?) clock speed as the Ultra at 1500MHz, and a memory frequency of 900MHz. It also supports PCIe 2.0 and the PureVideo HD engine which offloads H.264 encoding onto the GPU. It sells for between $199-249, and should be available within the next few days at the usual online stores.
The “Living Dead Dolls” Sadie Pencil Sharpener is a favorite of artist and sharpener aficionado Matthew James Taylor —and it doesn’t take much to see why. Insert a pencil into her eye socket and watch her regurgitate the shavings at the push of a button. It is tons of wholesome fun for the well adjusted adult. You can have one of your own for as little as $2.99 when they become available.