Archive for: October 19, 2009

By Andrew Liszewski SANYO just announced their new LP-XF1000 12,000 lumen projector which they claim is the industry’s brightest model that only requires 100V AC. The new model uses two high-output 330 watt lamps, which improves light efficiency by 20% when compared to one of the company’s previous models, and offers a high contrast ratio of 4000:1. The LP-XF1000 also features SANYO’s QuaDrive Engine which adds a ‘Color Control Device’ to the 3 LCD setup in order to control the yellow light independently, which results in a 20% boost in color richness as well. The LP-XF1000 is set to be released on December 18 with a price tag of 4,200,000 yen, or about $46,000. [ PR - SANYO Releases LP-XF1000 Dual-lamp Projector with “Rich Color” ] VIA [ Fareastgizmos ]

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SANYO’s New LP-XF1000 Projector Offers 12,000 Lumens On 100V AC

There’s not much to cheer about in third-quarter results from mobile phone giant Nokia that included an unexpected net loss of $834 million — the first since the Finnish company started reporting quarterly results in 1996 — and a nearly 20 percent decline in revenues year-over-year. That’s $3.62 billion less on the top line for the quarter. Investors were certainly in no mood to celebrate: By day’s end in Helsinki trading, Nokia shares were down nearly 11 percent, to 9.18, and they fell even more in New York. But Nokia’s bleak quarterly report issued Oct. 15 contained some important nuggets of hope. To start with, the company actually did somewhat better than many analysts had predicted. Overall revenues of 9.81 billion were slightly ahead of Wall Street consensus estimates, according to brokerage RBC Capital Markets. And tight cost controls allowed the world’s largest mobile handset maker to turn in better-than-expected earnings before interest and taxes [EBIT] of 741 million, vs. consensus of 702 million. As a result, Nokia’s earnings per share, represented via non-IFRS [International Financial Reporting Standards] accounting, came in at 0.17, compared with an expected 0.13. Operating cash flow was 720 million, or more than $1 billion, in the quarter. The 0.15 per share net loss under IFRS rules owed to restructuring charges, goodwill writedowns, amortization of intangible assets, and other impairments that added up to 1.167 billion. Better-Than-Expected Handset Sales The financial balancing act wasn’t enough to satisfy some doubters. “Investors want to see more top-line performance and less performance through cutting operating costs,” says Tavis McCourt, an analyst with investment bank Morgan Keegan, a unit of Regions Financial. But beyond the specifics of the quarter, Nokia saw several positive trends in underlying sales performance. Its quarterly volume of 108.5 million handsets topped expectations by nearly 3 ...

By Andrew Liszewski From the people who brought you the XShot Camera Extender , the pole that makes it easier to snap self portraits from a distance, comes the XShot iPhone case. Made from durable “chrome plastic” the XShot is designed to fit the iPhone 3G & 3GS and features a 1/4″ screw tripod mount located in the lower left corner which allows you to mount it to basically any tripod on the market, including (surprise, surprise) the XShot Camera Extender! Of course if you’re trying to grab a self-shot that way you’ll also need to find a third-party camera app that includes a timer, since you won’t be able to push the iPhone’s camera button when it’s perched 3 or 4 feet away from you. The XShot iPhone Case isn’t available just yet, but you can pre-order from the company’s site for $29.95 if you’re already convinced it’s a must-have. [ XShot iPhone Case ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

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XShot iPhone Case With Built-in Tripod Adapter

It is fitting that Microsoft’s new Windows 7 operating system arrives ahead of Halloween. When Microsoft buries Windows Vista for good on Oct. 22 and replaces it with Windows 7, the ghostbusters in Redmond will have exorcised a demon. If you haven’t experienced the frights of Vista firsthand, you’ve no doubt heard about them: how it takes forever to power up and shut down, how the software constantly nags you, how it hogs precious PC resources and how it’s incompatible with all-too-many third-party peripherals and programs. Throngs of PC users found Vista so scary that they stuck with the Windows XP operating system Microsoft launched in 2001, a lifetime ago in the tech world. Microsoft doesn’t have to apologize for Windows 7. Vista’s replacement represents a monster leap forward. It’s Vista done right — at last. Microsoft claims hundreds of small improvements, and a few big ones. “We’ll see what happens when Windows 7 is with (customers) all day every day, but I’m cautiously optimistic that we really have hit the right note there,” Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told me in a phone interview. What you’ll notice is that Windows 7 is snappier than its predecessor, more polished, and simpler to navigate. Screens are less cluttered. It has better search. Windows 7 rarely nags. I’ve been testing various versions for months on numerous computers. It sure seems more reliable so far. With a few exceptions, compatibility hasn’t been a major issue. It’s worth pointing out that Vista received decent notices when it first came out, and Microsoft repaired some problems with the much maligned operating system over time. Despite the fact that it periodically drove me bonkers, I’ll probably invite scorn by suggesting Vista sometimes got a bad rap. But make no mistake. Windows 7 is better. I’ve run a ...

By Andrew Liszewski I hope you’re not tired of eBook readers just yet, because something tells me the forecast for the next few months calls for a downpour of new models. But at least companies like Spring Design are keeping it interesting with their new Alex reader. It’s one of the first to include a 6-inch monochrome electronic paper display as well as a 3.5-inch full color LCD display just below it, combining the best of both worlds. The device is powered by Google’s Android and allows full web browsing over WiFi or 3G, EVDO/CDMA and GSM mobile networks. An SD card slot ensures storage capacity is essentially infinite and a headphone jack as well as built-in speakers allows multimedia content to be enjoyed on the lower screen. And to prolong battery life, web content can be captured and cached from the LCD display and viewed on the EPD display instead. Pricing and availability weren’t announced, though the press release claims that “Spring Design is currently in discussion and enlisting major content partners and plans to release the Alex device for selected strategic partners by the end of this year.” [ PR - Spring Design Announces Dual Screen E-book Reader, Hyperlinking Text with Multimedia ]

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Spring Design Announces The Alex Dual Screen eBook Reader

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. lost money in the third quarter but said Thursday that sales were stronger than expected, adding to mounting evidence that consumer spending is fueling a turnaround in the personal computer market. AMD sells about 20 percent of the world’s computer microprocessors, which are the brains inside PCs. Although AMD was hurt by weak consumer and business spending on computers in the first half of the year, the chipmaker said shipments rose from the previous quarter thanks to strong demand for processors used in laptop computers. That’s in line with what PC industry researchers reported earlier this week. The recession has squelched consumer demand for high-end PCs, but they continued to snap up inexpensive laptops and tiny “netbooks” in the third quarter. That pushed PC shipments into positive territory for the first time this year, according to IDC and Gartner Inc. AMD and analysts also reported demand in China bolstered results in the quarter. Businesses, however, aren’t expected to replace old computers until sometime next year. In a conference call, AMD CEO Dirk Meyer said executives that make technology-buying decisions are more positive about spending in 2010, and some may even start buying again this year. “Clearly, the wallets are starting to free up,” Meyer said. It’s not possible to tell from AMD’s report whether PC makers were stocking up on chips to replenish low supplies, or because the computer makers expect to see a boom in sales through the holiday season. Microsoft Corp.’s next operating system, Windows 7, goes on sale next week, but Meyer said the company did not see signs that consumers had held off buying PCs in anticipation. AMD’s larger competitor, Intel Corp., has been more optimistic than AMD in predicting a 2009 turnaround for the PC industry since spring. The chipmaker said ...

More and more workers require remote access to their personal computers at their offices, and often those office computers are Macs. That trend has induced a major maker of remote access software to tailor one of its offerings for the Applesphere. Citrix Systems is close to releasing GoToMyPC for the Mac, currently in open beta trials. Although previous versions of the program allowed any computer connected to the Internet, including Macs, to remotely control PCs via the Web, the new version extends the capability to Macs.

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GoToMyPC Gets Ready to Go to Your Mac

SANTA MONICA, Calif.–Drive about 350 miles down U.S. 101 from Yahoo’s Silicon Valley campus and you’ll find what CEO Carol Bartz appears to believe is the future of her pioneering Internet company. Yes, we’re talking about Yahoo’s often-ridiculed Media Group headquartered about two miles from the famous Santa Monica pier and a world away from the technology-oriented plans of Bartz’s predecessor, company founder Jerry Yang. Yahoo is turning its focus back toward content with an eye to shows like Prime Time in No Time, starring Frank Nicotero. (Credit: Yahoo) Just a few years ago, amid the ruins of the disastrous reign of former Yahoo media boss Lloyd Braun, that notion would have been laughable. Sure, lots of smart people agreed the Internet was going to be a big deal for content creators, and Braun, having selected hit show after hit show for ABC, was at one point considered one of the smartest and best-suited individuals to build a real media business at Yahoo. But his tenure was a flop –perhaps most notable for a controversial Los Angeles Times piece that declared, among other tech industry heresies, Braun received a special parking space and a deluxe office. (The historical record was disputed by some, including All Things D’s Kara Swisher .) He lasted a little more than two years, and former CEO Terry Semel soon followed him out the door . Then came Yang, a renewed focus on search as Yahoo’s bA Gadget Zoneand butter, the distracting–and equally disastrous–takeover fight with Microsoft and Yang’s eventual departure from the corner office. It’s possible, however, that the Internet content idea was clever, even if the execution was terrible. Bartz, the former CEO of CAD-software maker Autodesk and no tech-industry dilettante, appears to believe this. Yahoo’s new strategy hinges on a basic premise ...

By Andrew Liszewski I can understand that these digital slot cars are trying to make racing more challenging, but at the same time they seem to take a bit of the fun out of it. Instead of just squeezing the trigger and watching your car tear around the track, you have to manage and be aware of your vehicle’s fuel and make the proper pit stops in order to win. Each of the cars, which includes a fairly detailed Ferrari 360 GTC, Chevrolet Corvette C6R, and an Aston Martin DBR9, have a chip that allows you to change lanes in order to pull into pit row and track how much fuel you take on. So for example, if you decide to ‘fill it up’ in order to minimize the number of pit stops you have to make, your car will actually go slower because of the extra weight of that fuel. And if you instead choose to make pit stops more often, you’ll have to watch your speed when pulling into pit row lest you be penalized a lap for speeding. A clever idea for sure, but too much thinkin’ for me. $499.95 from Hammacher Schlemmer . [ The Realistic Digital Slot Car Raceway ]

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Realistic Digital Slot Cars Seem To Take Some Of The Fun Out Of It

By Chris Scott Barr When I’m wanting to purchase something new, I usually have to debate on just where to buy it. The biggest decision is whether I want to save money and buy it online, or spend a little extra to have it today from a brick-and-mortar store. Well if you happen to live in one of seven cities, you’ll be able to have the best of both worlds by having things delivered the same day you order them. Over the weekend Amazon announced that they will be offering same day delivery in 7 major cities. This is apparently an effort to make brick-and-mortar stores less appealing to those in the delivery area. Hit the jump to see which areas have access to this service, and the cutoff times to have items delivered to you on the same day. New York City – Order as late as 10 a.m. Philadelphia – Order as late as 10 a.m. Boston – Order as late as 10:30 a.m. Washington D.C. – Order as late as 10:30 a.m. Baltimore – Order as late as 10:30 a.m. Vegas – Order as late as 11 a.m. Seattle – Order as late as 1 p.m. These are the only cities for now, however they have annoucned that Chicago, Indianapolis and Phoenix will be added in the coming months.

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Amazon Introduces Same Day Delivery