Gadgetstronics

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jun 3rd 2008 at 11:27AMWith the Atom-based mini laptop orgy that has become synonymous with 2008, it’s no surprise that Intel has had problems meeting demand for the new processor. That should end soon, however, says Sean Maloney, executive VP and GM of Intel’s Sales and Marketing Group. Maloney points out that Intel now has four 300-millimeter manufacturing plants that he says will be doling out the silicon wafers en-masse by September. “We’ve got four 300-millimeter fabs, so we can really hose this stuff out,” he told PC World. With the expected popularity of the ASUS Eee PC 901, this news is coming just in time.

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Filed under: Laptops

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 3rd 2008 at 3:43PM
Talk about being behind the eight ball. With the Eee PC 901 and 1000 getting official, not to mention the onslaught of potent competitors, GeCube’s 10.2-inch alternative isn’t likely to steal much of the spotlight in Taipei. Nevertheless, the seemingly unnamed machine is ready to fight the losing battle with a 1.6GHz VIA C7-D processor, 512MB of DDR2 RAM (with an additional slot open), 1,024 x 600 resolution panel, 80GB SATA hard drive, stereo speakers, Ethernet, WiFi and three USB 2.0 jacks. Reportedly, the unit will come loaded with gOS (but it will support Windows XP if that’s more your style), and while no price is mentioned, we’d suggest keeping it remarkably low until a Nano / Atom shows up inside.

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Filed under: Laptops

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jun 3rd 2008 at 1:17PM
Actually, E-TEN’s saying they’re showing four new models here, but we’ve been aware of E-TEN’s glofiish quad-band V900 for some time now, leaving three all-new Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphones on display at Computex this week. The DX900 is a dual-SIM smartphone for those on multiple carriers and comes in a form factor very similar to the aforementioned mobile TV-friendly V900. Meanwhile, the X900 is a quad-band GSM handset with HSDPA and is a basic upgrade to the X800 with Windows Mobile 6.1 and a tweaked UI. Finally, the X610 — an update to the X600 — also runs WinMo 6.1 and a similarly-updated interface.

[Via phoneArena]

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Filed under: cellphones

by Donald Melanson, posted Jun 3rd 2008 at 4:14PM It’s not quite shooting for the world’s smallest title, but Foxconn’s new PD-S2900 DLP projector will certainly turn quite a few heads nonetheless, with it boasting a form factor of just 4 x 3.6 x 1.4 inches and a weight just under a pound. That’ll still give you an SVGA resolution though, along with a whopping 55 lumens of brightness and an apparently decently-sized image from a few feet away. No word on a price just yet, but you can look for this one to hit Taiwan sometime in the third quarter of this year.

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Filed under: Displays

Remember that lawsuit filed by Amazon against the state of New York’s new tax policy requiring online stores to collect sales taxes? Well, that tax policy has gotten a new detractor in the form of another big online retailer, Overstock. Following in the footsteps of Amazon, Overstock has also filed a lawsuit challenging the new tax law. Overstock officially joined Amazon in calling the new law unconstitutional and asked the New York Supreme Court for an injunction, due to the potential of the law being unconstitutional.

Although Overstock has already informed its New York-based affiliate advertisers that they would no longer provide advertising for Overstock beginning June 1, the online store is still hoping that they will win the case and hopefully won’t be required to collect the 8.75% sales tax to its New York customers anymore. On the other hand, Amazon has already begun charging the sales tax.

Incidentally, the Amazon case remains unresolved, and this new lawsuit filed by Overstock might trigger other online retailers to follow Amazon and Overstock and file their respective complaints against the law. Should that be the case; Will New York state repeal the implementation of the law? We could only hope so, and we’re not even from Amazon or Overstock. Of course, this law seems a little against the current, as New York State residents are already required to claim any “untaxed out-of-state purchases” when filing their annual taxes.

Read [Reuters]

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by Joshua Topolsky, posted Jun 3rd 2008 at 5:06PM
Yesterday we told you about NVIDIA’s new mobile platform, Tegra, and today, we’ve got some videos from the company showing off the system, and giving you a good impression of just how much less juice this architecture uses compared to the competition. Check the videos after the break demonstrating the systems’ lean energy needs, HDMI output capabilities, blazing fast gaming, and that fancy UI we keep telling you about.

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Filed under: cellphones, Gaming, Handhelds, HDTV, Laptops

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jun 3rd 2008 at 2:01PM
Ignoring all those silly Atom shortages, Tranquil PC has their T7 and T2e Atom media PCs ready for delivery. As expected, the T7 is based on a fanless design for your uber-quiet home theater and measures only 8.8 x 9.1 x 2.2-inches with space for a 2.5-inch SATA drive. Meanwhile, the T2e can be fitted with a slot-loading DVD drive and comes in a more media rack-friendly form factor. They both pack the Intel Atom 230 at 1.6GHz and will set you Brits back starting around £189 and £284 (or $371 and $554 US), for the T7 and T2e, respectively.

Read - T7 Atom at Tranquil PC
Read - T2e Atom at Tranquil PC

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Filed under: Desktops, Home Entertainment

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jun 3rd 2008 at 12:23PM
Okay gamers, power-modders, and IT dudes (and dudettes), pay attention: AMD has set sail to three new quad-core Opteron processors for one-socket servers and workstations. The new 1352, 1354, and 1356 clock in at 2.1GHz, 2.2GHz, and 2.3GHz, respectively, and meet the same socket and thermal requirements as previous AMD Opteron 1000 Series processors. They also utilize AMD’s Enhanced PowerNow! tech and Rapid Virtualization Indexing. Pricing is currently set at $209, $255, and $377.

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Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

Van Der Led has 3 new fancy Jisus V2 laptops in its sleeves.

The Jisus v2 laptops will be launched on the 20th June.

The Jisus V2 laptops come in pink, red and brown leather casing and the will have the following specs:

* Monitor: 10.2 Inch 16:9 (1024×600 pixels), LED backlight, VGA port
* Processor: VIA C7-M 1.6GHz
* Graphics: VIA Chrome9 HC
* Memory: 1GB DDR2 533
* HDD: 80GB 5400rpm
* Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g wireless LAN
* Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.0
* USB port: 2 x USB 2.0
* Multi-function card reader: SD/MS/MS-Pro/MMC
* Network: Built-in RJ-45 connectors for LAN connection
* 1 x 10/100Mbps RJ45 port
* Audio: 1 x microphone port & 1 x two channel earphone port
* Build in stereo speakers: ALC202 AC97 Soft HD Audio
* 3 Hours of wireless productivity (3 Cell 7.4V, 2200mAH )
* Operating system: Ubuntu, others possible
* Extra: 1.3 real megapixel external webcam with build in usb hub

You can Jisus V2 laptops dirt cheap - for as little as €349.99 or $546.

Does anybody remember when the “real” PS3 controller was announced at E3 back in 2006? It was one of the worst Keynotes ever, and the reason was that the PS3 controller wasn’t much more than a PS2 controller with some hastily tacked-on motion detection. Sure, the Dualshock 3 doesn’t need a sensor bar like its big brother, the Wiimote, but it’s also kind-of gangly to play with.

According to some “insider” reports, Sony is having another go at the idea with a new controller that is even more Wii-like. During a focus test in California, one tester said that the new peripheral uses some sort of tripod that has to sit in the middle of your playing area and can support four players at a time. The tester said there were a few different models to play with, and that they demoed a paintball game and some sports mini-games. The test conductor even supposedly played Quake with the thing on his PC.

Microsoft is also said to be working on a Wiimote rip-off for the Xbox 360, known as the “Newton.”

It appears that after all the talk about what “next generation” gaming is, and whether or not HD graphics are necessary, the Wii is proving that gamers want innovation more. Sony and Microsoft are in a great place right now to take Nintendo’s model and improve upon it.

Read More at Gizmodo