Computer Gadgets New

Last week, everybody inadvertently found out that Grand Theft Auto IV would be coming to the PC platform through the ESRB’s announcement that they recently rated the game. The rating was pulled from their website quickly, and everybody went about their business not knowing for sure whether or not the title would actually be making an appearance on the PC any time soon.

Now, Rockstar’s gone and made it official. The game is coming November 18th to North America, and it will launch in Europe on November 21st.

“We are very excited to be releasing the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “The whole team is dedicated to bringing an amazing gaming experience to the PC. The game looks and plays beautifully on PC and we can’t wait for people to play it.”

While this may seem like a simple and useless port for most players, but there will also be some new multiplayer features not available in the other platforms. What this means, exactly, wasn’t announced. Take-Two will very likely, though, begin to trickle down screenshots and extra information in the lead-up to November 18th, as is their customary way. We’ll let you know if anything else exciting is announced.

Read more at Take-Two, found via Joystiq

by Paul Miller, posted Aug 6th 2008 at 12:31PM

We mentioned it briefly the other day, but just so we’re clear: Lenovo’s S10 (pictured) won’t be alone this fall. The company is also pushing out an 8.9-inch version for a few non-US markets, and dubbing it the S9. According to Digitimes, the S9 will be running an 8GB SSD instead of the 80GB HDD of its big brother, but specs otherwise will be pretty much the same. The laptop should retail for 12,900 Taiwan dollars, about $420 US (though we can’t really rely on a straight exchange rate for this), but a decent bit cheaper than the 17,900 Taiwan dollar S10.

[Via TG Daily]

• Read
• Permalink
• Email this
• 32 Comments

Filed under: Laptops

I had a chance to try out the Mint 220 Digital Music Station, and I found it plays better than most ipod docks with clear and terrific sound.

I was very amazed at one amazing feature of this device. It came with a wireless transmitter key that I plugged in to my computer via USB. In a matter of seconds, the sounds that would normally play from my computer were playing wirelessly from the speakers on the Mint.

There was no CD Rom necessary to install this wireless feature, nor was there any waiting for some software on the transmitter key that slowly downloaded. It plugged and played in every fast sense of the catchphrase. This feature is possible through Texas Instruments PurePath Digital Audio, which is good for up to 45 feet (15 meters).

The speakers are two full range 3.5 inch peerless transducers for clearer sound. The Mint 220 also comes with a remote control for the iPod. I found the remote was able to pause and go back and forth through tracks, but it was not able to access the iPod main menu.

Other than that, I felt that the Mint 220 Digital Music Station is definitely worth a user’s money. You can get it now at the official site for about $179.99.

Source

• Email to a friend
• Leave a comment

Logitech might be well known for their PC-based peripherals, but that doesn’t mean they have kept the Mac community in the dark, although they do procrastinate in releasing a Mac-compatible device. Take the diNovo Edge keyboard for example - this peripheral comes out a full two years after the PC version is released. While it is always better late than never, I don’t think I would be pleased to wait for a couple of years for something like this, Mac user or not. Denis Pavillard, vice president of product marketing for Logitech’s keyboards and desktops has this to say about the diNovo Edge Mac Edition, “We’re truly delighted to offer discerning Mac enthusiasts our highest quality in keyboard design and performance. From the piano-black finish to its built-in TouchDisc touch pad, the diNovo Edge can make it a pleasure for you to type, control music or launch your favorite applications.”

The newest diNovo keyboard is exceptionally thin (½ inch or 11.05 mm) with a high-gloss, semi-translucent Plexiglas frame, sharp angles and soft-orange backlighting. The aluminum palm rest with anodized-silver finish looks good with any Mac computer, including the iMac and the MacBook Pro. In addition to its design, the diNovo Edge, Mac Edition features optimized Mac keys for one-touch access to Mail, Safari and iTunes, as well as many other Mac-specific applications. The new Logitech keyboard even offers a Power button that turns your Mac computer on and off, while the TouchDisc allows you to scroll and navigate from your keyboard. Moving a finger up and down or across the disc moves the cursor on the computer screen, and moving the finger in a circular motion around the perimeter of the TouchDisc enables you to scroll horizontally and vertically through documents. (Logitech Control Center software installation is required for some features.) For a typing experience that’s comfortable, fluid and silent, the new Logitech keyboard features the Logitech PerfectStroke key system. PerfectStroke is designed to create longer key travel – 3.2 mm compared to 2.2 mm – than that of typical notebook keyboards, which means that the distance your fingers have to travel to activate a key is optimized for your comfort. And because micro-scissors distribute force evenly across key surfaces, even if you strike the edge of a key, the key stroke still feels the same.

Interested parties will be able to pick up the Logitech diNovo Edge Mac Edition cordless keyboard from this month onwards for $159.99.

Press Release

• Email to a friend
• Leave a comment

Asustek will have two Eee PCs under the Ultimate section, and these will be known as the S101 and S91. These high end devices will feature high quality parts (hmm, does that mean the other lower end Eee PCs use sub-standard components?) and boast an extremely slim design (as though they aren’t already slim and light enough in the first place). Don’t expect beauty and performance in a single package to come cheap though - word has it the Ultimate models won’t retail for anything less than the $650 mark, with a very real possibility of surpassing even the $900 barrier for some models.

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 6th 2008 at 8:29AM

In case you haven’t noticed, HP has a thing for attempting (emphasis on attempting) to stay one step ahead of the sector. Now, it’s being reported that touch technology is all the rage within Palo Alto, and HP is purportedly aiming to introduce “an array of products, including notebooks,” that utilize the finger-friendly tech within the next 18 months. Details on those very products are few and far between, but Phil McKinney (CTO of the Personal Systems Group) sees touch “as the almost preferred method for nontechnical users.” Funny thing, though — it seems most everyone else recognized touch as the new hotness a good while back. We’re betting HP has just been holding all of this mighty close to the chest… guess we’ll see in 18 months, huh?

[Image courtesy of Old-Computers]

• Read
• Permalink
• Email this
• 9 Comments

Filed under: Desktops, Displays, Laptops

At the moment there are two big differences between standard digital cameras and the higher-quality digital SLR cameras, those are price and size. For many people, size is an important factor as they want a camera to just slip in their pocket while on holiday.

Matsushita and Olympus have developed a new system that may remove the size obstacle for consumers wanting to spend a bit more and get a digital SLR camera. The breakthrough is a new format called Micro Four Thirds System (MFTS).

Four Thirds System (FTS) is the format used in today’s SLR cameras. The format is required to make sure the lenses sold by different companies will fit and acts as a standard. The problem, however, is it means you can’t make the cameras any smaller as they have to adhere to this format.

The idea behind MFTS is to introduce a new standard, which is significantly smaller than FTS allowing for the creation of digital SLR cameras that are smaller and lighter.

The actual dimensions of the MFTS format have not been released yet, nor have Matsushita and Olympus discussed pricing or launch windows. All we do know is that MFTS reduces the mount-to-sensor distance by 50% and has reduced the outer lens mount by 6mm.

Read more at Olympus Global, found via Reuters.com

Matthew’s Opinion
This new system has clear advantages for both manufacturers and consumers if they have managed to reduce the size significantly.

For the consumer, there is a chance to have a higher quality camera in a more accessible form. There is still going to be the additional bulk of the lens, but if it can fit in a small over-shoulder bag, then it becomes a much more tempting proposition.

For the manufacturer, there are multiple benefits. A smaller form factor means fewer materials and therefore reduced manufacturing costs. On top of that, these cameras will be classed as digital SLR meaning they can carry a higher price tag and therefore are more profitable.

The real test will come when we finally get an MFTS camera to test. It will only become popular if Matsushita and Olympus have managed to achieve SLR quality in a smaller unit and they have the support of the lens manufacturers.

by Thomas Ricker, posted Aug 6th 2008 at 5:46AM

Remember Orb Swarm, that merry band of rolling semi-autonomous spheres? Well, they’ve seen the open-source wizard and came back with a brain. In other words, they’ve gone autonomous, or mostly so as they are now capable of navigating within a pre-defined GPS course. Besides navigation, these orbs feature an embedded processor, accelerometer and ZigBee wireless communication all of which allow the rolling spheres to “flock , flirt, dance and interact,” say their creators. They’re set for release en masse onto the Burning Man playa at the end of this month where they’re sure to punish chemically-influenced revelers with a sense of panic suitable to the uprising. Check the video after the break for a taste if participating in pagan festivals celebrating experimental living is a bit beyond your sense of sheltered sensibility.

[Via Hack A Day and BotJunkie]

• Read
• Permalink
• Email this
• 5 Comments

Filed under: Robots

To finish off out huge run down of all the new HDTVs that Samsung has graced us with, I present the Samsung Series 6 630. The new Samsung Series 6, aka Samsung 630, and not to be confused with the existing 650 range, features the popular “Touch of Color” design and a full HD 1080p LCD panel with 120Hz high frame rate technology for reduce motion blur and judder during high motion scenes.

The Samsung 630 series will be available in three different sizes, from the 40-inch Samsung LN40A630 and the 46-inch LN46A630 to the largest 52-inch LN52A630. These sets are a great balance between price and performance, offering highend features such as 1080p and 120Hz at a good price, and great design. The 1080p screen has semi-matte finish with a 40,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and fast 4ms response time. Also featured is WiseLink (USB 2.0) for accessing photo, music and videos.

Connectivity is good with three HDMI 1.3 inputs. Expect to see the new Samsung Series 630 models in stores next month (August 08).

Samsung Series 6 630

• LN40A630 | 40-Inch, $1,699
• LN46A630 | 46-Inch, $2,099
• LN52A630 | 52-Inch, $2,699

by Nilay Patel, posted Aug 6th 2008 at 2:40AM

Intel’s barely out the door with Centrino 2, but those in the know are already getting ready for Nehalem — so get used to hearing the “Calpella” codename a lot more, since it’s apparently what Intel is calling its next laptop platform. In addition to supporting WiMAX in addition to b/g/n WiFi, the new chipset rearranges things from Intel’s typical package, with the memory controller moving onto the CPU and a new integrated chipset called Ibex Peak-M handling many other duties. Like all processor / chipset roadmaps, this one is definitely still in flux — and it’s a Digitimes rumor, so expect things to significantly change by the time the first Nehalem laptops hit the street in the second half of 2009.

[Via The Inquirer]

• Read
• Permalink
• Email this
• 6 Comments

Filed under: Laptops