While Apple may tinker with the final packaging and design of the final phone, it's clear that the features in this lost-and-found next-generation iPhone are drastically new and drastically different from what came before. Here's the detailed list of our findings:
What's new
• Front-facing video chat camera
• Improved regular back-camera (the lens is quite noticeably larger than the iPhone 3GS)
• Camera flash
• Micro-SIM instead of standard SIM (like the iPad)
• Improved display. It's unclear if it's the 960x640 display thrown around before—it certainly looks like it, with the "Connect to iTunes" screen displaying much higher resolution than on a 3GS.
• What looks to be a secondary mic for noise cancellation, at the top, next to the headphone jack
• Split buttons for volume
• Power, mute, and volume buttons are all metallic
Apple's iPad has left an indelible mark on the Tablet PC universe. It wasn't that long ago when just about everyone gave up on the tablet. Just about every notebook manufacturer in existence tried their hand at making a tablet at one point or another, and just about everyone hung it up by 2005. For whatever reasons, tablets never managed to catch on in the consumer industry, but now, things are different.
Consumers have shown a willingness to adapt somewhat and try new things. Some thought ultraportables would never catch on; their steep price tag and small screens didn't make sense to some, but road warriors have proven that these diminutive machines do actually have a place in society. Netbooks have a similar story. Many credit Asus' Eee PC line with really kickstarting the netbook craze, and even today, these tiny, inexpensive laptops are selling like hotcakes to individuals who just need a simple machine for web browsing and e-mail to take on the go. No bells and whistles leads to lower costs, and lower costs lead to increased attention and sales.
The iPad has arrived during an interesting time. It's a time in which many consumers are re-evaluating their computing needs, and they're striving to decide whether a full-sized notebook, a netbook, a tablet or something in between is best for them. The iPad has definitely driven more people than would traditionally consider a tablet, to investigate the iPad's usage model. That said, does it really make sense to buy this device over a netbook, or better still, a netbook / tablet hybrid? We covered the ins and outs of Apple's first tablet in our full review, but this article is intended to dig deeper and investigate whether an iPad or netbook / tablet hybrid is best suited for you. These two are the most similar of the machines currently available in terms of price, form factor and usability.
For our comparison, we're going to focus mainly on another machine that has just recently hit the market, Lenovo's IdeaPad S10-3t. It's a cutting-edge netbook / tablet hybrid with one of Intel's newest Atom processors, Windows 7, a full touch panel, a swivel screen to turn it into a full tablet, and of course something the iPad lacks: a real keyboard. The S10-3t starts at $549, while the iPad starts at $499, but if you want to add a USB port or SD card slot to the iPad, the starting price rises to $529, making these two machines comparable in terms of the initial investment.
Join us in the pages ahead to get a better idea of how the iPad does and doesn't live up to the standards set by modern day netbooks, and how the S10-3t outperforms and under-performs in a variety of tasks.
Taipei, Taiwan – April 12, 2010 – A-DATA Technology Co., Ltd., the worldwide leader in DRAM memory and Flash application products, today announced the shipment of NH01, the first 2.5-inch portable hard drive equipped with the latest USB 3.0 interface, following its debut at CES back in January. Adopting the new generation of USB 3.0 interface, the A-DATA NH01 is designed to deliver astounding data transfer rates up to 88 MB/s in read and 81 MB/s in write overall, which are proven to be three times faster than the conventional hard drives with USB 2.0 interface based on real-world test results.
The transfer speed has become increasingly critical for external storage devices in order to cope with the nowadays’ richer and larger-sized multimedia content. Combining the next-generation interface, users of NH01 are able to enjoy the benefits of SuperSpeed USB 3.0 and save up to 70% on file transfer time compared to the preceding USB 2.0. With the A-DATA NH01, transferring a typical 24GB Blu-ray movie would take just 4.6 minutes as opposed to 14.6 minutes via a conventional USB 2.0 interface1, significantly boosting users’ efficiency with no more time wasted on waiting. Other than its superior transfer speed, USB 3.0 also provides improved interaction between device and host computer to deliver enhanced energy efficiency compared to its predecessor.
With various capacities up to 640GB, NH01 offers high-capacity storage solution suitable for system backup or carrying massive data on the go. Along with its outstanding performance, NH01 is elegant and stylish with a glossy front panel and coating around the enclosure. It is also compactly designed to fit right in the pocket. NH01 supports the easy plug-and-play on compatible platforms and is also backward compatible with USB 2.0 at a lower speed. Users of A-DATA portable HDDs are able to download value-add software HDDtoGO, OStoGO (no registration required), Norton Internet Security 2010 (60-day trial) for free and experience enhanced mobility and security with just few mouse clicks away. All A-DATA portable HDDs are backed by 3-year product warranty.
1Estimates are based on an average transfer rate of 88MB/s on systems with built-in USB 3.0 function motherboards and 28MB/s via USB 2.0 interface for illustration purposes; results may vary with different platforms and software used.
The Nokia N8 today officially emerges into the daylight, stepping out of the shadows equipped with a host of smartphone talents. The first device to be powered by the brand new Symbian^3 platform, the Nokia N8 will launch with a new breed of camera that promises to capture photos and video to rival dedicated point and shoot cameras. Read on to explore Nokia N8’s full list of talents.
The biggest feature on the Nokia N8 is its 12-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash. It features a substantially larger sensor than any ever used in any other Nokia device – even bigger than many found in dedicated cameras. Recently, we caught up with Nokia’s resident camera guru, Damian Dinning, to get the full lowdown on what went into fine-tuning the N8’s camera and video capture skills – you’ll be able to read the full fact-packed story right here on Conversations this week, so stay tuned.
The Nokia N8 also introduces the ability to record high definition videos and edit them with a smart built-in editing suite on the device. Playback quality is just as important, and the 3.5-inch HD capacitive touchscreen is the ideal window for assessing your flicks and footage. There’s also a HDMI connector allowing you to hook the smartphone to your HD TV and share your media with friends and family in superb quality. We wanted to find out more about the benefits of HDMI in the Nokia N8 so we spoke to Paul Wheeler, a software program manager at Nokia, to get the full story – again, be sure to keep an eye out for our full story this later this week.
The Nokia N8 also doubles as a portable entertainment centre. Watch HD quality video with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound and hook into a dedicated Web TV application for access to news and entertainment on the move.
It’s not just its 12-megapixel camera and HD video skills with HDMI support that set the Nokia N8 apart from the crowd. Packing more memory than most, the Nokia N8 has 16GB of built-in storage and is expandable up to 48GB with a micro SD card.
Joining the social messaging fold with the likes of the latest Eseries and Cseries devices, the N8 enters the fray with live Twitter and Facebook updates direct to your homescreen. Comment, read and send messages, update your status and share your location and photos with one touch.
Embracing location based services, the N8 is location-savvy and comes with free global Ovi Maps walk and drive navigation with support in more than 70 countries worldwide.
Powering the Nokia N8 is the all-new Symbian^3 platform. This latest incarnation introduces major new advances including multi-touch and support for gestures such as pinch-to-zoom. Onboard there’s also three customisable homescreens that can be loaded with applications and widgets and flicked through by a swish of the finger. There’s also improved 2D and 3D graphics for a faster and more responsive UI, greater memory management and a visual task manager.
Of course, the Nokia N8 comes with access to the full range of Ovi services and it’s Nokia’s first smartphone to be integrated with Qt. Got and idea for an app? Qt is a software development environment that makes it a cinch to build apps and deploy across the Symbian and other software platforms.
Not to be outdone by its innards the Nokia N8 is carved from a single piece of anodised aluminium and looks glorious decked in one of five eye-catching colours (we’ll shortly be bringing you an entire article dedicated to the colours). It will cost €370 (before the usual local taxes and subsidies) when it starts shipping in the third quarter of 2010.
Over the coming week we’ll bring you heaps more insight and info surrounding the new Nokia N8, including designer interviews, exclusive videos, and much more. Stay tuned for all our unmissable coverage throughout the week. In the meantime, share your instant reactions and let us know what you want to know about the Nokia N8 by joining the conversation below.
Buffalo America has quitted flash memory business altogether after an infringement lawsuit filed against the company by Sandisk, but that didn't stop the Japanese division from rolling out exciting new flash memory gadgets. Here's Buffalo SHD-PEHU3 - the latest SuperSpeed USB SSD in almost the same glossy black plastic case as its hard drive sibling. Unlike the HDD version, the Buffalo USB 3.0 SSD is built to rake in money and to impress early adopters in mind. Nearly all models carry a jaw-dropping price tag, from $281 for 64GB to $476 for 128GB and $1075 for 256GB.
If you have the dose, then the USB 3.0 SSD will give you up to 8 times better performance than with a, eh, USB 2.0 equivalent. There's even a piece of software called Turbo PC that squeezes every last drop of performance out of USB 3.0. The result is a 240MB/s bus-powered shockproof external storage, weighing a mere 66g. To put this into perspective, copying 1000 800KB of JPEGs will take just 8 seconds, at such speed not even other first gen. USB 3.0 hard drives can rival. We simply just fall in love with the Buffalo SSD, though we treasure our hard-earned pennies even more.
The Powermat looks great and works as advertised, but it's a bit too expensive to appeal to more than the super rich or those with a morbid fear of wires. Read More..
