What comes across your mind when you see the word ‘ishine’? Probably an offspring from a forbidden tryst between Apple and LG, eh? Guess that is not so, as the ishine is actually a portable media player from MUMU. This super slim PMP (7mm thick) does bear some of LG’s Chocolate charm, red keys and all, and features the following :-
No idea on how much it costs though.
The QNAP NVR-1012 Network Surveillance Kit targets both home and office use, featuring professional grade live video recording and real-time remote monitoring/playback service. It relies on the Linux OS as the base where performance is a proven thing, and is extremely easy to set up even for the uninitiated. The entire system configuration and recording/monitoring functions of the NVR can be performed via Internet Explorer with no need for complicated software installations.
Besides the built-in Ethernet connection the cameras also provide a great alternative for home users to connect wirelessly. The state-of-the-art 2-way communication system supports synchronized video and audio monitoring and recording. Users can speak directly for the instant conversation or even use the camera to perform voice-broadcast. The real-time remote monitoring service that is viewable on IE browser can now even stream the live video to any 3GPP-enabled handset. The NVR-1012 supports high resolution MPEG-4 and MJPEG recording of up to 4 channels simultaneously. The server supports up to 1TB internal SATA hard drive. The storage capacity can be expanded to 2TB at maximum via eSATA connection to an external hard drive for long-term recording. The energy-saving design of NVR-101 enables non-stop system operation 24×7 at the power consumption of less than 18W, which is more power-saving than an energy-saving bulb. The NVR-101 is also equipped with a low-noise fan for quiet operation. The NVR-1012 is the new generation digital surveillance solution which provides immediate effective protection yet affordable and it is perfect for home and office.
Sounds as though this makes for the perfect Father’s Day gift, as the man of the house ought to keep his family safe.
Recently the 13-inch notebook segment has emerged as being one of the most competitive segments in notebook design and also the most diverse sets of products available. This size was already quite interesting when the major players were the Dell M1330, Sony SZ, and Apple’s MacBook, but the shot in the arm came with the Lenovo X300 and macbook air. The last two made it clear that 13-inch notebooks were not only capable thin-and-light systems, but could also be designed to be sub-3lb and compete with ultraportables.
Sony’s SZ is not a flyweight like the Air or X300, but rather is going for that powerful-yet-portable role. It takes a number of design cues from Sony’s incredibly cool, yet underpowered, TZ and Sony has no problems with making a computer this size into a beautiful executive-style notebook. In fact, the SZ we will be featuring in this review is a Premium model, which brings along a number of improvements over the standard version, but also a serious price tag ($2499.99 as tested).
The SZ (model VGN-SZ791N) as tested arrives with an Intel T9300 processor (2.5GHz), 4GB RAM, a 250GB 5400RPM disk, Intel GM965 Express chipset , and a DVD-RW drive. Graphics are handled by an Nvidia 8400M GS video solution and it uses a 13.3-inch 1280×800 LED backlit display. Communications options include ethernet/modem jacks, Bluetooth, Intel 4965AGN wireless, and Sprint mobile broadband. The system is 12.5″(W) x 1.0″-1.5″(H) x 9.3″(D) and weighs in at 4.0lbs.
The SZ, like other Sony notebooks, capitalizes on Sony’s brand name and high-end design in order to justify a considerable price increase over the competition. The Premium model throws in unnecessary but impressive features like a carbon fiber chassis in order to differentiate the model from the competition even more, but also gets a higher end processor and more RAM than the standard SZ. The end result is one of the most appealing notebooks in the size category, but for a lot more dough than other similarly spec’d models.
Looking at the SZ there is no doubt that Sony is still a leader in notebook design. The SZ is a bit on the bulky side (it gets well over an inch thick), but their use of building materials is top notch. The SZ does not have all the extras of the TZ, like the green LED on the end of the hinge or the separated (”MacBook-style”) keys, but it still looks great. The LCD cover is extremely thin and the way the keyboard is designed is quite slick. The build quality is very good, and while you can’t exactly tell that carbon fiber was used, even a quick look at this SZ will set it apart from something like the M1330 (which is pretty nice in its own right).
The goal of the 13.3-inch size is to balance size and usability. So despite the 4lb weight, the SZ has an optical drive, discrete graphics and a full assortment of I/O features. It has a 2.5-inch disk, optical drive, webcam, mobile broadband, PCMCIA expansion slot, and all the other things that consumers are looking for out of a cabable notebook. It’s not exactly a mobile workstation, but it’s power/weight ratio seems excellent (at least on paper). Sony gave the SZ a full set of features, including FireWire, VGA-out, a MemoryStick reader, port replicator, and two USB slots. If you want a card reader you have to plug in the included Memory Card adapter in the ExpressCard slot, which will give you xD, SD, and MMC support.
One thing that is worth noting right from the start is the SZ’s LCD. The 13.3-inch widescreen display is one of the best made today, and with the brightness cranked up it is impressive. The LED backlighting allows it to get quite bright as well as having better coloring than the typical notebook. This is even more impressive when you factor in that the Premium uses a thinner LCD cover than the standard SZ. The Premium is also said to have improved backlighting, so that could be a factor, but Sony is generally strong in the display department.
The 13.3-inch notebook allows for a full-sized keyboard and Sony did a very nice job here. At first the keyboard feels low profile (which seems unnecessary given its thickness of up to 1.5-inches), but despite limited travel it is comfortable to use, even for extended periods. Typing can be both fast and accurate despite the design which does not seem like it would be as enjoyable to use as it turned out to be. The cursor controls get the job done but aren’t anything exceptional–it’s just a trackpad with two buttons and a fingerprint reader between them. The buttons have a nice action and an accurate click so they are better than most in this regard.
Performance benchmarking for the SZ did not go as smoothly as expected. Despite using our standard suite of tests and Windows Vista, the OS had issues with a number of the applications. General operation did not have many hiccups at all (aside from a strange, occasional slowdown of the cursor controls) so this was probably caused by some of the system’s bloatware or some of Sony’s annoying bundled software. Past that the SZ offered up snappy performance in Vista and solid benchmark ratings. These include PCMark02 scores of 9053 (CPU), 28188 (Memory), and 1066 (HDD) and Super PI 1M/2M scores of 22.636 and 48.516. Graphics testing went very well thanks to the discrete graphics and the system pulled down a 13595 in 3DMark01, 4881 in 3DMark03, and 2090 in 3DMark05. So overall the SZ handled itself nicely. This is a max’d out version of the SZ, but the system definitely can be a capable performer.
According to Sony the expected battery life for the SZ Premium is between three and six hours. During testing we tended to eek out about three hours, sometimes a little bit more, but not much. This puts it on the low side for an ultraportable (if you are grouping it with smaller machines), but is disappointing any way you look at it. We tested with the standard battery, but an extended model is available for $249.99 if you plan on taking the SZ on any long flights.
During day-to-day use the strengths of the SZ shine through. For users who value portability but prefer usability the SZ hits the mark. The combination of the display and the keyboard make the SZ a pleasure to use and while the notebook is not very small, it is still more than easy enough to get from place to place. The size difference between the SZ and the typical 12-inch ultraportable is almost non-existent, unless you were considering something that is built specifically with portability in mind (for example, the Toshiba R500 versus the HP TX2000). Vista has all of its normal hits and misses but ran well on the system as did most graphically intense programs, thanks to the combination of the Nvidia 8400 graphics with a very solid Intel processor (T9300) and 4GB of RAM. It’s no gaming system, but the discrete graphics give you more power under the hood than you might expect from a system that is under 5 lbs.
In the end, the SZ exceeded my expectations. Based on the price, the intense competition in the 13.3-inch segment, and the lackluster performance from Sony’s brilliantly designed TZ, I did not expect the SZ to hold up as nicely as it did. Immediately it was clear that Sony designed the SZ well, with excellent material, like an aluminum palm rest and carbon fiber LCD cover. The system gets warm, and while some points on the bottom get very hot, the palm rests and keyboard stay cool even with the high-end processor. Performance was strong throughout testing, making the SZ a very good cross between size and weight. There are a lot of options in this size/performance class, but if you like high-end frills like carbon fiber and a brilliant display (and you have some extra money to spend) then the SZ is worth checking out.
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Nokia 5320 XpressMusic cell phone
The Nokia 5320 XpressMusic features a dynamic design with 3G social entertainment capabilities and it delivers exceptional music and web 2.0 access. Offering an array of additional features, the Nokia 5320 XpressMusic device includes dedicated XpressMusic keys, a 3.5mm audio jack, up to 24 hours of playback time, an audio chip for hi-fi sound quality, extendable memory up to 8GB, HS-USB for fast music transfer and HSDPA for fast access to data.
Nokia 5220 XpressMusic Cell Phone
The Nokia 5220 XpressMusic device offers instant access to music on-the-go with a unique, asymmetrical design. Featured for the first time on a Nokia XpressMusic device, a built-in lanyard makes the device easy to carry anywhere. Additional features of the Nokia 5220 XpressMusic include up to 24 hours playback time, dedicated XpressMusic keys and a 3.5mm audio jack.
Both music devices are expected to begin shipping in the third quarter of 2008, with an expected retail price range of 160 to 220 EUR, before taxes and subsidies.
Source: Nokia Launches 2 New XpressMusic Phones
by Nilay Patel, posted Apr 21st 2008 at 3:28PM
The recent shakeups at the top of the OLPC hierarchy have apparently claimed another victim, as OLPC News is reporting that Software and Content chief Walter Bender has just left the project. Rumor is that Nicholas Negroponte is going to transition the OLPC XO entirely to Windows XP to spur sales soon, and Bender is reportedly unhappy about that. What makes this all the more interesting is that when security director Ivan Krstić left the OLPC project last month, he specifically said he was unhappy that the restructuring no longer required him to work with Bender, and said that he could no longer “subscribe to the organization’s new aims or structure in good faith.” Looks like something’s afoot at OLPC, and the old guard isn’t happy about it. What say you, NickNeg?
Filed under: Laptops
Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. has just dropped an announcement concerning its new full disk encryption (FDE) 2.5″ 7,200RPM SATA hard disk drive, bringing a whopping 320GB of storage space to the table while offering the industry’s highest security standard for data at rest. The Fujitsu MHZ2 CJ series is proud to claim the mantle of being “the first HDD in the world to support the hardware-based AES-256 bit encryption standard”, preventing unauthorized access by virtue of setting a password. High performance and maximum data security? I like the sound of that - it certainly makes the mouth water.
Fujitsu’s take on security is slightly different as current software-based security solutions has encryption keys that exist in system memory whenever the system is being used, and in addition to that, the encryption is computationally intensive, which is detrimental to the system performance. Fujitsu’s MHZ2 CJ series will rely on the hard drive’s hardware to perform both encryption and decryption, freeing up the CPU for more important tasks. Heck, the key used to encrypt and decrypt data is cryptographically regenerated whenever the correct password is received at power-on, and won’t be able to be attained whenever the system is turned off. Data encryption and decryption will be done automatically without any impact on the system performance. The spate of laptop thefts in recent news also makes such a solution all the more viable, so bosses of large corporations, take not if you value your organization’s data.
The Fujitsu MHZ2 CJ series also comes with a special advanced secure erase feature that immediately invalidates every piece of data just by changing the in-drive encryption key, turning the stored data completely indecipherable. Such an immediate and secure erasure ensures both time and money savings will be trickled down to the company’s bottom line, which is always good for shareholders. I suppose folks who download plenty of illegal stuff from their homes would appreciate this feature as well, considering the overzealous folks at the RIAA when it comes to dispatching their duties.
Press Release
Starlight Fibre Optic Lamp
Oh dear. Lava lamps are back again. For about the third or fourth time. Last time, they were back ‘in’ for about six weeks in summer 2006 while on Big Brother or somesuch, before being declared spectacularly ‘out’ by the time the leaves started to fall. Such are the perils of being a fashion icon.
See price
Pocket-lint reviews the Samsung Armani and writes, “Samsung makes up for this boo-boo with a capable 3-megapixel camera. Admittedly there’s no auto-focus or flash but it nevertheless takes solid snaps with strong colour reproduction. Video capture is also quite slick, shooting in two resolutions: 320 x 240 pixels at 30fps and 352 x 288 pixels at 15fps.”
Read more about the Samsung Armani.
by Thomas Ricker, posted Apr 21st 2008 at 4:08AMMSI just got right with the gadget lorf by going official with its Wind Notebook. Launched anonymously at Intel’s IDF, the Wind is pretty much everything we’ve heard: about 1-kg weight; XP-only (at the moment); LED-backlit, 8.9- and 10-inch 1,024 x 600 displays; and traditional 80GB, 2.5-inch hard disk. MSI also claims to have a superior keyboard and battery life compared to the competition. Yup, they’re looking right at you Eee PC. No word on price or delivery date though we previously heard Juneish (with Atom CPU launch) for between $470 to $1,099.
[Via DigiTimes]
Filed under: Laptops
Microsoft boffins have come up with force sensing technology that requires much more effort than touching a touch screen display in order to control it - you will be required to bend/twist/stretch/squeeze your handheld device instead. I guess the novelty is there, but is it really practical? After all, spending more energy than you need shouldn’t make a device easier to use, in fact it might even be more frustrating especially for the older folks who might have lost a fair bit of their hand strength due to ageing. Anyhow, this technology relies on a quartet of sensors embedded within the device’s casing so that it won’t need to be made out of special flexi-material. The user will interact with the device’s casing, with a plus point being enabling the display to be kept at the most natural viewing angle. Which would you prefer - touch-based navigation or force sensing?
