Asus is obviously happy with the performance of its upmarket Eee PC model, the S101, as it has now seen fit to grant it a successor.
The S121 comes with many familiar netbook specs - the Intel Atom CPU, 1GB RAM and choice of OS. However, it steps outside the norm with the inclusion of a WiFi-N connectivity. It is also offers a couple of marginal improvements over its predecessor – the screen is now 12.1” and it is expected to come with hybrid SSD/HDD storage and a full sized keyboard.
It has retained the trademark “exquisite” brown stylings, which this time looks to be a little deeper than those found on the S101 chassis and will surely go nicely with your autumn apparel. We’re still waiting for price and availability details, but we’d be expecting something around the £500 mark. More info as we get it.
Link: Asus (via New Launches)
Click HERE for source
LG is about to make your current Blu-ray player look so 2008, with a range of new networked players offering full access to the YouTube catalogue.
Launching at the forthcoming CES, the as-yet unnamed models will focus on both Blu-ray playback and on-demand entertainment, with deals in place with US movie retailers CinemaNow and Netflix, should you get an urge to view something new when the stores are closed. And if the bank balance is looking bleak (perhaps because you’ve upgraded your Blu-ray player for the third time in a year), YouTube will be available for clips of comic pets, wannabes and bootlegged gig footage.
Ok, we’re talking US services right now, but the technology is universal. We could still pull down YouTube clips in the UK and we have movie download firms in the UK who’ll be queuing up to jump on these players. So don’t be surprised to see these new players in the UK not long after the US launches, which are currently pencilled in for the first half of the new year.
Link: LG (via Engadget)
Sign up for the free T3 newsletter
Want your latest gadgets news delivered to your inbox every week? Register for the free T3 newsletter and relax as the headlines come to you!
- Sign up here…
Click HERE for source
Virgin and Be Internet may have offered some pre-Christmas cheer by signaling the arrival of their super-fast 50-meg and 48-meg broadband connections, but Britain is still chasing the global pack according to a top computer scientist.
Professor Christopher Bishop of Microsoft Research Cambridge reckons that unless Brits boost their bandwidth it could could have disastrous implications for the education and healthcare systems.
The prof also reckons that unless a major re-building of the nation’s online infrastructure takes place then Britain will be less equipped to tackle global warming. Crikey.
He says: "If we are looking for a government project that would stimulate the economy in the short term and help combat the impact of the credit crunch, while also bringing long-lasting improvements to the nation’s infrastructure, then we could do no better than rewire the nation with fibre optics."
It’s all down to the copper, y’see. Britain’s failure to replace their copper phonelines with road-runner like fibre-optic cables years ago has seen our little island fall way behind the Fear East and other regions when it comes to shifting our online data around the place.
The Prof adds: "We can now shift huge amounts of data speedily around the country but cannot move it for the last mile into people’s houses because there is not enough bandwidth in our domestic telephone cables, the only effective route we have for taking broadband signals into homes and small businesses. This is beginning to have serious consequences."
So come on Gordon, what are you waiting for? The future of Britain depends on your instant action to enable us a better Xbox Live connection, more HD movies. Oh and perhaps improve the economy, education system and environment, but first things first.
Link: The Guardian
Click HERE for source
A tablet-style device from Apple has been rumoured for years. In fact, it’s been rumoured so long, someone else ended up making and selling one. But 2009 could finally see a fully legit Apple tablet, dubbed the iPad.
Yes, we’re in the land of rumour and hearsay once more, although TechCrunch claims ‘three independent sources close to Apple’ have confirmed details of a prototype device to them. And from what they’re saying, it’s likely to be a large-sized iPod touch with 7-inch or 9-inch screen, mixing access to the iTunes app store with iTunes and a Safari web browser. They also add that prototypes have been ‘handled’ by those sources, with Apple now in discussions in Asia about mass production.
We’ll file this under ‘believe it when we see it’ for now, but it could make commercial sense, especially with a proposed launch in time for Christmas 2009.
Link: Apple (via TechCrunch)
Sign up for the free T3 newsletter
Want your latest gadgets news delivered to your inbox every week? Register for the free T3 newsletter and relax as the headlines come to you!
- Sign up here…
Click HERE for source
It might have its faults (let’s be honest, that keyboard isn’t for everyone), but the great thing about the Google G1 phone is the flexibility of its open source Android operating system. And if you’ve got a G1, you just might see a few changes for the good in the coming weeks.
An update to the operating system, codenamed ‘Cupcake’ is ready to go. According to reports, the new software will boost the camera (adding video recording), improve the browser, add an on-screen touch keyboard and generally fine-tune the phone, kicking out any early bugs.
Speaking to Engadget, handset maker HTC has confirmed the updated software will be offered as an over-the-air download, but has yet to divulge a date. Perhaps because that bit is down to T-Mobile. But who knows, you might be starting the new year with a new phone. Well, a much-improved one anyway.
Link: Android (via Engadget)
Sign up for the free T3 newsletter
Want your latest gadgets news delivered to your inbox every week? Register for the free T3 newsletter and relax as the headlines come to you!
- Sign up here…
Click HERE for source
Long before the netbook craze started sweeping across the world, OQO was creating some downright impressive ultra-portable systems. For a while though, OQO was in danger of being left behind by the these fashionable low cost devices, but it has caught our eyes once more, coming back with a brand new Model 2+, set to be unveiled at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show.
We’ll have to wait for the grand unveil at the CES Digital Experience for the full details, but for the moment we do know what the basic specs are going to be. The OQO Model 2+ packs a 1.86GHz Intel Atom processor, along with 2GB of RAM. The display is a touchscreen OLED, which has the potential to be a real beauty and give the battery life a decent boost. It’ll also include integrated 3G connectivity.
These new specs are a big step up from the Model 2’s Via CPU and single gig of RAM. OQO promises "performance up to twice as fast as its predecessor". Hopefully that’ll show a marked improvement on its running speed, which has previously struggled with Vista’s intensive system demands. No word on prices yet, but like its predecessors, we’d be expecting something fairly premium. For the chance to run a full blown Vista computer in a pocket-sized chassis, we expect it’ll be well worth the extra outlay.
Link: OQO (via GottaBeMobile)
Sign up for the free T3 newsletter
Want your latest gadgets news delivered to your inbox every week? Register for the free T3 newsletter and relax as the headlines come to you!
- Sign up here…
Click HERE for source
According to some national newspapers, we were all online during Christmas Day, hitting sales in search of a bargain. The truth is somewhat different.
A survey of web usage by Plusnet found that the number one site on Christmas Day was Google, no doubt fuelled by searches for turkey cooking times, online Christmas music and local snowfall. But a close second was Facebook, steadily increasing in numbers as the day wore on (and the boredom set in). Or maybe we were all passing on our post-Christmas Message greetings to Her Majesty via her Facebook page?
Shopping sites did get a traffic kick, with the likes of Amazon, iTunes and Play.com all doing well over Christmas and Boxing Day (as we loaded up on downloads). And even eBay proved popular - as we all rushed to dump those unwanted gifts. Well, there’s no point in leaving them hanging around is there?
Link: Plusnet (via Daily Telegraph)
Sign up for the free T3 newsletter
Want your latest gadgets news delivered to your inbox every week? Register for the free T3 newsletter and relax as the headlines come to you!
- Sign up here…
Click HERE for source
Leica has been making achingly hip cameras for longer than any of us have been alive, with the Leica D-Lux 4 Titan up there with the coolest compacts.
In truth, it’s no different to your average 10.1MP D-Lux 4, which means an overlarge 1/1.63" CCD image sensor, 3-inch LCD screen, manual and automatic operation, various scene modes, the option to capture RAW images and movie recording.
But this is a limited edition D-Lux 4, the ‘Titan’ highlighting the titanium case, while the limited edition matching calf leather case is certain to catch the eye of your average fashionista. Leica says that 10,000 of these babies will hit the market (and presumably the UK) for an as-yet undisclosed price in January. The price has been confirmed for Japan - it’s the equivalent of £935. Ouch!
Link: Leica
Sign up for the free T3 newsletter
Want your latest gadgets news delivered to your inbox every week? Register for the free T3 newsletter and relax as the headlines come to you!
- Sign up here…
Click HERE for source
Has the Christmas season left you tense and full of stress? You need a massage - and with the Harp Chair, you get it through music.
Just settle back into your medieval-style ‘throne’, grip the arm rests and feel yourself sink into tranquility as the soothing strings of the harp tingle your body and tantalise your ears. There are 60 brass strings in total (30 plain and 30 wound piano strings), all tuned to relax your upper and lower back, thighs and the palms of your hands.
Unfortunately those arm rests don’t kick in a motor to operate the harp, you’ll need to find an underling to strum as you take it easy, a bit rich when the makers are asking a hefty $7,000 for the chair. Mind you, if you can afford to pay that amount of cash for a wooden throne, we’re guessing you have enough in the bank to employ a professional harpist for a couple of hours each day.
Link: Hammacher (via Born Rich)
Sign up for the free T3 newsletter
Want your latest gadgets news delivered to your inbox every week? Register for the free T3 newsletter and relax as the headlines come to you!
- Sign up here…
Click HERE for source
Hanging a TV on a wall seemed like a silly idea a couple of years back, but with models like the slimline Philips Essence on the market, you no longer risk pulling half your plaster work down when you slap a screen to the wall. Likewise the incoming LG LH95.
The Philips ‘made for your wall’ model came in at 38mm thick, but the LG trumps that at just 24.8mm, which is probably significantly slimmer than the print or mirror you currently have on the living room wall. We don’t know as yet if the LG has a separate connectivity hub like the Essence, points off if it doesn’t.
What we do know is that it supports 240Hz TrueMotion Drive technology and has a whopping 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, so the lack of bulk doesn’t mean lack of cutting-edge features. It is being shown off at CES 2009 in Las Vegas, so expect more on this in the coming weeks. Then expect a rash of new TVs matching it - or even trimming a bit more off that profile during 2009.
Link: LG (via Aving)
Sign up for the free T3 newsletter
Want your latest gadgets news delivered to your inbox every week? Register for the free T3 newsletter and relax as the headlines come to you!
- Sign up here…
Click HERE for source
Next Page »