Eee PC - Blog » David Gonzales

Qualcomm readying color mirasol screen-equipped video playback enabled e-book readers for 2010

David Gonzales — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:24:44 +0000

While the touchscreen display on Sony’s e-book reader might have been the one to drive sales to the point where it exceeded company expectations, Qualcomm is hoping another type of display technology will help them in the same way. Doing away with e-ink, Qualcomm has opted to use what it calls mirasol displays, which not only offer better readability but also better battery life.

Where mirasol shows its strength is in battery performance. A standard ebook reader – such as the Kindle – could last for roughly 20-percent longer if its monochrome e-ink display was switched for a mirasol panel, assuming the same sort of use. As the mirasol team explained, however, once you start pushing traditional e-ink panel refresh rates, up to the point you can display smooth video, and introduce color, power draw can actual go beyond that of a regular LCD display. A color e-ink video-capable Kindle would last roughly a day using the same battery; meanwhile the same unit with a mirasol panel would last around a week.

That alone makes it sound pretty interesting, and its form factor isn’t a lot different from the now familar Kindle e-book reader which Amazon offers. Qualcomm is very confident in this new display technology of theirs and promises to deliver by the latter part of 2010, continuously working with OEMs to make it possible.

Via Slashgear

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Qualcomm readying color mirasol screen-equipped video playback enabled e-book readers for 2010

Sony seeing strong demand for touchscreen e-book reader

David Gonzales — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:21:45 +0000

Sales of Sony’s touchscreen e-book reader must have picked up recently, as the electronics giant is reporting that sales of the said device has exceeded company expectations, though they didn’t disclose how many units exactly they have sold. President of Sony’s digital reading unit Steve Haber mentioned in an interview with Bloomberg that ““The big shift over from analog to digital is happening in the reading space.” Well, Steve, welcome to the future. Currently, Sony owns 35% share of the e-book reader market, according to Forrester Research, Inc. I won’t be surprised to see them get a bigger piece of the pie as the market grows even more.

Via Bloomberg

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Sony seeing strong demand for touchscreen e-book reader

Intel’s Dan Sakols shows Viliv S5 MID as light gaming and live videocasting device

David Gonzales — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:37:31 +0000

If a Viliv X70 MID isn’t quite your thing, you might like its smaller counterpart–a Viliv S5 which works in about the same as it but comes with a smaller screen. In the above video, Intel’s Dan Sakols can be seen using it with a cool-looking lightweight “flight sim” game and with a program called live videocaster with which a user can broadcast live video via an Internet connection. That might sound cool on paper, but it’s even cooler when you see it in action, which you can by watching the video above.

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Intel’s Dan Sakols shows Viliv S5 MID as light gaming and live videocasting device

Intel’s Ultra Mobility Group marketing manager shows off Viliv X70 MID with Windows XP

David Gonzales — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:35:01 +0000

Need a cool mobile Internet device running Windows XP? Look no further than the VIliv X70 MID. Intel’s Ultra Mobility Group marketing manager Rama can be seen in the above video playing with it and showing off its programs on top of the Windows XP operating system. The video description on YouTube goes:

Rama from Intel’s Ultra Mobility Group shows how she optimized an Intel Atom processor powered Viliv X70 mobile Internet device for microblogging, accessing entertainment and touch screen finger writing recognition apps for enjoying the full Internet on the go.

Hit play on the above video yourself to learn a thing or two about the Viliv X70 MID with Windows XP.

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Intel’s Ultra Mobility Group marketing manager shows off Viliv X70 MID with Windows XP

ITG’s xpPhone now comes with options for 5MP camera, larger screen, faster processor and Windows 7

David Gonzales — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:33:20 +0000

The rather unimposing xpPhone that a company called ITG is currently working on has just gained new features ahead of its (as of yet still unknown) release date. While it’s already known that it will have a 4.8-inch WVGA touchscreen display, AMD Super Mobile CPU and Windows XP pre-installed, ITG is set to offer upgrade options for everyone who orders, which include adding a 5-megapixel camera onboard, a 7-inch touchscreen, and even Windows 7 for an OS. Sounds pretty neat, but only time will tell if a device such as this really clicks with consumers (and not to mention our wallets). If pricing and release info come out in the next week or two, we’ll let you know.

Via Pocketables

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

ITG’s xpPhone now comes with options for 5MP camera, larger screen, faster processor and Windows 7

RAmos W7 shows itself in video hands-on

David Gonzales — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:31:01 +0000

Just when you thought you could forget about the RAmos W7 tablet, here comes a hands-on session in the form of a video. It doesn’t tell us anything new about the said tablet, though it shows just how fine Android looks on a 4.8-inch 800×480 touchscreen display and sort of confirms the use of a 600MHz “Rockchip” processor on the device. The video shows the RAmos W7 navigating the menus as well as the Web with ease. See the full video for youself after the break.

Via Sinobytes

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

RAmos W7 shows itself in video hands-on

Crunchpad already ’steamrolling’, to cost between $300 and $400 USD

David Gonzales — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:33:54 +0000

If at this point in time you still haven’t found your mobile Web surfing device of choice, you might want to take a look at Michael Arrington’s CrunchPad again as there are quite a few new updates regarding the said device. First, Michael Arrington himself has confirmed that the Crunchpad is already steamrolling and that the costs keep coming down so expect it to be launched very very soon. Second, it’s going to cost about $300 to $400 USD plus advertising in the form of sponsorships, and while I’m not sure what exactly that means I’m willing to bet it’s just another way of saying, “We’re going to show ads on the screen whenever, wherever,” though of course I could be wrong.

Also, it’s going to be sold only on the Web. So clearly Michael Arrington knows what he’s getting into with the somewhat ridiculously high pricing, considering how much already existing mobile Internet devices like the iPod touch and Archos Internet tablets cost (clue: somewhere around half the price of the CrunchPad. Right now, the CrunchPad isn’t available anywhere online or offline but expect a big announcement to come out about it soon.

Via UMPC Portal

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Crunchpad already ’steamrolling’, to cost between $300 and $400 USD

Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-Book Reader sees heavy demand before it even gets out the door

David Gonzales — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:52:50 +0000

The Android-based Nook e-book reader from Barnes & Noble won’t be shipping out until December 11, and that’s only the first batch. This is according to Barnes & Noble itself, saying that stronger demand that expected is pushing them to delay the product’s release. They won’t say just how many Nooks have been pre-ordered since the day it was announced and became available for pre-order, but it must be a pretty great number and it’s not really that surprising. Perhaps the consumers see potential in an e-book reader that’s running Google’s Android operating system. It does look very promising after all, and we hope to get out hands on one for a full test of its features.

Brighthand via WSJ

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-Book Reader sees heavy demand before it even gets out the door

Dual core Acer Aspire 1410 reviewed, deemed better than original

David Gonzales — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:50:15 +0000

Brad of Liliputing has taken the time to test an updated version of the Acer Aspire 1410 and has concluded that the new dual core version is more deserving of your money than the original single core version. The new Acer Aspire 1410 comes with a 1.2GHz Intel Celeron SU2300 processor instead of the old 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Solo SU3500. The result is that it’s better at some things like video and audio encoding, HD video streaming, and general computing tasks which can take up to three times longer or won’t work at all on most other netbooks. And while it also has an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and a 6-cell battery, it will only set you back $399 a piece. Smell like a good deal to you? It sure does to me. Check out the link below to read the full Acer Aspire 1410 dual core version review.

Via Liliputing

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Dual core Acer Aspire 1410 reviewed, deemed better than original

Sagemcom rebrands UMID M1 as Spiga PocketBook

David Gonzales — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:31:03 +0000

The UMID M1 might not be the best handheld device out there for mobile computing, but there are certainly people willing to pay for it. So of course, there are also people willing to sell it. French technology group Sagemcom wishes to have a piece of the small UMID M1 pie and so have decided to rebrand it as the Spiga PocketBook, a variant with a 1.1GHz Intel Atom CPU, 8GB SSD storage and built-in 3G connectivity. It’s going to be priced €499 (about $742 USD) and might possibly go for lower if carrier subsidies happen somehow. It’s not a bad little contraption, but as Pocketables points out it makes little sense to get the Spiga PocketBook for about the same price as a “real” (non-rebranded) UMID M1 that offers more. But well, people have their reasons.

Via Pocketables

A post from the Asus Eee PC blog.

Sagemcom rebrands UMID M1 as Spiga PocketBook