CES 2010: New Sharp HDTVs will be the first with four-color optics
It's a busy morning before the CES show floor opens, and it's the one day of the year when you're guaranteed lots of exciting news from the biggest names in consumer electronics. Tim Conneally reports live from Sharp's press conference.
12:40pm PT: lower budget version of the Quad pixel Aquos comes out in spring as well in sizes ranging in 60in, 52in, 46in, and 40in
TomTom rolls out low-cost GPS navigation in the US called EASE
The TomTom Start, available in Europe, is now coming to the United States as the TomTom EASE, which will serve as the company's entry-level device. The EASE features a simple two-icon touch screen, text-to -speech capabilities for street names, and TomTom's Easy Port mount that makes it the most compact navigation device the company sells.
In order to keep costs low, the screen is only 3.5-inches and the EASE includes maps for only the United States, so those driving to Canada or Mexico are out of luck. The EASE will be available soon in both black and white color options. Pricing was not announced.
AT&T to get HTC, Motorola Android, and Palm webOS phones
Ralph de la Vega, the CEO of AT&T Mobility (the company's wireless arm) announced at the AT&T Developer Summit in Palm Springs today that the carrier will be selling two phones running Palm's Linux-based webOS. De la Vega did not specify which devices from Palm AT&T will be carrying -- whether the Pre, Pixi or new models -- but he said they would come later this year.
Palm's webOS phones will join multiple Android-based models from Dell, Motorola and HTC. AT&T has not said which Motorola or HTC phones it will sell, but it's a major step forward for AT&T, which has had exclusive rights to Apple's iPhone for the past two and a half years and has shied away from promoting other smartphone platforms.
CES 2010: How soon will Nexus One be eclipsed?
The reviews are mixed on the Nexus One, the new smartphone -- or, as Google puts it, "superphone" -- announced by Google yesterday. It's an Android 2.1 phone for the T-Mobile network, for now, with availability on Verizon Wireless in April. On Betanews, the decision is split between whether Google has signaled the next revolution, and the revolution having already started without Google. The question today is, how long is Nexus One going to be the model of everyone's dreams, and by "how long," I mean, how many hours? That's the subject of my conversation this afternoon with Betanews contributing analyst Carmi Levy.
Powered by Podbean.com
AT&T to sell Dell's Mini 3 Android smartphone in H1 2010
Dell's Mini 3 Android smartphone is coming to the United States via AT&T after the computer maker previously forged deals with China Mobile and Brazil's Claro. The Mini 3 sports a 3.5-inch touchscreen, 3G and Wi-Fi, and runs Google's Android operating system, although it's not clear which version.
Pricing was not announced, although Dell says AT&T expects to make the phone available in the first half of 2010.
LG's latest Blu-ray player adds in 250 GB hard drive, can download VUDU movies
With the HD format war two years gone, we're starting to see innovations in the Blu-ray space that are turning the high-definition DVD players into full-blown home media boxes. BD Live brought Netflix streaming, in September LG introduced on-demand movies through VUDU and the latest player from LG -- the BD590 -- includes a 250 GB hard drive.
That means users can download and store movies, pictures and photos directly on the Blu-ray player. In addition, content can be copied to the BD590 over a home network from a PC. New partners for LG in 2010 include Picasa and AccuWeather.
Apple and Microsoft beware: Google will be an unstoppable force in mobility
Microsoft and Apple seem to underestimate how quickly Google is consolidating its mobile platform -- clearly so do geeks reviewing Nexus One. Google isn't just going for one piece of mobility but the whole shebang. Goggle is putting together the pieces to offer a single mobile lifestyle, with no PC required, supported by search and other Google informational services. Like everything else Google does, free is the glue sticking everything together.
Google's decision to sell Nexus One direct, even the carrier subsidized model, is part of the strategy. Open-source licensing has its limitations and risks fragmenting Android. As I explained in March 2009 post "There's an App for That," Apple changed the rules for mobile operating systems by breaking carrier control over updates. Apple distributes iPhone OS updates, preventing the kind of fragmentation typically caused by carrier distribution. By selling a handset direct, Google takes control of Android updates for a flagship phone that also acts like a baseline design model for handset manufacturers licensing the mobile operating system.
CES 2010: Toshiba uses PS3's Cell processor for new Cell TVs
It's a busy morning before the CES show floor opens, and it's the one day of the year when you're guaranteed lots of exciting news from the biggest names in consumer electronics. Betanews' Tim Conneally reports live from Toshiba's press conference.
10:36am PT: That's it...Toshiba's big announcement is the Cell TV...pics pending!
Sony launches line of SD memory cards, but says it still prefers Memory Stick
Joining Lady Gaga in the "strange news from CES 2010" department, Sony has unveiled a new line of SD/SDHC and microSD/microSDHC cards it will be selling in sizes ranging from 2GB to 32GB. The memory cards are rated Class 4 and will begin shipping later this month.
Sony has long offered a rival memory card standard called Memory Stick, which has somewhat fractured the industry and given headaches to consumers. However, Sony says the launch of SD cards does not mean it is abandoning Memory Stick, which it still feels offers "a range of unique benefits." Rather, the company simply didn't want to miss out on selling a product most everyone needs these days, whether in digital cameras, cell phones or media players.
DivX drops the set-top box, wants to embed DivX TV into your devices
DivX has a long history of trying to reinvent itself and this year at CES 2010, the company is attempting yet another shift: becoming an Internet TV platform for the living room. DivX TV will stream online media content to any connected device, including TVs, Blu-ray players and game consoles without requiring a separate box. Instead, the platform will be embedded directly into the device.
DivX TV content will come from the AP, blip.tv, Break, CNET, Dailymotion, Revision 3, TED, Twitter and more. The software will also be able to stream music from Rhapsody and Pandora, as well as display pictures from Picasa.
CES 2010 Live: How soon can Netgear deliver HD video on 11n?
Consumers said quite clearly that they just don't want another "box" hanging outside their PCs. That's why, this year, set-top box (STB) technology is being relocated inside the guts of HDTVs. Last year, Netgear showed off a device it thought might catch on, an "Internet TV" box. But what it really wants is the part of the action where its technology streams HD content locally within the home. So this year, we're expecting to hear more about something called "4x4 MIMO Full-11n" (say that three times real fast), which promises to be a more invisible way for Netgear routers to stream full HD content from the Internet (or from other devices) to the STBs built into new HDTVs. Patrick Roanhouse reports live from the scene of Netgear's morning press conference at CES.
Netgear had some nice wares to show off:
3G/4G Mobile Broadband Wireless-N Router (MBRN3000)
5-port Home Theater & Gaming Network Switch (GS605AV)
Digital Entertainer Express (EVA9100)
Powerline 200 AV Adapter Kit (XAVB2001)
Powerline 200 AV+ Adapter Kit (XAVB2501)
Stora (MS2110) - Media Raid NAS
Wireless-N 300 Router & DSL Modem (DGN2200)
Wireless-N 300 Router & DSL Modem-Mobile BBnd Ed (DGN2200M)
Polaroid appoints Lady Gaga as creative director
CES 2010 has only just got underway in Las Vegas, but the most bizarre news from the massive consumer electronics show is already here: Polaroid has signed a multi-year partnership with Lady Gaga in which the singer becomes creative director for a specialty line of Polaroid Imaging products.
It's not clear what Lady Gaga will be actually designing for Polaroid, but chances are she will promote specially branded digital cameras in an attempt to make Polaroid more attractive to a younger generation. Nikon has long been selling cameras with the help of Ashton Kutcher, although it's unlikely the TV-turned-Twitter star has any input into Nikon's designs.
What happened to the Android video chat phone I was expecting?
Saygus has been showing off its Android-based Vphone platform since November, so I was eager to get my hands on it to check out its noted two-way video chat capability. The CEA even gave the company an award for its innovation in low-latency 3G video chat.
Up until now, the company has only shown off the VPhone (or V1) handset, a very bulky, but respectably designed dual-camera slider. The video chat service had not been widely shown in action.
Nexus One: More than a phone, less than a game-changer
Call me hopeful that Google's announcement of Nexus One Tuesday helps it positively influence the evolution of an open, innovative wireless market. Call me similarly hopeful that Google's move into hardware -- a bold decision that builds on its earlier success facilitating the creation of the Android mobile operating system and orchestrating the Open Handset Alliance's go-to-market plans -- will drive the success of the next truly competitive smartphone platform.
But as hopeful as I am, I'm not yet convinced that one phone can ever deliver all the goods. Nexus One is hardly the earth-shattering, apocalyptic shot that will catapult the smartphone market into next week.
Marvell shows off the 'Alex' Android-based e-reader
Just a day before Barnes and Noble launched its Nook e-reader, a heretofore unheard of company called Spring Design sent out a mass-mail press release which showed its own dual-screen, Android-based e-reader called "Alex."
Like clockwork, the company filed suit against Barnes & Noble, claiming that the Nook copied its features, but without actually showing off a real product of its own.
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.