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The BlackBerry PlayBook Is Now Available In The US & Canada

Posted: 19 Apr 2011 05:08 AM PDT


Never mind the reviews, if the PlayBook is on your shopping list, you probably don’t need a reminder that hits a variety of retailers today in both the US and Canada. Pricing is much like the iPad’s with the 16 GB WiFi version starting out the party at $500, the 32GB costing $599, and the 64GB running $699. Of course the PlayBook is only available in WiFi models as of yet with the 3G models still on tap for a later release.

So now the question is whether you should actually buy the PlayBook. MG found it incomplete, which is in line with most other reviews as the PlayBook doesn’t have a native calander, email client, or Android app compatibility. John also has a review sample and notes the same thing along with stating it’s a “very usable device.”

It’s likely that most early adapters already made up their minds. Everyone else might want to wait until RIM updates the PlayBook to a complete platform. Updates have been coming constantly so that might be sooner than later. We’ll post an updated review once the PlayBook hits that point.

Research In Motion first announced the PlayBook seven months ago and the company delivered on its promises. In fact the PlayBook of today is nearly identical to the Playbook of seven months ago including specs, design, and functions. From the start the PlayBook was heralded as a BlackBerry companion device with the key function being tether between the two. That’s still the case today but no one outside of Waterloo expected RIM to launch the PlayBook without an email application.

Limited Edition Camera From Japan: TOWER RECORDS×PENTAX RAINBOW K-r

Posted: 19 Apr 2011 05:03 AM PDT

Another month, another Pentax special edition camera from Japan: the company today announced [JP] the so-called TOWER RECORDS×PENTAX RAINBOW K-r. The device is a follow-up to the TOWER RECORDS × PENTAX RAINBOW K-x from last year.

Technically, Pentax didn’t change anything from the conventional K-r – apart from creating the special “No Music, No Life” home screen you can see below (that’s Tower Records Japan’s slogan).

Pentax will start shipping the camera on July 22 but start accepting pre-orders tomorrow (price: $1,100, including a DA 35mm F2.4 AL lens). The device is limited to 300 units, so if you’re interested in importing one, I suggest you contact Tokyo-based shopping service Rinkya as soon as possible.

TeeFury, Shirt.Woot Celebrating Portal 2 In Their Own Way

Posted: 19 Apr 2011 04:43 AM PDT


Happy Portal 2 day! If you’re reading this then you’re clearly not enjoy Valve’s latest gift to mankind. What’s wrong with you, man?!?! TeeFury, Shirt.Woot and probably other sites I don’t check every morning are getting in on the Portal 2 fun with limited edition shirts. I’m mentioning Shirt.Woot (pictured) only for laughs because their shirt is already sold out. It’s too bad I blew my week’s t-shirt budget on yesterday’s Firefly tribute shirt otherwise I would totes get TeeFury’s Portal 2 shirt. Any others out there?

Hitachi Announces First USB 3.0 External Drives, Bundled With Personal Cloud Space

Posted: 19 Apr 2011 02:31 AM PDT

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (which was just acquired by Western Digital) has announced the company’s first USB 3.0 external hard drives, the so-called Touro Mobile Pro Portable Drive and the Touro Desk Pro External Drive (the bigger one in the picture). What’s special about these devices is the personal cloud-based back up solution they come with.

In other words, you can store data on your hardware and online – if things go awry in either one of these “two levels of protection” (Hitachi), you don’t have to worry about losing valuable data. Both drives spin at 7,200rpm.

In the US, the Touro Mobile Pro Portable Drive are already available with 500GB ($109.99) or 750GB ($129.99) on board, while the desktop version will be launched in three versions in June: 1TB ($129.99), 2TB ($179.99) or 3TB ($229.99).

Included in these prices are 3GB of free storage space “in the cloud”, which is not really all that much (it costs $49 per year to upgrade 250GB).

Hitachi GST also plans to ship USB 2.0 versions, by the way (full details in the press release).

Fujitsu Develops World’s Smallest And Thinnest Palm Vein Sensor

Posted: 19 Apr 2011 01:22 AM PDT

Fujitsu today announced it has developed the world’s smallest and thinnest palm vein sensor used for authentication purposes. The device is sized at just 29mm on a side and 11.2mm high, which makes it nearly 70% smaller than the smallest sensor that’s currently in Fujitsu’s line-up. It can capture the user’s palm veins at 20 frames per second.

The contact-less sensor was developed in cooperation with subsidiary Fujitsu Frontech, which produces equipment for a variety of industries (including ATMs). The first device to incorporate the sensor will be a laptop aimed at businesses before possibly offering it in computers for the consumer market as well, according to a report in Japanese business daily The Nikkei.

Fujitsu told the Nikkei that the business notebook will be $242 more expensive than comparable devices that don’t come with the sensor (but didn’t reveal when and in which market it will be launched).

Daily Crunch: Studious Edition

Posted: 19 Apr 2011 12:00 AM PDT

EFB For iPad: Will Your Pilot Be Using This In 2012?

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 07:30 PM PDT


Back in February, we heard that a private jet company had gotten FAA approval to use an iPad-based charting system instead of paper charts, which are the standard throughout the industry. They used an app called Mobile TC, but GlobalNavSource has come up with another app, EFB (“electronic flight bag”), and it’s being offered for free until they release it commercially on June first. This isn’t Flight Control crossed with Google Maps: it’s an actual tool for pilots that could easily be used by commercial airlines in the next couple years.

The app includes detailed maps of airports, approach vectors, flight lanes, and actively monitors thousands of weather stations throughout the US. All the data is collated internally and distributed automatically; there’s no need for a secondary subscription or what have you. And it’s downloaded ahead of time, so it can be actually used during flight, not just for prep.

One pilot comments at Hacker News that he would be concerned about two things: a pilot relying too heavily on the iPad, which, while robust enough to garner FAA approval in the previous situation, still has batteries and may fail or get damaged. A lazy or sloppy pilot might not think to familiarize or provide himself with the paper maps. Of course, a lazy or sloppy pilot suggests to me a number of dangers. The bright iPad screen could also be a hindrance to night vision (glowing or lit instruments are generally kept to a minimum during near-ground navigation), but that’s a matter for the pilots to work out in situ.

What I wonder is whether an app like this on a piece of consumer tech will be deemed the proper vector, as it were, for this information. Screens built into the cockpit would potentially be more closely tied to the plane, more secure, easier to regulate, and so on. But a plane with such a system might easily outlive the system’s practicality (it would look as antiquated in ten years as the switches and dials look now), and of course there are other risks inherent in such an approach. Yet some companies (as a commenter noted on our previous post) have been using Windows-based tablets for this purpose for quite a while.

You can download the app from iTunes for free until June first, but after that time it will be a subscription service, which really is the only thing that makes sense, given the presumably large cost of operating this service.

Gigantic AR Card Creates Life-Sized Miis (Kind Of)

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 06:57 PM PDT

Here’s something to save up your coins for, at least if you’re in Japan. Nintendo’s “Club Nintendo” rewards program lets you trade product registration and stuff for little rewards, like a Game & Watch replica or a case for your DS. And one new item in the Japanese Club Nintendo is this giant AR card, that creates virtual Miis as big as you — if you were inside your 3DS, that is.

Or you could just make one with magic markers. Either way.

[via Akihabara News]

Film Canister USB Drives Hold More Pictures Than They Did As Film Canisters

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 06:30 PM PDT

Everyone likes a good novelty flash drive, as long as it’s the right kind of novelty. Photographers will enjoy these little 35mm film canisters converted into 2GB and 4GB drives — at $19 and $24 they’re not too expensive, and there’s a choice of many different film types, so you can pick one he or she might have actually used.

No T-Max 400, though, that was my jam. Check ‘em out over at Etsy.

[via The Awesomer and New Launches]

CrunchDeals: 8GB iPod Touch For $185 Shipped

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 05:29 PM PDT


Quick! You’ve got three and a half hours (as of my writing this) to pick up a new iPod touch at this solid price — $185 is $45 off the normal $230. 8GB isn’t a lot of space, to be sure, but for a dedicated streaming music and app machine, this is a great deal. Head over to eBay’s daily deal page to pick one up.

[via 9to5Mac]

Samsung’s Connected Fridge Gets Priced

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 05:00 PM PDT

There’s nothing wrong with a little technology in the kitchen, but I think most people could do without tweeting from their refrigerator. But if tweeting from the ice cube dispenser sounds like you, then check out the Samsung RF4289 refrigerator. Sure it’s going to set you back $3,500 but think of the water cooler talk.

This fridge runs what appears to be a heavily customized Android OS on an 8-inch touchscreen and connects to the internet over WiFi. The only downside to this fridge, besides the price, is that the screen is not removable. Going back to the fridge to read recipes would get annoying quick.

[via Electronista]

“Quattrogiga” Leather-Bound Notebook Snaps Shut With A USB Cable

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 04:30 PM PDT


What’s the main problem with notebooks? You know, like paper notebooks, stacks of paper stuck together, that you write on. What’s the problem with them? They don’t store any gigs of data at all! Unless you manually transcribe the bits and bytes onto their pages, and that’s really not efficient. This notebook is different, though. It has quattro. Quattro. Quattro gigs, my friend.

It’s called the Quattrogiga, made by Pinetti, part of their new collection — most of which is different kinds of baskets. A strange place for a USB leather notebook case to show up, but there you go. These Italians are cuckoo.

The strap is, yes, a four-gigabyte flash drive that attaches firmly to the back and removably to the front. Could be handy, except of course in the many circumstances when you don’t want your notebook attached to your laptop.

[via LikeCool]

New Contour “Plus” Helmet Cam Spied At Bike Race

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 04:06 PM PDT

You guys may already be familiar with the ContourHD rugged sport-cam we reviewed and its GPS-enabled successor. It looks like the family may be getting a little bigger over the next few months: BikeRumor spotted a new “Plus” variety of the device, which supposedly has a wider lens angle (170º vs 140º), an external mic port, and a few other improvements.

Looks sweet; I can’t wait for the official announcement.

[via Engadget]

Fake iPhone Nano Surfaces In China

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 03:30 PM PDT

After seeing this, I’m glad those iPhone Nano rumors weren’t true. According to Giz-China, this fake iPhone 4 Nano runs a Java-based OS that reportedly acts a lot like iOS. The knockoff includes front and rear 1.3 megapixel cameras but I don’t see it working well with FaceTime.

This phone is a great example of why Apple isn’t making a 2/3 scale iPhone 4. On a positive note, it does have Apple beat on price: only $58.

[via TUAW]

Triple-Booting Maestro S Tablet/Netbook Includes Keyboard, Case, Kitchen Sink

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 03:00 PM PDT


Although the trend here in the US is towards a streamlined, single-input (i.e. finger) tablets like the iPad and Xoom, intricacy and versatility are the word over in Beijing right now, where dual- or triple-boot devices like this Maestro S are (they hope) all the rage.

I’ve heard that there’s a bit of a backlash against Google and Apple for not catering to Asian markets, and others are jumping at the chance to fill in the vacancy. While I’m not impressed with Windows 7 as a tablet ecosystem and MeeGo and Android are still in their infancy, I guess it might be nice to have a device that just does it all. Why not?

The Maestro S (being shown off at IDF Beijing) has a new 1.5GHz Atom Z670, 2GB of RAM, and 32 gigs of SSD storage. Its built-in accessories include a full keyboard and trackpad, plus a big ol’ kickstand there on the left side. It looks chunky as hell, but they’re claiming 16 hours of battery in Android and 10 in Windows 7.

Will it ever come to the US? I doubt it. It’d be mighty expensive and it goes against what consumers are demanding right now. But just so you know, these things are out there. Netbook News has more information and a video for you, along with a good round-up of the other good stuff they saw at the conference.

RIM, Caught Between Work And Whimsy, Has Lost Its Way

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 02:28 PM PDT


I’ve been using the Blackberry Playbook since Friday and I find it to be a unique and very usable device. The obvious problems aside – no native email client, poor browsing, wonky Flash support – it’s clear that RIM took lots of care to produce a device that would appeal to their core audience of crackberriers. Even the ill-advised Blackberry Bridge makes a certain kind of sense. Why? Because the removal of all points of security failure from the tablet gives the folks in IT a reason to OK the device on their networks. The same can’t be said of any of the other tablets, iOS and Android devices included. In fact, without the Bridge the Playbook is a simple and compelling media consumption device.

But Blackberry is now trying to survive a period marked by a rapid and permanent change in smartphone usage. Back when Blackberries were pagers, the best a business user on the road could hope for was a fax sent to a hotel room. A few short years later and Blackberry ruled the mobile messaging space. Their email product and messenger allowed countless people to remain connected everywhere, at all times, an accomplishment that brought about a sea change in the way we interact online. The Blackberry is a unique artifact that defined how a generation lived and worked. Blackberries made it OK to be always on call, much to our own detriment.


Then came the Sidekick. That phone, and its successors, changed how a generation played. Email and messaging on a phone quickly became de rigueur and, ultimately, a non-feature.

So now Blackberry’s most significant feature – email – is no longer very interesting. The squat, keyboard-centric devices are competing against devices of all shapes and sizes and Blackberry is losing.

According to IDC, RIM shipped approximately 48.8 million units worldwide, followed closely by the Apple’s 47 million. To put this into perspective, Nokia sold 453.0 million phones (not smartphones in particular, but total units) and Samsung sold 280.2 million (same caveat). To put it further into perspective, Apple has only been selling iPhones since 2007 while RIM has been selling phones since 1999. RIM’s smartphone market share is down from 34% to 29% in North America. And even newer contender, Android, is also taking its toll, though tracking it and its effects isn’t as straightforward.

When RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis flaked in a BBC interview, you could see a CEO at wit’s end. His product is, at best, a strong but uninteresting runner in a crowded race. Rather than outpacing the competition, however, RIM is barely keeping in stride. His claim that the phone is popular with “businesses, leaders, celebrities, consumers, and teenagers” is, in one sense, true. But any phone manufacturer can claim the same thing and be perfectly right. There are so many phones sold daily that RIM’s products are now a drop in the mobile bucket.

RIM is the next Nokia: an iconic company laid low by an unwillingness to adapt its products. It’s not pretty to see this happening to what is certainly a classic and influential device but even the Playbook, as unique as it is, won’t change customers’ perceptions of RIM. Claim all the brand loyalty you want here, but consumers have so much choice on so many fronts that even statistically RIM won’t be able to outsell their competitors. As Nokia learned far too late, it doesn’t make any sense to cling to old paradigms and rely on old strengths.

Do I want RIM to go away? Absolutely not. They produce excellent products. I love the interface and the design. However, when their most interesting device, the Playbook, refuses to play to the simple needs of the general consumer and maintains a dedication to a shrinking business fleet base, it’s time to rethink RIM’s place in the mobile ecosystem. It is my honest fear that RIM, like so many companies before it, will find that ecosystem more and more hostile to their unique product.

Lucasfilm’s New Office Is Decidedly Sandcrawlerish

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 02:00 PM PDT


Just a little Star Wars to start your week right. Lucasfilm’s (technically their Animation sub-company, which makes the Clone Wars cartoon) planned offices in Singapore are quite clearly an homage to the Jawa’s mobile homes in A New Hope. Hey, it’s an efficient design. I don’t think it’ll roll around, though.

[via Nerd Approved and Blastr]

Grooveshark Back On Android, Bypasses The Android App Market

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 01:48 PM PDT

A bit shy of two weeks ago, Google threw out a bit of a facepunch to music fans on Android: Grooveshark, a rather great (if questionably legal) over-the-air music streaming service was pulled from the App Market following record label complaints.

Today, Grooveshark makes its triumphant return to Android, albeit not through the official App Market.
Read the rest at MobileCrunch >>

Apple Says Samsung “Chose To Copy” iPhone and iPad, Sues Them

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 01:47 PM PDT

Wowza. Think that Samsung’s Galaxy phones or Galaxy Tabs are a little bit too much like the iPhone and iPad? Apple agrees. So much so, in fact, that they’re suing Samsung over it.

Video Review: Element Case Vapor Pro

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 01:09 PM PDT

Short version: The original Element Case Vapor certainly looked slick, but it had problems accepting larger 1/8″ headphone plugs — like the original iPhone. The latest revision, the Vapor Pro, addresses some of the complaints, but there is still an issue with the design.

Features:

  • Wider slots on top and bottom for headphones and dock connector
  • Polymer section over the antenna to eliminate "death-grip"
  • Perforated SIM card slot
  • Titanium alloy finish
  • Hex key tool for removal
  • MSRP: $149

Pros:

  • Gorgeous finish
  • Feels very grippy
  • Nice details and build quality
  • Serious protection

Cons:

  • Requires screwdriver to remove
  • Still doesn’t fit all headphone cables
  • Price

Product page

Review:

The Vapor Pro from Element Case has everything I’d want from an iPhone Case: unique looks, style, and a strong build. But what it doesn’t have is an easy way to remove the case. There are four hex bolts that hold the Vapor Pro tightly around the iPhone and removing them requires you to remember where you left the included hex wrench. It’s not a big deal, but that rare occasion where the 1/8″ plug is too big and you’re without the wrench is frustrating.

Aside from that one issue, the case is awesome. It’s one of the coolest-looking iPhone cases I’ve come across. People who saw the case on my phone asked about it. The matte anodized aluminum is gorgeous and is surprisingly grippy. Personally, I’ve never felt comfortable holding the iPhone 4 in my hand — I prefer the 3G(S). But with the Vapor Pro I never wanted to put it down.

The main reason I don’t use a case for my phone is either because they’re usually too bulky or too sticky to slide nicely in my front pocket. The Vapor Pro somehow is able to feel sticky in my hand but not against denim when sliding into my jeans — the material choice is perfect. But it comes at a cost. The case retails at $150. Aside from those ostentatious jewel-encrusted cases, it’s one of the most expensive iPhone cases out there.

The First Run Edition Vapor Pro is already sold out. But if you like what you see check out their next case that was just made available: the Black Ops edition. More are on their way in the coming weeks and prices are expected to be much lower, but the build and materials won’t be as high-quality. Check out their Facebook page for updates.

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