There’s a new review of the HTC Touch Diamond up on the net - this time by the folks at Mobile Tech Addicts. The Touch Diamond is of course, HTC’s latest attempt at creating an iPhone competing device. Unfortunately early reviews were not very positive about the Touch Flo 3D interface that comes with the Touch Diamond and it appears that the Mobile Tech Addicts review is very much the same way. Here’s an excerpt from the conclusion:

With Touch Flo 3D running it is far from a polished user experience, it is slow and buggy…If you are looking for a Windows Mobile device and know your way around the OS already this could be a good option but switch off Touch Flo 3D.

While I haven’t played with the Touch Diamond as of yet, it seems like a pretty good bet to look around before committing to the Diamond. No offense to Windows Mobile devices but the Touch Diamond is just another example of a Windows Mobile device with a kludged touch-based user interface strapped on top of the OS. While I do love Windows Mobile devices, I love the iPhone even more and the success of the iPhone should prove to Windows Mobile manufactures that the key is to redesign the entire platform including third aprty applications and how they interface to the user.

[Check it out via Mobility Today]

Technorati Tags: Mobility Tech Addicts, HTC Touch Diamond, Review

If you’re in need of a rugged Windows Smartphone device, you might be interested in the expensive Logic Instrument Tetra T-Pad. This smartphone features:

• Intel XScale 400MHz PXA263 procesor
• Drop Shock resistant design
• Windows CE.NET 4.2 OS
• 4 inch Transmissive TFT LCD touchscreen display with 480 x 640 resolution
• 16 key alphanumeric keyboard
• 5 hours of battery life
• Bluetooth
• Wi-Fi
• GPS
• Ethernet

The T-Pad meets U.S military standards for harsh conditions, weighs less than 1.3 lbs, is nearly anything proof (ok.. dust and water), can withstand shock, vibration, and freezing temperatures.. and yes.. costs ahem.. $2600.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Logic instrument, Tetra T-Pad, Windows smartphone

Nikon has formally announced the new D700 Digital SLR camera featuring a 12.1 effective megapixel Nikon FX-format sensor which measures 23.9 x 36 mm - that’s nearly the size of 35 mm film. The D700 builds upon the Nikon D3 professional digital SLR camera incorporating capabilities such as Nikon’s EXPEED image processing system, Nikon’s 51 point auto focus system with 3D focus tracking, and two Live View shooting modes.

Here’s a list of some of the key features found in the new D700:

• Nikon original 12.1 megapixel FX format CMOS sensor
• ISO sensitivity up to 6400 and low noise
• Continuous shooting up to 5 frames per second
• Three inch 920K dot VGA display with 170 degree viewing angle
• Two Live View shooting modes
• Rugged magnesium alloy construction
• 51 point auto focus system with 3D Focus Tracking - can be used individually or in groups
• Dynamic integrated dust reduction system - utilizes four distinct vibration frequencies to free particles from the sensor’s optical low-pass filter at startup, shutdown, or on demand
• 1005 pixel 3D color matrix metering II
• Nikon’s Scene Recognition System - analyzes information from the 1005 pixel RGB light sensor for use in auto exposure auto white balance, and autofocus calculations
• Nikon Picture Control settings
• Active D-Lighting with new auto mode
• CompactFlash card support and support for high speed UDMA CF cards
• Starts up in 0.12 seconds
• Shutter lag response time of 0.40 ms
• Outputs video via HDMI-C standard

The Nikon D700 will be available in late July for an estimated price of $2999.95 for the body only.

[Check it out]

[Check out the press release]

Technorati Tags: Nikon D700, Digital SLR

What’s a great way to distribute software to the masses? Distribute it with other products. That’s what Super Talent Technology is doing with the Ubuntu Linux OS. The company announced today that for a limited time, their line of MasterDrive MX SSD’s will come with a free CD containing both the Ubuntu Desktop Edition Linux OS and OpenOffice software.

The Ubuntu CD will be included with every MasterDrive MX device shipped from July 1st till September 30th, 2008. Models in the MasterDrive MX lineup include the 15GB FTM15GK18H, 30GB FTM30GK18H, 60GB FTM60GK18H, and 120GB FTM20GK18H.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Super Talent, MasterDrive MX SSD, Ubuntu Destop Edition Linux, OpenOffice

Got some Westinghouse Digital PR materials today via e-mail and I thought I’d pass it along to all of you. The company has two LCD based HDTV sets that might interest someone looking for a new display at home. One is a full HD 42 inch LCD panel while the other is a much smaller 16 inch flip-style LCD display perfect for environments like the kitchen.

First up - there’s the Westinghouse TX-42F430S:

• 1080p resolution (1920×1080)
• Built-in ATSC/NTSC/ClearQAM tuner
• All inputs support 1080p including component
• 5000:1 contrast ratio
• Four HDMI inputs
• Automatic source detection and switching
• Built-in 5 band equalizer
• Energy Saving Mode
• Advanced Video Adjustments
• Measures 42.2 x 29 x 10.5 inches and weighs 68.1 lbs

Now if you’re looking to hang up a display in the kitchen, then you should check out the Westinghouse PT-16H610S display. Features include:

• Dual-hinged flip-style design
• Can sit on counter-top, be mounted on a wall, or on the bottom of a cabinet
• Full 180 degree rotation of the front bezel
• 1080p HDMI input support
• 1366 x 768 resolution with 16.7 million color support
• 500:1 contrast ratio
• 90 degree horizontal viewing angle and 65 degree vertical viewing angle
• Measures 15 x 11.3 x 7 inches and weighs 7.7 lbs

Technorati Tags: Westinghouse TX-42F430S, PT-16H610S

MSI’s upcoming Wind desktop PCs are set to launch in Asia and in Europe starting in July. These systems feature a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, and a DVD drive. With starting prices at $199, these desktop systems are initially targeting the business audience. Consumer systems should hit the market sometime in the September time frame - just in time for the back-to-school season to really kick into gear.

Truth is.. with the possibility of an Atom based Dell Studio Hybrid system coming out shortly, I just can’t get excited by these MSI desktop systems anymore.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: MSI Wind Desktop, PC

The latest generation of graphics processors from NVIDIA and ATI certainly do rachet up the performance.. but they also do something a bit nasty - they rachet up the heat too. In order to combat heat produced by these video cards, manufacturers are building in large and more powerful heatsink fan combinations but that makes for a rather bulky solution for the video card (gone are those single slot solutions eh?). Well.. maybe not! Asetek has a new liquid cooling technology called LCLC designed which can be used for both the new ATI Radeon HD 4800 series as well as the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 200 series of GPUs. The solution can be used to bring down temperatures by as much as 80 degrees Fahrenheit during peak operations. Worried by the fact that you have liquid-anything in your PC? Well Asetek assures the LCLC has met rigorous testing and can withstand shock, vibration, and thermal stress for up to 50,000 hours (that’s roughly 6 years). One more reason to consider liquid cooling - it makes for a much quieter system AND you can achieve single slot form factors again for these ever faster video cards.

[Check it out via Crave]

Technorati Tags: Asetek, LCLC, graphics cards

AVING is reporting that MSI expects to begin shipping the MSI Wind in the Japanese market starting on July 4th. For those of you in the U.S., the Wind is now available for purchase on Amazon.com though you can expect a three to five week wait before you actually get anything in the mail. The only systems available at Amazon for now are Windows XP based systems.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: MSI Wind, Japan

It’s back-to-school season for Gateway as they’ve announced new updates to their line of notebooks and desktop PC systems. On the notebook side, the following lines got new models - the Gateway P, M, and T-series of notebooks. Several new models across all three lines now feature Intel Centrino Technology and Intel Core 2 Duo processor support. Other features on these notebooks include integrated Wi-Fi, integrated multimedia panel , touch-sensitive slide volume controls, front-access audio ports, DVD burner, and integrated web-cam. Some models feature HDMI support for digital audio/video output.

Some of the new notebook models include:

Gateway M-6848:

• Intel Core(R) 2 Duo T5750 processor
• 4GB of DDR2 SDRAM
• 250GB hard drive
• 802.11a/b/g
• Multi-format DVD-R/RW with LabelFlash technology
• Vista Home Premium 64-bit with SP1
• Garnet Red color
• MSRP of $799.99.

Gateway T-6836

• Intel Core(R) 2 Duo T5750 processor
• 4GB of DDR2 SDRAM
• 250GB hard drive
• 802.11a/b/g
• Multi-format DVD-R/RW with LabelFlash technology
• Vista Home Premium 64-bit with SP1
• Pacific Blue color
• MSRP of $799.99.

On the desktop PC side of things, several new models are now available for the Gateway FX, DX, and GT series of systems.

For the FX line, there’s the new FX4710 which features:

• New industrial design with streamlined black casing and silver trim
• LED status lights for key activities
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 processor
• 6GB RAM
• Overclocked NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT graphics
• Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit
• MSRP of $1,149.99

On the DX lineup, you’ve got new systems such as the DX4710 and DX4200. These systems feature the new industrial design from the FX4710 and feature the following:

DX4710:

• Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q6600
• Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit
• 6GB of RAM
• 22 inch widescreen HD LCD
• MSRP of $999.99

At $999.99, this certainly is an interesting price point considering you get a large widescreen display AND 6GB of RAM. The Q6600 processor is a bit slower in speed but heck - it’s still four cores.

DX4200:

• AMD Phenom 9500 Quad Core processor
• 6GB of RAM
• ATI Radeon HD 3450 graphics
• MSRP of 749.99

Another quad core budget machine - let’s face it - quad core is becoming mainstream at these prices!

Finally, you’ve got the GT series which feature AMD Triple Core and Quad-Core processors, 4GB of RAM, and ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics.

Many of these systems are either available only at retails or at both retail and the online Gateway website.

Technorati Tags: Gateway, T, P, M series, DX, FX, GT, Laptops, Desktops

DivX announced that the upcoming byd:sign LCD HDTV’s (models DC-1902DWB and DC-1902DWW) have received their official DivX certification making them the first LCDs to achieve this in Japan. Features of the byd:sign DC-1902DW displays include:

• 1440 x 900 resolution
• 300 cd/m2 brightness
• 500:1 contrast ratio
• Integrated DVD player
• USB ports
• SD/MemoryStick/MMC reader
• 8 ms response time
• HDMI v. 1.2 support
• Measures 494 x 412 x 130 mm
• 19 inch display

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: byd:sign, DC-1902DWB, DC-1902DWW, DivX Certification