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LG GD880 Mini offers touch in compact form |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 LG early this morning launched one of its smallest-ever touchscreen phones in the form of the GD880, or Mini. It has a unique waste-nothing design where the 3.2-inch display runs almost directly to the very edge, avoiding some of the bulk of other phones. At the same time, it's relatively thin and minimalist yet should be relatively sturdy with metal accents and an overall solid body.... |
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Nikon reveals two wide-angle SLR lenses |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Nikon tonight had its second round of camera news in as many weeks with two new lenses for both its DX- and FX-mount DSLRs. The 24mm f1.4G ED provides an even wider angle than many of Nikon's other primes and has an extremely wide aperture that both takes in a large amount of light and focuses quickly. It lacks image stabilization but uses Nikon's extra-low dispersion optics to minimize chromatic effects.... |
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Samsung intros Monte handset with TouchWiz 2.0 |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Samsung has introduced its latest feature phone, the S5620 Monte. The device features Wi-Fi connectivity and a 3-inch WQVGA touchscreen with a 16:9 aspect ratio. Samsung's TouchWiz 2.0 Plus interface provides quick access to apps for social networking services such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. A 3.2-megapixel camera is paired with software capable of smile shots, panoramas, and face detection.... |
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Best Buy clearing current MacBook Pros from inventory? |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 A possibly last-minute slip hints that Apple may be close to updating the MacBook Pro line. One Best Buy employee notes that all MacBook Pro models have been deleted from the company's inventory system, preventing them from ordering new models. The systems can still be found but are listed as "deleted."... |
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Inbrics to unveil Android MID next week |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 The Korean company Inbrics is set to launch its Android-based M1 MID next week at Mobile World Congress. Despite its MID designation, the device also works as a standard 3G phone. The form-factor is also close to many smartphones, with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen. Standard specs include an 800MHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU, 3 megapixel camera, front-facing VGA camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, and 3G or WiMAX components.... |
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Google to hold special event Tuesday |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Google tonight confirmed talk of a significant product update by sending an invitation to a special event on Tuesday at the company's Mountain View, California campus. The company is short on details but promises "some new product innovations" at the gathering.... |
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Microsoft says Windows 7 battery flaw is false |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Microsoft has denied suggestions that Windows 7 has been causing various battery issues with notebooks, according to a Microsoft Developer Network blog post. The company allegedly worked through a series of tests to determine if the operating system was mistakenly presenting the "consider replacing your batteries" warning. The engineers claim that, in each of the testing scenarios, the notification was only presented if the battery was actually performing below certain standards.... |
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Netflix may offer 1080p streaming, 5.1 surround [U] |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 (Updated with Netflix commentary) Netflix will try to claim an edge in its media service by offering streaming full HD, a rumor maintains this afternoon. The company will supposedly roll out 1080p streams with 5.1-channel surround sound at some point later this year. It currently offers 720p to just a handful of devices, most notably the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 but also Roku's Internet Player.... |
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Moto Droid to get Android 2.1 this week |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Motorola today told Droid owners that an update to Android 2.1 should be pushed to their phones sometime this week. The release should arrive over the air and will be accompanied by news of when the Cliq and Dext should get their own upgrades. The Droid gets the update first as its stock Android lets Motorola avoid extra testing.... |
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Google drops Nexus One early cancel fee to $150 |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Google on Monday quietly dropped the cost of the controversial Equipment Recovery Fee for the Nexus One to $150. The company's updated Terms of Sale now list a price less than half the $350 it had charged originally. The fee still takes effect within 120 days and stacks on top of T-Mobile's own $200 early termination fee.... |
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Corsair adds Nova and Reactor SSD series |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Still better known for its power supplies and memory, Corsair has recently introduced two new lines of solid state drives, naming them Nova and Reactor. The 2.5-inch Nova drives are available in 64 and 128GB capacities, while the Reactor can be had in 60 and 120GB versions. The Reactors are faster, with a 128MB cache and read speeds of 250MBps as well as 110MBps write speeds for the 60GB model. The 120GB Reactor musters respective 250Mbps and 170MBps speeds. Reactors also have a mini USB interface in addition to the SATA 3.0Gbps connection.... |
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Gmail to add Twitter-like live updates |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
Google will soon add a feature to its Gmail service that will allow users to share their status, much like on popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, according to a Monday WSJ report (subscription required). While the news is not yet official, it is expected to be made so as early as this week. The add-on will include a module that will display status updates of a user's Gmail contacts.... |
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Wisair outs Wireless USB display dock for MacBooks |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Wisair on Monday introduced a Wireless USB DisplayDock Set, allowing users to wirelessly connect their MacBooks to a desktop-like setup that include a monitor, speakers, a keyboard and mouse. The device connects to a USB port on any MacBook with Mac OS X Leopard or Snow Leopard. Wisair claims there are no delays in sending the keyboard or mouse commands due to the nature of the ultra wideband radio.... |
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Intel ships first quad-core Itanium |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Chipmaker Intel on Monday introduced its latest processor, the Itanium 9300-series, which is said to more than double the performance of the chip it replaces. Meant for use in enterprise servers, the 9300-series chips have two billion transistors and four cores, doubling that of the previous chips. This and other changes mean the new chip has eight times the interconnect bandwidth, five times the memory bandwidth and seven times the memory capacity with DDR3 components than the outgoing processors.... |
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LG Arena Max spotted with Snapdragon |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 The LG Arena Max smartphone previously only spotted at the FCC has now been leaked on the web, revealing it will sport a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU from Qualcomm. While the Arena Max has a larger body than the original Arena and a larger, 3.5-inch touchscreen, remaining specs should be largely identical. These include Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi and a 5-megapixel camera. The same 8GB of internal storage and a microSDHC memory card slot are also expected.... |
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Holiday sees iPhone steal some BlackBerry market share |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Apple has clawed back US smartphone market share from RIM's BlackBerry this past holiday, comScore found in a new study. Between September and December, the iPhone's share grew over a percent to 25.3 percent while the BlackBerry dropped by nearly an identical amount to 41.6 percent.... |
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Qisda promises smartphone with 1280x1024 display |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 European wireless provider Vodafone will launch a number of new handsets and other personal electronics relatively soon, including the first handset with a screen that has a resolution of 1280x1024. Made by Taiwan-based Qisda, the QCM-330 will have a 4-inch touchscreen and otherwise sport an accelerometer, Wi-Fi, 3-megapixel camera and support for high-speed HSDPA networks. Thus far, the Motorola Droid has one of the highest resolution screens in a handset, at 854x480.... |
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Parts leak hints at taller 2010 iPhone |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Apple's fourth-generation iPhone could mark the first significant change in the screen area if a part obtained by repair outfit iResQ is evidence. What's claimed to be the front glass is about a quarter-inch taller than the existing platform and may have a slightly different screen as a result. It also appears to move the proximity sensor to above the top speaker and glues the touchscreen layer to the LCD where the iPhone 3G and 3GS are separate.... |
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HTC Legend shows with major new design, Sense UI |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 HTC's Legend has finally appeared in a leaked set of photos that confirm its design. Expanding on a concept render, the Engadget shots show a design partly reminiscent of the first-generation iPhone with an aluminum body and black plastic in key areas to provide wireless reception. It also confirms what's likely an optical trackpad at the front and signals a more confident branding that puts the HTC logo in a very prominent place on the back.... |
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Amazon hiring to add LCDs, Wi-Fi to Kindles |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Amazon has hinted at a significant change in the philosophy behind its Kindle readers with job listings at its hardware design group Lab126. One, for a Hardware Display Manager, asks for a veteran recruit with experience in the LCD market and suggests Amazon might move away from e-paper displays. It has normally used companies like E Ink (now owned by PVI) exclusively for its e-book readers.... |
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Samsung, Sharp call truce on LCD patents |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Samsung today announced a cross-licensing deal with Sharp that ends a series of disputes between the two companies. The deal also gives each company access to technology covered by patents owned by the other, according to a regulatory filing made by Samsung. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.... |
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InFocus puts out wireless projector adapter for MacBooks |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 InFocus on Monday announced that its DisplayLink Wireless system for connecting notebooks to projectors without wires now has support for the MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air notebooks and not just Windows, as before. The USB device relies on Ultra Wide Band (UWB) wireless technology from Wisair and can pass through HD video content as well as audio. Mac users will also now have the ability to control the projectors connected using the InFocus DisplayLink Wireless unit.... |
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Google developing voice translation for phones |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Google on Sunday revealed that it could be the first to enable voice-to-voice translation for phones. Using the existing text conversion and voice recognition its search and from Android, the company is developing a system that could recognize a spoken foreign language and recite it back in the user's native tongue. It would sort speech into segments and would analyze both the pattern of speech as well as Google's own translation history to construct a better interpretation.... |
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ASUS readying faster EeePC 1005PE-H |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 A new version of the ASUS EeePC 1005PE netbook has quietly been launched in the European market recently. The Eee PC 1005PE-H has the same 1.66GHz dual-core Atom but gets 2GB of RAM instead of just 1GB, and ships with a larger 320GB hard drive compared to a 250GB disk. Otherwise, there is the same 10.1-inch screen with a resolution of 1024x600 and a six-cell battery said to be good for 11 hours of operation.... |
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Broadcom puts out low-energy HSPA chips |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Broadcom today unveiled 3G chips that promise both less expensive smartphones as well as longer-lived 3G for others. As a complete processor, the BCM21553 provides a modern ARM11 chip and 7.2Mbps HSPA, including the 5.8Mbps upload speeds, but in a much more efficient, smaller 65 nanometer process. The hardware has one of Broadcoms's most advanced graphics cores and can render OpenGL ES 2.0 3D as well as process 8-megapixel photos.... |
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Nook to reach Barnes & Noble shops this Wednesday |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Barnes & Noble today said that the Nook will at last reach its retail shops. While it has had demo units in stores since launch in the fall, the bookseller now says it expects most locations to have units directly available to buy on Wednesday the 10th. Officials didn't say what kind of quantities they would expect.... |
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NVIDIA considering external notebook graphics |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 NVIDIA is considering introducing its first true external notebook graphics, a company executive says. According to a recent Xbitlabs report, NVIDIA notebook GPU division general manager Rene Haas sees a big opportunity in such a market. The product could come in the form of a docking station or another type of external device.... |
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New Canon PowerShots include 14MP, 14X SX210 IS |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 As part of its PMA 2010 introductions today, Canon has brought out four new PowerShots that include two particularly advanced models. The SX210 IS is tailored to advanced users and carries an extremely long-range 14X (28-392mm equivalent) lens and a 14-megapixel sensor. It similarly touts a pop-up flash, records 720p video and supports the newer SDXC card format.... |
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BenQ reveals 22-inch LCD monitors with 10,000,000:1 DCR |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 BenQ has launched a line of LCD monitors that include the first with a 10,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. The new "V" series includes nine models, ranging in size from 18.5 to 24.0 inches. The first to hit the market will be the V2200 models, 21.5-inch diagonal, 1080p monitors with 5ms response time and a 160-degree viewing angle. BenQ claims they will have the extreme contrast but also that they will be the slimmest available in the market, measuring just 0.59in (15mm) thick.... |
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Canon bows Rebel T2i with 18MP sensor, 1080p 30 video |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Canon this morning launched a slew of camera updates headlined by the Rebel T2i. The successor to Canon's entry DSLR shoots at the same 18 megapixels as the EOS 7D and also inherits its video recording features: it now shoots at a full 30 frames per second at 1080p (versus 20 for the T1i) and has manual exposure control, autofocusing and selectable frame rates. It can shoot as high as 60 frames per second at 720p and has a unique pseudo-telephoto mode that zooms in 7X when recording standard definition video.... |
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Dell Mini 10 with WiMAX surfaces at FCC |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Dell through an FCC filing (PDF) has let slip that the new Mini 10 will soon get a version with WiMAX. The netbook should get Intel's WiFi-Link 6250 and will incorporate both the 4G wireless as well as 802.11n Wi-Fi in a single chipset. No other obvious changes are present, though both are upgrades over the 3G and 802.11g of the current Mini 10.... |
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Samsung "super AMOLED" to show with new phone this month? |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Samsung's integrated touchscreen AMOLED could come attached to a new phone and herald a major change in displays, the company said Monday. The 3.3-inch, 800x480 "Super AMOLED" screen should be unveiled with a new device at next week's Mobile World Congress. It's not known how soon the phone would ship.... |
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Nokia retools factory, cuts jobs to focus on smartphones |
posted on
02/08/2010 |
 Nokia today said it would completely change the role of a key plant in Salo, Finland to boost its position in the smartphone arena. The factor will be entirely focused on building "high-value smartphones," with Europe as the priority. Nokia expects the changes to result not just in a better mix of hardware but a quicker turnaround in making the smartphones themselves.... |
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HTC Incredible seen running Android 2.1 on Verizon |
posted on
02/07/2010 |
 HTC's Incredible smartphone has finally been spotted today in a leak that also gives away most of its details. The full-touchscreen smartphone should be one of the first to mix HTC's custom Sense UI interface with Android 2.1. It should appropriately serve as a range-topper with a "fast" Snapdragon processor, a large 3.7-inch (likely AMOLED) display and 256MB of RAM.... |
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Microsoft tries cutting Zune HD prices to fight rivals |
posted on
02/07/2010 |
 Microsoft in the past few days has quietly cut prices on the Zune HD through an at least temporary promo. The touchscreen media player now costs $190 for a 16GB model at Amazon, or $32 less than the original price; the 32GB model has dropped by a similar amount to $250.... |
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Google to run Super Bowl ad? [U2: confirmed] |
posted on
02/06/2010 |
(Updated with post-Super Bowl confirmation) Google may have a high-profile Super Bowl ad tomorrow, based on a hint from its chief executive Eric Schmidt. He asks Twitter followers this afternoon to pay special attention to ads in the third quarter of the football game and is teasing that it will be a rarity for the company. An observer commented that "hell has indeed frozen over," according to Schmidt.... |
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Windows Phone 7 to drop multitasking? |
posted on
02/06/2010 |
 Microsoft may consciously limit Windows Phone 7 in its attempt to compete against Apple, a leak sent out today claims. Echoing some previous reports, a source says WP7 will have a Zune-like interface at many levels but goes on to say this will extend to the underlying framework as well. It would drop multitasking and instead pause apps, using an iPhone-like push notification system to handle new updates.... |
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T-Mobile slip shows Zeppelin as Cliq XT, HD2 in late March |
posted on
02/06/2010 |
 A freshly uncovered roadmap has confirmed much of T-Mobile's short-term plan for phones. The previously leaked Motorola Zeppelin should now arrive at the carrier as the Cliq XT and is now believed to be the only phone shipping on March 10th. The HTC HD2 now won't arrive until March 24th.... |
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BlackBerry's BIS 3 to pack Gmail, OpenOffice support |
posted on
02/06/2010 |
 The next version of BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) should provide much more advanced support for Gmail, a leak shows. Internal documents note that it will not only let BlackBerry owners create and use labels with a plugin but that it will sync the read/unread status so that changes made on the BlackBerry are reflected properly elsewhere. More advanced syncing has normally been limited to services like Microsoft Exchange.... |
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Acer's Android phone faces surprise shortage |
posted on
02/06/2010 |
 Acer late Friday said that its Liquid Android smartphone has been a surprise success. CEO Gianfranco Lanci warned of shortages as the device has been faring "much better than our expectation" and that shipments during the winter should be much higher than expected. Where it had initially predicted 150,000 to 200,000 Liquids shipping by the end of March, Acer now expects to make "at least" 250,000 of the handsets.... |
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MacBook Pro with Core i7 tested; old models low on stock? |
posted on
02/06/2010 |
A newly discovered Geekbench test appears to have confirmed the upcoming launch of MacBook Pros running Intel's Arrandale platform. The system carries the same MacBookPro 6,1 identifier as seen in a pre-release Mac OS X 10.6.2 build and is listed as running a 2.66GHz Core i7-620M with 4GB of RAM. The processor is Intel's fastest dual-core processor and would be Apple's logical choice for a mid- to high-end MacBook Pro.... |
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Amazon restores Macmillan books |
posted on
02/05/2010 |
 Amazon today confirmed that it has put back Macmillan's titles on both the Kindle store and in its regular store. The move follows after Amazon agreed to raise prices on e-books last weekend as the result of a three-day standoff. Amazon had unsuccessfully tried to withdraw books as a negotiating tactic to keep prices at $10.... |
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3 Austria to subsidize iPad, bundle 3G modems? |
posted on
02/05/2010 |
 The Austrian division of cellular carrier 3 has unusually claimed that it will subsidize Apple's iPad as soon as possible. National chief Berthold Thoma says his company will be the first to bundle the tablet and will simply use the same strategy it does for notebook data bundles to encourage customers. Those who buy an iPad will get a generic 333 euro ($456) credit if they agree to a two-year data plan worth about 29 euros ($41) per month.... |
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HDMI 1.4's 3D spec made public |
posted on
02/05/2010 |
 The HDMI organization has made the 3D portion of its 1.4 available spec for public download. HDMI spec v1.4 was completed in June 2009, but was only available to companies that had signed an HDMI Adopter Agreement. The announcement on Wednesday makes the new standards accessible to all other content producers and manufacturers.... |
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Intel "Sandy Bridge" graphics to be twice as fast? |
posted on
02/05/2010 |
 Intel has reportedly told its corporate customers that the Sandy Bridge CPUs with integrated graphics processors due for release at the end of the year will have vastly improved performance. While the chipmaker quotes a doubling of performance, it does not define what it compares it to, though it is most likely the existing Nehalem CPUs. Intel is otherwise being cryptic about the chips' performance, saying only that the chips have advanced media and graphics capabilities.... |
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Motorola Devour to get Flash, Palm Pixi's CPU |
posted on
02/05/2010 |
 The Motorola Devour handset due for release at Verizon will ship with support for Adobe Flash Lite, a perusal of the newly released spec sheet reveals. This is an important distinction for the Android phone, as not even the Droid has such a feature. Flash Lite 3.1 will play Flash 9 content right in the browser.... |
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Logitech's SqueezeBox Touch delayed yet again? |
posted on
02/05/2010 |
 The release of the promised Logitech SqueezeBox Touch has again been delayed, according to a Thursday post by a Slim Devices developer on the official Logitech forum board. The last delay promised the touch media server would arrive this month, and Logitech is still keeping mum about why the device has been delayed. Forum members speculate Logitech ran into major software or hardware problems.... |
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Justice Department criticizes Google books settlement |
posted on
02/05/2010 |
 A Justice Department ruling on Thursday has potentially again delayed Google's plans to launch a digital library and bookstore, a lot of content for which would come from its controversial online rights registry. Despite recent revisions to a class-action settlement between Google and groups representing authors and publishers, the DOJ found significant legal problems, the New York Times reported on Friday. A 31-page filing of the revised settlement is still full of concerns that Google would have a monopoly over millions of works whose rights holders are unknown or... |
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Samsung may ship transparent AMOLED notebook in next year |
posted on
02/05/2010 |
 Samsung could be the first to introduce a production notebook with a transparent display, Samsung America's digital imaging VP Reid Sullivan has revealed. After showing a 14-inch see-through AMOLED screen at CES this year, the Korean company now says that testing suggests the PC could be in shops within the next 12 months. Sullivan expects that "all" Samsung's AV hardware could use the technology soon.... |
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Nokia Mystic gets photo leak, C6 badge |
posted on
02/05/2010 |
 Newly leaked photos of the handset formerly known only as the Nokia Mystic reveal it will be called the C6. This is in similar vein to the similarly-styled but keypad-only equipped C5. The only other piece of information known about the C6 is that it will ship with a 5-megapixel camera.... |
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