So remember just yesterday, when I was getting all poingy happy about the half e-reader / half netbook hybrid? Well, I think I may have just beat that level of awesome but in a totally different direction. Today I’m talking about the Kohjinsha PA, a combination netbook and tablet PC.
No, seriously–this sucker has a 4.8″ WSVGA touchscreen, 1.33GHz Atom CPU, 512 meg of RAM and a 32 GB SDD. The battery is slated to run for 7.5 hours, and it even comes with an SD slot and a 1.3 MP webcam, all in a netsurfing portable tablet PC.
I am profoundly impressed by this, even though my chances of ever using such a device are so slim as to approach zero. I draw like a cat with a pen in its mouth after ingesting large quantities of peyote, so a tablet PC to me is almost less than useless. But still, I’m impressed–and the price is pretty impressive too.
If you want one of these bad boys, you’ll have to shell out a whopping $758 in Japan. Preorders are going on, and the prices range between $867 and $921.
Today I’m going to introduce you to a truly awesome gadget that you can’t possibly get your hands on before Christmas unless you know somebody or can shell out epic bribes.
We’re talking about the eDGe, and this little beauty is worth the $490 you’d shell out for it for one very good reason: it’s a netbook and an e-reader. All at once. That’s right, it’s BOTH.
It’s WiFi enabled and looks vaguely like a Nintendo DS that you hold constantly upright, like an actual book. It runs on Google’s Android system, joining a growing family of same, and can serve all the functions of both a netbook (send email, instant messages, surf the web, run apps, write notes and so on) and an ereader (it’s got a 9.7 inch E-ink e-paper display on one side and a 10.1 inch LCD screen on the other, just so you know what side gets what)
Their creator, Virginia’s Entourage Systems, has started taking preorders for the devices, so you can sign up for them now.
Strap in and brace yourselves all over, kids, because I got a HOT list of deals here for the upcoming Black Friday sales! Seems that Office Max dropped the dime a bit early on what they’ll be offering up for cheap the day after Thanksgiving (early?? It’s not even HALLOWEEN and they’re talking Black Friday!), but their incredibly gauche behavior brings you a whole lot of deals. Check THIS out!
How about an Acer netbook for $150? I know, you’re probably blinking rapidly and reading that again, but it’s true. And it’s not where the deals end…but where they BEGIN, my friends. How about a Compaq Presario AMD Athlon II dual-core CPU for $240? Maybe you like the DVDs…well, you can get a Memorex portable DVD player with seven-inch screen for $30. Start hunting for couch change now and by Thanksgiving you should have enough for even a Magellan RoadMate 1440 GPS. Just $70!
It’s enough to make even the most hesitant shopper think twice about clutching the wallet in a death grip.
Having just bought a new laptop I was excited to be able to work outside of my basement but wanted to find a nice accessory to keep my computer elevated properly and comfortable at the same time. I found one at Ikea that I like to call a laptop pillow.
This one pictured above is called the E-Pod Laptop Desk and it is designed to make any sitting situation more enjoyable when using a laptop. The E-Pod comes in three color choices and looks as if it sort of folds up for easier travel. It also has a carrying handle. The one I got from Ikea was only $15 and it has a small pocket in the pillow for your cell phone or whatever. This E-Pod from BrookStone looks to be of a bit better quality and costs $40.
I must say that I really love my laptop pillow and use it constantly. If you need something like this definitely don’t hesitate.
We been pretty remiss when it comes to covering Nokia 3G Netbook, but some news hit today that we couldn’t possibly pass up. When it goes up for preorder at Best Buy on October 22nd the 3G will retail for $299. But before you get too excited, keep in mind that you’ll need to sign up for a 2-year mobile broadband plan from AT&T at $60 a month. Alternatively, you can score the 3G sans broadband plan for $599, which if you run the math is a hell of alot better deal, especially when you consider how ubiquitous WiFi is these days.
The price structure has been announced for the AT&T 3G MicroCell, a line of femtocells, devices designed to help AT&T customers get better reception inside buildings, as well as faster overall speeds. Described as being “like having a cell phone tower in your home”, the 3G MicroCell is the first such publicly-tested device of its kind.
But the web community’s getting pretty torqued about the fact that you have to shell out monthly cash for this little beauty–about twenty bucks a month for unlimited use and ten if you subscribe to AT&T wireless and home phone. Include the internet service in that last and you get the MicroCell free of charge.
It’s sort of a low blow, offering a device that’ll let you use the device you pay to use in all situations but then requiring people to pay for it. For crying out loud, they’re already subscribers–why not just send everyone a free one to keep your base interested?
So here’s a fun governmental conundrum for you, gentle reader–if you’re out driving, and you get a sudden message on your Twitter feed about road conditions issued by the state on whose roads you’re driving, would you consider this illegal?
The irony is, yes, it is. Using text messages while driving, even those issued by the state about road conditions, is illegal in several states. The no texting while driving idea sounds fair enough, until you consider that the states in question are texting drivers about road conditions.
Frank Hornstein, who co-wrote Minnesota’s no texting while driving law, said this, which effectively shattered the state’s Irony Meter:
“You shouldn’t be fiddling around with any kind of electronic gadget in your car while driving.”
And in Minnesota, of course, the state text messages people to describe road conditions. So basically, use a state service while driving, go to jail.
Well, if you’ve been worried about using your various Net-capable gadgets because of the lack of net neutrality law, then worry no longer. Seems that the FCC is about to adopt net neutrality as a set of general principles soon.
Net neutrality, in case you don’t know, is a standard that requires all internet service providers to treat all information equally in terms of download speed. For instance, Comcast recently decided to force BitTorrent users to accept vastly slowed download speeds as they gave precedence to other users. Technically, that’s not illegal, but the FCC did scold Comcast, and now with net neutrality, such actions as Comcast took will be illegal in the future.
So download away, folks–your ISP can’t stop you any more.
What a tight little package this is. Lacie’s new USB-powered portable dvd burner may be just what you need of you have and older Mac or PC without one. Weighing less than a pound and standing only an inch tall it can probably fit into a laptop bag.
It will burn DVD’s at x8 and CD’s at x4 in a variety of formats, and comes with Toast 9 Basic for Mac systems and Creator Suite 10 with LightScribe for Windows. The Mac version will cost $120 with the PC version costing $90. Also bundled with the package is a power sharing USB 2.o cable.
In a surprise move, without much hype before the announcement this morning, Nokia entered the Netbook market. Called the Booklet 3G, the 10.1-inch machine is powered by an Intel Atom processor, and includes 3G connectivity and hot-swappable SIM cards which should allow you to surf the net using the same plan as your mobile. They’ve also included A-GPS with a copy of Ovi Maps for firing up a location based map on the fly, a 12-hour battery life, WiFi, an HDMI output, webcam, SD card reader and Bluetooth. Form factor wise were looking at what appears to an Apple inspired 2.7lb aluminum body that measures just .78-inches thick. There’s no official word on a price or launch date, but I’d expect it well in time for holiday shopping.
