Apple Technology

Filed under: Laptops

With its minute keyboard, the Eee PC can be tough to use in the dark. Imagine, then, if yours had a backlit keyboard. The folks at Popsci have come up with — and explained — a way to add one of your own. And get this: you can do it in 3 hours for just $13.50. But before you go ripping apart your new Eee PC, mind this: this isn’t the easiest mod in the world. You have to be cool with removing the keyboard, slipping some wires, and doing some light soldering. In addition, the hack plops a Techno Flash luminescent wire inverter on the outside of the case, so if you’re big on minimalism, this might be a skip.

[Via Pimp My UMPC]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

We’ll make this brief. Orange spokesperson Therese Wenger told the SDA news agency that it has secured rights to release the iPhone (3G version, presumably) in Switzerland and more than 10 other countries — take that Swisscom! Other countries include Austria, Belgium, Poland, Portugal, and Romania. And France of course where it’s already on sale. See, that was quick and leaves room for a dozen or so other iPhone related announcements today.

Update: Official Orange press release now out.

[Via 20minuten, thanks Pascal M.]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Yeah, let’s get this out of the way first, the SGH-i900does share a design aesthetic with another handset we hear about all the time. That aside, the SGH-i900 seems set to bring everything we could ever hope — or need, to be honest — for in a Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro package. Measuring a scant 112 × 56 × 13, the i900 is finished in shiny metal, only features two buttons on the face, and what appears to be a fingerprint reader or perhaps a touch-sensitive pad. Loaded with HSDPA, a 3.5-inch 400 X 240 display, 5 megapixel cam with auto focus, 16GB of onboard memory, microSDHC support up to 8GB, TV-out, FM radio, Bluetooth, WiFi — see what we’re saying here? This thing could almost be a mini media center — it’ll definitely please our pockets. It also seems like two versions will be in the offing, the i900 branded as Samsung and the i908 branded as Anycall — but sadly we’re at a loss on how they differ. We’ll definitely be keeping our eyes wide open watching for updates here, but in the meantime, follow the link for pages of pretty pictures and poorly translated Chinese.

[Via UnwiredView]

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Filed under: Displays, HDTV

It’s been a tick since we’ve seen anything new from AOC, but today the outfit is introducing a new bargain-bin LCD HDTV in its Envision series. The 42-inch L42H761 features a 1080p panel, twin HDMI ports, S/PDIF digital audio out, a PC input (with audio), digital ATSC / ClearQAM tuner, 172-degree viewing angles, 3-D comb filter and “color enhancement / noise reduction features” sure to treat your eyes right. All wrapped up in a glossy, sleek black enclosure, the set dons a MSRP of just $1,049.99, and if history has anything on the present, we’d guess you can find it around for a good bit cheaper than that.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

Like pretty much every other Digital ELPH preceding it, Canon’s flagship SD1100 IS garnered nothing but the utmost praise in a recent Imaging-Resource review. Okay, so maybe critics did kvetch about slight noise at ISO 800, a somewhat confusing interface, and a not-particularly-useful digital zoom, but this point-and-shoot managed to get it right in the areas that matter most. Build quality and design were both smiled upon, the image stabilization performed as advertised and the image quality was deemed “excellent.” Of note, they did find very minor chromatic aberration in the wide angle shots, but considering the size of this shooter, results were seen as fantastic. Overall, it looks like Canon has produced yet another winner in the pocket-friendly camera department, but feel free to take a gander at the in-depth review waiting in the read link below.

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Filed under: Displays

Surely you remember Shinoda Plasma and its obscenely large PTA display, right? Unfortunately, this one’s no 142-incher, but 125-inches of curvaceous screen real estate still isn’t anything to sneeze at — especially when we’re talking about an actual prototype. The 3- x 1-meter display consists of three PTA (plasma tube array) modules connected together, and it features a rather uninspiring 960 x 360 resolution but weighs just 7.9-pounds. The actual “display part” measures just one-millimeter thick, and while this unit is likely to make a veiled appearance at InfoComm next month, a mass produced version will reportedly be produced in conjunction with Hibino. Honest opinion? We’re still feelin’ the resolution of Alienware’s curved monster, but digital signage fans should certainly dig where this one is headed.

[Via Pink Tentacle]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Nothing new to report on the Touch Diamond’s tech here, but wow, look how fun the box is! Of course, we know you’re all waiting to see what they stuffed in the wedge-shaped package, and the answer is a charger, headset, USB cable, a manual or two, and the software. The charger appears to be a universal job with a swappable plug for travel, and the headset a typical example of an HTC pack-in — albeit with a dash of fun and angular design. Hit the link for the pics.

[Thanks, SlashPhone]

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Dell’s plans for Alienware and the XPS line are getting a little clearer, even as rumors swirl — a post on the company’s Direct2Dell blog today says that the XPS and Alienware dev teams are going to be integrated, and that the XPS line will go in “new directions,” hinted at by the m1330 and XPS One. Furthermore, you can now buy the Area-51 m9750 gaming laptop direct from the Dell website in addition to the Area-51 m15x, which doesn’t seem all that wild to us — we’re more interested in why Dell picked the super-geeky XPS brand to be its “premium” line. Ever heard of friendly, guys?

[Via CNET]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

It looks like Angstrom Power is working on more than just fuel cells for MOTOSLVR L7 prototypes, with the company now also touting its G2 portable fuel cell power source that promises to keep a whole range of gadgets charged up. This one packs eight V60 Fuel Cell Modules that combine to provide a full two watts of power, which can be used to top off any device that charges via a USB connection. According to Angstrom, the G2 itself can also be replenished “in minutes,” either by using an Angstrom P2 Portable Refueling Cartridge or an R1 Refueling Station, though it can apparently withstand “several charges” before it needs to be refueled. No word on pricing or availability just yet, but it seems safe to bet that it’ll show up before those fuel cell-powered cellphones, which are apparently still on track for a release somewhere in the neighborhood of 2010.

[Via Gizmo Watch]

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Filed under: Portable Audio

About the only thing to deliver more tactile satisfaction than the popping of bubble wrap is the act of casually opening and closing a Zippo lighter at the bar. While you won’t find anything about it on Zippo’s corporate site, Zarva has announced its new Zippo MP320 MP3 player. You get than tiny screen, built-in mic, minimal MP3 and WMA format support, and just 1GB of capacity for 188 of the Chinese stuff or about 27 of the green. But if this Zippo turns on with a well placed finger snap or rough, to-and-fro swipe against our faded 501s then you can count us in.

[Via PMP Today, thanks BrianB]

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