smartech

After months of speculations and tons of criticism, the awaited service pack 1 for Vista OS is finally here, as Microsoft has uploaded the official version to its website. The new Vista SP1 suppose to increase the system speed, improve the compatibility, and strengthen the troublesome stability. From what we have managed to read, SP1 is nothing but a collection of bug fixes and updates that were already released by Microsoft during the past year. In spite of that, recent reports point on several improvements in the Vista performance, specially with security issues, battery life, software stability and hardware compatibility, so i guess it is for you to determine either continue working with XP or move forward to Vista.

Update: early adopters report problems with driver issues, specially with sound and graphics.

[via Microsoft]

Probably yes, the new Panasonic D-Snap lineup can reach up to 100h of play, on a single charge. The reason is within the noise cancellation feature, allowing you to save 83% of surrounding noise, which influence power reduction. The players feature a monochrome OLED display, an SD / SDHC card slot, USB 2.0 and direct recording function via the D-dock device. They support MP3, WMA, AAC formats and set to be released in red, blue, silver, black or white. If you like what you see, you can get one, bundled with a 2GB SD card around April.

[via akihabaranews]

Soundstream unveils the X-ITE MP28, a mini PMP with a 2.8″ touchscreen. We’re not so sure this is the next iPod Touch killer but the market votes for the buttons-less players. With a clean and sleeky design, the X-ITE MP28 might be your Stateside alternative. Check out the specs:

specifications:

• Display: 2.8″ TFT LCD touchscreen.
• Storage Size: 2GB or 4GB internal flash memory.
• Audio: MP3, WMA, ASF, WAV, FLAC, OGG, APE.
• Video: MP4, DIVX, XVIDV, AVI, MTV.
• Pictures: JPEG, GIF , TXT.
• Features: a microSD slot, an FM tuner, a microphone, USB 2.0, and external speaker.
• Price: No word on price or availability.

[via pmptoday]