smartech

One of the cool things about tech shows, is that you get a chance to find products and companies you wouldn’t hear about on a daily bases, and speaking of which, a company named Lengda has recently introduced the first stainless steel netbook ever made, with the usual 10.2-inch display and other regular specs, you already know, but also with additional extended 3G / TV-tuner antenna and a hefty 1.37 kg of weight, resulted from that stainless steel alloy, the chassis is made of. Still no word on price or availability, but apparently the company is prepping an aluminum version as well, in case that steel is too heavy to carry (Not!) . Meanwhile, you can hit the break and watch the video.

[via netbooknews]

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For many of us, Gachapin (Dinosaur) and Mukku (Bigfoot) are totally strangers, but for the vast majority of Japanese kids they are huge TV stars, that conquer their screens for long hours. To leverage these characters, Kohjinsha and Bandai Creation have decided to bring the two into an ML-based netbook edition, boasting a vivid green chassis, combined with a whitish keyboard. Other than that, it’s just another regular netbook with Intel ATOM N270 processor inside, 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, 8.9-inch 1024 x 600 display, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, WiFi connection and the usual outputs. Interestingly, this new device will sport a 1Seg Digital TV Tuner, to let the children watch their heroes on the new lappy, rather than your telly. Still no word about price or availability but we like the idea of teenagers hanging with netbooks, instead of just books.

Update: Shockingly, you’ll have to spend ¥79,800 ($866) in order to get this one for your kids.

[via akihabaranews]

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It was back in March, when we first reported that Sling wants to have an iphone application, and we’re glad to relize it’s actually happening, as the company announces that the long awaited app is ready to be released and will be demonstrated in San Francisco moments before the software will get to Apple app Store. Still no pricing info, but the full press release is after the break.

Update1: Regretfully, older SlingBox devices won’t be able to stream any TV content directly to iPhone machines (except Slingbox PRO). That means, if you happen to have one of those first editions, you’ll have to shell out extra money and upgrade to Slingbox SOLO or Slingbox PRO-HD in order to enjoy a complete mobility via handhelds, and not just because of technical issues, but more of a greediness from the company itself. We do hope this weird desicion will eventually end up somewhere in the history pages of “failed-to-be-executed”.

Update2: May 12th 2009 – Regretfully, AT&T has issued an official statement, claiming it’d pull the plug out of Sling’s 3G streaming capability, which was integrated into the iPhone with the SlingPlayer. According to the company, this application -

“which would use large amounts of wireless network capacity, could create congestion and potentially prevent other customers from using the network. The application does not run on our 3G wireless network. Applications like this, which redirect a TV signal to a personal computer, are specifically prohibited under our terms of service. We consider smartphones like the iPhone to be personal computers in that they have the same hardware and software attributes as PCs.”

That said, users will be able to use WiFi connectivity in order to log into any web site that lets them view videos. In simple words, 3G – Out, WiFi – In. Now, it’s up to you to search one of the 20,000 hotspots AT&T has deployed across the US, in places like Starbucks, McDonalds, airports, etc.

[via engadget]

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The new Video Touch PMP from Quantum has been officially announced, featuring GPS navigation capabilities, including traffic and weather updates, plus a built-in digital TV with up to 30 channels, using Siano DVB-H receiver inside. In addition, the new PMP supports mp3 audio files – to listen to your favorite music, images  – to collect your entire digital album and video – to watch your movies on the go. The touchscreen is compatible with gesture interface so the UI is expected to work smoothly. Still no word on price or availability.

[via techfresh]

iTunes 8 officially goes live at Apple’s “Let Us Rock” event, introducing HD shows from ABC, NBC and Showtime, to run for $2.99 per episode (the rest priced at $1.99). In addition, the 8 version comes with the new “Genius” sidebar feature, which lets you automatically create playlists from songs in your music library that go great together. Meaning, iTunes has a smart music reccomendation tool that helps users to rediscover favorite songs in their existing music library and suggests related music on the iTunes Store they might want to add to their music collection (sort of Pandora like). Furthermore, you can visualy browse your iTunes’ music / video libraries, using your album or video cover art and enjoy some new stunning Magnetosphere visualizations, once you turn your favorite music on. Tunes 8 is now available for download via Apple’s website.

[Apple]

D’cube announces the release of their new D9 mobile TV, combined with a media player and a 3.5-inch LCD TFT 260,000 color screen (320 × 240). The D9 features a Micro SD / SDHC card expansion, a built-in speaker, T-DMB tuner to watch/record your videos from digital TV (Korea only), 2GB or 4GB storage capacity, and more. It supports wide variety of formats, including AVI, WMV, MP3, WMA, OGG and JPEG files. The measures are 109 × 78 × 11.8 mm – 108 gm and the battery lasts 15 hours of audio or 8 hours of video. This digital TV-PMP device is priced at $130 for the 4GB model, so if you have planes to go to Asia, you can get one immediately. 

[via imp3]

Finally, after 18 weeks of closed beta, Hulu.com opens its doors to everyone in the U.S who looks for free video streaming service. The site offers over 100 full-length movies, full-length episodes, and other content line-up from libraries of giants like FOX, NBC Universal, MGM, Sony and Warner Bros. Among the videos, You can find hit shows like The Simpsons, The Office, classics like The incredible Hulk, Miami Vice and Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Arrested Development, Firefly and Friday night lights. Among the full movies you can find The Usual Suspects, The Big Lebowski, Myself & Irene, Three Amigos and many more. As for the sports, it seems the guys from Hulu have teamed up with the NBA management to bring you the best moves and clips, and we expect more events to be added soon. Mind you, the TV episodes will be available for only 5 weeks after broadcasting date. Meanwhile, you can enjoy hours of fun clips, videos or movies, read users reviews and share them with others in your web site – COOL !!

[via Hulu]

Archos launches a new pack of 4 games for the Archos 605, 705 media players and the TV+ recorder. The new games include Reversi, Brix Fusion, Captain Ozone and Video Poker. The new pack joins the previous eight games release and priced at 10$.

[via Archos]

Asus intros a new HDTV box, providing a TV tuner and some nifty inputs like s-video, component, and HDMI for your computer’s monitor. The Asus box is capable of upscaling any signal source up to 1080p, for maximum picture quality. It is also equipped with DVI or VGA outputs and sports PIP functionality. The device supports both NTSC and Pal tuner so you can use it around the globe. Price and availability details are missing.

[via slashgear]

Motorola wants to go all the way with the new DH01n portable 4.3-inch DVB-H TV, sporting GPS navigation system and Tele Atlas maps. The new DH01n is a personal DVR device, including pausing and playing back live TV signals, automatic channel scan, High-quality widescreen LCD display with stereo sound, SD/MMC slot and more. No details concerning price and availability.

[motorola via engadget]

Toshiba announces an update release for its Gigabeat lineup, including the Gigabeat V81, T802, U407 and U408 players.

Gigabeat V81 (Replacing the V41 model)

• Display: 3.5″ LCD TFT screen (320×240).
• TV Tuner: 1Seg (Japanese digital signal).
• Storage: 8GB.
• Audio: WMA , Lossless, MP3, WAV.
• Video: AVI, WMV.
• Pictures: JPEG.
• Features: portable digital TV, USB 2.0, SD slot.
• Battery: audio – 40 hours, video – 13 hours, broadcasting – 10 hours.
• Size: 115 x 75 x 14.2 mm 168gm
• Price: $330. Available in Japan from this month.

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Sandisk finally announced on its new USB TV video player. The new Sansa presents an easy way to take your video from your PC to your TV, as simple as using a USB flash drive – just drag files to your TakeTV player, slip it into the TV cradle, and press play on the included remote.

The TakeTV player comes with 2 sizes configuration: 4GB (100$) & 8GB (150$). The player supports DivX, xVid, MPEG-4 formats, with Resolution of up to 720×576, in 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios and a range of viewing modes.

Despite its 320×240 screen resolution, the new Zune will be able to play video on TV, via TV-Out connection, in a full DVD quality (720×576 in 25fps and 720×480 in 30 fps).

This means you can carry out with you your dvd’s, and play them on any tv without downgrading the quality.

[via: Zune-Online]