You do realize that all those Atom-based netbooks on sale for the holidays will be abandoned entirely in January right? Go ahead and pull the trigger for that “new” ViewSonic netbook if you must, just realized that you’ll be running last-gen hardware in less than a month if rumor, innuendo, and leaks all converge with the release of Pineview netbooks as expected. More details have appeared today at retailers listing specifications and pics for the unannounced ASUS EeePC model 1005P and 1005PE. Sporting the Eee PC Seashell design, we’re looking at a pair of 10-inch LED backlit displays with a 1,024 x 600 pixel resolution, Intel Atom N450 proc, 1GB DDR2-RAM, and a Windows 7 Starter Edition preload riding GMA 3150 graphics — a slightly faster version of Intel’s G31 based GMA 3100, though still too weak for gaming or 1080p Flash videos. The PE model sports a bigger 250GB hard disk and higher capacity 6-cell battery for a reported 12.5 hours of go-go juice thanks, presumably, to the more efficient N450 CPU. Expect to see these Eees get official with price and launch date any day now.
Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
As it often does at its product introductions, Apple took a subtle swipe at the Flip camcorder when it introduced the video camera-equipped iPod nano this fall. The sales volumes of the iPod nano even caused some to proclaim Apple’s revision of the most popular iPod to be a Flip-killer. The inexpensive Flip camcorder has long proven tenacious, however, fending off competition from major brands such as Sony and Kodak, as well as value players like Aiptek and DXG — not to mention nearly every digital camera and cellphone that can shoot video. Besides, the iPod nano has outsold the Flip camcorder many times over; why would Apple care about such incremental competition?
The wait is finally over for James Cameron’s Avatar, and we’re holding a private screening tomorrow afternoon to celebrate. The screening is at the AMC Metreon 16 (at 4th and Market) in downtown San Francisco on Friday the 18. Seating starts at 3:15, and you’ll need to be there by 3:45 or we’ll have to give up your seat (once the tickets sell out Eventbrite will open up a Waitlist). The screening starts at 4 PM sharp. Our last batch of tickets have just gone live here at Eventbrite.
In light of the holidays, we’re asking for a $5 donation per ticket, all of which will go toward either the UCSF Foundation or Malaria No More(your choice). We’re very excited to announce that we’ll have Square ?
MacUpdate, one of my favorite websites for keeping up on Macintosh software, has taken eleven applications and rolled them up into one convenient package they like to call the Holiday Bundle. This is the third year they are offering such a deal. Total price individually of all these programs is $446.77, but in the bundle you get them all for the low low price of $49.95.
But wait! There’s more!
Andover, MA-based SeeWhy has raised a second round of funding from most of its current shareholders, adding $2 million to the $4.5 million it secured earlier this year. The company plans to add additional investors alongside those investing in this round through 2010.
The startup markets tools that help ecommerce sites and online retailers up their conversion rates by giving them the opportunity to automatically or manually try to make people who were close to purchasing goods or services on their website but left the process before completion, for whatever reason, come back and finish the cycle.
Fashionably late to the e-book handheld party, Borders and Kobo announced today a partnership that includes plans to develop and release both an e-reader and e-book service. Mum’s the official word on hardware, but The New York Times Bits blog is claiming there’ll be “more than one version” released, all with wireless connectivity and all sold at Borders retail locations, naturally. Unfortunately, there’s no release date or window mentioned on that front. As for the service, the duo are taking a page from Barnes & Noble’s playbook and claiming device neutrality, meaning they’d like to see their ePub-focused platform available to any and all devices possible, form mobile to desktop and everything in between. Sounds great, but what we’re really keen to hear about is this new e-reader — let’s hope they’ve been taking notes on the successes and failures of their most immediate competitors.
There’s no denying that the two newest multicard readers from Addonics can connect to one’s PC via eSATA as well as the conventional USB 2.0 method, but frankly, we’ve our doubts about the honest-to-goodness speed benefits of linking through the former. The outfit claims that when its (external) Pocket eSATA / USB DigiDrive is hooked up with an eSATA cable, any flash media you insert can be used as a bootable device with read / write speeds of up to 150MB/sec, but of course you’ll want to slap the quickest SDHC or CompactFlash card you can find in there to fully take advantage of the extra bandwidth. There’s also an internal version for those tired of looking at the gaping hole where your floppy drive used to be, and considering that both retail for $59.99, you’ll probably spend the next four or five hours just choosing which you really need.
Most press releases are extremely boring. They all say the same things. Not this one.
Today, my inbox was graced by pitch that can only be described as stimulating. It made me laugh, it made me question if it was real, and it made me a little creeped out ? all in one. But it is actually relevant to something I’m particularly interested in right now: Location. It’s for a service called FapMapper, a location-based service that allows you to show where you masturbate and/or where you have public sex. Yep.
Looking for an… alternative after being given a 1080p-streaming brick by Western Digital earlier this month? A.C. Ryan has a new option, the Playon!HD Mini. It’s a smaller version of the bigger Playon!HD that seems to lose only its internal drive bay, card reader, and €50, meaning this one retails for €99 — about $144. Yes, a good bit more than the WD TV, but it hits all the right marks, including 1080p output over HDMI or component, support for streaming media or USB mass storage, and even the ability to tune into Shoutcast and other undisclosed “internet feeds.” The company also promises “very active new firmware releases” which, without a little restraint, could be a recipe to repeat WD’s disaster.
Gallery: A.C. Ryan Playon!HD Mini
We don’t know about you, but every time we hear of a Walkman, we think of the old school cassette players, and are left strangely disappointed by the slinky modern variants and their tons of storage. The 16GB S745, which has absolutely nothing to do with Mickey Mouse we assure you, has entered North American retail channels, only it seems to have skipped the US for its more peace-loving neighbor up north. Eagle-eyed Canadian shoppers have spotted the more advanced version of the S740 on sale in Sony Style stores (for 200 CAD or 188 in real American currency), replete with a 2-inch screen, noise-canceling earphones, and an unhealthily thin case. Still, suspicions abound that Sony is merely waiting for CES to roll around to make its big US unveiling, but if you really can’t wait it’s not like driving up to Canadia would be that terrible anyway.