bluetooth

Motion F5: the 'Semi-rugged' tablet

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 06:59:54 -0500

If your organization could use some tablet PCs for environments that are somewhat more demanding than your average office, you might want to look at Motion Computing's latest, the Motion F5 Mobile Field Tool. Though it looks a bit like a toy on the surface (gadget blog Gizmodo noted its similarity in design to the Speak N' Spell), this device and its dust, water, shock and temperature resistant chassis are built to take a beating. Inside the device you'll find a 10.4-inch XGA, stylus-friendly touchscreen display, 1.2Ghz Intel Centrino U1400 CPU, 40GB HDD or 32GB SSD, 2-megapixel camera, biometric scanner, WiFi, Bluetooth, RFID, EV-DO and optional barcode scanner. Of course, all those features aren't going to come cheap and the F5 starts at the not-so-low price of $2,699.

For more on the Motion F5:
- see this Engadget article

HP iPaq 210 shipping at long last

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 06:59:58 -0500

Remember that new lineup of iPaq PDAs/smartphones that HP "launched" last year? The devices that, despite their showing at CTIA in October, ended up being plagued by a series of delays? Well, take heart, HP fans: the iPaq 210 PDA has finally started shipping. In case you had forgotten, this little guy sports Windows Mobile 6, a 624Mhz Marvell CPU, a 480 x 640 LED-backlit touchscreen, 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR. Available now from HP for $450.

For more on the iPaq 210:
- see HP's website

Redfly Mobile is an undead Palm Foleo

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 06:59:57 -0500

Remember the unborn Foleo, Palm's failed attempt to create a mini-laptop companion for smartphones? We certainly do, after all, we were lucky enough to get our grubby mitts all over the thing before it was sent off to the glue factory. Well, the Foleo might be all but dead at Palm HQ but it continues to live on in the hearts of its fans. Case in point: the forthcoming Mobile Companion from Redfly, essentially a Foleo for Windows Mobile smartphones. It's got an 8 inch LCD display, a keyboard and touchpad and weighs a mere 1.9 pounds. It hooks up to your WinMo phone via either Bluetooth or USB and aims to provide a more comfortable platform for sending emails and such. The boys over at Gizmodo just got their hands on it at CES and were impressed by its speed (it sports a separate graphics processor) and keyboard layout ("You can definitely two-hand type on this thing"). Still, $500 seems a little steep, considering that for the same amount, you could grab a low-end Asus Eee PC and still have a hundo left to line your pocket with.

For more on the Redfly Mobile Companion:
- head on over to Gizmodo for the hands-on

HP launches new laptops, tablets

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 06:59:58 -0500

As you know, we were pretty impressed by HP's svelte 2710p tablet when we got our grubby little mitts all over it at CTIA. So we're happy to hear that the company is looking to update its entire lineup of convertible tablets in the near term. Above you'll see the all new Pavilion tx1400us tablet, which packs a 12.1 inch touch screen, 2.2Ghz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-64 CPU, 2GB of RAM, Geforce Go 6150 graphics, DVD burner, 802.11n and Bluetooth into a 4.5 pound, $1200 package. Not to shabby, eh? Word on the street is that these puppies are already available for pre-order on some sites and that further updates to HP's Pavilion tx1300 tablet line are forthcoming.

In other portables news, HP announced updates for eight different Pavilion laptops, just in time for the holidays. The new 14.1 inch dv2700t, dv2700tbw, and dv2700tse models, 15.4 inch dv6700z, dv6700t, and dv6700tse machines, and 17 inch dv9700t and dv9700z will all replace earlier models, bringing a handful of modest hardware upgrades to the table. The 14.1 inchers will get a NVIDIA 8400M GS card with 128MB of RAM, the 15.4 inch models will get the same but with 256MB of RAM and the 17 inch units will get NVIDIA 8600M GS graphics with 512MB of RAM. What's more, all eight models are now available with an optional Blu-ray/DVD burning combo drive, for all you budding auteurs out there.

For more on HP's newest hardware:
- see this Engadget article on the tablets
- and this Notebook Review article on the laptops

HTC Shift: Part smartphone, part UMPC

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 06:59:53 -0500

So, fancy yourself an HTC fanboy, eh? This should test your loyalty: feast your eyes upon the HTC Shift, a UMPC/smartphone hybrid, of sorts. On the UMPC tip, it's got an 800Mhz Intel A110 CPU, up to 60GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, a 7" 800 x 480 touch-sensitive LCD and (gasp!) Vista. On the smartphone side of things you'll find a 400Mhz Qualcomm MSM 7200 chipset, tri-band UMTS/HSDPA, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, 802.11b/g WiFi and Bluetooth. Apparently this thing can only do two hours of Windows on that 2700mAh battery but luckily, that second CPU can handle 53 hours worth of push email without having to boot into Vista. In the form factor department, expect the screen to slide out and tilt--not unlike a giant version of the much-loved, Windows Mobile Tilt. Expect this device to land in Europe and Asia next week for around $1600, with U.S. availability in January.

For more on the Shift:
- see this article from UMPC Portal

How to: Share your iPhone's EDGE connection with your laptop

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:59:52 -0500

Okay, so admittedly, this is a whole lot more complicated than it probably needs to be. But that's only because AT&T and Apple have decided to disallow Bluetooth network sharing on the iPhone, so you're going to have to get your hands a little dirty if you want to browse the web on your laptop via your iPhone's EDGE connection. Check out this step-by-step guide from Lifehacker and you'll be well on your way to surfing the net at stiflingly slow speeds.

Dell M1530: Multimedia monster

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:59:54 -0500

Dell just unleashed its latest multimedia-centric laptop, the M1530 and judging by the looks of it, this seems to be a solid deal for anyone looking for power on the cheap. The 15.4 inch machine sports a 1280 x 800 display, up to a 2.6Ghz Core 2 Duo T7800 CPU, up to 4GB of RAM, up to 320GB in storage, an optional 64GB SSD, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 and an optional 3G data card. What about the multimedia part? Try the HDMI-out port, the optional slot-loading Blu-ray drive and the capacitance touch-sensitive media controls on for size. While the M1530 starts at a very reasonable $999, you're going to have to shell out a bit more if you want to pack in any of those optional goodies--a fully spec'd out unit tops off at just under $3500. Then again, you know what they say: you get what you pay for.

For more on the M1530:
- check out Dell's website

Dell prepping new 15" laptops

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

Dell sure has been busting out a whole lot of new products lately and if recent rumors offer any indication, that trend is set to continue well into December. According to the latest leaked info, Dell will be replacing its Inspiron 1520 and 1521 lappies next month with two new models: the 1525 and 1526. These 15.4 inch, 6.6 pound machines will be aimed squarely at the low-end consumer/SMB market--but that doesn't mean that Dell has totally skimped in the specs department. The 1525 will sport Intel's Santa Rosa while the 1526 will be based on an AMD/ATI combo; both machines will support up to 4GB of RAM, your choice of display panels (WXGA/WXGA+/WSXGA+), WiFi, a SATA drive of your choosing, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, optional WWAN connectivity and even a Blu-ray reader (available in the 1525 only). As far as an OS is concerned, these will apparently ship with either Vista or Ubuntu Linux and it's believed that you might even be able to customize the color of the machine's lid (as we've seen on some other Inspirons). If you've been mulling an Inspiron 1520/1521 purchase, you might want to wait until mid-December, when these new machines are rumored to ship.

For more on the rumor:
- see this Engadget article

BlackBerry Pearl with WiFi hits FCC

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

While we've already seen the BlackBerry 8130--the CDMA variant of the new Pearl--land on Sprint and Verizon, we've yet to see the GSM-friendly 8120 in any official capacity. Well, judging by documents recently posted to the FCC website, this little bugger just might be worth the wait. Not only is the 8120 a quad-band GSM/EDGE version of the Pearl, it also brings GPS and 802.11b/g WiFi to the table--contrary to initial rumors. Additionally, it looks to have a 3.5mm headset jack, stereo Bluetooth and a microSD expansion slot. This one has been a rumored shoe-in for T-Mobile's HotSpot@Home service for a while now and according to Phone Scoop, a UMA client discussed in the user's manual also seems to point in that direction. Generally speaking, a stop at the FCC usually means that a device is just about ready to hit retail, so expect more on this little guy soon.

For more on the BlackBerry Pearl 8120:
- see this Phone Scoop article

Nokia N810 hits store shelves

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 06:59:54 -0500

Remember that Nokia N810 Internet tablet--the one that we called "the most drool-worthy" of all of Nokia's devices at CTIA? Well, good news: the N810 is finally available for purchase in the U.S. of A. In case you've forgotten, this device sports a touchscreen, a slide-out QWERTY keypad, WiFi, GPS, 2GB of storage (expandable to 10GB), a 400Mhz CPU and a custom Linux Maemo interface with a Mozilla-based browser. No, it doesn't connect to any cellular networks, unless you tether it to a phone via Bluetooth. Still, you'd be hard pressed to find a better portable device for WiFi browsing. Available now from Best Buy, CompUSA, Micro Center, and Nokia's flagship stores in New York and Chicago for an MSRP of $479.

For more on the N810:
- see this press release