Archive | January, 2011
IoSafe’s Drives: The Torture Tests Continue
IoSafe, which makes disaster-proofed storage devices, may not have the biggest booth at CES–or, come to think of it, any booth at all–but it consistently comes up with unique, memorable demos of its products. Last year it set fire to a drive, drowned it, then drove over it with a steamshovel. This year, it took one of its new Rugged Portable drives–available with both aluminum and titanium cases–and dunked it in a fish tank, squeezed it a vice, and then turned it into a shooting-range target. And after a few minutes’ work with a screwdriver–the external USB connector had been damaged–all the data on the SSD inside was proven to be safe and sound.
I’m not sure what the company has planned for CES 2012, but I wonder if it would be okay to drop a drive from the top of the Stratosphere?
Photos after the jump (that’s IoSafe founder Robb Moore doing most of the damage, and me turning the screw on the vice).
The Name Game
9. January 2011
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At every CES, there’s one company–usually in a small booth off the beaten track–with the single best name at the show.
In 2011, that company was Dream Cheeky.
The Motorola Atrix 4G: This is Huge
9. January 2011
Not to get all gushy or anything, but I think one of Harry’s best opinion columns here was the one from March 2009 about how smartphones are destined to replace the PC, and how the comforts of full-sized computing — keyboard, mouse, monitor — will become dumb shells for our powerful handsets.
Motorola’s Atrix 4G is an indication that he’s right. The phone itself marks a technological leap, as one of several new Android handsets with dual-core processors, but the real revolution is an optional dock that acts like a laptop when the phone is plugged in. There’s also a separate HD dock for televisions and external monitors, with USB ports for full-sized keyboards and mouses. Ladies and gentlemen: your dumb shells.
3D Smartphones Don’t Make Much Sense
9. January 2011
On a quiet island within Sharp’s CES booth, a handful of glasses-free 3D smartphones were on display. They had eye-catching layered menus, 3D conversion of standard photos and a cute demo of swimming fish. (Rule of thumb: every 3D demo involves sea animals at some point.)
It only took a few minutes of playing around to see how undesirable all this 3D could be.
On tbe most obvious level, staring at a glasses-free 3D screen for a prolonged period can have a dizzying effect, but not all 3D is created equal, and maybe Sharp’s implementation is sub-par. My real concern is that smartphones aren’t conducive to 3D content in the first place.
Ocosmos Intros Tiny Windows 7 Computer for Gaming and Work
9. January 2011
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In the ever-expanding world of unconventional computers, Ocosmos has just rolled out new five- and seven-inch Windows 7-based tablets geared to folks who want to combine serious gaming for fun with their day jobs.
The Tiny Computer (TC) OCS1 is targeted at “heavy-duty gamers,” and the larger OCS9 tablet at “lighter gamers,” Ocosmos staffers said during the ShowStoppers press event at CES.
Despite their small sizes, both gadgets are full-featured PCs, amenable to running a built-in office suite and other work apps along with games. For gaming control, though, they also feature Ocosmos’ Omos interface.
Last Gadget Standing: The Results Are In!
9. January 2011
The suspense is over! Yesterday morning, a standing-room-only throng of CES attendees attended the tenth annual Last Gadget Standing event (co-sponsored by Technologizer and LGS creator Robin Raskin’s Living in Digital Times), and witnessed demos–from the straightforward to the wild and crazy–from the ten finalists. Then they voted for their favorite gizmos by clapping, cheering, whistling, hooting, and hollering.
The Last Gadget Standing–as determined by applause-o-meter at the event is Acer’s Iconia, a notebook with two 14-inch screens and a touchscreen interface. And the People’s Choice winner–determined by an online poll–is Barnes & Noble’s Nookcolor “reader’s tablet.”
Coming on Tuesday: Verizon iPhone Event Live Blog Coverage
8. January 2011
Next Tuesday at 11am ET/8am PT, Verizon is holding an event in New York to announce the Verizon iPhone. (Okay, all the company is saying is that it’ll share its “latest news”–but if it doesn’t relate to the iPhone, I know a lot of people who will be stunned.) I don’t know whether Steve Jobs will attend, but I will–and I hope you will, too, by participating in our live blog coverage. It’ll live at technologizer.com/verizon, and you can head there right now to sign up for an e-mail reminder.
Oh no, Facebook is Shutting Down! Umm…
8. January 2011
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File this under the so-ridiculous-its-sad-people-believe-it department: sometime around dinnertime Saturday on the East Coast, somebody thought it funny to start the rumor that Facebook would be shutting down on March 15. A Twitter search shows that people actually are taking this seriously, sadly enough. Sorry to disappoint but Facebook is not going anywhere, especially after that $450 million cash infusion from Goldman Sachs…
Windows Phone 7 Likes Your 3G a Bit Too Much
8. January 2011
Reports across the Web are surfacing that Microsoft has a serious problem with Windows Phone 7 that may become very expensive for some: the OS seems to use an awful lot of cellular bandwidth, even when idle. This means those with smaller data plans may find themselves in for a shock when their bill arrives.
One user wrote into Paul Thurrott’s WinSuperSite telling he had to put the phone into airplane mode because he was near his 2GB data limit, and copious amounts of data were being used even when idle. Thurrott himself replied that he had noticed increases of data usage.
What’s happening here is that even when on a Wi-Fi network — for whatever reason — the phone is still using 3G for data. Its unclear what applications (if not the entire phone) is doing this, but its a serious and common problem apparently that Microsoft has yet to confirm.
CES 2011: T-Mobile’s Tablets and Network Upgrade
8. January 2011
Dell Streak 7
T-Mobile USA has rolled out new tablets from Dell and LG, a new USB stick for upping end users’ access times, and intends to double the speed of its underlying network, all in the face of intensifying 4G wireless competition from Verizon, Sprint and AT&T.
In announcing the availability of the Android 2.2-based Dell Streak 7 tablet over the next few weeks during a CES news conference, T-Mobile also gave quick sneak peeks at a second tablet, dubbed the G Slate, and the new speed stick from ZTE.
At a press reception afterward on Thursday night, I did a bit of hands-on with the Streak 7, while getting perspectives from a couple of T-Mobile engineers about how T-Mobile’s network stacks up against the rivals.
The G Slate and new 42 Mbps USB speed stick were both absent at the reception, however. A spokesperson told me that T-Mobile is keeping both devices away from close-up scrutiny for the moment, since the gear is still under development. The G Slate is T-Mobile’s emerging version of LG’s Honeycomb tablet.
As you might expect, the Streak 7 looks like a jumbo edition of Dell’s Streak 5 phone-tablet. If you like a larger screen, you’ll obviously get that in the Streak 7, but the Streak 7 lacks the Streak 5’s voice calling capabilities.
The Streak 7 sports a dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, Swype navigation, and rear- and front-facing cameras. The front-facing camera supports Qik video conferencing.
The Android-based tablet also supports Android Market, of course, although T-Mobile only loaded the Streak with a few applications for the press demos, including Angry Birds and a T-Mobile user access test app.
The touch screen seemed admirably responsive when I used it to play around with Android Market and the test app. In test results, I came up with 3103 Kbps on the downlink and 1143 Kbps on the uplink over T-Mobile’s existing network.
Brian Olsen, a senior technology engineer at T-Mobile, told me that test results had been better earlier in the day, but that latency seemed to be increasing with the convergence of more and more techies upon Las Vegas.
Notably, though, elsewhere in and around CES, people keep complaining that the wireless networks of Verizon, Sprint and AT&T are getting bogged down, too.
T-Mobile already offers a USB speed stick, but the current stick supports network speeds of only 21 Mbps.
Meanwhile, T-Mobile plans to double the speed of its underlying network by bonding new HSPA+ cell towers with existing ones. T-Mobile is dubbing its new network HSPA+ 42, said Mark McDiarmid, T-Mobile’s senior director of engineering and operations, in an interview at the press reception.
The carrier expects to start the network upgrade in its top 25 US markets, later expanding to the remaining top 100 markets, all of which now have 3G in place.
T-Mobile’s network upgrade strategy is quicker and more cost effective than the approaches Verizon is taking with LTE and Sprint is following with WiMax, because unlike the others, T-Mobile doesn’t need to install new types of cell towers, McDiarmid said.
Speeds on T-Mobile’s HSPA+ 42 network will be comparable to those of Verizon’s LTE 4G network, according to the engineer.
Also, since T-Mobile isn’t building a whole new network architecture, its sped up network will be backward compatible with older tablets and phones, meaning that end users won’t need to buy new devices, he told me.
Has CES Outlived Its Usefulness?
7. January 2011
As we are ready to close the book on yet another CES, and its exhibitors and attendees pack their bags to make the trip home, it begs the question: Is CES even useful anymore? Is it a product of a bygone era in tech, now rendered nearly useless in this age of the 24-hour news cycle?
It’s a good question, and one that definitely is worthy of debate among the tech community at large.
In the interest of full disclosure, my first (and last) CES was in 2005, as part of the Betanews staff. I have to admit as a tech geek I was certainly excited. But upon getting there, I found myself more disappointed than anything: Looking for good stuff there seemed like something akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.
The Blackberry PlayBook is Not Confusing
7. January 2011
In starting from scratch, the Blackberry PlayBook faces a challenge not shared by iOS, Android or WebOS tablets: It will be completely foreign to all users.
Fortunately, navigating the PlayBook is dead-simple, provided you memorize a handful of little gestures. That was my big takeaway after a few minutes of hands-on time today — along with multitasking that blows the iPad out of the water.
Xperia Arc Hands-On: There You Go, Sony
7. January 2011
Until seeing the Xperia Arc up close, I’ d never been excited about a Sony Ericsson phone. (I’d describe my mood about the rumored Playstation Phone as cautiously optimistic.)
To my surprise, the Xperia Arc was impressive in both hardware and software. It’s as if Sony took the missteps of the Xperia X10 — outdated Android, unremarkable specs — and learned.
Me on Cnet Today
7. January 2011
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At 11:30am PT, I’ll be on Cnet’s Reporters’ Roundtable show with Rafe Needleman to talk about the highlights (and lowlights) of CES 2011.
Sony to Fight Off 3D Skepticism
7. January 2011
The skeptics are wrong about 3D technology, said Sony CEO Howard Stringer, as he unveiled a far-reaching Sony roadmap for 3D “without or without glasses” across TVs, PlayStations, Blu-ray players, displays, movies, camcorders, and more.
Consumers will start to really buy into 3D technology whenever their favorite TV shows start showing up in 3D, he predicted, during a CES press conference.
Stringer contended that if anyone can convert the 3D naysayers, it’s Sony, with the company’s huge presence in the entertainment, hardware, and software industries.
ViewSonic’s 4-inch Android Device: Is It a Phone or a Tablet?
6. January 2011
At CES today, ViewSonic will launch a four-inch, Android 2.2-based tablet/phone dubbed the ViewPad 4, a ViewSonic exec said on Wednesday night, confirming earlier rumors around an until now nameless gadget in the same general category as Dell’s five-inch Streak.
The ViewPad 4 will have phone calling features, and it will sell for $549 unlocked upon its eventual release, said Josephine Chiu, a ViewSonic product manager, speakng with me at a pre-show Pepcom press event in Las Vegas.
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9. January 2011
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