SlashGear

Toshiba 320GB 1.8-inch HDD is world’s biggest

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Nov 5th 2009 No Comments

toshiba 320gb hdd Flash and solid-state drives have been catching up to tiny, 1.8-inch traditional hard-drives in ultramobile applications over the past year or so, but Toshiba don’t think spinning platters are quite outmoded yet. The company have revealed three new 1.8-inch HDDs including the industry’s first 320GB unit, using unique high-density platters that permit data density of 516Gbpsi.

Each of the 3.0Gbps SATA drives spin at 5,400rpm and have 16MB of buffer memory, while there’s apparently less of the high-pitched whine sometimes associated with such HDDs; in fact noise is down between 4 and 5dB over previous models. As well as the 320GB drive, there are 160GB and 250GB versions.

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CrunchPad hamstrung by unexpectedly high production costs?

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Nov 5th 2009 No Comments

Last we heard, the CrunchPad budget tablet was set to leap to the market this month with a roughly $399 price tag. Now the rumor circulating California is that unexpected manufacturing expenses have delayed – perhaps even killed – the project; the Silicon Alley Insider claims that project founder Michael Arrington has been surprised by higher-than-expected quotes from suppliers.

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LG GD510 POP lands in UK for sub-£100 contract-free

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Nov 5th 2009 No Comments

Remember the LG GD510 POP? The 3-inch touchscreen cellphone is, according to LG, the smallest of its type with a display of that size; unfortunately that's because they've thrown out any such niceties as WiFi or 3G. Still, it's at least cheap: UK buyers can pick up the GD510 POP from today on a non-contract pre-pay plan, priced at £99.95 ($165).

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Sony Ericsson Kurara leaks again: 8.1MP S60 AMOLED smartphone

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Nov 5th 2009 No Comments

The floodgates are open and Sony Ericsson’s Kurara is spilling through them. Having been spotted in the wild yesterday, the touchscreen Satio sibling has made a second appearance getting up close and personal with a carbonated beverage. No more hardware specs to share – though the HD logo on the back is missing on this particular unit – so we’re left with the expectation of a 3.5-inch AMOLED touchscreen, Symbian S60 OS and 8.1-megapixel autofocus camera.

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OS X 10.6.2 reacquires Atom support in latest dev build

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Nov 5th 2009 No Comments

Having heard earlier this week that Apple had blocked Atom processor support in their latest build of OS X 10.6.2, we're now being told that the low-power Intel CPU has once again been welcomed back into the Mac fold. A newer 10.6.2 build, 10C535, has restored Atom support, meaning owners of netbook-turned-Hackint0sh machines may not be left without the latest software in their DIY Apple ultraportables.

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Microsoft Courier UI details leak: perfect pen/finger balance?

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Nov 5th 2009 No Comments

Microsoft’s Courier project – a dual-display “book” style electronic journal – has been intriguing us since it first leaked back in September, and the latest spillage of UI details courtesy of Gizmodo’s mysterious tipster is doing nothing to temper our interest. The twin screens are both multitouch-capable and respond to fingers and the special stylus, the latter having two side-buttons (the upper one being an “undo” key), an eraser on the other end, and a rotating barrel that flips between different pen modes.

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Olympus PEN E-P2 launched: new accessories & sky-high pricing

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Nov 5th 2009 No Comments

Thanks to previews on the company’s own site, the launch of the new Olympus PEN E-P2 Micro Four Thirds camera comes as little surprise. Still, we’ve been waiting to see exactly what tweaks and changes – beyond an optional electronic viewfinder – the company has made, and while we’ll save our final judgement until the reviews come in, right now it’s looking like a reasonable upgrade. The PEN E-P2 adds a continuous autofocus tracking system which can be used in both still and video modes, and adds that all-important accessory connector port for various add-ons to the hot-shoe.

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Atlona DVI to Mini DisplayPort converter for iMac input

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Nov 5th 2009 No Comments

One of Apple’s new iMac’s most nifty features is their ability to work as a standalone display for an external video source, such as another Mac or a console. Unfortunately that means your external source needs to have a Mini DisplayPort output, something in short supply unless you’re already toting a recent Apple product. Now Atlona Technologies have stepped in with the DP200, a DVI to Mini DisplayPort converter that’s officially compatible with the 21.5- and 27-inch iMacs.

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eStarling digital photo frame gets touchscreen & WiFi-n

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Nov 5th 2009 No Comments

eStarling’s first digital photo frame was roundly panned for being user-unfriendly and having a shonky external wireless dongle. Now the company is back with a new version, and we’d like to think they’ve learned from their initial mistakes. The eStarling 802.11n Touchscreen Connected Frame lacks a snappy name but does, as the title suggests, get a WiFi b/g/n update to support the faster standard, as well as a new touch-sensitive interface.

eStarling WiFi Photo Frame

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Apple App Store stuffed with over 100,000 applications

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Nov 5th 2009 No Comments

Last month it was two billion downloads; this month it's over 100,000 applications available: is the Apple App Store really just a headline generator? No, obviously not, it's a software marketplace for the iPhone and iPod touch, but as the figures show it's certainly the most popular mobile apps store out there right now.