Features

SlashGear Week in Review – Week 47 2009

By Shane McGlaun on Saturday, Nov 21st 2009 No Comments

Week in review time again, here we go! The Lenovo IdeaPad Pineview netbook hit the FCC Monday. The FCC is one of the most prolific leaker of gadgets and gear around and we love them for it. The CrunchPad is now said to be steamrolling toward a launch and may have a sponsorship deal in place. Word was a few weeks back that the tablet was dead.

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Google Chrome OS gets detailed [Video]

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Nov 19th 2009 1 Comment

As expected, Google have released launch details about the Google Chrome OS platform, though there is no beta release today nor any netbooks actually running the OS to announce. The company intend Chrome OS to boot almost instantaneously, similar to a TV experience, and in fact it currently loads in just seven seconds; system stability and security is also paramount, with an encrypted user-data section, self-healing OS and complete cloud storage for files. While there’s no beta available today, Google is making the source code available for developers to download, compile and install.

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Video overviews after the cut

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C-motech Mangrove WinMo UMPC hands-on

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Nov 19th 2009 2 Comments

We’d forgive you for having forgotten about C-motech’s Mangrove UMPC; after all, the market for a 7-inch touchscreen tablet running Windows Mobile 6.5 is hardly vast. Still, we were interested to see the unit at Qualcomm’s event today, though its tubby form-factor was a whole lot less impressive when sat next to the Quanta Android Smartbook.

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Quanta Android Smartbook hands-on plus Qualcomm tablet prototype [Video]

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Nov 19th 2009 3 Comments

We were hoping Qualcomm might whip out Lenovo’s upcoming Smartbook at today’s event, but unfortunately the diminutive all-day ultraportable is still being nursed for an official CES reveal. Instead, the company had Quanta’s functional Android Smartbook prototype and a non-working Smartbook/Tablet concept out for us to play with.

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Video demo after the cut

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Qualcomm mirasol gaming ereader concept plus video demo

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Nov 19th 2009 No Comments

Remember the Qualcomm mirasol ebook reader prototype we we exclusively showed you yesterday? One thing we weren’t allowed to photograph – something Qualcomm rectified today – was one of the more interesting attachments they envisage potentially figuring highly: a snap-on gaming controller. The mirasol team won’t confirm any OEM names, but using the low-power displays in gaming hardware looks to be another potential avenue. Plus, after the cut, a video of the mirasol display in action.

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Qualcomm mirasol color video ebook readers to ship in 2010

By Chris Davies on Wednesday, Nov 18th 2009 7 Comments

Ebook readers are arguably coming of age, but don’t assume e-ink – and the push to produce color e-ink panels – have won the game quite yet. SlashGear met up with Qualcomm’s mirasol team today to discuss their latest display news, and while you might remember the technology from their early 1.1-inch single-color panels, they’re now showing off a 5.7-inch display capable of full color and video playback, with minimal impact on battery life. They’ve set themselves the target of having color ebook readers with mirasol panels on the market by the latter part of 2010, and are working with OEMs now to achieve that.

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HP Data Vault X510 Review – Windows Home Server Powered NAS

By Chris Davies on Monday, Nov 16th 2009 No Comments

A casual glance at the photo and you might think we’re re-reviewing the HP MediaSmart EX487 Home Server we looked at back in December. In actual fact, this is the business-centric cousin to that device, the HP StorageWorks X510 Data Vault. Intended for small businesses or serious home offices, the X520 Data Vault promises not only backup but various shared storage options too. Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.

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SlashGear Week in Review – Week 45 2009

By Shane McGlaun on Monday, Nov 16th 2009 No Comments

Here we go with another week in review. Monday IDC released their data on the number of CPUs shipped for Q3 2009. The number of CPUS shipped grew 23% for the quarter compared to the previous year. ZiiLABS unveiled its new ZMS-08 Blu-ray quality media processor this week. The processor promises to be full 1080p HD video support and more for portable devices like tablets.

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Gateway EC54 Review – 15.6″ CULV Notebook (EC5409u)

By Ewdison Then on Friday, Nov 13th 2009 No Comments

It used to be that only the smallest, most frugal of netbooks – paired with huge, 9-cell batteries – could offer the reassurance of a full day away from an outlet. Now, with the advent of Intel’s consumer ultra-low voltage processors, notebooks that wouldn’t look out of place on a regular desk can now boast lengthy run-times too. Into the fray steps the Gateway EC5409u, distinguishing itself not only by virtue of healthy battery life predictions – up to 8hrs, Gateway ambitiously suggest – but a reasonably-sized 15.6-inch display. Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.

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Nokia N97 mini and E72 video unboxings

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Nov 12th 2009 No Comments

Nokia’s Booklet 3G isn’t the only new device from the company on our test bench today; two of the Finn’s newest smartphones have also arrived, in the shape of the N97 mini and the E72. Announced back in September and June, respectively, each offers a full QWERTY keyboard and S60 OS, but in strikingly different ways. Check out our unboxing videos, live galleries and some first impressions after the cut.

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