SlashGear Week In Review - Week 28 2009
This has been a busy week here at SlashGear and lots of new items have appeared this week to stoke our geek lust. If you were on vacation or just didn't get around to reading much this week here is our week in review. We heard rumors this week that Apple had purchased a huge order of cameras for its new iPod models. The rumor was supported by shots of new cases for the 5G iPod nano that surfaced with a cut out for a camera lens. Intel is also rumored to have penalized Lenovo and Samsung over cramming the popular Intel Atom processor inside a netbook with screens over the size limit that the parts are supposed to be used in. I guess Intel is still afraid of net books cannibalizing notebook sales.
A Sony Ericsson phone leaked this week codenamed "Rachel" that is the first dead sexy SE phone I have ever seen. The device runs Android and we can only hope that SE is actually making the device and the leak isn't outright false. Asus also confirmed three models of the slick T91 convertible netbook with the base model not getting any of the cool multi-touch features or 3G connectivity.
Asus also debuted a new enthusiast mainboard called the Asus ROG Crosshair III Formula for Phenom II CPUs. The board comes with X-Fi sound and real-time overclocking capabilities. Best Buy offered up its first subsidized netbook this week with a cost of less than your average bottle of soda. The Compaq Mini 110 netbook sells for $0.99, of course you have to sign away two years of 3G freedom and pay the monthly broadband fee.
Rumors swirled this week that Nokia was working on an Android phone, which honestly seemed a bit off to me. Nokia quickly came out and flat denied it was working on an android-powered device. After all, Nokia wouldn't want to mess around and do something cool. One of the coolest items to pop up this week was the slick CrunchPad from Michael Arrington. The thing looks like a big iPhone and is reported to be selling for under $300. Expect to see this thing hit the market in August if all goes well.
Sony launched the first netbook that it would actually admit was a netbook. Sony is slumming with the netbook masses with its Vaio W. The rig has what you expect form a netbook for hardware with an added premium so you can own the Sony brand. The Google-G0 concept device was first seen this week, and it is the sexiest concept device I have ever seen with OLED buttons and a wireless base station. The designer of this concept device needs to be hired at one of the phone makers with more boring looking products. I am looking at you Sony Ericsson.
A supposed spec sheet for the PSP2 was leaked this week that promises a new portable gaming system from Sony with more power than the original Xbox console had. That would be nice for sure, but I would rather see Sony cut the price of the PS3 than whip out a new portable. Can I get a witness? The next LG chocolate device started its teaser campaign this week. I hate teaser campaigns; they don't really pique my interest as much as they annoy me. I think everyone should just do like Palm with the Pre and just lay it out.
Sony's CEO was farting in the general direction of Activision CEO at a conference this week when he responded to the recent threat that Activision may stop supporting the PS3 if prices aren't cut. Sony CEO Howard Stringer simply said the Activision CEO likes to make "a lot of noise." The thinner-than-Paris-Hilton NEC VersaPro was fondled by the gang at Akihabara News this week. The little netbook is so thin and lightweight that a strong fart might blow it off your desk.
AMD announced that it will launch DirectX 11 graphics cards by the holiday season. I wonder if AMD will make a holiday wish that it had never bought ATI. Motorola unveiled the Rokr ZN50, which shocked us this week mostly because it didn't suck as badly as most of the firm's devices have since the Razr was the phone to have. The caveat is the device is only in Korea for now.
The coolest thing I saw this week was the dude that hacked a Wii Remote to control a 15-ton grapple arm that looks like something ripped from a Transformer. If ever there was a geek who deserved to be immortalized in a Bud Light commercial, this is him. This Bud is for you Mr. Giant Video Game Remote Control Robot Arm inventor. Google said this week that it was working with major computer makers Acer, Asus, and HP on making netbooks with Chrome OS installed. This makes me wonder if the days of Android notebooks are very numbered.
If you have been holding out until you hit the lottery or prices dropped to buy an Amazon Kindle 2, this was your week. Amazon lopped $60 off the price of its cool reader dropping the price to $299. The anticipated T-Mobile myTouch 3G went on pre-order this week and is set to hit stores on August 5 for $199.99. I'd be so bitter if I just bought a G1.
The Evil Empire (insert heavy breathing here) otherwise known as AT&T has delayed activation of MMS until September and the controversy over tethering continues. The ability to tether the iPhone is reported to cost $55 per month, the same basic price you can get the service for with any other modem. That is the week in a nutshell, tune in next week when we will do this all again!