In the spirit of gadget combination, Garmin and Asus bring us the hybrid cellphone/GPS unit, the nuvifone G60 available at AT&T. In the AT&T press release there’s no mention of Asus, but plenty of marketing hype about the nuvifone G60

“Personal navigation devices are already all about mobility and taking the Garmin experience everywhere as your mobile phone is truly compelling for customers who travel often,” said Michael Woodward, vice president, Mobile Phone Portfolio, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “We expect the nüvifone to be the guide for local restaurants, the least-expensive gas and the nearest coffee shop for many customers.”

Here are some hard facts we managed to extract from the release

* Same core features as the Garmin nuvi
* Preloaded with maps of North America
* Turn-by-turn voice-prompted directions
* full HTML browser
* Wi-Fi connectivity
* touch-screen virtual keyboard with either QWERTY layout or A to Z
* three megapixel camera with auto-focus which automatically geotags images
* free access to AT&T’s Yellow Pages, flight status and converter
* Premium Connected Services gives customers subscription access to real-time traffic information, fuel prices, White Pages, weather and more for $5.99/month after a 30-day trial

If that all sounds great to you, then AT&T still require US$300 from you (after rebates) before you can get your mits on one of these suckers. Whilst we can see a demand for the nuvifone G60 for people who are on the move a lot, that’ll be about it really, it’ll probably pass the average Joe by. If, of course, you’re not the average Joe the nuvifone is available on October 4th.

Source: AT&T

Featured Tags at&t, cellphone, garmin, gps


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HP have just launched the Mini 311 series with a starting price of US$400. The Mini 311 comes with a 11.6 inch HD display which can handle 1080p video and runs under Windows XP SP3. Here’s the full list of specs you can find on the US$400 HP Mini 311

* Windows XP Home SP3
* Intel Atom Processor N270 (1.60GHz, 512KB L2, 533Mhz FSB)
* 1GB DDR3 System Memory
* 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
* NVIDIA ION LE with a 5-in-1 Digital Media slot
* 11.6 inch HD LED BrightView Display (1366 x 768 res)
* HP Mini Webcam
* Wireless-G Card
* 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery for up to 6.25 hours of use
* 3 USB Ports, RJ-45, VGA, HDMI
* 11.4 x 8.03 x 0.78-1.20 inches
* 3.22 lbs
* Integrated 10/100BASE-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)

An external Lightscribe Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer will set you back an additional $125, and with HP Mobile Broadband you can sign up to a Verizon, AT&T or Sprint plan and get connected where ever coverage exists. At US$400 the unit seems a bit on the pricey side especially when compared to the similar Hannspree HannsNote which is now available at Amazon for $300 - the Hannspree unit sports a smaller screen, less weight, less battery time and 802.11n connectivity. But of course other outlets may be discounting the Mini 311.

Source: HP

Featured Tags hp, laptop


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Seagate have just added a new internal HDD to their Barracuda range, the Barracuda XT with a capacity of 2TB and a 6 Gb/s SATA interface - take that SSDs! The unit is backward compatible with legacy SATA systems and a 64 MB cache optimises burst transfer rates.

* Capacity 2 TB
* Model ST32000641AS
* SATA 6Gb/s NCQ Interface
* Transfer Rate Max 600 MB/s
* Sustained Data Rate 138 MB/s
* 64 MB Cache
* 7200 RPM
* 8 Heads 4 Disks
* 512 Bytes per Sector
* 26.1 x 101.6 x 146.99 mm
* 700 g

Seagate also try to do their bit for the planet with the Barracuda XT

Up to 50 percent of the materials used in the manufacture of Barracuda XT drives come from recycled sources.

The burst speeds are impressive at 600 MBps but of course you’ll probably actually get something closer to the 138 MBps sustained rate. Whilst this is slower than the OCZ SSDs we looked at in July, obviously the 2 TB capacity outweighs any of the OCZ offerings. The price on the Barracuda is set to be US$300 which isn’t cheap but then you do get that 2 TBs worth of zeroes and ones for your hard-earned cash.

Source: Seagate

Featured Tags hdd, internal-hdd, seagate


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It appears as if the Verizon LG VX8360 has become quite a popular phone and just to encourage a few more of you to invest in the VX8360 clam unit here’s a video review from phoneArena.

Whilst the LG VX8360 is not exactly ground breaking in the cellphone world, it has to be a bargain at US$40 with the usual Verizon two year plan. If anyone has a VX8360, please let us know what you think.

Source: Verizon

Featured Tags cellphone, lg, verizon


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JVC have just announced their latest soundbar systems, the TH-BA1 and TH-SB100. Whilst both units are a 4.1 sound system with wireless woofer, the SB100 sports a freestanding JVC Blu-Ray player too. The TH-BA1 rocks in at US$400 and the Blu-Ray player enhanced TH-SB100 sports a price tag of US$700.

* Power output 30W x 4
* Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Pro Logic, DTS decoders
* 35-3/8 x 4-9/16 x 3/3/16 inches (900 x 115 x 80mm)
* 11.46 lbs. (5.2kg.)

Wireless Powered Subwoofer

* 6-5/16 (16cm) Cone
* 100W
* 8-1/2 x 13-7/8 x 10 inches (215 x 352 x 254mm)
* 12.7 lbs. (5.8kg.)

XV-BP1 Blu-ray Player (included only with TH-SB100)

* BD Live™
* Plays BD-ROM/BD-RE/BD-R, DVD-Video/DVD-R/-RW, DVD +R/+RW, BD-ROM, BD-RE, BD-R, DVD-Video, DVD-R, DVD-RW (Video/VR), +RW/+R, CD/CD-R/-RW video
* MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC (H.264), VC-1, AVCHD, JPEG Digital Still formats
* Handles LPCM, Dolby Digital/Dolby Digital+, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS HD, MPEG-1/-2 L2, MP3, WMA ausio formats
* NTSC - PAL Conversion
* 1080p Upscaling
* Inputs/Outputs HDMI Digital Out (Audio/Video), Component, Composite, Audio Out, Analog 2ch, Coaxial Digital, Optical digital, USB Host (2), Network (Ethernet)
* 16-15/16 x 2-5/16 x 10 inches (430 x 58 x 253mm)
* 6.2 lbs (2.8 kg.)

The $400 and $700 price tags seem a touch high with the Yamaha YAS-70 still available at Amazon for US$280 and it has a bit more oomph too at 310W compared to these JVCs at 220W.

But of course beauty is in the ear of the listener, so if you’ve got one of these JVC soundbars please let us know what you think.

Source: JVC

Featured Tags blu_ray_player, jvc, soundbar


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Projector’s seem to be getting smaller these days and whilst Samsung’s latest offering the P410M is not the smallest projector it certainly is small enough to be considered ‘handy’. The P410M measures 5.8 x 2.5 x 5.7 inches and weighs in at 2.1 lbs. Of course with this compactness certain other features are reduced in comparison to other larger models.

* 800 x 600 SVGS res 4:3 format display
* 170 ANSI brightness
* Composite, Component and PC inputs
* USB port
* 1,000:1 contrast ratio
* Lamp life > 30,000 hours
* Throw distance 0.69 to 2.82 m
* Image size 20 to 80 inches
* Stereo 1W speakers

Pretty mediocre specifications really. In their marketing blurb Samsung push the long-life and energy-efficiency of the LED light source of the unit plus the USB port for ‘direct multimedia access’ whilst conveniently ignoring the sad brightness and contrast ratio. So the Samsung P410M should really be given a wide berth unless may be you want a portable projector. If you’re still reading this, the P410M should be available for US$600 according to the press release.

Featured Tags projector, samsung


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