Just in time for the New Year, Dulin have launched the Boox 60 ebook reader for $350 on their website. The 6 inch unit is powered by a 532 MHz processor on Linux and comes with a WebKit Browser allowing you to read news and blogs as well as your favourite ebooks. Here are the full set of specs on Dulin’s Boox 60 reader
* Supported eBook formats - EPUB, PDF, Mobipocket, Fb2, TXT, PDB, HTML, CHM, DJVU
* Supported Image formats - JPEG, BMP, PNG, TIFF
* Supported Audio formats - Mp3
* Write, draw or take notes using the stylus
* 6 inch E Ink® Vizplex 600×800 pixels, 166 dpi B&W, 8 grayscale
* Daytime reading, portrait and landscape modes
* 532MHz processor
* Linux OS
* Mini USB (v 2.0) connectivity
* WiFi connectivity
* Webkit Broswer
* Memory 512MB
* 3.5 mm stereo jack
* 196 x 121 x 10.5 mm
* 298 g
* SD slot for up to 32GB
The Boox 60 seems kind of pricey especially when compared to the Kindle, but of course the stylus is not a Kindle feature and the Boox will handle Adobe DRM/Adobe Digital Editions. So may be that will persuade you to part with the extra $100. Otherwise probably best to stick with the Kindle.
The guys at Brando have very kindly come up with a very cunning device, the Y-1034 USB 3.0 to SATA adapter. Attach the Y-1034 to any old SATA HDDs and then plug the other end into your shiny new USB 3.0 port on your desktop and the files on the HDD will become available at the theoretical USB 3.0 speed of 5.0 Gbps. This ‘theoretical’ speed is ten times faster than USB 2.0 - now you’re interested! Here are some more details on the Y-1034 USB to SATA adapter from Brando
* USB 3.0 connectivity
* Plays nicely with Window 7 / Vista / Xp, Linux
* 69 x 40 x 12mm
* 67g
The price tag on this is a mere $48, how can you say no? And for IDE devices you’ll need an extra gizmo, the ‘Docking Convertor’, but that’s only $16. So for $64 tops, you can grab an old HDD and convert it instantly into a USB 3.0 external HDD. How cool is that?
Merry Christmas everybody, and here’s a little present from the boys at Yamaha, the YHT-S400 home theatre system. A cool $600 will get you a streamlined soundbar which ‘fits in front of almost any TV’ and an intriguingly designed receiver with sub-woofer integrated. Talk about maximising your lounge’s living area! As we’ve mentioned before we’re still not convinced by soundbars but if you’re short of space then you can’t go wrong with the YHT-S400. Here are some details on the Yamaha creation
* System Frequency Response 35 Hz–20 kHz
* Driver 1-1/2″ x 3-3/4″ cone x 3
* 31.5 x 2 x 2.75 inches
* 3.4 lbs.
* Front Speakers 50 W x 3
* Subwoofer 100 W
* 5″ cone woofer
* 17.2 x 6 x 14.25 inches
* 19 lbs.
The soundbar and the subwoofer use Yamaha’s very own Air Surround Xtreme to create the surround sound experience allowing you to ‘identify sounds located around and behind you’, which you’d sort of hope a ’surround’ system would do. There is one feature that did pop out at us though, Yamaha’s UniVolume, which ‘maintains a consistent volume level between different channels, programs, commercials and input sources’. Very handy for the TV stations that do crank up the volume during commercial breaks.
So if you’re a bit cramped for space in your lounge then the Yamaha YHT-S400 may be just what you’ve asked Santa for. If it is, let’s hope he’s picked it up for you at Amazon as they’ve already slashed $100 off Yamaha’s price tag and you can get your mits on the YHT-400S for only $500.
Ok, so Cowon’s latest PMP, the V5 HD, is currently only being launched in their homeland of Korea in January but surely a US and worldwide release will shortly follow. For those of you eager to see what Cowon have stuffed into the V5 here’s the list of impressive specs
* 4.8 inch 800 x 480 res touchscreen
* WinCE 6.0
* 720p HDMI output
* H.264 support
* SD memory card slot
* Wi-Fi connectivity
* 45 hours of audio playback on battery
* 10 hours of video playback on battery
* 128×82x15.7mm
Three versions of the V5 HD will be released with varying capacities at 8GB, 16GB and 32GB. The V5 will appear in Korea in the New Year with a price tag the equivalent of US$250 for the 8GB version. We must admit we’re not usually too impressed with Cowon PMP players but the V5 HD certainly seems to taken their range up a notch or two in our estimation. The 720p HDMI output with Wi-Fi connectivity turn this media player almost into a netbook. We’re not too sure what apps you can get for WinCE but we did only say ‘almost’ a netbook.
As usual if anyone out there has played with a Cowon V5 HD please let us know what you think of this neat PMP.
Smartphones seem to be getting cheaper by the day and here’s the latest deal for a Blackberry Curve 8530, for a mere $50 (after rebates) AT&T will set you up with one of these suckers. Of course the Curve 8530 will come with the usual two year contract but it’ll also have these snazzy features and specs too
* 2.5 inch display
* Blackberry App World
* Dedicated Media Keys
* Trackpad
* Full QWERTY keyboard
* Blackberry Push Technology
* Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, or ICQ apps
* 2.0 Megapixel Camera and Camcorder
* GPS capable
* microSD card slot (up to 32 GB)
* WiFi Enabled - 802.11 b/g
* 4.3″ x 2.4″ x 0.5″
* 3.9 oz.
* Up To 5.4 hours continuous talk time
We must admit that this is a very tempting offer, a good smartphone for $50, very hard to turn done especially if your already a Sprint customer. If you’re keen as then stroll on over to the Sprint website and grab yourself a Curve.
We also managed to dig up this unboxing video from phoneDog. Whilst it’s for the Verizon version of the Curve 8530, the functionality of the unit is still the same.
LG’s slender slider, the eXpo, is now available for only $200 after rebates at AT&T. The unit sports Wi-Fi support, 3G high speed data connectivity plus Bluetooth 2.1. It also runs on Win Mobile 6.5 Professional with a 3.2 inch touchscreen. Sound good? Here are all the stats on the LG eXpo
* SnapDragon processor running Windows Mobile 6.5 Pro
* 3.2 inch 800 x 480 res touchscreen display
* QWERTY keyboard
* GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
* 3G UMTS/HSDPA (850/1900/2100 MHz)
* EDGE high speed data network connectivity
* 5.0 MP camera with 5x zoom
* MP3, AAC, eAAC+, AMR, MIDI audio formats supported
* Text and Instant Messaging (AOL, Windows Live and Yahoo Messenger)
* Talk time Up to 3 hours
* Standby time Up to 10 days
* 4.46 ounces
* 4.50 x 2.16 x .63 inches
* 512 MB internal memory
* microSD Card slot (up to 16 GB)
If the eXpo is just what you’re after, check it out at AT&T.
AAXA have just unleashed the M1 projector with 66 lumens of brightness which apparently makes the M1 the brightest ‘ultra-portable’ projector. Of course the term ‘ultra-portable’ is relative but the 66 lumens is certainly a marked increase from the same stat on other so called ‘ultra-portable’ projectors. Here’s the rest of the details on the AAXA M1
* Native SVGA (800×600) resolution
* Ultra-bright 66 Lumen LED light source
* 1GB onboard memory
* SD card reader
* AVI/MP3/3GP/RMVB/RM/VOB/DAT/JPG fomats
* 1,000:1 contrast ratio
* 22 dB noise
* Manual Focusing
* Lamp - Single Chip White LED Life 15,000hrs
* 4:3 aspect ratio
* Stereo 1W speakers
* 13.6 oz
* 112 x 105 x 46 mm
The M1 also has a ‘bigger’ brother the M1 Plus, which sports a VGA input not found on its lesser sibling. So what about the price tag on these mini projectors, well, the straight up M1 will set you back $299 while the M1 Plus costs $359. Both units are available for pre-order on the AAXA website, with both being available by mid January.
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