Gadgets Base

Posted Mar 18th 2008 1:07PM by Ryan Block
Filed under: cellphones, Features
We know there have been a couple of crappy videos here and there on the web, but we finally got our own grubby paws on the yet-to-be released iPhone 2.0 beta, which isn’t officially due until this June. It isn’t exactly awash with changes, but here’s what you need to know:

• Exchange is so on! Changes are pushed over the network, but over WiFi it does check-ins, so it’s not as instantaneous.
• There’s no contact search that we can see, so far. Maybe that only gets turned on if you have thousands of contacts (which we definitely do not).
• There’s a new button in the calendar, but we don’t know what it is and can’t make it do anything.
• The App Store is there, of course, but doesn’t do anything yet (except error out that it can’t connect).
• Wondering when Apple will make good on its agreement to license Cisco technology? Well, the branded Cisco VPN screen has definitely been added to the VPN settings. We couldn’t really test this one, but assume it works as advertised. We don’t yet know if it supports SecurID or other hardware token authenticators.
• Parental controls most certainly work. Marvel as we turn off YouTube!
• You can now order your preferred WiFi networks.
• In addition to having a new sideways scientific mode(!), the basic calculator now does commas and has new, useful functions for the math nerds; both the calc and the iTunes icons have changed.
• By far our favorite new feature is multi-select in mail, though. Now when you hit edit you can select as many messages as you want and delete or move them as a group. Friggin’ finally. Now where’s that two-pane client?

Definitely encouraging stuff in here. We’ll have some video up of this thing a little later; in the mean time, there anything you want to know? Big ups to our source(s) for hooking us up with this!

Gallery: iphone firmware 2.0 hands-on

Posted Mar 18th 2008 4:54PM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
Although they’ve gotten better recently, Intel’s integrated graphics chipsets have never gotten a ton of love — the underpowered 915 chipset is at the heart of the whole “Vista Capable” debacle, for example — but it looks like the company’s about to make a strong play to be your new pixel-pusher of choice with the new Larrabee graphics chip. Based on the x86 instruction set, the new chip isn’t just limited to GPU duties, but can serve as a general-purpose processor as well. Early 16-core versions have been developed with max speeds of over 2GHz, but the design can apparently scale to thousands of cores in the future. The plan is first to release Larrabee chips as separate graphics units in Q4 of this year, but early next year we should see both laptop and desktop-oriented 45nm Nehalem processors with the Larrabee tech built right in. That should beat AMD’s Fusion processors to market — looks like the race is on.

Read - PC Perspective roadmap article with Intel slides
Read - DailyTech roadmap with Larrabee details

Sling has announced that they’ll be rolling out an updated version of SlingPlayer this spring. The updated SlingPlayer will be optimized for devices running on Windows Mobile (both touchscreen and non-touchscreen versions) and they’re working on a similarly optimized Nokia N95 8GB client as well. Support for Symbian UIQ is also in the works and at the same time, their mulling over Apple’s recently released iPhone SDK for a possible future release of a stand-alone iphone SlingPlayer client. Well, if that doesn’t get you excited, I don’t know what will. Think of it as a substitute for until YouTube begins live video streaming. Online video sites have yet to kill the couch potato’s holy grail, anyway.

Via [IntoMobile]

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Posted Mar 18th 2008 10:16AM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: cellphones
Remember those dirt-cheap refurbished iPhones we mentioned you could snag in-store? Well it looks like AT&T has decided to share the bounty with the public at large, and has begun taking orders for the $249 8GB models online. If you’ve been on the fence, here’s your chance to get in for $150 less than retail (and sadly for you early adopters, a whopping $350 tumble in price). In our experience, you can grab one in person with no activation, though it looks like you’ll have to sign on the dotted line to have it delivered.

Update: According to our commenters, you can get these mailed to you activation / contract free.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Posted Mar 18th 2008 8:40AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Peripherals, StorageJust a week ago, Iomega turned up its nose at an offer from EMC to buyout the firm for $3.25 per share. Now, however, it’s singing a somewhat different tune as EMC has struck back with an entirely more succulent offer of $3.75 per share. Said bid puts a $205.5 million value on Iomega — based on the 54.8 million shares it has outstanding — and now it’s being reported that “Iomega will enter into discussions with EMC that could lead to a definitive acquisition proposal.” Go on you two, don’t hold back on those feelings any longer.

Posted Mar 18th 2008 9:24AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
Nah, Panasonic’s SV-SD870N isn’t the longest lasting DAP we’ve ever laid eyes upon, but few would find the courage to kvetch over 100 hours on a full charge. The latest in Panasonic’s D-snap lineup, this unit promises to cut out “83-percent” of surrounding noise (and a good chunk of battery life) at the press of a button and supports SD / SDHC cards along with direct recording if plugged into a D-dock device. Furthermore, this one is set to arrive in red, black, silver, blue and white motifs, come stocked with a 2GB SD card, boast USB 2.0 connectivity and play nice with AAC, WMA and MP3 file formats. Quite frankly, we’re still a little turned off by that interface, but those unconcerned with such matters can slip one in their pocket next month.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

Posted Mar 18th 2008 9:46AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Misc. gadgets
Although we’ve got a special place in our hearts for Cisco’s 1080p-lovin’ TelePresence Meeting system, HP’s own Halo Collaboration Center ain’t too shabby. Announced today as the newest member of its expanding Halo platform, the aforementioned center comes in two- and four-seat iterations and prides itself on being simple to install in a plethora of locations. Additionally, each unit is designed to “operate seamlessly with existing Halo products,” and just in case you were hoping to have work follow you all the way back to the hotel, HP also announced that it’s teaming up with Marriott International to install Halo Meeting Rooms in select facilities. Now, figure out how to actually get a Halo 3 deathmatch going on these things and their value increases astronomically.

Read - HP Introduces New Halo Telepresence Product, Marquee Customer Wins
Read - HP and Marriott International Form Alliance to Open “Public Access” Halo Telepresence Rooms

Posted Mar 18th 2008 12:25PM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Desktops, LaptopsLooks like all those rumors yesterday were true — Microsoft has just posted up the official standalone version of Vista SP1. Sure, you’ve been able to get it in one way or another for a while now, but if you’re into silly things like “legit OS updates,” the wow (SP1) is now.

Update: Here are the release notes — as we’ve known for a while now, it’s mostly bug fixes and performance tweaks, but the sheer volume of ‘em is something to behold.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]