Sunday, August 29, 2010

Space Invader Couch



The Space Invader Couch is the work of designer Igor Chak, and whilst it is just a design concept at the moment, I think they should definitely make this one.

The Space Invader Couch is basically a space invader turned in to a couch, a very fashionable and hard to pass by couch. The couch is all leather, with two glass surfaces. Although it might look uncomfortable it’s actually really soft, mainly lined and made with memory foam. Plus this is something different from a conventional couch.


via Like Cool via Geeky Gadgets

Friday, August 6, 2010

Motorola's Milestone XT720 makes US debut... on Cincinnati Bell


We aren't quite sure what kind of deal Cincinnati Bell has going on, but darn if this regional carrier doesn't score some fairly fantastic handsets. Also known for landing Nokia's white E71 and its XpressMusic 5800 first in the US, the operator is now the first American home to Motorola's Milestone XT720. As we'd heard most recently, the smartphone packs a 720MHz TI OMAP3440 processor, 3.7-inch FWVGA touchpanel (854 x 480), Android 2.1, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, an inbuilt accelerometer, USB 2.0 connectivity, proximity sensor, 8 megapixel camera (with Xenon flash) and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It's yours for the taking -- provided that you reside in southeastern Indiana, southwestern Ohio or northwestern Kentucky, that is -- but the $199.99 on contract ($449.99 sans strings) price tag might just push towards more fully featured alternatives. Tough call, we know.

Via Cincinnati Bell

Monday, August 2, 2010

MasterPad prototype marries Windows 7 to 11.6-inch IPS screen


Check out this 14mm-thin contender: built by Pegatron and still at the prototype stage, the MasterPad looks to be the embodiment of Steve Ballmer's incoming armada of desirable Windows 7 tablets. It sports an 11.6-inch IPS screen, which accommodates a 1,366 x 768 widescreen resolution, a 1.3 megapixel webcam plus mic, two USB ports, a memory card reader, an accelerometer, mini-HDMI port, 3G connectivity, and 32GB or 64GB SSD options. All that hi-tech goodness is wrapped up in a magnesium and aluminum alloy body, weighing 990 grams. There are some less cutting edge specs, like the disappointing 2-cell battery that will only get you 5 hours of use and the 1.66GHz Atom N450 CPU -- but we're being promised 1080p video playback and Flash compatibility are ready to roll, and our machine translation hints at an additional HD video-processing chip. The early hands-on experience seems to have left the Israeli journos impressed, and their homeland can expect the MasterPad to arrive "in the coming months," with an Android version also in the works.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Switched On: The Galaxy S paradox



Most high-profile smartphones launch exclusively on one of the major carriers in the U.S. The Samsung Galaxy S, though, will come to market via all of them under different names, different industrial designs, and, in one case, with different input options. And yet, its screen's quality and size – big but not too big – will certainly make it a contender at all of them.

But the handset will encounter anything but a level playing field in its respective portfolios. The Galaxy S will provide a good lab in which to study how much motivation to push a high-end portfolio device counts versus the muscle of having the largest subscriber bases but stronger handset competition. With the Galaxy S's lack of exclusivity already dampening some carrier enthusiasm for promoting it heavily, it appears as though the handset's impact goes down as the number of carrier subscribers goes up. Let's look at the universe of Galaxy S distribution. T-Mobile: T-Mobile has the most incentive to push the Vibrant, its Galaxy S device. While the carrier has certainly been a great supporter of Android, its Android portfolio hasn't been so great. Since launching the G1, the first Android device, most of its handsets have had relatively small screens. All that it has at the high-end is the Windows Mobile-powered HTC HD2, with its 4.3-inch display that could be considered "too big," and an operating system that is most certainly too old. The Vibrant will easily stand out as the strongest smartphone it has to offer.

Sprint: Sprint is the second-most motivated carrier to push the Epic 4G, its Galaxy S device and its second 4G device after the HTC EVO 4G. The Epic 4G's relative desirability to the EVO's is somewhat like the Vibrant's to the HD2's. The Samsung handset features a screen size that, while still large, is a bit more manageable. The Epic 4G is also the only Galaxy S device to feature a slide-out keyboard, which will provide more differentiation not only versus the other Galaxy S models, but also versus the EVO 4G. Epic 4G sales help Sprint make the case for the superior speeds of its 4G network and allows additional revenue via the carrier's $10 per month 4G-capability surcharge.

AT&T:
This is a closer call, but AT&T is more motivated than Verizon Wireless to push its Galaxy S model, the Captivate. Of course, AT&T's smartphone portfolio is far from hurting. In addition to carrying the iPhone exclusively, the carrier likes to tout that it is the only one that offers all major smartphone operating systems to its customers. But AT&T was also the last of the major carriers to launch an Android device, and it has an interest in diversifying its high-end smartphone portfolio from being so iPhone-centric. As with T-Mobile, the Galaxy S will be AT&T's premiere Android device, and its new tiered pricing plan can be an effective aid in drawing new, more budget-conscious consumers into the smartphone fold.

Verizon Wireless: Via its major Droid advertising campaign and use of buy one-get one promotions, the nation's largest carrier has done more to further Android's market share in the U.S. than any of its competitors. Verizon, though, has the least to gain from pushing its Galaxy S device, the Fascinate, which lacks the Droid branding that the company has applied to other exclusive high-end Android smartphones. The Fascinate's screen may have advantages versus that of the Droid Incredible and Droid X, but its size fits squarely between those two models. The Fascinate will likely cannibalize the Droid Incredible given that the former has the specification advantage at the same price point. Verizon is also rumored to have the Droid 2 on tap, an exclusive it has more interest in promoting, particularly as that product will update its only Android device with a slide-out keyboard.

Via SamSung

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