What's new on SlashGear.com |
- Cyber1 MasterPad Hands On
- Kodak PlaySport 2 Video Camera Hands-On
- Hanvon HPad A116 Hands On
- Hanvon TouchPad B20 Hands On
- 50 Cent Platinum Headphones by Sleek Audio Hands-On
- aLOKSAK and OPSAK Bringing Military-Grade Water Protection to Consumers
- iTam Tam Trendy Docking Station Hands-On
- freedomMIC Bluetooth Mic for iPhone 4 and Flip Video Hands-On
- Motorola XOOM Named Best in Show
- Samsung’s HMX-H300 Consumer HD Camcorder Hands-On
- Sound Egg Bringing HD Surround Sound to Modern Furniture
- Samsung’s RF4289 Internet Connected Refrigerator Hands-On
- Flir i3 Thermal Camera Hands-On
- Energizer Portable Power Travel Kit
- Samsung’s 3D Surround Sound Demoed
- Samsung Central Station Hands-On
- Samsung 9 Series Ultra-Thin Notebook Hands-On
- Samsung Sliding PC 7 Series is Not A Tablet, Not Quite A PC
- OWC Mercury Aura Pro SSD Unveiled for Earlier MacBook Air Models at CES 2011
- Video Games Deserve As Much Respect As Movies
- World’s Largest Full HD 3D LED TV Showcased by Samsung
- Samsung 3D Glasses Hands On
- Viliv Announces X7 and X10 Android Tablets: Hands On
- Actiontec MyWirelessTV HDMI Adapters Feature Cavium’s PureVu Processors at CES 2011
- Samsung Unveils “Worlds Thinnest 3D Blu-ray Player”
- Kingston Outlines USB 3.0 Product Roadmap at CES 2011
- Samsung Professional External Hard Drives Offer Up USB 3.0 Connectivity
- Verizon iPhone: Why do we care?
- Apple pulls VLC from App Store over open-source DRM dispute
- Nintendo 3DS battery only good for 3-5hrs of 3DS titles
| Posted: 08 Jan 2011 03:05 PM PST Tablets are a mainstay at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, so it’s no doubt that they are popping up everywhere, and from several different companies. For example, Cyber1 has a tablet that they believe, wholeheartedly, that they can officially replace a laptop.
The device features a huge (for a tablet) 11.6-inch touchscreen display, with a resolution of 1366 x 768. Intel’s Pineview N450-M Hyperthreaded processor, clocked at 1.66GHz. There’s Windows 7 on board, and a ridiculous 2GB of RAM. The company has two sizes for the SSD inside: 32GB or 64GB. They told us that the battery life is estimated to be about 5 hours with a lot of usage. It is surprisingly light, though. It will support Flash player, too — something they wanted us to point out. Playing chess on the device was smooth enough, but considering the size, despite its light weight, it may take a bit of work to sell it to the masses.  
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| Kodak PlaySport 2 Video Camera Hands-On Posted: 08 Jan 2011 02:51 PM PST Kodak has always been known for their impressive line of cameras and camcorders, continuing their push into portable hand-held camcorders, they have announced the Kodak PlaySport 2. With the PlaySport 2, Kodak plans on fixing some downfalls of the previous PlaySport. With it’s better designed body it will now be both waterproof to 3 meters and shockproof from 1.5 meters.
The device will be highly focused on sharing, allowing the user to upload to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Email, and Kodak Gallery with easy image and video formatting. Capturing video in full 1080 and 5MP HD images, the PlaySport will not only be durable, but powerful as well. The PlaySport 2 will be shipping this spring for about $179.99.    
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| Posted: 08 Jan 2011 02:46 PM PST Hanvon was on hand at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to show off a new tablet device they are engineering. The device has plenty of features, and a display size that rivals the majority of other Android-based tablets currently available on the market (along with many more that are coming down the pipe). However, this tablet has a few tricks up its sleeve.
The device has a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen display, with a resolution of 1024x 600. Under the hood, there’s 512M mDDR, and two 2GB of internal memory. There’s a microSD card slot, which can support a card all the way up to 32GB. As for the Operating System, it will run Android 2.2 or 2.3, depending on what you want. Both versions will be heavily customized by Hanvon, though. There’s a 1.3MP camera on the front of the device, and a 5MP on the back. There’s a microUSB port, and mini-HDMI port. The battery, we were told, will last 6 hours playing video, or 8 hours reading. But, they stressed that these were still estimations. Check out the hands on images below to see the Hanvon HPad A116 up close. We were told that the device would cost $350 when it goes on sale later this year.   
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| Posted: 08 Jan 2011 02:43 PM PST While we were at Hanvon, and we got time to play with the Android tablet running Microsoft Word and other Office applications, we managed to steal some face time with another tablet the company is creating — the TouchPad B20. This device is bigger than the Android version, and Hanvon decided to go with Microsoft’s Operating System, instead of Google’s mobile offering.
The TouchPad B20 features a 10.1-inch display, and has an Intel Atom Z530 processor clocked at 1.6GHz inside. Windows XP Home Edition 32-bit is pre-installed. The TouchPad B20 also features 1GB DDR2, and a 120GB 1.8-inch SATA hard drive at 4200rpm. There’s a 2MP camera on the back, and no front-facing camera. There’s two USB ports, an earphone and microphone port, and an HDMI port. The whole system is skinned by Hanvon. Our time with the device was limited, but we could tell that the tablet is light enough, but with Windows on board, and the $899 price tag we were told, there probably won’t be a line growing to get their hands on this device. Check out the hands on images below.  
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| 50 Cent Platinum Headphones by Sleek Audio Hands-On Posted: 08 Jan 2011 02:37 PM PST Sleek Audio has been known for both their high end over-ear and custom molding earphones, and we have gotten an up close and personal look with their new 50 Cent Platinum Headphones. Although they had no working units for us to demo, the only working set was with 50 Cent himself, we were provided with further details of the product as well as captured a few shots.
The headphones will be both wireless and wired when you need them to be and will feature the company's Kleer technology. Being a "Wireless Hybrid" the headphones will come with a wireless jack for cordless streaming, but will also feature a wired cable with microphone if you run out of power. Music controls are done on the headpieces themselves with one controlling volume while the other controls play/pause features. No word was said on when we can expect these to be available but there was hints at the pair being priced around $500.  
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| aLOKSAK and OPSAK Bringing Military-Grade Water Protection to Consumers Posted: 08 Jan 2011 02:21 PM PST Loksak has been well known within the military and water sports market as their series of waterproof bags for electronic devices have been the superior go-to option. Now they’re bringing their award winning innovation to the consumer market offering up 2 new bags that provide water, dust, sand, and air proof bags for handheld electronics.
The aLOKSAK has been named the “World’s Best Outdoor iPhone Accessory” by the editor of National Geographic Adventure Magazine. Once a device is put into the bag, the screen remains fully functional. Our hands-on time with the LOKSAK proved that access to the bags was surprisingly easy, just like a normal zip-lock bag. In fact, it’s so easy it was worrisome to us that there would be immense leaking if left underwater for long. However, we were assured by the LOKSAK team that the zipper will not leak, very impressive indeed. The bags are extremely low-priced and definitely worth the money starting at only $6.49 for the aLOKSAK 5X4″ 3-pack.  
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| iTam Tam Trendy Docking Station Hands-On Posted: 08 Jan 2011 01:51 PM PST The Audio industry is always huge at CES, and to stand out, you're going to need an innovative or interesting product. This is exactly what Branex Design has done with their new iTam tam Premium Socking Station.
Combing superior audio quality with impressive design, the iTam tam is definitely an interesting furniture piece. The dock is compatible with all docking iPod models and boasts 3 independent speakers, 1 subwoofer, and 2 circular placed midrange tweeters. The design is based off of the 1968 Tamtam stool and can fit in pretty much anywhere with a modern decor. Available now, the stool retails for around $500.    
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| freedomMIC Bluetooth Mic for iPhone 4 and Flip Video Hands-On Posted: 08 Jan 2011 01:31 PM PST As consumer camcorders and video recording devices become smaller and smaller, users are using them more for capturing the special moments of their lives. However, one problem with this using a smaller device for recording is that the audio quality isn’t optimal. Solving this problem, Scosche has launched a series of Bluetooth enabled external microphones for use with the iPhone 4, iPod touch and a separate device for the Flip UltraHD 2.
The iPhone microphone will be connected via Bluetooth, and will allow the user to record audio from the mic after pairing. Scosche was named CES Innovations 2011 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree for their Flip freedoomMIC model. This microphone will connect to the Flip UltraHD 2 via USB and will also allow for wireless audio transmission. Both of the microphones will retail for $99 and are still waiting for approval/certification, but we should expect to see them in March of this year.     
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| Motorola XOOM Named Best in Show Posted: 08 Jan 2011 01:14 PM PST Just as we all thought, CES was all about tablet computing. Many competitors announced their tablets and we will faced with many options for our tablet needs in 2011. However, as we all knew, the key player was the Motorola XOOM. The Honeycomb-based tablet is not only powerful hardware-wise, its Honeycomb software ran flawlessly on top of its hardware.
The actual device was named CES 2011 Best in Show as opposed to Honeycomb, which was expected by many. The XOOM will be the number one competitor for the iPad and upcoming iPad 2 as the tablet market truly starts to heat up in the 2011 calendar year. For those unaware, the device sports a dual-core Tegra 2 processor, HDMI-out, front- and back-facing cameras, and a 10-inch display all while being connected with Verizon’s blazing fast 4G LTE network. Now, from what we’ve seen the device looks extremely impressive. From the live demo, seen below, it was running Honeycomb impressively smoothly. We can only hope that once we actually get our hands on the device, we will still be impressed.
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| Samsung’s HMX-H300 Consumer HD Camcorder Hands-On Posted: 08 Jan 2011 12:55 PM PST As technology progresses, users are not only looking for ways to capture and share special moments, but they're looking for easier and higher quality ways to do so. Samsung has always been a key player in the HD camcorder market, and they are continuing their push into the market with the newly announced HMX-H300.
The H300 itself is designed to automatically capture the best looking crystal-clear HD video without the end user having to worry about settings and complex features. The device boasts 30x Optical Zoom, and will allow users to take 5 Megapixel stills. The device feels incredibly sturdy and it's video output, when viewed on the onboard LCD was very impressive. Battery life on the device is said to be up to 3 hours and when needed, it will charge via USB. The HMX-H300 will retail for $599 when it's made available this February.
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| Sound Egg Bringing HD Surround Sound to Modern Furniture Posted: 08 Jan 2011 12:42 PM PST As we continue to scout the CES 2011 showroom floor, we came across an eye-catching furniture concept, the Sound Egg. The Sound Egg is fully customizable surround sound chair and comes in many configurations with some sporting connected HD TVs and both HDMI and RCA-out connectivity.
Pricing for the chairs depend on which features you’re looking for. Their basic Sound Egg with 2.1 will feature a 2.1 amplifier, 5 speakers, 1 subwoofer, foam and an uncovered plastic seat and will retail for $1450. Their higher end 5.1 will feature a 5.1 amplifier in place of the 2.1 and will retail for $1850. When ordering you can customize your color scheme with 11 different colored foam options and 3 shell options. The is currently shipping both the 2.1 and 5.1 systems.   
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| Samsung’s RF4289 Internet Connected Refrigerator Hands-On Posted: 08 Jan 2011 12:27 PM PST This year's CES is heavily focused on moving the entire household into the digital age. Samsung is also pushing further with the introduction of their new RF4289 Internet connected refrigerator.
The device also features the company’s new Smart Divider that allows you to further customize your drawers to organize food. This marks Samsung's continued venture into the world of applications. First with the internet and app enabled TVs and now with this refrigerator, Samsung is truly connected the home in a way we have not yet seen from a single company.    
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| Flir i3 Thermal Camera Hands-On Posted: 08 Jan 2011 12:12 PM PST CES is in full swing, and companies are showcasing their latest devices. Not all devices showcased are high end user electronics, and we also see many small products whose innovation can get overlooked with such an event. One of these is Flir's new i3 Thermal Camera. Providing ground breaking technology at an affordable price that has yet to be seen for such a device, the i3 is the best option for any inspecting team.
With our hands-on time with the camera we found it to be incredibly accurate. The device sports a 3,600 pixel high-resolution 2.8-inch LCD display. Sensitivity on the device is outstanding, with a sensitivity rating of just .1°C. The device also sports a rugged, lightweight design, coupled with it's low price point of $1,195 this will be the ultimate device for anyone on a budget, or looking to provide thermal camera to their whole inspecting team.
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| Energizer Portable Power Travel Kit Posted: 08 Jan 2011 11:05 AM PST Energizer has released a portable travel kit that finally works with your iPod Touch or iPhone; and after testing it out we can say it is extremely handy. To charge the actual batter pack you can either use an AV wall outlet or fix on the DC attachment for your automobile.
This kit also charges phones via their micro and mini USB ports. The “energi to go” battery pack will give around 14 hours of extra talk time on your device and should give you enough time to find a power outlet to charge up your device. Another useful feature is a LED indicator built-in to let its user know when the external pack is almost out of juice.
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| Samsung’s 3D Surround Sound Demoed Posted: 08 Jan 2011 11:05 AM PST 3D TV's were also pushed hard at this year's CES. Samsung has stated that they have sold just over 1 million 3D-equipped TV's in 2010, and they still see it as the next frontier in viewing. However, just as 3D visuals offer up a new experience, users are looking for an audio option that can accompany the new 3D experience.
We got to experience this sound demo, and we were highly impressed. The speakers offered up rich sound, and coupled with 3D visuals it was an experience we have not yet seen in the living room.    
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| Samsung Central Station Hands-On Posted: 08 Jan 2011 10:49 AM PST As consumers become more mobile, users are opting for more of a laptop experience compared to being stuck at a desktop. However, as we all know, the small screen and keyboard on your laptop is not always sufficient. Samsung has now solved this issue with Central Station.
Central Station seamlessly connects all elements of the of your mobile computer, including notebook PC, display, peripherals, network, and AV, to its own monitors. Here's how it works. Instead of plugging in all of your peripherals such as keyboard, mouse, printer, etc. to your desktop, the user will plug them into the central hub. Then, once the USB connector is inserted into a laptop, bring the laptop within 3.2 feet of the Central Station and you will be immediately presented with a full desktop experience right from your laptop. The monitor and hub solutions come in both 23- and 27-inch options and will both sport WLED backlighting when it's made available in March of this year.    
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| Samsung 9 Series Ultra-Thin Notebook Hands-On Posted: 08 Jan 2011 10:47 AM PST While the Samsung Sliding PC Series 9 may be unique in its own right, combining the tablet and notebook experience in the way that it does, the Samsung 9 Series notebook is an exquisite piece of hardware. Super-thin, and featuring a chassis constructed from Duralumin, the device is both attractive to the eye, and durable.
With our hands-on time with the device, we noticed right off the bat that it’s actually really fast, running Microsoft’s Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. Overall, the device looks like it could be a great notebook for someone in the market, looking for an incredibly thin device but don’t want to go for the competition. Check out our hands-on images below.     
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| Samsung Sliding PC 7 Series is Not A Tablet, Not Quite A PC Posted: 08 Jan 2011 10:38 AM PST Continuing with their show floor routine at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, Samsung provided some hands-on time with their new Samsung 7 Series device. The company has already officially announced the device, and considering its unique sliding form-factor, and the tablet-like appearance, we wanted to make sure to get our hands on it.
The Samsung Sliding PC 7 Series is a strange mix between a tablet and a laptop, or notebook. Designed to function primarily as a tablet, but featuring a slide-out hardware keyboard, it’s meant for those who want the tablet experience, but also need a hardware keyboard handy at all times. It’s running Windows 7 Home Premium, and features WiFi and 3G connectivity. There’s Bluetooth, and the device will support Samsung App integration. For those who need to have accessories, owners will be able to connect their USB peripherals and HDMI connectors to the device as well. Check out the images below for the close-up shots of the device.     
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| OWC Mercury Aura Pro SSD Unveiled for Earlier MacBook Air Models at CES 2011 Posted: 08 Jan 2011 10:30 AM PST Other World Computing has officially announced their brand new Mercury Aura Pro SSDs at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, aiming the new drives at earlier models of Apple’s MacBook Air notebook line-up. The drives are meant for the first generation MacBook Air models.
The upgrade to the SSD may not be a bad idea for those who are wanting to hang onto their 2008-2009 MacBook Air models. The company says that the new drives will be able to offer up 275MB/sec. That’s about three times faster than what the factory installed SSD. The company is also proud to say that the Mercury Aura Pro SSD is the first SandForce SSD for that generation of MacBook Air. They come in sizes starting at 60GB, 120GB, 240GB, and finally 480GB. You can purchase them right now, costing $199.99, $299.99, $579.99, and for an unannounced price in order of mention. Check out the full press release below for more information. Press Release
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| Video Games Deserve As Much Respect As Movies Posted: 08 Jan 2011 10:30 AM PST I'm always quick to come to the defense of the video game industry when I feel it's being unfairly criticized. Too often, critics say that the industry is overrun with characters and storylines that are targeted at kids. They believe that the industry hasn't matured over the past twenty years, and is still caught in a time when plumbers and hedgehogs were all the rage.
The critics simply fail to see that today's gaming industry is a much different place than it once was. That's precisely why I found myself in a somewhat frustrating conversation recently with a friend that told me the film industry deserves far more respect than video games could ever earn. He told me that classics like "Citizen Kane," "The Godfather," and countless others have done more for arts and entertainment around the world than any video game ever released. As expected, his argument then turned to games themselves. He said that even so-called "mature" games, like Call of Duty: Black Ops or Mass Effect fail to offer the quality of entertainment and artistic expression movies can muster. For sure, it's an old argument. And it's one that those on either side of the debate feel strongly about. But it doesn't make it any less relevant. And as a video game fanatic, I feel it's my duty to support the industry that has given me so much entertainment over the years. See, I believe that some video games deserve just as much respect nowadays as movies. I would agree that sports games, children's titles, or most of Nintendo's first-party titles can't be held in the same light as film classics, but I do believe that several games, including one of my favorite titles of 2010 — Mass Effect 2 — deserve the same respect as films. Video games today are made with multi-million dollar budgets, have teams of writers developing compelling storylines, boast outstanding musical scores, and deliver a level of entertainment that was thought impossible even a decade ago. They are so compelling, in fact, that they keep us intrigued for dozens of hours. Try to find me a single movie that can do the same. So, perhaps I'm not so sold on the value of film over games. Do I think games deserve more respect than movies? Of course not. But I don't believe movies deserve more respect than video games either. Video games are bridging the gap between fun and artistic expression. And I think it's time we all appreciate that much more than we already do.
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| World’s Largest Full HD 3D LED TV Showcased by Samsung Posted: 08 Jan 2011 10:20 AM PST One of the most impressive TVs we saw on the CES 2011 showroom floor was definitely the new Samsung 75″ LED display. Being touted as the “Worlds Largest Full HD 3D LED TV,” the screen was the most impressive 3D HD display we have seen.
Samsung wasn’t allowing anyone to dive into menus or get to use the massive television, but from the video output we saw the video was very stunning. However, all of the demo reel was slow moving, high quality video, if the device was running a fast paced movie, the end result might be a bit different. No word on pricing, but we can imagine that it’s not going to be cheap when it’s made available later this year. But, if you’re looking for this device, and have the money, all you will need to worry about is if the 75″ display will fit in your living room space.    
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| Posted: 08 Jan 2011 10:18 AM PST Samsung made their presence known at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, making sure that they had plenty of gadgets, and devices, on display to show off. We’ve already seen their cameras, along with the world’s thinnest 3D Blu-ray player, and now the company is showing off their 3D glasses.
Samsung made sure that charging the glasses was easy and straight forward, by letting owners set them on a docking station to charge them up. The glasses are also prescription ready. They were light enough to hold, and are certainly not the heaviest glasses we’ve ever experienced. Check out the pictures below.    
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| Viliv Announces X7 and X10 Android Tablets: Hands On Posted: 08 Jan 2011 10:08 AM PST The viliv X series tablets have been announced at this year’s CES 2011. They support full HD displays that make viewing movies a much more pleasurable experience. Unsure of where these tablets will land, viliv tablets are completely open to either WiMAX, 3g HSPA, or the EVDO networks. Viliv is trying to work with Sprint to become their carrier for the X7 tablet.
Both tablets will be running Android 2.2 (Froyo) if 3.0 (Honeycomb) is not applicaple during their release March and April this year. Both will feature a Cortex A8 1Ghz processor and carry both 3MP rear end and 1.3MP front facing cameras. The images taken from these cameras can be edited and shared straight from the devices themselves. An HDMI port will also be included for streaming to your HDMI capable televisions.
Press Release:
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| Actiontec MyWirelessTV HDMI Adapters Feature Cavium’s PureVu Processors at CES 2011 Posted: 08 Jan 2011 10:05 AM PST At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Cavium has officially announced a new line of HDMI wireless adapters from Actiontec that will feature Cavium’s PureVu processors, and the company’s WiVu wireless display technology. The result is the ability to run full 3D HD video over a standard WiFi connection.
The Actiontec MyWirelessTV wireless HDMI adapter is designed to stream full 1080p HD video over your 802.11n wireless network, to multiple displays. The displays will need to be connected to the MyWirelessTV adapter to make use of the technology, though. Thanks to the Cavium WiVu technology that’s inside the adapters, they are compatible with the H.264 encoding, Dolby surround sound, HDCP 2.0 encryption, and it will be able to stream 3D video as well. The companies say that the system has a 20ms or less latency from the source to whatever display you’re streaming it to. And that’s in a range of 150 feet. The adapters will be released later this year, and will come with one transmitter and one receiver. As for pricing, it’s suggested that it will be around $200. Press Release
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| Samsung Unveils “Worlds Thinnest 3D Blu-ray Player” Posted: 08 Jan 2011 10:01 AM PST At this year's CES Samsung unveiled the "Worlds Thinnest 3D Blu-ray Player." The device is only 23 millimeters thick and comes with a new impressive wall mountable design.
The device will not only be the thinnest player that pushes out 3D HD content, but it will also upscale Blu-ray discs to 3D in real time. The device will also be highly connected to the internet. Samsung is pushing social media on their consumer TVs offering up the ability to connect to YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter among other services. No pricing has been stated thus far, but we expect the player to shift in the first half of this year.    
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| Kingston Outlines USB 3.0 Product Roadmap at CES 2011 Posted: 08 Jan 2011 09:40 AM PST Kingston has announced their plans for USB 3.0, and how the company plans to leverage the technology with a plethora of new products they will release in 2011. Making the announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the company has dedicated their products to USB 3.0, and plan on releasing devices that range in usage for prosumers, consumers, and enthusiasts alike.
The company says that they’ve seen plenty of adoption with their previously released HyperX MAX 3.0 external drive, along with their DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 external drive, and believe that they can further that success with heavy adoption of USB 3.0 in 2011. They will be releasing several USB 3.0 Flash drives, which includes the company’s fastest drive they’ve released yet. The DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 will fall into the HyperXperience family of products, and be the company’s flagship device for the beginning of the year. Kingston will also release a USB 3.0 Flash drive that’s aimed specifically for the entry-level, leveraging the speed of USB 3.0 and the low price range. Check out the full press release below for more information. Press Release
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| Samsung Professional External Hard Drives Offer Up USB 3.0 Connectivity Posted: 08 Jan 2011 09:37 AM PST In addition to their consumer grade drives, Samsung has also announced their professional series of external USB 3.0 hard drives. The drives will be the industry first DDR DRAM memory module and will consume 40-percent less power and offer transfer speeds of up to 3.2 Gbps.
The drives have a unique holographic color-changing finish which Samsung is using to separate them from the less powerful consumer grade. Featuring USB 3.0, the drives are also backwards compatible with USB 2.0. The drives will ship in Onyx black, Sapphire blue and Coral pink, with capacities up to 1TB.  
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| Verizon iPhone: Why do we care? Posted: 08 Jan 2011 04:20 AM PST Verizon’s got something to show us next Tuesday, and the WSJ says the iPhone is a lock-in for their network. The possibility of Apple’s smartphone on Big Red’s network has been the stuff of rumors since before the first-gen iPhone even launched back in 2007. There’s no denying the amount of interest in a Verizon iPhone; head on after the cut to find out why we should care, as well as some of the issues that still remain unanswered.
AT&T managed a major coup when they clinched not only the first-gen iPhone but exclusivity on the three subsequent versions in the US. Over that period, despite investment in the network, the iPhone’s appeal has seen AT&T’s wireless capabilities overloaded again and again. Yes, it shows its head particularly during events like CES 2011, when iPhone 4-toting geeks come together and, combined, suck all the juice out of AT&T’s base-stations, but network capacity has been an ongoing problem for US subscribers from the very earliest days. In contrast, Verizon’s much-vaunted CDMA network has hovered like some teasing high-ground, off limits to even the iPhone unlocking community thanks to the differences in network technology. For many, the appeal of a Verizon iPhone is the fervent belief that where there once were zero bars for them, now there would be five. No more dropped calls, no more sluggish browsing, no more SMS messages dropping into their inbox five hours late. It’s also a matter of competition. In Europe and Asia, where the iPhone 4 is not a single network exclusive, the usual battle to the bottom line has meant that even Apple’s “magical” smartphone isn’t safe from discounts and heavy subsidies. In the UK, for instance, you can pick up a “free” iPhone 4 with a new agreement from more than five carriers, each competing for business by throwing in more minutes, more data or more messages. Now, if the iPhone lands on Verizon next week, it won’t quite add up to the same thing. We don’t yet know what Verizon is intending in terms of wireless radios; the carrier could switch out the iPhone 4′s AT&T support for its own CDMA EVDO Rev.A radio, or it might produce a so-called “Global Phone” with both CDMA for use in North America and GSM/UMTS for use when roaming abroad. The latter seems more likely, given otherwise the Verizon iPhone would be little use for travellers, and global-roaming is certainly the direction the carrier appears to be taking with its high-end smartphone range. Another possibility is LTE, to take advantage of Verizon’s fledgling 4G network. Still, even as a global phone, you couldn’t hop between AT&T and Verizon as you can with European carriers. For a start, the AT&T iPhone 4 lacks CDMA support – if you want to switch network, you’ll have to buy a whole new iPhone 4 – and we’re expecting Verizon to lock down their version so that only their own roaming microSIMs are allowed. That’ll be another challenge to the iPhone unlock community, but it remains to be seen which US-compatible 3G bands a Verizon iPhone 4 global phone might support. Verizon’s timing also throws a spanner into the works, given that the fifth-generation iPhone is expected to debut midway through 2011. Apple’s yearly refresh of the smartphone has been pretty predictable, but Verizon’s model makes it a biannual cycle; will Verizon devotees always be six months behind the GSM version, or will this first Verizon iPhone be refreshed as soon as June or July? If you opt for the Verizon iPhone 4 this week, will you be out in the cold when it comes to the iPhone 5 in a few months time? The carrier is expected to update its early-termination policies to extend the minimum period before a subsidized upgrade to 20 months, which means it could be near the end of 2012 before they’re willing to let you switch to whatever updated version Apple has rolled out. For those currently struggling to make a call or send a message, but unwilling to give up their iPhone’s usability, the strength of Verizon’s network may still provide enough appeal to override such concerns. Analysts vary in their predictions of what impact on AT&T’s business a Verizon iPhone might have, but the GSM carrier has undoubtedly been doing its best not only to lock in as many new customers as possible – the half-price iPhone 3GS, for instance – while outing a comprehensive new smartphone range based on Google’s Android platform this past week. The Motorola ATRIX 4G, Samsung Infuse 4G and HTC Inspire 4G all have strengths above and beyond the current iPhone 4, not least their support for AT&T’s HSPA+ network. Expect just as much push to popularize those handsets as AT&T has been doing with the iPhone, as the carrier attempts to reduce its reliance on Apple’s handset. SlashGear will be at Verizon’s event – along with, if you believe the rumors, Apple CEO Steve Jobs – on Tuesday, January 11 2011, so join us then for all the details as they’re announced!
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| Apple pulls VLC from App Store over open-source DRM dispute Posted: 08 Jan 2011 03:20 AM PST
The difference in the two policies was flagged up to Apple by Rémi Denis-Courmont, one of the original developers of VLC. The GNU license would allow Apple to distribute the iOS version of VLC, but not to apply DRM to it; as has been the case with previous GNU-licensed apps, Apple has chosen to pull it from the App Store rather than amend their DRM policy. [via 9 to 5 Mac]
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| Nintendo 3DS battery only good for 3-5hrs of 3DS titles Posted: 08 Jan 2011 03:10 AM PST Nintendo has released battery estimates for the upcoming Nintendo 3DS, and it seems the impact the 3D system and higher-spec internals will have on runtime is more serious than we’d expected. According to the company’s own figures, the 3DS could last for as little as three hours when playing 3DS-specific titles.
At most, Nintendo says to expect five hours of 3DS-title gameplay. Loading up older DS games is a little more forgiving, with Nintendo suggesting gamers will see between 5 and 8 hours runtime in that situation, brightness depending. A full recharge, meanwhile, takes 3.5hrs. The news makes the 3DS the shortest-running of Nintendo’s recent portables, potential lasting just a third of the time of the DSi. The Nintendo 3DS is expected to go on sale in Japan on February 26; recent rumors have suggested a UK launch at the start of March 2011. [Thanks Dennis!]
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VLC was a surprise addition to the App Store 
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