Archives for November 2005
Racing your laptop
Darius Chang | Nov 28, 2005
From Acer's Ferrari notebook to the upcoming Intel-Lamborghini laptop, Nascar has joined the free-for-all by branding the Cisnet-made laptop with its distinctive trademark. Powering on an AMD Turion 64 ML-30 chip and 80GB hard drive, the two partners have jointly designed the first Nascar notebook.
Available only to the US market, the laptop was launched in October and can be purchased through CompUSA and Target.com. It costs US$899.99 (S$1523.81) after rebate and comes with a Nascar-themed Logitech mouse, customized Media Player and Nascar-inspired screensaver. If fans are hoping to race virtually with Nascar 2005 on this system, they will probably not get past the starting line. Unlike its namesake, the Nascar laptop has to depend on the poky and slow integrated graphics card to render animations. Gaming on this system is about as fast and as enjoyable as watching a race with the safety car on the track.
And unlike the cutting-edge technologies found in racing vehicles, this mobile makes do with yesterday's specifications. 80GB of storage, integrated graphics and PCMCIA slots may still allow it to make it past the qualifying round this year, but we expect the Nascar notebook to be retired in short notice with next year's lineup. We hope to see better systems from the other 200
licensees bearing the stock car auto race logo.
Drive a Nascar PC
Darius Chang | Nov 28, 2005
From watches to notebooks, its seems that sport car themes have been invading anything that can beep or blink. Nascar fanatics can now complete their shrine to the second highest-rated televised sport with a stock car-inspired PC.
Stocked with an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ processor, ATI-integrated graphics card and a 160GB Seagate hard drive, Cisnet, a division of ZT Group, waved the checkered flag on the first Nascar-themed desktop.
Available only to the US market, the desktop was launched in October and can be purchased through CompUSA and Target.com. Besides the CPU and LCD monitor, all the included peripherals like the keyboard, speaker and mouse follow the checkered flag motif. Even the operating system is not forgotten, as custom Nascar-themed Windows Media Player and screensaver complete the racing experience. At a cost of US$799.98 (S$1354.49) after rebates, pit-stop services are available 24 hours everyday through a telephone technical support hotline.
But if fans are hoping to race virtually with Nascar 2005 on this system, they will probably not get past the starting line. Unlike its namesake, the Nascar PC has to depend on the poky and slow integrated graphics card to render animations. Gaming on this PC is about as fast and as enjoyable as watching a race with the safety car on the track.
Click here for larger image
Iqua Smart Badge
Juniper Foo | Nov 28, 2005
Another slick corporate gizmo, this one from Finnish company Iqua which has incorporated a wireless Bluetooth headset into the ubiquitous ID badge holder. Which isn't a bad idea since it leaves you totally handsfree when you get that call on your mobile, most probably from your boss. Apparently good for three-way conferences, too, though it'll be downright weird to see a bunch of executives conferencing into their ID badges.
Click for a larger picture | To see it worn
Via Fosfor.se
Price: About 120 euros (US$141.45)
Availability: See Web site
Device: Wireless headset in card
Basic specs: Bluetooth 1.2 specification, headset and corporate ID badge holder combined, talktime up to 40 hrs, standby up to 600 hrs, vibration to alert incoming calls silently during meetings, three-way conference call, 100 x 70 x 13mm, 45g, Lithium-polymer battery, user guide, carrying case, travel charger, mini USB adapter
Atom-killer on the loose?
Reuben Lee | Nov 25, 2005
Rumor has it that Dopod will be launching a handheld that sports similar features and dimensions as the upcoming O2 Xda Atom. We are not sure if this is just pure coincidence or smart marketing strategy on Dopod's part, but sales of the Atom will suffer for sure, if the new Dopod PDA-phone makes its rumored debut in mid-December. Watch out for more updates.
Our first impressions of the AtomMotorola launches two new handsets in Singapore
Reuben Lee | Nov 25, 2005
The long-awaited Motorola PEBL clamshell and ultra-slim L6 candy bar will be available in Singapore from November 26, according to a press release issued earlier by the US-based phone maker. The Motorola PEBL in black will retail at S$688 (US$452.63) without operator plan and S$538 (US$353.95) with a two-year contract, while the Motorola L6 will be offered at S$488 (US$321.05) and S$338 (US$222.37) (two-year plan), respectively.
More details on the phones
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