Archives for November 2007
New dates for new iPaqs
John Chan | Nov 27, 2007
When HP announced its updated iPaq range in September, we were given a launch date of Q4 2007. Well, Christmas shopping has started and some iPaq fans may have noticed that none of them can be found in stores yet. We checked with the computer giant and have gotten updated release dates for the new handhelds in Asia Pacific.
First, the good news. The 112 Classic Handheld, a basic non-cellular PDA, can be bought at the upcoming SITEX show in Singapore for S$499. It should be available in the region now, or very soon at least, so check with handheld retailers in your country if you want one. The other dedicated PDA, the 212 Enterprise Handheld, will also be available soon, January 2008 to be specific.
Now, the bad news.
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Say cheese and tuck in your tummy while you are at it
Edvarcl Heng | Nov 27, 2007
Want to put your best face forward? Based on a survey by Canon UK, Brits are likely to be dodging and feinting to get that perfect smile out.
The survey results revealed that 86 percent of Brits believe that they do not look good in pictures and will try their very best to contort their bodies into something more presentable.
Some techniques highlighted by the survey include holding in stomachs, turning to the side (to avoid displaying a double chin), hiding in the back (in group pictures) and smiling without showing teeth.
In fact, some savvy photo subjects reportedly employ lighting tricks and digital photo retouching to look a little better.
And to think we felt insecure when CNET Asia TV first rolled out.
A Canon South and Southeast Asia representative says no such surveys of this nature have been planned for the region.
Apple acknowledges some MacBook hard drive problems
Tom Krazit | Nov 27, 2007
Apple is investigating whether or not faulty Seagate hard drives are to blame for data loss on some MacBooks.
Retrodata, a UK data recovery firm, reported earlier this year that certain 2.5-inch Seagate drives used in MacBooks had a manufacturing flaw that causes the drive heads to scratch the surface of the drive and results in major problems.
InformationWeek contacted Apple about the problem, and a company representative said: "We've received a few reports that some MacBook consumer notebooks may have hard drive issues, and we're looking into it." An email to the same representative checking on whether or not that meant Apple was looking into the specific issue identified by Retrodata, or just MacBook hard drive issues in general, was not immediately returned. CNET Asia also contacted Apple Asia to determine if this issue affects units in this region, but received no response as at time of going to press.
You can check if your MacBook has one of the scarlet drives by looking up the firmware revision number in System Profiler. If you scored a 7.01, Retrodata advises backing up your data and to consider replacing the drive. It's not clear if Apple owners are the only ones using the Seagate 2.5-inch drives in their laptops, although Retrodata said it hadn't seen similar problems with other drives. It's also not clear how many varieties of Seagate hard drives Apple is using in its MacBooks.
Via Crave CNET
Qingbar GP300: Sony Glasstron take two!
Philip Wong | Nov 27, 2007
Anyone can still remember the ill-fated Sony Glasstron? A pair of
It does look reasonably compact and comfortable, measuring 180 x 175 x 40mm and weighing 100g. Another nice touch is the provision of a swappable rechargeable Lithium battery, so you can stay on-the-go for extended road trips. The GP300 is currently available for pre-order in the US at US$299 and is expected to ship in early December. If you're not dropping by the US anytime soon, it does have an Australian distributor in our region. Check it out here.
Via Engadget | Photo credit: YelloMosquito
Packard Bell joins the UMPC fight
Darius Chang | Nov 27, 2007
If people are wondering whether the UMPC concept will catch on, the growing list of manufacturers pumping out ultra-mobile devices should silence the critics. Packard Bell is the latest to produce a 7-inch portable--christened the EasyNote XS20.
Available at the upcoming SITEX show in Singapore, it will have to contend with the ASUS Eee PC which will be making a maiden appearance at the same time. At S$1,298 (US$954.41), it is twice as costly as its ASUS rival. So the EasyNote XS20 will have to rely on its impressive hardware to make a good showing.
The design is not exactly awe-inspiring. In fact, the Eee PC looks a lot better. However, like the Gigabyte U60, the X20 is based on the VIA chipset with a blazing-fast (for a UMPC) 1.2GHz processor and 1GB of memory. The default operating system is Windows XP Home, though it should have no issues going for Vista. The screen, unfortunately, is a 7-inch display with a native resolution of only 800 x 480 pixels, which means side-scrolling for some of the wider Web pages which you may visit.
An interesting addition is a DVI port in place of a common VGA output. We are a little skeptical at this decision. On the one hand, DVI is certainly the way of the future. On the other, the frequent traveler is more likely to encounter a VGA display than a DVI one. Other features include an integrated Webcam, two USB 2.0 ports, memory card reader, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios as well as an Ethernet slot. The battery is also quite impressive, as it is rated for 3 hours with wireless turned on and 5 hours without.
For now, the X20 will be available only in Singapore for S$1,298 (US$954.41).
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