Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/gadgets/First_hands_on_with_RIM_s_iPhone_killing_BlackBerry_Storm′; RIM′s a little late to the touchscreen party, but comes bearing goodies. The BlackBerry Storm is a beast of a phone in more ways than one. Fronted by a meaty, high-resolution touchscreen with an innovative clicking mechanism, the phone is easily the prettiest by RIM to date. There’s a brushed metal back, a beautiful new OS interface, and enough radios to give your grandkids cancer (EV-DO Rev. A, quad-band GSM, Europe-friendly HSPA, GPS, Bluetooth 2.0 with ʌDP, though sadly no WiFi). But the real test of a phone is usability, not flash. Check out our impressions after the break.

Continue reading BlackBerry Storm 9500 hands-on

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals

We could tell from the press shot that this here laptop bag was far and away the most beautiful of the TSA-approved bunch, and a recent review over at Gadling confirms it. Put simply, the Tom Bihn Checkpoint Flyer is “fantastic,” and even the reviewer found himself startled at just how much he dug it. The build quality was remarkable, the ease of use was commendable and the design itself was obviously worthy of praise. The only real rub is the bloated sticker; the price of admission is a stiff $220, and that’s before you add in any useful straps or extra packing cubes. Unfortunately, the critic didn’t actually attempt to clear security at an airport with the bag, though we don’t suspect you′ll have any too many difficulties. Check the full writeup and a hands-on gallery in the read link.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops

Anxious to get your claws around an Eee PC that looks — amazingly — nothing like an Eee PC? Feast your eyes on the S101, which was recently toyed with by our brethren over at Engadget Chinese. We must say, this here piece of machinery looks mighty fine save for that not-at-all appealing brown coat, but we suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all. As for launch dates (pricing is still a mystery), we′re hearing that the Asia-Pacific realm could see it as early as tomorrow, while Europe will get it in around a fortnight and North America sometime later this month. Oh, and if you’re in that latter region, you better bite early — just 1,000 of ‘em will be made available here initially.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Aside from “Would you pay $130 for a wired keyboard with an iPod dock built-in?”, the other question we have for the Razer Pro|Type Keyboard is “Why does it only come in white?”

Razer’s probably assuming that future owners will probably hook this baby up to their iMac. But where does that leave the Mac Pro owners, not to mention those who use non-white iPods and computers—like a PC?

Full details here.

Tags: iPod docks, keyboards, Razer Pro|Type Keyboard

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Original post by Rico

Filed under: Robots

WowWee goes out of its way to make one thing very clear about the Rovio: “this is not a toy.” That being said, it doesn’t make the patrolling sentry any less fantastic, as critics over at Robots-Dreams proclaimed that it was “intuitive and a pleasure to use from the moment you first open the box.” From the painless setup process to the unparalleled mobility, reviewers sounded like they were grinning from ear-to-ear during the entire writeup process. It performed its robotic sentry duties with vigor and valor, and the review crew couldn’t help but note that this bugger was “positioned to be the hottest robot for the upcoming holiday season, and for a long time to come.” In other words, if you’ve been on the fence about dropping three bills on this thing, all your worries about it potentially sucking just got thrashed.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops

HP’s Voodoo Envy 133, first announced in June, has struggled a bit off the blocks, with manufacturing problems keeping it out of buyers hands until last month. Of course, HP has a good excuse: carbon fiber. The notoriously difficult material wasn’t used sparingly on the Envy 133, and if you’ve been looking for a laptop dripping with the synthetic material, HP’s got your number. We mention this to remind ourselves that, like the MacBook Air before it, this laptop is about looks first, function second, and the Envy 133 succeeds in that regard wildly. There’s always room for taste in these things, but HP makes quite a statement here no matter what your persuasion. We’re not going to run through a full review here, but we’ll let you know our first impressions after the break.

Continue reading Voodoo Envy 133 unboxing and impressions

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Here she is — the world’s first DSLR to capture 720p HD movie footage. But let’s be honest, the high-def action is just a cherry on top of Nikon’s D90 ($1,299 kit; $999 body only), as the expansive Live View LCD, high ISO options and heralded image quality are the real draws. You’ve already heard what the experts in the field had to say, but if you’re just lookin’ for some old fashioned gadget glamour shots to get your weekend started right, take all the time you need in the gallery below.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

She’s arrived at last, the 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia’s tardy entry into the (modern) touchscreen phone space, and we’ve gotten some quality face time with the device. Appropriately nicknamed the Tube, the device has a number of Nokia peculiarities that could appeal to certain sensibilities, but probably won’t be taking a big bite out of existing touchphone market share — at least in the S60-phobic United States. Let’s dig in, shall we?

Continue reading Nokia 5800 XpressMusic hands-on

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

We got all down and dirty with DoCoMo and Fujitsu’s prototype “Separated phone” today at CEATEC, and we can confirm that the device does, in fact do what they say it does. As reported earlier, the device uses Bluetooth to communicate between the phone′s two magnetized halves, enabling configurations in everything from standard clamshell to gaming landscape formats. Perhaps the most compelling configuration is one that allows the phone to be held to the ear while one accesses data on the another half, complete with neck cramps. The touchscreen, Symbian S60-based UI was easy enough to use (albeit in Japanese) and features a hearty media playback element, but we were unable to squeeze any commitment to a launch date, price, or probability of seeing the unit on the market. That all said, the demo units were very much operational as you can see for yourself in the video after the break.

Continue reading DoCoMo’s separated phone hands-on and video from CEATEC

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Original post by Joshua Fruhlinger

Filed under: Cellphones

Ah yes, the natural progression of a release. First comes the hands-on at the introduction, then comes the leaked user manual, then comes the pre-order fiasco — now, it’s time for those always titillating in the wild shots. The box and handset are nothing out of the ordinary / surprising (respectively), but at least you now know that bona fide unboxing images are just around the bend.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

We were already warned that the megapixel race was headed to the mobile realm, and as if you needed any more proof, here we are looking down the lens of LG’s 8-megapixel Renoir. Clearly aimed at Samsung’s recently unveiled Pixon, this touchscreen-based handset found itself in the loving arms of CNET‘s UK branch. During the limited time editors spent with it, they found the interface to be eerily similar to that found on the Viewty and the camera to be a real winner. As expected, the not-a-3.5mm headphone jack was none too pleasing to critics, but we did overhear the T-Mobile G1 voicing its support of the port. Anywho, tap the read link for the full preview / hands-on shots.

[Thanks, T.I.]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops

We knew the ASUS N10 was a burly fellow when we took some street corner shots of it earlier this month, but we never even thought to toss Call of Duty 4 on there and waste away a solid 12 hours in online war zones. Thankfully, the blokes over at Mobile Computer did think to try that, and the results weren′t half bad. ‘Course, that discrete NVIDIA GeForce 9300M graphics set didn′t hurt, and if you’re sick enough to really buy a netbook for gaming, this one should probably be atop your list. At any rate, a rather in-depth hands-on video awaits you in the read link — go in expecting keyboard impressions, disappointment with the glare, and a few good minutes with an FPS and you’ll leave happy.

[Thanks, Rex]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Digital Cameras

We’ve seen Pentax put the Midas touch on a few of its DSLRs before, but Nikon? In a rare effort to draw attention to its D60, the outfit has evidently unveiled a “Black Gold″ edition which merely adds a few niceties in the way of revamped trim. In other words, you’ll see no upgrades on the camera that aren′t cosmetic, and unless you’re really into that gilded look, you may not even appreciate the Gold Edition strap, logo’d box, gold shutter button / strap lugs and the shiny new D60 badge. Is $50 too much to ask for those puny tweaks? Answer with your wallet, please.

[Thanks, Bo]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment

It’s one thing to hear 3.46- x 4.12- x 1.46-inches. It’s another thing to see how giant someone’s hand looks beside Dell’s absolutely minuscule M109S pocket projector. Based on a hands-on session with a near-final prototype of the pico-PJ, the cats over at Popular Mechanics were mighty impressed with what they saw. They noted that “colors were a little more washed-out than a top-end home theater projector,” but given the size and the manageable $499 price tag, it still managed to wow. Peep the in-action video in the read link.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Robots

Erector’s WiFi-enabled Spykee robot hasn’t even begun to ship to mere mortals just yet, but through some random acts of wizardry, Sven was able to grab hold of one and give it the ole unboxing / impressions treatment (on video, no less). It could be the novelty factor, but he seemed pretty stoked with the whole package, and the clip waiting in the read link gives some real hard-hitting insight as to whether or not this $300 character deserves a spot in your family. Give it a watch, won’t you?

[Via RobotsRule]

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Original post by Darren Murph