Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

RAmos tends to tease us with slick product photos / renders all the time and then pump out shoddy, derivative crap, so we’re not going to get too excited about the new T8 iMovie (sigh, terrible name), but here it is looking pretty slick on video — and the specs are solid for $219. That’s a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 touchscreen in a 10mm (.4 inch) thick case, with 32GB of storage and decent codec support, TV-out, and micro speakers. Too bad we don’t know if it’s coming Stateside, but if you’re headed to the Olympics, it’s probably worth checking out. Video after the break.

[Via PMP Today]

Continue reading RAmos T8 iMovie PMP: 32GB, .4 inch thick, $219

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Oh sure, GalleryPlayer enables your HDTV to instantly turn into an art display, but it doesn’t even pretend to be anything classier than a multifaceted television. Samsung, however, is looking to change the game by partnering with Thomas Kinkade on a new 46-inch prototype Digital Masterworks Art-TV. The unit was recently showcased to news media, and it’s said to be “housed n a Thomas Kinkade frame designed to accentuate the fine art theme.” From what we can gather, it’s being aimed at folks who’d love a nice piece of art sitting above their mantel, but when the time comes, they can switch off the paintings and throw on a day’s worth of NFL in HD. The wild thing here is how important the actual art aspect is to the display, with hidden touch controls planned to enable viewers to flip through artworks and zoom in / out as they please. Heck, there’s even integrated WiFi, a 40GB hard drive, 3,000:1 contrast ratio, 8ms response time and 500 nits of brightness. The set is due out exclusively through Thomas Kinkade’s Signature Gallery later this year, with iffy plans to release it to other retailers in 2H 2009.

[Via CNET]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Transportation

You totally thought that “Think” operation you heard about last summer was nothing more than yet another electric car dream that would never see reality, didn’t you? Turns out, the endeavor could be more successful than anyone originally imagined, and if all goes to plan, the Think City should hit US shores later this year. Beyond that, the company is assuming that it “could be selling as many as 50,000 units in two or three years,” and with pump prices soaring and a sticker of around $25,000, we don’t have much reason to doubt that. The 110MPG vehicle, which touts a top speed of 65 miles-per-hour and reportedly meets all US / European safety standards, would likely be assembled in Southern California (at least, one’s sold over here), but we’ve no idea if swarms of Think dealerships will start popping up after all this goes down.

[Via International Herald Tribune]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Robots

HPI Japan just conjured up GR-001’s new best friend: the G-Dog. The DIY, four-legged robot with a taste for jugulars and what appears to be a sword for a tail stands just 5.3-inches tall and features the same control unit and sensors of his bipedal buddy. Presumably, G-Dog will only respond to street-wize greetings of “Whut up Gee?” and “‘Sup Dawg?” at which point he’ll lubricate his turf (aka, your carpet). G-Dog is expected to terrorize Japan sometime in July for around $1,000. Backside front, after the break.

Continue reading HPI’s G-Dog sniffs out your human wreckage

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Desktops

If you’ll recall, we already witnessed a pre-production Wolfdale CPU outpace its competition back in August of last year, but the real deal has finally arrived. Over at Hot Hardware, the folks were able to crack open a retail Core 2 Duo E8500 processor, which comes in at 3.16GHz and features 6MB of L2 cache, a 1,333MHz FSB speed and is built on 45-nanometer technology. When put to the test, reviewers found this luscious piece of silicon to be quite the performer, noting that it was probably a better choice for gamers than a low-end quad-core chip. Still, with an expected price of just under three bills, it wasn’t exactly seen as the greatest of values, but if you’ve got the coin and happen to fit the market, the “Recommended” badge tells you everything you need to know.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

It’s not like we haven’t seen PMPs certified for Vongo before, but considering just how sexy the P2 really is, we think the aforementioned video provider did itself a favor by teaming up with Samsung. As of today, P2 owners can surf on over to Vongo’s website and begin using the subscription-based service for $9.99 per month, and for P2 owners to-be, you can look forward to a “trial membership” with an unspecified length. Huzzah!

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Original post by Darren Murph