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: Laptops

If the bargain priced Cloudbook was just a touch too small for your tastes, open wide for Everex’s 15.4-inch VA1500V. Available now at NewEgg, this 5.3-pound rig features a 1.5GHz VIA C7-M processor, WXGA+ (1,440 x 900) resolution panel, half a gig of DDR2 RAM, a 60GB 5400RPM hard drive, DVD combo drive and a lackluster integrated graphics set. As expected, you’ll also find the firm’s gOS v2 “Rocket” operating system, an Ethernet port, 802.11b/g WiFi, three USB ports, VGA out, audio in / out and a 3-cell Li-ion sure to last an eternity. Still, you can’t kvetch too loudly for $399.99, now can you?

[Via Laptoping]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

Oh sure, Apple’s been offering up a couple of refurbished iPhones on its own web store for some time now, but actually finding one in stock has proven to be quite a challenge. Nevertheless, a purported internal memo has explained that select AT&T stores in the New England region (sorry, rest of the solar system) will be stocking refurbished iPhones for $199 (4GB) and $249 (8GB) — of course, the deal only applies to new activations. Has anyone actually seen this go down first hand? We wonder how quickly it’ll be before this offer bleeds out from the Northeast.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

Sure enough, that 100 quid laptop we heard about early last week is already making the rounds, as the BBC caught up with the ONE at The Education Show in Birmingham, England. Granted, this thing is far from stylish (okay, so it’s downright ugly), but it’s hard to expect too much more given the ultra-low price tag. Satisfy your curiosity by checking out a minute long clip of the unit in action — go on, it’s right there in the read link.

[Thanks, KC]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: CES, HDTV, Peripherals

We’ve seen Gefen get all riled up and unleash a barrage of new kit all at once, and sure enough, the outfit is doing just that once more. For starters, we’ve got the TV Switcher, which enables consumers to connect and access four HDMI sources from a single HDTV. Next up is the TV Splitter, which allows users to channel a single HDMI source to four displays — and yeah, both of the aforementioned units play nice with HDMI v1.3a. Moving right along, we’ve got a pair of updates to the PVR lineup; the HD PVR records in MPEG4 and can store material on the 80GB HDD or an SD card, while the SD PVR records content onto USB storage devices. Over on the sound side, the Gefen TV Audio Processor takes a single HDMI source and delivers it to a display and an external audio receiver; furthermore, it reportedly “decodes the HDMI signal to provide an audio signal along with six discrete RCA connectors.” Lastly, the firm is doling out v1.3 / Simplay HD-certified HDMI cables in 6-, 10- and 15-foot lengths, but unfortunately, it didn’t bother handing out price tags for any of the goods here.

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Original post by Darren Murph