Archive for April 3rd, 2008
Posted by: admin in Tech News
Is it just me or was Dell on top of the world a few years ago? Not only was it pummeling just about each other PC manufacturer in the industry, its on the web business was buzzing and its business integration was better than ever. And then it all came crashing down.
Last year, Dell announced that it was slicing 8,800 jobs from its payroll and Thursday the company stated that it has already laid off 5,550 employees in an attempt to cut costs and make the company more financially sound.
“We are not satisfied with the current state of affairs and are on a mission to fix it,” Reuters quoted Dell saying. “Every area of the company is being pursued” for cost cuts.
To make matters worse, last week Dell announced that it was closing one of its desktop manufacturing facilities as part of its layoff program and indicated that it wants to reduce expenses by as much as $3 billion per year over the next three years.
And while many would state that Dell is moving in the right direction, I’m not so quick to agree. How can a company that sat atop the entire computing industry for so long become a shadow of its former self in just two years? Is it that Dell has had a string of bad luck or did Hewlett-Packard, Acer and the rest finally find a way to take the company down?
Sadly, it looks like the latter.
…
source The Digital Home
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Posted by: admin in Gaming
Well, it’s about damn time. After all that (rather baseless) legal posturing, it’s official: Sega’s Sonic Team is hard at work — and has been for around three years — on a brand-new adventure featuring their most iconic character. In a press release sent out this morning (after the jump), Sega gave us an overview of Sonic Unleashed, which is being developed for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 2.
The story, which you probably couldn’t care less about, isn’t anything groundbreaking: Dr. Eggman (*sigh* I miss the good ol’ days of Dr. Robotnik) has broken up the world into seven continents — wait, isn’t that already how it’s set up? Anyway, Sonic has to find the Chaos Emeralds and use their power to set everything right, blah-dee blah-dee blah. But there are a lot of promising details in spite of the banal plot.
There’s an intriguing mention of a day/night dichotomy being used as a gameplay device, as well as “seamless” transitions between 3D and “classic 2D” camera angles (yay!). But here’s the main selling point for me (I guess the Sonic Team saw Jim’s “How to save Sonic” piece):
Players will have an opportunity to engage in ways never before done with the Sonic franchise, so in addition to running at high speeds, which will be highlighted in four new speed mechanics, combat fighting now becomes possible. New combat, movement, functional abilities and platforming will be introduced to offer increased depth and variety.
I know I’m not the only one whose pants are tent—splooge! Seriously, that’s what I’ve always wanted to see in a new Sonic game. Though the trailer (viewable above) consists entirely of Sonic dashing through gorgeous levels, just the thought of platforming has got me titillated. Talking of the trailer, it’s quite different from the one that was originally leaked on YouTube. Okay, the first minute is nearly identical, but after that, this trailer — which presumably comprises gameplay footage — shows off a previously unseen water-themed level that brought European seaside cities to my mind.
Alright, Sonic Team, I’m officially stoked for this game; don’t let me down. Sonic Unleashed is set for release this holiday season. For more information, check out the game’s official website at http://www.sega.com/sonicunleashed/. It has two more screenshots, along with the debut trailer and press release. Are you as excited as I’m, folks?
Via Destructoid
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Posted by: admin in Gaming
Hamza gave us a proper introduction to Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X yesterday, via his fleshed out post underneath the trailer, so I’m not going to bore you with details that you already know. However, I am going to follow it up with a couple of purdy pictures of jets, and all of us can marvel at them and pretend that we never saw the trailer and everything from this point on is entirely new.
Since we at Destructoid are firm believers in not letting beautiful assets and press releases go to waste (and we all tent at the mere mention of air combat), without further ado, we invite you to click on the gallery and read that release. Pretty please?
Via Destructoid
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Ricky just pinged me to let me know that N-Gage 2.0 is out, if you have a Nokia N95, N95 8GB, N82 or N81 then start your browsers and download.
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LG is seeking an “open-standard software platform” for their future 3G data services states Chief Executive Jung Il-Jae. Google has already come up to bat, along with several other players, in an attempt to be the platform LG decides to run. LG already makes Windows Mobile and S60 devices, why not add another platform into the mix!
[Via: Market Watch]
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Kyocera announced its entry into the GSM handset market with four new GSM phones. The new devices will launch initially in Latin America, where a number of CDMA service providers recently switched to GSM networks.
Four handsets are:
- E4600 - slider-shaped quad-band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) device; features MP3 player, 2-megapixel camera with video record/playback, Bluetooth, expandable memory and a 2.2-inch display.
- E3500 - Also supporting MP3 and video record/playback, the quad-band E3500 has a clamshell form factor with external music controls, dual color displays, a 1.3-megapixel camera, expandable memory and Bluetooth.
- E2500 - an ultra-slim candybar-style quad-band phone with an MP3 player, 1.3-megapixel camera with video record/playback, Bluetooth and expandable memory.
- S1600 - low-end dual-band candybar with a VGA camera.
Kyocera has already begun shipping to customers in Latin America and retail launches will be announced on a carrier-by-carrier basis in the weeks and months ahead… Full release is available from here.
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AT&T used all the glory of CTIA Wireless to officially announce what we already know. LG Vu is heading towards the carrier's portfolio and it's landing in May. Yap, folks you can't purchase the stylish this day as AT&T seems to want to postpone the Vu release to coincide with the roll-out of their mobile Television service. Until then, you may consider some other device… or not. Somehow, we've no doubts AT&T will try to persuade us mobile Television is the future we should choose. Unfortunately, they haven't said anything about the price…
We've covered Vu's specs here, and the official “LG Vu coming to AT&T” release follows after the jump.
PRESS RELEASE - LG Electronics MobileComm U.S.A. Inc. (LG Mobile Phones) announced today at CTIA Wireless 2008 the availability of the new Vu by LG, a sleek and stunning touch screen handset with a view into mobile entertainment's newest offering, AT&T Mobile Television. With a large three-inch interactive touch screen accompanied by a minimalist scroll bar design, simplicity is only skin deep. The Vu by LG, offered exclusively through AT&T, is equipped with video, music, and camera features, in addition to offering first-time access to AT&T Mobile TV.
Running on AT&T's 3G network, the Vu offers access to AT&T Mobile Music which provides fast access to downloadable music from eMusic and sideloading compatibility from Napster-to-go and any unrestricted MP3 audio file in addition to streaming digital radio by XM Radio. Loaded with AT&T Video Share, Instant Messaging, and HTML web browsing with touch navigation, the Vu offers the ideal of AT&T's features in a stylish and fashionable handset.
“The Vu makes a strong statement about aesthetics and functionality thanks to its sleek, smooth exterior and its intuitive, three-inch touch screen technology,” stated Ehtisham Rabbani, vice president of product strategy & marketing at LG Mobile Phones. “We believe consumers will also embrace the robust entertainment options available via the Vu - benefiting so many busy lives on the go.”
“With all of the entertainment and features of the Vu, including AT&T Mobile Television, this phone is a true remote control for your mobile life,” said Carlton Hill, vice president of Product Management, Voice Products & Affiliate Marketing for AT&T's wireless unit.
The AT&T 3G network offers download speeds between 600 and 1,400 Kilobits per second (Kbps) and is available in over 265 markets, increasing to nearly 350 by the end of 2008, including all of the top 100 U.S. cities.
Additional features of the Vu by LG include a 2.0-megapixel auto focus camera with video record, and Bluetooth ability for music, Television and voice. To enhance AT&T Mobile Television experience, the Vu by LG also includes an extendable TV antenna for increased reception. Please visit the LG booth (#449) to check out the Vu and other innovative LG handsets.
The Vu will be available through select AT&T retail locations or at http://www.att.com/wireless beginning in Might 2008. For LG's complete handset line-up please visit: www.LGmobilephones.com.
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 You may remember we've already covered ZTE's ambitious plans to become top-five handset vendor within five years. At the CTIA, they haven't announce anything spectacular. Rather they announced two low-end, three-band CDMA phones - C78 and C79. I couldn't find decent photos of the two devices, hence I'm posting an image of the C78 model from the FCC's filling.
Anyway, the C79 is a clamshell-shaped device and includes such features as MP3 player, 1.3 megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth support, a 2 inch screen and support for microSD memory cards. The C78, on the other hand, is more inexpensive candybar-shaped device equipped with a VGA camera, web browser, and Bluetooth.
No word on availability, but considering they use CDMA radio, these two might land on Sprint, Alltel, Virgin Mobile USA or Verizon. We'll keep you posted. In the meantime, you may want to check out the full release from Business Wire.
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 The popular VoIP application that also grants you to chat and swap files with your IM buddies Fring has announced partnership with Boingo, allowing Boingo Mobile users to speak, chat & interact at over 60,000 Boingo hotspot locations around the world.
To be fair, I'm not sure how's this different than standard Boingo's mobile client using which you should be able to do the same thing. Guess the two companies wanted to emphasize that you can do much more than simply check your email or browse the internet from your WiFi-enabled mobile phone.
Anyway, if you're attending the CTIA and want to see Fring in action, make sure to check out the Symbian booth (#4855 in Hall N4, within the Enterprise Mobility Pavilion) while they're still there (today is the last day of CTIA).
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 At AT&T's press conference, CEO Ralph de la Vega primarily talked about cooperation with Microsoft to deliver Surface tables/computers in the mobile operator's stores around the country. Along with Microsoft's Robbie Bach, the two talked about wonders of the customer experience and how AT&T will benefit from using the Surface technology. We've already covered that part and that's not “on the table” in this post.
The other part of presentation as well as the post-conference Q&A session was more focused on 3G and 4G technologies. There, at some point, de la Vega himself said that all of the carrier's smartphones will be 3G within a “months.” Now wait a minute, AT&T also carries Palm Centro and Apple iPhone. While I doubt we'll see Garnet singing along HSDPA, iPhone is totally another beast. Is this a hint or what? CEOs are well trained to talk with the press and I doubt de la Vega accidentally stated the “months” word. On the other hand, he may just wanted more publicity, which is also highly unlikely. Guess we'll have to wait and see…
[Via: Engadget Mobile]
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