Avatar 3D Blu-ray
The 3D TV hubub at CES roughly coincided with Avatar, the highest grossing theatrical release of all time, hitting theaters in 3D. It seems natural to assume that the inevitable home video release of the 3D HD version of the Avatar Blu-ray would coincide with the introduction of new 3D HDTVs, which are slated to appear as early as May. But according to director James Cameron, that Blu-ray won’t appear until November.
“It’s all right on schedule,” said Cameron during a Wall Street Journal interview. “We’ll do the Blu-ray and the standard-def DVD April 22nd, that’s our plan as of right now, and that’ll be pretty much bare bones. And then we’ll do a value-added DVD and a 3D Blu-ray in I think November sometime.” Read the rest of this entry »
Compaq’s Android Smartbook With Touchscreen
Tablet PCs are getting the lion’s share of attention lately, “smartbooks”–laptop-like devices with advanced smartphone processors and pared-down operating systems–are attempting to build some momentum, too. The Compaq AirLife 100 looks like many Netbooks, but it differs in several ways: It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor instead of an Intel Atom, comes with 3G wireless built-in, and runs Android OS. The AirLife 100 also has a resistive 10.1-inch touchscreen 1,024×600-pixel resolution TFT display, but only 16GB of solid-state internal storage, although an included SD card slot can help matters slightly. HP promises an “all-day” battery life of 12 hours/10 days of standby, plus always-on Internet through a combination of its 3G antenna and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi.
Audi A8 gets 3G connectivity
Audi A5 Cabriolet doing at Mobile World Congress? We had no idea, too, until we got into the driver’s seat and noticed a SIM card slot right below the in-car display. What’s really cool, as we found out later, is that the car features UMTS (3G) connectivity powered by an embedded Qualcomm chip. This instantly morphs a ride into a mega hotspot. Not only can passengers connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi, the driver can also get directions from the in-car navigation system that taps on Google Earth. This is combined with a street atlas, as well as both online and offline content for a complete satnav solution. Next to the armrest is the eZONE wireless charging terminal, also by Qualcomm. Any eZONE-enabled device that comes near to this area will be recharged sans cables. The company says eZONE is still under development and the first devices won’t be available until probably eight months later. behind the headrest is the FLO TV Auto Entertainment system which provides live and time-shifted TV for backseat passengers. Audi has a fancy name for these “connected car” technologies called Mobile Media Interface Plus and this will be available on selected Audi A8 vehicles this year.
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