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Jetway, maker of motherboards, is prepping its first smartphone, the Alfar 560
We'll be honest: we originally made our way over to Jetway's booth here at Computex because we had heard scuttlebutt that a KIRF Samsung Galaxy Note was on display. Turns out, that wasn't true -- this thing doesn't even support pen input! -- but as it happens, Jetway had an interesting story to tell nonetheless. Jetway, based in Taiwan, has until now been designing motherboards, but is now releasing its first phone. What you see there is the Alfar 560, a reference design that various OEMs can rebadge under their own names. Based on the specs, it's clear that whatever brand picks this up, it's going to be a low-to-mid-range device: vitals include a 650MHz MTK6575 CPU, a 5.1-inch (800 x 480) display, 512MB of RAM, Bluetooth 2.1, a pair of 0.3- and 5-megapixel cameras. Additionally, it's dual-SIM-capable, with support for both WCDMA and GSM. If all that sounds ho-hum, we'll remind you that we haven't seen that many low-end phones with screens this huge, and the design here is actually decent, aside from the fact that the phone is chunkier than whatever flagships HTC and Samsung have to offer. If you're reading this in the US, you probably won't ever get to see it in person, but you just might get to handle it if you live in Asia, the Middle East or South America -- Jetway says it expects the 560 to eventually arrive in those three regions. Wherever you are, feel free to rubberneck at the photos below, and check out our quickie video after the break.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti: second-generation Fermi for the $250 mainstream
Ah, NVIDIA, how far you've come. This time last year we were all wondering if your first Fermi GPUs would operate successfully without a nuclear reactor in our backyards, yet today you're introducing a successor to one of the best value-for-money GPUs the PC gaming world has seen in ages. Yes, the GTX 560 Ti has mighty big shoes to fill, but it's off to a good start with 384 CUDA cores running at 1645MHz, 1GB of GDDR5 RAM running at an effective rate of 4GHz, and an 822MHz graphics clock -- each one a clear and pronounced upgrade over its GTX 460 predecessor. You'll have to check out the reviews below for a detailed breakdown of what those numbers will mean on a game-by-game basis, but there's another way in which this new card is proving its impact already. ATI AMD has (conveniently) chosen to cut the prices of its Radeon HD 6870 and HD 6950 cards today, while also outing an HD 6950 with just 1GB of onboard memory to serve as a direct competitor to NVIDIA's latest. Competition, ladies and gentlemen, it's an awesome thing. Read - HardOCP Read - Tech Report Read - PC Perspective Read - techPowerUp! Read - AnandTech Read - Bit-tech Read - TechSpot Read - TweakTown Read - Hot Hardware
Garmin's new aera series gets you there by air or by land
Pilots looking for the hardest-core portable nav unit available tend to flock to Garmin's GPSMAP 696 these days, but there's a problem: the big, bulky tablet doesn't do much good once you're wheels-down and you've got to find your way to the hotel. Enter the new aera series, which you can sorta think of as "nuvi for pilots" with 4.3-inch touchscreens, user-friendly prompts, and dedicated car modes across the board that'll keep casual observers from realizing that your little buddy doubles as a $2,000 beast capable of safely guiding you cross-country at flight level 250. The 696 is still being regarded as Garmin's premier aviation portable, while the four aera models -- the 500, 510, 550, and 560 -- are called "entry or mid-level" with prices ranging from $799 to $1,999 and should finally sunset the aging lower-end GPSMAP models that look like they're straight out of Garmin's GPS III days. The 510 and 560 throw in XM WX weather support while the 550 and 560 feature Garmin's SafeTaxi interactive airport diagrams, integrated AOPA Airport Directory, and high-end car features pulled from the nuvi line like lane assist and speed limit data. All four models are technically launching on the 5th, but appear to be in stock with online retailers now if you're in a rush.
HD video: Roomba 560 vs Discovery
Anyone at all interested in home robots -- especially those too lazy to vacuum their own floors -- will want to see just how well iRobot's new Roomba 560 fares against its predecessor, the Discovery. Well, we've pitted the two against one another in noise, speed, cable management, docking, and, of course, ability to destroy one another. Embedded player after the break.P.S. -Forgive our shabby carpet, the dudes who rented the place before us took really sucky care of the joint.[MP4] Download in 720p HD (139MB)[MP4] Download in wide VGA (40MB)[AVI] Download in 720p HD (139MB)[AVI] Download in wide VGA (40MB)
iRobot Roomba 560 hands-on
We've been fooling around with a new Roomba 560 of our very own and we can say with some certainty iRobot's really improved on its product. Unfortunately, that isn't saying a whole lot; while we've always loved the Roomba for what it is, we've never been too impressed with the job it does. Still, the built-in scheduler is just such a welcome addition, and the robot is much quieter and generally feels far better built than its predecessor. The fact that the internals are better sealed is also a huge bonus, since we've long found ourselves cleaning our Roomba's innards out nearly as much as its vacuum bin. Jury's still out on the Lighthouses -- it's a decent idea, definitely, but we'd really prefer if the robot actually started trying to learn where things (and its own position in real space) are instead of just using battery-operated stations to tell it which rooms it's already visited. But hey, baby robot steps, right? Photo gallery below.%Gallery-6211%
iRobot's new Roomba 560, 530: totally redesigned vacuumbots
iRobot hasn't released a new, proper Roomba servantbot since late 2004's Discovery (Scooba, of course, excepted). Today that changes, with the 560 and 530 we caught wind of back in May. There's a lot going on here, so we'll start at the top: iRobot is touting these new Roombas as being "totally redesigned" from the ground up. The new vacuum system is supposedly 100% more effective at picking up the grime in your floors. Really makes the old model suck. Thanks, we'll be here all week. The 560 features 2.4GHz RF that activates its new Virtual Wall Lighthouse system (we'll get to that in a sec. The 530 doesn't have RF. Scheduling is now built into the robot. Friggin FINALLY! The new Roombas have IR sensors built into the bumper, and have a second, slower running speed. When Roomba is approaching an object, it slows down so as not to bump it so hard. Lighthouses are Roomba's new RF-based progress tracking system. Place one in each doorway, and they switch on via RF when your Roomba does. When Roomba's done with a room, it won't re-enter until the next time it runs. The battery is still removable, but you have to unscrew the bottom plate to get it out. Oh, and now you can add faceplates. The system is far better sealed off, so most of the crap you're vacuuming up supposedly won't actually get inside the robot anymore. Extra bonus: that black arc between the bumper and buttons is a handle that lies flush. The 560 goes for $350, the 530 goes for $300 -- snag 'em both starting now. %Gallery-6207%
Roomba revisions coming in September?
There's not much that gets us more excited than new cleaning bots -- yes, we're unabashed iRobot fanboys -- so we always want to be the first to know when a fresh product comes along (we did a little happy dance with our dog when the Roomba for Pets was announced earlier this month). Luckily, then, we caught wind of the linked thread on Roomba Review (your home for all things, um, Roomba), in which a purported insider delivers some details and pics of upcoming revisions to the Scheduler, Discovery, and Roomba Red models: the 560, 530, and 510 (whose supposed retail packaging is pictured above), respectively. New features are said to include a 'lighthouse (peripheral to indicate which room is cleaned)' and integrated display, with upgrades also coming in the form of a redesign (pictured after the break), easily-swappable parts (wheels, motors, etc.), greatly improved battery life (1,500 hours versus the current 350, allegedly), and automatically-activated virtual walls. Pricing will range from CAD$300 to CAD$450 ($279 to $418), according to the RR member, so now we have to squirrel away at least that amount of dough along with however much more it's gonna cost to pick up those completely new bots we've been promised for the holidays. [Via Electronista]
