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Canon's bringing back the square selfie cam with PowerShot N2
Early last year, a Canon rep pulled out a point-and-shoot with a very peculiar design. Instead of the rectangular form factor we'd grown used to, this camera was square. The PowerShot N was designed to be held any which way, making it a good fit for both righties and lefties, but without any pronounced grip, it didn't feel quite as natural to hold. We were a bit relieved, then, when Canon debuted the N100 with a more familiar look and feel, but at Photokina, the company's returning to the original shape and size with the PowerShot N2. The N2 replaces the original N -- the N100 will remain on the market -- bringing a slew of new features for social sharers and video bloggers alike.
IRL: Bing Translator, ioSafe N2 and the Mophie Juice Pack Air
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. Yes, again with the mobile battery packs. (We're power users, okay?) In this week's roundup, Joe ditches his Elecom charger for the Mophie Air, and tells you everything you may wanted to know (and maybe a few things you didn't). Rounding things out, Darren kicks the tires on ioSafe's durable, "disaster-proof" NAS box, while Dan uses Bing Translator to avoid offending the lovely people of Germany.
Neonode AB, maker of the N2, files for bankruptcy
Neonode AB, a wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based Neonode, Inc., has filed a petition for bankruptcy in Sweden. The company, which has focused almost all of its efforts on pushing the now aged Neonode N2 since 2004, finally caved after looking so vulnerable in late July. According to Per Bystedt, CEO and Chairman of Neonode: "For the past six months we have focused on turning the business around and solving the financial situation of Neonode AB; we continue to have great belief in our technology and believe we have a competitive product in the Neonode N2 but without sufficient funds we cannot continue operations." No word of a revamped OS. No word of hardware tweaks. Nothing that sounds to us like they really want to survive in today's high-stakes handset market. At any rate, the parent company is hoping to trudge on as a technology licensing company, with or without Mr. N2. [Via GeekZone]
N2 recall leaves Neonode reeling, pleading for patience
From the outside, it has been easy to assume that everything was humming along nicely at Neonode's California / Sweden-based offices. Based on a recent open letter issued by the interim CEO and chairman Per Bystedt (not to mention the earnings report), that is indeed not at all the case. Neonode has failed at meeting guidance and anticipated sales for this year, with a number of things partially to blame. For starters, it admittedly tried to enter "too many markets, too fast," and a recall of the N2 surrounding "reception issues" didn't make things any better. Bystedt confessed to having just south of $3 million of his own money invested in the outfit, while he asked for other shareholders to be patient as he attempted to right the ship. Best of luck to ya -- we hear it's a pretty tough sector. [Warning: PDF read link][Via RCRWireless]
Every Neonode N2 recalled due to reception problems
Hey, you remember the Neonode N2? The OG full-face touchscreen phone? Well, better cherish those memories, since every N2 is being recalled due to "reception problems." A fix is apparently ready to go, but seeing as we haven't heard a peep from Neonode since it promised us a totally new OS and handsets back at CES, we've got a feeling you might be better off swapping out handsets for a while -- besides, who still uses EDGE?
Seven days sans Neocron 2
Usually when a game's server goes down, it's the world shard server that everyone knows and thinks about. After a couple of minutes, the development team sends the server through a reboot and everything is back up without much fuss, except a few people who complain how they lost that ten whole minutes of farming. But the Neocron 2 community got to find out what happens when the multiple hard drives of the login server simultaneously fail, sending the account data and character data into the land of infinity. The result was seven days without Neocron 2, forcing the community into the standard MMO withdrawal syndrome as their favorite game was unaccessible.The servers were finally available again yesterday, and everyone once again piled into Neocron for their cyberpunk first-person shooter experience.Reakktor Media, the operators of Neocron 2, will not be providing current subscribers with free game time for the server outage. Instead, they are preparing a special in-game present to everyone who had a trial account or full account during the outage.When reached for further comment, Reakktor Media declined to provide further information, stating what was on the forums was all the information they were willing to release regarding this matter.[Thanks, Mike!](Edit: Corrected photo caption. - Colin)
As promised, Neonode delivers new N2 colors
Wisely observing that black isn't for everyone, Neonode has pushed out its fleet of four N2 colors that we first saw back at CES: Lime, Azure, Rubine, and Roza. Translated, that's green, blue, red, and pink, which means there are now four exciting new ways that we can not have the N2 in the States. It's okay, Neonode, we know you're planning a launch here, take your time.
Neonode maximizes hype, promises "details" on four new N2 colors in March
The N2 is a pretty funky fresh device to begin with, so it only makes sense that its buyers might like a palette to choose from. Indeed, the company is planning on rolling out four new colors for its diminutive smartphone, but if you think they're telling us what those colors are, think again -- they've only released PR stating that "details" on the colors will be announced next month. If we had to take a stab at it, we'd say that two of the four will be green and pink (albeit with fancier names, probably) since we saw them on display at CES, but the other two are anybody's guess. Personally, we'd like a nice shade of North American 3G; maybe we're asking a bit much.[Via MobileBurn]
Neonode planning revamped OS, totally new handsets
We've just gotten out of a meeting with Thomas Eriksson, co-founder and CTO of Neonode, and we've learned some very exciting information about the company's newest, as-yet-unannounced phones. We were shown designs of the mobile-maker's next lineup of devices, including an iPhone-esque model called "Earth" which has been confirmed for production (though Thomas insisted that some features and design would change, of course). The phone will feature a 2.9-inch, true 16:9 ratio infrared touchscreen (an updated version of the Neonode N2's touch surface), HSPA connectivity, and will operate on five separate frequency bands (a first as far as we can tell), allowing 3G use in both Europe and the US. However, the most interesting thing that we were shown was a live prototype of the company's latest OS, which blows the doors off of previous iterations. The new interface is a much more robust platform, featuring a homescreen made up of a number of small widget-like icons, all updating live with things like RSS feeds, phone logs, weather, and mail. The UI is still meant to be operated via one hand, though Thomas confirmed that the device would sport a virtual QWERTY keyboard, and would deliver more PIM / smartphone features than we've seen from them in the past. The design of the interface is still being tweaked, but it looks very contemporary to current and future phone OSs we've been seeing, with lots of nice shading and alpha layers. From the little we peeped, this platform could be a contender if handled correctly -- Thomas told us that Neonode had plans underway to partner with carriers in the US, so stay tuned to this space for more info.
Hands-on with Neonode's N2 in new colors and a peek at the booth
Neonode have busted onto the CES scene with a monster booth, new colors for the existing N2, new prototype devices, and whispers of a 3G N2.5 or 3. Now all we have to do is wait for the carrier to get announced and hear word on pricing. We're looking forward to how things roll out for them over here.%Gallery-13128%
Neonode N2 officially coming to the US
It might be lagging a bit behind its European cousin, but Neonode is finally committing to bringing its N2 to the States in 2008. The finger-friendly touchscreen device is the follow-on to the N1 -- a phone that never even crossed the pond -- and features a 2 megapixel camera, expansion via a rather unusual miniSD slot, and mere GPRS data to ferry bytes down from the network. Without 3G or even EDGE, our excitement's tempered, but we're still curious to find out how it feels and functions in the hand. Look for availability and carrier agreements (yep, it sounds like someone will be officially offering this -- T-Mobile, perhaps?) to be announced in the second quarter.[Thanks, Kristofer B.]
Neonode N2 makes its FCC debut
It's been out in Europe for a good few months already, but the Neonode N2 has now finally landed into the FCC's all-important hands, which would seem to suggest that a US release isn't all that far off. From the looks of the tests reports, however, the touchscreen-based handset doesn't seem to have picked up any of those much-desired 3G capabilities in its trip across the Atlantic, although we suspect it'll still find its share of fans. For those not up to speed on it, the N2 boasts a 2-inch touchscreen that fills up most of the front of the handset, along with a 2 megapixel camera, a miniSD card slot, and quad-band GSM / GPRS capabilities (no WiFi though). Hit up the gallery below for a few more pics courtesy of the FCC, and keep it locked here for any word of a release. %Gallery-9221%
Neonode N2 gets unboxed, videoed
Granted, this whole unboxing process took a tad longer than we're used to, but considering the absence of an Apple logo and the fact that the folks in Greece likely roll with a bit more patience than we gizmo freaks here in North America, we won't grouse too much. Still, the first widespread unboxing pictures (and a video for good measure) of the highly anticipated Neonode N2 have officially hit the 'net just under a fortnight after the launch party in Athens, and we must say it's looking pretty good. From the well appointed packaging right down to the matte black outfit, the N2 is (finally) yours to witness (psst, the video is after the jump).Read - Neonode N2 unboxingRead - Neonode N2 unboxing, part IIRead - Neonode N2 Interface shots
Neonode's N2 ready for summer launch
Sick of the iPhone but like the whole touch-screen thing? Great, then you'll be happy to hear that the Neonode N2 is prepped for sale. Starting this summer, the phone that led the way for the iPhone (their words) will be up for grabs. No 3G or WiFi (or even EDGE) of course, and the launch will be limited to "south-eastern Europe," but hey, it's a start. Maybe we'll get a bit more info after the launch party in Athens (Greece, not Ohio). [Thanks, Guillermo V.]
Samsung unveils panoply of DVD burners, hard drives
We already glanced at Samsung's SpinPoint F1, but the firm also let four other storage devices out of the bag (officially, at least) alongside its 1TB behemoth at its storage press conference in NYC. Up first is the SpinPoint N2 series of 1.8-inch HDDs, which offers up a "world's largest" 120GB flavor at 4200RPM for a dollar under $250. Catering to the 2.5-inch hard drive buyer, the MH80 lineup that we've been hearing about finally went official, and the "world's first" hybrid HDD to come in a 160GB iteration was introduced alongside a bevy of other SpinPoint M5 offerings ranging from 60GB to 250GB (in the dual-disk model). In the burning realm, the WriteMaster SE-T084L portable slot-loaded DVD writer enables USB disc writing with minimal fuss for just $150, while the $70 Super-WriteMaster SH-S203 SATA burner (falsely) claims the "world's fastest" title by churning out discs at 20x. Thankfully for those intrigued, all of the aforementioned devices are currently shipping, so snagging one (or more) in the near future ought not cause too much grief.
Hands-on with the Neonode N2
We had a chance to go hands-on with the Neonode N2 today while trippin' the floors of 3GSM. So how was it? Pretty sweet. Although lacking WiFi and 3G, the device felt excellent in the hand. Text input was a bit buggy but that touch-screen interface and long (theoretical) battery life will likely be a hit in whatever market the N2 ultimately reaches... someday. Hands-on with the Neonode N2
Neonode's N2: the iPhone is just "following" its lead
We knew the announcement was coming, now here's the product: the Neonode N2. According to Neonode's 3GSM press release, "Apple's iPhone and several other manufactures" are just "following the lead set by Neonode." Of course, they are referring to their N1 which stuttered onto the scene back in 2004. Hyperbole aside, the quad-band GSM / GPRS N2 does look pretty sweet bringing MiniSD support to store your media, a 2 megapixel camera, and a 2-inch, 176 x 220, 65k color, and of course a touch-screen display all boxed up in a small 47x77x14.7-mm / 70-gram package. We'll try to get a hands-on of a working prototype from our crew in Barcelona later today. Until then, color us skeptics... we've been burned by our Neonode enthusiasm before.
Cowon's N2, successor to the A2 throne
It's been a hell of a long time since Cowon launched its Engadget Award-winning A2, but we freaking finally have a worthy successor to their flagship media player, and like so many other Korean-built devices it's no slouch when it comes features. Now Windows CE 5-based, the Cowon N2 features a friggin' massive 7-inch 480 x 234 display (with a 500:1 contrast ratio, and 420cd/m² brightness), 500MHz AMD Alchemy processor, 128MB DDR2 SDRAM, 32MB Flash memory, built in SiRFStarIII GPS, DMB video, dual SD slots (à la the Tapwave Zodiac), USB On-The-Go, 4W stereo speakers, AV and camera ins, FM transmitter, IR, and the usual extensive codec support (MP3, WMA, Ogg, ASF, AVI, WMV, DivX 3/4/5, XviD, MPEG-4, video up to 720 x 480 / 30fps). You're not going to get all this without sacrificing space and weight, though; the N2 weighs in at a hefty 540 grams (1.2 pounds), and eats up 191 x 120 x 26mm (7.5 x 4.7 x 1 inches) -- nowhere near the smallest overachieving media player around. What's worse, it still doesn't appear to support raw MPEG-2 / VOB, nor H.264 -- which is a bummer, since if any media player should, it is this one -- but something tells us those brave enough to suffer the inevitable 2nd mortgage required to own one of these won't be left in the lurch. (Click on for some more pics!)[Thanks, Daiken]