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CE-Oh no he didn't!: Acer's JT Wang tells Microsoft to 'think twice' about Surface
Acer executives have criticized Microsoft's decision to build its own tablet in the past, but now the firm's CEO has offered Redmond a more direct warning. "We have said [to Microsoft] think it over," Acer CEO JT Wang told the Financial Times. "Think Twice. It will create a huge negative impact for the ecosystem and other brands may take a negative reaction." Microsoft has acknowledged Surface's potential to frustrate its OEM partners, telling the Security and Exchange Commission that competing directly with manufactures might "affect their commitment" to the firm's platform. Not only does Wang agree with this admission, he seems worried that Microsoft will cause this damage for nothing. "It is not something you are good at," he continued, "so please think twice." Polite, but a bit bold. Then again, Acer has never been shy about telling Microsoft exactly what it thinks.
Modu W (a.k.a. T-Phone) scores FCC approval
Modu's tiny, Android-based T-Phone still hasn't made much of a public showing outside of a rare in the wild appearance last month, but it has now finally turned up at the FCC, which hopefully means its getting closer to a release. Judging from the manual that the FCC has kindly provided, it looks like the phone is now called the Modu W, but complete specs are otherwise still a bit hard to come by. It is presumably still hanging onto its title of the world's lightest touchscreen phone, however, and there's still a curious lack of any mention of 3G capabilities -- previous reports have suggested data use would be WiFi-only. Here's hoping that's not the case, but it looks like we're going to have to wait for Modu to get official with this thing to know for sure.
Sony VAIO W, Z, F, and Y series hands-on: lean and green vs. gaming elite
Sony's unleashed quartet of Scrabble-friendly VAIOs this week -- Z, F, Y, and W -- and while they all have their merits, the two that really caught our eye were the the bulkier, gamer-friendly VAIO F, and the environmentally-conscious VAIO W Eco Edition. The green hue's gonna be a deal-breaker for some, but the packaging is a welcome touch and from cursory glance it is a sturdy and competent netbook. There's never enough time to test the internals, but for now, at least take solace in a bevy of pictures below (VAIO Y and Z after the break). %Gallery-82070% %Gallery-82044%
Kempler & Strauss' Billionair B6 and B7 pose alongside the W watchphone
Kempler & Strauss -- which pretty much came out of nowhere this week to announce a pair of 3G WinMo devices and a watchphone -- is pulling out all the stops here at CTIA to get its new products noticed, so everything they've got is on display and ready to use (or in some cases, wear). First up are the Billionair B6 and B7, full touch and portrait QWERTY WinMo devices respectively that currently run 6.1 -- but we're told that 6.5 upgrades will be available by the end of the year. Neither phone looks that awesome and feel generally cheap; the B6 borrows styling cues from the original HTC Touch, to boot, so there's an overall KIRFy feel to the thing. The skin they've dropped atop the operating system is pretty uninspiring, too -- though many WinMo skins look uninspiring when they're up against something thoroughly modern like a recent build of TouchFLO 3D. The phones' saving grace might be the fact that they're cheap -- sub-$300 -- and in the case of the B7, the combo portrait keyboard / QVGA touchscreen is still a nice, sadly too-rare combo. Turning our attention to the more interesting device of the trio, the W is a watchphone that employs a pretty standard GUI we've seen on similar models, but this one employs perhaps the most livable styling that we've seen this side of an LG GD910, and it all comes at a small fraction of the price. The touchscreen doesn't come with a traditional stylus, per se, but instead you get a "communicator" accessory that functions as a combination stylus / Bluetooth handsfree / remote control -- pretty cool, although we'd feel pretty silly (and sad) if we misplaced it. At $200, we could almost justify buying one of these just for the sheer novelty of it -- just don't expect desktop-class browsing on that display, and you should be a happy camper. %Gallery-75032%
Curious about SDV and Copy Freely support in Windows 7 Media Center?
Look here, bub. Do you own an ATI Digital Cable Tuner? Has your Windows Media Center PC been waiting for a firmware update, since like, forever ago? If so, you should already know that SDV and Copy Freely support has been added to Windows 7 Media Center, which is the software coding equivalent of all of your dreams coming true. Of course, getting used to all this new functionality is a daunting task, but that's why Engadget HD is breaking things down to make it fit for digestion. Ready to get schooled? Well, head on over!
Keepin' it real fake, part CCXXIII: VAIO W netbook clone handily beats Sony to market
Turns out by the time Sony went official with its inaugural VAIO W netbook, it was already old news to the Chinese KIRF market. The "VAIO" pictured above apparently came out some time in mid-June and does a laudable job of honoring the actual one's chassis, although the keyboard is more traditional than Sony's isolated / chiclet stylings. Throw in a 10.2-inch LED display, 1.6GHz Atom processor, integrated graphics, a 160GB HDD, 1GB RAM, and decently convincing packaging and you'd be liable to think you went through a time warp spotting this in Shenzhen. It's got a pretty sizable head start on the legit version, but something tells us this particular model won't be trying its luck elsewhere in the world.[Via PMP Today and Cloned in China]
Sony VAIO W hands-on roundup
Looks like our friends across the pond were among the lucky few to get a their hands on Sony's VAIO W netbook -- that still feels weird to write -- and the big takeaway here is that despite its size, the 10.1-inch, 1366 x 768 resolution screen is gorgeous. As for video, though, it's still an Atom-powered portable with integrated Intel GMA graphics, meaning smooth HD is more or less out of the question. The good news if it pans out, however, is that Sony will likely offer a 2GB RAM update, which should help out a bit. There was also near-universal love for the keyboard, with PC Pro being the lone exception, decreeing it just average when compared to what the Samsung N110 offered. Battery life couldn't be tested, and as for price? Well, no one seemed too bothered by the £400 tag, but we still maintain our own reservations until we get some time with it ourselves. You want more? A platter of impressions await you just below.Read - PC ProRead - TechRadarRead - Stuff.tvRead - What Laptop
Leaked Lenovo roadmap shows Calpella laptops coming January 2010?
Our compatriots at Engadget Chinese have happened upon what looks to be a roadmap for Lenovo's upcoming laptops between now and March 2010. Recently in the wild T400s is on there, slated for mid-July or so, with a pair of new SL models following in August. More interesting than all that, however, is the sheer number of new X, T, W, SL, and SLc laptops listed for the beginning of 2010 that utilize Intel's upcoming Calpella platform. We're not gonna put too much stock into these pictures right now, but it definitely raises a few eyebrows. More slides after the break.
Blizzard's splash screen changes for June 26th
The saga of the icy splash screen continues, as the newest splash screen has just gone live on Blizzard's sites under the file name ice4.jpg. This time, the ice has cracked away even further, revealing more of the night sky, and what looks to be a face coalescing from the ice flecks and vapor in the middle of the picture. The identity of the face isn't clear, although Alex thinks it may be a Protoss Archon. We've also received this very intriguing picture from tipster Pact, which shows the face overlaid with a picture of Diablo from the Diablo 2 box. Of course, it's worth noting that it could simply be Arthas' eyes as well, peering out from his helmet. As expected, a new rune has appeared as well, bringing the tally to four. This rune, located to the lower right of the cracking ice, looks like nothing so much as a miniature solar system model -- perhaps related to this model seen during April Fool's? Diablofans.com has suggested it may be a top-down view of an Arcane Sanctum from Warcraft 3 and WoW (You can see one at the Scryer's base in Shadowmoon) as well. As also expected, a new piece of the strange purple monster has appeared as well. It appears to be the hindquarters of the beast. So far, I'm still sticking to my belief that it's some sort of purple penguin. This file was named 16.jpg, which, if we follow the alphabet conversion method we've been using for previous pieces, gives us the letter "P." "Powd" is the best I can get out of that. Does that mean this picture is that of a new mascot named "Powder the penguin"? As usual, you can see all of these graphics in our splash screen speculation gallery, which is constantly being updated with new speculation and analysis as the WWI draws nearer. %Gallery-25975% There's more analysis to come after the break.
Blizzard's splash screen changes for June 25th, reveals new rune
I'm sure by now you've heard of the strange splash screen that has appeared on Blizzard's major websites, and seen the progression from day 1 to day 2, and read our report on it here at WoW Insider. As expected, a new splash screen has just appeared on Blizzard's main site. This time, a large chunk of the ice in the middle of the picture seems to have broken away. Unfortunately, we still can't make out much of anything through the ice, though we've already had a tipster or two comment to say that it may be the night sky. If so, does that mean we're inside some sort of icy tomb or cavern looking out? There's also a new rune located in the bottom left hand corner of the breaking ice. The meaning of the new rune is still up in the air. Diabloii.net points out that it looks a lot like a Protoss symbol found on the official Starcraft 2 site. You can see the image, as well as the newest piece of that strange purple monster image, in our splash screen gallery below. %Gallery-25975%
Mossberg just kidding about that whole "3G iPhone in 60 days" thing
Oh Unkie Walt, you toy with us so. Just a couple days after promising that the 3G iPhone would be out within 60 days, the Moss-man is saying that he was simply making a prediction based on the same data as the rest of us: price cuts, dried-up inventory, and all kinds of rumors. That's not at all what it seems like on the tape, but sure. Walt also thinks that a little meta-media-analysis is due here, asking Silicon Alley Insider, "If I knew when this date was, why would I announce it in the middle of a sentence at the Finnish embassy, rather than report it in the Wall Street Journal?" Excellent point, but you might want to be a little more careful the next time you flatly declare "The iPhone will be 3G in 60 days" with no caveats and the cameras running, okay?
Asus introduces trio of new LCD monitors
Not content with launching just a single LCD, Asus has decided to loose three new ones on us at all once. Up first is the 19-inch VW198, which features a WSXGA+ (1,680 x 1,050) resolution, 300 cd/m2 brightness, a 3,000:1 contrast ratio, five-millisecond response time, built-in one-watt stereo speakers and VGA / DVI ports to boot. For those who just like bigger panels, the firm is also introducing the 20-inch VW202 and 22-inch VW222 series, both of which sport the same resolution and brightness but offer up a 2,000:1 contrast ratio. Unfortunately, no details on pricing were disclosed, but the trio ought to hit shelves in the not-too-distant future.[Via FarEastGizmos]
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup, brought to you by the letter W
Wow, we've waited weeks while webcomics wallowed in BioShock weaponry. Wearily, we witness the reawakening of the unwavering weekly webcomic wrapup. Welcome, witness and weigh in: A bold turn of events (direct link) A brave new discovery Baseless judgment Welcome to Rapture Where's Duke? My comeuppance Blue note Shocking Red light, green light In the year 2041 ... Silence corrupted To catch a predator
Temperature-monitoring case mod for the Wii
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/mods/Temperature_monitoring_case_mod_for_the_Wii'; Evolving from the designs of Team Xtender's past mods, the ii-Hot Rock case aims to do more than just light the Wii with colorful LEDs. The $62.95 shell comes equipped with a digital thermometer that displays the console's internal temperature, and the LEDs shift with that measurement. Every 5° change pushes their hue towards either a colder or warmer glow, luminescing a light blue at sub-28°C and glaring klaxon red when temperatures over 55°C are detected. If you're paranoid about overheating consoles, a mod like this would be perfect for quickly warning you to either shut your system off or execute an emergency saucer separation, putting distance between you and the rest of the starship before the Wii's warp core breaches. Let's all hope it never comes to that. Set a course past the post break, and check out a couple more photos of Team Xtender's ii-Hot Rock case.
Bono gives Bush iPod
President Bush has an iPod. This isn't exactly breaking news here on TUAW, however, according to this Rueters story Bono gave President Bush an iPod. It isn't clear what model iPod it was, but I imagine it was one of the video enable iPods that the President wanted.The article also lists a number of other presents that Pres. Bush received, including a chainsaw.
