w7
Latest
LG's OLED TVs now pack loss-free 3D audio
There's a dirty secret to listening to Dolby Atmos sound on LG's current OLED TVs: all the audio is compressed, so you're losing a little fidelity for the sake of immersive 3D sound. You won't have to make that sacrifice before long. LG is trotting out an update later in October that will add support for lossless Dolby TrueHD audio to all its 2017 OLED sets. If you're watching a 4K Blu-ray movie (the most likely candidate for TrueHD support), you can hear jets soaring overhead at maximum quality.
Nokia W7 and W8 tipped as first Windows Phone models
If you can accept what we're about to tell you as rumor, and nothing more, then we'd like to let you in on the latest scuttlebutt surrounding Nokia's first dip into the shallow Windows Phone waters. Eldar Murtazin, the eternal Nokia antagonist, claims to have the inside scoop on Nokia's current Windows Phone device plans while getting an early hands-on with a prototype. Besides demonstrating a natural extension of the Nokia naming strategy to accommodate the new Windows Phone devices, Eldar tells us that model W7 is built around an X7 hardware base while the new W8 handset is a variant of Nokia's N8 cameraphone (conceptualized in the above pic). According to Eldar, all of Nokia's WP prototypes are built upon Qualcomm chipsets per Microsoft's requirement (and Nokia's dismay). The W7 model is currently being used in-house for development purposes and will likely be the first to market, according to Eldar, with an 8 megapixel autofocus camera and flash. Murtazin claims that the W7 reminded him of the HTC Mozart without any noticeable customizations to the OS. If neither of these models appeal to you, hold tight -- Eldar says that Nokia has a dozen Windows Phone devices planed for 2012. Of course, it's early days so any, or all of this might change before Nokia ships its first device later this year or early twenty-twelve. Imagine it: Nokia hardware slathered in Mango -- mmm mmm good.
RAmos W7 Android MID is alive and shipping (in China)
It's been a long strange trip for the onetime "mystery MID," but now it looks like the RAmos W7 is finally finding its way to customers. According to Pocketables, the Android 1.5 device is selling for 999 yuan (about $146), which isn't bad seeing as how they've gone on eBay for four times that -- although the price suggests that the rumored 3G connectivity is a non-starter. Whatever the case, we'll definitely keep our eyes peeled for a stateside appearance.
RAmos W7 in the wild and looking good
We've seen some video of the RAmos W7 running Android (with some pep), but these new photos of the device out and about are pretty promising. An Android slate with a 4.8-inch screen in a thinner-than-an-iPhone form factor? Look out, Archos 5. Hit up the source link for the rest. [Thanks, Steve]
RAmos W7 spotted blazing through Android
As much fun as it is seeing the RAmos W7 in the wild, all legit and everything, what's more exciting is seeing that Android-specific 600MHz Rockchip CPU in action again. This time it appears to be handling some pretty snappy web browsing to some fairly hefty pages, and then diving into what looks to be Flash video in an externalized, overlain player of some kind. The Android Archos 5 does a similar thing for media playback, but it's not plugged into the browser like this, and we really haven't seen many devices attain these sorts of browser speeds at this resolution. Sure, there's still plenty more OS to see, but it's good to see both of these products making a bit of good on their promises. Check out the video after the break.
RAmos' Android-based W7 MID gets real -- real familiar
We had a pretty clear indication that this one was coming, but it looks RAmos has finally gotten official with its once mysterious Android-based MID, now known from here on out as the W7. As rumored, this one is a Rockchip-powered device, and packs a 4.8-inch, 800 x 480 touchscreen, 720p video support (via HDMI output, presumably), built-in WiFi, and no 3G, although that apparently could still be in the cards for the future. It also just so happens to bear more than a passing resemblance to eviGroup's recently-debuted Wallet Android MID, and another, non-existent MID / tablet you might have heard of. What's more, RAmos also seems to have taken the opportunity to debut a few other, non-Android-based MIDs and PMPs, including the T11TE (which apparently boasts 1080p output over HDMI), the T9HD, and the T7 -- although details on those are few and far between at the moment.[Via Electric Echoes, thanks Sere83]
RAmos Android event scheduled for next week, mystery MID getting real?
Any time a good conundrum is solved there's bound to be mixed feelings -- and The Case of the Mysterious Android MID was certainly no different. Has it really only been a month? Certainly you remember the affair -- how pictures (and eventually video) of this handheld Internet device, running Android, kept popping up all over the place? Well, we were somewhat comforted to discover that it was a Rockchip-powered concept device, although at the same time we felt a little cheated: how dare RAmos flaunt such a thing and fail to deliver? But not so fast! According to a teaser that's made its way to us on the Internet machine, a press event scheduled for September 25th will feature some combination of: "Android" and "ramos digital." Whether or not its the Rockchip-powered device we've been taunted by remains to be seen, but it's definitely a fair guess to say that it will be. Besides, RAmos, after Apple's recent iPod event, we need this. [Via Pocketables]
Motorola announces W7 Active Edition for fitness and sporting enthusiasts
Sure, we were a little hard on it back when we first saw its rumored, horrifying existence but it turns out our nightmare scenario has come true: the W7 exists. The one we're seeing above however, has had at least a little sexy added to it -- ditching the three-part color scheme for blackish silver -- and it also has 3G which lessens the pain a little. The fitness and sporting targeted handset sports an accelerometer, which can be used to do all sorts of things like silence the ringer and pause or restart the tunes on a run, and it also boasts a pedometer for those of you who like to enumerate every step you take. The W7 (which will be available in white as well) is going to be available by June of this year in Asia and Latin America, but there's no word on pricing or availability elsewhere. There is one more shot after the break -- if you dare.
Motorola's rumored W7 causing us to lose faith
Okay, yes, we understand that Moto's W series of handsets is targeted at the lower end of the market -- but is that any excuse for it to be ugly? We'd like to believe that this odd little beast is fake, but we have a bad feeling that it's the real deal -- all three mismatched colors of it. Add in the oblong d-pad, the forgettable camera, and the rumor that it'll be EDGE only, and we really don't care how water resistant the sports-oriented W7 might be, we're pretty sure we don't want anything to do with it. Maybe an overwhelmingly lukewarm reaction to the leak could send it back to the drawing board, eh?
iriver's W7 portable media player gets reviewed
Yeah, we had our fun just toying with the W7 at iriver's CES booth earlier this year, but the lucky souls at Pocketables were able to secure one long enough to write up a full-blown review. Straight out of the packaging, critics found the design to be attractive enough, albeit a tad chunky; particularly with this device, we'd say opinions on sexiness will vary widely depending on what floats your boat. Nevertheless, reviewers found the touch panel easy enough to navigate, and thankfully, the perceived audio quality was dubbed "great." Those interested in the video capabilities will be delighted to know that all was well on that front too, as the slew of welcome extras (FM tuner, text viewer, e-dictionary, etc.) were all praised. Now, if only this critter would show up in America, we'd have yet another solid choice when it comes to pocket-friendly media players.[Thanks, Jenn]
Hands-on with iRiver's new toys
iRiver was being awful coy with its stable of hot new gear -- we couldn't even get their reps to say anything would be out in North America, much less finagle pricing or ship dates -- but the new Spinn, iAmoled, and Wing still managed to charm us from behind the glass. We did get to poke around with the W7, P10, and the Unit 2 -- which was still impressive, even though it crashed -- and the Dicple D30, all of which had amazing build quality. Hopefully we'll see this stuff hit our fair shores soon, but for now, check 'em all out in our gallery! %Gallery-13159%
iriver's W7 now available
Yeah, the iriver W7 was released today as expected. Everybody move to Korea, what's the use in kidding ourselves anymore?
iriver's W7 media player and D27 dictionary loose in the wild
iriver just took the wraps off their D27 QWERTY dictionary and W7 personal media player they teased us with last week. The D27 if a full-size, electronic dictionary with plenty of audio and video support. It features a 480 x 272 display, FM tuner, 2GB of flash, and up to 27 hours of battery life depending upon usage habits. More interesting for westerners however, is the W7 touchscreen (finger or built-in stylus) media player which shares the industrial design of the W10 -- in fact, it may well be the very same WiFi device with Skyhook positioning only now sporting a W7 moniker for domestic S.Korea release. Video of the W7 in action after the break, plenty of pics and more video just beyond the read link. Update: More details in. The W7 goes on sale next week and turns out to be a WiFi-less, Skyhook-less version of the W10. The rest is pretty much the same: up to 8GB of storage with miniSD expansion, 480 x 272 WQVGA display, and 4-hour battery for video.[Via iriverfans]
iriver teases again -- is this the W7 with WiFi and 8GB?
When iriver teases, our gadget reflexes go all pointy. Mind you, we know absolutely nothing about it except for what you see in that picture. However, there's plenty of speculation on the iriverfans site suggesting that we're looking at the packaging surrounding a new flash player. In fact, South Korea's FCC-equivalent, the MIC, just certified a new W7 iriver player today. W, as in WiFi, with either 4GB or 8GB in tow. Please iriver, just a bit more info before we commit to our gift giving guide?
Panasonic gets official with the W7, T7, and Y7 Toughbooks
The all-knowing database gods of the FCC had already tipped us off to Panasonic's newest US-bound Toughbooks, but they've just gotten the official press treatment, complete with beauty shots and -- most importantly -- spec sheets. All models check out with WiFi, Bluetooth, 1GB of RAM, 80Gb of storage, and an optional HSDPA or EV-DO WWAN module, but diverge from there: the ultraportable W7 (pictured) weighs in at just three pounds, but features a 12.1-inch screen, 1GHz U7500 Core 2 Duo processor, dual-layer burner, and a seven-hour battery life, while the slightly heavier 3.3-pound T7 "tablet alternative" drops the burner for a 12.1-inch touchscreen, 1GHz U7500 Core 2 Duo and a nine-hour battery life. Topping out the new line, the 14.1-inch Y7 clocks in at 3.7 pounds with burner and scores a 1.6GHz L7600 Core 2 Duo. Panny says the $2500 Y7 is available now, while the $2100 W7 and T7 should ship in December. We actually got a chance to play with all three just recently, check the gallery for some hands-on action. %Gallery-10161%
Panasonic CF-W7, CF-T7, and CF-Y7 Toughbooks spotted in FCC
If you found yourself quite envious after hearing that Japan would be getting four new Toughbooks while America got the proverbial shaft, it's time to put your beef aside and bust out the party favors. Turns out, a trio of the new lappies have appeared on the FCC's website, giving us great hope that the revamped CF-W7, CF-T7 and CF-Y7 will be headed stateside soon. Sadly, none of the filings are very disclosing when it comes to specifications, but we are assured that each machine will sport Bluetooth, WiFi and integrated support for EV-DO Rev. A / HSDPA. We'll be keeping an ear to the ground for anything official, but for the time being, check out the FCC's uber-sweet photography skills on the W7 / Y7 after the jump.Read - Panasonic CF-Y7Read - Panasonic CF-W7Read - Panasonic CF-T7
Panasonic launches four new Toughbooks
Panasonic is getting funky-fresh on everyone today with word of a new lineup of Toughbooks making their way out to store shelves. The company is launching four different models of the hard-as-nails laptops (W7, T7, R7, Y7), all of which are based on Intel's Santa Rosa chipset. The new over-performers are said to be able to withstand a 76-centimeter drop (about desk height) while switched on and continue working, versus the previous model's 30-centimeter rating (which applied only when turned off). The Toughbooks also have an "irrigation system" for the keyboard which can route water away from important bits to a "drain" at the base of the computer. Keep reading after the break to see a rundown of all the new models and specs.[Via Impress]
