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VIA ARTiGO A1200 lets you roll your own miniscule, fanless PC
Most ultra-compact, fanless PCs are intended for the embedded market -- that is, not for the proletariat to tinker with directly. VIA's no stranger to serving that crowd, but it's making a point of addressing home users who want this class of PC for DIY projects, like home media servers, with the ARTiGO A1200. The new design is still using the dual-core, 1GHz Eden X2 of VIA's usual embedded PCs at its heart, but it comes wrapped in a smaller, more eye-catching package with HDMI video out and support for Windows 7. That's not to say that the A1200 represents a softening, inside or out. The PC can still survive temperatures between 32F and 113F with dust resistance in the bargain, and there's an array of ports you're still less likely to find on an everyday computer, such as a CFast slot (for storage) and dual gigabit Ethernet jacks. The $320 it costs to buy the new ARTiGO today won't get you an OS, RAM or a hard drive, but its ability to survive for years in a hot, dusty closet just might be worth the cost.
Canon's CES 2011 PowerShot quartet: A3300 IS, A2200, A1200, and the $89 A800
Cameras! Betcha didn't see that coming, did you? Canon's PowerShot lineup is out in full force. Actually there's just four to list, including the company's first point-and-shoot to drop below the $100 mark, but more on that one in a bit. From the top: The $179, 16 megapixel A3300 IS features 720p HD video, 5x optical zoom, a 3-inch LCD, a number of creative filters including "toy camera" and monochrome, and discrete mode that turns off all sounds for when you need to snap more quietly. Next up (or rather down, on this proverbial list) is the $139 A2200, which keeps the creative filters, 720p HD video, and discrete mode while moving down to 14 megapixels, 4x optical zoom, and a 2.7-inch LCD. The PowerShot A1200 (for $109) has similar specs to the A2200 but drops the sensor to 12.1 megapixels and nixes the discrete mode. There's also a tiny optical viewfinder -- not too useful, but hey, it's there if you want it. Finally we have the A800. 10 megapixels, VGA video with blur reduction, and a 2.5-inch LCD... doesn't look as spectacular when in the company of others, but it does rock an $89 price tag. All are due out late February. Check out the pics below. %Gallery-112557%
Motorola's A1600 MING 2 surfaces
What's that, you say? Reportedly, that picture you see above is the Motorola A1600, which could be the long-awaited successor to the A1200 MING. Granted, we've no proof to go along with it, but the design sure fits the mold. According to Chinese-based eNet, this bugger will sport quad-band GSM connectivity, a 3.2-megapixel camera (with autofocus), WiFi, assisted-GPS, a couple of built-in games, a "talking dictionary" and a Linux-based OS. Interestingly enough, that last tidbit certainly conflicts with other reports we've heard, but we suppose time will tell (look for a February launch) what system really ends up running the MING 2 show.[Via UnwiredView]
Motorola's US-bound MING: JUIX out, Windows Mobile in?
Details are still hazy on what form the MING may take if and when it enjoys an official US launch, but Boy Genius is reporting now that it won't have much in common with its Asian sibling. It looks like the device will mercifully see a 3G upgrade -- advantage, AT&T -- but some might be disappointed to hear that its Linux-based JUIX soul will apparently be tossed out in favor of Windows Mobile. The reason? In its current form, JUIX can't handle the stresses of high-speed data that come with WCDMA, so Windows Mobile has to swoop in and save the day. Still no word on when it may launch, but now that we know it's likely just another somewhat generic Windows Mobile device, our excitement's tempered just a smidge.
