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LG's L90 handset is rolling out this week... in Russia
If the debut of LG's L-series of handsets at last month's Mobile World Congress had you hankering for a new phone, you're in luck. The 4.7-inch L90 starts rolling out this week in the CIS region (think Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia). LG has also detailed a few new specs, as well. In addition to the 1.2GHz processor, the L90 comes with 1GB of RAM, 8GB storage space and a 2,540mAh battery. Its cameras are rated at 1.3MP up front, and 5MP or 8MP for the rear. Pricing and domestic availability remain ambiguous for now, but the South Korean outfit promises more local info will be available closer to a domestic launch. To pass the time until then, you could always work out your own custom Knock pattern; we recommend the beat from "Around the Fur" by the Deftones for maximum cool-points.
PocketBook teases first front-lit, color e-reader for June 2013, gets ahead of itself
Shouting "first!" isn't reserved for overeager blog commenters. PocketBook is just as determined to get ahead of the e-reader field with the first unveiling of a front-lit, color E Ink device, well before it's ready for store shelves. While the device doesn't even have a name, we're already promised the combination of Kindle Paperwhite-like illumination with a Triton-based 8-inch, 800 x 600 touch display that can show 4,096 colors. There's even an early battery life estimate of a month of typical use, which should stack up decently against most of the e-reader's grayscale counterparts. Just don't be surprised if PocketBook loses its crown before it's even sitting on the throne. An initial launch in the Commonwealth of Independent States is pegged for June 2013 -- far enough into the future that competitors could announce and ship products before PocketBook lands its first sale.
In Russia, APB Reloaded hijacks you!
All Points Bulletin's comeback looks to be in a stronger position than ever before as GamersFirst has just inked a deal with Innova Systems to publish and distribute the title in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. This hugely expands APB Reloaded's potential market as the title is on the verge of relaunch. While you may not have heard of Innova, GamersFirst's Rahul Sandil said that the company is well-established with a solid reputation in the region. "After an exhaustive diligence, it became clear that Innova was truly the only choice for distributing APB Reloaded to the Russian Federation. With six years of local market experience and more than two million active users, we know that APB Reloaded will flourish in Russia under Innova's watchful guidance," he said. APB players in Russia will need to use Innova's 4game publishing platform to access the game -- which, like it is elsewhere, will be free-to-play.
Next-gen iPhone to get a 5 megapixel camera?
I'm about due for an upgrade to my first generation iPhone, and a sweet camera would help seal the deal. That's the rumor going around (more or less unrelated to the other set of rumors we heard today, though I probably wouldn't turn down a higher-resolution iPhone with better camera included) according to a few places, which seem to stem from a company named Omnivision Technologies. They're expecting to not only see an increase in production of iPhone CMOS image sensor parts from 20 million to over 40 million in 2010, but they also say they've landed a deal to put together 5-megapixel CIS pieces for a new version of the iPhone. Take this with the requisite grain of salt, of course -- we've expected cameras in some of Apple's devices before, and a few of us were disappointed. But it's not a big stretch to think that if Apple does release a new version of the iPhone as expected this year (be it a normal handheld or a larger tablet product), the camera in there will be able to take nicer video and better pictures than before. [via MacRumors]
UK's CIS Solar Tower garners 390-kilowatts from the sun
We're not entirely sure if Manchester's CIS Solar Tower will be the world's grandest solar tower, but in terms of buildings have moved beyond the drawing board, it definitely packs a punch. Reportedly, the flaky construction led to dilapidating walls, which were then replaced by a much greener solution -- 7,244 Sharp 80W photovoltaic panels, to be precise. Curiously, only 4,898 of the modules are actually functional, but they still soak up enough sunlight to generate 390-kilowatts of energy, or in layman's terms, enough juice to "power 1,000 PCs for a year." Additionally, the roof is home to two dozen wind turbines that generate 10-percent of the total power used in the building. Of course, such an endeavor did ring up at a steep £5.675 million ($11.4 million), but we're pretty certain this solar panel makeover was concerned with matters other than dollars and cents. Click on through for a top-down shot.[Via MetaEfficient]
Samsung's "world's smallest" 8.4 megapixel CMOS sensor: so long CCD?
Chalk up another world's smallest title for Samsung this morning with this, their new 8.4 megapixel CMOS sensor. By implementing extended photo diode technology, Samsung has managed to squeeze higher light sensitivity and saturation levels into less space. According to Samsung, their new sensor's high signal-to-noise ratio results in the equivalent image quality found in today's CCDs while using one-tenth the power. As such, Sammy expects it to "quickly replace" the CCDs used in mobile phones, camcorders, and even digital cameras. Yeah, they wish. We'll find out soon enough as this CIS hits mass production in the second half of 2007.
Samsung's tiny 3 megapixel CIS: another "world's first"
What would a day be without another "world's first" announcement from Samsung. Today's stretch comes in the form of the "world's first 3 megapixel CMOS image sensor with a 1/4-inch lens aperture" for use in Ultra-slim cellphones. Someone please, alert Guinness. Hyperbole aside, the CIS shares the same dimensions as the current lot of 2 megapixel CIS modules found in today's slimsters. So yeah, we're looking at any easy bump in specs for manufactures as it's a like-for-like component swap. We can expect to see the 3 megapixel CIS in our cellphones mid-2007 as mass production ramps in Q1. According to market research quoted by Samsung, 38% of all cameraphones will be equipped with 3 megapixel cams in 2008. Damn, at that rate, 10 megapixel ubiquity is a long way out. [Via AVING]
