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Roku’s new UK players include an £80 4K streaming stick
Roku is a big name in home entertainment kit, but the UK market hasn't exactly been the company's top priority. In fact, aside from a regional mobile app update earlier this year, the last we heard from Roku was back in 2015, when the upgraded Roku 2 player was released over here. Earlier this month, the company launched a five-strong range of new players in the US, but it's decided Americans aren't to have all the fun. Two of those devices are hitting UK shores on October 18th, including the £80 Streaming Stick+, which boasts support for 4K and HDR streaming at up to 60 fps.
Google Express delivery expands along the East Coast
East coast residents now have a new way to shop online. Google announced on Wednesday that it is expanding its Google Express online delivery service to a dozen states throughout the Northeast. Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont are all now within Google Express' delivery range.
Google Express shopping service grows: new cities, partners and Prime-style subscriptions
Google started experimenting with same-day deliveries early last year, but now it's getting serious. Google Express (shortened from Google Shopping Express) is expanding its service areas from just the Bay Area, parts of NYC and Los Angeles -- now it's shipping goods from local merchants to their customers in Chicago, Washington D.C. and Boston. There's a slew of new retailers on board including Barnes & Noble, PetSmart and Sports Authority, and in the Bay Area it's added alcohol and fresh foods to the delivery menu. One small catch? Starting today, Google will charge for those deliveries, which used to be free. Nonmembers can pay $5 per order, or join the service (sort of like Amazon Prime) for $95 a year, or $10 per month.
Sprint rides the Express to Budget Town, available now for $20
Do you choo-choo-choose the Sprint Express, or does it choose you? The Now Network's mixing things up this holiday season by adding its own branded device -- in reality, a reworked Huawei Boulder that Sprint slapped its name on -- to the low end of its smartphone lineup. Known simply as the Express, it's a portrait QWERTY Android 2.3 handset that will set you back $20 with a two-year contract (after a $50 mail-in rebate). What you'll get in return for that hard-earned Jackson is a 2.6-inch QVGA (320 x 240) display, 3.2MP camera, 256MB of RAM, 512MB of internal storage (with expandable microSD slot), a 1,500mAh battery and a 3G mobile hotspot that supports up to five devices. We doubt it'll be the first stop on anybody's Black Friday shopping list, but we think it may actually get penciled into the schedule somewhere.
Super Talent USB 3.0 Express RC8 looks like a thumb drive, acts like an SSD
It seems too much to hope for, but Super Talent insists it has the benchmarks to prove it: a USB 3.0 stick that achieves 270MB/s reads and 240MB/s writes under optimal conditions. Unlike your average joe flash drive, the RC8 boasts a fully-fledged (albeit previous-generation) SandForce SSD controller that permits the simultaneous use of eight channels of NAND memory. In other words, this zippy little thing actually is an SSD, enclosed in an aluminum case that measures 1-inch wide, 4-inches long and 0.3-inches thick. No definitive word on pricing yet, but it was reported at Computex that a 50GB variant would go for around $110, while 25GB and 100GB capacities will also be available. Now, could someone please hurry up and build a Thunderbolt version?
Video: Provoke's cellphone concepts make us squirm
Ew. We're not sure what it is about watching a video of Provoke's Touch concept that creeps us out. Nevertheless, we're not feeling the "deep communication" the phones are meant to create between lovers. Instead, we're drawn to images of a bandaged, reptilian baby pustulating to the songs of a heavy-cheeked woman singing from inside of our radiator. You too? Decidedly less-freaky Express concept also video'd after the break.
Dash Express review
We've been waiting to get our hands on the Dash Express ever since we heard about it way back in 2006, and though we've seen a ton of photos and even toyed around with a beta version of the GPRS / WiFi-connected navigator, actually using the device for a lengthy period of time revealed some pretty interesting things. The main verdict: yeah, it's way pricey, but if you've got the scratch, this is the GPS you want -- and if the community features take off like Dash think they will, it's going to be a game-changer. Read on for the full review!
Dash Express powered by OpenMoko's neo open-source hardware platform
We're already pretty high on the Dash Express, but the company sweetened the pot a little this morning by announcing that the unit is based on OpenMoko's Neo open-source hardware platform. The Dash Express is first commercial product to use the OpenMoko GT0X reference platform, which is an updated version of the hardware in OpenMoko's open-source Neo 1973 mobile phone. As you'd expect, the Dash Express also uses OpenMoko's Linux bootloader and kernel, but the Dash GPS software itself is apparently still proprietary. The love doesn't stop there, either: OpenMoko and parent company FIC Mobility actually helped design the Dash Express hardware, and FIC is going to handle manufacturing as well. All in all, a pretty solid win for the OpenMoko / Neo system -- let's hope it's a sign of even more good things to come.
LifeSize unveils low-cost HD video-conferencing solutions
The corporate videoconferencing market has taken some baby steps towards HD resolutions, but a company called LifeSize is trying to jump the rest of the pack with an array of 720p devices that sell for much lower prices than anything else we've seen. The company's basic solution, the $5,999 LifeSize Express, comes with a microphone, remote, and 720p camera, and features HDMI input and output to pipe additional content over a 1.5mbps connection. Stepping up, the LifeSize Team MP and LifeSize Room add support for more than two participants, with the $8,999 Team MP supporting 4-point single camera communications over a 2.5mbps connection and the Room bumping the specs to 6 points with two cameras and two screens each over 5mbps. Linking two MPs and a Room together in what LifeSize bundles as a turnkey telepresence solution will set you back around $40K, which sounds steep until you compare it to competing $200K SD-res systems on the market. All these are shipping now, according to the company.[Via ZDNet, thanks James]
Dash Express hits the FCC
Well, would you look at that -- the Dash Express has navigated itself into the FCC's tell-all database. Not much here you didn't already know -- 4.3-inch display, WiFi, cell, and GPS radios, two-way traffic updates and travel-time estimation, and slightly redesigned casing -- but it looks like there's a 400MHz Samsung processor under the hood running a custom Linux build in 128MB of RAM, with 3GB of flash for maps. Hit the read link to nerd it up with some hot RF interference documentation.
Miglia TVBook Pro - watch & record DVB-T broadcasts
File this under "wish it was ATSC not DVB-T." Miglia has produced what appears to be the first digital TV reception card for the ExpressCard slot. DVB-T means that this guy will not work Stateside but in most European counties and well, that is where it is being sold for 150 Euros so it better use their standard. If the little built-in antenna isn't strong enough to pick up the broadcasts, Miglia has included a USB based amplified antenna to hopefully give ya that extra little boost. Thanks to the ever-so-popular eyeTV software, it can schedule and record broadcasts, along with the standard DVR functuality of pausing and rewinding TV. But still, when is the ATSC version coming out?
ExpressCard Update for MacBook Pros
Apple has released a software update for at least the 15-inch MacBook Pro, and possibly the 17-inch as well (I just have a 15-inch). ExpressCard Update 1.0 "resolves an issue that prevented the system from sleeping when some cards are inserted in the ExpressCard/34 slot." Have at it boys and girls.Also, do not adjust your display - the funky color scheme you see in my screenshot is the work of ShapeShifter, Unsanity's GUI theming utility.[UPDATE: At least one commenter has confirmed that this update appears for the 17-inch MacBook Pro as well.]Thanks Guy!
Airfoil v2.0.3 adds changing sources on the fly, menubar preference, more
Airfoil, the handy application for sending any audio to an AirPort Express, has been updated to version 2.0.3 for Mac OS X (remember, it's also available for Windows now). This new version adds the ability to swap audio sources on the fly, as well as a menubar option if you'd rather the app not take up dock space.Airfoil is a Universal Binary with a demo available (that overlays noise after 10 minutes until you register), while a license from Rogue Amoeba costs $25.
