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Fuhu's Nabi Jr. Tegra-powered kiddie tablet keeps the small ones occupied for five minutes
If your Clarkson-esque toddler screams "more power!" at its kiddie tablet, perhaps it's time to upgrade. Fuhu, makers of the Nabi, are trying to address that problem with the Nabi Jr., a 5-inch baby slate that's packing NVIDIA's marginally faster OG Tegra internals. The ICS-running hardware also includes an 800 x 400 capacitive touchscreen, rotating webcam and a customized education-friendly software layer. If you think it'll satisfy your spec-demanding infants, a 4GB model will set you back $100, or you can grab a 16GB version for $130.
Sony Reader PRS-T2 up for $130 pre-order at J&R
We first caught sight of Sony's latest reader when it mysteriously swung past the FCC, but now the PRS-T2 has arrived to spill the beans at Park Row's most famous resident. J&R's pre-order page reveals that the 6-inch touchscreen WiFi-only device is packing a 800 x 600 E-Ink display, a battery promising two months life and a built-in stylus. Software options include six dictionaries, Evernote Clearly, Facebook for Reader and a free copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The electronics superstore has the device listed as "coming soon," and when it arrives, will set you back $130 -- but, as its write-up notes, that's the price you pay to avoid being bothered with adverts.
Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook listed at US retailer for $900, 'coming soon'
Looks like that 13.3-inch Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook we saw honeymooning with a 'friend' in Korea is almost ready to head over to the States. JR.com has listed it as "coming soon" for $899.99 along with a spec sheet that details the same 500GB/16GB hybrid drive we saw previously, along with a Core i5-2467M serving up CPU horsepower and graphics, 4GB of DDR3, 1366 x 768 LED backlit display, a single USB 3.0 port and WiDi. The weight and dimensions seem slightly chunkier than last reported though, with thickness reaching a maximum of 0.69-inches and a weight of 3.24 pounds -- still, it's a lot more shapely than the 1TB 14-incher it left behind. [Thanks, Deron]
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus up for pre-order: $399 16GB, $499 32GB
Korea's finest have been very coy on the dual-core and Honeycomb update to the Galaxy Tab 7, the 7 Plus. We knew that Austria and Indonesia would get it by the end of October but didn't know when it was likely to land in the States, or how much it would cost when it got here. Fortunately, it has now been spotted at J&R.com, where you will be happy to know that the 16GB version will cost $400, while the 32GB costs a bit more at $500. Now they just need to tell us when the thing will actually arrive.
MSI's Brazos-powered WindPad 110w tablet officially up for pre-order, ships August 1st
It happened once before, but now it's in stone: MSI has just come clean with its WindPad 110w pre-order, with $599.99 grabbing you a place in line. For those who've forgotten, that price premium nets you a 10-inch panel (1280 x 800), 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 32GB solid state drive, a pair of full-size USB ports, a mini-HDMI socket, Windows 7 and AMD's Brazos processor platform. Make no mistake -- this ain't your average tablet, which may (or may not) explain the $100-above-average MSRP. Hit the links below if you'd like to make the best impulse buy of your week, but make sure you're prepared to wait on an August 1st ship date.
Japan speeding ahead with 500km/h Maglev train
Traveling the 515 km (320 miles) from Tokyo to Osaka by Shinkansen bullet train currently requires 2 hours and 25 minutes (and costs a small fortune, too). Come 2045, travel between Japan's two largest metro areas will take just over one hour, following the launch of the country's longest maglev track, which just received construction approval from Tokyo. The nine trillion yen project (approximately $112 billion) was first proposed in the 1970s, but was tabled indefinitely due to its astronomical costs, most of which stem from an extensive network of tunnels that will represent 60 percent of the route. You'll be able to get your Japanese Maglev fix beginning in 2027, when the Central Japan Railway launches its high-speed route between Tokyo and Nagoya. One notable neighbor to the west is already operating its own maglev train. China's Shanghai Transrapid has been blasting riders to Pudong airport since 2004, and once achieved a top speed of 501km/h (311 mph). The country is also constructing a 1000km/h vacuum-based train that it plans to launch within the next few years.
MSI WindPad 110w listed for $599 pre-order, is brown
Looks like ASUS isn't the only popular netbook maker finally releasing more of its tablets into the wild. We've had various encounters with MSI's 10-inch WindPad 110w this year, but pricing and availability details on the Windows 7 tablet -- and its Android slate-mates -- had remained secret. That's now slightly changed courtesy of J&R's website, where a pre-order listing for the 110w has surfaced displaying a $600 street price and a full specification rundown. Highlights from under the hood include a dual-core AMD Brazo (as expected), a 32GB SSD, and 4GB of DDR3 RAM along with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity; around the outside are two cameras, a plethora of ports including mini HDMI, USB 2.0 and an SD card slot. Not too shabby, although it appears you'll have to settle for brown (and loss of all dignity at checkout).
Toshiba Thrive tablet up for pre-order starting at $449, may finally have an official name
Information about Toshiba's Honeycomb tablet has been spotty at best since the company unveiled it amid a sea of like-minded slates way back in January at CES. We've seen it teased and were subjected to some naming confusion, when the company filed a trademark for "Thrive" shortly before the tablet surfaced with the unfortunate ANT moniker -- and on Friday we caught wind via some chatty Twitter accounts that Toshiba is sticking to the former, a fact seemingly verified by new J&R listings for the device. The retailer has 8GB and 32GB versions of the tablet up for pre-order at $449 and $579, respectively. Specs also include a 10.1-inch screen, an NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM, WiFi connectivity, and 2MP / 5MP front and rear cameras. The tablet is listed as "coming soon" on the site, though signs seem to point to a release not too long after its Japanese counterpart, at which point we'll see if the Thrive actually manages to live up to that name.
Galaxy Tab 10.1 goes up for pre-order at J&R, joined by Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 and 4.0
Remember that little GT-P7510 project Samsung seems to have on the backburner? You know, the ultraslim Tegra 2 tablet that makes Honeycomb finally feel ready for public consumption? Yeah, well, that's gotten its pre-order papers now, courtesy of J&R. Pricing of the WiFi-only Galaxy Tab 10.1 matches the $500 for 16GB and $600 for 32GB that Samsung announced in March, and though delivery dates aren't listed, we'll go ahead and assume the promised June 8th launch remains on track. Also ready for pre-order at J&R today are Samsung's 8GB Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 and 4.0 media players, priced at $270 and $220, respectively, though the only info about availability that's provided is a boilerplate "coming soon" note. Check out the source links for more details.
Giant touchscreen vending machine at CEATEC stares us down, offers us a frosty beverage
So we tracked down one of those crazy new touchscreen- and camera-enabled vending machines being deployed across Japan's mass transit stations at CEATEC today; one of their claims to fame is that they're WiMAX-enabled in order to receive ads and other high-bandwidth content, so local WiMAX provider UQ installed one of the units in its booth as a showcase of the kinds of wild and crazy things you can do with ludicrous speed. As much as we hate to admit it, we're pretty sure we'd be consuming more overpriced juice, soda, tea, coffee, and water if we had one of these near our homes -- seriously, how can you resist those cute rectangular eyes staring at you, slowly stealing your soul while asking you to "come by?" Of course, the scary part about that is that the machine really can see you -- it's got a camera right above the display that detects your presence, makes some snap judgments about you based on largely accurate stereotypes, and recommends certain beverages (though you're still free to choose whatever you like). The machine supports Suica payments -- a popular NFC system in these parts -- using either a Suica card or your appropriately-enabled phone, which makes blowing hundreds of yen on cans of Georgia Vintage coffee frighteningly simple. Follow the break for some video of the machine in action... or if you're planning a trip to Japan in the next couple years, expect to see these around town in some of the high-traffic train stations. %Gallery-104494%
Pentax's K-7 DSLR now shipping via online retailers
Resoundingly positive reviews can't be a bad way to start a product cycle, and that's just what the Pentax K-7 has, and now lo and behold, it's on sale via Amazon and JR We're not seeing any bundles at this point, just a body-only listing, but we can't imagine those are far off if you want to be patient.[Via Electronista]Read - AmazonRead - JR
iriver P7 shows up for US pre-order
We already saw the iriver P7 teased yesterday alongside the P35 and that intriguing countdown clock, and now we've got a pre-order listing for the touchscreen PMP over at J&R. Priced at two Benjamins, mum's currently the word on a release date, but hopefully we'll know more when the countdown strikes zero on Monday.
Acer Aspire One D150 with N270 previewed, now available for US pre-order
The 10.1-inch Acer Aspire One D150 has found its way onto Amazon and J&R's websites and is now available for pre-order in blue and black color options, respectively. This version's got the 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor and 6-cell battery, with no word on the 3-cell or 1.66GHz N280 variants. Asking price is three Benjamins and an Ulysses S. Grant, or $350 if you're not into presidential pricing nomenclature. Additionally, the fine folks at netbooknews.de that gave us unboxing photos this week have a video hands-on of the laptop. High expectations from the market leader apparently turned into low marks for the glossy display, small trackpad, and a keyboard that's "separated by universes" -- and not in a good way -- when compared to the Samsung NC10. Further testing is expected later this week, check out the video after the break.[Via iTech News]Read - Amazon product pageRead - J&R product pageRead - Netbooknews.de video hands-on
ASUS Eee Box available Stateside, yours for $350
There are cheaper computers out there, and even smaller computers out there, but the ASUS Eee Box seems to strike a similar chord to that of its laptop counterpart -- solid minimalism, just a dash of design sense, and a lovable price point. J&R has started selling a $350 version the computer in the States, complete with Windows XP, a 1.6GHz Atom processor, WiFi, memory card reader, 1GB of RAM and an 80GB hard drive. We're especially into the prospect of quick-boot Express Gate Linux tomfoolery, with a seven second boot time all that's keeping us from web browsing, Skype and IM -- oh, and buying one. Black and white versions are available now.[Thanks, Mike]
Train Training -- for real this time
The last train-related training software we saw was marred by a bunch of weird dating-sim nonsense. It was only a matter of time until another, more purely train-oriented educational game came along. A matter of two days, to be more precise. The latest train-training game from Taito couldn't be less dating-oriented.Tetsudou Zeminaru JR-hen (JR Railroad Seminar) is a program designed to teach you about Japan Rail's trains and railroads. It contains over 1500 quiz questions, along with a huge database of information about the trains, as well as an encyclopedic glossary of railway-related terms. You know, just in case you accidentally bought this game but weren't insane about trains.
It's for real this time: Virtual Console Mondays are a go
So, last week's rather spasmodic Virtual Console releases were a bit strangely timed. Still, it's hard to fault Nintendo, who has very little online console experience and consumer demand out the yin-yang. Still, they promised us Virtual Console Mondays, and by golly, here they come. From a press release:Every Monday starting Dec. 4, Nintendo will add classic games to the popular new Wii™ video game console's Wii Shop Channel. Four games will be added at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Dec. 4. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are: Donkey Kong Jr. (NES): 500 points Victory Run (TG-16): 600 points Columns (Sega Genesis): 800 points Ristar (Sega Genesis): 800 points A nice little addition! We're particularly looking forward to Columns, a very relaxing and satisfying puzzle game. With several new games being released every Monday, it won't be long until we see our promised Toe Jam and Earl action, or some of those rumored Virtual Console releases we keep hearing about. And look! A Christmas present! Keep 'em comin', Nintendo.
Death Jr. Root of Evil screens and videos
3 new videos, along with a plethora of screenshots, have been posted at IGN for the follow up to Konami's Death Jr. Death Jr. Root of Evil, much in the same spirit as the previous installment, has Jr. and the gang attempting to bottle up a recently-escaped spirit. The videos and screenshots, which show the same Tim Burton-esque visual style along with frenetic action of the first game, are sure to please those who were thoroughly satisfied with the original.
