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HTC Vox gets previewed, lacks 3G / touchscreen
If you had a hankering for HTC previews to finish off your January in style, today's your lucky day. While you're probably still gawking at the HTC Athena peek from earlier, the same lucky soul managed to get his palms around an HTC Vox, and being so kindhearted, we've got the results from another sweet photo shoot. It's about time we saw a few live snaps of this bugger too, as we've been waiting ever since it got official and was captured in the wild, and now you can get closer than ever without actually owning one yourself. Notably, a few more details were spilled out concerning the features (and lack thereof) of this smartphone, as we learned that it does indeed lack 3G as well as a touchscreen LCD. What you will reportedly get, however, includes Windows Mobile 6.0, 128MB of Flash ROM, a 2.4-inch QVGA screen, voice command recognition, QWERTY keypad and a numeric pad, 802.11b/g, two-megapixel camera, microSD slot, and a TI OMAP 850 processor clicking along at 200MHz. Of course, exact specs and inclusions could change on retail models, but if you're interested in seeing all sorts of angles, not to mention shots of OS, be sure to hit the read link after clicking through and scroll on down.
Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro previewed, inspected
Although Fujifilm's S3 Pro UVIR DSLR isn't exactly antiquated, the company's next rendition has been anticipated for quite some time, and now LetsGoDigital has had a chance to open 'er up, snap some shots of it, and let us know what this thing's all about. While not delving into specifics, the preview does showcase the S5 Pro's frame, features, and expectations of the February-bound digicam, and harps on the magnesium casing which favors the one found on the Nikon D200. It was also noted that the current edition can only handle up to 4GB flash cards, but hopefully a firmware update will allow larger cards to take part in the fun. As expected, the Super CCD SR Pro image sensor was highly regarded, and the firm's well-known face-finding technology is alive and well on this unit too. Overall, the company felt that this unit did the Fujifilm brand justice, as it paid close attention to the minutiae that makes Fujifilm cameras "unique," so be sure and hit the read link for closeups of crannies that you didn't even know this €1,895 ($2,448) monster had.
A-DATA exposes 128GB SSD to the camera
You already know the deal on A-DATA's 128GB solid state disk, which is currently the largest SSD you'll find outside of tightly sealed corporate doors and available for citizens to handle, but it looks like AVing got up close and personal with the device itself, mixing a little proof in with the pudding. So go on and click through for another snapshot of the (momentary) big fellow, so you'll know just what you're looking for when these land around mid-year.
First Tag Heuer cellphone mockups surface
As we suspected, it looks like Tag Heuer will indeed be joining the ranks of D&G, Prada, Aston Martin, McLaren, and the host of other brands out there who are joining the cellphone craze. Dial-a-Phone is reporting that the forthcoming handset should be "a completely new design," unlike the D&G RAZR which was devoid of originality save for the branding, gold finish, and dangerously high pricetag. Additionally, the Paris-based ModeLabs will indeed be crafting the design, and if all goes as planned, should be launching in undisclosed locales "within a few months." Currently, all they know is that it should be "made of stainless steel" and closely resemble many of Tag's unmistakable timepieces, and while chances are slim that the phone will actually be in a watch, be sure to hit the read link for the first wave of mockups.[Thanks, Stokelake]
LG BH100 HD DVD / Blu-ray hybrid player in the wild and on sale
Whoa, that was quick. The story of LG's BH100 has moved from myth to reality quicker than some companies can even craft a marketing campaign, and astoundingly enough, the hybrid HD DVD / Blu-ray player has not only been captured on camera, but it's available for sale. You read right, LG's $1,199 harmony machine is apparently already leaking into a few CompUSA locations, and although we didn't know how its inability to play back HDi would effect the release status, we're now seeing that it beat the February 4th presumptions by a solid two weeks, and although it clearly lacks an "official" HD DVD logo, it seemed to handle The Hulk just fine. So if you just can't hold back your desire for a two-faced player any longer, and can track down a stocked CompUSA location, you can pick up your very own BH100 starting today. Click on through for a few more sneak peeks, and be sure to hit the read link for the full skinny.[Via CNET]
MSI's GX700 gives way to Intel 965PM and NVIDIA NB8P
It's no secret that CES gave way to a smorgasbord of new kit for us all to drool over, but it seems that MSI showcased two forthcoming technologies that weren't exactly set for public unveiling. NotebookReview happened to take a gander at the innocent looking 17-inch GX700, and in the process of admiring its expansive WSXGA+ display and Core 2 Duo processor, they also noted the strange black line crossing out the Intel 965PM chipset feature, which is supposedly the yet-to-be-disclosed "Crestline" chipset that will support the Santa Rosa (er, Centrino Pro) processor platform. Additionally, the lappie sports a full-size keyboard, dual-layer DVD burner, 4-in-1 card reader, 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth, an optional DVB-T tuner, ExpressCard slot, audio in / out, and curiously enough, an NVIDIA NB8P graphics card, which also lacks a formal announcement of its existence. Of course, both of these mysterious components could face naming changes or technical revisions before getting official, but it's fairly safe to assume that we'll be seeing a new chipset / graphics card finding homes in laptops here before too long.[Via Laptoping]
Tatung's mysterious Windows Mobile-powered UMPC / PPC hybrid spotted
We're really digging these UMPC / PPC hybrids that seem to be popping up every so often, and even though those full-fledged (and overpriced) first generation UMPCs didn't exactly shake up the mobile computing world, we're a forgiving bunch. Presumably similar in function to HTC's Athena X7500, this mysterious Tatung device will apparently sport a longer battery life than those tried-and-true UMPCs, have "instant on" capabilities, and feature Windows Mobile 5.0. We can only hope that it sports at least a few connectivity options, but until CES (hopefully) discloses a bit information, the pics snapped (click on through for more) at Computex will have to do for now.[Via PocketPCThoughts]
ATI R600 graphics card benchmarked, cruises by NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GTX
If one of your New Year's resolutions involved spending a massive chunk of change to kick out as many frames per second as technologically possible, you may want to put the brakes on that impending NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX purchase. Lvl505 got their palms on a pre-release ATI R600 graphics card and put it up against the best NVIDIA currently has to offer, and the results thus far show ATI's device as "the clear winner." Of course, these benchmarks have to be taken with a certain grain of salt, as the drivers used were "a modified version of a 32-bit Vista pre-build version," which should have yielded less-than-optimal results; interestingly, the R600 still ran all over the optimized NVIDIA setup. Testing the cards on an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700-powered machine with 2GB of RAM, the single R600 card bested the solo 8800 GTX in basically every benchmark they tried, with common applications seeing minimal gains, but games saw between ten-percent (Half-Life 2: Lost Coast) and 42-percent (1701 A.D.) hikes. Apparently, the R600 was exceedingly impressive, as reviewers actually suggested that you "return your NVIDIA" card as soon as humanly possible while patiently waiting for January 22nd, when you can gleefully drop your $630 or so to pick up your very own R600. Oh, and you might end up paying somewhat of a monthly surcharge to use this bad boy too, as the 230-watts (which beats the estimations, actually) it'll require to operate could kick your power bill up a notch or two. Nevertheless, it's not exactly shocking to see a newer graphics card outgun one that's been on the shelf a moment or so, but we're still holding out for a finalized unit before making any final judgments on the combatants.[Via Inquirer]
LGC Nintendo booth pics
To get you psyched for tomorrow's keynote speech from Nintendo, 1up has posted some early pictures and video footage from all over the show floor. Perhaps the venue isn't quite as grand as E3, but it doesn't seem as though any company is taking this event lightly. Remember, though, that no Wii games will be publicly playable...only behind closed doors to special invitees. Le sigh. Anyway, there are plenty of pretty shiny things after the jump, so enjoy the eye-candy.
LGC sneak peak: Nintendo's booth
To get you psyched for tomorrow's keynote speech from Nintendo, 1up has posted some early pictures and video footage from all over the show floor. Perhaps the venue isn't quite as grand as E3, but it doesn't seem as though any company is taking this event lightly. If you look closely above, you can see "Dual Screen" setups using large LCD displays. Especially cool is the tunnel walkway to reach Nintendo's booth...check it out after the jump.
