First Android-based Phone Hits the Market

It's been close to a year since we first learned of Google's Android mobile OS, and T-Mobile today becomes the first provider out the door with a product. The T-Mobile G1 features a 3.17" screen supporting a resolution of 480x320, WiFi and Bluetooth and support for GMS, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS and HSDPA. The unit itself isn't that much bigger than the screen at 4.6" x 2.16" x 0.62". It weighs 5.6 ounces.

Being a Google-driven OS, the device comes pre-loaded with Google Maps and YouTube applications, so finding your way around town or watching an online video is a simple proposition. Although not launched yet, Google will unveil an "Android Market", similar to the iPhone Apps Store and the similar offering Microsoft also has in the works. It will allow users to purchase whatever apps they please, and even develop their own if they so choose.

Unlike most mobile phones out there, Android is an open-OS, and developing applications for it is simple as long as your preferred language is Java. It requires Google's own Java libraries, but those are pre-loaded, and the SDK is also easy to come by. Though I don't have particular interest in this phone myself, yet, I look forward to seeing whether or not it will take off. It's just too bad that right now it's locked into a single provider.

Another direct shot is taken at Apple in the form of a dedicated Amazon MP3 Music Store application designed for Android. Customers will have access to over six million DRM free songs starting at just $0.89 each. Customers will be able to download the songs directly to the G1, but a WiFi connection is required for over the air downloads.

Source: DailyTech

NVIDIA's CEO Doesn't See Fab Ownership in Near-Future

If there's one man with a lot to say, it's NVIDIA's CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang. Taiwan-based DigiTimes had the opportunity to sit down with Jen-Hsun and pick his brain over current NVIDIA issues and to see what he plans to see happen with the company in the future. A lot of what's said has been known for a while, but he does well to reaffirm his stance on certain issues.

When questioned about the mobile GPU debacle, Jen-Hsun gave the same line he's been giving for a while... that the company has been more than adamant in working to get the issue fixed. He mentioned that NVIDIA is willing to pay far more than what the chip is worth to have them replaced, so it's hard to fault the company here. The problem shouldn't have happened in the first place, but at least it appears consumers can get their notebook fixed without issue, or cost.

Also in the interview he's questioned about fabs, and whether or not NVIDIA will ever own one. Jen-Hsuan strongly suggests that they don't need one given their current success, but it doesn't seem he's ruling it out completely. He does assure that TMSC and UMC will remain partners for the next few years at least. The interview covers quite a variety of subjects, so it's worth a read if you want to get caught up with NVIDIA happenings.

However, I would like to comment on Intel's push to using x86 architecture for GPUs. High-end graphics technology is not something you can achieve by just stepping through the door. Intel's hope of changing the whole GPU industry is not going to be something easily achieved.

Source: DigiTimes

Intel's Core i7 Stock CPU Cooler Revealed

With Intel's Core i7 launch right around the corner (~2 months), it's about time we get a glimpse of the CPU cooler we'll be receiving with the retail product, right? Well, someone on a Chinese forum was lucky enough to score what appears to be a retail packaging (minus the graphics) and also the completely revamped cooler.

As you can see in the image below, the new cooler doesn't change the overall design, but it appears thin copper fins replace the somewhat-thicker aluminum ones on the previous models. The fan itself is also larger and lacks a "guard" of sorts and happens to be completely clear. Overall, it looks rather sharp and should be a huge improvement over what we've seen before.

I still have to gripe about the use of the thumb-mounts, though. I know I'm not alone in thinking that these are less-than-ideal and only result in sore thumbs, but they continue to be used not only on Intel's own coolers, but some others as well. The benefit of the thumb-mounts is of course ease-of-installation, but when your thumbs are sore afterwards, is it even worth it?

Whether or not this cooler will be included with all of the Core i7 models, or just the higher-end models is yet to be seen. It shouldn't be too much longer before we find out.

Source: Mobile 01 (Chinese Forum), Via: Fudzilla

Activision Suing Game Pirates

According to a few reports making the rounds this week, it's not a good day to be a game pirate, especially if it's Activision who has you in their sights. The reports note that the game publisher has been quietly suing individuals for a while, although the first case to become really well-known has just come to light, which is the case of James R. Strickland of New York.

James has been sued by Activision for distributing Call of Duty 3 for the Xbox 360 on file-sharing sites, and the publisher is demanding between $30,000 - $150,000 per infringement, on top of reimbursement of legal fees. Ouch. It's not just the RIAA out there who have asinine demands, it seems.

It's important to note that the cases so far haven't dealt with downloaders themselves, but rather the people who've ripped the game and uploaded it to distribute. However, it wouldn't be surprising to see the lawsuits shift to the downloaders themselves, as the publishers will want to get the point across somehow.

According to Activision, the alleged infringement was "willful and intentional, in disregard of and indifference to the rights of Plaintiff." Activision is seeking statutory damages ranging from $30,000 to $150,000 for each infringement of each copyrighted videogame. They are also seeking reimbursement of legal fees.

Source: Edge, Via: DailyTech

Adobe Announces Creative Suite 4, Adds GPU Support to Photoshop

It seems like those colorful boxes we know as CS3 just came out... but it was actually a year-and-a-half ago. I have to wonder... what in the world did I do in the past eighteen months?! Well, that's not important. What is, is that Adobe has officially announced Creative Suite 4, with its launch to occur within the next few weeks.

Like CS3, CS4 will come in a variety of "packs", such as Design Premium, Design Standard, Master Collection, Production Premium, et cetera. Individual applications can of course be purchased also, but if you use two or more applications that are found in any of the collections, you are bound to get a lot more for your money by going that route. The largest bundle of them all, Master Collection, retails for $2,500 and includes a staggering sixteen different applications.

It would take at least ten pages to explain all that's new, but for most who read this site, one of the most notable features is GPU support in Photoshop. With the help of the incredible acceleration, editing photos should take less time overall, but it's hard to say at this point what kind of operation would benefit most. Right now the support seems to only be in Photoshop, but it's definitely a start.

You can read all of what's new on the official site.

Broad Integration and Efficiency Improve Creative Workflow Adobe Creative Suite 4 offers unprecedented choice among editions and stand-alone products, with comprehensive support for the most cutting-edge workflows for virtually any design discipline. Customers can choose from six suites or full version upgrades of 13 stand-alone applications, including Photoshop CS4, Photoshop CS4 Extended, InDesign CS4, Illustrator CS4, Flash CS4 Professional, Dreamweaver CS4, After Effects CS4, and Adobe Premiere Pro CS4.

Source: Adobe Press Release, Via: Gizmodo

Leica's 37 Megapixel D-SLR Leaked Ahead of Photokina

When you hear the name "Leica", what's the first thing to spring to mind? If you're a regular shooter of point-and-shoot cameras, you might think of your lens, since the name is extremely popular in that area. If you take things a little more seriously, you probably think of the company's quaint M-series... modestly-sized cameras that do well to invoke some serious creativity and also features some of the highest-quality glass around.

What? You mean you don't immediately think of a 37 megapixel D-SLR? Don't worry, no one else did either. But, it's been leaked ahead of the Photokina trade show and already you can see people drooling. The S-series camera's sensor falls between in between a full frame and medium format, and delivers a resolution most commonly seen on Hasselblads, but even those are physically larger.

The leaked article doesn't mention a price tag, but you can be sure it's going to be far out of the reach of many. Even the lens, at f/2.5 70mm is sure to carry a price tag that could almost buy another pro D-SLR. Other features include saving to the DNG open format, a three-inch LCD, high ISO support and the hope that we'll begin to see other such Leica D-SLRs in the near-future.

"We realised that many professionals work with medium format but also keep another camera - a Canon or Nikon - for location work. We wanted to make something to occupy that middle ground. A camera that would give the quality of medium format and the handling and flexibility of 35mm."

Source: Leica Rumors, Via: Engadget

Best Buy Imitates Customer, Refuses Sale Price

Is it just me, or are the majority of customer service horror-stories tied to Best Buy? It's not much surprise to me, because I have enough experience with their Canadian-equivalent, Futureshop, and if anyone out there has ever gone to either and have nothing bad to say about the company, then you are either very lucky, or have the patience of zen master.

The latest story comes courtesy of the Consumerist, where one consumer decided to take advantage of a deal on the Best Buy website that offered 2GB PNY flash drives for $2.50. Despite the apparent pricing error, the customer received a confirmation in the e-mail that said he could go to the store to pick up the five that he ordered.

Well, this story really has to be read to be fully-appreciated, because the management at this particular Best Buy actually makes the management at all other Best Buy's look like saints. Imagine a manager who calls up customer service pretending to be you. Yeah, it was that bad. One more reason to resist all urges to ever look in the store again...

To top it all off, he then takes my printed receipts from my emails and calls 1-800-Best Buy from the store and tells the CRS that "I" wanted to cancel my order and that it shouldn't have been picked. After 30 minutes of arguing with this person, while he is on the phone I tell him that I wanted to talk to the CSR and he refused to let me speak.

Source: Consumerist

Tech Roundup - September 23, 2008

• DFI Auto Boost System (ABS) Investigated - TweakTown
• Gigabyte EP45-DQ6 - Motherboards.org
• Gigabyte GC230D Atom Mini-ITX - TechSpot

• ASUS GeForce EN9800GT 512MB - Think Computers
• GeCube RADEON HD 3650 O.C. and Point Of View 9600 GSO/GT EXD - Digit-Life
• LG W3000H - Technic3D
• Sapphire HD4670 in Crossfire - Pro-Clockers
• Sapphire Radeon HD4670 - ClubOC
• Sapphire Toxic HD 4870 - Pro-Clockers
• Video Card Roundup - September 2008 - Overclockers Club

• Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB Retail and RAID Testing - PC Perspective
• Verbatim 160GB FireWire/USB Portable Hard Drive - Test Freaks

• Danger Den Tower 26 - Bjorn3D
• iStarUSA HDD Docking Station + HDD Reader - Virtual-Hideout
• Sunbeam UFO Acrylic Cube Case - MikhailTech
• Thermaltake Toughpower 1000Watt Power Supply - Ninjalane

• Apple iPod Nano 16GB - Digital Trends
• Roku Netflix Player - TheTechLounge