At this stage I’m getting fed up. Every day I open my inbox there are a dozen e-mails from colleagues and readers of the
various publications I write for including Crenk asking about the news or a new product. There’s always at least one talking about the supposed upcoming Mac Tablet.
‘What do you reckon will be included?’, they ask.
Honestly, I’m nowhere near 100% certain. Obviously you’d have a touch screen QWERTY keyboard, media centre of some sort and maybe even fingerprint recognition (I believe Apple have patented that idea).
In truth, only the bigwigs at Apple could tell us. And even then they would probably just numb our brains with pre-release jargon so we all buzz around the internet still asking ‘Ohh, what could it be?!’
My reason for writing this post is clear and simple. I want to know what you would like in a Mac tablet. Send us in your thoughts, opinions and ravings here at Crenk. Either leave a comment below of tell us on the Crenk Twitter.
They could be about anything – ‘when will it be released?’, ‘what features will it have?’, ‘how much will it cost?’, ‘what will it look like?’ and so on. I look forward to reading your replies.
A Dell smartphone has been a long-standing rumor, and now we’ve finally seen solid evidence. In addition to the two blurry photographs in the gallery, there are some specs available.
Dell’s Mini 3i smartphone operates on GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks, over which it can send instant messages (Google, Yahoo!, AIM and MSN) and e-mails. A virtual QWERTY keyboard lets you type those messages efficiently, though a physical one would have been preferred, of course.
Other specs include a 3.5-inch 640 x 360 display, a 3-megapixel camera with auto-focus, flash, and video capturing capability, AGPS, Bluetooth, and Microsoft Exchange support. Unfortunately evidence only points to a Chinese release for the Mini 3i.
Previously here at Crenk we have talked a lot about the upcoming Zune HD. We have mentioned the new features on the Zune HD as well as the inclusion of Nvidia Tegra and other features.
Today Microsoft officially announced that the Zune HD would launch on September 15th, 2009 in two models differing only in storage capacity: 16 GB for $219.99 and 32 GB for $289.99, confirming the leaks and rumors of the previous few days. Pre-orders began on August 13th.
Il-Gu Cha’s Trace of Time clock incorporates a whiteboard-esque erasable face and an eraser built into the hour hand – See a video of it in action here.
Over at Behance they have been producing some amazing ideas for a long time and I thought I would share one of my favourite designs. This design is called the iView. The iView is the next step in LCD for professionals, the first screen with two distinctive characteristics: a double panoramic screen with a unique curvature accompanying the natural eye curvature and movement.
Eliminate the use of two screens to achieve a larger work area. The use of dual screen, strategically put together side by side, originates areas where the visibility is hindered, not only by the proximity, but by the high perspective created by the curve-free plans, as well. With the iView you will get no undesired reflections, remarkably increased working flow and with the presence of all the commands and working plans in one big area, you can now drag them around or zoom them in or out, without any of the usual unnecessary physical interruptions or adjustments.
Get “another” view of you project. The large double screen iView comprises in its back another practical innovation – an extra LCD – extremely useful for both colleges and assistants. It allows them to follow your work in progress, without any effort, which instantly increases the creative exchange.
The product has wireless internet and the only cable it requires is for electric. The iView has two web-cams, one at the front and another at the back.
Samsung is taking some serious efforts to cater to the needs of the people concerned about the environment and to the growing needs of more environment friendly products. The company has recently launched an environment friendlymobile handset, dubbed the Reclaim. The eco-friendly handset is made from 80% recyclable material and would be available with Sprint.
Samsung makes use of corn and other bio-materials to make the handset’s outer casing and other parts. Even the images and text on the box and the warranty card are made from soy-ink. The charger is no doubt Energy Star rated which ensures the highest energy standards set by U.S. Energy Department. As if the rating was not enough, the charger consumes 12 times less power than the standards set for Energy Star rating. The charger would also have an indication LED for showing full charging and the time to unplug the charger.
“Samsung Reclaim is more than just an eco-friendly device, it’s also a powerful and stylish phone that’s easy-to-use,” said Omar Khan, senior vice president of Strategy and Product Management forSamsung Mobile. “When you combine the Reclaim’s impressive feature set with its bio-plastic hardware and eco-friendly packaging, you’re using a phone that is good for you and the environment.”
The features of the Pre-lookalike includes 3G connectivity, full QWERTY keyboard, 2Mp camera, Bluetooth 2.0, in-built GPS and expandable memory upto 32 GB. The handset also features support for social networking such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube.
For those who don’t care to read the features, Samsung has introduced the handset in Green and Blue colors to communicate an environment friendly look. The handset would be available via Sprint for $50 with a 2 year contract from August 16th. Samsung would also be paying a small amount for every handset sold to The Nature Conservancy’s Adopt an Acre program. The program supports conservation of land across US and many natural habitats across the world.
Sony has released two new eBook readers today which are the Reader Pocket Edition and the Reader Touch Edition. Priced at $199 and $299 respectively, Sony’s new eBook reader duo has been rumored for quite some time now and thanks to a J&R snafu, we even caught the full specs this past Monday.
Leading titles for these readers will be available for purchase on the Sony eBook store from $9.99 to $11.99. Sony has stated that Mac compatibility and wireless eBook downloading a la Kindle are on the horizon.
I still feel that these readers from Sony and others such as the Samsung Pocket eReaders are a long way behind Amazon’s Kindle. The sexiness of the products just arent there!
The team over at Mobile@Mail.ru, have got their hands on the new BL40 from LG. the elongated handset has splashed down and taken a moment to pose for the camera. As you can see the BL40 is touch screen and just looks god dam sexy. I wonder how I can get my hands on this phone!
I’m liking where this new trend of watered-down smart phones is going. Let’s face it. Not all of us want to or indeed can spend a week’s pay on a new smart phone such as the new Nokia N97. Yet many of us still want the cool features such as the touch-screen, 3G and entertainment. Now, many phone makers are slimming down their flagship models to make more affordable compromises for the average Joe.
Samsung did a great job slimming the Tocco down to the Tocco Lite. Now, there are rumours buzzing around the Nokia may have done the same with their new N97 Smartphone.
Pictures, which were nabbed by Engadget show what is being called the N97 Mini. The Picture shows a smaller N97(perhaps around 20-25% smaller) next to its bigger brother. It appears as through the D-Pad has been moved, along with smaller keys grouped closer together.
I’d much prefer to have the Mini rather than the original as long as it still had 3G. Sure I’d be making a cut back in performance and screen size but hey, it’s a recession out there!
Nokia haven’t said much except for just hmm and ahh at these pictures. These rumours were reportedly first uttered by a Vodafone employee on a forum earlier this week. If they are true, we’re in for one heck of a cool phone. But then, this could just be some cheap Chinese knock-off that looks like the N97.
Samsung is looking to become a big player in the e-reader market by producing a new group of pocket sized e-readers. Currently Amazon is a firm player in this market, especially in the USA with its Kindle product. Samsung is hoping to replicate their success but in other markets such as Asia.
The reader comes with a 5 inch screen and no Wi-Fi. It can only hold 2,500 books. Samsung’s e-reader costs $270.
“We seek to become a bigger player than Amazon or Sony in the e-book market,” Samsung Electronics VP Lew Jae-young said at a news conference.
Marina from Hot For Words has just released her new book. It provides a series of words and their origins, but at the same time is also provides just as many photos of her im guessing doing some modeling. Im not really too sure if this is a book or just a mix between a calendar and a down graded version of playboy.
Marina is quickly becoming one of the biggest stars on YouTube while also making a huge amount of appearances on television in the US. It is great to see her doing well and she plays on her look brilliantly. I really do hope she enjoys her success and can actually build on this popularity and provide something of substance, not just be a model with a different angle.
When the Apple iPhone came out there was a massive rush onto the AT&T Network in the US. Now that everything is calming down a little and the world is used to the idea of the iPhone, the other main networks in the US, Verizon and Sprint are at each others throats.
Sprints CEO, Dan Hesse shot down claims by Verizon that Verizon would be getting the Palm Pre sooner than expected. Sprints CEO, who was due to launch the device the next day on his network made firm comments about their exclusivity deal concerning the Palm Pre phone.
He said that “they need to check their facts” and “That just is not the case. Both Palm and Sprint have agreed not to discuss the length of the exclusivity deal. But I can tell you it’s not six months.”
If Verizon go ahead with their aspirations to have the Palm Pre on their network by 2010 then indeed it won’t be six months. It will be seven.
It should come as no huge shock because both carries operate using the same technology and thus they both are ideal to carry the Palm Pre which is seen as one of the main competitors to Apple’s iPhone in the US.
However, I think that Sprint really does need this phone on their network. Thy have developed a bad reputation for poor quality service and bad connections and have worked tirelessly to fix the problem. This phone could be their one shining light. Hesse said “We are very different company than we were 12 months ago,”. “And the Pre is the coming-out party for the new Sprint that shows off our fantastic data network and rate plans.”
Dear Readers,
I’m liking where this new trend of watered-down smart phones is going. Let’s face it. Not all of us want to or indeed can spend a week’s pay on a new smart phone such as the new 
When the 
