The Samsung Slate Netbook is definitely one of the best netbooks I’ve seen on the market so far for three main reasons.
The Price
It’s only $299 and that isn’t bad at all for a netbook from Samsung. Especially when you take into account what this netbook has to offer. This price is well within reach for students and home owners alike so I can see this being a popular Christmas present.
Looks
I think you already know what I’m going to say. It’s the slate blue casing isn’t it? It just looks fantastic with the white keyboard and base. It’s not shiny, rather it has a matt finish and rounded corners. Stunning.
The Specs
It has 1Gb of ram and a 1.66Ghz processor. The screen has a matt finish to avoid glare and it has a 160 Gb hard drive. Windows XP SP3 is also installed when the netbook ships. The six hour battery life may also be something that attracts you to this model.
Definitely a netbook that you should consider wrapping up and putting under the tree this year.
Im not exactly too sure if this should be on Crenk but it is a very interesting piece of technology that I thought a lot of our readers might be interested in. For a long time now a cushioned trainer has long been the most important part of any wardrobe.
This new concept is basically a running sock. The aim is to provide the runner with a great deal of cushioning while at the same time allow the runner to feel like they have the control of being barefoot. The FiveFingers brand has been getting a lot of press in the USA recently and they were even named one of the best inventions by Time magazine back in 2007.
There has been a lot of talk about the FiveFingers on Twitter in which one tweeter even wrote:
Just got a pair of Vibram FiveFingers – I think my whole running world is about to change.
The ultra-thin socks made from hard-wearing neoprene are said to help prevent injuries including ankle sprains and sore knees and sell for around £80. They are like gloves for feet that basically give the sensation of being barefoot while still protecting the skin.
Vibram says sales of the ’shoes’ have tripled every year since they were first launched back in 2006. It expects to make $10million from sales in North America this year.
There has been a lot of news from Skype lately, Skype new headset, Skype Windows and iPhone improvements, and Skype 4.0 release. Just to jump on the bandwagon Skype has now released their 2.8 version for the Mac. This new version brings two totally new and unique features namely Screen sharing and Skype Access.
Screen Sharing is a key new feature in Skype client for the Mac which allows one easily to see/share all or a portion of their desktop with another Skype user during a call. And for those on the move, Skype Access allows them to pay for Wi-Fi hotspots using their credit.
More new features include:
Improved chat management
Quick Add
Mood message chat
Larger profile pictures
Hidden avatars in incoming contact requests
Add notes to contacts
To download this new version of Skype, simply head over to the Skype website.
There are so many Twitter sponsored tweets businesses popping up all over the net at the moment. The first players were Be-A-Magpie, but im still yet to see much of an adoption for this service. The newest player in the market is SponsoredTweets. SponsoredTweets is a service that does exactly what it says on the box and it is bough to you by the slight dodgy team over at Izea. Izea have launched many services that have caught the eye of the blogosphere and SponsoredTweets is no different.
SponsoredTweets allows early adopters to currently signup and via a special URL (click here for the URL), and then choose whether they want to get paid per tweet or per click. Currently the service is only picking up as many twitter users as possible and they will soon be launching the platform to advertisers.
Im really not too sure if sponsored tweets actually works, because most twitter users dont like sponsored tweets in general, but it is kind of appealing to advertisers. Only time will tell.
Arvind Bhatia, analyst from Sterne Agee, has an stunning prediction for Play Station 3: it is expected a considerable price drop by $100.
Hard to believe? Here’s his opinion: “Industry sources indicate Sony is planning a $100 price cut on the PS3 in mid-August, just prior the launch of Madden (8/18) and the start of the back to school shopping season. This will naturally be a positive for the industry.”
I’m sure that, if this is happening, will make a very important hit in the market, considering previous reports about Blu-Ray high insertion level among users making this a “here to stay” media format. Adding to the mix, the leaked photos that appeared that, could be, the new slim model for PS3:
How are other consoles going to compete with that? Xbox it’s ready to make a similar price cut and maintain the price difference with PS3?
McAfee has just released a new product within the family security and safety: McAfee Family Protection. This is a response OnlineFamily.Norton that was released previously by Symantec. Both suites are very similar and a very clear purpouse idea: control and monitor the content that is browse/download in your home PCs.
Block websites according different categories (over 35 by default) and content filtering.
Blocking applications.
Block unpermitted YouTube videos.
Measure the internet time for each user or PC.
Email and text alerts to notify when some configured rule is trying to be break.
Monitoring and recording IM conversations and social networking sites.
As the rest of this type of products, it highly depends on a internet connection to validate latests changes in blocked categories and even uses a remote server to validate date and time (this way, if you have restriction accordin to a time window when your childrens can use internet, modifying system clock wont help avoiding this rule).
The cost it is based for three computers at $39.99.
It is a nice price for a security suite that can help you a lot with content filtering, as well as monitoring the type of information that your family is using.
Here at Crenk we are testing out a new product called Wibiya. Wibiya provides a tool bar in which you can see at the bottom of the Crenk, which easily allows our readers to navigate through our site and share articles they think are news worthy. Currently, Wibiya is in private beta testing but we thought we would preview their toolbar and see what our readers thought of their product.
Once you head over to Wibiya and get accepted into their beta program you are able to easily and quickly setup your toolbar.
You can first select the style of toolbar in which they have an option of about 20 to choose from. After that you can choose which additions you want to to add to the toolbar itself, twitter, facebook, recent posts, random posts, etc.
Once you have setup your toolbar you can simple add it to your wordpress, typepad or any other site with only one line of code. This is great for the blog owners who dont know too much about php or html.
Once everything is setup and your toolbar is running then Wibiya also provide some great stats on usage of your toolbar.
We are only testing the toolbar on Crenk for a limited time, and because it is in private beta we wanted to provide everyone a chance to see it and even use it. Any feedback would be great!
In this autumn Sony will be releasing the new PSP version: PSP Go! And again, the gamer community has a lot of expectation with this new toy that will include several improvements from the earlier version.
Some of them:
~ 43% lighter. The previous version didn’t feel like too heavy, but if this one is lighter, even better.
Versions with 8/16 gb internal memory.
3.8-inch screen. It is not a touch-screen if you want to ask. Maybe we can expect that feature on next version.
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support.
Games announced so far: Little Big Planet, Jak & Daxter, Gran Turismo and Metal Gear Solid.
Price: So far, Unknown. But it should be around $250 or $300, don’t you think?
Most of this information it is not “official” and we are expecting the response from Sony any moment now. Considering that not only all this data has been revealed (leaked or not), there was also photos of this new model (Eurogamer photo gallery).
And this interview from Sony Qore with John Koller:
They sure will be insisting on having this PSP as the portable PS3. And I love that!
Bing is the new search engine by Microsoft which was due to launch on the 3rd of June, but for some reason it has launched today!
After using the service for the last ten minutes or so there seems to be do real major difference between Live.com and Bing.com. Search results are still terrible and it is really only the interface that has improved and only slightly.
I cant see Bing in its current form taking any search share from Google. In fact I think in its current form it is probably going to do the opposite and give Google more share of the market. Im amazed that Microsoft cant get a good search algorhythm and that Google are just so far ahead in actually providing quality results.
Microsoft really seems to just lack originality when it comes to search and the majority of their online products. MSN has never really done too much, Windows media player is completely outdated and hotmail needs a revamp but never seems to change much, now bing is the search engine that couldnt.
It would be great to hear your thoughts on the new Bing search engine. The best example of the results is that I searched ‘Crenk’ and the our own website came up 9th! Terrible!
Microsoft just announced that they are releasing a new product: Zune HD, that will be available in the US this fall.
This will be the first portable device that will include a built-in HD Radio Receiver, HD video, OLED touch screen, WiFi and Internet browser.
Here’s a quick look for what’s coming:
Zune HD comes with a built-in HD Radio receiver so users can listen to higher-quality sound than traditional radio on the go. Users also will have access to the additional song and artist data broadcast by HD Radio stations as well as additional channels from their favorite stations multicasting in HD. If you don’t like the song playing on your station’s HD channel, switch to its HD2 or HD3 channels for additional programming.
The bright OLED touch screen interface allows users to flip through music, movies and other content with ease, and the 16:9 widescreen format display (480×272 resolution) offers a premium viewing experience on the go.
The HD-compatible output lets Zune HD customers playback supported HD video files from the device through a premium high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) audiovisual docking station (sold separately) direct to an HD TV in 720p.
Zune HD will include a full-screen Internet browser optimized for multitouch functionality.
Zune HD is Wi-Fi enabled, allowing for instant streaming to the device from the more than 5 million-track Zune music store.
And from where you can access the HD videos? From Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace. Take notice that the HD TV will be 720p, not in 1080p.
Well indeed this is a great news to the market, that has been for several years now completely dominated by Apple and their iPod versions. When the MP3 player Zune made the appearance we all knew that it was too late to compete with Apple, several rumors appeared since then that the Zune will be removed entirely from the market. But know, they are striking back with a nice piece of device.
What do you think? Can Zune take an important place in the market now? Or the market will wait for the iPod HD?
We all know that the Vista big buzz that was made by Microsoft a few years back didn’t pay off as they expected and the great response received by Windows 7 beta users it is already generating a lot of expectations among all users.
Those expectations translates in a lot of curiosity, information and builds leaked around the web. This time the turn is for the official Windows 7 logo and some other features that appeared in Stephen Chapman’s blog, including a presentation template and the OS primary typeface.
Check them out:
Windows 7 green logo
Presentation template used for Windows 7
Primary typeface: Segoe Light
I know having a few logos and stuff it’s not a big deal, but these are all the small things that people keeps caring about. Most of Windows “power users” are strongly deciding about choosing Windows 7 instead of Vista. Tons and tons of Vista migrations were already canceled and companies are deciding to wait to this new OS that has shown so far much better performance and in most cases (like mine) even more stability.
Produle is a software as a service (hosted) solution which allows users to create flash based applications online and then distribute them. Produle has some great features and benefits including no installation, automatic updates, global availability, cross-platform (works under PC, Mac and Linux). Moreover users can design and publish flash apps with no time consuming compilation or uploading, it’s just instant.
Produle can be used for a wide range of projects including widgets, banners, promos, animations, product guides, data apps, presentations, user interfaces for web services and any other possible interactive web content. Since the applications will have no persistent produle branding, they can be fully customized to suit your needs.
Produle is a great tool for new flash developers because of it easy of use. However, options don’t seem to be as interactive as other widget tools in the market at the moment such as Sprout Builder.
The Samsung Slate Netbook is definitely one of the best netbooks I’ve seen on the market so far for three main reasons.
There has been a lot of news from 
Arvind Bhatia, analyst from 
McAfee has just released a new product within the family security and safety: 
In this autumn Sony will be releasing the new PSP version: PSP Go! And again, the gamer community has a lot of expectation with this new toy that will include several improvements from the earlier version.
Microsoft just announced that they are releasing a new product: 
We all know that the Vista big buzz that was made by Microsoft a few years back didn’t pay off as they expected and the great response received by Windows 7 beta users it is already generating a lot of expectations among all users.
