specs

New leaked documents suggest all the Droid Eris grumblings we've heard were true: it should launch November 6, and it will supposedly run $99 after rebate. That's pretty cheap considering it matches the specs of the $180 Hero.

What we've heard about the HTC Eris being a slightly reshaped Hero is pretty much right. The spec sheet claims it's packing a 528MHz Qualcomm, a 320x480 screen, and Android 1.5, exactly what you'll get in the Hero. There's also mention of a bundled 8GB MicroSD card. Guess I shouldn't have expected a 16GB … Read more

Here we go again. The gadget blogosphere is abuzz Wednesday with images of what may or may not be Microsoft's next-generation portable media player, the ZuneHD.

The renderings surfaced on the Windows Mobile Power User site without attribution or the more colorful flair of the earlier images leaked to Engadget on April 10. The big debate, of course, is whether these renderings are real or not--and more importantly, whether the accompanying specs have any validity.

Based on a source from Zunited, Engadget's saying the images really are the ZuneHD, but no one's quite buying that the alleged … Read more

Dell is back with a slimmed down version of its fully rugged 14-inch laptop.

Like the company itself, the XFR's second-gen improvements on the device are incremental and in some cases, slightly experimental. The E6400 XFR is the name of what used to be the Latitude XFR D630. The laptop gets an internal tuneup, boasting better processing power (Intel Core2Duo), discrete graphics enabled by better cooling. The new XFR also keeps most of its original features: touch screen, a solid-state drive, mobile broadband, GPS, and long battery life. In this case, Dell says an additional battery pack will keep the laptops going for up to 13 hours.

The XFR is strengthened by a new exterior material the PC maker is calling Ballistic Armor, which replaces the magnesium alloy used in its other laptops. It's allowed the machine to be trimmed down--it's now 8.5 pounds instead of 9 pounds--and also strengthened: it meets military specifications for ruggedness and can withstand a 4-foot drop rather than 3.

Ballistic Armor was developed by a partner company and licensed exclusively to Dell. It's a hybrid, nonmetal polymer designed to better absorb shocks and withstand the elements. That Dell is experimenting with different materials is intended to signal its willingness to try new things and focus on creating different options for targeted customers.

In this case, that's military contractors, government, and utility company field workers, law enforcement, and other groups that are not known for being particularly gentle with their computers. … Read more

If CDs really are on their way out, Sony is ready with their replacement: Blu-spec CDs.

Although details about the new format, launched in Japan in November, are somewhat scant, we do know that users won't need a new player for Blu-spec CDs.

"The Blu-spec CD format boasts a new approach to the faithful reproduction of music by utilizing the leading-edge blue laser diode technologies optimized for the manufacturing of Blu-ray," according to CDJapan. The new discs' polycarbonate plastic, optimized for Blu-ray discs, is used "to ensure accurate reading of the data."

Sony doesn't … Read more

Sometime earlier this week, Apple updated its least expensive notebook.

Engadget noticed Wednesday that the white $999 MacBook was slightly--and quietly--upgraded. It now has a newer Intel processor (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo), 2GB of memory, integrated graphics (Nvidia GeForce 9400M), and a faster frontside bus, now 1,066 MHz.

Besides that, almost everything else remains the same. But at $999, it's now much closer to its more expensive, unibody-constructed MacBook cousins.

This free utility brings all of your system's information under one roof for quick and easy access. For all the information that it holds, we were impressed with how easy it was to navigate.

System Spec opens with a well-designed user interface. Menu options and command buttons run across the top of the window, and your PC's information resides in the window below and in separate windows that appear when you click a command button. Initially, we found the windows a little difficult to resize because they ran off the screen, but eventually, we got them situated. All … Read more

Whoops. It looks like Canon's China site accidentally posted specs for the company's upcoming Canon 50D dSLR, which seems all but confirmed. The Web page that the specs were on has been taken down, but the Photography Bay grabbed them before it disappeared. The biggest highlights include a 15.1-megapixel CMOS sensor (yes, you heard right, 15), ISO 100-12,800, and a 920,000 points VGA 3.0-inch LCD monitor.

No word on price, when the 50D will actually be available, or whether it will replace the 40D--but stay tuned.

Find the full leaked specs at Photography Bay. … Read more

A future product from electronics maker Philips could make it easier for the visually impaired to detect moving objects in daily life.

According to New Scientist, Philips has filed a patent for a movement-detection system, including a pair of glasses that will use a camera and accelerometers to distinguish between stationary and mobile objects.

The smart specs would work with a computer to spot obstacles, while an orientation sensor worn on the body would tell the computer about the wearer's movement. To help the user navigate, the device would also provide audio signals notifying them of moving objects.

The … Read more

Crave has often mused on the pathetic flimsiness of modern gadgetry. But in a world where waterproof means splashproof and ruggedized means you'd better not drop it, there's all the more reason to celebrate tech that just won't die.

Whatever the reason for its survival, the technology we've collected here deserves enormous credit. It's coped with years of abuse and thousands of meters of cumulative drops, but it continues to operate as well as it did on the day it emerged from the factory. Click here to view the collection.

(Source: Crave UK)