Gadget and Electronic news and reviews.

Myspace for Blackberrys

Myspace has finally released their Blackberry Myspace App. We’ve been waiting for this app for a while and it comes just before Blackberry releases their touchscreen Storm.  Can’t wait for that.  After installing on my Blackberry Curve all I can say is that it is a huge improvement over the Myspace site optimized for Mobile. These days it seems that Myspace is playing catch up with Facebook in terms of features. Personally I prefer Myspace over Facebook but I have to admit that Facebook’s Blackberry app was kicking Myspace’s buttocks until now.

Circuit City was in the news today again as employees were seen leaving the Circuit City HQ with boxes. It doesn’t look good for Circuit City, they already announced closing 150 stores. Good luck getting a good deal at liquidating stores if you are in the market for a new HDTV everything is sold as is. That means you could get stuck with a nice lemon.

Storm Release Date

Verizon BlackBerry Storm - Corporate Stores Nov. 15th, Best Buy, 16th, Everywhere 17th.
Vodafone BlackBerry Storm- November 11th
Bell BlackBerry Storm - currently slated to launch Nov. 21

There is no software unlock for the 3G Iphone, YET. The only way to unlock your 3G IPHONE is by modifying the SIM Card which could damage your phone. The Iphone-Dev team is working on a software unlock that would let you unlock your Iphone and use it on a different carrier other than AT&T.

Here’s a link to the Iphone-Dev website.

Hulk Blu-Ray

This is a few days old but The Incredible Hulk on Blu-Ray has hit stores.

Check out some features:

The Incredible Hulk

Makers of the popular SlingBox, Slingmedia will publicly launch Sling.com on November 10th. Their new portal will let users watch tv shows and content from providers like CBS, National Geographic, and more. It also lets users connect to their Slingbox. Should be interesting to see what Sling.com has in store for us. You can check out their site to get sneak of what they have in store. Sling.com

Sling.com

Looks sexy, now where is my Slingbox Blackberry software?

There was a time when buying a lightweight laptop was very expensive. You would think that getting a smaller laptop would mean spending less money but that is not the way the laptop industry worked. Lightweight usually meant better materials and engineering which kills your pocket. That all changed when ASUS came out with it’s EEEPC. When ASUS started making really inexpensive and really small laptops they had the rest of the computer manufacturers shaking in their boots and having to adapt.

Introducing the Asus Eee PC 904HA

The Eee PC 904HA is not the first Eee PC that ASUS has created and not the only one you will find on the market. This laptop has some nice features including price. The price tag for the 904HA is under $400 retail.

What do you get for $399?

ASUS Eee PC 904

Weight:

This sucker is light. It’s not the lightest Eee PC around but it’s still 3 pounds. This is good for taking with you on vacations, library, class, Starbucks, long driving trips or commutes. Pretty good choice for going on vacation because it will probably fit in that in room safe and won’t hurt you as bad if it is damaged as much as a $2000 laptop.

Screen:

You get a 8.9 inch screen that does 1024×600 WSVGA screen. While this is good for most, if you have trouble seeing or are used to a large monitor this might not cut it for you. This is one thing where you really have to see a laptop up close to get an idea of how it will display fonts and web pages. Even at the $400 price this might be a deal breaker for some. If you can view a small screen ok then this will be fine for you.

Network:

One of the good things about the 904HA is that is comes with wireless built in and has an network jack. You can take this to Starbucks or another hotspot and get wireless internet. This doesn’t mean you will get internet everywhere but if that is an issue you can always get tethered modem service from your wireless carrier and connect that Blackberry to the USB port and use it as a modem. This works well for me with Verizon Wireless, but other providers offer this as well.

Power:

It’s $400 what do you expect?  It’s not the fastest laptop in the market and it does come with a skimpy 1 gb of ram. Don’t expect to have a million documents or programs open at one time. It does come with a 160gb hard drive which is pretty good for a laptop this size.

Battery:

ASUS claims that the battery life is a good 5.9 hours but in real world situations you can expect less. This one really is dependent on your power settings, and usage.

Extras:

Als included is a 1.3 Megapixel Webcam which you might or might not use.

What’s Missing:

Bluetooth, CD Rom, DVD.

Summary:

Overall this laptop is a great gift for a younger person on the go or a young child who is learning how to use a computer. The reason I say younger person is due to the screen size. Unless you have great vision and seeing the screen is not a problem I wouldn’t recommend this laptop for a older person. It does make for a great travel laptop.

Box Contents: Asus Eee PC 904HA, 6-Cell Battery Pack, AC Power (120-240v), Sleeve Case; Software Bundle: Windows XP Home, Microsoft Works, 1-Year Limited Warranty

• Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz Processor
• 1 GB DDR2 RAM
• 160 GB Hard Drive
• 8.9″ LCD (1024 x 600) WSVGA Display
• Intel UMA Graphics Card
• 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera
• WiFi 802.11b/g Wireless
• 10/100Mbps LAN
• Hi-Definition Audio Speakers and Microphone
• Memory Card Slot - MultiMedia Card (MMC), Secure Digital (SD) Card, SDHC
• Connections: 3 x USB, VGA, Headphone, Microphone, RJ-45 (LAN)
• Approximate Unit Dimensions: 10.47″ (W) x 7.53″ (D) x 1.12″ ~ 1.50″ (H)
• Approximate Unit Weight: 3.09 Pounds

Directv will soon be providing 1080p movies for subscribers if your receiver supports it.  It will be interesting to see how well Directv does with 1080p content. Verizon Fios seems better suited to serve up Full High Definition 1080p content. Directv does a pretty good job of offerring up high definition channels in 1080i/720p so it will be nice to see 1080p movies without having to buy a Blu Ray movie.

Here is a cool Blackberry Storm video that shows you some of the features of the first touchscreen phone by Blackberry. Looks like a Blackberry Iphone to me.

Apple sent out an invitation to media to announce product information focusing on laptops. The press conference starts at 1:00 PM EST / 10:00 AM PST. Should be interesting to get official word from Apple on what they have planned for their laptop lineup. Shopping season is right around the corner and there is no one better than Apple at building hype and buzz about their products. Gotta love Steve Jobs for his creativity in selling a product.

Live coverage of the event can be found:

Gizmodo

Engadget