HTC debuts new Touch Cruise phone with 'Footprints' geotagging

HTC's got an all-new version of its GPS-centric Touch Cruise handset, with a thinner, slicker design and a new HTC Footprints app for integrating that location data with photos and notes. Of course, the phone doubles as a traditional in-car navigation system, cradle included, with GPS and a-GPS, but there's plenty else to love here, including quad band GSM, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, a microSD slot and a 3.2 megapixel camera. The 2.8-inch QVGA screen betrays this phone's consumer-bent, but the truly notable functionality here is actually in the software: HTC Footprints takes geotagging a step further, allowing to to take notes and audio clips and embed them in a "postcard" of sorts, all still tied to that GPS location data -- the cards are even auto-named by their location. Footprints also works outdoors and indoors, which isn't quite explained, but we're guessing it just remembers where you were when you lost a signal. There's a world-friendly WCDMA / HSPA 900 / 2100MHz version, of course, but us North Americans will be getting the 850 / 1900MHz flavor as a unlocked handset for $500 to $600 in Q2. Check out the read links below for the full PR and some early hands-ons, and there's video after the break.

15.2 megapixel Sony Alpha A800 DSLR rumored

At this point, it's remarkably tough to say how legitimate these claims are, and while we'd wholeheartedly recommend digesting these details with a dose of NaCl, we'd be shortchanging you to not pass 'em on. According to a curious post over at Photofan.jp, Sony is readying an Alpha A800 DSLR (mockup pictured) with a 15.2 megapixel sensor, an ISO range of 200 to 12,800, a new high-speed sync flash, 23 total AF sensors, a fresh metering / AF sensor tracking system and inbuilt WiFi. We're told that the camera will be officially unveiled at PMA 2009 alongside a trio of new lenses -- thankfully, March (and our answer) is less than two months out.

[Via Photography Bay]

Miu has big plans for the new HDPC, if only they had big money to make them come true

The economy is putting the hurt on everybody these days -- and while it's no less true for Miu, the company is working feverishly to release their everything-at-once handheld, despite some serious setbacks in the funding department. Ready to go into production at the drop of a hat (and a $500,000 check), there are currently two versions of the device in development -- the basic Atom-powered netbook / PMP / e-book reader will stay at the $500 price point, while the $900 version is a dual-boot Windows XP / CE device that includes a GPS and a mobile phone. As far as we can tell the thing is still a fist-full of ugly, but we hope these crazy kids make it, and we wish them the very best. We really do.

Forget chocolates, Samsung offers pink NC10 for Valentine gifting

If a pink MSI Wind isn't the way to your significant other's heart, Samsung has an alternative for you in the form of a rose-colored NC10. The similarly-spec'd 10.2-inch netbook sports a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, and Windows XP Home. Additionally, it's got a suspiciously-long 7-hour battery life and anti-germ keyboard. UK retailer dabs has it listed for £316 ($434) with VAT and a February 9 release date. Let's just hope she doesn't lament the color choice come March.

[Via Portable Monkey]

Read - Overclockers product page
Read - Dabs product page

Apricorn introduces 1.5TB DVR Xpander, succeeds at making it ugly

Apricorn's DVR Xpanders have never been the prettiest bunch, but we would've thought a redesign was in order with the introduction of the 1.5TB model. Sadly, our hopes and dreams of a DVR attachment from the outfit that isn't completely heinous have been decidedly crushed, as the latest edition is just as unsightly as prior models. Of course, it can hold up to 187.5 hours of HD content or 843 hours of SD material, not to mention its ability to connect via USB 2.0 or eSATA. So yeah, if all that matters to you is functionality (and not missing a single drama while out on that month-long vacation), we'd say the $239 asking price is totally reasonable.

[Via PCLaunches, thanks Vinit]

The portable, rollable X-mini II speaker gets a refresh

The kids over at CNET have got their hands on the new X-mini II portable speaker for laptops, PMPs, and the like -- and they've been gracious enough to give us the lowdown. The speaker is an update to the X-mini, incrementally larger than its predecessor and packing a 40mm driver. Powered by a rechargeable battery, this bad boy can be juiced up via mini-USB cable (included) and boasts a pretty impressive eleven hours of run time before it needs to be recharged. And if that weren't enough, several of these guys can be daisy chained together -- so if you should find yourself in your dorm room with nothing to amuse yourself but your iPhone, an acoustic guitar, and some Dave Matthews Band MP3s, you can string up a half dozen or so of these things and have an old fashioned grape jam. Look for the speaker sometime in March, with a probable MSRP of $29.

Lowrance rolls out Outback, Safari, Sierra GPS units

Anyone that dreads the thought of needing to take a GPS beyond the comfy confines of their vehicle will likely want to steer clear of these, but the more adventurous out there will no doubt find plenty to like in Lowrance's new trio of GPS units. Appropriately (if unimaginatively) dubbed the Outback, Safari, and Sierra, these each boast 2.7-inch LCDs, along with a microSD card slot, all the usual outdoor-friendly GPS features, and some nifty additions like a barometric altimeter and 3D electronic compass on the higher end models. Look for them to be available in May for between $230 and $550.

Rumor: 10-inch Acer Aspire One to replace 8.9-incher

We're hearing some murmurings today that Acer's planning on replacing its current, 8.9-inch Aspire One with the previously seen 10.1-inch Aspire One (the 103), phasing out the former. The new model will pack a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, and 1GB of RAM, optional 3G, SDHC card slot, and 3 USB ports -- relatively standard fare, to be sure -- though it's going to come in a few sexy colors we sure do like the looks of Sure, Digitimes (the source of this rumor) isn't necessarily the most reliable paper we read in the morning with our coffee, but this particular tidbit doesn't strike us as terribly far-fetched. We'll have to (reportedly) wait until sometime in the second quarter to find out for sure, though. In the meantime: calm down.

Update: This worst-kept secret is now official, with Acer confirming plans to release its rumored 10-incher, but not saying just when or for how much. The confirmed specs are exactly what we expected -- go figure.

[Via Electronista]

Nokia ships half a million 5800 XpressMusic handsets in 30 days

If this were coming from any other mouth, we'd definitely second guess it. As it stands, though, it's hard to dispute the words of Nokia's CEO when it comes to matters involving Nokia. Mr. Olli Pekka Kallasvuo stated rather proudly during the firm's Q4 results call that it had shipped just over 500,000 5800 XpressMusic mobiles (better known as the Tube) in just 30 days. That figure becomes even more impressive when you realize that shipments only occurred in select markets, though it should be noted that "units shipped" and "units sold to end users" could indeed be very different things. Still, half a million in just a month ain't too shabby in today's economy, so here's the kudos you're clearly due, Nokia.

Lian-Li's PC-888: if the Burj Al Arab were a PC chassis

We're not sure what percentage of each PC-888 sale goes straight to the owners of Dubai's Burj Al Arab, but it better be a lot. Lian-Li's latest eye-popping PC chassis looks pretty much exactly like the aforesaid hotel, and it's constructed from a significant amount of blue anodized aluminum. As you can probably tell from just looking, you can fit practically anything you'd ever need (as far as PC internals go) in here, with the case measuring in at 11.6- x 29.1- x 18.1-inches. A price has yet to be publicly disclosed, but a quick search brings up figures in the high $400s. Yeah, ouch.

[Thanks, John]

Microsoft reports $100M decline in Zune revenue

Microsoft's newly-announced layoffs and declining profits aren't the only bad news in Redmond -- according to the company's quarterly statements, Zune platform revenue decreased $100 million, or 54 percent compared to the same quarter last year, due to falling device sales. Mega-ouch. Not all is doom and gloom for the Entertainment and Devices Division, which continues to be profitable with a $151 million haul: Xbox 360 and PC platform revenue increased six percent ($135 million) to $2.2 billion. Meanwhile, Apple saw a three percent increase in iPod sales over the same period, so we're anxious to see what Microsoft has planned for reviving the social.

[Thanks, Jason Wong]

MSI's Wind U120 netbook is go for purchase

The Wind U120 has been drifting around for months now in the minds of undersized laptop aficionados, and being that you've already heard it talked up, seen it ripped apart and perused a gallery full of hands-on images, all's that left to do is break out the plastic. Yeah, we know -- $469.99 is tough to hand over even for a rather respectable 10-inch netbook, but at least you get a six-cell battery, right?

[Thanks, Abigail]

Nokia ships one millionth 5800 XpressMusic, does a little dance

Okay, so we're going on the assumption that the 500,000 figure uttered by Nokia CEO Olli Pekka Kallasvuo during this week's Q4 earnings call was a touch old -- you know, considering that the outfit is now trumpeting the shipment of a cool million. Following a (very!) successful UK launch, Nokia has just shipped its one millionth Tube, which is the handset maker's first mass market touchscreen device. And to think -- it hasn't even debuted in many corners of the globe yet.

Palm: lack of microSD slot on the Pre purely a "design" decision

Palm Product Manager Matt Crowley is holding a week-long Q&A session about the Pre on Facebook, and some pretty interesting discussions are taking place. Most interestingly, so far, is Crowley's answer when questioned about the (for many) cringe-inducing lack of a microSD slot on the company's much-hyped device in-the-making: "Design was the highest goal on the Palm Pre project. The phone has to look and function great in the hand and up against the face on a call. The decision to include or not include expandable storage is an easy one when design is the highest priority. The physical size of the device would have been compromised if we added another physical component to Pre. Just a millimeter can seriously impact the curvature of the design in a way that minimizes the design intent. We wanted to maintain a slick curved slider design without building out too much thickness. When you look at the two parts of the product and see how thin they really are, you may be amazed that we were able to fit everything in. And yes, all the stuff does fit." Now, we're pretty into the design of the Pre, but this kind of strikes us as a lame answer. Regardless, you can toss your own questions into the ring until January 28th.

[Via Palm Infocenter]

T-Mobile G1 moves beyond 3G markets, available everywhere tomorrow

At launch, T-Mobile took the cautious route and launched its G1 in 3G markets alone (and when we say "cautious route" we mean "they didn't have enough to go around"). Times, though, they are a changin' -- and as of tomorrow, anyone within driving, walking, or bicycling range of a T-Mobile USA store or "eligible" partner store will be able to pick up their own little slice of Google history. Of course, EDGE customers could've always ordered one online, but it's nice to be able to see the colors in person -- because, you know, the "bronze" might not be exactly what you expected.

Gateway ZX2300 all-in-one looks to give Eee the bum's rush

In a move that Acer is hoping will both increase its subsidiary's status in its native country and give the Eee Top a run for its money, Gateway's new all-in-one PC is set to hit Taiwan sometime in the near future. The Windows XP Home-based ZX2300 rocks an 18.5-inch screen up front with a 16:9 aspect ration and a 1366 x 768 resolution. Under the hood you can expect to find an AMD Athlon 2650e processor with 1GB memory, 160GB storage, Wi-Fi, webcam, and a Lightscribe DVD burner. No word on a street date, but lucky folks in Taiwan can expect to pay $17900 (NT) -- roughly $530 (US). Full specs after the break.

Custom 'Resident Evil 5' Xbox 360 bundle on the way?

"The Mole" -- a favorite Ars Technica source for all things game related -- has some curiosity-piquing info on the possibility of a Resident Evil 5-themed Xbox 360 headed to market. So says the site's Deep Throat, not only will a demo version of the game come to US Xboxen first (a move that must seriously unnerve Sony), but following the sneak-peak will be an RE5 package hardcore fans should die for. Literally. According to Ars, the bundle will include a custom red Xbox (with matching controller), a copy of Resident Evil 5, a special NXE RE5 theme, and a bonus Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD download. Of course, this is pure rumor right now, but if this package comes to fruition, we can bet on at least a few zombie-loving members of the Engadget staff getting in line when it hits shelves. Make it happen, people.

How would you change HP's Firebird gaming rigs?

After arguably the biggest hype-fest of late 2008, HP's Firebird with VoodooDNA was revealed as Rahul Sood's ambitious little secret. The miniaturized gaming rigs began shipping out during CES, and we've no doubt that a few of you with space constraints and a lust of high frame rates have already chomped on the bullet. So, does the machine live up to the hype? Is it worth the asking price? What features weren't included that should have been? Has it handled your gaming demands with ease? Feel free to sound off below -- who knows, maybe Mr. Sood will tune in and hear you out.

RAmos T10 ikiss PMP looks pretty good, probably stole its outfit

Call us crazy (no really, go on -- it's cool), but we get the feeling that RAmos' T10 ikiss portable media player got its inspiration from a fresh little BlackBerry called the Storm. For those willing to overlook that fact, you may be interested in knowing that it supports 1080i output and can handle just about every audio and video format known to man. It should arrive soon with 16GB of internal storage for an undisclosed price, but we've yet to hear if some sort of "clicky" screen will be included.

[Via PMPToday]

Hello Kitty keyboard boasts keys, cute, and cuddliness

Hello Kitty continues her insane branding-assault on all things tech, and we continue to weep with joy over each and every product. Okay, maybe not. Anyway, the latest eyeball exploder is a 108-keyed Japanese QWERTY keyboard, and it'll cost you $106.40 to add it to your collection.

[Via CNET]

Datto gets official with Box 2 Box specs, pricing

Datto dropped a few details about its Box 2 Box peer-to-peer network attached storage device at CES earlier this month, but it's only now actually dished out the complete specs for the device, and the all-important pricing details. As we had heard, the P2P NAS is available in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB versions, which'll set you back $350, $380 or $480 if you pre-order them now, or $620, $660 or $850 if you go for the twin-pack of each (non pre-order prices are a bit higher). Each of those are effectively computers in their own right, and come equipped with a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, four USB 2.0 ports, 7,200 rpm 3.5-inch hard drives with up to 32MB cache, and a Linux-based OS of some sort. Hit up the link below to get your order in, and look for them to start shipping in the first week of March.

[Thanks, Austin]

Olympus E-30 DSLR reviewed: distinctly different, but that's a good thing

Olympus' E-30 just recently began to hit store shelves after being announced last November, and the shutterbugs at DigitalCameraReview have taken the liberty of critiquing it for all prospective buyers to see. The cam maintained the quirkiness that tends make an Olympus, well, an Olympus, but when it came down to actual performance, the DSLR didn't disappoint... much, anyway. It should be noted that it couldn't hold a candle to the D90 at ISO 3,200, so low-light fiends may want to look elsewhere. That aside, critics were more than pleased with the copious amount of features, the top-shelf focusing speed and the remarkable build quality. If it were priced a few hundies lower, it'd almost be a no-brainer, but with an asking price of around $1,300 at present time, it'll be hard to sway the eyes of those already focusing on another shooter. Have a look at the read link for a few sample shot comparisons and the full writeup.

Windows Mobile 6.5 shows up on the Compulab exeda

The more we see Compulab's sort-of-silly, sort-of-awesome exeda, the more we like it -- although the reason we're smitten today might be because it's running what appears to be Windows Mobile 6.5, complete with that "honeycomb" app launcher UI. The company says this is an alpha build of the OS, but it does look farther along than those leaked ROMs we've been seeing loaded on a few HTC devices, and we're intrigued by whispers that it takes full advantage of 6.5's inertial scrolling and other touch enhancements. All that running on a phone which can also boot Android, sports an Ethernet port, and has left- and right-click buttons? We'll take two. One more pic at the read link.

[Via wmpoweruser]

AMD sees distinction between netbooks and laptops vanishing

Before you get all riled up, remember, this is just a man in a suit speaking his mind. Got it? Good. On AMD's most recent earnings call, CEO Dirk Meyer casually confessed that "the distinction between what is a netbook and what is a laptop is going to go away," and he continued by saying that there would be "a continuum of price points and form factors." Now, we're not about to believe that the whole netbook category will simply dry up and vanish in the near future -- much to the chagrin of Psion Teklogix, we assume -- but it's not like we haven't heard equally odd remarks from the CEOs of Intel and RIM. On second thought, shove a Core 2 Quad CPU, twin GPUs and 4GB of RAM into a Mini 10 chassis while nixing any and all heat issues, and you can call it whatever you damn well please.