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Xperia X3 Might be Hiding Snapdragon Under Its Good Looks
Acer Liquid Finally Gives Android the Snapdragon It Deserves
Qualcomm's Mirasol Ultra Low Power Display Is Almost Magic
Inside the Palm Pixi's Brains
Nokia ARM-Based Smartbook To Follow Booklet 3G?
Google Chrome OS Partners: PC and Chip-Makers, but Not Dell, Sony, or Toshiba
Why Can't We Get a Standard Phone Charger Like Europe?
Mobile Chipsets: WTF Are Atom, Tegra and Snapdragon?
Qualcomm: Special Report on CrocoEagles Expanding Cellphone Reception
HTC Revamping UMPC Line Into Mini Notebook Line Soon

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tande04
10/17/09

In reply to Xperia X3 Might be Hiding Snapdragon Under Its Good Looks
I'm pretty sure that rachael was always rumored to be a snapdragon powered phone. That was part of the appeal in the first place. #sonyericsson
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tehsquish - Still plays Ultima Online
10/17/09

In reply to Xperia X3 Might be Hiding Snapdragon Under Its Good Looks
Any new android handset news is good news.

I really can't wait 'til there's a plethora of these guys to choose from. I finally got a chance to play with my buddy's G1 (not rooted). For first generation hardware and software its a pretty damn awesome device. Its as functional as my heavily modified windows mobile phone ever was.

I need a new phone pretty badly but can't afford to pay an arm and a leg like others have stated.

Who wants to help me find a cheap non-dumbphone I can use on T-Mo!?! #sonyericsson
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OCEntertainment
10/17/09

@tehsquish - Still plays Ultima Online: Assuming you played with the G1 recently, you probable used Donut (1.6). I've had the G1 since pre-Cupcake, and believe me in those two little updates it has come a long friggin' way. I think the regular updates are one of the best things about Android. And part of the reason I'll probably stick with stock Android.

As for cheap, I'd probably wait until after the holidays. By mid-to-late December, we should have a plethora of new phones out for all carriers. By January, there will likely be quite a few sales. The G1 came out in October, by March or April when I got mine, it was already available on Amazon with a Tmo plan for $100. When Android is more ubiquitous and the big release is done, you'll probably see quite a few more sales.

Best of luck, man! #sonyericsson
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ilovexspin
10/17/09

In reply to Xperia X3 Might be Hiding Snapdragon Under Its Good Looks
All I know is a "snapdragon" definitely took that godawful picture. #sonyericsson
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anexanhume
10/17/09

@ilovexspin: Apparently you've not been introduced to Mr. Blurrycam. He's the official pre-release-spy-shot photographer of the entire internet. #sonyericsson
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FigNinja
10/14/09

In reply to Acer Liquid Finally Gives Android the Snapdragon It Deserves
Dang. Another sweet looking Android phone. This is making my choice really hard.
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HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H.
10/14/09

In reply to Acer Liquid Finally Gives Android the Snapdragon It Deserves
Tell me this is going to have a D-Pad of some sort...
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know1
10/14/09

@HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H.:

Are D-pads really necessary anymore for touch screen phones? The closest thing the G1 has is a trackball, and seriously, it's pretty useless outside of tabbing through a block of multiple hyperlinks on a webpage where your finger might hit the wrong link.

My only concern with this phone is that beyond the initial specs (which sound good so far), the device itself is pretty boring in form factor and aesthetics. I looks like the engineers told the designers to just put a plastic box around their hardware. It has no "pick-up" appeal.
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HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment know1 was starred know1 was unstarred

HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H.
10/14/09

@know1: See, my thing is, I'm a gamer. A D-pad is de rigeur for me. Especially when that Snapdragon could make for quite the mobile gaming experience.

Touchscreen controls are nice if a game is built around them, but I like emulators, and touchscreen controls suck for emulators.
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Edited by HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H. at 10/14/09 1:30 PM

Noobs-R-Us
10/08/09

In reply to Qualcomm's Mirasol Ultra Low Power Display Is Almost Magic
I bet the yield rates on this is really bad as you move up in size.

So I hope you all like 3" books.
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tineras
10/08/09

@Noobs-R-Us: You're right. They should probably just give up.
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Noobs-R-Us
10/09/09

@tineras: Yes, so many of these things end up as vaporware. They never see the light of day. They're all about scientists trying to show us how smart they are. I know a faster way for them to prove their point. They should all just pull out their dicks and break out the tape measure. It would save us gadget freaks a lot of heartache of seeing what we can never have.
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donwonton
10/08/09

In reply to Qualcomm's Mirasol Ultra Low Power Display Is Almost Magic
I wonder if my wife's old Gameboy light will work.
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Gary_7vn
10/08/09

In reply to Qualcomm's Mirasol Ultra Low Power Display Is Almost Magic
This is the beginning of the end of the standalone ebook, which was a silly concept to begin with, I mean an expensive device that really only does one thing? Really?

No, when we have a screen that is "good for everything", and low power, there won't be any need to split off text reading into a separate device. If I am reading an ebook about the Kennedy assassination, I want to be able to watch the Zapruder film.

As Jeff Bezos will say, "I am a patsy".
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FigNinja
10/08/09

@Gary_7vn: I don't think the standalone ebook reader is a silly concept for right now but I agree that a screen like this would be the end of them. I've had one for awhile and it's been amazingly convenient and comfortable. It's really worth the money to me. I wouldn't be surprised if I never by another one, though. I fully expect them to be supplanted by awesome multifunction devices. They'll probably be along in a few years, hopefully sooner.

I don't see why I should wait. Gadgets like these rarely last more than 5 years anyway. By the time the device of my dreams comes out, I'll be more than ready for an upgrade. And there will be another new crop of compelling technologies on the horizon that I also won't wait for.
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Gary_7vn
10/08/09

@FigNinja: You're right, until this tech is on the street, e-ink is the way to go. Paper is obsolete. (mostly)
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Kaiser-Machead
10/08/09

In reply to Qualcomm's Mirasol Ultra Low Power Display Is Almost Magic
I'm not concerned with video so much as I'm concerned about colored diagrams and the like, like a science textbook, for example.
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qbrad
10/08/09

In reply to Qualcomm's Mirasol Ultra Low Power Display Is Almost Magic
Is this the tech that's based on reflectivity of butterfly wing scales? Read about it in PopSci a year or two ago. I thought it was Samsung or Toshiba that was going to be the intro company. Very kewl tech.
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mnerd
10/08/09

In reply to Qualcomm's Mirasol Ultra Low Power Display Is Almost Magic
Wait, so if I am in a dark room this will be useless? How much ambient light must there be for this to work? Am i going to have to read my ebooks in a super bright bed room?
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Adam
10/08/09

@mnerd: They have these crazy things called "booklights" that people used to use when they read these things called "books"
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Bandit
10/08/09

@Adam: Or you could do like Sony and embed lights along the side for occasional in-the-dark use. The point is that you don't need backlighting, which drains power, to always be on.
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Wilson Rothman promoted this comment Bandit was starred Bandit was unstarred

I Think We're Property
10/08/09

@Adam: WHAT? USE AMBIENT LIGHT WHEN LOOKING AT MY ELECTRONICS' SCREENS, INSTEAD OF JUST STARING AT GLOWING DISPLAYS IN PITCH DARK ROOMS? ARE YOU CRAZY? HOW ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO GET THAT WONDERFUL BURNING SENSATION IN MY EYES?

*puts on glasses with coke bottle lenses*
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Wilson Rothman
10/08/09

@Bandit: Clearly you didn't read my review of that piece-of-shit experiment, one Sony quickly abandoned.
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Edited by Wilson Rothman at 10/08/09 2:20 PM Wilson Rothman was starred Wilson Rothman was unstarred

PSUSkier
10/08/09

In reply to Qualcomm's Mirasol Ultra Low Power Display Is Almost Magic
Hmmm... I really like the idea but Im a little concerned about scaling issues of such a device. As the display gets larger so would the mass of the mirrors which at some point seems like it would slow down the mirror switching speed (if indeed it is that similar to DLP). As an e-book reader, I don't think I could take reading a book on a 2" screen.

I also have to wonder how forgiving this would be in darker environments (i.e. a plane at night). Here's hoping.
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njknight
10/08/09

In reply to Qualcomm's Mirasol Ultra Low Power Display Is Almost Magic
More like Amazon will snatch this tech up for Kindle 3: The Last* Crusade.

*not likely
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Jayson Elliot
10/08/09

In reply to Qualcomm's Mirasol Ultra Low Power Display Is Almost Magic
eBooks don't "suffer" from e-ink, they do, however, end up with the inability to play video or do other things computers do.

E-ink does what it is supposed to, which is to deliver a display that has properties closer to paper than to a video screen.

An eBook reader that plays video would just be a laptop with less features than usual.
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noamjamski
10/08/09

@Jayson Elliot: E-ink doesn't just replicate paper, it uses almost no power at all. It onl draws power IIRC when the page refreshes. When you are actively looking at a page there is no draw on the battery at all. Moving that away from simple black on white and to color or motion would be amazing for laptops.
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Wilson Rothman promoted this comment Edited by noamjamski at 10/08/09 1:26 PM noamjamski was starred noamjamski was unstarred

FigNinja
10/08/09

@Jayson Elliot: Stand alone ebook readers only make sense in the light of the current limited technology. E-ink is great for reading print but horrible for many of the other things you would want to do with a netbook or tablet. Current LCDs aren't nearly as easy on the eyes and require big batteries which add weight and heat, two things you don't want in a device you are going to be holding for hours. When we get to the point where we have a screen that can do all the things people want in a multifunction device like web surfing, video, email, work stuff like docs and calendaring, note taking, etc., and is also just as power conservative and good for reading books as the current e-ink readers, the market for readers will dry up.

If you don't want to watch video on it, fine. No one will force you. Most people will. Besides, color is a rather compelling feature for reading. There are plenty of books with color illustrations and charts. Many magazines need color and they're prime candidates for moving over to digital. When there's a good, lightweight, readable, multifunction tablet that will get me a day on a battery, I'll jump on it. I love my e-ink reader but it's not the end of the road. It's just a stop along the way.
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avconsumer2
10/08/09

In reply to Qualcomm's Mirasol Ultra Low Power Display Is Almost Magic
A giant dlp chip. Why the hell didn't I think of that.
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Mike Credelle
10/08/09

@avconsumer2:

DLP uses mirrors that move at an angle. This is based on two surfaces in which the distance between them get closer or further apart, creating a different amount of reflection from the material in between the two surfaces. Its quite different from DLP, although both are MEMs based that is about the only similarity.

[www.mirasoldisplays.com]
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Adam
10/08/09

@avconsumer2: Because the whole point of DLP is that it's so small it can get away with rapidly bending the tiny metal mirrors without causing fatigue. Enlarging it introduces fatigue problems, and doesn't really make much sense. I wonder if this screen works for more than a day :-/
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avconsumer2
10/08/09

@Mike Credelle: ah! ty
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avconsumer2
10/08/09

@Adam: actually - it just angles them. As it would get much easier in much larger formats, enlargement wouldn't cause a problem, but as Mr. Credelle pointed out it's not actually exactly like dlp anyway.
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Mike Credelle
10/08/09

@avconsumer2: NP, I remember seeing this tech when it could barely do black and white, and then when the color displays came out they had a really pastel color palette. This is a big improvement.
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Wilson Rothman promoted this comment Edited by Mike Credelle at 10/08/09 2:05 PM Mike Credelle was starred Mike Credelle was unstarred

Mike Credelle
10/08/09

@Mike Credelle: I also don't remember seeing video before either.
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Wilson Rothman promoted this comment Edited by Mike Credelle at 10/08/09 2:05 PM Mike Credelle was starred Mike Credelle was unstarred

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