HotHardware.com News Rss Feed

HotHardware.com News Rss Feed

Toshiba Intros CELL-Equipped REGZA 3D HDTVs

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:50:36 GMT

With Sony leading the 3D push in the home, you shouldn't be surprised that Sony already has a couple of 3D HDTV models headed to market. But when a market leader like Sony makes a move, it only takes a small amount of time for the "other guys" to catch up and do likewise. That's exactly what has happened here, with Toshiba adding some much needed competition to the 3D HDTV market. Currently, these sets are all rather expensive and few size/model options exist. We still aren't convinced that 3D has a place in

Gimme That Old-Time (Apple) Religion: Researchers

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:02:02 GMT

Apple's fans are so devoted that they have been called a "cult." A pair of researchers at Texas A&M have gone still further. The professors, Heidi A. Campbell and Antonio C. La Pastina have written a paper that says the sheer adoration and lack of fault-finding by Apple fans isn't a cult, but a religion. The iPhone, after all, has been nicknamed the "Jesus Phone," and long before the researchers used that term in their own paper. According to the researchers, it's this devotion to the church of Apple that

Best Buy Offering Free Antennagate Solution

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:01:00 GMT

Best Buy is offering the aptly named invisibleSHIELD 4fix, free, to certain iPhone 4 customers. Based on the image above, this invisibleSHIELD, unlike others, only covers the sides of the device, which would make it perfect as a cover-up to "Antennagate." invisibleSHIELD has marketed its products for various devices in the past, and they are supposedly scratch-proof and cover the front and / or back of the device. The offer applies to those who purchased their iPhone 4 from Best Buy or for Best Buy Reward Zone

Will RIM's Revamped BlackBerry Take On The iPhone?

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:34:06 GMT

RIM is expected to reveal a new touchscreen BlackBerry next week. The BlackBerry 9800 is expected to feature a new operating system, a revamped web browser, and a full slide-out keyboard. With these features, many are hoping the new phone will better compete against the likes of the Apple iPhone and other popular smartphones on the market today. The launch of the BlackBerry 9800 is expected at a joint event between RIM and AT&T next Tuesday, and AT&T is expected to get exclusive rights to sell the device.

Obama's BlackBerry "No Fun" Due To Presidential Limits

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 12:01:07 GMT

There's no doubt that the popularity of RIM's BlackBerry handset line has dropped somewhat as newer versions of iOS and Android make the iPhone and the array of Android phones on the market that much more attractive, but for the business people, there's still no real replacement. And you might say that America's President falls into that classification. Barack Obama fought hard early on in order to keep his BlackBerry even though you're supposed to give up your personal phone in exchange for a government-approved

Blu-ray Reaches 100GB Capacity

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:38:42 GMT

Thanks to high definition video, pictures, and other digital files, we need increased amounts of storage. Soon, the storage capacity of Blu-ray discs could double. In fact, companies such as Sharp, TDK, and Verbatim are already making plans to launch new discs that can store up to 100GB of data. According to a statement, Sharp will start selling a Blu-ray disc with a capacity of 100GB in Japan starting today. The VR-100BR1 disc conforms to the BDXL format specification announced in April by the Blu-ray Disc

Clearwire To Sell WiMAX Services In Best Buy Next Year

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 08:52:33 GMT

WiMAX is still a fledgling service in America. Even though Sprint and Clearwire have invested tons of money in the 4G service, it's still spotty at best and only available in a few locations. But as with anything, it grows in time, and there's no better way to really grow than to get your service in the faces of consumers. And there's hardly a better way to get in the faces of consumers than to get into Best Buy. Best Buy and Clearwire just unveiled a new relationship that will enable the big box retailer to

Redbox Goes Blu: Blu-ray Discs For $1.50 Per Night Now Available

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:33:40 GMT

Redbox. Just saying the name brings a smile to most faces, particularly those movie lovers with a box or two nearby. We have heard in the past that the company is planning to compete with Netflix and is still in a "beta phase" when it comes to pricing, but now we're learning that Redbox is going Blue. Or, we should say "Blu." The company made famous for putting $1/night DVD kiosks into grocery stores, Walmart stores and just about any other retail location where they were allowed has just expanded their services

Asus Ion 2-Powered Eee PC 1201PN - HH Review

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:39:28 GMT

Around seven months ago, we were able to review one of the more advanced netbooks out at the time, the Eee PC 1201N. It was one of the first netbooks to integrate a graphics chip known as the NVIDIA Ion.  The Eee PC 1201PN retains many of the same features and nearly the exact same form factor as the original, but it utilizes the next-generation of Ion (we'll call it Ion 2 throughout), which is based on a discrete NVIDIA GeForce 210M GPU. But have the minor hardware upgrades and the Ion 2 chip made this

NVIDIA Intros 3D Vision Pro For Creative Professionals

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 10:09:00 GMT

3D, like it or not, is big business. Not just big business, but huge business. The past 6 months have shown at the box office that people are willing to pay for 3D, particularly with blockbuster films that really take advantage of the effect. NVIDIA knows this quite well, and they have already seen that people are eager to bring 3D to their notebooks and desktops. The company's 3D Vision software/hardware has enabled 3D PC gaming to come to life, but stopping at the consumer realm wouldn't make too much business

Google Implementing Licensing Server To Protect Android Apps From Piracy

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:51:44 GMT

If you're an Android app developer, and you have been troubled in the past by ill-willed people stealing your apps and then hosting them online for others to download, it's evident that Google is listening to your squealing. Apple's App Store has been seen as relatively secure when it comes to copy protection on apps; while it's theoretically possible to jailbreak your iPhone and then download/install illicit applications without paying, it's definitely an arduous process that many don't care to even get involved

Apple Adds Extensions To Safari 5: Finally Ready To Match Firefox?

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:34:14 GMT

One of our primary problems with Safari when we took an in-depth look at it last year was this: no wide-ranging plug-in support as there is with Firefox. For power users who love to browse the Web their own way, using third-party plug-ins to enhance their experience, Safari just never has lived up to Firefox. It's fast, passes the ACID test without issue and is available for both Mac and PC, but the inability to install extensions kept it from becoming one of the best browsers out. This week, Apple has finally

Amazon Replaces Kindle With Revised Kindle: Faster, Slimmer, Sharper

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:46:49 GMT

Well, that explains that, doesn't it? 24 hours after Amazon's Kindle mysteriously appeared as being "out of stock" from Amazon themselves, the company has just revealed the latest generation of Kindle. The name isn't changing (it's still called "Kindle"), but the form factor has been tweaked, a new color has been added and it's faster in use. The new Kindle will be available in both graphite and white, the former being first introduced by the new Kindle DX a few weeks ago. According to the company, the device

DoJ Sends Chi Mei Exec to the Slammer for LCD Price Fixing

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:02:00 GMT

Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha you gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when the U.S. Department of Justice slaps you silly for conspiring to fix prices of LCD panels on a global scale? So maybe the actual theme song goes a little differently than that, but we have an answer to the question nonetheless. When the DoJ lobs a legal backhand your way for bending the public over and kicking them in the wallet, you're going to serve time in jail. That's the self-imposed plight Wen-Hung "Amigo" Huang, a former executive from Chi

Internet Explorer 9 Beta Due Slated for September

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:55:25 GMT

Most of us here behind the scenes roll through the Web with Firefox or Chrome, but for those of you still clinging to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, you'll have a new browser to play with in September. That's when the Redmond software juggernaut will push out the first fully fledged beta (as opposed to that highly limited Preview release floating around) of its next-gen browser, Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner said during a financial keynote. We have little reason to doubt Turner's time frame

Origin PC Now Offering OCZ Vertex 2 SSDs In Custom PCs

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:17:54 GMT

It's not easy out there for pre-fab PC makers. You're competing against giants like Dell, HP and Lenovo, and you're trying to sway consumers to purchase your brand even though you aren't running TV ads every half-hour. But when you look at a company like Alienware, you know it's still possible to hold an edge if you carve out your own niche. Origin PC is one of the newest pre-fab PC builders on the market, still looking to gain significant market share and attempting to offer unique components that the other

Hacker Figures Out How To Make ATM Spew Cash, Tells The World About It

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:09:29 GMT

In need of extra cash? Who isn't, right? If you're a smart hacker, you may be able to make a small fortune by simply tricking an ATM or two into spitting out money for you. We know that sounds crazy, and it certainly is, but it's true nonetheless. At the annual Black Hat conference -- where hackers and security experts gather to make public certain loopholes in order to encourage companies to fix them -- Barnaby Jack was able to demonstrate how he could trick an ATM into spitting out all of its cash, and more.

HH and CyberPower Independence Day Sweepstakes!

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:45:00 GMT

To commemorate the July 4th Idependance Day holiday, in conjunction with our good friends at CyberPower, Intel, Kingston, and CoolerMaster, we're giving away yet another full, quad-core powered system! This time around, you could win a full Intel Core i7-875K-based system, complete with a GeForce GTS 250 1GB graphics card, an Intel SSD and 4GB of Kingston RAM! The complete parts list and breakdown is listed below! As we've done with previous sweepstakes, we’ll be giving away this rig away to a randomly

Microsoft's Ballmer: Focused On Delivering Windows Tablets ASAP

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:00:04 GMT

It should really come as no huge surprise, but Microsoft isn't just waiting around for Apple to rule the tablet PC market all by their lonesome. The company has been somewhat slow in responding to the iPad, which has sold over 3 million units to date and has clearly struck a nerve with consumers. In recent days, company CEO Steve Ballmer has made clear that Microsoft is on the front lines of attack, working hard behind the scenes in order to produce tablets that will not only rival the iPad, but be true competitors

T-Mobile G1 Is No Longer For Sale: An Android Legend Passes On

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:19:20 GMT

It's the end of an era, but honestly, it's not an end that we're going to be tearing up about. T-Mobile's G1 has just left the building, which is somewhat sad to hardcore Android lovers, but it's a great sign of forward progress for everyone else. The HTC-built G1 is largely remembered as the world's first Android phone, and the design at the time was something of a novelty. Today, hundreds of Android phones exist, but none were as old, sluggish and limited as the G1. At the time of its birth, the G1 was a huge

Shoot and Upload with Samsung's Wi-Fi Enabled ST80 Digital Camera

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:40:00 GMT

Samsung's ST80 digital camera might be just the cure for social networking nuts who get the shakes when unplugging from cyberspace for too long. That's because the ST80 is Samsung's latest in a line of Wi-Fi enabled point-and-shoots, meaning Little Miss Molly MySpace and Freddy Facebook can fling those Kodak Samsung moments online from any hotspot instead of having to rush home to fire up their PC. "We want to let people share their favorite pictures quickly while they’re on the move, and the ST80 does

NVIDIA's Latest Verde Drivers Enhance Optimus Customizations

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:12:36 GMT

NVIDIA has made themselves known as a hardware company, and more recently, an innovation company. The company used to battle with ATI in the GPU department, but now they compete with ARM, Intel and Qualcomm in the microprocessor market. But that's not all. NVIDIA is also one of the pioneers in 3D for PCs, and now that they have a solid footing in the graphics market, they're looking to really pull ahead with software innovations. You may wonder what software has to do with improved GPUs, but there's actually

Hardware Roundup

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 19:58:46 GMT

Video: Nvidia Quadro 5000 Professional Graphics Card Review @ XBitLabs MSI GeForce GTX 460 Cyclone 768MB OC Review @ Hardware Canucks Motherboards and Chipsets: AMD 890FX Mainboards Roundup: ASRock, Asus, Biostar, Gigabyte and MSI @ XBitLabs Gigabyte H55N Mini-ITX Motherboard Review @ Ninjalane iXBT Labs Review: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula Motherboard Processors: Clarkdale and High-Speed DDR3 SDRAM: Does It Make Any Sense? @ XBitLabs Memory and Storage: OCZ Agility 2 SSD @ TechwareLabs Kingston HyperX blu KHX1600C9D3B1K2/4GX

NetJets To Add In-Flight Wi-Fi

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 14:49:06 GMT

In-flight Wi-Fi is becoming more widely available. Add NetJets to the list of aircraft where you'll soon be able to surf the Web, check email, and even listen to the latest hits from Pandora at 41,000 feet. This summer, NetJets will install Aircell's technology on more than 250 of its fleet of 800 private aircraft. The service will be installed on the mid-size and large-cabin aircraft operated by NetJets. NetJets plans to have all future fleet aircraft, including light cabin models, delivered from the factory

Woman's naked pics exposed after Dell TS Call

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:51:15 GMT

Assuming this is all true, it's not the first time an outsourced worker in India has resorted to blackmail. It makes you wonder, however, why we continue to outsource our work to such questionable regions of the world, as well as about the naivete of the woman involved. In this case, Tara Fitzgerald, 48 and a mother of a 14-year-old of Sacramento, CA apparently was having trouble finding the nude pictures she'd taken for her boyfriend on her PC. Not too familiar with PCs (and obviously not wanted to ask her