Toshiba just announced their gigashot A and K series of video recorders in Japan. The A100F brings a shock-mounted, 1.8-inch 100GB disk with 1/3-inch CMOS sensor 2 megapixel stills or 1,920 x 1,080 recordings at 60fps with 16bit/48kHz Dolby digital stereo audio at a 384kbps bit rate. That equates to about 12 hours of MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 formatted video at the highest quality setting or about 23 hours in standard mode. It also features SDHC expansion, a big 3-inch LCD, 10x optical zoom, HDMI and component out, and USB linkup with your PC. According to Toshiba, its 78.1 x 135.4 x 79.0-mm measurements also give it claim to the title as the world’s smallest “Full HD” camcorder with built-in hard disk drive. The gigashot K series rolls things back to 720p video and 0.92 megapixel stills stored in a maximum 80GB disk. The top of the line gigashot A100F starts shipping in mid November for Â¥188,000 (about $1,628) while the lowest of the low 40GB K-series model starts shipping in late October for Â¥108,000 or right around $935 — you know, if the dollar holds steady which it won’t.

Gallery: Toshiba’s 100GB gigashot A100F: world’s smallest “Full HD” camcorder

  

[Via Impress]
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Hiddy Ho Mr. XPS M1730, nice to see you up and dancing on Dell’s own website for a change. While it’s not exactly official, reader Evgeni noticed that a little E-Value code tomfoolery will pull up pictures, specs, and prices easy enough. $4,192 will take home a crimson red, 17-inch WUXGA beast with a Vista Ultimate pre-load and the following specs:

• 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900 processor (800MHz FSB and 4MB cache)
• 2GB 667MHz DDR2 memory (4GB for an additional $375)
• 2 x 200GB 7200RPM disks
• DVD burner (upgradeable for Blu-ray playback for an additional $550)
• 512MB Dual (!) nVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT with nVIDIA SLI Te
• 802.11a/g/n WiFi
• 9-cell primary and 9-cell secondary batteries

That’s only the start.

You also have the option to slap in an AT&T HSDPA 3.6 or Sprint / Verizon EVDO rev. A card for an additional $163 and $129, respectively. Hell, while you’re at it, why not just throw in a pair of 64GB SSDs for an additional $1,625? Egads, that’s a lot of kit. Still no official announcement from Dell so don’t go pinching exact pennies just yet gamers, these prices might change before the rig is finally turned loose.

[Thanks, Evgeni N.]

Read — $2,999 configuration
Read — $3,599 configuration
Read — $4,192 configuration

from engadget

At first glance we thought, “sweet, a makeshift SSD for all of our disparate memory cards.” That is, until we figured out from the machine translation that the MR-C12 series of card readers from Elecom has more in common with a cigarette case than a solid state drive. So in addition to providing a convenient-if-bulky place to tote all your memory cards around, it also features a baked-in USB 2.0 cable and single media slot which accommodates all the most popular formats. No accidental jamming your memory card into the wrong slot here kids. In Japan mid October for Â¥2,520 or about $22 in dear departed presidents.

[Via Impress]
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Sony’s jam-packed Vaio UX handheld may be the unofficial title holder for the world’s most densely spec’d handheld. The latest UX running Vista Premium now peaks with a 1.2GHz Core 2 Solo U2200 processor and 64GB SSD, in addition to 802.11a/b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, 1.3 megapixel webcam, CF slot, memory stick slot, USB 2.0, fingerprint sensor, 3-hour battery, 1GB memory, Intel 945GMS Express chipset, and 4.5-inch, 1,024 x 600 pixel display. However, its measurements remain unchanged at 150.2 × 95 × 32.2~38.2-mm and about 532-grams. Unfortunately, all those extra cycles and bits won’t make that wee QWERTY any more comfortable to use under the strain of our massive beef hammers.

[Via Impress]
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from engadget

All hail, all hail, official pics of the Samsung / Armani mashup: the Armani phone. Here’s the haute couturey poop: tri-band 900/1800/1900 GSM, 3 megapixel camera, 2.6-inch 262K color QVGA touchscreen LCD, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support, microSD expansion, full Internet browser, and support for H.263, AAC/MP3/WMA audio and MPEG-4 video. Fine and dandy but this little guy also features a haptic feedback user interface like Samsung’s SCH-W559 handset loosed long ago in China — “users can feel an immediate mild vibration when they touch icons on the display.” How you like them Apples, Apple? The Prada-esque slab currently measures in at 87.5 x 54.5 x 10.5-mm and 85-grams; less after it starts making regular, post-meal trips to the toilet following its November European release.

Gallery: Samsung’s Armani phone has a surprise: a haptic feedback UI

  

[Via GadgetZone]
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from engadget

It looks like Sony’s found yet more room for improvement in its VAIO G-Series ultra-portable laptop, and not just in terms of the usual spec bumps. While it certainly has that front covered, it’s also mangaged to squeeze in some newfangled water-proofing measures, which apparently discharges water through a “water pit” at the rear of the laptop, and can even shut down the laptop when there’s too much water for it to handle. As for the more conventional upgrades, the laptop is now available with your choice of 48GB or 64GB SSD drives in addition to the previous 32GB one, and your choice of U7600 or U7500 Core 2 Duo processors, with lower-voltage Core Solo processors apparently still an option. As with the previous models, however, this one’s still only available in Japan, where it’ll set you back between Â¥154,800 and Â¥275,000 depending on the configuration (or roughly $1,350 to $2,400).

[Via Akihabara News]
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