Digital Tech News - Digital Technology & Consumer Electronics

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9, Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0 and 4.0 Announced

Following-up on the success of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet, Samsung Mobile has announced the upcoming release of the smaller Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablet, as well as the upcoming availability of the new handheld Galaxy Player 5.0 and 4.0 devices. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 goes on sale October 2nd priced at $569 for the 32GB version and $469 for the 16GB version, and it features a dual-core T250S processor, a WXGA TFT display with 1280x800 resolution, a rear-facing 3-megapixel camera and front-facing 2-megapixel camera with flash and autofocus, and a 6,100 mAh battery. Weighing in at less than one pound, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 runs Android 3.1 Honeycomb and Samsung’s TouchWiz UX which offers the following features:

- Live Panel: Magazine-like widget view for immediate access to weather, social updates, email, news, photo gallery, all on the home screen  

- Mini Mode Tray: One-touch overlay access to commonly used applications—Task Manager, Calendar, World Clock, Pen Memo, Calculator and Music Player  

- Clipboard: Advanced copy & paste functionality allows Galaxy Tab 10.1 users to store photos, Web pages, YouTube links, etc., for easy sharing via email and social network sites  

- Indicator Quick Panel: Quickly toggle on/off connectivity, notifications, sound, brightness and settings in lower right-hand corner of the display.  

- Photo Editor: Rotate, crop and adjust colors on high quality digital images

Additional features on the Galaxy Tab 8.9 include the following:

- Samsung Media Hub: Choose from more than 5,000 popular and acclaimed movie and TV titles to download for rent or purchase. Upcoming new release additions to the Media Hub library include “Fast Five,” “Horrible Bosses” and “Green Lantern.” The added service, Media Hub Show, uses an HD Extender to playback content on TV through an HDMI cable from the Galaxy Tab 8.9 dock or adaptor.

- Samsung Music Hub: Choose from more than 13 million songs to download into an intuitive playback system. Music Hub also provides extensive background information, with access to all artist bios, discographies and reviews.

- Samsung Readers Hub: The lightweight design and large display make the Galaxy Tab 8.9 an ideal device to access the Readers Hub robust library of more than 2.2 million books, 2,000 newspapers and 2,300 magazines.

- Social Hub: Users can aggregate email, instant messaging, contacts, calendar and social network connections into a single interface through the service’s “Feeds” and “Messages” files.

- Google™ Mobile Services: A suite of Google Mobile Services is preloaded on the Galaxy Tab 8.9 including access to more than 250,000 applications on Android Market™, Gmail™, Google Search™, Google Maps™ 5.0 with 3D maps and Google Talk™ with video and voice chat.

- AllShare™ service: Provides seamless content transfer between the Galaxy Tab 8.9 and other DLNA-enabled devices such as HDTV’s, monitors and digital cameras.

- Polaris™ Office: Instant access to documents, spreadsheets and presentations to view and edit while on the move

- Swype: Re-size the keyboard, move the virtual keyboard anywhere on the screen and type faster by swyping

- Mobile Printing: Print documents and pictures wirelessly from the Galaxy Tab 8.9 to any compatible printer.

Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY 4G gaming phone on sale at AT&T

Sony Ericsson's PlayStation certified Xperia PLAY 4G phone just got its U.S. release through AT&T for $49.99 with a two-year agreement. There are already 150 optimised game titles available for download on the Xperia PLAY, as well as social features via Sony Ericsson Facebook inside Xperia which helps you share and discover games.

The Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread OS is running the device, and for mobile gaming the Xperia PLAY 4G smartphone has dedicated gaming controls built in through a slide out controller with directional keypad, dual analog touch joystick, two shoulder buttons and the four iconic PlayStation symbol keys: circle, X, square and triangle.

Nintendo 3DS portable 3D gaming system now on sale

The new Nintendo 3DS portable 3D gaming system was released today and available in stores for $249.99. Nintendo 3DS weighs about 8 ounces and comes pre-loaded with a few games and applications, but there's also a selection of 18 games that are on sale today as well for this "glasses-free" handheld 3D device.

Nintendo designed the new 3DS in Cosmo Black or Aqua Blue colors, and it features two screens. The top one displays 3D images with no special glasses required for viewing 3D content while the bottom screen is a touch-sensitive screen. The device is also equipped with three cameras. The inner camera points at you, and there are two exterior cameras that let you take pictures in 3D or 2D. 

4 and 5-inch Samsung Galaxy Players announced

Set to go head-to-head with Apple's iPod Touch player, Samsung Electronics has just announced its new Android-based Galaxy Player which will be available with a 4-inch Super Clear WVGA LCD screen or 5-inch LCD WVGA display screen. The portable media player offers entertainment and multimedia on-the-go, including games, music, videos, e-books, and social networking with Twitter and Facebook. The Samsung Galaxy player will be running Android version 2.2 (Froyo) when released this spring in the US, but Samsung says that they will  be upgradeable to Android version 2.3 (Gingerbread) eventually.

Sony NGP Portable Gaming Entertainment Device to Succeed Sony PSP

Sony Electronics recently announced its next generation portable entertainment system, codenamed Sony NGP, which is scheduled to be released towards the end of 2011. As the successor to the popular Sony PSP, the upcoming NGP device is set to take mobile gaming to the next level for Sony, and is said to offer a deep immersive gaming experience with both Wi-Fi and 3G network connectivity on board, as well as new applications and game sharing features. According to Sony, users will be able to "encounter, connect, discover, share and play with friends wherever they are."

Dell and T-Mobile announce Streak 7 4G Android Tablet

Dell brought its new Streak 7 4G Android Tablet to the 2011 International CES, which will be available from T-Mobile USA in the coming weeks and also direct from Dell. Pricing was not yet announced. The portable Streak 7 tablet sports a seven-inch WVGA touch screen with Gorilla Glass for Web browsing, streaming video, watching TV and movies, reading books and magazines or playing games on-the-go. The Streak 7 will ship with Google’s Android 2.2 operating system, a dual core 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and full support for the Adobe Flash Player. It also comes pre-loaded with a variety of content and applications from T-Mobile, and of course, access to more than 100,000 applications, games and widgets from Android Market.

The Dell Streak 7 also features a rear-facing 5 megapixel camera for high-definition stills and video recording, and a front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera with the preloaded Qik Video Chat application on hand for video-calling over T-Mobile’s network or Wi-Fi.

The new Streak 7 will feature Dell’s innovative Stage user interface, which provides a seamless and unified experience for accessing all your favorite content. Later this year, Dell will add syncing to Stage so people can keep their photos, contacts, calendars and other personal content synchronized across their Dell Stage-equipped devices, from tablets to PCs, connected through their home network.

T-MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT AND CONTENT:

The Dell Streak 7 also comes preloaded with unique content and applications to entertain the whole family, including:

- T-Mobile TV: live and on-demand TV including live news, sports and full-length entertainment, plus on-demand full episodes of your favorite shows.

- BrainPOP: animated educational content embraced by students and trusted by teachers and parents around the globe. BrainPOP brings learning to your fingertips.

- Zinio: the largest online newsstand, enabling customers to shop for, search inside, read, share and save digital content in new ways with more than 75,000 digital magazines from 26 countries.

- Qik Video Chat: connect with friends and family through T-Mobile’s network and Wi-Fi, unlike some other video-calling solutions that only work through Wi-Fi. With the Streak 7’s front-facing camera paired with Video Chat through Qik, customers can hold video conversations with those who have a Streak 7, or other compatible mobile device, and even broadcast their view through the rear-facing camera.

- Additional entertainment applications including Blockbuster, Kindle for Android, Let’s Golf demo, Slacker Radio and Zoodles.

Streak 7 4G Android Tablet FEATURES & SPECIFICATIONS:

- Brilliant seven-inch WVGA (TFT) touch screen display with Gorilla Glass

- Android 2.2 (Froyo) with Android Market

- Qik video chat with built-in front-facing 1.3-megapixel webcam

- Stage User Interface – easy access to the stuff you care about

- Built-in support for T-Mobile’s 4G mobile broadband network and Wi-Fi

- Dual core 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor

- SMS/MMS, SWYPE® virtual keyboard and stereo Bluetooth 2.1 capable

- Support for Adobe® Flash® Player

- Support for Microsoft^® Exchange e-mail, contacts and calendar

- 16 GB of internal memory and SD Card slot with support for expandable memory up to 32 GB

- Dimensions: 7.87” x 4.72” x 0.49”

New Hercules DJ Console 4-Mx for Pro DJs

Hercules had mobile DJs covered with its compact DJ Console Mk4 portable 2 deck DJ controller, and now they are targeting Pro DJs with the new Hercules DJ Console 4-Mx. This controller, still portable at 15.75" x 9.8",  features large jog wheels with touch sensors, a built-in audio interface, and control over 2 and 4 virtual decks, with 89 controls in 2-deck mode and 150 controls in 4-deck mode. The Hercules DJ Console 4-Mx console will be available in November for $449.99.

Vizio Introduces 7-inch Edge Lit Razor LED LCD Portable TV

It looks like a mobile tablet device, but it acts like a portable TV. It's Vizio's 1-inch thin Edge Lit Razor LED LCD Portable TV featuring a 7-inch, 800x480 widescreen high resolution panel, a built-in fold-away antenna, and touch sensitive TV controls. The compact TV set receives free-to-air ATSC or NTSC broadcast signals without subscription required, according to Vizio.

The Vizio VMB070 Edge Lit Razor LED LCD Portable TV, said to be the first terrestrial handheld sized TV to include an LED panel, can also be used as a digital photo display on a desk or living room table. Vizio promises about 3.5 hours of battery life, so don't plan on using it all day outdoors. The device measures 8.2" x 5.75" x .75" and weighs in at 1 lb. Price: $159.99.

New SanDisk Sansa Fuze+ MP3 Player

SanDisk has introduced its latest portable media player, the new Sansa Fuze+ MP3 player, available now in red, white, black, blue and purple colors. The player comes in 4, 8 and 16 gigabyte versions priced at $79, $89 and $119, respectively.

The Sansa Fuze+ is a successor to the Sansa Fuze MP3 player, and now has a rounded palm-friendly design, a new capacitive touchpad and a 2.4” QVGA LCD screen for viewing videos or photos.

AT&T and LG Introduce the LG Vu Plus Mobile TV Phone

AT&T and LG Electronics are set to release the LG Vu Plus Mobile TV phone nationwide on June 6th.  AT&T Mobile TV subscribers will have around-the-clock access to full-length live and time-shifted programming from FLO TV on the LG Vu Plus for $9.99 per month. The device is compatible with AT&T's High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 Mbps technology, considered to be the fastest 3G connectivity available, which is currently being rolled out across the country by AT&T.

LG Vu Plus also features a large touch screen and a 4-line sliding QWERTY keyboard to do your email, Twitter, and social networking on the go. The mobile tv phone goes for $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and two year service agreement.