South African Tech News
Archive for January, 2010
Sony’s John Koller: Apple’s entrance into gaming market drives consumers to PSP
Jan 31st
While we can't seem to shake the suspicion that Mr. Koller is drawing links that probably don't exist (at least fully) in reality, research firm NPD does show that sales of the PSP have "nearly tripled since the iPhone went on sale in June 2007." Of course, it's not like the PSP has gained functionality, become the home of more than a few killer titles and spawned a UMD-less sibling since the heydays of '07, but hey -- who are we to question the suit?"Apple's entrance into the portable gaming space has been a net positive for Sony. When people want a deeper, richer console, they start playing on a PSP."
Sony's John Koller: Apple's entrance into gaming market drives consumers to PSP originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Fox Business | Email this | Comments CE-Oh no he didn’t? Part LXVII: Steve Jobs lashes out at Google, calls Adobe ‘lazy’
Jan 31st
Furthermore Jobs had a handful of choice words for Adobe, calling the company "lazy" and claiming that "Apple does not support Flash because it is so buggy. Whenever a Mac crashes more often than not it's because of Flash. No one will be using Flash. The world is moving to HTML5." Of course, these amazing nuggets of wisdom come from a source which Engadget cannot verify, so it's possible there are misquotes or items taken out of context, though from the sounds of things, this kind of talk falls right in line with what we'd expect from the man who said Microsoft "had no taste" and makes "really third-rate products." We eagerly await Eric Schmidt's response.
CE-Oh no he didn't? Part LXVII: Steve Jobs lashes out at Google, calls Adobe 'lazy' originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Wired | Email this | Comments PMA leak roundup: Olympus, Fujifilm and Hasselblad plan new shooters
Jan 31st
Not sure if you've heard, but PMA is just around the corner. You know -- that camera show? At any rate, Photo Rumors has a trio of new leaks to swoon over this fine evening, starting with black and white (saywha?) shots of Olympus' supposedly forthcoming SP800 (or SP-800UZ, if we're talking specifics). The megazoom shooter is said to boast a 30x optical zoom, 14 megapixel sensor and image stabilization, though no further details have been let loose just let. Moving on, Fujifilm seems to have a whole gaggle of new cams planned for release this week, including a megazoom of its own and a whole host of point-and-shoot offerings. Finally, Hasselblad is expected to one-up the H3D by introducing the H4D, which we fully suspect will have a 489 megapixel sensor and a price tag that far exceeds 93 percent of salaries here in America. Hit the links below for the goods, and hang tight -- PMA kicks off in earnest in just a few weeks.PMA leak roundup: Olympus, Fujifilm and Hasselblad plan new shooters originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 12:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Photo Rumors 1, 2, 3 | Email this | Comments 8.9-inch ExoPC Slate has iPad looks, netbook internals, Windows 7 soul
Jan 31st
[Thanks, Jean-Baptiste]
8.9-inch ExoPC Slate has iPad looks, netbook internals, Windows 7 soul originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |ExoPC | Email this | Comments MSI’s new CX420, CR420 and CR720 laptops put Intel’s new processors to good, workaday use
Jan 31st
MSI's new CX420, CR420 and CR720 laptops put Intel's new processors to good, workaday use originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkLaptoping | MSI CX420 / CR420, MSI CR720 | Email this | Comments Panasonic clamps down prices, release window for latest F-series line of compact cameras
Jan 31st
Panasonic clamps down prices, release window for latest F-series line of compact cameras originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 06:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |About.com | Email this | Comments Amazon pulled Macmillan titles due to price conflict — confirmed (update: they’re back!)
Jan 31st
Macmillan's US CEO, John Sargent just confirmed that Amazon pulled its inventory of Macmillan books in a powerful response to Macmillan's new pricing demands. Macmillan offered the new pricing on Thursday, just a day after Apple announced Macmillan as a major publishing partner in its new iBookstore -- a revelation that certainly factored into the discussions along with Skiff and other emerging e-book distribution and publishing models. During the meeting with Amazon in Seattle, Sargent outlined what he calls an "agency model" that will go into effect in early March. Under the terms offered, if Amazon chose to stay with its existing terms of sale then it would suffer "extensive and deep windowing of titles." Amazon's hardball response was to pull all of Macmillan's titles from its Kindle site and Amazon.com by the time Sargent arrived back in New York. Macmillan claims that its new model is meant to keep retailers, publishers, and authors profitable in the emerging electronic frontier while encouraging competition amongst new devices and new stores. It gives retailers a 30% commission and sets the price for each book individually: digital editions of most adult trade books will be priced from $5.99 to $14.99 while first releases will "almost always" hit the electronic shelves day on date with the physical hardcover release and be priced between $12.99 and $14.99 -- pricing that will be dynamic over time. So when Steve Jobs said that Apple's and Amazon's prices would be the same, he was almost certainly referring to the $12.99 to $14.99 e-book pricing originally rumored by the New York Times -- not the $9.99 price that Amazon customers have been enjoying so far. Funny how Jobs, the man who once refused to grant the music labels' request for variable pricing on digital music so that Apple could maintain a low fixed $0.99 price per track, is suddenly the best friend of a new breed of content owners. Guess the old dog just learned a new trick, eh?
Update: Amazon has conceded, but not willfully. It has decided to give the consumer the option of paying too much for a bestseller, and frankly, that's the right thing to do. Let 'em vote with their wallets, we say. The full response is after the break.
Amazon pulled Macmillan titles due to price conflict -- confirmed (update: they're back!) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 04:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkBoingBoing | PublishersLunch | Email this | Comments ZAGGsparq portable USB charger gets reviewed, adored
Jan 31st
Imagine a HyperMac, but one that's highly portable and engineered specifically to rejuvenate your USB-connecting gizmos. That, our friends, is the ZAGGsparq. Our good pals over at Gadling had a chance to sit down with the portable charger recently, and as expected, they came away duly impressed. At its core, this is little more than a portable 6000mAh battery with a pair of USB inputs; you simply plug whatever USB gizmo you've got into it (a smartphone, portable media player, e-reader, GPS system or anything else that can be charged over USB) and watch as it provides life where there was none. It also supports international power sockets (which you'll have to provide separately), and it packs enough juice when fully charged to bring five dead iPhones back to full capacity. At just under a Benjamin, it's hard to not recommend for the avid traveler, but feel free to give the source link a glance if you need more proof.ZAGGsparq portable USB charger gets reviewed, adored originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 03:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Gadling | Email this | Comments Dual Electronics’ iPod touch GPS cradle now shipping in late February
Jan 31st
Well, it's quite a ways off the November 2009 launch date the company initially promised, but Dual Electronics is now saying that its XGPS300 navigation cradle for the iPod touch will really, honestly be available sometime in "late February." The price presumably remains at the same $179.99 as before, which also includes a bundled NavAtlas navigation app and, of course, an adjustable windshield mount. Not exactly the easiest sell, to be sure, especially considering how much the GPS market has changed in just those few short months.
Dual Electronics' iPod touch GPS cradle now shipping in late February originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Dual Electronics | Email this | Comments Study finds people want more from their Kindles, less from their newspapers
Jan 31st
Study finds people want more from their Kindles, less from their newspapers originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Wall Street Journal | Email this | Comments 
