Geek Stuff 4u via Akihabara News, Engadget: Kohjinsha’s DZ series notebook PCs sport two 10.1-inch TFT LCDs each with a 1024×600 resolution. The two LCDs slide out to make for an expansive display with a 2048×600 pixel format. The separate displays also make for much simpler window management as it requires just maximizing the window within the LCD. Another good move by Kohjinsha is the pixel format of 1024×600 as it makes it convenient to browse through most website without having to scroll sideways; you will need to scroll up and down quite a bit. And if you’re a blogger or someone that likes to work on a document with multiple sources open, this dual display solution can definitely boost productivity.
The overall package isn’t too bulky with a max thickness of 1.65 inches and a weight of 4.09 pounds. Other specs include: 1.6GHz AMD Athlon Neo, RS780MN chipset, ATI Radeon HD 3200 GPU, WiFi BGN, USB (3), 1.3 megapixel webcam, 1GB RAM (4GB max), 160GB 5400 RPM hard drive, 5200mAh battery good for up to 4.5 hours. You have a choice of Linux (don’t know which distro) or Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit for an extra ¥5,000 (about US$58). The dual 10-inch LCD wielding notebook PC from Kohjinsha is priced at ¥95,800 (about $1107) and currently shipping worldwide: it will cost around $60 to the US and €50 to Europe and take around three weeks.
Ricoh’s GXR is a unique digital camera system that integrates the image sensor and the lens into a lens unit. By integrating the lens, image sensor and the image processing engine into a lens unit, Ricoh developed a single optimized unit with interchangeable lenses. Naturally, the image sensor is not exposed when lenses are changed and since the lens unit is self-contained it is inherently difficult for dirt and dust to enter. Image quality is enhanced by coupling the right image sensor to the right lens. There are two lens units: GR LENS A12 50mm F2.5 MACRO and the RICOH LENS S10 24-72mm F2.5-4.4 VC.
The GR MACRO lens unit sports an APS-C CMOS sensor with a 23.6 x 15.7 mm dimension, 12.3 megapixels and can shoot HD video. The zoom lens unit features a 1/1.7-inch CCD sensor with 10.0 megapixels and shoots VGA video. Based on this innovative design, Ricoh is able to tightly couple the lens and image sensor for optimal photographic quality. Availability is slated for December. There are several sample pictures at Ricoh and DPReview; the pictures look fantastic.
Ricoh might have priced its GXR a bit too high. For instance, the body alone is $549. And remember this isn’t your regular body; it doesn’t have a sensor. The 50mm macro lens will set you back $830 (also remember that this includes a APS-C image sensor) while the zoom lens will cost $440 (with a tiny CCD sensor).
Source:
- “Ricoh GXR” – Ricoh
- “Richo GXR interchangeable unit camer, previewed” – DPReview
Nokia: The X6 Comes With Music edition just started shipping. The S60-based smartphone from Nokia makes use of a 3.2-inch capacitive touch LCD featuring a 640 x 360 resolution and 16.7 million colors. The accelerometer auto rotates the display.
The X6 sports 32GB of internal storage, a 5 megapixel dual-LED flash auto-focus camera with Carl Zeiss optics. Video recording is up to 640 x 480 at 30fps. The front camera can record video as well: 176 x 144 at 15fps. Connectivity options include micro-USB, 3.5-mm Nokia AV connector for audio and TV out, and WiFi BG. The list price for the sleek-looking smartphone is steep €450 (about US$680) and includes Nokia’s “Comes with Music” service.
Image source: UWS – First Look
1981 Broadway, New York, NY. Open. Spacious. Expansive. What a beautiful site. 8500 square feet of space enclosed in glass and stone. The stones are 45 feet tall and 30 feet deep. The glass is 75 feet wide. The Upper West Side Apple Store joins about 325 other stores worldwide. It has the most demo units than any other Apple Store in the world. The Genius Bar and the store’s personal training space is underground and also the largest, able to handle 100 customers. Opens November 14, 2009 at 10am EST.
Apple’s underground Manhattan store opened 7 years ago. The first Apple Store opened in May 2001 right when Gateway decided that retail stores weren’t it. The original goal was to build an Apple Store within driving distance to 85% of US consumers. In 2009 Apple built more international stores than ones in the US and from now on the company plans to open at least one new Apple Store in a new country every year. Apple realized its Apple Stores were too small so all of its stores will be at least “three tables wide” going forward.
More than 170 million people have visited an Apple Store in 2009 so far. In Q309 Apple Stores generated US$1.87 billion in revenues. YTD: $6.6 billion, just from its stores. Apple Stores have generated more than 18% of total revenues this year. Average sales per store? $26 million. That doesn’t sound like a lot. Best Buy beats that number and so does Target and Macy’s. But when you change the metric to revenues per square feet, Apple’s $4300 is almost five times that of Best Buy ($872). Tiffany’s is even second fiddle to Apple.
Want a job at an Apple Store? Wait in line: a line that’s 100,000 long. That’s how many applications are on file for Apple Store positions. 10,000 applications were submitted just for the Upper West Side location! Of that huge number only 2,500 were interviewed and just 200 hired.
Source:
- “Apple Store, Upper West Side” – Apple
- “The Apple Store: An Unsung Hero” – theAppleBlog
- “Inside Apple’s Newest Temple” – Gizmodo
- “All the Apple Store Data You Could Possibly Want to Read” – Gizmodo
- “Apple takes wraps off of Upper West Side store in New York” – AppleInsider
DIGITIMES: The BenQ nReader is an ebook reader sporting a SiPix 6-inch touch-enabled electrophoretic display (EPD), will be launched in January 2010 first in Taiwan and then in Japan and China. The launch will be coupled with the company’s e-book trading platform. A color version is targeted for the second half of 2010. Supported formats include PDF, HTML, ePub, TXT, BMP, GIF, PNG, MP3. 2GB of memory is built in and with microSD card support. The nReader will go for NT$8,990 (about US$280), which is more expensive than Amazon’s Kindle or Barnes and Noble’s Nook.
BenQ’s vice chairman Jerry Wang expects to sell 50,000 nReaders in Taiwan and 300,000 globally in 2010. The 300,000 unit sales goal represents less than 5% of BenQ’s total revenues but the company is preparing for possible explosive growth in ebook readers in the coming years. Wang predicts the ebook reader market will hit 100 million units in 10 years.