Nelson Wong Life Blog

ClamCase Turns Your iPad Into A Laptop

Eken’s $100 Android MID

When we first spotted the Eken M001 MID, we immediately liked its honest nature. The M001 didn’t claim to be an iPad killer, or boast ridiculous specs and decades of battery life; it was simply cheap, and proud of it. Now, Shanzai.com has discovered the tablet is exactly what we expected. Running Android 1.6 with a VIA WM8505 processor, the device is pokey with terrible battery life, and the 7-inch, 800 x 480 resistive screen has noticeable lag. Still, the M001′s moderately capable; think of it as a digital photo frame with tablet functionality — like the HP Dreamscreen, but affordable and battery powered — rather than the other way round. Were it readily available stateside, we could see a few souls actually picking it up for $680 RMB (about $100)… but definitely not the $200 Haleron asked for in February. Video after the break.

iPad gets fitted into car dashboard

the Toyota Tacoma has a long way to go before being considered glamorous, or even remotely cool, but jacking an iPad into its console might be a good start. That’s what the good people of SoundMan Car Audio over in California have done with a little bit of elbow grease and knowhow, and we’ve got video of how it all came together after the break. They’ve yet to wire it up to the Audison Bit One sound processor and McIntosh MMC406M 6-channel amp that are intended to receive the iPad’s audio goodies, but the important stuff of fitting and molding the dash to its new 9.7-inch centerpiece is all done. Alright, so the glossy black screen and the demure grey plastic don’t exactly sing in harmony, but surely the funky aesthetics can be forgiven for the sake of accessing all your media on the move

The Qisda 4-inches QCM-330 Dwarfs the iPad’s Resolution

You hear the 9.7-inch iPad has a screen resolution of 1024×768, and you think to yourself, that’s not so bad! And it’s not. But when you later hear that a new 4-inch smartphone will feature a resolution of 1280×1024, well…

…it’s just tough to be floored by anything less.

(Those of you noting the discrepancy between the spec resolution and the general wideness of the screen: you’re right to do so.)

The Qisda (you also know them as BenQ) QCM-330, expected to debut at the upcoming CeBIT tradeshow this March before being available through Vodafone, features a 4-inch, 1280×1024 screen that could be sharper than life itself, along with HSDPA and Wi-Fi.

We don’t know much else, other than that it will most likely run Android given the Home key (which makes the prospect of importing a phone for its hardware alone so much more appealing). But if you’re one of those people who doesn’t like to use the same phone as other people, the QCM-330 might be a decent handset to watch

“iTablet”? UK Company X2 Has Named Their Windows 7 Tablet

the iTablet—which hails from the UK—actually sounds very decent. For a tablet taking on the iPad, anyway. It runs Windows 7 (alright, naysayers, keep it down in the back), and is powered by a 1.6GHz Intel processor. It’s available in two sizes, of 10.2 and 12.1-inches (both 35mm thick, which sounds horrendously thick, given the iPad is 13.4mm deep), and each model contains 250GB of internal storage, a 3G chip and Bluetooth.

While the iPad was an oversized iPod Touch, the iTablet actually manages to be a proper computer by the sounds of it, with three USB ports and HDMI-out, along with a 1.3-megapixel webcam. Out in April, prices haven’t been announced just yet, but given some of the aforementioned components, I would think they’d struggle to price it lower than the iPad.

HTC Supersonic

we’re not saying it’s unpossible for someone with some incredible Illustrator skill to have thrown this together after seeing the supposed leak last night — there are definitely plenty of talented people out there with far too much time on their hands. That being said, this matches up perfectly with everything we know and everything we’ve been told so far, so even if it is fake, it probably gives us some good insight into what Sprint’s terrifying beast of a phone is going to look like up close. The Supersonic is said to have a 4.3-inch display and WiMAX alongside Sense — so if it’s all true, we strongly suggest other carriers be ready to step up their Android game. Any other leaks care to step forward today?

ASUS DR-950 touchscreen e-reader spotted in the ‘wilds’ of ASUS UK’s office

Sure, we’d love to be hanging out with this device in person, but we suppose this is second best. ASUS UK has some shots of the upcoming DR-950 e-reader, sporting 9-inches of grayscale SiPix e-paper. It admittedly looks pretty great under these idealized lighting conditions, and the homescreen interface looks simple and oh-so-touchable. Hopefully we get to put the device through its text-to-speech, 3G and ePub paces soon enough.

BookBook Case Puts Your macbook In Hardcover

Twelve South, makers of Mac accessories that are sometimes prettier than they are practical, have a new way for you to protect your MacBook or MacBook Pro: hardbound leather.

Twelve South’s products always look nice, but sometimes they don’t make a whole lot of sense. BookArc? Sure. BassJump and BackPack? I’m not as convinced. But their new BookBook case considers both form and function.

The BookBook has a hard shell and a rigid spine to keep your MacBook from being crushed, and is lined with soft fabric to keep it from being scratched. Twelve South also plays up the fact that by disguising your laptop as a beat up old book, you make it less likely to be stolen. Because who wants to steal an old book? Besides these guys.
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Nexus One vs iPhone 3GS vs Droid vs Pre

If you’re looking for the definitive comparison table between the Google Nexus One, Apple iPhone 3GS, Motorola Droid, and Palm Pre, here you have it. From storage capacity to price to plans. Guess who wins (you’ll probably be wrong).

My impression is that nobody clearly wins. Each of these phones have their own strengths and weaknesses, but there’s still not a definitive one. My favorite is still the iPhone just because the user interface design and the amazing applications—it’s not the number, but when you have 126,000 apps, inevitably you are going to have some amazingly good apps in each software category. However, in terms of specs, things are not that clear at all. At the end, it’s still a matter of personal preference.

Samsung N310

Pre-order availability of this netbook has turned into a full-blown US-wide shelf invasion. BestBuy and Newegg are ready to ship you one right now, with the latter offering the better price at $449. Now known as the Samsung Go, the N310 pimps the oh-so-standard Atom N270, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD internal spec with a 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 resolution display. There’s also a 1.3-megapixel webcam, WiFi, Bluetooth, MMC/SD card reader, and a pebble / chiclet / isolation keyboard. What seems to be missing from the Euro version is the anti-bacterial keyboard coating, which may be an accidental omission or it may indicate that using Silver Nano Technology proved more costly than a gimmick ought to be.