We’re no strangers to rebranded netbooks, but we’re a little befuddled as to why Dell’s rebranding its own Inspiron Mini 9 as the Vostro A90. Sure, we’re digging the stealth looks, but the specs haven’t changed at all, and we don’t think the Vostro brand really has any more cachet than Inspiron — they’re both pretty low end. Even more bizarrely, the A90 is apparently Japan-only for now, and it’s priced at an absurd ¥92,830 ($972) — yeah, you can get three Eee 900As for that price with more or less the same specs. Must be one hell of a paint job.
If you don’t wanna spring for the two-year contract or wait out the 90 days ’til T-Mobile will unlock the G1 for you, getting it going without actually activating it is remarkably easy. Just snag an active T-Mobile SIM card from a friend (or foe), pop it in to get through the setup process, and after enabling Wi-Fi, you can drop it like it’s hot. ‘Course, it won’t make any phone calls, but that’s not why you wanted a G1 anyway, right? [Love for Biz via Ubergizmo]
Husqvarna’s plain old battery-powered Automowers have been available in the US for some time now, but it looks like the company’s solar-powered hybrid model is now finally making the trip across the pond as well. From the looks of it, the model is the same one we caught sight of back in March, with the 22-pound mower promising to handle lawns up to half an acre in size and not emit a single emission whilst it does its business. As with the regular models, it’ll also return to its base to speed up the charging process when it gets low on juice. Unfortunately, there’s no word on a price or release date just yet, though we wouldn’t expect it to sell for too much less (if any) than the £2,000 (or just over $3,000) it sold for in the UK. Husqvarna will apparently have more to say about that at the Green Industry and Equipment Expo that’s now getting underway in Louisville, Kentucky.
London’s Heart Hospital didn’t like the fact that they couldn’t see inside the hearts of patients—not while the patients were still alive and well, that is. So they hired Glassworks, an animation firm that specialized in music videos and TV shows, and asked them to build HeartWorks, the most realistic working 3D rendering of a human heart ever conceived. As you can see in the Reuters (ad-supported) clip above—and in the crazy raw footage after the jump—the doctors who are generally up to their ears in blood are thrilled to have a clearer (and cleaner) way to look deep into someone’s heart.
I still think it’s a little gross, all jiggly like that, but I won’t complain one day when I’m wheeled in on a gurney and a 3D rendering saves my life. [Reuters; HeartWorks]
It’s no secret that UIQ effectively died when it merged into the Symbian Foundation earlier this year. But at a Symbian event this week in London, Sony Ericsson reiterated that the platform is destined for certain death and mentioning that it “didn’t attract the operator, manufacturer or consumer interest needed to stop it from failing.” Ouch.
Nothing fulfills the need for companionship like the cold hard steel of a robot. The gentle whooshing of gears and servos floats misty lavender doughnuts of joy into the hearts of even the most severely disabled farmers. So we’re stoked to see that researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have taken the best attributes of our canine helpers and applied them to the EI-E helper robot. Like a service dog trained to grab hold of a towel to manipulate doors and drawers, the domestic robot can navigate the complexities of your home decor and respond to laser pointed or voice-commands such as push, pull, and a variety of hot tugging actions. Drape that thing in a plush, doughboy suit and we’ll be singing Ee i Ee i Oh! all the way home.
The last time we saw some new Joybooks they were these cute little 10.1-inch things, but the new R46 is their professional-minded older sibling (the Alex P. Keaton to your Mallory, perhaps). This sober, serious machine sports a 14.1-inch “UltraVivid” WXGA display, a Core 2 Duo T3400 processor, integrated x4500 graphics, up to 4GB RAM, up to 320GB storage and all the love that WiFi and Bluetooth provide. And if video conferencing is your bag, you’ll be please to note that it comes with a 2 megapixel webcam and microphone with smart noise suppression. Available now in China, Thailand and Malaysia — but the price remains a mystery.
Comcast has announced that they have upgraded their DOCSIS 3.0 service to offer new high-speed 22Mbps/5Mbps and 50Mbps/10Mbps options. They have also increased the speed along standard tiers: 6Mbps/1Mbps will be upgraded to 12Mbps/2Mbps and 8Mbps/2Mbps will be increased to 16Mbps/2Mbps—both at no cost to subscribers. The “Ultra” 22Mbps plan will run for $63 while the “Extreme 50″ 50Mbps plan will hit for $140. Unfortunately, the new service will be available only in the New England area intially—including Boston, Philadelphia, and parts of New Hampshire and New Jersey. The goal is to expand the service nationwide in the near future.
Users interested in the upgrades will be able to check their zip code for availability on a special landing page set up on the Comcast website. Keep in mind that all of these tiers will most likely be subject to Comcast’s new 250GB data caps as well as their priority bandwidth management system that temporarily slows down heavy users under periods of congestion.
COMCAST BEGINS ROLLOUT OF EXTREME 50 MBPS HIGH-SPEED INTERNET SERVICE Plans to Reach More Than 10 Major Markets and Nearly 10 Million Homes and Businesses in the Next Several Months
Two New, Faster Speed Tiers Introduced and Speeds Doubled for Most Existing Customers PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 22, 2008 – Comcast, the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications products and services, today announced it is making the leap from broadband to wideband with the launch of next-generation DOCSIS 3.0. With wideband, Comcast will introduce a brand new echelon of Internet speed tiers, which will redefine the customer experience online and create a platform for Internet innovation in the years ahead.
In the next few weeks, Comcast’s new services will be available to millions of residential homes and businesses in parts of New England, including the Boston Metropolitan region and Southern New Hampshire, as well as areas of Philadelphia and New Jersey. These services also will be available in the Twin Cities where wideband was launched earlier this year. Comcast plans to continue to roll out wideband across its footprint and expects to reach more than 10 major markets and pass nearly 10 million homes and businesses in the next several months.
With wideband, Comcast will offer among the fastest speeds available today, including the Extreme 50 tier at up to 50 Mbps. It also will enable Comcast to double speeds for the majority of existing high-speed Internet customers at no additional cost.
“Wideband is a game-changer for the industry. With wideband running over our next-generation fiber-optic network, we can greatly enhance our customers’ online experience immediately. And these speeds are only a preview of what’s to come—wideband will provide the capability of delivering dramatically faster speeds in excess of 160 Mbps in the future,” said Mitch Bowling, SVP and General Manager, Comcast Online Services. “Today’s announcement reaffirms our commitment to offer more speed to more homes than any other U.S. Internet service provider.”
As part of the wideband deployment, Comcast will launch two new premium speed tiers to its residential and business class customers. Both services are ideal for households or businesses simultaneously using several computers or Internet-connected devices. They also will appeal to those who simply want some of the fastest speeds available in the U.S. today:
New Residential Tiers •Extreme 50, offering up to 50 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 10 Mbps of upstream speed at $139.95/month.* •Ultra, offering up to 22 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 5 Mbps of upstream speed at $62.95/month.*
With Extreme 50, Comcast customers, for example, will be able to download a high-def movie (6 GB) in about 16 minutes, a standard-def movie (2 GB) in about 5 minutes and a standard-def TV show (300 MB) in a matter of seconds. Customers with Extreme 50 also will be able to download digital photos, songs and games faster than ever
One of the great things about netbooks like the Eee PC is all of the potential for modification. This particular hack comes to us via a Russian Eee PC 701 owner who managed to turn it into a carputer for his Honda Fit. With the monitor in the dash and a wireless keyboard in the glovebox, the Eee PC transforms into an XP-driven media device with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and (most likely) GPS. By the looks of things, making this hack work in your vehicle will be no easy task—and there isn’t much to go on besides a series of photos that outline the build process. Still, if you are willing to give it a try, the images are available in the link. [Photofile and eee.pc.ru via Liliputing]
A few months ago we ran a rumor in which Steve Jobs had written a reader promising that Apple was working on iPhone tethering for 3G laptop browsing. Now, according to a MacBlogz, a reliable source from inside AT&T has informed them that iPhone tethering is being delayed because AT&T isn’t prepared to meet the 3G demand. According to the source:
Regardless of how many billions of dollars AT&T pours into their 3G network, it hasn’t been stable enough to handle all you iPhone users
They added that AT&T Blackberry tethering is a different beast, as Blackberry users haven’t caused nearly the strain of iPhone users on AT&T’s 3G network.
AT&T, on the other hand, routinely insists that they leave all service features up to the hardware manufacturers.
Given that AT&T has has taken plenty of bumps on the chin regarding iPhone data, and given that iPhones have sold even better this year than projected, it’s not such a stretch to believe that AT&T might be playing it safe for the time being and handling their 3G network with care. [MacBlogz]
If you don’t wanna spring for the two-year contract or wait out the 90 days ’til T-Mobile 
It’s no secret that UIQ effectively died when it merged into the 
Comcast has announced that they have upgraded their DOCSIS 3.0 service to offer new high-speed 22Mbps/5Mbps and 50Mbps/10Mbps options. They have also increased the speed along standard tiers: 6Mbps/1Mbps will be upgraded to 12Mbps/2Mbps and 8Mbps/2Mbps will be increased to 16Mbps/2Mbps—both at no cost to subscribers. The “Ultra” 22Mbps plan will run for $63 while the “Extreme 50″ 50Mbps plan will hit for $140. Unfortunately, the new service will be available only in the New England area intially—including Boston, Philadelphia, and parts of New Hampshire and New Jersey. The goal is to expand the service nationwide in the near future.
One of the great things about netbooks like the Eee PC is all of the 
A few months ago we 
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