Verizon LG Versa Announced, Ships Soon

Verizon and LG officially announced yesterday their latest soon-to-be-released device: The LG Versa. The name is short for "versatility", pretty fitting since the Versa will allow for different attachments for maxiumum customization. It will come with a full QWERTY keyboard to get you started - great for those (including myself) who prefer a tactile keyboard over a virtual touch screen keyboard. Many seem to be making a big deal about the fact that it can be used as a modem as well, but this is not exactly a new innovation in the mobile world. Verizon, however, often blocks this ability (they are known for crippling devices in many ways). It's called tethering, for those who are unfamiliar, and just means that you can connect your phone to your computer and acces the internet through your device's connection. It is great, since you can basically get on the 'net wherever you have cellular service. Oh yeah... to use the Versa as a modem, you're going to have to dish out an extra $59.99 per month for Verizon's Mobile Broadband Connect plan, and is also limited to 5GB of data transfer. More features supported that are associated with an extra charge: V Cast Music using Rhapsody, V Cast Video, Visual Voice Mail, VZ Navigator GPS. That's not to say that other carrier's don't charge for similar services, but it would be nice to see that modem feature at least offered for a little less.

All in all though, the device is actually quite innovative, with a nice feature set. Here's the rundown:

• Customizable animated 3D interface
• EV-DO Rev. A
• 3" touch screen display
• 2.0 megapixel camera with face detection
• Image editor
• Full HTML Browser
  
• Flash Support (= Awesome!)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), supports stereo sound
• 2.5mm headset jack (= too bad)
• microSD card slot supporting up to 16GB of additional memory
• Accelerometer
  
• Drawing pad
  

The release date is set at March 1, 2009, and it will cost $199 after a $50 mail-in rebate. According to press release slides, a game controller attachment will be available soon! For more info and some more press release pictures, check out Engadget.

WinBook WB-8321 HD Digital Video Camcorder Awesome Price

Recording in high definition on-the-go has never been easier. The WinBook WB-8321 is a small digital video camcorder with a flip-out 2.4" LCD display. Recording in AVI video format (H.264 codec) and WAV audio format, it sports a 5MP CMOS optical sensor. JPEG is used for still images, which can be captured in resolutions of 3744 x 2808, 2592 x 1944, or 1600 x 1200. It has four recording modes, all at 30 fps (frames per second): 1280 x 720, 720 x 480, 640 x 480, 320 x 240. White balance modes include auto, daylight, fluorescent, tungsten, with exposure compensation of ±1 EV range in 1/3 EV steps. Storage is taken care of with 64MB of built-in flash memory (part of which is used for the firmware), expandable using the SD card slot. Multiple flash modes and 8x digital zoom round out the feature set.

Not only does the WinBook support HDMI, Mini USB 2.0, and TV Out, but it also includes the necessary cables in the box. You'll get: a box with color sleeve, HDMI cable, AV cable, USB cable, stereo earphones, NP-60 Li-ion rechargeable battery, power adapter, strap, pouch, CD with driver, AP, and a user's manual.

Now for the catch... actually there isnt one! Buy.com is currently offering it for $69.99 with FREE shipping! The normal retail price of this baby is $199.99, but I have seen it on sale elsewhere for around $90 to $120.

So, snag one for yourself here at this great price while you still can! There is currently a limit of 5 per customer.

Blackberry Storm and iPhone Internet Speed Test

Wondering how fast your nice new BlackBerry Storm or iPhone is letting you browse the internet? Many people want to know if their nice new toy is living up to the hype and their own expectations. Cisco Global Internet Speed Test (GIST) for iPhone & Blackberry Storm is a neat little tool to test your mobile bandwidth. It actually includes speeds over WiFi as well, which are likely to be limited by the hardware and OS, and not the internet connection. The program quantifies your speed under three different classifications:

1. Web 2.0 Grade: surf the web and collaborate, you’re on a solid wave (150 – 449 kbps)
2. Music Grade: download/listen to your favorite tunes, you’ve got the bandwidth (450 – 749 kbps)
3. Video Grade: get your popcorn—it’s showtime, you’re in the fast lane (750+ kbps)

blackberrynews had a few posts made by people who tried out the program, and to be honest, the speeds did not seem very impressive.

Download the program from Cisco for free here!

Amazon Kindle 2 Dissassembly and Specs

As many know, the Amazon Kindle 2 was released just yesterday for $359. Already, some brave souls at ifixit have done a complete teardown of the unit. They have a pretty detailed guide on how to do it in case you happen to be crazy enough to attempt it too. The good part? Some of the specifications revealed are interesting:

• Processor: 532 MHz 90nm ARM-11 Freescale MCIMX31L multimedia processor. Clocks faster thant the iPhone 3G, slower than the BlackBerry Bold, and a bit quicker than the BlackBerry Curve 8900
• It is actually thinner than the iPhone 3G!
  
• 1530 mAh lithium polymer battery, Model No. S11S01A. It's a 3.7 V. The battery weighs about 10% of the total weight of the Kindle.
• Samsung K4X1G323PC 32MB mobile DDR SDRAM chip
  
• moviNAND package: 2GB flash and controller
  
• A secretive Amazon subsidiary by the name of Lab126 designed both the Kindle 1 and Kindle 2
• The E-Ink panel is not protected by any extra covering
• The E-Ink display still displays a crysal clear image when the battery is removed
• Freescale, Samsung, and Epson are the manufacturers of most of the relatively larger chips in the Kindle
• MC13783VK5 battery management chip
• The E-Ink chip is branded by Epson as well
• An outline of a SIM card might have been for development and debugging... perhaps a future international release

Well there you have it. Want to see for yourself? It apparently only entails removing 26 screws and disconnecting 4 connectors. Keep in mind that this is usually not a good thing to do if you ever have to go through the warranty department...

More info here, and here

Get Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack early

While the Halo Wars Mythic Map Pack is scheduled for a release date of March 3, 2009, you can get a sneak peak at the real deal when you purchase the Limited Collector's Edition. You can play games of 4 vs. 4 on three new maps: Orbital, Assembly, and Sandbox. It also includes a graphic novel entitled Halo Wars: Genesis. While I'm not too keen on the game in general, this seems like a pretty good deal if you really want to check out the new maps early.


Check Bungie.net for some more screenshots of Orbital and Assembly.