new(e)gear

Has it been 74 days already? This weekend Apple sold it’s one-millionth iPhone, a few days after they slashed the price by a third to jolt sales.

With this news Apple shares went up $4.94, or 3.8 percent to 136.71. Apple thought they would hit the one million iPhone mark by the end of September, so they are ahead of what they had predicted. By comparison, it took two years for Apple to sell one million iPods.

Apple knocked $200 off the price of the 8-gigabyte iPhone last week bringing its price to $399. Apple also discontinued the 4-gigabyte version.

The price cut angered Apple customers who bought the iPhone for the full price. Price slashing is common in the cell phone industry, but not common for Apple. Jobs issued an apology the next day and offered customers $100 credits if they bought their iPhone within 14 days of the price cut.

The same day Apple slashed the iPhone price to $399, it unveiled a new iPod, also $399 and called the iPod Touch. The iPod Touch is essentially the same as the iPhone but without the cell phone capability.

Dell, Inc is launching a whole new line of notebooks and desktop personal computers named “Vostro” which are aimed to market small business of 25 or less employees.

One great feature of the Vostro systems is that they will not be shipped with “trialware” to clutter up the machine. It will however be available with either Windows XP or Vista.

Dell has dedicated 6,500 employees to handle tech support just for Vostro customers.

Price ranges for the Vostro systems were $449 – $799 for notebooks (three notebooks ranging from 14 to 17 inches) and the desktop systems will start at around $319.

Here is a photo from Dell’s website to show you what the Vostro line looks like.

Okay, this is my third straight entry on the iPhone. I have to apologize for those of you who are sick and tired of hearing about the iPhone. Anyway, I stumbled upon an article this morning stating the issues (more like gripes) about this device.

According to CNET.com, the iPhone is considered an easy-to-use, sleek interface, top-notch music and video functions all in a nice pretty design, however they don’t consider it to be living up to the hype.

After all this is a phone we’re talking about and there are a host of missing features, sluggish EDGE network and variable call quality which left them wanting more from the iPhone.

To scroll through long lists, such as the phone book or music playlists CNET found it somewhat tedious. Flicking your finger up or down will move you part of the way through a list, but you cannot move directly to the bottom or top of the list. The lack of buttons requires a lot of tapping to move about the interface.

The keyboard is pretty much accurate, however it has a long way to go to achieve greatness. When typing an email or text message the keyboard is displayed only when you hold the iPhone vertically. As a result, the CNET reviewer could only type comfortably with one finger, which really cut down on typing speed. Plus basic punctuation such as periods and commas are on a secondary keyboard which was annoying.

There’s more to the CNET review in which you can check out here.

Halleluiah, maybe Apple, Inc.‘s iPhone hype will start to fade a little now that some of us have gotten our hands on one. Gadget junkies lined up today to hopefully pick up one of the long awaited electronic device in years.

Apple stores in New York saw crowds of over 600 people and several dozen customers at AT&T stores — the phone’s exclusive wireless carrier for the next two years.

In San Francisco about 200 people stood outside an outlet. One customer mentioned that most of the phones out there today are garbage. He had been through several phones, even the expensive phones. He also claims that the iPhone is different and that it’s the latest toy so he had to get one.

For those of you who have been living under a rock the past 6 months or so, the iPhone melds a phone, Web browser and media player all in one device. Technology gurus say that the iPhone is a “breakthrough” device but are concerned about the smooth touch-screen interface instead of a keyboard.

In any case, if trends continue to go towards smart phones, I think the iPhone will be very successful seeing that it has just about everything users like (except the computing power of some smart phones that are already out there). All I have to say is to those who really want the iPhone — Good luck getting your hands on one and get ready to dig deep into your wallets for activation, monthly fees and oh yeah, the $499 sticker price on the 4GB model and the $599 price on the 8GB model. You’re looking at around $1400 for a two-year required service contract. IPhone away everyone!

Consumers planning to buy the iPhone when it goes on sale in the U.S. later this month will need to have an iTunes Store account before they can activate the device, according to information on Apple’s Web site.

A Separate Deal from Cell

Apple will require customers to establish a separate account with its online media service in addition to one with AT&T Wireless Services, which has signed an exclusive U.S. distribution deal for the iPhone.

The move will allow Apple to create its own billing relationship with iPhone customers, rather than collecting payments for any iTunes purchases they make via the mobile operator.

The iPhone is due to go on sale in the U.S. on June 29. The company has announced plans for a European release in the fourth quarter of the year but has yet to provide details, such as whether the European version will operate on 3G (third-generation) networks.

I gleefully recently received an email from Alienware (I’m on their mailing list) and was floored when I saw the Hangar18. This is the ultimate in DVR/Computing technology? With Alienware’s Hangar18, you can watch, pause, and record your movies, TV shows, photos and internet videos on your widescreen TV in high definition. You’re probably saying to yourself, I’ve already have a DVR that does this. Wait, there’s more!

You can even listen to your favorite songs and artists with Hangar18′s onboard 5.1 surround sound amplifier, wirelessly stream all of your media to other PCs, mobile devices, and media extenders in your home. Plus, you can download content from all over the internet to one secure location to store and share with your home and others. Can your DVR do that? I know my current setup cannot.

Having options like 2 TB of storage space for your HD streams, 5.1 surround system pumping out amplified sound from this beast, and a standard Gyration remote control, eliminating the need for a mouse, you’ll be in full control of what you save, watch and share.

AMD LIVE! syncs up seamlessly with most of your current digital interface devices, which gives you convenient access to a wealth of automatic entertainment features. Hangar18 features Microsoft Media Center with Windows Home Premium which lets you do everything other Windows operating systems do, plus a whole lot more!

With all these features and power at your fingertips, new(e)gear definitely gives this powerful media system two-thumbs up! If you are wondering how much the Hangar18 will set you back, don’t bother. If you have to ask — it’s too much. Just kidding… Hangar18 starts at $1,999 at the time this article was published.

Technical Specifications:

Operating Systems

* Windows® Vista™ Home Premium

Processors, Chipset & Memory

* AMD® Athlon 64™X2 Dual core processors (Low wattage, 65 watts)
* AMD® AM2™ chipset
* Up to 4GB Low Latency DDR2 at 800MHz

Graphics & Video

* Standard: NVIDIA™ integrated graphics, HDMI out (720p)
* Optional: NVIDIA Dedicated Graphics, HDMI out (1080p)
* Connectivity
o 5.1 channel surround sound Audio Amplifier
o Analog Audio in
o Optical Audio out
o Subwoofer out

o Video out Standard:
+ HDMI Video
+ VGA
+ S-Video
+ Analog Video Out
o Dual TV Combo Tuners ( 1 analog, 1 High Definition )
o Up to 4 TV Tuners ( 2 analog, 2 High Definition )
Storage

* Standard 250GB HDD 7200RPM
* Up to 2 Terabytes at 7200RPM

Networking

* Wireless Connectivity
o Standard Internal Wireless 802.b/g
* Wired Connectivity
o Integrated Gigabit Ethernet

Audio

* Standard 5.1 channel Digital Surround Sound
* Direct Subwoofer connection

Peripheral Connections

* 4 Hi-speed USB 2.0 ports
* IEEE 1394a (4-pin) port
* 4-in-1 Memory Card Reader
(SD / MS / MSPRO / MMC)

Case & Chassis

* Height: 4.2”
* Width: 18.4”
* Depth: 15.55”
* Weight: 18 lbs

It’s great to see home computers and entertainment systems continue to come together to do common tasks. You can watch, record, pause or whatever you want to with your favorite shows in HD, save your photos and listen to music with the comfort of your couch. Instead of your not so comfy office chair. You are probably wondering how are they making this system secure? Is there a security package? And, what if the Hangar18 crashes or your two-year-old presses the wrong button? I spoke with Alienware and asked these questions and found out that the security package is Vista’s built-in security package. In regards to backing up data, Alienware mentioned that I could hook up a external hard drive via USB for backing up your data stored on the Hangar18.