consumer electronics

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Toddlers: The New iPad Whizzes, Addicts

New generation's love of touchscreens could reshape media

(Newser) - The iPad is becoming a major hit with toddlers—or at least with toddlers who have parents happy to plunk a $500 gadget in their hands. Parents say kids as young as 18 months are learning their way around the iPad's touchscreen with uncanny speed. And after putting the device...

Apple 'Suicide Plant' Hikes Wages Again

Foxconn announces 66% performance-based pay raise

(Newser) - The owners of a suicide-plagued electronics plant in southern China have announced the second pay rise in under a week. Foxconn employees, who received a 30% across-the-board hike last week, will be eligible for a 66% performance-based pay rise if they pass a 3-month performance review, Reuters reports. Execs say...

10th Suicide Strikes Apple Plant

Chinese worker kills himself hours after boss seeks to reassure media

(Newser) - On the same day that Apple, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard promised to look into working conditions at China's Foxconn plant, a 10th worker committed suicide, PC World reports. The death of the 19-year-old male worker also came just after the company's billionaire founder took the media on a tour of the...

Amazon Hiring Binge Signals 'iPad Killer' Coming

Firm announces Android version amid 'Superkindle' Rumors

(Newser) - Amazon appears to be working on a killer of its own to take on the "Kindle-killer" iPad. The division of the company that cooked up the Kindle has gone on a major hiring spree recently, and its job listings—from Software Quality Assurance Engineer to Software Development Test Engineer—...

Microsoft Cans Tablet Project
 Microsoft Cans Tablet Project 
Apr 30, 2010 1:44 AM CDT

Microsoft Cans Tablet Project

Courier has been shelved

(Newser) - Microsoft's "iPad killer" tablet computer has been killed. The two-screen Courier device created a buzz when images of a prototype were leaked last year, but Microsoft execs say the project has now been shelved. The strong launch of the iPad may have convinced Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer to rethink...

Double Downs, Touchscreens Don't Mix
Double Downs,
Touchscreens Don't Mix
in case you missed
Apr 17, 2010 6:00 PM CDT

Double Downs, Touchscreens Don't Mix

iPad disabled by the touch of KFC diners

(Newser) - While foodies were debating the culinary merits of the Double Down yesterday, two selfless Gizmodo reporters sacrificed their guts and their gadgets to confirm the somewhat foregone conclusion that the sandwich might not pair so well with a touchscreen device. The pair were presumably unsurprised to find their iPad disabled...

Global Release Delayed for Lusted-After iPad

Israel bans imports of 'incompatible' Apple tablet

(Newser) - Disappointed Apple fans outside the US will have to wait at least another month to get their hands on an iPad, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The company says demand has been much higher than expected, with 500,000 tablets sold in the first week, so it has pushed the...

Stunning iPad's a 'Game-Changer'
 Stunning iPad's 
 a 'Game-Changer' 
REVIEW ROUNDUP
Apr 1, 2010 7:39 AM CDT

Stunning iPad's a 'Game-Changer'

Apple's touch-screen tablet's a winner

(Newser) - The revolutionary iPad's a winner that largely lives up to Apple's hype, according to overwhelmingly positive early reviews. The tablet computer could easily replace the laptop for users focused on consuming instead of creating content, and who can live without a mouse—and Flash, say reviewers.
  • The device is "
...

Dozens of iPhone Factory Workers Seriously Ill

Chinese workers hospitalized with nerve damage

(Newser) - Dozens of Chinese workers have spent close to a year in hospital after sustaining nerve damage in a factory making iPhone components. The workers, mostly young women, were exposed to a toxic solvent they used to clean iPhone and iTouch screens, GlobalPost finds in part of a series of investigations...

Google TV Wants to Take Over Your Living Room

Search king teams up with Intel, Sony for TV project

(Newser) - Google is scrambling for a piece of the action as more and more people use their TVs to access web content. The search giant has teamed up with Intel and Sony to build a new generation of TVs and set-top boxes using its Chrome browser and Android cell phone system,...

Laptops Go 3-D
 Laptops Go 3-D 
TECH REVIEW
Mar 3, 2010 6:47 AM CST

Laptops Go 3-D

Serious gamers will appreciate latest model, writes Katherine Boehret

(Newser) - Not everybody's going to want a 3D laptop, but two new models offer an extra dimension to two different kinds of computer users, writes Katherine Boehret. The $770 Acer Aspire is aimed at the mainstream market. It's designed mainly as a trusty all-round laptop and uses a "slightly clumsy"...

Apple to Unveil 'Latest Creation' on Jan. 27

 Apple to Unveil 
 'Latest Creation' 
 on Jan. 27 
whatever could it be?
Jan 18, 2010 12:27 PM CST

Apple to Unveil 'Latest Creation' on Jan. 27

Press invited to event and hope to see long-rumored tablet

(Newser) - You might not be on the invite list to grab a first look at what will likely be Apple’s rumored tablet device, but the Wall Street Journal is. The paper reports that it just received an invite to the Jan. 27 San Francisco event where the computer maker will...

Holiday Sales Up 3.6%
 Holiday Sales Up 3.6% 
Dec 28, 2009 3:29 AM CST

Holiday Sales Up 3.6%

Online spending surge fuels modest recovery

(Newser) - Retail holiday sales ticked up this year for a 3.6% improvement over 2008's disastrous showing. The modestly improved overall picture included a 15.5% surge in online shopping, thanks in part to snowstorms that stranded many shoppers at home the week before Christmas, as well as an almost 6%...

Older, Cheaper Gadgets Make Great Gifts
 Older, Cheaper Gadgets 
 Make Great Gifts 
RECESSIONOMICS
Dec 12, 2009 7:58 AM CST

Older, Cheaper Gadgets Make Great Gifts

Spend much less, get slightly less, but hey, it's a recession

(Newser) - A bunch of older gadgets—read: last year's models—"work fantastically well yet have been largely forgotten," Farhad Manjoo writes on Slate . What's more, they're relatively cheap, and perfect for the penny-pinching holiday shopper. A sampling:
  • Kindle 1: The design is a bit "off-putting," and the
...

Wal-Mart Will Push TVs, Laptops on Black Friday
Wal-Mart Will Push TVs, Laptops on Black Friday
MAKE LIST; CHECK TWICE
Nov 17, 2009 6:18 PM CST

Wal-Mart Will Push TVs, Laptops on Black Friday

Discount circular leaks ahead of schedule

(Newser) - Details of Wal-Mart's Black Friday deals—normally kept under wraps until Thanksgiving week—have been obtained by CNNMoney and partially confirmed by the retailer. The day after Thanksgiving will see deep discounts on high-def TVs, laptops, and Blu-ray players. Some specifics:
  • Sanyo 50-inch plasma TVs will be available for $598.
...

Droid a Savvy Choice for Smartphone Fans
 Droid a Savvy Choice 
 for Smartphone Fans 
WALT MOSSBERG
Nov 5, 2009 5:38 AM CST

Droid a Savvy Choice for Smartphone Fans

Users sick of AT&T now have an option

(Newser) - Verizon has finally come up with a phone that will satisfy users who want an iPhone-quality smartphone to run on the firm's zippy 3G network, writes Walt Mossberg. The Motorola Droid, is, like the iPhone, "a powerful hand-held computer that happens to make phone calls," Mossberg writes. The...

First Tweet-Only Device Debuts
 First Tweet-Only Device Debuts 
TWITTERLAND
Nov 3, 2009 12:42 PM CST

First Tweet-Only Device Debuts

Interesting idea, but bloggers are skeptical it will catch on

(Newser) - The concept is simple: a device dedicated solely to sending and receiving tweets. TwitterPeek—made by mobile email/text gadget maker Peek—launches today at a cost of $199 with free lifetime service or $99 with a monthly charge of $7.95. Neat, writes Don Reisinger on CNET, but this idea...

Best Buy Noses Into Online Movie Market

Streaming service will come pre-loaded on gadgets

(Newser) - Best Buy has partnered with online provider CinemaNow to develop a movie downloading service that will come preloaded on the bulk of its Internet-capable electronics. The move follows a 13% slump in DVD sales for the year that has had the company casting about for a new revenue stream. It...

California Plans Ban on Power-Guzzling TVs

Nation's first TV energy standards expected to pass

(Newser) - The consumer electronics industry is kicking hard against California's plans to introduce energy consumption maximums for TV sets. An industry lobby group argues that buyers should be allowed to decide whether they want a power-hungry flat-screen TV set or not, and warns that the move could cost the state jobs...

Verizon Unveils Droid Smartphone
 Verizon Unveils 
 Droid Smartphone 
bloggers' first look
Oct 28, 2009 12:44 PM CDT

Verizon Unveils Droid Smartphone

All looks promising, but some think OS is still no match for iPhone

(Newser) - Verizon's Droid smartphone—built by Motorola and powered by Google's Android—goes on sale Nov. 6 for $200. Some early opinions on the iPhone challenger:
  • The phone is "almost not worth writing about," notes Chris Dannen in Fast Company . It's "fine" but "doesn't advance" the Android
...

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