Fujitsu Siemens Steps Into Netbook Arena With Amilo Mini
Fujitsu Siemens has entered the netbook boxing ring with a 2.2-pound, 8.9-inch contender. Called the Amilo Mini, the netbook runs a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor and supports up to 80GB of hard drive space. Surprisingly it doesn’t offer a solid…

Fujitsu Siemens has entered the netbook boxing ring with a 2.2-pound, 8.9-inch contender.

Called the Amilo Mini, the netbook runs a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor and supports up to 80GB of hard drive space. Surprisingly it doesn’t offer a solid say drive option, which could be a major disadvantage: The hard disk drive options only run at speeds of 3,600 or 4,200 revolutions per minute — pretty slow in today’s standards.

The notebook will reportedly ship with Windows XP Home for $588 in Europe. A Laptop magazine article says Fujitsu plans to release a very similar notebook in Asia and the Americas.

Fujitsu Siemens Enters Netbook Market with Amilo Mini [Laptop Magazine]

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Notes: Labor Day Changes [Notes]

Hey all. Labor day’s always signaled the true end of summer to me, and this year, it marks many changes and breaks for the Giz team.

Jason’s taking a last minute vacation to some tropical destination, and I spent the day finding a ski cabin and getting ready for the upcoming snowboarding season. Jesús is leaving Berlin and getting back home before moving; Mark and Wilson are settling into new homes in new cities; Adam is in Cape Cod; John Herrman is ending his internship and returning to Scotland in a few days; CES prep starts to warm up. We rest so that we have the ability to brace ourselves and resist the rush of new gadgets the companies want to shove down our gullets. So, we’re taking the holiday weekend to post a little less and rest a tiny more. If you end up missing us more than you can bear, here’s a link to our most recent top stories and features. Otherwise, we’ll see you on Tuesday.

UPDATE: Unless some MF decides to break some news…

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Insider: Blu-ray Player Prices Coming Down Soon
After observing a premium price point for its Blu-ray players for most of the year, Sony is expected to bring down the price of its best player (BDP-S350), by more than 25% by the end of next month. This is,…

After observing a premium price point for its Blu-ray players for most of the year, Sony is expected to bring down the price of its ideal player (BDP-S350), by more than 25% by the end of next month.

This is, of course, a well-worn trick in the book of hook: Pump out a wanted product early, let the early adopters fund the investment, then break backs with a significant price cut.

But hey, with HD DVD out of the way, the purveyors of the Blu-ray format are free to pursue the regular retail strategies that have infuriated customers for years. One problem with this, though: Blu-ray hasn’t taken off absolutely yet, so this time, they’ve to grease the tracks for potential buyers before they begin thinking about the available diskless HD video options.

According to an industry insider quoted by Consumer Electronics Daily, Sony will lower the player’s price to a reasonable $300 (from $400), opening up a spot for its new player (the BDP-S550) to be released in October.

Apparently, a few other Blu-ray player manufacturers are scheduled to begin the move downwards. Funai, which controls Philips and Insignia, will also lower the prices of its own Blu-ray players to a similar price.

We obviously think this is a good development, but the $300 price point isn’t a gimme. Blu-ray drives for Personal computers are already available under $200, and a box should have a lot more functionality at that point for it to be a real need at that price. Which means the PS3 is probably (still!) the ideal Blu deal out there, almost two years after it was released.

Photo: kainet/flickr

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Dealzmodo: RadioShack Selling Samsung Instinct For $100 During Labor Day Weekend [Dealzmodo]

If you’re interested in getting your hands on a Samsung Instinct, RadioShack has announced that they’ll be offering an exclusive $100 price on the phone to celebrate its launch across their 4,400 stores. The Instinct is easily Sprint’s best phone, but it is available only to new Sprint users who sign up for a Simply Everything Plan ($$$).The deal starts on Friday and runs through the Labor Day weekend. [MobileBurn]

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Samsung has unveiled a mini notebook that it boasts is “lighter than air” — and perhaps the company is referring to Apple’s MacBook Air. Weighing 2.8 pounds, the X360 is just a tiny bit lighter than the 3-pound MacBook Air….

Samsung has unveiled a mini notebook that it boasts is “lighter than air” — and perhaps the company is referring to Apple’s MacBook Air.

Weighing 2.8 pounds, the X360 is just a little bit lighter than the 3-pound MacBook Air. However, the X360 is still thicker than the Air: The X360 measures 0.66 inches deep on one end and 1.2 inches on the other; the Air measures 0.16 to 0.76 inches thick.

The X360 features the Intel Centrino 2 platform, a 13.3-inch screen and support for up to 4GB of RAM and a 120GB solid state drive. Similar to the Air, the X360 unfortunately lacks an optical drive.

Those lucky folks at Engadget have already gotten their hands on an X360, and they’ve reported positive feedback. Samsung has slated the notebook for an international October release with a price range from about $2,200 to $2,900, according to a Register Hardware story. Thinner than the Air or not, the X360 looks pretty darn sexy. We’ll have to see if the company’s “lighter than air” slogan will hold truth after Apple upgrades the MacBook Air.

Samsung unwraps MacBook Air beater [Register Hardware]

Via [wired.com]

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One more IFA, one more gallery of completely crazy PC mods by nutty Europeans. The ideal of the lot was, without a doubt, this menacing Unreal Rocket Launcher. But there are others, each of them more silly, pointless, and horrendous than the previous one.

The worst: that two-headed furry blue monster that moved his heads, feet, and eyes while holding the system’s display. [More IFA 2008 Coverage]

Via [gizmodo]

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Researchers: Adults 31 and Older Hate, Fear Cell Phones
After surveying 75 people in one area, a research firm has concluded that adults over 30 years old are luddites who hate their cell phones with a fiery passion. Bowen Research conducted the interviews mostly in San Francisco and classified…

After surveying 75 people in one area, a research firm has concluded that adults over 30 years old are luddites who hate their cell phones with a fiery passion.

Bowen Research conducted the interviews mostly in San Francisco and classified 40 participants older than 30 as “quite vehement about [their phone,] have problems they can’t solve, and feel the phone does things randomly by accident.” Some complained that text messaging requires them to “think too much” because they have to spell words correctly.

The other 35 participants were ages 30 and younger, and they “generally have no problem with their phone interface.”

The study also found that the under-30 participants used at least 50 percent of their phones’ features, while the 31-and-up group used about 40 percent of their handset features. Quite an breathtaking disparity.

Bowen Research is selling its study for $5,000 to anyone who wishes to peer into groundbreaking research suggesting that young’ins are generally better with technology than older folks.

I’m sure my 32-year-old friend Trisha would be interested in buying this study. Let me just call her and hope her teeth don’t fall out and she doesn’t curl up in a fetal position and cry, “The horror! The horror!” when her phone rings. Oh, wait — she lives in Sacramento. Maybe this study won’t apply to her.

Bowen Research [via ComputerWorld]

(Photo credit: NCavillones/Flickr )

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Reaching for a fire extinguisher and putting out a fire swiftly and safely is so old-school. The modern-day firefighter needs to inject a tiny excitement into a boring blaze. The modern day firefighter needs the In-Danger anti-fire gun from Eunjung…

Reaching for a fire extinguisher and putting out a fire quickly and safely is so old-school. The modern-day firefighter needs to inject a tiny excitement into a boring blaze. The modern day firefighter needs the In-Danger anti-fire gun from Eunjung Kim, Yangwoo Kim and Junyi Heo.

The gun can be loaded with up to eight carbon dioxide bullets — rubber canisters containing pressurized gas. As the flames creep higher, you carefully aim, adjust the range via the “distance control belt” and fire. The bullet slams into the base of the now-huge pyre and discharges its deadly cargo into the beast’s fiery heart. We like to envision this happening in slow motion, Matrix-style, with the bullets leaving vaporous trails in their supersonic wakes.

If this concept ever makes it into production, the other people in my building had superior watch out. Things are going to get hot around here.

Product page [Yanko via Core 77]

Via [wired.com]

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Swift View on Philips New IFA 2008 Gadgets [Ifa 2008]

In addition to their new TVs and AV systems, Philips had a ton of small new gadgets and appliances at IFA 2008 today: new Streamium 160GB micro Hi-Fi systems, the CinemaOne all-in-one home theater unit, the new version of the Wake-Up Light alarm clock, a cool home messaging system bar, a beer draft machine, a barrage of grooming things, food processors, and the new Senseo Latte Choose, which does perfect latte macchiatos in seconds. I’ll get an espresso instead, because I was getting quite sleepy right there. Full gallery of shiny objects after the jump.

Honestly, it never ceases to amaze me the amount of stuff these kind of general consumer-oriented companies make. [More IFA 2008 Coverage]

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And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder: One of the four beasts saying: “Come and see.” And I saw. And behold, there was the other Jesus, the Bible character, calling me from a large screen saying “Jesus is the Reason for The—V-Sign this program-and will be shu-whaaa?” Clearly, Jesus is good with all this saving Humanity and making water into wine tricks, but I’m afraid he’s no match for Windows errors. [Fail]

Via [gizmodo]

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