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Snow Leopard to kill Atom CPU support?

November 2, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

Nothing’s official just yet, but the latest Snow Leopard developer build, version 10.6.2, does away with Atom CPU support. It’s not a big deal to the average Mac user, but for anyone who has put the hours of dedication and frustration into making a Hackintosh, it’s a huge deal. It would effectively kill Snow Leopard for the little lappies, at least until someone can find a workaround.

For the few among us running OS X on a Dell Mini or other such devices, you’re going to be stuck on 10.6.1 if you made the upgrade work. It has to make you wonder, though, if Apple isn’t targeting the tiny community ahead of the tablet release to encourage a few more purchases. Then again, the community is so small and the anticipation of an Apple tablet so great that it’s hard to imagine that to be the case.

Apple, Computers

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iPhone lands in China missing Wi-Fi

November 1, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

The iPhone touched down in China this past Friday night missing one big feature: Wi-Fi. China’s second largest mobile carrier, China Unicom, has an exclusive three-year deal with Apple to sell the phone.

Starting out sales might not be the runaway figures Apple saw in the US. After all, it’s not that tough to get phones from other markets. Phones that include Wi-Fi. There have also been rumors that China Unicom hopes to sell Wi-Fi capable phones within a few months, giving Chinese consumers even more reason to hold off on buying one now.

There was still a modicum of Apple fanaticism to be had, though. The country’s first iPhone owner, Zhi Xianzhong, waited almost eight hours to buy the phone.

Apple, iPhone, Mobile, News

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Orb Audio brings quality sound to a modular system

November 1, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

Not many of us have a couple thousand dollars to throw down on a new audio rig, so building our dream speaker systems means piecing it together over some time, often buying low to mid quality substitutes for certain components. There are a few modular systems out there, but most of them require that you sacrifice sound quality for expandability. Orb Audio aims to change that, offering a modular system that looks good and by nearly every account sounds great, all at an affordable price.

Now I’ve not yet had a chance to hear an Orb system, but the reviews I’ve seen have been good and the installed locations are pretty impressive. Orb Audio systems are featured in a couple Wired stores in New York, were chosen for the Guitar Center Artist’s Lounge, and have picked up a couple CES awards along the way.

You can pick up a basic Orb system from the company website – the only place you can purchase – for $549. A typical theater system will run $800-$1300 while premium system will push toward a few grand. That’s a good bit cheaper than many systems, especially considering the reviews that put the system in the company of B&W.

If there’s one thing that might scare potential Orb customers off it’s the unique design. Though the speakers are available in a wide variety of finishes, the shape is very modern and might scare off a few significant others. There’s also the fact that you can’t go just anywhere and listen to these things. The company has a 30-day trial, but you’ll need enough faith in reviews to get involved in it. I’m hoping my schedule slows down enough in the next couple weeks that I can review a loaner set for you guys. Until then, think about giving Orb a shot if you’re in the market for a modular system.

Audio, Music

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Can’t afford the Droid? Get an Eris

October 31, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

It looks like Verizon will be launching more than one “Droid” branded phone on November 6th. According to a leaked document picked up at Engadget, the HTC Eris will hit stores the same day as Motorola’s Droid at $199 with a $100 mail-in rebate.

The Eris is basically a rebranded HTC Hero, though in this case running Android 1.5 with the popular Sense UI. It’s a sharp looking phone, but the processor leaves a bit to be desired. Also, no word on whether Verizon will be pushing Android 2.0 onto this thing, so you could be missing out on Google’s free navigation app. Motorola’s Droid, on the other hand, gives you a physical keyboard, much faster processor, and guaranteed Android 2.0.

For the price, though, it’s hard to go wrong. The regular HTC Hero costs $180.

Source: Engadget

Mobile, News

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Best Buy cures those Droid rebate blues

October 30, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

If you’re going to release a great device, a gadget of any kind really, don’t bog the thing down with rebates. It just gives me reason to pause before selling anything I can find just to get my hands on it. I wasn’t so surprised to see Palm try the rebate thing with the Pre. The company really needed money. But Motorola? I figured they’d be a little better off. Thankfully, Best Buy’s decided to just sell the thing for $199.99 outright with a contract.

This sort of thing takes a lot of the burden off the wireless stores, which tend to be small and understaffed, especially as you get more rural. It’s also just nice to be able to walk in and pay the $200 without worrying about rebates. In case you forgot, the Droid launches on November 6th.