While CES 2010 ended last week already and you have no doubt been bombarded with some of the amazing new technology coming our way this year and maybe never – we thought we’d better do a quick round-up ourselves.
The 2010 CES put the latest ground-breaking gadgets on the world’s stage, and the top electronics review sites are taking a closer look at everything that’s being presented by companies like Sony, Dell, Apple and all the big and small names in the business. Which products are already managing to stand out on the ever-changing electronics market?
CNN, Gizmodo and UberGizmo recently listed the ten products that drew their attention at CES, an event that included all the latest trends and toys in the electronics market. Out of the new Internet-ready televisions, touch screen computers and everything else gadget-related presented at CES, which products seem to offer the most promise and gained the most notice?
This season’s hottest new phone is coming, but the question is: will it show up in HK?
The Motorola Droid is THE mobile phone of quarter 4 for 2009, released on November 6th in the U.S. for HK$1,600 (US$199) with a contract. The buzz about it is as loud, if not louder, than that for the Palm Pre. “iPhone Killer” talk aside, the Droid looks to bring Motorola back from leper to leader this week.
The big question we’re being asked is, if we know when it will come to Hong Kong? Last week, we would’ve said “Not a chance,” seeing as it was developed for the U.S. operator Verizon, but yesterday we learned that Motorola will rename it the Motorola Miletsone and unleash it in Europe! Not only that, but it will include a multi-touch screen - something the Verizon version doesn’t have.
So, the chances of it making it into yet another form seems to point to a “Possibly, Maybe” on having the Droid come to Hong Kong. And with Christmas coming up soon, this could fit nicely into an early December launch by 3 or Smartone-Vodafone. We’ll keep you in the loop as soon as we hear something.
So, now it’s time for the Neonpunch Poll. After what you’ve read and seen about the Motorola Droid (and we’re guessing it will be around the same price as an iPhone: HK$6,000+, cheaper with contract), if it’s available in December will you be getting one?
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If you haven’t seen it yet, below is the cheeky “iDon’t” TV commercial Motorola is running right now in the U.S. for the Droid:
Limited supply equals US operator Sprint reporting sell-outs.
The Palm Pre – probably the most hyped phone since the iPhone – went on sale on Saturday in the U.S. and just as quickly sold out. From Reuters:
Palm may sell about 150,000 Pre phones this weekend, Lawrence Harris, an analyst at CL King & Associates, said in an interview. Piper Jaffray & Co.’s Michael Walkley puts the number at almost 200,000. New York-based Harris rates Palm “neutral” and Walkley, in Minneapolis, advises clients to buy the stock. Paul Coster, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York, estimates weekend sales of more than 50,000.
Sprint’s store on Mission Street in San Francisco sold out of its allotment of 60 Pre phones within two hours, manager Daniel Chan said. The outlet started a waiting list and will get its next consignment in a few days, he said. About half the people who bought the Pre already owned an iPhone, he said.
Ebay has a few selling without the contract for around HK$4000-5000 for one of these bad boys. Reviews have been mostly positive calling the operating system strong but the material used to make the phone flimsy and toy-like. The buzz we’re getting from reviews and tweets is that its great but not revolutionary. Treo fans will be happy, but it seems iPhone users will not change even before hearing what Apple is announcing today.
No word yet on when, and if, this Gen 1 Palm Pre will be making it’s way non-gray market to Hong Kong.
Here is a nice 26-minute overview of the OS, if you still haven’t seen it:
The Android Revolution is coming full swing later this year.
Everyone’s talking about the Palm Pre, but we think Android is going to be the winner in the smartphone OS war against the iPhone. Here is a leaked new video from HTC’s new Hero line of colorful phones, running a version of Android codenamed “Rosie” which we believe is the NEXT iteration of Android after 1.5 (codenamed Cupcake) from AndroidCommunity:
Gadget bloggers on a late night show? What’s next, a blogger movie?
If you don’t know Conan O’Brien left his talk show to take over The Tonight Show (read it all here) and in doing so the show is now called has now taken over Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, as the new host. He’s been at it for about 2 weeks now and he’s the most tech savvy talk show host so far. Fallon is twittering, and blogs and amazingly enough has an editor from Engadget on his show to talk about the new Palm Pre.
Now we love our iPhone, but when the cynical editor of arguably the most popular and most read gadget blog says he is excited, then we think we better get ready to buy some of that Palm stock. Nothing really new is shown in the demo that we haven’t seen, but it is probably the first time regular Americans have seen it. The next few months are going to be interesting in the mobile space for sure.
Still not sure about the Pre? Here’s a battle royale to give you the goods.
We’re been trolling the web and the outburst of excitement for the newly announcedPalm Pre has reached a hysterical level. We still don’t have confirmed release date or price – but Gizmodo featured this great comparison chart – pitting the Palm Pre against the iPhone and the Android-based G1 – that we wanted to bring it to your attention. Comparisons like this:
2. Multitasking: One of the beefiest of our beefs with the iPhone SDK is its insistence on Apps running one at a time. The G1’s notifications drawer was definitely a step in the right direction, but the Pre’s interface is the first smartphone OS that was built with multitasking as a core design element. Resembling the Xbox’s old Blades, or a less-jarring OS X Expose even, the Pre’s “Cards” interface always places you in the context of every app running for fast switching, and notifications from other apps don’t pull you away completely from the task at hand. Multitasking is hugely important on a phone, and it’s a good sign that Palm recognizes. Advantage: Pre
We’ll have to wait till one of Hong Kong’s carrriers brings it to our city to have a real hands-on review, but keep it tuned here as we’ll definitely be keeping a Neonpunch eye on this new battlefield.
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