The Inquisitr » toshiba

WinMo 6.5 Upgrade Gets Confirmed For Toshiba TG01

James Allen Johnson — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:23:02 +0000

The Toshiba TG01 is already a powerhouse of a device with it’s 1GHz Snap Dragon processor, Windows Mobile 6.1 platform and impressive hardware features. Now the TG01 is getting even better with a free upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.5

The upgrade can be downloaded directly from the official Toshiba website. To upgrade users will just need to download the upgrade to their computer, plug in their TG01 via USB cable and let the process begin.

Any new TG01 purchases from this point moving forward will automatically feature the WinMo 6.5 platform.

Here’s Toshiba’s Official Press Release:

Toshiba TG01 Windows phone made available in co-ordination with release of Windows MobileR 6.5 operating system

London, UK, 6th October 2009 – To coincide with the release of Windows Mobile® 6.5, Toshiba Information Systems (UK) Ltd, Mobile Communications Division, today announces the retail availability of the TG01 Windows® phone, a variant of its innovative TG01 featuring the new Windows Mobile® 6.5 operating system.

The arrival of Windows Mobile® 6.5 and Toshiba’s immediate adoption of the platform for the TG01 sees the handset become a fully-certified Windows® phone; the updated TG01 Windows® phone is available in stores across Europe from today. Toshiba customers who have previously purchased the TG01 will also be entitled to an upgrade to the new Windows Mobile® 6.5, free of charge.

The launch of the TG01 Windows® phone means users will be able to enjoy all the benefits of Windows Mobile® 6.5, including a new Home screen and a finger-friendly start menu. Designed to offer fun and interactive navigation between applications, Windows Mobile® 6.5 provides users with faster access to the handset’s plethora of features.

An update to the new Windows Mobile® 6.5 operating system for existing owners of TG01 is available for download from Toshiba’s website: www.toshiba-europe.com/mobile

5 Top Green Laptops

Steven Hodson — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:28:30 +0000

One of the growing concerns in the tech industry is the problems we face with e-waste. You know all those used up and old computers and other technological wonders we are constantly upgrading from and are full of all kinds of toxic wonders. Everything from arsenic to lead and mercury being leached into the ground and table water from improper disposal.

So many computer companies who don’t want to appear to be contributing to this growing mess are starting to paint themselves green. Well not literally painting themselves green but rather trying to produce products that are more ecologically responsible. Emilia Johansson; in a guest post at EcoGeek, took some time to put together a list of the top 5 green laptops on the market

Lenovo Thinkpad X301
The Lenovo Thinkpad X300 was one of only 15 notebooks to receive the EPEAT Gold certification, a sophisticated standard by which a device’s components pass evaluation in terms of eco-friendliness. Its successor, the X301 follows the same standards, but comes with faster and even more efficient components – all in a professional-looking and highly portable package.

For starters, this laptop features mercury-free LEDs in the display. Its low-voltage processor can stretch battery life with the aid of special efficiency software, and the package that the notebook comes in is now 90 percent recyclable. Additionally, the packaging doesn’t include any cadmium, lead or arsenic.

Toshiba Portégé A600
The Toshiba A600 is Gold EPEAT certified and Energy Star 4.0 compliant; it boasts a few green attributes that set it apart from other eco-friendly notebooks. For instance, the laptop uses a processor that runs on extremely low voltage, but processes at 1.4GHz.

With an LED backlit screen, the Toshiba Portégé A600 is thin (less than an inch) and weighs only 3.2 pounds. Toshiba also earned praise from environmental groups with a promise to cut down dramatically on the use of harmful chemicals in their PCs over the next several years.

HP 2730p Tablet
HP stepped into the green laptop market with the HP 2710p Tablet. This eco-friendly notebook’s claim to green fame is a longer battery life, estimated at around six hours. The laptop is Energy Star compliant and comes with low voltage Intel processors at speeds ranging from 1.2GHz to 1.6GHz.

ASUS Eee PC 1000HE
This revolutionary laptop is one of the quaintest, greenest and most aesthetically pleasing notebooks on the market. The 1000HE model has a 10-inch screen and weighs just two pounds.

The super-efficient Atom processor uses no more than three watts and the intelligent “Super Hybrid Engine” can automatically sense changes in the power needs of the CPU and components, adjusting voltage and LCD brightness to maximize energy efficiency.

Apple MacBook Air
This gorgeous laptop is also one of the greenest available. The display on the MacBook Air is without arsenic or mercury and the case is made from recyclable aluminum.
While it does have a very powerful processor, which runs on approximately 14 watts, the laptop does qualify for the EnergyStar 4.0 certification. Apple also paid attention to the MacBook Air’s packaging, reducing the amount of potential waste by roughly half.

The Future of Television has Arrived: CES Internet TV Roundup

Duncan Riley — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:25:55 +0000

As we covered extensively last year, most major TV manufacturers were planning to launch internet enabled television in 2009; the future is here.

Here’s a round up of what’s been released at CES. The biggest question last year was how open the platforms would be; or more precisely how closed they would be. Details included where available.

Sharp

Along with new screen technology, Sharp Internet enabled televisions will have access to the “Sharp Aquos Network portal” that will included widgets from includes a Navteq traffic report map. The Aquos Network doesn’t include web video yet, but there’s a reason: the new line of TV’s includes built in Bluray players.

Internet TV score: FAIL.

Toshiba

The new internet enabled televisions from Toshiba pack a punch: the cell processor best known for being the power behind the PlayStation 3. Primarily the chip will deliver ultra-high definition viewing, but it also opens the TV up to a number of other features. According to specs, as well as offering DVR functionality built in, the televisions will support the Intel/ Yahoo Widgets platform. The platform isn’t as open as say a web browser, but does allow developers to build on it, and when first launched last year included promised on video on demand. The down size is costs, with the new sets to be offered in the $5-10,000 price range. Toshiba though is going to offer a box to attach to existing sets, price isn’t known.

Internet TV score: Nice, but costly.

Panasonic

Panasonic was the first major manufacturer to launch an internet enabled television, although one model only in 2008. The lineup for 2009 expands three series – The Z1 series, the V10 series and the G10 series. Panasonic offers its own internet platform under the VEIRACAST brand. Content includes YouTube, Picasa Web Albums, Bloomberg and weather service; an newly announced HD movie rental via Amazon Video-on-Demand. Nice line up, but similar to the Apple TV, and sadly closed to general browsing

Internet TV score: a reasonable start well priced.

LG was the mystery playing coming in to CES. There was some rumors of that they’d play, and I’d speculated they would as well, although earlier announcements said they were more focused on internet enabling Bluray players. LG made the announcement of an internet enabled TV Jan 5 (details here). The sets will offer the Intel/ Yahoo Widget engine and content from YouTube and Netflix. Still a closed system, but appealing.

Internet TV score: win, but wish it wasn’t closed

Windows Media Extender

Add to the list Samsung and Toshiba’s pledge to support for Windows Media Extender, although it’s not clear if this will be available immediately. This will open up both to extra content, although a little fussy.

Conclusion

It’s a nice start to the beginning of the internet television era. The problem with all the sets so far though is that they remain closed; users can’t for example go to Hulu or a similar service for shows, and this will limit their appeal. However eventually having these features as standard means that they’ll be purchased anyway, and that’s where the space is headed. The only issue now is getting people to buy televisions at all given the economic crisis. The roll out will be slow, but it will happen.