Eee Top (Touch Screen Computer)

The Eee Top is for people who want a small and stylish desktop without the hassle of many wires.

Asus did what it does best, create a new niche segment in the PC industry. Today was the launch of their latest creation, the Eee Top, a desktop replacement of sorts specifically aimed at beginners (or elderly people), kids or for someone who wants a small and stylish desktop without the hassle of many wires.

The event was quite a fancy one in typical Asus fashion, just without the models on the ramp (which was a bummer).
The Eee Top is a full touch screen PC with similar specifications of the Eee Box with a Intel N270 processors running at 1.6GHz, Intel's 945 chipset, 1GB of RAM and 160GB SATA hard disk. Windows XP is part of the bundle along with WiFi 802.11n and two 4W speakers and a keyboard and mouse.

The screen is very responsive thanks to the resistive touch panel and just a light tap is enough to activate the function. You can't right click though with your fingers and you'll have to use the keyboard or mouse for that. They have even designed a unique interface with large, colorful icons which makes it very easy for first time users or even little kids to navigate around.
Since this is also a entertainment PC, Asus has bundled along many fun applications and games which make use of the touch interface and is quite entertaining.

We should have a review piece in a couple of days, so stay tuned for our full review.

Samsung's 3G Instinct takes on the iPhone

LAS VEGAS - With its sleek design, flashy menus, haptic feedback, and full-on 3G access, this touchscreen delight for Sprint users looks to be one of the strongest iPhone competitors to date. Read on for my hands-on impressions.

Announced Tuesday here at CTIA, the Instinct (set for release in mid-June) looks like a virtual clone of the iPhone, but it delivers many of the features missing from Apple's red-hot handset, including 3G access for speedy browsing and downloads, a replaceable battery, expandable memory, and haptic feedback for the touchscreen - that is, a slight vibration each time you tap the screen. This key feature is sorely missing on the iPhone.

I got an early, hands-on look at the Instinct a couple of weeks ago in New York, and I have to say, it's the most impressive iPhone contender I've seen yet-or at least until I try out LG's touchscreen Vu, which is also set to debut here at CTIA.

The Instinct certainly scores in the looks department, with its smooth, jet-black face (à la the iPhone) and 3-inch display, along with three keys-Back, Home, and Call-just beneath.

Measuring 4.6" by 2.2" by 0.49", the Instinct is a tad narrower but a bit thicker than the iPhone, and it's also a bit lighter, weighing in at 4.4 ounces.



The Instinct's sleek, animated touch interface looks promising, if still a bit rough-and-ready. The unit I tried was still in the testing stage, so I'll hold off on direct iPhone comparisons until I've seen a final device.

Still, a lot of the UI innovations that I love on the iPhone are right here. Navigating on the touchscreen was a pleasure, and I liked the roulette wheel-like scrolling through long lists of items.

Another ace up the Instinct's sleeve is its access to Sprint's 3G "EV-DO Rev. A" data network, which means speedy Web surfing, full-track downloads from the Sprint Music Store (which got a badly needed makeover for the Instinct), video clips from Sprint TV, and the ability to tether the phone to your laptop for on-the-road Net access.

More good stuff: GPS navigation combined with voice commands, allowing you to bark "Go pizza" to the Instinct and get turn-by-turn directions to the nearest slice.

And here's a feature that travelers will love: the Instinct's removable battery, good for swapping out during, say, coast-to-coast flights. The iPhone's battery is-as many have groused about before-sealed in its shell, meaning that if it runs out of juice and you're nowhere near an AC outlet, you're out of luck.

Rounding out the Instinct's features are microSD memory expansion (up to 8GB), a 2MP camera, stereo Bluetooth, and a media manager for sideloading music and videos.

Good stuff, although I should point out that the Instinct's Web browser (or at least the version I saw) looked pretty clunky compared to the iPhone's, and the Instinct's POP/IMAP/Outlook Web access messaging won't be able to match the iPhone's upcoming support for Microsoft Exchange servers. There's also the iPhone's potential as a software platform to consider, now that the iPhone SDK is out in the wild.

And of course, by the time the Instinct arrives in Sprint stores (sometime in mid-June), we may well have a new 3G iPhone on our hands.

No definitive word on pricing for the Instinct quite yet, although I'm told it could be in the $200-250 range.

So, what do you think? Do we have an iPhone killer in our midst?

LATEST TECHNOLOGY AROUND THE WORLD

CTIA Wireless 2008 on tap for next week

Early next week, I'll be packing my bags and jetting off to CTIA in Las Vegas where all the big phone manufacturers (save Apple, of course) are poised to show off their latest and gre

atest wares. Here's a quick preview of what we might see in the coming days.Phone makers and carriers alike are staying tight-lipped about the handsets and services they'll be unveiling next week, but from the leaks I've seen, I'm expecting a bevy of sexy new phones—and yes, most of them will be making landfall here in North America.

First things first: Don't expect to see that most hotly anticipated of all phones—the iPhone 2—make its debut next week. Apple typically schedules its own events for major product announcements, and besides—from everything I've heard, the next iPhone is still months away.

That said, here's a few of the highlights we might see, starting bright and early Tuesday morning:

Google Android phones: Handsets running on Google's new, open-source mobile platform first cropped up at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month; I'm expecting more in Vegas, and I'll be sure to post some hands-on looks.

Sleek new touch-screen phones: With nearly a year under their belts since last June's debut of the iPhone, the big phone manufacturers are doubtless ready with some new touch-screen models that will truly take on the iPhone. I'm also hoping to get a closer look at Sony Ericsson's new Xperia X1, a gorgeous Windows Mobile touch-screen slider that debuted at MWC.

Wither WiMax?: It's been a tough several months for Sprint, what with its sagging numbers and management shake-ups, but the carrier remains upbeat about WiMax—a Wi-Fi variant capable of bathing entire cities in clouds of broadband goodness. (Competitors AT&T and Verizon Wireless betting their 4G fortunes on LTE, an offshoot of existing GSM cellular networks.) Recent reports suggest that Sprint might be calling on cable operators like Comcast and Time Warner to help build a national WiMax network; will we see more developments at CTIA? Stay tuned.

Speaking of WiMax: Word is that Nokia might roll out a WiMax-enabled version of its hot N810 Internet tablet during the show, and Nokia just so happens to have a "Press Conference in the Sky" slated for Tuesday. Hmmm….

Windows Mobile redux: The grapevine is buzzing that Vegas will serve as the launch pad for Windows Mobile 6.1, which Chris detailed in an earlier post.

Hello, Moto: The once-dominant mobile giant just endured a terrible week, but a leaked (and now long-gone) video from earlier this month promised some interesting new handsets from Motorola, including a five-megapixel camera phone made in partnership with Kodak, a new ROKR music slider, and more. That said, there's no official word, so don't get your hopes up.

Anyway, I'll be reporting from Vegas starting Monday night; check back then for the latest.