A new company named ZZZPhone wants apply to mobile phones the build-to-order business model successfully implemented by giant PC maker Dell and later on adopted by other leading retailers such as Nike iD. With this level of customization, the company claims it has developed a $149-mobile phone loaded with more features compared to the $739 Nokia N95 handset model! It can even compete with Apple iPhone without paying as much. All these enhancements are possible to get at very low prices because this American company claims to have assembly plants in China, near the factories of leading handset manufacturers such as Nokia, Samsung and Motorola. All phones can be customized at the website http://www.zzzphone.com . Starting from a base model, users have the power to combine different features such as touchscreen, dual SIM card slots, GPS navigation, 7 MP camera at the back of the phone, front-facing camera, 4 GB memory and even a flashlight!  read more »

January 4, 2007 News of bleeding-edge product offerings continues to roll in ahead of next week's International CES in Las Vegas with Dell to launch its elegantly styled Crystal 22-inch widescreen flat panel monitor. Constructed using 4mm thin ultra-clear tempered glass, this exceptional piece of eye-candy features WSXGA+ 1680x1050 image resolution, in-built speakers and a 2.0 megapixel miniature web camera with microphone...

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Filed under: Portable Audio  read more »

I remember back when Dell finally wised up and decided to put some AMD chips in their computers. Being a longtime AMD fan, I was overjoyed (even if I wouldn’t touch a Dell with a 10-foot pole) at their decision to give consumers a choice in CPUs. Unfortunately it was around that time that AMD began to really lose ground against Intel. They’ve yet to really pull out of their slump, and now Dell is reconsidering their sales of AMD chips.

So far they’ve just nixed AMD CPUs from their online store. You can still find a few here and there, but that’s only temporary. They’ve add ed a few words of caution to those looking for AMD systems on their site:  read more »

My Samsung i760 Windows Mobile device serves me well in many ways. I like the push mail now that we have our server updated, I use Pocket Word and Excel on occasion and I like to do a little bit of surfing the net. However, when I am stuck in an airport or for general web work on the go I really would like a little more screen than offered by your normal PocketPC/smartphone. I also don't want to lug my 8.5lb Dell Laptop everywhere. The solution for me - a machine sized somewhere between a smartphone and a full-sized laptop.  read more »

Filed under: Cellphones  read more »

Michael Dell says the XPS One is "perhaps the most beautiful Dell ever", which is damning with faint praise if ever we heard it. It certainly had a big pile of drool around it at CES 2008, though

Remember last week when we told you that Dell had gotten rid of almost all of their AMD-based systems from their online store? Even though they posted a note on their site letting you know that you should look to their retail partners for AMD-powered PCs, they appear to have changed their mind. Later this week we’ll see several new systems from Dell, and they don’t have Intel inside.

The new OptiPlex 740 PCs are slated to feature Phenom Triple-Core and Quad-Core chips, as well as the standard Athlon X2 Dual-Core CPUs. Dell has opted not to use integrated graphics, but rather utilize the Nvidia Quatro NVS 210S PCI Express x16 card.

The company has also stated that that in addition to their new business class machines, they will also be offering a SOHO line during this year’s back-to-school period. I’m glad to hear that Dell hasn’t decided to give up on AMD just yet. I’ve been a big AMD fan for a long time, I’d hate to see Dell return to their Intel-only days.  read more »

According to a post on Troll Lord Games who had published his work, Gary Gygax, creator of Dungeons & Dragons, has passed away. In 2003, on the now defunct kcgeek.com, we ran an interview with Gygax. I have republished it after the jump. Tiamat consume you fully, Gary. You brought untold amount of fun and joy into my life. – Joel An excerpt:Q. As far as you know, what was the basic evolution of polyhedral dice? If they existed prior to the creation of Dungeons & Dragons, what were they used for? To the best of my knowledge I introduced them to gaming, en masse, with D&D in 1974. I found sets of the five platonic solids for sale in a school supply catalog back in 1972, and of course ordered them, used them in creating the D&D game. Image: Alan De Smet...
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