Nokia bows touchscreen 5800 XpressMusic

Armed with a roomy touch display, stereo speakers, and—eventually—a year's worth of free music, Nokia's long-awaited touchscreen phone (formerly known as "The Tube") will make its debut in London today. Can it compete with the iPhone and T-Mobile's Google-powered G1?

First, let's cover the specs: Measuring 4.4 by 2 by 0.6 inches, the 3G- and Wi-Fi-enabled 5800 (set for global release by the end of the year, but not in North America until the "early part" of 2009)  is more or less the same size as the iPhone 3G and the G1, although at 3.8 ounces, it's significantly lighter than both of its touchscreen competitors (the iPhone is about 4.8 ounces, while the G1 weighs in at a hefty 5.6 ounces).

So, how's the 5800's 3.2-inch touchscreeen? I haven't had a chance to try it in person, but the Symbian-powered display looks (from the press images, at least) reasonably sleek—somewhere between the clunkier interface on the G1 and the iPhone's eye-popping UI. No multitouch (so no "pinch"-type gestures), mind you, but the 5800 has an accelerometer that lets you turn the phone sideways for a virtual, landscape-oriented QWERTY keypad. You'll also be able to enter text using a half-size, portrait QWERTY keypad (with a stylus, if you like), T9 text prediction, or handwriting recognition.

Nokia promises a couple of key one-touch interface features, including a "Contacts Bar" that gives you quick access to your "favorite" four contacts, along with a "Media Bar" that'll let you tap into your music, videos, and images. Not bad, although I'd also like to see a status/alerts toolbar like the G1's.

As its name implies, the 5800 XpressMusic is more about tunes than productivity, so don't expect out-of-the-box support for BlackBerry or Exchange servers (although this being a Symbian phone, there's nothing stopping third parties from filling the void). Instead, the 5800 comes with stereo speakers, support for stereo Bluetooth headsets, a 3.5mm headset jack (which doubles as a TV-out port), and up to 16GB of microSD memeory expansion for your tunes.

The 5800 will also support Nokia's much-touted "Comes with Music" service, which will let you download all the free tunes you can stand—but just for 12 months, with a helping of DRM on the side. (CNET has details on all the restrictions right here.) Also, keep in mind that the cost of all those "free" tunes will be passed along via an inflated price tag for upcoming "Comes with Music" handsets (the Nokia N95 and 5310 XpressMusic phones will also be getting "Comes with Music" support), although Nokia reps didn't have details on how big the surcharge will be. Still, the music catalog looks to be pretty solid, with all four of the major labels (as well as some indies) signed on.

Back to the 5800 itself: The phone also comes with a 3.2MP camera, complete with Carl Zeiss options, a dual LED flash, and video recording (up to 30fps). GPS and Nokia Maps are included for navigation. Sorry, gamers—no N-Gage support on the 5800, at least for now.

Nokia hasn't released U.S. pricing details (or carriers, for that matter) for the 5800 yet; in Europe, however, the phone (minus "Comes with Music") will sell for 279 euros, or about US$385—not bad, considering the sky-high price tag of Nokia's N-series beauties.

How does the 5800 XpressMusic stack up with the iPhone and the G1? Well, hard to say until I see the phone itself in action—and especially whether the 5800's touch interface measures up to the two touch heavyweights.

My initial impression? I'm a bit underwhelmed, frankly; it's almost as if Nokia is wading cautiosly into the touchscreen pool with the 5800. What I'm really waiting for is a full-on, touchscreen Nseries handset, complete with a revamped interface designed specifically for touch. In any case, Nokia is providing a Webcast of its London press conference today, so hopefully that'll give us a better idea. (Update: Gizmodo just published a quick hands-on report, and so far, the touchscreen sounds pretty lackluster: "On the prototype we played with briefly, it's much harder to get touches to register, and far less accurate than the iPhone's capacitive screens. The 5800 packs a built-in stylus for this reason—you'll be using it a lot." Ouch.)

So, what's your take? Like what you see? Disappointed? Fire away!

Microsoft and Cray to unveil $25,000 Windows-based supercomputer

Microsoft and Cray are set to unveil on September 16 the Cray CX1, a compact supercomputer running Windows HPC Server 2008.

The pair is expected to tout the new offering as “the most affordable supercomputer Cray has ever offered,” with pricing starting at $25,000.

In a September 15 posting to the Windows Server blog, Softie Tina Couch noted:

“It’s high performance and productivity computing that meets the needs of users, IT pros and developers by providing a highly integrated, familiar environment that is the right size and price for departmental and workgroup needs. The CX1 combines compute, storage, and visualization in a single integrated system that’s designed for non-traditional environments like labs, offices. If space is a problem, not to worry, it’s compact enough to fit in a broom closet.

“How can you get one?! It’s as easy as shopping on Amazon.com.  Customers can go online, order the CX1 system using a configurator and pay with credit card.”

Microsoft’s official launch of Windows HPC (High Performance Computing) Server 2008 is slated for September 22 in New York City. Windows HPC Server 2008 is the high-end SKU of Microsoft’s Windows Server 2008 family. Microsoft is positioning the product as an alternative to Linux, which has gained a solid following in the high-end computing market.

In other Windows Server news, Microsoft released to manufacturing on September 15 its mid-range Windows Server offering, known as Windows Essential Business Server. General availability of EBS (codenamed “Centro”) kicks off on November 12. General availability of Windows Small Business Server 2008 (codenamed “Cougar”) also commences on November 12.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR Records HD Video

The three-year wait for a successor to Canon's EOS 5D has finally come to an end with today's announcement of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital single-lens reflex camera. And the wait was worth it, based on this model's revolutionary specs: This full-frame camera is the first camera to record 1920 by 1080p video.

When it was first introduced, the 5D broke new ground as the first digital SLR with an image sensor that matches the size of a 35mm film frame. A "full-frame" camera is capable of delivering the full range of an SLR lens, such that a 24-to-105mm lens actually delivers a 24mm wide-angle view. This ability is a boon to photographers who want to shoot scenes like landscapes, or weddings and parties.

Many other digital SLRs have sensors that are smaller than that of a 35mm film frame, though. In those cases, the camera has what's commonly referred to as a "crop factor" or "focal-length multiplier" (for example, a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi has a 1.6X multiplier), and a 24 to 105mm lens effectively becomes a 38-to-168mm lens, instead. The smaller sensor means that the edges of the lens are cropped off, which gives the effect of zooming into the center of the lens.

Latest in Flurry of Full-Frame Cameras

Canon's announcement makes the 5D Mark II the third full-frame digital SLR announced within a few months. The Nikon D700 launched this summer; this 12.1-megapixel model sells for $3000. The Sony Alpha DSLR-A900 was announced last week; the 24.6-megapixel camera will be priced at $3000 when it ships in November.

By announcing last of the three, Canon had the advantage of being able to bring the 21-megapixel 5D Mark II in at an impressive price: $2699 for the body only, and $3499 in a kit with the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM zoom lens. Canon expects the camera to ship in November.

The 5D Mark II will be the second Canon digital SLR to use the company's enhanced DIGIC 4 image processing system; the first will be the EOS 50D, due in October. Canon credits DIGIC 4 with enabling many of the 5D Mark II's noteworthy features, including improved noise reduction, faster processing, and ISO ranges of 50 to 25,600. This model can handle shooting at 3.9 frames per second (up from the 5D's 3 frames per second), with unlimited large fine JPEGs or 14 RAW files when using a UDMA CompactFlash card, or 78 large fine JPEGs with a regular CompactFlash card.

HD Video Capture

In the space of a month, the photography and camcorder worlds have been shaken up with the announcement of digital SLRs that can record video. First, the Nikon D90launched with its 720p, 24 frames-per-second motion JPEG AVI video capture. Then word trickled out that Panasonic plans to offer high-def video capture with the next iteration of its Lumix G1.

Now, Canon's 5D Mark II transforms the landscape further by capturing 30 frames per second MPEG-4 video at 1920 by 1080p resolution. Canon says you can capture up to 12 minutes of high-def video with monoaural sound (approximately 4GB) or 29 minutes, 59 seconds of standard definition video. You can take a picture while recording a movie; the video stops while you snap a still, then it resumes recording. In addition to the built-in mono microphone, you can add an external stereo microphone. A Mini-HDMI port facilitates outputting video directly from the camera to an HDTV.

Other Enhancements

Much has changed in the three years since the original 5D debuted, and Canon has brought this model up to spec in every way imaginable. The camera has the same design and virtually the same weight as before, but there's additional weather sealing around the CompactFlash card and battery compartment, and a new, slightly smaller battery that can track battery power levels. The 3-inch LCD screen has 920,000 dots, anti-glare coating, and fluorine coating for easily wiping off dust. The camera also has Canon's latest integrated sensor cleaning system.

The 5D Mark II features a creative auto mode, as on the 50D, that gives you easy access to settings such as picture styles, exposure compensation in one location.

The Live View mode for framing your shots on the LCD screen has a dedicated button. The camera provides three ways to focus: quick mode, which lowers the mirror temporarily using the 15-point phase detection autofocus mechanism; live mode, which provides contrast based one-point autofocus; and face detection-based focusing.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR Records HD Video

Top 10 Smart Phones

PC World Test Center reviews found that these 10 models are the best of the smart phones, also known as PDA phones.

Check boxes to
Last Rated: August 08, 2008	BEST BUY! 1. RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8120 (T-Mobile) Design: Candy bar, Carrier: Carrier:T-Mobile, OS Supported:OS:Proprietary, Battery Life Average (hh:mm): 10:00, Bottom Line: Sleek Pearl lets consumers use Wi-Fi to boost call quality where cell signals falter. Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices	Price When Reviewed: $200Check Latest Prices
Last Rated: August 08, 2008	2. RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8120 Design: Candy bar, Carrier: Carrier:AT&T, OS Supported:OS:Symbian, Battery Life Average (hh:mm): 9:43, Bottom Line: E-mail-friendly handset boasts strong multimedia features, including a camera and media player. Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices	Price When Reviewed: $250Check Latest Prices
Last Rated: August 08, 2008	3. RIM BlackBerry Curve 8320 Design: Candy bar, Carrier: Carrier:T-Mobile, OS Supported:OS:Proprietary, Battery Life Average (hh:mm): 10:00, Bottom Line: Voice-over-Wi-Fi feature makes an excellent phone even better. Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices	Price When Reviewed: $250Check Latest Prices
Sponsored LinksAbout Unlocked Cell Phones SaleFind Unlocked Cell Phones Cheap. Motorola, BlackBerry, Nokia & More.www.NexTag.com
Last Rated: August 08, 2008	4. RIM Blackberry Pearl Design: Candy bar, Carrier: Carrier:T-Mobile, OS Supported:OS:J2ME, Battery Life Average (hh:mm): 8:34, Bottom Line: This sleek cell phone adds a serviceable camera and multimedia features to BlackBerry's already terrific e-mail capabilities. Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices	Price When Reviewed: $150Check Latest Prices
Last Rated: August 08, 2008	5. Apple iPhone 3G Design: Candy bar, Carrier: Carrier:AT&T, Battery Life Average (hh:mm): 5:38, Bottom Line: With a lower price, 3G radio, and GPS, this smart phone is in a class by itself. Full Review • Test Report	Price When Reviewed: $199Check Latest Prices
Last Rated: August 08, 2008	6. Dash Design: Candy bar, Carrier: Carrier:T-Mobile, OS Supported:OS:Windows Mobile, Battery Life Average (hh:mm): 8:40, Bottom Line: The upgrade to Windows Mobile 6 adds support for Microsoft's productivity applications. Full Review • Test Report • Vendor's Web Site	Price When Reviewed: $150Check Latest Prices
Sponsored LinksAbout Unlocked Cell Phones SaleFind Unlocked Cell Phones Cheap. Motorola, BlackBerry, Nokia & More.www.NexTag.com
Last Rated: August 08, 2008	7. T-Mobile Shadow Design: Slide, Carrier: Carrier:T-Mobile, OS Supported:OS:Windows Mobile, Battery Life Average (hh:mm): 10:00, Bottom Line: With the Shadow, T-Mobile delivers a smart phone smarter than most; its tinny call quality may be a concern. Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices	Price When Reviewed: $200Check Latest Prices
Last Rated: August 08, 2008	8. Samsung Instinct Design: Candy bar, Carrier: Carrier:Sprint, OS Supported:OS:Proprietary, Battery Life Average (hh:mm): 5:33, Bottom Line: The Instinct's low price makes it a great deal for a good handset; but, it's no match for Apple's more diverse phone. Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices	Price When Reviewed: $130Check Latest Prices
Last Rated: August 08, 2008	9. T-Mobile Wing Design: Slide, Carrier: Carrier:T-Mobile, OS Supported:OS:Windows Mobile, Battery Life Average (hh:mm): 10:00, Bottom Line: Offers clear calls and long battery life, but some of the buttons are difficult to press. Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices	Price When Reviewed: $350Check Latest Prices
Last Rated: August 08, 2008	10. Palm Centro (AT&T) Design: Candy bar, Carrier: Carrier:AT&T, OS Supported:OS:Palm, Battery Life Average (hh:mm): 6:47, Bottom Line: A sporty, slimmer variant of the Treo; its battery lasted longer on AT&T's GSM network than on Sprint's CDMA network. Full Review • Test Report • Check latest prices

Windows 7 hits Milestone 3

I have seen the future — specifically Windows 7 Milestone 3 (Build 6780).

I got a gander at the latest test build of Windows 7 briefly (courtesy of a source of mine) and was not allowed to take any screenshots. But it is real, it does exist and it is, indeed, in certain testers’ hands inside and outside the company.

From the quick glimpse I got of Milestone 3, it sounds like Bryant of AeroXperience was right on the money with his hypotheses about what’s changed in the latest internal test builds. The latest build seems quite stable. The Ribbon user interface from Office 2007 is now part of WordPad and Paint. Home Groups — the functionality formerly known in “Longhorn”/Vista as “Castle” — is part of the new Windows 7 build.

I also noticed that the “Graphical Console,” a k a PowerShell Version 2, seems to be part of the latest pre-release Windows 7 build.

(Looks like Stephen Chapman over at the UX Evangelist site got to see Build 6780, too, and has a lot more to say on Windows 7’s Paint and WordPad.)

From what admittedly little I had a chance to see, Windows 7 does not look or feel like a major departure from Windows Vista.

Sources say there isn’t an “M4″ currently on Microsoft’s Windows 7 schedule. Next up is likely some kind of preview build (which may or may not be distributed to those attending the Professional Developers Conference and/or Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in October and November, respectively.) After that, a broadscale Beta 1, which should be feature-complete and pretty much set in stone, is expected for mid-December.

Like my ZDNet blogging colleague Ed Bott said, it’s not impossible for Microsoft to hit a 2009 release for Windows 7 if the first true beta doesn’t go out until December. Such a move would not be unprecedented.

Do you think the Softies are going to get Windows 7 out the door in 2009, as they are hoping — and maybe even early enough to make it onto new machines in time for Holiday 2009 sales?

Nintendo to Launch New Handheld DS-i This Year in Japan

Nintendo is refreshing its two-year old DS Lite handheld device with a new version that's thinner, has dual-digital cameras and will be out before the end of the year -- at least in Japan.

"I'd like to introduce to you the newest model in our Nintendo DS family, the Nintendo DSi," said Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, to a packed crowd at the Nintendo Conference 2008 Fall held in Tokyo's Shibuya on Thursday afternoon.

The DS-i looks similar to the current DS Lite and is a little thinner because it doesn't have a slot for GameBoy Advance cartridges. The device's two screens are slightly larger at 3.25-inches instead of 3-inches and two digital cameras have been added. The outer camera has a 3-megapixel resolution and pictures can be stored on an SD Card for transfer to the company's Wii or a computer.

It will launch in Japan on Nov. 1 and will cost ¥18,900 (US$179). That's slightly more expensive than the current DS Lite, which costs ¥16,800. Detailed launch plans for other markets were not detailed at the Tokyo news conference held to announce the device but Nintendo said it won't be available overseas until 2009.

Following in the steps of its Wii console and competing devices Nintendo will launch an online applications store for the DS-i.

"The pace of sales for the DS has slowed down compared to earlier periods, but the DS remains to be selling at a brisk pace compared to previously mainstream platforms," Iwata said.

The president was bullish on prospects for the DSi to succeed despite the fact DS has already sold close to 23 million units and critics have said the DS may have reached market saturation.

"We have succeeded in reaching markets that were untapped before," Iwata said.

Nintendo's recent internal data shows 54 percent of its DS platform users in Japan being female.

"If we can offer a new lifestyle through our mobile game product, I think the Nintendo DS platform can expect to continue to see growth," Iwata said

Amazon launches pre-emptive strike against Microsoft’s planned cloud platform

Microsoft is gearing up to go big with its plans for its own version of its hosted development platform later this month. But Amazon.com isn’t sitting idly by, waiting for Microsoft to rain on its Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2).

On October 1, Amazon announced that it plans to offer developers this fall the ability to run Windows Server or SQL Server via the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). According to the Amazon Web Services site, “the ability to run a Windows environment within Amazon EC2 has been one of our most requested features, and we are excited to be able to provide this capability.”

Update: More on Amazon’s Windows-hosting plans can be found on Amazon Chief Technology Officer Werner Vogels’ blog.

Further details  from the Amazon Web Services site:

“Starting later this Fall, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) will offer you the ability to run Microsoft Windows Server or Microsoft SQL Server. Today, you can choose from a variety of Unix-based operating systems, and soon you will be able to configure your instances to run the Windows Server operating system. In addition, you will be able to use SQL Server as another option within Amazon EC2 for running relational databases.”

Amazon currently is conducting a private beta for testers of hosted Windows Server and SQL Server, according to its  site. Amazon is requesting developers interested in using the service fill out a form on the site. The form asks what kinds of applications and services developers plan to build in an Amazon-hosted Windows environment.

Amazon is positioning its hosted Microsoft offerings as “an ideal environment for deploying ASP.NET web sites, high performance computing clusters, media transcoding solutions, and many other Windows-based aplications.” Amazon is touting the new Microsoft offerings as part of its plan to “support any and all of the programming models, operating systems and database servers that you need for building applications on our cloud computing platform.”

Microsoft, for its part, has been rumored to be building a hosted development platform for more than a year. The company is slated to announce the platform officially at its Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles in late October when Bob Muglia, Senior Vice President of Microsoft’s Server and Tools Business, is slated to unveil Microsoft’s “cloud computing platform” during his keynote on October 27.

Microsoft is known to be working on a low-level “cloud OS” that is code-named Red Dog. Red Dog is expected to harness the power of multiple, distributed systems in a datacenter so that cloud apps can be more scalable and easier to write. And Zurich — Microsoft’s extension of its .Net programming model to the cloud — is part of Microsoft’s cloud platform, as well, according to various folks in the know. Microsoft’s SQL Server Data Services and its “Velocity” distributed caching technology are likely to figure in Microsoft’s hosted dev offering, too, as will its virtualization technologies. (The 3PAR blog has a nice explainer of how Hyper-V and virtual storage fit together to enable utility computing.)

Microsoft will be fielding its hosted development environment in an increasingly crowded space. Google, Salesforce.com and Oracle are all bidding for pieces of developers’ hosted attentions. But for now, Amazon is the big dog.

“Amazon has a lot to learn about serving the enterprise. It’s not their forte. The self-service startup and departmental markets, no problem. Big enterprise? It’s hard to counter Microsoft’s field resources,” said a source of mine, who requested anonymity. But he said he wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon has a plan there, too.

What do you think of Amazon’s new move? Would you rather host your Windows apps in an Amazon cloud — or a Microsoft-hosted one?