Maingear Updates eX-L 15 Gaming Notebook With Core i7 And HD 5870 GPU
If you're in the market for a new loaded gaming notebook, but you don't want a huge 17" screen to lug around, Maingear might have something that's right down your alley. The revamped eX-L 15 is built to handle the latest gaming titles at the highest resolutions, but don't expect it to last too long when away from the wall outlet.The machine features a 15" HD display (native 1080p screen), DirectX 11 support courtesy of an ATI Radeon HD 5870 GPU and options for Core i5 and Core i7 processors. There's also DVI,
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Ubisoft Hugs Mother Nature, Ditches Paper Manuals
Not that any of you bother to RTFM (Google it) anyway, but for what it's worth, Ubisoft is doing away with paper-based manuals and replacing them with in-game digital copies instead. The new initiative applies to games for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, starting with Shaun White Skateboarding this holiday 2010, Ubisoft said. "It's pretty cool that Ubisoft is making a conscious effort to go green with its new video game packaging," commented Olympic Gold Medalist Shaun White. "I'm excited for my new skateboarding
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VIA Ships Palm-Sized ARTiGO A1100 DIY PC Kit
Small form factor PCs aren't quite as mainstream as they once were, VIA is hoping to rekindle some of that love with a new machine that's probably cuter than it is powerful. The new ARTiGO A1100 DIY PC Kit allows DIY lovers to buy and customize their own PC, and the best part is that it can be placed just about anywhere. Described as a "sub-liter" DIY PC kit for "enthusiasts who want to taste the most extreme, ultra-compact desktop computing experience," this unit relies on a Pico-ITX mainboard and features
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Text Happy Teens Prefer Texting over Talking
This won't come as much of a revelation, but teens love to text. A lot. So much so, in fact, that texting is fast becoming the preferred method of communication, suggests a new study by Pew Internet. According to the study, American teens between the ages of 12 and 17 are more apt to text message their friends than they are to call, email, send an IM, talk on the phone, or chat through a social networking site. Hang out at a local high school (actually, don't do that, it's kind of creepy) and you'll discover
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Lenovo Launches ThinkPad L412 And L512 For Green Businesspeople
These three words tend to find themselves together a lot: Lenovo, business, notebook. Today, they're finding themselves together again with the introduction of the L Series, a new business-oriented ThinkPad that will ship in two main versions: the L412 and L512. As you might expect, the former has a 14" anti-glare display, while the other has a 15" panel.Designed to withstand daily abuses and crank through even the longest spreadsheets, these two machines can be equipped with Core i3 or Core i5 processors and
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Leica Announces "Affordable" V-LUX 20 Digital Camera With Geotagging
To say that Leica is a trusted name in the camera industry is just too easy. That's a well-known fact, and we doubt it'll change anytime soon. The company is primarily known for shipping extremely expensive and rare rangefinders, which are smaller cameras with larger sensors that can approach DSLR quality in a body that's barely larger than the average point and shoot camera. Today, that very company is introducing one of their cheaper models: the V-LUX 20.It's modeled after Panasonic's ZS7, and in reality,
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Ford SYNC AppLink Lets Your Car Control Android And BlackBerry Apps
The Jetsons made us confident that we would one day talk to our vehicles, and while we expected to be flying around in spaceships by this point, talking to cars will work as a concession. Ford has enabled drivers to speak to their automobiles for awhile now through Microsoft's SYNC system, but to this point, all of the chatter was simply controlling the car's internal systems. What if you could speak to your car, and have the car control something else? It's a crazy thought, but it's happening on every 2011
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Apple's Wi-Fi + 3G iPad To Be Available On April 30th
Reports were floating around yesterday that Apple was still on track to ship the 3G version of the iPad in "late April," and when they say "late," they really mean "late." The company has issued a new release this morning assuring pre-sale customers that their Wi-Fi + 3G iPad will be shipped and made available for delivery on April 30th.Also, for customers who are hoping to grab one from a retail store, the 3G iPads will be available in Apple retail stores (no mention of Best Buy this time) on that same day
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New Rumors of An AMD-Apple Alliance Raise Familiar Questions
One of the more amusing things about being an IT journalist is that, after you've been writing for awhile, you realize that many of the juiciest or interesting rumors don't appear so much as reappear, travelling in and out of the public eye much as a comet orbits a star. In this case, the AMD+Apple chestnut has hoved back into view, with a long tail of juicy speculation flowing out behind it. The long and short of it is that AMD employees have been seen traveling to and fro from Cupertino, inside Apple's Commuter
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New iPhone Model Left Behind In Redwood Bar
You can bet that someone, somewhere, is a very unhappy ex-Apple employee now that one of the company's prototype next-generation iPhones was lost (and found) in a Redwood City bar. Whoever found the device (they're understandably laying low) turned it over to Gizmodo, which has spent a significant chunk of time disassembling the device, snapping photos, comparing its internal components to current-generation Apple iPhones, and documenting the various changes. The prototype phone includes the following changes/features:
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Get Lucky With The HotHardware Sweepstakes Winner!
To commemorate the St. Patrick's Day holiday, we announced an exciting sweepstakes, along with our friends at Intel and iBuyPower, in which we planned to give away a custom, fully loaded Intel Core i7-980X-powered system, complete with a Radeon HD 5870 pushing the pixels, an Intel X25-M SSD, and a head-turning Chimera Inferno 2 case. The response we received after the announcement of the contest and throughout its duration was awesome with hundreds of new members joining our community, posting thousands
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Apple's MacBook And MacBook Pro Lines Get A Docking Station Thanks To Henge Docks
Docking Stations have permeated corporate office buildings for as long as we can remember, and even today, many "business notebooks" ship with a gap in the bottom to connect to a first-party dock that's designed to be chained to one's cube desk. Workers simply haul in their notebook from home, slap it into the dock, and use a ready-made desktop setup.But Mac users have never really had that luxury. Apple has never made a Mac laptop with a built-in port that allowed for a nice, seamless connection to a docking
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Panasonic LUMIX G2 And G10 Micro Four Thirds Cameras: Coming Next Month For Under $800
Micro Four Thirds cameras are slowly gaining serious traction in America. People want DSLR quality without the weight and complexity of a DSLR, and that's exactly what MFT delivers in many cases. Panasonic has been at the forefront of pushing this technology in the camera realm, but consumers have thus far been left in the dark with regard to pricing and availability for the company's upcoming LUMIX cameras.Today, Panasonic revealed those very details. The LUMIX G2 and LUMIX G10, both of which are being added
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Sarotek's T2 Media Streamer Demands Your Attention
Media players and media streamers are a dime a dozen these days, but much like most Wi-Fi routers, few of these are actually stylish enough to sit out in the open. Asian companies have a thing for showing up the others in terms of design, and Sarotek's new T2 shows exactly how and why.The company's new media player is extremely small, and it's powered by a 500MHz Sigma SMPS8653 CPU. It can be used as a UPnP media player, stream content from NAS devices and it fully supports DTS/Dolby surround sound, HDMI 1.3
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DISH Network Lands 200 HDTV Channels: Is The Sky The Limit?
Wow. How the times have changed. In 2000, hearing about "HDTV" was rare. You might see one or two big events in HD, and you'd probably have to visit a sports bar or something similar to see it. Most people were still wowed with broadband Internet, and seeing March Madness in 720p was the least of their worries. SD content had worked fine for decades, so why change now?Slowly but surely, big networks began to make the investments required to bring HDTV to the masses, and pay-TV carriers began to offer them. Many
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Boxee Likely Coming To Mobile: Android, iPhone And iPad In Sight
Boxee just might be the most beloved piece of free software on the Internet today, particularly by those who prefer to get their entertainment from the Web rather than more conventional outlets like the television or radio. But up until now, Boxee has been a piece of software that requires a full-fledged computer to use.But according to reports, Boxee may be considering a mobile version of the app, which enables users to easily access Web content from a variety of portals. The user interface is really what seals
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Dell's Streak Tablets Leaked to the Web
Feeling the itch for a handheld tablet but have no interest in Apple's Flash-less iPad? No worries, because several manufactures are stepping up to the plate with tablets of their own, including Dell. Speaking of which, some leaked pics of the OEM's upcoming slate lineup have landed on the Web. Along with the pics, internal documents acquired by Engadget suggest Dell plans to call its tablet family "Streak." There are two versions being shown off, one with a 10-inch screen and a somewhat smaller version sporting
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AT&T to Employees: No June Vacation for You!
June is right around the corner, and for some of us (we're looking at you, mid-westerners), the consistently sunny days can't come fast enough. AT&T workers, however, can't wait to put June in their rear view mirror. That's according to the popular mobile weblog Boy Genius Report, who has apparently "confirmed with multiple AT&T sources that the carrier has now put a block on employees taking vacations in June." Say what? Donning our detective caps, the most likely reason for this is that Apple will
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Fusion-io Lands New Round Of Funding: Solid State Innovation Lives On
Fusion-io is probably one of the most important storage companies that you've never heard of. It won't be placed on Best Buy shelves beside Seagate, Western Digital or Hitachi, but in five years, it may be all the rage. Already, the start-up company (which has ties to Apple's Steve Wozniak) has delivered some of the fastest solid state storage on the planet, and it looks like the company is well on their way to doing that for some time to come.Innovation takes dollars, and thankfully for Fusion-io, their bank account just got stuffed with them. The company has just announced that they have raised another $45 million in Series C financing, led by new investor Meritech Capital Partners, as well as previous investors. This new injection of cash will be directed towards scaling up infrastructure and support development of next-generation technologies and products. Funding will also support development of next generation technologies and products that will further distance the ioMemory Tier from the competition.
There's a good chance that this money could lead to even more ioMemory products, and hopefully these SSD solutions will arrive with lower price points than we've seen before. As it stands, most every Fusion-io product has been priced and aimed at the enterprise, but we're feeling pretty confident that the consumer space is on their to-reach list.
Fusion-io Raises $45 Million in Series C Financing to Accelerate Growth and Development of Next Generation Flash Technologies
Salt Lake City, April, 19, 2010— Fusion-io, creator of a new memory tier of flash-based solid-state (ioMemory), today announced that it has raised approximately $45 million in a Series C preferred stock financing, led by new investor, Meritech Capital Partners. Also participating in the round were new investors, Accel Partners, Andreessen Horowitz and Triangle Peak Partners, as well as returning investors, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Lightspeed Venture Partners, among others.
Fusion-io will direct the additional investment towards scaling up infrastructure to support rapidly increasing sales and build on the momentum its flash-based memory tier is experiencing across multiple industries. Funding will also support development of next generation technologies and products that will further distance the ioMemory Tier from the competition.
"The money put into the company by this impressive list of investors demonstrates the value of our technology in the current marketplace," said Dennis Wolf, CFO of Fusion-io. "Our competition will no doubt take note and be appropriately concerned about the extent and rapidity of our growth."
“In only a couple of years Fusion-io has clearly demonstrated the disruptive, innovative nature of its technology. It is causing organizations around the globe to rethink the way they architect their data centers,†said George Bischof, Managing Director at Meritech Capital. “This round of funding will allow Fusion-io to maintain the rapid pace of innovation it has established. We are excited by the significant value proposition the company’s products are delivering to customers, as well as the improvements that will be enabled with the next generation of revolutionary technology from Fusion-io.â€
About Fusion-io
Fusion-io is a leading provider of enterprise solid-state technology and high-performance I/O solutions. The company’s solid-state storage technology closes the gap between processing power and storage needs delivering breakthrough performance at a fraction of the cost of traditional disk-based storage systems. The result is a world of possibilities for performance-starved applications. For more information, please visit www.fusionio.com.
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Get Lucky With The HotHardware Sweepstakes Winner!
To commemorate the St. Patrick's Day holiday, we announced an exciting sweepstakes, along with our friends at Intel and iBuyPower, in which we planned to give away a custom, fully loaded Intel Core i7-980X-powered system, complete with a Radeon HD 5870 pushing the pixels, an Intel X25-M SSD, and a head-turning Chimera Inferno 2 case.
The response we received after the announcement of the contest and throughout its duration was awesome with hundreds of new members joining our community, posting thousands of comments throughout the forum and news. Before we announce the winner, we want to extend a big thank you to everyone that made this contest possible and of course to all of our loyal community members who participated.
Well, we've had a chance to sift through all of the data and we’ve picked a lucky winner.
She's All Yours, 3vi1!
Are you ready for it? Drum roll please! And the Winner Is...
3vi1
Congrats brother! You've just scored yourself once heck of a killer rig!
Now everyone, congratulate your pal and prepare for our next exciting give-away! We've actually got more awesome rigs on tap for you all in the coming weeks / months--the giving just never stops around here! Once we've got the details hammered out, we'll announce the next contest, but we promise it won't be long. :)
Thanks,
Team HotHardware
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Ubisoft Hugs Mother Nature, Ditches Paper Manuals
Not that any of you bother to RTFM (Google it) anyway, but for what it's worth, Ubisoft is doing away with paper-based manuals and replacing them with in-game digital copies instead. The new initiative applies to games for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, starting with Shaun White Skateboarding this holiday 2010, Ubisoft said."It's pretty cool that Ubisoft is making a conscious effort to go green with its new video game packaging," commented Olympic Gold Medalist Shaun White. "I'm excited for my new skateboarding game to come out and stoked that it will be the very first Ubisoft game to be part of their green packaging initiative."
According to Ubisoft's internal research, producing one ton of paper used in manuals consumes about two tons of wood from 13 trees. That translates into net energy of 28 million BTUs, which is enough to heat the average home for an entire year; greenhouse gases equivalent to 6,000 pounds of CO2; and nearly 15,000 gallons of wastewater.
"Ubisoft is often recognized for making great games, but it’s a special privilege to be the industry leader at saving trees," said Laurent Detoc, president of Ubisoft North America. "Eco-friendly initiatives are important to the global community and introducing in-game digital manuals on Xbox 360 and PS3 is just the latest example of Ubisoft’s ongoing commitment to being a more environmentally conscious company."
Have you hugged a tree today?
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Maingear Updates eX-L 15 Gaming Notebook With Core i7 And HD 5870 GPU
If you're in the market for a new loaded gaming notebook, but you don't want a huge 17" screen to lug around, Maingear might have something that's right down your alley. The revamped eX-L 15 is built to handle the latest gaming titles at the highest resolutions, but don't expect it to last too long when away from the wall outlet.The machine features a 15" HD display (native 1080p screen), DirectX 11 support courtesy of an ATI Radeon HD 5870 GPU and options for Core i5 and Core i7 processors. There's also DVI, HDMI, and S/PDIF audio out, along with eSATA, FireWire four USB ports and a webcam. To combat an overheating lap, MAINGEAR implemented a dual heatpipe cooling design for both the CPU and GPU with Artic Cooling thermal paste. Users will also find a dedicated number pad, Windows 7 Premium, DVD and Blu-ray options as well as a cheaper 1600x900 panel if the 1080p one is too rich for you.
It's available to customize starting today at $1599.
MAINGEAR Unleashes Revamped eX-L 15 Gaming Notebook
15†notebook gives gamers the world’s fastest mobile graphics performance to date
Kenilworth, New Jersey – April 20, 2010 - MAINGEAR Computers, award-winning builders of custom computers for PC gamers and enthusiasts, unveils the eX-L 15, the fastest 15? HD gaming notebook on the market. Featuring DirectX 11 graphics courtesy of the ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics adapter, and resolutions up to 1920×1080 and an LED back-lit screen, the eX-L delivers killer graphics and performance.
Processing Power – eX-L15 can be configured with 45nm quad-core processors for blazing fast performance or the all new 2010 Intel Core i5 and i7 32nm processors for enhanced battery life.
Visual Feast – eX-L 15 packs the world’s fastest mobile GPU in the ATI Radeon 5870 with a crystal clear 1080p LED backlit screen providing the most brilliant resolution for today’s hottest games. And enjoy a complimentary 30-day, ZERO dead pixel warranty free of charge.
Connectivity, Security, and Expandability– Featuring DVI, HDMI, and S/PDIF audio out, the eX-L 15 gives users enhanced connectivity capabilities to bring movies, games, and music onto a larger monitor and sound system. Additional connection features include eSata, Firewire, 4 USB ports, and a webcam.
Cooling Capabilities – To combat an overheating lap, MAINGEAR implemented a dual heatpipe cooling design for both the CPU and GPU with Artic Cooling thermal paste.
Additional Advanced Features – eX-L 15 offers gamers a dedicated number pad easing the transition between gaming on a desktop and notebook.
“The eX-L was designed for maximum performance in a portable package,†said Wallace Santos, CEO and Founder of MAINGEAR. “With the DirectX 11 performance of the Radeon HD 5870, we’re not only able to provide that performance, but do it with exceptional visual quality for today’s and tomorrow’s hottest titles.â€
Consumers can purchase the eX-L 15 at MAINGEAR’s Web site http://www.maingear.com/custom/laptops/exl-15/ or order by phone at (888-MAINGEAR). The base price for the eX-L 15 is $1,599 and comes with MAINGEAR’s premium Lifetime Labor and Phone Support with a 1 year hardware warranty and is backed by the best in-house support team in the country.
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New iPhone Model Left Behind In Redwood Bar
You can bet that someone, somewhere, is a very unhappy ex-Apple employee now that one of the company's prototype next-generation iPhones was lost (and found) in a Redwood City bar. Whoever found the device (they're understandably laying low) turned it over to Gizmodo, which has spent a significant chunk of time disassembling the device, snapping photos, comparing its internal components to current-generation Apple iPhones, and documenting the various changes. The prototype phone includes the following changes/features: - Improved back-facing camera
- Front-facing video camera
- Improved Display (possibly with a resolution of 960x460, though this seems an unlikely resolution)
- Possible secondary microphone
- Split volume buttons
- Micro-sim card similar to the iPad's.
- Integrated camera flash
Here's a picture of the two devices lined up side-by-side; it's obvious that this new phone would be a significant departure from the current generation of iPhones. The new phone looks as though it might be ever-so-slightly taller than the current model, but is possibly thinner—it's hard to eyeball the net effect on the phone's internal volume since the current model uses a rounded case while the next-gen iPhone is squared off. This is precisely the sort of situation where we'd normally be coughing and making finger quotes at the idea that this is a next-generation iPhone, but Gizmodo's own research into the phone's authenticity is extremely compelling. Put simply, there are a great many reasons to think this phone is real, which raises the question of when, exactly, we might see these devices on the market.
One thing I'm particularly curious about is how the iPhone will continue to evolve now that the iPad is on the market. The two devices serve different needs, but not necessarily different customers; the fact that AT&T charges $60 for a combined iPhone+iPad data connection undoubtedly has some Apple customers eyeing the question of whether or not they can switch to either a cheap non-smartphone cell model or get along on just an iPad + VoIP technology. It sounds as though this new phone will definitely keep the iPhone fresh and interesting even in the face of its larger cousin. Gizmodo hasn't confirmed, but we expect there'll be an A4 CPU at the heart of the beast. We wouldn't necessarily take a lot away from that—the smart bet is currently on the A4 being nothing more than an ARM Cortex A8 with a cut-down I/O package—but with Apple, hardware updates are only a small part of the picture.
Unfortunately, Apple killed the iPhone with a remote update (one reason not to want one, period), but Gizmodo has videos and a number of comparison photos available. Previous iPhones have debuted high-end models above $300—with the iPad now available, we could see a lower-priced model at launch.
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Leica Announces "Affordable" V-LUX 20 Digital Camera With Geotagging
To say that Leica is a trusted name in the camera industry is just too easy. That's a well-known fact, and we doubt it'll change anytime soon. The company is primarily known for shipping extremely expensive and rare rangefinders, which are smaller cameras with larger sensors that can approach DSLR quality in a body that's barely larger than the average point and shoot camera. Today, that very company is introducing one of their cheaper models: the V-LUX 20.It's modeled after Panasonic's ZS7, and in reality, not much has changed on the Leica version. The price tag, of course, is one of them. There's a 12.1MP sensor, built-in GPS tagging, a 12x optical zoom lens (C-VARIO-ELMAR 4.1-49.2mm f/3.3-4.9 ASPH to be precise), HD movie recording, automatic scene modes and smart exposure. It also has a 3" LCD on the back, a matte black finish and a nice mix of manual/auto controls. It will ship first in the UK next month for £495 ($762), but should land in America soon after.
Leica Camera AG has announced the LEICA V-LUX 20, a 12.1 effective megapixel digital compact camera with a powerful 12x optical zoom lens and built-in GPS tagging*, making it ideal for recording special memories when travelling – wherever you are in the world.
The integrated, high-performance LEICA DC-VARIO-ELMAR 4.1-49.2mm f/3.3-4.9 ASPH. zoom lens with a focal range of 25-300mm (35mm equivalent) means the V-Lux 20 is perfect for any photographic situation. Whether shooting expansive landscapes, detailed close-ups or shots of distant subjects using the super-telephoto setting, the V-Lux 20 captures them all in breath-taking quality.
The V-Lux 20 is the first Leica camera to feature GPS tagging. For anyone travelling regularly – whether on exotic safaris, family beach holidays or even those important business trips – this innovative feature allows photographers to record the exact geographical co-ordinates of their location (in the Exif data of each photo) automatically, as well as the local time for every shot, ensuring the user always has a useful and accurate record of their trip. In addition, the V-Lux 20 can display the names of interesting sightseeing locations from a total of 500,000 ‘points of interest’ across 73 countries.
The built-in GPS feature also makes archiving and organising photos quick and easy, during or after a trip. Furthermore, for photographers posting images on social networks, image portals or map sites such as Google Maps or Google Earth, the data automatically reveals exactly when and where the photos were taken.*
For those who want to make movies as well as still images, the LEICA V-LUX 20 enables movie recording in HD quality. Its intelligent automatic features, such as face recognition, automatic scene modes and smart exposure, are all available in movie mode, together with the camera’s zoom functions.
The V-Lux 20’s generous three inch LCD display has a diagonal of 7.5cm and a resolution of 460,000 pixels, and offers an extremely bright, sharp view for precise composition and framing of shots, as well as accurate quality control for captured shots in playback mode.
Beautifully styled in a matt black finish, the V-Lux 20 has been designed with simple, ergonomic controls and user-friendly menus, and offers fully automatic functions for those who prefer to ‘point and shoot’. It also provides a complete range of manual shutter speed and aperture settings for more creative freedom and image control. In addition, the integrated image stabilisation assists the photographer by reducing the chance of blurred pictures, whether due to camera shake or difficult lighting conditions. The compact dimensions and light weight of the camera also make it easy to pack into a bag or rucksack, or simply carry in a pocket, so users can ensure the LEICA V-LUX 20 is with them on every trip.
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Ford SYNC AppLink Lets Your Car Control Android And BlackBerry Apps
The Jetsons made us confident that we would one day talk to our vehicles, and while we expected to be flying around in spaceships by this point, talking to cars will work as a concession. Ford has enabled drivers to speak to their automobiles for awhile now through Microsoft's SYNC system, but to this point, all of the chatter was simply controlling the car's internal systems. What if you could speak to your car, and have the car control something else? It's a crazy thought, but it's happening on every 2011 Ford with SYNC.It will start with the 2011 Fiesta, which will be the first vehicle equipped with SYNC AppLink. This new system allows owners to access and control Android and BlackBerry smartphone apps with voice commands and vehicle controls. You speak to your ride, your ride controls your smartphone. No more fiddling with your phone when trying to get it to interact with your vehicle! The first apps to support AppLink will be Pandora (no surprise), Stitcher (a "smart radio" program as well) and Orangatame's OpenBeak.
Ford will be coaxing others to join their AppLink party with the launch of their "Mobile Application Developer Network" (www.syncmyride.com/developer), giving developers a pathway to partner with Ford on SYNC-enabled applications. Now, if only that auto-pilot feature would come standard, we'd have plenty of reasons to spring for a new automobile.
- Ford will first offer SYNC®AppLink, a downloadable software program, on the 2011 Fiesta, allowingowners to access and control Android™ and BlackBerry® smartphone appswith voice commands and vehicle controls
- Pandora internet radio, Stitcher "smart radio" and Orangatame's OpenBeak are the first SYNC-enabled mobile applications
- Ford to create SYNC developer community with launch of new "Mobile Application Developer Network" (www.syncmyride.com/developer), Â giving developers a pathway to partner with Ford on SYNC-enabled applications
- Ford's platform approach with SYNC is poised to harness smartphone app development and mobile web access; apps expected to be a $4 billion industry by 2012; analysts predict the mobile device to become the No. 1 source for Internet access by 2015
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Apple's Wi-Fi + 3G iPad To Be Available On April 30th
Reports were floating around yesterday that Apple was still on track to ship the 3G version of the iPad in "late April," and when they say "late," they really mean "late." The company has issued a new release this morning assuring pre-sale customers that their Wi-Fi + 3G iPad will be shipped and made available for delivery on April 30th.Also, for customers who are hoping to grab one from a retail store, the 3G iPads will be available in Apple retail stores (no mention of Best Buy this time) on that same day starting at 5:00PM (local time, we assume). We think that Apple are selling this model exclusively in their own retail stores due to the added complexity during setup; Apple admits that users buying one in retail will be offered a "ree Personal Setup service to every customer who buys an iPad at the store, helping them customize their new iPad by setting up their email, loading their favorite apps from the App Store, and more."
If you need a reminder, the 3G iPad has an AT&T Micro-SIM card that can connect to AT&T's network on a month-by-month contract. The 16GB model is $629, while the 32GB version is $729 and the 64GB model is $829, with unlimited data being $30/month and smaller plans costing a bit less.
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Panasonic LUMIX G2 And G10 Micro Four Thirds Cameras: Coming Next Month For Under $800
Micro Four Thirds cameras are slowly gaining serious traction in America. People want DSLR quality without the weight and complexity of a DSLR, and that's exactly what MFT delivers in many cases. Panasonic has been at the forefront of pushing this technology in the camera realm, but consumers have thus far been left in the dark with regard to pricing and availability for the company's upcoming LUMIX cameras.Today, Panasonic revealed those very details. The LUMIX G2 and LUMIX G10, both of which are being added to their MFT lineup, will be available late next month. The G2 will ship in red, blue and black and will sell for $799.95, while the G10 will sell for $599.95. The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G2 is the world's first digital interchangeable lens system camera with a movable LCD that allows for touch-control; the intuitive touch-control shooting elevates the camera's operability, letting the user adjust auto focus (AF) simply by touching the subject on the 3" LCD. The LUMIX G2 also shoots 720p High Definition video using the AVCHD Lite format, and users can even flick through pictures as they would on an iPhone or iPad.
The LUMIX DMC-G10 is a more affordable version of the G2, and it claims to be the world's lightest digital interchangeable lens camera with a viewfinder. It can also record 720p HD video in JPEG, QVGA, VGA and WVGA formats, and as with the G2, it ships with a LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm/F3.5-5.6 ASPH/MEGA O.I.S. lens. Both models are compatible with all LUMIX G-Series DSL Micro Four Thirds system lenses, allowing users even higher levels of performance in a digital interchangeable lens camera. For those looking to step up from a point-and-shoot, you have to admit that these alternatives to a full-scale DSLR are certainly tempting.
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Dell's Streak Tablets Leaked to the Web
Feeling the itch for a handheld tablet but have no interest in Apple's Flash-less iPad? No worries, because several manufactures are stepping up to the plate with tablets of their own, including Dell. Speaking of which, some leaked pics of the OEM's upcoming slate lineup have landed on the Web.Along with the pics, internal documents acquired by Engadget suggest Dell plans to call its tablet family "Streak." There are two versions being shown off, one with a 10-inch screen and a somewhat smaller version sporting a 7-inch display. Looking at the spy shots, both models appear to come with a sizable bezel.
Leaked photo of Dell's upcoming "Streak" tablet obtained by Engadget
Details are pretty slim so far, though Dell did offer ups this canned statement:
Details are pretty slim so far, though Dell did offer ups this canned statement:
"Dell continually develops and tests new products that extend the mobile experience. We have not made any product announcements and do not comment on speculation, rumor, or unannounced products."
Gee, thanks. Nevertheless, expect the 7-inch Streak to launch sometime in late 2010, followed by the 10-inch model in early 2011.
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New Rumors of An AMD-Apple Alliance Raise Familiar Questions
One of the more amusing things about being an IT journalist is that, after you've been writing for awhile, you realize that many of the juiciest or interesting rumors don't appear so much as reappear, travelling in and out of the public eye much as a comet orbits a star. In this case, the AMD+Apple chestnut has hoved back into view, with a long tail of juicy speculation flowing out behind it. The long and short of it is that AMD employees have been seen traveling to and fro from Cupertino, inside Apple's Commuter Coaches. This has fueled speculation on whether or not Apple is evaluating new AMD products for future iMac/Macbook products, especially since Apple rather pointedly opted not to rely solely on Intel's integrated GPUs when it recently refreshed its Macbook/Macbook Pro series.
We're surprised the folks at AppleInsider could even see the AMD guys.
Let's get the easy part out of the way first. It would be much more surprising if AMD didn't attempt to show off its new products to Apple. Llano is a huge step forward for AMD and it'll be the company's first Fusion part since it bought ATI five years ago. That acquisition has become less contentious as time has passed and ATI's R600-derived architectures became stronger, but AMD's repeated goodwill writeoffs after the ATI purchase eventually totaled more than half the price. Having wasted $2.5 billion when it bought the GPU designer (and running about 2.5 years late), AMD needs Fusion to wow OEMs when it finally comes to market.
If you want to catch people's attention, Apple is the company you court. Toss in the fun of giving NVIDIA a black eye, and there's plenty of reasons why AMD would want to put Llano processors in Apple's labs for performance profiling. The real question is, is there a reason for Apple to be interested in AMD, beyond using the company as leverage against Intel when bargaining over volume pricing?
If we had to bet on what's going on, our first choice would be "business as usual," followed by "AMD = bargaining chip." There is, however, a third possibility. After its recent refresh, Apple's high-end products are now based on Core i5/i7 processors, but there are a surprising number of Core 2 Duo systems (both desktop and laptop) still for sale. If Apple wants to upgrade those products without necessarily jumping for the Core i3/i5 series, Llano, on 32nm, could be a compelling alternative, particularly if AMD can deliver a 32nm CPU+GPU with better performance and lower power consumption than a 45nm C2D+integrated NVIDIA GPU.
The problem with that theory is that it assumes Apple is actually looking for a Core i3 alternative and not just threatening to use one. The one card AMD might have to play in this space is core count; Sunnyvale could try to offer its quad-core Llano parts at a better price than Intel's dual-core Core i3 series.
It's possible, but it doesn't seem likely. As great as it would be for AMD to snag Apple as an OEM, we're betting Apple will stay an Intel-only house for the foreseeable future.
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Boxee Likely Coming To Mobile: Android, iPhone And iPad In Sight
Boxee just might be the most beloved piece of free software on the Internet today, particularly by those who prefer to get their entertainment from the Web rather than more conventional outlets like the television or radio. But up until now, Boxee has been a piece of software that requires a full-fledged computer to use.But according to reports, Boxee may be considering a mobile version of the app, which enables users to easily access Web content from a variety of portals. The user interface is really what seals the deal, and having that same UI on Android, iPhone OS or WebOS could definitely make mobile video consumption seem a lot more attractive.
Boxee Remote application for the iPhone... Movies coming to the little screen next?
Reportedly, Boxee is currently searching for a "a developer fluent in the Apple operating system," and it's also hoping to develop for Android in the future. Apple's iPad also seems like a good place to plant a new Boxee app, but of course, getting around the "no Flash" rule with all Apple mobile products will be another challenge entirely.
So, is Boxee finally going mobile? All signs are pointing to yes, with the only real question being "when?" We're hoping soon, and we hope that Boxee and Hulu can somehow bury the hatchet at the same time. Now, wouldn't that be just peachy?
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Apple's MacBook And MacBook Pro Lines Get A Docking Station Thanks To Henge Docks
Docking Stations have permeated corporate office buildings for as long as we can remember, and even today, many "business notebooks" ship with a gap in the bottom to connect to a first-party dock that's designed to be chained to one's cube desk. Workers simply haul in their notebook from home, slap it into the dock, and use a ready-made desktop setup.But Mac users have never really had that luxury. Apple has never made a Mac laptop with a built-in port that allowed for a nice, seamless connection to a docking station. Users have always had to seek out third-party "universal solutions" that never really worked right for one reason or another. Things have become somewhat easier over the years thanks to wireless technologies (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and wireless USB), but some wires are still required, and if you need very high resolutions to handle some of Apple's Cinema displays, you cannot use those Wireless USB devices.
Henge Docks is a new company that is aiming to help ailing Mac users with this problem. Their new line of docking stations are custom made to work with Apple notebooks. Most somewhat modern MacBook machines and MacBook Pro machines are supported, with sizes from 13" to 15" to 17" being cleared for use by various models. These aren't the most elaborate, and in a way, they're just fancy cable management tools. But they're a typical Apple white in color and they hold your Apple notebook with a style that Mac users would appreciate. They're also extremely cheap, with the 13" modem starting at under $60. As of now, just two MacBook models are shipping, with all others set for pre-sale.
Have a look at the demo below to see how these could be used at your desk or even in your home entertainment setup. Hopefully Apple stores will start stocking these soon, as quite a few small business owners may consider switching to OS X if they knew a seamless docking solution existed.
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HP Launches New Laptops, All-In-Ones, Business Desktops, and More
Four weeks ago, HP announced a bevy of new products that were arriving for the fall season. It turns out, that announcement was just part one of HP's fall lineup, with part two arriving today. Today, HP is announcing a number of new laptops, docking stations, all-in-one desktop PCs, a few more-traditional form-factor desktop PCs, and a 42-inch touch-screen LCD. An HP spokesperson told us that HP is calling this "the year of the refresh." What make this set of announcements different from the previous one, is that these products include a number of models that carry the Compaq brand name, and more of these products are designed for the SMB (small and medium business) market; HP claims that one-third of its revenue comes from SMB customers.  |   |
| Â The HP TouchSmart tx2 (tablet mode on the right). | |
The first product that caught our eye was HP's refresh of its HP TouchSmart tx2 laptop. The TouchSmart tx2 features a capacitive multi-touch display that can swivel 180-degrees, and can be used in traditional clamshell mode or as true tablet--the 12.1-inch display has a native resolution of 1280x800. The model with the starting price of $799 weighs 4.64-pounds and has a 2.2GHz AMD Turion X2 RM-75 processor, 4GB DDR2 SDRAM, ATI Radeon HD 3200 GPU, 320GB 7200RPM SATA hard drive, 8x LightScribe DL DVD±R/RW drive, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. The TouchSmart tx2 will be available on October 22.
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| Â Compaq Presario CQ61-310US |
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| Â HP ProBook 6545b with the Advanced Docking Station (left) and a closeup of the Advanced Docking Station's ports (right). | |
HP also revamped its ProBook business laptop series with the 6445b and the 6545b models. The 6545b has a 15.6-inch display, is made with a sturdy magnesium alloy support structure, and includes a full-sized spill-resistant keyboard that includes a drain. HP claims that the 6545b has a battery life of up to 5 hours with the standard 6-cell battery, and up to 8 hours with the optional 9-cell battery. The price for the 6545b starts at $799 (the 6445b is not available in the U.S.). HP also has four new docking station models that work with the new ProBook laptops, including its Advanced Docking Station that includes nearly every possible port you could think of--including two PS/2 ports, parallel and serial ports, a VGA port, two DVI-D ports, a DisplayPort connector, six USB 2.0 ports (several of which are "always on"), an eSATA port, and even a SATA drive bay. The 6545b and docking stations will be available in November.
| The HP TouchSmart 600-1055 in action. |
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| Â HP TouchSmart 600-1055. |
- 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7450
- 4GB DDR3-1333 SDRAM
- 750GB 7200RPM SATA HDD
- Nvidia GeForce GT230M (1GB) GPU
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| Â Compaq CQ400 (left), Compaq 500B (middle), and Compaq 505B (right). |
Three additional Compaq business desktops and one new HP business desktop are also making their debut today. The Compaq 500-series uses a micro-tower design, with the 500B using Intel Pentium dual-core and Celeron processors (starting price $359), and the 505B using AMD Athlon II processors (starting price $409). The small-form-factor Compaq CQ4000 uses an AMD Sempron processor (starting price $309.99); the HP Elite 7000 uses Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors (starting price $789). All foue business desktops will be available October 22.
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| Â The HP LD4200tm in action. |
Last but not least, is HP's third generation widescreen digital signage display, the 42-inch HP LD4200tm. What makes the LD4200tm unique is its support for multi-touch via an "array of infrared (IR) light-emitting diodes (LEDs), along with photo sensors." The LD4200tm has a native resolution of 1920x1080, 500 nits brightness, and a 1000:1 contrast ratio (3000:1 dynamic contrast ratio). HP envisions the LD4200tm to be used by businesses for "quick and easy onscreen interactivity in environments, such as point-of-sale (POS), hospitality, education, banking, manufacturing, and kiosks." While the LD4200tm's hardware supports multi-touch, the driver needed to take advantage of it has yet to be WHQL certified; HP estimates that the driver will be ready by the time the display starts shipping in December. The LD4200tm will have a starting price of $2,799.
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AT&T to Employees: No June Vacation for You!
June is right around the corner, and for some of us (we're looking at you, mid-westerners), the consistently sunny days can't come fast enough. AT&T workers, however, can't wait to put June in their rear view mirror.That's according to the popular mobile weblog Boy Genius Report, who has apparently "confirmed with multiple AT&T sources that the carrier has now put a block on employees taking vacations in June." Say what?
Donning our detective caps, the most likely reason for this is that Apple will soon launch a new model iPhone in late June or early July. After all, this isn't the first time AT&T has issued a vacation ban preceding an iPhone launch. The company did the same thing in 2007 leading up to the first iPhone debut, and then again in June 2008 right before the release of the iPhone 3G. And then there's the upcoming iPhone 4 OS, which Steve Jobs said would ship this summer.
Any AT&T workers reading this able to confirm or deny the report? Are you excited about another iPhone launch? Post your thoughts below.
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