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It’s takes a — how do you say? — special type of person to get all jazzed about an 18-inch laptop, but given that there’s a solid chance you’re one of those folks, we figured it prudent to pass along PC World’s review of HP’s beastly HDX18. Obviously designed with multimedia in mind and to possibly take the place of your desktop, this sucker performed satisfactorily in all the basic, everyday tasks as well as those media playing duties. It’s not meant for hardcore gamers, but you probably already knew that. Amazingly, the included battery lasted nearly three hours before petering out, which is pretty astounding for an 8.9-pound energy destroyer. At the end of the day, critics found enough to love to slap down a 90 out of 100 rating, noting that anyone crazy enough to want a “laptop” this big (save for FPS freaks) would likely find lots to love. In more ways than one.

Filed under: Laptops

HP’s HDX18 desktop replacement reviewed: rocks those socks right off originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 04:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Peeped in spy pics on these Interwebs since June, Nokia just went official with the 6260 slide. Unfortunately, “slide” in this case reveals a numeric keypad not a QWERTY. Otherwise, it’s pretty much an iterative step beyond the 6220 classic. As such, we’re looking at a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, WiFi, and HSDPA/HSUPA data to quickly share photos and video on Nokia’s Ovi service with the promise of support for other photo and video sharing sites you might actually use. The 6260 slide also features Nokia Maps riding AGPS — a first for a mass market, Series 40 device. Ships in early 2009 for about €299 before taxes and carrier subsidies, naturally.

Update: Detailed specs just released show a 2.4-inch, 320 x 480 pixel display on this 15.4-mm thick slider with quad-band GSM/EDGE and tri-band UMTS radios and microSD expansion. [Thanks, L]

Read — Press Release
Read — Detailed Specs [Warning: PDF]

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia slips out 5 megapixel 6260 slide with AGPS, a first for S40 devices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cellphones are caught in this awkward spot where they’ve got to be small — like pocketable, doesn’t-look-ridiculous-on-your-face small — and yet somehow big enough to pack an expansive, pretty display that’s capable of displaying a lot of stuff at once. That’s a paradox that has forced manufacturers into some curious form factors over the years, but ultimately, if you want to somehow cram the desktop viewing experience into a device the size of a pack of cigarettes, you’re probably going to need something that projects, rolls, or folds. That’s where Samsung’s new concept phone shown off at the FPD International show in Yokohama comes into play, opening like a book to reveal a flexible OLED big enough to handle those cute puppy videos that no plain-vanilla, 2.5-inch display can do justice. There’s no word on when a so-equipped handset might see production — but we think it’s appropriate that it’s being shown off in Japan in all places, if you catch our drift. Follow the break for a video of the display in action.

Continue reading Samsung concept phone unfolds to hypnotize onlookers with flexible OLED

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays

Samsung concept phone unfolds to hypnotize onlookers with flexible OLED originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 02:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Following AMD’s launch of its latest server chips last week, it’s Intel’s turn to be in the spotlight.

Intel plans to launch its newest generation of desktop processors on Monday. Called Core i7, the chips are aimed at the high-end desktop and gaming market.

The move puts Intel ahead of its rival AMD by more than a few months, as AMD’s comparable desktop processor isn’t scheduled to launch until early next year.

"AMD now just doesn’t have a competitive chip against Intel on the desktop," says Patrick Wang, an analyst with brokerage firm Wedbush Morgan.

And until AMD launches its product, Intel is going to be the only option for consumers who want the latest chips for their computers, says Wang.

The Core i7 will be almost four to six times faster than Intel’s current platform, says the company, and will have greater power efficiency than ever. It is based on the 45-nanometer production technology that first appeared in a server chip called Xeon (aka Penryn), which debuted earlier this year.

The 45-nm chips utilize smaller circuitry than the previous, 65-nm generation, making them faster, and also enabling Intel to manufacture them more cheaply.

The new Core i7 chips are based on a newly designed microarchitecture called Nehalem, which includes major design changes in areas such as power management and integrated memory control.

The first three quad-core Core i7 chips from Intel will reintroduce "hyperthreading" technology, which gives the chips the ability to execute 8 threads simultaneously on 4 processing cores, greatly increasing their processing power. Hyperthreading was seen earlier in Pentium 4 chips and some Xeon processors from Intel.

Core i7 processors are also different from their predecessors in that they have "QuickPath," a new microarchitecture that integrates memory controller into each
microprocessor. QuickPath will replace Front Side Bus used in
Xeon and Itanium platforms.

The move increases the bandwidth directly
available to the processor, reducing lag time
before a CPU can begin executing the next instruction.

"Core i7 will be one of the first Intel chips to integrate a memory controller," says Shane Rau, PC analyst at research firm IDC, "though it is something AMD has had for a while."

Intel is taking no chances with Core i7. The company has spent millions to test the chips and ensure flaws in it don’t trip it up, says The New York Times.

In the past, both Intel and AMD have paid a big price for bugs in their chips. In 1994, Intel’s Pentium chips sported a tiny error in floating-point calculation that led to a product recall.

More recently, AMD’s Barcelona range of chips that launched last year were delayed by months after discovery of flaws that among other things caused systems to lock up and crash.

Photo: osde8info/Flickr

President-elect Barack Obama will be cut off from using his Blackberry when he takes office because the U.S. Government can’t guarantee the full security of his communications. The ban might even extend into his use of email, which insiders believe will be a difficult transition for the tech-savvy next leader of the free world. 

Even though he won’t take the Oath of Office for another two months, Obama is already considered the most tech-friendly President ever. As we found out last week, he uses an Apple Macbook as his  notebook PC and kept in touch with his family during the campaign through the iChat webcam program. That’s on top of his campaign’s success in using the internet to amass kajillions of dollars from ordinary Americans, as well as the success of the MyBarackObama.com volunteer network.

The Blackberry is one of President-elect Obama’s favorite gadgets because it allowed him to be constantly updated throughout the campaign. Like many other people, the belt-fastened phone became more than a fashion accessory – it proved indispensable as he used it to receive advice from old friends in Chicago, check out baseball scores, and take a peek at the latest memos from his aides.

According to the New York Times, Obama’s BlackBerry messages are "crisp, properly spelled and free of symbols or emoticons." Which means that he probably did not send a message to Sen. John McCain on election night that looked anything like this: Pwned! 2 Bad 4 U, Sen.! : )

Georgetown University Professor and Presidential tech analyst Diana Owen says that the possible hacking of the Obama BlackBerry is a threat that is best dealt with by not using it at all. And though maintaining the security of personal communications is the main reason why he will be forced off of it, the Presidential Records Act is another thorn in his side. The act says that any correspondence by the President or VP is owned by the public and subject to historical review.

But even if he doesn’t get to use his smart phone or even email, aides say that Obama is determined to be the first President to use a laptop in the Oval Office. We say it’s about time.

Photo: wireimage.com

See also:

• For TV Networks, Election Is an Orgy of Gee-Whiz 3-D Tech
• Candidate Supporters’ Use of Gadgets as Symbols Reveal Power of Brands

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In its effort to put affordable, educational notebooks in the hands of
third-world children, One Laptop Per Child is reviving its Give One, Get
One promotion on Monday.

The deal enables consumers to buy an XO
laptop for themselves for $400, which in turn donates a second unit to
a child in a developing country. The organization is working with
Amazon to offer the deal, according to an Associated Press story.

Since
2005, OLPC has been striving toward the goal of producing a $100 laptop
with the idea that technology can rectify e-learning and computer
illiteracy issues throughout the world. The closest the organization
has gotten to that price point was last year, when it sold the XO for
$188. Now, the laptops carry a $200 price tag because of increased
production costs.

To date, the organization has distributed about 473,000
laptops in 31 countries. A large chunk of those sales — 160,000 units — came from OLPC’s two-month Give One, Get One promotion in 2007. Though successful, the program suffered from logistical problems, because the
notebooks were being sold through multiple vendors, which frustrated some buyers
with shipment delays. The organization is hoping that working with Amazon
will help avoid such issues.

While OLPC has not succeeded in bringing the cost of its laptop down to $100 — and its sales numbers are diminutive to the tech industry — the XO did play an instrumental role in giving birth to the netbook category. When manufacturers such as Asus saw that there was consumer interest in inexpensive, ultraportable laptops, they ran with the idea and produced their own. It turns out that was a smart move, because low-cost netbooks are looking more attractive than ever to consumers tightening their spending as the economy continues to collapse.   

‘$100 laptop’ group reboots Give One Get One offer [AP]

Photo: RFMiller/Flickr

Filed under: Desktops

OK, handsome — we know you’ve been distracted lately. What’s the matter? The economy? Post-election comedown? Do you feel that It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia just hasn’t lived up to its potential? Or are you itchin’ for one of those new Core i7 desktops? Well, the wait is over — we’ve got the skinny here on new Dell systems, and if you feel so moved you can even go over to their website and order one up right this very minute. The XPS Studio desktop’s base $949 model boasts 2GB memory, 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3450 graphics, and 500GB storage, while the top-end $1,499 configuration features a 512MB2 ATI Radeon HD 4850, 6GB memory, 750GB storage, and comes bundled with a 24-inch S2409W Flat Panel monitor. For you game-playing types, the XPS 730x updates the popular XPS 730 line with the new processor, up to 6GB DDR3 memory, updated thermal monitoring system and chassis and either ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB or NVIDIA GeForce GTX280 1024MB graphics — starting at $2,599. As you’d expect, all systems ship with Vista Home Premium Edition. So, how do you feel? Better? We hoped you would.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read - Dell Studio XPS Desktop
Read - Dell XPS 730x Gaming System

Dell’s Intel Core i7-packing XPS Studio and XPS 730x desktops on sale now originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The new four-finger trackpad gestures found on the new MacBook and MacBook Pro could be coming to older Mac notebooks, too. A curious (and jealous) member of Mac Rumors – michaelb – was so envious of the four-finger gestures his girlfriend was enjoying on her new MacBook that he stole the installation disk and popped it into his first-gen MacBook Air.

Because the installer discs that Apple ships with its computers are ror restoration purposes only, you can’t use it for a fresh install on other machines. However, there are ways and means, and michealb ended up with the new system on his old machine.

But it didn’t work. Michael had to do some rummaging deep in the system to make it recognise his trackpad, and then up popped the new options right there in the System Preferences. Michael now enjoys the same four-fingered fun as his girlfriend.

Now, reinstalling the entire system to grab a new feature is a little extreme, but this proves that the older trackpads are capable of the new multi touch goodness — this should also work for MacBook Pros. We have our hopes that Apple will bake this into the next OS X software update (10.5.6). I took a new unibody MacBook for a test run in the store last wek and the four finger gestures, which invoke Show Desktop and Exposé behaviour, are great.

Old MBP. Do we get the 4 finger swipe as well??? [MacRumors Forum]

Filed under: Peripherals

For months now, dutiful Mac users who refuse to load any flavor of Windows on their precious machines have longed for the ability to use Livescribe’s Pulse smartpen. Now, those holdouts can finally say the wait was worth it, as Livescribe has announced that a native Mac desktop application (Livescribe Desktop for Mac) will be made available in beta form on November 24th. Additionally, a few new features for the Pulse have been added over on the Wintel side, including handwriting to text transcription software ($29.95) and the ability for consumers to print dot paper notepads for free. Finally, something for OS X users to digitally write home about.

Livescribe Pulse smartpen gets OS X support originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 03:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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