Mouse Computer's LuvBook S heals emotional scars, one Hello Kitty at a time

What the world needs now is just one thing, and that thing is a bejeweled Hello Kitty laptop. Fortunately, Japan's Mouse Computer is well aware of this, which is why it's unleashed the LuvBook S, pictured above. Designed in collaboration with Sanrio and Swarovski, this masterpiece is powered by a 2.2 GHz Intel Core i3-2330M processor and boasts an 11.6-inch, 1,366 x 768 display. It also packs a 500GB HDD and a 1.3 megapixel camera, but all that really matters is the swaggy centerpiece -- a heart-ensconced Hello Kitty mug made out of about 1,100 Swarovski stones and untold buckets of cuddles. The LuvBook is available now for ¥69,930 (about $900).

Engadget App for Blackberry

Engadget is the definitive source and final word for news on gadgets and technology. The site's team of expert editors and columnists cover the world of consumer electronics with unmatched passion and an obsessive attention to detail. From the latest smartphone news, to reviews and hands-on looks at laptops, HDTVs, gaming, and more, Engadget brings you all the tech news you need.
A non-stop, daily stream of all the news on Engadget, Engadget Mobile, and Engadget HD
See features, reviews, unboxings, and hands-on coverage as it happens
Share news and other tech stories via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter
Use the in-app option to tip Engadget on breaking news
Intuitive and clear interface.

General Release: January 06, 2010
Seller: AOL
Copyright: 2010, AOL, Inc.
Version: 1.0.1

Storm Release: April 14, 2010
Seller: AOL
Copyright: 2010, AOL, Inc.
Version: 1.0.0

Engadget App for Windows Phone 7

Engadget is the definitive source and final word for news on gadgets and technology. The site’s team of expert editors and columnists cover the world of consumer electronics with unmatched passion and an obsessive attention to detail. From the latest smartphone news, to reviews and hands-on looks at laptops, HDTVs, gaming, and more, Engadget brings you all the tech news you need. The Windows Phone app delivers that experience straight to your Windows Phone, instantly.


KEY FEATURES

A non-stop, daily stream of all the news on Engadget, Engadget Mobile, and Engadget HD
See features, reviews, unboxings, and hands-on coverage as it happens
Check out photo galleries of the latest gadgets
Watch streaming video of “The Engadget Show” without leaving the app
Get quick access to the Engadget Podcast
Use the in-app option to tip Engadget on breaking news
Integrated mini web browser for viewing web content without leaving the app
Intuitive and clear interface

Fnatic pro gaming team gets limited edition headset and mouse from SteelSeries

As you may well be aware, professional gamers have been getting more and more pro over the years, even including the sort of product endorsements you'd expect from professional athletes. Case in point: this new limited edition headset and mouse pair from SteelSeries, which each sport the colors and logo of Team Fnatic. They are being released to coincide with the Dreamhack Winter LAN party / digital festival, and they're otherwise identical to SteelSeries' existing 7H headset and Sensei gaming mouse. Those interested will be able to pick up both the mouse and headset (pictured after the break) at Dreamhack or online for $100 and $140, respectively.

LittleBits for the little engineer in your home

When it comes to your kids, do you want them to live out your dream, or do you prefer them to pursue their very own dreams and ideas instead? I know that it can get pretty hard if you and three generations before you have been running a bakery, and here comes your tiny tot who wants to be an engineer when he grows up. I say, forget about following tradition – making sure the heart is set free is the far better option, hence ThinkGeek delivering the $129.99 LittleBits for budding electricians and engineers.

LittleBits are similar to LEGOs when it comes to the world of electronics. As how you snap LEGO bricks together in order to construct your very own castle, so too, can you snap LittleBits together in order to come up with a prototype of your next electronics project. In fact, it is as easy as snapping a couple of magnets together. Each bit will have its own function, be it lighting up, emitting some sound, work as a sensor, being a button…the list goes on. Each purchase comes with 10 snap-together modules, a carrying case, instructions, and a 9v battery to get you started right out of the box.

LG Optimus 3D

It's big, it's weighty and it's pretty darn expensive, but that pair of characters tacked on the end of the LG Optimus 3D's name might justify all that and more for you. For this, ladies and gents, is a technological milestone: the first 'glasses-free' 3D phone.

The good news is that the effect works brilliantly and that all-important screen is complemented by some great Android customisations on the software side.

Web performance is stellar too.The bad news is that even for a dual-core, the Optimus 3D can feel sluggish, the battery life is poor and – oddly for a phone sold on the back of cutting-edge tech – it's 'only' running Android 2.2. The Optimus 3D is as hefty as its price tag, but at least you're getting your money's worth in terms of sheer physical bulk. The 4.3-inch 480 x 800 resolution screen is surrounded by a large black plastic bezel, making the LG Optimus 3D feel like a whopping great rubbery brick in the hand. Beneath the screens sit four capacitive touch buttons. They're in a bit of an unusual order, with LG opting to be a pain in the arse by lining them up, from left to right, in the order of Menu, Home, Back and Search. The Menu button shouldn't really be given prime location on the left-hand side. We'd prefer the much more frequently pressed Home or Back to be there, as it's the easiest spot to find without searching.

These buttons are backlit, but the light only comes on when you press one of them. Which makes the backlight absolutely useless, as there's no point in a button lighting itself up once you've just pressed the wrong one. 

HTC Sensation

The HTC Sensation is meant to be the new alpha smartphone from the Taiwanese firm, and it certainly lives up to expectations.

With a 1.2GHz dual core processor from Qualcomm and a whopping 4.3-inch high-res qHD screen, this is the phone with best specs yet from HTC, plus it's the first smartphone with the new HTC Watch movie download service.

Is it better than the Samsung Galaxy S2? We think it's just a shade behind thanks to a slightly larger chassis and less advanced screen technology, but that's going to be a debate that rumbles on and on. The screen is also a different animal to most of the 4.3-inch offerings out there - with the qHD (540x960) resolution display, the Sensation is a thinner offering while still allowing movies to be played in widescreen. The phone itself is encased in toughened plastic and aluminium (which feels more like plastic) through the stripe in the centre - the whole back of the phones pulls away from the main device, with the antenna and suchlike pumped into the chassis rather than on the phone itself.

BlackBerry Bold 9900

While RIM has a great reputation for push email and corporate handsets, it's not known for being an innovator. For this reason, the Blackberry Bold 9900 is an intriguing proposition, packing some higher-end tech into a rather attractive shell.

The capacitive (and high resolution) touchscreen screen is a particular marvel, but the inclusion of a near-field communications chip and the brand new OS 7 show that the Bold 9900 was made to break new ground for RIM.

The result is impressive, but only if you're happy to operate within the boundaries of BlackBerry's traditional strengths. Those looking for an outstanding web browsing or media experience will still find themselves disappointed. Still, head over to the review to find out more about what our review dubbed the best BlackBerry to date.

HTC Desire S

Though the HTC Desire's technology is now being surpassed, it's aged beautifully thanks to some timely price drops. However, all things must come to an end (or at least be supplanted by something new). The HTC Desire S has arrived to take over from its predecessor in the Android race.

In many ways, it's quite similar. We'll still be looking at a 3.7-inch 480 x 800 screen, Android overlaid with HTC's Sense UI and a 1GHz processor. However, HTC hasn't totally rested on its laurels with its new mobile phones.

The design and build of the handset is excellent, save for a slight Wi-Fi cutting-out issue. The camera is good quality, producing serviceable still and HD video that would be quite good if it weren't for a small stuttering issue.

Call quality was excellent, with voices coming through crisp and clear, and it's a shame how little we get to say that about handsets these days.

The browsing experience was generally strong, with the speed that web pages load still impressing us, and Flash is taking yet more steps forward in its 10.2 guise. It was still finicky at times, but when it did work, it was fairly smooth, which is more than we could say for many Flash 10.1 single-core phones.

However, the reason the Desire has kept up with everything that's come after is because it was so far ahead in the first place. The Desire S isn't. It's a great phone, and one we would wholeheartedly recommend in a vacuum.

The HTC Desire led the revolution, but the Desire S could be just another member of the rabble.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc

Could Sony Ericsson finally be about to deliver on the promise of, well, every smartphone it's ever made that wasn't quite good enough? Maybe it was stupid to hope, but we did anyway with this new mobile phone.

An attractive design with a curved back that's just 8.7mm thick in the middle? Check. Impressive new Exmor camera technology? Check. Good spec list, including HDMI output? Check. Superb video player? Check.

The hardware is extremely impressive, both in terms of looks and performance. Forget the fashionable dual-core phones – when done right, a single-core 1GHz processor can do it all, although busy, dynamic websites will cause the phone to chug a little.

As it is, we're prepared to overlook the Xperia Arc's few minor flaws (small buttons, odd text entry) thanks to its stunning good looks, superb screen and very decent photo performance. You can't help but love it once you've held its magically thin body and gazed adoringly into its dazzling Reality Display.

HTC Sensation XE

This phone is so brand spanking new that it was announced just a day before we first held it in our palms. It adheres to the sensational HTC Sensation's template, but with the addition of ear-pleasing Beats Audio processing and a few spec upgrades.

You needn't be an audiophile to enjoy the new profile, but you will need a set of Beats Audio headphones.

Thankfully, a pair come with the device. In our tests so far, we've noticed a real difference, with the tinny edge of HTC's sound enhancer diminished, the crispness of sounds augmented and the only potential grounds for minor quibbles being the ear canal-shaking levels of bass.

The good news continues elsewhere, with a 1730mAh battery that should have more staying power than the original Sensation, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor to keep the experience smooth and an eye-pleasing design.

Treat your senses and check out the full review when it lands.

HTC Wildfire S

The first Wildfire from HTC spread almost like its moniker, so popular did its blend of HTC Sense, durable form factor and affordable pricing prove. Now that it's burnt out, however, it needs a successor to carry the torch. Rising from the ashes is the Wildfire S.

The handset carries on the legacy well enough, with an impressively solid chassis, great social features and responsive touchscreen. The market's changed since the first Wildfire blazed its trail into history, though. With dual-core 'superphones' to contend with, it's hard to consider a 600Mhz processor hot stuff.

And while HTC's Sense interface proves as compelling as ever, the lack of grunt means missing out on Flash support for iPlayer and the like.

All that wouldn't matter if the Wildfire S only required liberating a token sum from your account, but you'll need a fair few sheets burning a hole in your pocket (around £220 SIM-free, or £15 a month) to lay claim to this little fella.

In the highly competitive market of 2011, that makes the Wildfire S a tricky proposition. Beginners will be well-served by the Wildfire S's rounded package, but you can certainly get a lot more for not much extra cash. 

Design

HTC has refreshed the design substantially, giving the Wildfire S the same workmanlike black and chrome look as seen in the excellent HTC Desire S. There are no physical buttons on the front of the phone, with HTC opting for four capacitive touch-buttons. These are your standard Android Home, Menu, Back and Search options. They're responsive, plus HTC has put in a little vibration feedback to reassure your brain that your finger did indeed just hit the right spot. HTC has removed the optical trackpad, which has allowed it to make the Widlfire S a little shorter than last year's model. It's a very tiny phone and also manages to be lighter – 105g versus the original's 118g. The 3.2-inch screen runs at 320x480 resolution, so obviously isn't going to be as sharp as displays found on more expensive phones. But it is pleasingly solid, nice and glassy and responsive to even the lightest of touches. Given that the old HTC Wildfire had a screen outputting at a shameful 240x320, this is still a big step up. It's not particularly sharp, mind – there's a noticeable mesh over everything if you look closely.

Canon sx40 hs – Great Things Come Compact

For the serious professional or amateur photographer, nothing can compare to the new Canon sx40 hs Power Shot. This new compact digital camera comes equipped with a wide range of features that will make it an asset in any situation. Whether you need to capture a large family reunion or the wildebeast herds thundering across the Serengeti, the Power Shot is the camera you should turn to for results.

Regardless of application, the Canon Sx40 Power Shot is going to help you photograph with the best quality in even the worst situations. Due to its Intelligent IS technology, the camera will adjust and stabilize the system in response to the shooting conditions. If you are following a downhill skier across the slope, you will have the same stability as if you photographing a still life of fruit. Either way your pictures will be crisp and professional quality every time. When your photography takes you into dark or dreary locations, you can rest assured that the Canon Sx40 Power Shot will help you pick out the most innocous details. As an upgrade on previous models, the new Power Shot is equipped with an extremely versatile low light performance application. This ensures that you will never have a picture not turn out correctly due to light, or lack there of.

With an incredible 10.3 frames per second, the Canon Sx40 Power Shot will enable you to track and record any event with intrinsic timing. Whether it is your daughter’s ballet recital or the fligh of a hummingbird, you will have a multitude of single shots capturing the movement. However, if video is more important to you. The Canon Power Shot can also film an impressive 1080 p24 HD video, that will make viewers feel as if they were there in person.

Finally, while all of these features are incredibly important, the Canon Sx40 Power Shot still contains all the features that make the Canon brand so popular. With the fastest and most silent 35x ultrazoom lens, this camera will bring out details that you didn’t even manage were visible. And the 2.7 inch LCD screen allows for greater versatility and handling in any situation. It is a guarantee that the new Canon Sx40 Power Shot will be valuable at all those photographic moments.

If you are in the market for an incredible camera in a compact size, you will do no better than the Canon Sx40 Power Shot. Its lightweight and easy to handle design makes it the perfect travel companion, whether you are going in the backyard or across the sea. You will be able to photograph every excitement and every location that you visit in complete detail. The family slide shows will never be the same with the Canon Sx40 Power Shot.

8.9” Kindle Fire Hits the Market

Previously, it was rumored that Amazon is launching 10.1 inch Kindle Fire tablet in 2012, but supply chain trends and unnamed sources have surprisingly revealed that instead, Amazon will roll out its 8.9 inch version of the tablet by the second financial quarter next year.

The 10.1 inch Kindle Fire tablet has launch been stalled and will not come out now. The marketing researchers for Amazon is said to have advised to postpone the launch of 10.1 inch version only after the 8.9 inch version due present marketing scenario.

A Surprising yet Wonderful Decision

This decision has not come as a big surprise as the tablet market analysts are of the view that the 8.9 inch release is to emulate the popularity of the 8.9 inch displays of Samsung Electronics and LG Display. So, obviously it has been sure to avoid competition and customer confusion over the utility of an 8.9 inch display compared to the 10.1 inch gadgets. This would be turn out to be a timely, and compelling strategy timed to perfection so as to avoid undue competition and promote Amazon’s premium tablet product line.

Foxconn to Design Kindle Fire

Now the online store retail major has its supply chain makers come out with this strategic change in the tablet product line, as quoted by Taiwan’s news site DigiTimes on Monday. In the first quarter of next year, Foxconn, the Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) of the new 8.9 inch Kindle Fire Amazon tablet will also take responsibility of the design and fabrication of the present generation of Kindle Fire tablets. The Kindle Fire was built by Quanta although Amazon has a traditional tie up with Foxconn. It has been widely whispered in the industry circles that this was because Foxconn was busy designing iPad for Apple Inc. at that time.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Launch

The new Android smartphone that is hitting the headlines, the Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 phone and the much expected Samsung Galaxy Nexus will be available from vendors and mobile stores.

Based on the information provided by people at Unwired View, sources from one of the largest mobile retailers in the country, MobiCity has said that the Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 smartphone will be available on the 24th of this month as the first shipment of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is expected to hit Australian shores on the 23th.

Where to Get Your Favorite Handset?

Presently, the Galaxy Nexus smartphone from Samsung is available for pre-order at $799 from MobiCity. Kogan, another famous mobile retail chain in the country, has said that the smartphone will be available from their outlets only after the 30th of this month. They also have said that the price of the Galaxy Nexus would be the same $799 at their stores.

New Features

The new Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the first to launch the new version of the Android operating system, the 4.0 Android Ice Cream Sandwich. It has got a whole range of new features and improvements from its predecessor versions. It has a dual core processor of 1.2Hz with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage memory, which is expandable. It has a curved glass contour display with 5MP continuous auto focus camera.

MobiCity is the best bet for an avid Android expert to make the current smartphone to get the first handsets to roll out into the market. None of its Australian carriers has made the Android 4.0 smartphone an ‘on contract’ device. It is expected to be announced soon. The newest Android gadget is all set to capture the imagination of the Australian tech-savvy people. Come on out and join the rush!

Windows 8 developer on First HTC touch based phone: learn how to install it

Microsoft has just launched the windows 8 version on the HTC smartphone. HTC shift was the first touch screen phone developed with the collaboration with Microsoft.

It served all the purposes of a PC with an Intel A110 Stanley CPU that had a speed of 800 MHz with the advent of this phone in 2008; it became the talk of the town with business houses reaping its benefits. It had software that was competent enough to hold windows 7. But with the advent of windows 8, Microsoft has added it to HTC smart phones to give it a new version.

Installation of windows 8

To install windows 8, you will have to clear all of your drives and do a clear installation. Getting help from Vista will be too complicated, so we will ignore it. Excluding the USB stick make sure all the other external storage gadgets have been removed. Start by enabling your Wi-Fi connection via the control panel found in the Vista. The capacity of the USB stick should be more than 8GB, and your computer must run with the normal windows. In Linux or OS, the steps will have slight variations. Clean out the phone and install windows 8 developer preview. Then manually apply all drives.

Worst case scenario

It is extremely common to experience problems while doing the above application. In case you fail, you will have to use Our Procedure to create a bootable Windows 8 USB stick. Then open the USB and create a folder called Drivers and in the newly created folder copy Intel GMA drives and Windows Mobile Device Centre. Download the archive that appears on your desktop.

Legal Jail breaking and SIM Unlocking of iPhones

UnlockiPhone-4S provides jail breaking and SIM unlocking services for iPhone 4 and 4S gadgets and is the most reputed iPhone unlocking service provider at a nominal cost.

UnlockiPhone-4S is reputed for its safe, legal and officially approved unlocks. Get access to hundreds of third party apps not obtainable through the Apple store and remove carrier inhibitions to realize the real edge of an iPhone.

Why do You Need to Unlock iPhones?

iPhone comes with extremely tight accessibility controls. Normally a newly purchased iPhone will not allow access to media player and web applications unless also registered and activated as a phone with registered and Apple approved mobile carriers. The iPhone iOS operating system is designed to run only Apple approved software with their unique cryptographic signature.

SIM unlocking is provided to users by the carriers at cost or on completion of a certain period after purchase. Jail breaking Apple’s cryptographic signatures to use third party applications have been legalized in the US since 2010. Although it has been said that a jail broke Apple iPhone iOS would be susceptible to malware and viruses, but it has not been reported yet.

What UnlockiPhone-4S brings to the iPhone User?

The main feature of UnlockiPhone-4S is the usability and professionalism of service. It just suffices to download the unlocking and jail breaking services. You also obtain lifetime membership at Unlock iPhone-4S and go on unlocking as many iPhones you have. The unlocking is permanent in nature.

It will not stop working if you update your OS or synchronize with Apple servers. It is the latest and most official unlocking or jail breaking service provided for iPhones. Being easy to unlock as it takes just about four minutes for the whole process after installing the unlocking software. Unlock iPhone-4S provides technical support and consultation regarding any problems encountered while using the software throughout the year round the clock.

Kinect Motion Tracking System in Windows PCs

The revolutionary gaming hardware interfacing technology, Kinect, is all set to be introduced into Microsoft Windows computer systems in early.

It was widely expected for Microsoft to make such a move, looking at the demand for such a hardware system with perceptive intelligence in personal computers where users can interact with Windows through gestures and by talking.

What is a Kinect System?

Kinect was introduced by Microsoft for the video game console, Xbox 360 in 2010. It is a state of the art technology comprising of motion sensitive hardware input device with the supporting software support. The main feature of Kinect enabled gadgets were that users were able to interact with the Xbox 360 console without touching any game controller.

It is based on the natural user interface that is, using gestures and spoken commands. By integrating the Kinect system for Xbox 360 to the Windows personal computer system, users can finally be able to use the revolutionary technology in their computers and maybe later in laptops and smaller gadgets in time to come. The decision by Microsoft is at a time when there is a massive uproar by hackers and techies about the possibilities of Kinect systems beyond the gaming consoles.

New Features in Kinect Hardware for Computers

Going the extra mile than the living room capabilities of Kinect for Xbox 360, it will enable ‘close up’ apps in its ‘near mode’. An update to the Kinect firmware is also on the cards. It is said to increase the depth camera resolution of the Kinect system to allow viewing of objects even at close ranges of 50cm. Simplifying the user experience, Microsoft is planning to reduce the length of the USB cable and introduce a USB dongle as an added functionality to be able to connect to other devices.

Facebook Phone – Is the wait over?

Facebook phones are actually the concept and the product that has been launched earlier from AT&T.

The names of the phones were HTC Status and HTC Salsa but, they failed to live up to their names, and the concept of the Facebook Phone still remains worth anticipation. The wait finally seems to be over if the report of All Things Digital is assumed to be authentic.

Is it named Buffy?

These reports suggest that Facebook Inc is working with the Cell Manufacturer and, the result could be the ‘Facebook Phone’ which is named Buffy! The name is said to be derived from the Television Serial named Vampire Killer. This is reported to be an exclusively Facebook Phone and will be miles ahead of the phones with Tiny button of Facebook!

Facebook Phone with Android Operating System

Reports also claim that Facebook has tweaked the Android Operating System, this version is said to be the base of the operation of this new Facebook Phone. Facebook was supposed to launch this innovative Gadget with assistance from Samsung earlier, but on some inevitable grounds, Facebook have now approached HTC, Taiwanese Smart Phone maker for the same.

There is no information available about the reasons or the causes behind this decision. When asked about this anticipated product from the Facebook, the official spokesperson of it declined to comment directly on it. However, he mentioned that “We have a simple approach about these gadgets and it is about the Social Value of it.” He also stated that “We are working on the Giant Canvas consisting of the Operating Systems, Manufacturers and the Mobile Operators across the globe.” The other name involved in the news, HTC Inc also declined to comment on this issue. We think it is better to wait and till then enjoy the Android App of the Facebook which is available on the Android Market.

Intel Capital Ultrabook Fund Invests $300M in Ultrabook Technologies

Intel is going for the jugular! They are trying to pull the stool out from under the Tablet Industry by offering $300M to further develop the potential of ultrabook technology. Ultrabooks are light and thin laptops that compete as an alternative to tablets.

Technically, according to Intel’s creation of the term ultrabook, the laptop must be thinner than 20mm, lighter than standard laptops, and less that $1000 in order to qualify for the classification. The company hopes ultrabooks will meld together the performance of laptops and the handy features of tablets, though they are unclear what these special features are, aside from touchscreen. This is where the release ventures into the arena of propaganda.

The money will go toward companies that advance either software or hardware for ultrabooks. They are especially interested in sensor and touch technologies, as well as battery life extension and lower profile components and design.

They will disburse the investment over the next three to four years. Intel hopes to jump start an era of systems innovation for this new and budding classification of devices. Their real aim is to save their asses. The PC market has had shipments dramatically slow in the shadow of the tablet craze and through ultrabooks Intel hopes to spark new interest in PC’s.

Intel, playing a shuffling game, is trying to draw customers away from their Atom and Celeron CPU’s to their more robust chips. The reasoning is that Atom-based netbooks sales dropped in competition with tablets, during the second quarter. This is how crazy people think. One product is losing due to features and cost, so I’ll put in my more expensive one that does not have the features and costs more than my losing product. Are they insane?

Unless ultrabooks can come out with better features than tablets, not just tacking on the laptop experience again as an option to using tablet interface, ultrabooks will be a footnote in the history of computers. $300M is a drop in the bucket compared to what it would take to overhaul laptops to become superior to tablets. This is a losing battle for Intel. The only way to win it is the Apple way – prettier packaging and mass hypnosis.

Intel makes the mistake of promising their ultrabooks will resemble the MacBook Air. You do not refer to your competitor or their product, except to criticize them. Never, never hold them up as an example of what you hope to achieve. Someone at Intel really is off their rocker.

The company promises to release the first models in time for Christmas, but they have already admitted that a much superior Ivy Bridge chipset, with better speed and efficiency will be released early 2012. This is yet another mistake. Who would buy an ultrabook at Christmas without touchscreen functionality, knowing the company is very soon after releasing a far better product with it? They have just killed their Christmas sales.

Intel currently has over $2B in its Intel Capital Investment portfolio. This includes funds that are country-specific – India, China, Turkey, and Brazil. Memorable funds include the Intel Communications Fund and the Intel Digital Home Fund.

Acer Aspire 5755G Enables a Great Gaming and Video Experience

The Acer Aspire 5750G is a decent middle of the line gaming machine, mostly because of the dedicated graphics and in spite of the slightly weak processor. So when the news arrived that they had produced a newer rendition people were scrambling to test drive it. Their enthusiasm was appropriately placed. The Acer 5755G Laptop is more than a CPU upgrade, it has a new chassis.

The looks are sleek, with the gunmetal colored body and the black textured lid. But you are not likely to be impressed by that. So let’s look closer. Ports abound on this model, with a USB 3.00, two USB’s 2.00, an HDMI output, a multi-card reader and a DVD reader. It lacks Blue-ray and the construction is not the best. However, for Acer it’s a step up, including a bit of give in the keyboard that improves its portability. The overall impression is that there is an improvement over previous models by Acer.

Between the keyboard and the touchpad, they spent far more time on the former, to the neglect of the latter. The keys are full-sized and quite comfortable. They are spaced adequately apart from each other and there is a numberpad. Acer did have to reduce the size of the function keys to almost half, but it is worth it. Also, the keys are sufficiently responsive when typing, giving good feedback.

The touchpad, which is plastic, has some resistance that creates a drag on the cursor movement. The buttons also have a spot where they fail, right in the middle of the rocker switch. The pad is only adequate for surfing, anything else will force you to hook up a mouse.

The screen resolution, 1366×768, is just average for a 15.6 inch at this price. This model should have been given a notch up on this feature to match the dedicated graphics card. The colors were to washed out and the default contrast setting too weak. Likewise, the angle of viewing was a huge letdown. As if using laptops in the sun isn’t hard enough, the glare that reflects off the casing makes it absolutely impossible.

We have to give them snaps, though, for the hardware included. Acer 5755G has an Intel Core i7-2630GM processor, 8G RAM and 750GB hard drive. The Nvidia GeForce GT 540M has a whopping 2G of video RAM on board.

The hardware translates to great gaming and high definition video. Nvidia’s Optimus switching mechanism saves battery power by throttling down the card when the 3D is not needed. So if you want the battery charge to last all day, just do work that does not require 3D graphics.

If you are comparing the 5750G and the 5755G, the improvement is more than noticeable, it is enjoyable. The i7-processor kicks up the guts in this machine to handle most of the recent games. Of course, you’ll have to suck it up when you shell out the bucks for this one. The battery does not take a beating from the improved hardware. For under £1,000, Acer 5755G laptop is a good deal.

ASUS G73SW-A1 or How to Spend $1700 on a Gaming Laptop

A laptop for gamers must meet high requirements to be accepted among their special community. Asus G73SW-A1 is certainly strong enough to be a gaming laptop, no question about it. It is also attractive enough to suit anyone’s sense of fashion. The price, though, is steep enough to make one ask what’s so special about this one. Gamers are not so likely to lay their cash on the table without getting a good explanation. So let’s have a look.

The insides are the 2nd Gen Core i7 and the graphics are made of the Nvidia GTX 460M. Also, the screen at 17.3 inches does impart a feeling of value, but the big question is why the price is so high, $1700.

The laptop is a bit heavy at 8.8 pounds, which doesn’t constitute portable, really. The size is likewise not small, at 16,6 x 12.8 x 2.3 inches. Granted, it does weigh in less than the Qosmio X505 by Toshiba, which is 10.6 pounds, and the power source itself is 2 pounds. Put it all on your back, because it is too heavy to tote like a briefcase.

The lack of color detracts from the aesthetics, but the sculpted look gives it a cool appearance. The subdues ASUS logo can make you think you are in a James Bond car, in fact. There are no blinding lights under the lid and this does add a small bit to the mystique.The feeling of the rubber on top and on deck provides a satisfying tactile interaction with the machine. This and the double outs in the back keep the machine cool to the touch. A quarter hour of streaming a video does not even heat it up over 90 degrees.

The biggest let down on this model is the keyboard. Its design does not take into account advances in keyboard molding. The keys are flat, rather than arched to fit the finger, which slows down any frenzy, whether work or gaming. The keys are overly crowded and lack the tactile feedback laptops usually give to keep the user from pounding. It is clear that the extra 1.5 inches around the keyboard could have better used. In addition, the keys on the numeric keypad are too small. These are critical gaming keys too.

The touchpad is quite large, at 4.4 x 2.2 inches, and it supports multi-touch gestures, but the laptop lacks a power button to quickly disable the touchpad when preferring a mouse. Mistakes will surely follow without disabling the touchpad for mouse use. This could interfere with a game at a critical moment or destroy important work.

Acer Aspire S3 steps into the Ultrabook Market

Intel’s new laptop specifications are embodied in the Ultrabooks. They were all the buzz at the IFA 2011 tech show and Acer is jumping on the bandwagon with the new Acer Aspire S3. Other manufacturers have their own take on it, but at Acer it’s full steam ahead.

While the Aspire is not the thinnest Ultrabook, you could say it is an anorexic one, looking too thin and complaining how thick it is. Is 17mm thin enough? That is its thickest spot. How about 13mm? That should get you excited. Then add on top of that the 1.3Kg weight and the aluminum-magnesium chassis and you are whistling a happy tune. Slide that baby into a tote bag and the bag feels the same with or without it.

The screen is embedded within the chassis, which allows it to be as thin as 13.3 inches. The resolution was merely standard at 1,366×768 and the brightness wasn’t anything to write home about. However, when it comes to screen tilt, the S3 is a worthy contender for those seeking a laptop to work in cramped spaces. It does come with an HD webcam.

While the Acer S3 follows Intel’s recommended design, it will bring a choice of either SSD or traditional disk storage to the table. The SSD option introduces faster read/write speeds and improved battery life, by an extra hour.

Acer has its Instant On, resuming Windows from sleep mode within 2 seconds and connecting to the Net in 2 more. This is a 300% increase over the average laptop. Acer even swears the S3 can be on standby for a maximum of 50 days before the battery drains.

An edge the Acer S3 has over other laptops is the Dolby Home Theater certified speakers that come with it. Since they face downward, their best performance will be had on a hard surface, rather than the cushy lap.

One place they’ve dropped the ball is where the keyboard is not backlit. The touchpad was huge and lacked any button. Tapping the pad was the only way. While it functions sufficiently well, it does not come even close to the MacBook Air, which is the market competition for the Acer S3.

The S3 is no different than all the other Ultrabooks to date on connectivity. There just isn’t enough there to speak of. There are at least 2 USB ports, an HDMI, a multi-card reader, and an audio combi-jack. Bluetooth 4.0, Wireless N, and Clear-Fi DLNA (a proprietary format) are supported. Do not expect any kind of optical drive, because it is physical impossible for this thin laptop to have one. Pick up an external one if it is necessary.

Acer will be the first one onto the market with its Aspire S3 Ultrabook, at the end of September. As Christmas approaches it may be harder to set itself apart from the gazillion other Ultrabooks that will have flooded the market. Just the SSD option alone may not be enough. Still, the fact that it will be first may allow it to get that edge necessary to hold its own.

Apple Trying to Dazzle with Minor Revision of the MacBook Pro

MacBook Pro notebooks have yet another small revision coming out. An inside source at Apple gave up the word that a new version of MacBook Pro is coming by the end of the month.

The changes will be minor. Do not expect any phenomenal advances in the line of notebooks. These will be basically the same as the current ones, with only a couple of revisions. Both the 15-inch and 17-inch models will be powered by the Intel Core i7 processors, but the 13-inch model will have the less powerful Intel Core i5 processors.

Most of what Apple sells is the MacBook Pro, in spite of its newer, thinner, and lighter MacBook Air. The MacBook Pro is the only notebook that gives video professionals and power users who do not want to be tethered to a desk discrete graphics. It is also the only Apple notebook with a screen size larger than 13 inches, along with the graphics to power the additional screen size. The MacBook Air only comes in screen sizes up to 13 inches.

Intel only recently added four new Core i7 processors to their Sandy Bridge family. These are especially suited to the MacBook Pro, but also signal price reductions on other chips, and a retirement of a few as well.

There are now 2.4, 2.5, and 2.7GHz quad-core Core i7’s, and the ones on their way out are the 2.0, 2.2, and 2.3GHz chips. These older chips are currently powering the 15 and 17-inch MacBook Pro notebooks.

Ivy Bridge was originally slated to be released in 2011. However, in May some documents were leaked showing they were going to wait until 2012. Now the date has been pushed back to around April 2012.

The few details Intel has released on the Ivy Bridge processors, due out in 2012, indicate as much as a 60% increase in performance, along with integrated graphics. The Intel GT2 GPU, also called HD Graphics 3000, will power the next generation of MacBook Pros that will also be released in 2012.

The processor swap out is not the only difference anticipated. Apple will also place its new high-speed Thunderbolt data and video port on the notebooks. This month’s nod to the existing MacBook Pro generation, gutted and stuffed with a new CPU, is merely a stepping stone to what lies ahead. After this, the MacBook Pro’s will sport the Intel Ivy Bridge processors.

Certainly this is a surprise to those watching the industry, especially since no signals of inventory reductions in currently active models have been given. However, the thrust of this revision is to assure the public that the MacBook Pro lineup will remain competitive until the Ivy Bridge releases in 2012. Some believe it is a feeble attempt to capture some of the holiday shopping sales.

There is not much of a wait left, since we are half way through the month. The Back-to-School campaign ends September 20th, which is the minimal date these refreshed MacBook Pro’s are due out. The exact time is yet unknown, but it will certainly be before the month’s end.

Toshiba Portege Z835 join the Ultrabook market with a $899 Price

The machine must have nothing inside! When you lift it, you will not believe it is a functioning notebook. This is the lightest Ultrabook to date. The boot time is lightening fast and the battery lasts a long time.

This is a final breakthrough in the Ultrabook assault on Apple’s MacBook Air. Toshiba has corrected some problems plaguing other Ultrabooks on the market. Their trackpad is precise, not jerky, the keyboard is backlit, and the battery lasts much longer. The price is an easy competitive point, at $899 against Apple’s $1,299, or even $1,199 for the ASUS Zenbook UX31.

This is not a flashy notebook, by any means. Rather, Toshiba has opted for the subtle elegance that makes it feel like something noteworthy. The color is a unified gunmetal gray, brushed down for that chiseled look. The single, lengthy hinge is a step up from the double, fragile hinges often found on notebooks.

The Z835 is a light 2.4 pounds, though the chassis is a magnesium alloy. This gives it the solid feeling when you handle it. The size beats the competition as well, at 12.4×8.9 and tapering slightly from 0.6 inches down to 0.3.

There are large enough keys, but the travel is quite shallow for quick and accurate typing. However, the wrist rest stays cool. Throughout use, the whole machine remains comfortably cool. While the trackpad is definitely small, it is also highly accurate.

When you are looking at the screen, the colors are not unrealistic, but the images are bright and crisp, at 1366×768. You might notices oranges and reds a bit understated, though. In a side-by-side comparison the MacBook Air will appear far more brilliant, but at an additional $400. The lux measurements, at 260, fall right between the squeamish 162 for Lenvo IdeaPad U300s and the robust 330 for the MacBook Air 13-inch.

The audio is sufficient, though not very impressive. It was clear and sharp, but the separation of right and left speakers was weak.

All the normal, full-sized ports found on laptops are included on the Z835, contrary to what is lacking on other Ultrabooks. You will find a USB 3.0, a Kensington Lock slot, Ethernet, two USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI out, a VGA port, audio in/out, and an SD card reader.

The webcam is only 1.3MP and holds up well under normal lighting conditions, but when the light drops, the quality plummets! Do not expect sharp colors, though the details are sufficiently defined.

The boot time is phenomenal. 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium gets in within 26 seconds, thanks to the 128G SSD disk. This still does not beat the fastest: MacBook Air at 17 seconds into Mac OS X. On the Z835, the lid does cause some problems with resuming from sleep.

Perhaps the weakest point in this system is the 1.4GHz Intel Core i302367M CPU. All of its competitors outperformed it. The second weakest point is the graphics. Although 1080p movies play without problems, it could not manage anything more graphic intensive. The battery was slightly stronger than most other Ultrabooks, but was sealed, as is usual for Ultrabooks. A spare battery is not an option.

Verizon announces a Compaq Netbook and their own 4G Network

To those who have been waiting, Verizon Wireless has finally made it clear that their Compaq Mini CQ10-688nr netbook with 4G-network capability is available online market from August 4. If you’d like to place your order, simply log on to www.verizonwireless.com.

The Compaq Mini, which was unveiled during CES 2011, has been tried and tested to deliver a proper equilibrium between style, size and performance. Video streaming, web-cam chatting and mp3/mp4 downloading, photo sharing and video recording will be an ordinary task for the slim and genius netbook. With the 4G LTE capability of the Compaq Mini, accessing the HP Cloud Drive (similar to Skydive), an online mini database for all your files, will be quicker to access anytime and anywhere.

The 4G LTE allows small-scale industries to efficiently download and communicate with the rest of the world, while finishing tasks and documents and hustling with the expediencies of the world market. The CQ10-688nr is planned and designed to enable entrepreneurs to manage their transactions wherever they may be.

This lightweight Compaq netbook, which weighs just about 3.10 pounds, has been equipped to include a powerful hard drive of 250 GB, built-in webcam and mic, and 1 GB of RAM. Opposed to the majority of available netbooks, this Compaq Mini runs on Windows 7 (32-bit) and features a beautiful Anti-Glare display screen, which measures 10.1 inches. Needless to say, it’s packed with Wi-Fi connectivity and 4G LTE. For those memory card users, the netbook also comes with an SD card reader, which will also be capable of reading memory sticks.

As stated before, the CQ10-688nr will be offered online via Verizon’s official website. The netbook sales will start August 4 at an affordable price of $449.99 under a new subscription under a 2-year contract.

The 4G LTE subscription under Verizon’s current mobile Internet plans allows the following individual subscription plans: Advantage of a monthly access limited to 2 GB of information download for as low as $30. For moderate to heavy users, get a monthly access with 5 GB of downloaded information and applications for a reasonable $50 payment. As for those who are highly mobile and in need of voluminous download while on the go, the $80 monthly subscription plan will settle the difference.

Certainly, Verizon Wireless is one of the country’s fastest and biggest service providers in the communication industry. The latest technology on mobility, the 4G LTE and the highly reliable 3G connection have been a product of expansion and creativity by the genius minds behind Verizon Wireless.

Over the years, Verizon Wireless has managed to mobilize over 106 million wireless connections, together with almost 90 million retail customers. The main office is located at Basking Ridge, New Jersey, employing more than 80,000 able hands and service oriented employees from across the nation.

Additionally, Verizon offers complete product information in Spanish. Through their website, you will be capable of obtaining product and Internet support in both English and Spanish languages. Undoubtedly, Verizon keeps moving forward with their 4G LTE network.

The growth of Firefox and what to expect from Beta 8 Version

Many of you are familiar with Mozilla’s famous Firefox. For you Firefox users, you are probably familiar with the newly released Firefox version 7. The updated version was released not too long after the sixth installment of Firefox. It appears Mozilla started updating their Internet browser quite frequently since Firefox 4, following the trend of other Browsers.

When is the eighth version releasing you might ask? Well, funny enough, the beta for the eight version of Firefox was already released (only a few days after the current version was released).

Firefox 8, so far, has a few minor adjustments to the tab system. The interface remains the same from its predecessors; however the new browser itself comes with a few tweaks that many of its users may enjoy, including faster startup times and more efficient tabs.

How did the brains behind Mozilla improve the speed of the browser even more you may ask? Well, because of the growth of multitasking, browsing on the Internet requires more efficiency and stability. The folks from Google and Opera browsers have strived for speed since their releases. Tabs in Firefox are now able to only be loaded when they are selected. Some users may like to save their browsing sessions often; in which case, Firefox 8 is now able to continue displaying the previous opened tabs, but will only load the tabs when they are being utilized.

The changes made to improve loading times may be something that users may enjoy, but the accessibility towards other “important” websites such as Twitter is also a necessity for the average Internet user of the 21st century. So how did Mozilla improved their Internet browser even further? For Twitter users, this may be something you will appreciate. Twitter is now embedded into your search features by default. The feature enables a user to search for specific tweets within the social network.

Also if you are a website developer and code for fun, Firefox has always been a primary Internet browser. In result, the support for additional HTML5 coding is available. XHTML, paired with CSS is still the dominating code when it comes to the World Wide Web; however, it is only a matter of time before a new coding system is taken into effect, such as HTML5. HTML5 is very popular among the Apple community, but is still under development. The early advanced support for HTML5 could be a selling point for Firefox 8 and this might be the feature that Mozilla needs to exceed all of its competitors.

Google’s Top Secret Lab is Working on 100 New Projects

Google is the top search engine on the Internet and is loved by many. Not only does Google participate in multiple philanthropic events and charities, but Google consistently provides innovative products and quality content. Here recently Google has been attracting a significant amount of interest about their new research facility called Google X.

If you’ve ever wondered when there will be elevators sent into space, cars that drive themselves, robots that assist people with mundane daily activities and more futuristic ideas, then you are thinking along the lines of the engineers that are working at Google X’s top secret lab.

The Google X lab is located somewhere in the Bay Area location and is almost as mysterious as the CIA! At the lab Google is working on a list of 100 futuristic ideas to develop. Some ideas include fridges that are connected to the Internet and so it can order groceries when necessary items run low, elevators that go up into space, robots that do tasks for you, and even dinner plates that post what you’re eating on your status updates.

The list of 100 ideas is being worked on by a whole team of experts and none of them are talking. While many were interviewed they simply refused to comment any more about the list or what they were working on teasing interviewers with the fact that one project would be released at the end of the year. Unfortunately they didn’t elaborate anymore and many of Google’s employees don’t even know that the lab exists.

Google is a unique corporation in the fact that it is determined not only to continue to deliver exceptional products and services to its current consumers, but it also is working on ground-breaking innovations and researching futuristic ideas.

While this top secret lab may sounds exciting and grand to many, it has sent some doubts into investors’ minds. Google is first and foremost a corporation and it relies a lot on the money that people invest into it. Corporations have a responsibility to protect the assets of its investors and when anything ‘risky’ is put into play it can scare many people who have invested into the corporation. Google however, insists that it is properly balancing its investors interests with that of the companies own interests.

General Motors signed a Collaboration with Google for Cloud Services

General Motors Corp. has signed on with Google Inc. for email and online collaboration software. The services will support over 100,000 employees at the vehicle manufacturer. As it stands, Google must meet specific demands GM has placed as stipulations of the contract, before GM sets up such a vast array of their staff on the system.

One representative of GM made it clear the company has not instituted in-house use of Google Apps yet, and that they are trying to remain open to alternative possibilities from cutting edge developers.

This is Google’s big chance to thwart Microsoft in the field of applications. If the GM deal is successful, this would in fact be the largest since Google began with Google Apps in 2007.

Google Apps competes head to head with Microsoft Office, but also adds Gmail and Google+. Gmail could be compared to Outlook, but Outlook is simply an email shell, whereas Gmail is a full blown email service. Microsoft does have MSN Chat, but it is also not directly comparable to what Google is building. Google+ is not only for chatting, but is a complete social networking service, which includes video conferencing.

While GM has been locked into International Business Machine’s (IBM) Lotus Notes, it has begun shopping around. Both Microsoft and Google have made pitches for a contract with the car manufacturer to provide cloud computing services, namely email and a collaboration platform. None of the three competitors, IBM, Microsoft, nor Google, offered comments.

So far, Google’s success with their could computing has been chiefly with small to medium-sized companies. There have been a couple of large companies sign on, the most notable of which is Royal Ahold NV, a Dutch retailer. They purchased licenses covering 55,000 employees on Google Apps.

Google is eying the GM contract, hoping the company implements the applications, because it is not only a large sell, but it represents the beginning of a domino effect. If GM, one of the worlds largest and oldest companies, overcomes their security concerns at storing corporate data in the cloud, rather than on in-house servers, then other large-scale companies are likely to follow suit.

Google really does not need the income from Google Apps. Its revenue for this year is expected to hit $30 billion. Most of this comes from the selling of online advertising. However, Google Apps and additional mapping software, account for about $1 billion of Google’s intake, starting this year.

A new field for Google is mass data storage and analysis for businesses. They are working on predictive algorithms to anticipate consumer behavior. What is to keep Google from “analyzing” your company’s emails, documents, and spreadsheets?

Although Google claims over 4 million users, most of them are using the free version of Google Apps. If a business has more than 10 employees, they must pay $50 annually per user license. Certainly GM received a huge discount, perhaps even greater than 50%, some sources say.

Microsoft has meanwhile launched Office 365 this year. It is a cloud version of Office and Exchange online. However, the starting fee is $24 per user monthly. That is a far cry from $50 per year for Google Apps.

A Unique Union – Youtube And Disney Partner Up

Recent years have proven the true power of the Internet; showing that the power of popularity no longer resided with the large companies, but now to the innovative minds who dreamed big and made their fortune on the web. YouTube is one such innovative creation and it is now one of the most popular websites on the web.

Due to the widespread movement towards the Internet, some companies who have not changed their ways and fully tapped into the internet potential have noticed a significant drop in views. Disney has felt the harsh effects and the actual numbers are astonishing. Disney Interactive has lost more than $300 million in the last four quarters alone and the visitors to their site have gone from 17.9 million in June to 12.7 million September.

In an effort to regain the lost traffic Mr. Pitaro, part of Disney Interactive, has devised a way to create web videos that not only will restore their lost visitors, but also stop the slow bleeding of money that is happening. This is where YouTube came into the plan.

YouTube and Disney Interactive Media will spend about $10-$15million to create a web video series based off of a popular Disney App titled “Where’s My Water?” This series will be on a channel in YouTube and Disney will also include an amateur video on the channel that will be uploaded each day.

So what exactly does each company gain by teaming up with the other? Disney obviously taps into the vast amount of viewers that are on YouTube and it stands to gain a massive increase in popularity again, however for YouTube this union means something completely different.

Disney has long been something parents deem appropriate for their children, however YouTube is something often scorned by parents for ‘mature themed videos’ on their site. Even though YouTube’s terms of service require users to be at least thirteen years of age, it is incredibly easy for younger users to access; and young kids do access it frequently. As such YouTube stands to gain the trust of parents and YouTube will now have additional professional videos seen on their site which helps them compete against TV.

YouTube has long desired to be a stronger force in professional content and studios have been reluctant to allow YouTube (and Google) free material however Disney’s involvement will definitely increase the chances of this happening for YouTube. On top of that YouTube is involved in a legal battle with the owner of Nickelodeon, a company named Viacom. Viacom has ensured that YouTube does not have any access to its videos or any of its promotional content. Now YouTube has Disney on their side and Disney will be a key player in this battle.

The future profits of the revenue will be split between both YouTube and Disney, and Disney isn’t just stopping there. On top of this major deal with YouTube, they will also be completely redesigning their website amongst other things!

Tablets are Reducing their Prices to Boost Sales

As you and millions of others have witnessed, tablets are being released like crazy. In a market saturated with different types of smartphones, tablets, notebooks and laptops, it becomes rather difficult for a new gadget to draw the attention of all the potential customers.

Even though there are several ways to get the attention of the target audience, perhaps the oldest and most effective way is by cutting down the price. This can come very much in handy, especially because the market’s leader happens to be Apple. Everybody knows that Apple devices – in this case, let’s refer specifically to the iPad – are not the most affordable ones. Therefore, it would be only expected to see their competitors trying to slash down the prices of their tablets and gadgets.

When taking the iPad as an example (and as a starting point of competition), competitors are looking at a price of $500 as reference. This means that they need to bring down their prices from there.

To give you a better idea on the current competition prices, Toshiba has their latest device listed at $430, HP announced that their TouchPad would be dropping the original $500 price, and Acer has the Iconia at $450. In addition, to those who are looking at even cheaper prices will be happy to learn that Vizio will be launching a very affordable tablet (which will be Android based) at only $300.

This newest tablet comes to hit Apple’s market hard. The truth is that Android has been trying to compete against Apple, but hasn’t been able to snatch the first place. They are trying their best to offer exciting features in their tablets, such as HDMI and microSD slots. Additionally, the majority of Android tablets are capable of connecting to 3G networks.

However, most of these features are present in all the tablets currently available on the market, regardless the manufacturer. Even though they strive to make a difference, there isn’t too much difference to be made. Users are capable of changing the way their interface looks, but that’s all about it.

At this point, it seems that more and more features won’t make a difference. They have to turn to the most basic decision: the price. Since most of the devices offer the same types of features, it makes sense to think that by cutting down the price, buyers will be more attracted to make the purchase.

Something similar happened with smartphones as the majority of the them come with the same type of features. This makes it harder for different manufacturers to convince the buyer to purchase their product. This has led Samsung, for example, to release an inexpensive smartphone, such as the Conquer 4G.

A market study carried out by Nielsen supports the price idea. The results show that more than half of the U.S. population (that own smartphones) believe that paying a lower price is better. Perhaps this will unveil different numbers in the next sale report about tablets.

The Tribune Newspaper giant wants to make a Tablet

Apple is going to have a bite taken out of their pie-shaped tablet by a newspaper giant. The Tribune Company, based in Chicago, owns many dailies, such as The Baltimore Sun, The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune. They also have twenty-three TV stations. Now they have made the decision to snatch a piece of the action from the Tablet industry.

Tribune will give subscribers the opportunity to obtain their own touchscreen tablet, which will run a customized Android. The main piece of software showcased will be one that displays the tablet owner’s hometown paper. This news was leaked by more than six employees of the company, on the condition of anonymity.

The plans are a little murky still, but it is possible they will offer the tablets either for free or for a small fee, but to people who subscribe for a longer period to one of their papers. Rumor has it, from five employees who were supposedly briefed on the project, that there might even be a connection plan with a cellular company to provide wireless connectivity.

Tribune is just recovering from bankruptcy so this venture is a bold one. Rumours suggest that Samsung is one of the companies mentioned to build the hardware for this project.

The iPads and smartphones both have free software from Tribune for reading their daily newspapers. The Samsung Galaxy Tab, Windows phones and tablets have the Mosaic multimedia app, from Tribune. The newest Android, Honeycomb, is lacking any targeted software from Tribune, though.

This tablet project is not some flash in the pan at Tribune. It has the utmost attention of the hierarchy. They are delving into the deep end of the pool on this one. Yet, in the context of this they have made deep cuts in their media and publishing, reducing their editorial staff. In addition, do not forget that they are still in court dealing with the bankruptcy.

Tribune’s current CEO, Eddy Hartenstein, is pushing the tablet more than anyone, but he has a track record of supporting technology. He is a board member of SanDisk, Sirius XM Radio, and Broadcom, and he founded DirectTV. Tony Hunter was made chief of the Publishing division by Hartenstein, with the recommendation that “he is sympathetic to the digital efforts of the company and their importance to the publishing group’s ultimate success.”

Analysts support the idea on the grounds that printing papers is expensive and dependent on the prices of ink. The biggest fear is that advertising revenues may never come close to replacing those in print. Unless this can be remedied, electronic papers on subsidized tablets will come and go.

Tribune is not the only company who wants to make tablets work as a delivery system for their product. Philadelphia Media Network will be pushing Android-based tablets at huge discounts, loaded with their proprietary software for displaying their Daily News and Inquirer papers. September will see a couple thousand of these offered as a trial run.

These newspaper tablets will function completely as normal tablets, and we can thank Apple for the impetus. If they had not cracked open the enthusiasm for tablets last year, this would not yet be possible. Already, 8% of Americans own a tablet, a Pew Research study shows. Imagine the amount of expansion and competition in a market that is so sparsely populated.

Packard Bell Liberty Tab G100 features a Dual-Core CPU and Android Honeycomb 3.2

When you try this tablet out you might have a deja vu. Yes, it does feel a lot like the Acer Iconia Tab A500. Packard Bell serves as a styling brand for Acer, so it should come as no surprise. The Acer end is targeting tech lovers, while the Packard Bell line targets those who are more akin to fashion consciousness. The Iconia Tab A500 has that brushed metal finish, while the Packard Bell Liberty Tab G100 is encased in a glossy burgundy, tipped in chrome edging. The guts, though, are nearly identical. The Dual-Core 1GHz Cortex A9 CPU, minimal powered GEForce chip, and 1GB of RAM are all the same in the two machines.

The differences are still sufficient to warrant a second look at the Liberty Tab Bell G100. For example, the Liberty Tab, thankfully, is not preloaded with the hub apps Acer is infamous for. Rather, the home screen is uncluttered, but still has easy access to the apps the Iconia has. You can still find the many eBook readers, office document viewer, video player, Internet music player, and quite a few games.

The Liberty Tab comes with Android 3.0, but is easily upgradable to 3.2 . In fact, the upgrade should take place automagically through thin air.

Android gadgets are notorious for a slight lag, but the Liberty was plagued with a longer lag than usual. Even with a task-killer app verifying that no other app was snatching the memory, the keyboard was not very responsive. The most likely reason for this lag is the build for the Android version, but that is unclear until the 3.2 tablet comes out. A simple test will reveal whether this is the case or not.

The screen is another case. While it is well lit and even across, the surface catches every reflection off its glossy face. The viewing angles are fantastic and the colors quite lively. Yet, the sensitivity is far to touchy. Try dragging and the device thinks you tapped instead. That might be solved through the configuration interface. The resolution, though, is more than adequate for surfing the Net and watching videos.

The speakers are decked out with Dolby Mobile enhancement. The sound is amazing for a tablet. The spatial separation is solid, even through headphones. Any long trips make this a good tool for entertaining either yourself or your kids. The battery lasts a whopping 10 hours. The weight of the tablet, though, comes in at 760g, perhaps the heaviest on the market. So buy a stand for it. Just as with the Acer, the Packard Bell has a USB port, microSDHC slot, and a mini-HDMI port. A nice button locks the orientation of the screen in place – useful for reading lying on your bed. The prices of the Iconia Tab and the Liberty Tab are identical. However, they do not both come with the same level of options. The Liberty Tab comes in 16G and 32G Wi-Fi versions. Iconia Tab has a 32G+3G version as well. The 16G Wi-Fi Liberty Tab is merely £350, which makes it among the cheapest Android 3.0 tablets.

Binatone HomeSurf 705 is one of the World’s Cheapest Android Tablet

Wouldn’t you like to own an Android tablet for under £100! Binatone sells the HomeSurf 705 for just that price. It certainly doesn’t look that cheap on the outside. The sturdy construction is deceptive of the price. The case is thin and glossy, giving it the higher priced look. However, it’s loaded with the older Android 2.1, but it’s not even the version made for tablets. Another cost saving downgrade Binatone has taken is to leave out some tablet standards, such as a camera and bluetooth. The worst downgrade, though is the resistive screen. It is not nearly as precise as a capacitive screen.

Regardless of these deficiencies, this tablet should be given the respect it deserves for offering a tablet for such an affordable price. Binatone reminds us that the HomeSurf 705 is designed only for basic browsing, watching videos, reading eBooks, and using the Mindings app bundled with the tablet. It is really an offering for those not very adept with the newest tech gadgets.

The Mindings app is some hybrid Facebook app and digital photo frame. Reminders, social updates, and photos are easily pushed. Mindings is also a cloud service. The intention is to put a device in the hands of your grandma or some other elderly person you want to keep track of. While it is an intriguing idea, Binatone has not thought out all the necessities to make it happen smoothly enough for this purpose. It is still in Beta, but the ease of use is not its strong point.

The most resistive feature to ease of use is the resistive screen. Typing errors abound with the Android keyboard. Add on top of that the terribly low resolution of 800×480, where the images are quite blurry, and you have some pretty significant drag on usage. Everything you want to see clearly requires zooming, especially small text. The resistive screen gives a rough look to everything, diminishing viewing angles as well. The colors are vibrant, but that does not offset the fact that the Photo app puts everything at disproportionate ratios by stretching to fit the screen. This was highly irritating.

One clear redundancy that indicated they had not put a lot of thought into the project was the Home, Back, and Menu buttons at the top edge. The HomeSurf 705 already has these physical buttons. So why put them in the software as well?

Since this is a low end Android tablet, don’t expect an Android Market nor any of the normally included apps. Don’t even expect to be able to add them, since there are no hacks out there for this one. You’re on your own. Only the GigaStore, included with the HomeSurf, is available. It takes the less intuitive approach to listing apps as well, by Popular, New, and Recommended. You cannot browse by category. It escapes me how you will find an app for a specific need.

It is disconcerting also that many are rated at half a star. Nearly all are games or joke apps. Some are even copies of famous apps. It is a dangerous tool for newbies. Binatone would have been wiser leaving it out completely.

The battery life on the HomeSurf was quite good, at over 5 hours. It does come with a microSD, so you can expand the storage.

The limitations set it up for a particular market niche, but it is unclear whether Binatone has met the needs for that market niche in this product. Still, it is an interesting device, even if it feels more experimental than actual.

Samsung brought Galaxy Tab 7.7, Galaxy Note and Wave 3 at IFA

As you already might know, IFA is one of the largest and more recognized trade shows over the world. For several years this event has set up the trend in consumer electronics and domestic appliances.

This year, as expected after all the preliminary media display, one of the biggest protagonists were the tablet PCs. Raising the bets on this field, Samsung deployed three new amazing devices on its aim to move forward in this new but highly competed segment.
The first one is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, which arrived at IFA with some sort of controversy after Samsung decided to pull it out and take down the advertisement, allegedly due to some patent dispute with Apple. Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 featured an astonishing 7 inches Super AMOLED plus screen.

The Galaxy’s display is literally catching all the eyes, but what is really impressive about this device are his dimensions. Is indeed an incredible achievement packing such good technology in such a small and slim case. The Galaxy Tab 7.7 is the evolution of the original Galaxy Tab 10.1 with a smaller body and screen, but maintaining: the famous display quality, the excellent resolution of 1280×800 pixels, a very slim aluminium case only 7.89mm thick and two 1.4 GHz processing cores running the most recent version of Android operating System: Honeycomb, v3.2 (One of the honour invites to IFA). This OS includes, among many other things, the TouchWiz UX interface with its customizable main window.

Samsung Galaxy Note was another device presented at IFA 2011, a device that would make a bridge between tablets and cell phones. This comes with a generous 5.3 inches Super AMOLED screen. Even though Samsung is famous for their displays’ quality, the Galaxy Note deserves a special mention in this field. The bright and powerful colours allow this device to reproduce high definition video with amazing image quality and sound as well. Adding Galaxy Note to its collection of slim and elegant gadgets, Samsung is creating an amazing list of ultra light electronic devices. Besides the screen and the dimensions, a very appreciable detail is the inclusion of a pen to use it as an input device for the screen. The pen is useful to make notes or correct documents and also to create some draws; its sensitivity is not very high, so taking apart the artistic desires, must be taken into account that the target public is the corporate sector so this sensitivity could be good enough.

The third device Samsung presented at IFA was the Samsung Wave 3. With this one, Samsung wants to take advantage of its new operative system release called Bada 2.0. Wave 3 is a special cell phone that features: 4-inches Super AMOLED screen, an 1.4GHz processor, a 5 MP camera and a metal body is weighting just 122 gr. The Bada OS comes with plenty of animation and visual effects to emphasize the elegant design and the neat appearance of the phone; it also incorporates voice control, multitasking, Wi-Fi support and the enhanced copy-paste Samsung feature.

Amazon’s Tablet Captures Big Magazine Publishers

Publishers of magazines were elated thinking of selling their wares on iPad in 2010, but as we turn the page of the calendar and face this year, they are singing slightly off key. Their optimism has boiled dry. While they are still eager, there is a strong vein of skepticism that carries over to Amazon’s tablet(rumored to be called Kindle Fire). Mostly it is due to how Apple managed the negotiations with the publishers. Apple played the dictator to start and nearly lost everyone. It is no surprise now that publishers are a bit reticent in the next big deal.

There are currently only three of the largest magazine publishers on board with Amazon as it faces releasing its own iPad knockoff. The digital sales deals are between Amazon and Hearst, Conde Nast, and Meredith. They will be allowed the rights to sell their publications on the Amazon tablet.

Time Inc. is the odd man out. Time Warner has failed to reach its agreement with Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO. It is highly possible that there will not be a deal struck until the end of the year.

The deal Amazon is offering imitates Apple’s with its publishers. In this arrangement the publisher takes home 70 percent of the sales and the publisher will have access to customer data. Time has not even struck a deal with Apple yet. They only peddle a few titles here and there through the Apple App Store. It is still a mystery why Time has held out so long with Apple and now is refraining from striking a deal with Amazon.

Many of the titles from the publishers who have entered into arrangements with Amazon have been customized to the seven inches of the new Amazon tablet that will premier this Wednesday. Next year Amazon promises to release a larger version of their tablet which is more similar in size to the iPad. Amazon’s tablets are powered by the Android operating system by Google.

Publishers are making the decision to sign an agreement with Amazon without thinking. They simply know that more is better, not less. If they have more outlets for their wares there is a better chance of making more sales. For over a year, in the face of the Apple struggle over the publishers’ contracts, publishers have been screaming for an iPad competitor.

We certainly cannot foretell that Amazon’s tablet will ever reach the status of iPad competitor. However, Amazon has the leverage to capture publishers by their status as the world’s largest Online distributor.

“At Apple there is the beauty of the design, the elegance of Apple,” explains a publisher who did sign with Amazon. “However, here you’ve got great marketing and a simple to use system. We are quite hopeful.”

The real blackmail item Amazon has over their heads is that Amazon is currently a big deal for distributing their print titles. At the beginning of September Hearst and Amazon codified this in a press release. It declared that Amazon would expand its role to the largest third-party seller of the print versions for Hearst’s magazines through electronic channels.

Apple could have plans to discontinue iPod Shuffle and Classic

As many of you know, Apple’s iPhone has become exceptionally popular. However because of this, some of Apple’s own products have suffered, leaving them obsolete and “uncool.” In Q4 of 2001, the very first iPod was released to the public, and it only had basic portable music player capabilities, 5GB hard drive, and a white LCD display. As time progressed, another upgraded model was released, along with another, and so on and so forth. Just 10 years later, this product, although it has been through five major upgrades and tops at a whopping 160GB, has degraded in revenue.

In 2010, Apple’s iPod sales were only at 8% (coined by CNET). What is Apple’s next move? According to several sources on the net, Apple will start slashing the iPod models, excluding the Nano and Touch. This means that the Classic and Shuffle will no longer be available. Is this an intelligent initiative for Apple or will it have a distraught effect amongst Apple consumers? In retaliation, Apple is supposedly releasing a white iPod Touch this year, along with a modest upgrade from the current generation. The question is, will this change in product inventory benefit the multi-billion dollar corporation?

All of the previous questions may be answered following Apple’s “Let’s talk iPhone” event. The event was rumored to be scheduled on October 4th, and rumors turned out to be true. On October 4th, 10:00 AM PST to be specific, the conference/keynote will be held. As mentioned before, the event will be held in Cupertino, California (not the Moscone Center in San Francisco). Invites to the event have already been officially given and many of the rumors will hopefully be answered.

Many Apple consumers have stood by their products consistently and may not want their iPods to go away. Some people don’t like the new devices that are being released because the physical buttons are diminishing. The lack of a physical button can be degrading to the products because the dependence on the software is greatened. How so you may ask? If there are no physical buttons on a device, how will a soft or hard reset be performed? Hopefully, to stay on the safe side, the next release of an Apple product will lack bugs, primarily the iPhone’s operating system: iOS 5.

The iPods always had a certain vibe to them that many of their users liked. For example, some consumers just don’t like using touch devices such as the iPod Touch or iPhone. These devices deliver a user-friendly interface, however there are only 3 button locations on the devices: The lock/power button, the home button, and the volume rocker. The iPods support a more hardware based allocation for their buttons, with an all-button housing. In addition, the durability of the iPods is far greater than the Apple touch devices.

Try not to think about purchasing an iPod at a later date; if you want to get your hands on an iPod Classic or Shuffle, now might be the time to do so. Don’t delay, because Apple may discontinue their sales on those products. However, a price drop may be around the corner so stay updated on this topic.