Lenovo busts out IdeaCentre A300, IdeaPad S10-3t and plenty of other solid Ideas

Lenovo already treated us to a slew of new ThinkPad machines, and now it’s time for the Idea line to get its due. Up first, we’ve got the IdeaCentre A300, which is hailed as the industry’s thinnest all-in-one desktop. Measuring just 18.5mm deep, the 21.5-inch machine sports a 1080p LED panel, Core 2 Duo CPU, WiFi and a bundled Bluetooth keyboard / mouse. The IdeaPad S10-3t (shown above) is the industry’s first multitouch capacitive netbook tablet, with Lenovo trumpeting the device’s ability to easily recognize fingertip input and plow through chores with an Atom N470 CPU and a 320GB hard drive. Moving right along, the 14-inch Y460 and 15.6-inch Y560 offer up respectable multimedia performance on a budget, while the 20-inch Lenovo C310 goes down as the company’s first multitouch all-in-one desktop. The Core i7-equipped IdeaCentre K320 caters to the gamers, and the G460 / G560 lappies are slated to suit those “mainstream” users who just need something basic to handle… well, the basics. Pricing, availability and detailed specifications await you just beyond the break.

Continue reading Lenovo busts out IdeaCentre A300, IdeaPad S10-3t and plenty of other solid Ideas

Lenovo busts out IdeaCentre A300, IdeaPad S10-3t and plenty of other solid Ideas originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo Skylight: its first ARM / Snapdragon-based smartbook, coming in April for $499

Remember that Snapdragon-powered Lenovo smartbook we peeked back in November of last year? No? Fret not, as the aforesaid outfit has just come clean with the details surrounding the previously elusive device. The Skylight is Lenovo’s first-ever smartbook, and while we’re still struggling to see what niche these things are designed to fill, we definitely can’t knock the internals. It’s the industry’s first ARM-based, Qualcomm smartbook, and it’s powered by a 1GHz processor. Other specs include a 10.1-inch display (1,280 x 720), a customized version of Linux, 20GB (total) of flash storage, 2GB of cloud storage, an 8GB miniSD card, twin USB ports, 1.3 megapixel camera, WiFi and a battery capable of humming along for ten hours on a full charge. It’s also apt to be a lot like the unorthodox IdeaPad U1 Hybrid on the software front. The clamshell enclosure weighs under two pounds, and the integrated AT&T WWAN module ensures that you can get connected wherever a tower is available. The unit will ship this April with 18 preloaded web gadgets (including portals to Amazon MP3, Facebook, Gmail and YouTube), and pricing is set for $499 (MSRP). We’re told that AT&T will offer it up as well, but it’s unclear whether or not it’ll subsidize the Skylight should you commit to a two-year DataConnect contract. Rest assured that we’ll be getting some face time with this bugger in short order, but till then, you can peek the press release and a promo /hands-on video just after the break. Oh, and we should mention that we snapped an extremely brief hands-on with the machine a small bit ago, and we’re still flabbergasted by how thin it was. Expect a more thorough look tomorrow!

Continue reading Lenovo Skylight: its first ARM / Snapdragon-based smartbook, coming in April for $499

Lenovo Skylight: its first ARM / Snapdragon-based smartbook, coming in April for $499 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Klipsch LightSpeaker makes whole home audio as simple as screwing in a light bulb (hands-on)

When we walked the sound-filled halls of Klipsch’s Indianapolis headquarters last month, the company insisted that it was always looking at possible expansions into new markets. Today at CES, it’s proving that those words aren’t being uttered carelessly. The all-new LightSpeaker is a unique and potentially game-changing device in the whole home audio market, as unlike similar contraptions, this one requires no external wiring or power. The device is designed to fit into normal 5- to 6-inch light recesses, which enables existing homeowners to easily retrofit these into their ceilings and walls. We were granted some hands-on time with the light, and put simply, you just screw it into a conventional fixture, dial up the desired zone on the bundled remote, and listen. A full-range driver sits just beneath the LED light, and it receives signals via a 2.4GHz base station that can be plugged into just about any source.

Klipsch plans to ship these soon in two main packages: a kit that includes a base station and two LightSpeakers for around $600 and a single LightSpeaker by its lonesome for around $250. The bundled controller allows users to control two zones and two sources, and you can also adjust lighting brightness and volume via the main station or the smaller remote. Each zone can easily support four LightSpeakers, and when we asked if these could withstand the elements, we were told that they’d do fine in a covered patio but probably not within an unshielded pool deck. In other words, some humidity shouldn’t be an issue, but you probably wouldn’t want ’em to get rained on all night. We also wouldn’t be surprised to see a bundle in the future that includes a wireless subwoofer to really round out the audio, but don’t say you heard it from us. Peek the gallery for a closer look!

Continue reading Klipsch LightSpeaker makes whole home audio as simple as screwing in a light bulb (hands-on)

Klipsch LightSpeaker makes whole home audio as simple as screwing in a light bulb (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo announces slim, trim all-in-one PC

Lenovo announces new streamlined IdeaCentre A300 all-in-one. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://ces.cnet.com/8301-31045_1-10423887-269.html” class=”origPostedBlog”2010 CES/a/p

Digital City 64: the big CES preview

We go over the latest previews, leaks, and rumors from CES. Plus, did you get any cool tech toys this holiday season?

Later, Avatar is bashed, the Jets are praised, and we take

Originally posted at Digital City Podcast

Lenovo meshes tablet and Netbook in one device: IdeaPad U1 Hybrid Notebook

Why not take two hot gadget concepts and try blending them into one device? Lenovo’s U1 Hybrid Notebook gives it a shot in a bold new conceptual design. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://ces.cnet.com/8301-31045_1-10424800-269.html” class=”origPostedBlog”2010 CES/a/p

Nexus One review

The Nexus One. In the modern climate of hyped (and over-hyped) smartphone launches, Google’s official entry into the phone-sales game has excelled in a department where many find difficulty: generating legitimate excitement. Of course, long before the name Nexus One or the recent bounty of pictures and details existed, the very concept of a “Google Phone” had been ingrained in the public conscience, predating even the Open Handset Alliance and Android itself; the company dabbled in the concept of direct sales through its offering of the Android Dev Phones 1 and 2 (alias Ion), but this time, it’s a public retail ordeal, not a couple of one-off developer specials. The genuine-article Google Phone is finally here — for better or worse.

The device, a Snapdragon-powered, HTC-built phone looks — on paper, at least — like the ultimate Android handset, combining a newly tweaked and tightened user interface with killer industrial design. A sleek, streamlined phone that can easily go toe-to-toe with the iPhone 3GSs, Pres, and Droids of the world, powered by the latest version of Android (2.1 “Flan,” if you’re counting), and hand-retooled by Google. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? Can the Nexus One possibly live up to the hype ascribed to it? And more importantly, is the appearance of the phone the death knell for the OHA and a sign of the coming Android autocracy? In our exclusive review of the Nexus One, we’ll answer all those pressing questions and more… so read on for the full scoop!

Note: The unit we have in hand is — by all appearances — a production model, save for the QR code imprint on the back, which is likely an employee-only Easter egg. However, Google is making its official announcement tomorrow, and there could always be differences. If anything changes with the device, or there are revelations about the marketing or sale of the phone, we’ll be sure to update the review with new info.

Continue reading Nexus One review

Nexus One review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple buying mobile ad network Quattro Wireless for $275M?

Now that everyone and their mother’s got a smartphone, you’ve got a pile of sweaty capitalists pounding on the door trying to find every last conceivable way to turn the trend into cold, hard cash. One of the most obvious — quality apps from a central clearinghouse — is proving fruitful through countless official platform app stores, but targeted mobile advertising has to be a close second. Google saw the writing on the wall and snapped up AdMob not long ago; one of AdMob’s competitors, Quattro Wireless, is now rumored to be locked up for a purchase by Apple for a cool $275 million as early as tomorrow. While mobile ads (or ads of any sort, really) aren’t event remotely in Cupertino’s repertoire, it’s easy to see how this could give the company an opportunity to capitalize on the iPhone’s vibrant free app ecosystem, centralize revenue for devs (while stealing a nice little cut for itself), and take back a cottage industry that’s flourished since the App Store’s debut. At this point, it’s unclear what this means for iPhone users — or would-be tablet users, for that matter — but seeing how this jibes with recent Apple IP, this tie-up might actually make a frightening amount of sense.

Apple buying mobile ad network Quattro Wireless for $275M? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Viliv’s HD5 PMP leaked ahead of CES, packs Windows CE, 32GB of storage

Viliv's HD5 PMP leaked ahead of CES, packs Windows CE, 32GB of storage
We’re just a few days away from the opening of the show and, naturally, we’ve already seen a few notable leaks. This latest one, courtesy of Viliv, is perhaps on the lower end of the excitement spectrum, but is an interesting one nonetheless. The company that impressed us with a slew of MIDs and UMPCs throughout 2009 looks set to launch another PMP, the HD5. It has a much sleeker looking design than the S5 from last year (just 13mm thick), and higher specs too, packing 8, 16, or 32GB of storage plus SDHC expansion. There’s a DMB/DAB tuner, five-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen, HDMI output, and support for 1080p content. Somewhat curiously it’s running Windows CE, but we’re guessing that’ll be nicely hidden behind some sort of jazzy UI — which we fully expect to be experiencing in the next few days.

[Thanks, Gavin]

Viliv’s HD5 PMP leaked ahead of CES, packs Windows CE, 32GB of storage originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony launches Alpha A450 DSLR

Sony just expanded the Alpha DSLR with the new A450. It’s got the same 14.2 sensor and BIONZ processor as the A550, but it doesn’t have the fast-AF live view focus system or flip-out LCD screen — you’ll be looking at relatively small 2.6-inch fixed screen. Price doesn’t seem to be official yet, but we’re hearing it’ll come in under $1,000, so it could deliver some decent bang for the buck. Great — but we’re hoping we’ll hear some more about those rumored 3D Alphas later this week. Hit the read links for some more pics.

Sony launches Alpha A450 DSLR originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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