Hasta La Gadget!

Aww, HP, so nice of you guys to think of the little guys amidst your massive unleash of mainstream laptops. While the Mini 210 was just released at CES, the 10-inch netbook will be available starting June 15th for a couple extra bucks — $355 to be exact — with some “fashionable” new lids. We definitely prefer the “crystal white” to “preppy pink” covering, but both use a pretty cool in-mold layering technique — when you look closely at the lid and matching underside there’s a 3D-like effect where some colors and shades appear above or below others. HP’s also expanding its netbook line with the Mini 110, which at $280 buys you a six-cell battery and standard Atom parts. The netbooks don’t get any internal updates — nope, all the new performance parts go to the 11.6-inch Pavilion dm1. Though it still sports the same chassis as the Mini 311, the dm1 will grab AMD’s newest Turion II Neo dual core and Athlon Neo processors, which promise improved performance and battery life over the previous generation. We’re hoping that’s the case, because our experience with those chips haven’t exactly been peaches and cream. That’s all we got for you, but if you are in a pink mood head on down below for some hands-on pics, or after the break for the sort of “Pretty in Pink” we don’t mind rocking.

Continue reading HP Mini 210 updated with trippy lids, Pavilion dm1 with new AMD processors

HP Mini 210 updated with trippy lids, Pavilion dm1 with new AMD processors originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 May 2010 06:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Since Courier‘s now a mystery unearthed — and subsequently sent six feet under — it looks like we need new secret Microsoft projects to pique our curiosity. Enter the ever-connected Mary Jo Foley with some investigative notes into “Menlo,” which seems to be a future replacement of Windows CE “with Windows NT inside of mobile devices.” The associated graphics platform would be “Experiment 19” (not quite as interesting a codename, we agree). Presumably heading up Menlo is Galen Hunt, a researcher from the Singular project, joined by other Microsoft brains Ruben Olinsky and (at least at some point) Kerry Hammil. It’s always surprising how much info we can glean from LinkedIn, but we digress: Hunt’s associated profile says Menlo “[combines] OS, UX, and applications research to explore the future of computing when mobiles becomes users primary PCs.” Some bigger picture conjecture seems to center around Menlo having a Silverlight-based UI and boasting improved compatibility between itself and Windows desktop apps. Lots of food for thought, and if you’re interested in what might come out of Redmond many, many years down the line, head on past the read link for all the juicy tech gossip.

Microsoft’s ‘Menlo’ working towards a mobile future without Windows CE? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 May 2010 04:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen the future of Intel’s mobile platform, and it isn’t all roses and sunshine. Three years after the chipmaker told us Moorestown would reduce Atom’s energy consumption by a factor of 20, company execs told us earlier today that they’ve more than reached that goal with the new Z6xx series. Problem is, in the smartphone realm Intel’s competitors haven’t been sitting idle; according to one of Chipzilla’s cantaloupe-and-magenta bar charts, it seems the company has merely caught up in terms of battery life. That’s not to say the chips aren’t worlds better than previous Atoms — Intel sees 1.5GHz smartphone processors that slay Snapdragons and up to 1.9GHz in a tablet PC variety — but 5 hours of web browsing is most decidedly not the 24 hours of productivity Intel previously promised. Besides, who knows: Qualcomm also has a 1.5GHz SoC in the works, though it may not be available by the time Intel’s chips ship in the second half of the year.

None of this is to say that Intel won’t continue to dominate in the netbook marketplace — we shudder to think at the potential when combining a nice, chunky battery with Intel’s nearly leakproof new chips, and perhaps a small serving of switchable graphics while we’re at it. But without a single new MID or smartphone to show us this morning — Aava Mobile and OpenPeak‘s offerings seemed unchanged from our previous encounters — we’re not sure if the company’s other mobile ambitions have any sway. Not technical enough of a discussion for you? Peruse our gallery for the nitty-gritty.

Intel reaches for the ‘smartphone zone’ with Moorestown-based Atom Z6, comes up shorthanded originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 May 2010 02:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Make no mistake: the Kin One and Two are coming into the world as the black sheep of the phone industry, and Microsoft would have it no other way. Straddling the fence somewhere between a dedicated smartphone and high-spec featurephone, they’ve been tricky to understand since the day they were first leaked (even Microsoft seemed unsure of what the devices meant until very recently). Billed as a Gen-Y (the “upload generation”) social networking tool — and sold in advertisements as the gateway to the time of your young, freewheeling life — the Kin phones have admittedly been something of head-scratcher to those of us in the gadget world. Built atop a core similar (but not identical) to the Windows Phone 7 devices coming later this year, manufactured by Sharp, and tied into partnerships with Verizon and Vodafone, the phones dangerously preempt Microsoft’s reemergence into the smartphone market. Hell, they’re even called Windows Phones. But the One and Two aren’t like any Windows Phones you’ve ever seen. With stripped-down interfaces, deep social networking integration, and a focus on very particular type of user, Microsoft is aiming for something altogether different with Kin. So do these devices deliver on that unique, social experience that Redmond has been selling, or does this experiment fall flat? We’ve taken both handsets for a spin, and we’ve got all the answers in our full review… so read on to find out!

Continue reading Microsoft Kin One and Two review

Microsoft Kin One and Two review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 May 2010 00:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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See that up there? That’s the new HP dm4, and you better believe that this aluminum housed 14-inch laptop not only packs a Core i5 processor and plenty of sex appeal, but starts at $729. In a nutshell, that’s basically the whole story of the four new HP Pavilions — gone are the glossy lids and LED touch shortcuts, though remaining in tact are the affordable prices and mainstream power. The inch-thick dm4 happens to be our favorite of the bunch — it’s got a soft etched pattern along the lid, chiclet-style keyboard, on-board optical drive, and is available with different Core i5 CPU and ATI discrete graphics options. And if that 14-incher isn’t for you, there’s also the 14.5-inch dv5, which instead of the brushed aluminum lid, has a matte imprinted cover that’s available in black, red and champagne. Starting at $649, the dv5 is available with Core i3, i5 and AMD’s upcoming Turion II processors, and while it doesn’t have discrete graphics options, the Intel versions will support Intel’s WiDi technology.

Going on up in size, the 15.6-inch Pavilion dv6 is all about choices — you can configure it with either a brushed aluminum or HP Imprint finish, a mulitouch screen, and AMD or Intel Core 2010 processors. The AMD variant will start at $530 and the Intel Core i5 version at $649. Last but not least is the dv7 powerhouse, which now has a Beats Audio option. No surprises here, the 17-incher can be pimped with quad-core AMD or Intel CPUs and ATI discrete graphics. We’re planning to review at least a few of these models before back to school laptop shopping season gets fully underway, but for now, feel free to head on past the break for the full press release and feast your eyes on some of these far-from-budget-looking lappies down in the galleries below.

Continue reading HP Pavilion line made over with metal casing, new AMD and Intel processors

HP Pavilion line made over with metal casing, new AMD and Intel processors originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 May 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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