Hasta La Gadget!

Granted, tablets are getting up there in size, but even after a couple of Android all-in-ones (including, in fact, one from Acer early this year), we’re still not fully used to playing Angry Birds on a glossy 24-inch display. We’re sure we’ll get a better handle on it, but these things take time. For those who want their Android games and apps in full, giant HD, there’s the DA241HL. We’ve got to admit, while it’s still an odd space, Acer’s doubling down here, with a pretty nicely designed all-in-one that looks a bit nicer than the current DA220HQL.

Along the bottom, you’ll find one long speaker grille with four buttons: input, monitor settings, volume up and down and power. Flip the device around to find the the hinged stand and a removable panel that hides three USB ports, an SD slot, a headphone jack and HDMI and micro-USB sockets. The USB in particular will come in handy when you want to connect up a keyboard and mouse, and you’ll be using the HDMI and micro-USB should you decide to connect a phone or PC to use it as a secondary display.%Gallery-slideshow77229%

Filed under: Desktops, Acer

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Yesterday, LG Electronics took the wraps off the LAP340 Sound Plate and a couple Sound Bar models it plans to show off at IFA 2013. Tonight, the electronics maker has introduced a new product, this time an all-in-one IPS 21:9 UltraWide V960 that it will be showcasing at the event in Berlin. In addition, the […]

Today the Intel 4th Generation processor wave begins to creep up once again with ASUS letting it be known that they’ve got three machines that’ll run this “Haswell” generation initially. The first of these is a single black and standard-looking M51 desktop PC – standard looking on the outside, that is – inside it’s got a bit more of a punch. Then there’s the ET2301 and ET2702, slim form-factor all-in-one PCs as well.

The stark black floor-standing desktop PC you see before you is the ASUS M51, working with a matte finish combined with a textured fascia that makes for a fingerprint-less appearance. Up top is an ASUS Wireless Charger tray so your Qi-standard wireless charging smartphones (like the Nexus 4 or any of various Nokia Lumia devices) can charge with ease.

Inside is an ASUS Universal Storage Module using an industry-standard interface up in a front drive bay – USM compatible portable hard drives can be swapped in and out with native SATA connections. Inside is also ASUS Smart Cooling system working with automatic fan speed control – not unlike that which we’ve seen recently in NVIDIA’s 700-series graphics card releases. This machine is ready to roll with either NVIDIA or AMD discrete 3D graphics as well as ASUS SonicMaster audio technology.

The ET2301 and ET2702 work with 23-inch and 27-inch widescreen displays, the larger working with 10-point multi-touch touchscreen technology while the smaller works with 5-point multi-touch. The ASUS ET2702′s 27-inch display works with ultra-high 2560 x 1440 resolution, while the ET2301′s 23-inch display works with Full HD 1920 x 1080. Touchscreen abilities are optional on both of these models.

The ET2702 features the option of Intel Thunderbolt ports and can act as a second screen for your notebook computer. Connecting a notebook with HDMI and USB cables to the ET2702 allows access to display, speakers, and USB peripherals. The ET2301 and the ET2702 work with 178-degree viewing angles as well.

Both all-in-one models work with ASUS SonicMaster technology as the M51 does, while they’re both also available with an optional desktop subwoofer for bass performance as well. And of course, most important of all, each of these models will be available with 4th generation Intel Core processors. Pricing and release dates have not yet been made public.

ASUS Haswell launch begins with all-in-ones and an M51 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
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The desktop computer market is pretty much stagnant as more and more consumers move to notebooks, tablets, and smartphones as their primary devices. One of the bright spots in the desktop computer market continues to be the all-in-one computer or AIO. Most people are probably familiar with this sort machine that packs all the computer hardware in the same case as the display.

Dell has announced a new all-in-one computer that will be shipping on April 16 called the XPS 18. Dell claims the computer is their thinnest, lightest, and most versatile all-in-one ever offered. The computer will run Windows 8 and has an 18.4-inch capacitive touchscreen. That means users will be able to take advantage of all of the fancy touch-interaction that Windows 8 offers. It’s also designed to be portable – weighing in under 5 pounds – so you can lug it around your house and run it off of battery power if you’d like.

That 18.4-inch screen supports full 1080p HD resolution, and the machine will use Intel Core processors – of an as yet unspecified flavor. Dell says that the XPS 18 will be available in the US and select countries in Europe starting at $899.99(USD). It’s too bad the computer maker doesn’t say exactly what processor you get, how much RAM, and how much storage the base model offers. Those are rather key details, but we can assume will learn more closer to the launch date.

Apple’s new redesigned iMac marks a significant departure from a physical design that the company has basically used for its all-in-one desktop since 2007. The 21.5-inch iMac represents a significant visual change and packs a lot of new stuff inside the entry-level $1,299 version as well, which is the one I received for testing. Here’s how it performed as my primary machine over the course of a few days.

As reviewed:

• 8GB memory (previous generation shipped with just 4GB)
• 1TB 5400RPM hard drive
• Two Thunderbolt ports
• Four USB 3.0 ports
• Reduced glare display
• 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor

Internal changes aside, the iMac’s first impression is based on that new, tapered shell with the 5mm thick edge. It makes the screen seem like it’s just floating in air and, combined with a redesigned display that makes content seem much closer to the glass, has the effect of making the computer look like a store prop when it’s powered on and sitting idle. My family was in town for the weekend, and all were very impressed by the new display – the fact that it was sitting next to my 2008 iMac at the time only served to heighten the effect.

It makes the screen seem like it’s just floating in air

All that fat trimming has led to some omissions, of course; the new iMac doesn’t have a built-in optical drive, and it also lacks user-accessible RAM. Memory could once be swapped out using just a screwdriver, thanks to doors on the underside of the iMac’s “chin,” but now you’re essentially stuck with the memory loadout you select at checkout.

It’s not a huge issue, but it means strongly considering paying an additional $200 to max out the 21.5-inch iMac at 16GB is probably a good instinct, especially if you’re not planning to upgrade to a new computer for a few years. As for the optical drive, you can pick up Apple’s Superdrive (or any other external drive), or you can probably live very happily without given how pervasive digital distribution and other options like SD card (the iMac comes with a built-in reader) and Flash-drive storage are now available. Finally, as with previous generations, the 21.5-inch iMac does not feature a removable stand for VESA mounting, but new to this generation is the fact the 27-inch one apparently seems to lack this capability as well.

This revamped iMac hardware is a huge improvement over previous generations in just about every way that matters. The weight and space savings are nice, as are the addition of two Thunderbolt ports that can both power external displays, and 4 USB 3.0 ports for high-speed connections, but the screen is the real game-changer for long-time iMac owners. Apple claims a 75 percent reduction in reflection. While that is hard for me to quantify, I can say that, because my office has a rather thin curtain, I’m often in near-direct sunlight while working, and the difference is considerable. In general, the screen feels much improved in all tasks, but editing photos in Lightroom was an especially pleasant experience on this computer versus on my 2011 27-inch iMac.

The 21.5-inch iMac delivers solid improvements over previous generations in terms of benchmark scores. I found that it consistently scored above 9,000, putting it ahead of its predecessor by at least 1,000 points on average, according to Geekbench’s comparison browser (a higher score is better). Numbers aside, the iMac truly impressed in terms of executing everyday tasks, including running Photoshop and Lightroom, as well as rendering and editing video in Final Cut Pro X. It does have a dedicated graphics card (the NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M with 512MB of dedicated RAM), but it somehow feels faster than you’d expect it to from just reading a stat sheet. Mostly, I’m comparing it against my experience with my 2011 27-inch iMac – my 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro with its SSD storage still feels faster on the uptake all around, but that’s to be expected. I’d love to see how the Fusion Drive hybrid approach stacks up, but unfortunately that wasn’t available in my review unit.

The built-in stereo speakers definitely produced better sound than my 27-inch iMac

Speed and processing power are only one aspect of performance. The iMac also scores high in another respect: audio/visual performance. The new model comes equipped with dual mics, which did indeed seem to help me come across clearer to FaceTime call receivers, and the built-in stereo speakers definitely produced better sound than either the 27-inch iMac or the 27-inch Cinema Display I had on hand. Even my audiophile father commented on the sound quality improvements while he was visiting and we were watching trailers via Apple.com.

If you’re familiar with OS X, then you can probably skip this section, but it’s worth talking a bit about Mountain Lion and how it works on the iMac for those who may be coming over to Apple for the first time (and I think this machine could attract a few switchers). The iMac especially benefits from some of the changes made to Mountain Lion.

One in particular is search in Launchpad. This feature adds a lot to a desktop-computing experience, especially when you’re primarily using a mouse and keyboard rather than a trackpad. Search on every page makes Launchpad an actually useful launcher, instead of just something you find yourself scrolling through mindlessly looking for an app whose icon you can’t seem to spot. Another very nice feature on the iMac is Dictation, which is noticeably better thanks to the background noise-eliminating power of the dual mics. I talk like I’ve got a mouth full of marbles, so this is a feature addition that brings more than a minor benefit to me in particular.

The 2012 iMac is an update that pushes the needle in all the ways we’re used to from Apple – improved performance, better hardware under the hood, etc. – but it also adds the most dramatic and attractive case redesign in recent memory to the mix. This is both nice from an aesthetic perspective, and a welcome change for anyone who needs to move their all-in-one around or just wants it to take up less space on the desk. It also works in target display mode, making it a sleeker (albeit more expensive) alternative to a Thunderbolt Cinema Display as a second screen for your Mac notebook. Some might gripe about the sacrifice of the built-in DVD drive, but in my book that’s not even a noteworthy admission given all the improvements on board, including many more high-speed I/O ports than previous generations have offered.

This is a great time to jump on board with iMac, since Apple will likely stick with this design for a while now, and future iterations for the next few years will likely be less dramatically different. I’d spring for the extra 8GB of RAM were I to go with the base model, but that’s just personal preference. The base model iMac should satisfy the computing needs of most, even with the default configuration.