Hasta La Gadget!

Oh yes, it’s a laptop processor war here at CES with AMD’s new Fusion APUs and Intel’s fresh Sandybridge CPUs gunning for core territory, but Sony’s not pickin’ sides when it comes to its new seriously mobile VAIOs. Kicking it off on the lower end is the 11.6-inch, 3.2-pound VAIO YB Series, which is being refreshed with AMD’s Brazos E350 APU. Sony doesn’t consider the YB to be a netbook — in fact, it doesn’t plan to continue with its netbook line after this quarter — but like most of these other Fusion systems (see: HP dm1 and Acer AO 522) the Y promises long battery life along with really solid graphics. Actually, according to the product manager, the platform has been out performing Intel’s Pentium processors. The system will be available with Windows 7 Home Premium, 320GB or 500GB hard drives, and 4GB of RAM — as you would expect, the $549 base configuration only gets 2GB of RAM and 320GB of storage. The Intel-powered YA Series will still be available with a Core i5 processor option for close to $750. (Note: We got some hands-on time with the YB Series before it was released, check out the hands-on here.) So, what does Sony have in store on the more powerful ultraportable end? The 13.3-inch VAIO S series is a four-pound Core i3-powered ultraportable clad in a durable magnesium casing. It doesn’t seem to be configurable with discrete graphics, but it will have WiDi. That enough for ya? Hit the break for the press releases if you’re looking for more.

Continue reading Sony VAIO Y picks up AMD Fusion, S Series gets some Intel cores

Sony VAIO Y picks up AMD Fusion, S Series gets some Intel cores originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Atrix 4G hits AT&T’s website, complete with specs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re here live from Sony’s press event here at CES 2011 — we’re expecting everything from the PlayStation Phone to the triumphant reappearance of Taylor Swift in 3D. We’ll see what happens when things kick off in just over an hour!

Continue reading Live from Sony’s CES 2011 press event

Live from Sony’s CES 2011 press event originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola has just outed its delicious Honeycomb tablet alongside another device, the LTE-equipped Bionic, on its official site. The company’s CES press conference is ongoing right now, where the Xoom will presumably get its proper announcement. All we know so far is that this slate is headed to Verizon, the press release is still somewhere in the hidden parts of the internet. More soon!

Update: The PR and full spec sheet are now embedded after the break. A 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 will power this 10.1-incher, while 4G connectivity will be made available as an update in Q2 following a Q1 launch. Other specs include a 1280 x 800 resolution, 5 megapixel camera, 720p video recording and 1080p video playback, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and finally, a healthy 32GB of onboard storage. The battery is rated to be capable of supporting 10 hours of video. Be still, our beating hearts!

[Thanks, Pratik]

Continue reading Motorola Xoom becomes official, headed to Verizon in Q1, upgradeable to 4G in Q2

Motorola Xoom becomes official, headed to Verizon in Q1, upgradeable to 4G in Q2 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A lack of surprise isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It seems the best bullet points of Olympus‘ CES unveils have been leaked in some way, shape, or form, but that doesn’t detract from the quality. There is, in fact, a 12.3 megapixel PEN E-PL2 with a new “silent autofocus” lens that should clear the air a bit when shooting 720p HD video. The E-PL1 follow-up also has new creative filters with fine-tuned adjustments, face / eye detection, RAW support, an ISO range up to 6400, a 3-inch LCD, SDXC slot, and a second generation accessory port compatible with both previous E-PL1 dongles and new ones like a MAL-1 macro spotlight or a PENPal Bluetooth transfer. That MSC lens, too, is compatible with various “affordable” conversion lenses (fish eye, wide-angle, macro). Look for this body and lens kit later this month for a cool $599.

The other Olympus shooter making its away around the rumor mill, the 10 megapixel XZ-1 (also due out in January), is a pretty interesting device. Though not quite a Micro Four Thirds (that Zuiko lens is firmly affixed), it boasts full manual controls (including focus), 4x optical zoom, RAW support, an SDXC slot 720p 30fps HD video, a 3-inch OLED screen, and support for peripherals like an external mic and electronic viewfinder — and it’s pretty light, to boot. We got only a brief chance to play around with it but walked away mighty impressed with what we saw. The only catch is that $499.99 price tag, which we do understand for its pricing but would also lament not forking over the extra Benjamin for something more versatile like the E-PL2.

Hold on, we’ve got three pocket shooter subcategories to satisfy. There’s the $139.99, 14 megapixel VG-120 budget camera due out in January, with 5x optical zoom, 720p video, and a 3-inch LCD. The waterproof / shockproof / freezeproof TG-310 and TG-610 are coming in February with a 14 megapixel sensor, 720p video and a 3D photo mode ($199.99 and $299.99, respectively). Lastly, the 14 megapixel SP-610 wide angle ultra zoom also boasts 3D photo mode, along with a 22x zoom — that one’s marked $229.99 for spring 2011. Okay, now that we have all that out of the way, enjoy our hands-on shots and press imagery below, and a tome of press releases after the break.

Continue reading Olympus’ PEN PL-2 touts ‘silent autofocus’ lens, XZ-1 straddles line between MFT and pocket shooter

Olympus’ PEN PL-2 touts ‘silent autofocus’ lens, XZ-1 straddles line between MFT and pocket shooter originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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