Hasta La Gadget!

You’re really coming full circle at this year’s Computex, aren’t ya, Intel? It was at the Taipei show two years ago that Chipzilla introduced the first Atom netbooks, and though it’s taken awhile, the company is finally announcing dual-core Atom processors for the category (not to mention slightly changing its party line on the power of the sub-laptops). While the details on the speeds and feeds of the new Pine Trail N series CPUs are being kept under wraps for now, we’ve been told that they’ll support DDR3 RAM and provide comparable performance to the dual-core desktop Atom processors, yet still maintain similar battery life to current netbooks. Intel still plans to keep these Atom chips in 10-inch systems, and told us that users will see the speed benefits in multitasking and browsing, rather than in HD playback and gaming.

But netbooks aren’t only about to get faster, they’re also going to go on a serious diet. Intel also unveiled its new “Canoe Lake” innovation platform for netbooks, which is what’s behind that 14mm thick machine pictured above. The platform can support single- and dual-core Atom processors, but provides significant cooling to allow for 50 percent thinner systems. However, “Canoe Lake” is merely a reference guideline for other manufacturers to use, so there’s no telling what the machines that use this could end up looking like. The dual-core Atom for netbooks goes into production next week and should be shipping in netbooks before the holiday season. And as for that super thin laptop you’re inevitably still peering at? Intel expects its partners to use the platform and have products out by the end of this year. We don’t know about you, but the pictures below may keep us salivating until then.

Continue reading Intel boosts netbooks with dual-core Atom, slims ’em down with ‘Canoe Lake’

Intel boosts netbooks with dual-core Atom, slims ’em down with ‘Canoe Lake’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Synaptics has been a serious roll of late, first introducing those luscious multitouch gestures to older trackpads, and last month extending its Gesture Suite to Linux and Chrome OS. Here at Computex, the company is expanding its TouchPad family of solutions, with the multi-finger PC TouchPad-IS range seeing the first update. Aside from being able to recognize four-finger gestures, the new platform prevents accidental activation of the cursor when a user’s palm unintentionally contacts the TouchPad, and it also brings the aforementioned multi-finger capabilities of a touchscreen right onto a PC’s trackpad. Next up is the new ClickEQ, which is hailed as the “industry’s first hinge-less uniform force, uniform click depth ClickPad mechanical design.” As you’d expect, this feels an awful lot like the glass trackpad that Apple’s freshest MacBooks have, but you won’t find us kvetching about getting a similar technology onto run-of-the-mill laptops and netbooks.

Moving on, the company is also introducing new OEM customization capabilities for Synaptics gesture workflow technology, Scrybe, which will allow users to store specific trackpad settings and references so the whole family can control the laptop their own way. Sadly, there’s no published ship date for any of these whiz-bang contraptions, but we’re cautiously hoping to see it implemented in at least prototype form as we scour the show floor.

Continue reading Synaptics intros ClickEQ, multi-finger TouchPad-IS trackpad solutions

Synaptics intros ClickEQ, multi-finger TouchPad-IS trackpad solutions originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS didn’t make much of a fuss over it, but its ASUS-branded App Store for netbooks did launch today. Not much to get excited about unless you’re already pumped by Intel’s AppUp store at the heart of ASUS’ offering. The best part might be the announced MeeGo support, whenever the Intel / Nokia OS mashup is ready. Just what the world needs: an EeeMee, right Mr. Anderson?

ASUS launches netbook App Store eying a MeeGo future originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 13:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alright, stick with us here. For some reason, ASUS decided it best to name its freshest e-reader the Eee Tablet, while its downright magical tablet goes by Eee Pad. Got all that? Good. The Eee Tablet (again, not to be confused with the Eee Pad tablet) is half e-reader, half note taker, and it’s an interesting twist on a played product category. We took a few precious minutes to experiment with the device here on the Computex show floor, and overall, we like what we’re seeing. Gone is the painfully slow E-Ink page refresh that Kindle owners are so accustomed to, with this particular LCD proving deliciously quick at changing screens. The only hang-up comes when you attempt to flip through too many pages, too fast — we managed to harness a loading wheel on two occasions, both of which took around six or eight seconds to vanish and the next page to finally appear. We also confirmed that the screen only works with the included stylus, much like pen-enabled Wacom tablets. That said, the bundled stylus was perfectly weighted, and the Eee Tablet responded well to our doodling. Speaking of weight, the model shown here in Taipei was shockingly heavy (at least iPad-level heavy), while the 10-inch EP101TC was markedly less hefty. Enough chatter — have a look at our hands-on video just past the break.

Continue reading ASUS Eee Tablet preview

ASUS Eee Tablet preview originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 06:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujifilm’s REAL 3D W1 didn’t exactly get the warmest of welcomes, but even today it remains one of the few point-and-shoots that can natively take 3D photographs. Here at NVIDIA’s Computex press conference, the company slid in this little nugget: Sony’s new Alpha series of interchangeable lens compact cameras are now compatible with NVIDIA’s 3D image processing software (3D Vision Photo Viewer). You won’t get your Alpha growing a second lens or anything (at least not yet), but any image you shoot with it can be post-processed as 3D thanks to the new partnership. Details beyond that were few and far between, but the company’s obviously stoked to have Sony onboard. ‘Course, with Sony’s own 3D obsession, we wouldn’t be shocked to hear that every single one of the outfit’s cameras will soon be on the three-dee bandwagon in some form or another.

Continue reading NVIDIA bringing 3D images to Sony’s Alpha camera lineup

NVIDIA bringing 3D images to Sony’s Alpha camera lineup originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 05:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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