Hasta La Gadget!

Temper that excitement. This isn’t the rumored quad-core, Kal-El running Transformer 2. Still, ASUS is doing its best to port the tab buzz to the enterprise set with its quietly introduced Eee Slate B121. Unlike its tablet PC bretheren, this business-minded slate runs Windows 7 Professional atop an Intel Core i5 processor, and comes loaded with the security tweaks necessary for the corporate road warrior: like Computrace LoJack for remote location and data wipe, and a Trusted Platform Module microchip that stores encrypted data. Also tacked on to the $1,500 12.1-inch package are a Bluetooth keyboard and Wacom Digitizer stylus. As for the specs, well, there’s a 1280 x 800 LED Gorilla Glass display, 4GB RAM, 64GB of storage, dual USB 2.0 ports, mini-HDMI out, SD card slot and 2 megapixel front-facing camera. No official word on exactly when this biz-friendly tablet’ll be available, but now would be a good time to convince your IT department to order it up. Be sure to hit the source below for the company’s soft sell.

ASUS Eee Slate B121 slabs it up for the enterprise market originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been a few months since AMD threw down the gauntlet on Intel with its lower-priced Llano lineup, and now Chipzilla’s responded with some new bargain basement Sandy Bridge silicon. The refresh includes 11 new desktop CPUs: a Core i5 chip, three Core i3s, and a handful of dual-core Pentium and Celeron processors as well. There are also five new mobile chips, including three new quad-core Core i7s (2960XM, 2860QM, and 2760QM), and the dual-core Core i7-2640M and Celeron B840. In a separate nod to these tough economic times, Intel cut the prices on a few of its existing models, too. Granted, it’s only a six-percent discount at the most, but we’re sure you can put those dollars to good use elsewhere in your next DIY rig.

Intel adds 16 CPUs to Sandy Bridge stable, slashes prices on some older silicon originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s sad to say, but most of you who are going back to school have probably already returned by now — though if you’re in class right this moment you should probably be paying attention. If you managed to get back to campus without bringing a new laptop along, you might just want to keep reading — Sony’s just released a 15.5-inch addition to its VAIO S Series that not only adds a crucial bit of extra display acreage, but also bumps things up to a full 1080p.

Yes, this is a laptop that can not only be configured with a Blu-ray drive but has enough pixels to do the resulting footage justice, meaning it could make a passable player for movie night. But, does it have the chops to do your workload justice? Is it worth the $1,000 minimum asking price, at least a $100 premium over Sony’s 13-inch models? Join us as we find out.

Continue reading Sony VAIO S Series review (15-inch)

Sony VAIO S Series review (15-inch) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One of Samsung’s Series 7 laptops was outed not long ago, but that PC was made for fragging, while the rest in this line of laptops is meant for more pedestrian purposes. The new members of the family come sheathed in the same silver aluminum skin, but sport a smaller 300-nit, 1600 x 900 matte display in both 15.6-inch and 14-inch versions. Those displays are surrounded by a minimalist bezel, which allowed Samsung to stuff a 14-inch panel into a 13-inch chassis. Around the sides, there are two USB 3.0 ports (and one of the 2.0 variety), Gigabit Ethernet and HDMI and VGA sockets (the latter requires an included dongle a la the Series 9).

On the inside, users can get up to a Core i7-2675QM CPU clocked at 2.2GHz, up to 8GB of RAM, Radeon HD 6750M graphics and a 750GB HDD spinning at 7,200RPM. On all but the base model, there’s an additional 8GB of flash memory mounted on the motherboard that helps shave boot times down to mere seconds using Sammy’s FastStart technology. A lithium polymer battery powers everything, and Samsung claims the 80Wh cell will maintain 80 percent of its original capacity for up to 1,500 charges. Prices start at $1,000, and run all the way up to $1,300 for all the fixins’. Sound good? Head on past the break for some hands-on impressions.

Continue reading Samsung unveils Series 7 laptops, we go hands-on

Samsung unveils Series 7 laptops, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Aug 2011 22:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When Acer unveiled its first Timeline laptops in 2009, these slim numbers felt like a revelation. Imagine: thin notebooks rated to last hours and hours on a charge and priced well under a grand! Fast-forward two years and that proposition seems a bit quaint, doesn’t it? Pretty much every PC maker has been working on slimming down their wares and extending battery life with — shall we say? — mixed results. Still, Acer has kept on keeping, and its latest TimelineX laptops carry the torch as thin, long-lasting and inexpensive. As always, the company released Timelines in assorted screen sizes, ranging from 13.3 to 15.6 inches. We took a look at the 15-incher, the $800 AS5830, which promises to last up to nine hours unplugged and also packs a discrete graphics card – a feature many of its competitors have been skipping. But are impressive battery life and a relatively trim physique enough to make this notebook stand out in a crowded field of inexpensive, good-enough laptops? Let’s see.

Continue reading Acer TimelineX AS5830TG-6402 review

Acer TimelineX AS5830TG-6402 review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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