Hasta La Gadget!

Go to Lenovo’s online store looking for an X Series laptop to call your own and you’ll be greeted by the familiar X201. But go to Lenovo’s spec sheet repository and you’ll find a lush PDF file detailing a new ThinkPad X220 model that seems set to become available very shortly indeed. Sized at a somewhat unconventional 12.5 inches, this fresh contender will feature a new “buttonless” touchpad — though it retains the mouse keys in support of the TrackPoint navigator — while offering the sweet nectar of a 1366 x 768 IPS display, up to a 2.7GHz Core i7-2620M CPU, 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and a choice of Intel SSDs ranging up to 160GB. The 9-cell battery is rated to last you 15 hours and there’s an additional external battery pack that will keep you tether-free for 23 hours. Click past the break for the full specs.

[Thanks, Chris]

Update: Hello! The X220 Tablet is listed on Lenovo’s site as well. Thanks, Joe!

Continue reading Lenovo posts ThinkPad X220 specs online, includes IPS display, SSD, and 23-hour battery options

Lenovo posts ThinkPad X220 specs online, includes IPS display, SSD, and 23-hour battery options originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 04:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re aware, the “exclusive” green and orange neon color of Sony’s VAIO CB and CA laptops can make your eyes bleed, but Sony’s pretty excited about the aesthetic and the way it radiates light around the edges of the laptop. Oh, and don’t forget how the touchpad “emits a beautiful glow.” It’s true, the rigs do have an interesting glow stick-like look to them — at least, we thought so when we saw them last month — however, we found their innards and features to be more enlightening. Starting at $800, the 14-inch CA10 and 15.5-inch CB10 will both be available with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i5 processors, AMD Radeon HD 6630 graphics, and Blu-ray drives. Select models will also pack Intel’s WiDi 2.0, which lets you stream 1080p video to your TV. And remember Sony’s Remote Keyboard, which lets you navigate your PS3 or Bravia TV with the laptop? Yep, the CA and CB both have that functionality baked in as well. What’s that? You’d be interested if they didn’t blind you? What if we also told you they will come in black and white? We thought that might change your mind, and according to the official press release below there will indeed be alternative color versions. You’ll be able to pre-order them both on March 13th, but until then you can always see if the neon grows on you with the photos below.

Continue reading Sony VAIO CA and CB pack the latest Core i5 power for those who can look past the neon

Sony VAIO CA and CB pack the latest Core i5 power for those who can look past the neon originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Phishers are getting so good and so numerous that even the most technically adept of online bankers should think twice before typing in that password. Even if it’s a legit site, databases can be infiltrated and passwords can be cracked. Time for something more, then. Intel is working on it, teaming up with Symantec and Vasco on what’s being broadly termed Identity Protection Technology, or IPT. This tech enables a computer to, in hardware, generate a one-time password (OTP) that a compatible site could accept. That computer would have been earlier paired with the site to ensure that only authorized machines sign on. It’s similar to the random generating key fobs you might need to sign on to VPN, but built in to Intel’s Core i3, i5, and i7 processors. Of course, that won’t help if you e-mail your credit card number to a supposed friend who’s supposedly stranded in some supposedly far away land, but it’s progress.

Intel working with Symantec and Vasco for IPT, hardware-based security measures originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 04:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A problem requiring a “silicon fix” is bad news in the chipset business, and sadly that’s what Intel is announcing. Its new Intel 6 Series chipset, Cougar Point, has been found to have a flaw, something to do with the SATA controller. Intel is indicating that the ports can “degrade over time,” leading to poor i/o performance down the road. All shipments have been stopped and a fix has been implemented for new deliveries, but it sounds like recalls will be starting soon for those with this ticking time bomb silicon within. It isn’t a critical problem right now, though, so if you own a Sandy Bridge Core i5 or Core i7 system keep computing with confidence while looking for a recall notice, but it is bad news for Intel’s bottom line: the company is advising a $300 million hit to revenue.

Update: Jimmy sent us a chat log with an Intel customer service representative indicating that this recall only affects “some desktop boards based on Intel P67 chipset,” that the H67 chipset boards appear to not be affected, but that the company doesn’t have a comprehensive list yet. We’ve certainly seen cases where CSRs don’t have all the info in this sort of situation, but still we’d advise waiting a bit before tearing your new mobo out and bringing it back to the store.

[Thanks, Matt]

Continue reading Intel finds Sandy Bridge chipset design flaw, shipments stopped and recalls beginning

Intel finds Sandy Bridge chipset design flaw, shipments stopped and recalls beginning originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looks like Sony is preparing to freshen up the top end of its laptop range with a pair of new VAIO series, the SA and SB. An Intel Core i7-2620M is found populating a listing for an SA1X9E/XI model, alongside 4GB of DDR3 RAM, 128GB of SSD storage, AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics, and a 1600 x 900 resolution squeezed into a 13.3-inch screen. All that for a measly £1,571 (nearly $2,500). What’s intriguing about that 2.7GHz dual-core CPU is that Intel lists a February 20th launch date for it, potentially giving us a hint as to when Sony will put the trigger with its refresh. The VAIO SB laptops are set to be the tamer offering, being built around the latest Core i5 chips, though we’ve yet to know for certain what any of these new machines will actually look like. So, for your speculative pleasure, we’ve embedded a video after the break with some prototypes spotted at CES that could end up slapped with the SA / SB labels.

Continue reading Sony VAIO SA and SB show up at European e-tailers with 13-inch screens, Core i5 / i7 CPUs, SSD options

Sony VAIO SA and SB show up at European e-tailers with 13-inch screens, Core i5 / i7 CPUs, SSD options originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 01:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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