Hasta La Gadget!

This week SlashGear is having a peek at the Acer Aspire R7 notebook – that rather unique piece of machinery you saw advertised last month aside teasers for the newest Star Trek movie. It’s no surprise that this device was chosen to take on that role as its mysterious – and here we find rather enticing – abilities allow it to look like a rather familiar starship. With Acer’s “Ezel” hinge, the Aspire R7 can take on several shapes – including that of the Kirk-captained Enterprise.

Up in front the user will be working with a 15-inch display at 1080p resolution, this run by an 3rd generation Intel Ivy Bridge processor – we’ve got i5 but you’ll have the option of i7 as well, depending on when you check the device out. Inside is Windows 8 right out of the box, and the display has 10-finger touch sensitivity.

Also inside you’ll find 6GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive, not to mention a 24GB solid state drive as well. The whole machine weighs in at approximately 5.5 pounds, which is right there on the edge of “this is kind of heavy” and “oh this isn’t as heavy as it looks”.

Under the machine you’ll notice some rather sizable bumpers. These pieces of rubbery material hold the notebook hybrid in place while you’re swiveling your display around and offer a bit of a bump so your speakers can blast out the bottom and the sides. You’re also working with some Dolby technology there for sound – and we’re already sure it’s loud.

As it was with the Star Trek Into Darkness film, so too was this machine available starting on the 17th of May. It’ll run a prospective owner $999 USD, and we’ll be letting you know if it’s all worth it soon – stay tuned for SlashGear’s full review!

Acer Aspire R7 Hands-on: Spock’s Choice is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Whispers of a full MacBook refresh at Apple’s WWDC 2013 this June look increasingly possible, with stocks of the 13-inch MacBook Air already tightening ahead of what’s believed to be an Intel Haswell-based upgrade. Apple was tipped to be updating its notebook line-up to Intel’s 4th-gen Core processors by analysts back in April, and now stock checks across US retailers would seemingly confirm that the last of the existing models are being mopped up.

The 13-inch Air is the first to go, it seems; according to AppleInsider‘s inventory checks, the 256GB version of the ultraportable – with Intel’s 1.8GHz processor – is showing extended shipping times in the region of 1-2 months at all the popular resellers bar Best Buy. Though the most expensive off-the-shelf model in the Air range, at $1,399, the 256GB version is a popular one give the absence of user-upgradable storage in the Air.

Beyond Haswell processors, there’s controversy over what exactly Apple will do to the MacBook range in terms of updates. One much-discussed possibility is a Retina display, bringing the Air into line with the top-end MacBook Pro notebooks, by introducing a high-resolution screen for smoother graphics.

Industry predictions about Retina technology have been mixed, primarily because of the cost and availability of the panels themselves. Some have argued that using such displays would make the Air range simply too expensive to also serve as Apple’s entry-level notebooks, or indeed that it would be unable to meet likely demand since yields of high-res screens are still tighter than the more typical panels.

That’s something even analysts who predict Retina will be on the table have conceded, with suggestions that – while WWDC will see the new versions announced – actual supplies won’t be available until after the developer event. There could also be a split in the line, with “normal” resolution models kept around to cater for the budget end of the market.

Of course, WWDC is also expected to see new details on the next version of Mac OS, OS X 10.9, shared. That updated platform is believed to further narrow the gap between desktop and mobile functionality, borrowing features and UI elements from iOS on the iPad.

MacBook Air stock shortage adds weight to WWDC range-refresh rumors is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

What do you think of hybrids? Most of the time, hybrids deliver the best of both worlds. Some of the most famous fictional hybrids would include Blade the vampire hunter, where he has all the strengths of a vampire with little of their weaknesses, as they call him the Daywalker. Having said that, if you were a piece of consumer electronics – most notably a tablet, would you wish you were a notebook instead, and vice versa? Why not enjoy the best of both worlds with what HP has managed to come up in the form of the HP Split x2, which so happens to be a two-in-one detachable notebook that merges the power as well as portability of a tablet and notebook, running on Windows 8 as the operating system of choice.

With a powerful 3rd generation Intel Core processor running underneath the hood, you can be sure that the HP Split x2 will not come gimped right from the get go. With the HP Split x2, you are more or less assured of a high-performance ultraportable notebook that is suitable for just about any kind of intensive task, and as and when the situation calls for it, it also doubles up as a 13-inch tablet that delivers unparalleled entertainment capability – especially when you need to unwind after a particularly difficult day at work by playing your favorite games and watching some interesting cat videos, amongst others.

The HP Split x2 will be able to deliver regardless of whether you use it as a high-performance notebook or a tablet, thanks to its vibrant 13.3-inch diagonal HD touchscreen display that makes viewing and sharing content a snap, while playing games is a whole lot more enjoyable due to the increased viewing real estate. Your ears, too, will be able to appreciate the inclusion of HP Connected Music and Beats Audio that is touted to offer the best-sounding, richest audio experience on a computer.

The HP Split x2 is tipped to arrive Stateside this August from $799.99 onwards.

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[ HP Split x2 hybrid notebook copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Sony has revealed its latest entry-level VAIO notebooks, the VAIO Fit series, with a choice of 14- and 15.6-inch displays, 3rd-gen Intel Core processors, and the option of dedicated NVIDIA graphics. Kicking off from $649 for the VAIO Fit 14 and $699 for the VAIO Fit 15 – which have 1600 x 900 and 1920 x 1080 displays, respectively – the new Fit range also throw in features like NFC for easier transfer of content between notebooks and Xperia smartphones.

For instance, tap your phone or tablet against your notebook, and you can push a website address from your laptop, or vice-versa, Sony suggests. The NFC can also be used as a way to quickly pair two devices via WiFi or Bluetooth, much as Sony has already done with its NFC-enabled smart TV remote controls.

Meanwhile, there’s aluminum detailing on the Fit 14/15, an optional capacitive touchscreen, and Exmor R webcams. The Fit E-series models get plastic casings, with the Fit 14E and 15E having “big box” speakers, Sony says, while the 15E also gets a subwoofer.

The Fit 15/15E also accommodates a separate numeric keypad, though all the models have backlit ‘boards. NVIDIA GeForce graphics with up to 2GB of dedicated memory are optional, and there’s a choice of regular HDD, hybrid hard-drive, or SSD options. DVD and Blu-ray are also on offer.

Sony says the VAIO Fit 14 and 15 will hit shelves in mid-May, priced from $649 for the Fit 14 and $699 for the Fit 15, each available in black, pink, or silver. The Fit E 14E and Fit 15E will be offered in black, pink, or white, priced from around $549 and $579 respectively.

Sony VAIO Fit notebooks target back-to-school sharers with NFC is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week the folks at HP have revealed the HP ProBook 400 Series notebook PC line, this collection up to 36% thinner than HP’s previous generation machines. While the ProBook 400 series brings on display sizes from 13.3 inches all the way up to 17.3 inches, they’ve all got Meteorite Grey paint jobs with accents in real aluminum for what HP explains will be a combination that will “keep the system looking good longer”. HP’s push for the SMB build will be bringing five new notebooks to the small business world, each of them available starting this month.

While each of the units being presented in the HP ProBook 400 notebook PC series is a significant amount thinner than its predecessor, the line also brings up to 18% lighter weight points as well. Like HP is want to do with their notebook lineup across the board, the company is pushing a “115,000 hours of reliability testing” point here with the 400 series. They’ve also suggested that this line has gone through “extensive platform qualification” as well.

The HP ProBook 430 G1 will be released alongside the HP ProBook 440 G0 while the HP ProBook 445 G1 will be offered along side the ProBook 455 G1 and the ProBook 470 G0 as well, all of them starting to hit shelves this month starting at $499 USD. You’ll be able to have a peek at this lineup this month right alongside the HP 200 Series Notebook as well, this lineup made for small businesses from start to finish.

With the HP 200 Series Notebook, HP has created a business machine made for content creation and consumption in a rather stock-ready sense. Both the HP ProBook 400 notebook PC line and the HP 200 Series Notebook line work with HP 3D DriveGuard for hardware protection of your data – that’s for real bumps and sudden movements making with the otherwise deadly crashes on your machine.

NOTE: While it’s mentioned here that the HP 200 Series Notebook will be aiming to take on the rising Chromebook market, it will not be working with Google’s Chrome operating system. Instead users will be working with Microsoft’s Windows OS.

The HP 200 Series Notebook line works with a durable casing that comes in any color just so long as it’s black, and you’ll have the choice of picking this machine up in two iterations. There’s the HP 250 Notebook and the HP 255 Notebook, the line starting at $249 USD, looking ready to take on the inexpensive Chromebook segment head-on.

HP ProBook 400 and 200 Series aim for SMB market on the thin side is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.