Hasta La Gadget!

Eurocom has carved out a strange but soft spot in our hearts for its desktop replacement-level laptops — the insistence on overkill hardware leaves even the vaguely ultraportable Monster packing the kind of power reserved for larger-screened (if also much thinner) counterparts. Nowhere is that too-much-is-never-enough attitude truer than in the just-launched, 17.3-inch Scorpius. While supporting up to 32GB of RAM isn’t unique anymore, the Scorpius can optionally carry two of NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 680M graphics chips with the full 4GB of video RAM per piece. That’s more graphics memory than the total system memory of some entire PCs, folks. Eurocom can optionally slot in two of AMD’s Radeon HD 7970M or step down to a single graphics core, and the usual bevy of processor and storage choices culminates in as much as a quad 2.9GHz Core i7 and four drives. The lowest price that will net a fully functioning Scorpius is $1,793, although we’ll admit that it’s very tempting to pick that dual 680M option and come out with a $2,857 bill — not to mention some serious bragging rights with the gamer crowd.

Continue reading Eurocom intros powerhouse Scorpius laptop, touts more video memory than most desktops

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

Eurocom intros powerhouse Scorpius laptop, touts more video memory than most desktops originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Aug 2012 21:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Eurocom  | Email this | Comments

Wondering how the industry fared in the second quarter of 2012? Shipments in the PC sector, which in Canalys’ book includes tablets, were higher than ever, totaling 108,708,780 units globally. iPad sales put Apple in the lead, with more than 21 million devices shipped (this figure also includes desktops and notebooks) in Q2, compared to just over 13 million during the year-ago quarter, representing a massive 59.6-percent year-over-year growth. HP, which led the way in Q1, has fallen to the second-place spot, with nearly 13.6 million shipments during the quarter ending yesterday, followed by Lenovo with about 13.2 million, Acer with nearly 10.7 million and Dell with roughly 9.7 computers sold. Manufacturers like ASUS and Samsung are represented in the substantial “others” category, which totals about 40.6 million devices. There’s no question that the iPad is behind Apple earning the number-1 slot, and with the upcoming Windows 8 launch, those figures could shift drastically the next time around. Click on through to the source link below for the full Canalys breakdown.

Continue reading Canalys: PC and tablet shipments hit new high in Q2 with Apple in the lead, HP next in line

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Tablet PCs

Canalys: PC and tablet shipments hit new high in Q2 with Apple in the lead, HP next in line originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 13:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Canalys  | Email this | Comments

Most tours of Chinese factories at least give workers a heads-up that they’ll be on camera. Not so the exposé that HP inadvertently gave one of its Swedish customers. Reddit user Malplace opened a new laptop to find that a 3-minute webcam video of the factory floor at HP’s contractor, Quanta, was sitting in Windows’ My Documents folder. If you’re looking for scandal from the footage, though, you won’t find it here: Chongqing Manufacturing City’s staff are shown dutifully moving the assembly line along in what looks like fair conditions, if exceptionally repetitive. The instance is most likely just a rare gaffe during testing at a manufacturer that pumps out millions of HP PCs every quarter, so we’ll cut Quanta some slack. It’s still a rare glimpse into a side of technology that’s considered off-limits for much of the buying public.

Continue reading HP laptop comes with webcam standard, peek at Chinese factory as bonus (video)

Filed under: Laptops

HP laptop comes with webcam standard, peek at Chinese factory as bonus (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Jul 2012 03:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  Reddit  | Email this | Comments

HP has been fleshing out its Ultrabook lineup as of late, most recently adding the metal-clad Envy Spectre XT to the mix, but the company is also addressing the lower end of the market with its Sleekbook line, announced back in May. Confusingly, these thin-and-light systems look exactly the same as the new Envy-branded Ultrabooks, except that the Sleekbooks are less expensive — namely because for one reason or another they don’t meet Intel’s Ultrabook guidelines. One such notebook, the Envy Sleekbook 6z, stands apart from the Ultrabook fold with an AMD Trinity APU — a spec that helps keep the starting price nice and low at $600.

That’s not to say that all of HP’s Sleekbooks ditch Intel processors, but given the choice between and AMD- and Intel-based model we quickly chose the former. After all, the 6z is the first Trinity-powered system we’ve had the chance to test, so we were naturally curious to see how it stacks up against recent Ivy Bridge machines — and we imagine you are, too. So without any further ado, let’s get to it.

Continue reading HP Envy Sleekbook 6z review: an inexpensive thin-and-light with AMD innards

HP Envy Sleekbook 6z review: an inexpensive thin-and-light with AMD innards originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

While parent company Acer eyes deeper pockets and higher margins, Packard Bell is soldiering on with its EasyNote range of laptops for thrifty Europeans. Spotted by the friendly folk at Pocket-lint, the EasyNote TE has just reached stores and should scrape under the €400 (£300, $500) mark — thanks partly to its avoidance of the premium Intel processor found in the EasyNote TV. Instead, the TE relies on AMD’s updated E-Series processor (the slower 1.4GHz E1-1200 version, to be precise), which comes with capable Radeon HD 7310 onboard graphics and supports a USB 3.0 port (in addition to twin USB 2.0) and HDMI output. You’ll also find a 15.6-inch 1366 x 768 display, 750GB of storage and a “multi-in-1” card slot — which means the only spec we’re missing is the RAM. Who’ll take a bet on 4GB?

Continue reading Packard Bell burrows affordable niche with EasyNote TE: 400 euros, 15.6 inches, AMD inside

Packard Bell burrows affordable niche with EasyNote TE: 400 euros, 15.6 inches, AMD inside originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jul 2012 07:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Pocket-lint  |   | Email this | Comments