Hasta La Gadget!

We’re pretty sure we’ve heard Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci say PC industry consolidation resulting in fewer players and lower component prices would be a good thing before, but he dressed it with a side of smackdown today: speaking to the New York Times, he said that Toshiba and Sony’s PC businesses would the first targets, since “the Japanese for sure are the weakest today.” Ouch. It’s especially harsh since Sony just broke down and released its first netbook this morning after claiming that the low-cost machines were a downward spiral, but that wasn’t enough blood for Gianfranco: he also said that ASUS and Lenovo need to “think long and hard” about remaining independent companies. Yow — sounds like someone’s planning to do a little shopping, don’t you think?

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

CE-Oh no he didn’t! Part LXI: Acer chief says Japanese PC companies “the weakest today” originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Yes, that’s the one and only MJ to open the podcast — this one was recorded just shortly after the Engadget crew had learned the news. Join Josh, Paul, Nilay and special guest Chris Ziegler as they deny the Nokia N97, get angry at the HTC Hero, bargain with Windows 7, depress themselves over the fate of the netbook, and finally learn to accept the Zune HD’s Tegra processor. We won’t lie — Engadget Podcast 152 was a struggle, but in the end we all learned a little something about life, love, and forgiveness.

Update: Any further tasteless MJ jokes will be met with a swift ban. Be nice!

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller
Guest: Chris Ziegler
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Song: Billie Jean

Hear the podcast

00:02:26 – Nokia N97 review: a tale of two bloggers
00:26:28 – HTC Hero running Android and Sense UI leaks from HTC’s own website (updated, official, video)
00:30:28 – HTC Hero hands-on: Flash, keyboard and ruminations (updated!)
00:48:09 – Windows 7 official pricing announced, limited pre-orders start tomorrow
01:03:40 – HP Mini 5101 cleans up nice, shows the serious side of netbooks
01:05:15 – HP ProBook 4310s hands-on
01:10:25 – Entelligence: Netbooks, R.I.P.
01:22:50 – Zune HD has a Tegra processor, confirms official Zune podcast

Subscribe to the podcast

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).
[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.
[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace

Download the podcast

LISTEN (MP3)
LISTEN (AAC)
LISTEN (OGG)

Contact the podcast

1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.

Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget

Filed under: Podcasts

Engadget Podcast 152 – 06.26.2009: The Day the Music Died 2 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

HP’s just kicked out a slew of updates to its laptop lines, and thankfully the biggest news is that they’ve gotten cheaper. The HP dv2z brings the low end of the 12.1-inch AMD Neo ultraportable down to $599, while the larger Intel-based dv3t is now $649. The dv6 gets two new editions, including the pictured $949 dv6z Artist Edition 2 preloaded with a bunch of Corel art software and a $649 dv6t base model that thankfully loses the awful lid artwork. Seriously, we know HP had to use the design after it won the HP / MTV Notebook Design Contest, but we just don’t think too many people want to rock the”surfing peacock” look. There are also a bunch of new eco-friendly printers if you’re into that sort of thing — hit the read link for the lowdown.

Filed under: Laptops

HP introduces cheaper dv2, dv3, and dv6 laptops, fantastically ugly dv6 Artist Edition originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sure, the hot buzz right now is centered on Verizon and Apple teaming up to release a unicorn-built iPhone tablet that runs on marshmallows and cuddles, but Boy Genius Report says that Big Red’s actually-real partnership with HP is about to bear fruit — the long-rumored subsidized Mini 1000 is apparently due to launch on May 17th. The specific model will be the Mini 1151NR, and if that leaked product-comparison sheet we saw earlier holds water, we’re looking at a pretty standard Atom / XP configuration with a 3G modem built in. Pricing hasn’t been locked down, but according to BGR, it’ll be just as ridiculous as every other subsidized netbook: $299 after rebate with a mandatory two-year data contract. That’s more or less $200 off standard MSRP, a discount we’re sure you’ll pay back twice over the course of the contract. Seriously, we’d much rather fiddle with a USB stick that we can use on multiple machines than spend around a grand on data fees just for a netbook — what about you?

Filed under: Laptops

Verizon’s HP Mini 1000 due to launch May 17th? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 May 2009 21:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hey, look at that — Verizon employee training materials that prominently feature the HP Mini 1000. That’s exactly what we predicted after we heard the two companies were talking about offering subsidized 3G laptops last month, and while we won’t congratulate ourselves too much, well, we told you so. Sadly, there’s no pricing on these slides, but we’ll go out on a limb and say it won’t blow minds when it’s finally released. Hit the read link to check out the rest.

Filed under: Laptops

Verizon’s subsidized HP Mini 1000 leaks out originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments