HP Pre 3 now available for purchase on official European store

Pop quiz: what’s the best way to launch a phone that’s left us waiting with anticipation for seven months? HP’s answer is to quietly release it on its European store without any pomp or circumstance. We have no idea why the company chose to start selling the Pre 3, its new flagship phone, without any media buzz; the important thing here, however, is that the SIM-free device is now available for purchase on the Palm Eurostore. The phone can be all yours for £299 — the equivalent of $490 in the US — which is a respectable price point for a no-commitment smartphone of its caliber. So far we’ve only seen the phone get pushed out across the pond; European retailers Clove and Box are following HP’s lead by offering the Pre 3 as well, just in case the official store runs out of stock. It’s probably not too likely, given the company’s lack of marketing efforts on this particular launch, but we could always be surprised. After all, we’ve been waiting for seven months.

Update: PreCentral just received an official statement from HP confirming that the Pre 3 is indeed launching in Europe, and more information will be available for the US soon. Here’s the full quote:

HP is excited to begin its regional rollout of Pre3, the only phone today that offers users a slide-out keyboard coupled with a large touchscreen and the fastest speed (1.4GHz processor – the fastest on the market). We expect to share additional information for U.S. customers soon.

So that’s it — a four-line announcement to launch the Pre 3. But hey, it’s at least something.

HP Pre 3 now available for purchase on official European store originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 02:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Campus 2 will accommodate 13,000 employees, have its own power plant

Steve Jobs went in front of the of the Cupertino city council back in June with a proposal that would allow Apple to expand its campus by building a new one that would hold 12,000 employees. The 150 acres of land previously belonged to Hewlett-Packard, which Apple bought from the company when it started to […]

HP’s Pre 3 goes up for pre-order in Germany, shipping in ‘1 bis 2 Wochen’

Remember the Pre 3? The portrait slider HP promised it’d be hawking to webOS fans by the end of summer? Well it might barely make its launch window, but only if you live in the land of the autobahn. Currently live on the Deutsches wing of HP’s online store is a pre-order page for the elusive smartphone which’ll apparently ship in “one to two weeks.” The localized variant is unlocked and comes with a QWERTZ (yes, Z) keyboard instead of the QWERTY we’re used to. And, at 349€ (or around $500), the handset is considerably cheaper than when when we first spied it on Amazon.de in May. Taking the plunge? Feel free to send one our way, preferably with bratwurst and rösti in tow, danke.

[Thanks, Andreas]

HP’s Pre 3 goes up for pre-order in Germany, shipping in ‘1 bis 2 Wochen’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 03:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: tablets

Welcome to Engadget’s Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we’re here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we’re leaning back with our tablets — and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back — at the end of the month we’ll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides — and hit up the hub page right here!


There are certain back to school purchases we could never talk you out of. A laptop? Vital. A smartphone? Highly recommended. A printer? Necessary — if you’re the kind of person who finishes papers minutes with minutes to spare, leaving no time to swing by the computer lab on the way to class. But a tablet? We’ll be honest: we can’t think of a good reason why you need one, but we can more than sympathize if you’re dead-set. We’ve picked a few noteworthy choices for each budget, though if you’re really lucky you’ll win one of 15 Samsung Galaxy Tabs and won’t have to pay a dime. Simply leave a comment below to be entered to win, and check out our giveaway page for more details. So wipe off the glasses, grab your clicker, and get ready to jump past the break for this year’s tablet picks for back to school.

Continue reading Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: tablets

Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Orange UK’s official HP Pre 3 support page goes live, still not available to purchase

If you haven’t been paying close enough attention to the matter, you’d think the HP Pre 3 had already been released. After all, it’s been myriad months since it was originally announced and the Veer and TouchPad were both pushed out to store shelves (arguably a little too early). Sadly, it’s still sitting on deck, waiting to try its luck when the time is right. Orange’s UK branch, however, is wasting no time making sure it’s ready for the mystery launch date, as the Pre 3’s support page is live on the carrier’s site and awaiting your perusing eyes. The listed specs confirm that the smartphone’s running with a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU (as opposed to its originally-announced 1.4GHz) and using webOS 2.2, as well as 512MB of RAM and a 3.6-inch 800 x 480 WVGA resolution display. Though we’re still waiting on word of the phone’s release from HP or Orange, sightings of a finalized page on the carrier’s site are awfully hard to ignore. Given the length of time it’s taken to hit the market, however, will it even feel fresh once daylight hits it for the first time?

Orange UK’s official HP Pre 3 support page goes live, still not available to purchase originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sun, 14 Aug 2011 08:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Slim new HP TouchSmart AIO highlighted in leaked promo video

A tipster sent in what looks to be a video of a forthcoming HP all-in-one. The TouchSmart 520 is a slim device, propped up by two “sweeping support arms,” which allow the PC to be adjusted, much like in past models. Not a lot of specs to go on at this point, though the system does sport a “high definition display” and souped up audio courtesy of Beats. Enjoy the rendered slickness in the video after the break.

Continue reading Slim new HP TouchSmart AIO highlighted in leaked promo video

Slim new HP TouchSmart AIO highlighted in leaked promo video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Buys Beats: All Your Bass Are Belong To Them

HTC just shouted to the world that it has made a massive investment in Beats By Dre to the tune of $300M. Here’s what it means for everyone involved—especially you. More »

HP TouchPad 4G hits FCC on the way to AT&T

There’s a lot to be said for timing. Earlier today, HP quietly rolled a permanent price drop on the first generation TouchPad, and now it seems that the 4G version of the webOS slate has paid a visit to the folks at the FCC. The filing has “TouchPad” written all over it — literally — plus a few labels sporting “HSPA+ AT&T.”

Continue reading HP TouchPad 4G hits FCC on the way to AT&T

HP TouchPad 4G hits FCC on the way to AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP TouchPad price drop goes permanent (update: confirmed)

Pricing has long been one of our biggest concerns with HP’s webOS-tastic TouchPad. So, when the company offered up a $100 discount on the slate, things certainly seemed headed in the right direction. The drop was only tease, sadly, and the price went right back to normal levels two days later. Apparently consumers liked the price cut as well, and HP, in turn, liked that, moving the company to implement the reduction on a more permanent basis. This is according to a reported internal memo from the company highlighting the decision to permanently price the 16GB and 32GB WiFi versions of the tablet at $399 and $499 “effective immediately.”

Update: We just heard back from an HP representative, who confirmed the pricing is indeed legit and in fact is in effect on HP’s site.

[Thanks all]

HP TouchPad price drop goes permanent (update: confirmed) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA, Fusion-io and HP drive a dozen 1080p streams on four displays at SIGGRAPH (video)

A dozen uncompressed 1080p video feeds, simultaneously running off a single workstation. Yep, you’re looking at it. NVIDIA’s showcase piece here at SIGGRAPH was undoubtedly this wall — a monster that trumps even Intel’s CES wall in terms of underlying horsepower. A relatively stock HP Z800 workstation was loaded with the NVIDIA QuadroPlex 7000 Visual Computing System (that’s four GPUs, for those counting) in order to push four HD panels. A pair of Fusion-io’s ioDrive Duos were pushing a total of three gigabytes per second, enabling all 12 of the feeds to cycle through with nary a hint of lag. We’re still a few years out from this being affordable enough for the common Earthling, but who says you need to wait that long to get a taste? Vid’s after the break, hombre.

Continue reading NVIDIA, Fusion-io and HP drive a dozen 1080p streams on four displays at SIGGRAPH (video)

NVIDIA, Fusion-io and HP drive a dozen 1080p streams on four displays at SIGGRAPH (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 17:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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