Hasta La Gadget!

G2 Microsystems has just announced a rather sweet near-range technology that will enable products like headphones, speakers, etc. to connect directly to Intel My WiFi-enabled laptops sans fuss. The company’s device is hailed as a “fully calibrated WiFi networking module” that can speak directly to an Intel My WiFi, Centrino 2-based computer. Ideally, users will eventually be able to quickly print and sync between digiframes and photo archives, and the ultra-low power draw should keep batteries happy. Now, the real question: anyone stepping up to spearhead adoption?

Filed under: CES, Peripherals, Wireless

G2 Microsystems demoes Intel My WiFi Personal Area Network originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why does Intel have to be so darn stubborn? First it insists on only bundling the Atom processor with their own graphics (simultaneously breaking poor NVIDIA’s heart), and then there’s whole thing where it restricts the CPU to netbooks under 10.2-inches. But like all good things, this too might someday come to an end. According to Gadget Mix, HP is currently negotiating with the chipmaker with the intent of using the processor in notebooks 13-inches and larger. This isn’t without precedent — the Dell Mini 12 is Atom powered, after all, and there is certainly a market for folks who only need a notebook for web browsing and productivity apps — but we’ll see if people are willing to sacrifice performance without gaining portability.

Filed under: Laptops

Intel Atom coming to larger notebooks? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oh sure, we’ve seen just how far Intel’s most potent Core i7 chip can be pushed under the most extreme conditions, but honestly, how’s that helping you? In short, it’s not. To that end, HotHardware has whipped up a useful, easy-to-digest guide on overclocking the Core i7 920, complete with benchmarks, recommendations and tips for dealing with excess heat without hooking up a liquid nitrogen tank. Interested to see how to crank a stock 920 to a level that outpaces the pricey 3.2GHz Core i7 Extreme Edition? The read link, friends — hit it.

Filed under: Desktops

Overclocking guide shows what Intel’s Core i7 is / isn’t capable of originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 01:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After playing with a prototype of Intel’s Convertible Classmate, it more or less confirmed what I had suspected: there are some neat ideas at play, but there’s a reason why it’s aimed at schools.

From the outset, Intel’s goal with the Classmate line was to create a cheap, durable laptop that could be useful in a classroom. As such, Intel gave the Classmate tablet an 8.9-inch touchpanel, 1.6 GHz Atom processor, 802.11n wi-fi, 1 GB RAM, a 60 GB HDD (or up to 8 GB of flash storage), a days worth of battery life and a weight under three pounds.

The computer itself is on par with most other netbooks in terms of build quality. Nothing feels super flimsy, the 1024×600 resolution screen is sharp, and when using it as a tablet, it sits comfortably in the hand. The keyboard and trackpad are pretty decent sized, going toe to toe with the HP Mini or the MSI Wind in that regard. And it even has a webcam that can rotate to either face the user or look out in the other direction.

Messing around with some of the apps, it’s clear Intel did more than slap a touchscreen on a XP laptop and call it a tablet—they went one step further, adding the necessary hardware and software enhancements to make it as simple to use as possible.

For example, the Convertible Classmate has a quick launch panel that’s been optimized for use with the touchscreen, with big icons, and other touch friendly elements. And when the Classmate is folded into tablet mode, there’s a dedicated button that brings up the quick launch screen.

And not only will they be making the hardware as capable as possible for the educational arena, but they’ll be working with developers and OEM’s directly to make sure everything is optimized for the Classmate. One specific company they’re working with is Lego, whose Mindstorms kits are popular with educators.

Intel also put some thought into how kids would be using the Convertible Classmate specifically, and calibrated the touchscreen so that it wouldn’t recognize palm contact when kids are writing with the stylus. They found that most kids write with the palm down on the table, and if they didn’t adjust for that with the tablet, it would have caused many input problems.

But that also involved a trade off. Because they didn’t want to increase the price and have to use a capacitive/multitouch panel to enable palm detection, they had to lower the sensitivity of the resistive touchscreen in addition to using software fixes. As a result, the screen requires a bit of a heavier press to get it to recognize your input, which from what I could tell, doesn’t make it the most finger friendly.

Touchscreen issues aside, the presumable lack of consumer-centric touch app support, missing features like bluetooth and a pretty generic design will likely keep it entrenched in its educational niche. But considering that’s exactly what they’re gunning for, you can’t exactly call that a bad thing. [Classmate on Giz]