Hasta La Gadget!

Sure, you’re familiar with Lamborghini: the famed Diablo, the monumental Murcielago, and of course the never-ending line of ASUS products. But, are you familiar with Tonino Lamborghini? He’s the son of the legendary Ferruccio, and has gone on to make something of a name for himself with a line of clothing and, apparently, hideously ugly footwear. Now he’s getting in on the gadget thing too, licensing his own name to be applique’d onto the back of this otherwise pedestrian 13.4-inch CULV laptop with up to 500GB of storage, a four cell battery, and Windows 7. In other words, it’s even less exciting than the entries found in the ASUS lineup — but still rather more attractive than those shoes.

Tonino Lamborghini’s CULV laptop shows that even sons of great men enjoy licensing deals originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hoping to get your hot little hands on those brushed metal keys and gorgeous LED touchpad? You’re in luck, as the 18.4-inch Acer Aspire 8943G (aka Ethos) has finally arrived stateside. $1,549 buys you a 1.6GHz Core i7-720QM and 4GB of RAM, plus a 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850 and Blu-ray drive to power that 1080p LED-backlit screen.

If you’d rather not lug around a 10.1 pound desktop replacement, though, or if the 8943G’s a little too rich for your blood, Acer’s got some other machines that might better match your style. The Acer Aspire AS7745 and AS5745 — incremental updates to these puppies — bring home Core i5 and Core i7 processors, with the $1,399 17.3-inch AS7745G boasting Radeon HD 5650 graphics and Blu-ray while the $899 AS5745PG comes with a 15.6-inch multitouch screen. There’s even a budget lineup starting at $429 next month if you’re looking for a netbook alternative. No matter which you choose, you’ll find details in the press releases after the break… but since you know you really want that 8943G (see the gallery below) you might as well hit Amazon at our more coverage link. You didn’t need that rent money, right?

Continue reading Acer Aspire 8943G hits US retailers, less glorious laptops in tow

Acer Aspire 8943G hits US retailers, less glorious laptops in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ah, the inexorable rise of a once-small Taiwanese company. Acer chairman JT Wang has told investors in a conference call this week that his company is on track to overtake HP in worldwide laptop shipments before the year is through. That assertion is backed up by Gartner’s data, cited in the Wall Street Journal, which indicates that Acer shipped 9.49 million mobile computers in the first quarter of 2010, just ahead of HP’s 9.47 million. Positive vibes are also being felt on the desktop front, where Acer aims to shift 10 million units this year, while a decent $15 million is being invested into “developing a a smartphone platform based on Google Inc.’s Android.” We’ll be curious to see whether this thrifty strategy pays off against HP’s ebullient $1.2 billion acquisition of Palm, but one thing’s for sure: PC vendors are hungry for some of that sweet smartphone pie.

Acer expects to overtake HP as world’s biggest laptop vendor by year’s end originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Jun 2010 08:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, this is certainly something that makes sense for laptops. Taking a page from the MiFi and smartphones like the Palm Pre, select Sony VAIO Z and Y series laptops will soon be available with a Share My Connect (SMC) feature, which — you guessed it — turns the machines into WiFi hotspots. In the U.S. the ultraportables will be available with Verizon mobile broadband, and big red’s signal can be shared with up to five devices. It’s unclear how much extra this feature will cost you, but at least it makes the dedicated laptop mobile broadband charge a bit more digestible given the fact that you can share it with other gadgets. Obviously, Windows and Mac software has enabled this sort of thing for awhile, but Sony’s SMC clearly makes it easy for the end user to set it all up. In other news, the Sony Y series has also been adorned in the colors of the rainbow and will feature Intel’s newest Core i3 and i5 ULV processors. No updates to the VAIO Z at this point, but that could be because it’s pretty close to perfect. That’s all we’ve got folks, though you can always peruse the press release after the break.

Continue reading Sony VAIO Y and Z Series morph into MiFis with Share My Connection

Sony VAIO Y and Z Series morph into MiFis with Share My Connection originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aside from spilling a hot cup of coffee on your laptop keyboard, there’s nothing worse than that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when you realize that your laptop or your smartphone is gone. Whether you accidentally left your briefcase in a cab, or your smartphone is stolen while you’re on the subway, the end result is the same: You just want your mobile device back, and quickly.

Many owners are never reunited with their mobile devices, but here may be some hope. According to ActiveTrak, as many as 95 percent of devices running their proprietary GadgetTrak software are actually recovered. That’s encouraging news for mobile technology buffs, as both the financial investment in and emotional attachment to those devices can be substantial.