Hasta La Gadget!

First thing’s first: the video beyond the break is certainly not up to our usually stellar standards. That said, the voice recording is clear enough, so you may consider it an audio presentation with the bonus of a shadowy figure making occasional hand gestures in time with what’s being said (lighting also improves as you go along). Arimasa Naitoh is the man behind the ThinkPad line, having joined the product engineering team at IBM during the 1970s and shifting with the ThinkPad brand on to Lenovo in 2005. Currently the VP for Notebook Development and the head of the Yamato Development Labs, Naitoh-san was kind enough to do a presentation in London yesterday, in which he touched on the history of the fabled laptop line and was also not shy about trumpeting the key advantages of the latest T400s flagship model. So click past the break, turn your speakers up, and get educated by one of the true founding fathers of mobile computing as we know it today.

Continue reading Lenovo’s ThinkPad doyen Arimasa Naitoh speaks about life, liberty and the T400s

Lenovo’s ThinkPad doyen Arimasa Naitoh speaks about life, liberty and the T400s originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T is following Verizon’s lead today with the introduction of new prepaid broadband plans targeted directly at netbook and laptop users who find themselves out of WiFi range (and in desperate need of email) every once in a while. The so-called DataConnect Pass plans exactly mirror Verizon’s pricing, which means you can get 75MB as a “day pass” for $15, 250MB as a weekly deal for $30, or a half gig per month for $50. Like Verizon, you’re far better off getting the 5GB postpaid plan if you’re a heavy user here — but if you find yourself needing wireless once in a blue moon, this may very well be the way to go. The packages are available now; follow the break for the full press release.

Continue reading AT&T’s new DataConnect Pass plans serve up data a la carte

AT&T’s new DataConnect Pass plans serve up data a la carte originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Does the world really need another high-end gaming PC shop? Looks as if we’ll soon find out, as Origin has just launched itself into the mix with a pair of new rigs catering to those with specific (and pricey) demands. Poised to take on the likes of Falcon Northwest, this boutique outfit has ushered itself into the sector with the new Genesis desktop and EON18 laptop. The former gets going at $1,699, and if we’re reading this right, Origin allows buyers to select “any chassis on the market, any color and design” and pretty much any other hardware they can dream of. The lappie is an 18.4-inch beast with a 1080p panel, limitless color and design options, twin GeForce GTX 280M GPUs, 8GB of RAM, a trio of HDDs, dual-layer Blu-ray burner and a starting tag of $2,599. So, who’s up for celebrating the real end of the recession?

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Laptops

Origin launches custom gaming rig shop, starts with Genesis and EON18 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell’s slimmest laptop ever still isn’t shipping out to eager consumers, but at least the Win7-packin’ Adamo XPS is now configurable over on the outfit’s website. The base $1,799 configuration includes a 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo SU9400 CPU, a 128GB solid state drive, 13.4-inch WLED panel, 2 megapixel camera, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, GS45 integrated graphics, WiFi and a USB Ethernet adapter. Unfortunately, hardly any of the components are upgradable, but there are a few select upgrades available for those with the cheddar. The scary part? That December 22nd estimated ship date. Better spring for overnight and cross those toes!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Laptops

Dell’s Adamo XPS now on sale starting at $1,799 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boy, do we have a nice slab of data for you to sink your teeth into today. The 3-year service history of more than 30,000 laptops has been pored over, analyzed, and reduced to gorgeous comparative charts, which you know you’re dying to know more about. We should note, however, that the service was provided by SquareTrade, whose primary business is selling extended warranties, but that shouldn’t completely prejudice us against reaching conclusions on the basis of the presented facts. Firstly, netbooks have shown themselves to be on average 20 percent less reliable than entry-level laptops, which in turn are 10 percent more likely to break down than premium machines. In other words, you get what you pay for — shocking, right? The big talking point, though, will inevitably be the manufacturer comparison chart above: here ASUS and Toshiba (rather appropriately) share the winners’ spoils, while HP languishes in the ignominious last place, with more than a quarter of all laptops expected to suffer a hardware fault of some kind within three years. So, does your experience corroborate / refute this info? Keep it gentlemanly, okay?

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Laptops

Laptop reliability survey: ASUS and Toshiba win, HP fails originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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