Hasta La Gadget!

The original G50V reared its somewhat unsightly head way back in June of last year, but the torture-testing crew over at HotHardware managed to get its paws around the slightly refined G50Vt. The 7.5 pound machine (dubbed a partial boat anchor, for the record) sat through a nice video recording session, and afterwards, it smiled real pretty while it was benchmarked and given a critique. For just $949, it actually fared pretty well under medium-to-serious gaming pressures, and it proved capable enough to warrant a recommendation for anyone scouting a “powerful desktop replacement or semi-portable laptop.” For a closer look, head on past the break for the video and down to the read link for everything else.

Continue reading Video: ASUS G50Vt gaming laptop gets benchmarked, reviewed

Filed under: Laptops

Video: ASUS G50Vt gaming laptop gets benchmarked, reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Generally speaking, Kohjinsha is better known for its dabbling in the UMPC / convertible tablet arenas than netbooks, but there’s nothing like a retina-searing lime green shell to bring attention to your latest. Reportedly, the outfit has teamed up with famed toy maker Bandai in order to create a Gachapin and Mukku netbook aimed at kids with no sense of style and a simple desire to smile at all times during the day. As for specs, everything’s pretty much par for the course, with a 1.6GHz Atom N270 CPU, 160GB HDD, 8.9-inch display (1,024 x 600 resolution), WiFi, a 3-in-1 card reader, a 1.3 megapixel webcam and 1GB of RAM. We must say, the inclusion of a 1Seg digital TV tuner is a nice touch, and one we’re sure your TV-loving youngsters will greatly appreciate. The bad news is that this rig is selling for a whopping ¥79,800 ($866), so you can be certain those fuzzy cartoon characters are getting some serious royalties.

[Via PortableMonkey]

Filed under: Laptops

Kohjinsha livens up netbook game with shockingly green Gachapin edition originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As expected, India’s government unveiled the jointly-developed “$10 laptop” today, now priced at $20. Unfortunately dubbed Sakshat, which ironically translates as “before your eyes,” the laptop is slated to ship in six months, with specs in line with what we’ve heard already: 2GB of storage, WiFi, Ethernet and 2 watts of power consumption. In fact, there really isn’t much “unveiling” going on at all, since there’s still no published image of the thing, or information about the screen size, RAM or processor. Some folks are also still skeptical as to whether a laptop can really be produced at such a low cost, since most LCDs alone would put it over budget, but we suppose we’ll find out this summer. The laptop itself won’t be subsidized, but the government will shoulder 25 percent of the cost of broadband for colleges, and there will be free e-learning textbooks available to students online.

Filed under: Laptops

India ‘unveils’ $20 laptop, the Sakshat originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 12:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Move over, $200 netbooks. According to a recent report by The Times Online, India’s government is currently in the process of developing a 500 rupee ($10) laptop.

Set to make its public debut this week, the computer was designed to bridge the massive “digital divide” between the country’s classes. The notebook follows the development of a $2,000 car and a $10 phone.

The development of the super-cheap notebook is being regarded as a response to OLPC’s $200 XO Laptop. According to developers, the current machine actually costs closer to $20, but the price would be halved if the computer were mass-produced.

We’ve had ample discussion on laptops catering to this and that, but what about the hordes of individuals who just need a perfectly capable, perfectly average machine to get work done with? We’ll let Karl spell it out:

“I need a new laptop, mainly for browsing, programming, AutoCad, and a bit of low-stress gaming. I’ve been checking out options from HP and ASUS, but everything just starts to run together after awhile. I’m looking to spend between $500 and $1,000, and it just simply needs to work. Any opinions?”

Oh yes Karl, we’re sure there will be opinions. And after you’ve dropped your own, feel free to send over a question that’s been nagging you to ask at engadget dawt com.

Filed under: Ask Engadget, Laptops

Ask Engadget: Best totally awesome $500 to $1,000 laptop? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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