Hasta La Gadget!

When Dell told us of its plans to revive its tried and true XPS laptop line we were pretty darn excited. With so much brand dilution in the past few years — there’s been the Adamo XPS and the Studio XPS — the products have noticeably strayed from providing the rock solid gaming and multimedia experience they were once known for. There’s a reason XPS stands for Xtreme Performance System, right?! The new line, which includes 14-, 15-, 17-inch systems, has all the ingredients to set it back on track — including Core i5 / i7 processors, NVIDIA GeForce 400M graphics with Optimus, JBL speakers, a backlit keyboard, an HD webcam and a solid aluminum lid – but has Dell succeeded in creating a well-rounded multimedia machine? And does it rival our oh-so-adored HP Envy line? We’ve spent the last week using the more mobile $899 XPS 14, so read on to find out in our full review!

Continue reading Dell XPS 14 review

Dell XPS 14 review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, in Canada at least. Sammy’s QX410 is listed as “backordered” on America’s Best Buy portal, but it’s bound to make its online debut in short order — in fact, we’re hearing that they’re already popping up on retail shelves. For those in need of a refresher, this 14.1-incher ships with a silver lining (and enclosure, too), 2.53GHz Core i5 processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 640GB hard drive, dual-layer DVD burner, SD / SDHC / SDXC card reader, NVIDIA’s 512MB GeForce 310M GPU (Optimus enabled) and an inbuilt webcam. You’ll also find gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, three USB 2.0 ports and a battery that’s supposedly good for up to seven hours. Oh, and did we mention it includes a WiMAX model for tapping into Sprint’s widening 4G network? Best Buy’s US site is estimating a ship date of “one to two weeks,” and you can pre-order now if you’re sold already for $829.99.

[Thanks, B.S.]

Samsung’s 14.1-inch QX410 laptop now on sale at Best Buy originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 17:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If last night’s cameo showing off the official Twitter client for Windows Phone 7 wasn’t enough of a hint, yes, we’ve gotten our hands on LG’s Optimus 7. This 3.8-inch machine will serve as LG’s international WP7 ambassador while Americans get to grips with its QWERTY keyboard-equipped Quantum brother. As you’ll no doubt be aware by now, the internal equipment is standardized around Microsoft’s chassis spec, meaning a WVGA screen resolution, a 1GHz Snapdragon inside, and a 5 megapixel camera shooting 720p video at 24fps. You’d think, therefore, that it’d be a nondescript, middle-of-the-road option, but the Optimus 7 left us extremely impressed after our first hands-on and we’re eager to keep digging for more. Does it put up a righteous fight against the more ambitious HD7 from HTC and Omnia 7 from Samsung? Jump past the break to find out.

This review is primarily of the LG Optimus 7 hardware. Check out our full review of Windows Phone 7 for our thoughts on the OS.

Continue reading LG Optimus 7 review

LG Optimus 7 review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 12:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s baaack. Okay, to be fair Dell’s XPS brand never really went away — there’s been the Studio XPS and Adamo XPS — but as of today, the company’s refocusing its efforts and bringing back the tried and true multimedia laptop brand. Just like we’d heard, the new 14-,15.6-, and 17-inch machines will be available across the board with NVIDIA GeForce 400M GPUs (with Optimus / 3D Play support) and Core i5 / i7 processor options, but there’s more to these than just internal oomph — it’ll be one of the first laptops to ship with a Skype-certified HD webcam and they’re also equipped with high-fidelity JBL speakers. In terms of aesthetics, the machines pull in some styling from the new Inspirons with the wider battery base, however, instead of plastic, the lids are coated in anodized aluminum. (Of course, Dell wouldn’t be Dell without making the models available with Design Studio customization options — aka with crazy pattern options.) So, what’s the deal with pricing? The entry level systems — the $899 XPS 14, $849 XPS 15, and $949 XPS 17 — are all configured with Intel Core i5 460M processors, 1GB NVIDIA 420M graphics, 500GB 7,200rpm hard drives, 4GB of RAM and pack Intel WiDi. That’s not too shabby, but, of course, you’ll be able to configure ’em all with Blu-ray drives, more storage, memory, etc. Our review unit just arrived so expect a full work-up of the 14-inch system soon, but until then we leave you with the images and press release below.

Continue reading Dell XPS resurrected with NVIDIA graphics, HD webcams and JBL audio

Dell XPS resurrected with NVIDIA graphics, HD webcams and JBL audio originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 01:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The low-end Android game just got real, folks, with Sprint’s introduction of the LG Optimus S, a $50 (on-contract, post-rebate) Android slatephone running Froyo on a 3.2-inch HVGA screen, with mobile hotspot functionality for up to five devices, 802.11 b/g WiFi and a 600MHz processor to run the whole shebang. As you’d expect in a world of 1GHz smartphones at the $200 price point, it’s not quite up to spec, but that doesn’t keep it from having a super-solid build, durable and weighty, that belies its low price. It honestly feels much like a Nexus One in the hand, though with nice big physical buttons instead of capacitive function keys, and of course a lower-quality LCD screen. There’s an auto-focusing 3.2 megapixel camera on the back and a fairly responsive capacitive touchscreen up front, and though browsing was a little painful on the low-res screen, the Android 2.2 device sped through the UI without skipping a beat. If this device impresses as much after we throw it through a barrage of tests, I’ll be hard to imagine ever spending a cent on a regular ol’ featurephone again.

Update: We’ve just been informed that the Optimus S has 256MB 512 MB of RAM and 512MB of ROM, an MSM7627 chipset and Bluetooth 2.1, but there’s more — it pulls a respectable 430 in the Quadrant benchmark thanks to Qualcomm Adreno 200 graphics, and we’ve got visual proof. See some direct-from-device screenshots and a couple sample pics from the Optimus S’s camera in our second gallery below!

Update 2: Video after the break!

Myriam Joire contributed to this report.

Continue reading LG Optimus S, first hands-on! (update: video)

LG Optimus S, first hands-on! (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 18:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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