Sony’s VAIO P gets unpocketed, unboxed

We’ve seen the VAIO P‘s sexy little case, but we’ve yet to witness the corrugated box in which it resides. Until now, obviously. As the rear pocket stuffing theme trucks on without any signs of stopping, the lucky souls over at AkihabaraNews managed to get ahold of a fully packaged model in order to completely unwrap it on camera. The full gallery’s down there in the read link — don’t pretend like you’re not heading over to check it out.

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Sony’s VAIO P gets unpocketed, unboxed originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s VAIO P up for pre-order in all sorts of hues

Sony’s VAIO P netbook ultraportable isn’t slated to start shipping until February here in the States, but those absolutely certain that they want one stuck in their coat and / or rear pants pocket can get in line starting today. The pre-orders are open for Sony’s 1.4 pound VAIO, with $899.99 to $1,499.99 securing your spot on the launch list. They’re available in a whole heap of colors (garnet red, emerald green, onyx black, crystal white and classic black), and there’s even an engraving option if you’re already thinking about a rather spectacular Valentine’s Day gift. Hint, hint, gentlemen.

[Via thegadgetsite, thanks K.C. Kim]

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Sony’s VAIO P up for pre-order in all sorts of hues originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ask Engadget: What’s the best netbook out there (redux)?

It’s been just under half a year since we originally asked about the best netbook out there, and a lot has changed in the meanwhile. Thanks to some incessant begging from reader Chad (we kid, we kid), we’re putting this out once more for an updated look at your best option for a minuscule lappie.

“Hey guys. How about we pose the topic of best netbook once more since so many new models have arrived since the original? Much appreciated!”

So, what netbooks have impressed you over the back end of ’08? Are you still insistent that the first-generation Eee is the one to buy? Are closeout models a better option? Spill it all in comments below, then send us a question of your own at ask at engadget dawt com.

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Ask Engadget: What’s the best netbook out there (redux)? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 23:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Olidata Conte ultraportable makes its shiny debut

It doesn’t look like this one was actually on display at CES, but Italy’s Olidata does seem to have taken the opportunity to announce its shiny new Conte ultraportable, which takes square aim at the growing ranks of 13.3-inch ultra-thin laptops out there. From the looks of it, this one will be available in two different versions: one with a 16:10, 1280×800 display, and one with a 16:9, 1366×768 display, each of which will come equipped with a small form factor Core 2 Duo processor, optional built-in 3G or WiMAX, and a promised battery life of more than four hours (or seven with an extended battery). The 16:10 model will also add a few bonuses like Intel Turbo Memory, a fingerprint reader, a backlit keyboard, and 3GB of RAM as standard. Sadly, there’s no indication of a release’ round these parts just yet, but both models will supposedly be hitting Europe in May for “less than €1,000” (or somewhere under $1,300).

[Thanks, Faber]

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Olidata Conte ultraportable makes its shiny debut originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Viliv S7 hands on and VAIO P comparo

Video: Viliv S7 hands on and VAIO P comparo

As promised, we’ve made a run over to check out Viliv’s forthcoming S7 netbook tablet, bringing along the ever-popular VAIO P to see how the two stack up (as well as an Eee 1000H for good measure). As you can see, the S7 actually isn’t that much larger than the Sony, maybe 30 percent thicker and a little bit wider, but also a bit shorter. The thing manages to find room for a track pad on top of the keyboard, but it’s an awfully small one, so thank goodness for the (non-multi) touch screen. Also small is that keyboard, which is one of the most painful we’ve yet experienced on a netbook, featuring arrow and punctuation keys that even a pygmy would fat-finger. But, compromises must be made when making machines small, and small this one is. Viliv has written a custom skin that overlays the Windows XP install, demonstrated in a video below. It’s reasonably pleasant to use (minimizing the need to rely on that tiny trackpad), but is also easy to exit if you’re not feeling it. We already know the specs of this tiny convertible, so the only mysteries left are “when” followed immediately by “how much.” The answers we received to those questions are unfortunately a bit vague: “before this summer” and a rather predictable “less than the VAIO P.” We’re guessing it’ll be a lot less. Oh, and for those examining the gallery, don’t worry about the rough edges you might spy: this is a pre-production S7, so things should be a good bit more polished when it hits retail.

Gallery: Viliv S7

Continue reading Video: Viliv S7 hands on and VAIO P comparo

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Video: Viliv S7 hands on and VAIO P comparo originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Jan 2009 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gateway’s UC Series contains its first 13.3-inch notebook

HP’s doing it, Dell’s doing it — heck, everyone is pumping out 13.3-inch laptops these days, so it’s quite refreshing to see Gateway finally joining the fray. The UC Series is getting birthed today with the introduction of the UC Series notebook, a 5.2-pound ultraportable that packs a Core 2 Duo / Pentium dual-core CPU, 1,280 x 800 resolution panel, ATI Mobility Radeon 3470 graphics (switchable to GMA 4500MHD), 160/250/320GB SATA hard drive choices, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 4-in-1 multicard reader and support for a slot-loading DVD / Blu-ray burner. You’ll also find the usual 1.3-megapixel camera, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Ethernet, built-in speakers, three USB 2.0 ports, VGA out, audio in / out, a 6-cell Li-ion battery and an HDMI 1.3 connector for good measure. It’s slated to start shipping this month for a completely reasonable $799.99, though we imagine the nicer configurations will look a lot uglier in terms of value. Full release is after the break.

Continue reading Gateway’s UC Series contains its first 13.3-inch notebook

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Gateway’s UC Series contains its first 13.3-inch notebook originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Asus’ S121 with world’s first 512GB SSD

Pfff, forget those itty bitty Eee PC SSDs. Asus’ 12.2-inch mini laptop weighs less than 3-pounds and offers 8-hours of unplugged freedom with some help from Intel’s Atom Z520 processor and ASUS’ own Syper Hybrid Engine tech. Most notable is that massive (price too we expect) 512GB SSD, a world’s first in a laptop according to ASUS. No price or dates yet, expect those along side the official press release later today.

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Asus’ S121 with world’s first 512GB SSD originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP greets us with 13.3-inch Pavilion dv3 entertainment laptop

While you and HP can argue the rest of the night away about the most accurate moniker for its Pavilion dv2, the dv3 is definitely an ultraportable. The AMD-powered machine comes in a plethora of configurations with CPUs ranging from 2GHz (Athlon X2 QL-62) to 2.4GHz (Turion X2 Ultra ZM-86), ATI’s Radeon HD 3200 graphics, up to 8GB of DDR2 RAM, 160/250/320/400GB hard drive choices, WiFi / Bluetooth, a dual-layer DVD burner, gigabit Ethernet, an ExpressCard slot and a satisfactory array of ports including three USB 2.0 sockets, VGA, HDMI, eSATA combo (with a third USB port) and audio in / out. Users can select from a six or nine-cell battery, and there’s even an optional fingerprint reader if you’re unashamedly paranoid. Interested? It’s available today, junior, for $799 and up.

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HP greets us with 13.3-inch Pavilion dv3 entertainment laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP’s 12.1-inch Pavilion dv2 with Blu-ray — don’t call it a netbook

Here we’ve got the fruits of AMD’s new Neo platform: the Pavilion dv2 series of entertainment laptops. Starting at 3.8-pounds with a keyboard 8% short of full-sized, this 12.1-inch (1,280 x 800 pixels) ultra-portable features a 1.6GHz Athlon Neo MV-40 processor, up to 4GB of memory and 500GB of disk, optional 802.11n WiFi, and WWAN (Gobi) support. Now what if we told you that this 64-bit Vista Home Premium laptop (no need for the XP fallback here kids) measures less than an inch thick and can be configured with ATI Mobility Radeon HD3410 discrete graphics and an external Blu-ray player for $899 when it ships in March? More you say? Ok, there’s also Bluetooth, HDMI-out, an integrated webcam, and 3.5 to 4-hours of battery with prices set to start at $699. Isn’t CES wonderful?

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HP’s 12.1-inch Pavilion dv2 with Blu-ray — don’t call it a netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD kinda sorta takes aim at Atom with Athlon Neo

And here you thought AMD’s 45-nm Conesus was its next generation netbook / ultra-portable processor. Sorry, for that you’ll have to wait until the beginning of the second half of 2009 according to Bahr Mahony, Director of AMD’s mobile division who we just spoke with here at CES. Instead, AMD’s Athlon Neo ultra-portable platform built around existing 65-nm processes is scheduled to make its retail debut in the US in March. Remember, AMD won’t be challenging Intel in a race to the bottom so Neo is aimed squarely at that soft, chewy marketshare nestled between the underperforming $499 netbook and over-the-top $1,499 ultra-portable. Neo boasts more processing power than Intel’s 45-nm Atom at the cost of a higher load on your battery thanks to the 35W thermal envelop of the Neo chipset combined with a discrete, ATI Mobility Radeon Hd 3410 graphics. The result however is what AMD calls balanced performance from ultra-thin notebooks capable of smooth 1080p playback of your HD media — a feat that Atom-based netbooks saddled with integrated graphics struggle with. Interesting, now let’s see the 3rd party benchmarks. AMD’s data versus the Atom posted after the break.

Continue reading AMD kinda sorta takes aim at Atom with Athlon Neo

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AMD kinda sorta takes aim at Atom with Athlon Neo originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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