Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve already covered the plethora of Windows 7 versions, starting with the gimpy Starter edition and then running all the way up to Ultimate (which, we can now confirm, will not include a bag of chips). Microsoft’s grand scheme is for users to start with what they need and pay to unlock additional functionality, upgrading their way to the top rung of the the Windows 7 ladder. But, it’s now coming to light that the company will also allow downgrades — not to simpler versions of Win 7, but to earlier operating systems like Vista and even XP. Yes, OEM manufacturers can still keep shipping XP Pro by “downgrading” Windows 7 machines through the end of April, 2010, and while HP is the only one advertising this, you can be sure they won’t be alone. Interestingly these machines will still come with free Windows 7 upgrades, hopefully enticing users to give it a shot, but if they don’t like it they are allowed to go back to XP on their own. Details for user-driven downgrades are a bit light at the moment, though, so don’t be surprised if it requires a little fdisk action.

[Thanks, Simon B.]

Read — Windows 7 will allow downgrades too at CNET
Read — Microsoft allows HP to wipe Windows 7 at AppleInsider
Read — Windows 7 upgrades for downgraders at Computer World

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Microsoft hoping for Win 7 upgraders, reluctantly allowing downgraders originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When you’re dealing with a major signal reception issue on a phone, it’s easy to believe that the problem isn’t gonna go away without retooling the innards and releasing revised hardware — but for North American owners (and would-be owners) of Nokia’s stricken NAM version of the 5800 XpressMusic, there’s new hope. The Nokia Blog is claiming that word from an inside source confirms that the problem has already been fixed with an unreleased firmware update, which would lead us to believe that Nokia could conceivably get devices back on the shelves relatively quickly — and that current owners will be able to fix their woes without physically exchanging phones. Of course, firmware updates have never come out of Espoo at a firehose pace — particularly for North American versions of devices — so we’ll believe this is resolved when we’ve seen it with our own eyes.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Reception issues with North American Nokia 5800s to be fixed with firmware? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While HP’s dv7t provides a much more subtle way to game on-the-go compared to say, the HDX crew, we don’t see the necessity in keeping these updates all hush-hush. For whatever reason, it seems that said laptop has been updated overnight from 17- to 17.3-inches (we’re talking LCD size, by the way), and the NVIDIA graphics option has been replaced with a pair of ATI selections: the 512MB Mobility Radeon HD 4530 and 1GB HD 4650. The newfangled 17.3-inch panel sports a somewhat deflating 1,600 x 900 native resolution, though there is good news to be shared. The previous $1,229 starting point has dropped to a decidedly more manageable $799.99, though it’ll cost you extra to equip this beast with the 2GHz Core 2 Quad CPU that it really deserves.

[Thanks, Johnny and Coal]

Filed under: Laptops

HP quietly updates Pavilion dv7t gaming laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tired of waiting for that NC20, are you? Fret not, as Samsung has apparently hammered out a deal with Amazon to exclusively sell a special edition of the NC10. As we saw with MSI’s upgrading of the Wind U100, the nicely refreshed NC10 checks in with most of the same specs — a 10.2 WSVGA display, 1.6GHz Atom N270 CPU, 160GB HDD, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR — but it does add a few delectable extras for just $50 over the “other” NC10. Most notable is the 5,900mAh 6-cell high capacity battery, which extends the already respectable battery life to a staggering 9.4 hours. Furthermore, the enlarged touchpad should make mousing around a bit easier, and there’s also an anti-reflection gloss coating display that may or may not float your boat. Obviously, there’s no word on a ship date just yet, but we’d put our money on “sooner,” not “later.”

[Via PortableMonkey]

Filed under: Laptops

Special Edition Samsung NC10 gets 6-cell battery, larger touchpad originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If your prior budget forced you to select an ASUS Eee PC S101 with just 16GB of succulent SSD storage space, Super Talent has the cure. The outfit has just introduced three new solid state drives made specifically for the aforementioned netbook, all of which tout 90 MB/sec maximum sequential read speeds and up to 55 MB/sec write speeds. You can select from the FPM16RSE (16GB), FPM32RSE (32GB) or the FPM64RSE (64GB), though you’ll have to guess on the prices of the first two. As for the big daddy? It’ll run right around $169.

[Via HotHardware]

Filed under: Laptops, Storage

Super Talent unloads 32GB / 64GB SSDs for ASUS Eee PC S101 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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