Hasta La Gadget!

Get ready for it because the final release to manufacturing (RTM) of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) have just been handed off to Microsoft’s OEM partners. What that means for you is that starting February 22nd you can download Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 from the Microsoft Download Center or via Windows Update. MSDN and TechNet subscribers will see the official updates a bit earlier on February 16th… about the same time they’ll be released unofficially into the bitTorrent and usenet wilds.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 available for everyone on February 22nd originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 04:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Winrumors  |  Blogging Windows  | Email this | Comments

When almost every other computer manufacturer has copied its touchscreen all-in-one, what’s a company like HP to do? Create a totally crazy pivoting and reclining one, of course! Yep, HP’s newest TouchSmart 610 and 9300 Elite Business PC may look like typical 1920 x 1080-resolution, 23-inch all-in-ones when positioned upright, but that all changes when their screens recline up to 60 degrees or the entire body of the rig swivels around to do a 180. It’s one seriously flexible AIO, but the new design isn’t just about yoga-like tricks — it aims to make touch interaction more comfortable and ergonomic, and on that vein HP has also updated its TouchSmart 610 consumer model with its latest TouchSmart software layer, which includes finger-friendly Hulu, Netflix, and Twitter apps as well as a TouchSmart Apps Center. The 9300 Elite Business all-in-one, as you may have caught from its name, is meant for enterprise and “customer spaces” (aka kiosks, counters, etc.), and thus only comes loaded with Windows 7.

Spec-wise, the 610 can be configured with Intel and AMD desktop processors, up to 16GB of RAM, a terabyte of storage, a Blu-ray drive, while its 1.3 megapixel camera and Beats Audio speakers come standard. Naturally, the 9300 has to keep up its professional reputation, and though it cuts out the Beats, it gains Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge processors, a 160GB SSD option, and a higher quality two megapixel cam with facial recognition software. You know, for “enhanced security.” So, when can you pick up one of these monsters? The $900 610 is expected to start shipping on February 9th, while the 9300 will hit in May for an undetermined price. We’re hoping to bring you a full review of the 610 soon, but we can tell you from our early look at it that the viewing angles were sufficiently wide and the tilting mechanism fairly rigid. Man, it’s already turning out to be quite a week for HP — that webOS event is coming up on Wednesday, but in the meantime you’ll want to hit the break for the full TouchSmart press release and a short video of the reclining mechanism in action.

Continue reading HP twirls out TouchSmart 610 and 9300 all-in-one PCs

HP twirls out TouchSmart 610 and 9300 all-in-one PCs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 07:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Onkyo is giving us a taste of what next, revealing its plans for future tablet onslaught that will leave no operating system untouched — well, Android and Windows anyway. For Windows 7 lovers, the company’s three SlatePC tablets, the TW317A5, TW217A5, and TW117A4 are all going to see updates through the year, including Oak Trail power from Intel sometime before June. Meanwhile, the 10-inch Android SlatePad TA117C1 and TA117C3 will receive built-in 3G and will be joined with a 7-inch, ARM-powered model later this year. Ruggedized tablets are mentioned too, but no plans for a US release for any of them. No surprise there.

Onkyo tablet roadmap shows a selection of Android and Windows devices in a variety of sizes originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 12:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Netbooknews  |  Impress  | Email this | Comments

We had a strong (okay, really strong) hunch that the iPad was a contributing factor in Microsoft’s waning Windows revenue in Q2, but there’s nothing like a little confirmation from Redmond. During the earnings call, Microsoft CFO Peter Klein was asked if tablets were cannibalizing PCs, to which he responded:

I think that as Bill [Koefoed] talked a little bit in his comments about netbooks and how netbooks were, they hit their peak last year in Q2, and I think what we’ve seen is over the course of this year in the consumer space, some of that volume being replaced with newer devices like ultra-portables and tablets. And largely, these are second devices, not primary devices. And that’s caused a little bit of a drag on the consumer side.

That seems like an admission that people aren’t buying Windows 7 tablets, but either way, it’s now crystal clear that Microsoft suffered during the back-to-school and holiday season because consumers who may have previously picked up a Windows 7 Starter netbook went for a glossy new iPad (or maybe a Galaxy Tab in the later part of the quarter) or a more powerful ULV ultraportable. Obviously, the shift to tablets is to be expected, but the latter bit about ultraportables is quite telling as well — it seems to further confirm that people are seeking more power than Intel’s Atom, although we don’t really see how increased ultraportable sales would be a “drag on the consumer side” of Microsoft’s business considering ultraportables run Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional.

Sadly, Klein made no mention of Microsoft’s future tablet plans, but stated that netbooks were past their prime. We’re pretty sure that “next version of Windows” or whatever tablet OS Microsoft is planning couldn’t come soon enough for everyone. Or hey, could we suggest reviving the Courier?

Microsoft: tablets affected Q4 earnings, netbooks past their peak originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 23:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Seeking Alpha  | Email this | Comments

Wondering where your HP Slate has been all these weeks since you ordered it? Well, at least one of those precious Windows 7 tablets has taken a little detour from its supposedly enterprise-centric destiny to make a cameo appearance… as a dashboard infotainment system. HP, in its inimitable wisdom, has decided to grace the opening of its Vancouver store last month with a customized GMC Yukon Denali truck, which is where we find the company’s Slate casually showing off its Acrobat Reader and other big boy OS advantages. We wouldn’t really say embedding the Slate into your dash is the worst idea in the world, though the rest of the characterful customizations to this Denali just might be.

[Thanks, lmwong]

Continue reading Visualized: the HP Slate’s new job

Visualized: the HP Slate’s new job originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 08:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  West Coast Customs  | Email this | Comments