We have covered the one or the other Hello Kitty gadget in the past, but it’s been a while since the last notebook featuring the popular cartoon cat. But now Japan’s Mouse Computer is selling the so-called LuvBook S, [JP], an 11.6-inch laptop with Hello Kitty all over it. It has been co-developed with Hello Kitty maker Sanrio and luxury goods maker Swarovski.
Swarovski designed the body of the laptop (the Hello Kitty face and heart you see below is made of about 1,100 Swarovski stones). → Read More
When it comes to gift-giving, there are a few presents that siimply go above and beyond. Getting a first car on your sixteenth birthday (if you’re so lucky) is one of those moments, and some young couples are even lucky enough to get a house as a wedding present. But after a house and a car, a brand new laptop is probably the best gift you can get. We’ve compiled a list of notebooks ranging in price from $839 to starting points of $1,999, so there should be something here for everyone.
Without any further ado, here are some of our reccomendations if you’re looking to get your loved one a new notebook. → Read More
The current MacBook Pro design is probably going to be around until next year, but a minor update might be on its way in the coming weeks, according to a few factors that have telegraphed this kind of thing historically. Stock is low on many models, and more importantly, a few new items have appeared in Apple inventory listings. → Read More
The promise of the ultra-cheap ultrabook hasn’t quite been fulfilled yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a few sexy machines before the new ones hit. Acer’s Aspire S3 dropped yesterday, and we’ll have a review up soon, but the new Asus Zenbooks, rumored and pictured earlier but only actually announced today, are the ones I’ve been waiting for.
You’ve got two basic models: the 11.6-inch UX21 and the 13-inch UX31. But there’s more, much more. → Read More
The Qosmio F755 3D laptop is now available for those who wish to live in the 2D world but – and only occasionally – may also want to view things in 3D. The laptop uses a “15.6-inch diagonal full HD TruBrite® display with Active Lens” to display both 2D and 3D images (sample shown here may not represent actual display, your results may vary, consult a doctor before playing 3D games, 3D gaming could cause headaches, nausea, a feeling that 3D is BS, the croup, accidental ingestion of your wedding ring, dance, Gary Oldman’s Disease, vestigial tail growth).
The laptop runs a Intel Core i7 processor and NVIDIA GeForce 540M and allows for HD video and Blu-Ray playback.
The laptop will start at $1,700 when it is available mid-August. Click through for the full press release. → Read More
When Intel launched its Ultrabook initiative, we were excited: a full-on PC notebook the size of a MacBook Air? Promises of Adamos and Series 9s danced before our eyes, sexy but overpriced. Could this new spec be the one that makes our Air-toting friends jealous?
Unfortunately, few ultrabooks have surfaced, and those that have aren’t really competing pricewise. And just today we hear that Apple is hogging all the aluminum, so people are going to make their notebooks out of fiberglass. Fiberglass! Don’t fret: Intel is on the case, and everything will be all right. → Read More
The rush towards lightweight, thin laptops — the “ultrabook” spec being promoted by Intel — has resulted in a major uptick in demand for thin metal chassis. Unfortunately, much of the aluminum milling capacity is being taken up by Apple, which is relying more than ever on the material for its laptop lines. Big players like Acer and HP can’t make do with the remainder capacity of the mills, and plastic is too thick to use for these designs. What to do?
Well, according to Digitimes, they’re going for fiberglass. Yes, that fiberglass. → Read More
You could be forgiven (and are) for skipping over the LTE news of the last six months: the roll-out of the new 4G standard has been spotty and few consumers actually have any idea what it means, or whether they have it. But Verizon’s next big investment is starting to show up in more than small-run hot spots and high-end smartphones.
Today was a big day for LTE — the vanguard of really consumer-oriented devices is hitting, and while it’ll be some time before your free-with-contract phone or bargain-bin netbook is tapping into the fourth G, the news is still significant. → Read More
A few years ago I met a stockbroker who was telling me that someone should make a laptop with two screens so he could trade while on vacation. While I was slightly disturbed by his dedication to capitalism, I’m proud to say that his dream has been fulfilled.
We first talked about the gScreen Spacebook a few years ago and now the Alaskan company is actually going to start shipping their massive, two-inch-thick laptop to the masses. The screens are each 17 inches and the laptop is fairly standard with optical drive, three USB ports, and GeForce GTS 250M GPU. It starts at $2,400 for an Intel Core i5-560M although there’s some kind of 50% off pre-order price right now, bringing it down to $1,200. → Read More
If the $1649 Samsung Series 9 is too rich for your blood, but you still want a Windows-based ultraportable (or ultrabook, whatever they’re calling them these days), consider… the Samsung Series 9. The 11-inch X1A version of Samsung’s Air-killer is now out, and it’s lighter by half a pound and a few hundred bucks. → Read More
Richard Nagy, creator of the Datamancer steampunk laptop, is offering his creations for pre-order for $5,500 and they will include cutting edge components and actually working accouterment including spinning gears and a real brass key that will lock the case against blaggards and thieves. → Read More
Intel is using the yearly Computex Taipei exhibition in Taiwan as a platform to pitch a new category of laptops. Dubbed Ultrabooks, these devices are supposed to have three distinct features: they are thinner (less than 20mm/0.8 inches) and lighter than most existing laptops, and they should be priced below $1,000 in order to become mainstream. → Read More
I present to you Acer’s latest salvo against the coming of the post-PC era – the Acer Aspire One Happy 2. These things have a 10.1-inch display and run an Atom N570 processor with an Intel 3150 GPU and come in delicious candy colors (Banana Cream, Blueberry Shake, Papaya Milk, and Strawberry Yogurt) with mice to match. The will cost 299 euro in Europe and probably $300 when they hit here. → Read More
Analytics ninja Sean Power lost his laptop in Soho – it was stolen, although it may not have been stolen by the man who had it – and using Prey he was able to track it to a particular bar near City Hall in downtown Manhattan.
Sean got some snaps of the guy and his browsing habits and asked that some of his Twitter followers visit the bar to wait for the police. When the police refused to come because Powers had not filed a report the Twooters took the matter into their own hands. Again, to be clear, the man who bought it probably just paid the thief for the laptop in what we can only assume is good faith. → Read More
Ever since late last year, LG has been struggling against the worldwide menace of LCD bezels. I think it’s great, personally — thin-bezel displays means nice multi-monitor setups, more efficient use of space, etc. Their new Blade notebooks mostly use it to look cool, but there ain’t nothing wrong with that, either. → Read More
That was quick: on Tuesday, Fujitsu unveiled the world’s smallest and thinnest palm vein sensor used for authentication purposes (which is sized at just 29mm on a side and 11.2mm high). And now the company announced [JP] the LIFEBOOK E741/C, a notebook that will come with said sensor on board (as an option). → Read More
It took them a while, but PC makers are finally building notebooks with integrated pico projectors: that’s the main bullet point the LIFEBOOK S761/C that Fujitsu announced [JP] for the Japanese market has to offer. The projector replaces the space an optical drive would occupy in the notebook. → Read More
If your IT department doesn’t love you, chances are you’re going to be stuck with a fleet laptop, one of the models that everyone has to carry and is about as exciting as a bowl of melted vanilla ice cream. Thankfully, Toshiba kind of has your back. Their new Tecra and Portege laptops feature a new “ultraportable” design with some rugged build features that will keep your powered up and working through multiple flights (the smallest laptop has a 10 hour battery life) and they are attractive enough to warrant a second look. The laptops have been redesigned from the ground up to be lighter, stronger, and cooler looking and, although you probably won’t want to buy one for yourself, you wouldn’t kick it out of your laptop bag if the IT team dropped it on your desk one day. → Read More
Laptop Magazine has their 5 Best Sub-$500 Notebooks post out right now, including the HP Pavilion dm1z. Laptop Mag is known for pretty good laptop reviews and their post is short and straight to the point. Sort of like this one. → Read More
A new technology that we’ve been hearing about for a few year finally is getting unveiled today at CeBIT in Germany. Tobii Technology has partnered up with Lenovo to create a laptop with integrated eye tracking control. It is said that it will add to the functionality of a keyboard and mouse, rather than killing them. → Read More
