Follow
0
0
Want it
0
Have it
0
Had it
0
News
HP Launches Atom N2600-Based Mini 1104 10.1" Netbook
By HotHardware, published 23-01-2012
CES 2012 started the next netbook revolution, with Intel's newest Atom CPUs at the helm. Today, HP is (re)joining the crowd, with the newest Mini machine launching. The HP Mini 1104 is the latest Mini for business in education. It's priced at $399, weighs 2.78 pounds and has a 10.1" display. There's also a 93% full-size keyboard, a battery...
The Geek Traveler: Gadgets and Tips for Your Vacation
By MaximumPC, published 20-12-2011
It’s oxymoronic to say that a vacation is stressful. But it is. And I’m not even talking about the sand that’s waiting to creep into your shorts on the beach, the hotel room that’s going to spring a leak, or the vast number of other disasters about to transpire throughout your travels. I’m talking about the very, very beginning of your vacation: The part right after you’ve planned and purchased the tickets up until the moment you step off the plane at your intended (and final) destination. As a geek, you’re probably wondering if there’s a better way to go about “the routine:” The printing of the tickets, the writing down of the key details, the absurdity of the packing, the praying that your carry-on bag isn’t too big, et cetera. Well, there is. Technology benefits al...
3DS Ambassador GBA games released
By GameSpot, published 16-12-2011
Early adopters for Nintendo's handheld can now download second batch of free games including Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. When Nintendo cut the price of the 3DS by one-third within six months of launching the handheld, it offered consolation for early adopters by promising they would be able to download 20 free games for the system by year's end. The company made good on that promise today, launching the second wave of 10 titles on the 3DS eShop. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap leads the second wave of 3DS Ambassador offerings. Today's wave of games was pulled from the Game Boy Advance catalog and spans the publisher's most famous franchises, including Mario, Zelda, F-Zero, and Kirby. Unlike the first wave of 3DS...
Will Smith, Zombie Ants, And Everything Else We Know About The Last Of Us
By GameInformer, published 14-12-2011
The Last of Us has officially been unveiled care of the VGAs as Naughty Dog’s next game following its successful Uncharted series. Based on the trailer, we think the game will likely feature an older man and a young teenage woman as they try to survive in newly created post-apocalypse world.The first footage shown about the game was a montage of riot footage as a male narrator reminisced about a time when you could watch football on TV and enjoy barbecue. He ends his narration with, “Just one peaceful night. A clean conscience. All gone.” Something really bad must have happened. cs_setInnerHtml('video_05f40db6-605c-4eee-ae4a-b33f1c478afc',''); The next hint offered got a little bit more interesting. Some footage was posted on the game's official website of an ant t...
Kid Icarus: Uprising takes wing March 23
By GameSpot, published 13-12-2011
Nintendo lays out early 2012 release slate; $20 3DS Circle Pad Pro peripheral on sale exclusively at GameStop starting Feb. 7, Rhythm Heaven Fever hits Wii Feb. 13. Some of the first 3DS games ever announced are finally ready for a retail debut. Nintendo of America today confirmed its first quarter release schedule, which is now expected to see the launches of Kid Icarus: Uprising, Resident Evil: Revelations, and Metal Gear Solid 3D: Snake Eater, all three of which were announced during the 3DS's 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo unveiling. Kid Icarus is grounded for a few more months. Set for release on March 23, Kid Icarus: Uprising will see the return of Nintendo's 8-bit era angelic action star Pit. As before, Pit is taking on the evil Medusa, alth...
Mimo Introduces Capacitive Touchpanel-Based "Magic Touch" USB Monitor
By HotHardware, published 22-11-2011
Mimo. Forgot about those guys? They're back! While the "secondary monitor" isn't nearly as predominant as it once was, USB-powered monitors aren't vanishing. In fact, Mimo's pushing them to the next level. The company just launched Magic Touch, described as the world's first-ever USB-driven capacitive touchscreen monitor. Yep, touchscreen-based....
Tackling the Tablet Conundrum: Which One is Right For You?
By MaximumPC, published 21-11-2011
Do you even need a tablet? If so, which one? We review the current crop of tablet mainstays. We explain the hardware and OS features that matter the most. Follow along as we unravel what tablets are actually good for. When a consumer electronics category confuses the masses, it’s usually because the technology is hard to understand on a fundamental level. Have you ever tried to explain texture fill rates to your GPU-ignorant brother-in-law? Or RAID levels to your mom—who shouldn’t even be asking about RAID in the first place? Videocards and storage devices can confuse the lay consumer, but at least the prospective hardware buyer usually knows he or she needs a videocard or storage device in the first place. Your game won’t play at a high resolution? A new videocard is probably the...
SMK-Link's HTPC-Ready Bluetooth Controller Keyboard Has A Touchpad, Too
By HotHardware, published 19-11-2011
It looks a little like an Atari Jaguar controller, but the functionality here is far different. SMK-Link Electronics has announced their new wireless ultra-mini touchpad keyboard, a game-controller-espe input device that puts cursor navigation, text entry, multimedia and audio controls in the palm of your hand (which is connected to your rear,...
Buying Guide: Best printer 2011: 15 top inkjet and laser printers
By TechRadar, published 16-11-2011
Best printer: best inkjet printersWhat's the best printer to buy? All-purpose printers are a booming market, and you're spoilt for choice, so here's our pick of the best printers on the market right now. In choosing the best printer your first decision is whether to go for a standard printer, or a multi-function device which includes a scanner and which can also work as a standalone copier. These aren't much larger than regular printers, but they're a whole lot more versatile, especially when you need to keep a copy of a letter, a bill or any other important document, so our first list includes the best inkjet printers and best multi-function devices. You should also think carefully about whether to invest in an inkjet or a laser. Lasers are usually associated with office environments, wh...
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria Preview Panel Reveals Big Changes
By GameSpot, published 22-10-2011
Mists of Pandaria will offer a new playable panda race, monks, a Pokemon-like pet battle system, and much, much more. Get the details in our BlizzCon 2011 panel report. Who Was There: Game designers Tom Chilton, Cory Stockton, and Greg Street What They Talked About: The subject of this panel was the many, many, many new features that Mists of Pandaria, the next expansion for World of Warcraft, will add to the game. The panel began with designer Tom Chilton admitting that the previous expansion, Cataclysm, might not have added much in the way of new things to do. To that end, the expansion will attempt to "get people back in the world" with new features like player-versus-environment (PVE) scenarios (which will offer large-scale encounters outdoors); and it will also offer a comple...
In Depth: How to build the best PC for your needs
By TechRadar, published 25-09-2011
How to build a PCSystem builders are great and everything, but unless you emit static electricity or are terminally lazy, you should be thinking about building your own PC. Why? Because not only do you get the satisfaction of having crafted your machine from the ground up, growing and harvesting each component from the soil… or something like that. You also get full control over what goes in the chassis. And what the case will look like. System builders do a great job of delivering sensible packages of components at attractive price points, but building your own rig gives you full control. All the parts you need, none that you don't. And no extra expense to you. And that level of control's important. It's what being a PC enthusiast is all about. It's what elevates us above the hunched si...
Thursday Shortbread
By TechReport, published 22-09-2011
Eight is Enough VR-Zone: Core i7-2700K to cost more than 2600K, launch on October 24th X-bit labs: Nvidia unwraps performance benchmarks of Tegra 3 "Kal-El" AllThingsD: Apple's next event to be held on October 4, starrring its new CEO Gizmodo: How Windows 8 makes booting up pretty for the first time in PC history Battlefield 3 Beta FAQ - minimum system requirements Battlefield 3 Open Beta starts September 29th Ars Technica's hands-on with the Diablo 3 beta Tweet of the day: hp is *not* considering firing Leo Apotheker. They're just thinking about spinning him off as a separate company. Read more...
Buying Guide: Best PAYG phone - budget mobiles compared
By TechRadar, published 09-07-2011
Best budget PAYG phonesWith the mobile marketplace teeming with a multitude of smartphones, one might wonder whether cheap pay and go phones still have a place in the mobile infrastructure.With massive innovation in both hardware and operating systems, phones now do a lot more than just let you talk and text, with phones like the Samsung Galaxy S2 and Apple iPhone 5 stealing headlines around the world these days.Sadly all this innovation isn't cheap – and most of it is reserved for high-end contract handsets. So, is there such a thing as the 'best pay as you go phone on a budget'?Omio has provided a list of the top selling cheap phones at the moment, which we've taken to task to bring you the best PAYG phones around at the moment - so if you're looking to pick up a decent handset for not...
In Depth: Top 10 best gadgets at IFA 2011
By TechRadar, published 09-02-2011
Top 10 best gadgets at IFA 2011It's been a great year for gadgets at this year's Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) in Berlin with all kinds of surprises - from internet-connected TVs to super-sized smartphones - in the exhibition halls. Here are just 10 of the best in show...1. Sony Android tabletsSony's long-rumoured rivals to the Apple iPad 2 finally made their debut at IFA 2011 - and they confounded as much as they surprised. The Sony Tablet P (£499) and Tablet S (£399), both include Nvidia Tegra 2 mobile processors running Android Honeycomb OS, front- and rear-facing cameras, a USB 2.0 port and an SD card slot.Just like the iPad 2, both tablets are available in Wi-Fi only and 3G models, but it's the clamshell Tablet P that really piques our interest. For the Sony Tablet P sports n...
Updated: Windows 8: everything you need to know
By TechRadar, published 24-08-2011
The Windows 8 picture is becoming clearer. Following on from the slides allegedly leaked in June 2010 by a software engineer at HP, Microsoft has outed far more details about the interface design. Microsoft says Windows 8 is a reimagining of Windows, "from the chip to the interface" and has launched an Engineering Windows 8 blog. The corporation has promised that a pre-release Windows 8 build will be available to the public. Microsoft says that "a Windows 8-based PC is really a new kind of device, one that scales from touch-only small screens through to large screens, with or without a keyboard and mouse." Opinion: Windows 8 could make you rethink buying iPad 3Indeed, the new OS appears to have two completely separate interfaces - one, a traditional (and, on the surface of it, unchanged) W...
Updated: Sony S1: what you need to know
By TechRadar, published 24-08-2011
It's taken Sony a while to join the tablet party, but anything from a firm famous for its pin-sharp displays and desirable PCs is going to be worth waiting for. And it's in the form of the S1 - or Sony Tablet S - that is Sony's main new tablet. From what we know so far, the new PlayStation-certified tablet and its sibling, the S2, are very desirable indeed - so what do we actually know, when can we get our hands on one and where do we go to pre-order? Let's find out. The Sony S1 is a traditional tabletWhile the Sony S2 is doing something very different, the Sony S1 tablet is in iPad territory: as you'll see from our photo-tastic Sony S1 update, the device is a typically rectangular ten-incher with a curved, tapered body.The Sony S1 features include DLNAThere's no HDMI port, but the Sony S1...
Review Roundup: This week's hottest reviews on TechRadar
By TechRadar, published 20-08-2011
We may be in the middle of summer (not that you'd know it, looking outside) but we've still got some great kit reviewed this week. First up is Sony's new Alpha 35 SLT camera which has plenty of innovative features for those who want a bit more from an upgrade.We've also got a review of the monstrous EVGA GeForce GTX 560 2Win - two full-spec Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 GPUs together on the same card - as well as the excellent new Xperia Mini. It's a new Android-toting miniature smartphone from Sony Ericsson. Read on to see what we thought of it as well as tens of other products reviewed this week on TechRadar. Sony Alpha 35 reviewThe Sony Alpha A35 is the latest launch to join the manufacturer's innovative Single Lens Translucent (SLT) camera line-up, debuting a number of new technologies that l...
In Depth: Whatever happened to Wireless USB & HDMI?
By TechRadar, published 19-08-2011
A few years ago, we were promised that USB cables would be a thing of the past. And that our HD TVs would also connect to our Sky boxes and Blu-ray players wirelessly. So where are the wireless ultrawideband (UWB) technologies that were supposed to get rid of these cables? Picture the scene – it's CES 2007. The consortium of manufacturers that make up the USB Implementers Forum has a small but significant presence on the show floor, demoing cameras which download their pictures to your PC just by being placed in their presence. A printer starts spitting out high quality prints with no cables attached. In a side room below the Sands Convention Centre, Philips shows off TVs with Wireless HDMI adaptors. It's a triumph, winning praise from those who like to mount their screens on the wall, b...
Week in Tech: Google moves on Moto as patent war hots up
By TechRadar, published 19-08-2011
"Some will call it Googorola," Gary Marshall writes. "Others, Motogoogle, or perhaps Moogle. But whatever you call it, Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility is the biggest thing to happen in mobile since Nokia climbed into bed with Ballmer."Google is acquiring Motorola Mobility for a cool $12.5 billion, subject to regulatory approval. As Gareth Beavis put it: "They must REALLY like the Atrix."So what's going on? Marshall believes it's all about the patents. "Android has become something of a patent battleground - Eric Schmidt was getting annoyed about firms who "are not responding with innovation [but] with lawsuits" last month - and I'm wondering if the Motorola deal was what Schmidt meant when he said that "we will make sure they don't lose, then" when asked about HTC's patent battle...
HP ends production of webOS hardware
By TechRadar, published 19-08-2011
Hewlett Packard has, somewhat shockingly, decided to stop making hardware for the webOS operating system, less than 18 months after buying Palm.The decision means that HP will halt production on the TouchPad tablet and the Pre line of smartphones with immediate effect. The company says it is examining the options to bring webOS, which once showed such promise, to other sectors, but for now it will go in to hibernation.Discontinued"HP plans to announce that it will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones," the company said in a statement."HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward."Despite heavy fanfare, the HP TouchPad tablet, boasting the webOS software has been largely considered a huge failure.An...
In Depth: Asus Eee Pad Slider: what you need to know
By TechRadar, published 18-08-2011
We love Asus's Eee Pad Transformer, so we can't wait to get our hands on its Slider sibling. As the name suggests, the Asus Eee Pad Slider has a slidey bit - a display that reveals a proper keyboard - but what else is inside, and what's it going to cost? Let's find out.Asus Eee Pad Slider specificationsAsus has revealed all: the Eee Pad Slider specs include a 1.0GHz dual-core NVIDA Tegra 2, a full QWERTY keyboard and USB port, SRS surround sound, a 10.1-inch WXGA (1280x800) screen and 1GB of RAM. There's a choice of 16GB or 32GB of storage, twin cameras - 1.2MP on the front and 5MP on the back - 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1. The panel is an Apple-style Intelligent Plane Switching (IPS) job, delivering a wide 178-degree viewing angle.Asus Eee Pad Slider softwareHardly a surprise, this: the...
Review: Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G
By TechRadar, published 17-08-2011
These days we're seeing a lot more slim and light ultraportable laptops. Rising up against these size zero models is the Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G.Like the Dell XPS 15z and the Macbook Pro 17 inch, this is all about packing in huge amounts of power, and who cares if it's on the chunky side. After all, as our mothers told us: it's not the outside, it's what's on the inside that counts.As with the previous Ethos models, the Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G is an entertainment centre that's designed to sit on your desk at home.Crushing the scales at 4.2kg, you wouldn't want to carry this laptop any further than the next room, to avoid popping a couple of vertebrae.That said, we were impressed at how thin the Ethos is. Sure, 40mm can't really be described as 'thin', when you consider that the Samsung 900...
Review: Vodafone 555 Blue
By TechRadar, published 08-12-2011
With social network-'addicted' teens and a global Facebook population greater than that of the United States, bringing out an affordable PAYG Facebook-integrated feature phone should be a sure bet, in theory. But then we also know that there are lies, damned lies and statistics. So, is the Vodafone 555 Blue as sure a bet after all?Well, for a basic feature phone, the Vodafone 555 Blue is a pretty enough handset. With its silver-and-white matt plastic casing, it has only just enough weight behind it. It sits comfortably in the hand with its curved corners, and with a QWERTY keyboard it's very, very reminiscent of that other Facebook phone, the HTC ChaCha – without, it seems, any of the ChaCha's features. At only 12mm thick and rather light, the Vodafone 555 Blue will fit easily into teena...
In Depth: Windows 8 gestures: what the Touch Mouse tells us
By TechRadar, published 08-12-2011
Microsoft's new Touch Mouse is a lovely piece of design in its own right.It's a comfortable wireless mouse that's great for just about any size of hand, works on literally any surface thanks to the BlueTrack optical technology and gives you the best of a mouse and trackpad combined. But it's also a clue to the gestures we expect to see in Windows 8.In the three years that the Microsoft hardware team has been working on the Touch Mouse - they had a prototype a month before Apple announced its own multitouch mouse - they've worked closely with the Windows and Surface teams and it shows in how well the gestures work with the Windows 7 features like Aero Snap and Aero Peek. But when Microsoft UK showed us the mouse again this summer, they let slip that these are gestures we'll see again in Win...
Silicon Knights picks up Canadian gov't funding
By GameSpot, published 16-07-2011
Too Human studio receives grant to nearly double studio size with the addition of 80 new jobs. The Canadian government is generous with its tax subsidies and grants for the game industry, and a welcome recipient has been St. Catherine's, Ontario-based Silicon Knights. This week, Ontario's Ministry of Economic Development and Trade announced that the Too Human developer has been granted funds to dramatically expand its operations with the creation of 80 new jobs. X-Men Destiny is the next big thing from Silicon Knights. The Ontario ministry did not expound on the particulars of its grant to Silicon Knights. However, it did note that in addition to creating the new jobs, the money would help "protect 97 existing positions" at the studio. Led by polemic game...
Review: Toshiba Satellite P755-113
By TechRadar, published 21-06-2011
Things are moving fast in mobile gaming right now. For the traditional laptop to stay relevant in these tablet-filled times, it has to offer something special to offset the decreased mobility compared to its touchscreen foe. The easiest area to exploit is raw power, specifically graphics. Fruit Ninja is all well and good on an Apple iPad 2, but what if you want to play the latest DirectX 11 games on the go?Enter Toshiba's Satellite P775-113. Under the bonnet, an Nvidia GT 540M handles the pixel pushing, which spells playable frame rates in graphically demanding DX11 titles. It's the latest in a new breed of vaguely affordable gaming PCs making the most out of rapidly advancing mobile technology. And at this price point, things are starting to get crowded. Medion's Erazer X6811 has impressi...
Review: Leica S2
By TechRadar, published 21-06-2011
Twenty grand is a lot of money. By today's prices that will buy you a brand-new Mini Cooper, a deposit on a house, or even a university education. With £20,000 you can buy a lot of camera kit, too: a pair of Nikon D3X bodies with 14-24mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses plus an Apple MacBook Pro, 27-inch screen and the whole Adobe Creative Suite doesn't come to that much. But what if you could also spend this princely sum on just one camera body and a standard lens. Would you? That's about what the Leica S2 costs when paired with with its standard lens, the Summarit 70mm f/2.5. The Leica S2 is a medium-format camera, meaning its sensor is bigger than you'd find in a full-frame DSLR – 56% bigger in this case. There are many other medium-format cameras on the market of cours...
Best Case for Your PC Build: 8 New Chassis Tested & Rated
By MaximumPC, published 13-06-2011
When you're outfitting a new computer, it can be tempting to just buy the cheapest no-name case you can find, slap your new parts into it, and call it a day. While that might have been a valid choice in ye olde beige days—heck, early Dream Machine builds didn't even list the case—it's not one we'd recommend today. Enthusiast components today put out a lot of heat, and if that heat isn't dealt with, your rig's lifespan and performance will suffer.That doesn't mean you have to spend an arm and a leg on your chassis, though you certainly can. This month, we round up eight cases, from the budget to the extreme, to see how they measure up to the task of holding your precious modern components.How We Perform Thermal TestingTo ensure useful thermal test results, we have to use components that...
HTC Sensation vs Samsung Galaxy S2
By TechRadar, published 06-03-2011
We've been treated to a cornucopia of high quality mobile phones recently, but it's a certain two that have got the tongues wagging: the dual-core majesty of the HTC Sensation and the Samsung Galaxy S2.We've reviewed them both already, but so often we're asked the question of 'which should I buy?'So here's TechRadar's detailed and in-depth look at the differences between the two handsets - and if you still can't decide after reading through our guide, then we can only suggest you toss a coin in your local phone retailer.Build qualityThere's a marked difference between the HTC Sensation and Samsung Galaxy S2 when it comes to the design of the devices – which basically comes down to thickness and weight.The Sensation has a plastic and aluminium chassis combined with a relatively heavy glas...
Review Roundup: This week's hottest reviews on TechRadar
By TechRadar, published 21-05-2011
This week's reviews include HTC's tablet as well as the new 2011 iMac lineup.The HTC Flyer was announced at Mobile World Congress when it impressed, but how does it stand up to the iPad 2 and plethora of Android 3.0 devices?The new 21.5 and 27-inch iMacs offer awesome power, but do they give you more power than you need? We've also looked at an epic 50-inch plasma TV from Panasonic and much more. Read on to find out more. HTC Flyer reviewNow that Android is a major tablet OS, with Android 3.0 appearing on the likes of the Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1V, HTC is still staying separate from the crowd. The most notable change from the norm is the 7-inch screen and the touchscreen stylus, known officially as the Magic Pen. It connects wirelessly to the Flyer, and enables you to anno...
Review Roundup: This week's hottest reviews on TechRadar
By TechRadar, published 14-05-2011
This week's top reviews include the Asus Eee Pad Transformer - one of the best tablets we've seen so far, running Android 3.0 Honeycomb. We've also reviewed the new HTC Wildfire S - a new breed Android handset that's available on budget tariffs. And then there's the simplicity of passive 3D with the LG 42LW550T. Below we've the details on all these top reviews as well as a full listing of all this week's reviews published across these pages. Asus Eee Pad Transformer review Finally, the Android tablet we've all been waiting for has arrived. While Android 3.0 has been knocking around for months now, viable, available-to-buy tablets have been rarer than a rare thing in a place that doesn't exist. The Transformer is an excellent touchscreen tablet that comes with its own battery-packing keyboa...
HP Introduces Industry's First Wi-Fi Rodent with 9 Month Battery Life
By MaximumPC, published 05-12-2011
A wireless mouse solves one problem while simultaneously introducing another, and it's up to you to decide if cutting the cord (and maybe a bit of clutter) is worth the trade-off of giving up a USB port for the wireless receiver. HP's engineers didn't think so, but rather than throw in the towel, they went and developed the new HP Wi-Fi Mobile Mouse, the first mouse to connect quickly and easily without a USB dongle using a PC's built-in Wi-Fi receiver. Genius! HP's Wi-Fi Mobile Mouse boasts up to nine months of battery life, or more than twice that of comparable Bluetooh models, and comes adorned with five customizable buttons. There's a smooth, four-way tilt scroll wheel, rubber sides for improved grip, and a sculpted form that should suit both left- and right-handed users. On a related ...
New HP notebook computers land for business users and consumers
By SlashGear, published 05-09-2011
HP has added several new notebooks to its line of consumer and business offerings today. Among the new machines are the HP ProBook 5330m and the EliteBook 2560p and 2570p, as well as the HP Mini 210. The 5330m is an ultraportable aimed at the business pro with a profile under an inch thick and a weight of 3.9 pounds. The machine has a 13.3-inch screen and a backlit keyboard as well. It can be had with Core i5 or i3 processors and has a fingerprint sensor and lots more. The 2560p is a 12.5-inch notebook and the 2760p is a 12.1-inch machine with a screen that converts to a tablet. The notebooks can be had with Core i7 or i5 processors, HDD or SSD options and more. The Mini 210 is a new netbook with a profile under an inch thick and offered in lots of colors. HP is also talking about the Pa...
HP Refreshes Envy 14, Releases Mini 210 and Pavilion dv4 Notebooks
By HotHardware, published 05-09-2011
We know you just purchased your last laptop, but already HP's giving you a reason to ponder an upgrade. The company's launching a major stash of new gear today, and we'll start with the new consumer machines. As part of a major notebook expansion, the gamer-centric HP Envy 14 is seeing an update. While the exterior is basically the same, the...
In Depth: 20 bits of Hi-Fi kit for audio perfection
By TechRadar, published 05-08-2011
With all the exhibition space sold there was a buzz about the 2011 Bristol Sound & Vision show before it had even started. A buzz which rose to fever pitch when the massed audio enthusiasts burst into the Marriott foyer on the first day. This show has grown in importance to the point where it is the most popular in the hi-fi events calendar. The driving force being the array of key manufacturers showing their latest wares. This year's theme was clearly affordability. There was definitely some high-end exotica in action at Bristol, but even more keenly priced components and accessories. Three cable manufacturers revealed radically revised designs with one coming straight out of left field. Speaker makers, meanwhile, have been revisiting the sub-£200 sector with renewed enthusiasm, which ha...
Acer Iconia Tab A100 and A101 up for pre-order in UK, ships May 14
By SlashGear, published 05-05-2011
Back in April the Acer Iconia Tab A100 hit Amazon UK for pre-order with a ship date pegged by the pre-order page as April 20. April 20 came and went with apparently no launch of the tablets. The Acer Iconia A100 and its twin the A101 are now both on pre-order again at Amazon in the UK with a different launch date. Whether this launch date sticks remains to be seen. According to the ad, the new launch date is only nine days away. The A100 will ship out on May 14 as will its 3G modem packing brother the A101. The price of the A101 is high at £399 or about $661 in the USD and the A100 is a bit cheaper at £299 working out to a $165 discount over the 3G version. Other than the 3G modem in the A101, the two are hardware clones, and both have a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen with a resolution...
Buying Guide: Best netbook: top 14 in the world today
By TechRadar, published 05-04-2011
Our continually updated list of all the best netbooks available todayNetbooks are affordable. It's the reason we love them, and the reason that they took off in the first place. The cheap netbook isn't for everyone, but choose carefully and you'll get the best netbook on the market that will suit your needs.The big idea when getting your head around netbook computers is managing your expectations. If you're looking to write a novel, play games, or do a series stint of work, then you may be better off going for a full notebook or a desktop PC. While all these things are possible on a netbook, they're ideal for taking notes, editing work, watching movies, browsing the web and simply lasting a lengthy journey away from a plug socket. The battery life offered up by netbooks can be amazing, wit...
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Review
By SlashGear, published 05-03-2011
ASUS has been plugging away at tablets for years now, experimenting with convertible netbooks and trying to coax some semblance of finger-friendliness out of Windows. It’s taken Android 3.0 Honeycomb and the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101 to actually deliver, however: an eye-catching hybrid offering the touch-usability of a slate and the content creation flexibility of a Keyboard Dock. Has Eee Pad outclassed iPad 2 or do the ASUS Transformer’s two halves not quite add up to a whole? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut. Hardware With its plastic chassis and brown color scheme, the Eee Pad Transformer is always going to struggle against the brushed metal and wafer-thin build of the iPad 2. At 271 x 171 x 12.98 mm and 680g, ASUS has produced a bigger slate than th...
Speed Week: How to build the ultimate speed PC
By TechRadar, published 20-04-2011
This article is brought to you in association with LG Optimus 2XWant to build the fastest PC ever? Want to know what the best graphics card is to go with the fastest processor? Come with us and we'll tell you how to put together the ultimate performance PC.Sometimes only the fastest will do and that is especially true with a performance gaming PC. The pinnacle of PC excellence is a machine with only the biggest, quickest and most powerful components known to man, all working in unison to make everything you do with your PC an absolute joy.But it's the part about them working together that is possibly one of the most important things to consider if you're looking to put together the fastest machine on the face of this earth. The one thing you absolutely cannot have is a bottleneck in your s...
MLB’s Bob Bowman cites diminished returns for limited Android support on MLB app
By SlashGear, published 04-05-2011
MLB has one of the highest grossing apps on the App Store for iPhone users. AllThingsD sat down and talked with Bob Bowman, the dude at MLB in charge of Advanced Media including the apps that baseball fans around the country use to follow their favorite teams and games. As it stands the MLB app only supports 11 Android devices, up from six devices at launch. Bowman was asked if he ever considered not supporting Android devices at all with the MLB app, to which he replied no. He does note that support for all Android phones will not be offered because of diminishing returns. Bowman notes that Android users are less likely to purchase and make for a different ROI than Apple device users. Bowman also says that Android smartphones are great devices, but that if the user wants “…first ...
HTC Desire S Review
By SlashGear, published 28-03-2011
The original HTC Desire became one of the most popular Android smartphones of 2010, a compelling balance of screen-size, functionality and pricing that convinced us in our review and continued to convince buyers throughout the year. Now, HTC is back with the follow-up, the HTC Desire S. Question is, with dual-core Android phones already on the market, does the “S” stand for “sequel” or just “surpassed”? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut. Hardware The original Desire was HTC’s own-brand version of the Nexus One, the first Google Phone; since then, Google has partnered with Samsung on the Nexus S, leaving HTC to follow its own path with the Desire S. Smaller than the Desire, at 115 x 59.8 x 11.63 mm, and 5g lighter at 130g, the Desi...
In Depth: New mobile phones 2011: the full rundown
By TechRadar, published 28-03-2011
The world of new mobile phones changes so fast that even we at TechRadar have a hard time keeping up, and we're the internet. Since we don't want anyone to miss the news about the newest mobile phone that might be ideal for them, we've put together this round up of our hands-on reviews. These aren't our full reviews, so won't have the same authoritative depth, but they're our early impressions of all these new mobiles after we've been able to spend some limited time with them.This page will be updated regularly as new mobile phones are announced, so you know it's always the best place to come for the all the upcoming mobile phone news you'll need.Samsung Wave 578NFC (near-field communications) is an area that the networks seem to be pushing more and more in new mobile phones, but we've mos...
In Depth: New mobile phones 2011: the full rundown
By TechRadar, published 28-03-2011
The world of new mobile phones changes so fast that even we at TechRadar have a hard time keeping up, and we're the internet. Since we don't want anyone to miss the news about the newest mobile phone that might be ideal for them, we've put together this round up of our hands-on reviews. These aren't our full reviews, so won't have the same authoritative depth, but they're our early impressions of all these new mobiles after we've been able to spend some limited time with them.This page will be updated regularly as new mobile phones are announced, so you know it's always the best place to come for the all the upcoming mobile phone news you'll need.Samsung Wave 578NFC (near-field communications) is an area that the networks seem to be pushing more and more in new mobile phones, but we've mos...
Toshiba’s Tegra 2 Android second-attempt tablet gets detailed
By SlashGear, published 18-03-2011
It’s obviously the morning for Android tablet listings; we’ve seen the Dell Streak 7 WiFi pop up on Amazon, and now Toshiba’s 10.1-inch Android tablet has been spotted staking out its online retail space. The Tegra 2 powered slate – which we grabbed some fleeting hands-on time with back at CES – also gets a long list of specifications, including HDMI, a full-sized USB 2.0 port and twin cameras. Up front there’s a 2-megapixel webcam for video calls, while on the back is a 5-megapixel camera for photos and video. Connectivity includes WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth – no sign of 3G in the Amazon listing – as well as a mini USB, full-sized SD card reader and a 3.5mm headphone socket. GPS, an accelerometer and digital compass are all included. The rub...
HTC Arrive Hands-On and Unboxing
By SlashGear, published 15-03-2011
Today we’ve received a package from Sprint that’s contained no less than the newest Windows Phone 7 handset in the world, the HTC Arrive! This is a piece of hardware that you’ll never forget you’ve held. It’s got not only a unique hinge revealing a full QWERY keyboard under its head, it’s one of the most substantial and hardcore smartphones we’ve ever laid eyes on. It’s got metal pieces and speakers all over the place, smoothly placed HTC and Sprint logos at the top of it’s face with a classic Windows logo down below, and a giant heavy screwed-down battery cover on the back. Take a journey with us through the opening, handling, and holding of this lovely phone. Before we continue, I must tell you that this is the first Windows Phone 7...
iPad helps Dell swipe second place from Acer
By SlashGear, published 03-11-2011
There have been many computer markers that have been hammered by the iPad and the tablet market in general as sales of their cheap netbooks drop in the face of the tablet. While many makers cry and curse the tablet and its stealing of netbook market, Dell has benefitted impressively from the iPad. iSuppli has offered up the numbers for the computer market in Q4 2010 and for the entire year of 2010 and the numbers show that Dell edged out Acer to take the number two spot in the market. The industry leader was still HP. Acer was hit hard since it had strong netbook sales and consumers flocked to the iPad and tier tablets. Dell with its robust enterprise business that still focuses on notebooks was able to maintain its sales. The strong enterprise sales allow Dell to beat Acer by 2%. iSuppl...
MacBook Pro 15-inch Review (early 2011)
By SlashGear, published 03-01-2011
Apple’s MacBook Pro refresh last week didn’t get a press event with huge fanfare, but it’s arguably the most important update to the notebook range in some time. Bringing in Intel’s 2011 Core processor range across the board, and spicing up the larger models with AMD discrete graphics, the new versions may look the same but they promise a huge leap in performance. The high-end 15-inch MacBook Pro arrived on the SlashGear test bench last Thursday and we’ve been putting it through its paces ever since. Could this really be the best notebook around? Check out the full review after the cut. Hardware At first glance, there’s little to differentiate this new MacBook Pro from the model it replaces. Apple has kept the unibody aluminum chassis, backlit keyboard...
NVIDIA Tegra Zone hits Android Market, gets full review [Video]
By SlashGear, published 03-01-2011
NVIDIA’s Tegra Zone app for Tegra 2 based smartphones and tablets has landed in the Android Market, offering the best of optimized games and software for the superphone chip. Over at Android Community they’ve wasted no time in putting together a full Tegra Zone review, along with a full Tegra Optimized Mini Game Guide with all the best titles. If you’ve been looking at a Motorola XOOM, LG G-Slate or Motorola ATRIX 4G then the Tegra Zone app is one you should definitely be downloading. Titles themselves are still accessed from the Android Market – that makes updating and managing downloads more straightforward – but there are more comprehensive reviews and previews of games like Dungeon Defenders: FW Deluxe, Samurai II: Vengeance THD, Backbreaker THD, Fruit N...
Catch up: this week's most popular posts
By TechRadar, published 19-02-2011
It's been mobile phone mayhem this week with a host of new smartphones being shown off at the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.And even though Apple wasn't there to show off a new iPhone, that hasn't stopped more iPhone 5 rumours cropping up.Read on for this week's most popular stories on TechRadar…Top five news storiesRumour: iPhone nano being developed by AppleApple could be developing a budget iPhone in order to ward off competition from Google Android handsets.A prototype version of a smaller, cheaper Apple handset than the iPhone 4 is said to exist, although this is no guarantee such an iPhone will ever make it to market.The mysterious little iPhone is apparently a third smaller than the iPhone 4, with no home button on the front of the handset, which certainly sits well wi...
Across the pond: This week on TechRadar
By MaximumPC, published 18-02-2011
It's been mobile phone mayhem this week on TechRadar with a host of new smartphones being shown off at the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. And even though Apple wasn't there to show off a new iPhone, that hasn't stopped more iPhone 5 rumours cropping up. Read on for this week's most popular stories on TechRadar… Top five news stories Rumour: iPhone nano being developed by Apple Apple could be developing a budget iPhone in order to ward off competition from Google Android handsets. A prototype version of a smaller, cheaper Apple handset than the iPhone 4 is said to exist, although this is no guarantee such an iPhone will ever make it to market. The mysterious little iPhone is apparently a third smaller than the iPhone 4, with no home button on the front of the handset, which ...
Updated: Android 3.0: all the latest updates
By TechRadar, published 17-02-2011
Information about Android 3.0 - Android Honeycomb - is coming thick and fast now as a raft of Android 3.0 tablets are lined up for release this year.Here's what we know about Android 3.0 so far. On 20 October, we reported that Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets were rumoured to be heading out to engineers in time for Christmas. This resulted in a huge range of tablets arriving at CES 2011, with UK release dates later in the year, but none of the tablets on show were actually running Android 3.0.Android 3.0 release dateAndroid 3.0 release date is looking like early 2011.In a video on All Things Digital posted on 7 December 2010 Google's Andy Rubin showed off a prototype Motorola Android 3.0 tablet and confirmed that the Android 3.0 release date will be "some time next year".As of mid-February 20...
Halo: Reach Defiant map pack confirmed
By GameSpot, published 14-02-2011
Microsoft sets March release for next trio of multiplayer levels for last year's blockbuster sci-fi shooter. Last week, a French Halo fansite published--and then pulled--details and screenshots supposedly showing a new Defiant Map Pack add-on for Halo: Reach. The site's original report proved true today, as Microsoft officially confirmed the map pack and set it for release next month. There's more Reach on the way. Like the Noble Map Pack before it, the Defiant Map Pack adds three new levels to Reach's multiplayer mode: Condemned, Highlands, and Unearthed. Condemned is a space station level supporting 6 to 12 players, while Highlands takes the fight outside for 8- to 16-player battles in the wilderness of Reach. Finally, Unearthed is set in one of the ...
Catch up: this week's most popular posts
By TechRadar, published 02-12-2011
This week, the numbering and naming of future versions of Android got a little confusing as Viewsonic revealed Google's plans for Android 2.4, which involve keeping the Gingerbread name and effectively replacing Android 2.3.And on a more retro tip,we discovered that Sinclair's ZX Spectrum is set to be relaunched to celebrate the classic computer's 30th anniversary.With Mobile World Congress kicking off tomorrow evening, the HTC Desire 2 looks to be one of the handsets that'll be making an appearance.Read on for this week's most popular stories on TechRadar…Top five news storiesAndroid 2.4 to replace 2.3, retain Gingerbread flavour?Viewsonic has revealed Google's plans for Android 2.4, which involve keeping the Gingerbread name and effectively replacing Android 2.3.The American company ha...
Review: Samsung Wave II GT-S8530
By TechRadar, published 02-10-2011
The Samsung Wave II follows up an earlier device of the same name, the original Samsung Wave. The first Wave launched a new operating system on the world, Bada, and we saw it again in the Wave 723.Sitting underneath a familiar TouchWiz user interface, Bada gives Samsung the opportunity to have its own app store. Samsung is clearly hedging its bets, because it's also very friendly with Android as we've seen in handsets like the Galaxy S and the Google-branded Nexus S, and with Windows Phone 7 as we've seen in the Omnia 7. There's plenty going on in terms of specifications in the Wave II. Headlining things along with a very slightly revised version of Bada is the Super Clear LCD 3.7-inch screen. These aside we've got a 1GHz processor, Wi-Fi, HSDPA, GPS and five-megapixel camera with 720p vid...
Nokia E7 Review
By SlashGear, published 02-10-2011
Arriving on the market late, the Nokia E7 finds itself launching at a shaky point in the Finnish company’s history. Under new management, suffering doubts – internal and external – over the strength of its current platforms, and watching increasing amounts of attention and revenue being taken by key rivals like Apple, Nokia has high expectations for its new business flagship. Misplaced, misguided or money in the bank? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut. Hardware The E7 may be the largest of the recent Symbian smartphones – looking at first glance like an oversized N8 and significantly chunkier than the svelte C7 – but inside it’s business as usual. Keeping Symbian moving is a 680MHz ARM 11 processor, paired with 256MB of RAM and OpenGL 2...
Dell pulls plug on MacBook Air rival
By TechRadar, published 02-10-2011
Dell has canned its MacBook Air rival, the Dell Adamo, after heavy discounting failed to ignite sales at retail.Dell has informed TechRadar that the current Dell Adamo line of luxury laptops is to be discontinued."With the launch of the XPS 15 and 17 laptops in October, we have realigned our premium products under the XPS brand," says Ellen Murphy, EMEA Consumer PR Manager for XPS. "XPS products are developed to deliver a premium performance experience associated with multimedia activities like video editing, immersive entertainment and casual gaming. The engineering excellence and cutting-edge design Adamo is known for will be incorporated into future products under the XPS brand."MacBook Air rivalThe Dell Adamo was originally unveiled at CES back in January 2009, pitched as a PC competit...
Review: Samsung Wave II GT-S8530
By TechRadar, published 02-10-2011
The Samsung Wave II follows up an earlier device of the same name, the original Samsung Wave. The first Wave launched a new operating system on the world, Bada, and we saw it again in the Wave 723.Sitting underneath a familiar TouchWiz user interface, Bada gives Samsung the opportunity to have its own app store. Samsung is clearly hedging its bets, because it's also very friendly with Android as we've seen in handsets like the Galaxy S and the Google-branded Nexus S, and with Windows Phone 7 as we've seen in the Omnia 7. There's plenty going on in terms of specifications in the Wave II. Headlining things along with a very slightly revised version of Bada is the Super Clear LCD 3.7-inch screen. These aside we've got a 1GHz processor, Wi-Fi, HSDPA, GPS and five-megapixel camera with 720p vid...
Hands on: INQ Cloud Touch review
By TechRadar, published 02-09-2011
If you were studying the budget end of the UK feature phone market a couple of years ago, you'd have seen the INQ Chat 3G and INQ Mini 3G make an appearance, with much more promised.Well, fast forward to now and we've finally got the next level of INQ device - an Android 2.2-powered smartphone called the INQ Cloud Touch.The new phone is an innovative beast - with a very light plastic chassis you could call it a cheap-feeling device, but with the cost likely to be towards the lower end of the scale, that would be a fair assessment.The 3.5-inch HVGA screen isn't much to write home about either, with the lightness of the phone making it a little bit of a hollow experience wiping across the display - but then again, with the price range in mind, it's to be expected.The rear of the phone sports...
HP Veer - tiny webOS smartphone launched
By TechRadar, published 02-09-2011
HP has announced one of the smallest smartphones we've ever seen, the HP Veer, running Palm's webOS operating system.The credit-card sized device is effectively a baby version of the Palm Pre, with a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard and full webOS 2.1 functionality.The Veer fulfils the 'Think Small' portion of HP's much-hyped "Think Big. Think Small. Think Beyond" media event which also sees the launch of the Palm TouchPad tablet and the Palm Pre 3 smartphone.Palm-sizedThe new device, outed moments ago in San Franscisco features 8GB of storage, is the first smartphone to boast the Snapdragon 7230 (800MHz) processor and has the same RAM as the Palm Pre 2.There's also Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth, HSDPA+ support as well as an accelerometer and light sensor.The device looks delightful, but that...
Motherboard Mano-a-Mano
By MaximumPC, published 02-09-2011
The brave new world of LGA1155 There’s good news and bad news for Intel lovers. The bad news is for folks who just bought a motherboard using the LGA1156 socket: Yup, it’s obsolete already. The good news: The LGA1155 motherboards using Intel’s performance P67 chipset are swimming with improvements such as native SATA 6Gb/s support, front-panel USB 3.0 headers, and UEFI. The biggest change, of course, is support for Intel’s new line of Sandy Bridge CPUs. These second-generation Core ix processors are not only fast, they’re cheap and overclock like hell. To find a suitable home for your new Sandy Bridge chip, we gathered up boards from old foes MSI, Asus and Gigabyte to see whose next-gen motherboard deserves the honor. Our mini roundup not only gives you a glance at what the lates...
How-To Build a Windows Home Server with Muscle (but no Drive Extender)
By MaximumPC, published 02-08-2011
The next generation of Windows Home Server enables video streaming and transcoding operations, so we built a WHS system that can handle the load [Editor's Note: This story was originally written in November 2010 and published in our January 2011 issue. In early January 2011, Microsoft ended the Beta program for Windows Home Server Vail, and announced that the next version of Vail would ship without the Drive Extender technology it had previously used. The new Drive-Extender-less Release Candidate for Windows Home Server 2011 was released in early February, and we have updated this guide accordingly.] If you buy a Windows Home Server system off the shelf, you typically get an anemic processor—usually an Atom of some kind—and the original version of WHS, updated with various power packs....
Trouble At Notion Ink: UI Director Leaves, Adam Battery Issues Surface
By SlashGear, published 02-07-2011
Notion Ink put on one hell of a show at CES 2011. The Adams they showed us were extremely polished. But one thing you can’t test in a floor review is battery life. Which is why it’s taken until the first wave of Adam’s for a major battery issue to pop up. Initially, it was claimed that the Adam could support looping 1080p video on full volume/brightness for 6 hours. Real in-use life estimates started at fifteen and went up from there. The iPad’s outstanding 10 hour battery and the super-efficient Pixel Qi display made this claim plausible. But now two threads on the Notion Addicts forums have popped up, filled with complaints about the battery. User happy1′s response was characteristic of issues experienced by several users: “The update did not fix ...
Ultimate Geek Living Room: 14 Must-See Entertainment & Lifestyle Technologies
By MaximumPC, published 02-07-2011
It’s your command center. Your sanctuary. Your high-tech entertainment pavilion serving audiophile-caliber music, 3D HDTV, and sundry other digital treats. It's your living room, and it demands the most maximum gear. In this article, we included only products that are currently for sale, and we personally tested every single piece of gear, picking only those products we could personally endorse. Indeed, this is no superficial gadget catalog that you’d find in your junk mail, and we’re not one of those websites that profiles something just because it looks cool. Our homes are becoming fully technologized, and we aim to reveal the very best of today’s domestic tech revolution. Panasonic Viera TC-P50VT25 Plasma 3D HDTV Should your next HDTV be LCD or plasma? Partisans in both camps w...
Tutorial: 15 advanced Windows Media Center tips
By TechRadar, published 29-01-2011
Windows Media Center is a cracking piece of software. It works elegantly if you're sitting at your desk, and equally well if you're reclining on your sofa, waving a remote control and watching a movie. However, despite its many advantages and undeniable prettiness, Media Center does have its foibles and limitations. He we'll identify and remove its biggest drawbacks.1. Play MKV video files in Windows Media CenterMany high definition videos come in MKV file format, which you can play back in VLC Media Player, but not in Windows Media Center. To fix this, download and install ffdshow tryouts. With 64-bit Windows you'll also need the 64-bit SVN, which you can get from the same place. Also install Gabest's Matroska Splitters. You need to associate MKV files with Windows Media Center. To do thi...
Synology DiskStation DS411slim NAS: up to 4TB in palm-sized box
By SlashGear, published 25-01-2011
We’re big fans of Synology’s DiskStation NAS drives and the flexible DSM software they run, so we’ve high hopes for the company’s newest small form-factor model. The Synology DiskStation DS411slim hides up to four 2.5-inch drives in a 120 x 105 x 142 mm chassis for up to 3TB of redundant storage; it’s also got a small power footprint, sucking down under 17W under load or 9.6W in hibernation mode. Up to four 1TB drives can be installed, and thanks to Synology’s own Hybrid RAID (SHR) system you can have redundant storage without all of the HDDs being the same capacity. Alternatively there’s manual control over Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 5+Spare, RAID 6 or RAID 10 arrays. External USB or eSATA drives can be added, and there’s Am...
The Daily Slash: January 24 2011
By SlashGear, published 25-01-2011
Without giving away the whole surprise, we’ve got some big things in store for you readers over the next few weeks. New voices, free stuff, a whole new look for one of our outlets, and a variety of mini-updates you’re going to flip over. Today we’re bringing you a wild assortment of updates from all corners of the tech world, most of which are previews of devices you’ve almost certainly already got your eye on. Behold the coming of the next generation – stick with us as we cover it. R3 Media Network Editor’s Choice ADW Launcher EX Updated, Several Awesome Additions Added Motorola Xoom Launching for $699 at Best Buy February 17th Android Code NOT Copied, Florian Mueller Story Found Bunk 75% of AOL subscribers “don’t realize” they don’t need it 6...
SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up: January 24 2011
By SlashGear, published 24-01-2011
Let’s start this fine Monday with a launch straight into space: once with an Android Device, another time with a Samsung balloon full of paper planes. Next lets get back to Earth with the continuation of the 3D wave with some Tegra 2 3D Chips that’ll be popping up this spring. Grab a big fat update to ADW Launcher EX with several new docks and fixes. Next order of business, Florian Mueller’s been found bunked out – who is he? He’s the guy who found a bunch of Oracle codes in Android’s open source code, saying the suit against Android has total footing -doesn’t appear that way any more. Then remember that $10K iTunes gift card prize for the 10 billionth app downloaded? The mother of the girl who won it hung up on the “you won” call. Chec...
-
HP Mini 110 : (6.6/10)
1 expert reviews
0 user reviews
-
HP Mini 100e : (8/10)
1 expert reviews
0 user reviews
-
HP Mini 1000 : (4/10)
1 expert reviews
0 user reviews
-
HP G72-a10SA : (7/10)
2 expert reviews
0 user reviews
