The Best Windows Laptops, From $400 to $1500 [Laptops]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/-nVmxRrCIuI/the-best-windows-laptops-from-400-to-1500

Mark Spoonauer is the editor in chief of LAPTOP Magazine and Laptopmag.com, which reviewed over 130 notebooks and netbooks in the last year. Here are his favorite notebooks of 2009. So iIf you're buying a notebook, buy one of these.)

Sub $400

Acer Aspire 1410

Starting Price: $399
This 3.2-pound ultraportable is such a sweet deal it makes us question whether netbooks are long for this world. Acer stuffed a dual-core Celeron processor (about double the performance of Atom), 2GB of RAM and Windows 7 Premium inside a 11.6-inch system with a full-size keyboard—all for just $399. Plus, you get 6.5 hours of battery life. Sure, the 160GB hard drive is a bit skimpy, but the 1410 is a real PC you can take anywhere. [Review]

Sub $700

Gateway NV

Starting Price: $599.99
The NV proves that you can get a good-looking budget laptop that performs. In addition to four color choices (blue, brown, read, and black), this 15.6-inch notebook sports a fashionable metal hinge and glowing LED controls. Under the hood the NV satisfies with the combination of an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard drive. Our only nitpick is the narrow touchpad button. [Review]

ASUS UL30A< br>
Starting Price: $649.99
If we had to pick a notebook of the year, the UL30A would be it. Why? Because this 13 incher is light enough to take anywhere yet offers enough pep to be your primary machine. This 4-pound ultraportable lasted nearly 10 hours on a charge in our tests (continuous surfing over Wi-Fi), and its ultra-low voltage Core 2 Duo processor can easily handle Windows 7. Bonus: 500GB of storage is nice for the $650 price. [Review]

Sub $1000

Dell Studio 14z

Starting Price: $749.99
Think of it as the poor man's MacBook—with better specs and sound. Dell's 14-inch thin and light notebook weighs in at just 4.4 pounds and features Nvidia 9400 graphics for extra multimedia punch. But unlike the entry level $999 Mac, the Dell offers 70GB more hard drive space, superior speakers, and a backlit keyboard for $160 less. The only trade-offs are the lack of a DVD drive and the need for an adapter for plugging in memory cards. [Review]

Sub $1500

Toshiba Qosmio X505

Starting Price : $1399
Ideal for multimedia mavens and good enough for gamers, the 18.4-inch Qosmio X505 brings serious muscle in the $1,499 configuration, including a blazing Core i7 CPU and Nvidia ! GTS 250M graphics (with 1 GB of dedicated video memory). We also dig the classy glossy black design with metallic red accents, integrated Blu-ray drive, and booming Harman Kardon speakers. If you want to step up from the 1680 x 945 display to a full HD screen, splurge for the $1,899 model, which also sports 6GB of RAM and an SSD. [Review]

ThinkPad T400s

Starting Price: $1599 ($1359.15 after coupon)
If BMWs are the ultimate driving machines, ThinkPads are the ultimate business machines, and this is the flagship vehicle. The T400s measures just 0.8 inches thick and weighs 3.9 pounds, and it's decked out in supersturdy magnesium (for the bottom and deck) and carbon fiber (for the lid). More important, this 14-incher blows away the competition in terms of ergonomic comfort and performance—when you spring for the 2.53-GHz processor and 128GB solid state drive. [Review]

To see all of LAPTOP's top picks of the year, click here.

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Acer's Ferrari One netbook now available -- might not help you get a date

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/acers-ferrari-one-netbook-now-available-might-not-help-you-g/

You're probably already fairly familiar with Acer's foray into speedy netbooks with the the Ferrari One -- the 11.6-incher we found to be slightly underwhelming when we got our hands on it back in September. Still, the famous branding and the red hot lid is sure to be a draw for some, and other than that, this laptop boasts an 1.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 CPU, an AMD M780G chipset, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3200 graphics, plus WiFi, Bluetooth, optional WWAN and a 6-cell battery. It'll run you about $600 to grab one up and it's available now. Full press release is after the break.

Continue reading Acer's Ferrari One netbook now available -- might not help you get a date

Acer's Ferrari One netbook now available -- might not help you get a date originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI rolls out Wind Top AE2020 all-in-one in the UK

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/msi-rolls-out-wind-top-ae2020-all-in-one-in-the-uk/

MSI's Wind Top AE2220 may have just started shipping 'round these parts a few weeks ago, but it looks like the company is already set to drop another model on the UK. While it remains mostly identical in appearance, the new Wind Top AE2020 scales things back a bit with a slightly smaller, lower resolution 20-inch, 1,600 x 900 display -- though you do still get the same multitouch functionality as its larger counterpart. Otherwise, you can expect to get an Ion chipset paired with a 2.1GHz Pentium T4300 processor, along with a standard 3GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, a DVD burner, and Windows 7 for an OS, among other standard all-in-one fare. Still no indication of this one making its way over here, but folks in the UK can apparently pick one up right now for £599.

MSI rolls out Wind Top AE2020 all-in-one in the UK originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASRock ION 330HT-BD nettop goes on sale for $589

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/asrock-ion-330ht-bd-nettop-goes-on-sale-for-589/

If you're scouting a nettop that'll hit your doorstep prior to those Christmas bells ringing, you'll want to look elsewhere. That said, those with plenty of time to spare may want to consider ASRock's ION 330HT-BD, particularly if you just can't seem to stop renting Blu-ray Discs from Netflix. The box has just landed on Amazon with a $588.99 price tag and an admittedly frightening "usually ships within 1 to 4 months" warning, and if you're no fan of BD (liar!), the standard 330HT is in the same boat for $458.99.

ASRock ION 330HT-BD nettop goes on sale for $589 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Manual Android 2.0.1 Droid update detailed for the impatient

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/09/manual-android-2-0-1-update-detailed-for-the-impatient/

Still haven't gotten that Android 2.0.1 OTA update on your Droid? You're not alone (most people are still waiting for 2.0 on their Android handset, you self-centered power user, you), but luckily there's a simple solution. Basically you just have to manually download the update file, copy it to an SD card and restart your Droid while tapping out a simple succession of hardware keys. You can check out the "detailed" and "badass" versions of the instructions at the two respective source links below.

Manual Android 2.0.1 Droid update detailed for the impatient originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell Vostro V13 Hands On: Bruce Wayne's Laptop [Notebooks]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/CaKJrXOJB6M/dell-vostro-v13-hands-on-bruce-waynes-laptop

Magnesium alloy. Aluminum. Zinc. That's what Dell's Vostro V13 is built with. It's as thin as Dell's primo Adamo at 0.65 inches, but it weighs less, 3.5 pounds. Yet somehow, it's $450.

Well, part of the somehow is that the default $450 configuration uses a Celeron processor and comes with Ubuntu. You don't play in Windows land 'til you hit $600, and don't reach ULV Core 2 Duo brains—which ain't exactly heavy duty—until you drop $650.

The V13 is a collision of high end—the design, angled and thin, heavily echoing the original Adamo's silhouette, and build quality, as sturdy as any non-unibody laptop we've tried to bend—and low rent—the keyboard is straight off Dell's budget Inspiron line and well, I already told you what's inside (there's other spec sparseness as well, like 2GB RAM, VGA out and 2 USB ports, one of which is a combo eSATA number). The 13.3-inch, LED-backlit, anti-glare display is nice enough though, at a resolution of 1366x768. The 6-cell sealed battery is rated for 4 hours and 42 minutes, according to Dell, but expect less actually using it, obviously.

Still, at $650, let alone $450—netbook level—you expect some compromise, and if it wasn't at the expense of the design and materials, it had to cut somewhere. (Conversely, you can buy raging monsters from Asus, filled with blistering silicon, but it's powering machines that are ugly, bloated plastic.) Un! -comprom ise is expensive, but the V13 straddles the line fairly skillfully, erring on the side that most don't, and that's something that's commendable. If the Adamo was Batman's laptop, this more human and vulnerable rendition for suits is Bruce Wayne's.

[Dell]

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Aluratek's $179 LCD-Based Libre eBook Reader Goes Cheap [Ebooks]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/3R-YKP40HQk/alurateks-179-lcd+based-libre-ebook-reader-goes-cheap

The Libre eBook Reader PRO has a 2GB SD card with a monochrome reflective light LCD instead of an e-Ink display, which puts into a different bucket than the other eBook readers shipping recently. Plus, it's only $179.

The reader has 24 hours of continuous use (not too shabby for an LCD, even if it is monochrome), and supports MP3 and photos. It's 5 inches big, reads ePub and PDF as well as TXT, Mobi, PRC and RTF formats. Those of you who like downloading books from "non-official" sources know that they usually come in one of those formats. But the Libre comes with 100 "free" books, which are most likely public domain books you could get for free.

We'll see how it stacks up to e-ink type readers when we test it, but on paper, this seems like a pretty decent (cheap) alternative. Especially because it promises a faster page-turn refresh rate than e-ink. It comes in black and white. [Aluratek]

Aluratek, Inc., a leading creator of sophisticated yet user-friendly computer peripherals and consumer electronic devices, announces Libre – the new eBook Reader with exclusive LCD technology. Libre provides the most affordable product in the category, featuring superior battery life with up to 24 hours of continuous use, auto-off and page advance features, MP3 and photo support.

Utilizing the latest monochrome reflective light LCD display technology, the Libre eBook Reader PRO provides a crisp black and white 5-inch screen with the same appearance and readability of printed paper. There is no backlighting, so reading on the Libre is as soft on the eyes as reading a book, while also preserving battery power.

The Libre supports A! dobe's D igital Edition software allowing Digital Rights Management (DRM) support for ePUB and PDF formats. This allows users to purchase new book releases from a variety of eBook content providers including eBooks.com, one of Aluratek's content partners.

With an MSRP of $179, the Libre is a cost-effective solution for anyone looking to experience the next generation of digital technology related to books. The Libre connects to any Mac or PC with an Internet connection for easy access to the newest book releases as well as timeless classics. It also comes loaded with 100 free eBooks on the included 2GB SD card.

"Unlike e-Ink displays which require multiple flashes for each page advance, I believe the reflective LCD technology the Libre offers will be a welcome change compared to other eBooks currently on the market" said John Wolikow, VP Sales and Marketing for Aluratek. "The ability to store thousands of your favorite books in the Libre is not only convenient but it's also good for the environment by saving trees."

Libre comes with a 2GB SD card, and supports SD and SDHC cards up to 32GB. The audio player feature lets users also listen to their favorite MP3s, and the picture viewer supports BMP, JPG, GIF and animated GIF. Versatile for any user, Libre offers five font size options and also supports Adobe DRM, ePUB, PDF, FB2, TXT, Mobi, PRC and RTF formats.

Other key features of the Libre include: table of contents, bookmark list and page, content search, jump to page, zoom, auto page turn, background music, multiple language formats, auto power off and a help menu.

The Libre eBook Reader PRO is available in either black or white with an MSRP of $179. For more information about the Libre eBook Reader PRO, or any of Aluratek's other innovative products, please visit www.aluratek.com.

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Lumino Project: Next-Generation Lego Crossed With Microsoft Surface [Surface]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/FO7TPaqiZHk/lumino-project-next+generation-lego-crossed-with-microsoft-surface

Lumino may look like generic building blocks, but it actually marks a new phase in the life of Microsoft Surface: The recognition of the third dimension. The UI implications are pretty staggering.

We've seen the Surface identify and react to physical objects before (you might remember the 2008 election coverage's Obama and McCain bobbleheads), but this is the first time we've seen it recognize an object's third dimension. These Lumino blocks can be stacked, and the Surface will behave differently to two stacked blocks.

Aside from the obvious checkers implications (KING ME!), it's very simply the next step in the evolution of Surface and other touch interfaces to recognize the third dimension. It could enable all kinds of different gestures we haven't even thought of yet. Lumino itself is kind of a tech demo at the moment, but definitely a promising one. [DesignBoom and New Scientist]

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Iron Samurai Watch for the Budget Conscious and Style Averse [Watches]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/i0IvwVVAJI8/iron-samurai-watch-for-the-budget-conscious-and-style-averse

The Iron Samurai watch, a spectacularly ugly bracelet-style watch made from "Samurai sword carbonized steel folded 1000x over," is available from Chinavision for a questionable $15. It also comes with one of the weirdest/funniest product descriptions I've ever seen.

The watch, a form of which we've previously seen as a concept, hides red LEDs inside the pattern of the bracelet, which is kind of cool in theory but dorktacular in practice. Some highlights from the bizarre product description:

[It has] blood red numerals encased in stark samurai sword steel like the final battle between all the forces of good and evil in the multiverse

Yes, The Iron Samurai has been known to increase its wearers' strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma by as much as 20 points each! Chuck Norris and Steven Seagal are said to be Iron Samurai owners, as is David Bowie and Brian Eno. In reality, this watch is perfect for Presidential dinner crashers, Facebook celebs with over 1000 fans, Youtube directors with over 2,000,000 views, anyone who can play the entirety of Neil Zaza's I'm Alright on electric guitar, iPhone 3Gs owners, or anybody who is a somebody.

Yes, it's garish as all hell, but how many products can claim to be owned by both Steven Seagal and Brian Eno? [OhGizmo]

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Five Possible Futures of Computer Memory [Memory]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/0R9896evW8M/five-possible-futures-of-computer-memory

New Scientist has a feature on five conceptual successors to flash memory. These are all technologies currently under development that could fit terabytes of information on a single tiny chip—and some of them aren't too far off.

The five here considered are MRAM (using two thin layers of magnetic material), FeRAM (which creates polarization through ferroelectrics), PCRAM (using lasers, sort of like with CDs and DVDs), RRAM (a variation on PCRAM that uses electrochemical reactions instead of heat-induced changes), and Racetrack (which, frankly, I understand even less than the other four, hard as that is to believe). If you're not a sciencey type, descriptions of these technologies may sound like adults in Charlie Brown's world, but they could be the next revolution in data storage—so read up. [New Scientist]

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Nokia ships E72 and 5800 Navigation Edition to the US of A

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/08/nokia-ships-e72-and-5800-navigation-edition-to-the-us-of-a/

We know it's the N900 you're jonesing for, but if you're looking to let those "other guys" put Maemo 5 through the ringer while you continue to use an OS that's been around the block, Nokia's got two more for you to choose from starting today. Both the QWERTY-packin' E72 ($407) and eager-to-route 5800 Navigation Edition have started to ship to America (according to the company, anyway), with the former listed as "coming soon" on Nokia's webstore and as "in stock on December 10th" over at Amazon. The latter is available to order now for $299 sans contract, so good luck holding off for Google Maps Navigation to make this thing look dated.

Update: Seems this is the second time Nokia has stated that its E72 was available in the US, so we'd probably wait for at least another notification or two before pulling the trigger. Can't ever be too careful!

Gallery: Nokia ships E72 and 5800 Navigation Edition to the US of A

Nokia ships E72 and 5800 Navigation Edition to the US of A originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Chrome hits beta for Mac and Linux, extensions available for extra-smug Windows and Linux users

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/08/google-chrome-hits-beta-for-mac-and-linux-extensions-available/

At long last Mac and Linux users don't have to feel like second class citizens in Chrome land: they've got official beta versions of Google's browser to call their own. Of course, people have been running the open source Chromium version on both sides of the fence for ages, but beta brings with it a new level of stability and officialness. Google is also finally launching extensions for Chrome, which is available for the Windows and Linux versions of the browser, and with Mac compatibility on the way. There are already 300 extensions available, not a bad start, and hopefully a good indication of the sorts of added functionality we'll be able to stuff into Chrome OS with the help of a seemingly-excited developer community.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Google Chrome hits beta for Mac and Linux, extensions available for extra-smug Windows and Linux users originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android-based Archos 5 Internet Tablet surfaces in 8GB form for $250

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/08/android-based-archos-5-internet-tablet-surfaces-in-8gb-form-for/

The Archos 5 Internet Tablet hasn't had the smoothest ride into the commercial realm, but thanks to a few firmware updates, the Android-based player seems to finally be humming along just fine. That said, not everyone's interested in shelling out big bucks for a capacious version, which makes the latest edition perfect for those simply curious to see how Google's mobile OS fares on a portable media player. The 8GB model has surfaced over at Radio Shack, bringing with it all the goods on the larger siblings but with far less internal space. The best part? That $249.99 price tag (and that little "In Stock" icon beside it).

Android-based Archos 5 Internet Tablet surfaces in 8GB form for $250 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ZyXEL to debut 'world's first' LTE router at CES 2010

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/08/zyxel-to-debut-worlds-first-lte-router-at-ces-2010/

If we're able to avert this looming "spectrum apocalypse" we've heard so much about, it looks like 2010 will be the year that many of you get to partake in LTE. What better way to indulge your lust for airborne data than ZyXEL's newest, the ZLR-2070S LTE CPE/SOHO router? Apparently "the world's first," this guy features two VoIP ports, a four port 802.11n wireless switch, a USB port for storage or printer sharing, and data rates up to 50Mbps. Not bad, eh? We expect to hear more about this one in short order -- it will make its society debut at next year's CES. In the meantime, peep the PR for more info -- it's after the break.

Continue reading ZyXEL to debut 'world's first' LTE router at CES 2010

ZyXEL to debut 'world's first' LTE router at CES 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell Vostro V13 hands-on impressions: 'yes'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/08/dell-vostro-v13-hands-on-impressions-yes/

What if you took an original Adamo, shaved a couple pounds off the weight and a grand off the price? You'd end up with something pretty close to the new Dell Vostro V13. We just got a quick look at the machine, and while some of the cheaper materials Dell is using here certainly came through, the total package is still quite impressive -- and the price unimpeachable. The anodized aluminum exterior is smooth to the touch and gives the frame of the entire laptop a great amount of stiffness; none of that bendy nonsense that can be found in some of the $500ish thin-and-light competition. We were also pleasantly surprised to find a antigloss (not quite matte) display under the hood. Unfortunately, the compromises begin with the keyboard, which is a bit bendy and "clacky" (the bad version of "clicky"), and the 6 volt battery gets 4.75 hours as quoted, so probably around three in real life. We're also a little disappointed that the $450 base price rips out the SD card and ExpressCard slots, and that you can't get a Windows 7 version for under $600 -- even though the Ubuntu default is mighty tempting. So, there are compromises, just like in life, but for the most part this is one of the least timid computers we've seen from Dell in a while: not afraid to step on the toes of its brandmates and make a name for itself. Check out a quick video hands-on after the break, and stand by for our review that should hopefully arrive later this month.

Update: We got some bad info, and it turns out that the ExpressCard and SD card slots do come standard with the laptop -- the mockup we saw didn't have them, but all shipping models will. Phew!

Gallery: Dell Vostro V13 hands-on

Continue reading Dell Vostro V13 hands-on impressions: 'yes'

Dell Vostro V13 hands-on impressions: 'yes' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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