Panasonic cranks out new 31 and 19 Series Toughbooks for Japan
Panasonic's gone on a real tear here, releasing two new Toughbook models at once. While you grapple with the implications of such a thing, let's get down to details. The new 31 and 19 Series Toughbooks are 13.1-inch and 10.4-inch models, respectively, and as far as specs go, they both pack in a 160GB hard drive, up to 6GB of DDR3 SDRAM (with 2GB coming standard), and Intel QM57 Express chipset, and 1024 x 768 resolution displays. Both come with Windows 7 Professional pre-installed, and the Toughbook 31 has a 2.4GHz Intel Core i5 CPU, the 19's go a 1.2 GHZ inside. Other than that they've both got Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, an HDMI slot, four USB ports, and an SD card slot. Of course, they're also drop resistant in addition to being dust and waterproof. They'll be available starting in mid-September in Japan.
Panasonic cranks out new 31 and 19 Series Toughbooks for Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Toshiba issues recall for 41,000 T Series laptops because of burn hazard
Toshiba's announced a worldwide, voluntary recall of about 41,000 T Series laptops because of a burn hazard. The laptops apparently carry the risk of overheating AC adapters which can then... burn you. Toshiba has reported that its received 129 complaints, including two minor burns, about the laptops, which include the Satellite T135, Satellite T135D and Satellite Pro T130, which were sold between August of 2009 through August of 2010. If you happened to buying one of these burn-prone babies, hit up the source to contact Toshiba for more information.
Toshiba issues recall for 41,000 T Series laptops because of burn hazard originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Panasonic Shows 2 New (And Impressive) TOUGHBOOK Models
Panasonic announced [JP] two new models from their TOUGHBOOK series of extra-sturdy and durable notebooks today. And both the CF31 from the TOUGHBOOK 31 series and the CF19 from the TOUGHBOOK 19 series boast some pretty impressive specs.
The CF31 comes with these features (it’s pictured above):
- 13.1-inch screen with XGA resolution (1,024×768) and LED backlight
- Core i5-520M (2.40GHz) CPU
- Intel QM57 Express chip set
- 2GB memory (6GB max.)
- 160GB HDD
- Gigabit Ethernet interface
- Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n
- Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
- four USB ports, HDMI port, SD card slot
- Windows 7 OS
- drop resistant up to 120cm
- dust resistant and waterproof (IP65)
- dimensions: 302×292×73.5mm (3.72kg)
The CF 31 (pictured above) has the following specs:
- 10.1-inch screen with XGA resolution (movable touch screen)
- Core i5-540UM (1.20GHz) CPU
- Intel QM57 Express chip set
- 2GB memory (6GB max.)
- 160GB HDD
- Gigabit Ethernet interface
- FireWire IEEE 1394
- IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
- two USB ports, SD card slot
- Windows 7
- drop resistant up to 90cm
- dust resistant and waterproof (IP65)
- dimensions: 271×216×49mm (2.3kg)
Panasonic will start selling bout Toughbooks in Japan tomorrow (prices: $5,400 for the CF31 and $3,680 for the CF19). No word yet regarding international sales.
More here:
Panasonic Shows 2 New (And Impressive) TOUGHBOOK Models
HP Updates its ENVY 17 for Current 3D Micro-Trend [Laptops]
HP's upgraded its ENVY range of laptops with the ENVY 17 3D. It doesn't take a genius to interpret the meaning of this model number—17" screen, with full 3D capabilities. More
HP Updates its ENVY 17 for Current 3D Micro-Trend [Laptops]
HP's upgraded its ENVY range of laptops with the ENVY 17 3D. It doesn't take a genius to interpret the meaning of this model number—17" screen, with full 3D capabilities. More
HP Announces A Metric Gaggle Of New Laptops
As if there weren’t enough laptops in the world already! Ah well. The new lineup of Envy, Mini, and Pavilion laptops looks pretty solid, and they’ve got stuff for pretty much every price point. I don’t want to get into too much detail here, since obviously if you’re looking for a laptop you’ll be checking HP’s site for specifics, but let’s hit the high points.
Why don’t we start with the smallest and work our way up?
HP Mini 210
The familiar Mini line gets a redesign here: the body is redone to be more easily upgradeable, and they’ve improved the keyboard. You’re looking at a dual-core Atom N455 (you can get a N550) and a max of 1GB of RAM. Yeah, that sucks, but you’ve also got a 7200RPM 250GB HDD, which is great for storage, but bad for battery life (opt for the 6-cell). It comes in many colors, because you’re shallow. $329 to start.
HP dm3
The new dm3 has a lot going on. It’s of the ultraportable variety, and at 13.3″ and less than 1″ thick, it’s pretty portable. It’ll come with a dual-core U5400, but you should be able to upgrade to a Core i3. That’ll make some heat, but fortunately the dm3 is sporting HP’s new CoolSense technology, which includes a totally new internal layout and fan setup, and software that keeps track of temperature and load to keep things frosty. Starts at $549 with 4GB of RAM and a 320GB HDD. I like it. I want it. I’m gonna review it.
Envy 14 Beats Edition
This is really just the existing Envy 14, but with a menacing red and black look and some audio optimizations. It comes with a pair of Beats. They did this to the Envy 15 a while back. At $1249 I find this a hard one to recommend.
Envy 17 with ATI 3D
I can’t be the only one who thinks this looks like a knockoff MacBook Pro. It’s the hinges on the screen, they make it look cheap. But! That is an illusion. It’s not actually cheap, and it’s a powerful piece of kit. Aluminum, baby. The biggest change is the display, though: it’s 1080p native, and goes to 120Hz, so it’s 3D compatible. The laptop comes with ATI 3D glasses of the active shutter variety. It’ll sport a quad-core i7, ATI discrete mobile graphics… and that’s pretty much all we know. Pricing and other specs are a mystery, though HP did say it would be under two grand. Wow, thanks a lot!
It’s a pretty solid lineup; I think the dm3 is easily the best buy, as long as you upgrade the processor. I’d hold off on netbooks until I see whether the new crop of tablets is going to be a suitable replacement for them. As for the bigger laptops — well, you’ll have to decide for yourself whether 3D displays and Dr. Dre branding are worth the extra cash. I wouldn’t spring for them, personally.
As usual, these laptops are buried deep in HP’s site. Go if you dare. I got scared.
Continue reading here:
HP Announces A Metric Gaggle Of New Laptops
Snappy looking Fujitsu Lifebook AH530 GFX boasts 1GB external graphics
Continue reading Snappy looking Fujitsu Lifebook AH530 GFX boasts 1GB external graphics
Snappy looking Fujitsu Lifebook AH530 GFX boasts 1GB external graphics originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Aug 2010 23:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Thieves Steal Thousands of Laptops From Government Contractor Over Nine Hour Period [Crime]
You'd think a facility belonging to a private contractor working for the U.S. Special Operations Command would be well-secured, but seven thieves managed to park two semitrailer trucks next to it and spend nine hours loading them up with laptops. More
Quanta sets new record for laptop shipments in June
You may not realize it, but there's a good chance that the laptop you're using right now was made by Quanta -- the company is the largest laptop manufacturer in the world, and it looks like it's only getting bigger. According to PC World, the company (which counts HP, Dell and Sony among its clients) set a new record for laptop shipments in June, moving upwards of 4.8 million laptops for about $3.1 billion in revenue. It does expect shipments to "slow down a little bit" in July, however, but says things should rebound again in August. What's the cause for the uptick? Quanta says it's at least partly due to the easing of some component shortages, including those Arrandale processors that have been in short supply -- as PC World notes, Intel has said that it's been ramping up production in order to catch up with demand before the end of the second quarter.
Quanta sets new record for laptop shipments in June originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Over Half a Million Sony Vaio Laptops Suffer From Overheating Bug
It may not be as bad as exploding batteries, but it turns out that some 535,000 Sony laptops that started shipping in January may have a fatal flaw, causing them to overheat and potentially deform. The problem lies within the BIOS installed on the Vaio F and Vaio C series machines. The bug affects the computers' basic heat management systems.
Sony has recorded 39 instances of the laptops overheating, but is taking the precaution of issuing a BIOS update for all PCs that are potentially vulnerable. The company is even taking the extraordinary step of encouraging customers to send in their laptops to receive the update, thus negating any excuses of tech illiteracy. Most of the affected models were sold in Japan, but the computers were available globally. You can check with Sony here to see if your PC is in need of a BIOS update. [From: Computer World]
Filed under: Computers
Over Half a Million Sony Vaio Laptops Suffer From Overheating Bug originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.