Engadget

If you thought Intel's super-charged Core i7 CPUs were only for desktops, then AVADirect reckons it can change your mind. The company's Clevo P270WM notebook comes strapped to the back of either a six-core i7-3930K or an over-sized i7-3960X, while still leaving plenty of room for dual GeForce GTX 580M graphics, a Bigfoot Killer WiFi adapter, three hard drives and four memory slots offering up to 32GB of RAM. Topping it all off is a 3D-capable 17.3-inch Full HD LED glossy display and backlit keyboard. The base configuration with the 3930K processor, single graphics card and 750GB HDD will set you back over $3,000, and if you have to ask how much the NVIDIA Quadro graphics option costs then you're probably better off with something like this.

The latest step in bringing Google-based unification has arrived. The Chrome browser is here on Android. This beta version is currently only available for that elite crowd of ICS phones and tablets and like its desktop progenitor, the synced settings and bookmarks are all in tow. Expect to see a new, more natural mobile view of the tab system. It'll also remember what you were last looking at on your desktop Chrome browser, and sync it across to your mobile device -- it's like Kindle or iBook's bookmarking system, but for the web. Your autocorrect content from the desktop is similarly synced. Expect to see the reappearance of link previews, something you may recall from the results of any Google searches, offering a brief thumbnail of a link's destination. We're giving it a good play-around right now, but while we get our first impression up, check the quick intro video after the break.

If Panasonic's CES 2012 lineup of plasma and LCD HDTVs interested you, it's time to dig into more details it's just released about their Japanese cousins. Those "Infinite Black Ultra Panel" plasmas will arrive April 20th as the VT5 series and AV Watch reports the 60-inch will be priced at about 500,000 yen ($6517), while the 50-inch is 360,000 yen ($4694). There's also details on the new GT5 plasmas, in 60-, 55-, 50- and 42-inch sizes, as well as the DT5 and ET5 LCDs. All of those are 3D capable and will start rolling out March 9th (April 20th for some of the larger sizes), although the ET series is its first that works with passive 3D glasses. The new 3D glasses -- passive (2,000 yen, $26) and active with Bluetooth link (13,000 yen, $169) will also arrive in March along new Blu-ray players and recorders plus a refreshed Skype camera that's slimmer and half the weight of last year's model. Hit the links below and let Google Translate bring in the details, we should probably hear more about US prices, specs and ship dates in a few weeks.

Xappr and appBlaster are fine weaponizers for your smartphone, provided you don't care to share your violent tendencies with your friends. Thankfully, Hasbro is bridging the gap between new-school AR shooter and that teenage classic -- laser tag. The NERF Lazer Tag system is getting an update for 2012 that lets you pair your blaster with an iPhone or iPod touch. The top of the plastic guns now sport a slot for your iDevice which, when loaded with the Lazer Tag app, provides you with an augmented HUD view. While you can play against purely virtual opponents, the real fun is in using to track your battles with fleshy foes. The app will display your gear and power level, and update your progress on a global Lazer Tag leaderboard. As you play, new attacks and gear will be unlocked for you to enhance your gaming experience. The app will even actually show your blasts' trajectory, letting you see exactly where you shot your former friend. The 2012 edition of Lazer Tag will hit shelves on August 1st with individual blasters costing $40 and sets of two $70. Check out the PR and a screen shot of the app after the break.

Within an 11-day period last fall, Engadget published reviews of two different Samsung Galaxy tablets. At the time, we felt the company was turning into a caricature of itself, with slates in every conceivable size, including 10.1, 8.9 and 7 inches. Mostly, though, if we sounded exasperated with Sammy's "see what sticks" strategy, it was because the outfit unveiled not one, but two 7-inchers over the course of a month. One of these, the 7.0 Plus, went on sale in the US back in November, with mid-range specs and a mid-range price to match its in-between size. But that tablet always felt like a consolation prize next to our second contender, the Galaxy Tab 7.7, which brings a brushed metal back, 10-hour battery and Super AMOLED Plus, 1280 x 800 display. Even on paper, it always seemed promising. Special.

Maddeningly, though, those of us here in the states still can't buy one through the likes of Best Buy and Amazon, and though Verizon Wireless plans to sell an LTE-enabled version, we know scant few details about when it will arrive, how much it will cost or whether there will be an off-contract option. Luckily for us, our friends over at Negri Electronics hooked us up with an international model, one with 16GB of internal storage and WiFi, HSPA+ and EDGE / GPRS radios -- a doozy of a tablet that would cost you $668.50 if you were to import it to the US. (You can buy it domestically if you live in select markets like the UK.) So is the product novel enough to warrant that novelty price? Find the answer to that question and more after the break.

Gianfranco Lanci may be gone from Acer, but the PC maker's former chief is not forgotten -- not financially, at least. The company is suing the exec over non-compete violations, after he jumped ship around this time last year. The exec recently landed a gig at Lenovo as head of its Europe, Middle East and Africa division, after doing some time as a consultant for the company. Acer filed the suit in Lanci's native Italy, alleging that he "has clearly breached the terms" of the 12-month non-compete. No word yet on how much the company is seeking with the claim.

We're no strangers to watches here at Engadget, but smartwatches -- tiny wearable computers capable of running apps with SDKs to match -- are still a rare breed. The best known examples are probably Fossil's Meta Watch, Allerta's inPulse Smartwatch and WIMM Labs' WIMM One, all of which are primarily targeted at developers. We recently had the opportunity to spend some quality time with both the inPulse (over the holidays) and the WIMM One (during CES), and despite some similarities, each smartwatch takes a completely different approach to running apps on your wrist. While neither product is quite ready for prime time, both show promise as "fourth screen" devices, even for those of us who don't normally wear a watch. So go ahead -- hit the break and find out how these wearable computers stack up.

All eyes are on Amsterdam this morning, as RIM hosts DevCon Europe. Among all the usual avowals about how well things are going are a few nuggets of the new and the noteworthy. One such morsel was a demonstration of new BlackBerry Bridge features. Now, swipes and touches from your BlackBerry handset get translated over to the Playbook, as well as keyboard input. This means you can use your phone much more like a controller, while taking advantage of the PlayBook's generous display. The calendar also gets a healthy dose of social lubricant, showing you info about the people you'll be meeting, and stressing how busy you are by visually emphasising dates when you are busier. Fortunately, PlayBook 2.0 is slated for release this month, so the more eager amongst you shouldn't have to wait long to give it a spin.

iTV rumors continue to swirl around the shady backwaters of the internet, but it's not often national papers of record decide to wade in -- Canada's, no less. According to an anonymous source who spilled the beans to the Globe and Mail, Apple's TV set will include Siri-powered voice control, with the virtual assistant also helping in those ever-pressing "programming choices'. There will also be gesture recognition courtesy of a front-facing camera and (perhaps most worryingly) an on-screen keyboard for typing into a web browser and other apps. The paper couldn't confirm whether the device will play nice with the rest of la familia iOS, although another mole informed the Canadian news source that both Rogers and BCE Inc are jostling to claim a stake in the mysterious device, with Apple apparently actively courting both carriers.

Glasses-free 3DTVs sporting 4K resolution don't exactly match up to the everyman's budget. Still, the tech needs to trickle down to the masses somehow and it appears Spatial View's keen to take up that three-dimensional, plebeian mantle. Available today, the outfit's inventively titled 3DeeScreen snaps onto 15.6-inch laptops of the Windows 7 variety to translate ordinary 2D images and video into autostereoscopic eye candy. And, unlike prevailing iterations that depend upon strict viewing zones, this ad hoc implementation can adjust to a viewer's position through the use of eye-tracking software, letting their zombified heads loll about while they tune in and drop out. Of course, if you choose to plunk down $130 for this visual pizzazz, you'll be jonesing for a library of compatible media. Good thing then the company's prepared to scratch that imaginary itch with a planned one-stop hub, dubbed 3DeeCentral, that'll offer up a curated mix of free and paid content. Need to know more? Then peruse the official presser below while you wonder how the other one percent lives.

Fisker Automotive's bumpy 2011 appears to have given way to an even rockier 2012. A little more than a month after recalling 239 of its Karma plug-ins, Fisker has now stopped working on its second electric vehicle, following the US government's decision to suspend its federal loans. The manufacturer confirmed the news in an email yesterday, adding that a total of 66 workers in Delaware and California have been laid off, as a result. In 2009, the Department of Energy provided Fisker with $528.7 million in federal loans, but according to spokesman Roger Ormisher, access to those funds have been blocked since May. The money was supposed to be used to launch the Karma and Fisker's second, US-manufactured EV, known as the Nina. The Karma began rolling out to market in July, but did so well behind schedule, spurring the DOE to suspend its loan.

"Our loan guarantees have strict conditions in place to protect taxpayers," Department spokesman Damien LaVera explained in an email to Bloomberg. "The department only allows the loan to be disbursed as the company meets certain milestones and demonstrates results." Thus far, Fisker has drawn on only $193 million of federal funds and is looking to renegotiate the terms of the loan, in the hopes of accessing the remaining $336 million. The DOE, however, is still under intense scrutiny because of September's Solyndra debacle, so it's difficult to say what a renegotiated deal would look like. The manufacturer, for its part, says it's taking no risks, telling GigaOM that it "continues to pursue alternative funding sources." In the meantime, it'll continue to focus on the Karma for 2012, and hopes to revive Project Nina at a later date.

Alec Saunders, VP of Developer Relations, just took the stage at RIM's DevCon gathering in Amsterdam to build up and promptly knock down a few "myths" about RIM's state of health. First up, he tackled the notion that BlackBerry is a declining platform by saying that App World is seeing six million downloads per day, which is up 30 percent from three months ago. He also rejected the idea that BB app devs don't make money, revealing that 13 percent of them have made over $100,000 from their products and that App World generates 40 percent more revenue than the Android Market. Lastly, Saunders said "we're sorry" that RIM's strategy has been "hard to understand" for "some people", but added that BB 10 will solve that problem. He said that the new OS represents a "simple and easy-to-understand strategy" that is about combining the best of QNX and the current BB OS, offering consistent cloud services and making software that is both backwards and forwards compatible.

Sony's website now lists Japanese release dates and prices for two PS Vita power accessories that you're likely to need. The PCH-ZPC1 J portable charger is a 135g (4.8-ounce) unit that takes seven hours to charge to its full 5,000mAh capacity and is then good for around one and half charges of your console -- we reckon that'd equate to over 12 hours of mixed-use sessions or at least seven hours of solid gaming. It'll be out on April 5th for ¥4,500 ($60). Meanwhile, the PCH-ZCA1 J car charger will hit retailers a couple of weeks earlier on March 22nd priced at ¥1,500 ($20) -- and there's really not much more to say about it except that a dead Vita on a road trip would be both a travesty and an oxymoron. Oh, just in case it hasn't already been etched into your memory, February 22nd is launch day in the US and Europe.

Alongside the new additions to Canon's A-Series of digital cameras, the company is also giving more demanding consumers a similar outpouring of love with four additional shooters in the PowerShot family, which sport a diverse array of features such as WiFi connectivity, 20x optical zoom and rugged designs. Leading the charge for the ELPH lineup is the 530 HS. Along with the 320 HS, it features the ability to wirelessly upload images to Canon's online portal, where users may then post their latest captures to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The ELPH 530 HS features a 12x optical zoom lens paired with a 10 megapixel sensor and is expected to retail for $349 in April. Meanwhile, the 320 HS delivers a 5x optical zoom lens and a 16.1 megapixel sensor. It'll carry a $280 price tag and is set to hit stores in March. Both ELPH models feature Canon's DIGIC 5 image processor, capture 1080p video and include a 3.2-inch LCD touchscreen.

Those who roll Rear Window style may want to check out Canon's new SX260 HS, which packs a 25mm wide-angle lens that boasts up to 20x optical zoom. Like the latest ELPH's, it also offers the DIGIC 5 processor and captures 1080p video. Unique to the SX260 HS, it features GPS for location tagging and a burst shooting mode that captures a continuous 10.3 frames per second. It'll be available in March for $349 and is set to come in black, green and red finishes. Lastly, the D20 offers up a few ruggedized features for outdoor enthusiasts. It features underwater shooting abilities (including a specific macro mode), and is also said to be shock-proof and freeze-proof -- no mention of it tolerating heat, though. The D20 incorporates a 12.1 megapixel sensor, captures 1080p video and features a 5x optical zoom lens. It also offers GPS, but unlike the other cameras here, it uses the DIGIC 4 image processor. If you're considering the D20 for your next adventure, it'll be available in May for $349. You'll discover more about these four additions in the PR, after the break.