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AcerCloud blows into Europe, bringing remote access to your (Acer) laptop
We took a good look at the AcerCloud service early this year and its companion Android handset, the award-winning CloudMobile phone. Now, Acer has launched a beta service in Europe, so buyers of the company's new laptops and desktop machines over there will be able to try it out for themselves. To get it working, you can install the portal app onto your Android device and Acer PC, allowing you to download images and other files between the pair. You can also send files back to your computer for backup, expanding the storage of your smartphone or slate through your own mini-cloud. Everything will be synced through the service, which will store the data if your home machine isn't fired up -- and transfer everything when it's alive again. There's no word on when users will be able to partake stateside, but if you're across the pond, hit the source link for the mobile app.
Toshiba outs Satellite U945 and P845t Ultrabooks, Satellite S955 thin-and-light
In addition to unveiling that U925t laptop / tablet hybrid yesterday, Toshiba is announcing some more conventional-looking PCs this week at IFA. These new models include the Satellite U945, a low-end Ultrabook; the Satellite P845t, an Ultrabook with a touchscreen; and the Satellite S955, a 15-inch thin-and-light. Across the board, these will be available October 26th, the day Windows 8 formally launches. For now, too, Toshiba isn't revealing prices, though we already know plenty about the specs. Join us after the break where we'll spell out those nitty-gritty details.%Gallery-163544%%Gallery-163742%
Acer Aspire V5 review: an 11-inch Ivy Bridge laptop for $550
More Info Acer launches Ultrabook-like Aspire V5 series, we go hands-on (video) Acer Aspire V5 notebooks get Ivy Bridge treatment, shipping by end of June for $630 and up Acer Aspire V3 review: an affordable, Kepler-packing laptop for back-to-school season Acer first took the wraps off its Aspire V5 series at CeBIT in March, teasing the line of notebooks with designs that are 30 percent thinner than other laptops in their category. A few months later, in June, the company officially unveiled the 14- and 15-inch Aspire V5s, with Ivy Bridge processors and prices starting at $630. Rounding out that family is the 11-inch Aspire V5 171. We have a bit of an identity crisis on our hands with this guy: though it looks like a netbook and weighs a light three pounds, it packs a Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor befitting a full-fledged machine, but it costs a budget-minded $550 ($500 with Acer's current promotion). Many products in this price range are clunky 15-inchers, so where exactly does this Aspire V5 fit in? Join us past the break as we sort that out. %Gallery-163210%
Kingmax intros speedy, SandForce-packing SATA III Client Pro SSD
Kingmax is known for pushing the limits now and then with its flash storage, so we're intrigued when it puts out a high-end solid-state drive for the mainstream. Its new SATA III Client Pro SSD lives up to that bill with the combination of a SandForce controller and faster flash memory that can reach some heady speeds for gamers and simple speed freaks alike. With the right drive and ideal conditions, we're looking at a brisk 550MB/s for sequential reads, 520MB/s for similarly ordered writes and a very capable 85,000 IOPS when writing at random. Kingmax isn't directly providing prices or release details, but it's offering capacities from 60GB to 480GB as well both laptop-focused (SMU32) and desktop-friendly (SMU35) kits. The Client Pro-inclined can find the full nuts-and-bolts details after the break.
Chrome OS update revamps app list and Google Drive saves, allows relentlessly adorable wallpapers
Aw, wouldn't you look at the cute little... wait. Right, there's a Chrome OS update. At its heart, the upgrade to Google's cloud-based platform introduces a streamlined app list that both occupies less space and carries an internet-wide search box. It's also possible to save files directly to Google Drive, and audio can now play through either HDMI or USB. Don't lie to yourself, however: the real reason you'll rush to update your Chromebook today is newly added support for custom wallpapers, which guarantees all-day, everyday viewing of your most favorite dog in the whole wide world. Or at least, a nice change of pace from Google's run-of-the-mill backdrops. Isn't it so sweet?
Motorola's latest ITC complaint against Apple targets newer iOS devices and Macs, messaging and sync
Motorola filed its most recent ITC complaint against Apple so late into last week that the court system couldn't immediately provide more details; we're only just seeing documents now that the weekend is over. As it stands, the case involves seven patents that mostly touch on staple technologies of the modern mobile world, such as syncing messages between devices and bookmarking media playback on one device to resume on another. Does that last technique sound familiar? You might recall it being a cornerstone of the movie and podcast support that Apple has implemented since 2005. Despite reaching that far back into history, Motorola is just as eager to modernize the targeted hardware list to keep its complaints relevant -- the current iPad, the iPhone 4S and other devices are at risk of a trade ban, posing more of a threat to Apple's bottom line than the dust-covered (and near-finished) initial legal challenge from October 2010. Before coming to any conclusions, though, remember that the newer complaint isn't likely to have any speedy resolution of its own. Past ITC cases have usually taken a year and a half to complete, which could leave most or all of today's technology as another distant memory.
ASUS Zenbook Prime faces teardown, affords a little expansion in an even smaller space
We often assume that Ultrabooks scarcely have any room to budge on the inside, and that's usually true. An iFixit teardown of ASUS' Zenbook Prime has proven that there's always an exception to the rule. Looking at a UX32VD with the same base layout as the UX31 we reviewed, the repair outlet finds that the upgraded Zenbook has both embedded and removable RAM: provided owners are still willing to perform some surgery, they can upgrade past the 4GB of included memory on their own terms. The repair team is a bit dismayed that there's a 5,400RPM hard drive spinning near the mini SSD -- how very 2011 -- but notes that it's equally swappable by those who want something faster. Whatever you think of the fully pieced-together ASUS PC, it's apparent there's a reward for those willing to take it apart.
Eurocom intros powerhouse Scorpius laptop, touts more video memory than most desktops
Eurocom has carved out a strange but soft spot in our hearts for its desktop replacement-level laptops -- the insistence on overkill hardware leaves even the vaguely ultraportable Monster packing the kind of power reserved for larger-screened (if also much thinner) counterparts. Nowhere is that too-much-is-never-enough attitude truer than in the just-launched, 17.3-inch Scorpius. While supporting up to 32GB of RAM isn't unique anymore, the Scorpius can optionally carry two of NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 680M graphics chips with the full 4GB of video RAM per piece. That's more graphics memory than the total system memory of some entire PCs, folks. Eurocom can optionally slot in two of AMD's Radeon HD 7970M or step down to a single graphics core, and the usual bevy of processor and storage choices culminates in as much as a quad 2.9GHz Core i7 and four drives. The lowest price that will net a fully functioning Scorpius is $1,793, although we'll admit that it's very tempting to pick that dual 680M option and come out with a $2,857 bill -- not to mention some serious bragging rights with the gamer crowd.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon pricing spotted in Hong Kong
Lenovo floated the ThinkPad X1 Carbon past us in May without so much as a whisper of what the lightweight Ultrabook's price would be. The company doesn't mind shouting it out in what looks to be a Hong Kong back-to-school promo flyer, though. As long as the Newsmth.net post represents the final pricing, local residents can normally expect to pay about HK$12,880 ($1,660 US) for an X1 Carbon with a 1.7GHz Core i5, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. That's quite the premium if you compare it directly to what we see in the US for a PC like the Samsung Series 9, although it's tricky to tell if prices will be comparable on the other side of the Pacific: there's no sales tax in Hong Kong, among other factors. Even if the price varies by the time of the US launch later this summer, students in the city are already getting a discount to HK$9,180 ($1,184) that suggests at least some wiggle room if competition among Ultrabooks grows especially fierce. [Thanks, Sam]
Canalys: PC and tablet shipments hit new high in Q2 with Apple in the lead, HP next in line
Wondering how the industry fared in the second quarter of 2012? Shipments in the PC sector, which in Canalys' book includes tablets, were higher than ever, totaling 108,708,780 units globally. iPad sales put Apple in the lead, with more than 21 million devices shipped (this figure also includes desktops and notebooks) in Q2, compared to just over 13 million during the year-ago quarter, representing a massive 59.6-percent year-over-year growth. HP, which led the way in Q1, has fallen to the second-place spot, with nearly 13.6 million shipments during the quarter ending yesterday, followed by Lenovo with about 13.2 million, Acer with nearly 10.7 million and Dell with roughly 9.7 computers sold. Manufacturers like ASUS and Samsung are represented in the substantial "others" category, which totals about 40.6 million devices. There's no question that the iPad is behind Apple earning the number-1 slot, and with the upcoming Windows 8 launch, those figures could shift drastically the next time around. Click on through to the source link below for the full Canalys breakdown.
Lenovo unveils toughened ThinkPad X131e for education, hikes price to $499
Lenovo must have struck a chord with schools looking for some rough-and-tumble ThinkPads, as it's bringing out the ThinkPad X131e even while teachers are still drafting their course plans for the fall semester. The new model keeps that better-than-military ruggedness in an 11.6-inch laptop while freshening the choices of AMD E-series chips or their Intel-made Celeron and Core i3 challengers. Dolby Advanced Audio even gives the speakers boost when it's not a matter of all work and no play. Educators, in turn, get the usual options for extended support or customizing the laptops with a little school pride. There's a premium to pay for putting classrooms on the cutting edge, however: at $499, the new systems are $70 more costly than the launch price of the X130e portables they replace, which leaves quite a bit less money for notebooks of the paper variety.
HP laptop comes with webcam standard, peek at Chinese factory as bonus (video)
Most tours of Chinese factories at least give workers a heads-up that they'll be on camera. Not so the exposé that HP inadvertently gave one of its Swedish customers. Reddit user Malplace opened a new laptop to find that a 3-minute webcam video of the factory floor at HP's contractor, Quanta, was sitting in Windows' My Documents folder. If you're looking for scandal from the footage, though, you won't find it here: Chongqing Manufacturing City's staff are shown dutifully moving the assembly line along in what looks like fair conditions, if exceptionally repetitive. The instance is most likely just a rare gaffe during testing at a manufacturer that pumps out millions of HP PCs every quarter, so we'll cut Quanta some slack. It's still a rare glimpse into a side of technology that's considered off-limits for much of the buying public.
Samsung Series 9 13-inch lands 1.9GHz Core i7, 256GB SSD edition for the power user set
When we looked at the 13-inch Samsung Series 9, we lamented that there was only one version on offer: if anyone wanted more than a Core i5 and a 128GB drive, their dreams were crushed. Samsung must feel that there's hope for us yet, as there's now a higher-end spec that slots in a 1.9GHz Core i7 and doubles the storage to 256GB. That's good news to us, even if the 4GB RAM ceiling will still have some avid Ultrabook fans turning elsewhere. Springing for the new flagship will set shoppers back by about $300 more than the previous top of the line, or $1,700 -- still pricey relative to the competition, but much more palatable you're searching for a premium Windows 7 ultraportable and aren't willing to budge on screen size.
HP Envy Sleekbook 6z review: an inexpensive thin-and-light with AMD innards
More Info HP unveils Envy Spectre XT Ultrabook, other thin-and-lights in various sizes HP takes EliteBook W-series on a trip to Ivy Bridge, throws in Z220 Xeon for good measure HP refreshes EliteBook line with five new models, Ivy Bridge and optional LTE HP has been fleshing out its Ultrabook lineup as of late, most recently adding the metal-clad Envy Spectre XT to the mix, but the company is also addressing the lower end of the market with its Sleekbook line, announced back in May. Confusingly, these thin-and-light systems look exactly the same as the new Envy-branded Ultrabooks, except that the Sleekbooks are less expensive -- namely because for one reason or another they don't meet Intel's Ultrabook guidelines. One such notebook, the Envy Sleekbook 6z, stands apart from the Ultrabook fold with an AMD Trinity APU -- a spec that helps keep the starting price nice and low at $600. That's not to say that all of HP's Sleekbooks ditch Intel processors, but given the choice between and AMD- and Intel-based model we quickly chose the former. After all, the 6z is the first Trinity-powered system we've had the chance to test, so we were naturally curious to see how it stacks up against recent Ivy Bridge machines -- and we imagine you are, too. So without any further ado, let's get to it.
Toshiba unites PC, tablet and TV design groups, aims for hub of digital harmony
Toshiba is one of the few Japanese tech giants to be riding high from a cash standpoint, but the company is still looking for ways to trim the fat -- not to mention get some fresh design in the process. The firm is merging the design team for its Regza TVs into the same western Tokyo facility that houses its PC and tablet groups. While there's a certain amount of cost-cutting involved, the shift will help "fusion products," Toshiba says, where TV influences PCs and tablets (or vice versa) like so much chocolate getting into peanut butter. The only amount of discord left might be in Toshiba's TV production, where quality and production controls are being outsourced and more of the production itself is leaving Japan. As much as we'd argue that the Excite 13 is almost too much like a TV to begin with, we'll only find out whether or not there's merit to Toshiba's design nirvana after the groups get cozy with each other later this year.
Packard Bell burrows affordable niche with EasyNote TE: 400 euros, 15.6 inches, AMD inside
While parent company Acer eyes deeper pockets and higher margins, Packard Bell is soldiering on with its EasyNote range of laptops for thrifty Europeans. Spotted by the friendly folk at Pocket-lint, the EasyNote TE has just reached stores and should scrape under the €400 (£300, $500) mark -- thanks partly to its avoidance of the premium Intel processor found in the EasyNote TV. Instead, the TE relies on AMD's updated E-Series processor (the slower 1.4GHz E1-1200 version, to be precise), which comes with capable Radeon HD 7310 onboard graphics and supports a USB 3.0 port (in addition to twin USB 2.0) and HDMI output. You'll also find a 15.6-inch 1366 x 768 display, 750GB of storage and a "multi-in-1" card slot -- which means the only spec we're missing is the RAM. Who'll take a bet on 4GB?
Apple may get the Italian boot, has 30 days to push a 2-year warranty for locals
Italian regulator AGCM is clearly on a short fuse with Apple. After issuing a €900,000 fine ($1.1 million) to Apple for not properly offering the free 2-year warranty required by national law, the agency is now warning the iPhone maker that it could face a temporary exile -- and we don't mean to Elba. On top of an additional €300,000 ($377,490) potential fine, Apple now faces as much as a 30-day shutdown of all its Italian business for allegedly doing too little to tell customers they don't always need AppleCare for extended coverage. Having lost its appeal on the original fine, Apple's main buffer is a 30-day window to address the complaints before the hammer drops. We have yet to see if Apple will tweak its policies in time, but it's hard to believe the American firm will risk even the momentary closure of an important European wing.
Sony drops VAIO T from free PlayStation offer, hikes real cost of entry to $970
Remember how it seemed too good to be true that Sony's back to school promo would let you buy a VAIO T and get a free PlayStation 3 or Vita worth a third of the value of the Ultrabook you just bought? Well, it was. Sony has quietly dropped the $750 laptop from the PCs that qualify for the deal, raising the real qualifying price to $970 for a 15.5-inch VAIO S. Some will cry foul at being denied such a killer bargain without warning, but it's easy to see why Sony backed out: that's a lot of gear to give away for little in return. Dreams of heading to class with an ultraportable in hand and a PS3 at the dorm will have to be postponed, then, even if it's still an ample discount. [Thanks, Gabriel]
Ultrabook sales up in first half of 2012, Windows 8 waits patiently
We've seen so much Ultrabook news recently we're beginning to think they're catching on. Market research firm the NPD Group has stepped in to confirm our suspicions, reporting a 39 percent jump in sales of premium Windows laptops (900 bucks and up) during the first five months of this year, compared with the same period in 2011. Despite a three percent drop in sales of $700-plus Windows notebooks, the Ultrabook share of this bracket increased steadily to nearly 11 percent. The analysts predict sales of these lower-end models will pick up as back-to-school purchases sooth the post-summer blues, with a general boost to the whole Ultrabook market expected when Windows 8 arrives. One thing the figures don't tell us is what impact these sales are having on the revenue of Apple's skinny flagship, but we'd sure like to know. If numbers are your thing, the PR is past the break.
iFixit tears down the new MacBook Pro's Retina display, finds a minor marvel of engineering
We've already seen them go to town on the body of the MacBook Pro with Retina display, but the staffers at iFixit have seen fit to disassemble the 2880 x 1800 panel at the heart of the new beast. As they've since found out, it takes no less than a rethink of LCD construction to make that kind of resolution work in a laptop screen that's thinner than its ancestor. The unibody aluminum casing acts as the frame for the display, and the LCD becomes its own front glass; even the wireless antennas are threaded through the hinges to eke out that last drop of space. Combined, Apple's part layouts do make repair near-impossible -- the teardown gurus at iFixit ended up cracking the glass despite their knowledge. The team is nonetheless a little more forgiving on the lack of repairability here than with the computer underneath, noting that something had to give for Apple to have its high-resolution cake and eat it too. That just won't be much of a consolation if your MacBook Pro faceplants and requires a whole LCD swap.
