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HP gives TouchSmart 610 a second crack, this time with Sandy Bridge CPU options
HP may have announced its TouchSmart 610 all-in-one just a shade too soon for it to ship with Core 2011 processors, but that doesn't mean the company was above pushing out a refresh just a few months later. Now, this 23-inch beast is on sale with a variety of quad-core Core i5 and Core i7 Sandy Bridge CPUs. To recap, what makes the 610 special is its rigid hinge, which allows the 1080p display to slide down so that it's face-up, and nearly flat at a 60-degree angle -- a more ergonomic position for poking 'round the TouchSmart software while standing. Like pretty much every other HP computer on the market, it comes standard with Beats Audio and, depending on how much money you're willing to shell out, you can trick it out with up to 16GB of RAM, 2TB of storage, and your choice of NVIDIA or ATI graphics with up to 2GB of video memory. Those Sandy Bridge models are available now starting at $1,100, though as always, you can get an entry-level configuration with quad-core AMD innards for $900 and up. %Gallery-124132%
HP Envy 14 Beats Edition no longer available with Dr. Dre endorsed headphones, results in price drop
The differences between the HP Envy 14 Beats Edition and the plain ol' Envy 14 have been primarily aesthetic -- it's got a black Beats branded lid and red backlit keyboard -- but HP's also included that set of Monster Beats Solo headphones you see up there. Sadly, that last differentiator is no longer. We'd heard from a few readers that their Envy 14 Beats Edition laptops arrived sans headphones, and HP has confirmed for us that due to "supply constraints" the Dr. Dre Solo from Monster headphones are no longer included with the snazzy black and red laptop. Hopefully those customers that paid full price for the laptop and didn't receive the Solos will get a refund, but we're told by HP that the price has been lowered by $100 since the cans went out of stock -- the starting price was originally $1,249.99 and is now $1,149.99. We're not entirely sure why you'd pay $150 more for the Beats version now, considering you get the same audio experience with the standard $999.99 Envy, but what do we know? There may be tons of diehard Beats Audio fans living amongst us. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Beats by Dr. Dre launching Beatbox iPod dock, along with LeBron and Bieber-branded headphones
Dr. Dre knows a hit when he sees one, and the already sprawling Beats lineup is getting five new products to hit just about every demographic you can imagine. First off is the Beatbox, a high-end portable iPod dock with 5.25-inch bass drivers and 2-inch high frequency drivers which will retail for $400. Next up is a LeBron James-branded set of athletics-friendly earbuds dubbed the Powerbeats. The $170 headphones include dual drivers and a design that lets in external noises. Meanwhile, the Beats Pro blows the lid off with a $450 pricetag and audio pro-style quality and performance. At the cheap end we have iBeats, a $120 pair of i-device friendly cans for the less discriminating, and our personal favorites: JustBeats. JustBeats are better than all the other headphones and we heart them and they're totally worth $200 for the on-ear and $120 for the in-ear versions because Justin Bieber is totally down to earth and sexy and probably the best singer ever. All of these should be landing in the next few weeks; we know you'll make the right decision. Update: Oh, and just so you know: we still hate Monster. You just can't pass up some Bieber, you know? %Gallery-103656%
Engadget endorses Monster Cable? Uh, hell no.
You know, we were as surprised as anyone to see a totally out-of-context quote of ours used on a Monster Cable site (without permission, mind you) to sell the company's "Beats by Dre" headphones (you can see the screen cap after the break). It's ironic, really, given that we currently have a blacklist in place for the overpriced cable-maker because of their rotten business practices (like regularly going after other companies that happen to use the word monster in their name, faking performance tests, and generally bilking customers out of their hard-earned dough). Regardless, if Monster wants to use a quote from Engadget, that's no problem. We suggest this one: Monster Cable sucks. Update: Monster has removed the quote from the site. Now that was fast. Power to the people! [Thanks, Michael K.]