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Acer unveils two new Aspire Ethos laptops for multimedia enthusiasts, street fighters
It's been more than a year since Acer first launched its Aspire Ethos line of laptops -- a family that got a bit bigger today, with the announcement of the 8951G and 5951G. These rambunctious little extroverts are powered by the latest generation of Intel's Core i processors, offering Turbo Boost speeds of up to 3.4GHz. Big bro 8951G boasts a 18.4-inch display that transmits images in Full HD, 1920 x 1080 resolution and 220-nit brightness, while spunky little 5951G struts around with a 15.6-inch HD 1366 x 768 screen of its own. They also support NVIDIA GeForce GT500 and DirectX 11 graphics and sport Dolby-approved surround sound, aluminum-magnesium alloy shells, glossy matte finishes and back-lit chiclet keyboards. Acer plans to unleash the pair sometime in mid-June, though they won't come for cheap, with prices starting at £1,000 (about $1,643). Aspiring owners can find more information in the full PR, after the break.
Niyari brings back Atari 400 nostalgia with USB keyboard, brown never looked so good
We never got around to reviewing the Atari 400 back in 1979, but it was probably for the best -- according to Technabob, the game console's membrane keyboard was more of a finger torturing tool. But if you dig this iconic design regardless, then you may consider Niyari's similar-looking chiclet keyboard from Japan. Sure, $148.55 is pretty steep for an otherwise ordinary USB peripheral, but some old schoolers may gladly pay for this much improved typing experience, albeit 32 years too late. Head past the break to compare this device with an actual Atari 400.
Acer releases third-gen Aspire Timeline X laptops with Sandy Bridge, but only in Taiwan for now
If you've been waiting for Sandy Bridge to land on Acer's Timeline X laptops, then today's your day. Well, it depends, as these new machines are only available in Taiwan for the time being. Just a few hours ago, the lucky folks over at Engadget Chinese managed to get up close and personal with these bad boys: we have a couple of 13.3-inch 3830TGs (pictured after the break), a 14-inch 4830TG, and a 15.6-inch 5830TG (pictured above). With the exception of Core i3-2310M on one of the 3830TGs, these laptops all come with Core i5-2410M, NVIDIA GT540M (with 2GB DDR3 RAM), 640GB hard drive, 2GB DDR3 RAM, and USB 3.0 ports. As for multimedia, sitting below the 1,366 x 768 LED-backlit LCDs are Dolby Home Theater speakers by Kenwood, and additionally, the two larger models also pack a DVD Super Multi DL drive. Compared to the previous-gen Timeline X range, the most notable difference here is the new chiclet keyboard brought over from the Ethos range, which should trap a lot less dirt thanks to the tighter gaps. You'll see that the new Timeline X ID has gone for a more tranquil look -- the touchpad no longer has a silver trim around it, and likewise, the edges around the body are no longer tapered. Also gone is the removable battery underneath, but given the impressive portability (4.12 pounds, 4.67 pounds, and 5.49 pounds, respectively), we won't miss this feature too much. On the contrary, there's now an extra mouse button, presumably for offering better left and right-clicking. So far so good, and if you're digging these laptops as well, then they can be yours for between NT$32,900 (US$1,133) and NT39,900 (US$1,374). Head over to Engadget Chinese for the whole stash of hands-on photos.
Samsung Sliding PC 7 Series hands-on preview (video)
If you're an avid Engadget reader, you're familiar with a dream of ours -- we have always wanted a netbook / tablet hybrid (netverible as we like to call 'em) that actually works really well. We don't want to get our hopes up too much, but the Samsung Sliding PC 7 Series could be it. While we got a chance to see the 10.1-inch tablet with its slide out keyboard just a few days ago, we caught some one-on-one time with the device behind closed doors here at the show and came out having a lot of hope in the product. The unit we saw, and the one being shown on the show floor here at CES, is still pre-production, but even so the sliding mechanism worked pretty smoothly. That's not to say it doesn't still feel delicate, but it actually auto-slides open once you start to push up the screen. As you'll see in the video, it's a rather exhilarating process, although, we were slightly worried that the back of the screen was going to shave off a keyboard key or two. Speaking of the keyboard, those smooth, shiny chiclet keys feel pretty good, though as you'd expect the layout is a little bit cramped. When held in tablet mode the 2.18-pound device is a little heavy for one-handed use, but it's nowhere near as thick or bulky as the Dell Inspiron Duo. However, to maintain those trim dimensions, Samsung has had to cut out a full sized USB port, and instead, the device will use its mini-HDMI port -- it will come with a mini-HDMI-to-USB 2.0 adapter. It also has a MicroSD slot and 3G-card insert, and both front- and back-facing cameras. We didn't get to spend too much with Samsung's Touch Launcher, but it's one of the nicer looking Windows 7 layers we've seen in our day, and it can be launched by just touching that bright blue strip on the screen bezel. Of course, we're slightly worried that it will be sluggish, but Samsung is using Intel's forthcoming 1.5GHz Oak Trail processor, which we've heard will speed up Win 7 and improve battery life. As for the 340-nit, 1366 x 768-resolution screen itself, it was nice and bright on maximum setting, and the viewing angles seemed to be fairly decent. Unfortunately, it's also fairly glossy, so we'll have to see how it holds up outdoors. It also supports up to 16 points of contact -- we're not sure how useful that is on a ten-inch screen, but it's a nice bragging point. Samsung maintains the Sliding PC 7 Series should be hitting for $699 in May -- don't let us down Sammy, we've got dreams. %Gallery-113203%%Gallery-113045% Sam Sheffer and Sean Hollister contributed to this report. Updated: The price is said to be $699, not $599. We've heard different things on the release time frame so we're sticking to May at the moment.
Ask Engadget: Best chiclet keyboard for desktop use?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Stephen, who digs this new chiclet keyboard craze, but wants one for his desktop. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com. "I am interested in building a brand new rig, and I've come to admire chiclet keyboards like those seen on various laptops and the Mac keyboard -- but I'm not a fan of the Apple tax. Is there a nice chiclet-style keyboard out there you would recommend for desktop users? I'd really like a full numeric keypad on it if possible." We know many of you use gaming keyboards and the like, but for those who've managed to locate a decent chiclet keyboard for desktop use, why not share your source? We're sure there are plenty to go around.
Sony unveils 15.5-inch VAIO NW with BD-ROM and $880 price tag, we go hands-on
Sony announced today a new entry into its VAIO series, the NW, complete with a Blu-ray drive and what they're hoping is an aggressive pricing point. It's packing a 15.5-inch WXGA display with XBRITE, 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7350, ATI Mobility Radeon HD4570 with 512MB VRAM, a 4x BD-ROM drive, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, webcam, 802.11a/b/g/n, a 400GB HDD, and a Li-ion battery that's at best 5.5 hours in large capacity and at worst 1.5 hours with the standard-sized version. Port-wise, we've got VGA and HDMI output and Memory Stick Pro, ExpressCard, and SD card slots. We got a chance to get some hands-on time with the portable, and we gotta say, it's a pretty impressive little number. It's not the most slender 15-incher, but at six pounds, it's lighter than we expected. The chiclet keys -- dubbed "isolated keyboard" by Sony PR -- are comfortable to use, as is the textured trackpad. Body and hinge felt sturdy, with an intentionally rugged and stylistic feel to it, and as one rep was excited to show, the metallic "Vaio" logo on the back makes a great reflection in the sun. From what we saw, Blu-ray playback was smooth, but we did notice horizontal viewing angles weren't the best. We'll reserve judgment when we get some play time with the unit and see how hard we can push the software, but for now we're pretty happy with what we've seen. Starting price isn't too shabby, at $880 equipped with the BD-ROM and $800 without, and it comes in three colors: white, grey, and dark brown. Striking your fancy? Look for it to ship out pretty quickly, as in some time next month.
First impressions with the Eee PC 1000HE and its delectable keyboard
We were pleased to see Asus responding to its critics by unveiling the new 1000HE at CES, offering a far more pleasant keyboard that finally moved the right shift key just a bit to the left. With the new model about to ship, Laptop Magazine has been able to stack one up against an older 1000 model and play a little game of "One of These Things" to spot the differences between the two. There weren't many, just that chiclet-style keyboard, which was rated as "just better," and the new 1.66GHz Atom N280 CPU, replacing the elder's 1.6GHz N270. Unfortunately the slight bump in clock and bus speed (from 133MHz to 167MHz) didn't make any noticeable change in performance, but if this thing can deliver on its promise of 9+ hours on a charge we don't think anybody will mind.
