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Envy 133 and MacBook Air duke it out in the flesh
Sure, we've sized these two up theoretically, but how well do Voodoo's Envy 133 and Apple's MacBook Air get along when sharing the same meatspace? There are certainly some striking similarities -- both have gargantuan trackpads, for instance, but Voodoo has taken things in an aesthetic direction all its own. We just hope these two decide to be friends instead of mortal, cake-cutting enemies.
X300 vs Envy 133 vs MacBook Air... Fight!
Suddenly the 13.3-inch ultra-portable market is looking a might bit crowded. At the same time, it's never looked better now that we have the choice of Lenovo's X300, Apple's MacBook Air, and Voodoo's just announced Envy 133. Decisions, decisions. #vistachart { border: 2px solid #333; border-collapse: collapse; } #vistachart td { padding: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc; vertical-align: top; margin: 0; line-height: 1.3em; } #vistachart th { font-weight: bold; text-align: left; padding: 4px; background: #eee; } #vistachart th.mainth { border-bottom: 1px solid #333; font-size: 1.2em; } #vistachart td.red { background-color: #f08c85; } #vistachart td.green { background-color: #b3e2c4; ThinkPad X300 Envy 133 MacBook Air 0.73 to 0.92-inches 0.70-inches 0.16 to 0.76-inches 2.9 to 3.1-pounds* 3.37-pounds 3 pounds 13.3-inch LED 13.3-inch LED 13.3-inch LED 1,440 x 900 1,280 x 800 1,280 x 800 Removable Battery Removable Battery Not Removable Ethernet External via USB adapter 3x USB 1x USB, 1x USB/eSATA 1x USB DVD External External 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo GMA X3100 GMA X3100 GMA X3100 SSD only HDD or SSD HDD or SSD Vista Vista Vista or OS X $2,700 to $3,000* $2,099 starting $1,800 to $3,100* Business minded Instant on Voodoo IOS Cuts cake *Depending upon configuration
Omen bodes well for Voodoo's gaming future
Besides the new Envy 133, Voodoo is also launching its 22-inch tall, all-aluminum (glass, wood, and leather too) Omen tower. This time, for gamers. It features a 7-inch, 800 x 480 display for secondary information on the outside and a Voodoo designed water cooling loop on the inside to keep the fire down on up to 2x CPUs (up to 16 cores) and 4x GPUs. The system tops out with a pair of 3.2GHz Core 2 Extreme QX9770 processors, 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM, and support for "next generation" NVIDIA and ATI graphics... at a price. Starting at around $7,000 and available exclusively to existing Voodoo customers at launch sometime later this year.
Video: Voodoo floats 13.3-inch Envy 133 into the Air
Oh my. First you're slicing cake with the MacBook Air, then you're looking to steal its market share. Lenovo, you can't afford to be too smug either. Voodoo's $2,099, carbon fiber Envy 133 isn't a gaming rig. It is, however, a 13.3-inch ultra-portable with LED-backlit display, 1,280 x 800 resolution, Intel GMA X3100 graphics, 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SP7700 processor, HDMI, 2x USB (1 doubles as eSATA) and hard disk or SSD option. It also features an instant-on Voodoo IOS mode that lets you surf the web, chat, look at photos, and make Skype calls without booting into Windows. Impressed yet? Well what if we told you that the power brick (and it's definitely a brick!) doubles as a WiFi access point? Check the preview just beyond the read link, or full video explanation after the break.%Gallery-24781%
HP's Blackbird 002 gets exclusive configuration for retail launch
Just because you haven't seen one on every street corner doesn't mean that HP's Blackbird 002 gaming rig hasn't been around the block a time or two. Still, those of you who haven't found the nerve (or spare change) to pull the trigger can look forward to being tempted even more this summer. Starting soon, the Blackbird 002 will be available in an exclusive configuration at Amazon, NewEgg and select Best Buy, Circuit City, J&R and Micro Center locations. This launch marks the first time the unit has sashayed into B&M outlets, and packed within will be an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 processor, dual NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT graphics cards, 4GB of Corsair Dominator RAM, 500GB SATA drive, 7.1-channel onboard HD audio, a 15-in-1 multicard reader, 900-watt power supply and an nForce SLI motherboard with RAID support. Said config will run customers $3,299, and a list of locations from which to buy it will be made available on June 29th.
VoodooPC website goes up in smoke... and mystery
It looks like HP is milking its future plans for its Voodoo division for all their worth, with it now following up its tantalizing hints from a few days ago with a not-so-subtle revision of the VoodooPC website. Exactly what that means, however, we can't be sure, but it certainly seems to suggest that the Voodoo brand might not be featured so prominently in HP's "beautiful" future --especially since the only live links left on the site are for support and community.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
HP exec cuts birthday cake with MacBook Air
Those that know Rahul Sood, founder of Voodoo PC and CTO of HP's global gaming business, might not be so surprised to hear he used a working MacBook Air to cut his thick, rich, chocolatey birthday cake. While wearing an HP shirt. And then posted it to his site. Good luck, Rahul -- we're totally sure the Apple fanboys of the world are going to give you a pass on this one.
Hands-on tour of Pirates of the Caribbean Online
Recently, I sat down with Disney Online to get a tour of their MMO Pirates of the Caribbean Online. To be honest, I didn't go in with high expectations. I mean, the movies were fun and all, but with only Toontown Online to DO's credit, I wasn't expecting something that appealed to me as an adult gamer. Boy, was I wrong.An adventure set around helping Jack Sparrow retrieve the Black Pearl is just as perilous as it sounds. You wake up in the same jail as the rogue pirate. Together you take advantage of cannon fire assaulting the Caribbean town of your incarceration to escape and begin your exploits. Those include meeting Wil Turner, the voodoo priestess Tia Dalma and a new villain, Jolly Roger among others. Not to mention facing down the Imperial Navy, hungry crocodiles, rampaging zombies, pirate-eating giant plants and cut-throat card players.There are no classes, servers or banks. This game isn't about inventory management, but is action-based about being a pirate. No tradeskills, either. The scourge of the High Seas don't craft, they take. The number of weapons available is small, but the skill ups for them are numerous. If you are looking for less strategy and more action in your pirate MMO, read on for a tour of the first few levels of the game.Character customization, sea battles, voodoo magic and cameos galore, plus two videos after the jump.%Gallery-14957%
HP's CES 2008 booth tour
HP has an absolutely massive booth at this year's CES -- everything from tablets to cameras to printer supplies has an elaborate installation. We caught up with the oft-delayed iPaq 200 and 300-series PDAs, totally befuddled a PR person by asking him when the tx2000 tablet would get capacitive touch (he just kept repeating "It has a digitizer!" until we backed away slowly), and hid behind a printing display while two MediaSmart TV reps had an exasperated conversation about how to answer the apparently-constant question "Why should anyone buy this instead of a real TV?" There was also one lonely Compaq desktop. Check it all out in the gallery? %Gallery-13133%
Yo ho yo ho a Pirate's (of the Caribbean) life for me
Disney's free to download and play Pirates of the Caribbean Online launched with little to no fanfare; odd given the media-centric world we live in. Apparently, the lack of an advertising blitz was intentional. In an interview with Ten Ton Hammer, Disney Online VP Mike Goslin said they wanted it that way in order to be certain the game was in working order when the masses started pouring in. With the recent release to DVD of Disney's third PotC movie, and the Christmas season now in full swing, expect to see an explosion of ads enticing folks to come live the pirate life.Mike explained that Disney is devoted to making PotC Online a long term success for all ages, giving parents the peace of mind that their kids won't be exposed to malevolent oddities (the game is rated E10+) while not limiting things for older players. They appear to have succeeded since the game world is always rife with players. For parents, one controversial aspect might be the voodoo abilities. Goslin boils it down by saying that every pirate has access to them once players get hold of a voodoo doll or staff. Players must dart in and tag an enemy, then run out of melee range to use it by poking the doll, setting it on fire, etc. Having used voodoo myself, these powers play no differently than magic in WoW, and add a great deal of fun to the game.While hardcore gamers might shun this peglegged casual MMO - don't. I've been sailing the High Seas since beta, and PotC Online is a fantastically fun, easy to learn game that allows players to romp through the one of a kind world that Walt Disney created in 1967. If you were a child of that era like I was (I'm dating myself), long before the advent of digital, lifelike MMOs, amusement park rides such as Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland in Southern California was as close to "virtual reality" as we'd ever seen. The recent trilogy of movies expanded on that wonderful childhood experience, and the new online games serves to continue the same wide-eyed tradition. There appears to be a firm commitment to make this a solid, long running game. With a considerable amount of new content already planned for the year, and since free is free... right now is the perfect time to hop aboard. Arrr, matey!
Pirates of the Burning Sea's supernatural side
Gamespot has added a preview of Pirates of the Burning Sea that is solely to do with the supernatural content found in the game, and makes us anticipate the game's release even more. Apparently, a significant portion of content (10-15%) will take place in an area known as the Bermuda Triangle -- you may have heard of it. Happenings in the Triangle tend to lean towards the decidedly-spooky, and the quests that Gamespot managed to see involved zombie armies, voodoo priestesses and possessed crew mates. Some of the finer details in the preview show the effort that developer Flying Lab Software is putting in to make their game unique. An interesting part of the article tells of how the remains of a vanquished zombie can be donned and used as a disguise, to hide within enemy ranks. However, since the NPC monsters themselves move at walking pace, if you happen to break step and move a little too fast, the other zombies will realize something is up and turn on you.
The Naaru's new fashion statement
World of Raids and MMO Champion both have lists of new gear on sale, come patch 2.3, in exchange for Badges of Justice from the heroic instances, and now Karazhan and Zul'Aman raid instances as well. That's exciting, of course, but let's stop and look at these pics of the new gear for a moment, shall we?Now, naturally, this gear is designed to fit with the general trollish theme of the patch, which lots of people are understandably excited about. The armor looks pretty good as armor goes, and it definitely brings some new visual design elements to the game that haven't been represented in any previous armor sets. But, let's stop and consider for a moment just where this armor is coming from. It looks like trollish Zul'Aman armor, but do we find it in Zul'Aman? No, it's up for sale by the only known Naaru retailer, G'eras. Does its method of acquisition have anything to do with Zul'Aman whatsoever? Well... it might if your guild has finished raiding Karazhan and gathers the heroic badges in Zul'Aman soon, then yes; but if you still focus mostly on Karazhan or heroic instances, then you might very well acquire some of these armor pieces without ever visiting those Amani trolls even once.What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is the appropriation of the Amani clothing design brand by the Shat'ari Naaru in Shattrath, copied illegally by G'eras, and put on sale with no proprietary settlement with trolls they are mimicking. Who knew that the Naaru could be capable of copyright infringement? If the trolls were down with that whole "I'll see you in court!" thing, their lawyers would be all over this right now.Seriously, why is a being of pure holy light selling trollish armor with skulls and tusks and voodoo dolls on it? -- or does nobody care?
Voodoo launches the ENVY M:152 Core 2 Extreme laptop
Love to be beaten to a bloody pulp by your overpowered laptop? Looking for performance that would make even the strongest bodybuilder collapse in fear? Have you been feeling let down by game speeds which don't actually rip open a hole in the space-time continuum? Well, luckily for you, Voodoo exists... and its made a new laptop. Check into the ENVY M:152, the company's latest entry into the gamer-centric laptop world, which showcases a Core 2 Extreme X7800 CPU, Intel's murderous Santa Rosa chipset, a 15.4-inch, WSXGA+, 1680 x 1050 display, the NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT video card, up to 4GB of RAM, a wide array of hard drive options, plus Bluetooth, a built-in webcam, and style to spare (or so we hear). No word on pricing or street date, but you can expect the systems soon.
Voodoo's Envy H:171 laptop hits the streets
Voodoo, a company hell-bent on out-spec'ing the competition, today announced that its ENVY H:171 has "set new standards for performance notebooks." While we can't completely trust everything some big PC manufacturer says, we can tell you that the 17-inch, widescreen laptop does flash some pretty robust specs. The maxed-out combo features a Core 2 Extreme CPU, a Dual NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 graphics chipset, 4GB of RAM, and a hard drive capacity of up to 600GB (using three drives). Additionally, you get your choice of paint jobs, and Voodoo will even slap a "tattoo" on the back, as long you pay for it. So what will it all cost? About $5,000 for the bare bones system, up to somewhere around $7,477 for the full monty -- and those specs aren't terribly dissimilar from something like the cheaper Dreambook -- though they don't offer a $380 "ink."
HP NOT launching new PC brand this year
We were at an HP gaming event today, presented by Rahul Sood (former CEO of Voodoo, before HP bought 'em). Rahul wanted to let the world know what HP had all their peoples working on, since not much has changed around Voodoo's business since the acquisition. The answer? HP's launching a new high-to-mid tier PC brand in 2007, which will sit beneath the Voodoo brand and above HP brand in terms of price / performance. They didn't go into much more detail than that, but it's obvious HP thinks the PC gaming space will continue to be a money-maker. Let's just hope they don't resurrect, say, Packard Bell in that slot, or some other flagging PC business. We think it's about time for some fresh blood up in here, don't you?Update: It took a hella long time to trickle down to us, but HP isn't, in fact, launching a new PC brand this year. According to Sood, "We don't plan to, nor have we considered, bringing on a fourth [brand]." That's certainly not the impression we got from his presentation; what the mystery yellow block in the diagram above (which we mocked up to recreate the slide he showed) actually happens to be is still anyone's guess.
HP intros Voodoo Envy HW:201 gaming laptop
It looks like VoodooPC's still up to its old tricks despite now flying under the HP banner, trotting out its latest bit of laptop excess at CES. Packing admittedly "non-existent" battery life, the Voodoo Envy HW:201 should be more than adequate as a desktop replacement for all but the most demanding gamers, with a 20.1-inch display, AMD Turion 64 X2 dual-core processor, and your choice of 512MB GeForce Go 7950 GTX or Quadro FX 2500M graphics cards in single or SLI configurations. Further filling out the Envy's 18.75 x 13.5 x 1.9-inch frame are two hard drives providing up to 320GB of space (available in RAID 0, if you choose), along with built-in WiFi, Bluetooth, and a "theater audio system." While it's supposedly set to begin shipping today, the behemoth hasn't yet made an appearance on Voodoo's website, giving the majority of us a bit more time to pretend we can afford it.
Vadim Computers unveils $8,800 quad-core gaming rig in the UK
Just moments ago, we're sure a hoard of you rushed off to purchase the newest OMEN PC from VoodooPC in order to have the most intense gaming rig in your neck of the woods, but we've got news for you: it's already been outdone. Vadim Computers is offering a custom-built machine that packs the latest and greatest computing hardware the world has to (currently) offer, outdoing even VoodooPC's latest offering. Inside the liquid-cooled case, you'll find Intel's quad-core 2.66GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6700 processor nestled in an Asus P5N32-SLI Premium motherboard, surrounded by such niceties as 2GB of DDR2 RAM, dual nVidia 8800GTX 768Mb PCI-e graphics cards, twin 150GB Raptor 10000 drives (and a 750GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 just for storage), dual-layer DVD burner, CD-burning combo drive, and a Creative 7.1 X-Fi ExtremeMusic sound card -- and that's just the bottom-of-the-line configuration. The "3-to-20 percent variable overclocking," as well as the system itself, is backed by a two-year warranty, but similar to the Mac Mini, you'll be providing your own mouse, keyboard, and monitor. The tally on this incredulous beast comes to £4,622.23 ($8,818) -- which isn't quite what Dell demanded for its all-inclusive Renegade 600 -- but that's before the government even takes its share. Pony up, fellas.[Via The Inquirer]
A bit of fun on Monday morning: A Wii Adventure
We hate Mondays almost as much as you do. Our job is pretty cool, after all, but the unfortunate end to the weekend's drunken debauchery is always a bit of a buzzkill. To cheer you up a bit, here's a lighthearted video which remarkably manipulates the world and characters in Zelda: Wind Waker to tell a heartwarming little story about the Wii. We have no freaking clue how the creator was able to so skillfully use the technology found on that piracy-locked Gamecube disc, but kudos are much deserved.[Thanks, MC Yoo!]
HP to buy Voodoo, don't think about HP scandal
HP plans to buy gaming PC company Voodoo Computers in order to reach gamers and their wallets. Voodoo will continue to operate -- now under the HP umbrella -- with co-owners Rahul and Ravi Sood staying on with HP jobs. The acquisition should close by November, after the requisite approvals by shareholders and the SEC.Well look who's following Dell (which bought Alienware earlier this year). While this sort of buyout must take months or years of anticipation, we think the timing is a little more than coincidental; HP is currently being scrutinized by the press, Wall Street, and Congress for spying on media outlets and its board members. There's nothing like a good, old-fashioned buyout to push your scandal out of the headlines.[Thanks, Derek]
Voodoo goes Core 2 with Omen i:121 Extreme
With Alienware having just added Core 2 Duo options to its Area-51 7500 desktop, you didn't really think that rival Voodoo would be far behind, did you? The boutique gaming rig manufacturer has just announced its OMEN i:121 Extreme tower, which crams a 2.93GHz Core 2 Extreme X6800 processor into either a liquid- or air-cooled case designed to "operate at peak efficiency without draining excess power." Since video processing is even more important than CPU horsepower in a system like this, Voodoo is offering the new Omen with a number of graphics configurations, ranging from a single ATI Radeon X1900 or nVidia GeForce 7900GT setup all the way up to SLI or Crossfire dual-card powerhouses. You're also getting 2GB of RAM in the base configuration, along with a 7,200RPM 80GB hard drive and 16x dual-layer Pioneer DVD burner. As usual, pricing on these machines borders on the ridiculous, with SLI and Crossfire rigs starting at $4,400 and $6,000, respectively -- hey, no one said that being on the cutting edge of performance would come cheap.[Via TrustedReviews]
