MSI's Fusion Powered X370 Notebook Ships Stateside

MSI's recently unveiled X370 notebook is now available for order and, depending on which vendor you go through, will ship right away. The X370 is a budget-conscious ultraportable priced at $599 and built around AMD's dual-core E-350 Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) platform. It's a sexy looking notebook, at least in the pictures we've seen, and at 3.1 pounds, you won't throw your back out lugging it around.

"We designed the X370 for those who want a fully functioning notebook in a compact form, with long battery life," noted Andy Tung, vice president of sales for MSI U.S.
MSI claims the the X370 will keep chugging along for up to 10 hours. Other notable features include a 13.4-inch widescreen display, AMD Radeon HD 6310 discrete class graphics, 4GB of DDR3 memory, 500GB hard drive, SRS Premium Sound speakers, HDMI, 1.3MP webcam, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.
Newegg has the X370 stocked and ready to ship, or if you don't mind waiting 1-4 weeks, Amazon is selling it slightly cheaper at $580.

Netbooks were the tablets of the pre-iPad world, but now they are found more often in market research studies bearing out claims of their cannibalization by tablets than in the marketplace itself. Acer seems to have finally found the key to this endangered specie's comeback: a hypnotic ripple-like effect on the back. Jokes apart, the upcoming Acer Aspire One 722 netbook is reported to feature a “water drop” effect on its lid.
Seen for the first time in the D257 at this year's MWC, the lid's cool ripple-like effect has been created out of molded plastic. The  Aspire One 722 features AMD's C-50 APU with two CPU cores clocked at 1GHz and an integrated Radeon HD 6250 graphics core. It has an 11.6-inch display (1366x768) and a battery life of up to 7 hours. Price and release date haven't been revealed as yet.

HP Readies AMD Fusion-powered 3105m 'Mini Executive

Hewlett-Packard is bringing an enterprise version of its competitively priced Pavilion dm1z ultraportable to the market. Dubbed a “mini executive” by the company, the HP 3105m is essentially the dm1z with different branding save for a couple of trivial differences.

The 11.6-inch 3105m is powered by an AMD E-350 Zacate APU with two CPU cores running at 1.6GHz and an integrated Radeon HD 6310 graphics core. Other specs include 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive and a six-cell battery. Does that remind you of the dm1z? What's more, it even shares the same $449 price tag as the dm1z. The only difference is that the 3105m comes with Windows 7 Professional and Computrace LoJack anti-theft software.

Acer Builds 3D-Capable Aspire Z5763 All-in-One PC

Acer today announced its newest all-in-one 3D entertainment center built around Intel's Sandy Bridge platform, the Aspire Z5763. This latest AIO PC sports an integrated IR emitter and Nvidia 3D Vision technology to serve up 3D visuals on its 23-inch, Full HD 1080p 16:9 display. Audio duties are handled by an integrated 5W stereo speaker system and Dolby support.
3D isn't the only bandwagon Acer is jumping on. The Aspire Z5763 is the first to feature Acer's AirControl motion control technology, which utilizes built-in cameras to detect movements of your hand of fingers to control the computer. Waving your hand in front the machine fires up the media control interface, after which you can move your hand over media controls, like volume, rewind, forward, play, pause, or stop.
On the hardware front, the Aspire Z5763 is configurable with the following:

• Intel Core i5 2400s/2500s or i7 2600s processor
• Up to 16GB of DDR3-1333
• Up to 2TB SATA HDD
• Optional 3D Blu-ray
• Intel HD graphics; Nvidia GeForce GT4440; Nvidia GeForce GT435M
• 2MP webcam
• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Multi-card reader
• Eight USB 2.0 ports; headphone/mic jacks; D-Sub VGA

The Aspire Z5673 will ship in the U.K. starting mid-May for around $1,650. No word on when it will ship stateside.

Rumor: LG Optimus Pad to Cost at Least $700

We always envisioned Google's Android platform sparking a price war among tablet makers, but that may be wishful thinking. Motorola's Xoom tablet, the first in the world to sport the potentially awesome Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) platform, will reportedly sell for $800 and perhaps as high as $1,200 (we doubt it). Either way, it's significantly more than Apple's entry-level iPad, which isn't a fair comparison based on features, but could play a role in which platform consumers buy into. To top it off, now we're hearing that LG's upcoming Optimus Pad will run at least $700.
That's according to news and rumor site Fudzilla, which claims to have gotten the info from a "nice talkative chap from LG" presumably at the Mobile World Congress. The rep indicated LG plans to price the 32GB tablet between $700 and $800.
We don't know if that's the trend Honeycomb tablet makers will all end up following, but if so, it's going to be difficult for Android to overtake the tablet market. The hardware is better than what you'll find on an iPad, however the upcoming iPad 2 will at least partially address this. Plus, Honeycomb tablets will be going up against RIM's PlayBook (QNX) and HP's TouchPad (webOS).
How much would you be willing to pay for a Honeycomb tablet?

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Hits Store Shelves, Flies Right Off

Asus is trying to do what others so far haven't been able to, which is to knock the iPad off its perch as the most popular tablet PC. Samsung's Galaxy Tab wasn't able to do it, and neither could Motorola's Xoom. RIM's PlayBook held promise, but the lack of email and contacts support for non BlackBerry owners are major omissions. Will the Eee Pad Transformer present the first real challenge to the iPad?
It's too early to tell, but it at least appears that Asus' convertible tablet is off to a heck of a start. The Eee Pad Transformer went on sale in the U.S. today, and according to Engadget, Amazon.com sold out of the device within minutes of listing it. Orders were being fulfilled by Target, which also lists the device as unavailable.
If you head over to Asus' "Where to Buy" page, you'll find several vendors listed, but none of them turn up an in-stock Eee Pad Transformer. That means one of two things. Either the convertible tablet sold out hella fast, or there wasn't much supply to begin with.
As a refresher, the Eee Pad Transformer comes with a 10.1-inch display, Nvidia Tegra 2 processor clocked at 1GHz, 1GB of DDR2 memory, 16GB of internal storage, 1.2MP webcam, 5MP rear facing camera, 4-in-1 media card reader, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, and a 40-pin docking port for an optional keyboard/docking station, transforming the tablet into a bona fide netbook. All this comes wrapped in Google's Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) platform.
What's more, Asus is bucking the trend of $500+ tablets by selling the Eee Pad Transformer for $400, sans keyboard.

Samsung Coutersues Apple over iPhone/iPad Patent Infringements

When Apple announced it was going to sue Samsung for patent and trademark infringement over its Galaxy lineup of tablets and phones, the tech industry took notice. The reasons for paying attention to this one go far beyond the financial ramifications, Samsung you see is one of Apple’s biggest component suppliers, manufacturing everything from screen to chips which go into the companies growing portfolio of gadgets. Some journalists speculated the lawsuit was just for show, and would settle quickly with a series cross licensing agreements, a trend that is common in the tech sector. This was a sound theory, however a counter-suit filed by Samsung on Friday suggests both companies might be in this for the long haul, and business relations could be in jeopardy as a result. 
According to the court filings, Samsung claims that both the iPhone and iPad infringe on 10 of their mobile technology patents, and called for immediate action, along with compensation for damages. The patents in question involve methods for reducing power consumption during data transmission, along with various 3G technologies for reducing errors during transmission. 
"Samsung is responding actively to the legal action taken against us in order to protect our intellectual property and to ensure our continued innovation and growth in the mobile communications business," the statement said.
Countersuits are fairly common in this type of a scenario, and while Samsung may just be using it to pressure Apple into settling the dispute, this very public battle might well have Apple looking for an alternate supplier by the time it’s all over.

Google in Talks with Spotify to Run Google Music

We are quickly nearing the one year anniversary of the first time Google demoed music downloads on Android, and Google Music is still a no show. We've been hearing that Google's discussions with the music labels have hit the skids, but El Goog might be working a new angle. According to Cnet, Google is in talks with Spotify to run its music service.
This deal would make sense in a number of ways. Spotify has a devoted user base in Europe and good relations with labels. They have been negotiating hard in the US to bring Spotify to American users as well. An alliance here could help Google bypass all that pesky licensing negotiation and bring Android users an integrated music solution.
Neither company is saying a word, as expected. It speaks to the urgency of the situation that Google would go this route. Amazon has launched its Cloud Player service without label blessing, and Apple is reportedly closing in on releasing a cloud-based music service. What form do you think a Google/Spotify alliance would take?

Powercolor Launches World's First Single Slot Radeon HD 6850

Need a videocard but find yourself cramped for space? Unfortunately for you, many of today's mid-range to high-end graphics cards take up two slots, a necessary evil in order to cool today's increasingly power (and power hungry) GPUs. Fortunately for you, most board partners also like to experiment with their own designs, ditching reference blueprints in favor of their own cooling creations. It was this mindset that led Powercolor to launch the first single-slot Radeon HD 6850 videocard.
Powercolor didn't go into a whole lot of detail about its cooler in terms of temp performance, but did say it sports three units of 8mm heatpipes with a full cover cooling plate.
Otherwise, the Powercolor HD 6850 sticks with AMD's reference clockspeeds, so the GPU runs at 775MHz and the memory races along at 1000MHz on a 256-bit bus. The card is powered by a single 6-pin PCI-E plug.

SanDisk Announces 19nm Memory Chip

With a little help from its manufacturing partner Toshiba, SanDisk today announced a 64Gb (gigabit), 2-bits-per-cell (X2) based monolithic chip produced using 19nm manufacturing technology. This, SanDisk says, is the most advanced memory process technology node in the world, and with it, the flash memory card maker intends to produce embedded and removable storage devices with high capacities for things like mobile phones, tablets PCs, and other portable products.
"We are excited to introduce the world’s smallest and lowest-cost NAND flash chips based on industry-leading 19nm process technology in our ongoing collaboration with our manufacturing partner Toshiba," said Yoram Cedar, executive vice president and chief technology officer, SanDisk. "Products based on this technology are designed to enable new applications, form factors and consumer experience that will continue to drive the flash industry to new heights."
SanDisk said it plans to sample its 19nm 64Gb X2 device this quarter, with high-volume production scheduled for the second half of 2011. That means you should start to see actual shipping products either by the end of the year, or early 2012.

Toshiba Unveils Glasses-Free 3D Notebook with a Twist

You're not going to find anyone saying you can have their 3D glasses when you pry them from their cold, dead hands. The truth is, the need for eye gear is a major turnoff many consumers would rather do without, even if it means living in a 2D world. That's where glasses-free 3D displays come in, like the one found on Nintendo's recently released 3DS handheld console, and also on Toshiba's just unveiled 'Dynabook Qosmio T851/D8CR' notebook. If glasses-free 3D displays aren't exactly new, why is Toshiba beating its chest?
Well, according to Toshiba, this is the world's first glasses-free 3D notebook that can simultaneously display both 3D and 2D content on the same screen, in separate windows.
"Users can watch high-quality 3D images or enjoy 3D games in one window without any need for wearing dedicated glasses or installing a dedicated panel over the display, while at the same time working, browsing the Internet, or sending email in another window," Toshiba explains.
It's a nifty feature that definitely gives Toshiba a marketing advantage, but whether or not it's actually useful beyond the initial 'gee-whiz' factor is something consumers will ultimately decide.
Like the 3DS, Toshiba's T851/D8CR creates 3D images using parallax technology, delivering separate images to the left and right eyes. This tells us it probably has a strict viewing angle, which could be a challenge in a split screen scenario. As for other specs, Toshiba didn't say what else this notebook is packing under the hood, probably because those details are still being sorted out. The T851/D8CR will be available in the Japanese market in late July, with no word on when it will ship to U.S. shores.

PSP Going, Going, Gone: Sony Officially Axes PSPgo

The PSPgo entered the world as an ugly duckling. It simply didn't fit in, representing an awkward transition period between physical media and all-digital formats. Also, the whole “stupidly expensive” part probably didn't help. And so we stand before you today bearing somber news that the little-device-that-couldn't wasn't able to find a happy ending. World's three entire PSPgo owners, we're so sorry for your loss.
Sony confirmed the manufacturing halt to Japanese site AV Watch (via Kotaku), noting that it now aims to “concentrate on the NGP.” The PSP-3000, however, is especially popular in Japan and – unsurprisingly – is in no danger.  
"It will continue to be sold, and we will keep focusing our attention on it from here on out,” Sony explained.
On the bright side, the PSPgo definitely wasn't a terrible device, and – on top of last year's price drop – it's probably about to be cheaper than ever. If you're the type that adorns your house with failed technology – like some kind of hunter with more beheaded beasts than wallpaper – now's your chance to add another soon-to-be rare piece to your collection.

ITC Staff Sides with HTC and Nokia in Apple Dispute

You might remember a few months back when Apple went on the legal warpath and sued HTC and Nokia for violating its intellectual property and patents. Part of all these cases tends to be a duplicate federal court and U.S. International Trade Commission complaint. Well the ITC just spoke up, and Apple's arguments haven't impressed them.
ITC staff lawyer, Erin Joffre clarified the ITC's position at the start of the ITC hearing in Washington just today. Apple claims that phones made by HTC and Nokia are making unauthorized use of their IP. They point to all manner of user interface and hardware features, even esoteric ideas like power management for mobile chips.  
The ITC staff acts on behalf of the public to mediate trade disputes, so its recommendations are not binding. Although, they do carry weight. It's too early to tell how this will work out, but it's probably going to be years before we see a resolution.

Samsung Looks to Sell off its Hard-Drive Division

Competition in the hard drive sector has done wonders for consumer pricing, but it’s about to take a toll on another supplier. According to Reuters Samsung is looking to exit the spinning disk sector by selling off the losing division as soon as possible. Sources quoted by the newspaper claim they are hoping to rake in as much as $1.5 billion from the sale, but might be willing to entertain bids as low as $1 billion if necessary.
Speculation as to possible suitors pretty much starts and ends with Seagate since Western Digital is in the early days of their merger with Hitachi. Western Digital by comparison paid about $4.3 billion for Hitachi, however Hitachi had a much larger share of the market to back up the price. Samsung still has a very robust component business including memory chips and flat screens, however it never seems to have established itself in the hard drive sector.
Neither Samsung or Seagate have made any official comment on the matter, but expect to hear more in the coming weeks.

Acer Iconia Tab A500 Pricing, Release Date, and Images

While the full swarm of Honeycomb tablets buzzes further off on the horizon, a few scouts are arriving to test the hospitableness of the consumer environment. Sales of the Motorola Xoom have been sluggish so far, and it may be due to a price that does little to sway potential iPad 2 buyers. The latest experiment in Honeycomb tablet market penetration, the Acer Iconia Tab A500, arrives today at BestBuy.com for pre-orders at a tantalizing sub-iPad price of $449.99 (Wi-Fi only; no 3G/4G data). Pre-orders at Best Buy stores will begin on April 14, and the final onsale date will be April 24 -- exclusively at Best Buy stores and online.
The 10.1-inch Iconia Tab A500 comes loaded with a Tegra 250 dual-core 1GHz processor with integrated GeForce GPU, which Acer promises will be boss for HD gaming (Need for Speed: Shift and Let's Golf included), 1080p video and snappy browsing. With an aluminum casing, the tablet weighs about 1.7 pounds with a thickness of about a half inch. It carries 16GB of internal memory and supports Micro-SD cards up to 32GB. Acer reports 8 hours of battery life for casual gaming or HD video playback, and 10 hours for Wi-Fi Internet browsing.
Among the other tablet-standard features are built-in GPS and Bluetooth, HDMI output, ambient light sensor, accelerometer, 5MP rear camera with flash and autofocus and 2MP front-facing webcam. Acer notes that the Iconia Tab A500 will support Flash but will not come with it pre-installed.
Many of the images below are clearly 3D-render graphics, which don't really give us an idea of how the 1280x800 TFT WXGA display looks or whether the claim of an 80-degree wide viewing angle holds up. Still, we're curious to see how the A500 performs, are you?

Google Decides Against Resuming Street View Photography in Germany

A German court last month declared street-level photography by Street View's car-mounted cameras to be legal when it dismissed a lawsuit alleging personal and property rights violations on the part of Google's Street View service. Despite the legal victory, and contrary to what most people might have expected, the company has decided against returning to the streets of Germany with the camera-toting vehicles it uses to collect street imagery for its popular Google Maps and Google Earth services.
"As we announced in January, we have no plans to launch new imagery on Street View in Germany at this stage. Our user priority is to use our Google cars to collect data such as street names and road signs to improve our basic maps for our users in a similar way that other mapping companies do,” a Google spokesperson told The Register.
That said, users will continue to have access to the existing street imagery from the 20 German cities already covered by the service. It isn't clear what exactly effected this change in priority or whether the internet giant remains open to reconsidering the decision at a later date.

MSI's First Sandy Bridge Notebook for Gamers Now Shipping

MSI just announced the North American availability of its new GT680R notebook, which is the company's first gaming laptop built around Intel's recently launched Sandy Bridge platform.
This 15.6-inch notebook packs an Intel Core i7 2630QM processor clocked at 2.0GHz, 8GB of DDR3 RAM, 1TB of storage space by way of two 500GB hard drives in a RAID 0 configuration, Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M graphics, DVD writer, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 7-in-1 memory card reader, Windows Home Premium 64-bit, and a 9-cell battery.
Also present is MSI's Turbo Drive Engine (TDE) technology, which allows for software overclocking of the CPU and GPU, USB 3.0, HDMI, and a built-in webcam.
You can purchase the GT680R at Newegg for $1,500.

MSI Resumes Shipping Sandy Bridge Notebooks with Extended Warranty

It may have taken a little while, but MSI on Wednesday announced that it's GT680R gaming notebook built around Intel's Sandy Bridge architecture is back in action, and this time without any janky SATA ports to worry about. It's the same 15.6-inch notebook as before with the same Intel Core i7 2630QM processor, however it's sporting a revised chipset that doesn't suffer from any known defects, and it also comes with an extended warranty.
"MSI is also introducing it's 'MSI Quality Assurance Program' for all MSI notebooks equipped with the second generation Intel Core 

 processor chipset purchased in the U.S.," MSI said. "In response to the recent recall of the Intel 6 Series chipset, the 'MSI Quality Assurance Program' addresses any outstanding customer concerns around product quality with an additional one-year extended warranty for all MSI Sandy Bridge notebooks."
MSI also points out that its Better Business Bureau rating is currently an A+, but enough about that, let's have a look at the hardware. In addition to the aforementioned processor, the GT680R boasts 8GB of DDR3 1066 memory, Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M graphics, 1TB hard drive, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, THX TruStudio PRO sound piped through Dynaudio Premium speakers, USB 3.0, 720p HD webcam, HDMI, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. The GT680R sells for $1,650.

Asus Lamborghini VX7 Gaming Laptop Fueled by Sandy Bridge

If you've always wanted to own a Lamborghini but could never quite afford one, here's your chance to get one without having to sell that cottage in the Hamptons. It's the new Asus Automobili Lamborghini VX7 gaming laptop available in orange, black, and carbon fiber colors. Pop open the hood and you'll find one of  Intel's second generation quad-core Core i7 processors ready to rev, along with Nvidia's GeForce GTX 460M graphics.

The windshield on this Lamborghini measures 15.6 inches and gives drivers a view of the world in Full HD (1920x1080) with LED backlighting. There's up to 16GB of DDR3-1333 of system memory; several storage options, including a solid-state hybrid HDD (up to 1.25TB in capacity); optional Blu-ray writer; 8-in-1 memory card reader; 2MP webcam; Azalia-compliant audio chip with 3D effects complimented by 2 speakers and digital array microphone; USP 3.0 ports; and Windows 7.
What really sets the Lamborghini VX7 apart from other Sandy Bridge notebooks is the styling. Building on Asus' aggressive gaming notebook design, the VX7 kicks things up a notch with subtle curvatures and eye-catching colors.
Look for pricing to start at around $2,800, which is high for a 15.6-inch laptop, but might be the cheapest Lamborghini you'll ever own.

MSI Unveils New Generation FX420 and FX620DX Notebooks

MSI on Wednesday introduced what it claims are a pair of "mean machines" in the FX420 and FX620DX, a pair of notebooks built around Intel's second generation Core CPUs. Both models also sport "high-end discrete graphics cards to meet the needs of extreme gamers." We'd label them as 'respectable,' with the FX420 featuring an AMD Radeon HD 6470 and the FX620DX outfitted with Nvidia's GeForce GT 540M, both with 1GB of GDDR3 memory.
The 14-inch FX420 includes:

• Intel Core i5 2410M processor
• 1366x768 screen resolution (LED backlit)
• DDR3 memory
• 500GB/640GB/750GB 5400RPM or 500GB 7200RPM hard drive
• Optional Blu-ray reader
• Two USB 3.0, two USB 2.0, memory card reader
• Premium Sound by THX TruStudio Pro
• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR, Gigabit LAN
• 1.3MP webcam
• 6-cell battery

The 15.6-inch FX620 sports mostly the same spec sheet, but with a larger screen/resolution (optional 1920x1080) and an option for an Intel Core i7 2630QM processor. MSI also built into both machines its usual assortment of proprietary technologies, such as its ECO Engine power saving scheme and GPU Boost technology.
No word yet on price or availability.
Image Credit: MSI

Nikon Launches D5100 DSLR Camera

Been waiting for something new from Nikon? Your wait is over. The camera maker on Tuesday announced its new D5100 Digital SLR with a 16.2 megapixel sensor. Nikon says it packed the D5100 to the brim with "new and innovative features aimed at giving photographers the tools to shatter creative constraints." It also boasts the ability to shoot HD video.
"Now more than ever, consumers want to pack only one device with them when traveling on excursions both far away and close to home," said Lisa Osorio, general manager of marketing at Nikon Inc. "By providing consumers with a simple path to creative freedom for both stills and movies, the Nikon D5100 is designed to become an essential camera for capturing all of life’s occasions."
Billed as a camera for photographers of all skill levels, the D5100 features a 3-inch "super sharp" 921,000 dot Vari-angle LCD screen, 1080p video recording, in-camera effects that can be applied to both photos and videos, 100-6400 ISO (expandable to 25,600), Nikon's Active-D lighting feature, Nikon's EXPEED 2 image processing engine, ME-1 microphone, and more.
Nikon says the D5100 will ship in the U.S. in mid-April for $800 for the body only, and $900 for the body and lens outfit (AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens).
Image Credit: Nikon

Smartphone of 2011

                                                             Featuring a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED display and ultra thin design, the Infuse 4G's single core 1.2GHz Hummingbird processor still manages to keep up and is capable of recording 1080p video. While the name suggests that it is a 4G device, it runs on AT&T’s HSPA+ 4G network, considerably slower than its upcoming LTE alternative. Perhaps its greatest shortcoming, though, is its older version of Android (2.2 Froyo), which, given Samsung’s track record, may take quite a while to be upgraded.