| HP Begins Taking Pre-Orders for Envy Spectre XT Ultrabook Posted: 07 Jun 2012 07:48 PM PDT  Announced along with a bunch of other Ultrabooks and "Sleekbooks" at HP's Global Influencer Summit in Shanghai last month, the HP Envy Spectre XT is now up for pre-order. The 13.3-incher, which HP likes to think of as an "ultramobile premium Ultrabook," tips the scales at 3.07 lbs and measures 12.44 x 8.8 x 0.69 inches.
The Spectre XT starts at $999.99 and has the following specs: - OS: Windows 7
- Display: 13.3-inch diagonal display with 1366 x 768 resolution
- Processor: 1.7-2.6GHz Core i5-3317U (base model)/1.9-3.0Ghz Core i7-3517U/2-3.2GHzCore i7-3667U
- Graphics: Integrated HD Graphics 4000
- RAM: 4GB DDR3 System Memory (1 Dimm)
- Storage: 128GB SSD (base model)/256GB SSD
- Battery: 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery with up to 8.0 hours of battery life
- Ports: 1SuperSpeed USB 3.0; 1 USB 2.0; 1 HDMI; 1 Mini DisplayPort; 1 headphone-out; 1 microphone-in
- Webcam: 720p HD video streaming webcam supports Skype
- Audio: Beats Audio
Our sister site TechRadar went hands-on with the Spectre XT at HP's Shanghai event last month and came away mighty impressed with its "gorgeous" brushed-aluminium frame and thin bezel. The company expects to begin shipping the Spectre XT later this month. |
| Head of EA Origin Rages Against Steam Sales Model Posted: 07 Jun 2012 10:12 AM PDT  Electronic Arts' contentious fued with Steam isn't exactly on the same level as the Hatfields and McCoys was long before the digital age, but it's clear there exists plenty of bad blood between these two sides. The latest indication of this comes from an interview Senior VP of Global E-Commerce for EA, David DeMartini, gave to GamesIndustry. DeMartini, who obviously has a vested interest in Origin, had some choice words for Steam.
In particular, DeMartini takes issue with Steam's frequent software sales, in which even A-list titles can be bought for deep discounts. It's something gamers love, and DeMartini loathes. "I just think it cheapens your intellectual property," DeMartini told GamesIndustry. DeMartini said he understands why Steam does it -- "to sell a whole bunch of units" -- but he wants no part of that business model. He compared Steam to retail giant Target and said Origin is aiming to be more like Nordstrom. He was quick to clarify that items will go on sale "occasionally" at Origin, but don't expect deep discounts for 75 percent off. Expanding on why he feels the way he does, DeMartini said that Steam's business model teaches gamers not to purchase titles in the first month, and instead wait four or five months for a big sale everyone knows is on the horizon. Do you agree with DeMartini, or do you think Steam's deep discounts are the way to go? Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Could Acer's Sub-$200 A110 Iconia Tab be a Game Changer? Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:20 AM PDT  The tablet market has taken its sweet time coming down to pedestrian price levels -- and we're talking about tablets you'd actually want to own, not a craptastic knockoff that's bug-ridden and slow as molasses -- but we're finally starting to see affordable slates become the norm rather than the exception. It started with Amazon's Kindle Fire, which some consider a glorified eBook reader, and later this year, Acer will get in on the low-price action with its A110 Iconia Tab.
Acer's 7-inch A110 was spotted by The Verge at Computex. It's a device that hasn't received much fanfare, but that could change if Acer goes through with plans to position its 7-inch slate as its primary entry-level tablet when it launches in the third quarter of this year. The kicker? Acer plans to price it below $200. That's pretty darn good for an Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) tablet built around Nvidia's quad-core Tegra 3 platform. Even better, The Verge says the tablet it saw was almost completely devoid of any clutter/customization. This could be a sign of things to come. Nvidia has already hinted that $199 Tegra 3 tablets are a real possibility in the near future, and we wouldn't be surprised to see a handful of these devices make it to market in time for the holiday shopping season. Image Credit: Acer Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| iSuppli: Hard Drive Prices to Remain Inflated Until 2014 Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:03 AM PDT  Get ready to hear "Told you so!" from the conspiracy theorists, because according to research firm IHS iSuppli, mechanical hard disk drive (HDD) prices aren't expected to ease back down to pre-flood levels until 2014. That means two more years of inflated HDD prices for consumers, even though hard drive production is "rapidly recovering from the catastrophe" that ravaged Thailand last year.
IHS iSuppli says the average selling price for the entire HDD market skyrocketed to $66 in the fourth quarter of 2011 following the floods, up 28 percent from $51 in the third. It's held steady since then and will only decline marginally to $65 in the second quarter of 2012, the research firm predicts. Is there really a conspiracy by HDD manufacturers to keep prices high? IHS iSuppli to seems to support the notion, saying that HDD production is rising and is expected to recover completely by the third quarter of 2012. "HDD manufacturers now have greater pricing power than they did in 2011, allowing them to keep ASPs steady," said Fang Zhang, analyst for storage systems at IHS. "With the two mega-mergers between Seagate/Samsung and Western Digital/Hitachi GST, the two top suppliers held 85 percent of HDD market share in the first quarter 2012. This was up from 62 percent in the third quarter of 2011, before the mergers. The concentration of market share has resulted in an oligarchy where the top players can control pricing and are able to keep ASPs at a relatively high level." So there you have it. Conspiracy theorists have some hard data to back their claims. Meanwhile, it's not difficult to find solid state drives selling for a dollar per gigabyte, or less, which is still a big premium compared to HDDs, but offer much better performance. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| IDC Predicts 2012 is Android's Peak Year for Market Share Posted: 07 Jun 2012 08:32 AM PDT  International Data Corporation is forecasting a 4 percent year-over-year growth rate for the worldwide mobile phone market in 2012, which would be the lowest it's been since 2009. Why the slow growth compared to previous years? IDC says it's because of the decline in feature phone shipments, as owners of older devices cling to their phones, which serve them just fine for talking and texting. Meanwhile, smartphone shipments will pick up some of the slack and are forecast to grow 38.8 percent year-over-year to 686 million units in 2012, at precisely the time Android peaks in terms of market share.
That's an interesting prediction by IDC, because it implies there's no where to go but down (or hold steady), and in fact that's where IDC sees Android going, even though it will remain a market leader. "Underpinning the smartphone market is the constantly shifting OS landscape," saud Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Phone Technology and Trends team. "Android will maintain leadership throughout our forecast, while others will gain more mobile operator partnerships (Apple) or currently find themselves in the midst of a major transition (BlackBerry and Windows Phone/Windows Mobile). What remains to be seen is how these different operating systems – as well as others – will define and shape the user experience beyond what we see today in order to attract new customers and encourage replacements." IDC predicts Android will close out the year with a 61 percent share of the smartphone market, well ahead of iOS (20.5 percent), BlackBerry OS (6 percent), and Windows Phone 7 / Windows Mobile (5.2 percent). By 2016, IDC sees Android dropping to 52.9 percent as Microsoft's Windows Phone platform bulls its way into second place with a 19.2 percent share, edging out iOS at 19 percent. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Research In Motion Rids Itself of 16GB BlackBerry Playbook Posted: 07 Jun 2012 07:44 AM PDT  Remember all those grand plans Research In Motion (RIM) had for its BlackBerry PlayBook line of tablet PCs? Well, whatever remains of those plans will have to be carried out by the 32GB and 64GB models. Somewhat surprisingly, RIM has reportedly decided to discontinue its 16GB PlayBook, essentially conceding defeat to the likes of Amazon's Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet in the sub-$200 category.
News of the 16GB model's discontinuation comes from CNet, which claims to have heard it directly from RIM via email. In the same note, RIM said it remains "committed to the tablet space" in general, and that the 32GB and 64GB models will still be made available through the company's network of distributors and retailers. In other words, RIM isn't giving up on the PlayBook, it just isn't interested in pushing the relatively low cost 16GB version. Whether or not this kicks off a feeding frenzy (probably not) remains to be seen. RIM still has 16GB PlayBooks in stock and will continue to sell them for $199 until its inventory runs out, and at the time of this writing, there are still units available. The 32GB model currently sells for $249 and the 64GB PlayBook commands $299. Earlier this year, RIM released its long anticipated BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 OS update, which among other things introduced Android app support (Android apps have to go through an approval process before they're added to RIM's App World). Image Credit: Research In Motion Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| MSI Clings to Netbook Form Factor, Kicks Up Light Wind with U180 and U270 Posted: 07 Jun 2012 07:16 AM PDT  At a time when most notebook makers have abandoned low profit margin netbooks in favor of pricier Ultrabooks, MSI appears willing to ride at least one more rodeo with the previously uber popular form factor, and the company's inviting you to come "ride with the wind." Specifically, MSI hopes you'll saddle up on either the Wind U180 built around Intel's latest generation Cedar Trail platform, or the Wind U270 with AMD's new Brazos 2.0 processor inside.
If you choose the U180, your riding partner will be Intel's dual-core Atom N2800 processor, a 32nm CPU nestled into Intel's NM10 chipset. Also coming along for the ride are familiar netbook specs, like a 10.1-inch display, up to 2GB of DDR3 memory, 250GB or 320GB hard drive, 0.3MP webcam, 2-in-1 media card reader, HDMI output, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, GbE and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity, and Windows 7 Starter. The U180 is available in black, white, or lavender. For those of you who prefer to roll with AMD, the U270 sports a new generation dual-core Brazos 2.0 accelerated processing unit (APU) with DirectX 11 support and up to eight hours of battery life. It's a slightly larger laptop with an 11.6-inch or 12.1-inch display, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, 250/320/500GB HDD options, stereo speakers, HD webcam, USB 3.0 support, and Windows 7 Home Premium. Image Credit: MSI Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Linked In Confirms Data Breach, Here's What You Can Do Posted: 07 Jun 2012 06:39 AM PDT  Phishers are coming out of the woodwork trying to bait panicked or otherwise unsuspecting LinkedIn users into supposedly 'confirming' their account, but what they're really doing is hijacking login credentials. They're also compounding the situation, whereby LinkedIn has now confirmed it suffered a data breach in which encrypted user passwords were compromised. Here's what you should do.
First and foremost, log into LinkedIn by typing the site's address directly into your browser and change your password. Don't click on any links in emails, even if they appear to be legit, which some of them do. It's unclear whether or not LinkedIn has begun notifying its members of the data breach via email, but according to security firm ESET, plenty of legitimate looking phishing emails are making the rounds. The next thing you should do is change your password on any other site that uses the same login credentials. You should be using different passwords for different sites anyway, but if not, now's a great time to get into the habit of separating your online accounts. According to reports, around 6.5 million LinkedIn passwords fell into malicious hands, so there's a good chance yours is one of them. If you want to know for sure, LastPass has an online tool that will compare the SHA-1 hash of your password with those that have been compromised. But is it safe to fork over your LinkedIn password to LastPass? 
"The above tool asks you to enter your LinkedIn password, and then computes its SHA-1 hash and sends the result to LastPass.com to search the list of 6.5 million leaked password hashes. A hash is a mathematical function that is simple to perform in one direction, but very difficult to reverse. Meaning, the tool will convert your password into a series of characters in such a way that it will be very difficult to re-construct your original password," LastPass explains. LastPass says that only the hash of your password is sent to LastPass.com's servers, not your actual password. And according to Mashable, LastPass doesn't store your hash on its servers. Still, if you're feeling uneasy, go ahead and change your LinkedIn password regardless. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Acer Aspire V5 Series Thin and Light Notebooks Pack Ivy Bridge Posted: 07 Jun 2012 06:07 AM PDT  Acer is pitching its America-bound Aspire V5 Series of ultrathin notebooks at "students and consumers looking for impressive performance, style, and full-featured mobility." That sounds a lot like an Ultrabook, only the Aspire V5 isn't, though it is a slender machine at a mere 0.79 inches and 4.6 pounds for the 14-inch model, and 0.83 inches and 5 pounds for the 15.6-inch build.
By Acer's math, that's 30 percent slimmer than the company's previous value-based notebooks. And while on the topic of size and portability, Acer says the chassis for the Aspire V5 line sports a soft and smooth surface that makes it comfortable to carry, and is available in four colors, including purple, blue, silver, and black. Moving on to the hardware and feature-set, the Aspire V5 features 3rd Generation Intel Core i3 and i5 processor options, DVD burner, 500GB hard drive, USB 3.0 support, HD audio support with Dolby Advanced Audio v2, HDMI output, and Acer specific technologies like Acer clear.fi and Acer Instant Connect. The Aspire V5 Series will be available in the U.S. at the end of June starting at $630. Acer also plans to sell V5 models equipped 2nd Generation Intel Core processors (Sandy Bridge) starting at $450. Image Credit: Acer Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
