| HP to Debut Envy M4 Notebook, Two Pavilion Sleekbook Ultrathins on October 26 Posted: 20 Sep 2012 08:21 PM PDT  Adding to an already long list of devices that are set to debut on the same day as Windows 8, Hewlett-Packard on Thursday announced the 14-inch HP Envy M4 laptop and a brace of Pavilion "Sleekbooks." Come October 26, these Windows 8 laptops will hit the market with the promise of "great performance and beautiful design at a great value."
With a starting price of $899.99, the 14-inch Envy m4 is the most expensive laptop of the lot. Inside its brushed-aluminum frame, you will find a third-generation Intel Core i processor, 8GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage, HP TrueVision HD Webcam, dual speakers and subwoofer with Beats Audio, and WiDi (select models). One report says that only one pre-configured flavor of the m4 will be available in U.S., while buyers elsewhere will get to choose from a number of variants. However, this has yet to be confirmed by HP. Starting at $499 and $599 respectively, the Pavilion Sleekbook 14 and 15 are both ultrathin notebooks. The former is a 14-incher powered by an AMD accelerated processing unit (APU), while the latter a 15.6-incher with an Intel Ivy Bridge chip inside. Both laptops will feature HD displays (exact resolution unknown), up to 1TB storage, HP TrueVision HD Webcams, HDMI, USB 3.0 and USB 2.0. Further, both laptops will be available with optional Nvidia discrete graphics. |
| Daily Deals 9/20/12: Ooma Telo, 24" UltraSharp, and GeForce GTX 480 Posted: 20 Sep 2012 10:19 AM PDT  
Top Deal: If you think you're paying too much for your monthly home phone service, today's top deal is going to appeal to you. On sale for $119.99 with free shipping is the Ooma Telo VoIP Phone System (normally $150 at BestBuy). The Ooma Telo allows you to make free calls over the internet using your home phone. No computer or headset is required. You'll be able to make any calls across the US and pay additional fees for calls outside the country. The device also comes with caller ID, call waiting, and online access to voicemail. In addition, the Ooma Telo will allow you to create a new phone number or keep your current one for a one-time additional fee. Other than the outlined one-time fees, this device allows you to make your phone calls for free. Now doesn't that have a nice ring to it? Computing Hardware & Peripherals: 24" Dell UltraSharp U2412M LED-backlit IPS LCD Monitor for $269.10 with free shipping and 3 years warranty (normally $369 - use 10% coupon code: DTJHR33$9BQ744). EVGA GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB Video Card (015-P3-1480-KR) for $179.99 with free shipping (normally $230). OCZ Vertex 3 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s SSD (VTX3-25SAT3-120G) for $59.99 with free shipping (normally $95). Iomega StorCenter Px4-300d Network Storage for $334 with free shipping at B&H (normally $534 - use $200 rebate). |
| Roku Streaming Stick a Stone's Throw Away, Launches in October for $100 Posted: 20 Sep 2012 09:42 AM PDT  Forget about making room on your entertainment center for yet another set-top box, Roku's Streaming Stick packs the same functionality into a package that's no bigger than a typical USB flash drive. Roku first unveiled the device at the beginning of the year with a promise to ship it in the second half of 2012 for anywhere from $50 to $100. Making good on that promise, Roku today said its Streaming Stick will be available to purchase in October for $99.99.
Use of the Streaming Stick requires a Roku-ready device with an MHL port, the first of which will land on store shelves in time for the holiday shopping season. They include televisions from Apex Digital (LE3243R, LE3943R, LE4243R, LE4643R), Insignia (NS-46E480A13A, NS-55E480A13A), and Hitachi (LE42S606, LE42T506, LE46S606, LE46T506, LE55S606, LE55T506, LE55US16). Other makers have said they will support the device, including Element Electronics, GlobalView International, Haier, Mitsubishi, Onkyo, and more. "The Roku Streaming Stick extends our platform beyond the set-top box and into a range of consumer electronics devices. Manufacturers can now deliver a complete streaming experience without painstakingly building it themselves," said Chas Smith (PDF), senior vice president and general manager, Roku platform OEM business at Roku. "And because the Roku Streaming Stick will only get better over time -- with more channels, new features, and frequent software updates -- customers can be confident that they will always enjoy the best possible streaming experience." 
Roku said when purchased separately and not bundled with a device the Streaming Stick comes with a Roku enhanced remote that can be used for motion controlled games. As for the Streaming Stick itself, it has built-in Wi-Fi, a processor, memory, and software so that you can hook it up to your home network and control it with your TV remote. It gives full access to the Roku Channel Store with over 500 channels, Roku says. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Possible Radeon HD 8870 and 8850 Specs Leaked to the Web Posted: 20 Sep 2012 08:39 AM PDT  The never ending GPU wars between Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Nvidia means there's always something newer, better, and faster right around the corner. Neither player likes to tip their hand ahead of schedule, but the Internet is the ultimate tattletale, and right now it's telling us what to expect from AMD's upcoming Radeon HD 8870 and 8850 parts. If the source is to believed, that is.
According to Videocardz.com's source, which is the same one that leaked Tahiti specs a few months before launch, AMD's Radeon HD 8870 will be as fast as Nvidia's GeForce GTX 680. Based on AMD's Oland XT GPU, the 8870 boasts 3.4 billion transistors (up from 2.8 billion found in the 7870), a 1050MHz base clockspeed, 1100MHz boost clockspeed, and 25 percent better memory bandwidth (192GB/s) compared to the 7870. The card will carry an MSRP of $279. AMD's Radeon HD 8850 is based on Oland Pro and has the same number of transistors and memory bandwidth as the 8870, but slower clockspeeds (925MHz base and 975MHz boost). It will sell for $199 (MSRP). It will be comparable to Nvidia's GeForce GTX 670 part. Regarding a launch date, early info points to around January 2013. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| New Soprano Case from Thermaltake is "Plain Yet Sophisticated" Posted: 20 Sep 2012 07:46 AM PDT  Taking a page from Apple's iPad marketing team, Thermaltake newest iteration of its once popular Soprano case isn't being called the Soprano II, but is dubbed "New Soprano." It looks very similar to the old Soprano, though slightly refined (aesthetically) and updated for today's hardware with USB 3.0 support, a top-mounted hot swappable drive docking station, and other amenities.
Thermaltake said it was going for a plain yet sophisticated look, fusing conventional PC design with a contemporary flair. The curvacious aluminum front bezel swings open to reveal four 5.25-inch drive bays and a single 3.5-inch drive bay. Inside are five more 3.5-inch bays that also support 2.5-inch HDDs/SSDs. There are seven expansion slots, cutouts for cable management, an all-black interior, and sound-dampening foam to keep the noise level down. Cooling chores are handled by a front-mounted 200mm blue LED fan (included), bottom mounted 120mm intake fan (optional), and rear-mounted 120mm exhaust fan (optional). Thermaltake will also sell a liquid cooled version. 
The new Soprano will be available in white or black, though when or for how much is not yet known. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Cloud Services Market Expanding to $109 Billion in 2012 Posted: 20 Sep 2012 07:15 AM PDT  It wasn't too terribly long ago that "cloud computing" was a loosey-goosey marketing term being thrown around by anyone and everyone in the software space. And now? There's been a marked shift towards cloud-based services, which is a market that research firm Gartner predicts will grow 19.6 percent to $109 billion by the end of 2012.
"The cloud services market is clearly a high-growth sector within the overall IT marketplace," said Ed Anderson, research director at Gartner. "The key to taking advantage of this growth will be understanding the nuances of the opportunity within service segments and geographic regions, and then prioritizing investments in line with the opportunities." In 2011, Gartner says the total public cloud services market was $91.4 billion. By 2016, the firm forecasts it will top $206.6 billion. Gartner's forecast is anything but absurd. Mobile users are increasingly dependent on the cloud, in part because they're somewhat forced to be, and also because of the convenience factor. Think about the number of media tablets that skimp on built-in storage, some of which don't offer a way to expand via a microSD card slot. On the IT side, Gartner notes that business process as a service (BPaaS) is the largest cloud-based segment, accounting for more than two thirds of the market. In other words, firms are increasingly outsourcing their payroll, printing, ecommerce, and other business processes to the cloud. While on the topic of cloud computing, be sure to check out our fancy cloud managing guide for some indispensable tips! Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
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