Samsung Go N315 grabs a Pinetrail processor

Samsung hasn't yet abased itself to competing head-on with the lowest price netbooks out there, but its Samsung Go can at least vaguely keep up with the times spec-wise, notching up from the N310 to the N315 model name in the process. The $429 rubber-clad netbook has been bumped to an Atom N450 processor, along with Windows 7 Starter, 1GB of RAM and Intel GMA 1350 graphics. Just in case you were scared of getting bored, Samsung and The New York Times are keeping up with their chummy relationship, pre-installing Times Reader 2.0 on the laptop.



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LG's ultraslim X300 launching in Asia, Middle East and South America this month (updated)

An 11.6-inch display fit within a thickness of 17.5mm. Sure, we're mixing up our measurement systems, but whichever way you slice it, the X300 is one extremely thin device. LG has now announced that availability in the Asian, Middle Eastern and South American markets will be forthcoming this month, though all we know on the topic of price is that it'll "vary country-by-country." With up to 2GB of RAM, integrated 3G, and a 128GB SSD option on tap, we'll even forgive the inclusion of a 2GHz Menlow CPU (Atom Z550) that places the X300 closer to Sony's VAIO X than the Core 2 Duo-driven MacBook Air that it aspires to be associated with. Check out our hands-on pics over here while we wait, hope and pray for a release on more familiar shores.

Update: We've now come across LG's Korean pricing, which is set at 1,590,000 Won ($1,424).

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AMD to finally take on netbook space with new Fusion chip... next year

We've always said AMD should go after the gaping hole between netbooks and thin-and-lights by releasing a low-power platform with solid graphics abilities, and it looks like the company's finally coming around -- AMD's John Taylor just told us that the chipmaker will be releasing a netbook-class Fusion CPU / GPU hybrid codenamed "Ontario" with integrated DX11 graphics sometime next year. If Ontario sounds familiar, it's because we've seen it leaked in the past -- it's a part of the "Brazos" platform built around the low-power Bobcat core. Of course, AMD has been promising Fusion chips of all stripes for years now without a single shipping part, so saying that a Fusion chip will get it into the netbook game in 2011 is mildly amusing -- while AMD's definitely turned things around, it's still incredibly late to the low-end party, and Intel's solidly beaten it to the hybrid CPU / GPU punch with the Core 2010 and Pine Trail Atom chips. Add in the fact that NVIDIA's Optimus-based Ion 2 chipset seemingly offers the extended battery life of Atom with the performance of a discrete GPU, and we'd say the market niche Ontario is designed to fill may not actually be so niche when it finally arrives. We'll see what happens -- a year is a long, long time.

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Verizon vs. AT&T: Pre Plus edition

Sure, Verizon and AT&T shout at each other across our TV airwaves all the time, but how often do we get to see two exactly same phones running on both carriers? The Pre Plus and Pixi Plus have just such a distinction, and we stopped back by the Palm booth with our Verizon Pre Plus in hand just to prove to ourselves we weren't dreaming. Naturally we couldn't keep ourselves from a little browser battle (check out the video after the break, the winner may or may not surprise you!), and we even caught the two phones commiserating about that dismal plastic USB jack flap of infamy. Sure, we're longing for a new webOS device, and have a hard time thinking AT&T will reverse Palm's fortunes alone, but there's something special about this new era we're entering with the likes of Palm and Google where you can (almost) choose your device and then your carrier, not the other way around.



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Kyocera Zio M6000 hands-on: you get what pay for

It's totally unfair to Kyocera that we played with its new Zio M6000 mid-tier Android smartphone mere hours after our first look at the HTC EVO 4G, but while we were excited to see a cheaper phone with an 800 x 480 screen, the end result is pretty disappointing. The device crams that resolution into a 3.5-inch screen, which wouldn't be so bad if the capacitive touchscreen element wasn't so low-end. It seemed both unresponsive and lacking in accuracy -- at times we had trouble even dragging open the notification tray. We were told that we were looking at a prototype of the device, but the crumminess seemed pretty uniform across multiple Zios we tested. The device also seemed just generally sluggish -- we'd think the 600MHz Qualcomm processor could handle Android 1.6 just fine, but perhaps there's some optimization left to do. Kyocera told us that the phone is easily upgraded to 2.0 or 2.1, based on carrier wishes, and that they don't have any plans for skinning it. Ironically, running 1.6 on this high res display actually ends up looking worse than a regular low-res screen, due to the blurry icons and UI elements. The cheap looking capacitive touch buttons aren't much out of the norm for Android, but interesting the phone doesn't have any haptics to let you know if you've clicked one. Meanwhile, the haptic feedback for touchscreen typing is cranked to 11 and significantly unhelpful.

In one final negative note, the phone takes one of the worst pages out of the Palm book and put plastic doors over not only the USB plug but the microSD slot and side-mounted headphone jack as well. On the plus side: this is an incredibly thin and light phone, and we doubt the price (less than $200 or so unsubsidized) probably will be beat in the US for a while. Expect to see it on a low-end CDMA carrier (like Virgin Mobile or Cricket) near the middle of the year. Check out a video after the break!



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Dell Aero first hands-on!

Here she is, folks -- Dell's first-ever Android device destined for a Stateside release, and AT&T's second overall handset (the first being the Backflip) with a Google-based operating system. At CTIA's MobileFocus event, we were able to brush up against a fully functional Aero (shown beside a Mini 3, just for your information), but we left without seeing the actual home screen. The closest we came to witnessing Android 1.5 boot up was the typical AT&T intro screen, and once that popped up, our presenter promptly popped the battery out in order to stop what would've otherwise been a truly momentous occasion. We begged and pleaded for a few interface shots, but Dell insisted that AT&T was holding an invisible gun to its head in order to keep the screen dimmed. We were told that the interface was still being tweaked, and the carrier simply wasn't ready for the world at large to take a peek.

Outside of that, we learned that this will indeed be the planet's lightest Android phone ever when it ships (believe us, it was light), and while v1.5 will be onboard, Dell seemed confident that 2.1 (and beyond) would be made available shortly after launch. We were also told that it would ship with a 5 megapixel camera (a step up from the Mini 3's 3 megapixel shooter), an undisclosed amount of internal storage, a new color / design scheme (the one you see here will be the only shade available at launch) and a 2GB microSD card bundled in at purchase. You'll also find a good deal of AT&T baked into the OS, but it's not like you should be surprised to hear of carrier meddling. Finally, we were informed that pricing would be set by AT&T, and that it would be shipping "soon" -- far sooner than "six months from now" -- from both AT&T and Dell channels (though not available unlocked from the latter). There's also the possibility that Dell could arrange some sort of Aero / Mini 10 combo deal for those looking to really sink their teeth into a hefty AT&T contract, but there's nothing substantial to go on just yet in that department.

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BlackBerry Pearl 9100 surfaces yet again, this time with specs

Rumors of a low-end BlackBerry Pearl 9100 have been swirling (or at least slightly agitating) as far back as November of last year, but it looks like we're now finally starting to get a clearer picture of some of the phone's actual specs. As we'd heard previously, this one comes equipped with a SureType keypad (no QWERTY version to be seen yet), and a trackpad instead of a trackball. According to Tech Digest, it will also boast 3G connectivity, along with a 3-megapixel camera, and a design that's said to be a "fair sight sleeker" than current BlackBerry Pearls. Still no indication of pricing or availability, unfortunately, but it seems like this one is getting about due for a release.

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Sense UI ROM available for Droid; is nothing sacred?

It seems that man's mad quest to unite Sense UI and Droid continue at breakneck speed. This next bit of evidence comes from the blurrycam of AllDroid forum member Greek35T, and befitting its status as an experimental Alpha release, there are a few hiccups. Data is available when 3G is enabled, but not voice (although a quick perusal of the forum has indicated that at least one user has had success placing 3G calls -- but none receiving them). Bluetooth is also out of the question, for the time being -- as is airplane mode and the GPS (although aGPS seems to be working fine). That said, you do get Flash (as a rousing game of Alien Attack demonstrates). See for yourself after the break -- or hit the source link to try it out for yourself. You know, if you're crazy like that.



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AT&T 3G MicroCell starting nationwide roll-out in mid-April

Unless you've been in one of a few key test markets, you've been pretty much out of luck boosting your AT&T signal in the comfortable confines of your home since the 3G MicroCell first launched -- until now. Starting in the middle of next month in a deployment that spans "several" months, customers across the country should expect to see MicroCells pop up in their local regions. The device itself will run a one-time fee of $149.99 before a $100 mail-in rebate (when purchased with a "3G MicroCell calling plan," though we don't yet know what that constitutes). Separately, there'll be a $19.99 plan bolt-on that offers unlimited calling when connected to the device -- and anyone tacking on a new U-verse or DSL line of 1.5Mbps or higher will get another $50 rebate. It's not the end of AT&T's spectrum or backhaul concerns, we're sure, but it's a start.

Update: We've just clarified -- the $19.99 bolt-on is the only one that's relevant for the $100 rebate; there are no other dedicated MicroCell calling plans, so that should make it a little easier to bring down the net cost of the unit since you don't have to change into another base plan.

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Verizon 'wrapping up' Boston and Seattle trials, 'friendly user' ones coming this summer

Remember those LTE trials that Verizon Wireless started up in Boston and Seattle back in August of last year? Good news, mobile surfers -- the operator has today confirmed in a roundtable at CTIA that they're both nearing their end, giving us hope that they're gleaned the necessary information from them to start moving onto bigger and better things. Namely, more elaborate trials in more locales around the nation. As you might expect, Verizon Wireless is indeed gearing up to move into its next phase of commercial LTE testing, with Tony Melone (Senior VP / CTO) stating that 'friendly user trials' were slated to begin this summer. He declined to elaborate on the whos, whats and (most importantly) wheres, but there's no doubt that these are likely the last hurdles before we see its 4G network go live in "one third" of the country. We're told that those tests will be used to kick the tires on "commercial" gear, which is starkly different than the non-commercial kit that has been used in Beantown and the Emerald City. So far, the company's seeing peak rates of around 40Mbps and 50Mbps (down), with average download rates hovering in the 5Mbps to 12Mbps range and upload speeds falling between 2Mbps and 5Mbps. Be sure to let us know if any undercover VZW engineers start installing weird antennas near your abode in the coming months, cool?

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Verizon Wireless: 'all' 4G WWAN devices will support 3G, too

Hear that, kids? Tony Melone -- Verizon Wireless' Senior VP and CTO -- confirmed to us during a one-on-one meeting after the company's CTIA roundtable discussion that every last one of its data-only LTE WWAN devices (aircards, MiFi-type products and USB data sticks, for example) would also support 3G. Not too surprising given the natural ties between the two technologies, but it's still refreshing to hear that every 4G data-only product that launches (at least initially) on VZW will also be able to hop onto the company's 3G network if you just so happen to break away from an LTE area. Can't say that for a smattering of existing WiMAX products. In related news, Tony also affirmed that Verizon would be "interested" in getting a smartphone on its LTE network that could double as a mobile hotspot, exactly how the Palm Pre Plus does now (but on 3G, obviously). As for pricing when it comes to LTE data rates? Tony wouldn't give us any indication of the carrier's plans, but if it's anything similar to whispers we've heard in the past (not to mention rates already seen through Clearwire), it'll probably be at least marginally more expensive than what you're paying today for third-generation access.

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AT&T's mobile U-verse getting upgraded: download your recordings on the go

In a session held by AT&T at CTIA today, the carrier previewed an upgraded version of its mobile U-verse app, and let's just put it this way: it's significantly more important to AT&T's "three-screen" strategy than the version that launched in the middle of last year. The big deal is that shows recorded on your box at home can be streamed to your phone from any WiFi hotspot, a nice little bonus for U-verse subscribers who haven't ponied up for something like a Slingbox. We don't have a launch date yet, but what we saw demoed today certainly looked like it was just about ready to go -- and fortunately, they'll be bringing the app to a number of platforms, not just the iPhone alone. Follow the break for a few more shots of AT&T's David Christopher demoing the goodies on the overhead.

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Re universal remote dongle for iPhone now available

Most of prefer to keep our eyes on the TV when in couch potato mode -- which kind of makes the smooth glass interface of a touchscreen remote out of the question. But who knows? Maybe you're some sort of Alpha control freak who needs to be able control damn near every A/V and/or home automation devices in your stifling McMansion. In that case, you're in luck -- the Re IR dongle for iPhone / iPod touch is now available -- officially and internationally. The App is free but the hardware will cost you a cool $70 -- hit the source link to get started.

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LG Cosmos hands-on

While LG didn't storm to this year's CTIA with a hero device like some of the competition, they did arrive with something: the LG Cosmos. The Cosmos is a very simple sliding QWERTY messaging device built for the lower end market and lands at Verizon for $29.99 after rebates. The keyboard, arguably the most important feature here is really nice; tactile feedback when pounding out your missives is comfortable, key spacing is pretty much right on, and the balance with it open is also quite good. Sure, the display -- a 2-inch 320 x 240 -- is small, but still clear, and useful enough. Handset build quality is also pretty good and the slider feels solid. Takeaway here is if you're looking for an inexpensive messaging set on Verizon, the Cosmos might be worth taking a peek at. Follow on for a gallery and a quick video tour.



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Aircell tempts HTC HD2 owners with six months free in-flight WiFi

Now that Aircell has finished roping every major US airline into its plan for world domination providing inexpensive WiFi on most every flight, the company's dealmakers have had to fall back on, shall we say, less integral partnerships to advance their strategy. First up? If you're the owner of a shiny new HTC HD2 on T-Mobile, you get six months of Gogo in-flight WiFi, free of charge. Simply register with the company anytime before June 2011 and it's clear skies for your connection. You can consider the expiration date a bonus alarm clock -- by that time, you'll be ready for a phone with enough buttons for Windows Phone 7 Series.

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Franklin Wireless intros U600 WiMAX modem, R526 and R536 mobile routers

Franklin Wireless supplies modems (primarily of the CDMA variety) to a number of carriers across the Western Hemisphere, and they've introduced a handful of rather interesting new products in that vein here at CTIA this week. First up, the U600 is an EV-DO Rev. A / WiMAX hybrid USB modem with a 270-degree swiveling USB connector for those ridiculously hard-to-manage ports (ahem, Apple), integrated GPS, and zero-CD installation -- all pretty standard features these days, and we saw a Sprint-branded unit at Franklin's booth which leads us to believe we'll be seeing it at retail shortly.

Much more interesting, though, was a pair of pocketable WiFi routers -- the R526 and R536 -- that support EV-DO and EV-DO / WiMAX, respectively. Most of the units were unbranded, but we did spy an R536 done up in snow white with a Clear logo slapped up top, so you can pretty much gather that this thing will be filling a glaring hole in Clear's lineup (right now, the best you can do is a USB modem plus the Clear Spot, which is basically a branded Cradlepoint). What intrigued us about the R536 the most was the fact that it's got the functionality of an Overdrive packed into a smaller, more MiFi-esque form factor without any of the Overdrive's bells and whistles, so it'll be a great alternative as long as it performs well and has enough juice to last a couple hours off the power grid; the 3G-only R526, meanwhile, had an Ethernet jack stuck on the side, which is kind of cool in the rare event that you need to connect a WiFi-less device and you don't want to go through the hassle of installing a new driver. The R526 launches in April (with what carrier, we're not sure) -- as does the U600 -- while the R536 should start to trickle out in May.

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T-Mobile HD2 can be had for $100 from Amazon, others

In the wireless industry, $100 is a rather magical psychological barrier -- a price point below which consumers generally have a much easier time pulling the trigger on a sweet upgrade. So when you offer a phone for $200, a percentage of your target demographic is generally going to drop out of the race with cries of "too rich for my blood." No worries with this new HTC HD2 for T-Mobile, though, because it turns out that a number of resellers are already discounting the phone right down into that $99.99 sweet spot despite the fact that it was just launched this very week. Most notably, anyone agreeing to a two-year contract through Amazon can get the phone for less than a Benjamin, and that's upfront -- no mail-in rebate craziness to contend with. Certainly makes the phone -- arguably WinMo 6.5's last real hurrah -- a more appealing buy, doesn't it?



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Samsung debuts U820 QWERTY slider at CTIA, no one notices

Not everything can be an Android smartphone, fellas... sometimes you just need an unobtrusive design, maybe some social networking connectivity, and a modest price point. That's what the Samsung U820 says to the world. Barely a blip on our radar when we came across the FCC filing at the beginning of the year, this QWERTY slider features a 3-inch WQVGA touchscreen, 3.2 megapixel still camera with video capture, headset jack, MicroSD card slot, browser, the Communities social networking widget, and for your UI (dis)satisfaction, TouchWiz 2.0. Available at the end of April 30 in the $80 - $100 range on Verizon.

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LG Remarq hands-on

LG launched the eco-friendly Remarq this week at CTIA, and this tiny -- well, when shut -- device at least points those interested in green mobility in the right direction. The packaging that the Remarq ships in is made from 87 % post-consumer materials and the device itself is crafted from 19% recovered plastic. Sound fun? Yeah, course, but LG has also thrown in an admittedly kitschy but fun app that helps you keep track of your carbon footprint by rewarding you shrubs and trees based on the walking you do instead of the driving. Of the two sets launched by LG this week, this one definitely stands out as the winner. The screen, display, and look and feel of this squarish device are very well done. Follow the fold to see a gallery and a video tour by none other than Martin Valdez.



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Qualcomm MSM7x30 development unit hands-on

While we heard this was floating about at MWC this year, we didn't get a chance to have to get our mitts on it or film it so consider that sorted. The MSM7x30 platform is fast -- running between 800MHz and 1GHz -- and smooth, but the attractive interface demo (aptly named Fluid) is ultimately frustrating to use as the icons are being washed around by the ocean currents. The Qualcomm rep we spoke to did mention that the interface won't make it to retail but is rather meant to demo the animation capabilities of the device. While we didn't look at every corner of the demo platform, we did see an example of its pretty impressive gaming abilities, checked out some sample 720p output both on screen and on an HDTV, and peeped the Scalado demo that lets you browse a thousand photos at once. Top shelf stuff, and we're really looking forward to seeing devices based on this chipset landing in our hands this year. Quick video tour and a few more pictures follow the fold.



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Wind Mobile lights up towers in Ottawa, Canada

Wind Mobile launched today in Ottawa, Canada and we were there to help celebrate and learn a little more about its plans for the near future. On hand were CEO Ken Campbell (right), Chairman Anthony Lacavera, and Chief Marketing Officer Scott Campbell (not pictured) extolling the virtues of a contract-free cellular experience. So what does Wind have in store for Ottawans? The plans are simple, $15 Chat, $35 Always Talk, and $45 Always Shout for voice, plus $35 unlimited data for BlackBerry and Mobiles, and a $55 plan for data sticks -- data plans are subject to a fair use policy. We've seen the sets before, but let's review, shall we? The BlackBerry Bold 9700, the Samsung Gravity 2, Huawei U7519, and the HTC Maple are all on offer, and CEO Ken Campbell mentioned that number should double in the next six months -- and should include some Android and lower-end candybars. Wind Mobile has now set up shop in four Canadian cities -- Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, and Vancouver in June -- including Ottawa and combined with its roaming agreements and $150 porting credit is on its way to truly offering a viable alternative to the big three. We wish them all the best and look forward to hearing more soon.



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Student-made Xbox 360 laptop channels the Heck out of... well, you know

Few can build 'em like Benjamin Heckendorn. Fewer still bother to try. Two college kids managed to do a bang-up job anyhow building this fully loaded, Jasper-juiced Xbox 360 laptop. With a built-in 17-inch Gateway monitor, keyboard, functioning Xbox Live camera and Wireless Network Adapter, this brick hits all the right notes -- yet remains remarkably stylish for a learn-as-you-go student project. If you agree, you can read a remarkably detailed account of how they built it at the source link, see a proof-of-completion video after the break, or even further their education by purchasing the mean machine on eBay for your very own.



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Archos 7 Home Tablet (and PMPs) hands-on

Why hello there, Archos. My, what nice Android you have there. Tucked away in a little booth at CeBIT, the PMP maker was showcasing its latest 7-inch Home Tablet. Unfortunately, it was pretty barebones as far as content goes, but the vanilla Android 1.6 was running smooth, and if company precedence indicates anything, the video playback is still fairly solid. The selling point here, really, is a decent screen and that $200 or so price tag. No dice on espying Archos 8, though; we've passed by the company's booth twice now, and both times it had yet to be sent to the show floor. Instead, on hand were the A14VG and AV15VS, but there isn't a lot to say about music players with the same feature set you'd find in PMPs sold at grocery stores -- there's definitely a market, but it's targeted at your wallet more than your desire for cutting edge goods. Video of Archos 7 after the break.




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Updated Archos 13 laptop to roll out next month

This one looks to have largely gotten lost among the hubbub of CeBIT earlier this month, but it seems like Archos quietly announced a followup to its Archos 13 laptop, which is now set to debut sometime next month. Complete details are still a bit light unfortunately, but the revised model will sport that always desirably "classy look," along with an Atom D510, Windows 7 Home Premium for an OS and, presumably, a 13.3-inch display. No word on pricing just yet, but the original Archos 13 came in at an even $800.

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Origin's Eon15 gaming laptop offers less bang, saves more buck

While some high-profile custom PC vendors are on their way out, Origin PC is just getting started. The company recently launched the Genesis, a desktop that melts gamers' faces at the same time it incinerates their wallets, and the Eon18, a laptop that... honestly does just the same. Come to think of it, flame seems to be a recurring theme for the company, but before you work yourself into a burning hot rage because of your inability to afford Origin product, consider the new Eon15. With only room for a single powerful mobile graphics chip and a single storage drive, it won't be setting new 3DMark or I/O benchmarks like its cousins, but it will let you get away with a 1080p screen, Core i7-820QM processor, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, a GeForce GTX 285M and even a snazzy paint job for a merely painful, rather than excruciating, price. Configurations start at $1,900 -- hey, it's not like you were gonna be using those paychecks for anything else, right?

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HP adds EliteBook 2540p and 2740p to the lineup, brings the power and the touch

Thought HP was done unleashing its new line of semi-rugged EliteBooks at CES? So did we, but apparently it needed just a little bit more time to pull the 12.1-inch 2540p and 2740p out of the oven. An update to the 2530p, the 3.8-pound 2540p still has the same magnesium alloy chassis that's met all those super-tough MIL-STD 810G military standard tests, but its innards have been freshened up with the alluring scent of Intel's 2010 Core processors. Prices start at $1,099, but in typical HP fashion it will be configurable online with tons of juicy options, including standard and low voltage Core i5 and i7 processors and a range of 7,200RPM and SSD drives.

Up next is the 2740p which packs much of the same internal spec options as the 2540p (sans the low-voltage CPUs), but puts them into a convertible tablet form factor. Starting at $1,599, its capacitive multitouch 12.1-inch display now supports both pen and finger input and thus pits it head-to-head with Lenovo's ThinkPad X201t, though from our hands-on we found the 3.8-pound 2740p to be much slimmer and lighter. A lot of that has to do with its flush battery, but if adding some juice (and thickness) is your thing, you can add a slate battery (or two!) to the bottom of the system. Both the 2540p and 2740p will be available later this month, but hit the hands-on gallery below to get a look at these magnesium puppies up close.

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HP EliteBook 8740w pumped up with Intel Core 2010 CPUs, ATI / NVIDIA graphics

Fear not mobile workstation lovers, it may have taken HP a bit more time to refresh its 17-inch EliteBook 8740w, but it's officially here now and ready to champ at the bit with a combo of cutting edge features / specs. We'll start with the externals first -- the 7.8-pound, magnesium-alloy chassis is covered in the same gunmetal finish as the other recently-announced Elitebooks, and the 17-inch HP Dreamcolor screen is nothing short of stunning. It has 64 times the colors of other displays and can be ordered with HP's Mobile Display Assistant color calibrator. Inside the workstation is rather frightful -- it can be configured with a choice of Intel Core i5 or i7 processors and [either] ATI 's newest FirePro M7820 or NVIDIA Quadro FX GPUs. While the 8740w starts at $1,999, the $3,899 spec'd version happens to be HP's most powerful mobile workstation ever with a quad-core Core i7 processor, 7,200rpm 320GB hard drive, and NVIDIA Quadtro FX 3800M graphics with 1GB of DDR3 RAM. We were told that the 8740w would be shipping in early April, but it appears that you can order them up right now at the source link.

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Gigabyte T1000 takes a new twist on life with Atom N470 and a multitouch display

Ever get the feeling that what you see on paper just isn't going to be as good in person? That's sort of how we felt today when we stopped by Gigabyte's CeBIT booth to get a look at its newly announced T1000 netvertible. On the spec front the T1000 has everything we could possibly want in a netbook -- a new 1.83GHz Atom N470, 2GB of RAM, a chiclet keyboard and a 1366 x 768-resolution multitouch display -- but in our few minutes of use things were far from rainbows and butterflies. The resistive touch panel required a pretty firm press, and when in slate mode there's no buttons (or accelerometer) for rotating the device. While we liked the chiclet keyboard, we'll never understand why Gigabyte has kept the two mouse buttons on the sides of the touchpad. We realize that we may be jumping to conclusions too quickly here, so we'll let you decide for yourselves with the help of a short video after the break.



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Fujitsu MH380 review

You know what can't be easy? Making a netbook stand out amongst the hordes of them out there, and yet despite run-of-the-mill specs Fujitsu's done just that with the MH380. Maybe it is the rounded red lid or the small crater in its palmrest that doubles as a scroll pad, but the $449 netbook has struck us as more than just another Pine Trail netbook ever since its appearance at CES. We'd like to take that at face value, but given the fact that Fujitsu doesn't have the best netbook track record, we wanted to spend some quality time with it to find out if the 10-inch mini-laptop has the battery life, performance and ergonomics we expect for its higher-than-average price. You can be sure we found out, so hit the break for our full review.
Fujitsu MH380 hands-on


Look and feel

It's hard not to like the MH380's glossy red cover and chrome trim; you can see Tony Stark buying it to match his Iron Man suit. But superhero or not, it's easy to appreciate the unique squircle shape of the lid, the teardrop shaped hinges and the silver inner edge. Though the system is primarily made of plastic, we have to say the manufacturing quality does feel better than most, and overall it feels quite sturdy.

The real bummer for us is that the head-turning design isn't matched by the best portability specs. The MH380 measures 1.4-inches thick, and its protruding six-cell battery adds even more girth in the back. And then there's the fact that the system weighs 3.1 pounds, and feels heavier in hand than most netbooks. Don't get us wrong, it's still a netbook, and small enough to fit in a shoulder bag or carry around the house with one hand, but it's just not the trimmest of the bunch.

Keyboard, touchpad and screen

Those that like a good flush keyboard will have no qualms about the MH380, and while we've become fonder of chiclet style keyboards on netbooks, we were typing at a decent clip in no time. The MH380's keyboard may get ergonomics points, but we can't say the same of the touchpad below it. The 1.8 by 1.6-inch pad -- yes, we pulled out the ruler -- is no bigger than a small sized Post-It or a Wheat Thin, and the result is a very frustrating navigation experience that requires a ton of backtracking and finger cramping. To compensate Fujitsu has sped up the tracking speed which shoots the pointer across the screen at the slightest provocation -- yes, we disabled this function. The reason for this shrunken experience? To make room for the smooth circular divot to the right of the trackpad. In theory the scroll pad's touch sensitive surface is supposed to allow for easy vertical scrolling, but that's not how it worked in practice. We were able to get the the pad to scroll down the length of Engadget at a smooth pace only after we made a number of tweaks to the sensitivity in the Synaptics menu, and though you can set the pad to function as a button to open a program or go back in the browser, it mistakenly launched programs when we just wanted to scroll. Though the whole setup provides a different look, we couldn't hook up a external mouse quickly enough to make the pain go away.

The higher-resolution 1366 x 768, 10.1-inch display is crisper and brighter than most, and those extra horizontal pixels do make a noticeable difference when surfing the web. While we couldn't watch a YouTube HD video because of the MH380's weak GMA 3150 graphics, a 720p WMV video of the Caribbean Ocean looked very crisp. We found vertical viewing angles to be decent when we tilted the screen to different angles, but horizontal ones weren't worthy of the same praise – though better than most, colors still washed out when we tried to view the screen from the side.

Performance and battery life



We've got no complaints about the MH380's Intel Atom N450 processor and 1GB of RAM. Windows 7 Starter edition ran like a champ and handled our normal netbook activities, including writing this review in MS Word 2007, streaming music in Firefox and tweeting from Tweetdeck, with no issue. As usual watching a Hulu.com video at full screen caused some stuttering. The MH380 is equipped with a 250GB of hard drive that's oddly partitioned into two equal sized drives.


PCMark05 3DMark06 Battery Life
Fujitsu MH380 1368 153 6:37
ASUS Eee PC 1008P 1531 152 3:20
ASUS Eee PC 1005PE 1431 157 8:10
Toshiba Mini NB305 1272 156 6:30


Thankfully the larger 63Wh six-cell battery that protrudes out the back results in some good endurance. On our video rundown test -- where we loop the same standard definition video at 65 brightness -- the MH380 lasted 6 hours and 37 minutes. That's not as long as the ASUS Eee PC 1005PE's eight hours, but it will allow you to avoid the outlet scavenger hunt at an airport or coffee shop.

Wrap-up

We have two quite cliche words for Fujitsu's designers: size matters. Putting aside the $449 price point for a second, the larger size and resulting weight of the netbook along with the contrasting diminutive size of its touchpad hold the MH380 from competing with the rest. While we'd probably be able to justify paying a $50 premium for the MH380's design and HD screen, those issues -- the touchpad in particular -- make it out of the question for us. If you are hung up about your netbook's looks the Eee PC 1008p is one attractive netbook that doesn't have usability issues, and the Toshiba NB305 continues to provide the best of the design and performance worlds.

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Intel officially adds Pine Trail Atom N470 processor, early performance results don't impress

Intel introduced the new Atom N470 netbook CPU back in September and then Lenovo showed off its S10-3t with the new processor at CES, but chipzilla's taking the time today to give its newest Pine Trail CPU a proper unveil. The 1.83GHz N470 joins the 1.66GHz N450 as an option for netbooks, and like the rest of the Pineview integrates the GMA 3150 graphics controller on the same chip and supports hyperthreading. According to Intel, the major OEMs are expected to introduce new netbooks based on this processor soon, but if our experience with the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t is any glimpse into the "performance boost" of this processor we're not sure there's anything to wait for. Our full review of the S10-3t netvertible is almost done cooking, but we can tell you right now the system didn't feel faster in use even with its 2GB of RAM, and on PCMark05 it scored in the same range as other N450 netbooks. While the slightly faster clock speed may be a nice bragging right, at the end of the day Atom N470-based netbooks are still, well, netbooks.

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Samsung's N150 netbook picks up some Corby branding, Starburst color

Spotted first crawling its way through the FCC, then on the floors of CES and most recently at WMC with some LTE inside we're going to go ahead and say the Samsung N150 has earned its new stripes, err rainbow colors. Trying to add some brightness to its well stocked Pine Trail netbook line up, Sammy has gone and painted the $379 10.1-inch N150 in Flamingo Pink, Bermuda Blue and Caribbean Yellow, though kept its internal 1.6GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 250GB hard drive and 1GB RAM unprimed. Interestingly, in some countries the netbook has acquired Samsung's affordable mobile phone Corby brand, though here in the U.S. that doesn't seem to be the case. We'd probably just stick with the black hue, but that doesn't mean we couldn't go for some sort of tropical-flavor candy right about now.

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LG X300's slack-jawed hands-on

You know, we see a lot of ultraportable laptops these days, it's not like it's virgin territory for us, but we'd say the last time we were this blown away by a form factor was the VAIO X, or maybe the Adamo XPS in all its weird-hinge glory. LG's X300 is simply thin. Cramming 11.6-inches of screen and premium netbook parts (2GHz Atom Z550, HDMI out, up to 2GB of RAM and 128GB SSD, even some 3G and Bluetooth for good measure) into a 0.68-inch thick form factor is impressive, but we're even more struck by how insanely light this thing is -- it feels more like holding an e-book reader in hand than a laptop. The plastic build feels very solid, and the textured pattern on the back falls into the realm of "premium," not "gaudy." The keyboard isn't the best action-wise, but there's zero flex because there's nowhere to go. Our biggest concern is the trackpad: it's nice and big, but there's a "virtual" click mechanism where you tap to click the button portion and get a haptic response -- it might be the evolution of the "click pad" concept, or it might be a pain in the ass. Even the screen was bright and quality, though too glossy for our taste. We're told the laptop is headed to the US, but we're not sure when -- hopefully soon, since it's starting to ship internationally this month. Check out a video walkthrough after the break.



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Samsung's R30 and R80 Touch of Color laptops now on sale

Plain they are not, and Samsung's Touch of Color laptops that were launched at the tail-end of CES this year have finally begun to ship. As of now, the Core 2 Duo-equipped R430, Core i3-packin' R480, and Core i5-based R580 / R780 are all on sale at Best Buy, with prices ranging from $629.99 to $829.99. The whole lot seems to be available for shipping or direct pickup, so give that source link a look to figure out which configuration fits you best. Or don't -- no pressure.

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Acer launches Aspire Ethos line with swanky 5943G and 8943G models

Acer's aspirational laptops have a new Ethos to them now, and it clearly has something to do with entertainment. The newly revealed 18.4-inch 8943G sports a 1920 x 1080 resolution and a true 5.1 surround sound setup, meaning that somewhere within its shell reside five miniature speakers and a sub. Processor options range all the way up to the quad-core Core i7-820QM, which offers 8MB of built-in cache and a 1.73GHz clock speed that cranks all the way to 3.06GHz when required. ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850 graphics and up to 1.28TB of storage (2x 640GB) complete the overkill recipe. The 5943G is basically a scaled down version, offering as it does 1366 x 768 resolution across a 15.6-inch display, a 2.1 internal speaker arrangement, and a merely adequate 640GB storage maximum. The rest of the specs are shared, including a 4,800mAh battery, which should perish quicker than you can say "desktop replacement." Pricing and availability have not yet been announced.

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Mobinnova Beam netbook spotted running Android, sporting other improvements

Mobinnova had already mentioned that it planned to ditch Windows CE in favor of Android for its Beam netbook before the device was actually released, and it looks like it's now finally made the jump, as evidenced by Laptop Magazine's recent hands-on with the netbook. Whats' more, the 8.9-inch device was also seen sporting a few other minor improvements, including some new media playback keys on the keyboard, and CinemaNow pre-installed on the system for downloading movies. Expectedly, you won't have access to Android Market, btu Mobinnova says it will include some games that "leverage the Tegra chip's multimedia prowess," and that it's even working on its own app store for the device.

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BPhone netbook / smartphone hyrbid now available to order

Why carry around a netbook and a smartphone when you can have a netbook / smartphone? Why indeed. Especially when you can have something as sensible as the BPhone, which is now finally available for the completely reasonable price of $569.99 (unlocked, of course). That will get you a not-quite-pocketable convertible device with a 5-inch touchscreen, along with a 624MHz Marvell CPU, ARM Linux 2.6 for an OS, 256GB of flash storage, built-in Bluetooth, WiFi and GPS, and quad-band GSM connectivity on the "phone" side of the equation. Sound like just the thing you've been looking for? Hit up the link below to get your order in.

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Virgin Mobile Canada lights up HSPA+ network, iPhone 3GS, Bold 9700 in tow

Well, it's a bit earlier than the invitation to the big launch event suggested, but it looks like Virgin Mobile Canada is now officially part of the HSPA+ club, and it's now also selling a couple of new phones you might be interested in. Naturally, the network will give you coverage in line with the Bell network that Virgin is piggybacking on (encompassing 93% of Canadians), and you can expect the same download speeds of up to 21.6 megabits per second and upload speeds up to 5.76 -- in "ideal conditions," of course. As expected, the carrier is now also offering a number of new phones that take advantage of the network, not the least of which include the iPhone 3G and 3GS (in all the usual varieties), and the BlackBerry Bold 9700. Hit up the link below to check out the complete lineup, and Virgin's new smartphone plan offerings, which start at $50 per month

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Qualcomm adding the kitchen sink to Gobi, including EV-DO Rev. A, dual-carrier HSPA+, and LTE

The whole point of Gobi is that you can buy one device and use it with multiple network technologies or carriers, but apparently Qualcomm isn't kidding around about the idea. It just announced a slew of data chipsets (voice still isn't part of the picture) with all sorts of new goodies. New technologies supported include EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B (the five people on earth using Rev. B will be thrilled), HSPA+, dual-carrier HSPA+ (which looks to be the evolutionary end of HSPA), and LTE. The mother of all these chipsets is the MDM9600, which can do LTE up to 100 Mbps, dual-carrier HSPA+ up to 42Mbps, HSPA+ up to 28Mbps, and EV-DO Rev. A / Rev. B. Qualcomm also says it's moving Gobi beyond just laptops, with USB modems, e-readers, and "gaming devices" now in the cards. No word on when they'll start showing up, but much of it will have to do with carrier rollout as much as Qualcomm's ability to ship these out the door.

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Bitbop hands-on: is this the Hulu of mobile?

Fox Mobile unveiled its Bitbop venture this week that promises to provide a wealth of TV and movie entertainment from a variety of top-tier studios, and if you can get past the fact that you're actually going to have to pay for this content, it's shaping up to be a pretty promising system when it launches later this year. There's no live programming -- just a database of show episodes and movies that you have your choice of either streaming or downloading for later consumption over 3G or WiFi -- which makes it a little bit like using an on-demand service from your cable company. Bitbop was only demoing the BlackBerry version of its app at CTIA this week, but it looks like there'll be iPhone and Android versions on the way; at any rate, video quality looked plenty good on the Bold's 480 x 320 display. Initially, there'll be just one plan -- $9.99 a month for access to shows, while movies will be pay-per-view exclusively -- but we got the impression that the company is leaving the door open for other payment models down the road. Great, just what we needed: another really cool way to kill productivity. At least we'll be able to catch up on Gossip Girl in the process, we suppose!

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New screenshots of iPad apps start to make this thing seem less like a giant iPhone

We already knew that the iPad would be getting a few pieces of software that haven't shown up on its tinier, phone counterpart -- but now that a few screenshots of forthcoming apps for the device have reared their head, we're getting a clearer picture of just what this thing will feel like. If these shots of the new Yahoo! Entertainment, Bento, OmniGraffle, and Brushes are any indication, the iPad will be doing a lot more than just zooming up your Facebook profile. There's definitely an emphasis on content creation, file exporting (if not saving), and syncing with desktop versions of some of these apps, and Yahoo!'s work (alongside Brushes') shows that we've only begun to scratch the surface of what interfaces will be like on this device. We're sure the next week will be filled with all sorts of these kinds of leaks, but for now you can cherish the moment when you first laid eyes on your new way to check a TV schedule. A few more shots after the break, and lots more at the sources.




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Apple job posting hints at LTE for a future iPhone?

What could possibly come after the iPhone 3GS? The iPhone 3GSS, of course! Joking aside, turns out Apple's already dropped the 4G bomb on one of its job postings in May 2009 while seeking for a "Cellular Technology Software Manager" with "expert knowledge of... WCDMA/UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, LTE etc." That's right, LTE. Now, we're not saying this means a 4G-powered iPhone is next in line in the annual product cycle, nor does this listing confirm Apple's favored 4G radio (be it a decoy or an eventual change of heart), but given AT&T's interest in LTE plus its prolonged love affair with Cupertino, it's pretty hard to not consider LTE as a realistic option on future Apple portables. Frankly, it won't be the end of the world if a 4G iPhone fails to turn up this summer -- most of us here would rather have something with improved battery life, real multitasking, and 720p camera over those insane data speeds. No, really.

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iPad UI gets ported to the iPhone and iPod touch

At this particular point, 50-something days away from the earliest iPad deliveries, we doubt too many people are up in arms about the iPad's ability to act as a jumbo iPhone. On the other hand, if we told you you can take pretty much the entire iPad experience and distill it down to your iPhone OS device, well you'd probably care a lot more, wouldn't you? To get that extra 3D flavor to your UI, including the fetching iBooks shelf and other iPad-specific touches, you'll need a jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch, access to the Cydia app store, and the manpower to click past the break for the full instructional video. Come on, you know you want to.



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Geohot teases untethered jailbreak that 'will probably work on iPad' (video)

Is it April 1st already or does Geohot actually have something real to show? There's no way to be certain that what the self-promoting master of iPhone (and PS3) hacking is demoing is what he says:

"The jailbreak is all software based, and is as simple to use as blackra1n. It is completely untethered, works on all current tethered models(ipt2, 3gs, ipt3), and will probably work on iPad too."

Given his track record, we'll play along for now. The only thing we can say for sure is that the chosen music accompanying his iPod touch theatrics makes us want to break something, jailtime or not. See it go down after the break.



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iPhone games ported to webOS in 'a matter of days' on tap for GDC?

EA has already said that it was able to get 3D games up and running on webOS in a "matter of weeks" using the OS' PDK (or Plug-in Development Kit), but it looks like Palm might be ready to step things up even further at GDC next week. While any official word will have to wait until then, John Paczkowski of AllThingsD says that he's heard from sources close to the company that Palm will be now demonstrating how iPhone apps can be ported to webOS "in a matter of days," and with virtually no degradation in performance. Not much more to go on that at the moment, unfortunately, but you can be sure we'll be there at GDC to how this and anything else Palm might have in store pans out.

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Fan-made Pre ad gets the point, why can't Palm? (video)

We've already talked (at length) about Palm's failure to properly present its wares to the public. Using promotional campaigns that have fluctuated between gimmicky and creepy, the company has never allowed its superlative WebOS its time to shine. As if to illustrate our point to perfection, a loyal Pre user has put together his own, extremely professional, advert for the device, which manages to achieve -- in a mere 30 seconds -- what Palm has been struggling with for nearly a year. It shows off the handsome device, the effortless multitasking, the variety of apps, integrated services and video capabilities, and, most importantly, emphasizes the sheer beauty and ease of use of WebOS. See the video after the break.



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HTC enhances Sense with Leap and Friend Stream (updated with video)

Our recent chance encounter with a multitouch-friendly iteration of HTC's Sense UI turns out to have been a preview of the company's latest version of the software. Announcing that it has "enhanced" the already quite delectable skin, HTC has noted it'll be available preloaded on the brand new Desire and Legend handsets, and as a free download for the venerable Hero. So what's new? The press event this morning told us about Leap, the new pinching function that allows you to view all your home screens at once (see above), and Friend Stream, which aims to be your social media aggregator du jour with its one stream combining Facebook, Twitter and Flickr updates. There's also a new newsreader application and widget, along with additional improvements to the browser and web client. You'll find the full PR after the break and early impressions of the new interface in our hands-on with the new phones.

Update: See a full walkthrough of the new UI in a video after the break.



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HTC Desire first hands-on (updated with video)

Well, we just got a little up close and personal with HTC's "superphone," the Desire. What you're looking at is basically the Nexus One, sans trackball (though plus an optical touch area). Certainly the specs are the same, though you've got the new Sense UI on board for good measure. At a glance the phone actually doesn't seem as snappy as we were expecting, and there are obviously a few kinks to work out with some of the new Sense concepts (Leap for instance -- the pinch-to-card view -- was giving our demo person some trouble). Still, the Desire is definitely high on our gadget lust list right now. We're obviously reserving final judgment for a later date, but until we get some more time with this guy, feast your eyes on the gallery below.

Update: Added a quick video after the break showing the Sense UI... not behaving.

Update 2: We've been told by an HTC rep that the Sense build on the Desire unit we played with is actually quite early, so it's probably not indicative of the actual performance of the pinch-to-card view. We played with a Legend that had a later, nearly final build of the UI and it was definitely snappier and more responsive.



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LG Mini GD880 hands-on

Not to be outdone, LG chose MWC to show off its Mini GD880, a svelte piece built from brushed aluminum in both black and silver. Build quality is striking here -- jaw-droppingly so -- with fit and finish on all corners, seams, and around the various ports looking spot on. This device also has heft for its diminutive size -- sure, it's only 99g, but that feels like so much for a device of this size -- but it only adds character and, well, it feels like money for lack of a better word. Running LG's S-Class UI, the touchscreen sadly isn't really up to snuff, we had to really poke at the screen to get it to register a touch, and there was lag and delay between key press and action. Of course, this isn't shipping today, but rather launches in Europe in March -- for some unknown price -- and then on to other markets. So here's hoping there is still a tweak or two in the GD880's future, it'd be a shame to let something as glorious as it looks not deliver an experience to match. Short video and gallery are right below the break.



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