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Best Buy is showing off laptops from Toshiba, Dell, and Sony. Why? Not just because they carry them in stores, but because they are now part of the company's Blue Label 2.0 line.
What makes the Blue Label red-hot is that users can stream video and photos from the laptop to a flat-panel TV. Each model boasts Intel Wireless Display technology, as well as the new Intel i5 processor, 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive. New users will also get 30 days of Geek Squad support to help start the streaming process.
Toshiba will have a 14-inch model, Dell has 15.6 inches, and Sony will launch a 13-inch laptop -- all exclusive to Best Buy. The models will start selling in stores and online on January 17. Pricing will start at $899.99.
Nothing says technologically advanced like a smudgy laptop. HP wants you to get up close and personal with some of its newly announced portable hardware.
The new HP TouchSmart tm2 is a nifty touch-enabled notebook. As an update to the tx2, this model has a sleek look and can morph into whatever you find most comfortable. Unfortunately, it does not have a "La-Z-Boy" mode, but it does do a sketchpad with digital pen and offers one-touch access to Netflix. Other features include a 12.1-inch screen, the latest low-voltage Intel Core 2 Duo processors ATI Mobility Radeon graphics, and 9 hours of battery life.
Wipe your sweaty fingers; the HP TouchSmart tm2 won't be available until January 17. It should come in a plethora of colors, with a price starting at $949.
If you want to make the touchable PC experience mini, the company will also unleash the HP Mini 5102 sometime this month. Weighing in at just 2.6 pounds, you can choose between standard and touchable units (duh!) as well as black, red or blue brushed finishes.
Other features include a 10.1-inch display (in WSVGA or HD resolutions), an Intel Atom N450 processor, and up to 10 hours of battery time. When it does come, it will pack a much a lower starting price of $399.
HP is sticking with the whole idea that people want to rub their greasy fingers all over electronics. Today, the company announced the HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web.
It's a horrible name, but a cool little product. The printer can connect directly to the web, which means you can print all of your porn and coupons (or porn coupons) right from the unit's touchscreen. If you're trying to sing its praises to someone that doesn't appreciate the connectivity, it could also cut down on both cord and desktop clutter.
The unit is also tapping into the fascination with collecting apps. A few will come pre-loaded on the computer, or you can blow part of your future paychecks in the HP Apps Studio.
Fun apps and touchability doesn't come cheap, though. The printer is expected to run about $399 when it hits shelves this September. -- Rachel Cericola
Acer is kicking off the week with an announcement of new products. We love those. We love them even more when we can actually afford the products.
No problems here, because the latest, presumably greatest Acer Aspire notebooks will start at a mere $298. If you think you can find cool mobile computing for less than that, well... you are a cheap bastard.
The Aspire One AO751h features an 11.6-inch high-def screen and a full-sized keyboard. The big deal about the 10.1-inch Acer Aspire One AOD250 is that it's thinner and lighter. Both also have Intel Atom processors and Wi-Fi support (who doesn't?), with select models going for the 3G geeks.
Choose the AO751h with a 6-cell battery for eight hours of runtime; the AO250 delivers six. Both have the option for a 3-cell battery for half the runtime on each.
The Acer Aspire One AO751h starts at $349.99, with the D250 staring at $298. Both models are available now. -- Rachel Cericola
For a few measley bucks, you could soon be watching Hulu, playing World of Warcraft, and doing your taxes all with a 1080p screen.
NewEgg has a deal on the Acer H233Hbmid monitor. Assuming those taxes haven't bled you completely dry, this would be a nifty way to spend some of that government cheese. Punch in the code EMCLPPM59, and you'll get $10 off the already low price for a grand total of $199.
The 23-inch monitor includes a resolution of 1920 x 1080, a 40,000:1 contrast ratio, a 5ms response time, and a 160-degree viewing angle. A nice added bonus is that the unit also comes with its own HDMI cable.
Better have a speedy clicking finger. CrunchGear says that the deal ends today. -- Rachel Cericola
Will a super-thin package and a supermodel spokesperson make you want to spend $2,000? That's what Dell is hoping. When I opened my email this morning, I was treated to this pissed off looking model holding the new Dell Adamo.
The new laptop is supposedly the thinnest on the market. As far as the model, well, we can't speak for her. Maybe that's why she looks so angry, but we're guessing that maybe she tried to navigate the Adamo website.
From what we cobbled together, it looks like the laptop has a 13.4-inch, an Intel Core 2 Duo processor with Centrino technology, an integrated 1.3-megapixel camera, 2GB of memory, and a 128GB SSD. Of course, you can jack up some of those features for another $700. One of those added features is "mobile broadband." Wait -- what year is this?
Apparently, it's the year of the expensive laptop, if you're game, the unit will come in onyx and pearl. Dell is taking Adamo orders now; the unit will start shipping on March 26. -- Rachel Cericola
Until now, Steve Wozniak was the Apple guy. He even had a brief stint as Kathy Griffin's better half. Last night, he made his big "Dancing with the Stars" debut. The guy has money and time, but no shame -- and that feather boa was not doing him any favors.
Sure, there were a lot of people in crazy costumes doing crazy moves. Still, Steve seemed a little stiff. Overall, his Robot was great; then we found out it was supposed to be the Cha-cha-cha.
Crunch Gear thinks he's going to be the first one handed his walking papers. We can't say because it was too hard to stomach the whole episode. From what we saw, though, a lot of the scores were scraping the bottom of the barrel, so The Woz could live to dance another day. -- Rachel Cericola
Apple has freshened up its consumer desktop line, with new iMac and Mac mini products for all. Here is the quickie rundown...
The new 24-inch iMac, which starts at $1,499, promises 30 percent more screen space over the old 20-incher, as well as twice the memory and storage. Other features includes up to a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 memory, a 640GB or 1TB Serial ATA hard drive and various graphics options.
There's also a new Mac mini. The compact box packs in NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, a 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4GB of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, up to 320GB Serial ATA hard drive, five USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800 and a SuperDrive. Two models are available, starting at $599.
Of course, everything comes with the Mac OS Leopard and iLife 09. All of the new offerings are available now. For more in-depth info on each product, check out Apple's announcement. -- Rachel Cericola
Dell is selling its Inspiron Mini 9 for $199 for one day only.
Of course, that day is today, kids, so if you're contemplating a new laptop, you'd better hop off the fence and let your fingers do the walking over to Dell.com.
For $199, you're probably not going to parlay this thing into a "world's greatest hacker" title. However, you could be one of the world's cheapest.
Running on Ubuntu Linux, the unit features an 8.9-inch LCD with a 1024 x 600 resolution, 512MB of RAM, a 4GB solid state drive, Intel's GMA 950, and built-in Wi-Fi.
The price is for the basic black, too. Any add-ons, color options, or accessories will run you extra. Technabob says that the deal will turn into a pumpkin come 11:59 p.m. (CST) tonight. -- Rachel Cericola