Microsoft’s Steven Sinofsky began showing off the Windows 8 operating system (which is fully optimized for tablets) during the D9 conference in California. According to the folks over at AllThingsD, which got an early peak at the operating system, Microsoft’s ultimate goal was to create an OS that cold run on a home computer as well as run on a portable tablet.

The new start screen that can be seen in the picture above shows a tile-based interface that is very similar to Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system; one that makes use of the company’s Metro UI. Windows 8 includes Internet Explorer 10 and can run applications that are designed for desktop use as well as HTML5 and Java applications that will run better on tablet-sized devices that may provide less power.

Sinofsky told AllThingsD that Windows 8 will deliver a new business model for developers – an app distribution mechanism – assumed to be a storefront and a touch interface. Microsoft reportedly started working on the operating system when it shipped Windows Phone 7. “We really did take a step back after Windows 7,” Sinofsky told AllThingsD. “We were clearly influenced ourselves by phones.”

The most recent demo products are devices with Intel processors, but Microsoft has reported that devices powered by ARM processors are compatible as well. There still is no word on when we will see the first Windows 8 device hit the market but we are definitely excited based on what we are seeing so far. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

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Consumer Reports’ recent issue has Apple notebooks ranked at or near the top of every notebook category including small, 13”, 15”, and 17”. We can’t say it is much of a surprise but congrats to Apple for being the rule of the laptop world. It is honestly amazing that one company can dominate (in terms of quality) across the board in this many categories amongst a sea of competitors.  There are seveeral well made, well designed, and powerful notebooks out there, but Apple has managed to capitalize on its brand recognition an turn out quality products.

Currently, Windows computers and laptops still outsell their Mac based equivalents but that’s to be expected with how entrenched Windows is in the marketplace. Apple doesn’t license their OS and even if they wanted to be the world’s #1 supplier of computers, there is almost no way they could produce enough to do so. What they do have is a unified vision with an extremely recognizable design and very little product overlap or cannibalization and moreso, they don’t make the budget computers that dominate a large portion of PC sales.

Apple engineers must enjoy seeing the MacBook Air rated ahead of its competitors, Gateway and HP, in nearly every category. Even Steve Jobs is probably gleaming that the 13” MacBook Pro took five of the top seven spots in the 13” category, conceding only two spots to Sony and Asus. Apple’s 15” MacBook pro took the top three spots in the 15” category edging out the competition by only three points and finally the 17” MacBook Pro took the top two spots in the 17” division with the competition making up the other six spots.

As always buying a laptop is a value based decision. While the dread Apple tax is less ridiculous than what it used to be the fact is that most windows equivalent computes and laptops are relatively cheaper. To sum it all up though the company produces good quality laptops but Consumer Reports still can’t recommend the iPhone 4 due to the “death grip” reception debacle (sales figures show that no one apparently cares though).

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The MacBook Air was and still is a huge hit for Apple – with an estimated 1.1 million 11-inch and 13-inch models sold during the fourth quarter of last year. The MacBook Air launch has been the most successful Mac launch for Apple to date. It is quite an achievement considering just how successful the entire MacBook line has been for Apple over the years.

When talking about sales, Apple rarely breaks the information down with figures by model type. The company prefers to keep their competitors in the dark. During the fourth quarter of last year, Apple made $3.7 billion on notebooks alone with 2.9 million units sold, according to the annual shareholders conference call. However, sources inside Asia are indicating that Apple did in fact sell over 1.1 million MacBook Airs during that same quarter. Sales for the current quarter are indicating that the MacBook Air is still selling well, however, sales have dipped since they went on sale last October. As of right now, Apple has sold fewer than 700,000 units this year.

Although the MacBook Air line is priced higher than its competitors, people obviously don’t mind paying a premium price to own an Apple product. The latest MacBook Air models, while extremely light, aren’t equipped with Intel’s latest processors. The MacBook Air compensates for this by including a solid-state drive as standard equipment. This improves speed considerably for all but the most processor intensive tasks.

With the latest MacBook Pros featuring Intel’s faster Sandy Bridge processors, can the MacBook Air still compete using processors that are slightly out of date? If the sales figures are any indication, then the current MacBook Air line has a bright future ahead of it. After all, Apple has finally released an 11-inch netbook, although we are pretty sure the company would never call it that. What do you think?

As usual, stay tuned for more tech news and info by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS feed.

[Source: AppleInsider]

Recently MacRumors reported that they have received the leaked specs for the upcoming MacBook Pro models which are said to be released this Thursday (February 24th). With so much anticipation for the latest MacBook Pros, it’s not surprising that more details are emerging. most of the leaked specs were expected. Updating to the Sandy Bridge family of processors is the most obvious update but the new MacBook Pro’s may still include a surprise or two. Apple seems to be discontinuing the white polycarbonate entry-level MacBook in favor of the 11-inch MacBook Air instead. Both MacBooks seem to be priced similarly and Apple may even be trying to streamline the MacBook line down to a more manageable two.

The MacBook pro specs include the following so far:

• 16 GB Solid State Drives on all models for faster Mac OS X boot times
• The 13-inch model will include an Intel Core i3 Sandy Bridge processor
• The 13-inch model will increase the number of USB ports to 3
• A matte screen option will be available for the high-end 13-inch model
• The SuperDrive will be replaceable with an SSD on the 15-inch and 17-inch models
• Better screens on all models: 1440×900 for the 13-inch model and 1680×1050 for the 15-inch model
• All models will be 200-300 grams lighter
• All models will have better battery life: the 13-inch model will now last 12 hours and the 15-inch model will now last a full 10 hours
• The 17-inch model will accommodate up to 8 GB of RAM

The leaked specs don’t mention anything about Light Peak being included with the new MacBook Pro models. Intel is supposedly set to unveil Light Peak on the same day that the new MacBook Pro models are expected to be released. It may just be a coincidence but we wouldn’t be surprised that the new Macs might include Light Peak connections as of right now. We only have to wait a few more days to see if any surprises are in store for us with the new MacBook Pro models. If the leaked specs are any indication that we may be seeing a significant upgrade to the full line MacBook Pro’s.

[Source: MacRumors]

Reports are spreading about the first retailers and Apple retail locations receiving their shipments of the next generation MacBook Pros. New rumors have also begun to pour in regarding the soon-to-be-refreshed product.

Of the rumors, the first one is about the new MacBook Pros featuring a MacBook Air-like SSD that will be large enough to hold the OS X core files. Such a feature would dramatically increase system speeds and would allow for boot times similar to that of the 2010 MacBook Air. It is likely that the notebooks will include a regular spinning hard drive in order to allow users to have more disk space than the MacBook Air.

The other rumor that is spreading around is that the trackpad for the new MacBook Pro will be even larger than the current models. Word has it that the new notebooks could possibly be as much as 0.5 pounds lighter than current models, which would mean the 13-inch model would approach the weight of the MacBook Air, although it is unlikely that the new MacBook Pro will feature the same slim-form factor as its expected that the new line will still feature an optical drive.

We will probably know all the facts fairly soon as the new MacBook Pros are likely to be announced this Thursday. As usual, stay tuned for more news and info on the topic by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS feed.

[Source: MacRumors]

CES 2011 has brought us tons of innovations this year but perhaps one of the biggest isn’t something that would help you out in your business ventures. Meet the Razer Switchblade, a palm-sized, touch-screen gaming PC with a transforming keyboard that is quickly becoming one of my personal favorites from CES. The Switchblade is powered by an Intel Atom chip and is about the size of a hardback book when folded up, but flip it open to unveil a 7-inch touchscreen display and a smallish style keyboard. The innovation here is the keyboard, which can change on the fly to anything from an English language qwerty keyboard to gaming icons or any picture that the user wants to put on a key. How Razer accomplishes this is by using one 7-inch LCD display located under the keyboard instead of trying to use an array of tiny (and much more expensive)  LCD screens. The display has the ability to show a different picture for each button and there’s no real limit to what the picture can be.

But there’s still a chance that Razer isn’t even going to be able to the Switchblade. Robert Krakoff, president of the computer accessory company, said that a lot is still up in the air about the slick prototype that’s garnering a lot of buzz at this week’s Vegas show. The problems right range from heat issues all the way down to settling on system specs and whether or not the device would be upgradable. On the bright side,  the PC will have USB ports for a mouse and other gaming devices. Its very likely it will be shipped with Bluetooth support, WiFi and hopefully built-in mobile broadband support. Krafoff says that there hasn’t been any deals cut but it would be interesting to see if a branded versions such as a World of Warcraft or Valve are ever to be released. Valve’s Gabe Newell seems extremely impressed with the devices potential, he said. The famed developer wanted to know if the device really worked, if it was doable. Krakoff says that the system is shooting towards playing most games available at the time of its release, nothing like higher games like the latest version of Crysis. Another question is pricing, with notebooks hovering around the $500 range the Switchblade is going to have to be competitive in pricing. Do you think Razer will be able to make this a viable option in portable PC gaming?

Check out video of the Switchblade running a demo below:

Stay tuned for all your CES 2011 coverage by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS Feed.

[Source: Kotaku]

Motorola was expected to make a decent but short showing at CES 2011, but what we didn’t expect was how Motorola would make up for the lack of devices to show off with the depth of each device. We were anticipating tablets and 4G phones with dual-core processors, we definitely got what we were looking and then some. The innovation from Motorola that was seen at CES was more than enough to make the company stand out.

The week started off with the official launch of Motorola Mobility as its own publicly traded company. This kicked off the new start for Motorola as a new beginning with an emphasis on innovation. Even a new slogan – “Life. M-Powered” – hints at the direction the company is heading. Then the anticipation turned towards “Xoom”, an Android Honeycomb powered tablet. And while the Xoom and Honeycomb were impressive enough to stand out, the real spotlight was shining on the accessory ecosystem around the Atrix 4G. The phone is impressive in its own right with a 4-inch qHD display and dual core Tegra 2 super chip powering the device. But what really stole the show was how Motorola showcased the power of the phone and the dual-core processor with it’s ability to turn from super phone into a full fledged desktop and notebook. The demo from Motorola was intriguing due to in part of the dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 super chip, but also because of its innovative approach to Android Motorola called Moto Web Top.This is new approach to using an Android phone as full on desktop PC. The Desktop dock and notebook shell utilize the Atrix 4G as the main computer allowing you to run this tweaked version of Android as a full desktop experience. Moto Web Top also includes a full version of Firefox that allows users to browse the web in full screen on any display that the dock is connected too.

It’ll really be interesting to see how the market responds to this accessory approach to super phones, but more-so it was nice to see Motorola back to pushing the limits of innovation. With Motorola making this strides toward taking back the lead, do you think that the momentum will continue from the company or will they fizzle out if this approach doesn’t meet expectations?

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AMD is looking to be as compact as possible with the launch of its Fusion APU series, a hybrid range of CPU/GPU chips which incorporate both into a single die. Designed for ultra-portables, notebooks and netbooks, the “Zacate”(E-series) and “Ontario”(C-series) APUs will both use the Bobcat CPU core, and AMD says they’re capable of DirectX 11 graphics, UVD3 video acceleration, 1080p HD playback, 2D to 3D and up to 10hrs of battery life depending on the system. Initially there are four chips set to debut with single and dual core version of each series of chips. The E-series is intended for mainstream notebooks, all-in-ones and SFF desktops while clocking in at 1.5GHz single-core E-240 and the 1.6GHz dual-core E-350, both with an 18W TDP. For HD netbooks and “other emerging form factors” the C-series boasts a 1.2GHz single-core C-30 and 1.0GHz dual-core C-50, both with a 9W TDP. The AMD Fusion mainstream platform for regular and performance notebooks and mainstream desktops will be showing up later in 2011 with the 32nm die A-Series “Llano” APU, which includes up to four x86 cores and a DirectX 11-capable discrete-level GPU. Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba all have deals lined up to produce notebooks using the new Fusion APUs. What advances do you see manufacturers making using AMDs new APUs in their notebooks?

Press Release:

AMD Fusion APU Era Begins

Big Experiences, Sleek Designs, All-Day Battery Life and Notebooks That Stay Cool All Day Now Possible with Revolutionary Single Chip1

Today at the Consumer Electronics Show, AMD (NYSE: AMD) launched a new class of accelerated processor that combines more compute capabilities than any processor in the history of computing. The AMD Fusion Family of Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) incorporate – in a single die design – multi-core CPU (x86) technology, a powerful DirectX®11-capable discrete-level graphics and parallel processing engine, a dedicated high-definition video acceleration block, and a high-speed bus that speeds data across the differing types of processor cores within the design. New generations of desktop, notebook and HD netbooks are now available based on AMD Fusion APUs at affordable price points. Tablets and embedded designs based on AMD Fusion APUs are expected be available later in Q1 2011. The new range of products features include stutter-free HD video playback, breakthroughs in computational horsepower to handle the most demanding applications2, DirectX 11-capable graphics and all-day battery life.1

AMD expects leading manufacturers Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba to announce plans to deliver AMD Fusion APU-based systems at very compelling value and mainstream price points.

“We believe that AMD Fusion processors are, quite simply, the greatest advancement in processing since the introduction of the x86 architecture more than forty years ago,” said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, AMD Products Group. “In one major step, we enable users to experience HD everywhere as well as personal supercomputing capabilities in notebooks that can deliver all-day battery life.1 It’s a new category, a new approach, and opens up exciting new experiences for consumers.”

HD 2.0 Everywhere
High definition (HD) content is ubiquitous today. From YouTube videos to DirectX 11 games to Blu-ray, the world is tapping into various ways to enjoy this content with the computer serving as the hub. And thanks to the VISION Engine from AMD, a set of capabilities unique to all AMD Fusion APU-powered PCs, the visual side of computing never looked more vivid and realistic. The VISION Engine is an unmatched combination of:

DirectX 11-capable graphics
Massive parallel processing to speed application performance3
The UVD3 video acceleration block found in the new AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 Series GPUs
Unique graphics driver capabilities updated on a monthly basis to continuously improve visual performance
Selecting a PC equipped with the VISION Engine and software from AMD partners means Internet browsing is a faster, application-like experience; 1080p HD video playback is gorgeous, smooth and quiet; standard definition video looks high-definition; 2D content can be converted into stereoscopic 3D; even the most graphics-intensive websites load quickly; manipulating HD content is fast and easy; and 3D gaming at HD resolutions is fast and life-like.4

Personal Supercomputing
Much of a computing experience is linked to software and, until now, software developers have been held back by the independent nature in which CPUs and GPUs process information. However, AMD Fusion APUs remove this obstacle and allow developers to take full advantage of the parallel processing power of a GPU – more than 500 GFLOPs for the upcoming A-Series “Llano” APU – thus bringing supercomputer-like performance to every day computing tasks. More applications can run simultaneously and they can do so faster than previous designs in the same class.2

AMD AllDay™ Power
Additionally, AMD Fusion technology enables all-day battery life – 10 hours or more.1 The new power-saving features present in the single-chip design greatly extend the time between plug-ins, even when enjoying HD content.

Out power and Outperform: E-Series, C-Series and A-Series APUs

The 2011 low power platform (formerly codenamed “Brazos”) enhances the everyday computing experience and is available beginning today in two APU variations: E-Series and C-Series. These APUs feature the new x86 CPU core codenamed “Bobcat”. “Bobcat” is AMD’s first new x86 core since 2003 and was designed from the ground up to deliver stellar mobile performance.

Low Power APUs Model TDP Core Count Frequency
E-Series (former codename: “Zacate”)
Designed for mainstream notebooks, All-in-Ones, and small form factor desktops E-350 18 W 2 1.6 GHz
E-240 18 W 1 1.5 GHz
C-Series (former codename: “Ontario”)
Designed for HD netbooks and other emerging form factors C-50 9 W 2 1.0 GHz
C-30 9 W 1 1.2 GHz

The 2011 mainstream platform is primarily intended for performance and mainstream notebooks and mainstream desktops. It will feature the 32nm die A-Series “Llano” APU, which includes up to four x86 cores and a DirectX 11-capable discrete-level GPU, and is scheduled to ship in the first half of 2011 and appear in products mid-year.

Press Release:

Software and Hardware Ecosystem to Unleash the Power of AMD Fusion Technology

Leading software and hardware vendors demonstrate immediate support for AMD Fusion APUs

Jan. 4, 2011 — AMD today announced broad support for the AMD Fusion Family of Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) from the software and hardware ecosystem community. Working closely with software vendors, developers and motherboard suppliers, AMD has built a coalition of industry innovators committed to providing devices and applications that leverage the combined x86 computing power and discrete-level graphics performance of AMD Fusion APUs.

“AMD and its partners are leading the way to a new era of computing distinguished by immersive entertainment, outstanding Internet browsing and fast, efficient processing of digital workloads,” said John Taylor, director, AMD Client and Software Product Marketing. “The creation of a robust x86- and GPU computing-based ecosystem to enable these next-generation experiences is the culmination of long-standing collaboration with developers, software and tools vendors, and component suppliers, as well as technology investments made possible by the AMD Fusion Fund.”

“Personal computing is undergoing a significant evolution, fueled by the explosion of digital and multimedia content to enable a truly immersive web experience,” said Tami Reller, corporate vice president of Windows marketing, Microsoft. “We think the work AMD has done with Fusion to combine x86 CPU architecture and discrete-level graphics performance creates opportunities for Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 9 to deliver real-world customer benefits including accelerated browsing, HD video and 3D gaming.”

Next-Generation Applications
To access the uniquely powerful and efficient capabilities of the APU architecture, AMD collaborates with a variety of middleware and tools providers to offer software development kits that facilitate the use of industry-standard application programming interfaces (APIs) such as OpenCL™, OpenGL™, Direct2D and DirectCompute. AMD further supports the optimization of software for AMD Fusion APUs with AMD Accelerated Parallel Processing (APP) technology, which helps developers more easily tap into the combined power of the GPU and CPU to accelerate existing applications and create new possibilities in software.

Dozens of innovative companies will be demonstrating amazing computing experiences enabled by AMD technology including AMD Fusion APUs at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week in the Wired showcase sponsored by AMD (Grand Lobby), as well as in the AMD Technology Showcase. A variety of applications that span multimedia, gaming, productivity, web browsing, facial recognition, video conferencing and more will be on display from leading software suppliers, including:

Adobe
ArcSoft
Codemasters
Corel
CyberLink
DivX
EA / BioWare
Earthsim
Firaxis
Gazillion
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Microsoft Windows
Nuvixa
Roxio
Sega
Turbine
Viewdle
ViVu
AMD motherboard partners are also innovating around the launch of the first AMD Fusion APUs, as leading original design manufacturers (ODMs), including ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI and Sapphire, have announced integrated APU/motherboard products for the first PC platforms featuring AMD Fusion APUs.

Stay tuned for more CES 2011 coverage by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS Feed.

[Source: AMD]

How does 1.3 teraFLOPS of crunching power and the ability to control up to six displays all at once sound? Not bad, right? Well how about putting that power into a notebook? That’s what AMD is doing with their latest graphics option, the AMD Radeon HD 6000M series. The 6000M range includes thin, lightweight, mainstream, performance and gaming options, and each model supports AMD HD3D. Kicking off the ultra-portable line is the HD 6300M, while jumping into the mainstream is the HD 6400M. The HD 6500M/6600M/6700M are slotted into the performance series, then there’s the HD 6800M/6900M for the gaming enthusiast. At the top of the list, the HD 6900 comes in at 580-680Mhz clock, 960 Stream processing units, 48 texture units, 128 Z/Stencil ROP units and 32 Color ROP units. Check out AMD’s press release below for more info. What model do you foresee being the most popular out of the series?

Press Release:

AMD Extends Leadership in Notebook PC Graphics with its Second-Generation of DirectX® 11-capable Mobile Graphics Technology; Delivering the Ultimate in Efficiency and Performance

—The AMD Radeon™ HD 6000M series are a top-to-bottom family of DirectX® 11-capable mobile graphics processors designed to deliver exceptional performance in every segment—

LAS VEGAS, Nev. —1/4/2011
AMD (NYSE: AMD) today introduced its next generation mobile graphics technology, the AMD Radeon™ HD 6000M series, delivering AMD’s highest performing notebook graphics for those who want to experience games, entertainment, and productivity on the go. Harnessing AMD’s second-generation of Microsoft DirectX® 11-capable mobile graphics architecture, the AMD Radeon™ HD 6000M series provides users with:

Models offering up to 1.3 teraFLOPS of compute power for an unrivaled gaming experience on up to six displays using AMD Eyefinity technology.1
AMD HD3D technology for the ultimate in stereo 3D entertainment.2
AMD EyeSpeed technology for improved video and application performance.3
Notebooks featuring the new graphics technology are previewed at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the Wired: Make a Scene booth, located in the Grand Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

“One year ago AMD claimed the title of undisputed technology leader in mobile graphics performance and since then we continue to pave the way for mobile computing innovation,” said Matt Skynner, corporate vice president and general manager, GPU Division, AMD. “With the introduction of the AMD Radeon™ HD 6000M series, AMD’s best just got better by cementing its leadership in notebook graphics. Through our feature-rich line of top-to-bottom next-generation notebook graphics, including AMD’s fastest performing notebook graphics processor, we’re enabling a superior visual computing experience in virtually every segment.”

AMD Radeon™ HD 6000M series graphics represent powerful support for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with existing and upcoming 2011 AMD Mainstream notebook platforms planned to feature true “Eye-Definition” Gaming with DirectX 11 support and AMD Eyefinity technology, plus amazing AMD HD3D Technology—all designed to accelerate mobile performance.

Stay tuned for more tech news and info by following us on Twitter and/or subscribing to our RSS Feed.

[Source: Slashgear]

Opting out of waiting until CES 2011, Lenovo has unveiled a new Android 2.2-based slate. The slate will come in weight just under 2lbs while sporting a 10.1-inch display with the device being available in multiple colors and will have the option to dock it, making it more like a notebook with added power. Announced colors for the LePad include scarlet, white and brown and black textured leather. The LePad will have the option of docking into a clamshell case complete with a full keyboard and added power which provides a more laptop-like experience.

After docking with the IdeaPad U1 Hybrid, the LePad will sport an Intel CULV processor which clocks in at 1.2GHz with a i5 core. The tablet will also include a front-facing camera for video chat, WCDMA and EVDO connections, 1280 x 800 10.1-inch display, a 320GB HDD, and 1GB RAM when using it as a slate and 2GB RAM when used in notebook mode. The LePad slate itself will be priced at about $520 and the IdeaPad U1 Hybrid base will retail for $1,300 when it becomes available in the first quarter of 2011.

What are our thoughts on Lenovo’s LePad? Do you think it will be able to compete? Or is it too expensive without much to offer? Let us know your opinion in the comments below

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