Acer recently released the Acer C7 and now they are back at it again, this time with the Acer C710-2605 Chromebook.

This affordable laptop features an 11.6 inch display will 1366 x 768 pixels and a Intel Celeron 847 1.1 GHz processor.  An impressive 500GB hard drive and 4 GB of RAM, versus the 320 GB hard drive and 2 GB of RAM you get with the C7.

Also included an HDMI, Ethernet, VGA and 3 USB ports.  The battery is an upgraded 5000mAh which lasts up to 6 hours compared to a 2500mAh battery supplied with the C7.  The main benefit of this new version over the previous C7 version is the bigger battery. The Acer C710-2605 is also a bit more expensive at $300, versus the $200 tag for the Acer C7.

Does this beefier version sound appealing?  Is the price difference worth the upgrades?  Tell us what you think, is the C710-2605 on your holiday wishlist?

[ source ]

The post Acer Releases Upgraded Version of C7 ChromeBook appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Maybe it’s because Windows 8 has arrived and that’s why retailers are frantically trying to clear out their Windows 7 laptops. That’s good news for consumers, because it means that you’re able to find some great deals on some pretty great laptops… like this substantial collection of Lenovo notebooks on sale for 20% off.

If you go to Amazon and look through the Lenovo notebooks that they have in stock, just about all of them on sale for quite a bit off the regular retail price. They’re mostly powered by Windows 7, but if you insist on having the newest OS, there are deals to get Windows 8 Pro for about $40.

As far as the Lenovo notebooks and ultrabooks go, a good example is the Lenovo IdeaPad Z585 261729U. It’s a 15.6-inch laptop powered by a 2.3GHz A-Series Quad Core A10-4600M processor and 6GB of RAM. It used to be $729.99, but now you can have it for $499.99. Similarly, you can get the MacBook-esque Lenovo IdeaPad U310 with the Core i5-3317U processor for $629.99, down from the regular price of $799.99.

Go find your Lenovo laptop deal on Amazon now before they take away these savings or run out of stock. They all qualify for free super saver shipping too.

The post Daily Deal: 20% Off Lenovo Notebooks and Ultrabooks appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Are you looking for a deal for a new laptop? You don’t have to wait until Black Friday to score a new notebook at a great price, because a number of HP laptops have been slashed on Amazon for savings of up to $400.

If you have a look at the HP laptops feature page on Amazon, you’ll see that they have selected six notebooks from HP for these significant savings. For example, you can go super sleek with the HP Envy 15-3040NR 15.6-inch laptop in black and silver. It’s powered by a second generation Intel Core i7-2670QM processor and 8GB of RAM, once retailing for $1,300, but now on sale for $1,100.

Perhaps you have a smaller budget. If that’s the case, the HP Pavilion dv6-7010us has also been slashed by $200, bringing your effective price down to just $499.99. For that, you get a 15.6-inch laptop powered by an AMD Quad Core A8-4500M processor, 6GB SDRAM, and 750GB hard drive.

The biggest savings is with the HP ENVY 14-3010NR Spectre 14-Inch Ultrabook, though. That’s where you save $400 off the regular price, bringing your purchase price down to $999. Check out all of the HP laptops on sale on Amazon and take advantage of the free super saver shipping too.

The post Daily Deal: Up to $400 Off Select HP Laptops appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Power comes by way of an Intel Core i5-3317U Ivy Bridge dual core processor, energy-efficient HM77 chipset, 8GB of RAM, and a 60GB SSD. Yes, you don’t much storage out of that solid state drive, but that’s the tradeoff for added speed, performance and battery life. Of course, being Cyberpower, they’re offering you plenty of customizing options.

For instance, you can upgrade to the Zeus-M2 with 16GB of RAM and a 120GB SSD; it uses the same Core i5 processor though. In both instances, you get a machine that measures under an inch thick and weighs less than four pounds. The rest of the specs are par for the course, like Ethernet, Wi-Fi, 1.3MP webcam, Bluetooth 2.0, and Intel Smart Connect, as well as Intel Rapid Start. There are three USB 3.0 ports too.

Pricing starts at $699 for the CyberpowerPC Zeus-M with the upgraded Zeus-M2 starting at $799.

The post Ultra-Thin CyberpowerPC ZEUS-M Ultrabook Packs Plenty of Punch appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Under the hood, you find a second-generation Intel Core i5 2.4GHz processor with Intel Turbo Boost TEchnology 2.0, This is backed by 4GB of DDR3-1333 RAM and a 640GB 5400rpm hard drive, along with graphics by the way of AMD Radeon HD 6470M, including hybrid graphics support. There are two USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port, an HDMI-out port, SD card reader, Memory Stick Duo slot, and VGA output. Not surprisingly, it all comes powered by Windows 7 Home Premium. The standard battery should last 5.75 hours, which should be enough to get through a typical day of classes for most students.

The sale is only on the Jet Black version of the Sony VPCSE13FX/B, but it means that you can buy it for just $799.99 from Amazon, including free shipping. You’ll want to order it soon if you want to make sure you have it time for the start of school next month!

The post Get $200 Off Sony VAIO SE1 Series Laptop appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

To be available in 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch variants, the Asus Taichi has a double-sided IPS display so that you can still use the computer when the lid is closed. Presumably, when the lid is open, you do your computing on the regular screen and share your work with everyone else at the coffee shop with the display on the back. The two displays are independent.

And yes, the back display is a touchscreen, so you can use it like a tablet when the notebook is closed. There is stylus support and we can only assume that they’re going with Windows 8 for this creation. The Taichi is said to be “as light and thin as the Asus Zenbook” and it’ll come powered by 3rd-gen Intel Core processors, SSD storage, and dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi.

I just hope that you get a really good protective sleeve for your Taichi, because I can totally envision far too many people cracking that secondary display.

[Source]

The post Asus Taichi Laptop Has Dual Screens appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Gesture control, as you know, is not new, but it’s great when the feature is coming with a new laptop. With the new Sony VAIO 14P, the latest addition into the company’s E Series, you will be able to imagine that you are Obi-Wan Kenobi and flick through web pages, play music and adjust the volume by just waving your hands.

The new Windows 7 laptop picks up your hand movements via its 1.31 MP HD webcam which is powered by Exmor for PC. The gesture control feature is supported by the Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer 9, PowerPoint and PowerDVD.

Powered by a 2.3GHz Intel Core i3-2350M processor, the 14P is coming equipped with a 14-inch VAIO Display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 and 16:9 aspect, and it has a backlit keyboard activated by an ambient light sensor which also controls the dimming of the screen to save power. Present also is the DVD SuperMulti optical drive that powers down completely when not used and automatic switching between AMD Radeon HD 7670M graphics and integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 ensures efficient energy use.

You will also get 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM and 500GB of HDD along with two USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports (one of the latter will charge your mobile), and many will love the sleek and funky design. The machine is available in white, black or pink, but unfortunately no hints about the price tag. Check out the Sony UK website if you want to know more about it.

The post Sony VAIO E 14P: May The Force Be With You appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

While having a reliable source inside Apple is a good way to learn about the company’s plans for the future, another simpler way is following their patent applications. According to an application published by the United States Patent & Trademark Office, Apple appears to have plans to add a surround sound audio system into MacBook-like devices, and this system might help them to make even thinner products.

To enable surround sound configurations, the system will include audio transducers along with multiple speakers. And from the looks of things, Apple is planning to improve audio quality while decreasing the sizes of speakers so that they fit into smaller and thinner form factors. When this detail is combined with the info about thinner keyboards, it’s safe to believe that the future Apple machines will be the thinnest ever.

So, how does this system work? The system includes a few speakers and an audio transducer below the device’s keyboard. The configuration would allow speakers on either side of the screen to handle high range frequencies, while mid-range frequencies will come out through the lower speakers and the audio transducer would handle the low-range. According to Apple, the transducer could provide low and mid-range frequencies.

“…the transducer may output both low and mid-range frequencies, essentially performing as a “subtweeter.” In such embodiments, the speaker may output not only bass range frequencies (e.g., about 20-500 Hz), but also mid-frequencies (e.g., about 500-1500 Hz or higher)… The audio transducer may be combined with other speakers in an electronic device such as a laptop, tablet or handheld computing device 10. For example, in one embodiment, two tweeters and one woofer may be combined with the audio transducer. The transducer may output the bass channel and, optionally, the middle ranges, while the tweeters handle high frequency outputs. The woofer may output its standard range of frequencies. Through the combination of the woofer and the audio transducer, more decibels per watt may be outputted, especially in bass frequencies”.

They are also saying that the transducer, which could be a gel speaker or surface transducer, can be placed inside a chair, keyboard, or a touch-based input device to provide tactile feedback for a better “home theater experience”.

So, what do you think about this?

The post Future MacBooks Could Be Even Thinner, Have Surround Sound appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Oh The Nerve!

Apple appears to be deeply concerned about losing ownership of the iPad trademark in China and might be thinking about a Plan B. The company reportedly is eyeing the EPAD trademark which is currently being used by a Chinese vendor on their products.

As you already know, Apple has been busy for the past few months facing numerous lawsuits regarding their trademark names and patents. They are currently having a tough time with the legal battle against Proview over the iPad name. Earlier, Proview issued a press release which detailed about Apple’s spy games.

There is a big possibility that Apple might lose the name of their greatest device and appears to have started thinking about new names for it. According to a report on Computerworld, the tech giant has filed a complaint against EBox Digital Technology Product over their use of “EPAD”. EBox received a copy of the complaint, which was filed through China’s trademark office, last month.

EBox sells a line of laptop luggage cases under the EPAD name. Apple says that the brand name closely resembles their iPad, so EBox should give it up.

EBox, which applied for the EPAD trademark back in 2010, has this to say on the matter: “The iPad trademark is not Apple’s, so now they want to take ours. Apple has been a bully“. The company reportedly is not planning to use the name on any electronic devices.

[Image Source]

The post Apple Bullying Chinese Vendor Over EPAD Trademark appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Tesla Motors might be hiding a big battery issue from their customers. Apparently, the company’s electric vehicles, including their Roadster and the upcoming Model S, feature a battery pack which if completely discharged might leave a huge financial burden on the unfortunate owner. But is the owner unfortunate, or simply a bit careless?

According to an article by Michael Degusta over at theunderstatement.com, if a Tesla electric car, such as the Roadster is parked unplugged, it will eventually become what the company calls a “brick”. The vehicle can no more be started or even pushed down the road. This is the result of the car’s always-on subsystems which continually feed on the battery.

And when the battery dies, the owner ends up paying Tesla approximately $40,000 for replacing the battery pack. Reportedly, there is no protection available via warranty or a car insurance policy for this particular problem. Apparently, at least five Tesla owners were unfortunate enough to end up with this problem. Degusta says Tesla is unwilling to let their customers know about the issue, although they know that it’s a big one.

But don’t you have a slight feeling that Degusta’s argument is nonsense. That’s because it is.

If you are familiar with electric cars or batteries or even smartphones, you might know the fact that the battery which is not recharged will eventually die. And since the battery pack on a Roadster is not your usual $100 laptop battery, people will have to pay a huge price for not finding the time for maintenance.

And a Tesla, as you know, has an electric motor. There is lot less maintenance required for the vehicle when compared to a vehicle with a combustion engine. So it’s not too difficult to pay attention to the charge in the battery packs. And the company has designed the car in such a way that it warns the owner (and even the company, in the case of the latest Roadster) when the battery is low. The owners who ended up with a brick might have ignored all the warnings.

So who is culpable here?

Tesla has this to say in response to Degusta’s article: “All automobiles require some level of owner care. For example, combustion vehicles require regular oil changes or the engine will be destroyed. Electric vehicles should be plugged in and charging when not in use for maximum performance. All batteries are subject to damage if the charge is kept at zero for long periods of time. However, Tesla avoids this problem in virtually all instances with numerous counter-measures. Tesla batteries can remain unplugged for weeks (or even months), without reaching zero state of charge. Owners of Roadster 2.0 and all subsequent Tesla products can request that their vehicle alert Tesla if SOC falls to a low level. All Tesla vehicles emit various visual and audible warnings if the battery pack falls below 5 percent SOC. Tesla provides extensive maintenance recommendations as part of the customer experience”.

The post Who Bricked The Electric Car? You Did! appeared first on Mobile Magazine.