Really like copper accents? Try the Lenovo Y650.
Kicking off the first wave of CES laptop announcements (and beating the competition by about 24 hours), Lenovo is bolstering its consumer-targeted IdeaPad line with a few new models, highlighted by the 16-inch Y650.
The new Y series includes the 16-inch Y650, …
Originally posted at CES 2009
Continue reading about Lenovo says the IdeaPad Y650 is the thinnest, lightest 16-inch laptop
Let’s be completely honest. You probably don’t need a quad-core CPU in your laptop. But just in case you’re one of those guys who needs to feel like you’re keeping up with the desktop crew, Acer’s gone and crammed a new Intel Core 2 Quad&#…
On this week’s installment of the Digital City, we discuss the Facebook koobface virus, PlayStation Home’s launch, sleazy old ’80s urban video game arcades, tech blog Gizmodo’s cool NYC retro gadget gallery, our New Year’s resolutions, and (seriously) Dance Dance Revolution: The Musical.
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Originally posted at Digital City Podcast
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Owing to as Tom Lehrer would say, nepotism and intrigue, I found myself in the small town of Brenham, Texas this Sunday on the very day Apple’s iPhone was to go on sale at the Walmart mega-chain (an outfit I, as a native New Yorker, have had very little experience with).
Popping in to check out the action and snag some photos, I found a single iPhone display — it would be generous to call it a kiosk — with an activated iPhone and a handful of brochures. The price tags on display gave both the new customer/upgrade price, as well as the full retail price. A small paper sign taped to the wall announced that iPhone sales would commence at 9:00am, and that customers should line up for access to limited stock.
I asked a sales clerk about first-day sales, and she said as far as she knew they hadn’t sold a single unit so far, “but maybe if they had started selling it before Christmas…” There was, however, a steady stream of gawkers checking out the display unit in the ten or so minutes I spent in the electronics department.
Click through for photos of the in-store Walmart display:
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Originally posted at Digital City Podcast
Continue reading about First look at the Walmart iPhone kiosk
After looking at countless laptops during 2008, a small handful have jumped out as personal favorites. I’m not saying these are the very best laptops of the year, nor the highest-rated — they’re just the ones that struck me as particularly interesting, useful, or well-designed.
Chances are high …
On this week’s installment of the Digital City, we discuss faster Internet access coming to several major cities, where to find a Nintendo Wii, and how to safely buy (or sell) a US Senate seat.
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Originally posted at Digital City Podcast
At first glance, Samsung’s take on the traditional 10-inch Netbook is about as bland as these tiny little systems get. It lacks the big keyboard of HP’s Mini 1000 or the ExpressCard slot of the Lenovo S10, and if you stuck it in a lineup with Netbooks from …
Continue reading about Boring Netbook with a great battery? Meet the Samsung NC10
We recently reviewed the first handful of systems to come out of Samsung’s new American arm, and one of the more interesting ones was the thin and stylish X460, a 14-inch laptop that clearly apes the MacBook Air vibe (a 13-inch version is also available). Unfortunately, even with the …
Editor’s note: From now through the end of December, various Crave contributors will be sharing their top five (mostly) tech-related wishes for the holiday season.
A remarkable computer-generated simulation of what I'd look like if I had any holiday spirit–which I do not.
1. Either a BlackBerry Storm, Samsung Omnia, or Apple iPhone: After getting laughed at one time too many when whipping out my chunky Treo 700P, it’s finally time to give in and get a new smartphone. Initially, as a long-time Verizon customer, I was torn between the Blackberry Storm and the Samsung Omnia. After playing around with both, I wasn’t convinced–the Storm’s click screen seems like it would get annoying real quick, and the Omnia, despite the rave reviews, just felt sluggish to use, and the low screen resolution made it hard to read text in the Web browser.
Now, I’m also considering making the switch to AT&T and joining the iPhone masses, just on the strength of the interface and general ease-of-use. I use my phone primarily for Web surfing and AIM, not so much for calls, but even so, Verizon’s good reputation for service in NYC (and AT&T’s less-than-stellar rep) gives me pause. I’m still undecided, so let me know what you think…
2. Flip Video MinoHD: As a one-time film student, I still have the folding chair and tilted beret of a big-screen director in the back of my mind. To help kick off my alternate career as a documentarian in the mold of the Maysles Brothers or Werner Herzog, I’ll start with this handheld HD mini-cam.
3. M-Audio Keystation 88: If you’re a part-time musician like myself, figuring out how to squeeze the most music-making power out of your gear is always an important topic. There are as many combos of hardware and software, digital and analog equipment out there as there are music styles, but my personal preference is a PC-based ProTools setup. I currently use a Digidesign Mbox and ProTools LE 7.4, with Propellerhead’s Reason software ReWired into it for keyboards and sequencing.
If that’s all Greek to you, the point is, I’ve used a variety of different 49-, 61-, and 32-key USB controllers (essentially dummy devices that look like piano keyboards but have no onboard sounds and are used to control music software) over the years, but have never had a full-size 88-key controller. Since they’re basically just plastic keys wired to a USB port, they’re usually moderately priced, such as this $249 model from M-Audio.
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Continue reading about ‘Tis the season to Crave: Dan Ackerman’s picks
On this week’s installment of the Digital City, we discus the best video games of the year (according to the New York Times), tough times for print magazines, iPod shortages in retail stores, Last.fm vs. SiriusXM, and a plan to use bicycle power to light up the Times …
Originally posted at Digital City Podcast