Google launches even cheaper Chromebook, with Acer

Google’s latest notebook, called the Acer C7 Chromebook, is even cheaper than the previous one and is aimed at users who want “no nonsense, no licensing agreements and most importantly, no viruses”.

The newest Chromebook which has been developed with Acer features a 320GB hard-drive, an 11.6-inch display, Intel processor with 2GB of RAM, USB 3 and HDMI ports, 100GB of Google Drive cloud storage, and it weighs in at about 1kg. But what needs to be pointed out primarily is the price. The Acer C7 Chromebook is priced at just $199, which is $50 cheaper than the Samsung Chromebook launched less than a month ago.

The Acer utilizes a heavier, larger capacity but cheaper traditional spinning hard disk while the Samsung version was lighter and used solid-state flash memory. As to how this affects start-up time is still unclear, though we can reasonably expect it to be slower. The Samsung Chromebook could start up in less than 10 seconds, this is due to there being no drives that had to mount and start spinning. If demand for the Acer Chromebook is as great as it was for the Samsung Chromebook, then the Acer Chromebook is expected to completely sell out in 30 days.

The Acer C7 Chromebook will be available from November 14 on the Google Play store, Amazon and Best Buy in the US and from selected retailers in the UK. And as with all previous Chromebook releases, this model shows Google’s focus on making technology and internet access easily available to everyone and once again directs its users toward the cloud.

Touch-screen desktops: A hazard to your health

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is floating around extolling the virtues of Windows 8. Reviewers are giving more positive reviews than negative reviews. Smart people I know have actually changed their minds, agreeing that Windows 8 is great. Life is good at Microsoft.

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That said, I personally do not like it. I specifically dislike the idea of full-screen apps running on 27-inch screens. Will I like it more if the desktop PC becomes a touch-screen PC where the advantages of touch come to the fore? No.

First off, I need to remind people that both touch-screen laptops and touch-screen PCs have come and gone in this marketplace. Sure, they were somewhat different, but the reasons for the disappearance are the same.

HP had a touch-screen machine pro-Windows during the DOS era. It failed miserably in the market. One of the first laptop inventions in 1982 was the Gavilan computer with a touch panel called the "solid state mouse," which required users to hold their arm in the air and move things around much like with a touch pad. This motion was annoying and helped scuttle the machine.

The HP machine was also a 1980s era machine with the same problem. Using any touch system that is not on the lap or flat on the desk invites "mouse shoulder," a form of tendonitis. This can also develop from using the mouse improperly, which I unfortunately experienced some years back. It's an incredibly miserable ailment that can take six months to a year to resolve itself, during which you can barely move the shoulder.

This is going to happen with these touch screens—not the touch screen on the phone, and not the touch screen on the tablet, but with desktop touch screens and some notebook touch screens. I predict there will be a huge increase in the number of tendonitis claims and the companies, possibly including Microsoft, will find themselves in a legal tangle because of it.

Carpal tunnel syndrome almost destroyed the business once already and finally people learned new habits to stave it off. This resulted from pounding on improperly designed keyboards. There were a lot of lawsuits and people were in agony.

This new touch screen phenomenon can result in the same mess. Suspending your arms in mid-air to poke at the screen is like some Gitmo torture technique. Print this article out and keep it for reference. It will take about eight months before touch screens for the desktop begin to make some inroads so this problem will emerge in about two years, unless the public rejects the devices as they should.

You read it here first.

Copyright © 2010 Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc

Asus launches four new All-In-One PCs in India

Asus has announced the launch of four new All-in-One PC models in India namely ET2012IUKS, ET2210INKS and touch screen models ET2012IGTS and ET2411INTI. The devices are powered by ASUS SonicMaster Technology for improved audio clarity, louder volume and more detailed audio, Full HD video and DTS stereo sound, USB 3.0 for high speed data transfers, integrated graphics and HDMI-output for cinematic multimedia experience.

According to Asus' release, the SonicMaster Technology employed in the AIOs refines every acoustic detail in pristine quality to deliver lossless audio – reproducing richer and more distinct vocals at a wider frequency range. Asus utilizes a host of new solutions to deliver immersive audio that is 'perfect for both music and movies'. SonicMaster technology utilizes a fine-tuned digital signal processor to deliver an expanded sound range, improved fidelity and more distinct vocals.

The ET2012IUKS is priced at Rs. 30,000, while the ET2012IGTS come for Rs. 44,400, the ET2210INKS for Rs. 43,000 and the ET2411INTI. All Asus All-in-One PCs will come with 3 years onsite warranty.

“The AIO market is growing at 7 percent per annum and we expect to gain a substantial market share in our focus segments. The Indian market is now getting aware of AIOs, their usability, and starting to adopt them in households as well as in commercial set-ups. We are therefore entering the market with a new strategy and will be targeting senior executives, medical practitioners, professionals and students,” says Vinay Shetty – Country Head – Component Business, Asus (India)

Apple's redesigned iMacs may launch in November-December

Apple's new redesigned 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs may see the light of day by November-December this year, contrary to earlier reports that the new iMac would be delayed until 2013. According to 9to5Mac, Apple's new desktop computers are ready for the scheduled release.

According to the site, the 21.5-inch iMac is already on its way to distributors in the U.S. and other countries and should be available for consumers to pick up by the end of the month. The 21.5-inch iMac will be available on Apple’s online retail store towards the end of the month.

The 27-inch model is expected to show up on Apple’s online store around the same time as the 21.5-inch iMac but the device is expected to launch in December. It is also expected that the new iMacswill be short in supply at launch but mainly outside the US.

The new iMac is an extremely slim offering, occupying 40 percent less volume than its predecessor, and razor sharp at just 5mm thick at its edge. The display reduces reflection by 75 percent, and is individually calibrated using an advanced spectroradiometer.

The new iMac features quad-core Intel Core i5 (Ivy Bridge) processors that can be upgraded to Core i7. Boasting of dedicated Nvidia GeForce GPUs, it comes with 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3 RAM and a 1TB hard drive as standard. Users can configure up to 32GB of RAM, and up to a 3TB hard drive, or 768GB of flash storage. A Fusion Drive option is also available (flash storage + conventional hard drive). They feature two Thunderbolt and four USB 3.0 ports.

AMD A-Series APUs now available in India

AMD, the underdog of processors, has announced the availability of its new A-series Accelerated Processing Unit chips for the Indian market. The new processors will be priced between the Rs. 3,000-8,000 bracket and are being targeted at consumers who would like to do more with their PCs (or laptops) than just browse the web or make word files, without breaking the bank.

AMD’s A-series APUs combine the power of multiple-core processing with the power of discrete graphics, all into one processor. AMD claims that these chips are not only power-efficient, but also pack in a decent punch as far as GPU capabilities go. Hoping that these new processors could replace a dedicated graphics card is obviously hoping for too much, but AMD says that they will definitely allow the casual gamer to indulge themselves in some fun activities.

AMD has always recognized the importance of the gaming community, which is a large and loud chunk of the computer using population. Their acquisition of ATI is testament of that and Ravi Swaminathan, Managing Director and Vice President-Sales and Marketing at AMD India furthered that belief at the launch when he acknowledged that “the world is moving around graphics and the APU is something accepted world over with better battery life (around 10 hours). We have launched the first generation APU a year ago and the new generation is an upgrade to it."

This is AMD bringing ATI’s graphics expertise to the game, shrinking it significantly and packing it into a processor. For example, the A10-5800K model, the top end A-series APU clocks the CPU at 3.8GHz (4 cores that can scale up to 4.2GHz) along with the power of the ATI Radeon HD7660. For a full list of the APU specs, head on over to this link.

Google rumoured to be developing 12.85-inch touch-enabled Chromebook

Google seems to be getting very aggressive with its Chromebooks. If rumours are to be believed, it is reportedly working on Chrome OS-powered 12.85-inch touch notebook slated to come out in the first quarter of 2013, said a report in DigiTimes.

The interesting part is, unlike the two Chromebook launches we saw this year - from Acer andSamsung - the 12.85-inch Chromebook will be made by Google itself.

According to a report in DigiTimes, Taiwanese manufacturers Compal Electronics and Wintek have been roped in to handle the OEM and touch-panel production. The report goes on to say that Compal plans to start shipment by the end of the year. So is Google looking at the unveiling this touch-enabled notebook at the Consumer Electronics Show 2013 in Las Vegas? We don’t know, but it looks quite likely.

Apart from the fact that the notebook will be touch enabled, no details on the hardware were mentioned. The Acer Chromebook runs on an Intel processor and sells for $199, whereas the Samsung Chromebook runs on its own Exynos 5 ARM-based processor and sells for $249. These Chromebooks do not sport a touch features but are ideal low-cost notebooks aimed at schools and business.

Source: DigiTimes
Via: The Next Web

Apple confirms new iMac will hit shelves November 30, reveals pricing

Apple has announced that the new iMac will hit shelves on November 30, 2012, just a couple of days away. The iMac was unveiled at the same event where Apple showed off the iPad Mini. But not surprisingly, it was somewhat overshadowed by the tablet.

The new Apple iMac (read our hands-on preview) is just 5mm at its thinnest, and does away with the optical drive. The chassis is a combination of aluminum and glass enclosure. Apple claims that the display package has been redone to reduce ambient lighting reflections by up to 75%.

The refreshed iMac also includes third generation quad-core Intel Core i5 processors that can be upgraded to Core i7, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive, and the latest generation Nvidia GeForce graphics processors that according to Apple deliver up to 60 percent faster performance. A new implementation, Fusion Drive, is an innovative new storage option that gives customers the performance of flash and the capacity of a hard drive by combining 128GB of flash with a standard hard drive to create a single storage volume that intelligently manages files to optimize read and write performance.

Here is the pricing (exclusive of VAT), as shared by Apple:

• 21.5-inch iMac (2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.2 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M): Rs 85,900
• 21.5-inch iMac (2.9 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M): Rs 99,900
• 27-inch iMac (2.9 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M): Rs 1,22,900
• 27-inch iMac (3.2 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX): Rs 1,34,900

Apple confirms that the 21.5-inch iMac will start shipping towards the end of November and will be available at Apple Authorized Resellers. For the 27-inch iMac, you would have to wait a bit, because they will start shipping sometime in December.