| HP on laptop design similarities with Apple's: it's a struggle as we drive to simplicity May 9th 2012, 13:57  HP's spent the afternoon here in Shanghai to share some details about its latest products and strategy, and to our delight, there was one session dedicated to "Style Meets Function," during which Vice President of Industrial Design Stacy Wolff talked about his design philosophy and design goals for the current market. Most notably, we learned that some of HP's latest laptop designs were based on the work of its research centers from 11 different cities, and the company isn't afraid of admitting that it used consultants for an outside perspective as well. Despite Stacy's upbeat presentation and interesting stats (apparently these days men have a boring color preference, from first to fourth favorite: black, gray, blue and white), the inevitable question popped up: One lady expressed her concern that the brand-spanking-new Envy Spectre XT reminded her of the MacBook Air a lot, so she wondered if HP's ever worried that Apple might sue. Stacy kept his initial reply pretty brief: "I would go back to the TC1000 [Tablet PC] from about 10 years, and that's a tablet. I think if you look at the new Spectre XT, there are similarities in a way, not due to Apple but due to the way technologies developed. Apple may like to think that they own silver, but they don't. In no way did HP try to mimic Apple. In life there are a lot of similarities." As always, we wanted more from the horse's mouth, so we grabbed hold of Stacy right after the session and had a little chat over this topic -- you can see the full and surprisingly candid interview after the break. Continue reading HP on laptop design similarities with Apple's: it's a struggle as we drive to simplicity HP on laptop design similarities with Apple's: it's a struggle as we drive to simplicity originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 May 2012 09:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Crapgadget: summer show-off edition May 9th 2012, 13:01  When summer starts to creep up, so does that dreadful jumble of terms like "swimsuit season," "beach body" and "crippling insecurity." But these crapgadgets would like you to stop being so dang selfish and think about your tech's appearance for a change. After all, what you lack in muscle you can always make up for in accessories that inspire, intrigue and lead others to speculate about your financial standing. Read - All that darting around corners and covert memo-recording just makes you look creepy, but it could make you look as cool as this man with a mission. Japanese retailer Strapya World would have you know that its radio transceiver for the iPhone is "made for the everyday awesome person." Read - Those Swarovski crystals decking out your smartphone? They might as well be lumps of coal. The discerning consumer knows that it's diamonds or nothing, and this $11 million diamond laptop sleeve -- complete with sable fur trim -- is certainly something. Read - Just as you wouldn't ride a bike without a helmet, you wouldn't be caught dead holding your phone without a ring to secure the device to your finger. Don't you care about safety at all? Read - Maybe you're one to buck all this flashy materialism, but still want to be recognized for the unique soul that you are. No one will accuse you of gadget snobbery if you stick to a soup can for all your telephony needs. View Poll Crapgadget: summer show-off edition originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 May 2012 09:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Samsung and Visa pull the starting trigger on Olympic payment collaboration May 9th 2012, 12:52  Well, it's been no secret that Samsung was hoping to cash in on this summer's Olympic fever. In fact, we all but knew its latest and greatest smartphone was going to be the handset-maker's Olympic Games Phone. Today, however, the union has been made official via an announcement with Visa. Trialists and Athletes sponsored by the brands will have access to a special edition "showcase device" with Visa's payWave payment application onboard. The collaboration is, of course, a drive to push the penetration of contactless payments in both the UK and the world stage. Payments under £20 won't need a passcode, and users will also be able to check their balance and purchase history from the app. It's estimated there'll be about 140,000 contactless terminals in the country by the time the Olympic tanks roll in, so plenty of places to pick up that official merch for the family back home. Continue reading Samsung and Visa pull the starting trigger on Olympic payment collaboration Samsung and Visa pull the starting trigger on Olympic payment collaboration originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 May 2012 08:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | |
