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Acer Aspire V3 review: an affordable, Kepler-packing laptop for back-to-school season Jul 2nd 2012, 21:00 Back in March at CeBIT, Acer unveiled a slew of new laptops, among which the Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 Ultrabook was easily the most celebrated. But while slim designs and instant-on technology are shoe-ins for media attention, slightly thicker machines with revved-up internals and discrete graphics are champions of the "don't judge a book by its cover" philosophy. And besides, not everyone is willing to part with a DVD drive, much less spend $1,000-plus on their next PC. More Info Acer Aspire V3 notebook hands-on (video) Acer Aspire V3 coming to Japan for $1,100 with right processor, wrong ppi Acer announces Ultrabook-like Aspire V5 series, we go hands-on (video) Hence Acer's Aspire V3, which is available in sizes ranging from 14 to 17.3 inches (for the purposes of this review, we took a look at the middleweight 15.6-inch version). While it weighs a hefty 5.8 pounds and looks positively bloated next to 0.8-inch-thick laptops such as the M3, the V3 packs serious power in the form of NVIDIA Kepler graphics and a Core i7 Ivy Bridge CPU. And unlike many Ultrabooks trickling their way into the market, this guy is priced to compete, making it a viable choice for the back-to-school season. But is it the best mainstream notebook $850 can buy? Let's see. Gallery: Acer Aspire V3 review Continue reading Acer Aspire V3 review: an affordable, Kepler-packing laptop for back-to-school season Acer Aspire V3 review: an affordable, Kepler-packing laptop for back-to-school season originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments Canon confirms PowerShot S100 lens error, offers free repair for affected cams Jul 2nd 2012, 20:43 Select PowerShot S100 cameras are encountering a lens error, Canon confirmed on its Product Advisories page. An undisclosed number of the high-end point-and-shoots have had issues with a "disconnected part inside the camera," which causes the optic to malfunction. Canon suggests that the issue may be connected with exposure to heat or humidity, but regardless of the cause, the company is offering free repairs, even for out-of-warranty cameras -- assuming the issue is caused by this specific part. Qualifying S100s should have a serial number that begins with any number ranging from 29 though 41 (29xxxxxxxxxx, for example), and this specific offer only covers residents of the US and Puerto Rico, though owners in other countries should be able to reach out to their local support centers for assistance. You'll find the full advisory at the source link below. Canon confirms PowerShot S100 lens error, offers free repair for affected cams originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink The Verge  |  Canon USA  | Email this | Comments Google shocker: American web company says web boosted American economy by $500 billion Jul 2nd 2012, 20:27 Who knew that a company which makes a lot of money on the web would be keen to pitch the web as important to the US economy? Google thinks it's as natural as breathing, as it just took significant credit for fueling real-world shopping. About 97 percent of Americans reportedly searched online for a local business -- it's safe to say Google was involved in a lot of those hunts -- and spent an average of nearly $2,000 per person at brick-and-mortar stores last year. The search giant extrapolates to argue that the web pumped about $500 billion into the US economy, even while excluding internet-only sales. That's certainly a staggering number that shows how much of a cornerstone the internet has become for American business, although it comes across as slightly insecure: a company that's reportedly under tight scrutiny from regulators might be eager to show just how much good it's doing for the public in tough economic times. Google shocker: American web company says web boosted American economy by $500 billion originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  Google Official Blog  | Email this | Comments HTC picks former AT&T exec Mike Woodward as North American president Jul 2nd 2012, 20:11 HTC has been fighting to get a better relationship with US carriers lately, and it may have just chosen a clever (if roundabout) approach: hire one of their executives. As of today, AT&T's former phone portfolio VP Mike Woodward is now HTC's president of its North American division, reporting directly to worldwide sales head Jason Mackenzie. The new position won't necessarily get him any privileged access, but it certainly gives HTC someone who's well versed in what carriers want out of a device launch. We'll have to wait awhile to see what Woodward's strategy will be; suffice it to say that the company wants more One X-level anticipation and fewer of those bumpy, Inspire 4G-like releases. Continue reading HTC picks former AT&T exec Mike Woodward as North American president HTC picks former AT&T exec Mike Woodward as North American president originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments ARM server running on pedal power demoed at Red Hat Summit Jul 2nd 2012, 19:59 With x86 and a few high-powered RISC chips dominating the list of the most powerful computers on Earth, you might be wondering what's the big deal with ARM and it's push into the server space. Well, this is the big deal. The image above is of Jon Masters powering a Calxeda-server from HP with nothing more than a bicycle. OK, so there's a bit more to the setup -- including a 400 watt inverter, a 35 Ah battery, a UPS and a Pedal-a-Watt -- but the gist of it is that Masters was able keep 32 ARM cores humming along just by pedaling his road bike at the Red Hat Summit. The demo was mostly meant as a proof of concept, but we can easily imagine our future robot overlords putting us to work keeping their network of servers running. On the plus side, pedaling to power the Internet might help solve our global obesity epidemic. For a quick tour of the rig, check out the video after the break. Continue reading ARM server running on pedal power demoed at Red Hat Summit ARM server running on pedal power demoed at Red Hat Summit originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 15:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  Hyperscale Computing Blog  | Email this | Comments Samsung's GT-B5330 shows up in leaked photos, flaunts its QWERTY traits Jul 2nd 2012, 19:37 If all those bells and whistles packed inside that famed Galaxy S III are a wee bit much for you, then perhaps you might be interested in this Sammy-branded GT-B5330 and all of its relatively modest qualities. For starters, the device is bound to be a delight to those who love the feel of physical QWERTY keys, with Sammy Hub also reporting that it's sporting an unpretentious QVGA, 320 x 240 screen and a bearable 850MHz processor -- all while being powered by a Samsung flavor of Ice Cream Sandwich. As is usually the case with these early appearances, though, mum's the word on when this GT-B5330 will make its official debut. That said, something tells us this won't be the last time we'll be seeing this guy show off its typing attributes. Samsung's GT-B5330 shows up in leaked photos, flaunts its QWERTY traits originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 15:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  Sammy Hub  | Email this | Comments

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