Filed under: Laptops

We’ve definitely been curious about the difference sticking an SSD would make in the MacBook Air’s otherwise average performance and battery life, and it looks like the answer is a resounding “meh.” The crew at Ars Technica ran an SSD-equipped Air through a battery of tests, and found that while the increased random disk read / write speeds and slightly faster processor led to a minor overall speedup and less pinwheeling, the dramatically lower sequential read/ write speeds of the SSD made things essentially a wash. What’s worse, battery life — where the SSD should have shone — was decidedly mediocre. Ars was able to coax the SSD model in to lasting 29 minutes longer than the HDD version they tested, but on average the SSD-equipped MBA didn’t have the juice to last any longer than the HDD model, getting to about 2 hours and 31 minutes before petering out. All said, Ars says the extra $1300 for the SSD MacBook Air just isn’t worth it — but c’mon, you know that’s not stopping the people who are buying Airs in the first place.

[Via Digg]

Share This

Filed under: Laptops

We’ve been waiting for Dell to pop a Penryn chip inside one of its laptops — so far it’s been HP and Toshiba sitting pretty with some of the few Penryn laptop offerings in existence — but we didn’t think it’d come for free. Dell is pushing Penryn on consumers with an upgrade to the existing XPS M1330 line, which is a far sight smaller than what HP and Toshiba intro’d Penryn in, but the best news is that if you build out the AUD$2,000 model (which includes 4GB of RAM and other perks) you get a free “upgarde” [sic] to the Core 2 Duo T9300 processor, at least for today. As you might’ve guessed from that currency, this deal is only in Australia so far, but new Dell products and deals usually start there and end up in the States whenever the international date line swings around.

[Thanks, Rupert]

Share This

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

It was inevitable we suppose, but somebody’s finally spilled on the shenanigans behind that “Windows 7 Ultimate” leak from a couple weeks back. According to JayDog over at TG Daily, who apparently received a version of the infant OS, the Windows 7 “Milestone 1″ build is all Vista on top, but with the beginnings of a theoretically lean and mean Windows 7 kernel underneath, manifested in some slight speed improvements. It’s not much, but it’s a start, now let’s just hope the optimists are right about that 2009 release date.

Share This

In addition to just looking like the iPhone, the C-002 HiPhone’s “interface is one of the most faithful reproductions” ever. Video after the break.

In fact, some of the largest differences between this phone and its inspiration are improvements: a removable battery, dual SIM cards and a microSD slot

[via Engadget]

Via Techeblog

Share This

Sony has just unveiled two portable Bravia Televisions in Japan. The XDV-D500 (above) features a 3-inch display, 500:1 contrast ratio, built-in 1Seg Television tuner, 2GB of memory, video recording capabilities, and up to 8-hours of continuous playback. While the XDV-G200 sports a 2-inch display and AM/FM tuner. Click here for first picture in gallery.

This is Japan mind you, so these sets receive digital 1Seg TV — in other words you can kiss your import fantasies goodbye

[via Engadget]

Via Techeblog

Share This

Share This

Put simply, this 3D tech demo could quite possibly be the best we’ve ever seen…considering its 180KB file size. To run this demo smoothly, you’ll need a Core 2 Duo or Athlon X2 processor, 1GB of RAM, and a GeForce 7600 / ATI Radeon X1600 or better graphics card. Download page. Video after the break. Click here for first picture in gallery.

(Thanks, David P.)

Via Techeblog

Share This

Yes, the Canon 1200mm, F5.6 USM telephoto lens pictured above actually costs $99,000 used. There are supposedly only two manufactured each year and made to order. Product page. Click here for first picture in gallery.

The retailer B&H photo has one of these…They’ve been around since 1993 and there are less than 20 in existence

[via Gizmodo]

Via Techeblog

Share This

The first production Tesla Roadster was delivered to Elon Musk (Tesla Chairman) last Friday, flown over from England. Video after the break. Click here for first picture in gallery.

When the Roadster arrived at the start-up’s R&D facility in San Carlos, California, it was pushed into the garage and had its Thailand-produced battery pack installed. After the battery was fitted and charged, Musk led a pack of four other Roadsters on a quick drive

[via Autoblog]

Via Techeblog

Share This

Though Dean Kamen’s “Luke” robotic arm may not yet be perfect, it does look very promising, as you’ll see in the clip. Video after the break.

provides a few more details on the arm, including word that it can be controlled through a variety of means including foot pedals, nerves or muscles, and that it packs force feedback to give the wearer an indication of grip strength, among other suitably sci-fi-like things

[via Engadget]

Via Techeblog

Share This

Impress potential clients with this animated business card, which uses an outer sleeve with vertical raster to produce the eye-catching effects. Video after the break. Click here for first picture in gallery.

I made it with a though to catch more attention then the standard business cards, and ad a bit more interaction between the receiver. Instead of just strict graphic and information, I added a play element because you kind of play with it and make it move. This will catch more attention and make the receiver remember the card better and stand out from the others

[via Chungdha - Neatorama]

Via Techeblog

Share This