HP, Lenovo, and Dell haven’t fared too badly in some of Greenpeace’s previous e-waste reports, but it looks like three companies have fallen well short of the organization’s expectations this time around, with each getting called out for failing to live up to their promises. Specifically, all three had said that they would eliminate vinyl plastic (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in their products by the end of this year, but they’ve now apparently told Greenpeace that they won’t be able to meet that timeline, and only Lenovo has come forward set a new deadline (the end of 2010). The large winner, on the other hand, is Philips, which has jumped from 15th place to 4th as a result of some new recycling initiatives, prompted at least in part by public pressure. And, as you can see above, Nintendo is once again dead last, although we’re pretty sure that’s simply a result of sheer mass at this point.

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Laptops

Greenpeace slams HP, Lenovo, and Dell in latest report originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We finally managed to wrestle one of the sleek Studio XPSs from Dell’s mitts, and we’ve got the pics to prove it. At first glance, the 13-inch laptop is striking, with its leather wrapped back and high gloss finish. However, we’ve a few minor quibbles that make the laptop a tiny less exciting than we’d hoped. Firstly, the leather is a bit rippled across the top — not a big deal, but it skews the “design” aspect here. In a similar fashion, the super-glare display is just as distracting as it is on other screens of this type, and there seems to be another slight ripple — or wave — in the plastic (though this isn’t wholly uncommon). Once you open the box, you’re greeted to a matte, low-profile keyboard that feels terrific to the touch, though unfortunately the trackpad isn’t only minuscule in size, but located to the left of center, which makes no sense to us (especially on something of this size). For hands like ours, we found the experience to be a bit cramped. On the software side, the boot into Vista was certainly speedy, and though we’d typical issues (crapware, pop-ups, general bugginess), the system still felt pretty snappy. We’re going to be taking a more in-depth look — especially at the capabilities of that NVIDIA GeForce 9400M G 9500M GPU — but for now, feast your eyes on the gallery below!

Update: Our mistake! We actually have the model with the 9500M GPU. Even superior!

Filed under: Laptops

Dell Studio XPS 13 unboxing and hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’d guess that Acer wouldn’t intentionally put itself in any sort of contretemps, but its actions are proving otherwise. As ASUS did (and continues to do), it seems that Acer is moving closer and closer to obliterating any semblance of separation between its Aspire netbooks. Shortly after hearing of the 11.6-inch Aspire One comes an ever-so-tweaked variant that reportedly caters to professional and business users. Granted, we’re not so sure what suit can sufficiently load those 40 task bar applications on an presumed Atom CPU, but we digress. The always insightful macles has it that the so-called AA1 Pro will sport a more industrial design, a Linux-based OS (Windows optional) and your choice of HDD or SSD. Check the read link for a few more angles, and go ahead and bank on Acer coming clean with the full slate of specs here soon.

Filed under: Laptops

Acer Aspire One Pro could signal a diluting trend originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The big CTIA Wireless show in Vegas continues to crank out mobility news with the launch of Ericsson’s F3607gw HSPA/GPRS/EDGE broadband module. The Windows 7 lovin’ module’s unique “wake-on wireless” feature grants your laptop to sleep until important messages or security updates are sent over the air. Combine that little trick with F3607gw’s embedded GPS and your laptop is ready for a host of location-based services like traffic alerts, public safety warnings, and geo-fencing. Of course as we’ve already seen, the module works with Intel’s Anti-Theft Technology so you can remotely disable (via SMS) the laptop you left behind at happy hour. The module can even send its location data to a central server for recovery. Once recovered, a second SMS will unlock your portable and make all your data accessible again — your dignity, however, will be lost forever. Anticipate to see the first portables and theft-recovery services featuring the new module sometime after the F3607gw is released in June. Full press release after the break.

Update: Dell, LG, Lenovo, and Toshiba have all signed on as customers with products expected by “mid-second-half” of 2009.

Continue reading Ericsson’s F3607gw wake-on wireless HSPA module offers remote kill switch and recovery for laptops

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet Personal computers, Wireless

Ericsson’s F3607gw wake-on wireless HSPA module offers remote kill switch and recovery for laptops originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The large CTIA Wireless show in Vegas continues to crank out mobility news with the launch of Ericsson’s F3607gw HSPA/GPRS/EDGE broadband module. The Windows 7 lovin’ module’s unique “wake-on wireless” feature allows your laptop to sleep until important messages or security updates are sent over the air. Combine that tiny trick with F3607gw’s embedded GPS and your laptop is ready for a host of location-based services like traffic alerts, public safety warnings, and geo-fencing. Of course as we’ve already seen, the module works with Intel’s Anti-Theft Technology so you can remotely disable (via SMS) the laptop you left behind at happy hour. The module can even send its location data to a central server for recovery. Once recovered, a second SMS will unlock your portable and make all your data accessible again — your dignity, however, will be lost forever. Anticipate to see the first portables and theft-recovery services featuring the new module sometime after the F3607gw is released in June. Full press release after the break.

Update: Dell, LG, Lenovo, and Toshiba have all signed on as customers with products expected by “mid-second-half” of 2009.

Continue reading Ericsson’s F3607gw wake-on wireless HSPA module offers remote kill switch and recovery for laptops

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs, Wireless

Ericsson’s F3607gw wake-on wireless HSPA module offers remote kill switch and recovery for laptops originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We don’t doubt that Acer’s cooking up a few laptops based on Intel’s forthcoming consumer ultra low voltage (CULV) platform, but we do have serious reservations about ‘em coming out next month. Last we heard, the platform was still on track for a summer release, and at least in our hemisphere, April ain’t summer. For what it’s worth, Taiwan Economic News is reporting that Acer is looking to launch 11.6-, 13-, 14- and 15-inch machines with CULV processors within, and if rumors prove true, at least some of ‘em will make their debut next month. Don’t bet the farm, but you’re probably safe to pencil it in.

[Via NotebookReview]

Filed under: Laptops

Acer reportedly launching laptops based on Intel’s CULV platform originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We don’t doubt that Acer’s cooking up a few laptops based on Intel’s forthcoming consumer ultra low voltage (CULV) platform, but we do have serious reservations about ‘em coming out next month. Last we heard, the platform was still on track for a summer release, and at least in our hemisphere, April ain’t summer. For what it’s worth, Taiwan Economic News is reporting that Acer is looking to launch 11.6-, 13-, 14- and 15-inch machines with CULV processors within, and if rumors prove true, at least some of ‘em will make their debut next month. Don’t bet the farm, but you’re probably safe to pencil it in.

[Via NotebookReview]

Filed under: Laptops

Acer reportedly launching laptops based on Intel’s CULV platform originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve already seen Lenovo take a swipe at Apple’s genius idea to shove its slimmest laptop into an interoffice envelope, and now we’re seeing the same type of setup with MSI’s X-Slim X340. Thankfully, it appears that MSI itself didn’t put the crew at NewGadgets up to the task, and if it did, it should be downright appalled and ashamed by the inexplicable choice of music. In fact, why does an un-enveloping need a background track in the first place? Hit the play button above for a swift laugh, but for all things pure and holy, mute the speakers first.

Filed under: Laptops

Video: MSI X-Slim X340 emerges from office envelope originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Linux Foundation is ready and willing to help companies get Microsoft’s FAT out of their products. In his blog posted this day about TomTom’s settlement with Microsoft that was announced yesterday, foundation executive director Jim Zemlin said the case only proves that Microsoft was taking aim against Linux when it filed its lawsuit against TomTom last month and that it only undermines Microsoft’s efforts to keep its technology relevant. Zemlin fired away on several fronts, attacking Microsoft’s purported efforts to be a more open company and its ongoing campaign against Linux. “In the last several days Microsoft has shown that despite claims of acquiring a newly found respect for open principles and technology, developers should be cautious in believing…

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The Linux Foundation is ready and willing to help companies get Microsoft’s FAT out of their products. In his blog posted today about TomTom’s settlement with Microsoft that was announced yesterday, foundation executive director Jim Zemlin stated the case only proves that Microsoft was taking aim against Linux when it filed its lawsuit against TomTom last month and that it only undermines Microsoft’s efforts to keep its technology relevant. Zemlin fired away on several fronts, attacking Microsoft’s purported efforts to be a more open company and its ongoing campaign against Linux. “In the last several days Microsoft has shown that despite claims of acquiring a newly found respect for open principles and technology, developers should be cautious in believing…

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