laptop

LAS VEGAS--Toshiba is known primarily for TVs, laptops, and home theater gear, and at a pre-CES event tonight at the Mandalay Bay hotel, it trotted out its latest innovations in each category.

One of the most remarkable is the L9300 series of TVs, which marks the company's first U.S. foray into 4K TV and presages what are sure to be many more 4K TV announcements in the next few days at the show -- stupid as they may be. Shipping this summer, the series will be available in 58-, 65- and 84-inch sizes. Pricing was not disclosed, but … Read more

Take a tablet; add a keyboard. Turn it into a laptop. Do it with full Windows 8. This is the dream of the HP Envy x2, and the dream, it seems, of Windows 8 in general. Break down the barrier between tablets and PCs. Create progressive computing. The future is now. Well, the future was also over four months ago, when HP first started showing off the Envy x2 in public, including at CNET.

We marveled then that the device was well-built, comfortable to hold, and, when you think about it, pretty shockingly practical. After all, theoretically, this is the … Read more

I'm about to start packing for CES, which kicks off next week in Las Vegas, and I'm having a devil of a time deciding what tech to bring.

My phone, sure, but what else? Do I go laptop or tablet? If I choose laptop, am I better off with a convertible? If I choose tablet, do I want something as large as an iPad, or would I be happier with something more pocket-friendly -- a phablet, perhaps?

These are common questions nowadays as the lines between mobile devices grow ever blurrier. We want a screen, obviously, but what … Read more

Like many PC companies, Acer released a wide range of new laptops and hybrids alongside Windows 8 at the tail end of 2012. With fresh systems just hitting shelves, the company is highlighting those products at CES 2013, rather than announcing new additions.

We've gotten a few chances to check out Acer's Windows 8 launch lineup over the past two months, and have come away with a generally favorable impression. They run the gamut from traditional clamshell laptops with added touch screens to hybrids that straddle the line between PC and tablet. Highlights include:

Acer Aspire S7 This … Read more

Acer president Jim Wong said touch-screen laptops will eventually dominate the PC market, although he also warned that Windows 8 may take a while to win over computer users.

Touch-screen laptops -- now just trickling into the market -- will eventually become the dominant laptop design, Wong said in an interview with Taipei-based Digitimes. For instance, he noted internal Acer research showing that after using a product with a touch-screen for more than 20 minutes, users naturally gravitate to touch.

"This indicates that touchscreen control is an irreversible trend," he said.

Wong also had some wry comments for … Read more

Many happy holiday celebrants are opening up new laptops this month (or hybrids, desktops, and tablets). Unless it's a MacBook, the one thing nearly all those systems have in common is that they are going to run Windows 8, Microsoft's radically different new operating system.

The new OS means that the general advice I've been giving for years on what essential setup tweaks to do as soon as you unpack a new laptop needs to be updated for the Windows 8 era.

Frankly, no laptop comes right out of the box ready to perform optimally. The following … Read more

If it feels like you've already gotten a full helping of new laptop, desktop, and tablet PC news very recently, you're right. That's because Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating system launched at the end of October, and with it, dozens of new and updated computers from every major PC maker.

While it's great that we've seen so many new systems, including inventive hybrids and convertibles, very recently, it also means there may not be much left for CES 2013, especially compared with last year's ultrabook-heavy lineup. That said, there are still some major … Read more

VILCABAMBA, Ecuador--Growing up in the 1980s, I remember thinking it was too bad that all the adults had to work all day long in the same place doing the same things every day. And maybe I should be a librarian, because then at least at work I'd be surrounded by books with pictures of cool places.

Turns out that Eric Mack circa 1985 was quite the small-minded and silly boy.

Technology -- and the Internet, in particular -- have since disrupted (and will continue to disrupt) every aspect of our lives. It's the reason that I can sit on top of a hill somewhere in the Ecuadorian Andes and draft this missive about the imperfection of the current selection of technologically advanced devices that I can use to research, write, and submit said missive.

That's right, folks. Today I'll be exploiting the fruits of our remarkable age of instantaneous global information and connectivity for what's become quite the popular 21st century pastime -- marveling at the limitless possibilities of today and then quickly turning around to complain that the abundance of awesomeness that surrounds so many of us 24/7/365 isn't completely perfect just yet.… Read more

Ready to put your pokey old laptop out to pasture? Ready to embrace the, um, revolutionary new operating system that is Windows 8? Two birds, one stone.

Today only, and while supplies last, OfficeMax has the HP Pavilion G6-2228nr 15.6-inch laptop for $329.99 shipped (plus sales tax where applicable). That's a full $120 off the regular price, and $20 less than it sold for on Black Friday!

Update: D'oh! Sold out already, at least online. But I recommend checking back throughout the day, as OfficeMax may free up more inventory. I've seen it happen.

The … Read more