hp

Compared with last year's clunky TouchSmart IQ770, HP's new TouchSmart design is a major leap forward. The new TouchSmart IG504 and IQ506 models now follow a more typical all-in-one design philosophy, featuring a screen and the computing innards housed in the same casing, propped up by an adjustable foot in the back. As the name implies, the TouchSmart is still touch-sensitive, and based on the specification sheets for each model, it also looks like HP has addressed the value issues we had with the previous model.

The first improvement is the screen, now a 22-incher, up from last … Read more

We're excited about Epson's newest multifunction printer, the Stylus NX400. The all-in-one printer, copier, and scanner is outfitted in a glossy black finish and uses Epson's DURABrite Ultra ink to produce photos that can reportedly last up to six times longer than the average printer using plain paper.

Under the hood, you'll find Epson's MicroPiezo DX3 print nozzle head that uses variable ink droplet sizes from 4 picoliters and up, which translates to finer detail in the quality of your photos. The printer also has a 2.5 inch tilt LCD screen, memory card slots, … Read more

Hewlett-Packard announced Sunday that it has settled its patent-infringement lawsuits against rival PC maker Acer.

The confidential settlement agreement resolves three federal court lawsuits, as well as two U.S. International Trade Commission investigations between the parties.

HP sued Taiwan-based Acer in October 2007, alleging seven patent violations. The suits covered patents regarding technologies such as read/write optical drives, power management in notebooks, digital bus arrangement, thermal management and video control.

The suits sought to stop Taiwan-based Acer from exporting its PCs to the U.S. and selling them there. As a result of the settlement agreement, each action … Read more

From the "perhaps trying a bit too hard" department--visitors to the Voodoo PC Web site were greeted today by an image of the upscale custom-PC builder's page engulfed in flames, with animated fire and smoke billowing upward. Needless to say, you can't currently order a system from the site.

Of course, now that Voodoo is owned by computer giant HP, this may signal a shift in the integration between the Voodoo and HP brands. It may even have something to do with the cryptic cake-cutting message from Rahul Sood, the Voodoo founder who is currently the … Read more

Hewlett-Packard announced plans Wednesday to advance technologies to slash power use in data centers, while building software and an open online community to support manufacturers seeking more sustainable consumer products.

The efforts reveal the company's five-year strategy for the sustainability arm of its HP Labs, revamped in March.

HP would not disclose the budget for the efforts, but said in 2007 it invested $3.6 billion in research and development.

New research includes the Sustainable Data Center project, established to reduce the carbon footprint of building, operating, and dismantling data centers by 75 percent.

And HP's Photonic Interconnect … Read more

The proliferation at Computex of ultra-small, inexpensive netbooks poses this pesky question: why are traditional ultra-compact laptops so expensive?

The Asus Eee PC 1000 debuted this week with a 10-inch screen, 40GB solid state drive, and Windows XP. Pricing has been rumored at between $600 and $700.

Features and size threaten to push the Eee PC 1000 netbook into a category traditionally referred to as subnotebooks--with one glaring difference: price.

Subnotebooks like the 11-inch Lenovo IdeaPad or Sony Vaio TZ series typically start at above $1,500 and go up from there, ranging up to $3,000.

But as netbooks … Read more

Hewlett-Packard is licensing flat-panel display technology to a start-up that could lead to dramatically more productive--and aesthetically pleasing--solar panels.

The deal, announced Wednesday, allows Livermore, Calif.-based Xtreme Energetics to use HP-developed transparent transistors to bend light in concentrating photovoltaic, or CPV, solar arrays. CPV systems squeeze more electricity from panels by maximizing the light that hits solar cells.

The company is in the process of raising an "imminent" $5 million series A round of venture funding, and it anticipates a series B $35 million round, CEO Colin Williams said.

It intends to have a first-generation solar array … Read more

Longtime custom PC maker Rahul Sood has a clever way hinting at a new laptop. The Voodoo PC founder, now the chief technology officer of HP's Global Gaming Business, celebrated his birthday by cutting a cake--using a MacBook Air as a knife.

This could very well be a reference to the slicing and dicing stories about the MacBook Air we saw last week, but he also throws in a teaser hint about possible upcoming projects from HP-Voodoo that may lean more toward the MacBook Air model than hardcore gaming.

On his personal blog, Sood blames the cake-cutting stunt on, &… Read more

A sure way to get some search traffic is to make sure that your engine is the default option inside the browser.

For antitrust reasons, Microsoft can't just make its engine the default in Internet Explorer (except in some very limited circumstances). If it wants to get Live Search on new PCs, it has to strike a deal with computer makers, just as rivals have done.

On Monday, Microsoft announced just such an agreement, with Hewlett-Packard agreeing to make Live Search the default on its consumer PCs starting in January. The computers will also carry a toolbar that uses … Read more