hp

AMD X3 chip debuts in HP, Gateway, eMachines desktops

Update: Are three cores better than two? Consumers now get the chance to decide. AMD's X3 Phenom processors are available in low-cost consumer systems from Hewlett-Packard (HP), Gateway, and eMachines.

Also, on the quad-core front, AMD said Wednesday that Dell is offering five server platforms based on the AMD "Barcelona" Opteron processor.

The AMD Phenom X3 8400 (2.1GHz) and 8600 (2.3GHz) are the first mainstream x86 processors to use three cores. "The value proposition is simple. Three cores versus two cores. You make the choice," Pat Moorhead, VP of Advanced Marketing at AMD, … Read more

Print in the park with Canon's newest mobile companion

As far as mobile printers go, Hewlett-Packard's recent Officejet H470 left us with a sour taste in our mouths. We know that there are folks out there begging for a mobile printer that can do it all: portability, quality, and unique connectivity features bundled into a stylish package, but so far, we've seen a stronger push toward photo-specific kiosk printers instead of professional units. Fortunately, Canon looks as if it's poised and ready to take the mantle with its newest Pixma iP100, just announced today.

Let's take a closer look at the specs:

1. Maximum 9,… Read more

This week in laptops

The minilaptop reigns supreme for yet another week (will we never see another behemoth laptop?) with the debut of the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC. The little guy was designed for students, but has a decidedly more upscale look than the similarly low-priced Eee PC and Classmate PC. The real shocker, though, is inside the case, where you won't find an Intel Atom CPU; the company opted to use a low-cost processor from Via, a manufacturer that's better known in Europe and Asia than here in the United States.

In other little-laptop news, Asus shipped a Window XP version … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 699: The smell of pong

It's episode 699, in which we coin a new phrase, "swang pong." You figure it out. Also, video on Flickr and bad news about promotional CDs (and goblins). Also, if you live in the U.S., it's time to feel good about yourselves and your Internet. According to a new European study, it's one of the best in the world. Who'da thunk? Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 699

Video on Flickr! http://blog.flickr.net/en/2008/04/09/video-on-flickr-2/

Wal-Mart going hardline on DRM-free online music store; SonyBMG and Warner Music … Read more

Why HP chose Via chip over Intel for Mini-Note

Hewlett-Packard (HP) chose a relatively obscure processor from Via Technologies for its high-profile Mini-Note 2133. An HP marketing manager explains why.

The Via C7-M offered what HP needed now, according to Robert Baker, a notebook product marketing manager for HP. "Via gave us that right mix of performance and price for the type of environment that this product is going into--content consumption." And the chip's low power requirements were a plus too. "Their power (efficiency) is where we needed it to be for this platform. Web surfing, creating Power Points," Baker said.

CNET Reviews said … Read more

Long-delayed AMD 'Barcelona' chip available

Advanced Micro Devices said the long-delayed quad-core "Barcelona" Opteron processor is available in servers from computer vendors such as Hewlett-Packard.

Barcelona had been delayed repeatedly due to production glitches and bugs. AMD is now shipping a "B3" version that includes the bug fix in silicon.

"Customers can get the quad-core AMD Opteron processor today in systems from HP, as well as other system providers," the chipmaker said in a release Tuesday night. The HP ProLiant G5 servers are the first of many systems that are expected to be available in the coming weeks from … Read more

A heads-up on HP business desktop PCs

If you are considering buying an HP desktop computer, especially a low end business model, be sure to read this story, HP aggravates its failure rate, by Ed Foster, longtime author of the Gripe Line column/blog in InfoWorld.

The story involves a business that ordered 24 HP DX2200 desktop machines (since discontinued) and suffered four motherboard failures, two dead hard drives, and another hard drive "on the brink of failure". Beyond these hardware problems, I found the account of dealing with HP most interesting. No doubt, many of us can relate.

See a summary of all my … Read more

Hands on with HP's online backup application, Upline

HP has entered the online backup space with a new product called Upline. It's a decent cloud-based backup product at a good price point, but it has a few frustrating limitations.

The good news first: The software is simple to get started with (critical for a backup application) and the paid plans provide unlimited storage for your documents, photos, music, and video files (also critical--who wants to count bits when signing up for data insurance?). The system checks for new files by default every 15 minutes, and uploads your data to the HP-run servers in a quiet background process. … Read more

HP, California team up to battle greenhouse gas evildoers

Not to be outdone by Samsung, Hewlett-Packard has joined forces with the state of California to put an end to those that would dare to own non-HP printers that, if unchecked, would annually bombard our landfills with tons and tons of print cartridges.

Similar to the Samsung printerectomy, HP will provide an incentive program to state agencies willing to purchase, guess what, HP printers and HP printers alone. After that, it's all about the green as outdated printers get refreshed with new ones, old cartridges get refilled with new ones, and everyone is happy (especially HP).

This is all … Read more

HP uncovers the 2133 Mini-Note PC

Surprising virtually no one, Hewlett-Packard has finally officially announced its new low-cost, low-power NetBook-style mini-laptop, called the 2133 Mini-Note PC. Of course, we've been following every detail of this system for months, including the presumed launch date, but they're finally officially on sale starting today, from $499-$749.

We've had a chance to play around with an early test unit for about a week now, and so far we like it a lot. Like the Asus Eee PC or Intel Classmate, the 2133 Mini-Note is a smaller-than-ultraportable laptop that trades high-powered specs for portability and price. The … Read more