optimus

As expected, LG Electronics unveiled the LG Optimus One and Optimus Chic on Tuesday, two Android devices aimed for smartphone newbies.

There are a number of similarities between the two handsets. Both ship running Android 2.2 with LG's custom user interface, which is designed to make the smartphone experience "fun and user-friendly." They also feature a 3.2-inch HVGA capacitive touch screen, 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 processor, and all the same core features (Google services, wireless options, and so forth). That said, there are some minor differences.

Dubbed the stylish one, the Optimus Chic has a slightly … Read more

A year ago, Samsung wasn't much of a player in the laptop space aside from a few Netbooks. This year, however, the equation changed. We've seen Samsung midrange laptops that have offered great value for their components, with designs that seem to be getting progressively better. With the company's newest batch of laptop announcements, that trend seems to be continuing.

The NF and SF series of Netbooks and laptops adopt a similar design, with curved, glossy lines and raised walls around the keyboard deck. The look feels particularly suited to living-room use, as if these laptops were … Read more

Robot one-upmanship is happening at an alarming pace in East Asia as the Chinese have unveiled a giant Optimus Prime in Beijing, no doubt to counter giant robots recently built by the Japanese. Is a clash of the robo-titans imminent?

The Transformers icon stands nearly 40 feet tall and weighs 6 tons. Fittingly, the head Autobot was fashioned out of recycled car parts such as engines and tires. It took five truckloads of parts to put Prime together.

The colossus dwarfs puny humans at the new Green Dream Park, located northwest of Beijing's "Bird's Nest" National … Read more

Art Lebedev Studios made waves a few years ago when it introduced the Optimus Maximus. The QWERTY keyboard had individual OLED screens under most buttons, meaning it was almost infinitely customizable. It was thought to be nothing more than vaporware by some until it actually shipped. It remains a sought-after luxury keyboard.

And now, via its Live Journal (!?) the same studio has previewed a new slim, minimalist keyboard that also includes LCD keys, called the Optimus Popularis. It's slimmer and smaller than the Maximus, and the design's more modern. It shares more with laptop keyboards than with most … Read more

It may be a member of the Open Handset Alliance, but LG hasn't done much with Android here in the United States. To date, the company has only released one such device, the Ally, on Verizon's network. Though it was among the first phones released with Android 2.1 it was quickly lost in the shuffle with the EVO 4G and Droid X stealing the spotlight.

The situation back home in South Korea is somewhat similar in that Samsung's Galaxy S is getting all the buzz, but things could change with the release of the new LG … Read more

Good news for people shopping for a small, powerful gaming laptop: the tiny hybrid Alienware M11x has gotten a whole lot better overnight. New Core i5, i7, and Nvidia Optimus upgrades look like they could bring the M11x closer to par with the more fully fledged Alienware M15x laptop.

When we reviewed the M11x earlier this year, we found its combination of low-voltage Core 2 Duo processor, Netbook-like size, and switchable gaming-ready graphics to be pretty compelling for its price. New Core i5 and i7 processors should only sweeten the deal, providing that the battery life remains good. The addition … Read more

The steady march of rumors about updated MacBook laptops is getting louder, with recent noise about new Intel Core i5 and i7 processors now joined by hints of Nvidia's new Optimus switchable graphics technology. The MacBook Pro line hasn't been updated since June 2009, and could certainly use a refresh to keep up with the latest laptop technology.

Apple Insider claims, "The Mac maker has up and running in its labs several next-generation MacBook Pros that can switch between their integrated and discrete graphics processors automatically." Some current MacBook Pro models allow users to switch from … Read more

Some ideas are so obvious that when announced, one's first reaction is to ask, "Wait, weren't we already doing it that way?" Such is the case with laptops featuring both integrated and discrete graphics processors, and Nvidia's new system for juggling them, called Optimus.

Common sense dictates that laptops with both a discrete GPU and standard integrated graphics should be able to switch between the two at will. After all, why waste battery life powering a GeForce card when you're just surfing the Web or sending an e-mail? Many laptops currently offer this option, commonly called switchable graphics, including select MacBook Pro models and systems from Asus, Sony, and others.

Unfortunately, until now, this required one to manually flip a switch to turn the discrete GPU off or on. Sometimes this was a software switch, sometimes an actual physical switch on the laptop. This kludgey system presents many problems. First, one has to remember to activate the GPU before launching a game or other graphics-intensive task, and then turn it off after (or risk killing your battery). Second, many mainstream users may not even know they have switchable graphics, and will simply leave the GPU permanently off or on, defeating the purpose altogether.

Some laptops label the two modes with unclear names such as "high performance" or "better battery life," which doesn't really spell out exactly what you're doing when you activate the mode. Even worse, some laptops require you to close all your apps and log out to switch modes (we're looking at you, MacBook Pro).

With Nvidia's new Optimus technology, that basic task of turning the discrete GPU on and off when appropriate has been automated. The company describes the process, saying, "Users can now experience the full performance benefits of a discrete GPU with the battery life of an integrated graphics solution. Nvidia Optimus automatically, instantaneously, and seamlessly optimizes the notebook to offer the best performance or best battery life depending on the application." … Read more

If the Optimus Maximus keyboard is a little too over the top for you, the upcoming Optimus Pultius may be more suitable. Instead of a full keyboard, this one has only 15 keys, each sporting an individual OLED display which can be customized to show whatever graphic you want.

So, if you like what you see in the image above, you will be able to launch certain applications quickly or use some Photoshop shortcuts without memorizing the key combinations. The value of something like that is you'll have something cool on your desk--a great way to one-up your colleagues. … Read more