Laptops

Toshiba laptops will soon write to HD

In the maddening crush of gadgets and humanity that is CES, we walked right past the Qosmio sitting in Toshiba's booth--after all, we'd seen that laptop before, and R2-D2 was in the house. But there was something different about that Qosmio; Toshiba was using it to show off its laptop-size HD-DVD-R optical drive, which reportedly will let users burn as much as 30GB of data on a single HD-DVD disc. The company's been mum on other key deets, such as release date and price, though they have promised more info by the end of this quarter. If … Read more

Dell launches sorta-indestructible laptop

You may be tempted to drop-kick, drown, or otherwise abuse the new Dell Latitude ATG D620. That's not because of any sort of personal animosity--the ATG stands for All Terrain Grade, and it's Dell's first semirugged laptop.

The ATG isn't exactly a new system built from the ground up. It's essentially a Dell Latitude D620 with a new case and a few other rugged extras. It has a magnesium-alloy shell with high-durability textured bumpers built onto the edges, a shock-mounted hard drive (a 1.8-inch drive in a cushioned 2.5-inch drive bay), a spill-resistant … Read more

NFL logos for your laptop

Showing that you were a football fan in the past was easy and inexpensive. You just had to paint your naked torso blue and silver and then yell for two hours in the shivering ambience of Cleveland in the winter.

Now, you have to go the distance, and this includes dressing up your laptop. For $29.95, Skinit will decorate the outside of your laptop with the logo of your favorite NFL team. The company is working with Circuit City too, so when you buy a laptop there you can buy the decoration. You can get a personal photo too, … Read more

Lamborghini laptops rev up again

If you're like most Crave readers, we assume that you want all the appropriate accoutrements for the Lamborghini resting comfortably in your garage. (That's what we tell our advertisers, anyway.) So we do our level best to keep you abreast of the latest technologies that bear the family name, such as the just-released "VX2" new generation of Asus laptops.

As the Gadgets Weblog points out, Asus has provided scant details in the specs department, so we don't know how much of an improvement the new version is over its maiden line. But let's face … Read more

'Mogo Dapter' a tasty little treat

There's both bad and good in the fingernail size of the "Mogo Dapter": It could easily get lost (bad), but it's so small that you may never need to unplug it (good). The Lilliputian Bluetooth adapter is tinier than any USB storage key we've seen, yet the Red Ferret says it promises to provide faster connections and enhanced multimedia quality. Just be careful with it around toddlers, especially at Halloween--it could be mistaken for a half-eaten peanut butter cup.

Apple of my eye

Apple of my eye.. I've recently been hearing friends say they made the big switch to the big Apple. So, I decided to take a look around and found the iBook G4, which is exactly what I was looking for. It is small (only 12 inches) and compact, so it easily fits into my backpack and is available in my favorite color, white. Even better, the price point fits with my budget and best of all, I can walk into a old-fashioned brick-and-mortar store for impeccable customer service. Check it out!

Fold-out keyboard in pricey portable

In what seems to be the Swiss Army knife of portables, the S-XGen ultramobile personal computer (UMPC) from Seamless Internet includes an Intel PXA270 Xscale 520MHz processor running Windows CE 5.0 operating system, Microsoft Office Mobile, 256MB of RAM, a 20GB hard drive, Wi-Fi (802.11b), Bluetooth and tri-band GSM/EDGE/CDMA EV-DO network access, Ethernet and USB ports, a 4-inch TFT LCD touch screen, a 280 pixel Web video camera, and a fold-out QWERTY keyboard, all of which collapse into a package measuring 6.5x3.8x1.25 inches and weighing 14 ounces.

Eight hours of battery life accommodates … Read more

What happens the day after Vista's Launch?

So what happens the day after Windows Vista is available to consumers? Will you still be able to buy a laptop or desktop with Windows XP, or are you going to be forced to upgrade with a new computer purchase? We polled system vendors, including Gateway, HP, Toshiba, Fujitsu, and Lenovo, and the answer is unanimous across the board.

According to every system builder we talked to, starting with Vista's January 30 launch, systems aimed at consumers will include only the new operating system, with no option for sticking with XP.

On the other hand, business users (or consumers … Read more

Dock without docking

Laptop docking stations have always been a bit on the awkward side, requiring you to slide your laptop into the dock, properly lining up the connectors. Usually, we end up banging the pieces together for a few seconds until they fit.

Toshiba showed us a new docking station for the company's Portege R400 Windows Vista convertible tablet that takes care of a lot of the limitations of traditional laptop docks. The wireless Ultra Wide Band Toshiba Wireless Port Replicator connects to the R400 automatically whenever it's within a few feet. It's not the first wireless dock we'… Read more