Coming Soon: Samsung’s Transparent Laptop

Coming Soon: Samsung's Transparent Laptop As I sat here tonight, watching the Super Bowl while trying to get a little work done on my laptop, I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be cool if there was a laptop that you could see through. Turns out, there is. Or there will be soon if Samsung has anything to do with it. The transparent laptop the company introduced last month at the Consumer Electronics Show is set to be released within about a year, the company has announced.

However, before the laptop with the transparent AMOLED display comes out, a media player, the IceTouch MP3 player, which plays radio, video, and displays photos, will be released. Not a lot is known about the media player, aside from the fact that you’ll be able to see through the small two-inch display and it should sell for about $300.

The laptop is said to feature a 14-inch screen with the transparent AMOLED technology. Red Sullivan, the Vice President of Samsung’s American audio and digital imaging marketing said he imagines all Samsung’s audio-visual products will sooner feature the technology. “We want to be the first in this market.”

There’s no word on why Samsung is so fascinated by this AMOLED technology. Sure, it looks cool, but as far as the media player is concerned, I can see it being slightly useful when I’m out for a walk or jog and am in danger of tripping over something when engrossed in selecting a song or playlist, but the laptop? Unless I find myself working while trying to watch the Super Bowl again next year, it just seems like it’d be distracting and it wouldn’t leave a lot of room for privacy.

Dell Adamo Admire – Price lowered

Dell Adamo Admire and DesireProbably Dell’s best looking machines, the Adamo Admire, has just received a significant price cut that could be the turning point in how many people buy the machine or pass it up and it from the looks of things I would bet a lot of people will find it hard to resist.

The Admire sports some pretty nice specs but not some good enough for it’s original price tag. Inside this thing you will find a 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor with Centrino technology, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, 2GB 800MHz DDR3 dual channel memory and 128GB solid state drive. In addition to that there is a super-thin 13.4-inch 16:9 (high definition; 720p) WLED display, full QWERTY keyboard with backlighting, integrated 1.3 megapixel camera with integrated digital microphone, 1 display port, 3 USB 2.0 ports, audio out, Gigabit LOM, Bluetooth 2.1 802.11n (3×3) with an integrated RJ-45 port and a battery flaunting up to 5+ hours of life.

All of that packed under a price tag of $999 is enough to get you drooling all over your desk right about now. But if those specs are a little low key for your superior computer tastes, then you might want to check out the Dell Adamo Desire, which has also received a price cut from Dell.

The Desire sports a 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor with Centrino technology, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, 4GB 800MHz dual-channel memory, 256GB solid state drive and mobile broadband. Add that to the 13.4-inch 16:9 (high definition; 720p) WLED display, full QWERTY keyboard with backlighting, integrated 1.3 megapixel camera with integrated digital microphone, 1 display port, 3 USB 2.0 ports, audio out, Gigabit LOM, Bluetooth 2.1 802.11n (3×3) and an integrated RJ-45 with a battery suspected of 5+ hours of life. The Desire is slightly more expensive than the $999 Admire coming in at $1,799 though that is still $500 less than the $2,299 price tag it had in October.

Whichever laptop you decide to get you are going to be satisfied. The specs are good and the device itself looks very nice. Add all that to the significant price cut and you have a recipe that is aimed at success. Both laptops are available now through Dell’s website

Do You Really Need an Apple Tablet?

Do You Really Need an Apple TabletIf you visit any tech websites regularly, you probably know Apple is getting ready to unveil its new iTablet computer. Rumors and speculation about the computer’s details have been going on for weeks, especially lately. Most people are anxiously awaiting to get their hands on the device. After all, it is Apple and everything that comes from the company is darn near perfect, right? Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but you know how Apple fans are.

Turns out not everyone is excited about tablet. ABC reporter David Francois has come up with a list of reasons as to why you shouldn’t rush right out and get one when the time comes. For starters, the iTablet will have a short battery life. If you have an iPhone or a current slim MacBook, you know exactly what to expect when it comes to the battery. This means keeping the device that is supposed to be ultra-portable plugged in more often than not.

If you can get past the battery life, you may not be able to get past the lack of comfort. You can’t hold it in your hand like an iPhone and you can’t rest it in your lap like a laptop. You can’t adjust the screen – it IS the screen – and it doesn’t have a rubberized back. Also, tablets have surprisingly been around for about 20 years but as you might have noticed, they haven’t exactly caught on. Sure, the technology is better this year than it was in say, 1995, but you dont hear people talking about how much they want to run out and get a tablet.

So, you don’t care about comfort, battery life, or popularity? Fine, but why do you even need the device? You’ve already got your laptop, netbook, and cell phone. The tablet won’t do anything those things don’t already do. Maybe it will end up with some tablet-specific apps but in the long-run, unless you’re just a gadget-freak, what purpose will it serve to have one? Make that a gadget-freak with a big budget. Rumor has it the tablet is going to have a 3G data connection that’s definitely going to cost you.

Personally, I’d say wait until the device comes out before you decide whether or not to buy one. Apple didn’t get where they are by making brainless moves and who knows what they have in store, but so far, the tablet isn’t winning me over.

Acer Aspire One 532h

Acer Aspire One 532hAcer is one of the top netbook manufacturers on the market and has held onto a steady lead in terms of sales in the past year. The companies angle was simple, basic netbooks at lower prices would sell like hotcakes and they were right. Well the Taiwanese company’s newest netbook, the Aspire One 532h, holds true to the very formula that has boosted the company’s sales.

The design of the 532h is nearly identical to its predecessor, the Aspire One 751h. The main difference you will notice is the multi-colored, metallic-blue and black lid. The device itself is quite portable weighing about 2.4lbs and measuring only .99″ thick which makes it thinner than its competition, the ASUS Eee PC 1005PE and the MSI Wind U135 and the all-plastic chassis feels like the right fit for the price tag.

The 532h utilizes a chiclet style keyboard but it doesn’t feel like it was implemented good enough. The keyboard is spacious and has two full shift keys, the key spacing feels to close and the keys feel too flat which seems to make touch typing somewhat difficult. The touchpad is of the kind that “flows” along with the rest of the palm rest. By this I mean that the only way you can tell where the palm rest stops and the touchpad begins is by the feel of the grid of rubber dots that makes up the touchpad. The pad feels nice on your fingers but it can feel too grippy sometimes.

The 10.1″ screen has a native resolution of 1024×600 pixels which is typical for its class. However, the screen is surrounded by a very thick black bezel which, in my opinion, looks pretty bad and the horizontal viewing angels aren’t all that great. The 532h comes with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 1GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive that also comes with Windows 7 Starter Edition for a price tag of $349.99. There is a $299.99 version that comes with 160GB of storage as well. The standard 6-cell battery has a solid 6.5 hour battery life which is pretty good for a netbook.

The specs on this machine aren’t going to be the main reason it sells a lot of units. While good, the specs are not that good. What really is going to get people is the price. The price difference is between $30 and $80 depending on which model you get and that is going to be a deciding factor for many people. If you are looking for a great on-the-go netbook that is truly a netbook then the Aspire One 532h is something you should definitely consider.