We don’t doubt that Acer’s cooking up a few laptops based on Intel’s forthcoming consumer ultra low voltage (CULV) platform, but we do have serious reservations about ‘em coming out next month. Last we heard, the platform was still on track for a summer release, and at least in our hemisphere, April ain’t summer. For what it’s worth, Taiwan Economic News is reporting that Acer is looking to launch 11.6-, 13-, 14- and 15-inch machines with CULV processors within, and if rumors prove true, at least some of ‘em will make their debut next month. Don’t bet the farm, but you’re probably safe to pencil it in.

[Via NotebookReview]

Filed under: Laptops

Acer reportedly launching laptops based on Intel’s CULV platform originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No details are being offered just yet, but Samsung’s Korean-language press service has slipped the first official shot of its Instinct S30 / Instinct Mini / M810 for Sprint. At first glance, the phone seems to be considerably more put-together than its older brother — and if they’ve managed to iron out all of the software issues that plagued the Instinct’s early days, Sprint might just have a winner on its hands. We’re guessing this is going to be unveiled on a more grandiose scale by Samsung USA and Sprint any day, minute, or second now, so stay tuned.

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung shows off Sprint’s Instinct S30 (alias Instinct Mini) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve already seen Lenovo take a swipe at Apple’s genius idea to shove its slimmest laptop into an interoffice envelope, and now we’re seeing the same type of setup with MSI’s X-Slim X340. Thankfully, it appears that MSI itself didn’t put the crew at NewGadgets up to the task, and if it did, it should be downright appalled and ashamed by the inexplicable choice of music. In fact, why does an un-enveloping need a background track in the first place? Hit the play button above for a quick laugh, but for all things pure and holy, mute the speakers first.

Filed under: Laptops

Video: MSI X-Slim X340 emerges from office envelope originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know what you’re thinking — another day, another netbook, right? Not quite. OCZ Technology’s Neutrino, which we caught napping at CeBIT earlier this month, just got official. Weighing in at 2.86 pounds, the DIY netbook arrives with a 10.1-inch 1,024 x 600 LED-backlit display, Intel’s 945GSE chipset, a 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor, twin stereo speakers, VGA output, Ethernet, two USB 2.0 sockets, 1.3 megapixel camera, WiFi and a 4-cell 2,200mAh battery. Notably missing is a hard drive, RAM, multicard reader and an operating system, all of which OCZ allows the end user to purchase as they see fit. Said machine is shipping out now to channel partners, and it should be available to end users within a fortnight for $269.

Filed under: Laptops

OCZ gets official with 10.1-inch DIY Neutrino netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Details are starting to come into focus on some of the finer points of Windows Mobile 6.5’s launch later this year after February’s announcement at MWC, and if you had to boil the news down to just two words, they’d be “pretty” and “support.” As “pretty” goes, it’s been announced that Microsoft has partnered up with Design Museum London and the Council of Fashion Designers of America to offer designer themes for 6.5-based devices — colors, wallpaper, and the like — with the first designs coming from fashion dude Isaac Mizrahi. If that’s not good enough for ya, the company will be releasing a Theme Generator later this year that’ll let you customize colors of UI elements on your device, pair it up with wallpaper culled from your own photo collection, and send the batch straight to your phone.

Over to the “support” front, over 25 companies will be announcing their full support for the Windows Marketplace at CTIA this week, including EA Mobile, Facebook (pictured), Gameloft, MySpace, Namco, Pandora, and Sling Media. To help improve the Marketplace’s public image, Microsoft is tweaking some policies, too: developers will now be able to issue unlimited updates to their apps free of charge, and users will have up to 24 hours to “return” apps they don’t like (very cool). Notably, Facebook’s new app will be available in April, offering direct video uploads straight to your wall if you’re into that sort of thing (you know who you are).

Finally, Microsoft’s issued a clarification regarding upgrades from 6.1 to 6.5: devices that are already out in the marketplace with a minimum of 128MB of RAM and a 400MHz processor or better are theoretically capable of being upgraded — it’s all up to licensees to decide whether they want to go to the trouble of offering the upgrades to their customers. Let’s hope, shall we?

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Microsoft announces Windows Marketplace partners, tweaked policies, designer WinMo 6.5 themes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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