News Archive

The iPhone 4S has had a significant impact on the number of iPhone app downloads according to marketing technology company Fiksu. The firm's App Store Competitive Index measures the volume of downloads per day for the top 200 ranked free iPhone apps in the U.S. In November, this index reached an all-time high by reaching 5.65 million downloads...

Although the Droid 4 hasn't been officially released yet, that hasn't stopped Best Buy from using this upcoming phone in a promotional advertisement. A recent Reward Zone promotion shows the upcoming phone, which makes us wonder if the retailer thought the phone was going to launch this month. (Old rumors once suggested this phone would launch...

Typically where there's smoke you'll find fire, but as it relates to the rash of iPad 3 rumors the past few days, things are getting a little bit silly. Many of the rumors trace back to DigiTimes, which is reporting all kinds of news based on what it's hearing from sources behind the trenches in Apple's supply chain, one of them being that...

There are different levels of overclocking. On the bottom end, a person might choose to crank things up a few MHz for a modest performance boost without really taxing their cooling setup or complimentary components. A few levels up you have the folks who invest in high end cooling and cherry components to handle aggressive OCs, and at the...

MSI is laying claim to being the first in the industry to use an LED panel on an all-in-one computer. The MSI Wind Top AE2071 AIO indeed features a 20-inch multi-touch LED screen, as well as a 2nd-gen Intel CPU, up to 8GB of DDR2 memory, a 500GB SATA HDD, DVD Super Multi drive, 6-in-1 media reader, and a 0.3MP webcam. Other features include...

In this latest episode of HotHardware's Two and Half Geeks, Marco, Iyaz and Dave discuss AMD's hot new Radeon HD 7970 graphics card, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, HotHardware's Liquid Cooler Line-up with products from Intel, Corsair, and MainGear, the Lenovo IdeaPad U400 Notebook, and hints of our next sweepstakes...

This is a very important Friday, folks. On top of it being the end of another week (TGIF!), this marks the final Friday of 2011. That means this will be our last HOT deals post of the year! We know—you’re all broken up about it—but something tells me you’ll be fine come tomorrow night once the bubbly is flowing. On...

When the Wii U finally launches sometime in 2012, it won’t just be a tablet-and-console that buyers will get; according to a report from The Daily, Nintendo is working on an app store, as well. Instead of the Wii Shop and DSi shop, which offer users a convenient way to acquire games and a handful of tools, the new app store will offer...

Microsoft came ever-so-close to ending the year without a single unscheduled patch outside of its monthly Patch Tuesday routine, but in the end, three "Critical" vulnerabilities found in its .NET Framework prompted the Redmond software giant to take action immediately. Left unpatched, the flaws could allow for the elevation of privileges if...

Say hello to the TV you'll go to bed dreaming about. This is more than just a platter of pixels; this is what technology lust is made of. LG has just announced plans to formally unveil the largest 3D Ultra Definition TV at CES 2012. It's an 84" beast that truly breaks new ground, boasting 8 million pixels, four times the resolution clarity...

Every now and then, Amazon claims to have the best season ever. Oh, it's the holidays! Just like clockwork, Amazon is celebrating a post-Christmas success, with 2011 being the 'best holiday ever for Kindle.' The company oday announced that 2011 was the best holiday ever for the Kindle family as customers purchased millions of Kindle Fires...

Is the netbook poised to make a return at CES? Hard to say at this point, but Lenovo's evidently planning to keep their lively IdeaPad range buzzing with an S110 model. The company has just released a teaser video of the IdeaPad S110, which promises to ship in four colors, include Wi-Fi / 3G buil-in, and include one of those zippy new Atom...

With the bold proclamation that it is the highest-performing CPU block the company has ever produced, Danger Den announced the availability of the DD-M6 CPU Block. Beginning January 2, customers can get their hands on the new device, which is replacing Danger Den’s MC-TDX block. The DD-M6 is available in brass or nickel-plated finishes...

Not to pile onto Verizon, but this is a little grating: Verizon is planning to start charging its customers a $2 fee for any payments made online or by phone, according to a leaked memo posted by Droid Life. In order to dodge the fee, customers will have to use an electronic check (aka “ACH”) or via AutoPay. According to the memo,...

Biostar this week rolled out its new TPOWER X79 motherboard, which is apparently "the most powerful motherboard on the planet" (Biostar's words, not ours). Part of the reason Biostar is marketing its motherboard as such is due to its "extreme overclocking" capabilities, a notion that might have seemed silly coming from Biostar a few short...

Samsung's Galaxy S II line of smartphones has enjoyed tremendous success worldwide, selling 3 million units in just 55 days. As we found during our review of Sprint's variant of the phone, the Galaxy S II is definitely a great handset—dare we say one of the better ones to ship this year. As is typical in the world of electronics, however,...

Whoever keeps tripping over the 4G LTE power cord over at Verizon struck again this week, the third time it's happened in December and raising questions about Verizon's reliability going into 2012. Customers coast-to-coast reported having no 4G data access, and in some cases, 3G was taken offline as well, though Verizon claims the outage was...

Hewlett-Packard spent the majority of 2011 chasing its tail and getting nowhere in the process. Maybe 2012 will be better, and in some respects, it almost has to be. On the fail scale, it's hard to top shopping your PC division when it's the biggest in the world, buying a British software firm for $12 billion as part of a shift in strategy...

Good morning all. It’s a new day and like clockwork our friends at LogicBuy are at the ready with a fresh batch of HOT deals for you all. On the menu this morning, we have a Core i5-based Inspiron desktop system from Dell, a 27” 1080P LCD from Planar, and a refurb’ed Linksys E4200 router... Dell Inspiron 620 Core i5 Quad...

Although we may not be able to get our hands on the Samsung Galaxy Note here in the US yet, the hybrid smartphone / tablet is already experiencing great success. According to Samsung, the company has already shipped more than 1 million units of the Galaxy Note globally. Although the number of units shipped is always greater than the number...

We called the 10-inch Toshiba Thrive the "Swiss Army Knife" of tablets when it first arrived, with its copious amounts of connectivity options and full-sized ports.  It's a large-than-most tablet but the sort of device that differentiates itself in a crowd of too similar designs.   The second coming of the Thrive, the Toshiba Thrive...

Waiting for CES 2012 to hear Intel reveal something new? No need. The company just announced the first major development in the life of their Atom line in a really, really long time, and now that netbooks are on the down swing, it's understandable to not hear so much about them. One thing that Intel has always fought is heat and energy usage,...

When Starbucks and McDonald's announced that they'd be bringing free Wi-Fi to many of their stores, geeks everywhere were elated. And these days, it's not tough to spot the campers. Those folks who buy a drink, bust out the AC adapter + notebook, and sit down for hours on end sucking up the free Internet. Can't blame 'em, and actually, we...

CES isn't too far away, and it looks like RunCore will be there showcasing new goods. What's on tap? A few things, actually. The Xapear, Falcon series and Pro V 7mm 2.5" SSD, along with other production representations. RunCore Xapear is the world's first encryption solid-state drive that has the technology of RFID and the function of Mobile...

We already knew Sprint would be transitioning its 4G network from WiMAX to LTE, and now the wireless carrier has deployed its first LTE cluster. Earlier this year, Sprint launched its first multi-modal tower in Branchburg, New Jersey. Now, Sprint has also completed the rollout of its first cluster of sites in Kankakee, Illinois. As part of...

MSI announced a new front control panel known as the MultiConnect Panel as well as the "world's first" voice command technology with system boot control in the form of the Voice Genie. MSI's MultiConnect Panel offers support for Wi-Fi 802.11n and Bluetooth 3.0 wireless as well as an OC Genie button that will enable MSI mainboard users to increase...

Toshiba's Surveillance & IP Video business unit sent us a note introducing its new IK-WD14A dome camera, the company's first such model to sport a Full HD 1080p resolution so you can see what the bad guys are up to in sharp detail. According to Toshiba, it's new HD surveillance camera will make it far easier to make out facial features...

If you fancy yourself a betting man, head over to Las Vegas and see if you can find anyone willing to wager which will happen first: the world will end, or Google+ will top 400 million members. Both are predicted to happen in the 2012, the former by the Mayans, and the latter by Paul Allen (stat guy, not the co-founder of Microsoft). Is either...

Last month, SiSoftware released the 2012 edition of Sandra, the popular system analysis and benchmarking program. We recently sat down with Adrian Silasi, the creator and chief developer of Sandra, to discuss how he got started, how Sandra distinguishes itself in a crowded marketplace, and whether we'll see the utility popping up on other...

If the website and slogan (“We are different”) that are clear Apple rip-offs are any indication, JXD’s new S7100 MID borrows heavily from other companies...and presumably doesn’t have the rights to anything the device does. The S7100 is an Android-based tablet designed to play arcade and older ROMs, or as the site says:...

We’re mid-way through another week (and so close to some New Year’s celebrations!), and yet, the deals keep on rolling in courtesy of our friends at LogicBuy. On tap for you all this Wednesday morning we have some HOT deals on an LG 60” plasma television ($800 shipped!) and a Philips headband headset... 60" LG 60PV250 600Hz...

That iPhone you got for Christmas? Already old news. Sorry. According to a report from BGR, the next iPhone will be out in the fall of 2012 and will sport a body redesign. It appears the new iPhone will have rubber or plastic built into the front bezel that will connect the glass screen with the aluminum back, and the screen itself should...

Microsoft's Windows Phone platform has a long way to go before it truly challenges Android and iOS for mobile dominance, but after a bit of a rocky start, it might be starting to hit its stride. According to All About Windows Phone (AAWP), one of the go-to blogs for Windows Phone app statistics, the Windows Phone Marketplace now has more than...

Quietly, and perhaps not so quietly, a lot of companies other than Apple are effectively throwing in the towel on tablets. And why not? The iPad owns at least 80% of the market, and with the $200 Kindle Fire now a reality, there's hardly a slot to compete on margin or quantity. Dell's Streak line is all but dead, and we're seeing fewer and...

What's this? A new netbook? In a world where netbooks are all but forgotten? That's right -- Asus, the company largely responsible for launching this sector into the mainstream, is hitting back with a new one. It's the Eee PC 1225B, which ships with Windows 7 Home Premium, AMD's Brazor platform and an ATI Radeon HD 6320 / 6290 integrated graphics...

Mobile fanatics may remember a time when mobile TV had a chance in America. And those who blinked probably don't remember anything of the sort. America never has been much on mobile TV -- perhaps our lifestyles are just too crazy for long-term viewing on a mobile device, but the spectrum used for Qualcomm's short-lived FLO TV service is certainly...

Overclocking used to be a dark art reserved for a power users who didn't mind taking potentially catastrophic risks in order to squeeze a few more ounces of free performance out of their components. Things have changed dramatically in recent years, but lest anyone forget, overclocking can still be dangerous, even with all of the modern day...

According to a report in the Register, China’s Beidou satellite navigational system is up and running, with 10 satellites in orbit. In 2012, another 6 will be launched, and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation plans to have more than 30 satellites in the network by 2020. More exciting for those living in the Asia-Pacific...

CyberpowerPC announced the third generation of its Fang gaming PC family, bringing to market new and improved Rattler, Viper, Cobra, and Black Mamba rigs. Features include 2nd Generation Intel Extreme processors, new Intel chipsets, the latest ATI or NVIDIA graphics cards, support for PCI-e 3.0, the company’s Advanced Hydro Liquid Cooling,...

We've been hearing rumors of an Apple branded television (not to be confused with Apple TV, a streaming media player) for quite some time now, and if the latest online chatter proves correct, we'll finally see a shipping product by the third quarter of 2012. Two products, actually, Citing un-named "industry sources," DigiTimes reports Apple's...

Conspiracy theorists will have you believe the reason why Intel is taking so long to natively support the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 transfer spec is because the Santa Clara chip maker is much more interested in promoting its Thunderbolt technology. The only problem with that theory (well, one of several, actually) is that Thunderbolt is still exclusive...

CTL probably isn't on your short list of laptop makers if you're in the market for a new notebook, but if you're specifically looking for an Ubuntu-powered machine, perhaps the Oregon-based outfit should be. The 14.1-inch MB40U is CTL's first Ubuntu compatible notebook, and the company's pretty excited about it. So much, in fact, that it's...

Good morning, all. Although Christmas has passed and 2011 is winding down, our friends at LogicBuy show no signs of letting up. Just like clockwork, they were at the ready this morning with a fresh batch of HOT deals from across the web. On tap for you all this morning, we have deals on a Core i7-based Dell XPS laptop with Canon camera combo,...

This isn't new news, and it shouldn't be a shock to historians, but every now and then, it's really good to reach back and grab some perspective. The SSD or HDD that you're probably using now will look like a relic in just a decade, but look at what a 5MB hard drive looked like in 1956. IBM's 305 RAMAC was considered to be the first "super"...

Siri is the most compelling reason to upgrade to an iPhone 4S, but it's obvious that Apple's locking the software to that particular phone in order to convince iPhone 4 owners that they just have to have the latest and greatest. Why, technically speaking, won't Siri work on other iOS devices? Looks like it's due to a choice of Apple's. But...

3D had a huge coming-out party at CES 2011, and it's looking like that trend will continue into 2012. LG, shortly after introducing a majorly huge 55" OLED HDTV, is announcing their newest collection of 3D glasses, including a pair designed by renowned eyewear designer Alain Mikli. They'll be introduced in Q1 2012, with the F310, the clip-on...

ASRock recently posted a pair of pictures on its Facebook page that are sure to appeal to Transformers fans. One is of an X79 Optimus Prime motherboard and the other is themed after Bumblebee, also based Intel's X79 chipset. As far as we can tell, these are concept shots and not actual boards, though if they are real, there's a good chance...

Sometimes competitors join forces for the mutual benefit of each party, which is what Samsung and Sony did by teaming up on their S-LCD venture. Now, Sony is bailing, selling its almost 50% share to Samsung for a reported $940 million. Sony’s struggles in the TV business are no secret, and this move looks to be an effort for the company...

Hopefully you've been in the giving mood, but unlike Seiko Epson here, you've been doing so without grumbling. The company announced that it has agreed to settle for US$80 million civil lawsuits filed against it in the United States and United Kingdom by Nokia Corporation of Finland and its subsidiaries, seeking damages stemming from purchases...

If you managed to survive Christmas, give yourself a pat on the back. And if you survived the holiday while spending time with the in-laws, figure out a way to reward yourself. One way you can do that is by grabbing some free tunes and other content from Apple as part of its annual "12 Days of Christmas" promotion, which starts today. From...

Netbook sales aren't what they used to be. A combination of factors ended the netbook craze that existed not all that long ago, including the rising popularity of tablet PCs, lower cost notebooks, and the recent introduction of highly portable Ultrabooks. Underscoring this point is the fact that Intel's Atom processor and chipset revenue fell...

Christmas may be over (and we hope you all had a Merry one!), but the holiday buying season winding down isn’t going to stop our friends at LogicBuy from scouring the web looking for HOT deals. In fact, we’ve got a healthy serving of the web’s finest right now! On the menu this post-Christmas Monday morning, we have a Dell...

Over the years, exploding batteries have becoming quite the issue in consumer electronics (as seen here in this melted iPhone). And not just exploding, but overheating, melting and combusting ones, too. But now, we're making progress on potentially stopping that ruckus. Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory...

Fans of Google's Android platform are proving to be a patient lot. It hasn't been easy pulling for Android in the tablet space, which for a period of time was limited to a few overpriced and underwhelming Gingerbread slates. Things began to change when Honeycomb came out, the first version of Android designed specifically for tablets, but...

Net neutrality. Throttling. Shaping. Data discrimination. Lots of weird terms, and plenty of headaches for Internet users. ISPs are looking to all sorts of methods in order to curb usage and abuse where possible, but Bell Canada is taking a rather unusual approach. But now, according to a letter to Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications...

What's probably the most popular keyboard alternative on Android has a new beta out, and there's a major new feature included: Dragon Dictation support. That little add-in makes for speech-to-text support, making the overall package even more compelling. Simply press the Flame key in the lower right, speak at will, and watch as the keyboard...

CES 2012 is but days away at this point, and it's obvious that companies are eager to grab as much of that spotlight as possible. Take LG Display here, who is pre-announcing the world's largest OLED TV panel -- a 55" beast that'll be shown off in Las Vegas. According to the company, this panel is a significant step forward in the popularization...

On a national holiday, when most of us are enjoying being at home instead of at work, it’s nice to see a work/life balance story coming out of Germany. According to the BBC, car maker Volkswagen has agreed to stop sending email to its employees after work hours. The move is designed to better establish boundaries between their home and...

Maybe it's just us, but we don't recall Mozilla updating Firefox this frequently in years past. Whatever the case, Firefox has just pushed over to version 9.0, available with Mac, Windows and Linux. What's new? Let's take a look: The latest version of Firefox has the following changes:     Added Type Inference, significantly...

Super computers -- now that's a gift anyone could appreciate. While it seems that every month or so a new king is crowned, Virginia Tech's massively powerful HokieSpeed can't claim the top spot. But, it's still breaking the Top 100. The university has made the charts before, with their System X from 2003 placing them among the world's top...

Remote access? You got it. LogMeIn just unveiled a free mobile app to bring its signature remote desktop capabilities to even more iPads and iPhones. Featuring the same remote access experience that made LogMeIn Ignition the top grossing 3rd party iPad app of 2010, the new app lets any iOS owner remotely view, access and control their PCs...

Amazon's Kindle Fire will undoubtedly be one of the hottest sellers this holiday season. Even if it had a few issues and slowdowns in use, for $200 it's impossible to match. And Amazon's working hard to make sure that folks who unwrap one on Christmas Day have plenty to be thankful for. A new Fire software update, version 6.2.1, has started...

Still looking for a last-minute gift? What about two gifts? How about a gift for you, and a gift for someone else? You really do deserve a gift for being so thoughtful on Christmas Eve! Today only, Best Buy stores are offering up a pretty insane deal on a phone that is typically impossible to find a deal on: Apple's iPhone 4. The company is...

Oh, Google. You and your doodles. This holiday season, Google is giving us a noisy, festive, colorful doodle in the form of “Jingle Bells”. If you click each colored square, they make a musical note in turn. Once you’ve clicked them all, the page breaks into song...and dance. When the song is finished, Google automatically...

For a phone that's geared for playing, there hasn't been a lot of playful news surrounding it of late. But that's changing today. OnLive has delivered a new app update that brings console-class gaming to Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play smartphone. The company best known for cloud-based gaming announced that its free OnLive app for Android has...

Rambus. Heard of 'em? Sure you have, and now they're making the news again, but it's a positive thing -- don't worry. The company just signed a patent licensing deal with Broadcom, resolving all previous claims related to its technology. The two were previously geared up for a court room showdown, which seems to be the norm in the tech world...

Earlier this year, HP took a serious amount of flack for some crazy "exploding printer" hoopla that the company swears was never true to begin with. But, there was still an issue with unauthorized access, which the company has just taken action to resolve. On Nov. 29, HP announced that the potential existed for a certain type of unauthorized...

Upstart wireless service provider Republic Wireless is upping the ante in the market. The company announced in a blog post that it will offer unlimited service to all users for just $19 per month. Republic Wireless--which is still in beta--earlier offered the flat $19 per month plan, but its limits were bound up in a confusing thing that the...

Well, you win some, you lose some. Nobody is more painfully aware of that this week than AT&T, whose failed merger with T-Mobile cost the company billions in break-up fees. However, AT&T also just received word that the FCC approved its purchase of wireless spectrum from Qualcomm, with the deal to be finalized within days. With a price...

Internet domain registrar GoDaddy isn't afraid to ruffle a few feathers, because if it was, it would never run all those sexually suggestive ads during the Super Bowl and at other times during the year. But what really got GoDaddy in hot water was the fact that it was supporting the "Stop Online Piracy Act," or SOPA. When word got out that...

The holidays bring enough stress as it is, such as dealing with the in-laws, fighting through crowds and bumper-to-bumper traffic, and even what to wear. For some, Best Buy is piling even more on by letting an untold number of customers know the electronics chain will not be fulfilling their orders, according to a report in The Wall Street...

Are you getting excited, folks? The big day is on Sunday! Did you get all of your shopping done? If you’re like me, you haven’t even started yet! Luckily we’ve got LogicBuy helping out with plenty of HOT deals! On the agenda this fine Friday morning, we have discounted iTunes gift cards, a dual Dell LCD monitor combo, a Core...

Looking for a last minute gift idea? Time is running out, but if you have $5 to spare, a sense of humor, and want to flip the finger at big media companies who insist on shackling their content with sometimes draconian-level DRM schemes, you need to purchase Louis C.K.'s "Live at the Beacon Theater" comedy download. Many of you already have....

Glasses-free 3D -- it's the wave of the future, man. Actually, the jury is still out on 3D as a whole, but that won't stop a flood of companies from trying to hop on the bandwagon at CES next year. Stream TV Networks is preparing to launch a new 3D-without-glasses product line at the convention, using a proprietary Ultra-D technology. Stream...

Now we're talking. Two of the world's biggest names in voice recognition have managed to recognize that a merger needed to happen, or, at least that's what ended up happening after they chat-chatted for some time. Nuance Communications, Inc. announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Vlingo, Inc. Fueled by unprecedented demand for intelligent...

Wide open spaces? How about white spaces? These mysterious creatures hanging in the air, dealing with the digital TV transition and looking to free up spectrum, are now making their big splash in Wilmington, North Carolina. The FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology has just issued a public notice to start operation of the spectrum bridge's...

To meet the needs of GP-GPU computing (General-Purpose computation on Graphics Processing Units) for environments where space is at a premium or a unit needs to be easily transportable, NextComputing has rolled out the Nucleus GP. Crammed into a mini-tower case (17.37” H x 16.75” W x 5.80” D), the “personal supercomputer”...

Wouldn't it be great if 2012 turned out to be the year of the IPS panel? We don't want to get our hopes up just yet, but there are encouraging signs that point to this being a real possibility. Throughout the course of the year, we've seen IPS panels drop in price to the point where you can pick up a 21.5-inch model for $160, or a 23-inch...

In tech, we love when things get smaller. It’s almost always a good sign. TRENDnet announced a new powerline adapter (TPL-306E) that is about 30% smaller than its predecessor, the TPL-303E series, thus taking up a little less space around the outlet. The 200Mbps powerline adapter features an LED display for quickly and easily determining...

We've been chomping at the bit to play with Razer's upcoming Razer Blade gaming notebook ever since it was revealed in August, and like everyone else, it looks like we'll have to wait just a little bit longer to find out if it lives up to the hype. A last minute storage upgrade prompted Razer to delay the release until Janaury 2012. Razer...

Optimus Prime and the rest of the Transfomers crew might be the victim of identity theft, in a matter of speaking. Hasbro has filed a lawsuit against Asus alleging the company's Transformer Prime tablet is a clear violation of trademarks related to Hasbro's Transfomers brand, which has been revitalized in recent recent years through several...

If you've been paying attention to Android smartphones lately, you know there's one device that people have been talking about and eagerly anticipating for a few months now. That phone is the Galaxy Nexus. The reason this phone is so hot is because it is the first smartphone in the US to run Android 4.0, better known perhaps as Ice Cream Sandwich....

Three shopping days left, folks! Saturday is Christmas Eve and Sunday is the big day! If you’re still scrambling to figure out what kind of HOT tech to purchase, but are hoping to find some big savings, don’t fret! We’ve got some HOT deals coming your way right now, courtesy of our friends as LogicBuy. On tap for you all...

Firefox ain't just for desktops and laptops, you know? Firefox for Android has just emerged with a few new tricks. Namely, a completely redesigned experience that is optimized for tablets and makes mobile browsing more intuitive. New tools in Firefox enable developers to create interactive mobile Web experiences. Firefox for Android leverages...

If there's one thing that's abundantly clear, it's this: streaming media isn't going the way of the dodo anytime soon. Western Digital has just added thousands of new HD movies for WD TV customers, not to mention a remote control app for Apple and Android mobile devices. In other words, your WD TV remote just got shelves. The company's also...

Own a Kindle? No? Don't worry -- Amazon's still got you covered. The company has just announced all new features for Kindle for iPad and Kindle for iPhone/iPod touch, which -- they'll have you know -- wsa the most popular reading app last year. And with a name like Amazon behind it, is anyone really surprised? Some of the new features of the...

We have been hearing about AMD’s “Southern Island” family of graphics processors for quite some time. Even during briefings for the Northern Island series of products which ultimately became the Radeon HD 6000 series, news about Southern Islands was already trickling out. Rumors about these parts have been rampant for what...

RIM is in trouble after delays to its core products and upcoming BlackBerry OS 10 sent investors diving for cover. During the company's last conference call, its co-CEOs promised to investigate every possible option for improving RIM's market position while it works on the upcoming BlackBerry 10 OS and tries to strengthen the appeal of the...

Got a special someone in your life? You can make them smile with a personalized video (or audio) message from Santa, thanks to this nifty Google site. It takes just a couple of minutes to fill out all the selections, and the results are quite fun. You can send the greeting either via email or to Google Plus. Below is Google’s sample...

Brand recognition is key to company's success--you know, in addition to quality goods and services--and the Internet provided an enormous new landscape upon which to build via advertisements. Advertisements are everywhere--storefronts, snail mail, Web-based email, TV, radio, streaming media, social media, and just about every webpage you visit--and...

Microsoft is going to make one more big splash at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and after that, the Redmond software giant will barely keep up appearances at CES. After 2013, there will be no more Microsoft keynote presentations and no more Microsoft booths. While some are wondering if this is a sign that CES is on its...

If you spot a good deal on DRAM and could use an upgrade, you may want to pull the trigger rather than wait and hope prices will fall even further. According to Adata CEO Simon Chen, DRAM prices are likely to rebound in January 2012, mostly because of cuts in DRAM output made earlier in the year. The effects of those cuts are about to take...

In 2004, Motorola released a line of flip phones that became one of the best selling phones in the world. Needless to say, the original Motorola RAZR enjoyed great success and gave Motorola a big name in the wireless industry for a number of years. Over the RAZR's four-year run, Motorola sold more than 130 million units.  Unfortunately...

Google was in position to deal a mighty blow to Mozilla and its Firefox browser. With the search agreement between Google and Mozilla expired, all Google had to do was turn its back on Mozilla, and just like that, the browser maker would have lost a ginormous portion of its revenue. In the end, however, money talks, and both sides figured...

So there, we're early about it this morning.  Like a pipin' hot cup-a-joe, we have deals for you again from the boys at Logicbuy.  Today we've got some real good stuff too.  Check out the Intel SSD at less than a dollar per Gig.  Just the thing for that notebook of yours that feels aging and pokey but really shouldn't be. ...

We're back with a final roll out of our last lucky winner for our Tablet's of The Season Sweepstakes with NVIDIA!  We'd like to thank everyone who participated in the sweepstake.  We've met a lot of new, really great community members over the course of this contest and we hope you'll all stick around with us for a while.  And...

Strangely, there's actually a company called Myriad. And they make consumer electronics. The company's latest feat is the Alien Vue, an oddly named piece that brings Android apps to the TV or set-top box. The device enables TV service providers to respond to over-the-top services like Apple TV, Roku, and Google TV, and they can leverage existing...

Motorola has a bit of good news, and a lot of bad news to swallow tonight. The International Trade Commission, which has been super busy of late, has just ruled that Motorola Mobility didn't violate six of seven Microsoft patents. But the bad news? That one. The one they did violate could cause them quite a bit of grief, and we're guessing...

The Walmart-owned VUDU movie rental service is making big strides in the home entertainment realm, as they've just launched on Xbox 360. That's a super major platform to launch on, no doubt. Xbox LIVE customers can now shop VUDU's library using new, interactive features such as voice search, voice control and Kinect gesture commands to rent...

The benefits of joining up with Gamefly just got a whole lot groovier. Gamefly's Unlimited PC Play service, previously available to a limited audience as a closed beta, is now live for all Gamefly subscribers. If you have a Gamefly account, just download the PC client to get access to hundreds of playable games via a Steam-like interface,...

Back in September, we learned that Dell was looking at using Baidu Yi (an Android-based mobile platform developed by China’s Baidu) on an upcoming smartphone. The two companies have indeed teamed up and have released the Dell Streak Pro D43 in China. The 3G phone features a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM 8260 chip, 4.3-inch Super AMOLED...

A case without easily accessible hard drive bays or enough room to accommodate beefy components is one that is liable to get chucked out of a window in frustration at some point. Sharkoon’s T28 case is designed to alleviate those issues. The otherwise black case is available with red, green, or blue accents and features eight hard drive...

The AT&T - T-Mobile merger may be off the table, but T-Mobile's parent company Deutsche Telekom is walking away from the deal with a smile on its face. The communications giant released the details of what AT&T agreed to pay for the privilege of bidding on its business, and it's an impressive set of benefits. AT&T's $3B (approximately...

It's lunch time here on the East Coast and you know what that means.  Right, Five Guys... no wait, Hot Deals of the Day, that's the ticket.  Today we've got a bunch of delectable selections from solid names like Panasonic, HP, Planar, LG and Logitech.  Last minute gift ideas could well be in store here.  Check out the yuletide...

How do you make a splash in an Android tablet market that's suddenly fleshed out with a high-end Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet (or soon will be, courtesy of the Eee Prime Transformer 2 by Asus) and low-cost 7-inch slates built by Amazon and Barnes & Noble? By being the first to release a Honeycomb tablet for less than 200 bones,...

Rumor has it that we'll see the first chips based on AMD's upcoming Trinity APU before too long, but the company isn't done with Llano quite yet. There's a fresh set of desktop and notebook chips based on the first-generation APU, though most of the changes are fairly minor. The big news in desktops is the introduction of new K-series parts...

As 2011 rapidly comes to a close, one of the things we're most looking forward to in the new year is Intel's Ivy Bridge platform, which is currently scheduled for the second quarter of 2012. Faster, cooler running, and all-around better performing hardware is always a winning combination, but missing from that equation is price. Will these...

The thin-and-light market is seriously heating up, and with CES 2012 just around the corner, Lenovo's hoping to sneak some sales in during the last few weeks of the 2011 holiday season. The IdeaPad U400 is a sleek, sexy machine, understated from top to bottom and aimed at mid-range buyers who have never had so many options. You can't really...

File this one in the "weird, but I'll take it!" category. QP Optoelectronics has just announced that it will be showcasing its novel LightPad product at CES 2012, but it's the functionality that's so impressive. It uses a patent-pending tech and user interface to connect your smartphone to an 11" screen, which expands up to 60" when projected....

And just like that, it's a done deal. Seagate has just concluded the acquisition of Samsung's hard disk drive business, only days before the new year. The agreement includes extensive supply and cross-licensing arrangements, which are said to now be "fully operational." Under the terms of the transaction, Seagate has gained select elements...

Is there ever a time when a new SSD isn't exciting? Doubtful. As the world of solid state flash continues to whirl, Super Talent is introducing yet another option into the mix, the ultra-portable Storage POD Mini. It's a portable USB 3.0 SSD wrapped in a blue anodized, all-aluminum enclosure enables this drive to be both lightweight and rugged...

Yikes! On a day already filled with wild mobile news (AT&T and T-Mobile breaking up, anyone?), here comes another bombshell. The International Trade Commission has just ruled in favor of Apple in a patent dispute with HTC. The result? A ban on select HTC phones imported in the U.S. The decision reportedly stated that "HTC violated two...

Know what it feels like to lose $5? How about $100? How about $4 billion. That's the write-down that AT&T is going to have to eat, and that's the size of the check that Deutsche Telekom is going to cash. After many months of lobbying every organization under the sun to green-light the AT&T / T-Mobile USA merger, both companies have...

Just in time for the Holiday Season, we’ve teamed up with our friends at NVIDIA for an absolutely awesome giveaway. Starting tomorrow (December 13) and continuing on through Tuesday of next week (December 20), we’re giving away an NVIDIA Tegra 2-powered tablet a day! In case you didn’t know, NVIDIA offers Tegra-based...

Not all that glitters is gold, right? Maybe not. Verizon Wireless' biggest phone launch of the year already has a problem: a signal strength problem. That was confirmed today through the wireless operator's "Support" account on Twitter, which noted the following: "The signal strength issue is currently being investigated. We don't have an...

Steve Jobs’ already-famous comments to his biographer Walter Isaacson about his designs upon the TV market seem to have predicted Apple’s next great technological foray. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Apple has been meeting with media executives at large companies and discussing its TV future. The most compelling possibility...

Nobody likes getting a lump of coal for Christmas, even though being naughty can have its perks. But almost everyone we know likes getting free things, and if you collect enough coal, you can trade it in for free gifts, or use it as a lottery piece to potentially win every single game on Steam. Wait, what? That's right, Steam is awarding one...

Heading out for the holiday season? Good luck with your travel plans, as getting from point A to point B can an exercise in frustration this time of year (might we suggest watching Planes, Trains & Automobiles), but if you're a Skype user, one thing you won't have to worry about is finding free Wi-Fi access in the U.S. "Great news Skype...

A quintet of major tech companies has agreed in principle to collaborate on developing new technology to protect content on flash memory cards and embedded memory. Panasonic, Samsung, SanDisk, Sony, and Toshiba form the group, tentatively named the “Next Generation Secure Memory Initiative”. Specifically, the group is looking to...

The Xbox 360 is six years old, granted, and in the realm of technology, that's pretty ancient. Be that as it may, we can't help but get a little excited about a Star Wars themed 360 console decked out in R2D2 trim and accompanied by a C3PO inspired controller. Throw in a white Kinect bar and our geek senses start to go into overload. We've...

Batman: Arkham Asylum was one of the top hits of 2009... The best news about Batman: Arkham City is that it's a sequel that lives up to and even surpasses the original. AC's virtual world is roughly 5x larger than the environments of Arkham Asylum, but much smaller than a full-scale implementation of Gotham would've been. Arkham City is a...

IDC suggests that worldwide tablet sales have skyrocketed over the past 12 months, up 264.5 percent in Q3 2011 as compared to the same period in 2010.  Q3 results, strong as they were, didn't quite match up to the analyst firm's projections, but yearly sales are expected to hit 63.3 million units. Apple continues to dominate the market,...

Happy Monday, folks! It’s time to kick off a new week—and the last shopping week before Christmas if you’re keeping track! So, without further ado, since I’m sure there are plenty of you itching to see what we have in store, here are today’s HOT deals, courtesy of LogicBuy. On the agenda this morning, we have...

It's been ~10 months since we first covered AOL's desperate plan to reinvent itself and reclaim a strong position in the online industry, but the company's efforts aren't yielding the results it promised. The company announced a major reorganization earlier this month, while recently leaked documents indicate just how bad the situation has...

If you’re a Time Warner Cable customer with access to HBO, you’re in luck, because your cable provider will be providing you with access to HBO GO and Cinemax’s MAX GO within the next month. With HBO GO, you can stream 1,400 HBO programs toy our computer, mobile device, or Roku box. MAX GO is essentially the same thing, only...

Skyping on your couch. Who would have ever thought that would be "a thing." Crazy as it sounds, some people actually do prefer video chatting on the big screen, not on the handheld ones, and that's where companies like Warpia step in. They've just announced the new ConnectHD (SWP400VC), which brings a wide-angle camera (HD) and multidirectional...

It's almost Christmas, haven't you heard? And if you aren't quite ready for the holidays, there's really no better way to get there than by picking up a new Kindle Fire and a set of iGloLEDset lights. Basically, these wireless Christmas tree lights can be wirelessly controlled through Amazon's white-hot new e-reader / tablet hybrid, enabling...

Has the cord-cutting generation already taken hold? Time Warner Cable hopes not, or at least, they're hoping to rope a few back in by reaching across the digital divide. The company has just announced the launch of their TWC TV app for Android, which allows Digital TV customers to search program listings by title or episode name, browse network...

Microsoft didn't waste any time swooping in and snatching up the domain name SkypeSexFinder.com after it became available, according to Whois records online. Fusible was first to discover the domain name registration and noted that it was redirecting visitors to its Bing search engine, though not Bing's homepage. Instead, it brings up Bing...

Sony's PlayStation Vita went on sale today in Japan to strong demand; there are reports that Sony sold-out all 700,000 units it set aside for the Japanese launch. ""I'm so happy to see so many people lining up for PS Vita so early in the morning," Sony Computer Entertainment Japan President Hiroshi Kono wrote in his official blog after touring...

The lack of a physical keyboard on tablets is both inconvenient and can take a toll on our hands and wrists. To alleviate these issues, Microsoft announced a new mobile wireless keyboard, the Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000. As the name suggests, this keyboard uses Bluetooth to connect with a mobile device instead of using a dongle...

We're back again to roll out two more lucky winners for our Tablet's of The Season Sweepstakes with NVIDIA!  We know you probably can't stand the excitement of witnessing all this Tegra 2 goodness being spread about like holiday cheer but we're going to keep the adrenalin flowing regardless.  It's fun playing Santa, especially since...

Word around the Web is that some hard drive makers are cutting down their warranty terms, the timing of which couldn't be any worse (we'll get to that in a minute). Western Digital is dropping the distribution warranty period for Caviar Blue, Caviar Green, and Scorpio Blue drives from 3 years to 2 years (Caviar Black and Scorpio Black will...

The braggadocios Energy bunny likes to beat his drum and tell everyone he can keep going and going and going, but would you have guessed Hewlett-Packard would emerge as the real battery life master? HP just announced a couple of new wireless mice that, amazingly, are supposed to last two years or longer on a single charge, or so the company...

Android and VIA, sitting in a tree.... Just kidding. But, the truth of the matter is this: VIA has just announced Android support for their embedded x86 boards. They're starting off with support for the VIA EITX-3002 Em-ITX board. Running Android on an x86 platform offers increased flexibility, great multimedia support and cost saving advantages...

If you haven't been paying close attention to the mobile landscape, you may be missing the biggest spectrum-based turf war in ages. These days, it's a race to snap up spectrum, and as the old saying goes, the boys with the most, win. Cox Communications pondered a start in the telecom world once, but now they've decided that it's probably best...

Great news for Android lovers: more new flavors are available. But only if you have the right cone, as it were. The GSM / UMTS version of the Nexus S will begin seeing Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) hit starting today, and rolling out across the board during the next few months. The Sprint version of the device, using a CDMA / WiMAX radio,...

And the CES teasers begin to pour in. ViewSonic announced today that it will debut new ViewPad tablets, the EXODesk touch tabletop, and a new universal display designed for all manner of mobile devices. Specifically, expect new 10-inch tablets (including the ViewPad 10pro) that can dual-boot with Windows 7 Professional Android. The EXODesk...

Earlier this week, Google was granted a patent for a method of controlling a “mixed-mode autonomous vehicle”. But from here on out let’s call this “mixed-mode autonomous vehicle” what it is: a freaking robot car. Google has been developing this technology for some time. Back in the fall of 2010, the company was...

Microsoft's Xbox 360 console is six years old. The Nintendo Wii is five years old, and so is the Sony PlayStation 3. All three are due for an overhaul (can you imagine gaming on a PC that's half a decade old, or more?), and while they're still popular gaming platforms, consoles are really starting to shine as streaming media centers. According...

Dell was hoping to slip quietly out the door of the netbook business, much the way former Boston Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein tried to duck out of Fenway Park in 2005 donning a gorilla suit. Epstein would stick around six more years and provide Red Sox Nation with another World Series. Dell, on the other hand, appears genuinely finished...

In this latest episode of HotHardware's Two and Half Geeks, Dave, Marco and Iyaz discuss Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus tablet, HotHardware's PC Component Holiday Gift Guide, Dell's slick XPS 14z Notebook, we discuss Tablet Gaming Today and a Look At the Future, and give some details regarding our MSI/NVIDIA Gear-Up and Tablets of the Season...

Good morning folks! It’s time to close out yet another work week. But not before we serve up a fresh health serving of HOT deals, courtesy of our friends at LogicBuy. On the menu this fine Friday morning we have a deal on a pair of Dell UltraSharp 21.2” IPS displays, a Core i5-based Dell Vostro laptop with backlit keyboard and...

You know a computer case means business when it warrants naming an entire PC line after it, and that's what you have with Maingear's SHIFT chassis. Designed in conjunction with Silverstone, the SHIFT computer case is the centerpiece of not one, but two full blown system configurations featured at Maingear, including the "The SHIFT" (for consumers/enthusiasts)...

When you work at Google, you can do amazing things. And those amazing things don't stop at work. They clearly bleed over to home. One particular Google engineer has showcased photos his LAN-party optimized home, and as he calls it, it's "specifically designed to be ideal for PC gaming parties. It's also designed for living, of course, but...

Ever dreamed of owning a PC in an amp case? Ever dreamed of just owning an Orange guitar amplifier? In a weird way, you can solve both of those dreams. Orange Personal Computers have upgraded the Orange OP, which is basically a guitar + computer hybrid device. There's now a Core i7 option, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, inbuilt instrument/mic amplifier...

Looking for a new handset? Guess what -- you've got a new option! Verizon Wireless is introducing their own version of the Galaxy Nexus, an LTE-enabled build of Samsung's mega-smartphone. Users in the US can buy one today, for $299 on a 2-year contract. It's the first Android 4.0 phone, with a 4.65” Contour Display with a true high definition...

Attention AMD fans, if you're running one of those newfangled Bulldozer processors in your system, how would you like a free performance boost? You can have one, so long as you're rocking a copy of Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2. Microsoft this week rolled out a hotfix that's supposed to make things run better automagically. "Currently,...

Feel like getting drunk with DRAM? Want to have the ultimate memory bragging rights? If you look up the definition of "overkill" in the dictionary, do you want to see a picture of your motherboard in there? Answer 'yes' to all three questions and you're a prime candidate for MSI's X79A-GD45 (8D) motherboard, a slice of silicon with support...

Same song, different verse: Google is trying to keep pace with Apple by developing a similar competing product. This time, it’s a competitor to Siri, which is codenamed “Majel”, according to a pair of reports from AndroidandMe. Ever since Apple announced Siri, the iPhone 4S’s personal digital assistant that understands...

Tis the season to go shopping, for someone else or on yourself, and when it comes to swank hardware electronics, it seems everyone wants a Kindle. According to Amazon, customers are purchasing Kindle devices at a rate of more than 1 million per week, and not just for the past 7 days, but for the third week in a row! It should come as no surprise...

CyberpowerPC announced a laptop bundle that enables users to stream content to a large-screen TV via WiFi in full 1080p. It follows that users can browse the Internet with the same connection, using the TV as a monitor. The bundle is comprised of a Netgear Push2TV 2.0 adapter and Intel’s WiDi technology and will ship with CyberpowerPC’s...

We're back again to roll out yet another lucky winner for our Tablet's of The Season Sweepstakes with NVIDIA!  We know you probably can't stand the excitement of witnessing all this Tegra 2 goodness being spread about like holiday cheer but we're going to keep the adrenalin flowing regardless.  It's fun playing Santa, especially...

Is this week just flying by or what? I can’t believe it’s already Thursday and Christmas is only 10 days away! Yikes! Luckily we’ve got our friends and LogicBuy backing us up with some of the hottest tech deals on the web. On tap for you all this morning, we have a tiny Dell Inspiron 11z Core i3-based notebook, a Roku LT...

Corsair's new line of Vengeance PC gaming peripherals is now available. New products in this line include the Vengeance K60 and Vengeance K90 gaming keyboards and the Vengeance M60 and Vengeance M90 laser gaming mice. All four of these new products use an aluminum structure for strength and durability. The new peripherals also offer boast...

Over the last few years, we've seen an increasing number of liquid coolers positioned as high-end alternatives to traditional heatsink+fan combinations. This has been particularly true in the boutique market, where a number of manufacturers now offer liquid coolers in one form or another. The kits we're looking at today are a far cry from...

The world's first HTML5, browser-based, voice-guided, turn-by-turn GPS nav service has just been released. Got all that? TeleNav is upping their game by adding "one line of code." That line gives evelopers of mobile websites or of apps with local content will have a free and easy way to integrate full GPS turn-by-turn directions into their...

Netflix may have delivered a few updates to the Android side first, but that's not to say they're leaving the iPad app untouched. After a few weeks of waiting, Netflix members can enjoy a newly redesigned experience for the iPad that makes it much easier to discover and instantly watch TV shows and movies streaming from Netflix. The company's...

Looking for stocking stuffers, are you? Look no further. HP has just introduced the Wireless X4000 and X5000 mic, which offer up 1600dpi of sensitivity and up to 30 months of battery life on the X4000 and 24 months on the X5000. Both models feature an ultra-sleek design with rubber sides to ensure a comfortable, secure grip that can be used...

Like Jerry Seinfeld in the episode “The Airport”, premium-class passengers enjoy all the perks of non-coach seating; starting today on some American Airlines flights, those comforts include a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. (Meanwhile, like Elaine in the same episode, coach passengers will continue to suffer with full bladders and cramped...

We're slowly starting to the see the Ultrabook market flesh out as more manufactures scoot new models out the door. One of the latest to do so is Lenovo, who has begun accepting pre-orders for its top-flight U300s. The one that's available is fully loaded (comparatively speaking, of course) and sells for a wallet-busting $1,500, but you can...

Launching just in time for the holiday season is an affordable gaming system powered by AMD's FX 4100 processor clocked at 3.6GHz and available exclusively at Tiger Direct. It's called the Gamer Power 595D3 and it's a $700 rig with respectable specs that's ready for action right out of the box, iBuyPower says. "Were always excited to partner...

Ever the vertical marketeer, Apple is reported to be in talks to acquire flash maker Anobit, according to a Reuters report. Anobit already makes some components in Apple products including the iPad and iPhone, so the acquisition would enable Apple to house some of its hardware under its own very protective wing. The price tag for the Israel-based...

Dell revealed its new Alienware Aurora gaming desktop computer. This new system offers immersive HD 3D gaming and multi-display technologies. The systems feature the new 2nd generation Intel Core i7-3000 series six-core CPUs, factory overclocked and liquid cooled, with the Intel X79 Express Chipset, up to 16GB of Quad Channel DDR3 memory,...

Samsung continues to unload with both barrels on the tablet market, releasing one product after another. Consumers can choose from 7-inch, 8.9-inch, and 10.1-inch sizes; WiFi-only or carrier-specific versions, including models for Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint; and a couple of different storage options too. (Who knows, by the time...

Hitachi GST introduced its new Ultrastar C10K900 enterprise drive family. The Ultrastar C10K900 features a high-performance SAS 6Gb/s interface and a 64MB cache buffer to optimize the read/write response time. The new Ultrastar drives feature average seek times as low as 3.8 milliseconds, and a reduced average latency time below 3.0 milliseconds....

We’re almost over the hump this week, and only 11 days away from Christmas! We’re sure many of you are in full-on buying mode, looking for the best deals possible. To that end, our friends at LogicBuy have sent over today’s batch of HOT deals. On the menu today we have a 55” LG HDTV, an HP Envt 17 laptop, a Dell Vostro...

Another day, another new SSD. OCZ has just launched the Indilinx Everest-based Petrol SSD Series, which is said to enable further adoption of SSDs in cost-sensitive applications, while taking advantage of real world performance and complete feature set of the Indilinx Everest platform. "Until today, SSD adoption has been limited to high performance...

There's a new Skype in town, and it's bringing an awful lot of new features to Google's Android OS. Skype 2.6 for Android allows users to send photos and videos to friends or family from Skype on your Android device, and it's now even easier to share those special moments with your loved ones or send files and view documents on the go while...

When it comes to laptops, Dell's probably got a model to fit just about any need. And now, the company has an option for T-Mobile USA users who just can't be disconnected for any length of time. The outfit has just added T-Mobile 3G connectivity to the Latitude line of laptops. People have had the option to get mobile broadband from AT&T,...

As all of you probably know, we had two contests overlap for a little while yesterday, while our “MSI and NVIDIA Gear Up With HotHardware” and “Tablets of the Season” giveaways both going on. Well, we’ve picked the winners for the MSI and NVIDIA Giveaway and have our first of five winners in the Tablet Giveaway...

Shares of Netflix rose by more than 6 percent on Monday after a trade publication reported Verizon was kicking around the idea of acquiring the streaming service. The publication -- Deal Reporter -- didn't reveal its sources, but was very clear about Verizon wanting to get into the streaming sector, and that buying Netflix was a very real...

We all have our favorite smartphone apps, a go-to collection that we use more often than any others, and for Android users 18 years and older living in the U.S., they consist of Facebook and apps from Google like Gmail and the Android Market, according to data released by market research firm Nielsen. In fact, Google's Android Market ranked...

G.Skill has rolled out several quad-channel memory kits built exclusively for Intel’s X79 platform in recent weeks, and today there’s another kit: the RipjawsZ DDR3-2400MHz 64GB (8 x 8GB). The DIMMs are all rigorously hand-tested and validated and are designed for maximum stability and overclocking headroom. They also come with...

Web pioneer and current Web also-ran AOL, Inc., is planning a company-wide restructuring effort beginning in January, according to comments made to Bloomberg by AOL CEO Tim Armstrong (pictured below). The company will combine its dial-up service (people still have that?) with its other Web services to create a single business unit, which includes...

SandForce's SF-1200 and SF-2200 controllers have popularized SSD's in recent years by offering excellent performance even in lower cost drives. The company is building on that success now with a new, enterprise-oriented chip designed for cloud computing environments. The SF-2481 is designed to offer SLC levels of reliability while using cheaper...

The holidays are fast upon us and this final HotHardware Holiday Gift Guide will wrap up our series with what’s near and dear perhaps to many of you DYI’ers out there – components.  Whether the geek in your life is itching to rebuild that gaming rig or just starving for the right upgrade to relieve a system bottleneck,...

Although it launched with much hype and eager anticipation, Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet has received lukewarm reception by some of its users. The most disgruntled new owners of the tablet are even packing it up and returning it to Amazon. There are a number of complaints surrounding the new tablet, including the lack of external volume controls....

LG fans will be excited to hear that the successor to Verizon Wireless' Revolution may be on its way. A leaked press shot of the yet-to-be announced LG Spectrum has appeared. Although you can't tell much from the pictures, Pocketnow believes the phone will feature 4G LTE connectivity, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 720p HD resolution display,...

Good morning everyone. Can you guess what time it is? Yup—that’s right! It’s time for another fresh batch of HOT deals, courtesy of our friends at LogicBuy. On the menu this fine Tuesday morning, we have a Sony VAIO / Headset / BF3 bundle, a couple of Core i3-based Dell Vostro laptops with different screen sizes, a Dell 24”...

Xcom Global has made of name for themselves selling rental MiFis to American travelers heading to far-off places, but now they're expanding. The company has partnered with Rebtel, a leading VoIP service operator, to provide XCom Global customers with an affordable option for placing international calls. To build awareness of this new service...

Barnes & Noble has just turned up the interest level on their $199 Nook Color. The company's biggest-ever software update has added access to movies, TV shows from Netflix / Flixster and plenty of others coming soon. It's available now at no cost, adding over 100 feature enhancements, access to top video and music services, popular apps,...

The biggest proposed merger of this millennium is being postponed. AT&T and Deutsche Telekom advised Judge Huvelle this morning that they wish to stay any further Court proceedings until January 18, 2012, to allow the two companies time to evaluate all options.  The U.S. Department of Justice joined in the filing. Recently, the DoJ...

Multiple crooks wedged their way beneath the security gate at a Best Buy brick-and-mortar store in San Carlos, California, and made off with at least 125 iPad tablet devices. The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene in quick fashion at 11:50 PM on Thursday night, but in the minute it took them to get there, the suspects...

It's no secret that Samsung's Galaxy S line of devices has been big sellers. Now, Samsung has released figures that tell us a little more about how successful the company has been in the mobile market. This year, Samsung has sold 300 million mobile handset sales. Of course, the company's Galaxy S and Galaxy S II handsets have made a significant...

To meet the increasing demands of desktop storage, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies has launched a new 4TB hard drive, the internal 4TB Deskstar 5K4000. The Deskstar 5K4000 is a 3.5-inch drive (5400 RPM) with a 32MB cache buffer and an idle acoustic level of 2.5 bels, thanks to CoolSpin technology. The drive comes with software that enables...

The folks at Thecus have just unveiled their latest low-power Network Attached Storage (NAS) device, the N4100 EVO. This new N4100 looks just like previous iterations of this 4-bay NAS, and sports Thecus’ useful LCD and front panel buttons (among many other features), but this latest device is powered by a new, lower-power dual-core...

Although it’s not terribly unexpected, it’s nice to hear that the iPad 3 will likely be available in 3-4 months, according to a Digitimes report. Digitimes cited sources in the supply chain that have indicated that OEMs have received parts and components to make Apple’s next-gen iPad. At the same time, shipments of iPad 2...

One of the most dramatic shifts in portable gaming history has been the surge in popularity of smartphones and tablets in the past two years. In 2009, Android and iOS devices accounted for ~19 percent of game revenue. In 2010, their combined share nearly doubled, while estimates that the two platforms will account for 58 percent of gaming...

It's taken Apple fans less than a year to download over 100 million apps from the Mac App Store, according to Apple. The Mac App Store is now home to half a million free and paid apps and is where customers have downloaded more than 18 billion apps at a clip of greater than 1 billion apps per month, the Cupertino outfit bragged on its website...

The weekend is over and it’s time to kick off a new week. Like clockwork, our friends at LogicBuy were ready bright and early this Monday morning with a healthy serving of HOT deals for you all. On the menu we have great deals on a Lenovo IdeaPad A1 tablet, a Core i7-powered Lenovo U400 ultrathin laptop, a Dell Inspiron 11z with a ULV...

What if you could control aspects of your motherboard and computer as a whole... from your smartphone? You can. MSI has just released their MSI+ app, described as a premium service for mobile users. Due to the prevalence of smartphones, making an interactive tool that connecting users and industries has being a trend. Now, MSI breaks the typical...

These days, there's buzz surrounding Dropbox and Box.net. But in reality, there are plenty of other services out there that offer similar things. Microsoft's SkyDrive has continually been one of the best on paper, but it has yet to reach critical mass in terms of buzz. But now, with the help of one key integration ingredient, that may be changing....

Adobe's mobile Flash Player has seemingly passed on this year, and now it looks like Microsoft's own Silverlight may be headed to that weird digital graveyard in the sky, too. Rumors of Silverlight's demise have been floating around for months now, and without a peep from Microsoft themselves, Silverlight 5 has been released. It's a revised...

In almost the same moment that webOS looked like it was effectively being put out to pasture by HP, hope glimmers for the mobile operating system. HP CEP Meg Whitman told TechCrunch in an interview that the company could make webOS-based tablets starting in 2013. This is a somewhat confusing development. We viewed HP’s open sourcing...

Take this tidbit with a pound of salt and a pinch of skepticism, but a Japanese technology site is claiming Apple's next generation iPad device is going to be thicker than previous versions, especially at the bottom. Translated text from the overseas blog wasn't able to explain the reason behind the added girth, though it could have to do...

They grow up so fast, don't they? We're of course talking about all those Angry Birds and thieving pigs who collectively turn two years old today. That's right, it's been 24 months to the day since the masses fell in love with Rovio's instant classic, and this love affair has led to the destruction of countless pigs and structures, we don't...

Congrats, AMD! Your Radeon HD 6000 Series is the first of its kind to achieve DisplayPort 1.2 Source Certification! What does that mean for the future? According to the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA), those graphics products -- including the AMD Radeon HD 6990 -- are the first source devices to achieve DisplayPort Version 1.2...

We suspect that the wave of low-cost Android tablets will fully hit at CES 2012, but Toshiba's trying to get in a little early. The Thrive isn't a Fire-priced slate, but with two models starting at $379.99, it's certainly not as pricey as the market-leading iPad. The 7" Android tablet boasts a 1280x800 native resolution, NVIDIA's Tegra 2,...

In-car infotainment has admittedly come a long way in recent years, but it's still got a ways to go before it matches the innovation we're seeing in smartphones, tablets and notebooks. But this is a big step in the right direction. As a partner of the LeWeb'11 exhibition, Europe's number one showcase for digital entrepreneurs, Renault has...

If you’re carrying NextComputing’s new D-NAS device, the answer to the above question is “Yes”. The device, designed for applications where massive computing power is required in the field, is based on NextComputing’s Radius EX portable workstation and adds another family member to the company’s D-NAS line....

Satellite internet isn't exactly something people usually get excited about. In reality, it's a worse-case scenario type of option for many rural homes. But nonetheless, it's an option, and an option at all is better than none. Particularly when that option is getting better by the year. ViaSat has transmitted the first data over the ViaSat-1...

The Motorola Xoom was a notorious flop thanks to a sky-high price tag, features that didn't work for months (the company didn'ts tart upgrading the tablet to its promised 4G capability until late this fall), and a buggy implementation of Honeycomb that was a direct result of Motorola pushing too hard for an early launch. Moto, defiant in the...

Know who has a few new Ice Cream Sandwich tablets coming out at CES 2012? Coby. It's a company you may not have heard of, but we're thinking this will be just one of many new ultra-cheap Android tablets designed to finally compete with iPad on a level where they can actually compete: price. Android 4.0 is bound to make a major splash at the...

VoIP. It's the wave of the telecommunications future, man. All kidding aside, there probably is some truth to that, as both LightSquared and Skype's co-founder are teaming up to offer free broadband services. The former is described as a "wholesale carrier building a nationwide wireless broadband network that will create consumer choice and...

It's been a busy week for Microsoft. The Redmond software giant rolled out its much anticipated Xbox Live Dashboard update with a brand new look and fancy new features like voice controlled navigation, and it also launched an iOS app as well as an app for Windows Phone 7 users. And to kick things off, Microsoft is letting all Xbox Live Silver...

You know exactly the kind of content you're likely to find at www.KUgirls.xxx and www.KUnurses.xxx, and so do officials at Kansas University, which is why they're making a mad dash to grab illicit web domains. No, KU isn't going to cash in on the adult entertainment industry, it's just trying to prevent pornographic webmasters from being able...

One giveaway ends and another begins! We’ve teamed up with our friends at MSI and NVIDIA to give away a couple of pieces of HOT hardware. Up for grabs this time around, we have an MSI GeForce GTX 580 Lightning graphics card and an MSI X79A-GD65 (8D) or Z68A-GD65 (G3) motherboard, both featuring PCI-E 3.0 support, up for grabs......

Microsoft's Xbox 360 had another record month in November and remained the top selling console for the fourth consecutive month with 1.7 million unit sales in the U.S. alone, according to data released by market research firm NPD Group. That's a 23 percent year-over-year jump, but perhaps more importantly, Microsoft was able to move almost...

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been working with a number of other government agencies, including the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security, to develop the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), a program designed to standardize cloud security, controls, and policies across all...

A month after new HP CEO Meg Whitman told the world she needed more time to figure out what the company would do with webOS, the decision has been made. HP will open source the mobile operating system. However, HP isn’t simply dumping webOS; the company will continue to back the project with (a certain amount of) its resources, but it...

Intel's decision to join Google and become a major Android developer was big news in 2011, but it appears the CPU giant's fondness for x86 support in Android is a wee bit more specific than you might have thought. Intel has made a number of major contributions to Android in the past six months, but the Android-x86 project, which substantially...

Word to the wise -- if you find a killer deal on a mechanical hard drive and you need more storage, go ahead and pounce. As you're probably well aware by now, recent flooding in Thailand hit the hard drive industry pretty hard, and that's been resulting in higher prices all around. It's also causing a shortage of HDDs, and by extension, a...

Everything in moderation, right? Don't go spouting off such nonsense to the insane folks at German audio equipment maker Behringer, who just pimp-slapped the consumer market with the iNuke Boom. What is it, you ask? Only the loudest iPod and iPhone dock in the world, not to mention the heaviest at 700 pounds, and the most expensive at $29,999.99....

Do you feel like your notebook is a little lean on RAM? If so, a new offering from AVADirect may be at the top of your holiday wish list. AVADirect has announced tested compatibility for 32GB RAM kits in over a dozen laptops from Celvo, MSI, and Asus. All of the compatible notebooks feature Intel's Sandy Bridge platform and offer 17.3 or 15.6-inch...

Anyone who's opened a PC before knows it's quite common to find dust bunnies inside, even though dust and electronics don't exactly form a great duo. In an effort to help reduce the dust inside of one's case, Lian-Li is equipping all of its cases with easy-to-remove twist motion air filters. These washable air filters work with Lian Li and...

Happy Friday folks! It has been one heck of a week in Tech and we're almost sad to see the week flew by so fast.  Almost.  What better way to ice the cake for the weekend than a helping of deal dessert so sweet your teeth will ache.  Yep, we're going to contribute to the delinquency of your technology addiction here, just a...

Earlier this year, we took a long, hard look at one of Dell's most highly-anticipated multimedia notebooks to date. That was the XPS 15z, and we thought pretty highly of it in almost every measurable way, including its delightfully thin dimensions. Fast forward a few months, and in slides the XPS 14z. According to its branding, this unit is...

What if your iPhone and iPad could display content in 3D? Turns out, it can. For the first time, iPhone and iPad users will be able to take actual 3D pictures with Snapily’s new 3D app, Snapily 3D, available worldwide today exclusively through the App Store. Snapily 3D allows iPhone 4 and iPad 2 owners to turn their iPhone or iPad into...

Concerned about voltage and SRAM? Your nerd card is approved. Fujitsu Semiconductor and SuVolta have demonstrated the ultra-low voltage operation of SRAM down to ~0.4V, which is just staggering in perspective. The low-voltage operation of SRAM (static random access memory) blocks down to 0.425V by integrating SuVolta's PowerShrink low-power...

It's the hot new thing, don'tcha know? Reading magazines on a tablet -- paper is so last year. And now, Google is joining the ranks of Flipboard, Hearst, Amazon, etc. with a new initiative called Google Currents. For now, it's a US-only product, but it's a really impressive one. It's available for both Android and iOS, and it'll work on both...

With a name like Leica, it's surely the best, right? The company famous for being famous in photography has just presented a new model, the V-Lux 3. It's a shiny new compact digital camera with an extensive range of features, including a Leica DC Vario-Elmarit 4.5 - 108 mm f/2.8 - 5.2 ASPH. 24-fold super-telephoto zoom lens. It's got a 12.1MP...

If you thought all Big Racks were awesome, well, you're probably right. Childish jokes aside (seriously, we apologize for that one), LaCie has just announced their new 12big Rack Storage Server, described as a comprehensive network storage solution complete with the software and hardware needed for serious backup or file sharing right out...

Sometimes, innovation in the technology field isn’t just about new and compelling products, but about new ways of looking at problems or measurement. CAST Software released a report on application software health that examines the cost of “technical debt” to a company’s bottom line. CAST describes technical debt in...

Cloud gaming company OnLive already lets you game on your computer or HDTV (via an OnLive device), but now its service is expanding to include mobile devices, as well. The company announced today that it is now bringing ”console-class gaming” to smartphones and tablets, enabling gamers to remain transfixed on their games even when...

Know what happens when an armored vehicle company decides to go green? You get the Jo-Mojo, a lightly armored open-top electric low-rider with a top speed of 125MPH and a bulletproof exterior. Yep, this thing steers clear of gasoline, has a respectable amount of get-up-and-go, and can take a bullet, should the need arise. Or at least that's...

The Razer Blade gaming notebook by Razer is one sexy looking laptop that didn't make it into our Holiday Gift Guide this year, but that's partially because we had no idea when it would be available. Until now, that is. According to reports, it's going to ship in time for Christmas, and if you're confident it will live up to the hype, you can...

The <HOT> deals are flowing again here today from LogicBuy.  Sorry we're a little tardy posting these up but perhaps they're worth the wait.  How does a Dell laptop for $349 with free shipping grab ya?  We've got a dual core Atom, Ultra Small Form Factor PC in here that's just itching to take residence in an entertainment...

Have you noticed less spam in your inbox lately? According to Symantec’s November Intelligence Report, the rate of spam worldwide is close to a three-year low. Symantec notes that spam currently encompasses 70 percent of all emails. Compared to 2009 when spam accounted for 90 percent of all global emails, this is a significant drop....

What's this? Yep, the back-and-forth surrounding the Galaxy Nexus continues, and unfortunately, it looks like the roller coaster is heading toward a dip, not a climb. While there's no doubt in anyone's mind that a 4G LTE-enabled Galaxy Nexus is en route for Verizon Wireless, we've received reason to believe that it won't be launching on 12/9,...

You know things are looking good when you stop in the middle of a week just to make public that things are going well. That's what AT&T did, with John Stephens, AT&T Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, announcing today that AT&T is on track to break its single-quarter record for smartphone sales. Speaking...

Seen spotty 4G LTE service today? You aren't alone. Veizon Wireless has confirmed "an issue" with the service that is causing trouble with select 4G devices. If you're using a 3G device, you're golden. The full message from the company is below: Verizon Wireless engineers have been working to resolve an issue with 4GLTE service that is affecting...

Super Talent and SSDs have gone together like peas in a pod for years on end, but there's one section of the market that the company has been avoiding until now: pro/enthusiast. At least, that's what the company purports, and they've entered that very market with the introduction of their fastest 2.5" SSD to date, the SATA3 TeraNova. It boasts...

AMD launched a new suite of HD 7000 SKUs today aimed at the midrange and value mobile markets, but these aren't the 28nm, Southern Islands GPUs that consumers have been watching for. These new HD 7400M, 7500M, and 7600M parts are rebranded 40nm hardware. The "new" chips are all based on AMD's HD 6000 "Northern Islands" GPU, which means they...

In order to provide ample memory to support 16 core chips, Super Talent announced new DDR3-1333MHz RDIMM modules for servers. These are quad-channel, quad-rank modules that come in 8GB capacities. Super Talent has tested the new modules on AMD Interlagos motherboards. Super Talent Introduces Quad-Channel, Quad Rank DDR3 RDIMMs Enabling 128GB...

File this one under “It’s About Freakin’ Time”: Verizon may offer family data plans next year, according to a report from Fierce Wireless. The report cites comments by (newly-appointed) Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference indicating that Verizon has been working on developing...

If you should happen to run across a USB flash drive on the subway, you may want to leave it there, assuming you weren't planning to take it to lost and found to begin with. There's a good chance it's infected with malware, and that doesn't just apply to USB keys you find on the ground, but ones you buy at auction, too. Security firm Sophos...

It’s pretty clear that Google’s Android Market is growing quickly and giving Apple some competition. A recent announcement from Google sheds a little more light on the growth of this app store. This past weekend, Google said the Android Market exceeded 10 billion app downloads. The current growth rate is one billion app downloads...

Lenovo's first business-class Android-based tablet has arrived. The ThinkPad Tablet comes with many of the features business users want and demand from a tablet, including full encryption, remote wipe capabilities, productivity apps, VPN support, pen-based handwriting recognition technology, and more. Running on Android 3.1, the ThinkPad Tablet...

Happy Hump Day, folks! We know the week starts to feel like it’s dragging on at this point, but we’ve got just what you need to inject some excitement into your day—some HOT deals! Straight from our friends at LogicBuy, we have a handful of deals on tap, including a pair of HP laptops and an HP Ultrabook, a very affordable...

Adobe on Tuesday confirmed the existence of an unpatched zero day vulnerability rated as "critical" in Adobe Reader X (10.1.1) and earlier versions for Windows and Macs, Adobe Reader 9.4.6 and earlier versions for UNIX, and Adobe Acrobat X (10.1.1) and earlier versions for Windows and Macs. In theory, the critical vulnerability could cause...

Printing over USB is so... yesterday. Kodak, a name known for old-school printers, agrees. They've just launched the Document Cloud Printing app for Android phones, which allows customers to send documents from their Android device to their Kodak all-in-one printer using Google Cloud Print. Supported files include web pages, Microsoft Office...

Well, well -- what's this? It's the Windows Store, and no, we're not talking retail. The company just took the wraps off of the official Windows Store preview, a few months after teasing us with the name as part of Windows 8 and the distribution point for Metro style apps. The company had a launch party tonight in SF, where they described...

Looking for a new HDTV? How about one that sits in at 70" diagonally? Coming right up! Westinghouse Digital has just announced that they'll be unveiling a 70" LED HDTV at CES 2012, alongside a new 46" ultra-slim bezel design and soundbar. Highlights include the introduction of Westinghouse’s largest offering to date, the 70” UW70T9VZ...

PayPal today issued a public apology after it came to light that a scrooge in the payment service's accounting department froze an account belonging to an organization collecting donations in order to hand out toys to underprivileged kids. The site's 'mistake' was using the "Donate" button, which a PayPal rep informed them was only for nonprofit...

Intel and Micron’s 64Gb, 20nm NAND flash? Old news. It’s now in mass production. Today, Micron revealed the two companies’ hottest new collaboration, a 128Gb, 20nm NAND flash device. The little thing crams 1Tb of storage onto eight die for a total package that’s roughly the size of a fingernail. The new device, which...

Verizon Wireless customers have a pair of new 4G DROID tablets to choose from, the DROID XYBOARD 10.1 and the DROID XYBOARD 8.2. The tablets will run Android 3.2 Honeycomb, although the press release says that they “will be upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich”. They’ll feature 1.2GHz processors, 1GB of RAM, and MotoCast,...

Like that scene in Step Brothers, HTC has been earning and burning, snapping necks and cashing checks as if it was pitching to be the main attraction at the Catalina Wine Mixer. It's been a stellar year for HTC and Android both, with each one feeding on the success of the other. But just like the law of gravity, what goes up must come down,...

Whether it's for yourself or someone else, consider this your go-to guide for picking out the perfect notebook PC. We're all about spreading the holiday cheer, and if it means sifting through dozens or even hundreds of laptops to find the best ones, then so be it. This is what we do, and we'd much rather you spend your time this holiday season...

Lenovo is hoping to attract the attention of schools and students with the introduction of a new laptop that has been ruggedized for education. Lenovo recognizes that kids can be hard on electronics, so the company has designed the new ThinkPad X130e with a reinforced and extra durable top cover, keyboard and hinges. Key durability features...

AOC introduced a new portable USB monitor that uses the DisplayLink DL-125 chip. The new e1649fwu portable USB 2.0 monitor features a 15.6-inch display that supports a resolution of 1366 x 768 at 60 Hz. This monitor also has a built-in stand that supports both horizontal and vertical positions and sits flush with the monitor when not in use....

It’s that time again, folk. Time for another fresh batch of HOT deals, straight from our friends at LogicBuy. On tap for you all this fine Tuesday morning, we have a Dell Inspiron Core i3-based notebook, an HP Pavilion Elite Core i7-based desktop PC, an LED backlit Dell 24” IPS display, a couple of Lexar JumpDrives and a Sony PlayStation...

In this latest episode of HotHardware's Two and Half Geeks, Marco, Iyaz and Dave discuss the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime with NVIDIA's Tegra 3 SoC, OCZ's Octane Series SATA III Solid State Drive, Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet and how not to get burned, NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448-Core Limited Edition graphics card, and details of the...

Can you believe it? One year ago, Verizon Wireless launched 4G LTE. And now, it feels like we've had it forever, and "normal" 3G speeds just feel sluggish in comparison. The wireless carrier is today celebrating the 1-year anniversary of their newest wireless protocol, and what started in 38 markets has now grown to nearly 200, and it's spreading...

Can't say this is the most flattering name for a company, but we suppose that's beside the point. Ainol has just launched the new NOVO7, which is described as the world's first Android 4.0 tablet. Hard to believe a company you've probably never heard is beating the big boys to the punch, but there's definitely an edge, speed wise, to being...

USB 3.0 may not be the hotness that it was a year or so ago, but it's still a protocol that's not adopted everywhere, and in turn, more and more accessory companies are jumping on the bandwagon -- even today. IOGEAR has just announced a new SuperSpeed family of products, including the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 4-Port Hub (GUH374) and USB 3.0 SD/Micro...

Integrating a bit of cloud storage with a given product is nothing new, but HP is taking it a step further by offering some interesting deals from cloud service provider Box with some of its business desktops. Box offers some fine cloud services, including online storage, the ability to share large files, and online collaboration capabilities....

The aptly named Dell Streak line has come and gone within a relatively short span. The Dell Streak 7 page on the company’s website offers this simple statement: “Streak 7 is no longer available online, but you can browse our other mobile devices for similar products.” There’s been no other official press release from...

Google and Mozilla have a common enemy in the browser wars in Microsoft, but perhaps more importantly, the two software companies have an even greater common interest: money. Since that's the case, it would be in both of their interests to work together if it means lining their pockets with cash, and that's what the two have decided to do....

The holiday shopping season is upon us, and that means setting aside some hard earned funds to buy your family and friends gifts because, well, that's the kind of thing we do this time of year. But lest you forget about yourself, Cooler Master today announced the Elite 431 Plus, a mid-tower computer case with some high end features at a mainstream...

Sprint is making it easier for parents to manage their teen's wireless usage with a handful of controls known as Sprint Mobile Controls. Powered by Safely, these new tools can provide parents with  graphical representations that show calls, texts and application usage as well as the ability to lock a phone remotely at specific times such...

The Kindle Fire is Amazon's attempt to blaze a trail in the low cost Android tablet market, and if doing so ends up applying a bit of competitive heat to Apple and its dominating iPad line, then so be it. To be clear, Amazon isn't pitching the Kindle Fire as an "iPad killer" nor will you find any veiled marketing attempts to cast this as Amazon's...

It’s time to kick off a new week, everyone! But not before we server up a fresh, heaping, helping of HOT deals, courtesy of our friends at LogicBuy. On tap for you all this morning, we have a deal on a pair of Dell 20” LCD monitors, another Dell 23” full-HD monitor, a set of THX certified speakers from Logitech, a Dell 14z...

SAP is paying cash to acquire SuccessFactors for a reported $3.4 billion, which is a move that will add a great deal to SAP’s cloud portfolio. In fact, SuccessFactors is no small startup; the company boasts 3,500 customers in 168 countries and a total of 15 million subscription seats and posted a 77% year-over-year revenue growth in...

A bustling shopping mall in Canada is ending a more than century old tradition of having kids line up for hours to sit on Santa's knee to tell the bearded gift giver what they want for Christmas. This year they'll need to sign up in advance for a one-hour story time session on Saturday morning, in which they'll also have a chance to sit on...

Firefox's future has never been as uncertain as it is right now. Let's start with the market share numbers and work our way from there. Depending on which web analytics firm you put your faith into, Mozilla's browser has either given up it's second place position to Google's Chrome browser, or is really close to doing so. NetMarketShare, for...

Hackers and modders just don't get the universal praise and respect that they deserve. For example, look at this absolutely amazing "Supa Sweet Handheld Console." It's shaped like an SNES controller, boasting a 3.5" LCD and support for SNES cartridge playback. It's designed and produced by Hyperkin, who will be launching their SupaBoy Handheld...

Ever wondered what Android 4.0 would look like on a tablet? Haven't we all? While the Ice Cream Sandwich flood is only now hitting phones, Google's vision for a more unified operating system means that ICS will be hitting tablets like crazy in due time as well. To date, we haven't heard too much surrounding ICS on tablets, outside of a few...

Got Charter for internet? Good news! The speed at which you're reading this very post is probably improved. The company has announced that they're bumping up internet speeds across the board, with download rates reaching 100Mbps for home customers. In markets where Charter has deployed DOCSIS 3.0 technology, or approximately 95 percent of...

Well that didn’t take long. Verizon Wireless’ acquisition of SpectrumCo’s 122 Advanced Wireless Services spectrum licenses is already making waves in the wireless industry. As we reported earlier, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks were the trio that formed SpectrumCo, and the sale of that group’s...

If you're trying to configure an iMac system to arrive in time for the holiday season, you'll have to cap your storage at 1TB. Next day shipping is available on iMacs with a 1TB mechanical hard drive, 256GB solid state drive, or 1TB HDD + 256GB SSD from the Apple Store, but if you choose one of the 2TB HDD options, you'll have to wait 5-7...

Do you remember what you were doing 19 years ago today? Odds are high you didn't own a mobile phone, though you may have been rocking a beeper (yes kids, beepers used to be cool). But believe it or not, the very first SMS text message was sent off nearly two decades ago, much to the bane of linguists who twitch every time they see a shorthand...

As long as it's for fair use, people living in Switzerland have what amounts to a green light to download copyrighted music and movies without any repercussions. And as far as the Swiss government is concerned, copyright holders might as well go pound sand if they're not willing to adapt to the changing landscape. Piracy is, and will remain...

Tablets are a dime a dozen these days, but Memo is doing something very different with their offering. Instead of just butting heads with the iPad, this new Memo Touch tablet acts a new memory assistant that helps seniors with short-term memory loss maintain their independence and age in their own home. Introduced today, the custom software...

Ever heard of an Optical Sensor in Pixel panel? Now you have. Samsung just announced that it began mass production of 40-inch 'Optical Sensor in Pixel' LCD panels, which feature highly advanced optical sensors, in November this year. The Optical Sensor in Pixel LCD panel detects reflected images of an object on the panel using Infrared sensors...

It's not product-related, but it's huge news in the technology industry. SpectrumCo, LLC, a joint venture between Comcast Corporation, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks, today announced it has entered into an agreement pursuant to which Verizon Wireless will acquire its 122 Advanced Wireless Services spectrum licenses covering 259...

As Facebook continues to grow (over 800 million users at last count), the social networking juggernaut is expanding its operations by establishing an engineering office in New York City. Announced today and expected to open for business early next year, the office is Facebook’s first outside of the West Coast and will be headed by Serkan...

We swear that’s not an Onion headline. According to a new report from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, 53% of young adults aged 18-29 go online “for no particular reason except to have fun or to pass the time” on a typical day. (Note that the survey question specifically asked if users had done...

It's still just the beginning of December, but now that we've made it past Thanksgiving and have had time to let all that turkey settle in our bellies, it's time to go shopping for gifts. And just in time for the holiday shopping season, ThinkGeek just announced the availability of nine officially licensed Portal 2 products, including a Portal...

Looking for something to do this weekend? You could watch the New England Patriots decimate the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in a watered down rivalry that won't feature Peyton Manning falling to the fetal position at the first sound of footsteps coming through his offensive line. Or you could watch the new Muppets movie. Just make sure to...

It’s time to close out another week, but not before we hook you up with a health serving of HOT deals, courtesy of our friends at LogicBuy. On the menu this Friday morning, we have a Dell Insprion 14z, a Dell monitor and camera combo, a Lexar JumpDrive, a SanDisk SSD, a Logitech G510 gaming keyboard, Dynex Blu-Ray player, and a 16MP...

We've already heard about the upcoming Droid 4 smartphone, though we're still waiting on an official announcement from Motorola or Verizon Wireless. We have also heard rumblings around the web about various Xoom tablet successors. Here again, we're still waiting on an official announcement. The lack of any announcements hasn't stopped Verizon...

We knew Acer was working on a Tegra 2 powered tablet running Ice Cream Sandwich, but thanks to a recent press release, we now have additional details and an official announcement to confirm this tablet. The ICONIA TAB A200 will feature NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual Core 1 GHz processor, a full-size USB port, a microSD card slot, a 2MP web cam, and a...

Looking for a little more carrier news after Carrier IQ? Here goes! Verizon has just confirmed that CEO Lowell McAdam will succeed Ivan Seidenberg as Chairman, following the retirement of the latter at the end of the year. The Verizon Board of Directors elected the company's current President and CEO Lowell C. McAdam as chairman, effective...

See that car blasting out at you? The one on the left. No, the one on the right! LG has just expanded their glasses-free 3D lineup with the 25" DX2500, which incorporates glasses-free parallax barrier 3D and head-tracking technologies. With the DX2500, LG becomes the first in the industry to receive TÜV Rheinland certification for a glasses-free...

Every so often, we see a camera module that comes out looking so impressive, the immediate thought goes to which DSLR it'll hit next. And then, you realize it's small than a thumb-tack. Sharp has just introduced one of those, calling their newest the industry's thinnest CMOS camera module with optical image stabilization. It's designed for...

According to StatCounter, Google’s Chrome browser overtook Mozilla’s Firefox for the first time last month; in November, Chrome snagged 25.69% of the global Web browser market share, while Firefox managed 25.23%. To put the rise of Chrome in perspective, two years ago it held a meager 4.66% of the market to Firefox’s 32.21%....

Call it a holiday promotion if you will: iBUYPOWER announced that it’s selling its new Gamer Paladin HS11 system for “under $1,000”, which, you guessed it, is code for $999. Still, that’s a liquid-cooled (albeit entry-level) system you’d be getting, so it’s an interesting deal. The offer is on the table...

To commemorate the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S., HotHardware and our friends at Intel and PCAudioLabs teamed up to put together one heck of an exciting full-system give-away! This time around we gave you all a chance to win an Intel Core i7-2600K-infused, custom-built rig complete with 16GB of RAM, a Gigabyte Z68-based motherboard,...

Samsung announced the industry’s first dual-core processor samples based on the ARM Cortex-A15 core. The new 2GHz dual-core Exynos 5250 is designed for use in high-end tablets. According to Samsung, the Exynos 5250 offers about twice the CPU performance of today's products which use Cortex-A9-based dual core processors running at 1.5GHz....

If the only thing holding you back from purchasing an Ultrabook is price, good news, your patience may soon be rewarded. According to reports, Ultrabook prices could fall anywhere from 5 percent to 10 percent in the first quarter of 2012, which would push higher end models below the $1,000 ceiling Intel had always envisioned. News and rumor...

We had a chance to get up close and personal with NZXT's ginormous Phantom chassis during our 'Back-to-School PC Roundup' in September, and let us tell you, it's a great looking case. It's also quite large. We thought it resembled a Storm Trooper, both in size and shape, and while that's fine if you have room for a full tower chassis, not...

Corsair announced a line of high-performance memory upgrade kits for laptops that use the 2nd generation Intel Core processor family. The new 4GB and 8GB Vengeance SODIMM kits operate at speeds of 1600MHz and 1866MHz. Corsair has designed the Vengeance laptop memory to be plug-and-play so you won't have to make any BIOS adjustments. The new...

Good morning all. Guess what time it is? Yup, you guessed it—time for another healthy dose of HOT deals courtesy of LogicBuy. On tap for you all this morning, we have a great deal on an Apple TV, an Acer 23” monitor, a 50” Panasonic HDTV for just over 500 bucks, a Micro Gear remote control helicopter, and a Core i7-powered...

Texting and driving, even tweeting and driving, or just-about-to-fall-asleep and driving -- either way, it's a big problem. Tobii Technology knows it, and this week they're introducing a new platform for drowsiness and distraction detection in driver safety systems. The platform, based on Tobii's advanced eye tracking technology, provides...

You know, sometimes, even pastel hues and neons galore aren't wild enough. Every so often, you just need a dragon tattoo to keep things interesting. That's what's being publicized by Microsoft, as they're celebrating the 2012 Chinese New Year in style with three Limited Edition mice from Microsoft designed exclusively for the Year of the Dragon....

Great things have long since come in small packages, particularly in the case of computers and storage. Samsung is stretching the boundaries once more with their new high-performance mSATA SSDs for ultra-slim notebooks. Not surprisingly, these are tailor made for Ultrabook PCs, and with the proliferation of those, we suspect they'll be moving...

It sometimes rolls this way.  One of the most hotly anticipated product launches of the year and, you guessed it, the prized package drops on your doorstep for testing and evaluation literally hours before the official launch hits.  Have we had nearly enough time with this sleek little minx?  Absolutely not.  But when the...