DIY How-To Reviews And Demos
Anyone with a screwdriver, some zip-ties and a little bit of know-how can build a PC these days. However, you also might want to know what's going on under the hood of that hot new laptop, or even how to build your own NES Classic console or Amiga PC with something as simple as a Raspberry Pi. This channel my geek friend is for you.
There are generally two types of iterative processes that manufacturers go through with respect to product development and refinement; there are feature and performance enhancements that result from market feedback and there are enhancements as a result of technology advancements and cost reduction (or both combined). When it launched...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
We're fortunate enough to get hands-on time with some pretty sexy hardware here at HH and we're not going to make any apologies for using the "s word" as it relates to this hot new notebook from Asus. Though some industry pundits might take issue with us describing this machine as "sexy," you'd have to agree this 12-inch slice of aluminum...
Read more...
Half-baked. That would describe the large majority of Android-based tablets we've seen come through our test labs here at HotHardware thus far. Even Motorola's Xoom, though infused with Google's latest Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) release, felt like it could use a bit of polish in spots, though most of the refinement wouldn't need to come...
Read more...
Although Home Theater PCs have been around for quite some time, they are still somewhat tough to define. For some, the term HTPC conjures up images of an ultra small form factor, low-power system that will be used for nothing more than accessing multimedia files. But for others an HTPC is more akin to a hardcore piece of A/V and entertainment...
Read more...
The Asus Eee Pad Transformer tablet is one of the more interesting Android tablets on the market in that it has a keyboard docking station that essentially allows it to convert to an Android 3.0 Honeycomb-based netbook on the fly. Add to that a powerful dual core 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and a reasonable MSRP of $399 (just the tablet,...
Read more...
With the dust having settled on Intel's staggered Sandy Bridge launch and the early chipset issues having been ironed out, we're finally starting to see PC makers come out with builds based on the Santa Clara chip maker's second generation Core architecture. And if there's a platform ideally suited to showcase what Sandy Bridge is capable...
Read more...
With the early 2011 refresh of the MacBook Pro family, Apple came out with both guns blazing. Not only is the entire lineup now powered by Intel’s second generation Core i5 and i7 mobile processors (commonly known by its codename, Sandy Bridge), but the new MacBook Pros also feature the brand-new Thunderbolt I/O technology (the official...
Read more...
Apple decided to refresh their MacBook Air lineup this year, but rather than simply upgrading the existing machine with a new CPU, GPU or Blu-ray drive, Apple introduced some entirely new pieces of hardware with the new 11" and 13" MacBook Airs. While the 11" machine is certainly intriguing, and a compelling addition to the...
Read more...
In early September, Steve Jobs took to the stage and unveiled the new-and-improved Apple TV. What was once considered a “hobby” device was reworked, streamlined, made more affordable, and aimed squarely at the masses. It enters an increasingly crowded market of devices that offer near-instant access to libraries of recent movies...
Read more...
It was this month last year that Apple launched the iPhone 3GS. Records were broken in terms of sales, and overall demand looked like it couldn't possibly be higher. It was Apple's third iPhone, and the 3GS was arguably the least impressive upgrade to date. The iPhone 3G was a drastic improvement over the original iPhone; it added 3G support,...
Read more...
At the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, back in early January of this year, we showcased a myriad of upcoming products in our coverage of the event and the announcements being made. Of the literally thousands of items we saw at CES, however, we'd consider only a handful of them to be truly stand-out products. One of those geek-lust worthy...
Read more...
Synopsis: The 13" Macbook Pro features Apple's uni-body enclosure that is carved from a solid block of aluminum for added durability. The machine also features a LED-backlit screen with a higher color gamut than most notebooks, a backlit keyboard, and a 7 hour battery that actually lasts about 7 hours, which reaffirms Apple's reputation...
Read more...
Synopsis: The M17x is Alienware's current flagship gaming notebook. It features an anodized aluminum shell that is available in a variety of colors, including silver, black, and red, and its 17" LCD sports a covering comprised of a single sheet of glass, that runs from edge-to-edge. The M17x also features 'BinaryGFX' technology which gives...
Read more...
Synopsis: The Eee Top ET1602 builds upon Asus' popular line of Eee-branded products by introducing an all-in-one desktop form factor, complete with a 15.6" touch screen. Like the Eee PC netbooks that preceded it, the Eee Top ET1602 is built around Intel's low-power Atom platform, with the 945 GSE chipset. Other features include an integrated...
Read more...
Synopsis: As Gaming Notebooks go, there are always going to be trade-offs to make and a balance to strike between performance, weight, and cost. The Asus G50Vt strikes a happy medium, weighing in at 7.5lbs and around $949 at retail outlets like Best Buy with higher-end SKUs online. Our system, powered by a Core 2 Duo P8400...
Read more...
Though this year's CES was unusually quiet in terms of attendance, and even a few exhibitors pulling no-shows, Asus had a plethora of new high tech gadget goodness on display, true to their usual form. We stopped by the booth and spent some time on a tour with David Ray, Vivian Lien, Brian Jang and Peter Clark...
Read more...
Synopsis: AMD's "Maui" home theater PC platform consists of a combination of AMD hardware and software. Systems built around the platform feature an energy efficient Phenom or Athlon processor, ATI Radeon graphics, ATI TV tuners, and AMD LIVE! software elements. The current foundation of the platform is MSI's somewhat unique...
Read more...
Welcome to HotHardware's new Video Spotlight channel. In this new HotHardware content section, we'll be offering quick-take product overviews of select feature products of the month. You'll still always have the full, detailed HotHardware print article for reference of course as well.We hope our new...
Read more...
