HP releases Android kernel for TouchPad, makes hackers’ lives easier originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with HP

Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with HP originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you thought HP would take a break after announcing seven all-in-ones last fall, you’d be sadly mistaken: the company just trotted out the Omni 27, its first model with a 27-inch display. In addition to that 1080p (non-touch) screen, it rocks the same Easel design as all those models HP introduced a few months back, which is to say it tilts a relatively modest 25 degrees. Other specs include dual- and quad-core Intel processors, up to 2TB of storage and Beats Audio (duh), and an optional TV tuner, Blu-ray player and HDMI port (yes, HDMI is an add-on). Moving on to a different category entirely, HP also unveiled the Pavilion HPE Phoenix h9 — not its inaugural enthusiast tower, to be sure, but definitely the first to bear the consumer-y Pavilion name. Though the red accents and “armor-plated” design would suggest otherwise, HP’s quick to market this not as a gaming rig, but a prosumer machine. Whatever you want to call it, you’ll find specs worthy of power uses: a choice of Intel’s latest X79 processors or AMD’s eight-core chips, NVIDIA GTX 580 graphics and four DIMM slots capable of accommodating 16GB of RAM and up to three hard drives.

Whichever tickles your fancy, both come loaded with HP’s Magic Canvas software — aka, the UI that used to be called TouchSmart but has since been re-tooled to work even on non-touch machines. They’ll each be available January 8th, with the Omni 27 starting at $1,200 and the Phoenix h9 fetching $1,150 and up. Until then, we’ve got a mix of hands-on and press shots below, with a pair of promo videos waiting for just past the break.

Continue reading HP intros Omni 27 all-in-one, Pavilion HPE Phoenix h9 tower

HP intros Omni 27 all-in-one, Pavilion HPE Phoenix h9 tower originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Researcher brings modified Touchpad into the MRI room, breakthrough ensues originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 23:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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YouTube user BD594, also known as James Cochrane, is no stranger to pushing retro tech to its musical limits. Back in 2009 he coaxed a scanner, an Atari 800XL and a host of other antiquated gadgets to perform Bohemian Rhapsody. The results, while certainly enjoyable, were a tad tone deaf. Well, in the years since he’s tweaking his “musicians” and his orchestra has just issued its second single — an stunning rendition of House of the Rising Sun, in the style of the Animals. Seriously, this staple of ’60s high school rockstar wannabes is absolutely nailed by the assortment of hard drives, oscilloscopes and the scanner. Cochrane isn’t alone in his quest to turn obsolete tech into musical magic. Christopher Mitchell managed to hack a Ti graphing calculator and floppy-disk drive into a monophonic media player. While his accomplishment is impressive, he loses this round for wasting his skills on the saccharin stylings of Cold Play. Check out both videos after the break.

Continue reading Retro gadget orchestra nails House of the Rising Sun, puts your garage band to shame (video)

Retro gadget orchestra nails House of the Rising Sun, puts your garage band to shame (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s been plenty of speculation about what the future holds for HP and its Personal Systems Group — a group that CEO Leo Apotheker seemed intent to shed — but the crew now led by CEO Meg Whitman has just confirmed that division is staying home, where it belongs. Meg says the company “objectively evaluated” the idea of spinning PSG off but decided that keeping it in-house is “right for customers and partners, right for shareholders, and right for employees.” Or, maybe her reserve wasn’t met. Either way, the press release after the break goes on to confirm that the board believes PSG will continue to “drive profitable growth” in these challenging times. Maybe good ‘ol Leo was right when he said “You still need larger machines to handle heavy-duty tasks.” Heavy indeed.

Update: Oh, and in case you had any doubts, HP is actually going to use Windows 8 (when available) to make its tablets appealing. And now you know.

Continue reading HP will keep PC division, hope alive

HP will keep PC division, hope alive originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s looking like there’s a little shuffling happening at HP in the wake of the TouchPad‘s release — and its somewhat less than flattering reception. The company has announced that Stephen DeWitt will be taking the lead in HP’s webOS global business unit, while Jon Rubinstein will be taking over as Senior Vice President of Global Innovation for HP’s Personal Systems Group — DeWitt himself coming from PSG Americas. You’ll of course know Jon as the main cheerleader for webOS in the past, appearing on our Show back in March to show off the TouchPad and the Pre 3. Will Stephen manage the same enthusiasm in extolling the finger-friendly OS’s virtues, or will we instead be seeing more webOS printers? Let’s all hope for the former.

Update: DeWitt was previously the head PSG Americas, not the global Personal Systems Group. Stephen DiFranco will be taking over the role of SVP for PSG Americas.

Continue reading HP’s Stephen DeWitt to lead webOS global business unit, Jon Rubinstein stepping aside

HP’s Stephen DeWitt to lead webOS global business unit, Jon Rubinstein stepping aside originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know what’s inside the TouchPad and we know just what it’s like to live with the culmination of those parts, and now Isuppli is doing its best to figure out just what those individual components set HP back each time one rolls off the assembly line. According to that firm’s analysis, the grand cost to build a single $599.99 MSRP, 32GB TouchPad is $328. That’s but $12 more than the 16GB version, which of course retails for $100 less at $499.99. That $328 cost is quite comparable to a 32GB iPad 2, which tallies up at $326 in 3G form according to the source. In other words, HP seems to be maintaining similar margins to Apple, begging the question: can it afford to do so?

[Image credit: TechRepublic]

HP TouchPad parts analyzed, manufacturing cost similar to the iPad 2 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jul 2011 15:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When we reviewed the HP TouchPad we found it to feel a little hollow, as if it were rather more cavernous inside than the immediate competition. Now we’re getting to peek beneath the screen and, look at that, it’s “built more like a PC than an iPad” according to the screwdriver-meisters at TechRepublic. This means you can easily take the thing apart with just a Phillips screwdriver (and a little prying) should you wish. Or, you know, you can just look at the pictures on the other end of the source link and keep yours in one piece. They tend to work better that way.

HP TouchPad torn asunder, no palms found hiding within originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 08:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As things get older they tend to get bigger. It’s the same for people, corporations, models of cars, budget deficits… and so it is for webOS. As Palm was in the process of being subsumed its great mobile operating system was being eyed for much broader things, far bigger than the little phones it had previously been flashed on. Things like printers and desktops and laptops, but for its first proper foray outside of a phone it has a tall task: compete in the brutally viscous tablet space.

Its weapon is the TouchPad, a 9.7-inch tablet from HP that got official back in February and will be available July 1st (if you don’t manage to find it earlier) — $499.99 for the 16GB model, $599.99 for 32GB. That’s exactly on parity with the WiFi iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1, current kings of the tablet court. Does this plus-sized Palm progeny really have what it takes to hang at that price point, or is this just a chubby pretender that’s outgrown its britches? Read on to find out.

Continue reading HP TouchPad review

HP TouchPad review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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