HP recalls 6 million laptop power cords after reports of burns
Heads-up: if you’re holding on to an HP or Compaq laptop sold between September 2010 and June 2012, you may need to swap out its power cord. HP has recalled the cabling for about 6 million of these older portables (5.6 million of which reached the US) after 29 incidents where the cord either burned or melted. As is usually the case with these kinds of programs, you just have to prove that you’re using an affected system to get a free replacement. This certainly isn’t what you want to hear if you’re bringing one of these computers to school, but it beats losing your power cord to a fire in mid-semester.
Via: Reuters
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Archos Droid Book swings by the FCC
Android on a laptop isn’t necessarily a new concept. We’ve seen the Archos ArcBook, the Lenovo A10, and the HP Slatebook, and we may see another hit the shelves in the future to the tune of $170. Recent FCC filings suggest that perhaps a new model of the ArcBook will be launching soon, dubbed the Archos Droid Book.
Archos’ recent trademark on the “Droid Book” name and this FCC filling make quite a pair, pointing to the imminent release of this new 10-inch Android laptop. Whether the Droid Book will be a new addition to the ArcBook line or simply a standalone computer is unclear. We do, however, have some recently released specs from Archos regarding their next ArcBook laptop.
- Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
- 1.2 GHz Rockchip RK3168 ARM Cortex-A9 dual-core CPU
- 1GB of RAM
- 8GB of storage & microSD card reader
- 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel capacitive multitouch display
- 2 MicroUSB ports
- Stereo speakers and headset jack
- Webcam and mic
Android laptops certainly aren’t the biggest sellers, and who really knows if the line is a dying breed. We’re still happy to see Archos continue the support for this line of laptops.
Source: Liliputing
The post Archos Droid Book swings by the FCC appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Gadget Rewind 2007: ASUS Eee PC 4G
The ASUS Eee PC was launched in 2007 and while it had all the characteristics of a “netbook,” it arrived before the term had wormed its way into popular vocabulary. This species of compact computer — essentially miniaturized, internet-focused laptops — took the market by storm in the late 2000′s, but failed to have much staying power and ultimately faded from view. At the time, these stripped-down portables from Taiwan-based ASUS, filled a growing niche for people on the go. They offered just the essentials, while still managing to provide a surprisingly good bang-for-buck ratio. The Eee PC was aimed at users who rarely stepped beyond the bounds of basic web surfing and email, so it was easy for ASUS to trim the fat and offer a small, lightweight device. In fact, that undemanding demographic was the inspiration for its titular triple E’s: “Easy to learn, Easy to work and Easy to play.”
Beyond simplicity, the Eee PC’s portability and price were the keys to making it desirable. The 7-inch, 800 x 480 screen and two-pound weight made it far easier to cram in a bag or oversized pocket than its hefty, full-sized notebook counterparts. However, the cramped keyboard was definitely not built with large-pawed users in mind. Three models arrived in the first wave of Eee PCs, covering a variety of price points. The Eee PC 4G (701) landed squarely in the middle of the group, all of which ranged in price from $300 to $500 — sadly the rumored $200 model never surfaced. And before you get confused, the 4G stood for its 4GB SSD rather than mobile connectivity (2GB and 8GB versions were also in the lineup). To help offset the relatively skimpy drive sizes, ASUS bundled in 10GB of free cloud-based Eee Storage for the first year and a half.
As tablets, lightweight Ultrabooks and high-functioning smartphones arrived on the market, the Eee PC and other netbooks eventually faded from view, but ASUS still had weight and portability on the menu. Between its keyboard-packing Transformer Pad tablet series and the super-slim Zenbook line, the company managed to tackle two divergent formats, yet still provide quality specs in light, portable packages. Today, for those who still want that laptop experience, but don’t need all the expensive extras, the growing selection of Chromebooks definitely fits the bill and even manages to deliver on that $200 promise.
Did you own an ASUS Eee PC 4G? Add it to your Engadget profile as a device you had (or still have) and join the discussion to reminisce or share photos of your device with other like-minded gadget fans.
ARCHOS debuts ArcBook, a wallet friendly Android netbook
Archos has just announced its latest Android powered netbook for a very money-friendly price of $169! The netbook runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean out of the box and is preinstalled with Office Suite Pro 6, so you can edit all your Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and PDF files with ease.
The netbook looks promising offering access to all Google services, including the Play Store and also features 15GB of free Google Drive. Check out the spec list below!
Specs:
- 10.1-inch touchscreen display with 1024×600 resolution
- ARM Coretex A9 dual-core processor, 1.2 Ghz
- 1GB RAM
- 8GB Flash memory
- Front Camera
- 2 Built-in Speakers
- Wi-fi ready
- 2 USB 2.0 jacks
- 3.5mm audio jack
- MicroSD card reader
- Full Keyboard and touchpad
- 10 hours of battery life
No exact release date has been said, but Archos is saying sometime in June. Will you be snagging one up for $169? Could this be a Chromebook competitor?
Source: Archos
The post ARCHOS debuts ArcBook, a wallet friendly Android netbook appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Facebook scrapped last year’s redesign because your screen is too small
When Facebook scrapped the picture-heavy News Feed redesign from last spring in favor of a more conservative look, it briefly touched on screen size as a factor. As it turns out, displays played a more important role in the reversal than you might think. The company’s Julie Zhuo explains that the hyper-visual layout fell apart on netbooks and other small-screened PCs — you might only see one post at a time, and scrolling was a pain without the right mouse or trackpad. While the early 2013 feed would have boosted Facebook’s revenue, it wasn’t going to fly when the social network has to please hundreds of millions of users that seldom have access to big displays.
Filed under: Internet, Facebook
Source: Julie Zhuo (Medium)
Lenovo’s Flex 10 offers a flip-mode display on a $550 netbook-style body
Aging Busta Rhymes witticisms aside, this new Lenovo might just be a contender for anyone on the lookout for a versatile Windows 8.1 machine. The Flex 10 is a 10-inch version of the Flex 14 and 15 models we’ve already seen, with the same 1,366 x 7…
Hands on with the Dell Inspiron Duo Convertible Netbook
Our friends over at Laptop Mag have spent some time with Dell’s new convertible systems the Inspiron Duo. The Duo comes with a premium 320GB 7,200 rpm drive as well as a dual-core 1.5-GHz Intel Atom N550 CPU, 2GB of RAM, and Windows 7 home premium. That it also comes with a 1366 x 768 screen, and it’s a huge step up from low-end netbooks.
This netvertible is different then every other convertible netbook on the market since you spin the screen around that then rotate the whole lid left or right. So the screen screen not the lid is rotatable. This is an interesting design concept since it allows the device to use the firm hinges of a regular notebook. The biggest down side to this innovation is that the bezel is incredibly thick not only does it have a rubberized lid around the screen, but also some black padding on the screen itself. This form factor has always had one draw back and its the hinge however the rotating mechanism seems incredibly sturdy. No matter how many times they flipped it, the lid quickly slapped firmly into place. Read more 
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