The group reportedly took advantage of an Internet Explorer vulnerability that had been left unpatched by a Foxconn employee, pulling out sensitive information from the company’s servers and bundling it into a freely-available torrent. Other users were encouraged to access the servers using the disclosed passwords, which could reportedly be used to place fake orders with Foxconn under the names of its vendor partners like Apple, Microsoft, Intel and Dell.

“This is Swagg Security, we aim to to reshape your perspectives, our perspectives, by the inducing of entertainment. A unique approach to spreading a unique philosophy which brings the sought after tranquility. In a way we are “hacktivist”, but in our own views we are Greyhats. We believe there is no reality in hacktivism, even with good intentions. We know those who claim to be “hacktivists” that inside of you, a suppressed part of you, enjoys playing a part in the anarchist event of hacking of an infrastructure. One which at the same time presents a challenge, upon completing reveals an almost unknown feeling of a menacing satisfaction. We encourage not to continue quelling such a natural emotion but to embrace it. Only when embracing what society has taught you to hinder, is when you realize your own identity” Swagg Security statement

Although Foxconn has been in the headlines recently around allegations of worker abuse, with staff said to be underpaid and subject to arbitrary and unfair disciplinary procedures, the hackers claim not to be working on some moral crusade. “Although we are considerably disappointed of the conditions of Foxconn,” the group said, “we are not hacking a corporation for such a reason.”

The security breach is the latest in an increasing number of tech attacks in recent months, with hackers broaching company servers in chase of chaos, private information or even extortion. Earlier this week, Symantec’s Norton Antivirus code, among other data, was released into the wild after attempts to coax a $50,000 payment from the company failed.

[via 9 to 5 Mac]

The Xbox comparisons are hard to avoid. Just like Microsoft’s console, the X51 delivers a combination of slick matte- and gloss-finish plastic along with a decidedly stylized aesthetic that some will find appealing and others may consider simply over the top. Alienware goes the whole hog with illumination, too, slapping LEDs behind the fascia logo and the side grilles. These can be set to custom colors, or to change according to the current Windows app or even depending on the current gameplay. If you want the lighting to glow an ominous red when you’re under attack, you can have it.

Although Alienware has played up the small footprint of the X51, it’s worth remembering that these things are relative to the company’s humongous regular desktops. The X51 is no nettop, in fact it’s a fairly hefty unit, equal certainly to an Xbox 360. That allows it to accommodate not only an optical drive – Dell will outfit it with a DVD burner or a Blu-ray – but a discrete graphics card, your choice of NVIDIA’s GeForce GT 545 1GB graphics or GeForce GTX 555 1GB.

If you’re thinking of the Alienware X51 as a compact alternative to an HTPC set-top box, however, prepare to be surprised. Packing gaming-level processing power into a PC requires some space, and though Dell’s minimum specification starts out with an Intel Core i3 processor, it’s no surprise that the company expects the Core i5 and i7 options to be more popular.

In short, this is quite the compromise in comparison to your regular, dedicated console. The Alienware X51 is roughly akin to the 360 in size, but it kicks off at around twice the price and, arguably, is capable of twice as much functionality. That power and flexibility comes with a price tag to match, and you lose the plug-and-play ease of a dedicated console. Look out for the full Alienware X51 review very soon.

For the first laptop in this list, the M17X R4, there will be options for how pumped up you’d like your interior to be. GPU options include two NVIDIA options: GeForce VTX 660M or GeForce GTX 675M, and one AMD Radeon 7970M. As for the R2 units, the first one M14X R2 will feature a GPU coming as part of the motherboard, and options including 1GB and 2GB right out of the box. On the M18X R2 the only detail known at the moment is the option for a red or black exterior.

Of course according to That 70′s Show if you’re an average shopper looking for a refrigerator, color is your most important feature – so perhaps that’s all we need! We will keep looking out for future options of course, and we expect them to be dropped sooner than later. Meanwhile check out our current favorite playing a bit of the ol’ Gotham City as well as the newest news on Alienware’s other options out already:

[via Dell News and More]

Fast, small PCs aren’t especially new, though it’s only now that processor and graphics technology has caught up that SFF models can hold a candle to the bulky PC gaming rigs of old. Sony and Microsoft fettle their dedicated consoles to pretty much a single purpose, delivering optimum gaming performance from a device that has to work as an predictable appliance; it also means their abilities are pretty much unchanged since their hardware was first announced. The X51, in its high-spec’d form at least, is likely to be capable of better graphics and handling more intensive games.

The tipping point will come when Windows 8 arrives. Microsoft has already said that it plans to support Xbox LIVE on Windows 8 PCs, hooking platform-specific as well as other titles into the social and ranking system. “Live has been successful on the Windows Phone. Live will be built into the PC” Microsoft’s VP of global marketing Mike Delman said back in June 2011. “It will be the service where you get your entertainment. We were talking about it – you will not just see consoles and handhelds at this show next year, this show’s going to morph into other devices.”

Now Microsoft’s not stupid. It knows it has a perfectly serviceable console platform in Xbox, and the likelihood of it doing anything that legitimately threatens the Xbox 360′s rising appeal – or the potential success of the next-gen Xbox – is low. Still, there are a lot of people out there who might not buy a dedicated console but could be swayed to pick up a compact box that delivers not only gaming but HTPC functionality.

That blurring of the distinctions between console and computer – and, indeed, phone – all fit in with something the company has referred to as “three screens and a cloud”; gaming, desktop and mobile platforms all interlinked, your entertainment following you on the most appropriate device at any one time. Microsoft has also been readying its Kinect for Windows kit recently, promising a February launch for developers at least. Still, when the motion-sensing bar makes it to broad availability – we’re guessing at around the time Windows 8 hits PCs later in 2012 – it will bulldoze through another differentiator between 360 and the desktop.

Pricing will remain the big differentiator, at least for the moment. The X51 kicks off at $699, though that’s with a Core i3 processor; figure on spending $1,149 upwards if you want a Core i7 chip instead, and we’ve a feeling most hardcore gamers will. That’s enough to buy six Xbox 360 consoles with spare change left over, or one console, a Kinect and a whole catalog of games.

Still, consoles as we know them are gradually being squeezed, with capable and compact PCs at one side and the rise of casual gaming on affordable Smart TV set-top boxes at the other. Just as has been the case in mobile, with dedicated portable consoles losing out in favor to gaming smartphones and PMPs like Apple’s iPod touch, the center of our living room entertainment is also evolving. Alienware’s X51 isn’t going to kill the Xbox 360 and PS3 today, but it’s further evidence the old guard of gaming needs to step it up if they want to remain relevant tomorrow.

The company even finds room to slot in a DVD burner, with a Blu-ray drive as an option. Storage is courtesy of a 1TB 7,200rpm HDD, and there’s room on the Mini-ITX motherboard for up to 8GB of DDR3 memory.

Connectivity includes gigabit ethernet along with WiFi a/b/g/n, six USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, audio in/out, HDMI 1.4, a pair of digital audio ports (optical and coax) and standard analog audio. The dinky desktop is supplied with a 250W PSU as standard, but those keen to overclock the X51 can specify a 330W PSU instead.

Vertical or horizontal positioning is supported, and unlike many SFF chassis there’s the promise of easy access to the guts of the system for upgrades and general tinkering. The traditional Alienware lighting is present too, with customizable zones, and the Alienware Command Center app is preinstalled to handle power management and other performance aspects.

The Alienware X51 is available direct from Dell now, priced from $699. That gets you a Core i3 chip and 4GB of memory.

The Air stunned users and wallets in equal measure in its first generation, but after its 2010 redesign – and with its significantly reduced price tag – it quickly became the ultraportable to beat. What started as an underpowered and overpriced novelty developed into a legitimate mobile companion, with enough grunt to do some light photo and video editing while not over-stressing your rucksack.

Now, I’m not saying Apple got everything right with the MacBook Air. Battery life from the notebook struggles to achieve Apple’s lofty claims, in my experience, and the company’s refusal to adopt USB 3.0 – plumping instead for Thunderbolt – would be a lot easier to stomach if there were more than a couple of accessories around to actually use the port.

But one of the big things the Air has going for it is that it did the ultrabook thing first. Apple may not use the term, and Intel tends to get evasive when asked whether it considers the smallest MacBook to fall into the category, but it’s inevitably become the benchmark for PC rivals.

Unfortunately most of them appear to have fallen into the obvious trap: make a Windows-based Air. Slimline dimensions, tapered edges, chiclet keyboards… Apple didn’t invent any of them, but glance at most of the aluminum-bodied ultrabooks launched this past week and it’s tough not to mentally compare it to the Air’s fifteen month old design.

Thinking differently was tough to find. Dell’s XPS 13 may have been comparatively late to the ultrabook market, but it at least threw some carbon-fiber at the design and made a good argument for it being there. The company has been able to use decent strength Core i7 processors, Dell claims, as carbon-fiber is better at shedding heat than aluminum is.

Slick, samey hardware alone isn’t enough, however. Part of the Air’s appeal is that only Apple’s machines get OS X: if you want the software, you have to buy the hardware. Windows machines don’t have the same advantage, and right now they’re generally all taking the same route: make an Air clone of some description and shout as loudly as possible

I’d love to see more competition in the ultraportable segment, but creating copy’n'paste Apple clones isn’t the way to do it. Rather than aping the MacBook Air, PC vendors need to focus on finding their own unique identify. Give me a reason to really, really want your product, rather than offering me photofit Windows alternative in the hope I’m not enamored of OS X.

As is so often the case, the really unique designs were mere concepts – Intel’s own Nikiski, for instance, with its full-width transparent touchpad – at least trying something different, something dots Apple hasn’t yet joined up. Nikiski is interesting not so much for its eye-catching hardware, but for the use possibilities it opens up when you consider Intel’s other ultrabook technologies. For instance, how will day-long battery life and a visible-when-closed display work with Intel SmartConnect, which periodically wakes your notebook and refreshes your email, Twitter, Facebook and other messages?

Perhaps it’s expecting too much for manufacturers to address such questions today, though they’ve had years to rise to the challenge Apple represents. With fading PC sales – while MacBooks fly out of Apple Stores – time is running short to impress a gimmick-weary, cash-wary public. Based on what we’ve seen at CES this week, I’m still not convinced this latest litter of ultrabooks will be enough.

Convinced by Ultrabooks? Holding out for a MacBook Air instead? Let us know in the SlashGear poll:

[poll id="24"]

HP experienced the greatest decline in US PC shipments, dropping 26.1 percent, followed by Acer with an 11.4 percent drop, Dell with 4.5 percent, and Toshiba with 2.2 percent. Overall, the US saw negative 5.9 percent growth based on data taken from the fourth quarters of 2010 and 2011. Despite this, HP maintained its number one spot with over 4 million in shipments followed by Dell and then Apple in third.

The worldwide PC shipment drop of 1.4 percent included a 16.2 percent decline from HP and an 18.4 percent decline from Acer. Lenovo and Asus rose with 23 percent and 20.5 percent, respectively, while Dell managed a 7.8 percent increase. Once again, HP retained the top spot.

Ultrabooks quietly crept in during the fourth quarter of 2011, but didn’t make much of an impact on PC sales. However, with the abundance of new ultrabooks popping up at this weeks CES show, 2012 will likely be a big year for this new crop of MacBook Air-inspired notebooks. However, Gartner expects PC shipments to be temporarily lowered in the first half of 2012 due to HDD shortages caused by the October 2011 floods in Thailand.

Lenovo and LG opened proceedings, unable in their excitement to even wait for the CES preview days to spill the beans on the Lenovo ThinkPad T430u and LG Super Ultrabook Z330/Z430. Lenovo has been pushing ultrathin notebooks for years now, but with the T430u it shaves just enough off to fit into Intel’s sub-20mm category.

It’s likely to appeal more to road warriors counting on their IT departments to furnish their computing kit, perhaps, unlike the more consumer-centric LG Z330 and LG Z430. They offer the full gamut of Core i3, i5 and i7 processors and either 13.3- or 14-inch displays, and use a hybrid SSD/HDD setup to provide both rapid boot/resume times and capacious media storage.

So far so good, but LG’s machines were somewhat forgotten when Acer unveiled its waifish Aspire S5. A slimline mag-alloy chassis that tapers to a razor edge at the front, Acer’s machine has some neat design touches like the drop down full-width port panel on the back. Never one to shy away from spectacle, the whole process is motorized.

Acer in fact had more than one ultrabook to show, with the Aspire Timeline Ultra series stretching the category at the fringes. Larger displays and even integrated optical drives mean they’re not quite the ultrabook Intel intended, but perhaps better considered a hybrid of ultraportable and regular notebook.

HP hasn’t been shy about ultrabooks in the past, though it’s arguable whether the 14-inch HP ENVY 14 Spectre quite counts. Still, with a choice of Core i5 or i7 processors, both HDMI and Mini DisplayPort video outputs, Beats Audio and a sub-$1,400 starting price, there’s no shortage of things to like.

Samsung already had an ultrabook-a-like in its back catalog, and so the Samsung Series 9 merely refined the proposition in its second generation. Clad in an eye-catching “stone metal” finish, it’s under half an inch thick and short of 2.5lbs, yet still manages to pack backlit keys.

It’s joined by the Samsung Series 5, a 15-inch almost-ultrabook in the same manner as the Acer Timeline Ultra. The LED display is a particular stand-out feature, managing to look clear, vivid and crisp even in dodgy trade-show lighting, and its sub-$1,400 tag will undercut the Series 9 too.

So far so good, but Dell through a spanner in its rivals’ works with the late launch of the Dell XPS 13. The company’s first ultrabook – though a machine with ultraportable heritage in the shape of the Adamo, among others – the XPS 13 turns to carbon-fiber for part of its construction, allowing Dell to fit a hefty Core i7 processor inside without worrying about overheating. “It’s the world’s best ultrabook” Dell insisted to us.

Then there’s the ultrabook pipeline, and both Toshiba and Intel stepped up with possible products we could expect to see late in 2012. Toshiba‘s 14-inch prototype relied on Windows 8 for its appeal, though had a slickly curved aluminum casing so that you could still catch admiring glances in the coffee shop.

Intel, meanwhile, pushed the boat out with a sliding, tilting concept that packs a 12- to 13-inch display – potentially a touchscreen – with a full QWERTY ‘board and the flexibility to use it either flat when walking around or notebook-style on a desk. Intel is hoping its OEM partners decide to adopt the design for future models, probably when Windows 8 brings its finger-friendliness to market later in the year.

Most eye-catching, though, had to be Intel’s Nikiski concept, an ultrabook packing a transparent, full-width trackpad that could be used as a preview display when the notebook was closed. Sadly the likelihood of the Nikiski reaching the market is around about zero.

Of course there’s another big name in ultrabooks, even if the company itself isn’t calling its ultraportable that. Apple‘s MacBook Air arguably helped shape each and every one of the machines mentioned above, and stands as the notebook to beat in the extreme-ultraportable segment.

Last refreshed in July 2011, with new Core i5 and i7 processors along with Thunderbolt connectivity – still only matched by the ASUS Aspire S5 this week – rumors late last year suggested Apple was already looking to bring out an updated model sometime in Q1. That’s likely to set the cat among the pigeons once again.

Convinced by Ultrabooks? Standing by with credit card in hand? Let us know in the SlashGear poll:

[poll id="24"]

Reuters reports that the Streak tablets were business focused and the new tablet will be consumer focused. I never thought of the Streak as a business focused tablet as much as a tablet that just wasn’t as good as its peers in many aspects. Dell isn’t offering up great detail at this point, but says that it will continue to develop Android.

All of the Streak tablets were Android devices. Dell does note that it “likes” Windows 8 too. Undoubtedly, we will see a number of Windows tablets from Dell later this year. The question is how Dell will position its tablet in price. I think if more tablet makers were familiar with the boxing mantra “You can’t tie the champ, you have to knock him out” they would do better in tablets. If you offer iPad performance at an iPad price, people will just buy the iPad.

[via Reuters]

The XPS 13 isn’t Dell’s first ultraportable notebook but, as Tim Peters – CSMB Client Business Strategy and Planning at Dell, pointed out to us, previous models have had more than their share of compromises. “Adamo… beautiful thin, but no substance. Two thousand dollars! We had XPS which we had to crowbar in the technology, very chunky.”

“We looked at XPS and a key trend of consumerization of IT … You had a consumer that wanted aesthetic appeal, premium design, craftsmanship and a lightweight design, and Apple’s MacBook Air came and in really hit that hard. They always wanted the instant-on, accessible data and location-aware of a device like a tablet. Then they also wanted horsepower and substance: I don’t want to compromise on taking a Core i3 only, I want something real to be productive. And, I’d like to be able to use this as my personal device, and the only way an IT manager would allow that to happen is that if it’s data-secure.”

The display is a 13.3-inch 1366 x 768 panel running at 300-nits, and covered in a sheet of edge-to-edge Gorilla Glass, powered by Intel HD 3000 graphics. Above is a 1.3-megapixel webcam and dual-array digital microphone. Connectivity includes WiFi a/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0, a single USB 3.0 and USB 2.0, mini DisplayPort and a headset jack. Unlike some rival ultrabooks, Dell has managed to squeeze in a full-sized backlit keyboard.

“We started our development a year and half ago,” Peters explained, “it’s taken us a lot of time – in fact we’re the last ones to come out with an ultrabook – because we were crafting something a level above in terms of innovation.” Although Dell obviously had other ultrabooks in mind when it designed the XPS 13, Apple’s MacBook Air has obviously also been a consideration. The new Dell’s display actually offers a similar viewing area to that of the 13-inch Air, but in a 15-percent smaller device.

Rather than solely rely on aluminum, like Apple, HP and others, Dell turned to carbon-fiber for the XPS 13′s base. “Carbon-fiber has two functional performance benefits,” the company says, “it dissipates the heat better – it’s cooler on the lap and in the hands – and it’s lighter.” That improvement in heat management has meant Dell can slot in up to Core i7 chips without worrying about overheating. In fact, Dell mentioned that the company’s engineers are actually working on a fanless version, though there’s no telling when that might arrive.

Hands-on, it feels impressively light and thin. The keyboard is nicely spaced and the keys themselves have reasonable travel given the limits of the keytray. There are plenty of neat details, like the battery gage on the side, while Dell tells us that the machined aluminum lid saves even more weight compared to some rival’s punched-aluminum production. The speakers are embedded underneath the keyboard, creating a surprisingly loud and clear soundstage, though unsurprisingly they lack some bass.

LIke other ultrabooks, the XPS 13 has Intel Rapid Start for boot times of around 5s, and instant-on resume from standby. However, Dell also implemented Intel SmartConnect, which periodically wakes the ultrabook to check calendar, email, social networking accounts and other data so that you’re up to date as soon as you open the lid. There’s also location-awareness, setting up apps for nearby restaurants, ATMs and other POIs with your current position.

Enterprise customers get Dell’s usual array of custom imaging and BIOS settings, along with asset tagging and BitLocker data encryption with TPM. There’s also ProSupport, with Dell Command Center support for speedy repairs and replacements. As for all the labels and stickers most Windows laptops are plastered in, on the new XPS they’re hidden away out of sight.

Dell expects the Core i5 version of the XPS 13 – with 4GB of memory and a 128GB SSD – to start at under $1,000 when the ultrabook ships in February. Final pricing will be decided just prior to launch.

“It’s the world’s best ultrabook” Peters concluded, “the smallest, the most powerful, the most aesthetically pleasing, the best to touch, the best at being enterprise-ready… the best of any product out there.” We’ll have to wait until we can put the XPS 13 through its paces in the full SlashGear review to find out whether we feel the same.

The video showed a geek called DJ_Steve running an unofficial ICS ROM on the Streak 7. The tweet reply specifically stated there are no plans for an official ICS build. This week Dell did offer up an official Gingerbread update for the Streak 5 tablet.

It’s interesting that the Streak 5 is also no longer sold in the US yet an official update has been offered. I guess the Streak 7 won’t be getting the same love. The update file for the Streak 5 is 155MB. If you apply the update to your Streak 5 let us know how it works out for you.

[via Streaksmart]

Baidu-Yi was developed especially by Baidu for domestic Chinese smartphones, built on top of Android but replacing much of the original Google software with the network’s own alternatives. There’s Ting music, Baidu Maps instead of Google Maps, the Baidu Yue ereader, and – perhaps most importantly – Google search has been stripped out and replaced with Baidu search.

That adds up to a device that’s far more focused and suited to the sort of use Chinese customers might be intending, even though it’s not – in its current form at least – ready for primetime outside of the country. Still, slapping a regular version of Android onto the smartphone shouldn’t present Dell with too many difficulties.

The Dell Streak Pro will go on sale “soon” on China Unicom, pricing yet to be confirmed.

Business buyers hoping for a netbook can still find the Latitude 2120 for sale, though with prices starting from $469 they’re unlikely to find much favor among general consumers. Better, then, to wait for what Dell has up its sleeve next; the company confirmed to The Verge that its general netbook days were over and Intel’s Cedar Trail chips wouldn’t change that.

Instead, “thin and powerful is where it is at for us” Dell marketing director Alison Gardner told the site, with models in the vein of the XPS 14z being the direction the PC company is looking to. Dell’s first ultrabooks are expected to show up in Q1 2012, meaning a CES reveal in early January is likely.

Many have suggested that netbooks will be killed off by the growing tablet segment, though Dell has also taken a knife to its tablet range too. Although it claims the Dell Inspiron Duo - currently listed as unavailable – is merely temporarily out of stock and still selling well, it recently axed its Streak 7 tablet. Instead, the company supposedly plans to focus on Windows 8 for future tablets.

Easy access to the internal components is a given, with the whole side-panel slotting off easily. Four hard-drive bays side side-on, with a choice of HDD or SSD storage, while there’s room for two extra 5.25-inch drives up-front alongside the standard optical drive. LED lighting means not only does the Aurora look good in the dark, but it’s easy to see what you’re poking at when working on the insides.

An Intel factory overclock, optional 3D graphics and multi-display support, and tool-free component fittings round out the key points. The Alienware Aurora R4 is priced from $2,199, and will go on sale through Dell today.

Update: More specs and a UK price – from £1,999 – now added:

• 2nd Generation 3000 series Intel Core i7 Six Core Processor Options
• New Intel X79 Express Chipset with Unlocked BIOS for Overclocking1
• Single and Dual Graphics Options:
• - 1GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 68702
• - 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 69502
• - 1.25GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti2
• - 1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 5802
• - Dual 1GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6870 – AMD CrossFireX2
• - Dual 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6950 – AMD CrossFireX2
• 8GB or 16GB Quad Channel 1600MHz DDR3 Memory Options2
• Fast 7,200RPM Hard Drive Options up to 2TB; 256GB and 512GB SSD Options4
• Single and Dual Optical Drive Options; Including Blu-ray Disc Reader and Burner
• High Quality Audio Options:
• - Internal High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio with Waves MAXX Audio Software (Standard)
• - Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio (Optional)
• - Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium (Optional)
• System Dimensions: height: 16.77” (426mm), depth: 25.39” (645mm), width: 9.85” (250mm); weight: starting at 45lbs (20.41kg)

Dell didn’t offer an official statement on the tablet being discontinued or anything seemingly official to fans of the tablet. It apparently simply removed the listings from its website and left the former Streak 7 page with a note saying that the Streak 7 was no longer available online.

With online being spelled out, it would seem whatever inventory is left will only be available in some stores, but even that isn’t specified. The Streak 7 had a very short life only hitting the market in January 2011. T-Mobile has a 4G version of the tablet, I’d bet that version is pretty much the only one left to find if you want one.

[via StreakSmart]

Starting immediately, you can pick up the second generation Seagate Momentus XT solid state hybrid drive at Memory Express, NCIX, Newegg, Canada Computers, CDW, and TigerDirect for $245 MSRP. Inside you’ll find that your Serial ATA 6Gb/second interface and 8 gigabytes of Single Level Cell NAND flash both double the NAND and interface read-write speeds of the previous generation Seagate drive, and a design which makes for a simple upgrade for any compatible laptop or desktop computer.

It’s Seagate’s Adaptive Memory and FAST Factory technologies that make this drive the real masterpiece in Seagate’s line of drives. FAST Factory technology take the strengths of hard disk drives and SSDs and combines them for quicker bootup, higher system speed, and faster access to all applications on your computer. Adaptive Memory works with you, the user, to learn your work patterns and move your most frequently retrieved information to solid state memory for fast access.

Have a look here at the Momentus XT 750GB SSHD working on a 13-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.7 GHz i7 processor and 4 GB of RAM running OS X Lion 10.7. You’ll see three different drives running here in a simple working test: a stock 5400 RPM HDD, a stock Apple SSD, and the new Momentus XT.

Next see a test of a Dell 15z complete with a 2.3GHz i5 processor, 6GB of RAM, and Windows 7 Professional. The test drives here are a stock Dell 7200 RPM HDD, an Intel 320 series SSD, and the new Momentus XT.

Finally see a Dell Optiplex 980 running a 2.6GHz Intel Pentium processor, 1GB or RAM, and Windows 7 Professional, with the two test drives being the new Momentus XT and a WD Velociraptor 10K HDD. Just like the other tests, you’ll find the Seagate contender to be most impressive.

Let us know what you think of this new drive, if you’ll pick one up, and if you think everyone else should (or shouldn’t) as well!

The two notebooks don’t seem to have been announced before. They’re dubbed Dalmore 15 and Dalmore 14 with model numbers P19F and P25G. The FCC diagrams reveal that the backside of the notebooks are about as thick as an Ethernet port, which pegs them at about 15 to 20mm thick. In addition to the Ethernet port, they also feature HDMI, a mini-dsiplay port, as well as a couple USB ports. A SATA Flash label on the notebook reveals that it will use SSD.

The frame of the notebooks also feature an interesting design that isn’t seen in any of Dell’s current models, suggesting that this could be part of a completely new line. The backside is flat but then angles slightly at the corners reminiscent of the angular corner design we’ve seen on the Motorola XOOM 2 tablet.

[via Wireless Goodness]

Resolution is a roomy 1366 x 768 on the small screen, and the tablet runs on a1.5GHz Atom Z670: economical, if not particularly brawny. 2GB of DDR2 RAM is about the minimum needed to run Windows 7 effectively, but an SSD that maxes out at 128 gigabytes should make for some speedy boot-ups and load times. WiFi comes standard, and Dell says that they’ll release a 3G version at some point. Dell is claiming 8 hours of battery life, and the tablet has dual front and rear cameras. Dock and keyboard accessories will launch with the tablet, and expandability comes in the form of USB, SD and HDMI ports. An upgrade to the tablet-friendly Windows 8 isn’t currently in the cards, though the company says that it will release Windows 8 tablets at some point.

Business users are the target market here, and while the ST will be made available to consumers, it comes pre-loaded with software to put a twinkle in the eye of your friendly neighborhood IT manager. Compatibility with VMware and Citrix virtualization is included, as is remote management software. The Latitude ST goes on sale November 1st. Dell didn’t mention a price, but considering HP’s Slate 500 tablet competes in the same (small) market, expect an MSRP below $1000.

For an official look at the ST in action, check out Dell’s video below:

[via PC World]

There’s also a choice of up to 750GB 7,200rpm hard-drives or a 256GB SSD, along with WiFi a/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0. Intel WiDi is supports, along with up to six hours and 49 minutes of runtime with the 8-cell battery. That’s all in something that measures a compact 0.9 x 13.19 x 9.21 inches and weighs 4.36 pounds, made from anodized aluminum and magnesium alloy.

The XPS 14z follows its 15-inch sibling, the XPS 15z, which itself offered the sort of display size you’d expect on a larger notebook in a slick aluminum chassis. In the US the Dell XPS 14z will be priced from $999, while in the UK it will be priced from £799.

That docking station shoots the video out to a larger screen to make working more comfortable. The docking station also appears to support a keyboard and mouse. The tablet has a USB port for accessories and a memory card reader. The video also touts the tablets ability to connect to projectors and wireless networks. The tablet also has front and rear cameras.

Another part of the video shows the tablet in an education environment where kids are able to draw on the tablet with a finger or a stylus. The tablet has security features like remote hard drive wipe, and it supports Microsoft Bitlocker and is Kensington Lock compatible. The Latitude ST is also aimed at the medical realm with data protection for sensitive patient data. The tablet also packs in a HDMI output. The pricing and availability details are not available at this time.

[via Netbooknews]

As for Google’s tablet strategy, Dell held off from dismissing Android as a failure in slates but did voice some concerns about growth. “Android is certainly another opportunity as well,” he conceded, “but that market has not developed to the expectations they would have had.”

Part of Windows 8′s charm for Dell is the potential ecosystem it allows. “Within the $3 trillion industry that we’re in, the consumer business is worth $250bn” the CEO pointed out, going on to suggest that the company’s attention is “on providing a complete set of solutions to customers, including the device, but we’re not really focused on the device.”

That seemingly means giving enterprise users what they want, namely products that fit in with existing server infrastructure and software investments, which Windows 8 will do better at than Android. As for mobile devices, like the Dell Streak tablet line-up, “we launched a series of products and they’ve sold, but we launched them all in small volumes to see customer reaction and behavior” Dell consumer, small and medium business chief Steve Felice clarified.

Nonetheless, caution around Android doesn’t necessarily mean success for Windows Phone. Earlier this month word leaked that Dell had cancelled plans for a WP7 Mango handset and had no plans for new devices running Microsoft’s smartphone OS, at least at the present time.

According to WpCentral, a higher up at Dell has confirmed that the company no longer plans to release the Wrigley and that it will not be offering any Mango devices from this year through 2012. However, support for the Dell Venue Pro will continue and the company may return for Windows Phone 8 Apollo.

Dell has not made any official announcements regarding its future plans for Windows Phone devices, but it has confirmed that existing unlocked Dell Venue Pro handsets on T-Mobile will be upgraded to Mango. But there’s no information yet regarding Mango updates for AT&T’s locked version.

The AIO also has an integrated HD resolution camera, touch support with touch apps, and onboard JBL speakers. The AIO can be had with Core i5-2400S or Core i7-2600S processors. It uses Windows 7 64-bit and can have up to 8GB of RAM. Storage is up to 2000GB and the machine can be fitted with an optional Blu-ray drive.

The computer gets Intel integrated HD graphics as standard and can be fitted with an optional discrete GeForce GT 525M video card. The computer also has an integrated Ethernet port and integrated WiFi. The base system is $949.99, the next system up is $1249.99, and the high-end configuration is $1399.99.

“That’s a decision I’d like to make … certainly by the end of October” Whitman said, though later clarified that it was possible the process “may slip a little bit.” Nonetheless, she insisted that the evaluation was “certainly much more accelerated” than under Apotheker.

Earlier this month, HP told us that it expected to have a decision on the spin-off before the end of the year, though warned that even if separating the computer hardware business was the eventual plan, implementing it could take 12-18 months.

Whitman would give no indication which way HP was leaning, but said that she was “open minded” on the potential split. Meanwhile, HP’s decision has curried some unrequested input from an unlikely source: Dell CEO Michael Dell. Also speaking this week – though not at the Most Powerful Women Summit – Dell suggested that “there are many reasons to stay committed [to a hardware business]” Bits reports, notably the market dominance of PCs. Stepping away from that to focus on enterprise hardware like servers and storage appliances would potentially mean losing economies of scale, he warned. “Give up that scale” Dell argued, “and you need to raise your prices.”

As for HP – which was tipped to be readying its own Ultrabook last month, after adverts suggesting a model was incoming were spotted in among Google search results – details are similarly unclear, but ODM Quanta Computer is apparently readying production for the new ultraportable by the end of 2011. Meanwhile, Dell is reportedly looking to Wistron for its design.

That suggests both firms will trail ASUS, Toshiba, Lenovo and Acer into the market, with all three expected to launch their ultrabooks imminently. It could well be that HP and Dell have been holding out for Intel’s next-gen Cedar Trail processors, which are tipped to deliver longer battery life as well as other advanced features. Intel had originally hoped to have Cedar Trail on the market in time for the holidays, but that now looks to be over-ambitious, with an early 2012 release more likely.

The XPS 14z features a 14-inch display but has a thin bezel design that fits the display on a footprint traditionally for 13-inch laptops. It’s clearly aiming to compete against the 13-inch MacBook Pro and does weigh slightly less at 4.36lbs with a conventional hard drive and 4.12lbs with a solid-state drive.

Configuration options for the XPS 14z are similar to its bigger brother, the 15z, with a choice of either a 2.4GHz Core i5 or 2.8GHz Core i7 processor, dedicated NVIDIA Optimus graphics, and various hard drive selections. The laptop is launching in China today and should be available in the US in the next few weeks. Pricing has not been revealed yet.

[via Engadget]

There’s also the Sharp AQUOS 102SH, which has the same display and camera as the 104SH but pairs it with a 1GHz dual-core and Android 2.3 Gingerbread. That will drop in early December this year, complete with both CDMA and GSM connectivity for data speeds of up to 21Mbps downlink.

The Panasonic LUMIX 101P is the photographer’s phone, with a 13.2-megapixel camera packed inside an Android 2.3 handset. The display is a 4-inch qHD 960 x 540 panel, there’s IPX5/IPX7 ruggedness and all in something just 9.8mm thick. Japanese shutterbugs can expect it in mid-November.

Finally, there’s the Dell Streak Pro 101DL, and despite the Streak name implying it slots into the company’s tablet range, in fact it’s a big smartphone with a 4.3-inch qHD 960 x 540 Super AMOLED touchscreen, 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8260 processor, WiFi a/b/g/n and an 8-megapixel main camera. It’ll drop in January 2012.

No word on international availability for any of the new handsets, though that won’t stop us hoping.

[via Impress]

HP actually climbed a point itself, to 88, and is considerably higher than its Compaq brand-sibling, which brought up the rear in the ACSI ratings with a satisfaction score of just 75. Meanwhile, Dell, Acer, Toshiba, Lenovo and Sony all come in at 77, unchanged from 2010′s rankings.

The added glamor of tablets over and above more mundane PCs is one of the reasons for the stagnating computing scores, ACSI concludes. Apple has, with the iPad, handled that demand well, “spinning off technologies into entirely new directions” to dominate the slate segment. Whether that will change as Honeycomb tablets continue to emerge, and indeed as Windows 8 models arrive in 2012, remains to be seen.

The phones would apparently be branded with the Baidu name, which is one of the largest brands in the country. Dell hopes that the tie up with one of the largest brands in China will help jump start its ailing tablet and smartphone business. Some analysts don’t think the tie up will help Dell that much with one saying China is still Apple’s market and that this is just Dell “grasping at straws.”

Dell has offered no time line on when the devices will launch. However, Reuters reports that a Chinese outlet is saying the products could come as early as November. Dell and Baidu are already working together on a Baidu branded Streak 5 tablet in China. The Streak 5 was discontinued in the US last month after poor sales. Dell has had more success in China with its new products than in other countries so the tie up with Baidu is no surprise.

[via Reuters]

The 14z has SRS Premium Sound HD for better audio quality when you are watching movies or listening to your favorite music. Combined with the 1366 x 768 resolution screen the little notebook will make for a good entertainment PC that can work too. The 14z has Intel Wireless Display tech inside and it has an HDMI output so you can shoot video and other content out to a larger screen.

Dell uses the Windows 7 OS for the 14z line and the machine has on-processor graphics to help with battery life. The 14z will come in Diamond Black or Fire Red colors. It also has a USB 3.0 port, WiFi and an integrated memory card reader. Other hardware features include up to 8GB of RAM, up to 750GB of storage, and an internal tray-loading DVD drive that will burn CDs and DVDs as well. The notebook will ship later this month at Best Buy in the UK and will hit other locations in Europe and the UK later in the year.

“If HP spins off their PC business” he continued, “maybe they will call it Compaq?” Dell has adopted Google+ quickly, currently in the circles of almost 42,000 other users, where he posts a mixture of PR, brand hype, reminiscence over older tech and market research over potential new features and services. The HP comments are likely intended tongue-in-cheek, though some commenters have questioned what Dell would do with webOS were it in the same situation.

Cutting comments aside, HP is likely to be more concerned about its plummeting share price, an apparently sign that investors aren’t entirely convinced with the firm’s attempts to reposition itself as a software services leader. The company announced yesterday that it would acquire enterprise information management software specialist Autonomy, in a deal worth $10bn, far more than the $1.25bn it spend on Palm.

Questions over what HP will do with webOS linger, with the company indicating that it would be looking to license the platform rather than sell it on wholesale. Samsung, HTC, Amazon and others have all been suggested as possible good-fits for the OS, though none have stepped up and made any intentions public.

Now one of two main things I want to talk about here is this fun fact: the Microsoft Kin, aka KIN, being a family of mobile phones made by Microsoft running an operating system called KIN OS, lasted a grand total of 48 days, at which point Microsoft announced they’d be discontinuing the entire line, OS, hardware, and all. This compares very readily with HP’s announcement today that they’d be stopping production on the TouchPad tablet and all webOS-based handsets as well as deciding soon what they’d be doing with the webOS mobile operating software. Does the near-50-day mark signify some sort of unspoken “it’d better work by then” cutoff date for newly owned or created mobile operating systems?

Next regarding the PC business, I should remind you, if you were somehow unaware, that IBM had a computer unit for a number of years leading up to its selling of said unit to Lenovo, a Chinese company, in the year 2005. IBM has since stayed very much alive in the tech world, not popping up just a whole heck of a lot here in the consumer-based part of the environment, but still very much a force in the business enterprise and odd things like a computer chip that works like a brain. Lenovo is also still doing very well for themselves, currently holding the number five spot in top five mobile PC manufacturers by units shipped – at the end of this list behind, Apple, HP, Dell, and Acer, but still very far from the bottom.

HP is currently considering doing something very similar to what IBM did in 2005, moving their main bulk away from the personal computer and dropping a lot of bank on working with data instead. Today HP announced their plans to acquire Autonomy, one of the biggest technology firms in Britain in an obvious move toward enterprise software. Since all the way back in March of 2011, HP had been planning to “expand beyond” its PC business to focus more on cloud computing, connectivity, and software. Should it make all the right moves, this largest PC vendor on the planet Earth will soon cease to manufacture PCs and be all the better for it.

Apple’s mobile PC shipments made up 21.1 percent share of the market and its 13.6 million shipment figure is a 136 percent growth from the same quarter last year. HP comes in second place having shipped 9.7 million units with a 15 percent market share, followed by Dell, Acer, and Lenovo.

Almost 80 percent of the Apple’s mobile PC sales were of iPads, which saw a 107 percent year-over-year growth. Notebook sales, however, remained stagnant across the board with a 2 percent drop from the previous quarter and a 2 percent increase year-over-year.

Tablet shipments in the category as a whole grew 70 percent since the previous quarter and 400 percent year-over-year. However, of the 16.4 million tablets sold, 10.7 million units were Apple’s iPad. However, excluding Apple from the figures, the other vendors did see a 25 percent increase year-over-year in tablet shipments.

[via DisplaySearch]

Dell has been forced to cut its revenue forecast for the fiscal year ending in January. This and other uncertainty forced Dell stock prices down 7% earlier this week despite Dell’s revenue growing 63% in the last quarter. Analyst Shaw Wu from Sterne Agee said that Dell’s forecast was surprisingly weak. Wu also noted that part of Dell’s trouble is also to blame on Apple.

Apple continues to do well thanks in part to a stronger push into the small and medium business markets. Apple also thrives in the down economy thanks to the iPad tablet and the iPhone. Last quarter, Dell saw its revenue from large corporations grow 1% and the revenue from consumers rose by the same margin. At the same time public sector revenue fell 3%. Dell did grow its small and medium business revenue 5%. This is the market where analysts think Apple is taking some of Dell’s business. Dell is now predicting revenue of $62.1 to $64.6 billion for the year.

[via Yahoo]

It’s now official that the Dell Streak 5 won’t be returning. The development shouldn’t be surprising for most folks, since that tablet hasn’t been a great hit for Dell. The 5-inch size of the Dell Streak always struck an odd compromise between phone and tablet. It was too big to be a phone while also too small to really enjoy as a tablet.

Since the Dell Streak’s debut in August last year, the company has since introduced a larger 7-inch Dell Streak 7 along with plans for a Dell Streak 10. However, if you happen to own the original Dell Streak, fear not that you won’t be able to get accessories for it anymore. Those are still being sold, although you might as well save up for another tablet.

[via Dell]

Both notebooks run Windows 7 and have onboard graphics processors. The 13z and 14z are both also integrated SRS surround sound HD for better media performance with music and video playback. The machines also have Intel Wireless Display tech inside and HDMI outputs for shooting video to a bigger screen.

The notebooks will come in Diamond Black or Fire Red colors and have chiclet keyboards with integrated HD webcams the 13z screen is 13.3-inches and has 1366 x 768 resolution. It can be fitted with up to 8GB of RAM, 500GB of HDD space or a 128GB SSD. The 14z has a 14-inch screen with the same resolution and up to 8GB of RAM, 750GB of HDD space and has a tray-loading DVD player. The 14z launched today with price starting at $599.99. The 13z is launching in Asia today.

There’s also an optional DVD burner and 3G or 4G mobile broadband, together with Bluetooth 3.0 and gigabit ethernet. Up to 500GB of storage is supported, and there’s a 1.0-megapixel webcam, integrated digital microphone and HDMI port, as well as two USB 3.0 ports and a hybrid USB 2.0/eSATA connector.

A 4-cell battery is standard, but can be upgraded to a 6-cell pack if you want the longer runtime. Intel WiDi rounds out the main specs. The Celeron machine is $499 but expect to pay $100 more for a Core i3 chip or from $799 for a Core i5.

The XT3 has a very attractive design and the screen is a 13.3-inch HD resolution LCD that has good screen quality and wider viewing angles. The XT3 can also be fitted with an optional screen that allows it to be read in direct sunlight. The XT3 can be fitted with different Intel Core processors and has up to 320GB of storage space available with an SSD option. Some configurations of the XT3 boast battery life up to eight hours and the machine can use the ExpressCharge battery that can hit 80% capacity in an hour.

Converting to tablet mode involves twisting the screen around and folding it flat against the keyboard. The touchscreen can be used with multiple fingers (it support supports four) and a pen stylus. The keyboard has a backlight option as well. There are a number of accessories ranging from battery slices to docking stations and more. The XT3 also has data protection features like remote data delete and a free fall sensor.

The screen of the tablet has a resolution of 1280 x 800, is covered with Gorilla Glass, and supports 10-point multi touch. The tablet has a rear camera with 5MP resolution and a 2MP resolution front camera. The Streak 10 Pro supports 1080p video output and has a USB port. Internal storage is 16GB and it has a SD card slot supporting up to 32GB SDHC cards.

The processor inside the machine is the dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 and there is 1GB of RAM inside the tablet. It has 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi supporting 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands along with Bluetooth 2.1EDR. The tablet tips the scales at about 727g and has a 24.1WH battery with up to 12 hours of run time per charge. Price is RMB 2,999 in China working out to $461 in the US.

[via Android Community]

The image was leaked on AsiaDroid showing the Dell Streak Pro looking ready to ship and running Android 3.1 Honeycomb. It’s expected to ship in China as soon as tomorrow, although no details were revealed about it coming stateside. The 10.1-inch tablet features a 1280 x 800 resolution display, 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM, 2-megapixel front-facing camera, and 5-megapixel rear-facing camera.

Something interesting about the image is that the Dell Streak Pro is pictured alongside the 5-inch Streak and the 7-inch Streak 7, with the latter slate noticeably running Honeycomb rather than the Froyo it originally shipped with. This means that the Streak 7 could very soon be getting an upgrade to Android 3.2 Honeycomb.

[via Android Community]