Lenovo, Toshiba announce first Ultrabooks

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Next Amazon Kindle Fire tablet could come in a few months. Should you really buy the first version?

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Are you sure you want to rush out and buy that Kindle Fire tablet that Amazon is announcing tomorrow? According to some sleuthing by Ryan Block, co-founder of gdgt.com, you may be getting a slate that’s being rushed out to make the upcoming holiday shopping season — and that will be soon be replaced by a better version.

By now, you may know that the Kindle Fire appears to be based on the RIM PlayBook, which hasn’t exactly set the world on, er, fire. While that fact alone may not be big problem for Amazon shoppers — after all, it won’t be burdened with the idiosyncrasies Research in Motion baked into the PlayBook user experience — early adopters might want to know a few other things about how Kindle Fire v1.0 came to be.

According to Block, there were a few hiccups along the road. Amazon’s own Kindle product team wanted no part in developing the Fire, and some hardware issues have forced the company to use a slower processor than it would have liked to. His sources conclude that it’s “supposed to be pretty poor.”

Nonetheless, the Kindle Fire could work fine for many tablet buyers if the hardware performs decently, and the interface is usable enough (more on that here). But Block is now reporting that Amazon will be releasing another Kindle Fire in the first quarter of next year, and it’s the one about which the company is really excited. Why that is, we’re not sure, but it apparently is.

In other words, you just might want to save your tablet dollars for Kindle Fire 2 if you really desire Amazon’s best. That is, if you can bear the wait.

Sean Portnoy is a freelance technology journalist.

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Samsung introduces Series 7 All-In-One PC, its first desktop sold in U.S.

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Summary: Now that the rumors that Samsung would purchase HP’s computer business have subsided, the company is getting to work expanding its footprint in the U.S. For the first time, the electronics giant has introduced a desktop PC for the American market. The Samsung Series 7 All-In-One PC joins the all-in-one trend, offering a 23-inch touchscreen display [...]

Now that the rumors that Samsung would purchase HP’s computer business have subsided, the company is getting to work expanding its footprint in the U.S. For the first time, the electronics giant has introduced a desktop PC for the American market.

The Samsung Series 7 All-In-One PC joins the all-in-one trend, offering a 23-inch touchscreen display that’s only 16 millimeters thick, with the system components buried in the unit’s base. The result is a different, slightly sleeker look than the typical all-in-one delivers. You can lay the screen flat in order to make the best use of the touchscreen interface.

Samsung will debut two configurations of the All-In-One. The $999 DP700A3B-A01US includes the Intel Core i3-2120T processor running at 2.6GHz, 6GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive, wireless keyboard and mouse, built-in Wi-Fi, DVD burner, and integrated graphics. The beefier $1,199 DP700A3B-A02US packs a 2.7GHz Core i5-2390T CPU and 8GB of RAM instead.

The Series 7 All-In-One PC will be available on October 10. While it delivers a sexier design and slightly bigger screen, you can get an all-in-one from HP with similar specs for less if you don’t want the touchscreen (see the Omni 220xt, for example).

Sean Portnoy is a freelance technology journalist.

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Acer's new A100 is first 7-inch tablet to run Android Honeycomb

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Summary: Despite its top exec arguing that tablets were a fad, Acer has introduced a new 7-inch slate that is also the first to run the latest, more tablet-friendly version of Android (a.k.a. Honeycomb). The Iconia Tab A100 is available now starting at $329.99. Specs-wise, the A100 is pretty typical of Android tablets these days: Nvidia Tegra [...]

Despite its top exec arguing that tablets were a fad, Acer has introduced a new 7-inch slate that is also the first to run the latest, more tablet-friendly version of Android (a.k.a. Honeycomb). The Iconia Tab A100 is available now starting at $329.99.

Specs-wise, the A100 is pretty typical of Android tablets these days: Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, front-facing Webcam, HDMI output, and MicroSD slot. It features built-in Wi-Fi, but not a 3G cellular option. The 7-inch tablet weighs 0.92 pounds and sports a 1,024×600 resolution screen.

But what’s notable in Acer’s press release is the fact that it emphasizes how well-suited the A100 is for “moms and families,” as if 10-inch tablets are the masculine domain. Does size matter so much that men need bigger tablets and women naturally want a more petite option?

In any event, Acer keeps the A100’s price low by offering only 8GB of storage for its $329.99 model. If you want to double that capacity, you can pay an additional $20. No 32GB or 64GB flavors appear available.

Sean Portnoy is a freelance technology journalist.

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First AMD Bulldozer gaming desktop PCs announced

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Summary: It hasn’t taken long for desktop manufacturers to start releasing gaming PCs featuring the new AMD Bulldozer desktop chips, which were officially launched on Tuesday. A number of boutique builders now offer configurations with the new FX series processors, with the flagship eight-core FX-8150 garnering the most attention. Maingear is offering its top-notch Shift desktop with [...]

It hasn’t taken long for desktop manufacturers to start releasing gaming PCs featuring the new AMD Bulldozer desktop chips, which were officially launched on Tuesday. A number of boutique builders now offer configurations with the new FX series processors, with the flagship eight-core FX-8150 garnering the most attention.

Maingear is offering its top-notch Shift desktop with the choice of the eight-core FX-8120 for a base price of $2,080 or the FX-8150 for $49 more, as well as the mid-range F131 starting at $1,271 with an FX-8120 and, again, $49 more for a FX-8150. For an additional $49, Maingear will overclock your PC. Meanwhile, Origin PC is equipping its Genesis desktop with the FX-8150, which it will factory overclock on request.

Some vendors are adding other Bulldozers to the mix. While AVADirect is offering its Zambezi Gaming System with the FX-8150 starting at $1,142.71, or the FX-8120 for $1,074.31, it also comes standard with the six-core FX-6100 for $1,040.11. iBuyPower has a trio of desktops built around Bulldozers, one with the FX-6100 (the $759 Gamer Mage D415 FX), another with the FX-8120 (the $989 Gamer Mage D295 FX), and a third with the FX-8150 (the $1,219 Gamer Mage D355 FX).

CyberPower has no fewer than eight different systems that can come with Bulldozer chips, including the new Gamer Scorpius line. A few of its budget systems come standard with the FX-4100 quad-core chip, including the Gamer Scorpius 7500, which starts at just $575.

Brands like Dell/Alienware and HP have yet to embrace Bulldozer, but we’ll see if any of their upcoming systems for the holiday shopping season will ship with AMD’s latest and greatest chips.

Sean Portnoy is a freelance technology journalist.

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First benchmarks for Intel Cedar Trail netbook platform, new Atom CPUs revealed

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