Fujitsu believes it knows what women want (at least when it comes to PCs) with "Floral Kiss"-- a Windows 8 laptop aimed at "female users," complete with special app selection.

"In recent years, with women accounting for nearly half of PC purchases, the Floral Kiss project was born from the desire of Fujitsu's female employees to create a PC that women would find appealing," the Floral Kiss press release says.

Indeed.

What can makes a laptop-- that most utilitarian of hardware-- more appealing Continue reading...

No, Google has still not given up on the Chromebook concept-- not when it reveals the "new Samsung Chromebook," a slim-and-light number aiming to attract customers not with power but with a low price.

The cloud-powered laptop costs $250.

However the New Samsung Chromebook is a downgrade from the Series 5 550 launched back in June 2012-- it carries a Samsung Exynox dual-core ARM processor (essentially a smartphone processor), 2GB RAM and 16GB of storage (together with 100GB of online storage). Continue reading...

Even in the current laptop-tablet hybrid era, the PadFone remains unique as a smartphone with a tablet accessory. Now Asus presents a bigger (and better?) sequel at a Milan launch event.

The PadFone 2 is certainly bigger-- the smartphone display gets an upgrade, being a 4.7-inch 720p Super IPS+ panel with IGZO technology. Powering the device is a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 chip (with 2GB RAM), a boost from the dual-core chip in the previous model.

The OS of choice is Android 4.0.4, but Asus promises a Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) upgrade will be available "shortly."

Lenovo adds to the Windows 8 laptop-tablet hybrid portfolio with the IdeaTab Lynx-- a Windows 8 tablet users can convert into a laptop by plugging it into the included keyboard dock.

It has an 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 IPS touchscreen and carries a dual-core 1.8GHz Cloverview Intel Atom processor, 2GB of RAM and either 32 or 64GB of flash-based storage.

The processor allows the tablet to run x86 programs in desktop mode-- separating the Lynx from other hybrid devices running Windows RT on ARM processors. Continue reading...

AMD claims potential customers will soon be able to play games such as "Call of Duty" on Windows 8 tablets, through the dual-core Z-60 "Hondo" APU with integrated Radeon HD 6250 graphics.

According to the company the Z-60 beats the likes of Nividia's ARM-based Tegra 3 and Intel's Clover Trail Atom in the performance stakes-- by being able to run Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with 1024 x 768 resolution at 30 frames per second.

Being a more power-efficient version of lower-end AMD laptop chips, Continue reading...

Apple still has to announce it. Hell, it might not even actually exist. But the rumours involving the near-mythic smaller iPad persist-- including news on how the miniature tablet is going through "some delays."

According to Barclays Apple analyst Kirk Yang, Apple manufacturing partner Pegatron already struggles with building a smaller iPad with thinner bezels. How come? Inexperience, as well as a switch from Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) touch panel glass to ITO films.

Meanwhile The Wall Street Journal reports LG and AU Optronics are making "lower resolution" 7.85-inch displays for the smaller tablet.

Acer shows off more details on the Iconia W700-- an 11.6-inch Windows 8 tablet the company offers as a laptop replacement, first seen at Computex 2012.

The W700 carries an Ivy Bridge 1.8GHz Core i3 processor (upgradeable to Core i5) and a fairly impressive 1080p IPS display. Further specifications include 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD and 1MP front/5MP rear cameras.

Connectivity comes through USB 3.0 and Micro HDMI, with Bluetooth allowing the connection of peripherals such as a keyboard.

Acer claims the Continue reading...

Amazon announces not 1, not 2 but 5 new and/or improved Kindle devices-- the Kindle Fire HD (in either 8.9- or 7-inch varieties), a Kindle Fire upgrade, the Kindle Paperwhite and a next-generation Kindle eReader.

Clearly Amazon is taking the threat of both Google (with the Nexus 7) and Apple (possibly, at least) when it comes to the 7-inch tablet segment very seriously, while still not ignoring the general eReader market too much.

The (literally!) biggest news is the Kindle Fire HD-- with HD displays, dual-core TI OMAP 4470 processor, more RAM and MIMO (meaning dual antennas) technology Amazon claims provides "40% faster" wifi than the iPad.

The flagship model has an 8.9-inch 1920x1200 display and 32GB of storage, while the smaller 7-inch model handles resolutions of up to 1280x800 and 16GB of storage. Both models also carry Dolby Audio technology with dual-driver stereo speakers.