GADGET REVIEWS Just another GADGET NEWS

Perhaps the touch revolution will extend beyond tablets and smartphones and onto our traditional computers. A new patent application shows how Apple might build an iMac or a MacBook with a touchscreen.

It’s a lot more than simply slapping a multitouch screen onto an iMac. Filed earlier this year, the patent application portraysan iMac-like computer that can transition from being used as a traditional mouse- and keyboard-controlled PC into a touchscreen computer. It’s a convertible desktop tablet, so to speak.

The invention described would switch between input modes detecting the position of the screen with an accelerometer or a rotation hinge inside a flexible stand. One input mode would be a high-resolution interface controlled with a mouse and keyboard, and the other method would be a lower-resolution tablet mode for touch controls.

Moving on to notebooks, the patent application says a notebook-like device could transition into a touch-based UI by folding the display, face up, against the keyboard.

To be clear, convertible tablets are nothing new. We’ve seen a handful of convertible tablet notebooks and “kitchen” PCs equipped with touchscreens. However, I’ve had hands-on time with a bunch of them at the Consumer Electronics Show, and they’ve consistently failed to impress, because they’re just touchscreen devices running Windows a UI designed for keyboards and mice, not ideal for touch controls. Duly, these convertible computers haven’t been popular sellers.

With Apple’s patent application, it sounds like the transition method would involve switching between two operating systems: the Mac OS for PC input and iOS for tablet usage (though they’re technically one OS since they’re carved out of the same core). That important UI transition might actually make a convertible touchscreen computer make sense.

Indeed, Apple appears to be eyeing touchscreens for Macs. Fan blog Patently Apple recently discovered a collection of 10 patent applications covering display technologies, which also allude to a touchscreen display for notebooks. Also, a few rumors emerged earlier this year that Apple was developing a touchscreen iMac.

From Patently Apple

Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews

Nobody uses the iMac for real work, right? After all, the huge 27-inch screen, the fast Core i3-i7 processors and the discrete graphics cards across the entire lineup render the machine hopelessly underpowered for video and photo editing. No wonder Apple hasn’t included an eSATA port. Who would need fast external storage?

Wait. Everyone would, especially as the standard disk is a single Terabyte in size. OWC feels your pain, computer buyer, and will take drastic, deep-cutting measures to help you. The accessory company will literally chop a hole in your iMac and add a speedy eSATA port to the machine. USB2 and FireWire are fine for shifting a few files around, but eSATA-connected drives run at the same speed as the hard-drive inside the computer.

The mod will cost you just $170. If you run a video facility, you’re probably already arranging shipping right now (tip: arrange it with OWC and they’ll pick your iMac up for just $30). If that still looks expensive to you, think about the alternative: buying a Mac Pro instead, which start at $2,500 without a monitor. While your machine is in OWC’s shop for surgery, you can also add more memory and upgrade the existing hard drive.

The service is available now. Rumors that OWC will add a USB-port to the iPad are unfounded.

OWC iMac eSATA upgrade program [OWC. Thanks, Grant!]

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Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews

The iMac just got a little bit faster thanks to an update across the line. Processors, graphics and even the displays have been improved, although the prices have stayed the same.

All iMacs now have i-processors, as in Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 (this last an upgrade option), so the Core 2 Duo now only exists in the Mac Mini. Graphics are now discrete across the line, which means that every iMac has a separate graphics card inside, using its own dedicated memory.

The screens have been replaced, too, using the IPS (in-plane switching) technology found in the iPad. The advantage of IPS is its crazy-wide viewing angle, making the new iMac perfect for watching movies.

There is also a new high-end, small-screen option, letting you put a 3.2GHz Intel Core i3 in the 21.5-inch iMac (the base chip runs at 3.06GHz). It’ll cost $1,500 against $1,200, bit you also double video memory to 512MB and get a bigger 1TB hard drive.

The sweet-spot is now the 3.2GHz 27-incher, which has the i3 processor and still costs just $1,700. Sure, that’s not a cheap computer, but for what you actually get, it is a real bargain. Add to this redesigned, bassier speakers and a SD-slot that works with the new SDXC-spec and you’re done.

Finally, the iMac doesn’t come with the new Magic Trackpad. You’ll have to buy it for an extra $70. Thanks, Apple.

New iMac [Apple]

Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews

You probably already know that you can hook up a MacBook to your giant 27-inch iMac and use it as an external display. But what if you have another device that you’d like to plug into the big screen? A Blu-ray player or a games console, perhaps?

Belkin’s new white plastic brick will take any HDMI signal and squirt it into the iMac’s Mini DisplayPort. The AV360 will let you play XBox games on the iMac, and even watch DRM-crippled movies – the adapter is HDCP-compliant, and also pipes through stereo audio.

There are a couple of gotchas. One is that any 1080p source will be downgraded to 720p, a shame on the biggest iMac’s 2560 x 1440 pixel display. The other problem is one of price: The AV360 is $150. That’s $150 for an adapter, although $150 is certainly cheaper than buying a second display, and the box takes up a lot less space. Available now.

AV360 Mini DisplayPort Converter for 27-inch iMac [Belkin via Oh Gizmo]

Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews

Sony has announced the pricing for its iMac-a-like Vaio JS desktops, and they hit Apple’s all-in-ones dead on. There are two models, one at $1100 and one at $1500, both featuring 20.1″ screens. The easiest way to see how things stack up is to check our chart, below.

We left out the 24″ iMac, as Sony doesn’t offer a model in this size. There are technically another two Vaio JS models, too, but they are just color variations, and available in the $1100 configuration. The big news is Blu-ray on the $1500 JS. It’s read only, but that fits squarely with Sony’s media center intentions for this slimline living room machine. Both models have a 500GB hard drive, which further underlines this, along with A2DP Bluetooth in the $1500 version. You also get an S/PDIF interface for connecting it to a home theater system.

Interestingly, there doesn’t seem to be any kind of external video connector — at least it is not listed on Sony’s site. We know this is usually used for video and photo editing, but it would be nice to have the option to connect a projector. About those graphics. The Vaio JS uses the GMA 950 chipset, Intel’s built-in graphics chip which shares the main RAM, instead of using a dedicated video card. Again, this fits — it’s not a gaming rig or an editing station, and the stock RAM of 4GB means that you’re not going to run short of memory.

Sony has of course added a proprietary slot, this time for the Memory Stick Pro, alongside an SD card reader. These will be useful for quick viewing and transfer of photos, and although the bundled software list doesn’t include a photo application, there are plenty of video streaming and authoring packages.

It’s a solid attempt at a living room machine, with the usual weird omissions Sony loves: One is the lack of Bluetooth on the lower end machine, which means no Bluetooth keyboard and mouse for easy, sofa-bound control. In fact, we’d expect this machine to actually ship with a cordless mouse and keyboard instead of the wired versions it actually comes with. Neither is there a remote control, which the iMac does have.

Otherwise, though, the price cutting has been done in all the right places, and the Vaio JS looks great — very important if you are going to move it from the study to the living room.

Product page [Sony Style. Thanks, Josselyn!]

Posted under Gadget Reviews