Hardware

Looking for a laptop with battery life that lasts throughout the work day and all evening? Lenovo's new ThinkPad T440 uses dual batteries to achieve that feat. The 14-inch ThinkPad T440 comes in two versions -- the base T440 and the premium T440s. ... The former starts at just $899 and is available with Windows 7 or Windows 8. New ThinkPad Features Next-Gen Hardware Specifications The T440 weighs in at 1.76 kilograms, making it one of the lightest sub-$1,000 laptops on the market. For extra cash buyers can upgrade to a 1600 x 900 touchscreen display. The T440s, meanwhile, starts at just over $1, ... (view more)

Tired of having the battery in your favorite wireless mouse die just when you need it most? Then you might be interested in hardware maker Logitech's newest wireless mouse, the G602, which reportedly boasts a 1,400-hour battery life. According to ... Logitech, the G602 runs on two standard AA batteries. To hit that 1,400-hour limit, Logitech says the mouse uses a special "Endurance Mode". However, if precision is the name of the game, users can flick a mechanical switch on the device to engage "Performance Mode," though this sets the battery life back to about 250 hours. Performance Mode Designed ... (view more)

Samsung has developed a 3D HDTV set that allows two people to watch different shows -- in full screen mode -- at the same time. The feature uses active 3D glasses, which work by alternating between showing frames designed for the left eye and the ... right eye. The individual lenses have filters that block the light from getting through and these filters switch on and off so that you always see the intended frame at any moment. Your brain then combines the two differing sets of information coming into your eyes to create a 3D picture. Different Glasses Show Different Pictures The Samsung ... (view more)

Microsoft has unveiled new mouse and keyboard packages that feature special keys designed to make accessing Windows 8 features easier. The unusual-looking accessories are also designed to combat carpal tunnel syndrome and other injuries. The ... package, known as 'Sculpt Ergonomic', includes a mouse, a keyboard, and a separate number pad. The keyboard has a large wristpad, but the keys themselves are arranged in two blocks angled towards one another. The four rows of numbers and keys are split about a third of the way across (between the 6 and 7 keys, the T and Y keys, and so on), with a gap of ... (view more)

It's a well-known fact that the PC industry is in trouble. The rise of portable devices -- like smartphones and tablet computers -- has caused a consistent decline in PC sales . But some experts believe PC hardware makers are also to blame. The ... problem: PC prices remain too high for many consumers. Two months ago analyst firm IDC predicted a 1.3 per cent decline in PC sales through 2014. The grim prediction was based on PC sales through the first three months of 2013, when manufacturers shipped just 76.3 million units -- 13.9 per cent lower than the same period in 2012. Worldwide, second ... (view more)

PC manufacturer Asus appears to be moving away from plans to build devices running Microsoft's Windows RT operating system, a slimmed-down version of Windows 8. According to Asus Chairman Jonney Shih, the firm is focusing on building tablet ... computers employing the Windows 8.1 platform. In discussing consumers' reaction to Windows RT tablet PCs, Shih noted that "the result is not very promising." Asus is only the most recent PC manufacturer to back away from Windows RT . Lenovo has also decided to cancel all plans for future Windows RT tablets, and that has meant abandoning the firm's IdeaPad ... (view more)

Samsung Electronics says it's planning to release an entirely new range of solid state drives this August. According to the firm, the new drives will not only be faster, but they'll also include much higher storage capacities. A solid state drive ... (or SSD) is different than your typical hard drive (HD). It includes no actual "disk" or internal motors -- in effect, such devices include no moving parts. By comparison, traditional, electromechanical hard drives usually include spinning disks. SSDs Better Than HDs, But Pricy SSDs use a series of integrated circuit assemblies to store data. This ... (view more)

Hardware producer Samsung and chip maker Intel have announced a new partnership that will see the release of TVs specially built for streaming video from a computer. The technology is based around Intel's new fourth-generation 'Haswell' processor . ... Samsung and Intel say the plan is based on the integration of Intel's Wireless Display technology into Samsung high-definition television sets. The firms say this will eliminate any need for a separate receiver to play content from a PC on a TV. Haswell Processors Built to Stream Video Wireless Display technology is a new feature of Intel's Haswell ... (view more)

Inside sources say HTC has dropped plans to release a massive, 12-inch tablet computer running Windows RT. The decision is reportedly based on a lack of consumer demand for Windows RT-based devices. The unconfirmed reports say HTC is still planning ... to release a 7-inch Windows RT tablet, however. Windows RT is a special version of Windows 8 designed for ARM processors, which are more commonly found in smartphones and tablets than in full-blown PCs. These processors aren't very powerful though they do help to extend a device's battery life. The main difference between Windows 8 and Windows RT ... (view more)

Slowly but surely ultrabooks are emerging as a reasonable compromise between the portability of tablet computers on one hand and the power and performance of regular laptops on the other. Now, hardware maker Razer has unveiled the Blade ultrabook, a ... 14-inch device that features blazing-fast performance in a tiny frame. You've probably heard of Razer before -- they're the hardware company that started out building peripherals but in recent years have branched out to laptop and tablet devices. In fact, the company's Razer Edge tablet is quite possibly the world's most powerful tablet PC. Blade ... (view more)