Dell’s entry into the Ultrabook market the XPS 13 is now available starting at $999. We first saw the XPS 13 at CES 2012 and the specs are impressive with a 13.3 HD display with 1.3 Megapixel HD webcam, up to a Core i7 processor, 4 GB or RAM, up to 256 GB of Solid State Drive storage, Intel HD Graphics 3000 and up to 8 hours and 53 minutes of battery life. Check out the hands-on demo we got from CES 2012 below.

Source: Dell

Tech Specs:

Processor

• 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5-2467M processor (1.60 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.30 GHz)
• 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2637M processor 1.70 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.80 GHz (4G) TPM

Operating System

• Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English

Memory³

• 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 1333MHz

Chipset

• Intel® QS67
  Dimensions
  Height: 0.24-0.71” (6-18mm) / Width: 12.4” (316mm) / Depth 8.1” (205mm)
  Starting at Weight⁵
  Starting at 2.99lbs (1.36kg)⁵
  Productivity & Entertainment Software
  Adobe® Reader X, Microsoft® Office Starter (reduced–functionality versions of Word and Excel with advertising), WebCam Central, Skype™ with H.264 enablement, Skyhook (post launch), Internet Explorer®, Windows Live™ Essentials Wave 4, McAfee® SecurityCenter trial, Dell DataSafe, Dell Stage
  Construction
  Machined aluminum in silver
  Carbon fiber composite base
  Magnesium palmrest with soft touch paint

Video Card

• Intel® HD Graphics 3000

Display

• Silver Anodized Aluminum and 13.3" HD (720p) Truelife WLED Display with 1.3MP HD Webcam

Audio and Speakers

• High Definition Audio + Waves MaxxAudio® 4
  1.5W x2 = 3W total

Hard Drive

• Up to 256GB³ Solid State hard drive

Power

• 47WHr battery; 6-Cell Li-Polymer (built-in)^{6
  6}Battery is built-in to the laptop and is not replaceable by the customer.
  Up to 8 hours, 53 minutes battery life⁶
  AC Adaptor
  45W AC adaptor
  Keyboard/Touchpad
  Standard full size, backlit chiclet keyboard; spill-resistant
  Glass integrated button touchpad with gesture support

Camera

• 1.3MP webcam with dual array digital microphones

Wireless

• Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6230 802.11 a/g/n with Intel® Smart Connect Technology + Bluetooth 3.0
  Intel® Wireless Display ready⁷

Ports, Slots & Chassis

J5Create has made the task of communication between a Windows-based PC and a Mac computer simple and easy all through one cable. The Wormhole cable allows you to transfer files and control a PC and a Mac computer at the same time.  You can use one mouse and keyboard to control both machines and the only limits to the file size you can transfer is the hard drive space on the system you are transferring to.

Press Release:

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j5create Opens Ports and Portals with its Sleek New Wormhole,

Newport and Display Adapter Products

 

Global Company Introduces Six New Data and Device Sharing Peripherals
to the North American Market

ATLANTA – Aug. 1, 2011 – j5create, a manufacturer of specialty computer products, enters the North American market today with the availability of six new products. The line combines functionality with aesthetics and is designed to help users easily transfer files, share peripherals and utilize additional monitors.

“We are creating practical peripherals for the growing segment of consumers using multiple computers, which is made up largely of families and businesspeople,” said Fred Schweer, director of North American sales, j5create. “We develop our products specifically with the style-conscience consumer in mind, and aim to give them easy-to-use, affordable solutions for managing data and increasing productivity.”

j5create’s new product lineup includes:

• Wormhole Switch: The Wormhole Switch allows for the sharing of mice and keyboards, including copy and paste capabilities, across two computers. It also features seamless drag-and-drop file transfer via a simple plug-and-play USB to USB cable. The Wormhole Switch retails for a MSRP of $29.99.
• Newport Station: The Newport laptop docking station acts as a sleek extension for laptops. Connecting to a laptop via a single USB port, the Newport station accepts Ethernet cables, audio connections, VGA monitors and acts as a USB hub with three additional USB ports. The Newport station retails for a MSRP of $129.00 and is built with a sleek, durable form factor that easily travels.
• Wormhole Station: The Wormhole Station is built with a similar design as the Newport, but includes USB 3.0 support and flash memory card readers. Using j5create’s wormhole technology, the device allows for sharing keyboards and mice simultaneously across two computers and also features drag-and-drop file transfer. The Wormhole Station retails for a MSRP of $129.00.
• USB Display Adapters: j5create offers three USB display adaptors for the most popular formats: VGA, DVI and HDMI. The adaptors allow users to connect up to six monitors to a laptop or desktop via USB and retail for $59.00, $69.00 and $99.00, respectively.

- more -

The Newport Station and USB Display Adapters are compatible with Windows and Mac operating systems and the Wormhole products are compatible with Windows operating systems, with Mac support coming soon. The Wormhole products allow users to share a keyboard or mouse across two devices, creating unparalleled access. The exclusive technology also allows for easy file transfer and enables the consumer to avoid the use of intermediaries such as flash drives or external hard drives when transporting data. With sustained transfers of up to 5Gbps on the Wormhole Station and up to 480Mbps on the Wormhole Switch, transferring data is fast and seamless.

j5create’s products are available at Fry’s Electronics and online retailers, including: Buy.com, Sears.com, Walmart.com, among others.

For more information about j5create’s products, please visit http://www.j5create.com

About j5create

j5create, a subsidiary of KaiJet Technologies, is a global technology company that delivers innovative products to consumers and businesses. j5create makes high-performance, dependable and easy-to-use USB, multimedia and wireless accessories to connect people with their content and devices. The company’s North American headquarters are in Atlanta with an additional office in Irvine, Calif.

More information is available at http://www.j5create.com.

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A recently leaked internal document shows a new Dell tablet is on the way and this time its rocking Windows 7 and codenamed Peju.  The new  Peju tablet from Dell is looking to be a 10 inch tablet is 1920 x 1080 resolution running an Intel Core i5 processor, 4 GB of ram, 2 USB slots, Mini VGA< HDMI, micros SD and 3G Sim car slot. Connections include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G and 4G radios. Cameras will be 1.3 megapixel in the front and 5 Megapixels in the rear. Not sure on video recording but I would assume at least 720p. You will be able to interact with it via touch, stylus and USB keyboard and mouse via a docking station. The battery is a 5,550 mAH battery that is expected to get 8 hours of real world usage. For storage there will be 64 GB SSD and 120 GB SSD options.  Dimensions are 10.8 x 6.7 x 0.63 inches and will be 1.9 lbs. which is on the heavier side for tablets.

These specs are in the are of mid range laptop and will be running Windows 7 professional and will be Windows 8 compatible so that could be the reason for such powerful specs so that they are the first tablet out that is Windows 8 ready when it’s released.  From the sounds of it they are trying to make a real tablet PC with full PC functionality. I’m not sure if that’s what people exactly want but the Dell Peju is gearing up to be the tablet that has actually work productivity which is something that tablets are still trying to work out. What I am hoping this is not is a laptop squeezed into a tablet. If you are going for the that form factor then you have to make it work as such. We have to wait to hear more on this one. Check out the video below.

Via: Engadget

Source: Dell Peju Insider

The latest version of Internet Explorer is now available. Internet Explorer touts a whole new streamlined and simplified design  with new one click access to site using Pinned sites which is a feature for Windows 7.  Overall speed is faster and scores an 95/100 on the ACID test which is the highest I’ve ever seen on any IE platform. Check out Microsoft 9 reasons to get IE 9 and link to download.

9 reasons to get Internet Explorer 9

Internet Explorer 9 provides the best web experience for Windows. Here are the top reasons why you should get it today.

It’s all-around fast — hardware-accelerated text, video, and graphics speed up performance and make websites perform like programs that are installed on your computer.

Streamlined and simplified design — gives you the basic controls you need and puts the focus on your websites.

One-click access to your favorite sites — with Pinned Sites, you can get to your favorite sites directly from the Windows taskbar without having to open your browser first.

A combined search and Address bar — one place to either navigate to a website or start a search.

Redesigned New Tab page — now you have quick access to the sites you visit most often, and you can also reopen closed tabs or your last browsing session, or start an InPrivate Browsing session.

Integration with Windows 7 — with Snap, Pinned Sites, Jump Lists, and thumbnail preview controls, Internet Explorer 9 and Windows 7 bring you the best web experience for Windows.

Improved add-on management — Add-on Performance Advisor tells you if an add-on is slowing down your browser and allows you to disable or remove it, helping ensure that your browser stays fast over time.

Helps control your privacy — Tracking Protection enables you to limit the browser’s communication with certain websites to help keep your information private.

Keeps your downloads in order — Download Manager keeps a running list of the files you download from the Internet, notifies you if a file could be malicious, and allows you to pause and restart a download.

Download Internet Explorer 9

Asus is making its mark in the tablet game and making it big with Eee Slate EP121 which packs a Intel Core i5 470Um processor, 2 – 4 GB of Ram, 64 GB SSD drive with a 12.1 IPS capacitive touch screen with 1200 x 800  high resolution display, a Wacom digitizer which should graphics designers, front facing camera and a HDMI out port and all ran with Windows 7 for an OS. It should be out later this month and is to start around $1000 and varies depending on desired specs.

ASUS Eee Slate EP121
The Eee Slate EP121 is designed for users who require a highly portable handheld device that can also run standard office software while multitasking with other applications. Powered with an Intel® Core™ i5 dual-core processor, the Eee Slate features a 12.1” LED-backlit display with a 1280 x 800 resolution and a wide 178° viewing angle, making it perfectly suited for both productivity applications and multimedia entertainment.
Windows® 7 Home Premium ensures full compatibility with a wide range of popular applications controlled by flexible input options thanks to the Eee Slate. The capacitive touch-screen responds instantly to fingertip control for day-to-day use, while the capacitive stylus offers fine precision input and control. An on-screen keyboard is also complimented by support for an external Bluetooth keyboard for traditional desktop use.
The Eee Slate is available with 32GB or 64GB of SSD storage (expandable via SDXC), and up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM. All models have 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, a 2-megapixel camera, plus two USB 2.0 ports that provide full support for a wide range of standard PC peripherals, along with a mini-HDMI port that is ideal for connecting to external displays.
ASUS is excited to announce that the ASUS Eee Slate EP121 is one of their eight products to be selected for a CES 2011 Innovations Award.

In this How-To I will show you how to create a a USB drive to install Windows 7 via USB.  It’s a much simpler and faster was to install windows and is especially useful in the event that you do not have a CD/DVD drive available for installation.

Steps:

1.) Download and Install the Windows 7 USB download tool which you can find here.

2.) If you don’t currently have an ISO file available of Windows 7 you can learn how to create one using ISO Recorder or Infra Recorder and be sure to save it to the desktop.

3.) Open up the Windows 7 USB download tool, click brows and then select where your ISO file is and then click next.

Now If you run into where you get an “invalid ISO file error be sure o see below these steps to try and solve the issue

4.) You will need to select where you want to install Windows 7 you can burn it to DVD but since this is a USB tutorial we will want to choose USB device.

5.) You will see the list of USB devices show up and you will want to choose the one you want to install.  What I have found is that the 8GB USB sticks work best for this even though some people have been getting it installed on 4 GB sticks which I have yet to get working.  8 GB sticks are not too expensive and would be a great investment for this type of tool. See below where you can buy one at a good price.

6.) After you choose your drive be sure to have all of your data backed up off the USB drive as it will tell you with two warnings that it will need to erase and format the drive before use. (In some cases you may not see this prompt but still backup any data on before continuing)

7.) Once the drive finishes the format will begin installing Windows 7 on the USB drive and will make it bootable and you are all set to go.

All in all a very simple way to get Windows 7 installed onto a USB drive to install on PCs. There is a manual process through DOS which I may show in the future how to do.

Be sure to leave your comments below and share this tool with others.

If you Receive “Invalid ISO File Error”

Open your iso file in poweriso(full version)

Go to File–>File properties
Check UDF
Press ok
Save your file

The great debate has always been should you buy or build your own PC. Its always been known to be cheaper to build your own PC but with hardware cost lowering is that still the case today? Lets start off by taking a look inside my own custom PC. Personally I’ll always build my own PC as I have fun and very passionate about doing so. I never had store built desktop before and my first machine was one that I went to a local expo and bought all the parts there.  The knowledge that you gain from building it yourself is invaluable and knowledge that everyone should have and at the very least the basics.  There is definitely time and energy that goes into it but in the end of the day the satisfaction of building if yourself is worth it.
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As far as a cost factor is concerned that’s where buy or build can get a little grey.  PC hardware has dropped much lower in prices these days and store bough machines are coming built with much better hardware than in the past.  The advantage where you save with cost comes with building a high performance machine. Building one instead of buying from high end companies such as Falcon Northwest or Alienware you should see the savings there.  But if you are building for an average users a store bought one may be better in that scenarios.  You also have to remember that you have to gauge the level of technical knowledge the person you are getting a PC for.  If they have a decent amount of knowledge, patient and looking to spend a decent amount of money then a custom PC would be the way to go but if they are the opposite you may want to consider that store built PC due to the warranties attached and a way for them to get support in the event you are not available.

You can go back and forth with buy or build.  Personally I will always build a PC but there are come scenarios where the store built pc is the better idea.  For some of the best gaming computers in the market check out BetaForcePC

My Core Desktop Components

• Intel Core i7 920
• Asus P6T Motherboard
• OCZ Gold 12GB PC 12800 Ram
• Corsair H50 Hydro Cooler
• EVGA GeForce GTS 450 1GB DDR3
• Intel X25-M 80GB Solid State Drive
• 3 Western Digital 1TB RE Black SATA 3.0 GBs HDD
• 1 Western Digital 1TB RE Black SATA 6.0 GBs HDD
• Corsair 800d Case
• Corsair HX 750W Power Supply
• Asus QT DVD Burner
• Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit

The LG X120 Netbook is a 3G ready netbook that comes out in the crowded market of 3G ready netbooks. Does the X120 stand out amount the rest to be the best.  Check out the review, videos and pics inside to find out.

LG provided us with this netbook as an experience product for our own independent review here at BWOne.com

Hardware

The first thing that stands out when you look at the X120 is the nice soft look and feel of it with the nice accents on the the side that give it a nice touch of color with the nice soft rounded edged.  The keyboard is a nice size and feels good to type on the keys. The mouse pad as a bit of a plastic feel to it but it  does work well. The 10.1 in screen gives you a lot of screen real estate to work with when looking at longer documents such as spreadsheets.  There is a 1.3 Megapixel camera that can be used for video chat and Skype calls.  To this on the road the netbook comes 3G ready, an 1.6ghz Intel Atom processor and 1GB of ram and 7 hours of battery life on a full charge to round up the hardware specs.

LG Smart On

A quick way to access information without full loading into the OS you can. the OS turns on in a second and gives you access to quick things such as Web, Music, Pictures, Online Gaming and Chat.  The interface which is a Linux based OS is pretty quick and simple to use and give you what you need quickly on the go and even will save you battery life.

Windows XP and 3G coverage

The netbook does come with Windows XP which does work well but Windows 7 on here would work much better since its designed more for netbooks.  For 3G coverage we are using AT&T 3G which when we were in coverage did work well but it can be spotty at times but I would put that more on AT&T network coverage not being as adequate and not the netbooks performance which is stellar when on 3G.

Overall

Overall the netbook is solid with great features, nice looks and great speeds. We do wish that it came with Windows 7 that would take better advantage of this hardware. If you are in the market for a netbook the LG X120 is one to look out for and definitely consider picking up. 

mTouch table is coming into the touch table market and making it much more accessible to the consumer and business markets. Watch the video and check out the pics inside!

The mTouch table is a Windows 7 based table that gives you the ability to give your business a new experience and for your home a cool interactive tool for everyone to enjoy.  As a business you will be able to use the table to better server your business to customers by behind able to do things such as order food if you’re a restaurant or check into your room if you’re a hotel business.  For home use you can enjoy videos and web content together and also share pictures via Bluetooth to your cell phone or Bluetooth enable device.  The mTouch table will retail for $3200.

www.mereltechnologies.com

Microsoft has released its first public beta of Windows 7 SP1. Keeping up with their highly successful beta testing method they used with Windows 7 initial release. Check inside for the link to the download.

This service pack is set to follow the lines as with the Vista service packs and does not provide new features or UI changes for the end users but is a collection of previously released patches and updates with updates and enhancements release due to customer feed back.  If you want to give it a shot grab the link to sign up and download.

Register and download Windows 7 SP1 Beta here.

Thoughts? Comments? Leave them below.