2008 has been the year for netbook madness. Ryan ordered an Acer, my friend John got an Eee PC and now HP is coming out with a new netbook that appears to be quite the offering. The Mini 1000 features a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom CPU, either a 8.9-inch or 10.2-inch display and up to 2GB of RAM. SSD is available in a 16GB drive or you can get a 60GB HDD for more storage. You can, of course, expand your storage via a USB memory stick as well.

As far as the OS goes, you can choose an Ubuntu Linux install that HP is calling the “MIE OS.” MIE stands for Mobile Internet Experience and essentially, it presents you with a bunch of commonly used apps and tasks that looks like an HP TouchSmart PC. Not bad. XP is also available for those looking to go a little more mainstream. The XP version of the Mini 1000 is available today for $399 with 512MB of RAM and an 8GB SSD with the 8.9-inch screen. For $50 more, you can score the 10.2-inch version. Look for the Linux version in early 2009.

Link

“What’s up, Internet? It’s me, Andrea” is a new weekly column from Gearfuse. It discusses the Internet and all things involved with it. Please welcome Andrea Rosen to the team and I’m sure you’ll enjoy her witty musings. Be sure to check out her Tumblr over at andrearosen.tumblr.com -VV

The nerd rumor mill is abuzz with Sony’s possible new PSP player from designer Tai Chiem that looks, well, undeniably like a vibrator from the future. A rolled-up display expands flat, making it the most portable gaming device since the ball and cup. It’s a mere glimmer in Chiem’s eye right now, but just imagine: someday you’ll be able to engage in George and Judy Jetson roleplay before some post-coital NBA Live.

(more…)

Lured in by the T-Mobile G1 and the Apple iPhone, Hewlett-Packard announced it will build a device for consumers that will be sold by mobile carriers. The smartphone is set to debut in Europe and eventually, the US. Sounds exciting!

Said device will feature a touchscreen (of course) and a keypad. It’ll be powered by Windows Mobile 6., instantly making it a failure. Sorry, HP. I have no interest in your shenanigans with a corrupt and terrible OS. Your iPaq brand is about as cool as AIDS so good night and good luck with this endeavor.

Link

After a long evening of YouTube videos of old Tex Avery cartoons, your laptop wouldn’t be nearly sucked dry if you had HP’s HP EliteBook 6930p with an ulta-high capacity battery. HP claims that it ran for 24 hours, beating out its competition, Dell, which made the Latitude line of laptops that feature only 19 hours of battery life.

Given that battery life varies depending on what applications are running, results may vary. Regardless, think of all the things you could accomplish in 24 hours of battery life. You could visit the ends of the Internet and back. Or just download every Rush album, ever. Either way, you’ve done something no one else has: you’ve beaten the Internet.

Link

Recently at an event at Mumbai, HP announced and showcased some of their “Always Connected” design concepts. With “Always Connected”, HP shows us what the future might hold from them and what they might have to offer by the year 2012. Here is an in-depth view at some of HP’s concept and the products that go with it. (more…)

When Toyota halted the production of the supra, Celica, and MR2 Spyder, the future of Toyota sports cars enthusiasts seemed bleak. However, their ears perked back up again when Toyota revealed the new FT-HS Hybrid Concept. This new 2-door sports coupe is rumored to be unveiled at the North American International Auto Show on January 7^th. The FT-HS is said to have a 292HP 3.5 liter V6 and a 197HP electric motor. There is a very nice design on this concept, but in the words of Marvin Gaye, ain’t nothing like the real thing, meaning that this is only a concept so you won’t get all the cool features. Yes that means you might lose hubless steering wheel, the retractable roof, or the interior focused on the driver; however you will probably get to keep the speed capability of 0-60 in 4 seconds. As of right now, the projected cost is around $35,000, which for a hybrid sports car is quite a good deal. Now you can pick up chicks and be high-tech at the same time; getting the chicks to actually get in the car is another story. More pictures after the jump.

(more…)