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Laptop reliability survey: ASUS and Toshiba win, HP fails

From Engadget

Boy, do we have a nice slab of data for you to sink your teeth into today. The 3-year service history of more than 30,000 laptops has been pored over, analyzed, and reduced to gorgeous comparative charts, which you know you’re dying to know more about. We should note, however, that the service was provided by SquareTrade, whose primary business is selling extended warranties, but that shouldn’t completely prejudice us against reaching conclusions on the basis of the presented facts. Firstly, netbooks have shown themselves to be on average 20 percent less reliable than entry-level laptops, which in turn are 10 percent more likely to break down than premium machines. In other words, you get what you pay for — shocking, right? The big talking point, though, will inevitably be the manufacturer comparison chart above: here ASUS and Toshiba (rather appropriately) share the winners’ spoils, while HP languishes in the ignominious last place, with more than a quarter of all laptops expected to suffer a hardware fault of some kind within three years. So, does your experience corroborate / refute this info? Keep it gentlemanly, okay?

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Laptops

Laptop reliability survey: ASUS and Toshiba win, HP fails originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: Engadget

Sony adopts Chrome as default browser for VAIO line

From Engadget

Google’s Chrome was already the default browser on the VAIO NW we handled a month ago, and now the Financial Times delivers confirmation of a wider distribution deal between the search giant and Sony. According to the report, new VAIO laptops and desktops will come with Chrome preinstalled — an “experimental” arrangement — and, most importantly, will default to Google for both their homepage and search queries. Pair this with the agreement to bring over a million Google Books to Sony’s e-readers, and you start to see some clear lines being drawn in the sand. Intriguingly, Google is said to be pursuing similar distribution pacts with other manufacturers, which would place Internet Explorer’s stranglehold on the uninitiated user under threat. Your move, Microsoft.

[Thanks, Matt]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Software

Sony adopts Chrome as default browser for VAIO line originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: Engadget

Sony unveils slimmer PS3: $300, lands in September (updated!)

From Engadget

Hardly a surprise, but Sony got on stage today at GamesCom and confirmed what we’ve all known deep down in our hearts: the new, slimmer PS3 is really real. It’ll be out in the first week of September (September 1 in North America and Europe, September 3 for Japan), and will retail for $300 (or 300 Euro, or 29,980 Yen). It’s smaller and lighter, has a 120GB HDD, and packs “all the same features” of the regular PS3 while consuming 34 percent less power and taking up 32 percent less space. Existing PS3 SKUs have their prices dropped a hundie apiece tomorrow in anticipation, so be sure to grab a space heater while you’ve still got a shot — though we’re not sure why you’d pay $300 for an 80GB PS3 when you can wait a couple weeks and get 120GB in a cuter package. A couple pics of the unveil are after the break.

The new 3.0 firmware will be released concurrently with the PS3 slim, which should provide a breath of fresh air for existing machines. Other new features of the PS3 slim include BRAVIA Sync, which allows you to control the PS3 XMB over HDMI through your BRAVIA TV remote, and System Standby to shut off the PS3 when the BRAVIA TV is off. Sony also claims this new machine will run more quietly than existing PS3 systems, which is good news for people who like to watch movies or have conversations in the general vicinity of their game console. There’s also a Vertical Stand, which will retail for $24. Not so awesome is Sony’s removal of the Install Other OS feature… farewell, Linux. We hardly knew thee.

Update: We’ve got press shots! Check ‘em all in the gallery below, and be sure to pore over that to-scale comparo pic up top. There’s one from above as well, which reveals that the new model is actual “deeper” than the PS3 fat.

Update 2: Video! Our main man Jack Tretton talks up and shows off his spanking new slim PS3 after the break. We’ve also got a full rundown of the specs for your perusal, and added some new information above.

Gallery: Sony’s slimmer PS3