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No offense to the previous ProBooks s-series, but we think HP may have finally removed the last pieces of boring from the line. The new crop of business laptops – if you can even call them that anymore – are available with 13.3, 14, 15.6 and 17.3-inch display sizes, and can be configured with Intel’s latest Core i3, i5 and i7 processors. There are too many configurations to list, but the $900 15.6-inch ProBook 4520s with a Core i5 CPU and a 500GB 7,200RPM drive sounds like a deal to us. Fear not graphics mavens, you can configure any of the models with ATI’s Mobility Radeon HD 5350 GPU. Specs aside, we were pretty enamored with the externals – all are clad in a brushed aluminum case and a matte surface lid that’s available in “caviar” brown or a reddish “bordeaux.” Our fingers were big fans of the chiclet keyboard, but the addition of the ClickPad with its integrated mouse buttons makes us a bit anxious, you know, given the issues we’ve had with those on the Mini 210 and Envys. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention HP’s new Day Starter software that lets the workaholics amongst you check a configured Outlook calender while the laptop boots up in the background — it doesn’t work yet with Google Cal, we asked. You should be able to start configuring the lappies in the next few weeks, but hit the break for some hands-on pics and the full PR.

Continue reading HP spices up ProBooks with Core 2010 CPUs, ClickPads and caviar paint

HP spices up ProBooks with Core 2010 CPUs, ClickPads and caviar paint originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thought HP was done unleashing its new line of semi-rugged EliteBooks at CES? So did we, but apparently it needed just a little bit more time to pull the 12.1-inch 2540p and 2740p out of the oven. An update to the 2530p, the 3.8-pound 2540p still has the same magnesium alloy chassis that’s met all those super-tough MIL-STD 810G military standard tests, but its innards have been freshened up with the alluring scent of Intel’s 2010 Core processors. Prices start at $1,099, but in typical HP fashion it will be configurable online with tons of juicy options, including standard and low voltage Core i5 and i7 processors and a range of 7,200RPM and SSD drives.

Up next is the 2740p which packs much of the same internal spec options as the 2540p (sans the low-voltage CPUs), but puts them into a convertible tablet form factor. Starting at $1,599, its capacitive multitouch 12.1-inch display now supports both pen and finger input and thus pits it head-to-head with Lenovo’s ThinkPad X201t, though from our hands-on we found the 3.8-pound 2740p to be much slimmer and lighter. A lot of that has to do with its flush battery, but if adding some juice (and thickness) is your thing, you can add a slate battery (or two!) to the bottom of the system. Both the 2540p and 2740p will be available later this month, but hit the hands-on gallery below to get a look at these magnesium puppies up close.

Continue reading HP adds EliteBook 2540p and 2740p to the lineup, brings the power and the touch

HP adds EliteBook 2540p and 2740p to the lineup, brings the power and the touch originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Uh, folks — we’ve an identity crisis on our hands. Is this a MID with a penchant for navigating? Is this a PMP with pre-loaded maps? Is it an ultra-sleek navigator that just so happens to play music? There’s a fair chance the world will never know, but we’ll soon be stopping by Mio’s booth at CeBIT in order to get a view of things ourselves. At any rate, the Moov V780 is undoubtedly one of the most appealing things to come from the outfit in quite some time, offering up 720p multimedia playback, an HDMI output, digital TV support, a 7-inch (800 x 480 resolution) display, 600MHz CPU, 512MB of memory, 4GB of onboard flash and a pretty tremendous list of supported file formats. Sadly, it’s humming along on Windows CE (rather than, say, Android), but at least it ships with WiFi and optional WiMAX. There’s no mention of a price or release date, but we’ll be on the hunt for those tidbits as soon as the show floor opens up.

Mio stuns at CeBIT with ultra-sleek Moov V780 MID originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This one slipped under our radar last week, but it’s interesting nonetheless: Apple’s filed for a “Magic Trackpad” trademark, which would seemingly indicate that there’s a companion to the Magic Mouse in the works. That’s all we know for now, but recall that John Gruber at Daring Fireball hinted that Apple was working on a “multi-touch trackpad gadget for desktop Macs” back in October just before the revised white MacBook was released. Obviously nothing’s come of that yet, but it all seems to fit — either that, or Apple’s trademark attorneys are just trying to cover their bases. We’ll see what happens.

Apple files for Magic Trackpad trademark originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Update: Service has been restored and the situation has been resolved. Consoles has incorrect leap year settings that were causing issues, but the issue has passed. PS3s should be operating normally now.

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Sony PlayStation 3 owners in multiple regions (including North America, Europe and Australia) are facing the inability to sign into the PlayStation Network online gaming service, corrupted user data and inability to play some games online or off. The problems are accompanied by the 8001050F error code.

When they try to load up certain games — including the just-released Heavy Rain — they receive the error code and the following message: “Registration of the trophy information could not be completed. The game will now quit.” After the message, the system reboots. The problems seem to mostly affect older, “fat” models of the PS3. Slim models are either not impacted or affected far less frequently.

Trophies are prizes given to players for accomplishing certain tasks in each game; the trophies are synced with the PlayStation Network so players can compare their achievements. Gaming blog Joystiq found reports that the consoles were having their dates reset to 12/31/1999; that might somehow be related to the trophy syncing problems.

Once reports of the problems started to appear, Sony tweeted: “We’re aware that many of you are having problems connecting to PSN, and yes, we’re looking into it. Stay tuned for updates.” That’s all we’ve heard from them so far. There’s no solution just yet; even disconnecting your console from the Internet doesn’t help. We’ll post an update immediately when we hear about a resolution.

Tags: down, outage, playstation 3, playstation network, PS3, PSN, sony, sony playstation

With more than 140,000 apps in the iPhone App Store, finding task-specific apps or utilities for your iPhone or iPod touch (and soon iPad) isn’t the hard part. The hard part is finding the best app for the job. That’s why we’re launching a new series here at Mashable, where we raid the App Store to find the best apps for a specific purpose. First on our docket: Remote Control apps!

The long-promised convergence of television and the Internet is finally coming. More and more consumer electronics devices come with features like WiFi and built-in support for Internet services. Tools like Boxee (even with the Apple TV) and Windows 7 Media Center make it easier than ever to connect your computer to your TV to enjoy online content.

Last summer, my personal project was creating the ultimate Mac mini HTPC, and in the end, it turned out great. However, one of the most frustrating (and potentially costly) factors of the whole project was finding a viable keyboard, mouse and remote setup. Controlling a computer from the couch is different than controlling it from a desk, and even though I found a lot of great software-based remote options (and a few hardware options too), it turned out that the best (and by far, most cost-effective) method for controlling my entire setup was right in my pocket.

There are literally dozens and dozens of iPhone and iPod touch apps that can control your PC (be it Mac, Windows or Linux), but after using and testing the big players in this field (and even the small ones), I’ve found five of my favorites. Check them out and be sure to leave your own suggestions in the comments.

*A Note: With one exception, all of these apps are multi-purpose, meaning they are designed to control more than one program. For that reason, some of the XBMC or Boxee-specific apps were left off my list.

1. HippoRemote Pro 2.0

Even before HippoRemote Pro 2.0 was released, this app had a permanent spot on my iPhone’s home screen. The Pro version of the app is $4.99 and a less-feature rich basic version is available for $0.99 and a new Lite edition is available for free.

What makes this app so great is that it works with Mac, Windows and Linux, and acts not only as a viable trackpad/keyboard combo, but offers all kinds of app profiles (plus you can create your own) to control applications like Boxee, Windows Media Center 7, Hulu Desktop, your web browser, iTunes, and more. Plus, you can create macros, easily switch apps, wake up your device over LAN, and use international keyboards.

The new version of HippoRemote Pro also features an awesome Boxee plugin that adds the same kind of gesture control as the official Boxee iPhone app, as well as a built-in web browser (for checking the web, IMDB or Facebook) and Twitter client that lets you check your timeline, mentions and send tweets all from the remote application.

Check out this video the team made showing off the new HippoRemote 2.0:

At our house we use this on our Macs and Windows PCs and really, really love it.

2. Keymote

Keymote from Iced Cocoa is a Mac-only remote control that works by creating little application-specific keysets to control specific actions. Think of it like those macro-based IR remote controls (like the ones Sony used to sell before the Logitech Harmony series took over the market).

What sets Keymote apart is its built-in Keymote “store” where you can download keysets from other users to use with your favorite apps. The interface is really nice and for users who really like to have key commands and shortcuts at their fingertips, Keymote is great.

3. Remote Jr.

Remote Jr. comes in two flavors, the full version for $7.99 or the lite version for $1.99. Remote Jr. Lite doesn’t support Wake-on-LAN and doesn’t have a keyboard or trackpad/airmouse, but will give you a taste of the app itself.

More than other remote control apps, Remote Jr. really is more of a fully-functional VNC (Virtual Network Computing) app. By this I mean you can view your computer’s desktop, access specific elements or apps, and interact with them even when you aren’t in front of your computer.

Most of the remote control apps just use WiFi to connect to your components or PC, which is great — but Remote Jr. can connect over GPRS/Edge or 3G, meaning you can access and control your Mac or PC even if you aren’t at home. That’s pretty powerful. There are other VNC apps out there (namely iTeleport: Jaadu VNC) that have more features, but they also cost a lot more ($24.99) and don’t have the remote control and application switching interface built into them like Remote Jr.

A new version of Remote Jr. was just submitted to the App Store, and amongst other additions and improvements, it will bring audio streaming and Apple TV support. Apple TV support is a really great addition that I look forward to putting to use!

Check out this video to see Remote Jr. in action:

Remote Jr. is a great app for people that want a cross between a VNC app and a remote control, without having to buy both.

4. EyeTV

Elgato’s EyeTV system is an absolutely fantastic way to turn your Mac into a DVR to record, edit and playback HDTV programming from over the air or cable.

The EyeTV iPhone app is a $4.99 companion that not only lets you control your EyeTV system, but lets you set up recording, view your schedule and programming guide, and play back recording from your computer on your iPhone. You can even stream live TV over a 3G connection, a la the SlingPlayer if you use the free EyeTV Live 3G web app (the EyeTV app will let you watch live TV and record over WiFi without a problem).

When you consider the price of a SlingPlayer and the corresponding mobile app, it makes the EyeTV that much more of a bargain.

5. Snatch

Snatch is a $3.99 remote control app that is extremely similar to both HippoRemote and Keymote. You can control your Mac or PC (and Snatch supports all the way back to Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger).

It has a multi-touch trackpad, a keyboard and a remote control editor. You can edit and design the layout of your remote control, adding buttons to specific functions. You can also create a “dock” of sorts for the applications that you like to frequently access.

One feature I like about Snatch is that you can see what apps are running and easily switch between them.

Snatch has a ton of fans, and while I still defer to HippoRemote or Remote Jr., it is a worthy player in the remote control space. Before buying Snatch, you can download the free Snatch Trackpad Test app to make sure it will work with your configuration.

Your Picks

Did I leave out one of your favorite remotes? How do you control your Mac or Windows PC with your iPhone or iPod touch? What features are you looking for in a remote control app? Let us know!

[Image credit: Tanais Fox]

More iPhone resources from Mashable:

- 10 Essential iPhone Apps for Runners

- 3 Free iPhone Apps to Help Make a Difference

-10 Best iPhone Apps for Dog Lovers

- Top 10 iPhone Apps as Judged by Mashable Readers

- 10 Fun iPhone Apps for Beer Lovers

- Mashable’s New iPhone App: Download Today!

Reviews: Boxee, Facebook, Linux, Twitter, Windows

Tags: apple, best iphone apps, eyetv, gadgets, hippo remote, iphone, iphone apps, keymote, mac, remote controls, remote jr, snatch, tech