3D: the Marmite of the technology world. It's very much a love/hate affair many of us share with 3D displays, but there's at least one thing we can all agree on; the sooner we ditch the glasses, the better.

Those with a very specific sized laptop display (15.6 inches, to be exact), got a reasonably affordable way of upgrading their machines to offer glasses-free 3D visuals today.

A company called Spatial View have revealed the 3DeeScreen peripheral, a magnetized mounting frame that clips over the top of your existing laptop screen to turn in into a makeshift lenticular display, using a series of tiny mirrors to give the impression of depth to what you're viewing. It's pretty much the same principle employed in Nintendo's 3DS handheld.

"Our goal is to provide a superior 3D viewing experience and enable existing laptops with 3D functionality at a reasonable price," said Spatial View general manager Ihor Petelycky.

Priced at $129, Spatial View ship to the UK too, should your laptop be one of the few that fits with the add-on.

Via: Slashgear

We're all saving the pennies for an ultrabook after the slew of them released at CES 2012, but perhaps we wont need quite as much dough to get some ultra-thin, ultra-powerful computers on our laps.

That's because it seems certain that AMD are to launch cut-price alternatives to Intel's ultrabook family, matching the power and light form-factor but shaving as much as 10 to 20% off of the price.

While ultrabooks carry Intel's pricey chipsets, Digitimes are reporting that AMD will launch their own alternative range with their new Trinity APU powering the show.

Best of all, we may see these devices launch as soon as June of this year, which could see ultrabook prices forced down for sooner than we expected in order to meet the competition.

Via: Digitimes

Remember the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga hybrid ultrabook/tablet device we showed you yesterday? Well we've now seen it in person, and it's just as impressive as it seemed.

Running Windows 8, the 13.3 inch screen can be swivelled 360-degrees to position it in a laptop format with keyboard, flat slate like shape, a stand for watching video and, er, a tent as Lenovo themselves like to describe it.

Click here for more info, or hit the video above for a short video demo of the device.

For more news from CES 2012, click here.

Think HP were throwing all of their Ultrabook eggs into the basket marked "Folio 13"? Well think again; a new teaser trailer from the computing giants suggests that HP have a lot planned for the ultra-portable, ultra-powerful computing bracket.

The first new Ultrabook fruits from HP looks set to be the HP Spectre, expected to be part of their Envy line. First spotted on the FCC a few weeks ago, this newly-revealed teaser video suggests that the Spectre will be another slimline, top-spec offering from HP, aimed at premium-tier consumers.

The video itself doesn't reveal much aside from some glitzy CGI work and some super-slim chassis lines, but it does hint at a complete unveiling in the near future.

Check it all out in the video above. We're fully expecting the HP Envy Spectre to be revealed at CES 2012 next week, so check back then for all our coverage from the show floor.

The age of the netbook is well and truly over, and nothing rings the death knell more loud and clear than when a massive PC manufacturer like Dell announces it's stepping out of the market sector.

After Dell's Inspirion Mini line silently fell off the radar, the company have since confirmed that they will no longer be producing the little low-powered laptops.

"Thin and powerful is where it is at for us," Dell's marketing director Alison Gardner told The Verge.

Thin and powerful? Like ultrabook thin and powerful?

It looks that way, though Gardner cleverly avoided using the term and all the weight of expectation the new product category brings with it.

Dell's XPS 14z is the closest thing they've built recently to what could be compared to a premium-feeling ultrabook, but would need to slim down even further without compromising on power to really get consumers pulses racing and offer a genuine challenge to Apple's Air range and the wave of ultrabooks on the way from Samsung and Acer.

We'll be keeping a close eye on Dell in the coming months to see how they approach this exciting new sector of the PC market. We'd expect to hear a little bit more come CES in Las Vegas this coming January, so check back then for all the news from the show floor.

Looking to shift their attention from the flailing notebook market, Acer CEO JT Wang has announced that the Taiwanese tech firm will focus heavily on ultrabook production in 2012.

The super-thin, super-fast intel powered offerings are key to boosting the company's fortunes believes Wang, hoping that the MacBook Air rivals will make a 10% sales jump in the new year.

"We will shift our strategy to improving profitability from pursuing market share blindly with cheap and unprofitable products," Wang told Dow Jones.

"Ultrabooks will become our key growth driver next year as customers want a lighter, thinner notebook with longer battery life.

Selling more ultrabooks will also help improve our profit margins as they command higher prices."

Acer, who have usually catered for all market price points, may well take Apple's lead then, and look towards more exclusive, high-end products in order to chase profits in the future.

Via: AllThingsD

Samsung may be preparing to quit production of their netbook lines as soon as next year, according to a leaked email from the company.

The message, sent to a trade partner, states that 10.1 inch devices will be getting the chop, with Samsung to re-focus their energies on the ultrabook sector.

"Following the introduction of our new strategy in Q1 2012, we stop the product range in 10.1" (Netbook) in Q1 2012 for the benefit of Ultraportables products (11.6 and 12-inches) and ultrabooks to be launched in 2012," reveals the email.

Samsung's move is unexpected, but not wholly surprising. Netbooks have faced a stiff decline in popularity following the rise of the ever-more-powerful, ever-more-portable, ever-more-business-friendly tablet.

Ultrabooks now offer a far more attractive proposition than netbooks. Powerful, slick, and often taking design inspiration from Apple's own book of tricks, the premium ultrabook sector looks to be where the portable computing market is headed.

Via: Engadget

HP jump into the UltraBook market today with the light-but-powerful HP Folio 13. A thin, stylish looker, it doesn't scrimp on the specs despite selling for a reasonable $900.

Featuring a Core i5-2467M, (with dual-core i7 versions on the way), a 128GB SSD and 4GB of DDR3 memory, it'll be more or less capable of all but the most intensive of PC tasks.

Connections-wise, HP squeeze in a HDMI port, Ethernet, both USB 2.0 and 3.0 plugs, memory card reader and mic/headphone hybrid port.

The 13.3 inch screen doesn't quite hit full HD resolutions, maxing out at 1366x768, but manages an impressive 9 hours of battery life per charge. At 1.5kg and 18mm thick, the Folio 13 isn't feather-light, but remains perfectly portable.

All in, it's looking a capable rival to Apple's MacBook Air and Toshiba's Toshiba Portégé Z830.

Touching down in the US on December 7th, we'll keep you posted on any UK release info.

Via: Ultra Book News

Those looking to pop a laptop on top of their Christmas lists this year would do well to give Toshiba's latest Ultrabook duo a once-over. In stores before the end of the month and with prices starting at £899, Tosh' are looking to make their mark on the Ultrabook category with the Portégé Z830 and Satellite Z830.

Both 13 inch, HD set ups, they've got either Intel core i3 or i5 Sandybridge chips depending on the specification build chosen marking them for Ultrabook status. 4GB or 6GB of memory can be popped inside, with 128GB SSDs on storage duties.

Gamers will be disappointed to find only a HD3000 integrated GPU on graphics duties which, while struggling with blockbuster titles, will be fine for HD video playback.

Prices start at £899 for the Satellite, topping out at around £1320 for the high-end configuration for the Portégé.

Someone get this notebook a Mars Bar! ASUS have revealed the U46 laptop, sporting the world's thinnest 14-inch screen panel at just 5.5mm thick.

Sitting on a hinge-forward design, the screen can tilt over the keys at different angles to widen the viewing angle, running at a HD-ready resolution of 1366x768.

Getting off the catwalk and into the tech-specs, the U46 has a Sandy Bridge Intel Core i5 processor, backed up by a Nvidia GeForce GT540M graphics chip, 1GB of GDDR3 video memory and 4GB of RAM.

USB 3.0 connectivity will mean you'll quickly be able to transfer files onto the 500GB HDD, while a webcam, card reader and HDMI port round off the feature list.

Out now, you can grab one from Comet for £699.

The annual IFA tech show in Berlin has come to a close for yet another year, after bringing plenty brand new gadgets and gizmos to the table to start saving for. It's a massive show, packed with everything from AV gear to mobile phones and home appliances, but we've sifted the wheat from the chaff to give you our highlights from Europe largest electronics expo. Here's Tech Digest's IFA Best in Show for 2011.

BEST TV: Sharp 8K4K Super High-Def TV

The TV that Tech Digest shall set as the high-watermark all others must aim for for the forseeable future, Sharp's 8K4K prototype was by far the most stunning screen we've ever seen, and our favourite item overall at this year's show. Though it's not going to be commercially available for at least the best part of a decade, we were treated to a jaw-dropping presentation of footage 16-times the pixel density of full HD 1080p. We felt sorry for all the TVs we had to check out at the show after seeing this one so early on, as none of the others stood a chance in comparison.

BEST SMARTPHONE/TABLET: Samsung Galaxy Note

Not a great show for tablets or smartphones, with Sony's offerings a little underwhelming and few other manufacturers making a splash. Samsung's Galaxy Note, while not everyone's cup of tea, at least attempted something slightly different, with its massive screen and stylus input. Jobs may have delcared the stylus dead with Apple's touchscreen devices, but Samsung quite rightly still see a place for digital note taking with an input pen.

BEST PROJECTOR: Epson EH-T9000W

If you've got a few grand to spare, Epson proved that having your very own 3D cinema experience in your living room is a relatively affordable reality this year. Showing off their first line of 3D projectors, the stunning visuals were made all the sweeter thanks to the inclusion of Wi-Fi smarts in the EH-T9000W top-end model.

BEST LAPTOP: Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook

Who said Windows machines couldn't be as good-looking as Apple devices? Acer's Aspire S3 Ultrabook paired great looks and portability with supercharged power in a laptop that offered both i7 and SSD high-end configurations.

MADDEST GADGET: Jean-Michel Jarre's AeroDream One 11ft iPad dock

Jean-Michel Jarre; a man known equally for his pioneering electronic music and dazzling live light shows. He'll now also be known as the man behind the world's most ridiculous iPad dock, the 11ft tall AeroDream One. Tech Digest had the pleasure of talking to the French musical legend at IFA 2011 in the video above, where Jarre explains the inspiration behind his designs.

For more coverage from IFA 2011, click here.

MacBook Air fans looking for some Windows lovin', have a gander at the Acer Aspire S3. Billed as an "Ultrabook", it's lightwieght and powerful in all of its various configurations, and more than a match for the Apple machines in the style stakes. We went hands on at IFA in the video above.

A mere 13mm at its thinnest point and booting from sleep mode to a useable state in just 1.5 seconds, its available with both SSD or HDD storage options and i3 or i7 cores.

A 13.3-inch, 1366 x 768 pixel LED display is offered up by Acer, with 7 hours worth of battery power per charge.

Hit the video above to take a look.

Razer were not messing around when they said they had "something big" to announce to PC gamers on August 26th. They've just revealed the Razer Blade, possibly the most exciting gaming laptop we've ever seen at Tech Digest.

We'd assumed that the August 26th reveal would have been that of the Razer Switchblade. Turns out we were only half wrong, as Razer seem to have incorporated many of that CES 2011 prototype's ideas into an altogether superior gaming laptop.

The most obviously impressive feature here is the adaptive keyboard, using what's now reffered to as the Switchblade UI. With one section to the right of the laptop sectioned off, it again uses miniature LCD screens that double up as input keys, changing their symbols dynamically depending on the game you are playing. Fire up Call of Duty for instance and you may get weapon hotkeys with their correponding images, or load up World of Warcraft and they will turn into spells.

Then there is the touch pad that sits underneath the LCD screens. Again, as an LCD panel itself it's not your average touchpad, instead seeming more like a multi-touch smartphone screen than a traditional laptop touchpad. Plug in a mouse and that screen changes its use again, offering extra information on the game you are playing, such as unit stats in RTS games or health bars, maps and the like in FPS games.

Things get even better when you get heavily into the tech specs:

2.8GHz Intel®Core™i7 2640M Processor
8GB 1333MHz DDR3 Memory
17.3" LED Backlit Display (1920x1080)
NVIDIA GeForce®GT 555M with NVIDIA®Optimus™Technology
2GB Dedicated GDDR5 Video Memory
Built-in HD Webcam
Integrated 60Wh Battery
320GB 7200rpm SATA HDD
Wireless Network 802.11 b/g/n Compatible
16.81" (Width) x 10.9" (Depth) x 0.88" (Height); 6.97lbs (Weight)

Not too shabby for a gaming laptop, eh? It's even more remarkable when you consider it's all packed into a chassis only 88mm thick, making the whole unit far more portable than rival machines.

"The Razer Blade was designed to give gamers a laptop they could truly use on the go," said Min-Liang Tan, CEO and Creative Director, Razer.

"Its sleek, lightweight aluminum construction makes it the thinnest 17-inch gaming laptop available today.

"The Switchblade User Interface on the Razer Blade is a revolutionary innovation that truly defines the new standard for gaming experiences on a laptop."

A truly exciting product then. The Switchblade UI looks superb, but developers will really have to put effort in to make the most of it. Whether developers will spend the time to add functionality for one unique laptop remains to be seen, but it's certainly looking promising. Here's hoping it plays as good as it looks.

No word on pricing or availablilty yet, but click below for more images of the Razer Blade.

Samsung are getting their game on with the new Series 7 Gamer laptop, a 3D capable machine aimed squarely at the hardcore gamer.

With a full HD 3D display measuring 17.3 inches, it probably won't be the most portable laptop you've ever slipped in your rucksack. But what it lacks in slimness it certainly make up for in graphical grunt.

Under the hood it's equipped wih an Intel Core i7 processor and AMD Radeon HD graphics card alongside 2GB of GDDR5 graphic memory and an 8GB ExpressCache system that Samsung claims will offer "incredible gaming speeds".

So to answer that question on the tip of your tongue; yes, it can run Crysis.

Shipping with Windows Home 7 Premium edition and a pair of active shutter glasses, the Gamer also features VGA, HDMI, DisplayPort, headphone and microphone inputs,as well as two USB 3.0 slots and two USB 2.0s.

Those looking to just get some work done can tone down the specs using a Mode Dial, that swtiches between the powerful Gaming mode, a Balanced mode for regular Office use, Library mode for the quietest settings and a Green mode to maximise battery life.

"With the Series 7 Gamer we have delivered a notebook that can compete with a desktop PC, and that sets the benchmark for gaming notebooks," said Damian Cusick, General Manager, Computing, Samsung UK and Ireland.

"The Series 7 is packed with features that specifically meet the demands of serious gamers, and with its four optimisation modes, can deliver optimum performance for a wide variety of different activities, at the turn of a dial."

Out now, you can pick the laptop up for £1,499.

PC gaming is dead, eh? Best not tell that to the folks over at Razer; they've got a big new campaign very much reliant on the idea that it's alive and kicking still.

Leading the charge is the viral video above, promising something "big" is coming on the 26th of August. Could it be this?

That's the Razer Switchblade, a portable gaming PC with a multitouch LCD screen and a keyboard made up of multiple OLED keys that dynamically change symobls depending on the application or game being played. It's very cool, and was one of our "best in show" at this year's CES.

It may be diminutive in size, but the announcement of launch details for the Switchblade would be as "big" as anything Razer have ever put out, so fingers crossed the device is out of the prototype stage and is now ready for gamers grubby mits.

The golves are off! Dell founder and current CEO Michael Dell has put his best quip on the table, mocking rival HP following the news that they're abandoning webOS and looking to sell off their PC division.

"If HP spins off their PC business....maybe they will call it Compaq?" joked Dell on his Google+ account, referring to HP's $25 billion acquistion of Compaq back in 2005.

"They are calling it a separation but it feels like a divorce," the Dell boss added later.

The whole HP move must be a weight off Dell's shoulders. Dell had slipped behind HP as the world's biggest PC seller back in 2007, forcing Michael Dell to step back into the driving seat of his company after stepping away briefly in order for Dell to once more become top dog.

Still, it shows that PCs and laptops are in an increasingly precarious position, with the rise of the tablet showing no signs of slowing.

They're dropping like flies! First we reveal that HP are to ditch support for the webOS mobile platform they'd acquired little more than a year ago, and now in a total shock move the company are also looking to sell off its Personal Systems Group, responsible for their laptop and desktop computers.

Revealed in the company's latest earnings report, HP stated that "Personal Systems Group (PSG) revenue declined 3 per cent year over year with a 5.9 per cent operating margin,"but that "PSG remains the PC market leader in terms of units, revenue and profit share."

It looks as though HP will now focus on B2B and investments in the public sector rather than consumer projects.

"The exploration of alternatives for PSG demonstrates our commitment to enhancing shareholder value and sharpening our strategic and financial focus," said Léo Apotheker, HP president and CEO.

"In March we outlined a strategy for HP, built on cloud, solutions and software to address the changing requirements of our customers, shaped heavily by secular market trends that are redefining how technology is consumed and deployed. Since then, we have observed the acceleration of these market trends, which has led us to evaluate additional steps to transform HP to meet emerging opportunities.

HP are now rumoured to be entering into a $10 billion deal to buy software company Autonomy Corporation.

"We believe the acquisition of Autonomy, combined with the exploration of alternatives for PSG, would allow HP to more effectively compete and better execute its focused strategy," continued Apotheker.

"We believe exploring alternatives for PSG could enhance its performance, allow it to more effectively compete and provide greater value for HP shareholders. PSG is a world-class scale business with a leading market share position and a highly effective supply chain and broad reach and go-to-market capabilities. We believe there are alternatives that could afford PSG more autonomy and flexibility to make strategic investment decisions to better position the business for its customers, partners and employees."

Strategic alternatives for the firm could include a greater separation of HP's consumer and enterprise divisions, with the aim for a possible Google/Motorola style buyout further down the line.

HP have estimated a 12-18 month transitional period is to follow.

Intel's Ultrabooks are on their way and a leaked photo of the Acer Aspire 3951 Ultrabook is the first to get pulses really racing.

A real MacBook Air alternative, it's set to touch down in October, with prices as low as £475 to match its slim chasis. Though it's difficult to compare to the Air without a finalised spec sheet, Macbook Airs start at £849 in the UK.

Just 13mm thick and 1.4KG in weight, the aluminium build machine features a second generation Intel Core processor, optional 160GB solid state drive and 6 hour battery life.

Via: Geeky Gadgets

Hot on the heels of the MacBook Air 2011 revamp (and with it the news that the MacBook line is being laid to rest) are reports that Apple are planning on building ultra-thin MacBook Pro models.

Little birds have whispered to MacRumours of 15 inch skinny MacBook Pros, while TUAW have heard similar rumours around 17 inch versions.

MacBook Pro's major selling point over Air models (other than processing grunt in many configurations) is the addition of a built-in optical drive, which would no doubt be cut if the Pros went on a diet.

It's all possible too; Apple are all for aesthetic synergy, and the falling cost of SSD storage makes slim MacBook Pros far from pipe dreams. With Apple increasingly turning to net distribution channels for software (as seen with the Mac App Store and the download/USB stick only OS X Lion) that optical drive wont nessecarily be missed.

Sources at MacRumours suggest that the line could even be ready by Christmas. While the skinny Pros are certainly a possiblity, we'd doubt we'll see them this soon. A single MacBook Pro range refresh is enough for one year, and Apple have already drip-fed 2011's updates.

Apple's MacBook Air line gets a 2011 refresh today, with both the 11-inch and 13.3-inch models getting a significant spec jump from their 2010 counterparts.

Size-wise, both the 11-inch and 13.3-inch models remain more or less unchanged from last year's editions (0.3 cm-1.7 cm at their thinnest and thickest points respectively). But it's under the hood where the real magic is.

Underneath that aluminium unibody enclosure, customers can now opt for Sandy Bridge i5 or i7 CPUs, with Thunderbolt connectivity now coming as standard across the range too.

Looking first at the 11-inch model, you can grab a base model with a 1.6GHz processor, 2GB of RAM and 64GB of Flash storage for £849.

While that may not sound all that different from the 2010 version (excepting the miniscule processing upgrade), splash the cash and the new 11-inch model starts looking quite a bit more impressive. Apple offer configurations for 4GB of RAM and 256GB of Flash storage too for those with the extra wonga to spare. A build like that would set you back £999.

Heading on over to the 13.3 inch model, and the base processor is clocked at 1.7GHz, with 4GB or RAM and 128GB of Flash storage. Again, the processor can jump up to a 1.8GHz i7, along with double the storage for those with money. Prices for the 13.3-inch model start at £1,099 and go up to £1,349.