You’ve got a fine hard drive, won’t you back dat data up? For security reasons, you really should. And when you do, you’re likely not going to want to lug around a clunky, unattractive external hard drive. So set yourself—or someone with worse style—up with one of these nifty, unique storage devices.

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Buffalo MiniStation Extreme ($94.99)

Thanks to shock protection bumpers, a ruggedized chassis, and other durability features, the Buffalo MiniStation Extreme will keep data secure. It also sports a curved design that’s both attractive and functional. A wraparound USB cable hugs the drive’s rounded edge, keeping things organized and ensuring it’s ready to connect on the fly. Other handy features include 256-bit AES hardware encryption and USB 3.0 support.

$94.99 (500GB), $124 (1TB); www.buffalotech.com

Yahoo today (Nov. 2) released Livestand, a free magazinelike news app that gathers your favorite Web-based sites into an attractive, easy-to-use interface.

Yahoo describes Livestand as a “digital newsstand that’s always fresh and effortlessly personalized.” This app is similar to Apple’s own Newsstand app, which also touts its ability to bring digital publications together in one interface. Where Livestand differs is that Apple’s Newsstand is largely built around paid subscriptions, while Yahoo’s contains free content from its own site and that of its partners. In that way, Livestand is more similar to apps such as Flipboard and Pulse.

[Full disclosure: TechmediaNetwork, parent company of this publication, is among the publishers featured in Livestand.]

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s no secret that replacing your notebook’s hard drive with a solid state disk can dramatically transform your computing experience. With even last year’s SSDs, tasks such as opening large files or starting bulky applications take mere moments to complete. And if you own a notebook powered by one of Intel’s 2nd Generation Core Series CPUs, you’re in for a whole new world of fast, courtesy of SATA III, a high-speed interface Intel included in its new chipsets starting in 2011.

While SATA II SSDs were often limited by the 3 GB/s cap imposed by their older interface, a new generation of SATA III drives takes full advantage of this increased bandwidth. For example, the SATA III-based Samsung 830 series was able to copy a 3.1GB file in just 13 seconds, nearly twice as fast as the SATA II-powered Samsung 430 series (24 seconds), which won our previous SSD round-up. That kind of data rate is also over three times as fast as a 7,200-rpm hard drive (71.7 seconds).

However, not all SATA III drives are created equal. We took four of the leading SSDs and put them through a battery of tests to determine which one belongs in your notebook. Read the rest of this entry »

SATA III SSD Showdown

• The Drives
• Synthetic Tests
• File Copy and Zip Tests
• Application Opens, Multitasking, and Verdict

Your typical solid state drive doesn’t get any bigger than 256GB, until now. OCZ, maker of fine SSDs such as the affordable and fast Vertex 2, announced pricing for its Colossus line of super-speedy flash storage lockers, one of which has a jaw-dropping memory capacity of 1TB.

According to the price details OCZ shared with Engadget, you’ll pay handsomely for the 1024GB SSD; $2,200 to be precise. But that much space could hold one massive library of music, music, documents, and photos, all without the hassle of plugging in external hardware (Electronista says the 400GB drive can fit into a notebook’s standard 3.5-inch drive bay). And don’t get us started on the performance boost to your system thanks to the SSD’s flashy read/write times. If 1TB and $2,200 dollars is overkill for you, there are three more options. The remainder of the OCZ Colossus line features 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB options for $300, $650, and $1,200 respectively.

OCZ tells Engadget that the new drives are “about three weeks” away from shipping. Counting down the days? So are we.

Via Engadget and Electronista 

• SSD Battle Royale: Which Drive Will Speed Up your Notebook the Most?
• How to Install an SSD in Your Notebook
• Samsung Announces 830 Series SSD, First with SATA 6Gb/s

New details are coming out about what is quite possibly the most anticipated tablet this side of the iPad 3. Last week, TechCrunch’s MG Siegler reported that he was able to spend some time with a 7-inch version of the tablet, which is reportedly named the Amazon Kindle. 

Although no images of the tablet have leaked out (yet), Siegler said the tablet looks a great deal like RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook and will run on a forked version of Android, meaning that it will use the Google OS as a base for Amazon’s own customized user interface. The Amazon Kindle is also expected to run off of a single-core processor. Siegler confirmed what that the device will feature a full complement of Amazon apps including the Amazon Android Appstore, Amazon Instant Video player, Amazon Cloud Drive, and of course the Amazon Kindle app. Read the rest of this entry »

Another highlight on the IFA accessory front: Rocstor’s pocket-sized hard drives that manage to put a pretty face on a traditionally rather drab device. The Rocport ID 9 drives–available in 250GB, 320GB, and 500GB sizes–sport a Pantone-style strip of color (running the gamut from red to dark blue to gray) set against a black body. And at 6.4 ounces, these drives are super light, to boot.

Besides providing a modern, Mondrian-esque design, the ID 9 drives have transfer speeds of up to 800 Mbps thanks to a 2.5″ SATA drive mechanism, and there are USB 2.0, Firewire 400, and Firewire 800 connections on board. Rocstor also incorporates an anti-shock chamber and a shock-absorbent casing to keep these beauties safe.

While the Rocport ID 9 drives may not boast the fastest rates on the market, they’re one of the best-looking options we’ve seen yet–and for portable drives, that’s something special.

Some say the best thing you can do for yourself is get a massage or start an exercise program or go on a (gasp) diet, but if you really wanna improve your life, get an SSD. Reader Osama plans to buy a new Corsair SSD at the same time he purchases an HP dm1z laptop, but he’s wondering how he’ll move the Windows 7 OS and programs from the old drive to the new. He writes:

A few months ago, I read an article in LaptopMag which suggested installing an SSD to improve a PC’s performance, among a list of other changes and upgrades. I have done a fair bit of research, and wish to install an SSD in the next laptop I purchase, in order to get a faster boot time and slightly better battery life. Read the rest of this entry »

Add another player to the high-speed, SATA 6 Gb/s SSD game. Today, Samsung unveiled its 830 Series SSD, the flash memory king’s second entry into the consumer solid state drive market, but its first to support the high-speed SATA revision 3 standard that offers up to 6 Gigabits per second. 

Due sometime in October, the 830 Series features Samsung’s proprietary 3-core controller and promises world-class speed and reliability to rival a large cadre of  competitors with drives already on the market. To compete with leading SATA 6 Gb/s SSDs like the OCZ Vertex 3, Intel 510 Series, and Crucial RealSSD C400, the 830 Series also promises a premium brushed-metal design, a suite of bundled utilities, and an optional upgrade kit. Read the rest of this entry »

Craving a gadget fix but don’t know where to start? This week’s reviews have something for everyone—from video chat apps and Lady Gaga’s Polaroid mobile printer to an external hard drive and notebooks from Acer, ASUS, and Lenovo. Click through our slideshow to see which of the latest products you might have missed?

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Lenovo ThinkPad T420

The 14-inch Lenovo ThinkPad T420 earned our Editors' Choice award for its super-long battery life, comfortable keyboard, and strong performance.

Read Our Lenovo ThinkPad T420 Review

Shopping for a student’s back-to-school gear can feel like taking a final exam for a class you skipped all year. How much RAM do they need? What’s a good smart phone that won’t break the bank? And how do you best protect their gear and all of their important assignments? That’s where our cheat sheet comes in. We’ve rounded up five pieces of gear that are guaranteed to keep your student productive, connected, and entertained.

1. Laptop

For just $479, you really can outfit your favorite young mind with a great system that has all the essentials. The 11.6-inch HP Pavilion dm1z sports an AMD Fusion processor, a 1366 x 768-pixel display, and HP’s CoolSense technology in a svelte 3.4-pound, package. Your student also gets 4GB of RAM and a roomy 500GB hard drive. Plus, this ultraportable lasts six and a half hours on a charge, a full day on most campuses.

Get More: Best Back-to-School Notebooks for 2011

2. Tablet 

A ton of companies are trying, but no one can beat the the iPad 2′s ease of use, design, and sheer number of apps. And who needs an eReader when you’ve got iBooks? The iPad 2 is thinner and lighter than most slates, and now has a front-facing camera for making FaceTime calls. The dual-core A5 processor really flies, and the 9.7-inch, 1024 x 768 IPS display offers the best viewing angles.

Get More: Top 5 Tablets For Students

3. Smartphone 

Free: That’s what the black, T-Mobile LG Optimus T will cost you to give your student a new back-to-school snartphone. For that rock-bottom price you get a clean, Android 2.2 smartphone with five customizable home screens, a 3.2-MP camera, and access to 200,000-plus apps.

Get More: Best Smartphones Under $50

4. Backpack 

Armed with the SOLO Sentinel ($59.99), your student will be able to schlepp all her gear all day long without killing her back, thanks to the well-padded shoulder straps. This backpack is sized to protect laptops with screens up to 17.3 inches and features an innovative cord management system that keeps the spaghetti hidden and well organized. Plus, an internal pocket provides a custom fit for an iPad.

Get More: 8 Great Back-to-School Notebook Bags

5. External Hard Drive 

The $149 Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex is one of the fastest portable USB 3.0 drives money can buy. At 9.9-ounces the G0Flex is perfect for protecting that thesis paper along with other files and media. This 1TB USB 3.0 device offers blazing transfer speeds, and it has a lot of helpful utilities, to boot. The GoFlex’s backup software and Mac compatibility make it very versatile for any student on the move.

Get More: Top 11 Back-to-School Accessories