MSI’s latest gaming laptop looks to be the option for those who simply want the best and won’t settle for anything less. The MSI GX660 gaming laptop comes with Intel’s PM55 chipset and a quad-core Core i7 mobile processor, as well as top-notch dedicated graphics in the form of the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 with 1G GDDR5 VRAM. Overall, it looks like a very well-rounded desktop replacement, as its key features also include a 15.6-inch full HD LED-backlit LCD screen, DDR3 1333 MHz RAM, Dynaudio onboard speakers and a 500GB SATA HDD. The MSI GX660R is the same laptop but with a RAID configuration that brings the total system storage space up to 1TB while doubling the write speed.

Connectivity-wise, the MSI GX660 also won’t be left behind. It offer HDMI and VGA-out, 2 USB 2.0 ports, 2 USB 3.0 ports, 1 E-SATA port, mic and headphone in/out ports, built-in Ethernet port, Wi-Fi b/g/n and Bluetooth, as well as a 4-in-1 memory card reader.

A 9-cell battery and built-in HD webcam round out the MSI GX660′s short but sweet list of gaming laptop features. It should be available globally in the upcoming weeks, though MSI failed to mention where exactly and for how much it will be launching first. Continue reading to see the MSI GX660′s spec sheet.
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You might have already heard this one before, but as anyone who closely follows happenings in the tech sector might expect, several companies are already working on their own tablet PC offerings with either the open-source mobile Android OS or a mobile-optimized version of Windows 7. Samsung is among those first expected to deliver such a mobile device, and their upcoming product has been identified in the past as the Samsung Galaxy Tab (pictured above). Today, Reuters has posted news further confirming this as part of Samsung’s future plans, mentioning that Samsung’s tablet PC will have a 7-inch display (compared to the iPad’s 9.7-inch screen). Near the end of its news post, Reuters also mentioned that LG Electronics will also deliver a tablet PC with Android OS, and that it will be released in the fourth quarter following Samsung’s third quarter release date for their tablet.

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It seems like for the longest time, you can never purchase any Samsung netbooks here in the Philippines. No matter where you looked, no matter who you asked, you just wouldn’t be able to find any netbooks from Samsung being sold anywhere locally. Well, no more, hopefully, because Samsung just recently launched two of their latest netbooks on Philippine soil. These are the Samsung N150 Plus and Samsung N220 Plus.
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Nokia Series 40 phones (like the upcoming Nokia C3) typically don’t come with great mobile Web browsers like their Series 60 counterparts. Sure, there’s always been Opera Mini, but being a third-party offering, I’d imagine Nokia might have some qualms with it. Turns out, things aren’t going to be like this forever. Nokia has just released the Ovi Browser for Series 40 phones in beta on Nokia Beta Labs, and users of a plethora of Series 40 handsets will be able to try it out and see what’s good or bad about it.

Nokia highlights its key features as including fast page load times, three view modes (full page, zoomed-in and column view), snap to text during scrolling, speed scrolling using numeric keypad, one click jump to login and search and page segmentation to simplify navigation. From the looks of it, I don’t think it will be that much better than the already existing offering from Opera meantioned earlier. But since it’s still in beta, who knows what might change. Continue reading to see a video about the Nokia Ovi Browser for Series 40 phones.
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For Sprint’s HTC Evo 4G users, Android 2.2 will be available for download as early as tomorrow, and will be rolled out to all customers starting August 3. This is according to an official press release made by Sprint, in which they detail some of the changes that will come with the Android 2.2 update as well as the two options by which customers will be able to update their phones to the latest Android software.

Starting next Tuesday, Sprint will issue notifications to customers about the update process and include instructions to a simple two-step over-the-air download process. Apart from which, Sprint also says customers should be able to access the software update through their HTC EVO 4G under the Settings Menu System Updates HTC Software Update. This route will be one step longer. More details are included in the press release, available after the break.
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It’s not clear when Noka plans to release the power-packed Nokia N8 here in the Philippines. But elsewhere in the world, it’s already up for pre-order. And it’s been confirmed for a September 2010 release date, to boot. Over in Italy’s Nokia online store, the Nokia N8 has been posted for sale at a price of €469 or about 27,900 Pesos. Not bad, considering the Nokia N900 first arrived here with a 35,000 Peso price tag (and the fact that it’s much cheaper than the iPhone 4′s similar 30k~+ Peso pricing. This is the unlocked, unsubsidized price of the Nokia N8, by the way, which means that when it launches in other parts of the globe, it might get even cheaper (as when coupled with a data plan, like usual). If and when it becomes available here in Asia, expect an update to be published here.

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I’ve always wondered why Apple users can sometimes be easily referred to as Apple ‘fans’ and why despite its obvious design flaws, the iPhone 4 is still selling like hotcakes. A new research paper suggests that instead of relying on rationality, Apple users tend to rely on faith. This particular research paper was made by two professors at Texas A&M University and published this month. It goes on to liken Apple to some sort of modern organized religion, and one of the authors was quoted as saying, “The religious-like behavior and language surrounding Apple devotion/fandom is an example of ‘implicit religion.’” This certainly helps in making sense of the whole situation between Apple and its followers, but the question remains, is this a good thing or a bad thing?

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I really want to see a new and improved Windows 7 tablet PC to come around soon. Don’t you? I personally don’t see much point in a tablet if it runs the same operating system as my aging smartphone. So far, Microsoft has kept my hopes up. They have confirmed that they are currently working on Windows 7 tablet PCs, and today Steve Ballmer talked a bit more about Microsoft’s tablet PC plans. Ballmer was quoted as saying, “We’re in the process of doing that as we speak. We’re working with our hardware partners. We’re tuning Windows 7.” He made it clear that Microsoft will be sticking to Windows 7 for their upcoming tablets, and made it sound like their intent was to take the desktop and reshape it to fit in the form factor of a slate. Sounds like a lot of work, but if done right, it will definitely be worth it. It’s worth nothing that this has already been done unsuccessfully with older versions of Windows in the past, but with Windows 7 and better hardware, this holds a lot of promise today.

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YouTube has always been great for hosting videos, especially since it’s free and easily accessible for most people. But if there’s one thing that people complain about the most in it, it’s the 10-minute video upload limit that each and every video uploader since the service started has had to endure. Well, not anymore. Today, YouTube announced that it has finally increased the upload limit to a sweet 15 minutes, and to celebrate, they are encouring users to try and get their own “15 minutes of fame.” More details are available at a post on their official blog, linked below.

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The Amazon Kindle e-book reader is about to go mainstream (if you don’t think that it already has, that is). The latest version of the highly popular Kindle e-book reader was announced today by Amazon, with the intent of going into mass market territory as evidenced by the price points at which the new Kindle is going to be sold. While the previous Kindle’s price already got several cuts which brought it down to a sweet $150, the new Kindle comes with an even sweeter deal: the Wi-Fi only version is being sold for $139, while the 3G-enabled version is priced at $189. Both models are already available for pre-order from Amazon today, and they will be delivered on August 27 to customers in 140 countries. Read on for details about the specs on these new models.
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