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The Force Awakens in HP’s Star Wars Special Edition Notebook

Posted: 07 Oct 2015 01:35 PM PDT

HP Star Wars Special Edition Notebook 01

HP has announced a special edition notebook that focuses on characters from the original trilogy, just in time for the new Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens movie. This way, all Star Wars fans will be happy, regardless which part of the franchise they prefer.

Yesterday, Microsoft unveiled its first notebook, which might appeal to businessmen and such. Today, it’s HP’s turn to show its muscles, and considering the chord it struck with the Star Wars Special Edition notebook, geeks might find this device far more attractive than an industrial-looking laptop.

Starting from the idea that everything that Star Wars fans own needs to look and sound like something from George Lucas’ space saga, HP partnered up with Disney and created a special edition Pavilion notebook. Thinking that the same effect could have been achieved with some laptop decals is wrong, as HP’s device lives and breathes Star Wars through all of its pores.

To make it look as appealing as possible, HP covered the lid, the keyboard and everything in-between with Star Wars memorabilia. Not only did the manufacturer write “Galactic Empire” on the hinge using the Aurebush font, but it also preloaded this font for your own use.

The lid is dominated by one of the greatest villains in movie history (the other one being HAL-9000, obviously), Darth Vader, and the Dark Side of the Force can be felt when touching the matching wireless mouse.

Since HP has had access to the Star Wars archives prior to creating this notebook, the company has included more than 1,100 on the device’s storage. Owners of this laptop will be delighted to find concept art, classic photos, behind-the-scenes images, artwork, costume and set designs, storyboards and audio selections.

To top all that, users will get to hear R2-D2 whistling whenever they insert a flash drive into any of the notebook’s USB ports. Of course, you can switch to a different theme with lightsaber sounds, if you prefer those more. The whole thing wouldn’t have been complete without Darth Vader’s mobile megastructure, the Death Star, so that is taking the place of the Recycle Bin (Kenobi?) on the desktop.

Everything about this notebook was designed to look like it rather belonged on the Star Wars set. Even the styrofoam the notebook is delivered in was custom-molded to resemble Darth Vader’s TIE Advanced x1.

The technical specs aren’t to be neglected, either. HP’s Star Wars Special Edition Pavilion notebook is powered by either a Skylake Core i5 or i7 CPU, up to 12GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of internal storage. The Intel HD Graphics 520 and NVidia Geforce 940M7 GPUs will ensure a satisfactory gaming experience on the 15.6-inch display, while the B&O Play tuned speakers will make every sound effect spectacular.

HP will start taking pre-orders for the Star Wars Special Edition notebook on October 8, and the devices should start shipping one month later, on November 8. Depending on the configuration, the notebook costs $699 or more, while the wireless mouse and sleeve go for $39.99 each.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Sphero BB-8 app-enabled droid, or Disney’s Millennium Falcon drone.

Via: Tech Radar

Brother PocketJet 7 Is a Truly Portable Printer

Posted: 07 Oct 2015 12:30 PM PDT

Brother’s line of portable printers is getting refreshed, and the new member, named simply PocketJet 7, lets you print full pages anywhere, anytime.

Nowadays, the goal of most hardware manufacturers and peripherals makers is to get rid of wires and cables in departments where only the idea of wireless devices would’ve sounded crazy not long ago. Thus, we’re getting wireless charging for smartphones and tablets, routers that function without being plugged into power outlets, and even portable scanners. However, until recently, the fact that a printer was wireless only meant that it can communicate via Wi-Fi to computers and mobile devices. With its PocketJet line, Brother redefines the entire concept, and enables users to carry a fully-fledged printer in their backpacks.

Brother lists the following features as PocketJet 7’s strong points:

8.5″ wide print head
Up to 8ppm print speeds
Replaceable rechargeable Li-ion battery available
Thermal printing technology – no ribbons, inks or toners required
Only one consumable – direct thermal media on cut sheets, continuous roll or perforated roll
Simplified, space-saving in-vehicle mounting options
Compatible with traditional PC and Mac® drivers
USB interface standard; models available with Apple AirPrint™,
Wi-Fi® or MFi Bluetooth® technology

The printer manufacturer developed PocketJet 7 around a concept named Freedom Architecture. With so many connectivity options, users can print full pages using documents from their smartphones, tablets, or notebooks, regardless of the operating system that’s on these devices. On top of that, Brother’s latest mobile thermal printer can be connected to AirPrint, and it is also Google Cloud Print Ready. In other words, you can even leave it at home, and assuming that it’s powered on and connected to your local wireless network, it can print whatever you want. All you need to do is select it as the current printer on your mobile device.

PocketJet 7 wasn’t created only for active businessmen. As a matter of fact, it could prove useful for delivery services, health care providers, insurance companies, law enforcement, and basically anyone who still deals on a daily basis with paperwork that needs printed right away. Think of the mobile apps for forms that could be created for such tasks, only!

The fact that it’s compatible with Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS is a major strong point, but if you consider that it doesn’t require any drivers for any of these operating systems, you’ll realize that Brother has done away with most of our past headaches.

Brother’s PocketJet 7 portable printer will be available in several versions differentiated by connectivity. According to the manufacturer, there will be Workforce, Vehicle, Developer and Basic Kits, depending on the environment this mobile printer will be used in. While the price has yet to be disclosed by the manufacturer, the previous generation was priced between $380 and $550, so we can expect this one to be within that range, too.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the mini mobile robotic printer that glides across pages to print, or the Kickstarter campaign for the minimalistic Tiko 3D printer.

Via: SlashGear