Samsung denies giving up on desktop PC tower business

Posted on 25/06/2013 by Richard Lai

Yesterday, The Korea Times reported that Samsung was to close its "unprofitable" desktop PC business as "demand for conventional desktop PCs is going down," according to an unnamed spokesperson. The weirdly written article also quoted another Samsung official saying "tablets, all-in-one and hybrid PCs are Samsung's current focus," thus suggesting the company seemed to be singling out desktop PC towers or boxes.

Even though it's been a while since some of us last saw a Samsung desktop PC tower (the latest models we covered date back to 2006, though there have been more recent efforts), something didn't smell right here so we reached out to Samsung directly. The response we got was that this rumor is all "groundless," and the company also specifically said it'll keep an open mind about its PC tower business. Here's the full statement:

"The rumor that Samsung is withdrawing from the PC desktop business is groundless. Samsung will continue to offer diverse products according to market needs, including our recently announced ATIV One 5 Style, a stylish all-in-one PC. We will continue to open all possibilities in PC business including our PC Tower business, to satisfy consumer's diverse lifestyle and needs."

So in a nutshell: nothing to see here, move along. And technically speaking, the Chromebox kinda counts too, right?

Update: Samsung just informed us that it actually launched a couple of desktop PC towers, the 700T3A and 300T3A, in January this year, but only for the Korean B2C market. We got them pictured after the break.

Filed under: Desktops

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In Win’s Tou desktop case has glass and class all over it

Posted on 07/06/2013 by Richard Lai

At Computex, Taiwan-based In Win has once again brought out its funky-looking desktop cases, but this time there's a new star on the stage. Dubbed the Tou (meaning "transparent" in Mandarin Chinese), this ATX full tower features several 3mm-thick tempered glass panels that are screwed onto an aluminum structure. And since the coated glass is semi-transparent, you can just about see the desktop's innards if you switch on the LEDs inside, which can be controlled via the touch panel above the two front USB 3.0 ports. When the internal lights are off, the desktop is pretty much just a mirror, but you'll want to degrease your fingers before touching any part of it.

Sadly, at the moment the Tou is still at concept stage, so we couldn't squeeze a price or date out of the reps. When the chassis does become available, you'll know as soon as we do.

Gallery: In Win's Tou desktop case is also a mirror all over itself, almost too good looking

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Lincoln Log Tower Sets World Record for Height and Pieces

Posted on 15/04/2013 by Shane McGlaun

We talk about lots of cool LEGO construction projects around here. One of the more interesting, and large LEGO projects was the gigantic 105 foot tall LEGO tower we covered about a year ago. That tower set a world record for the tallest LEGO construct ever built. Now, a group of architects and architecture students have set a new world record using another childhood building medium – the Lincoln Log.

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This particular world record was set for creating the tallest Lincoln Log Tower ever constructed. The Lincoln log structure was modeled after the Nebraska State Capital building and was 12-feet, 4-inches-tall. The structure also used more pieces than any other Lincoln Log structure on record - 10,036 to be exact. The previous record holder stood 10-feet, 11-inches-tall and used only 2,995 Lincoln Logs.

The record-breaking tower was constructed by architectural students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and DLR Group architects. The entire construction project took the team a little over six hours to complete.

While it’s not nearly as tall as the giant LEGO structure, it’s still quite impressive as Lincoln Logs don’t have the structural locking mechanism that LEGO does, and they also weigh more.

[via Journal Star]

Ask Engadget: best barebones workstation chassis?

Posted on 30/12/2012 by Daniel Cooper

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, then here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is from Charles, who's capping off the year with a fine question about DIY PC chassis. If you're looking to ask one of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

"I work in motion graphics and it's upgrade time. I'm a DIY and Windows nut, so I'm looking to build my own tower, but the cases are all so horrible! I don't need a plastic window, or something that looks like it was designed by aliens -- just something that's sharp, solid, good looking and has a respectable airflow. Is that too much to ask?"

Well, we trawled our brains (as well as a fair chunk of the internet) looking for some classy chassis, and this is what we found:

Corsair's Obsidian 550D may have a plastic window, but otherwise it's a monolithic piece of imposing black metal that won't ugly up your office.
Coolermaster's Silencio 650 is hewn from diamond-cut aluminum and drops the plastic window, and given the company's heritage, should have excellent airflow.
Finally, there's the Lian-Li PC-A71F, which can only be described as terrifyingly sleek.

But what about you all? Let's cap the year off with some stylish PC cases, peace and goodwill to everyone and a very happy New Year to you, the Engadgeteers.

Filed under: Desktops

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The Tor of Pizza

Posted on 12/10/2012 by Radhika Seth

It takes to be on the other side of the fence to understand the importance of piping hot food. I work from home so I never have to face the challenge of eating a rubbery pizza just because it went cold during lunch delivery. Maybe this is why the Tower Food Warmer focuses on meals like pizza along with healthy options like salad for keeping warm and fresh. The design takes into consideration a clever locking system so that the food compartments don’t open hastily and thus create a mess.

Designer: Haimo Bao

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(The Tor of Pizza was originally posted on Yanko Design)

Neat Pizza Fingers

T-Mobile leases 7,200 mobile towers to Crown Castle in a 28-year, $2.4 billion deal

Posted on 28/09/2012 by Daniel Cooper

T-Mobile's just received a hefty cash boost thanks to a tower-leasing agreement it's entered into with Crown Castle. The deal leases 7,200 wireless towers to the infrastructure firm for a term of 28 years in exchange for $2.4 billion -- that T-Mobile's parent Deutsche Telekom will use to pay off debt. As part of the contract, Crown Castle can buy the towers outright when the deal ends in 2040 for a further $2.4 billion -- and is planning to make money by adding another tenant to T-Mobile's system, so depending on your carrier, you might find your coverage suddenly getting a lot better.

Continue reading T-Mobile leases 7,200 mobile towers to Crown Castle in a 28-year, $2.4 billion deal

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

T-Mobile leases 7,200 mobile towers to Crown Castle in a 28-year, $2.4 billion deal originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 12:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple rolls out updated Mac Pro lineup with faster processors, not much else

Posted on 11/06/2012 by Donald Melanson

They didn't warrant a mention during the big keynote, but those patiently waiting for an update to the desktop-bound Mac Pro weren't left behind by Apple today. The company has quietly updated the line on its website, bringing a rather modest spec bump to the familiar tower. That includes a single 3.2GHz quad-core Xeon processor on the base $2,499 model, which comes paired with 6GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive, and a pair of 2.4GHz six-core processors on the higher-end model, which gets 12GB of RAM as standard and the same 1TB hard drive for $3,799. The $2,999 Mac Pro Server will give you a 3.2GHz quad-core Xeon with 8GB of RAM and a pair of 1TB hard drives. Notably lacking is the addition of Apple's otherwise standard Thunderbolt ports, or 802.11n WiFi connectivity. You can check out all the options available at the source link below.

Check out our full coverage of WWDC 2012 at our event hub!

Apple rolls out updated Mac Pro lineup with faster processors, not much else originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 15:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo swings out diminutive ThinkCentre M92p Tiny, bevy of all-in-ones and VoIP-ready ThinkVision display

Posted on 08/05/2012 by Jon Fingas

Lenovo's going all-out on Ivy Bridge-based ThinkCentre pro desktop updates this evening, and the centerpiece is the smallest of the lot. The ThinkCentre M92p Tiny -- yes, it's officially nicknamed Tiny -- is about as thick as a golf ball at 1.4 inches and ready to tuck behind your display, but packs up to a third-generation Intel Core chip, vPro for IT control and your choice of spinning or solid-state hard drives. The M92p Tiny and a lower-end M72e should arrive in June, although what the respective $799 and $499 prices will get you are still mysteries.

There's no shortage if you prefer your desktops slightly more upsized. The all-in-one pack is topped by the 21.5-inch ThinkCentre Edge M92z, an uncommonly thin (2.5 inches) desktop using an IPS-based LCD with optional multi-touch that's due in July for $699. The 20- and 23-inch M92z AIO models start off at $799 for their June releases and pack up to 1TB of storage and dedicated AMD Radeon HD graphics, while a more modestly equipped, 20-inch M72z AIO will appear the same month for $599. And if you've just got to have a traditional box, Lenovo will gladly sell you the budget ThinkCentre Edge 72 ($439) or slightly uprated ThinkCentre M82 ($599). Everyone has the option of the 23-inch ThinkVision LT2323z display, which touts an IPS-based LCD and a webcam with Lync VoIP-certified, noise-cancelling microphones. The screen's price hasn't been set, but it does have a locked-in June release. You can delve into the full details of Lenovo's massive ThinkCentre revamp in the releases after the break.

Gallery: Lenovo ThinkCentre May 2012 updates

Continue reading Lenovo swings out diminutive ThinkCentre M92p Tiny, bevy of all-in-ones and VoIP-ready ThinkVision display

Lenovo swings out diminutive ThinkCentre M92p Tiny, bevy of all-in-ones and VoIP-ready ThinkVision display originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Velocity Micro unveils three Ivy Bridge desktops, starting at $849

Posted on 30/04/2012 by Sarah Silbert

From Acer and HP to Maingear, PC makers across the board are releasing Ivy Bridge desktops before the family of CPUs makes its much-anticipated debut on notebooks. Velocity Micro is following suit, with the announcement of three customizable PCs powered by Intel's third-generation Core processors. Starting at $849, the Vector Z70 comes standard with a 500GB, 7,200RPM hard drive, 4GB of RAM and a 2.6GHz Intel Pentium G620 CPU (upgradeable all the way to a Core i7 processor, clocked at 3.4GHz). The $999 Edge Z40 is a middle-of-the-road model, shipping with a 1GB Nvidia GeForce GTS 450 GPU, a 2.8GHz Intel Core i5-23000 and 1TB of storage spinning at 7,200 RPM. On the premium side, the Raptor Z90 is a full-on gaming machine, with GeForce GTX 680 graphics and an Intel Core i7-3770 CPU, plus eight USB 3.0 and four USB 3.0 connections. All three systems are immediately available -- click through to the product pages for the complete configuration options.

Continue reading Velocity Micro unveils three Ivy Bridge desktops, starting at $849

Velocity Micro unveils three Ivy Bridge desktops, starting at $849 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer dips its toes into Ivy Bridge, refreshes two of its desktops with new processors

Posted on 23/04/2012 by Dana Wollman

Now that the Ivy Bridge cat is out of the bag, you can expect to see a deluge of press releases from PC makers over the coming weeks, each of them saying that this computer or that is getting refreshed with Intel's latest processors. From Acer, at least, we expect multiple announcements: it's only ready to talk about a couple of desktops today, with news around laptops and Ultrabooks coming later. Right now, you can choose from several configurations of the Predator AG3620 gaming tower, with the top-shelf $1,200 model packing a 3.4 GHz Core i7 3770 CPU, NVIDIA GT630 graphics, 16GB of RAM and 2TB of storage space. On the budget end, the $799 Gateway D4860-UR14P will feature a 3.1 GHz Core i5 3450 processor, 6GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive. Both are available now -- you know, if you've been waiting for precisely this sort of thing.

Gallery: Acer Predator AG3620 and Gateway DX4870 / FX6860