• HP might offload its PC business in the near future, but that’s not stopping the company from peddling freshly-designed machines in the meantime. The system vendor has just yanked a tarp off no less than seven new all-in-one computers.

With pricing starting a only $400, there’s a little something for everyone, though the systems are skewed toward home entertainment and business solutions:

• Omni 120 ($400, September 21) — A 20-incher with enough horsepower for the common home user. Models will come with the latest silicon from Intel and AMD and up to 750GB of storage.

• Omni 220 ($800, September 11) — A pricier 21.5-inch build of the Omni 120 that gains additional luxuries such as HP’s Beats Audio engine, a quad-core Intel processor and a fancier “streamlined” design.
• TouchSmart 320 ($600, October 2) — HP’s budget touchscreen AIO, complete with a 20-inch “free-standing” display that tilts 30 degrees and space between the stand and panel to store your keyboard.
• TouchSmart 420 ($700, September 11) — Offers the same design as the 320, but receives an upgraded 21.5-inch display. Other potentially different configuration options aren’t explained in the press release.

• TouchSmart 520 ($900, September 11) — The 320′s touchscreen is enlarged further to 23 inches. Like the Omni 220, the TouchSmart 520 gains Beats Audio including an optional HP Pulse Subwoofer ($150).
• TouchSmart Elite 7320 ($850, September 21) — HP’s first small business AIO with the same tilt design as the consumer TouchSmart series, a 21.5-inch 1080p display, and Sandy Bridge Core i3, i5 and i7 CPUs.
• HP Pro 3420 ($600, October) — A 20-inch workhorse with a webcam and mic suitable for video conferences, Core i3 processors, up to 8GB of RAM and 2TB of storage, as well as HP’s ProtectTools.To justify its volley of all-in-one machines, HP cited figures from IDC and NPD that indicate a rise of consumer interest in compact computing solutions.

To justify its volley of all-in-one machines, HP cited figures from IDC and NPD that indicate a rise of consumer interest in compact computing solutions. According to IDC, 15.7% of commercial PC users around the globe intend to purchase an all-in-one in the next 12 months, up from 9.9%. Meanwhile, NPD’s research shows that 34% of consumer desktop purchases in July were all-in-ones.

• Although MSI’s GX780 received a lot of positive attention when it was unveiled in April, many would-be customers criticized its 1GB GeForce GT 555M graphics chip.

The discrete solution is undoubtedly a step up from Sandy Bridge’s integrated engine, but it can only deliver modest frames when playing modern games on high or ultra quality (~30 frames per second or lower in most titles tested by Notebookcheck).

Quelling those concerns, the company has introduced an updated version of the machine with a speedier GPU. The GT780DX sheds Nvidia’s GT 555M in favor of the new GTX 570M, which carries over triple the CUDA cores, has a higher graphics clock, a broader memory bus and more VRAM. According to Nvidia’s published 3DMark Vantage scores, the GTX 570M effectively doubles the GT 555M’s performance.

Additionally, it seems MSI has streamlined the machine’s storage options. Instead of an array of mechanical drives, systems will come with a 500GB or 7500GB 7200RPM HDD alongside a 120GB Intel SSD. Other core specifications remain unchanged, including the Core i7-2630QM processor, 17.3-inch 1600×900 or 1920×1080 display, a DVD or Blu-ray drive, a 720p webcam and the usual cornucopia of connectivity.

The recycled specs also include SteelSeries’ gaming-oriented keyboard, which includes LED lighting that can be configured in various color schemes. Beyond the eye candy, the keyboard offers improved tactile feedback, an ergonomic “golden triangle” gaming cluster, support for 10 simultaneous key presses (presumably limited to gaming-specific keys), and a durable design in case you’re prone to rage-induced tantrums.

• Amazon irrumpirá en el negocio de las tabletas con una propuesta enormemente atractiva, al menos en precio.
• Terminal, con el que el gigante del comercio electrónico retará a Apple, costará unos 250 dólares (176 euros). 

La empresa, capitaneada por Jeff Bezos, planea lanzar el tablet el próximo noviembre y posicionarse como el gran rival de la compañía de la manzana en este terreno. Un puesto que ahora ocupa la surcoreana Samsung, que mantiene una guerra con Apple por temas de patentes.

La tableta de Amazon tiene una pantalla de 7 pulgadas y, según los analistas, el dispositivo será una alternativa al iPad. Forrester, por ejemplo, ya ha augurado que la compañía podría vender de tres a cinco millones de unidades antes de final de año. Una cifra que se alejaría mucho de las 20.000 unidades que habría vendido Samsung, según un portavoz de Lenovo a The Guardian, y ello pese a que la firma coreana habría distribuido un millón de tabletas.

El terminal no tendrá botones físicos, ni cámaras y no será multitáctil. Además, usará el sistema operativo Android 2.2, menos avanzado que la versión 3.2 que llevan otras tabletas del mercado, y no será compatible con Android Market, la tienda de aplicaciones de Google. Según TechCrunch, la compañía ha integrado en el dispositivo servicios como Kindle App para la lectura de libros, Amazon Cloud Player, para música e Instant Video para ver películas. Una estrategia que busca crear un ecosistema al más estilo Apple.