5/24 Engadget

Engadget         Lenovo beats PC market with 46 percent profit surge May 23, 2012 at 11:16 AM   Yep, it's party-time in Beijing once again. While the PC industry as a whole reportedly grew by a tight handful of percentage points over the past year, Lenovo has somehow managed to continue its long-running growth spurt, with shipments up 44 percent and operating profits up 46 percent. Sales of both laptop and desktop (including IdeaCentre all-in-ones) grew roughly equally, helped along by blossoming demand in emerging markets, while fledgling smartphones and tablets also proved popular in Lenovo's homeland. The manufacturer reckons it's now second in command of the market behind HP, although it conveniently disregards Apple's iPad from its ranking. Lenovo beats PC market with 46 percent profit surge originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 May 2012 03:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  Lenovo  | Email this | Comments         Acer Iconia A510 Olympic Tab to launch in UK next month May 23, 2012 at 10:50 AM   Acer has been known to celebrate the Olympic Games with special-edition tech, so we weren't exactly surprised when the company launched a festive version of the Iconia Tab A510 this April in anticipation of the Summer Games in London. Now that the event is just two months away, the Tab is preparing to make its UK debut. According to the Inquirer, it will be available through Carphone Warehouse in June. To jog your memory, this version has the same specs as the original Iconia Tab A510, including a 10.1-inch IPS display, Android Ice Cream Sandwich and a 1.3GHz quad-core Tegra 3 CPU. There's also the same 5-megapixel camera and 32GB of onboard storage. The main difference, of course, is that this version sports an engraving of the five Olympic rings, and Acer also pre-loads a trial of Eurosport channels so users can get coverage during the Games. When the Iconia A510 Olympic Tab launches next month, it will reportedly go for £350 (about $552) without a SIM. Acer Iconia A510 Olympic Tab to launch in UK next month originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 May 2012 02:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink The Inquirer  |   | Email this | Comments         Robo-fish swim into the ocean's funk, so you don't have to May 23, 2012 at 9:58 AM   Gene Roddenberry would have you believe that space is the final frontier. But really, the deep blue sea is more apt for that distinction. And without mega-rich hobbyists to fund exploratory plunges into those uncharted depths, science has had to seek out an alternative, more cost-effective means. Enter the robotic fish. Measuring five feet in length (1.5 meters), lasting up to eight hours and costing about $32,000 (£20,000), these cyborg swimmers are made to boldly go where no man should -- that is, into contaminated waters. The project -- a joint collaboration between the University of Essex and Strathclyde, the Tyndall National Institute and defense contractor Thales Safare (cue ominous Jaws soundtrack) -- aims to cut down on the time it traditionally takes to collect samples and determine corresponding levels of water pollution. The sensor-laden bots apparently swim just like the real thing and, if a recent trial off the coast of Gijon, Spain pans out, could very soon "school" their mass-produced way into other maritime endeavors. No word on whether these automated pesce will be able to detect the piscio in your pool, but there's always the purple water for that. Robo-fish swim into the ocean's funk, so you don't have to originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 May 2012 01:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  Reuters  | Email this | Comments