Galaxy Nexus U.S. release pushed back to December, confirms Samsung

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Summary: One of the bigger concerns surrounding Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus is the all-important matter of its U.S. release date. Announced in October, the device was set to be released at an undefined date in late November. But with a week left in the month, Verizon has still been pretty mum on when the device will see [...]

One of the bigger concerns surrounding Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus is the all-important matter of its U.S. release date. Announced in October, the device was set to be released at an undefined date in late November. But with a week left in the month, Verizon has still been pretty mum on when the device will see the light of day.

Fortunately, things are becoming a bit more clear. Samsung has confirmed, via Business Insider, that the Galaxy Nexus will drop in December. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s still no word on an exact release, nor is Samsung or Verizon giving the device’s precise U.S. price.

Already available in the U.K., the Galaxy Nexus is set to be available in Canada on December 7th. That makes its lack of a U.S. release date that much more significant and also makes it pretty clear that the delay is on Verizon’s end, not Samsung’s.

[Business Insider]

Ricardo Bilton writes for ZDNet's The ToyBox. His work has appeared in The Japan Times, The New York Observer, and The International Business Times, among other publications.

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Asus rolls-out quad-core Tegra 3 Transformer Prime this December

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Summary: Add the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime to your holiday wish list now, gadget hounds. Here’s why.

After Asus CEO Jonny Shih oh-so-casually showed off the world’s first quad-core tablet, the ultra-slim Eee Pad Transformer Prime, at AsiaD last month, we’ve been hoping Santa the Taiwanese company would deliver the slate in-time for this holiday season.

Well, Asus just made the next-gen Transformer official by announcing its North American pricing, and answered a bunch of questions we had about this drool-worthy tablet.

First of all, both Engadget and The Verge are reporting Asus will be shipping the Transformer Prime globally by early December, so go ahead and add this device to your 2011 wish list.

But don’t expect the Transformer Prime with industry leading specs to come cheap. The 32 GB version starts at $499, with the 64 GB setting you back $599. (The first-gen 16 GB Transformer was only $399, which was part of its appeal.) Though the keyboard dock retails separately for $149, it’s what sets this tablet apart from other Android devices: it adds 6 hours of juice, a keyboard, a touchpad, a full SD Card slot and USB port, which turns the Transformer Prime into a mighty productivity powerhouse.

Sharing the same “spun metal” finish of the Asus Zenbook, the Transformer Prime is certainly a looker but its innards are even more impressive. As the the world’s first tablet to use Nvidia’s quad-core Tegra 3 chip (formerly the Kal-El), the Transformer Prime is five times as fast as Tegra 2 devices but can last up to 12 hours on its 22Wh battery (18 hours with dock), putting most dual-core slates to shame. Other technical specs are as follows:

Display: 10.1? 1280 x 800-resolution Super IPS+ display with 178° viewing angleCameras: HD 8MP rear auto-focus camera with LED flash, large F/2.4 aperture, back illuminated CMOS sensor, touch-to-focus depth of field and low-light noise reduction; 1.2MP front cameraGPU: 12-core GeForce GPU and vSMP technologyRAM: 1 GBSensors: GPS, a gyroscope1080P HD video playbackConnectivity: Wi-FiPorts/Connectors: micro-SD slot, micro-HDMI connector, 3.5mm mic/audio jack

Although the Transformer Prime won’t be shipping with Ice Cream Sandwich — it will run Honeycomb (Android 3.2) — Asus is already promising a free over-the-air update to ICS “at a later date,” according to its press release. Out-of-box, the tablet will also have SuperNote for taking/drawing notes, and Polaris Office for editing/creating Word, Excel and PowerPoint files to complement its workhorse identity. But its built-in micro-SD slot also makes the Transformer Prime easy to side-load media files like photos and music, so it can be as much a content consumption as creation device.

At just 8.3mm (0.33-inch) thick and 586g (1.29-lbs without dock), the new Transformer manages to pack a lot more power and functionality into a compact package, without raising its price tag to a ridiculous level. The Transformer Prime it even comes in two colors that are neither black nor white (Amethyst Gray and Champagne Gold) and sounds like a dream; I hope I can get my hands on one to make sure it’s the real deal. Sadly, Asus did not provide any details on how to lock down a Transformer Prime this year in its announcement so stay tuned.

[Source: The Verge, Engadget, Asus press release]

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Gloria Sin is a freelance journalist based in New York City.

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HP's Envy laptop lineup hits stores December 7

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Summary: HP targets gamers with the new Envy 15, Envy 17 and Envy 17 3D this holiday season.

Sick of hearing about thin and light Ultrabooks when you’re looking for power and performance from your laptop for games? Well you may just want to put one of these HP Envy machines under your Christmas tree when it arrives on December 7.

This aptly named laptop series from HP certainly has the potential to make your spec-conscious friends drool, but the base configurations that HP is announcing today for the Envy 15, Envy 17 and Envy 17 3D make these machines seem ho-hum — probably to minimize sticker shock — when they are anything but. The starting price and specs for all three models are below:

HP Envy 15 (pictured right)

Display: 15.6?Processor: Intel Core i5-2430MGPU: AMD RadeonRAM: 6GBStorage: 500GB HDDAudio: Beats Audio with 6.1 channel systemOptical Drive: DVD-RW 9.5mm slotBattery: 8-cell Lithium 76WHrConnectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wi-DiBacklit keyboard with proximity sensor and HP ImagepadOS: Windows 7 Premium 64-bitStarting price: $1099.99

HP Envy 17 (pictured below, right)

Display: 17.3? Radiance Full HD 1080p LED; 1920 X 1080 resolutionProcessor: Intel Core i5-2430MGPU: AMD RadeonRAM: 6GBStorage: 750GB HDDAudio: Beats Audio with 6.1 channel systemOptical Drive: DVD-RW 12.7mm slotBattery: 6-cell Lithium 91WHrConnectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wi-DiBacklit keyboard with proximity sensor and HP ImagepadOS: Windows 7 Premium 64-bitStarting price: $1249.99

HP Envy 17 3D (pictured right)

Display: 17.3? Radiance Full HD HP 3D LED; 1920 X 1080 resolution; 120Hz; wide viewing anglesProcessor: Intel Core i5-2430MGPU: AMD RadeonRAM: 8GBStorage: 750GB HDDAudio: Beats Audio with 6.1 channel systemOptical Drive: Blu-ray + DVD-RW 12.7mm slotBattery: 6-cell Lithium 91WHrConnectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wi-DiBacklit keyboard with proximity sensor and HP ImagepadOS: Windows 7 Premium 64-bitincludes 1 pair of active shutter 3D glassesStarting price: $1599.99

All three can actually be outfitted with the Intel quad-core CPU with discreet AMD Mobility Radeon HD graphics, Radiance Full HD Infinity LED displays at 1920 x 1080 resolution for richer colors and wider viewing angles than conventional displays, as well as a 128 GB SSD plus dual hard drives up to 1TB each for extensive media storage and snappy access to your programs/computer. HP somehow managed to pack six speakers and a sub-woofer into the a relatively compact package, so that you can properly appreciate the Beats Audio by Dr. Dre acoustics whether you’re immersed in a game or a HD movie. To complement the great audio, you’ll also be able to plug in up to three external displays via the built-in HDMI and display ports, whether to maximize your productivity or create your own Imax-like experience.

I’m curious just how much such a spec-out Envy laptop would cost even if I could never afford it, but I suppose HP doesn’t want its price to overshadow the product like with the Sony Vaio Z brouhaha. Price aside, I’m not too keen on the Envy 17 3D’s display requiring Active Shutter 3D glasses because Toshiba’s Qosmio F755 3D can do it glasses-free, which is more user-friendly in the long run. After all, who would travel with a bulky pair of goggles that require charging?

If you’re eager to bring one of these HP powerhouses home this holiday season, you would have to order one direct from HP: these machines are simply too niche and require too much customization for mass retailers. Be sure to let us know if the laptop lives up to its name.

Here is a video that describes some of the design considerations built into the Envy line:

[Source: HP, HP's YouTube Channel, NotebookCheck]

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Gloria Sin is a freelance journalist based in New York City.

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