MacBook Pro 2016 Models Forego Classic Mac Startup Chime, Automatically Boot When the Lid Is Opened

  

 

Apple has made many changes with its new MacBook Pro models, which were launched last week, and the response has been mixed. While users were not amused by the removal of the glowing Apple logo at the back, they have largely been impressed by the new OLED 'Touch Bar' panel used as replacement of physical functional keys in the laptop. Now, reports indicate the new laptops don't make the usual startup chime that has been present on Mac products since 1998.

The startup chime essentially indicated that the laptop has completed the initial diagnostics successfully and that the laptop is ready for use. The lack of the startup chime was first reported by Pingie, which said that while going through a tech note for resetting the NVRAM, it found that the usual instruction for waiting for two startup chimes was missing. The site has now got its hands on the new MacBook Pro, base 13-inch variant, confirmed that there is no startup chime on the new laptops.

Razer Blade Pro Gaming Laptop With Mechanical Keyboard Launched; Blade, Blade Stealth Announced for Europe

The new Razer Blade Pro comes with a mechanical keyboard (yes, you read it right) that has a large-sized touchpad to improve the gaming experience of users. The laptop packs a 17.3-inch 4K (2160x4096 pixels) display that comes with support for Nvidia's G-Sync technology to eliminate screen-tearing.
If this was not enough, the laptop is also powered by Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor and packs an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card coupled with 32GB of DDR4 2100MHz RAM. The SSD storage options for the laptop range from 512GB to 2TB. In terms of connectivity options, the laptop comes with an HDMI output, an Ethernet jack, USB Type-C, three USB 3.0 ports, and an SD card reader.

As the company has been able to keep the size of the keyboard in check, despite it being mechanical, the laptop is 22.5mm thick and weighs 3.54kg. Due to its powerful specifications, the laptop is well capable of supporting VR content. The new Razer Blade Pro will be available for sale next month.

Xiaomi Mi Wyatt Meter Mechanical Keyboard With LED Backlighting Launched

 

 

Xiaomi has a knack of launching products that mark its foray into new territories from time to time. Now, the Chinese company has launched a sturdy keyboard, named Mi Wyatt Meter Mechanical Keyboard. The keyboard weighs 940 grams and is built out of metal as well as polycarbonate shells. The keyboard has been priced by the company at CNY 299 (roughly Rs. 3,000).
The Mi Wyatt Meter Mechanical Keyboard has 87 keys in total and comes with LED backlighting for typing in the dark. It reportedly comes with a STMicroelectronics master chip, 32-bit ARM architecture, 1000Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time. The keyboard also has a kickstand at its bottom to elevate it up to an angle of 6-degrees.
The keyboard has been launched exclusively for China, with no details on a launch in other markets as of now.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 and GTX 1050Ti Launched 

 

 Nvidia has finally launched its entry-level GeForce GTX 1050 and GeForce GTX 1050Ti GPUs, rounding out the 10-series family which has so far been comprised mainly of high-end products. The new GPUs target entry-level gamers as well as those who are either upgrading an old PC or considering moving away from consoles.
Recommended US pricing has been set at $109 for the GeForce GTX 1050 and $139 for the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, with availability on October 25. There will be no reference design or “Founders’ Edition” sold directly by Nvidia in some countries, so graphics card manufacturers will be making modifications and setting their own prices. Gadgets 360 has learned that Zotac will offer three models in India: a GTX 1050 priced at Rs. 10,000; a GTX 1050Ti priced at Rs. 12,500; and a higher clocked GTX 1050Ti OC Edition priced at Rs. 13,700. The two base models will have a single-fan cooler while the OC Edition will use two fans. Other companies will make their launch announcements soon.

HP Spectre x360, Envy Laptops Launched With Thinner Design, Bigger Batteries

 

 HP India on Monday unveiled its next generation premium laptop line-up, consisting of the upgraded Spectre x360 and Envy models, to address the needs of customers at home and on the go.
HP Spectre x360, the world's thinnest 13.3-inch laptop, now comes with a longer battery life and the laptop is expected to be available from the last week of October at a starting price of Rs. 1,34,290, the company said.

The battery life of HP Spectre x360 laptop stands at 15 hours, an increase of 25 percent; the company's Fast Charge technology allows it to power up to 50 percent in 30 minutes and 90 percent in 90 minutes. For connectivity, it has faster Wi-Fi and two USB-Type C ports with Thunderbolt support, and also comes with Bang & Olufsen audio and HP Audio boost technologies.
With a new hinge design, HP Spectre x360 is 13.8 mm thin (over 2 mm thinner than the previous generation) and packs 7th Generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, as well as support for solid state drives (SSDs) of up to 1TB capacity. The bezels around the display have gone down from 15.12 mm in the predecessor to 5.45 mm in the current one, while the weight has decreased as well.

Dell Inspiron 5567 Laptop Launched in India

Dell has announced an addition in its Inspiron 15 5000 series of laptops in India, with the launch of the Inspiron 5567. The company claims that the laptop is suited for work, education, and even for entertainment needs of its users. The company claims the laptop starts from Rs. 39,590 and it is already available for purchase, however, the official Dell India site lists the base model of the laptop at Rs. 57,190. We've reached to the company for clarification.
The Inspiron 5567 laptop packs a 15-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) TrueColor display. The laptop is available with configurations that support up to seventh-generation of Intel Core i7 processors, 16GB of RAM, and AMD Radeon R7 Series graphic cards with up to 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM. The Inspiron 5567 is available with up to 2TB HDD storage. The company claims that the battery on the laptop lasts for up to 10 hours. The laptop is just 23.3mm thick and has been coupled with Waves MaxxAudio for better sound performance.
The Inspiron 5567 laptop is bundled with Office 2016 Home and Student edition and 15 months of McAfee Security center subscription, the company said in its release. The laptop is available in the colours Sparkling White, Midnight Blue, Fog Gray, Black, Bali Blue, and Tango Red.

WD Launches New Consumer SSDs, Redesigned My Book and My Passport Hard Drives

WD has launched new consumer SSDs under its popular WD Green and WD Blue lines, as well as dramatically redesigned external hard drives. The announcements mark a change in direction for the company, acknowledging a shift in the purpose of traditional spinning hard drives and a preference among users for SSDs as their primary internal storage medium.

The new SSDs are aimed at PC users who have been moving away from hard drives when building and upgrading their PCs and laptops. In line with the existing hard drive product segmentation, the WD Green models are entry-level and tuned for lower power consumption, while the WD Blue products are suitable for more demanding users. 

Both new SSD lines will be available as either standard 2.5-inch SATA drives or the newer M.2 format cards. However, the M.2 models also use SATA, not PCIe for connectivity, which confines speeds to the mainstream SSD class. Specifications are identical across form factors.

WD Green SSDs have launched in 120GB and 240GB capacities, with promised sequential read and write speeds of up to 540MBps and 405MBps respectively. Endurance is rated at 40TBW and 80TBW (terabytes written) over the life of each drive. WD Blue drives have launched in capacities of 250GB, 500GB and 1TB, and offer up to 545MBps and 525MBps sequential read and write speeds respectively, with endurance ranging from 100TBW to 400TBW depending on the capacity.

HP Spectre x360, Envy 13, Envy All-in-One Get Refreshed With New Displays

 

 

HP has updated its laptops Spectre x360 and Envy 13 to provide them with new designs and larger battery life. The company has also updated its 27-inch Envy All-in-One with Intel's latest processors. The company has also made all three products slimmer in order to provide more portability for laptops and more workspace in case of the 27-inch All-in-One.
The updated Spectre x360 has an edge-to-edge display and now comes with a quad-speaker array. As per the company, the battery life on the updated laptop lasts for around 15 hours, around 25 percent longer than before. The laptop is already available with option of seventh-generation Intel Core i5 or a Core i7 processor. It is further available with up to 16GB of RAM and up to a 1TB SSD. The Spectre x360 starts from $1,050 (roughly Rs. 70,200). The original Spectre x360 had been launched back at CES 2016.