convertible

Convert MP3s, WAVs, and more with Helium Audio Converter

You'd probably resist buying vinyl albums if you needed a different record player for each one. And wouldn't it be annoying to need a bunch of different gadgets to watch your favorite movies on video? (We know; you already do). That's pretty much the situation with digital music files, especially compressed files like MP3s. It's a rare music collection that doesn't have a few songs in weird or orphaned formats.

That's not a problem if your media player handles it all, but it's an issue when you're loading up tunes to take … Read more

Lenovo reportedly developing convertible Windows RT tablet

Lenovo may jumping into the Windows RT convertible business.

The Chinese PC maker is cooking up a convertible notebook/tablet outfitted with the ARM-based version of Windows 8, according to The Wall Street Journal. Citing "people familiar with the matter," the Journal said that the new device would offer a keyboard that flips around to transform it from a notebook into a tablet.

Equipped with a processor from Nvidia, the convertible would run Windows RT, the version of Windows 8 designed to work on devices powered by an ARM chip rather than a traditional Intel or AMD CPU. … Read more

Get WinX iPhone iPad Video Converter for free

So, yeah, that 32GB flash drive I posted yesterday sold out pretty quickly -- just like I said it would. If you missed out, here's a decent consolation prize: Today, and again while supplies last, Newegg has the 64GB Team Group Color Turn flash drive for $27.99 shipped. That's after applying coupon code EMCNBNG24 at checkout. This one's purple.

Getting back to today's deal, videos come in all shapes and sizes (make that formats and sizes), and they're not always compatible with your mobile devices. To make them compatible, you need a video converter.… Read more

This is not the future of Windows 8 convertibles

In case you missed it (which is likely), Fujitsu has entered the Windows 8-ready fray with a convertible "tablet PC."

You probably don't remember tablet PCs because they weren't big with consumers. Nor businesses for that matter.

But they've been around for at least a decade. For instance, there's the Compaq-branded Tablet PC TC1000 that Hewlett-Packard launched in 2002.

Or the more recent -- relatively speaking -- HP EliteBook Tablet PC series.

So now, in 2012, in the age of the svelte, 903g Microsoft Surface tablet, we have the 13-inch Fujitsu Lifebook T902 (PDF). … Read more

A tiny USB digital-to-analog converter from AudioQuest

The AudioQuest DragonFly is a USB-powered (it doesn't use batteries or an external power supply) digital-to-analog converter. I usually need some time to get a handle on the sound of a component, but within minutes of plugging in the tiny $249 DAC I knew exactly what made it so special. It sounds clear and clean, so there's less standing between the music and my ears.

The DragonFly is a bona fide audio component, designed by Gordon Rankin, a man known in audiophile circles as a great tube electronics engineer, but Rankin is also a computer audio guy. He's one of the few DAC designers with equal depth of knowledge in analog and digital audio technology.… Read more

Convert YouTube clips to MP3 without the frills

Though not the first to win an award for most self-explanatory title, YouTube to MP3 Converter allows you to do just that: "convert" YouTube clips to the MP3 format. This freeware title only hints at its full capabilities, which include converting YouTube movies into AVIs, MP4s, FLVs, and WMV formats. The program also allows you to download up to 1080p formats for the HD-inclined.

In a crowded world of free converters and clones, perhaps the most outstanding aspect of this title isn't its function, but rather its flexibility and presentation. YTtoMP3 Converter has a simple and easy … Read more

Windows 8 tweeners take on Apple

Tablet or tweener? Does the Microsoft camp's convergence argument win the day?

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been clear about tablet-laptop convergence: not interested.

But Microsoft, Intel, Asus, Acer, Lenovo, and a long list of PC makers are. Very.

That would be due to Windows 8 and its touch-centric Metro interface, of course. This is driving PC makers to come up with novel hybrid (i.e., tweener) designs that function as both a tablet and laptop, as was amply demonstrated at Computex this week.

There will basically be two choices offered.

--Products like the Acer Aspire S7 that are … Read more

Computex: Roundup of hottest Windows 8 devices, day 2

Device makers continue to concoct novel designs to take advantage of Windows 8 Metro interface.

On Tuesday at Computex in Taipei, Samsung showed a Series 5 ultrabook running Windows 8 with a 13.3-inch touch display. … Read more

Apple's Cook right about PC-tablet fusion fantasy

Apple's Tim Cook expounded on prior comments he has made on trying to shoehorn a PC into a tablet at the D10 conference last night. The Microsoft-Intel camp should listen.

Let's begin with what Cook said.

In my view, the tablet and the PC are different. You can do things with a tablet if you aren't encumbered by the legacy of a PC -- if you view it as different. If you say this is another PC, all of a sudden you're pulling all of the leadweight of the PC market and you wind up with … Read more

Drop the top on these 7 types of convertibles

Summer is upon us, which means that it's officially open-air motoring season. However, not all cabriolets are created equal; there are actually many different types of convertibles to choose from. We've rounded up seven of the most obvious convertible classes and the best examples of each. … Read more