Asus shows off new Transformer Books at Intel Developer Forum

Asus Chairman Jonney Shih and Intel Vice President Tom Kilroy took to the stage yesterday at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco to showcase two new Transformer Book ultraportables—the Transformer Book T100 and Transformer Book Trio. Both feature the Asus signature two-part dockable design that turns the laptop into a tablet. But the Transformer Book Trio takes this further with a keyboard dock that has its own processor that can be used as a self-contained desktop PC while the display is detached as a tablet.

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HP introduces new Haswell-powered, colourful Chromebook

HP’s launching a new Chromebook and it’s going to be the first one to be powered by an Intel processor based on the Haswell microarchitecture—which means faster, more powerful machine—and one that’s quite a looker, too. Available in whimsically-named colours (Snow White, Ocean Turquoise, and Coral Peach), the Chromebook is equipped with a 14-inch HD display, 16GB SSD, and connectivity options that include HDMI, USB 2.0 and 3.0, and combination headphone and microphone jack.

Since it’s a Chromebook, you are guaranteed a quick and easy way to connect to your favorite sites and have instant access to Google Chrome apps. You will also be gifted with 100GB free storage on Google Drive for two years. This new laptop is said to be ready for the holiday season with a starting price of US$299.99.

Google partners with edX for new open source online learning platform

Google adds one more open source project to its list. Teaming up with MIT and Harvard’s educational site edX, Google’s launching a new online learning platform mid-2014 called mooc.org. It stands for “massive open online courses.” What differentiates it from edX is that it takes submitted from other universities, businesses, governments, and even individuals, whereas edX offers free courses just from affiliated institutions. No word yet on how courses are going to be screened or how contributors will earn money. 

Sony debuts new wireless NFC speakers

The new Sony SRS-BTS50 is made for your great outdoor jaunts. You can take it to the beach, have it by the pool, or even on camping trips. This ultra-portable Bluetooth speaker is a durable, splash-proof device that is powered by a rechargeable battery capable of lasting up to 10 hours on a single charge. Adding Near Field Communication (NFC) technology and Sony’s One-Touch Listening, streaming your favorite tunes is going to be a breeze. 

The SRS-BTS50 comes in a variety of colors (blue, red, pink, white, and black) and is available starting this month for $149.99 at Sony’s Online Store, Sony stores, and other authorized retailers in the country.