Iced out 24-carat gold MacBook Pro proves diamonds are an Apple's best friend

Computer Choppers' latest luxury overhaul is about as Cribs-worthy a laptop as we've ever laid our hard-working eyes on. Just like this 24-carat stunner before it, the shiny setup gives something a little extra to that Apple logo, by way of Marilyn's favorite gems, but sets itself apart with the addition of a rather unexciting paisley pattern. If you're the type who flushes hundos, though, you can ditch the paisleys for your very own custom design. As is often the case with these things, the price isn't listed, but frankly, we'd hold out until they replace those black plastic chiclets with something fit for the Diamond Princess

Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook hits the US and Canada this week, rings in at $899

And the Ultrabooks have arrived! We just got word that the Acer Aspire S3 will go on sale in the US and Canada this week for $899 -- making it the first pinch-thin, MacBook Air competitor to hit the market, landing ahead of competing models from Toshiba, Lenovo and ASUS. To recap, this 2.98-pound aluminum beaut has a 13.3-inch (1366 x 768) panel, is rated for six hours (or 50 standby days!) of battery life and promises to wake from sleep in a mere two seconds. For the money, you'll get an ultra low voltage Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM and 20GB of solid-state storage combined with a 320GB HDD. No word yet on how many additional configs will be available, though Acer did confirm that this $899 version will be followed by models with Core i3 and i7 processors and beefier storage capacity.

Prototype MacBook Pro repair parts returned to owner, 3G antenna stays in Cook's kitchen

Wondering what happened to that prototype 3G MacBook Pro Apple had pulled off eBay? Not too long ago, the boys in Cupertino reclaimed the specimen, along with a handful of spare parts the would-be auctioneer used to get the rig back into working order. After relinquishing of the prototype to Apple security in early September, previous owner Carl Frega petitioned the firm to return the repair parts to him. Last week, Frega finally received an unmarked FedEx package containing a notebook battery, hard drive, and two sticks of RAM. Despite the repossession, CNET reports that the outfit never gave Frega proof that the machine legally belonged to Apple, although he did say that the hardware and serial number were authentic

Samsung breakthrough could turn your window pane into a big ol' LED

Samsung's quest for transparency won't end with laptops, apparently. Today, the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology announced that its engineers have successfully created "single crystalline Gallium Nitride on amorphous glass substrates" -- an achievement that would allow the manufacturer to produce jumbo-sized LEDs from normal glass, including window panes. Samsung says this scaled-up approach will allow them to lower production costs relative to most LED manufacturers, which rely on sapphire, rather than glass substrates. And, whereas most Gallium Nitride (GaN) LEDs on the market measure just two inches in size, Sammy's technique could result in displays about 400 times larger. "In ten years, window panes will double as lighting and display screens, giving personality to buildings," a Samsung spokesperson told the Korea Herald. Unfortunately, however, it will likely be another ten years before the technology is ready to hit the market. Until then, we'll just have to do our late night window coding the old fashioned way.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/10/samsung-stratosphere-lands-on-verizon-october-13th-lte-and-qwer/

We had a pretty clear indication that the Samsung Stratosphere was headed to Verizon soon, and the carrier has now made it official. As expected, the Android 2.3-based phone will be available on October 13th, when it'll set you back $149.99 after the usual rebate / two-year contract business. In addition to LTE capabilities and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, that will buy you a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, and a 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash 'round back that's paired with a 1.3 megapixel counterpart up front.

T-Mobile Galaxy S II pre-orders begin today, should land in stores October 12th

T-Mo customers, don't get jealous of everyone pre-ordering an iPhone 4S, you've got your own super phone ready to hit retail channels -- the Galaxy S II. As promised, the 4.5-inch variant of Samsung's current flagship device hit T-Mobile's site today for pre-order and is expected to start popping up on retail shelves on Wednesday, October 12th. If you want to make sure you're one of the first on Big Magenta to leave your fingerprints on its sizable Super AMOLED Plus screen, head on over to the carrier's site now to put in your order. The privilege will set you back $230 with a two-year contract.

HIOD One is a Bluetooth communicator for gadget-hungry cyclists

Between your bell, safety lights and cycling computer there's probably not much room left on those handlebars for more stuff. But, if you're tired of having to speak up to converse with your riding partner, perhaps you'll clear a little real estate for the HIOD One. This Bluetooth communicator lets you talk to your fellow cyclists from up to 1,300 feet away and can be used to place phone calls and listen to music on your phone. The control panel mounts on your handlebars, but the "wireless" voice unit is a bulky box best worn on an armband or clipped to your chest. While the voice unit isn't hardwired to the controller, it does require you to plug in an earpiece and microphone to use it. Though the HIOD One has officially launched, there's no price yet as the company is still looking for retail partners to actually sell the device.

eFun announces $300 Nextbook Premium 8 Android tablet

The Nextbooks 1 through 7 may not have caused much of a ripple in the Android tablet market, but eFun is keeping at it, and has now rolled out its new Nextbook Premium 8 model. There's still no Honeycomb to be found on this one (just Android 2.3), but you do get a slightly larger 8-inch capacitive screen, as well as a Rockchip RK2918 processor, 4GB of storage, a microSD card slot, and a 2 megapixel front-facing camera -- plus Kobo's eBook Store app preloaded (though there's no mention of Android Market). Unfortunately, in a season when you can get a Kindle Fire or Lenovo IdeaPad A1 for $200, this one will set you back a comparatively hefty $300

Lenovo N5902 ditches the fingerprint magnet finish, adds backlit keys

Home theater PC enthusiasts, you've grumbled and Lenovo listened. The company took your feedback to heart when it prepped its latest multimedia remote with keyboard -- the N5902 -- for release. Gone is the glossy piano black finish that marred your sweet N5901 with unsightly fingerprints, as well as its trackball pointer. In their stead, Lenovo's outfitted this update in a matte exterior, adding an optical pointer with a "ridged" scroll bar located just below it. Perhaps the most notable addition to this refresh, however, is the ability to navigate and type from the now backlit keys. Fancy updating your couch control with this AA-powered peripheral? The head to the source below to fork over your hard-earned $52.

Nuance reportedly buying Swype for $100 million

It's only been about a year since Nuance traced Swype's finger gliding input method with QuickType, but it seems like the firm is ready for the real deal: Michael Arrington says it's nabbing the Seattle-based startup to the tune of $100 million. With competition heating up in the voice command space after Apple's Siri assisted iPhone upgrade, Nuance could be stocking up on more traditional input methods, or at the very least edging out the potential for more competition. There's no word just yet if Swype will replace or fade away in lieu of the firm's own traceable input brand, but we'll be sure to let you know if we hear something official.

HP launching an investigation into TouchPads shipped with Android, suspects foul play

After a few TouchPads found their way into the hands of consumers loaded with Android 2.2, the devs working to port Google's OS to HP's hardware reached out to the company to get a look at the source code. Well, the request was denied since, according to open-source program director Phil Robb, HP had nothing to do with Froyo finding its way onto the slate. In fact, the company is going so far as to launch an investigation into how the OS wound up on the tablet and into retail channels. In an email Robb said, "we presently believe that some person or persons unknown may have facilitated the delivery of these Android-based units strictly against the policy and authorization of HP." Of course, with TouchPad hardware discontinued we don't expect the company to waste too much time or resources tracking down the culprits.

ASUS Ultrabooks are actually Zenbooks?

ASUS has a big event next week in the Big Apple, where the super slim UX21 and UX31 will be revealed. Granted, the company said it'll be showing off "the real Ultrabook," on October 11th, but the eagle-eyed folks at Notebook Italia spied some evidence that the laptops in question will be called Zenbooks instead. Proof of the new moniker was found in the title of the information request form on the ASUS UX countdown site, but it was gone when we looked for ourselves. Guess we'll just have to wait and see whether the newest thin and light laptops are, indeed, PCs possessing inner peace.