Author: Clinton

This weekend at MWC, HP announced the all new Spectre x360 ultra sleek notebooks powered by Windows 8.1.  Now you can order yours on the HP Online Store starting at just $899.  This new lineup has been seeing some raving comments from those in attendance in Barcelona for the sleek design and look of the Spectre x360.  When it was announced this weekend there was some question as to when it would be available.  Those questions are answered it seems as both the i5 and i7 versions of it are now available for order.

Spectre X360 Ultra Sleek Notebooks – Starting at $899 – HP Online Store

At the Microsoft Store today they are once again running a promotion they ran last month on the HP Stream 7 Signature Edition Windows Tablet.  The promotion makes it one of those hard to pass up deals on what has been on a highly rated and well liked economy tablet.

Right now you pick up a HP Stream 7 for $79 which is a $20 savings off the regular price.  Keep in mind that this is the Signature Edition so there is no crapware installed on this model.  In addition to the $20 savings, you get a year of Office 365 Professional to run on this tablet for free which is a $69.99 value.  And if that wasn’t enough to tempt you, Microsoft is also throwing in a $25 Windows Store Gift card so you can buy apps and games online with your new HP Stream 7.

So let’s do the math shall we?

• HP Stream 7 Signature Edition:  $79
• One Year of Office 365 Personal Edition:  ($69.99)
• Free Gift Card from Windows Store:  ($25.00)

That means your cost is $79 when normally you would pay a total of $173.99 for all of this.  In fact what you are getting for free is of greater value than the price of the HP Stream 7 itself:  $79 versus freebies of $94.99

HP Stream 7 Windows Tablet – SALE $79 – Microsoft Store

With the announcements of the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640XL this morning at Mobile World Congress, one of the first questions that came up was when or if we would see these in the US market.  The answer came almost as quickly as the announcements themselves.  AT&T has issued a Press Release stating that they will carry the Lumia 640 and will be the first US carrier to have the Lumia 640XL in their lineup.  While pricing and release dates were not a part of the announcement, you can expect them to be here pretty soon given that Microsoft announced they are available this month.

As part of the launch announcements for the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640XL, Microsoft has released two new launch videos covering both devices.  Both of the videos can be found after the break and both are quite dramatic, outlining the look and feel of the devices as well as the wide range of apps that come built into the device.

In addition to the Lumia 640 announced today at Mobile World Congress, Microsoft also announced their new Phablet device, the Lumia 640XL.  The 5.7″ device is a replacement for the now quite dated Lumia 1320 (my personal phone of choice) and it is a significant bump up in specifications over the 1320.  Like the Lumia 640, there will be multiple variants of the Lumia 640XL:  Single and Dual SIM 3G models as well as Single and Dual SIM LTE Models.  It is expected to retail for around $245 for the Dual SIM LTE model which is a very attractive price point for what this device has to offer.

The Lumia 640XL will be powered by the Snapdragon 400 Quad-Core processor running at 1.2GHz and will sport 1GB of RAM.  It will have 8GB of internal storage with expansion up to an additional 128GB with a MicroSD card.  It has a 5.7″ IPS display running at 1280×720 with Glance screen and sunlight readability enhancements for when you are outside.  The rear camera is probably the single biggest improvement over the Lumia 1320.  The 1320 has a 5MP camera while the 640XL will have a 13MP camera.  That rear camera can also shoot 1080p video and has a flash.  The front facing camera is a 5MP wide angle fixed focus.  It will also have SensorCore which is something the Lumia 1320 does not have either.

Another interesting change is that the Lumia 640XL will have a user replaceable 3000 mAh battery, something you cannot do on the Lumia 1320.

As I posted just a bit ago, Microsoft launched the Lumia 640 this morning at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.  If you haven’t had a chance to review the specs, you can do so here and I think you’ll like what you see.  The Lumia 640 is certainly not a flagship device but it is a nice step up in the mid-market and one that should do well.

Microsoft has now released hi-res images of the Lumia 640 and I’ve got all of them here for your viewing pleasure.  All of them can be found after the break to save those who don’t want to see them from a big download on the front page of the site.  Keep in mind that these are all between 1.5-3 MB is size so rendering may be slow depending on your connectivity.