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Come early-August you might reconsider switching your old PC laptop for a Macbook. Not everyone needs a Mac after all. The Sony VAIO SR is a gorgeous little machine. It’s a 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (Centrino 2) powered laptop with a 13.3 inch LED backlit XBRITE display, up to 320GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM, biometric fingerprint security, 6 hours of battery life and a bevy of other features. Best of all it’s wrapped up into a 4 pound magnesium alloy chassis that’s 1 inch thick.

Unlike some of it’s competitors the Sony VAIO SR is fully equipped with an array of ports and unique ’switch’ mode that allows you to customize the on-screen look to work, home and play scenarios.

Additional image after the jump.

Cost: $1399+ @ SonyStyle (August 2008)

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Voila. You’re new MacBook is now a portable television with DVR.

The new Elgato EyeTV DTT Deluxe TV Tuner allows you to receive digital TV via a svelte USB adaptor that includes it’s own built in antenna aerials. You simply plug it in and your MacBook (or Pro or Air) is an HDTV (720p or 1080i) capable machine with Dolby Digital sound. The adaptor includes an extension USB cable, aerial rod with suction cup, telescopic aerial, infrared remote and all the software you need to get you glorious high definition tv, anywhere.

Cost: Elgato EyeTV DTT Deluxe [$125 UK Only] | EyeTV Hybrid [$150 US Edition]

HP wants you to think that your keyboard and mouse are passé. Not unlike someone else we know. The Touchsmart PC might good and well make you a believer too.

The Touchsmart PC is all about simplicity and sleek design. Out of the box, it only requires you plug the power cable and you’re set. A wireless keyboard, mouse and remote are at your diposable, but the cool factor with this computer resides in it’s next-generation touch-enabled high definition 22 inch widescreen. From the home screen you can simply slide through its menus with your hand to access photos, videos, music and applications.

The PC itself is encased in a piano black case with espresso side-panels and comes equipped with a DVD Burner, Bluetooth, WLAn and Intel Core 2 Duo Processor.

Cost: $1300 - $1500 @ Best Buy or Amazon ($50 Discount with Pre-Order)

Some guys like their accessories in cool black. Some like them in smooth stainless steel. And some like them sheathed in wood. (?)

For those that prefer lumber and lacquer over brushed and midnight, then looking into Swedx wood peripherals might be the best option out there.

The XV1-19 LCD TV and Monitor is a 19 inch monitor with specs that are hardly bleeding edge, but you’re not buying it for that now are you. The monitor features inputs that let it function either as a TV or Monitor (with tuner) and stereo speakers. The keyboard is just that and the wood mouse is, get this… wireless.

Cost: Keyboard: $104 | Monitor $826 | Mouse: $125 @ Swedx

Ever notice how laptop bags, though nice and protective, are poorly designed when you need to pull your laptop out? There’s often little room for you to pull out the actual laptop. Well, the click-n-grip Laptop Strap makes this a breeze.

The 2″ poly-pro webbing straps accomodate most laptops and can be lifted by its strong rubber handle grip. A business card holder is also built into the strap.

What this means to you: It might not be the best looking product around, but sometimes the most functional aren’t. For those of you that could care less about an actual case can just use the Click-n-Grip Laptop Strap as is.

Cost: $20 @ Midrix

It goes without saying that most everyone has experienced a situation where they wished they had backed up their hard drive or opted for the larger hard drive option.

Whether you’re a music download crazed maniac, photographer, or just don’t have the ability to throw a single file away then you need to take a look at getting an external hard drive. Even if you’re none of the aforementioned then trust me when I say your computer will crash and it will crash at the absolute worst time, they always do. With an external hard drive you might lose a few hours worth of data, but won’t you pat yourself on the back when you realize you’ve got a backup handy?

Before writing this post I backed up the contents of my MacBook Air onto my new Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini Portable Hard Drive. My unit is the OneTouch 4 Mini 250GB version (5,330 hours of digital music or 102,400 digital photos or 320 hours of digital video or 80 two-hour DVD quality movies). It’s more than three times the size of my Macbook Air’s hard drive. The OneTouch 4 Mini has a shock-resistant design and power-cable-less operation making it’s tiny size (5×3 inches) an absolute breeze to toss into my bag when I’m on the go. The one-touch back-up syncing between two computers makes portability that much sweeter.

What this means to you: Is there a way to say “better to be safe and portable and convenient than sorry?”

Cost: $70-$180 @ Maxtor

Apple’s much applauded aluminum and glass all-in-one computer has been revised with faster processors, more powerful video cards, larger cache and a quicker front-side bus. (1066MHz from 800MHz if any of you care to know).

In base form the 24 inch iMac comes equipped with a 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB memory, 500GB hard drive, 8x double-layer SuperDrive, 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 800GS video card, and 6MB L2 cache.

No changes have been made to the design but based on the current looks we appreciate Apple’s choice not to. Base iMac’s start at $1199. Available today.

Interesting fact: Mac sales are growing roughtly three and a half times faster than PC sales.

Cost: $2,199 @ Apple

I work on a laptop every day. Granted it’s hooked up to an Apple Cinema Display and an Apple Keyboard, but I purposely got the new Apple Keyboard that emulates the keys found in the newer MacBooks and MacBook Air (which for sake of disclosure is the laptop I work on).

To the chagrin of wrists and at risk of carpal tunnel syndrome I continue to type on these slightly numbed devices, it’s what I feel comfortable on (despite it’s health risks).

While catching up on some ‘net reading I came across this Kensington Ci70 Keyboard and have to say it’s something I’m going to buy. The fact that it’s not only the type of keyboard I love to work on, has great design and also offers additional media and connectivity features only sweetens the deal. Now that it’s finally available in oh so smooth black I’m getting it. [via]

Features after the jump.

Cost: $50 @ Kensington
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Are you the kind of guy that keeps critical data lying around on discs? Do you fret everyday that your hard drive full of office documents porn data is going to be lost in a fire? Well, fear not - your technology can survive the worst safely secured in a Sentry Safe Fire/Waterproof Data Storage Chest.

Like most Sentry safes, it protects the contents from fire and water up to one half hour in 1,550 degree Fahrenheit temperatures (1,116 degrees Kelvin, oh yes - we knew you were wondering) or 24 hours fully submersed in water. Not only that, but it will protect 60 CD’s or DVDs or your, ahem, legally downloaded videos and music. Going even further is the ability for the Sentry safe to hold your external storage device and pass through the data via it’s internal USB 2.0 port. Clever.

When we first picked up the Sentry Chest we were looking for a safe for our back-up CD’s. Then our curiosity got the better of us as we delved deeper into the idea of storing a back up hard drive as well. We came across the Fireproof/Waterproof 160GB Maxtor Hard Drive but the inability to store physical gear and it’s prohibitive price made us look into other options. Well, we’re glad to report the Sentry Data Storage Chest has served quite nicely and for it’s functionality you can’t beat the price.

What this means to you: It’s about time someone realized data isn’t always in manilla envelopes. Keep your digital data safe and secure.

Cost: $150 @ Office Depot

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As predicted, Apple has released the Multi-Touch enabled MacBook Pros with Multitouch. The entire MacBook Pro lineup is now enabled with Penryn-based processors roaring in at 3.6 GHz with 6MB of shared L2 cache, up to 4GB of 667 MHz RAM, 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics card, and 300GB hard drives. The 15″ screen continues at 1440×900 resolution while the 17″ screen can be configured in either 1680×1050 or a ridiculously wall-vision inducing 1920×1200 resolution - all backlit with LED. Anyone follow that?

The MacBook is also available with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors up to 2.4GHz, 802.11n Wi-Fi, larger hard drives and up to 2GB of memory - standard. They continue start at $1099.

What this means to you: We yawned a bit at the release hoping for a little more than just internal component upgrades, but for you power users every bit counts.

Cost: $1999 - $2799 @ Apple