Gear Patrol

Microsoft Xbox One Microsoft just announced pricing for its new flagship gaming system, the Xbox One, due for a November launch. To the chagrin of everyone, espeically teenage boys subsisting entirely on allowance and lawn-mowing money, at $499 it’s priced a bit higher than anticipated. $499 PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 will be released in…

When it comes to choosing the right laptop, everyone seeks three necessities: a sleek profile, high performance, and most importantly, portability. A weighty — or worse, bulky — portable computer can take a heavy toll on the body and make daily commuting a pain in the ass; yet everyone from business buffs to college grads wants a machine powerful enough to meet computing needs. We’re fortunate to bask in a beautiful balance of both virtues thanks to the latest leaps in laptop engineering. From convertibles to high-end subnotebooks, we sifted through the market to find the best laptops weighing in at under four pounds. Just remember, they’ll probably make you look fat in comparison.

Ambiguous branding aside (trade you my Xbox 1 for your Xbox One!), we’re predicting the Xbox 360′s singular successor to be a hit. The just-unveiled console’s first looks are rolling in, and though we haven’t gotten our paws on it yet, our Master Chief Covenant-killin’ senses are tingling. We break down the 360′s successor.

Leaning into the October launch of tablet-ready Windows 8, Microsoft’s Wedge Mobile Keyboard and Mouse saves you from sacrificing screen real estate for data input. The two compact tools are both Bluetooth-enabled and designed to match smoothly with the company’s operating system. The keyboard comes with Hotkeys set to take full advantage of Windows 8…

Anyone who’s tried working off just a tablet for a day has experienced the ecstasy of an easy, lightweight carry, and the agony of hunching over a slightly inclined screen for 10 hours. Like other gadgets we’ve seen, the Asus Taichi aims to solve that dilemma by combining an ultrabook and tablet into one airy…

It was no secret that Microsoft intended to make their new crown jewel Windows 8 operating system equally capable on both desktops as well as their eventual potential replacements — tablets. Few predicted, though, that the house that Bill built would cross the dangerous line from software Czar to hardware vendor with a Microsoft branded…

The Nokia Lumia 800 is the first overwhelmingly positive result born from two mobile underdogs. It’s essentially Nokia’s gorgeous N9 on the hardware side, packed finally with a mobile OS (Windows Phone 7) whose tombstone isn’t already chiseled. Its curved, 3.7-inch, 12.1mm-thick polycarbonate frame and ClearBlack AMOLED display looks and feels almost like the iPod…

Sure, the new Xbox Wireless Controller with Twist D-pad ($65) features a smooth matte silver finish along with spiffy monochrome buttons, but it’s the new transforming D-pad that gives our hadouken launching fingers pause. With a simple twist, the D-pad’s directional bars rise a 1/4″ to give traditional gamers (especially fighting games) new found life…

Known as the Microsoft Pink, Pure, and Turtle by the tech rumor mill leading up to their launch, Microsoft in the end seems to have ditched these monikers for something far more Seussian. Dubbed Kin 1 and Kin 2, both handsets are aimed squarely at the texting, Facebooking, and Twittering masses of young adults immersed…

The Apple iPad has caught the eyes of many, but frankly not all of us are in the the Federated Obsessed Fanboys of Apple. The Microsoft Courier isn’t yet entirely real, nor can you order it next week like the Apple iPad, but the recently leaked specs show that the tablet/e-reader/netbook will be under 1″…

Yesterday in the midst of Windows 7 Launch craziness, the New York based Gear Patrol staff took some time away from the gear-review mayhem to go see Engadget editor-in-chief Josh Topolsky grill Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on everything from the new Window 7’s improvement over it’s dismal predecessor Vista, to Ballmer’s knowledge of the elusive…