AMD confirms tablet-friendly Z-series APU, next-gen Trinity APU for bigger devices

AMD likes to take its time before stepping inside the ring, but it's turned up at Computex with its gown off and mouthguard in. Its much-leaked Z-series Fusion APU (aka "Desna") for tablet devices is now official and could well steal some of ARM's thunder. Whereas ARM chips will get along with the next version of Windows, AMD's Z-series is already tuned into the here-and-now. Its integrated dual 1Ghz Bobcat chips and Radeon HD 6250 graphics should allow the full Windows 7 experience on a tablet, from USB peripheral compatibility right down to XBOX 360 Media Extender functionality. What's more, it drinks less than 6W of power so is significantly leaner than the 9W Ontario APU powering Acer's Iconia W500 Windows 7 tablet. Additionally, AMD claims MSI has already made that leap with its new WindPad 110w (though we can't be sure if the pre-release device we just handled was carrying a Z-series chip).

Meanwhile, AMD left any traces of shyness far behind as it went on to confirm plans for a range of A-series and E-series chips with which it hopes to tackle Intel's dominance in the laptop and desktop spheres -- right up to the level of the Core i7. This includes the leaked high-end quad-core A8 and, more surprisingly, a new Trinity APU. Looking way into the future, AMD intends Trinity to be a successor to the mid-range A-series Llano, which isn't even out yet but is expected imminently. Unfortunately we have no concrete specs for the Trinity -- AMD thought it was sufficient to wave the thing around at the press conference and declare it "2012's best APU". Depending on how you look at it, that's either fighting talk or plain posturing.

Martin Jetpack hits the 5,000 feet milestone, could come to market within 18 months

OK, so the Martin Jetpack may not have gone into commercial production quite as soon as we'd anticipated, but there's still hope on the horizon. Over the weekend, Glenn Martin's flying machine successfully climbed some 5,000 feet above sea level, marking a new milestone in the 30-year, $12 million project. Remotely controlled by a tailing helicopter, the 250-pound craft used its two "superfans" to power itself skyward at about 800 feet per second minute, before safely parachuting back to Earth from a height of about 3,000 feet. As with its last test run, however, the Martin Jetpack was equipped not with a human being, but with a crash dummy. It may have been for the best, though, considering that the machine sustained some damage upon concluding the ten-minute flight. Nevertheless, Martin seems confident that yesterday's test "brings the future another step closer," and is hoping to deliver his brainchild to customers within the next 18 months -- plenty of time for us to hawk enough family heirlooms to afford that $86,000 price tag. Soar past the break for a video of the jetpack's big launch, or check out the source link for a more extensive interview with Martin and some background footage of his invention.

HP gives TouchSmart 610 a second crack, this time with Sandy Bridge CPU options

HP may have announced its TouchSmart 610 all-in-one just a shade too soon for it to ship with Core 2011 processors, but that doesn't mean the company was above pushing out a refresh just a few months later. Now, this 23-inch beast is on sale with a variety of quad-core Core i5 and Core i7 Sandy Bridge CPUs. To recap, what makes the 610 special is its rigid hinge, which allows the 1080p display to slide down so that it's face-up, and nearly flat at a 60-degree angle -- a more ergonomic position for poking 'round the TouchSmart software while standing.

Like pretty much every other HP computer on the market, it comes standard with Beats Audio and, depending on how much money you're willing to shell out, you can trick it out with up to 16GB of RAM, 2TB of storage, and your choice of NVIDIA or ATI graphics with up to 2GB of video memory. Those Sandy Bridge models are available now starting at $1,100, though as always, you can get an entry-level configuration with quad-core AMD innards for $900 and up.