Engadget: Laptops
- 12.1-inch Dell E Slim laptop spotted in the wild?
Filed under: Laptops
It's hard to say what we've come across here, but if our retinas aren't deceiving us too badly, this looks to be an in the wild shot (sans blur, amazingly) of Dell's forthcoming E Slim. If you'll recall, we caught a glimpse of said device way back in June, and the two look at least marginally similar using the oh-so-scientific eyeball test. But look, even if this thing isn't the E Slim (though we're guessing it is until proven otherwise), we've been told on numerous occasions that Dell is mulling the idea of pumping out a netbook with a 10- to 12-inch display. An accompanying screenshot of the unit's internals was also provided, and while the model may say Optiplex1210, we're guessing that's just there for prototyping purposes; besides, the listed CPU matches up quite nicely with the aforementioned E Slim specs that slipped out this summer. So Round Rock -- when are you going to come out and get official with your 12.1-incher? Before or after this coming Tuesday?
[Thanks, Anonymous]
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- Apple says some MacBook Pros hit by faulty NVIDIA chips
Filed under: Laptops
It's pretty far behind the likes of Dell and HP in getting to the bottom of the whole defective NVIDIA GPU situation, but Apple has now finally come out and confirmed that some of its MacBook Pros are indeed affected by the problem. According to a just posted Apple support document, the specific models affected were all made between May 2007 and September 2008, and include all 15- and 17-inch models equipped with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors. As with other laptops, the problem shows itself in the form of distorted or scrambled video, or a complete absence of video on the screen or external display. If your MacBook Pro falls into that lot, and the problem occurs within two years of your original purchase date, Apple says it'll repair it free of charge, even if it's out of warranty. It's also issuing refunds to folks that have already paid to get their MacBook Pro repaired. Hit up the link below for the complete details.
[Via AppleInsider]
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- Zepto debuts 14-inch Nox A14 gaming laptop
Filed under: Laptops
Zepto managed to carve out a tiny niche for itself with its understated Nexus A15 gaming laptop, and it looks like it's now giving it some company with its new Nox A14 model. From the looks of it, this one is mostly identical to its predecessor, with the notable exception of a 14.1-inch 1440 x 900 screen and, consequently, a slightly smaller and lighter form factor. Otherwise, you can expect to get a Core 2 Duo P9500 processor, NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT 512MB, up to 8GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive (or 128GB SSD), a built-in 2-megapixel webcam, and a DVD burner or optional Blu-ray drive. If that's sounds about right, you can order one now for a starting price of £827 (or roughly $1,400), or a good deal more if you want any of those supposed "world's fastest" specs.
[Via PC Launches]
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- Eee PC news: touchscreens, bumps to dual-core Atoms, sub-$300 model
Filed under: Laptops We've seen tons of Eees modded with touchscreens, and it looks like ASUS is taking the hint -- it's saying that it expects to launch touch-enabled Eee PCs next year, as long rumored. It's not clear whether the new models will run XP or a special Linux build, but we'll find out soon enough, since the company plans to show them off at CES in January. Unsurprisingly, we should also be seeing dual-core Atom 330 chips make their way into the Eee line as soon as they're available in quantity, but the best piece of news is probably that ASUS will be getting aggressive on price with a sub-$300 Eee. Now just wrap all that up in the S101's case and we're all set -- that would be just about perfect.
[Via Electronista]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
- Panasonic, Renesas team to mass produce 32nm chips
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops We've seen some big names working on 32nm chips, and now we can add two more to the mix. According to Nikkei, Panasonic and Renesas have recently developed technology necessary to mass produce the little guys, using metal oxide film (instead of a silicon material) for the insulating layer and titanium nitride for the conducting layer. This has allowed the chips to consume less power, so the 32nm chips operate comparably to their 45nm siblings. Look for a street date sometime in 2011 -- but considering that Toshiba, IBM and others have set a target date of 2010 for their 32nm chips, and Samsung and Intel are aiming at 2009, Panny might be showing up to this party a little late.
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- Clouds on Vista's horizon to be dubbed Strata?
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
When Ballmer dropped a few sprinkles of information about Vista's successor, he dubbed it "Windows Cloud," but said the real moniker would be unveiled at the Professional Developers Conference later this month in LA. That show's agenda was recently posted, and interestingly contained a number of sessions under the header "Windows Strata," leading many to believe that it's the true name of Redmond's next offering. That the section was quickly changed to "Windows 7" makes things all the more suspicious, but don't go cyber-squatting WindowsStrata.com just yet (oops, too late). Strata -- a term that can apply to the layers of the atmosphere -- might be more of a general classification for numerous cloud computing-related offerings destined for all manner of devices. But if so, why rename the sessions, and why the secrecy? And, most importantly, why are we so intrigued?
[Via CNET]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
- Sony VAIO TT: unboxing, hands-on and impressions
Filed under: Laptops
It's not too often we get to toy around with a $4,449.99 laptop (these start at around $2,000), but that's precisely what we were able to do when Sony's packed-to-the-hilt VAIO TT (VGN-TT198U to be precise) arrived on our doorstop. The model we received included dual 128GB SSDs, a Blu-ray writer, 11.1-inch LED-backlit display, HDMI output, built-in MOTION EYE webcam, 802.11n WiFi, a 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo SU9400 CPU, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, Bluetooth and a pair of USB 2.0 ports. The 2.87-pound unit is essentially a huge thumb of the nose to netbooks everywhere, boasting a frame that's in the same ballpark (in terms of size) with innards and a price tag that contrast sharply. For those just interested in seeing what south of five large can buy you these days, head on down to the gallery below; if you're actually considering one of these puppies, hop on the past the break for a few impressions.
Gallery: Sony VAIO TT: unboxing and hands-on Continue reading Sony VAIO TT: unboxing, hands-on and impressions Permalink | Email this | Comments
- Apple "notebook" event is on, October 14th!
Filed under: Laptops
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Apple_to_announce_new_laptops_next_Tuesday'; The rumors were true folks. Apple is staging an invitation-only Town Hall event in Cupertino next Tuesday, October 14th at 10AM PDT. It's absolutely safe to say they'll be showing off new laptops... and you know we'll be there live! Will this be an unveiling of a whole new form factor? Will this "Brick" mystery be put to bed? Will they come in rainbow colors? Tune in to find out.
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- MSI's Wind U120 netbook gets pictured
Filed under: Laptops
Considering that MSI's Wind U120 is on track for release this quarter, it follows logic that we'd see a few press shots as the run-up to launch continues. Once again, we're told that this bugger will sport a 120GB HDD (or a 20GB / 40GB SSD), 802.11n WiFi and built-in 3.5G WWAN. As you can easily see, the U120 isn't too much different (style wise) from the U100, and unfortunately, it's not a whole lot thinner either. Still, the unit does look a bit more edgy, and hopefully we'll be seeing a lot more (read: in the wild) shots as December comes closer. Speaking of, check the read link for a whole load of press images.
[Thanks, TheLostSwede]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
- XOHM roundup: WiMAX-enabled Aspire One, speed testing
Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals, Wireless Yesterday was a pretty big day for Sprint (along with a number of laptop manufacturers), as America's had its first major glimpse at widespread WiMAX. A few other tidbits lingering from the mayhem were the obligatory speed tests -- which were decidedly average -- and what's believed to be a prototype Aspire One with inbuilt WiMAX capabilities. Said netbook was residing within an Intel-branded van, and while it wasn't made clear if Acer had any plans of bringing such a beast to the commercial realm, the folks at Laptop found the WiMAX surfing to be respectable, but not mind-blowing, as the New York Times homepage took around 15 seconds to load completely. Mr. Dave Zatz was able to pull down around 4,600kbps (and 1,519kbps up) in an impromptu speed test, while Kevin over at jkOnTheRun only managed 3,435kbps down / 1,555kbps up. As always, YMMV.
Read - Hands-on with WiMAX-enabled Aspire One
Read - XOHM Speed Test I
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- Toshiba intros four new Portege machines, Tecra R10
Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs
The last Portégé we saw flow from Toshiba's doors was a revamped R500 in July, but now we know why we've been waiting so long for a true new member of the family. Clearly, Tosh has been shoring 'em up, waiting for this day to arrive when it would introduce four newcomers in one fell swoop. Starting us off is the ultrathin Portégé R600, which packs your choice of a Core 2 Duo CPU, 2.14-pound shell, a battery good for nine hours and a price tag ranging between $1,499 and $3,299. The Portégé A600 includes most of the same specs along with a GMA X4500 graphics controller and a more pedestrian price; the Portégé M750 Tablet PC adds in that always-exciting swivel action for those who care. Lastly, we've got the Tecra R10, which features a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo SP9400, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, 200GB 7,200 RPM hard drive, NVIDIA Quadro NVS 150M GPU and an MSRP of $1,999. No word on when these will head south to the US, but Canadians should be able to indulge soon enough.
[Via GottaBeMobile]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
- Compaq's Presario CQ70: lots of screen, not a lot of dough
Filed under: Laptops
It looks like Compaq has added a big-daddy to its line of Presarios just released, tacking on the 17-inch CQ70 to the gang. The new laptop (currently available at Circuit City) sports a 2GHz dual-core Pentium T3200 CPU, 3GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, a 1440 x 900 widescreen display, 802.11b/g/n, a 5-in-1 card reader, and a bunch of other expected goodies (you know, like USB ports). The CQ70 is listing for $729.99, but after a series of shocking rebates at the aforementioned giant electronics retail chain, it can be yours for $579.99.
[Via Electronista]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
- Intel patent attorneys kick some dirt at AMD
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops AMD's breakup into two separate companies is certain to have wide-ranging impact in the industry, and unsurprisingly, Intel's among the first to react -- it's warning that it has "serious questions about this transaction" as it relates to its patent cross-licensing agreement with AMD and that it'll "vigorously protect" its intellectual property rights. That's about as aggro a patent attorney can get without coming to your house and peeing on the lawn (or, uh, filing a lawsuit), so we'll see how this shakes out -- for its part, AMD says that it's taken the deal into account, and that it'll "continue respecting Intel's intellectual property rights, just as we expect them to respect ours." That's a respect throwdown, right there -- you gonna take that, Intel?Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
- More pics of Apple's supposed new laptops surface
Filed under: Laptops
Oh Apple -- release some new laptops so this madness can end. The forums at MacRumors are abuzz over a Taiwanese site that's showing off pictures of what appears to be a very close cousin of that MacBook Pro-esque casing we saw earlier. This isn't the same model, surely, but it does bear a striking similarity in both design and materials -- and after lots of deliberation and comparisons, we're fairly sure this isn't the Air either (the hinge ends in a totally different spot in relation to the keys). That machined quality we noted in the earlier post is present, though as we said previously, the sides of these housings do look like separate pieces. Regardless, if any of this is even remotely true (and not another Photoshop from someone's mother's basement), Apple is indeed taking its laptops in an Air direction, which isn't surprising -- but signs of these being the end-result of new manufacturing process? The jury's still way out. One more pic after the break of that controversial side piece.
[Via MacRumors]Continue reading More pics of Apple's supposed new laptops surface Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
- Gigabyte M912X hack makes a smarter, cheaper Modbook
Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs
A fellow named Stuart Lowe installed Leopard on his Gigabyte M912X netbook / tablet hybrid, and we like the results. Though this isn't the first Mac tablet hack, it's a tightly wrapped little package: the interface seems smooth with either fingers or a stylus, and Inkwell's onscreen keyboard allows complete functionality when the computer is folded into its slate configuration. Much of the necessary software functionality existed in Leopard already, and since installing OS X on something other than a Mac isn't the challenge it used to be, we're envisioning a pretty smooth ride for other would-be-hackers. We've embedded a video on the other side of the jump -- take a look, and then cast your vote on what to call this niche category of netbook-like tablets.
[Via Slashgear]
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- Windows XP downgrade deadline extended to July 31, 2009
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops Microsoft wasn't quite ready to comment when rumors about yet another reprieve for Windows XP first starting circulating late last week, but that now seems to have changed, with a spokesperson for the company reportedly confirming in an email to InformationWeek that it is indeed pushing the cut-off date back six months, all the way to July 31st, 2009. According to the spokesperson, that's being done to ensure that customers moving to Vista are "making that transition with confidence and that it is as smooth as possible," adding that, "providing downgrade media for a few more months is part of that commitment." Or, you know, it could have something to do with the fact that some folks don't want to move to Vista at all. Take your pick.
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- Toshiba intros WiMAX-packing Satellite U405-ST550W
Filed under: Laptops, Wireless
Well, it looks like the flood of products piggybacking on the launch of Sprint's XOHM WiMAX network isn't showing any signs of letting up just yet, with Toshiba only the latest to hop on board with its new WiMAX-ready Satellite U405-ST550W laptop. That welcome connectivity addition comes in the form of what Toshiba describes as the "first ever" combined WiFi /WiMAX module, formerly codenamed "Echo Peak," which is about the only stand-out feature among the laptop's high-end but otherwise unremarkable specs, including 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, and a 13.3-inch screen with Toshiba's trademark TruBrite technology. No word on a price just yet, but it'll apparently be available "soon."
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- 'Brick' MacBook Pro leaked in up-close spy shot?
Filed under: Laptops
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Brick_MacBook_Pro_leaked_in_up_close_spy_shot'; Since we heard those "Brick" rumors the other day, the mill has been all but silent... until now. It's hard to tell exactly what we're looking at here, but damned if this doesn't look like some fancy new MacBook Pro carved out of a single piece of metal (except for those sides, so, there goes that theory). We'll let you make your own decisions after giving this the once over, but if this is what Apple has in store for us, our curiosity is definitely piqued.
Update: MacRumors reports that the photo originates from this Chinese site.
Update 2: More pics appear to have surfaced, check them out here!Permalink | Email this | Comments
- Lenovo adds integrated WiMAX capability in ThinkPad / IdeaPad families
Filed under: Laptops, Wireless It's a big day in Baltimore with the proper launch of Sprint's XOHM WiMAX network, and Lenovo's making sure it snags a bit of that limelight to announce this. Starting today, prospective customers can snatch up a ThinkPad SL300, SL500, X301 and T400 with integrated WiMAX capability, meaning that you can hop on the ultra-fast mobile internet highway in Baltimore and elsewhere if you're really lucky. Later this year, the laptop maker will be adding the option on its business-focused ThinkPad W500, W700, SL400 and X200 models as well as the consumer-minded IdeaPad Y530. There's no word on how much this capability adds to the cost of a machine, but WiMAX-enabled lappies can be had starting at $720 right now.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
- Exclusive HP / Toshiba laptops first in Best Buy's Blue Label lineup
Filed under: Laptops
Hey guys / gals, check this out. Best Buy is practically admitting that it is just now starting to "gather insights from customers and work with manufacturers to design products that address [consumers'] needs." In a rather odd release, the big box retailer is announcing two new laptops that'll be exclusive to its store: the 14.1-inch Toshiba Satellite E105-S1402 (we which already knew of) and the 13.3-inch HP Pavilion dv3510nr. As for the former, expect a 1.2-inch thin frame, WXGA (1,280 x 800) panel, backlit keyboard, DVD burner, 5.5-hours of battery life and an $1,199 price tag. The HP (shown after the break) will include a LED-backlit WXGA display, up to 4-hours of battery life, inbuilt webcam and precisely the same retail price. Eventually, Best Buy is hoping to expand the Blue Label series to other product lines, though there's no word on where to find these elusive input cards that it's supposedly using to pick and choose wares.Continue reading Exclusive HP / Toshiba laptops first in Best Buy's Blue Label lineup Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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