- Author: admin
- Filed under: Laptops
- Date: Jun 12,2007
Much as they did back at the time of Vista’s launch, Sony decided to refresh a bunch of its laptops in one fell swoop, today announcing no less than 21 new VAIOs in four different model ranges. Those include the VAIO A, BX, FZ and G series, which each get upgrades of varying degrees.
The top end of the lot are the VAIO A series laptops, which pack 17-inch displays (1920×1200 on the higher end model), T7100 or T7300 Core 2 Duo processors, up to 2GB of RAM, two 120GB hard drives, an optional Blu-ray drive, and NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics. Taking things down a notch, the FZ series laptops each boast 15.4-inch displays, along with Core 2 Duo processors and slightly smaller hard drives, while the VAIO BX models will give you a choice of 14.1 or 15.4-inch displays, Core 2 Duo processors, up to 2GB of RAM, and a max 120GB hard drive.
Rounding out the line-up is the VAIO G, which is lightweight in more ways than one, boasting a 12.1-inch display, a Core Solo U1400 processor, 1GB of RAM, and an 80GB hard drive. Look for all them to roll out in Japan over the course of July, with them starting at just ¥109,800 ($900) and going all the way up to ¥400,000 ($3,285).
[Via Impress and Akihabara News]
- Author: admin
- Filed under: Laptops
- Date: Jun 10,2007
Continuing on with more glimpses of foreign gadgetry from the floors of Computex comes the seven-inch CE261 UMPC from FIC. This laptop-styled machine sports a glossy black exterior, noticeably large gap beneath the display’s bezel, and a swank looking keyboard to boot.
Aside from the WVGA display and reported five-hours of battery life, this sucka also touts a pair of stereo speakers, miniature trackpad, a pair of USB ports, audio in / out, Ethernet, DVI output, flash card reader, 0.3-megapixel webcam in the bezel, and a number of LED indicators to keep you informed. Per usual, there’s no word yet on when certain sects of the world can snag one of their own, so click on through for the obligatory snapshots to tide you over. Read the rest of this entry »
No offense, Amtek, we’re sure that McCaslin-based U560 of yours has ample reason to be so big and ugly, but we’re going to put our dollars on this “MIMD” (Mobile Internet Multimedia Device) Menlow-based UMPC from EB if you don’t mind. Yes, it’s the same “MID” device which Intel was proudly showing back in April only now with a bit of meat around the source.
Along with the promising advances brought by Intel’s UMPC-oriented Menlow chipset, the MIMD promises Mobile WiMax, HSDPA, GPS and a 4.8-inch high resolution screen. We should be seeing this one running Linux and hitting sometime in 2008. McCaslin, we hardly knew ye.
[Via UMPCPortal]
- Author: admin
- Filed under: Laptops
- Date: Jun 7,2007
We’ve definitely seen some shady reports of a quad-core laptop make the rounds, and it looks like geographically misnamed Canadian laptop outfit Eurocom is going to be first off the line with a Intel Core 2 Quad notebook. A Eurocom spokesperson apparently confirmed to Laptoping that the company is prepping a quad-core Phantom D900C — which probably means that monster-laptop Clevo (or whichever company is their ODM) is working on a quad-core D900C, since the Phantom is yet another rebrand.
Laptoping says the 17-inch machine will feature a 2.4GHz Q6600 “Kentsfield” Core 2 Quad and dual SLI-capable GeForce Go 8700 or Quadro FX3500 graphics, an HD DVD drive, and up to three drives that can be run as a RAID 0/1/5 array — all of which means battery life on this 11.9-pound monster will probably run down faster than a 6-minute mile.
Still, the idea of stuffing four cores into a laptop gets us all excited, but the current $3,200 pricetag on the dual-core Phantom doesn’t bode too well for the double the power.
[via engadget]
- Author: admin
- Filed under: Laptops
- Date: Jun 7,2007
The guys at Stuff UK got their hands on Sony’s new VAIO TZ and from the looks of it, they might never let go. The 11.1-inch ultraportable has a 9-hour battery life, an LED backlit screen and packs enough muscle to fly through Vista Aero. The system passed all of their tests with flying colors, but it’s the battery test that pleases me the most.
For their battery test, they made the laptop loop through HD WMV video. The FZ lasted for 3.5 hours (with Wi-Fi on!). Suffice it to say, this lappie ain’t a quitter. On top of that, there wasn’t a single dropped frame in their 720p HD video test.
Their only concern was the screen: It’s a little thin (although Sony says the carbon casing is tough enough) so don’t go tossing it around. Either way, it looks like this ultraportable is worth its weight in gold. – Louis Ramirez
Sony VAIO VGN-TZ11MN [Stuff.tv]
- Author: admin
- Filed under: Laptops
- Date: Jun 6,2007
If Toshiba’s just announced 12.1-inch Portege R500 laptop is a tad too small for you, you may want to consider the company’s new Tecra M8, which packs a 13.3-inch widescreen display into a slightly heftier package (4.5 pounds).
Apart from that bump up in size, you’ll get a 1.8GHz T7100 Core 2 Duo processor, Intel’s GM965 Express chipset, 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, a DVD SuperMulti drive, Intel Turbo Memory, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, and an integrated 1.3 megapixel webcam, among other features.
Build-to-order models will also apparently be available in the “near future,” but if you want one now it looks like you’ll have to settle for the default configuration, which’ll set you back $1,399.
[via engadget]
- Author: admin
- Filed under: Laptops
- Date: Jun 2,2007
You’ll have to take this with the usual Apple-sized grain of salt, but Mac Rumors is now reporting that we could be seeing some updated MacBook Pros as soon as Tuesday, June 5th, not at WWDC as previously rumored. That bit of information comes from a French reseller, who says that he’s already ordered the new laptops but wasn’t told exactly what the updates would be – although the betting still seems to be on LED backlighting and a Santa Rosa upgrade.
Lending a tad more credence to this latest rumor is the fact that a June 5th launch would coincide with the start of Apple’s Back to School program, whereas a WWDC launch would cause a spec change a week into the promotion. Either way, it looks like we won’t have to wait too much longer to put this round of rumors to rest.
[via engadget]
- Author: admin
- Filed under: Laptops
- Date: May 28,2007
The modders behind the ModBook — the first Mac tablet — certainly know how to satisfy their customers. In an email to let those that pre-ordered know that their machine could be shipping to them by the end of June, the OWC guys announced that they’ve upped the sensitivity of the tablet’s screen to 512 levels, from 256.
We’re not artists (IANAA?), so we’re not sure if it’ll make the ModBook viable as a replacement for your Wacom, but it can’t hurt. They’re also including the option of replacing the optical drive with a second hard disk for up to 500GB of storage, and the option of selecting an addition gig of RAM for up to 3GB built-to-order. The extra memory option ain’t that impressive — it’ll deny the machine the benefits of dual rate speed that comes from matched pairs — but the 500GB will no doubt make the torrent junkies happy.
Alongside these build to order options, the ModBook now comes with specs identical to the recent MacBook updates, so you’ll get an extra 160MHz, some more RAM, and some more disk space, free of charge. Not bad for a tablet that isn’t even out yet.
via engadget
- Author: admin
- Filed under: Laptops
- Date: May 28,2007
It’s taken me a while to write this, as I’ve had to change my pants a few times through spontaneous bladder release over the sheer deliciousness of Intel’s Mobile Metro Notebook concept. Just 0.7 of an inch thick and a respectable 2.25 pounds in weight, it’s likely to feature the Penryn super-efficient processors the silicon company also announced today. Read the rest of this entry »
- Author: admin
- Filed under: Laptops
- Date: May 26,2007
It’s a little late to the game, but Panasonic has now seen fit to bestow some of that Santa Rosa mojo on a couple of its ruggedized Toughbook laptops, recently announcing its new CF-74 and CF-52 models based on the platform.
From the looks of it, the CF-74 (pictured above) will be more or less the same as the existing model of the same name, with the notable exception of all those Santa Rosa-related upgrades, including Intel’s 965 Express chipset, an unspecified Core 2 Duo processor, integrated 802.11n WiFi, and Intel’s Turbo Memory cache card. The CF-52, on the other hand, takes things up a whole digit from the current CF-51 model, with it getting some of the added security benefits of the more business-minded Centrino Pro platform.
According to Panasonic, the CF-74 will be the first out the gate in June, with the CF-52 following sometime in July, although there’s no word on pricing for either of ‘em just yet. [Warning: PDF link]
via engadget
