Posts in Notebooks
It's official: Apple to talk laptops on October 14
Dan Ackerman | Oct 10, 2008
The official invite just popped up in CNET US mailboxes for Apple's long-rumored October 14 press event in Cupertino, California. The big picture of a laptop and the headline "The spotlight turns to notebooks" leaves us with a pretty clear idea of what Steve Jobs and company will be talking about. Not mentioned here is the most persistent rumor--that at least one of the new systems will hit a meltdown-friendly price of US$800.
Here's the invite itself, for the curiosity seekers out there.
Via CNET CRAVE
Dell launches Inspiron Mini 9 Netbook 
Darius Chang | Oct 09, 2008
After much anticipation, Dell's first Netbook has finally made an appearance in selected markets. Residents in US, Japan and some European countries will get dibs on the new system, while other nations will have to wait for the Inspiron Mini 9 to ship to their respective regions.
Nothing groundbreaking about this Netbook. Available in black or white, the unit can be configured with the following components:
So why go for this machine while there are other choices in the market? For one, the starting price of US$349 makes this one of the most affordable Netbooks. The other plus point is that the Inspiron Mini 9 has one of the best keyboards we've ever used on a Netbook. It is superior to the Acer Aspire One and even the larger ASUS Eee PC 1000, though still a touch smaller than the HP Mini-Note.
Editors' note:
According to a Dell representative, the first shipment of Inspiron Mini 9 will hit Singapore shores on October 24.ASUS has a WiMAX laptop, too
Michelle Thatcher | Oct 09, 2008
Everyone else is doing it, so why shouldn't ASUS? Late Wednesday, the company announced the immediate availability of the M50Vm-A1WM, a 15.4-inch laptop with a built-in WiMAX module for the recently launched Sprint Xohm data network.
Next-generation data connectivity aside, the US$1,399 M50Vm-A1WM (catchy name, that) looks to be a fairly typical media-oriented mainstream machine. Its WXGA+ display should do just fine for watching movies, and we hope its Altec Lansing speakers will make it easy to enjoy music; the laptop is also HDMI ready and Dolby Home Theater certified. Inside the case, you'll find a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 processor, 1GB Nvidia GeForce 9600M GS graphics, and a 250GB, 5,400rpm hard drive.
The company's WiMAX promotional page also lists a WiMAX-enabled version of its 14.1-inch F8Va laptop, though that model doesn't appear to be immediately available. So far, the company hasn't announced plans to release a US version of its WiMAX-enabled Eee PC 901--but we certainly expect to see it happen, as the Netbook's extreme portability seems the perfect match for next-generation wireless services.
Of course, the WiMAX-enabled laptop will initially appeal to residents of Baltimore, where Sprint just launched its Xohm network. However, there will eventually be a broader market for such laptops; Sprint has plans to roll out the technology to other cities, including Chicago, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Portland, Oregon, and Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas.
Via CNET Crave
Acer, Toshiba, and Lenovo unveil WiMAX laptops
Michelle Thatcher | Oct 09, 2008
Baltimore residents looking to take advantage of Sprint's brand-new Xohm WiMAX data network can now choose among several laptops with built-in WiMAX compatibility from such major manufacturers as Acer, Toshiba, and Lenovo.
On Wednesday, Acer announced that it would be bringing WiMAX radios to two Aspire models, the 14.1-inch Aspire 4930 and the 16-inch Aspire 6930. Both laptops cost US$899 and are built on Intel's Centrino 2 platform, with a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7350 processor, 3GB of RAM, integrated graphics, and a 320GB hard drive.
Meanwhile, Toshiba has announced the WiMAX-ready Satellite U405. The 13-inch laptop will also be based on Centrino 2, with 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive.
And finally, Lenovo takes the launch crown with four WiMAX-ready ThinkPads. The WiMAX option is available on the SL series, aimed at small and medium businesses, as well as the mainstream T series and the ultraportable X series. Specifically, you can now opt for WiMAX connectivity on the ThinkPad SL300, SL500, T400, and X301.
Of course, Baltimore won't be the only market to be interested in these laptops; Sprint is planning to expand its WiMAX service to Chicago, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., and Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. No word if these machines will hit Asian shores in the near future, but it's good to know that there are WiMAX-ready laptops ready to hit the ground running once 4G networks start rolling out here.
Via CNET Crave
From Super Talent, Eee PC-specific solid-state drives
Dong Ngo | Oct 08, 2008
Super Talent Technology, a vendor that just announced high-speed and low-budget solid-state drives, introduced its new line of SSDs designed explicitly for ASUS' Eee PCs.
The new line is available in three sizes--16GB, 20GB and 64GB. The drives use a mini PCI-Express interface and offer rather modest throughput speeds of 40Mbps per second in writing and 15Mbps in reading.
Standard Eee PCs will generally use the 20GB version of the new SSD. Users then can choose to upgrade to 64GB or downgrade to 15GB versions. These drives can also be used in any devices that share the same mini PCI-Express interface. The "explicitly designed" notion only means that Super Talent has tested them and guarantees their performance and compatibility only with ASUS' Eee PCs.
If you want to try them out, they will be available in November in the US, and for relatively inexpensive prices--US$53 to US$149 a piece depending on the size. No news if Asian consumers will be able to get their hands on a unit, though.
Via CNET Crave
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