Archive for February, 2007

Intel Corporation is patenting a solution which uses light to sense when a laptop computer casing is getting too hot, and automatically “throttles back” the power, NewScientist reports.

“Since heating is uneven inside a laptop, with hot spots occurring near power-hungry components, ordinary thermometers are an unreliable way to determine whether someone is risking a scorched lap. Instead, Intel reckons a simple light sensor could provide a much better early warning system,” the report says.

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HP Compaq Presario C501NR, another Vista Home Basic notebook PC offer for less than $500, is available at BestBuy. The 15.4-inch widescreen Presario C501NR is priced at $499.99 after $100 instant off and comes with Intel Celeron M at 1.73GHz, 512MB of main DDR2 memory, 80GB SATA hard drive and a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive.

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Apple is set to release its Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system as early as the end of March, FinancialWire reports according to sources.

Apple has declined comment on when the forthcoming OS for Mac computers will be released, the report says.

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Laptop Magazine has reviewed Samsung’s Q1P SSD ultra-mobile PC (UMPC), which features flash memory based solid-state drive instead of a standard mechanical hard disc. Although the SSDs are claimed to use less power than HDDs, the Magazine found that one of the main Samsung Q1P SSD’s disadvantages is the battery life of “little more than two hours”. On the other side, the review says the Q1P SSD UMPC enables full Windows XP/Tablet functionality in a light and highly portable package and very fast application loading thanks to flash based drive.

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Toshiba has announced the availability of Tecra A8-EZ8511 and Tecra A6-EZ6411 budget-minded business laptops priced at $749 and $1,199 respectively.

The 15.4-inch widescreen (1280×800) Toshiba Tecra A8-EZ8511 comes with Intel Celeron M 430 processor at 1.73GHz, 512MB of DDR2 533MHz SDRAM, a 60GB SATA hard drive spinning at 5400rpm and Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with up to 256MB of shared graphics memory. It is based on Intel 945GM Express Chipset and has Atheros Wireless LAN (802.11b/g), Gigabit Ethernet and a 56k modem. The affordable A8-EZ8511 features three USB ports, a PC Card slot, a SD Slot, IEEE-1394, a fingerprint reader and a docking connector. Currently there is no information at Toshiba’s website on laptop’s external monitor support.

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Toshiba has introduced M6-EZ6612, the new thin and light mainstream-business notebook configuration in its Tecra M6 series. Weighing 4.1 pounds, Toshiba Tecra M6-EZ6612 provides 12.1-inch widescreen display with 1280×800 resolution, Intel Core 2 Duo processor T5600 at 1.83GHz, 1GB of DDR2 553MHz system memory, 100GB SATA hard drive at 5400rpm and a double layer DVD burner.

The Tecra M6-EZ6612 is built on Intel 945GM Express Chipset providing Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with 8MB to 256MB of shared memory, Intel PRO/Wireless 802.11a/b/g, Gigabit Ethernet, 56k modem and a Bluetooth.

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Toshiba has announced the Tecra M5-S433, the company’s new flagship business notebook. Toshiba Tecra M5-S4333 has a 14.1-inch screen with 1400×1050 native resolution. The new Windows Vista Business notebook is powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processor T7200 at 2.00GHz and NVIDIA Quadro NVS 110M graphics card with 128MB DDR discrete graphics memory plus up to128MB of shared memory using NVIDIA TurboCache technology.

The Tecra M5-S4333 has 2GB of DDR2 667MHz memory and 120GB 5400rpm SATA hard drive. Its swappable Slim SelectBay provides users the possibility to switch out the standard DVD-SuperMulti writer for a second hard drive to expand data storage.

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Toshiba has announced the Portege M400-S5032, the new tablet PC configuration in its 12.1-inch screen Portege M400 series. The preconfigured M400-S5032 features Intel Core 2 Duo processor at 1.83GHz, 1GB of DDR2 667MHz memory, 100GB 5400rpm SATA hard drive and an Ultra SlimSelect Bay double layer DVD burner. It comes with Windows Vista Business 32-bit operating system.

Toshiba Portege M400-S5032 is based on Intel 945GM Express Chipset, which incorporates Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with 8MB to 256 MB of shared graphics memory providing 1024×768 screen resolution. The M400-S5032 has Intel PRO/Wireless Network Connection (802.11a/b/g), Gigabit Ethernet, 56k modem and a Bluetooth.

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Along with recently announced Microsoft laptop handbags for women, the Corporation’s collection of computer bags for men is now available at Amazon.

The Microsoft’s handbags for ladies feature protective padded sleeves which hold laptops with up to 15.4-inch displays, while the collection for men additionally include bags for 17-inch notebooks.

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Apple is planning to introduce 15.4-inch MacBook laptop in the second quarter of 2007. The new model will fill the gap between the current Apple’s 13.3-inch MacBooks and the 15.4- and 17-inch MacBook Pros, DigiTimes reports according to industry sources in Taiwan.

It is expected that the prices for the 15.4-inch widescreen MacBooks are likely to be more competitive than their 13.3-inch counterparts, due largely to the relatively lower cost of 15.4-inch LCD panels, and will therefore help push further sales of MacBooks.

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Fujitsu Siemens is demonstrating the first notebook to support the new Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) standard called High Speed Upload Package Access (HSUPA) at 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The forthcoming Fujitsu Siemens LifeBook features High Speed Download Package Access (HSDPA) with download speed of up to 7.2 MBit/s and the HSUPA upload speed of up to 1.4 MBit/s, the company announced.

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Mobile telecommunications corporation Nokia said today it and partner Intel Corp. had scrapped a joint plan to develop an HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) module for laptop computers.

“We have, together with Intel, canceled the HSDPA module cooperation in the form we formerly announced,” said Nokia spokeswoman Eija-Riitta Huovinen.

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NewEgg has offered the 14.1-inch widescreen Acer TravelMate TM2480 laptop with Windows Vista Basic operating system for an affordable price of $539.99. Acer’s TM2480-2779 features Intel Celeron M 420 processor at 1.60GHz, 512MB of DDR2 memory, 80GB hard drive and a DVD/CD-RW combo drive.

This Intel 940GML Chipset-based notebook incorporates an integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics providing 1280 x 800 resolution, as same as 802.11b/g wireless, 56k modem and LAN connections.

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A fire that destroyed a single-family home in Biddeford, Me. last week has been blamed on a Dell laptop that was plugged in and re-charging while sitting on a living room couch, ComputerWorld reports.

Christopher Stanford, a state fire marshal investigator, said the house fire at 117 Granite Street in Biddeford last Monday began about 8:30 a.m. after the owners used the computer, then left it plugged in to charge while they went to work. The Dell Inspiron 1200 apparently “had something happen with the cord or the power unit on the cord,” Stanford said, because the damage was most severe where the laptop and cord were located in the house.

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HTC today unveiled its Advantage laptop-like mobile office device, also known as HTC X7500, at the 3GSM World Congress Conference in Barcelona, Spain.

“The most powerful mobile office to date, the HTC Advantage is smarter and lighter than the smallest PC notebook. It supports Microsoft Outlook Mobile for quick access to email, calendar, task and contact functions. It is also the first device to feature HTC’s VueFLO easy navigation technology and detachable keyboard. A first for business functionality with high-speed global connectivity (Tri-Band 3G/ 3.5G (HSDPA) and Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE), the HTC Advantage is packed with PC-style power, functionality and multimedia features,” the company says.

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