Archive for March, 2008

Micro-Star Int’l today announced MSI VR340 notebook featuring a 13.3-inch display and the Intel Pentium Dual-Core processor.

The 4.85-pound VR340 supports up to 3GB of system memory, according to specifications. It comes with up to 250GB of hard drive capacity and a built-in optical drive. The system is based on Intel’s GL960 chipset with integrated graphics.

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Dell Home has added Blu-ray optical drive options to its Inspiron 1525 15.4-inch consumer laptop.

The offered Blu-ray Disc Combo plays Blu-ray media and can read and write standard DVDs. The new option adds $250 to the notebook’s overall price, when selected instead of a DVD burner.

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Notebook computer industry is affected by a shortage of laptop batteries, partly because of a recent fire at a plant of LG Chem, the second biggest South Korean battery cell maker, Reuters reports.

The fire at the major battery supplier has caused an increase of battery prices, Dell Inc. said adding that it works with other suppliers to limit the price growth.

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Asustek’s 8.9-inch second-generation Asus Eee PC ultraportable laptops will include touchscreen panels and possible GPS support, with shipments expected to begin in May or June, DigiTimes reports.

Pricing for the upcoming Eee PC 900 with touchscreen is projected to reach $500, according to Kevin Lin, vice president of Asustek’s sales department.

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Panasonic has updated its Toughbook CF-19 rugged convertible Tablet PC series with a version that features the Intel Core 2 Duo processor and expanded memory capabilities.

The Panasonic Tougbook CF-19 is MIL-SPEC-certified, which means it incorporates the rugged features such as a magnesium alloy case, sealed keyboard and ports, flexible internal connectors and shock-mounting.

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Fujitsu Computer Products of America has announced the MHZ2 BJ, its 2.5-inch SATA hard disk drive with 7,200rpm rotational speed and up to 320GB of storage capacity.

The new high performance HDD is designed for use in laptops and slim desktop PCs.

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Fujitsu has received Novell YES Certification for SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED) Linux distribution on four LifeBook mobile PCs.

The certified notebook models include the Fujitsu LifeBook U810 ultra-mobile PC, LifeBook T2010, LifeBook P1620 ultra-portable convertible notebooks, and the LifeBook S6510 thin and light laptop.

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Averatec has introduced the 2575 ultraportable notebook featuring a 12.1-inch display and an AMD processor.

The Averatec 2575 is powered by the AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-64 2.2GHz dual core CPU and the ATI RS690 integrated graphics, which manages the 1280×800 screen. The laptop comes with 2GB or RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and a built-in DVD burner.

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Asustek’s latest 15.4-inch entertainment notebook – the ASUS M50 with the Intel’s “Penryn” 45nm processor and NVIDIA GeForce 9500M GS video card – is now available in the United States.

The M50 is offered as the Asus M50Sv-B1 model, featuring the Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 CPU at 2.1GHz and a HD DVD optical drive, and the M50Sv-A1 with the T9300 at 2.5GHz and a DVD burner. The both laptops come with the GeForce 9500M GS 512MB dedicated video card, which manages 15.4″ 1440-by-900 displays. There are also Dolby Home Theatre technology, Altec Lansing stereo speakers, 3GB of RAM, and a 250GB hard drive in the both models.

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Hewlett Packard has unveiled the HP Pavilion dv3000, the company’s first entertainment notebook PC with a 13.3-inch display.

The dv3000 is based on the Intel Centrino technology. According to the specifications, this laptop is going to be available with Intel’s Core 2 Duo T8100, T8300, T9300, and T9500 45-nanometer processors, as well as with the T5550, T5750, and T7250 65nm CPUs. There are also the Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS 256MB video card, up to 4GB of memory, up to 320GB of hard drive space, and “support” for the second HDD and solid state drives. The dv3000 sports a built in optical drive. Its 13.3″ display has 1280-by-800 pixel resolution.

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Engadget has revealed details of the planned Dell Latitude XT2, which will be a successor of the Latitude XT Tablet PC.

The Dell Latitude XT2 will feature a 12.1-inch 1280×800 display. This Tablet PC will weigh less than 3.5 pounds and will be based on Intel’s next generation Centrino 2 “Montevina” mobile platform with an integrated graphics solution and ultra-low voltage and low voltage processors.

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Alienware has created and will distribute a beta BIOS update for its Area-51 m15x gaming notebook, in order to resolve overheating and performance problems reported by users.

While playing games, the video card in the m15x with the default BIOS version overheats after a certain period of time and then underclocks to keep itself cool, resulting in unsatisfactory gaming performance, according to forum posts at NotebookReview.

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Microsoft officially released today Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista operating system.

“In addition to previously released updates, SP1 will contain changes focused on addressing specific reliability, performance, and compatibility issues; supporting new types of hardware; and adding support for several emerging standards. SP1 also will continue to make it easier for IT administrators to deploy and manage Windows Vista,” Microsoft says.

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Flickr’s user gadgetsoffun has published images of a laptop computer which is claimed to be the Intel Netbook low-cost ultraportable.

“The so-called Netbook would weigh less than three pounds, arrive in June and feature a 900MHz Celeron processor, 512MB of RAM, a 40GB hard drive, 9-inch display, built-in WiFi / Ethernet and a convenient carry handle,” Engadget reports.

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OCZ Technology has unveiled OCZ SATA II 2.5-inch Solid State Drives, an “ultra-fast, lightweight and efficient alternative” to conventional hard disc drives for notebooks.

The new solid state drives feature 120MB/s read and 100MB/s write speeds and come with capacities of 32GB (OCZSSD2-1S32G) and 64GB (OCZSSD2-1S64G). The SSDs have a lightweight brushed alloy housing, and two million hour mean time before failure (MTBF).

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