Laptops

Now it seems Asus will release their 8.9in version of the Eee laptop a month earlier than originally planned. The larger Eee is now set to be released in May instead of June. Unfortunately the slight change in releasing the notebook early will mean that Intel’s new Atom processor originally slated for the 8.9in Eee will not be used. However all other specs remain the same with both XP and linux version available, as well as various sizes of SSD’s up to 12gb. The price for the new 8.9in Eee is expected to start at $499

While the original CloudBook will not be available to consumers until February 15, Everex has decided to let everyone know their plans for the CloudBook product line. Just as Asus announced their new plans for various Eee branded products, Everex will be offering the Cloudbook with an SSD option, “female colors”, mobile broadband, and even a possible 22in option later this year. This is all in addition to the already announced touchscreen and 9in version version of the Cloudbook.

Picture and Specs of Everex CloudBook launching 2/15/08

It seems like Dell will soon be releasing their new Latitude E-series and we finally have some info on these new machines. Currently there will be a 14.1 (4.25lb), 15.4 (5lb), 12in (pictured above) and a 13.3in designed for heavy travel. The 14.1in and 15.4in will feature both WXGA abd WXGA+ LED backlit screens and it seems all version will come with DisplayPort, eSATA and numerous USB ports. (Source)

Wireless USB is just starting to take off with many companies (such as Dell) offering integrated WUSB capabilities into their new laptops. However not everyone is so lucky to have a wireless USB receiver built-in. IOGear has solved this problem with their new CardBus wireless USB receiver. The card itself will use the rarely occupied CarBus slot on laptops, without having to worry about another USB dongle. Unfortunately price and availability are currently unknown. (Source)

This new USB Bluetooth Adapter from Brando is a full feature Bluetooth 2.0 adapter but is so small can fit into any device without having to worry about any large USB dongles. The device is also Bluetooth 1.1 compliant and even allows for connectivity to 7 Bluetooth devices simultaneously. The best part is that its extremely inexpensive at only $24
More Pics and Specs after The Jump -

BiTMICRO is officially going to sell 2.5inch SSD drives ranging from 32GB - 832GB. They use Multi-Level Cell memory doubling the number of bits stored per memory cell. The drives are expected to ship Q3 2008 in capacities ranging from 32GB to 832GB. There is no word on a price yet, but we want one so we will publish the price as soon as we find out.

Bitmicro has created a 461GB Solid State Disk Drive. The E-Disk Altima flash drives are standard 2.5-inch Serial ATA (SATA), and are engineered to be very reliable. They can operate in temperatures of -40 to +85 degrees Celsius, and withstand substantial shock. Based on current flash memory prices, these things are going to be pretty pricey and will be built specifically for industrial and military applications. The 461GB Bitmicro E-Disk Altima is said to be available March of 2008. [via] Read more specs.

This post is coming to you from my new Dell M1330 notebook. This thing is sweet–the thinnest 13-inch laptop on the market! It is incredibly light (4-lbs), has a 7-hour battery, and packs some major power. M1330 systems can be configured to have: Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.2-GHz, 4-GB RAM @ 667-MHz, NVIDIA GeForce^TM Go 8400M GS, 32-GB Solid State Drive or 200-GB Hard Disk Drive, LED back lit display, integrated webcam, fingerprint reader, and it also features a Slot-Load DVD+/-RW. It comes in 3 colors and starts at $1,499. Look at more pictures.

If you are into power-hungry, top-of-the-line, gaming, notebooks, then XtremeNotebooks has a solution for you. They just announced the first US distributed laptop to feature a quad core processor. Sure the processor inside was made to be in a desktop, but how else are you going to get that unmatched performance in a notebook. The 17-in rig features:

Intel Core 2 Quad (or Duo Extreme) X6800 running on a 1066 MHz FSB - Triple 250GB SATA 300 Hard Drives with RAID 0,1 or 5 - Up to 4 Gigs of 667MHz DDR2 RAM, Dual SLI NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GPUs each with 512MB DDR3 VideoRAM.

The price of this beast starts at $2,400 and can be configured to well over $10,000.

Toshiba has recently upgraded their Portégé notebook line and in addition they have also introduced the new R500. The R500 weighs only 779g and claims to be the world’s lightest laptop. While the new R500 may be incredibly light it will certainly has enough power for everyday computing. The entire package measures 28.3 x 21.5 x 2-2.6cm and packs a Intel Core 2 Duo 1.30GHz processor, 1GB of DDR2 memory, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, fingerprint reader and a spill-proof keyboard. The R500 will also make use of a 12.1in 1280 x 800 display with a integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics engine. However most importantly are the introduction of a switchable trans-reflective LED backlight LCD and use of a 64GB SSD. The R500 claims to run for up to seven hours on the standard battery but rises to 12.5 hours if you plug in the optional extended-run power pack. Currently the laptop is available if configured with a regular HDD but the 64GB SSD version won’t be available till August and will retail for $2189Photos - Read the rest of this entry.

Asus recently introduced the C90, a new breed of laptops that allow the customer to upgrade nearly the entire laptop’s components in a matter of minutes. The C90 allows everything form the optical drive to the GPU and processor to be changed out easily by the customer. The C90 will start at a reasonable price of $1,500 and will include some useful ports such as eSATA and HDMI and allows the choice for a high-def optical drive for additional costs. According to ASUS the system’s CPU will be as easy as upgrading your desktops processor and the GPU will be just as easy and will consist of Nvidia 8600 and 8500 options. The new user-upgradeable components now allows laptops users to increase the performance of their machines without having to buy a complete replacement.

Photos - Read the rest of this entry.

This beautiful laptop is a prototype developed by Intel dubbed the Metro. It is the worlds thinnest laptop 0.7 inches thick and weighing 2.2lbs, however is not for sale. It travels with Intel to various trade shows to show developers what can be done with todays technology. This laptop has two displays; the main one is a LED-backlit LCD, and the outer display is made from e-ink and can be used to view your email, calendar, and other information even when the laptop’s off. Hopefully more laptops like this actually come to production. Read the rest of this entry.