Whether counting its 23 Eee PCs or 50 plus models of traditional laptops, ASUS isn't exactly known for its frugality. So seeing yet another press release touting the launch of its bamboo -- a renewable material with immense tensile strength rivaling that of many metal alloys -- laptops shouldn't be a surprise. What's new here, perhaps, is the detail. Now in mass production, these partially biodegradable laptops come with either 11.1- or 12.1-inch, 1,280 x 768 pixel displays, your choice of 3/6/9-cell batteries, and ASUS' Super Hybrid Engine allowing you to dial down the power when the wails of the Antarctic penguins become too much to bear. The 12.1-incher is the relative powerhouse of the pair offering Vista a ride atop your choice of Intel T9400/P8600/P8400 Core 2 Duo processors, 256MB of NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS graphics, a 320GB hybrid hard drive sporting 256MB of flash, and Intel's WiMAX / WiFi Link 5100 chipset. Pricing? Sorry, we'll likely have to wait for another press release for that detail.

[Via The Inquirer]

Ah yes, we've been expecting you. That Portégé R500-12Q that popped up on a few foreign sites earlier this year seems to be making the trip Stateside, albeit with a slightly different model name. The R500-S5007V claims to be the "world's first laptop with a 128GB SSD" packed within, which is patently untrue, but we digress. The 2.4-pound machine also includes an integrated DVD SuperMulti drive, 12.1-inch transreflective LED-backlit WXGA display, a battery good for 8-hours of use, 1.33GHz Core 2 Duo U7700 CPU, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, GMA950 graphics set, WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and a three-year warranty. You better believe that 0.77-inch frame is appealing, but the $2,999 starting price is still mighty tough to swallow.

As much as we would loath typing on that touch-sensitive, rigid keyboard, we're definitely geek-smitten by this ultra-thin, AMOLED laptop concept from Samsung SDI -- Sammy's display division. 12.1-inches and 1,280 x 768 resolution with infinite contrast? We'll take two... just as soon as someone can explain the extra panel around back. With Samsung projecting 14- to 15.4-inch OLED laptops in 2009, this might come sooner than you think.

Forget the MacBook Air: those folks seeking the absolute lightest notebooks on the planet know that Windows machines are still the only way to go, and Toshiba has proven that once again with an official 3G upgrade to the already impressive Portege R500. According to Akihabara News (which seems to be a little confused concerning the model number here), two new 12.1-inch, HSDPA-equipped configurations will be available this month: the ultra-lightweight (and ultra-pricey) R500-11J, highlighted by a 64GB SSD drive and impressive 1.72-pound package, and the cheaper, optical drive-packing R500-11I, which features the same 1.20GHz U7600 CPU and 2GB of RAM, but introduces a less appealing 120GB HDD. Pricing should be around €2,500 ($3,658) for the high-end 11J and €2,050 ($3,000 even) for the heavier 11I.

We've gotten some more info on the little Dell Vostro 1200 we mentioned earlier this month sans specs and price, and we thought we'd share our good fortune with you. The 12.1-inch laptop appears to be outfitted with the popular (some might say ubiquitous) Santa Rosa GM965 chipset, will sport a Celeron or Core 2 Duo processor, the Intel GMA X3100 GPU, up to 4GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and all kinds of other useful items like a DVD burner, 802.11a/b/g/n, optional Bluetooth module, and an ExpressCard slot. The innocuous black system is available right now in Japan, and will run you an import price tag of roughly ¥103,300 (or around $912), though these guys are rumored to be making their way Stateside any day now.

[Via Laptoping]

Despite the fact that the esteemed Mr. Mossberg doesn't seem to care for it too much, Les Delliens has it on good authority that Dell will be upgrading its line of Vostro small business systems this month, in the form of the 1200 laptop. Specs are not yet available to accompany the above pic, but we can assume from the model number that this will likely be an upgrade to the Vostro 1000, a low-end, AMD-powered 12.1-incher. In other Dell news -- well, other other news, really -- the same Les Delliens forum member has confirmed specs and images of the upcoming Inspiron 1525 / 1526 (pictured after the break), a 15.4-inch notebook rocking any number of CPU options from AMD or Intel and said to launching in Europe on December 14th -- four days before the rumored Vostro announcement.

[Via Notebook Italia]

Read - Vostro 1200
Read - Inspiron 1525 / 1526

As you'd expect with any laptop carrying a corporate agenda, the 12.1-inch HP Compaq 2210b/CT isn't anything too riveting, but it's not a half bad option if you're scouting something small (and strictly for the office). Weighing in at just 3.7-pounds, this ultraportable packs a modest 1.86GHz Celeron processor, 512MB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, an optional integrated optical drive, a 1,280 x 800 resolution panel, Vista Home Basic, and your choice of a four- or eight-cell battery. Additionally, you'll find an SD card slot, a trio of USB 2.0 ports, VGA / S-Video outputs, gigabit Ethernet, audio in / out, and an ExpressCard slot to make that 3G wireless card feel at home. Get your boss' credit card ready -- this one lands next month for a mere ¥89,880 ($760).

[Via Impress]

Clevo, original source for many hundreds of OEM laptops, has just announced a model that's sure to be a hit among the rebadging crowd, as it offers a pretty compelling feature set in a sub-four-pound package. Besides being the first notebook to sport SiS' new SiSM671 "high performance" Northbridge chipset, the 12.1-inch M721S/M720S also offers a choice of Core 2 Duo processors, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, and sweetest of all, a built in 3G modem for UMTS / HSDPA action. Price and release remain a mystery (still no mention of this one on the Clevo site), but even if you miss it the first time around, you can rest assured that it will show up in countless other branded iterations.

[Via Laptop Logic]

Alright, now we're feeling a little left out. It was one thing for Japan to get the Vaio G before everyone else, it is Sony's home turf after all, so how can we begrudge them launching this skinny little number there first? But now that Europe is getting its very own version of the Vaio G, the G11, we're starting to think Sony doesn't love us anymore. All the same, undeserving as Europe might be, there's some fancy new stuff in the G11, so we'll try not to get too caught up in the unfairness of it all. The most notable aesthetic difference is that new black lid color, but there's more to this case than meets the eye: there's a 90cm drop rating (Europe's elitist way of saying 35-inches) thanks to the carbon fiber casing, which is pretty dang good for a laptop with no visible signs of toughening. Sony gives this laptop an "on-the-road" battery rating of 9 hours -- as if Europe has roads -- but Japan was rating its own at 6 and 12.5 hours, so we're not sure what's changed. Improvements under the hood include a speedier Intel ULV Core Solo U1500 1.33GHz processor and a 100GB HDD. There's also a super-multi DVD burner, 12.1-inch XGA LCD with LED backlight technology, and Windows Vista Business preloaded. The standard VGN-G11XN/B model comes with 1GB of RAM, while the VGN-G11VN/T boasts of 2GB and swaps the gray lid for brown one. No specifics on price, but with specs like these and a business-oriented target market, it ain't going to be cheap.

[Via Core Duo News]

LG's offering a new series of 12.1-inch Core 2 Duo laptops in their hometown Korean market with this, their Z1 XNOTE. The Z1-P2007 is touted as the flagship model and ships with a WXGA LCD, 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 256MB of ATI Mobility Radeon X1350 graphics, and 1GB DDR2 memory and 100GB SATA disk. They also pack in an optical disc drive supporting unspecified formats, a 5-in-1 memory card reader, a couple of 1.5W speakers, and support for SRS WOW, and SRS TruSurround. However, unlike LG's ultra-portable 12.1-inch TX, the Z1 brings some relative chunk tipping the scales at 1.89-kg or 4.2-pounds. Still, not a bad all purpose machine for toting around campus on a daily basis. But with a price tag of 1,840,000KRW or about $2,000, you're going to need some help from mom and dad to bring this pup home.

[Via MobileWhack]

We never really expected Acer's Ferrari lineup of notebooks to sell all that well, but once again we've been proven wrong, as the company has apparently sold enough of these overpriced machines to warrant spec bumps for both the 1000 and 5000 series. First up is the revamped 12.1-inch 1005WTMi, which packs a pretty decent feature set for a 3.6-pound ultraportable, including a 2.0GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 processor, ATI Mobility Radeon X1150 graphics with 512MB of VRAM, a full 2GB of DDR2 RAM, 160GB worth of HDD capacity, and of course, Bluetooth 2.0 and three-flavor WiFi standard. As for the 15.4-inch, WSXGA+ 5005WLHi (pictured), you're getting the same CPU, RAM, and HDD configurations as the 1005, but video is handled by a 256MB ATI X1600 chipset; the real draw, though, is the new HD DVD drive, which is backed by an HDMI port for outputting those high-def vids to a bigger screen. No word yet on pricing or availability, though if past Ferrari-themed laptops have taught us anything, you'll be paying a pretty penny for that carbon fiber case and snazzy galloping horse logo. Keep reading to check out the 1005, but really, once you've seen one of these notebooks you've basically seen them all...

Proving once again that people seem to be willing to overpay for underpowered gadgets that could possibly be seen as "fashionable," Samsung has released a new £1,300 ($2,460) notebook whose main (read: only) selling point is its bright pink exterior. At this price point we'd expect to see words like "Core Duo" and "GeForce" on the spec sheet, but the new 12.1-inch Q40 only manages to throw down a disappointing 1.2GHz ULV Core Solo processor, just 512MB of RAM, a scant 60GB hard drive capacity, and those integrated Intel graphics which will only please gamers who are into Minesweeper and Sudoku. Still, you are getting a built-in DVD burner and Windows XP Professional as the operating system, so this lappy isn't a total lost cause. Although the shiny Q40 is available exclusively at PC World, we have a feeling that you'll soon be seeing it in the hands of celebutantes worldwide, and perhaps even being given away as a door prize on a future episode of My Super Sweet 16.

[Via Shiny Shiny]

Even though the U.S. government may want nothing to do with its computers, Lenovo's still got so much love for the red, white, and blue that it's releasing a special-edition notebook branded with one of the most recognizable American icons: everyone's favorite tooth-decaying soft drink. Oddly enough, the company's Coca Cola-red, Pentium M-powered F20 was designed in honor of the 2008 Olympic Games -- which are not only two years away, but taking place in China, and not the U.S. (where was this lappy in 1996 when the Games were held in Coke's hometown of Atlanta?). Anyway, besides the snazzy paint job and stick-on Olympic rings, this version of the F20 is pretty much your run-of-the-mill 12.1-inch laptop, sporting an ULV 1.66GHz CPU, 512MB of RAM, integrated graphics, an 80GB hard drive, and all the ports, wireless radios, and card readers you've come to expect from notebooks these days. Obviously priced in yuan, this model is going for the equivalent of $1,575, but since Lenovo knows that you can't possibly resist drinking a Coke while you're using this machine, they're throwing in some of that high-tech Batmobile-style armor plating on the house.

[Via I4U]

MSI has just released another 12.1-inch dual-core laptop, and the specs seem very similar to their S262 ultraportable that we spotted earlier this year, except that the Core Duo processor has been replaced with an AMD Turion 64 X2. Like the S262, the S271 ships with integrated graphics, 256MB or 512MB of RAM (expandable to 2GB), 4-in-1 memory card reader (really just 2-in-1, as it accepts only SD/MMC and MemoryStick/MS Pro formats -- where's the xD love?), and a "Super Multi DVD" drive, but manages to shed a few ounces and add a 200GB HDD option. Available immediately, this model will set you back around $1,500.

Not that we really doubted that the specs and pictures were fake, but now we have confirmation that Dell's XPS M1210 gaming laptop is indeed real, and already on sale in Japan. NotebookReview, who's been following this 12.1-inch UXGA model ever since it was leaked onto the web last month, reports that Dell Japan is offering the M1210 in configurations that max out with a 2.0GHz T2500 Core Duo processor, a hefty 4GB of RAM, 120GB of HDD space, NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 graphics, an ExpressCard slot, and the usual assortment of ports and wireless radios. Using our superior knowledge of feature sets, we had predicted that this model would be cheaper than its 17-inch big brother, the $5,000 M1710, and sure enough, you'll be able to shell out at as little as $1,189 for the opportunity to become a proud member of the XPS club.

[Via NotebookReview]