Apparently people are really falling hard for this whole "thin" fad, and Gigabyte's design department is the latest victim. The new Booktop M1305 (pictured) sports a CULV Intel processor and a 13.3-inch screen, putting it squarely in the land of MacBook Air and ThinkPad X300-style thin-and-lights, while also managing a disc drive and room for up to 8GB of RAM. Meanwhile, the new Myou netbook is actually Gigabyte's ThinNote S1024, which weighs under two pounds, measures less than an inch thick, and still leaves room for a 10-inch screen and 6 cell battery. It should be shipping in the next few months for an estimated $600 pricetag. Video of the surprisingly excellent form factor is after the break.

Read - Booktop M1305
Read - Myou

It doesn't take an Intel-salaried futurist to see that extended battery life and thin form factors are kind of a big deal going forward, while price and performance aren't getting swept away either -- it's been basically the ongoing state of the laptop industry since time began (as Intel has so helpfully illustrated for us). What is new is that form factors and bang-for-buck is truly getting wild of late, and Intel's latest crop of chips should help keep moving things along. In the high end, Intel's Core 2 Duo processor is breaking 3GHz with the 3.06GHz T9900 in the high end, alongside the new P9700 and P8800 chips. Meanwhile, the Pentium SU2700 is a 1.3GHz ULV chip for stuffing in everybody's next low-cost thin and light, while Intel is also introducing the GS40 Express Chipset as a scaled-down, lower power alternative to the GS45, likely for similar aims. No word on price points or availability just yet.

While it's always a fun rush to see an unopened box in a Canadian store room, we're much more excited about what's inside the box, and friendly tipster James somehow managed to buy himself an Acer Aspire Timeline 5810TZ-4657 in Iowa about a week ago. For a scant $598 he got a 15-inch display, DVD drive, Intel U2700 1.3GHz processor and 3GB of RAM -- which makes most similarly specced "thin and lights" seem a little silly in comparison. He says he's gotten around 7 hours of battery on max power saving mode, and about 4-5 hours on max use, finds the 720p webcam comparable to a Flip camera, enjoys the keyboard and multitouch trackpad, and overall finds the system to be very quick and responsive running Vista. Acer still hasn't confirmed an official lineup, price or availability for these things, but we've gotta think it's gonna be soon -- if this is right, it's almost too good not to share.

MSI already told us that its ultraslim, super-sexy, WiMAX-ready X-Slim X340 would be starting at right around $1,000, and now we're being told that the planet's first laptop to be based on Intel's CULV (consumer ultra low voltage) platform will be shipping in April. As in, this month. For the forgetful souls in the crowd, this here ultraportable will ship with an SU3500 CULV processor that consumes just 5.5 watts of power and a 4-cell battery. Now, to find a retailer 'round these parts willing to let you pre-order one...

Just as expected, Via is indeed releasing an uber-efficient, one-watt Eden processor. Reportedly, the 500MHz Eden ULV boasts "an idle power of just 0.1-watt," and is targeting "a wide range of industrial, commercial, and ultra mobile applications." The fanless CPU resides within a 21- x 21-millimeter NanoBGA2 package, is manufactured using a 90-nanometer process, and should be on display (and in a number of wee devices) at the Embedded System Conference taking place right now in Taipei.

Apparently, VIA is hoping to stretch the battery life of devices that sport its forthcoming ULV processor, as the chip manages to hum along at 500MHz yet only consumes one-watt of power. According to DigiTimes, the company announced the CPU during a press conference held yesterday, and also noted that it will "adopt the same VIA V4 bus and 21- x 21-millimeter nanoBGA2 packaging as other Eden models." Reportedly, several industrial PC makers "including Advantech have already adopted the new Eden ULV processor" and hopes to have products shipping to market later this month, and if this thing actually does sip power as its creator suggests, we've all ideas Advantech won't be the last firm placing an order.

[Via Wired]

GETAC's latest rugged laptop does something that most other units simply can't, as it conveniently converts into a tablet while maintaining that beefy stature and war-tested agility. The V100 is fresh out of FCC boot camp, and judging by the documentation, it looks like it's been cleared for civilian handling. Inside the 11.2- x 8.7- x 1.9-inch enclosure sits a 1.2GHz ULV Intel Yonah U2500 Core Duo processor, up to 2GB of RAM, Intel's 945GMS integrated graphics set, a shock-mounted SATA hard drive, gigabit Ethernet, a 56k modem, WiFi, and of course, optional 3G, Bluetooth, and GPS connectivity. You also get your choice of a 10.4-inch XGA or 12.1-inch WXGA screen, a smorgasbord of ports, Windows XP, a 1.3-megapixel webcam, and a magnesium alloy case that shouldn't have any issues with vibrations, drops, shocks, or extreme temperatures. Unfortunately, there's no details concerning price or a planned release date, but we can't imagine a battlefield-ready convertible landing without some sort of premium.

[Via MobileWhack]

So those pokey UMPCs and super-duper ultraportables that we love to hate are about to get a little more peppy, thanks to a pair of ultra low voltage processors from Intel that just happen to sport that AMD-killin' Merom core. Without much fanfare (or any at all, really -- where's the OCC ULV chopper?), Santa Clara introduced the 1.06GHz U7500 and 1.2GHz U7600 CPUs today, the latest chips to join the powerful Core 2 Duo family. Headed straight for the smallest of the small PCs, the new models are compatible with both the Napa and upcoming Santa Rosa platforms, with a minor pinout change necessary to accommodate the latter when it's released. Pricing details were not immediately available when we wrote this, but you can probably expect these two low-enders to be some of the cheapest Merom parts yet.

While the UMPC in general hasn't had the appeal manufacturers surely hoped for, they're still hanging in there, and apparently Azentek sees an opening in the less-than-attractive market. Diverting from its traditional "carputer" (i.e. in-car PC) offerings, the firm has announced a forthcoming UMPC built to military specifications to handle any dropkicks it may receive once the battery craps out after an hour or two, and will be based on its "Scout" platform. Beneath the hood, the device will be built around Intel's second generation "UMPC ultra low voltage platform," and feature up to 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 30 to 160GB standard / hybrid hard drives, and a rotatable webcam to boot. The 6.5-inch touchscreen will sport 500 cd/m2 brightness, and the battery will supposedly last "six to eight hours," which seems mighty liberal considering how pitiful most UMPCs are at sipping juice. Nevertheless, it'll also boast a biometric scanner, PC card / SD slot, and a pair of USB ports. While no concrete information was given on future availability, the outfit is aiming for a $1,500 pricetag at launch, which wouldn't be all that bad if the battery lives up to the admittedly lofty promises behind it.

[Via Carrypad]

Well, we sure didn't see this one coming: those sneaky devils over at Samsung have very quietly released yet another version of their Q1 UMPC into the wild, and to the delight of the few, the proud, the Origami lovers, this one features a Pentium M ULV CPU among several other spec bumps. You'll recall that the original Q1 sports a Celeron M processor, while the updated Q1b and Q1p offer Via chips to extend the battery life, and now an OrigamiPortal member named "millard" claims to have picked up a speed-stepping, Pentium-powered model at his local Fry's. Besides the improved battery life that should result from the 1.0GHz auto-adjusting processor in this new Q1 (which curiously retains the original "Q1" designation, though its model number has been changed to NP-Q1-V0002), other welcome improvements over the original include a 60GB hard drive and a full 1GB of RAM (compared to the 40GB / 512MB configuration on the debut model). At $1,249 the spec-bumped Q1 will set you back $250 more than the Celeron-powered version, but hey, it's still over $1,000 cheaper than the upcoming Q1-SSD with that hot little 32GB solid state flash drive.

[Via Carrypad and JKOTR]

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]

We still don't feel like consumers are rushing out to buy those portable but quirky UMPCs (well, an unnamed Engadget editor actually did rush out to buy one -- and returned it shortly thereafter), but it seems like the form factor is here to stay anyway, and now Korean manufacturer Daewoo Lucoms -- a spin-off of Daewoo Electronics -- has released its own version called the Solo M1. Specs on this one are almost identical to the Samsung Q1, as the two devices share the same low voltage 900MHz Intel Celeron processor, 7-inch touchscreen, 512MB of RAM, and of course, Windows XP Tablet Edition operating system. Also like the Q1, the Solo M1 sports both Bluetooth and WiFi wireless radios, and comes with the option of a built-in GPS receiver and/or DMB tuner. You'll have to forgive us for not getting too enthusiastic about these products anymore (the novelty wore off about 100 posts ago), but if you've set the bar a little lower than we have, then you can pick up your own M1 for about $1,050 -- in won, of course.

[Via Mobility Site]

Intel is using this week's Computex trade show to reveal various bits of information about upcoming additions to the Core Duo family, including details on the chipset that will support the new Core 2 Duo (formerly known as Conroe) processors as well as the existence of an impending low voltage version of the current Core Duo CPU. Senior Vice President Anand Chandrasekher announced that the 965 chipset will come in three versions (P965, G965, and U965) sporting either Core 2 Duos or Core 2 Extremes -- the latter chip coming in July in a 2.93GHz version, followed by a 3.2GHz model later this year -- along with DDR2 memory as fast as 800MHz. As for the new ULV Core Duo processor, the company claims that it will sip an average of just 0.75 watts (compared to the one to two watts consumed by the already efficient Core 2 Duo), and be available in a 1.06GHz configuration called the U2500 for $289 this summer. Release dates for the Core 2 Duo chip are still unknown, although a press conference being held tomorrow may contain that key piece of info, which is already being reported by some sources as July 23rd.

Remember Gateway's new hotness late last month, the E-100M / NX100X? Well, now they're shipping those things, if you're interested. Intel's also finally admitting to the new 1.2GHz U1400 Core Solo chip the Gateways are running (which they announced alongside their new 1.06GHz U1300 Core Solo in Beijing today). Both their new chips are Core Solo equivalents of the Pentium M ULV series, sipping a paltry 5.5w -- still more than the 5 or so watts consumed by 1.1GHz Pentium M ULV chips now, though.

[Via MobileWhack and CNET]