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Samsung refreshes X Series laptop lineup with Core i3 ULV chips
If you've got a hankering for some battery-sipping Core i3 ULV processors and live south of a certain 38th parallel line, you'll probably want to take a close look at one of Samsung's new designs. We hear on good authority that Sammy's refreshed its X Series laptops with the 1.2GHz Core i3-330M processor, including the 11.6-inch X180 (with the same 3GB of DDR3 memory, 320GB hard drive and most everything else included in the X170 that came before) and the 14-inch X430, which leapfrogs its predecessor the X420 with dedicated GeForce 310M graphics. Both actually report less battery life than their forbears, as the new laptops are rated closer to eight than nine hours, but in the X430 it's a small sum to pay to avoid integrated Intel video. We're also hearing word of a AMD-powered 11.6-incher called the Samsung X125, which should be hitting Europe any minute now for €499 (roughly $647). It's got a 1.7GHz Athlon II Neo K125 chip, 3GB memory, ATI Radeon 4225 graphics, and a manufacturer-reported five hours of battery life, all of which honestly sounds pretty unimpressive for the price. We know you can do better, Samsung. We believe.
Intel officially outs Core i3, i5 and i7 ULV processors for those ultra-thin laptops
We can't say this one is much of a surprise, but it sure is good to get the official details on Intel's latest ultra-low voltage Core i3, i5 and i7 processors. Just as we had heard, the new dual-core CPUs will be landing this June, and though they won't be replacing the current Celeron and Pentium ULVs on the market, they'll certainly provide a more powerful option for the "ultra-thin" category. All the new 32-nanometer Nehalam chips are said to provide 32 percent better performance than previous ULVs, but a 20 percent power reduction than standard-voltage Core 2010 CPUs. And just like those regular Core 2010 processors, these get the same Turbo Boost and Hyper-threading performance advantages. All the processors have TDPs of 17 watts which is what is enabling the 50 percent improvement in thermal performance. That's all the technical details Intel shared this morning, but it shouldn't be long before we up and testing the performance and battery life of these new chips in slim laptops from MSI, Lenovo and Acer. Until then, there's the full press release after the break. %Gallery-93588%
Smartbook's laptops hands-on: a MacBook and a VAIO walk into a bar...
Bewildering. We're pretty sure that's the only way to describe our adventure at Smartbook's CeBIT booth. First off, let us just clear up that there are absolutely no smartbooks on display -- don't forget that this is the company that's going after Qualcomm's jugular for using the term smartbook in the first place. Now that that's out of the way, the German outfit introduced two new 11.6-inch laptops at the show, both which are clearly a rip on Apple and Sony laptops. What's confusing there? Well, the fact that they are actually nice. First you have the Atom N280-powered Razor that's clad in a brushed aluminum that feels impeccably similar to the unibody MacBook. Sure, it will run like a last-generation Windows 7 netbook, but it felt seriously solid in hand. Next up is that ULV-packing Logo we told you about last week, and with a glowing power button embedded in its circular hinge there's no doubt that it was Sony VAIO "inspired." Again, the make is actually quite good, and we were shocked to feel how sturdy the chiclet keyboard was. Both KIRFs the Smartbook Logo and Razor should go for about 699 Euros when they become available in Europe this spring. Not amused yet? The pictures of the Swarovski covered netbook below should just about do it -- and we have video proof after the break, if you're into that sort of thing. %Gallery-86973% %Gallery-86971% %Gallery-86979%
MSI X-Slim X620 keeps its ULV processor and ATI graphics, adds an optical drive
Just a few days after revealing its X-Slim X420, MSI is back at it again with another Intel ULV-powered laptop -- but this time the redesigned 15.6-inch version of its X series has made room for an optical drive. As one might expect the 1.4-inch thick / 5-pound lappie is a bit heftier than before, though oddly it has the same selection of ports, including HDMI, two USBs, e-SATA, an SD card reader, along with a mic and headphone jacks. Other than that the Windows 7 Home Premium portable packs an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5430 GPU, and will support up to 4GB of RAM and 500GB of storage. No details on pricing or availability, but we'll be keeping our ears to the ground.
Acer's Aspire Timeline 1810T gets a price, release window
If you're in Europe and you love Acer laptops, today is your lucky day. The company has gotten totally official with its Aspire Timeline 1810T notebook, at least according to ComputerBase in Germany. If you'll recall, the laptop boasts an 11.6-inch, 1366 x 768 display, a 1.4GHz ULV CPU, can support up to 4GB of RAM, and sports a GMA 4500MHD graphics chipset. The base model includes a 250GB hard drive, and all the systems come with an HDMI out, Bluetooth 2.1, a 3G option, and are preloaded with Vista -- just in case you were worried. For the low-ish starting price of €499 (or about $708) you can take one of these puppies back to your flat soon (they're on preorder now and should be available in two or three weeks). Hit the read link for all the nasty details... if you dare.[Via Engadget Spanish]
