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MSI launches PR200 ultraportable in Korea
Recall that quietly seductive PR200 we saw way back in January? MSI has gone and launched the 12-inch ultraportable in Korea, given it a dark outfit, and thrown it into the ever-expanding MEGABOOK lineup. The finalized machine will reportedly sport Intel's 965 Express chipset, a Core 2 Duo T7300 processor, 2GB of RAM, 802.11n support, integrated GMA X3100 graphics, a 1.3-megapixel camera, built-in microphone, and an HDMI port. Additionally, you'll find a fingerprint scanner, onboard optical drive, audio in / out, a number of USB ports, and a ginormous palm rest sticker for good measure. Click on for a snapshot of the front.
Fujitsu LIfebook T2010 tablet snooped at the FCC
It looks like the "handsome" new Fujitsu T2010 that we saw back in the beginning of July has made its way into the loving arms of the FCC -- where they've given it their precious stamp of approval. Of course, this doesn't mean anything yet, as the company hasn't made any announcements, but it does open the possibility of seeing the 12.1-inch ultralight tablet around these parts in the future. The Core 2 Duo system runs on Intel's Santa Rosa 965 chipset, with an integrated X3100 GMA graphics chip, WiFi, Bluetooth, and a weight starting at just 3.31 lbs. Check the read link for pages of fascinating FCC documents.[Via PC Joint]
Voodoo's Envy H:171 laptop hits the streets
Voodoo, a company hell-bent on out-spec'ing the competition, today announced that its ENVY H:171 has "set new standards for performance notebooks." While we can't completely trust everything some big PC manufacturer says, we can tell you that the 17-inch, widescreen laptop does flash some pretty robust specs. The maxed-out combo features a Core 2 Extreme CPU, a Dual NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 graphics chipset, 4GB of RAM, and a hard drive capacity of up to 600GB (using three drives). Additionally, you get your choice of paint jobs, and Voodoo will even slap a "tattoo" on the back, as long you pay for it. So what will it all cost? About $5,000 for the bare bones system, up to somewhere around $7,477 for the full monty -- and those specs aren't terribly dissimilar from something like the cheaper Dreambook -- though they don't offer a $380 "ink."
Hands-on with Sony's VAIO TZ superultraportable notebook
Obviously unaware that we're not exactly the classiest folks around (we were the only ones there wearing shorts and a T-shirt), Sony invited us to a decidedly swanky "product unveiling" at Rockefeller Plaza's 66th floor Top of the Rock observation deck, replete with such pricey fare as caviar, salmon canapes, crab salad, tuna tartare, and grilled shrimp, along with four varieties of champagne (from a 2000 Veuve Clicquot Reserve Rose to a 1996 Bollinger R.D., if you must know) to wash it all down with -- and as if that weren't enough booze, several bottles of well-aged scotch sat prominently atop a fully stocked bar. This whole luxury theme was meant to sway our coverage about reflect the high-end status of the company's 11.1-inch VAIO TZ, whose $2,200 minimum price tag gets you a waif of a Santa Rosa-based ultraportable featuring a carbon fiber exterior, 32GB SSD, WWAN in the form of EV-DO Rev. A, and a MacBook-style keyboard, among other goodies. Sorry to cut this short, but we're off to shower and shave with the pleasant smelling men's products that Sony stuffed in our gift bag (we gave everything else -- cigars, lip balm, four dollar bottled water, book on wine -- away to elevator operators and people on the subway), so this would probably be a good time to check out the gallery below. And, as a special, one-time only bonus, we've also included photos of the recently announced VAIO-branded LF-V30 LocationFree streamer, whose component jacks enable HD place-shifting, and with which the entire VAIO lineup will soon be compatible thanks to pre-loaded software... %Gallery-4973%
Asus U3 caught on film
Asus, a company that's pushing some pretty interesting and innovative products into the spotlight as of late, is stepping up to bat with another new entry, dubbed the U3. The 13.3-inch ultraportable rocks a Billy Joel-approved "piano black" exterior, with a smooth, sensual leather finish on the palm rests, making it stylistically quite distinctive. The U3 features the much-loved Santa Rosa chipset, and will likely utilize one of Intel's low voltage Core 2 Duo processors (the L7500, for instance), but that's just where the fun begins on this baby. The jam-packed specs include integrated GPS, HDMI and S-Video outs, eSATA, USB, and Firewire ports; SD and ExpressCard 54 slots; and an NVIDIA 8400M graphics chipset -- which can be switched off via hardware for power conservation. Asus reps say the system is due in September at a price point somewhere around $2,000.[Thanks, Coriolis]
PC-Koubou Lesance NB laptop rocks Santa Rosa, GeForce 8400
If you're like us, you're constantly on the hunt for a laptop which will bring balance to the Force, unite all nations, and really rock a decent configuration for not a lot of dough. Enter the PC-Koubou Lesance NB, the Santa Rosa based, GeForce 8400 sporting answer to your prayers. The 13.3-inch laptop features a Core 2 Duo T7300 (2GHz) processor, 1GB of memory, and a 100GB hard drive, plus connectivity options like USB, Firewire, eSATA, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11a/b/n, and SD, MMC and Memory Stick Pro support. The whole harmonious, peace-loving package will run you around $1215, but you'll have to go to Japan to get it -- which is probably a step in the wrong direction if you're buying a budget laptop.
Lenovo's T61p packs UWB and roll cage for the ham-fisted road warrior
Lenovo is prepped to loose their ThinkPad T61p laptop on July 17th with a little surprise: UWB. Hells yes, we're talking 'bout that high-speed, short-throw ultra-wideband data transfer perfect for untethered port replication a la the Portege R400. The 15.4-inch lappie comes slathered in the Santa Rosa chipset and Nvidia Quadro FX 570M graphics all protected by an internal roll cage meant to steady even the drunkest of execs. Prices start at $1,814.[Via WNN]
MacBook Pros feature a 1.3MP camera sensor
Ken at Mac Daddy World confirmed an interesting discovery with a friend recently. Namely, the Santa Rosa MacBook Pros don't feature the same iSight as the previous MBP modelPictured at right is a snapshot from System Profiler on my own MBP (a 2.0 GHz Core Duo), above, and Ken's (a Santa Rosa model), below. As you can see, the manufacturer has been changed from "Micron" to "Apple, Inc." Plus, the product ID has changed from "0x8501" to "0x8502."But wait, there's more. While Ken was able to produce a VGA (640×480) image with an "older" MacBook Pro featuring the original iSight, the Santa Rosa model produced a much larger 1.3 MP (1280×1024) image (you can see both images at Mac Daddy World). Pretty cool.Thanks, Ken!
Santa Rosa-based MacBook Pro review roundup
While we're sure plenty of you have already made up your minds about the new Santa Rosa-based MacBook Pros, those still on the fence now have plenty of reviews to aid in their decision-making, a few of which we've rounded up for ya. On the whole, most everyone so far seems to have been mightily impressed with the unit -- its screen, in particular, which ComputerWorld describes as "best-looking LCD screen Apple has produced" (referring to the 17-inch model) and NoteBookReview hails as the the reviewer has "ever seen on a laptop" (the 15-inch one, in this case). Not surprisingly, they also found much to like about the laptop's new Santa Rosa platform, which Ars Technica found to outperform the previous model in all but one benchmark test (unzipping a 254.6MB archive), while also giving it a boost in battery life (even if it doesn't quite live up to Apple's claims). Those looking for yet more benchmarks can check out the Touchy Fire-Fly blog, which also put the MacBook through a range of tests. Among the downsides noted by Ars were the lack of LED-backlighting on the 17-inch model, comparatively poor OpenGL performance, and that ever-present heat issue. NoteBook Review would have also liked to see a built-in memory card reader and more than two USB ports. That said, none of them have much trouble recommending the laptop, with ComputerWorld even going so far as to call it the "best laptop Apple has ever made."Read - Ars TechnicaRead - ComputerWorldRead - NotebookReviewRead - Touchy Fire-Fly
Intel Core 2 Extreme laptops in July?
According to what appears to be a leaked product roadmap, it's beginning to look like a hot summer if you're a laptop gamer, on-the-go video editor, or need to crunch some seriously large numbers while traveling. From the looks of the roadmap it appears Intel is planning updates and price cuts for laptop CPUs through September 2nd, including the introduction of a couple Core 2 Extreme chips (2.8GHz X7900 and 2.6GHz X7800, featuring 800MHz FSB/4MB L2 cache) as previously reported. All told, the processor overlords will apparently debut nine new chips and cut the price on four, with slight changes in pretty much every category. Of note is the addition of the budget Celeron M540 and M550, which according to "sources" are designed for the much-loved Santa Rosa chipset. Stay tuned, as we'll be bringing you more laptop-obsoleting news on this next round of chips as soon as we get it.[Via laptoping]
Sony's Vaio CR series finally gets official
No real surprises at this point, but here's skinny on Sony's "worst kept secret" Santa Rosa-based Vaio CR series of 14.1-inch laptops. Sony is going the multi-color route with these, hoping to attract the fashionistas in the room with sangria, cosmopolitan, dove, indigo and black color options. Sony also packed in some fun keyboard-bordering LED action and even an option for a color-coordinated bag and mouse. Prices start at $1,350 and Sony will start shipments at the end of this month. Processors are all Core 2 Duo T7100, graphics do the Intel GMA X3100 thing, the display manages a 1280 x 800 resolution, and 2GB of RAM comes standard. Hit up the gallery for more pics.%Gallery-3848%
MSI releases the GX600 gaming laptop and GX700...for the ladies
Bringing back some of that 80's flair, MSI is showing off their GX600 gaming laptop at Computex. The black 15-incher is normally clocked at 2.1GHz, but hitting the 386-style Turbo button overclocks the Core 2 Duo to 2.6GHz. Apart from that, it's the usual Santa Rosa action: 800MHz bus, 802.11n, webcam, 512MB GeForce Go 8600M GT, and HDMI out. The GX600 also has some chintzy flame graphics, but they look positively half-hearted next to the GX700 MSI's also got at Computex: we saw this 17-incher back in January, but MSI has decided to throw a "feminine" mural on the lid. MSI's been experimenting with strange cases for a while, and we gotta say, it's not working for you, guys. Check the turbo button in action after the break.
Benchmarking the new MacBook Pros
I'm the new guy on staff here at TUAW, and from what I've been told, I get to lay claim to something none of these other guys want to: I'm a die-hard gamer, and while playing games on a Mac might be like performing Shakespeare in Russian, I do it as much as I can (the play games on the Mac thing, not the Russian thing).So you can expect to hear about more stuff like this: the good folks over at Bare Feats ran the new MacBook Pros (with the Santa Rosa chipset) through the benchmarking gears and found what you might expect: they're pretty darn fast. Not quite as fast as the Mac Pro with a Radeon X1900 XT in the video card slot, but the new MBP did beat out the quad core Mac Pro running with the Geforce 7300 GT in 4 of the 5 tests they did-- gaming like that on a laptop is very, very nice.The new MacBook didn't fare quite as well-- the integrated video chip in that one, says Bare Feats, is "un-optimized" for 3D, even if it's fine for movie playback. Unfortunately, none of the Apple rigs tested come even close to Alienware's standard PC box (the Mac Pro ran at 83 fps on Quake 4, and the Area-51 7500 ran at... ummm... 135.7), but if you, like me, want to frag a few noobs in between, y'know, working with a UI that actually makes sense, the new MacBook Pro will do you right.[ via Inside Mac Games ]
Intel prepping hardware Blu-ray / HD DVD support for Santa Rosa
Intel's Santa Rosa mobile platform will get a high definition upgrade in the second half of this year when it integrates dedicated hardware decoding from Broadcom to support HD DVD and Blu-ray playback. The extra processing power will let notebooks keep running their Windows Vista Aero experience -- which currently takes a major hit -- while playing high-def discs without relying on more expensive GPUs from NVIDIA or ATI. We know Toshiba is going all HD DVD in its laptops later this year, and we won't be surprised to see more manufacturers throwing in blue laser options across the line. The manufacturer told Ars Technica that future upgrades to the Santa Rosa chipset should include driver updates later this year, and DirectX10 support in 2008.
MacBook Pros updated: Santa Rosa, LED backlighting, and 1920x1200 display
Right on cue, we've got MacBook Pro updates for you to love or hate depending upon your fanboy affiliation. First the 17-inch which now features new NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics and a new 1920 x 1200 pixel display (for $100 extra)... at last. Both the 15- and 17-inch models now sport Intel's Santa Rosa platform -- Intel's latest take on Centrino featuring an 800MHz front side bus which changes dynamically to save power. Apple was also kind enough to finally loose a MacBook Pro with LED backlighting just like Sir Steve promised. However, that appears to be limited to the 15-inch model. So now we're looking at a 15.4-inch MBP with a 1440 x 900 pixel display topping out with a new 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 160GB 5,400rpm disk, 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (up to 4GB supported), pre-enabled 802.11n of course, a new 256MB of NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics option, 8x (up from 6x) slot-loading SuperDrive, and Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR. It maintains the same dimensions while tipping the scales at 5.4-pounds (down from 5.6-pounds). The 17-inch meanwhile tops out with the same 2.4GHz proc and up to 250GB of disk. Much newness, at least for the 15-incher, for the same entrance fee of $1,999 starting today -- that'll only get you into the cheap seats but the faithful have to sit somewhere.
Panasonic's Toughbook CF-52 with Santa Rosa lands in US
If you're ready to get rough and tumble with a Santa Rosa-based Toughbook, you're almost there: Panasonic's announcing the new CF-52's availability in the US, as well as new specs and features. There are two base configs (optimized for $2500 and standard for $1650), which feature: Core 2 Duo CPUs (2.0 and 1.8GHz) 1GB RAM (expandable to 4GB) 15.4-inch WUXGA or WXGA display (1920 x 1200 or 1366 x 768), enhanced 512MB grahics for Aero 80 or 120GB drives (shock mounted), DVD burner 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (optional) 3G option (launches officially with Verizon exclusively for 120 days, then will have Sprint Rev. A and Cingular HSDPA support -- or add your own) (4) USB 2.0, PCMCIA slot, ExpressCard slot, SD reader, 1394, VGA, gigabit Ethernet, modem, serial TPM chip, and optional SmartCard and biometric scanner Spill-resistant keyboard and integrated handle Available in July -- if you're hearty enough to carry around a 2-inch thick 7.3-pound beast of a box.%Gallery-3631%
Acer Gemstone specs and pricing revealed
We already had a pretty good idea of what Acer's first Gemstone laptop, the Aspire 5920, would look like, but we've now got the full rundown of specs, along with a price, courtesy of Acer's Thailand site. As we knew before, it's a Santa Rosa-based machine, boasting a 15.4-inch WXGA display, NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics, and an optional HD-DVD drive, among other not too shabby features. What we didn't know is that it'd come with your choice of T7100 or T7300 Core 2 Duo processors, up to 4GB of RAM, and a max 200GB hard drive. Also notably lacking until now was any word on price, which has now been revealed to be 46,900 or 59,900 baht depending on the configuration, or roughly $1,425 and $1,820 for those of you outside of Thailand.
New pics, specs for Sony's Vaio CR laptops
Sony never really got official with us on this Vaio CR series of laptops, that would just make things too easy, but that doesn't mean the info has to stop flowing. Notebook Italy scrounged up so more dirt on the things, and apparently these units are due to hit in the middle of June, and naturally will be bringing Santa Rosa with them. The look seems in line with Sony's other all-new laptops this season, if perhaps a tad frumpier, and the specs are fairly familiar as well, with Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz T7100 processors, GMA X1300 integrated graphics, Vista Home Premium, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD and dual-layer DVD burner. The 14.1-inch 1280 x 800 screen includes a webcam, and Sony has tossed in an SD card slot along with its usual complement of Memory Stick, FireWire and ExpressCard inputs. Notebook Italy is betting on a 1,350 Euro tag ($1,815 US) for most of the configurations, with a 1,550 Euro ($2,084 US) option coming alongside with beefed up Radeon HD 2300+ graphics.
Fujitsu Lifebook T4220 convertible tablet goes on sale
Considering that Fujitsu's Lifebook T4220 convertible tablet PC just recently hit the FCC and managed to get reviewed a few weeks back, you may not have expected this beauty to be available to the masses just yet, but sure enough, your very own customized T4220 is currently awaiting you at the firm's webstore. Five basic configurations are listed, and while you're already aware of most of the hardware details, we'll just reiterate that you can pick up a T7100, T7300, or T7500 Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, up to 100GB in hard drive space, 802.11a/b/g/n, modular dual-layer DVD writer, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, gigabit Ethernet, and a 12.1-inch XGA display just to name the highlights. Selecting one of the standard configs will run you between $1,769 and $2,099, but as always, tossing in a few extra niceties here and there can ratchet those figures right on up.[Via Laptoping]
Lenovo 3000 V200 ultraportable gets a taste of Santa Rosa
While most of the Lenovo attention of late has centered around the mysterious Reserve Edition and Olympic-trained lappies, the firm hasn't forgot about the budget set in the meantime. The 3000 series is seeing the new V200 machine get a jolt with Santa Rosa, and aside from the 1.8GHz T7100 Intel Core 2 Duo processor, this 12.1-incher now boosts a 160GB SATA drive, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, a WXGA VibrantView display, built-in 1.3-megapixel camera, and up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM. Furthermore, you'll find Intel's X3100 integrated graphics set, a dual-layer DVD writer, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, a three-cell Li-ion battery, and a weight of just around four pounds. A few extra touches include one-touch system recovery, a fingerprint scanner, Windows Vista, a trio of USB 2.0 ports, 5-in-1 multicard reader, audio in / out, stereo speakers, 4-pin FireWire, an ExpressCard slot, VGA output, and a 56k modem for fetching internet the old fashioned way. The V200 looks to be shipping in "one to two weeks," and the while the base configuration will run you $1,199, those oh-so-necessary upgrades will elevate that figure quite a bit.[Thanks, Naveed]
