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Lenovo's ThinkPad T61 laptop gets official
Just in case the leaked specs weren't solid enough for you, Lenovo has finally opened up and revealed the 14.1-inch T61 to the world. In what's being dubbed the "strongest, coolest, and quietest ThinkPad ever," the T61 comes sheathed in a magnesium alloy frame (Top Cover Roll Cage in Lenovo lingo), and touts an "improved cooling system, enhanced wireless connectivity with Ultra Connect II, and up to 15-percent longer battery life through its Battery Stretch control option." Furthermore, you'll find a WXGA+ display, a wide range of Intel's Core 2 Duos, up to 160GB of 5400RPM HDD space (or 100GB at 7200RPM), NVIDIA's 128MB Quadro NVS 140M graphics set, an optional Blu-ray drive, gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth, 802.11a/b/g/n, and even an option for WWAN connectivity via EV-DO or HSDPA; additionally, there's a four-in-one media card reader and your choice of Windows XP / Vista. It looks like the May timeframe we had heard about earlier will actually stay true in this case, and while you can price this bad boy as high as you can dream, the base machine will run you $1,399.[Via LaptopLogic]
Fujitsu's newest LifeBooks: the E8410/8490 and A6030
Just a day after seeing the Amilo Pi2515, a few FCC sleuths have discovered that a different pair of Fujitsu machines are waiting for release here in the US. Looking to add to new options to the LifeBook lineup, the E8410/8490 should tout a 15.4-inch WUXGA or WSXGA display, Intel's 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo T7700 processor, and a WM3945ABG Mini-PCI WLAN module that completely shuns 802.11n. The LifeBook A6030 looks to posses the same CPU as its more expensive sibling, but chops the resolution on its 15.4-inch screen down to WXGA. Unfortunately, that's all the dirt that the existing documentation was able to spill on these up and coming lappies, but after this paperwork get ironed out, it shouldn't be too long before it happily joins the ever-growing Santa Rosa population here in America.[Via PCJoint]
Asus G2P 17-inch gaming laptop reviewed
The folks over at PC Perspective finally got their hands on the Asus G2 gaming lappy we first saw all the way back in October, and while it's got a couple trick features, it's also hot, heavy, and held back by a midrange GPU. Based on the massive Asus A7J, the G2 bumps the processor to a 2GHz Intel T7200 Core 2 Duo and the GPU to a 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon X1700, repackaging the whole deal in a slick metal case with an integrated OLED screen (no SideShow though, bummer), 1.3 megapixel webcam, and side-mounted red LED strips that throb with DirectX activity. Flossing all that gamer style doesn't get you anywhere if you can't run with the big boys, though, and that's where PC Perspective found that that X1700 just wasn't always up to the task, slowing down considerably during some of their tests. But despite this and some other potential dealbreakers (like being the heaviest 17-inch laptop PC Perspective has ever tested and requiring near-total disassembly to upgrade the RAM) the G2 left a favorable impression, offering competent, if not great, performance with more than a dash of style for $1900. Peep the read link for the full review.
Panasonic updates ultraportables with Core 2 Duos
The Panasonic laptop division is in high gear this week, first recalling some 6,000 batteries in Japan, and now revving its ultraportable line with dual-core 64-bit capable 1.06GHz U7500 Core 2 Duos across the board. The $2,109 W5a features a 12-inch screen, a gig of RAM, an 80GB HD, and that snazzy top-loading DVD writer, while the $1,898 T5a drops the optical drive in favor of longer battery life (13 hours vs. 10 for the W5a). If that's sounding good to you but for some reason you also need to drop your laptop up to 30 inches into a puddle, Panny's got you covered with the 2.1-pound R6a, a $1,772 10.4-inch machine with a 7.5 hour battery. All three machines are expected to drop in Japan on May 18th.
Epson intros 15.4-inch Endeavor NJ2050 laptop
While we've no doubt that you can easily track down a more provocative laptop than the business-minded Endeavor, Epson is apparently updating the NJ2000 to elicit a few more corporate purchases. The Endeavor NJ2050 still sports a 15.4-inch screen in both WXGA and WXGA+ varieties, but gives users the choice of a (nearly archaic) Intel Celeron M or the much preferred Core 2 Duo on the processor front. Additionally, the graphics set found itself updated with ATI's Radeon Xpress 1100, and interested customers have the BTO flexibility to add up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a hard drive from 40GB to 160GB in size, and any of Microsoft's latest operating systems (yes, that includes XP). You'll also notice a PCMCIA slot, SD / MMC / MSPro memory card reader, gigabit Ethernet, stereo speakers, FireWire, and a dual-layer DVD burner. Prices will start around ¥69,930 ($589) for the basic configuration, but more thoroughly equipped machines will run you a few hundred more.[Via Impress]
Zepto's Znote 6625WD does DX10, HSDPA, and HD DVD
Considering that Zepto isn't exactly "the name" in full-blown gaming laptops, we certainly hope this one won't turn out like ones prior, but the Znote 6625WD purportedly packs a plethora of lavish innards if it proves legitimate. The 15.4-inch machine is based around Intel's Santa Rosa, er, Centrino Pro platform, and sports a WSXGA resolution, Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth 2.0, NVIDIA's 512MB GeForce Go 8600 graphics card, DirectX 10 support, an optional HD DVD writer, 802.11a/b/g/n, HSDPA compatibility, and to top things off, an HDMI output. The company will supposedly be taking customized orders in May to satisfy your wildest dreams, and while the bottom-end of the bunch could land at around "$1,100 to $1,200," we imagine that some of the aforementioned luxuries will ratchet that right on up.[Via Laptopical]
Haier's speedy X6 UMPC touts 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo processor
Nah, Haier's X6 UMPC won't turn any heads in the design department, but we must say we're glad it gave a bit more attention to the internals and left the enclosure to the OEMs. Beneath the perfectly average exterior lies a full QWERTY keyboard, Intel's 945GU chipset (you know, from the Ultra Mobile Platform), a 6.5-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a 30GB 5,400RPM hard drive, webcam, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.0, and a GPS receiver to top things off. The standout feature, however, is the choice of processors available on this rig, as power users should adore the 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo L2500 or 1.66GHz L2400. Notably, El Reg suggests that the 720-gram unit sports a battery that provides "four to five hours" of continuous juice, but we imagine taxing that speedy CPU could slice into those number fairly quickly. Still, the Vista-equipped machine packs quite a punch for being so nimble, and while a release date wasn't disclosed, it should start around £580 ($1,165) whenever it lands.[Via Electronista]
Clevo's new 12-inch ultraportable rocks the HSDPA
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]
Penryn CPUs benchmarked, don't slouch
So, 45nm sounds hip-cool and all, but what does that mean for performance? Intel's coming forward with some Penryn numbers -- with the help of Reg Hardware looking over its shoulder to make sure the tests are legit -- and it seems we're in for a decent speed bump, but not necessarily a revolution. Dual core and quad core 3.33GHz Penryns, each with a 1333MHz frontside bus, were pitted against the current desktop-leading 2.93GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6800 on a 1066MHz bus. Tests were run on top of a well decked test system, running Vista Ultimate. Naturally, the quad core Penryn took the top spot in all the tests, with varying margins depending upon which app was used -- no surprises there. The dual-core Penryn took third behind the spendy QX6800 for the most part, other than the single-threaded Half-Life 2 and the SSE 4-capable DivX test, which capitalized upon the media-friendly instructions Intel is adding to its new processors. Looks like we'll be seeing much more from these processors as more SSE 4 apps hit the market, but for now you shouldn't be feeling too bad about buying a QX6800 -- it's not obsolete by a long shot.
Toshiba rolls out six new entrants in Satellite A205 / P205 lineups
Apparently Toshiba has been shoring up refreshes to its Satellite series of laptops, as the company has recently decided to bust out six new Labelflash-compliant models simultaneously to really get your head spinning when wading through the options. Up first is the trio of models in the P205 lineup, which represents "the company's latest 17-inch (1,440 x 900-pixel resolution) laptop line with a starting price of less than $1,000." The S637, S6267, and S6287 models all sport sub-2GHz Intel processors, up to 2GB of RAM, dual-layer SuperMulti drives, Vista Home Premium, 120GB to 200GB of hard drive space, WiFi, and Harmon Kardon speakers as well. The 15.4-inch A205 series includes the S4577, S4617, and S4639, and these models sport a 1,280 x 800 resolution, optional webcam, 802.11n, sub-1.7GHz Intel Core 2 Duo chips, up to 2GB of RAM, dual-layer DVD burner, integrated speakers, biometric scanner, NVIDIA's GeForce Go 7300 graphics, and Windows Vista runnin' the show. Click on to the links below for a bit more detail on the specifications, and in case any variety particularly catches your eye, you'll be delighted to know that the whole litter is available right now.[Via LaptopMag]
Intel rolls out first Core 2 Duo ULV processors
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.
Lenovo's ThinkPad X60 convertible goes Core 2 Duo
Admittedly, it feels a bit strange to praise a machine for getting a Core 2 Duo in April of 2007, but Lenovo's highly-regarded convertible has finally remedied the one gripe that nearly everyone seemed to have about it. While we've seen the C2D hit high-end lappies rather late in the game, we're fairly sure this one takes the cake for belatedness, but if you've been patiently anxiously awaiting for the overdue processor upgrade, your wait is finally over. Right now, you can order up an X60 Tablet PC with a 1.5GHz L7400V Core 2 Duo CPU, 12.1-inch SXGA+ display, 1GB to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, up to 120GB of hard drive space, Bluetooth, 802.11a/b/g/n, and an eight-cell Li-ion battery to boot. Of course, such "fresh" luxuries apparently don't come cheap, as a fairly well-spec'd machine will run you upwards of $2,000, and should arrive "within one to two weeks" from now.[Via Slashgear]UPDATE: Well you can officially color us confused, as it appears that the Core 2 Duo mention on Lenovo's official webstore is, um, bogus. According to "sources at Lenovo" cited by TabletPCTalk, "there are no Core 2 Duo ThinkPad X60s available as of this moment," but alas, we've no idea when this moment will end and the next will begin. Stay tuned.
Sony announces VAIO C and FE 'Graphic Splash Editions'
Spring is in the air, which means that birds are chirping, flowers are poking their heads out of the ground, gamers are fleeing the sunlight for the cool darkness of their basements, and of course Sony is rolling out a limited number of VAIO notebooks with cheery seasonal paint jobs. Last time we saw the so-called 'Graphic Splash Editions,' it was the C and AR series getting all decked out for the holidays, but this time around the AR's are getting the boot in favor of of the 15.4-inch FE890 (pictured above), available immediately in either Charcoal Blossom, Black and White Dot, Weathered Blue, or Brown and Turquoise Dot -- despite what the product shot seems to indicate. With the 13.3-inch C series (pictured after the break), dropping April 17th, Weathered Blue and Charcoal Blossom are swapped out for Weathered Red and Pink Blossom, respectively, but both dot patterns remain. As you've come to expect from Sony's lappies, most of the specs are pretty high end (save for the graphics), with Core 2 Duo CPUs, at least a gig of RAM, and 100GB+ drives making an appearance in every configuration, along with Vista, dual-layer DVD burners, and three flavor WiFi. The C's will start out at around $1,250, while you can pick yourself up an SE for as little as a grand; hurry up if you're interested, though, because there are only 1,350 of these getting manufactured and painting your own is kind of a hassle.
More dirt on Intel's Penryn / Nehalem architecture
While you've been off dreaming of long-range WiFi, Intel's not forgotten about its Penryn / Nehalem architectures, and thanks to an uber-boring slideshow presentation, we now know more than ever about the forthcoming duo. As expected, there isn't much new on the oft detailed Penryn front, but the fresher Nehalem most certainly piqued our interest; while built on the same 45-nanometer technology as its predecessor, Nehalem is being hailed as "the most dramatic architecture shift since the introduction of the front-side bus in the Pentium Pro in 1996." Attempting to back up such bold claims came news that HyperThreading would be native to Nehalem, and it would "share data at the L1 and potentially, the L3 cache levels," allow eight-core CPUs to clock down to two / four, and boast scalability options to satisfy a wider market. Most intriguing, however, was the "optional high performance integrated graphics" that could reportedly be included on the same processor die, which could certainly prove interesting if crammed into, say, a UMPC. So if you're still not satisfied with the highlights, and don't get enough mundane PowerPoint action from your corporate employment, be sure to hit the read link when your friends aren't looking.
Motion Computing's Core 2 Duo-powered LE1700 Tablet PC
Thanks to GottaBeMobile, we've just learned of a pretty high end Tablet PC from Motion Computing called the LE1700, which features, among other goodies, a 1.5GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 12.1-inch SXGA+ display. These specs alone would make the unannounced slate pretty exciting, but Motion's also throwing in a fingerprint reader, built-in accelerometer, dual-mode digitizer, and three wireless radios: a/b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, and hottest of all, HSDPA mobile broadband. We'd love to drop a price and release date on you too, but seeing how all this info is courtesy of the FCC, that just ain't gonna be possible. Stay tuned, though -- we're sure this tablet will be popping up again.Update: For the nigglers out there, this model can also be configured with a Core Solo processor, and both low-power CPU's should provide you with satisfactory battery life.[Via GottaBeMobile]
Acer Aspire L320 mini PC touts Viiv certification
Every time you think the Viiv hype is dying down, Acer brings it back up, as just a few months after kicking out the "world's first" Viiv-certified LCD TV, the firm is now unveiling its Aspire L320 mini PC with -- you guessed it -- a shiny Viiv sticker adorning its case. Hot on the heels of its xSeries displays, this machine sports a slim, silver / black case designed for living room placement, a variety of Intel Pentium processors, up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, up to 400GB of internal hard drive capacity, an Acer-branded digital / analog hybrid TV tuner, DVD writer, flash card reader, and a bevy of included ho hum software that you'll likely replace immediately upon bootup. Additionally, it sports 7.1-channel audio, Intel's GMA 3000 graphics set, VGA / DVI outputs, an option to add Windows Vista, FireWire, audio in / out, and a pair of USB 2.0 ports to round things out. No word just yet on price or availability, but this ought to be a fairly inexpensive alternative for those eying a very basic (and fairly attractive) pre-fab HTPC.[Via RegHardware]
Samsung prepping high-end M60 gaming notebook
Looks like Samsung's got another sexy laptop on display at CeBIT to go with the R70, R20, and Q45 that we saw earlier in the show, and this one is aimed squarely at gamers on the go. The company's M-series has always incorporated high-end features -- various iterations of the M55 were among the first on the market with Blu-ray and HD DVD drives -- and the upcoming M60 is no different, sporting top of the line Core 2 Duo processors, Santa Rosa chipsets, BD drives, and most importantly, DirectX 10-compatible NVIDIA cards with 512MB of video RAM. Notebook Review tells us to expect these sometime in May or June, for an as-yet-to-be-determined price.
Rock to roll out 22-inch all-in-one Meivo HTPC
"Xtreme" laptop OEM Rock has just announced its upcoming Meivo all-in-one PC, a Vista-powered 22-inch monster that features Core 2 Duo processors and several internal tuner options. Coming at the end of April for an even £1,000, Meivo is built around a 1,680 x 1,050 panel sporting side-mounted memory card slots and USB ports, with WiFi, Bluetooth, 7.1 output, and a pair of drive bays rounding out the specs. As far as tuners go, you get your choice of analog, digital, or hybrid -- all MXM compliant for easy expansion and upgrades. Probably not the best machine for power computing, but for watching the full season of Jericho so far on CBS Innertube from bed, this would make a good choice.Read - Press releaseRead - "Teaser" site[Via Shiny Shiny]
BenQ Joybook R42: first laptop without RAM and a hard drive?
So we're all for brevity when it comes to press releases, but you'd think that if BenQ actually wanted people to buy its new Joybook R42, it would at least advertise such nontrivial features as the machine's RAM, hard drive capacity, or -- and this is a biggie -- the darn thing's screen size and resolution. We can only assume that all of the company's writers have been locked up in this insider trading nastiness, because how else to explain a three paragraph release that wastes two-thirds of the space extolling the virtues of the "sophisticated" cooling system and "vibrant" display whose measurements shall not be spoken? Despite BenQ's stinginess with the deets, we can extrapolate from past models that the R42 features a 14.1-inch LCD, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, dual-layer DVD burner, probably 1GB of RAM, maybe 160GB of storage max, and -- the only thing we learned from the crummy PR -- some variety of Core 2 Duo processor with Via integrated graphics. As for price and release date? Ha, that's rich; right now BenQ execs are probably more worried about posting bail than getting this into your hands.Update: No, we're not complete idiots: that specifications table really did show up after this post was published. The big news, however, is that our initial guesses were almost right on the money; the only extra info we've gleaned is that the screen resolution is 1,280 x 800 and your hard drive options max out at 120GB, not 160GB.[Via PC Launches]
ABS Mayhem Blackhawk is 3.8 pounds of Merom and GeForce goodness
It's not always easy to balance power and portability when it comes to gaming notebooks, mainly because gamers want to stuff as many graphics cards, fans, and sticks of RAM as possible into a big screen package. Well ABS Computer Technology's new Mayhem Blackhawk may only offer a 14.1-inch XGA display, but it makes up for the relatively low resolution by offering a Core 2 Duo processor, NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 graphics, up to 2GB of RAM, and 160GB of storage in just a 3.8-pound enclosure. Also on board are a DVD burner, three-flavor WiFi, your choice of XP or Vista, and of course the all-important 56.6kbps modem. All this and more -- like a free Logitech headset, Age of Empires III, Far Cry, and MS Works 2004 -- can be yours starting at $1,500.[Via Computer Shopper]
