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ASUS Bamboo Collection laptops: now with Taiwanese pricing, more bamboo (update)
ASUS has been attaching bamboo to its laptops for some time now, but it was only ever really for show -- though the wood itself was certainly biodegradable, adding veneer isn't exactly the greenest statement in the world. This year, however, the company's Bamboo Collection will be completely slightly more recyclable. With Core i5-450M processors, they should be reasonably good performers as well, and NVIDIA Optimus switchable graphics technology gives them a factory-estimated (read: unlikely) 11 hours of battery life. The panda fodder cases will be found in Taiwan for around $40,000 NTD (approximately $1,300) next month, though US availability is yet to be announced. Check out the gigantic ASUS PDF for additional specs while you wait, and feel free to blow Ma Earth kisses all the while. Update: Our friends at Engadget Chinese inform us the new U series laptops aren't 100 percent recyclable after all; they still have a sizable plastic substrate underneath those thicker bamboo panels. It seems ASUS still hasn't managed to shake its wooden façade. Get specs and first-hand pics from the event at our more coverage link.
Ask Engadget: what's the best 13-inch Core i5 / i7 Wintel ultraportable for running OS X?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Dan Murphy [great name!], who needs to know which ultraportable on the market today is best equipped to roll both ways... if you know what we're sayin'. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com. "Real simple: what's the best Core i5 or Core i7 13-inch laptop (with discrete graphics) for running both Windows 7 and Mac OS X? I'm a video and photo guy who does marketing work for a university, and while I've been using a Dell M1330 to operate on both sides of the fence, I'm in dire need of a hardware upgrade. I'm not fussed by the Windows vs. Mac debate and use both on a daily basis, but I need as much power as possible in an ultraportable form factor in order to handle both of these operating systems (sorry, 13-inch MacBook Pro, but you aren't cutting it). Here's hoping your readers can help out!" We'd sure the master Hackintoshers out there would love to help out, and we're sure Apple will weep when realizing they'd have a sale if they would've crammed a Core i5 into their 13-inch MBP while refreshing the other guys last month. Go on, folks -- let this guy in on your secrets in comments below.
Toshiba updates Satellite Pro line with Core i3 / i5, Athlon II-based models
New laptop processors mean new laptops, and Toshiba has now joined the party with four new Satellite Pro models packing Intel's latest Core i3 and i5 processors and AMD's new dual-core Athlon II. Those include the 15.6-inch C650 / C650D, the 13.3-inch L630, the 15.6-inch L650 / L650D, and the 17.3-inch L670 / 670D, all of which are available with Intel Core i3 or Core i5 processors, while those with a "D" suffix pack an Athlon II. Otherwise, each boast either a 1,600 x 900 or 1,366 x 768 LED-backlit display, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5145 or integrated Intel GMA HD graphics, up to 8GB of RAM, an optional Blu-ray burner, and Toshiba's own Media Controller software to let you stream content to other networked devices, among other standard fare. Still no indication of pricing or availability over here, but the whole lot should at least be available in Europe, the Middle East and Africa sometime in the second quarter of this year. Hit up the gallery below for a closer look at the complete, nearly identical-looking lineup.%Gallery-93000%
Lenovo's 15.6-inch IdeaPad Y560 laptop goes on sale
Slowly but surely, each of Lenovo's CES introductions are popping up for sale. With nary a moment to spare, the 15.6-inch IdeaPad Y560 has finally surfaced at the company's website, offering up Core i3, i5 and i7 options, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, ATI's 1GB Mobility Radeon HD 5730 GPU, Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) and a 1,366 x 768 native resolution panel. Plenty of options are tweakable should you not find the base configurations suitable for your needs, but you'll be hard pressed to secure one for under $949. Well, unless you've got the patience of Job.
Panasonic Toughbook 31 packs Core i3, i5 processors, tough inside and out
You know what we could always go for? A really good rugged laptop drop, and that's exactly what we got tonight at the launch of the Toughbook 31. Panasonic not only flung its newest 13.1-inch fully-rugged portable off the stage, but also off the deck of the USS Intrepid. Oh, and you guessed it, Windows XP still booted after the 20-foot drop onto the pavement. While that may seem like all there is to the MIL-STD-810G certified, magnesium alloy laptop, it has got the internal strength to match. It will be available with Intel Core i3 / i5 processor options, a choice of 250GB or 160GB shock-mounted hard drives and ATI discrete graphics...did we mention it also has a touchscreen that's viewable at wide angles, outdoors, and with night-vision goggles? We got to play around with the 8-pound system for a bit, and lived to tell that the thing is truly a beast of a machine. The ports can be sealed shut with a rubber coating -- seriously, it took quite some effort to get to the HDMI port -- and the screen can be locked with an aluminum latch when you want to carry it with the metal handle. But sadly, durability has it price -- the Core i3 version starts at $3,799 and should be available immediately. Not willing to shell out that sort of cash just to throw your laptop out a window? At least you have the pictures and video below. %Gallery-92822%
Samsung P580 business laptop hands-on
Boy, Samsung's been keeping us busy today -- in addition to the Q330 and Q530, the company was also showing the P580 business laptop at the British Museum today. The particular unit we played with had a vibrant 15.6-inch 1,366 x 768 matte screen, although a higher resolution and greater viewing angle would've made it a prettier package. To our further disappointment, the keyboard was nowhere as good as the Q-series' chiclet offering -- we kept pressing neighboring keys by accident, and the spacebar's right-hand side often failed to pick up our input. An isolated issue? Only time will tell -- you guys might have better luck when this bad boy eventually arrives in the stores.%Gallery-92795%
Lenovo's eco-friendly ThinkPad L Series arrives cheaper and faster than expected
Lenovo may not have had its ThinkPad L Series laptops out in time for Earth Day, but the company's found an arguably even better incentive to help you help them save the environment: a nice fat upgrade and a small sale to commemorate their new availability. While we were originally told the $649 ThinkPad L412 would house a lowly Celeron P4500 inside its post-consumer-content housing, it appears Lenovo has decided against using that chip entirely -- cue applause -- in favor of the 2.13GHz Core i3-330. What's more, both the 14-inch L412 and 15.6-inch L512 also come with double the memory (2GB in total) and are presently on sale for just $599. Not bad for a slab of recycled plastic, sand and assorted metals, eh?
Samsung announces P580 business notebook with Core i3 / i5 and matte screen
Laptops with anti-glare screens are hard to come by these days, so it's nice to see Samsung adding a new option for us all. What you're looking at here is the P580 notebook, sporting a 15.6-inch 1,366 x 768 LED-lit screen and keyboard with numeric keypad. Underneath the hood you'll find a Core i3 or i5 CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M (1GB GDDR3) graphics, Trusted Platform Module security, Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and 2GB to 4GB of RAM. If you feel that the four chargeable USB 2.0 jacks (one of which is also eSATA) aren't adequate, then there's always the docking port that offers plenty more for your socket fetish. Not bad for a 2.5kg (5.51 pounds) package, and let's hope this workhorse trots in before long with appropriately alluring pricing. Full PR after the break.%Gallery-92739%
New Core i7, Core i5 mobile processors to debut in HP Envy?
Intel's churning out the mobile chips like nobody's business -- no sooner does it admit the existence of Core i5 and Core i3 ULV CPUs, the chipmaker finds itself with more explaining to do. That's because dedicated Hewlett-Packard fans just found references to three new standard-voltage Core 2010 chips in the service manuals for the new HP Envy 17 and Envy 15 gaming laptops. The i7-840QM appears to be Intel's new top-of-the-line quad-core CPU, sporting a 1.86GHz clock that turbos up to 3.20GHz (or 3.20MHz, if you believe the above screencap) and 8MB of L3 cache; the i7-740QM is two steps down with 1.73GHz / 2.93 GHz clocks and a 6MB L3 cache; and the i5-450M appears to be indistinguishable from the existing i5-520M with 2.4GHz / 2.93 GHz clocks and 3MB of L3 to help it along. Given the megahertz typo above and the fact that none of these new processors appear anywhere else in the documentation, we wouldn't be surprised if these specs weren't rock-solid... but if they are, the new Envy may well live up to its name. Full PDF available below. [Thanks, Reznov]
Toshiba building world's lightest 13-inch laptop with fast charging SCiB battery?
Toshiba has a long history of making highly desirable ultraportables. Now, if today's rumor pans out, it seem set to bust out another in the form of the world's lightest (less than 1Kg with SSD) 13 incher. Besides sporting a 16:9 aspect ratio, USB 3.0 dock, and standard voltage CPU (a Core i5 is teased), this slim lappie features a 2nd SCiB (Super Charged ion Battery) power source that we've seen charging to 90% in just 10 minutes in prototypes from way back in 2008. No idea what "Blaze Mountain" cooling is... but we want it, assuming this is anything more than a prototype. Ah hell, we want it anyway. Check the illustration after the break. Update: New details just came in: available in Core i3, i5, or i7-620 configurations with 4GB of memory, 500GB hard disk or optional 512GB SSD. And after talking to vozExpress, we have every reason to believe that Toshiba will be making this official in short order. New pic with Toshiba branding added after the break.
HP Envy 14 and 17 officially official, Envy 13 slowly waves goodbye
The existence of the 14- and 17-inch Envys may not be a shocker, but HP has surely been able to keep some of the more juicy details to themselves -- well, until today that is. Let's start with the external updates that have been made to the all-aluminum machines: both versions now have backlit keyboards, slot-loading optical drives, and on-board DisplayPort, HDMI, and VGA jacks. That's pretty much everything we asked for in our review of the Envy 15, but here's where we politely tell you that the beautiful systems still have the same touchpad, or ClickPad as HP calls it, though it has apparently been significantly retooled on the software end. In our few minutes playing around with the systems it did seem less finicky when we kept one thumb on the left button and used our index finger to navigate the desktop. Oh, and we're not done with the meaty updates. Taking the place of the Envy 13 is the $999 14.5-inch Envy 14 -- oh yes, we just said it starts at under a grand -- which packs a Core i5 processor, ATI Mobility Radeon discrete graphics and 7,200rpm hard drive options. Unfortunately, we don't get any of that Optimus graphics technology here, but HP's still claiming up to eight hours of battery life with the discrete GPU turned off. Obviously, the Envy 17 steps it up a notch in the performance arena -- come May 19 the 17-incher will be available with Core i5 and i7 options, ATI graphics that support Eyefinity technology, and up to 2TB of storage. Told ya there were still some good nuggets! We promise we'll eventually have a full review, but in the meantime check out the hands-on pics and official PR below. %Gallery-92216% %Gallery-92219%
Latitude E4310 sneaks onto Dell's e-tail pages, 'coming soon'
In its own inimitable style, Dell has just updated its Latitude range with the E4310 model we saw floating through the FCC bearing the fancy codename of Lafite. As part of the company's "E-Family," this 13-incher promises rock solid durability and rugged design without compromising on the spec sheet goodies. Processor options are provided by Intel's 2.4GHz Core i5-520M or 2.53GHz Core i5-540M, while memory can stretch up to 8GB of DDR3 and storage space can be maxed out at 500GB. Alternatively, you can plump for the 256GB SSD, with a backlit keyboard, fingerprint reader and UWB radio filling out the optional extras. Prices aren't yet available, but we can surely expect them very soon. In other unannounced news, the E6410 and E6510 models recently spotted on Dell's UK site are now available via the US branch as well, with prices starting at just over $1,100 for base systems equipped with Core i5-520M CPUs. Hit the links below to learn more. [Thanks, Jason]%Gallery-92248%
Lenovo's 14-inch Z460 mentioned again overseas, this time with a Core i5 CPU
Ready for the latest international laptop mystery? Good. Lenovo's 14-inch Z460, which has yet to be confirmed as real by the company, recently surfaced over in China with a decidedly average set of specifications. A Core i3 CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB SATA hard drive and Windows 7 Home Basic were found onboard, though no further details were divulged. Fast forward to today, and this very same machine is seemingly available to order on contract from Singapore's own SingTel, complete with a Core i5-430M processor (2.26GHz), Windows 7 Home Premium, a 14-inch WXGA display, 500GB hard drive and 2GB of DDR3 memory. Naturally, a free integrated wireless modem is thrown in here, but now we're stuck wondering if a) this is the last of the configuration options and b) when exactly Lenovo plans to come forward and officially introduce this thing. Any day now, Junior... [Thanks, Zhang Yi Jiang]
Intel to launch Core i5 ULV processor in June, MSI X Series to snatch it up
Well, it looks like Intel will finally be delivering that ultra low voltage Core i5 chip this summer. Though it was revealed back at CES, MSI's saying the Core i5 520UM CPU will be ready by June, and that it'll be subbing the 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 CPU and ATI discrete graphics in its X-Slim Series for the more electrically efficient processor. Acer also appears to be doing the same with its Aspire TimelineX 1830T. While MSI didn't provide us with firm benchmark scores, they did pass on word that the Windows rating score is higher on the i5-powered X360 than the previous version, and the endurance is quite good -- they expect 7 to 8 hours with an eight-cell battery. The company hasn't determined pricing on the X360 but predicts that it will go for around $700 to $900 depending on the config when it hits shelves in the June / July time frame.
MSI's GE600: nine Benjamins, now shipping from Newegg
Though we question the MSI GE600's status as "gaming notebook" given it doesn't hold a candle to the company's signature red-and-black machines, those looking for a well-rounded, noble laptop -- not to mention a sub-$1000 price -- will now find just that on Newegg. For nine hundred clamshells, you'll get 16 inches of low-res 1366 x 768 real estate, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 320GB 7200 RPM hard drive and Mobility Radeon HD 5730 graphics, all fed their requisite bits and bytes by a 2.26GHz Core i5-430M CPU -- plus all the usual ports, Bluetooth and 802.11 b/g/n WiFi. Care to dine in the lap of semi-luxury? Now shipping.
Adobe's Flash Player 'Gala' OS X preview tested: results may vary
Gala1 Flash 101 2.40GHz Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 256MB2 Safari 4.0.5 95.4 - 152.8 74.2 - 123.5 Firefox 3.6.4 83.5 - 148.4 89.4 - 130.5 2.66GHz Core i7, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 512MB2 Safari 4.0.5 59 - 64 96 - 132 Firefox 3.6.4 69 - 79 111 - 140 So we just put a few minutes aside to put Adobe's new "Gala" build of Flash 10.1 through its paces on our latest-generation Core i5 and i7 15-inch MacBook Pros here, and the results are a little confusing to say the least. On our i7 equipped with the high-res display and 512MB GeForce GT 330M, processor utilization playing a 1080p sample video on YouTube dropped by a third to a half on average -- not bad -- with Safari 4.0.5 besting Firefox 3.6.4 by a smidge. Our i5 saw strangely different numbers, though, with Gala actually increasing the load on the CPU by as much as about 20 percent. Adobe is quick to note that this is nothing more than a rough preview release; Apple just unlocked access to the necessary hardware a few days ago, after all, and we're sure the company still has plenty of optimization to do. Ultimately, if our i7 figures are realistic, it should make high-def Hulu a decidedly less drama-packed experience down the road. Notes: 1 Performance measured by processor utilization (note that numbers greater than 100 are possible on multi-core machines). 2 15.4-inch high resolution display, 256GB SSD, 4GB RAM
Mini Altair 8800 looks authentic, runs Windows 7 (video)
It was just a few weeks ago that we lost Dr. Henry Roberts, the pioneer whose company created the Altair 8800, and while this project isn't exactly a tribute to the man it is at least a sign that his legacy lives on. Bob Alexander had always wanted an 8800 of his own, but now that he could afford one didn't want a gigantic blue case filling up his life. So, be bought a repurposed Altair 680, little brother of the 8800, and set about stuffing it with an Intel Core i5-650 processor on a Mini-ITX motherboard with 4GB of RAM, 80GB of SSD and 500GB on platters. That's all standard fare, but the front of the case pulls it all together, a custom-made, USB-powered circuit board with LEDs that turn on and off similarly to how the 8800's would. Those blinkenlights and the rest of the project are demonstrated after the break, but sadly there's no word of whether Kill the Bit is playable.
Intel Arrandale shortages leading to premium prices, potential product delays
Now this might explain Apple's curious choice to not upgrade the 13-inch MacBook Pro to a Core 2010 CPU. Yahoo! News is reporting shortages of the more budget-minded Core i3 and i5 laptop processors launched by Intel this January, which has led to chip buyers outbidding each other to the point of paying 20 percent premiums on contract prices. That's according to US chip distributor Converge, while research firm CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets estimates that product rollouts could be delayed by up to three months as a result. What has Intel got to say for itself? "We don't comment on speculation, what I can say is that we are pleased with the strong product demand for our laptop platforms." Well sure, you get paid more on a per-CPU basis, why wouldn't you be pleased? On a more serious note, during Intel's latest earnings call both Paul Otellini and CFO Stacy Smith expressed their surprise at the vast demand for their 32nm products, with Smith noting that their production of 32nm chips is the fastest ramping process in the company's history. So there's not really any villainy afoot here, just good old demand catching supply napping.
MSI's customizable GX640 gaming notebook now shipping
MSI's gaming laptops have looked the same for years, but we aren't going to judge. As Mother always told us, it's what's inside that counts, and the new GX640 -- now stateside after a two month vacation in Europe -- is quite the upgrade. That familiar red-and-black chassis now houses a 2.26GHz Core i5-540M alongside 4GB of DDR3 memory, and the 1680 x 1050 LCD display is driven by a Mobility Radeon HD 5850 for mondo graphical performance. 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, a six-cell battery and a 500GB, 7200RPM HDD round out a value-packed $1100 Amazon.com package, but if you're looking for a little more juice (and prepared to squeeze), you'll find you can customize this mean, 5.8 pound machine with a Core i7 CPU, up to 8GB of RAM, SSDs and a nine-cell Li-ion at XoticPC.
Lenovo ThinkPad L Series doesn't look or feel like it's made of recycled materials
Alright, so we didn't really expect the made-partially-of-post-consumer-content (PCC) Lenovo L Series laptops to feel any different than past ThinkPads, but we did get a chance to play around with the recently announced 14- and 15-inch machines yesterday. The solid-feeling chassis is on the heavier end, though that's to be expected from this mainstream line which has built-in optical drives and discrete graphics options. While you may not be getting the svelteness of the T Series, you do get that always-reliable ThinkPad quality -- the classic spill-resistant keys felt solid under our fingertips and the touchpad with its raised dots was equally satisfying. We're actually big fans of the smooth surface treatment they're using on the palmrest as well as the shortcut keys that flank both sides of the keyboard. Obviously, we didn't get a chance to test the battery life or performance in our short time with it, but our guess is those Core i3 and i5 processors won't disappoint spreadsheet and PowerPoint multitaskers. Shouldn't be long before these systems hit Lenovo.com in May, but in the meantime you have the pictures below to help you make a decision on this greener than grass business lappie. %Gallery-91455%
