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Lenovo beefs up R60 Core Duo laptop
In addition to the Z61series laptops we mentioned earlier this week, Lenovo is also upgrading the specs of its R60 series. Like its big brother, the upgraded R60 gets a Core Duo processor, the option of integrated or separate graphics processors, and built-in Verizon EV-DO support. RAM can be expanded up to 4GB, and displays come in 14 or 15-inches. Pricing starts at about $1,200 with a 14-inch display, 512MB RAM and a 40GB drive.
Toshiba's Satellite U200 ultra-portable
With Apple and Sony generating all the portable hubbub bub, let's take a moment to check-in on some of those other laptop manufactures. Toshiba, for instance, just dropped their new U200 series of ultra-portables into their Satellite range where quality and affordability are meant to merge. Starting at just 4.1-pounds and measuring-in at 1.4-inches thick, this 12.1-inch laptop maxes-out with a 2.16GHz Core Duo T2600 CPU, 4GB DDR2 RAM, 100GB of 7200 RPM SATA disk and still manages to slap in a pair of stereo speakers, 6-in-1 media adapter, fingerprint reader, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR, and DVD dual-layer writer. All that goodness and yet they only offer measly Intel 950 graphics acceleration. Of course, if you can only muster the $929 starting price, your config will drop considerably to a Celeron M, 256MB RAM, 40GB disk, and CD-RW/DVD-ROM sans Bluetooth or WiFi. Yeah we were thinking the same, that entry-level $1,099 MacBook or $699 Dell D520 are both looking pretty sweet right about now. [Via CoreDuoInfo]
Sony fakes Blu-ray playback [ Update]
In this rather embarassing episode, Sony was showing off high definition movies on their new Blu-ray equipped Vaio laptop when some troublemaker presed the eject button to reveal...a quite bootleg looking DVD R? Ouch. Sony's movies are still scheduled to hit in June with the Samsung Blu-ray player, no word on if they will also feature handwritten titles.Update: Notebook review mentioned Sony was showing a regular DVD version on one laptop, unfortunately no one has "confirmed" which laptop this picture is from. If anyone who was there has pictures of the Blu-ray disc Sony was playing, we'd love to confirm this story as true or not. A quick explanation of why Sony bootlegged their own movie on a Verbatim recordable disc would also be illuminating and entertaining.
Sony throws party for Vaios, fakes Blu-ray demo
Who'd you think you were fooling, Sony? You go throw some big huge party celebrating the 10 year birthday of the Vaio and the launch of the Vaio UX Micro PC and your new flagship Blu-ray playing AR series 17-inch powerhouse laptop, replete with demo of early Blu-ray title House of Flying Daggers. And then you get done caught red-handed by a meddling reporter who discovered the Blu-ray playback is actually coming straight off a typical, normal old DVD R. It's a sham, Sony, the whole thing's a sham! How are you gonna make a case for your laptop -- let alone Blu-ray as a format -- now that you tried to pawn off a DVD as a Blu-ray tech demo to a room full of industry professionals? We hope at least it was playing back a high def trailer, or something; now go to your room, you're gonna have some serious alone time, little mister.Update: To be honest, we never thought this one would take off the way it has, but it looks like we underestimated the forensic skills of the collective. The latest word is that someone claiming to be from Sony has posted a comment on Gearlog saying that there were two laptops, one with the DVD-R of "House of Flying Daggers," and the other with the Blu-ray version, so that folks could make a side-by-side comparison. Gearlog's reporter apparently popped the latch on the DVD version, and didn't check the Blu-ray one. We have no way to independently verify this version (or Gearlog's original take), though Notebook Review does have some pics clearly showing two laptops on display at the Sony shindig. All of this leads us to one conclusion: Next time, Sony should just invite us to their parties, and we'll get it straight. And we may even like the tinfoil-flavored cake, too.
RIP, PowerBook: 1991-2006
When Apple Computer introduced the first PowerBook in 1991, it was a dud. Not technologically -- as a relatively lightweight laptop with the power of a desktop Mac, it was a marked improvement over Apple's first attempt at portability, the hulking Mac Portable. But, like many Apple products, the PowerBook was initially priced at a level too high for the market to bear. Repriced at about $1,000, the model took off, and launched a line that would become nearly synonymous with Apple for years to come. Until today, that is. As part of the launch of the MacBook, Apple apparently removed the last remaining PowerBook, the 12-inch model, from its site earlier today (Apple also killed the iBook brand, but we don't really see anyone missing that nearly as much). While not unexpected, the retirement of the PowerBook does mark the end of a brand with a long, storied history as a sturdy, reliable workhorse, which later -- after Steve Jobs' return to the company -- morphed into a sleek and stylish object of desire for visual and creative artists. It also marks the end of the line for one of the last Apple brands still remaining from the interregnum between Jobs I and Jobs II: only the vestigial Power Mac G5 remains from that period. Will Apple retire that one as well, or will Jobs allow one product to carry the legacy of the Sculley, Spindler and Amelio? Yeah, when put like that, we'd vote to kill it, too. So, we'll wipe the tears. Now, bring us that Intel desktop already, Steve. Whatever you decide to call it.[Thanks, Jonathan]
Apple launches MacBook: 13-in, Core Duo, black and white cases
As expected, Apple has launched its new consumer laptops, under the MacBook brand. The new models all share one case design, a 5.2-pound box available in black or white, with a 13.3-inch, 1280x800 display and full-size keyboard. All are based on Intel's Core Duo processor, at speeds from 1.83 GHz to 2.0 GHz. Apple claims a six-hour battery life for the new models, though we imagine that's reduced substantially if you spend that time watching DVDs. Like other recent models from Apple, the MacBook also includes an integrated iSight webcam, a remote control, gigabit Ethernet, WiFi and Bluetooth. The new models are available immediately from Apple's online store at prices from $1,099 to $1,499. If you want black, you'll have to pay more: the $1,499 model is the only one one in the color scheme; other than the case color and an 80GB drive, its specs are identical to a $1,299 white model (the 80GB drive is available as a $50 upgrade for the white version, making the price for the black case $150). And, yes, you can now bid farewell to the iBook name. Now, what on Earth is Apple going to announce at Thursday's press event?Click through for more pics.
Sony announces Vaio AR laptop with Blu-ray
Part two of Sony's minor attempt at viral marketing -- which just brought us the Vaio UX Micro PC -- is Sony's new Vaio AR series of laptops with 17-inch screens and an option for a Blu-ray drive. The specs aren't much of a surprise, with that 17.8-inch 1920 x 1200 display leading the charge, accompanied by a 50GB Blu-ray burner, internal TV tuner, HDMI out, and 256MB GeForce Go 7600GT graphics (check our prior coverage for the rest of the juicy details). The good news is that beyond this $3500 model, there will be a "stripped down" version for $1800 that lacks the Blu-ray and TV tuner, but still does the WMCE thing and houses that ginormous 17-inch display.
Dell has another Latitude on the way
We almost thought we were off the hook with these Latitude updates, after seeing the D520, D620 and D820 all receive Core Duo goodness fairly recently. Well Dell just revealed another Latitude in the works, the D420, which has a 12-inch screen and seems to hold up the ultracompact end of the spectrum. Not to be outdone by its larger siblings, the 420 will also include 3G data, but that's all we know for now. The notebook, which is due in about a month, was casually revealed during an on stage conversation with Michael Dell during the Future in Review conference today. Dell also mentioned that the company is doubling its India staff from 10,000 to 20,000 over the next three years, so get ready for some (more) hilarious phone support hijinks.
Toshiba's Qosmio G30/695LS
Toshiba's rolling out a new version of their Qosmio G30, the G30/695LS, but it's not quite accurate to call it an upgrade; on the one hand, you're getting some pretty solid audio thanks to the addition of a 1bit amplifier, but on the other hand, they decided not to include the HD DVD drive that had made these models so attractive in the first place. Besides these two changes, the specs remain identical to other iterations of the G30, which include a 1.66GHz Core Duo T2300 processor, NVIDIA GeForce 7600 graphics,1GB of RAM, and a hefty 200GB of hard drive space, but only a 1440 x 900 resolution (other versions sport 1920 x 1200). We haven't heard anything regarding price or availability, but it's safe to assume that these will go for significantly less than their $4,000 cousins, and that you probably won't see them at you local Best Buy anytime soon.[Via PC Watch]
Sony's AR Blu-ray Vaio laptop goes on pre-sale
Watch out Canadia, looks like Sony's about to drop their 17-inch AR series Blu-ray equipped powerhouse laptop on y'all without any signs of remorse or goodwill for your credit card debt. The AR190 will feature a Core Duo T2500 2GHz CPU, 17.8-inch 1920 x 1200 XBRITE display, dual 100GB RAID 0 drives, 1GB RAM, 256MB GeForce Go 7600GT, VGA, S-Video, and HDMI out (presumably with HDCP), (external?) NTSC tuner, 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth, webcam, Memory Stick, ExpressCard54, and PC card slots, and, of course, that Blu-ray, DVD, and CD reader / writer this thing's here to deliver. You won't often hear us say this about a Sony laptop, but the $4,000 Canadian ($3,600 US) they're asking actually seems like a pretty decent deal, considering.[Via Notebook Review]
Supposed MacBook ad accidentally posted to Apple site
See that pic up there? Word around the Internet is that it shows an ad for the upcoming MacBook laptop that Apple "accidentally" posted to its website before quickly taking it down. Nothing in this supposed screencap -- which shows a starting price of only $999 and black or white case options -- immediately screams fake to us (they gotta release the darn thing sometime), but then again, it wouldn't be very difficult to mock up something like this in Photoshop, either. Real, fake, we surely can't tell -- but if Apple doesn't show us the goods sometime this week, they're gonna have some serious 'splaining to do to their legions of anxious fans and weary tech bloggers.Update: Ah oui, comments on French site Mac4Ever confirm what most of you have already concluded, which is that this is no screencap but another Photoshop hoax.[Thanks, Phlash65]
ASUS launches Core Duo-powered W7J ultraportable
Even though everyone and his/her mom are releasing Core Duo-powered ultraportables these days, there are very few that you can actually play decent games on because of the integrated graphics. Not so with the just-released 13.3-inch, 4.2-pound W7J from ASUS, a model we first spotted back in March -- and incorrectly called the W7V -- which features a nVidia GeForce Go 7400 graphics card sporting 256MB of RAM along with that T2600 processor running at 2.16GHz. Other nice touches which you don't always see on a lightweight notebook are a built-in dual-layer DVD burner, 1GB of RAM standard, 100GB HDD running at 5,400 RPM, and all three flavors of 802.11 plus Bluetooth 2.0. Oh yeah, and these models will start at less than $2.000 ($1,935, to be exact) -- um, where do we sign up?
Sony goes viral with Vaio... "tomorrow"
Looks like Sony's trying to get all viral on us -- or maybe they're really launching a new Vaio or two "tomorrow," or maybe maybe the site is referencing yesterday's new Vaio SZ updates, but they forgot to take it down. Either way if you point your browser to their "Vaio new" site, some cryptic imagery blows through and asks "New from Sony Vaio / Can it surf in Alaska?" Perhaps their Vaio laptop group are just testing the waters for viral marketing, or perhaps they posted this page a little early (or we're all a little late, and they never took it down), but yesterday and today it reads "come back tomorrow for more," and nothing's yet changed in the flash file titled vaio_summer.swf. Yeah, so what if we're curious. We love Sony laptops, so sue us.[Thanks, William]Update: They're changing it alright -- now it asks if you're camera shy. Stay tuned, we're in for another curiosity-piquing campaign that'll probably yield, well, a laptop of one kind or another.
Qosmio HD DVD-equipped laptop shipping this week
If you can't find an HD DVD player because they're all sold out you'll soon have another option. Toshiba is shipping the Qosmio G35 AV650 laptop this week. It also features a 2Ghz Core Duo processor, two 100GB hard drives in a RAID setup, 1 GB of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 videocard and HDMI output. All that plus Windows Media Center Edition adds up to 10 lbs of weight and $3000 lighter in the pocket. [Via Engadget]
Three from HP: dv2000 and v3000 laptops, tc4400 tablet
You could say that we're a bit "lappy happy" today (ugh, that was terrible), as we have two more notebooks -- and one convertible tablet -- from HP to show you, to join the Toshiba Qosmio, Sony VAIOs, and pair of Alienwares we brought you earlier. Both 14.1-inch laptops are replacements for previous HP models -- the redesigned dv2000 (pictured, left) replaces the dv1000 in the Digital Entertainment Center line and the Compaq Presario v3000 (pictured, right) puts the v2000 out to pasture -- with the main upgrades coming under the hood, where each model now offers you a choice of Centrino Duo or Core Duo processors from Intel or the Mobile Sempron or Turion 64 X2 from AMD. Also rocking Core Duo (in three flavors: 1.83GHz, 2.0GHz, or 2.16GHz) is the Compaq tc4400 tablet, which sports a 12.1-inch XGA display with digitizer, integrated graphics, 512MB to two gigs of RAM, 60GB, 80GB, or 100GB hard drive, WiFi, PC Type I/II and SD card slots, and the usual assortment of inputs and outputs. The tablet, which you can peep after the jump, will be available on May 22nd for an undisclosed sum of money (but it's safe to assume that it'll be more than the $1,550 Pentium M-sporting tc4200), while the Intel-based notebooks will ship this month -- with the AMD models following shortly after -- all starting at around $1,049 after rebates and junk.Read- dv2000 and v3000Read- tc4400
Alienware's SLI-enabled 19-inch mALX and 17-inch m9700 laptops
Alienware unveiled two new SLI-enabled gaming laptops today, one 19-incher with a slick color-shifting paint job, and another that may be the first 17-inch notebook on the market with two graphics cards. As far as features go, both machines sport almost identical specs to the other SLI models we've seen: XP-powered AMD Turion 64 processor, two 256MB nVidia GeForce Go 7900 GTX cards, anywhere from 512MB to 2GB of RAM, WiFi (Bluetooth optional), 4-in-1 card reader, and your choice of hard and optical drives. Available for preorder immediately, the 19-inch mALX starts at $4,500 ($500 less than Voodoo's similar Envy u:909) while the 17-inch m9700 (pictured after the break) goes for $2,000 and up.
Sony adds Core Solo, Celeron options to SZ notebooks
Sony has just announced several new configurations for its SZ series of VAIO notebooks, the VGN-SZ91 and -SZ81, which add Intel Core Solo and Celeron processor options to the Core Duo procs already available. Both 13.3-inch models sport 1,280 x 800 WXGA displays, but the SZ91 incorporates a thinner LCD that lobs off a few millimeters of thickness compared to the SZ81. Battery life is also slightly better on the SZ91, with a claimed 7-hours of juice in Pentium-equipped models, which is about an hour more than the SZ81 supposedly can muster using the same processor. Other than these relatively minor differences, the features on both laptops are basically the same, with integrated graphics (GeForce Go 7400 available for extra), from 512MB to 2GB of RAM, 802.11a/b/g, PCMCIA/ExpressCard slots, and options for Bluetooth 2.0, FeliCa support, and a fingerprint reader. Sony will drop both models on the 13th of this month, with the SZ81 starting at $1,343 and the SZ91 at $1,486.
Apple to show off "new iBook" this Wednesday
While we have yet to receive any kind of official confirmation that Apple will be rolling out the MacBook this week, another piece of the puzzle just fell into place. According to this announcement on Apple's web site, the company will be holding a free seminar in New York this Wednesday to show off the "new iBook," which is touted as a "go-anywhere digital solution" and "the most affordable iBook ever." So, is Apple going to stick with the iBook moniker, or is this just a head fake, to be replaced by MacBook by Wednesday? Regardless, it certainly looks like the company will be unveiling a new consumer laptop no later than Wednesday, and will invite the public to check it out.Update: Thanks to everyone who pointed out that this is a previously scheduled event and that someone at Apple is apparently recycling year-old text that refers to the current iBook line (which is hardly "new"). Of course, if Apple really does go ahead and announce the MacBook tomorrow, as previously rumored, we really do have to wonder what they're going to show off at CompUSA on Wednesday.[Thanks, Jakob]
What does a whining MacBook Pro sound like?
I don't have a MacBook Pro, so I'm not able to listen to its infamous "whine." Luckily for me, some enterprising soul had the idea to record his whining laptop and post the audio to the web. He notes that the sound his computer makes in person is a bit different that what the recording presents, but it's still pretty annoying. He also notes that he has since returned the MacBook Pro. Check it out for yourself.[Via Cult of Mac]
Intel renames next-gen dual-core chips "Core 2 Duo," unveils quad-core Tukwila
Intel's been busy in the realm of multi-core processors lately, first unveiling their quad-core replacement for the Itanium Montecito, named Tukwila, and today -- taking a page out of MC "2 Legit 2 Quit" Hammer's book -- renaming the next-gen mobile Merom and desktop Conroe dual-core chips "Core 2 Duo." What's more, the company announced that another version of the processor will be released for performance junkies, called, not surprisingly, "Core 2 Extreme." As for Tukwila, the deets on this server-targeted chip came to light thanks thanks to a little digging by Real World Technologies, who found a set of slides that Intel recently presented on the topic at a conference in Asia. According to RWT, Tukwila will run at an estimated 40 gigaflops, sport 6MB of L3 cache for each core, and feature other additions that IT-types will likely be into, including an on-die FB-DIMM memory controller and Common Systems Interconnect (CSI) router. First called "Tanglewood" and scheduled for a 2007 rollout, Tukwila will now be released in 2008 and go head-to-head with other enterprise offerings from Intel and Sun, probably making it an exciting year for those aforementioned IT-types.Read- Core 2 Duo [Thanks, Dave Z.]Read- Tukwila [Via The Register]
