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MSI launches Wind12 U230 'Light,' shaves two inches and 30 clamshells from predecessor's hide
Are MSI's 12.1-inch netbooks a hair too large for you? Wonder of wonders, there's a smaller version that's practically exactly the same inside. Though the new MSI Wind12 U230 Light confusingly weighs just the same as its predecessor (3.3 pounds) and is still 1.22 inches thick, it's got a smaller 11.6-inch matte LCD screen that makes it two inches shorter in either direction on a horizontal plane. You're still getting the same 1,366 x 768 display, 1.6GHz Athlon Neo MV-40 processor, 2GB of RAM, Radeon HD 3200 graphics, 250GB hard drive and sub-par four hours of battery life, but MSI did think to trim the fat in one last direction, and knocked $30 off the price. That makes the now-shipping U230 Light a somewhat reasonable deal at $400 from Amazon. PR after the break.
Onkyo's DX dual-screen laptop is a far better deal than Kohjinsha's DZ
Hellooo Onkyo. Sure, it's just a rebadge of the Japanese Kohjinsha DZ-series dual-display rig we've already seen. But Onkyo's DX raises the bar significantly by delivering a pair of 10.1-inch 1,366 × 768 pixel LCD displays (as promised at CEATEC) that easily trump the 1,024 x 600 panels used on the Kohjinsha without increasing the portable's overall size. While we're still looking at the same 1.6GHz Athlon Neo MV-40 CPU, ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and 3x USB jacks, Oknyo's offering starts with 2GB (not 1GB) of memory standard expandable to 4GB, a 320GB 5,400rpm disk (not 160GB), Gigabit Ethernet, and 32-bit Windows 7 Home Premium. Here's the best part: it's priced at just ¥84,800 (about $966) compared to the Kohjinsha which lists for ¥79,800 / $909 on Kohjinsha's retail site or a steep ¥100,800 / $1,148 premium if purchased through the GeekStuff4u exporter. Guess which one we'd choose?%Gallery-79982%
Kohjinsha dual-screen swivel netbook prototype hands-on (video)
Sure, gScreen is slowly mastering the art of grainy video teasers with its dual-panel portable, but here at its CEATEC booth, Kohjinsha's got quite a looker of its own, on display in a very clear and well-lit case. We're looking at two 10.1-inch LCDs each capable of outputting at either 1024 x 600 or 1366 x 768 resolution, and if one is all you need, it's a sliding mechanism to hide the other monitor. What's more, the base of it swivels, although we didn't get to see it twist behind 15 degrees so we're not sure the extent of its flexibility. Powering the DirectX 10-compatible little guy is an AMD Athlon MV-40, along with a 2.5-inch SATA HDD, up to 4GB DDR2 memory, and Windows 7 Home Premium, all for a hair under four pounds. There is a bit of bulk in its height, about 1.7 inches at its tallest and 0.75 inches at its shortest, but that's something we're willing to live with considering the value we're getting with the screens. The rep we spoke with says it's still in prototype phase at this point with no price or release date on the books, unfortunately, and the battery life is something of a mystery -- we can't imagine powering two bright displays is doing its energy reserves any favor. Video after the break. %Gallery-74748%
MSI ships 12.1-inch, Athlon Neo-equipped Wind U210
MSI's Wind U210 has certainly been making the rounds, but it has yet to plant its feet firmly on US soil. Until today, obviously. Checking in at 3.2 pounds, this 12.1-inch netbook is equipped with a larger-than-usual 1,366 x 768 display, AMD's 1.6GHz Athlon Neo MV-40 processor, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a 250GB hard drive and a 6-cell battery that's reportedly good for four hours of usage. The rig's also packing an ATI Radeon X1250 in the graphics department, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, HDMI output, three USB 2.0 sockets, a VGA port and a 4-in-1 multicard reader. For those interested in buying a Vista-equipped machine just a month before Windows 7 swoops in to save the day, both Amazon and NewEgg would be more than happy to make your wallet $430 lighter.%Gallery-72976%
New AMD Neo Athlon / Turion chips emerge in HP Pavilion dv2z
Well, well -- what have we here? HP's newly unveiled Pavilion dv2z just so happens to have a bit of fresh silicon within, as AMD's latest Neo chips are front and center in the configuration options. The thin-and-light machine can be ordered with single- or dual-core AMD Athlon Neo and Turion Neo dual-core processors, and if you're looking for specifics, you'll find the new 1.6GHz Athlon Neo X2 L335 and 1.6GHz Turion Neo X2 L625. Other specs on the 12.1-incher include a LED-backlit WXGA panel, optional Blu-ray drive, discrete ATI Radeon graphics, up to 500GB of HDD space, a built-in webcam, WiFi, optional WWAN (Verizon, Sprint or AT&T) and a 6-cell battery. It's up for order right now starting at $599.99, but if you're looking to leave that aged Neo MV-40 behind, you'll have to pony up a bit more than that. Full release is after the break.
When netbook processors compete, everyone wins
You know the drill: the Atom is the king of all netbooks, with a domain stretching as far as the eye can see. But, upstarts like the Via Nano and AMD's Athlon Neo are encroaching on Intel's domain, and Crave took the time to pit examples of the three against each other in a series of benchmarks to see which should rule the land. Rather sadly for us, each of the three tests had a different winner, with the Atom N280 excelling in multi-tasking, the Nano U2250 best for iTunes encoding, and the Neo MV-40 quickest under a Jalbum-based benchmark. So you know what that means: everyone gets a prize, nobody has to go home crying, and you should just go ahead and buy whichever netbook you like best already.Update: It's actually unclear which proc won which test, as the table at the source shows one thing, but the text swaps the Neo and Nano around. But, again, there's not much between these three.
HP's Pavilion dv2 spotted in the wild, on sale in Thailand
The first machine to rely on AMD's Neo MV-40 processor has officially been spotted outside of a show floor, though you'll have to jet to Bangkok if you're looking to touch one yourself. The atypically well-specced 12.1-inch Pavilion dv2 has been spotted over in Thailand for around $720, and while it doesn't look drastically (or at all, really) different than what we saw at CES this year, it's good to see this bugger finally creeping into homes. Check the read link for a few more angles and impressions, and feel free to get your hopes up for a US release in the not-too-distant future.
