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Fujitsu Siemens kits up with football club crested laptops
Custom laptop designs are a dime a dozen these days, with everything from fast car logos to glorious "Pink Feather" designs being stamped onto the back of LCDs in an attempt to draw the eyes of punters looking for a new lappie. The latest custom job on the market is Fujitsu Siemens' team of soccer themed laptops which don the colors and crests of four different UK clubs: Celtic, Aston Villa, Everton, and Tottenham Hotspur, to be precise. Under the soccer shirts, the laptops are Amilo 1536 models featuring 1280 x 800 15-inch displays powered by a 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 graphics adapter. Dig a little deeper and you'll find a 1.83GHz Core Duo processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, and a roomy 120GB 5400RPM SATA drive. Not quite striker material, we know, but the £1000 (plus three year warranty) price tag ain't too shabby considering the bundled paint job. Fujitsu Siemens is promising other clubs will join the line-up to celebrate the recent start of the Premiership season, although don't expect any teams with notable rivalries to be released at the same time. If you follow English football, you'll notice that the first four club themed laptops are a rather disparate lot: there's no Liverpool to go with Everton, no Rangers to go with Celtic, and so on. These guys obviously know how to manage their laptop teams without starting a football riot.[Via Reg Hardware]
Sony announces price on battery recall, checks couch for loose change
Product recalls are certainly nothing new to the tech industry, but two significant PC players (Dell and Apple) having to recall a collective 5.9 million batteries has to sting just a little for Sony. Macworld is reporting that the Japanese company announced an estimate on the cost of said sting: between ¥20 billion to ¥30 billion (US$172 million to $258 million). The moral of this story? QA is a good thing.Let's hope the upcoming summit in San Francisco on li-ion battery manufacturing standards - jointly held by the likes of Apple, HP, Dell and Lenovo - helps cut down on the exploding notebooks so we can all get back to our daily routines.
Asus VX1 Lamborghini notebook reviewed
Extravagant vehicles that oftentimes cost more than the homes we reside in, while immensely desirable, are way out of reach for most common folk. But there's definitely a trend growing that pairs up notebook manufacturers with elite automakers to give average joes (and janes) the ability to feel a small semblance of ownership of the dream-worthy brands. While we're already familiar with Acer's Ferrari lineup and Itronix's Hummer-inspired laptop, ASUS is tired of sitting in pit row getting lapped by its competitors. Though we've seen the VX1 coming for some time now, PCMag finally got its hands on the gleaming machine and has given it a proper breaking in. Upon first inspection, the obligatory Lamborghini raging bull logo that graces the top leaves no doubt about its roots, and it was stated that the lid "slanted downward just like the hood of a real sports car," not to mention the "leathery touchpad" that added another dash of class to the well-refined design. While they stuffed the innards into a case only 1.2-inches thick, reviewers felt it was a tad on the heavy side at 5.7 pounds, but no complaints were noted about the 15-inch 1,400 x 1,050 resolution display. Performance-wise, the Intel Core Duo T2500 (2.0GHz) processor -- matched with 1GB of RAM and 120GB of hard drive space -- scorched through most of the trial runs, but the nVidia GeForce Go 7400 chipset surprisingly lagged behind in the gaming department. ASUS also stuck all four USB 2.0 ports on one side of the machine, and curiously shunned DVD-R / RW by only including a DVD+R dual-layer burner. Another dig on the VX1 was the sub-four hour battery life that apparently left reviewers expecting more; the three hours, 33 minutes they achieved in testing fell a tad short of where they had hoped. Overall, the notebook garnered 3.5 out of 5 stars -- just a touch above average -- due primarily to the premium pricing and limited availability (it's sold exclusively through NewEgg until after this month). Although it performed well in benchmarks, the odd oversights (such as the single-format burner) left the review team in a quandary, and considering you can grab the wheel of an Acer Ferrari 4000 for around 2 grand, paying $2,799 for this ride just seemed like highway robbery.
Dell facing slew of Chinese lawsuits over CPU switcheroo
What a difference an "E" makes. Chinese owners of Dell's Inspiron 640m laptop are apparently furious over the fact that the company misleadingly equipped their new machines with Intel's Core Duo T2300E processor instead of the T2300 chip that had been advertised, and are lining up to sue over the alleged defrauding, according to news site China Daily. Since the only real difference between the T2300 and T2300E is the former's support for Intel's Virtualization Technology, the average consumer probably wouldn't even be affected by the cheaper processor, but customers are still understandably peeved that they're not getting all the functionality they paid for. The discrepancy was first discovered in early June by a single owner, who by way of an online bulletin board, learned that hundreds of other unhappy customers were afflicted with the same problem. The owner filed suit against Dell in late July after having apparently been rebuffed in an attempt to get the CPU swapped out (""I tried to negotiate with Dell and simply asked them to change the CPU, but they said there was no difference between the two and it was unnecessary to change," claims the owner); now 19 more customers have joined together for their own class-action suit, with many more waiting in the wings, according to lawyers handling the cases. For its part, Dell claims the mix-up stems from a failure to update its Chinese marketing materials, and has issued affected customers both an apology and an offer to refund the full price of returned machines -- but at this point, that doesn't seem to be enough for many of the folks involved. It's unfortunate that it took a big public stink for Dell to own up to its mistake and attempt a resolution, but as with the just-announced, historic battery recall, this incident proves just how powerful a determined group of individuals can be.Read- Chinese lawsuits [Via Ars Technica]Read- Dell's response
Control your laptop by hitting it
They say that you only hurt the ones you love, which may be why even the savviest computer users still resort to physically striking their laptops out of frustration or in futile attempts to fix a problem. Well a recently-posted article at IBM Devworks shows you how to take those punishing blows and channel them into something more productive, by allowing you to input commands on select ThinkPad notebooks through rapping your knuckles on the case in specific sequences. Using a script called knockAge, owners of post-2003, Linux-powered ThinkPads with the Hard Drive Active Protection System can leverage the sensitivity of their machines' built-in accelerometers to perform almost any task imaginable simply by whacking the side of the LCD screen. Once the software is properly configured, you can program your lappy to accept a specific knock sequence for unlocking the screensaver, for instance, or to change tracks in your music player; and if you set up a command for initiating remote troubleshooting, why, for the first time you'll have a way to actually fix your computer by landing a few well-placed blows.[Via Slashdot]
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Fujitsu LifeBook Q2010 reviewed
If you're all worked up wondering if someone got their hands on the "$5,000 limited edition" version, you can calm down a bit. Nevertheless, we're thrilled to finally see a review on the self-proclaimed "world's most desirable laptop" even if it focuses on the slightly less expensive versions. The 2.2-pound Q2010 fared well, according to Laptop Mag, who praised the notebook's styling cues and fresh looks, but frowned upon the cramped keyboard and atrocious battery life (1:39). This isn't the first Fujitsu to draw complaints about a lack of juice, and it seems to be its all-too-common achilles heel on otherwise solid products. Amongst the specs on the low-end model is the 12.1-inch 1280 x 800 screen, which has a gorgeous glossy finish, and under the ("world's thinnest") hood is a meager 1.2GHz Intel Core Solo, 512MB of RAM, 30GB hard drive, WiFi, Bluetooth, and a space-hampered offering of ports with just two USB 2.0, one FireWire, and an SD reader. Higher-end versions keep the costs heading upwards by including 1GB of RAM and up to an 80GB HD. It's worth noting that you can nearly triple your battery life by throwing in a $179 extended battery that pokes from the rear and adds 9 ounces of bulk, and you won't have an optical drive without an external add-on or attaching the $299 docking solution (notice a trend?). The Q2010 is impressively thin at only 3/4-inches, but $1,999+ seems to be a bit much based on specs alone, but as we've seen before, style can come with a premium pricetag.
NTSB looks to laptop batteries as possible cause of plane fire
It looks like laptop batteries are fast gaining on cellphones as the technology most likely to kill you, or at least give you a nasty, potentially embarrassing burn. Hot on the heels of Dell investigating its own case of spontaneous combustion, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is now getting in on the act, looking into the possibility that laptop batteries may have started a fire on a UPS cargo plane that was forced to make an emergency landing last February. The plane's three crew members managed to escape with only minor injuries, but the fire ultimately destroyed the plane and most of the cargo on board. While the NTSB investigation hasn't pinned the blame on the batteries just yet, the FAA's has Harry Webster has testified that lithium-ion batteries can vent flammable liquid and "pose a risk to the cargo compartment." We've already seen warnings not to use your laptop on your lap -- think warnings not to travel with them are far behind?
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Fujitsu LifeBook T4210 Convertible PC reviewed
Fujitsu's tablet PC lineup has been a mixed bag, and the LifeBook T4210 convertible does little to improve on previous attempts. The T4210 gives it to ya both ways, as a tablet and as a traditional notebook, but it's not remarkable at either -- the 12.1-inch device weighs a bloated 4.5-pounds and only managed 2 hours of battery life in testing. Drop the top and you'll find an Intel Dual Core 2.0GHz processor, 1,024 x 768 XGA screen, 1GB of RAM, 80GB SATA drive, DVD+/- RW optical drive, and a wireless suite with Bluetooth and 802.11a/b/g. The legendary Fujitsu build quality is here, and the biometric security features including a finger print scanner are a plus, but the faults of the T4210 literally outweigh the positives. If you have no use for decent battery life and like your ultraportables on the bulky side, then the T4210 is available now for $2,349.
HP Pavilion DV6000 and DV9000 laptops
The 15.4 and 17-inch iterations of HP's consumer-centric Pavilion line of laptops have gotten another update from two less-than jaw dropping, at least performance-wise, machines. Both the DV6000 and DV9000 come out of the box with an ExpressCard slot, Altec Lansing speakers, an optional webcam, a 5-in-1 media readers and your choice of an AMD Turion 64 X2 dual-core or a plain old AMD Sempron processor. The 7.8-pound DV9000 (replacing the DV8000) sports a 17-inch WXGA (yuck) or WSXGA screen, a dual hard disk configuration and NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 graphics. The 6.5-pound DV6000 (replacing the DV5000) rocks a 15.4-inch WXGA screen, as well as the NVIDIA GeForce Go 7200 card, for a starting price around $850. Things get slightly more impressive on the outside, with same piano black, Zen rock garden-inspired design as the smaller DV2000. The DV6000 is available on HP's website right now for a starting price of $879, but you'll have to sit and meditate a little longer while they prepare the DV9000.
Eurocom's D900K "F-bomb" gaming notebook reviewed
Okay, so right off the bat: do they even know what it means to drop the f-bomb in Canada? We've seen a lot of ridiculously-named products around here -- Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PooS come immediately to mind -- but this Eurocom model, with its allusion to the most hardcore cuss word in the English language, is by far one of the worst. Besides the unfortunate branding, however, the company's 17-inch D900K gaming notebook sounds like a pretty good performer; according to MobilityGuru the dual core AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800 processor and nVIDIA GeForce Go 7800 GTX graphics card help it to achieve pretty impressive benchmark results. You're also getting a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution display, DVD burner, 802.11a/b/g, DVI out, and 4-in-1 card reader for the $3,500 pricetag, though the 5,200 RPM hard drive and 1GB of pokey 200MHz DDR RAM keep this rig from delivering the outstanding results you'd get from a machine like Dell's XPS M1710. Still, if you can't afford a Dell (we never thought we'd actually say that) and don't mind lugging around 15 pounds of gear to get your mobile computing on, you may not find this particular F-bomb to be all that offensive.
Averatec's almost ultra-portable AV2260-EK1 reviewed
PCMag got their hands on the top dog in Averatec's "ultra portable" – although at 4.2-pounds and 1.43-inches thick, we would classify it as more of a thin-and-light – 2200 series, and the verdict seems to be a resounding "meh". The AV2260-EK1 sports some solid specs, like a built-in DVD burner, 1GB of RAM, 80GB of storage and a 12.1-inch WXGA screen with Averabrite, but the AMD Turion 64 MT-32 can't keep up with most of the new Core Duo machines and dropped battery life to a pitiful 1 hour 42 minutes with the included cell. You can add an extended life battery for an extra $100, but that puts a hurt on the $1079.99 retail price, bumping it to about the same level as the thinner, faster Macbook or Dell's shiny M1210. All that plus a "cramped" keyboard lead us to believe we should keep scrimping and saving until we have enough for something truly ultra-portable.
Dell looking into flaming laptop incident
You've got to hand it to Dell; even though its laptops may burst into flames at the most inopportune moments, at least the company has the good sense to conduct a prompt and public investigation into the matter (although the worldwide coverage of those "inflammatory" photos probably helped speed things up just a bit). Apparently the charred remains from that fateful conference in Osaka, Japan have been beamed back up to the mother ship, where Dell engineers are furiously working to discover how their product turned into a pyrotechnics show that amused and frightened us all. As usual, everyone's looking to pin this incident on that easiest of scapegoats -- the malfunctioning battery -- but whatever the problem turns out to be, we're sure hoping it gets fixed before another notebook decides to disobey the "no smoking" sign and light up on an airplane.
Toshiba releases business-minded Tecra A8 laptop
Toshiba has gone a bit "lappy happy" this week, announcing yet another 15.4-inch machine to join the two new notebooks and nine new configurations of current models that we spotted earlier. This time around, the company is targeting corporate IT buyers looking for durability on the cheap, playing up the new Tecra A8's suite of EasyGuard technology -- which features the same hard drive and keyboard protection, biometric security, and one-touch presentation button found in the consumer-level LifeSmart package. As far as specs go, you can choose from among a number of setups sporting either Celeron M or Core Duo processors, 512MB or 1GB of RAM, between 60GB and 100GB worth of storage, CD/DVD combo drive or DVD SuperMulti drive, and 802.11b/g WiFi from Atheros or 802.11a/b/g from Intel. Available immediately, these models range from $700 for the Celeron M config to $1,349 for a rig packing a T2400 CPU and that dual-layer burner.[Via Mobile Tech Review]
Incase hints at new Ripstop Backpack
Incase has posted a couple of teaser shots in their gallery of a new bag on the way, the Ripstop Backpack. Available in July from Apple, this bag looks to be a full-sized backpack that can carry more than just an Apple portable, a magazine and a pack of gum (I kid - I'm a big fan of Incase's stuff). I have also heard they have a new, fully-featured site coming later this summer which should help to settle the Incase + Apple conspiracy theories.Pricing and specs of the Ripstop Backpack are still to be announced.
Logitech intros V450 Laser Cordless Mouse
Logitech introduced yet another member of its growing mouse army today, the V450 Laser Cordless Mouse, intended primarily for laptop users -- or people with really small hands, we suppose. Available in silver or black, the V450 looks to be a fairly run-of-the-mill laptop mouse, although it does promise an impressive one year of battery life on two AA batteries (we'll need to see that to believe it -- see you in 2007!). Logitech also says the mouse should be immune to delays and dropouts in even the busiest wireless environment thanks to its 2.4GHz micro receiver (see above skepticism, as certainly no one else uses the 2.4GHz band). Look for this one early next month for $49.99 and, yes, it's both Mac and Windows compatible.
Security researchers hack laptop wireless driver
A pair of security researchers claim they have discovered a means of seizing control of a laptop by exploiting some buggy code in the system's wireless device driver. Not surprisingly, they're keeping the deets of the hack close to their chest, waiting for the upcoming Black Hat USA 2006 conference in August to show off their handiwork to the teeming masses of geeks -- no doubt also giving manufacturers time to fix the problem. The only details that they have revealed is that they used the open-source 802.11 hacking tool LOREN (Lots of Radion Connectivity), which throws loads and loads of wireless packets at wireless cards to see what they can cause to fail, a technique known as "fuzzing." Apparently, a laptop user wouldn't even have to be connected to a network to be vulnerable to an attack; simply having it on and searching for a network is would be enough of an opening for someone so inclined to make your day miserable -- makes us glad we haven't cancelled our dial-up yet.[Via Slashdot]
Evesham releases SLI-enabled Quest Nemesis notebook
If Evesham's 19-inch Quest A630 gaming rig was just a little too much laptop for you, now the company has introduced another dual-core model that maintains the A630's SLI goodness but drops two inches off the screen -- and a full $1,300 off the pricetag. The new 17-inch Quest Nemesis features a Turion 64 processor from AMD, dual nVidia GeForce Go 7900 video cards, 1,680 x 1,050 WSXGA resolution, 160GB worth of 5400RPM SATA drives, and 1GB of rather pokey 333MHz DDR RAM, along with a DVD burner, 3-in-1 card reader, and Bluetooth and 802.11g radios. There's also a full suite of connectivity options, including FireWire, DVI, VGA, S-Video, S/PDIF, and 4 USB 2.0 ports, as well as an ExpressCard slot for eventually adding a wireless 3G modem. You can order the 8.8-pound Nemesis right away starting at $2,775, or wait around for the inevitable flood of identical rebadges that will probably drive the price down a bit.[Via Pocket-Lint]
Lenovo releases Coke-themed F20 laptop in China
Even though the U.S. government may want nothing to do with its computers, Lenovo's still got so much love for the red, white, and blue that it's releasing a special-edition notebook branded with one of the most recognizable American icons: everyone's favorite tooth-decaying soft drink. Oddly enough, the company's Coca Cola-red, Pentium M-powered F20 was designed in honor of the 2008 Olympic Games -- which are not only two years away, but taking place in China, and not the U.S. (where was this lappy in 1996 when the Games were held in Coke's hometown of Atlanta?). Anyway, besides the snazzy paint job and stick-on Olympic rings, this version of the F20 is pretty much your run-of-the-mill 12.1-inch laptop, sporting an ULV 1.66GHz CPU, 512MB of RAM, integrated graphics, an 80GB hard drive, and all the ports, wireless radios, and card readers you've come to expect from notebooks these days. Obviously priced in yuan, this model is going for the equivalent of $1,575, but since Lenovo knows that you can't possibly resist drinking a Coke while you're using this machine, they're throwing in some of that high-tech Batmobile-style armor plating on the house.[Via I4U]
More from BenQ: the webcam-equipped Joybook T31
The R55 wasn't the only Joybook BenQ had on display at Computex; the company was also showing off its 13-inch T31, which is the first notebook in this lineup to feature a built in webcam (with Sony having already snatched up the MotionEye name, this 1.3 megapixel cam is known as the QEye). Like the R55, this model also features an UltraVivid display (with a 220-nit brightness, though, as opposed to 180-nit), SRS Trusurround XT audio enhancement, and a dual core processor, but the T31 eschews Intel's Core Duo chip for a Turion 64 X2 from AMD. Rounding out the specs are ATI Radeon Xpress 1150 graphics pushing WXGA resolution, four USB 2.0 ports, and a 5-in-1 card reader that can handle SD/MMC, MemoryStick, and the still-kicking xD format, but unfortunately, prices and release dates remain elusive.[Via AVING]
LG's XNOTE V1 series of 15-inch Core Duo laptops
LG's kicking around a new Core Duo lineup this morning with their XNOTE V1-WCUP4 laptop. Besides sportin' Intel's Core Duo procs, these 15-inchers bring ATI Radeon Xpress 200M graphics, DDR2 667MHz memory, SATA disks, a 5-in-1 memory card reader, and, well that's about all we know. Besides echoing a peculiarly apropos name given world events, it's just a decent, middle-of-the road Core Duo lappie that shouldn't blow the budget.
