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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?
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.
Acer releases quite familiar TravelMate 3020 series
After unseating Toshiba at the number three spot among world notebook manufacturers, what's there left for Acer to do on their path to world domination? Why, re-releasing a four month old laptop with the exact same specs and a brand new paint job, of course. Acer has announced their TravelMate 3020 series, which copies exactly the specs of January's 1-inch thick 3010 series (1.66-2.16GHz Core Duo processors, 12.1-inch WXGA screens, 802.11a/b/g, external DVD burner), but adds an iBook paint job. The notebooks should be available now, and start at around $1650 in the low-end.[Via Engadget Chinese]
Intel's Eduwise low-cost PC revealed
The freaktastic, not-so-altruistic battle between Negroponte, AMD, VIA and Intel to bring low-cost PCs to developing nations just hotted-up with the formal unveiling of the Eduwise by Intel CEO Paul Otellini at the World Congress on Information Technology. The $400 device announced a few months ago in Brazil, sports "light-blue accents" and "snaps shut like a purse" -- perfect for students and teachers on a tight-budget with a sense of flair -- runs Windows or Linux, and ships pre-loaded with special software allowing students and teachers to interact through shared presentations and test administration over the Eduwise's built-in WiFi. The Eduwise will be available "next year" via the usual outlet of PC manufacturers who'll no doubt tweak this reference design a bit. Of course, Intel had to take the spotlight opp to blast a shot across the bow of the $100 OLPC with Otellini saying, "nobody wants to cross the digital divide using yesterday's technology." Yeah, nor should they have to harvest a kidney to avoid crossing the classroom for a little one-on-one, eh? Man, we haven't seen this much selfish generosity since Atlas shrugged.[Via Sagags]
Dell rounds out their Latitude line with budget D520
It might not be as snazzy as its older brothers, the D620 and D820, but Dell's new Latitude D520 manages to squeeze a 1.83GHz Core Duo processor into a $699 laptop (after $200 instant savings), for what looks to be one of the cheapest ways to get your hands on that processor short of a five finger discount. The laptop is even fairly svelte for a budget unit, measuring 1.4-inches thick and weighing 5.24 pounds. Otherwise, the base configuration is pretty weak, with a 14.1-inch XGA display, 512MB of RAM, a 40GB HDD, and a 24X CD-ROM, along with the WiFi trimmings of the Centrino spec. For $120 more you can upgrade to a 15-inch SXGA LCD, and it shouldn't be that hard to bump the ram and HDD with a little bit of part hunting, so there's still hope for making a decent system out of this thing without breaking the bank.[Via MobileWhack]
Dell Inspiron E1505 reviewed
If you've been looking to go Core Duo on the cheap then wait no longer. PCMAG just busted out their Editor's Choice award on the 15.4-inch widescreen Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop. Good reason too, since their $999 test model shipped pre-loaded with XP Media Center Edition 2005 (TV tuner costs extra), sporting a 1.67GHz Intel Core Duo, 1GB DDR2 SDRAM, 80GB (5400rpm) disk, 802.11b/g, dual-layer DVD burner, and ATI Mobility Radion X1300 graphics -- not top of the line by any means, but oodles better than a lot of those integrated graphics craptops, and more likely to run Vista with some pep. PCMAG calls the E1505 "perfect" for people on a budget who "appreciate technology" which well, pretty much covers just about everyone we know. Knocks? Sure, the battery only managed about 3 hours and you have to enter a goofy Dell E-Value code "E1505PC" when ordering if you expect your kit to ring-up with that sub-grand price tag. Righteous pricing indeed for this full featured and powerful kit.
AquaMinds NoteShare 1.0
AquaMinds, makers of the popular NoteTaker, has released NoteShare 1.0, a "powerful desktop application for creating, publishing and sharing media rich, multi-page notebooks." NoteShare allows you to "instantly" share a notebook for presentation or collaborative editing across a room, a network or even the web. Interestingly, their product page states that you don't even need hosting space in order to publish and share a notebook.While NoteShare sounds like an interesting product for its target users, AquaMinds is a little slim on details as to whether NoteShare represents a new level of note taking and rich media abilities above and beyond their NoteTaker product. However, since NoteTaker sells for $70 and NoteShare is priced at $150 for a 3-machine license, I'd bet the premium price is all about that collaborative ability, rather than some fancy new note taking features. If all this notebook sharing business has your interest piqued, AquaMinds offers a 30-day NoteShare trial; just follow the link on the right here.
ASUS W5F reviewed
That 12.1-inch ASUS W5F ultra-portable pulled an enthusiastic review over at PC Perspective. They ran a 1.66GHz T2300 Core Duo model packing 512MB of DDR2 RAM and a 5400rpm 100GB disk through the gauntlet of tests and found this "attention magnet" to make all contenders look "bulky and unrefined." They were stoked by their unit's performance and integrated 1.3 megapixel webcam, bundled Bluetooth mouse, and SPDIF output for full-on digital audio. They also noted the laptop's battery life compared to others in the class even though their W5F only eked-out about 3.5 of the 4-hours advertised under a "reasonable office load." The biggest knock came for the single SODIMM slot for RAM upgrades and that "Vista-ready" Intel GMA 950 graphics engine which means you won't be doing any serious fraggin' here. But hey, if that's your gig then you should be looking elsewhere anyway.
Toshiba's Dynabook Satellite CW1 flies low
Toshiba just squeezed their new low-end Dynabook Satellite CW1 laptop onto the scene. A base model kitted out with a 1.6GHz Intel Celeron M420 processor, 14.1-inch WXGA display, 60GB disk, 512MB of RAM, ATI Radion Xpress 200M graphics, and dual-layer DVD burner will set you back, oh just $957 in Japan. Yeah, that kind of green will get you Core Duo power 'round these parts but that still constitutes affordable in the land of the rising sun. [Via Akihabara News]
Averatec's thin and light 2200 12-inch widescreen laptop
After busting out what they claim to be the lightest 17-inch widescreen notebook available with their 7100 series, Averatec is slimming down the opposite end of the spectrum, with their new 2200 series of 12-inch widescreen laptops. The 1.3-inch thick, 4 pound units are fairly budget-oriented, with a range of AMD Sempron and Turion 64 processors, but the 12.1-inch screen boasts a 1280 x 800 resolution, and there are plenty of other niceties. Along with the standard 802.11b/g WiFi, the notebook has three USB 2.0 ports, FireWire, a 4-in-1 memory card reader, 80GB HDD, and a dual-layer DVD/CD burner -- not bad for a such a little laptop. Prices aren't bad either, ranging from $899 to $1079, with up to 1GB of ram and XP Professional in the high end.[Via Mobile Tech Review]
MPC TransPort T3200 business laptop
MPC Computers just announced their stoic little TransPort T3200 laptop targeting high-end, security-minded professionals. If that's your gig sonny, then listen up. The T3200 gets it done with a full line-up of Intel Core Duo processor options, up to 2GB DDR2 RAM, 120GB S-ATA (5400RPM) disks, DVD/RW combo drive, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, integrated fingerprint scanner, and 15.4-inch WSXGA (1680 x 1050) display driven by ATI Mobility X1600 graphics for right around $3,000 large, fully-spec'd. Slap in an optional GPS and GPRS module and set the workers free![Via MobileWhack]
Fujitsu-Siemens' 3G-enabled Lifebook E8210 reviewed
With most manufacturers concentrating on making smartphones ever-smaller, it's refreshing to see Fujitsu-Siemens flip the script and release what may be the world's biggest Windows-powered handset, eschewing CE for XP in the process. Actually, F-S is marketing the six-pound Lifebook E8210 as a laptop, what with its 15.4-inch, 1,680 x 1,050 display, 2GB of RAM, and full-size keyboard, but any data-centric device that can make cellphone calls (thanks to the built in HSDPA-compatible 3G card) is a smartphone in our book. Whatever you wanna call it, the E8210 impresses on many fronts, says Trusted Reviews, who give the 2.16GHz, Core Duo T2600-powered model nine out of ten stars, highlighting its connectivity (802.11/a/b/g, Bluetooth, HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS, PCMCIA/ExpressCard slot, four USB, and even serial, parallel, and D-SUB ports), security (fingerprint reader and Smartcard), and benchmark performance. The only downsides here seem to be the lack of a 3G CDMA option and the ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 graphics, which definitely makes this Lifebook anathema to gamers -- but at over $3,500, the E8210 is clearly being targeted at corporate, and not LAN party, deployment.
Toshiba's Dynabook 2006 FIFA World Cup laptop
So you've got your FIFA World Cup Xbox 360 and HDTV read to go but, well, you’re still just not feelin’ that World Cup fever? How ‘bout trying on a new, limited edition Toshiba Dynabook 2006 FIFA Word Cup laptop? This pup starts with a Dynabook TX base (1.6GHz Core Duo, 15.4-inch WXGA LCD, 80GB disk, 512MB RAM, and Harman & Kardon speakers), lays on a healthy slathering of gold paint inscribed with the dates and countries of previous World Cup hosts/winners, loads-up a multitude of soccertastic themes, and then slaps on a serial plate just in case your silicon slab gets mixed-in with one of the other 600 units produced. Now the ol' mercury's rising, eh? Ok, maybe not. Still, they'll be shipping May 26 for right around $1700 -- just in time for some hard posing at the pub or heaving onto the pitch should the “Hand-of-God” make its return. [Thanks, Roygbiv]
Dell's XPS M1710 power laptop review roundup
Yeah, we'll fess, for the fastest laptop, like, ever, the M1710 got kind of a poor showing on getting itself reviewed. Seriously, with speed like that we kind of expected the writeups to pour out within minutes -- no speed bottlenecks to emcumber slowish tech journos. But those who did get their hands on an M1710 were pretty unanimous about it; the thing's freaking fast. We'll show you what we got if you're thinking about plunking down four grand (and as always, leave reviews we may have missed in comments so we can add 'em).Read - Laptop MagazineRead - Notebook ReviewRead - PC MagRead - AnandTech
Dell's XPS M1710 gaming laptop
Today Dell dropped a new XPS gaming laptop in the form of the M1710. This rig hauls up to a 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo T2600, 17-inch widescreen display, 512MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GTX graphics, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 120GB SATA disk, dual-layer DVD combo drive, and an array of ports including Firewire, 6 x USB 2.0, DVI and component video, S/PDIF digital audio out, hi-def sound with integrated sub, and 5-in-1 memory card reader. But this type of performance ain't cheap. A fully specced slab in Special Edition Formula Red "armor" will set you back right around $5,000. Look out Velocity, game's on cuz.[Thanks, Micum M]
LG's new LW25 DMB compact laptop
No stranger to DMB notebooks, LG is busting out a new one for what looks to be the Korean market. Sporting a 12.1-inch screen and weighing in at 4.2 pounds, we're not in ultra-compact territory, but at least this leaves room for a dual-layer DVD burner and, of course, the DMB tuner and antenna. The LW25 is powered by a Intel Core Duo processor, unlike its slimmer XNOTE cousin, but there's no word on GPU or other fun specs. We're also in the dark as to the price and availability, but we're not sure that particular info would lift our spirits in this case.[Via MobileMag]
Velocity's Micro NoteMagix M57 Ultra gaming notebook reviewed
Although the hardest-of-hardcore gamers will likely scoff at any laptop that isn't SLI-enabled these days, PC Mag's review of Velocity's 17-inch Micro NoteMagix M57 Ultra shows us that even a solo graphics card combined with a zippy single core processor and a generous helping of RAM can deliver excellent 1,920 x 1,200 fragging performance. The M57 is powered by a 2.26GHz Pentium M 780 -- which gives it only decent productivity benchmark scores compared to a dual core machine -- but the fact that Velocity throws in 2GB of RAM along with the high-end mobile nVidia GeForce Go 7800GTX card and a 7,200 RPM hard drive allowed the rig to best PC Mag's previous champ, the Dell XPS M170, in all-important 3-D and framerate testing. Even better, the faults here are few and far between -- a rather-hefty 9.3-pound weight, lack of software for the built-in TV tuner, and separation between mouse buttons are the only knocks in this review -- so non-SLI snobs should feel safe in dropping their $3000 on what is judged to be a "Very Good" laptop.
