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Fujitsu Arrows F-07D nabs 'thinnest smartphone' title, Droid Razr retorts: 'real phones have (some) curves'
Do you see that? It's the Fujitsu Arrows F-07D. Unlike some phones we won't mention, it doesn't boast about being the world's thinnest (and it doesn't come with a 10.6mm hump at one end). No, this telephone is 6.7mm all the way along -- so svelte the brave boys at the FCC probably had to pop next door to borrow a ruler that measures things that small. The 109-gram device has a measly 4-inch 800 x 480 OLED display and a five megapixel camera, but you might have noticed that it's also quite thin. NTT DoCoMo's newest telephone also crams in a FOMA module, making it capable of HSPA-level 14Mb/s download speeds. Just be careful it doesn't blow away in the wind -- personally, we've always preferred smartphones that give us a little something to hold onto.
Dell S2330MX ultra-slim monitor reckons it's gorgeous, actually just 'above average'
Dell's much bragged-about skinny 23-incher just got put through its paces by the bods at HotHardware. Their conclusion? The 1080p display sports glossily good aesthetics and scores major points for its lumbar-loving 8.3-pound weight and 0.4-inch waistline (which burgeons to 1.19-inches around the ports). The twisted nematic panel isn't up to IPS standards and won't satisfy graphics or photography pros, but the LED backlighting produces good brightness and better-than-average black levels. Gaming was held back by minor streaking despite the 2ms response time, while Blu-ray movies suffered slightly in darker scenes. All in, a "relatively good buy" at $250 -- although you might want to check out the source link to see if the S2330MX meets your exact requirements.
LG E2391VR LED LCD Monitor hands-on
When it comes to having the world's slimmest display, competition is fierce, and technicalities abound. One manufacturer in particular makes that class-leading claim more often than others, however, so it was no surprise when LG decided to show off a "world slimmest monitor" at its enormous IFA hall this year. The E2391VR is, as expected, incredibly thin. At 7.2mm, it's noticeably skinnier than the 9.3mm iPhone 4, so if you actually spend time looking at the side of your display, you'll probably really like this one. But -- and this, as with other models, can be a very big but for some users -- all of the ports, and most of the critical components, are in the TV's base. The 23-inch model we saw is rather small to wall-mount, so that base shouldn't be an issue for most. It offers 1080p video, a 2ms response time, HDMI, D-sub, headphone out, and a "10,000,000:1 contrast ratio" -- and, well, it looks great too, though reflections were a glaring issue in the bright exhibit hall. No word on pricing or availability just yet, but jump past the break for some PR magic.%Gallery-132506%
Intel Ultrabooks to sell for under $1000, take a page from ASUS' design book?
Back at Computex, Intel whipped out its magic 8-ball to predict a "you may rely on it" 40 percent share for the upcoming Ultrabooks market. While we can neither confirm, nor deny the company's powers of retail clairvoyance, we can point you to a purported bill of materials that would usher its line in at a sub-$1000 price. The report from Digitimes doesn't lay out the specific assembly costs, but pegs the chipmaker's 18mm and 21mm thick laptops at $493 - $710 and $475 - $650, respectively. Intel is also reportedly meeting with manufacturers in Taipei next week to figure out a way to deliver on the budget-friendly goal, aimed at producing 11 - 13-inch models for the thinner entries and girthier 14 - 17-inch models. If you're wondering what sort of form factor the company's after, take a glance at ASUS' UX21 and UX31 ultrabooks -- supposed reference designs for the svelte, Ivy Bridge-powered computers. We hope that's the only bit of strategy Intel cops, otherwise we're all in for a disappointingly priced ultraslim future.
Rumor: Apple's next 15" laptop refresh will be Air-like
Considering the extraordinary success of the MacBook Air in its previous and current refreshes, it doesn't take a particularly accurate crystal ball to predict where the overall laptop lineup is headed. Apple's buying power in NAND flash memory helps it deliver SSDs in portable machines at lower component costs than the competition, and the pure sexy factor of leaner, lighter (yet still powerful) notebooks is winning converts to the platform. MacRumors believes a 15" ultra-thin Mac laptop is in the late testing stages at Apple, although the post doesn't nail down whether this beastie would be considered part of the Air or Pro lines. Likely as not, the larger laptop would skip the optical drive in favor of slimmer lines and longer battery life. This 15" Air-esque rumor corresponds pretty well with what we're hearing, but with a few additional tidbits: chances are these will be the next MacBook Pros, not oversized Airs. There's also a 17" model in the works. And we might see them under Christmas trees, with a few weeks to spare. If Apple can control costs on the SSD front and deliver Pro performance in a lean package (hopefully with a relatively full suite of ports, or a Thunderbolt breakout dongle), the Air-like Pro would be quite compelling.
HP to ship first Ultrabooks ahead of ASUS?
Remember those Ultrabooks unveiled at Computex? ASUS had touted its UX21 to be one of the first available in September, but there's reason to believe that HP may beat it to the punch -- if you like salty punch, that is. According to DigiTimes, HP has at least two machines on the table offering Intel's latest Core i7 processors in 1.8GHz i7-2677M and 1.7 GHz i7-263M flavors. The report also suggests that Foxconn's the manufacturer and may already be shipping some rigs to la casa de HP. Lastly, although we haven't yet gotten definitive sizing on the UX21, DigiTimes mentions that ASUS is making 11.6-inch and 13-inch versions. Considering we're nearing mid-July, it can't be too long for some official word if any of this is true, just don't go sipping too much of that Kool-Aid -- okay?
Sony's ultraslim 13-inch VAIO Z laptop revealed in Europe, packs external GPU for power on demand
Turns out those leaked shots we saw of Sony's new VAIO Z laptop were right on the money as the company showed it off officially today for the European press. The specs reveal a 13.1-inch "ultramobile" notebook that comes in at under 1.2kg with a 2.7GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, 1600x900 screen and sheet battery borrowed from the earlier VAIO S for up to 7 hours of computing. Onboard it features only Intel's HD Graphics 3000 solution but the VAIO Z beats other ultralights with its Power Media Dock, which contributes the power of an AMD Radeon 6650M GPU with 1GB of dedicated memory connected via "the architecture codenamed Light Peak" -- Sony can't call it Thunderbolt -- when more polygons have to be pushed. The dock sports one USB 3.0 hookup plus additional USB, VGA and HDMI ports, and a slot for either a DVD or Blu-ray drive. There's no word on a price yet, but it is promised to ship by the end of July in Europe so if the full specs (included after the break) are appealing then you don't have much time to save up. Update: Head over to the Sony UK site to configure one yourself -- pricing starts at £1,434 ($2,294) with a Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM and no PMD. The dock is a £400 ($640) option with no optical drive included, while upgrading to a 1080p 13.1-inch LCD is a mere £40 extra. %Gallery-127266%
Samsung's 2.5-inch Spinpoint M8 1TB drive fits in your laptop, no cramming necessary
The trouble with high capacity hard drives is that they're about the size and weight of a brick, and just as bad for throwing in glass houses or ultrathin laptops. Samsung is slimming up the beastliest of disks though, with the just announced Spinpoint M8. Inside this 1TB drive are a pair of 500GB storage platters, instead of the three 334GB ones found in most storage solutions of this size. By using AFT, Advanced format technology, Sammy was able to up the storage density and trim its latest Spinpoint to a svelte 9.5mm thick (your average 1TB drive is 12.5mm). As an added bonus, the increased density also boosts performance and power efficiency since the drives heads need to move less. If you want to slap one in your notebook you can pick one up for $129, and we're sure a few of these will find a home those skinny "ultrabooks" that Intel has been talking up. Check out the PR after the break.
Lenovo's IdeaPad U300S flaunts its trim frame at Computex
So-called Ultrabooks were all the rage at Computex 2011, and ASUS, LG and Compal weren't the only ones to stake a claim -- this Lenovo IdeaPad U300S is another contender in the ultra-thin, sub-$1,000 notebook game. Though we hear that Lenovo wasn't disclosing exact specs or availability at the show, the company's reportedly upgraded the slick IdeaPad U260 design with Sandy Bridge chips and a 13.3-inch screen, and put the already-trim unibody laptop on a diet to attain supermodel measurements. Here's hoping the engineers also improved that three-hour battery life too, eh? [Thanks, Sam]
ASUS preparing an ultraslim Eee PC 'with a twist' for Computex
ASUS' week of merciless teasers continues today with a silhouette of what the company calls a "super-slim sensation [with] a twist." It's an Eee PC and there are no doubts about it being a netbook, but something about this evolutionary product won't be quite the same as on its predecessors. Notebook Italia has dug up the above image, which looks like a match for ASUS' shadow-obscured teaser and shows what may very well be the thinnest Eee PC we've yet seen. Last time ASUS was touting anything laptop-shaped that was quite so slim, it was the Neo smartbook prototype that never made it out of the labs, but this here cheese slicer looks very likely to be hitting the market shortly after Computex. Naturally, we'll be in Taipei getting the lowdown for you, whatever happens.
Dell XPS 15z coming tomorrow for $999? (updated)
The thinnest 15-inch laptop "on the planet" is coming tomorrow, costing a measly $999, according to the Wall Street Journal. In a profile of Dell's recent history and forthcoming plans in the consumer electronics market, the financial paper twice makes reference to an ultrathin, $999 laptop that is set to launch on Tuesday of this week. Pairing that intel with the abundance of leaks surrounding the slinky 15.6-inch XPS 15z -- including a Michael Dell tweet promising it's "coming soon" -- leads us to the conclusion that we've finally gotten ahold of the price and date for Dell's next big thing. Interestingly enough, the WSJ article goes on to say that Dell had canned a similar set of slim laptops earlier in the year, which might give us greater hope for the quality of the 15z -- it survived where others didn't. Other disclosures in the piece include a quote from Michael Dell, saying that he "didn't completely see" the tablet boom coming, which might explain why sales of his company's Streak tablets have been low enough to be described as "immaterial." There's also a discussion of the abortive Zing music service and related MP3 players that never were, but you'll have to hit the source link to learn more about them. Update: As further evidence of the 15z's imminent release, the tease has turned into a show with a video that fully reveals its slimline chassis and declares that the new Dell packs the Streak's Stage UI as well. [Thanks, Ishai and Ming Han] Update 2: And now we have the answer to our headline question: yes.
Sony unveils flexible color e-paper, new glasses-free 3D LCD displays at SID 2011
We saw some fancy panels and flashy lights on the show floor at SID this week, but Sony decided to keep its latest display offerings tucked away in an academic meeting. We're getting word today from Tech-On! that the outfit unveiled a 13.3-inch sheet of flexible color e-paper as well as two new glasses-free 3D panels in a separate session at the conference. New e-paper solutions loomed large at SID, but we were surprised by the lack of flexible screens. Sony's managed to deliver both on a display that weighs only 20 grams and measures a mere 150-microns thick, a feat made possible by the use of a plastic substrate. The sheet boasts a 13-percent color gamut, 10:1 contrast ratio, and 150dpi resolution. As for the 3D LCD displays, Sony joined a slew of other manufacturers in showing off its special brand of the panels. These new displays, ranging from 10-inches to 23-inches, apparently employ a new method for delivering 3D to the naked eye. This particular method uses a backlight positioned between an LCD panel and another backlight for 2D images, and can be easily be switched off for 2D viewing. Of course we would have liked to see these screens in the flesh, but alas, Sony decided to play coy. Hop on past the break for a shot of the new 3D panel.
NEC MEDIAS WP N-06C announced in Japan, shows off slimness with waterproof body
Seriously, why does Japan get all the fun toys? The leaked brochure of this crazy thin NEC MEDIAS N-06C already got us all giddy last month, and now we have a launch date: fans of NTT DoCoMo will be able to nab this device around June or July, meaning owners need not seal this waterproof phone in a plastic bag before heading out for a summer swim. In case you missed the details, here we have a 7.9mm-thick Android 2.3 phone, which easily beats the chubby Galaxy S II at 8.49mm in terms of slimness; though to be fair, the N-06C packs about 9.7mm around its 5 megapixel camera. Inside this tight package you'll also find a 4-inch 854 x 480 LCD, a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8255, 512MB RAM, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, and microSDHC expansion. But enough with the specs -- head over to Akihabara News for some wet hands-on pics.
LG Optimus Black arrives at T-Mobile UK for free (gasp!)
Sure, its 700 nit Nova Display is bright, but it doesn't quite approach Apple's excellence, and its 1GHz processor comes across a touch sluggish, but attach "Free" to LG's Optimus Black and instantly there's a whole lotta value crammed in these 9.2 millimeters. That's the story over at T-Mobile UK, anyway, which is giving the Android 2.2 handset away with any two-year plan over £25. Just think, once you convince a friend to also throw down nothing for this handset, you'll be exchanging laughs, tunes and memories over WiFi Direct -- once you find an app that supports it, anyway. As for mainland Europe, your Optimus Black will be arriving shortly, but don't get too huffy if your particular carrier isn't quite so philanthropic.
LG Optimus Black review
If you asked us to design our ideal Android phone, it might well end up looking like LG's Optimus Black. The handset that was once known under the codename "B" features a clean, elegant and exceedingly thin exterior, which is garnished with a 4-inch IPS display capable of generating 700 nits of brightness. There's the usual litany of added features, too, like a 5 megapixel shooter with the ability to record 720p video, a special G-Key for motion controls, and Wi-Fi Direct for peer-to-peer file transfers. Of course, looks and headline features are just the tip of the iceberg that is user experience, so if you want to know about the mountainous whole, join us after the break for a deep dive with LG's latest Android phone. %Gallery-123183%
HP unveils Elite L2201x: super slim 22-inch monitor
During our Monday morning HP deluge, we managed to overlook this rather slender 22-inch monitor. Buried beneath a slew of other announcements in the outfit's latest press release is the Elite L2201x: an LED-backlit display, measuring just 0.4-inches thick. It offers a 1920 x 1080 display, 5000:1 contrast ratio, and a DisplayPort for hooking up. It may not be the slimmest screen we've ever come across, but we'd say it's a mighty fine looking monitor, and for $250, it's a relatively cheap date to boot. The Elite L2201x lands stateside June 1st. %Gallery-123015%
Novel Concepts' ThinSink claims title of world's thinnest air-cooled heat sink
Heat sinks may not ordinarily be the most exciting sort of component -- but the world's thinnest air-cooled heat sink? That's... something. According to the folks at Novel Concepts, their new credit card-sized, 0.75mm thick ThinSink has now laid claim to that title, and it may soon lead to thinner tablets, laptops and monitors. What's more, despite its small size, the company claims that the ThinSink still has a cooling efficiency "25 times greater than today's best microprocessor heat sinks," and it consumes just 0.031 watts of electricity when equipped with a fan spinning at 6,000 RPM. Those interested in an evaluation unit will have to fork over a hefty $750, but the company promises it will be cheaper in larger quantities, and notes that it could also easily be stamped or molded from metal or plastic, as it only consists of two thin flat parts in addition to the motor.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 spotted in the wild
We've already seen it pictured and detailed, but Chinese website Mydrivers.com has now scored what appear to be the very first in-the-wild shots of Lenovo's new super-slim ThinkPad X1. As you can see above and in a few more shots at the source link below, the laptop is indeed pretty thin -- 21.5mm, or 0.85 inches thick, apparently -- but Lenovo still found room to squeeze in a backlit keyboard (check it out after the break), not to mention the ThinkPad's trademark pointing stick. Unfortunately, Lenovo has yet to officially say anything about it itself, so we still only have that rumored May 20th launch date to go on for the time being. [Thanks, leungxd]
Dell's stylish new XPS 15z laptop surfaces
We just heard talk of a new 15.6-inch Dell laptop yesterday that was said to be thin and streamlined, and Mobile Review has now scored some pictures of what may be that very same laptop. While there's unfortunately not much in the way of details, the laptop is apparently dubbed the XPS 15z, and it's said to pack support for Sandy Bridge Core i5 and Core i7 processors. As previously hinted at, this particular laptop is also said to be just part of a series, with both 14-inch and 17-inch models also on the way. Hit up the link below for few additional shots.
Dell's ultra-thin laptop will have a 15.6-inch screen, tread lightly on your wallet?
This is Dell's Vostro V13. It looks like a dream, and it's cheap -- but there's not much raw muscle here, and no battery life to speak of. No, this descendent of Dell's iconic Adamo didn't prove a suitable MacBook Air rival, but we know one that might -- Dell's oft-teased, never-seen thin-and-light. Now, CNET's anonymous sources have come forward with news that Dell will introduce the thinnest 15.6-inch laptop we've ever seen, and with Intel's latest Core i5 and Core i7 Sandy Bridge processors inside. Those sources also report that the laptop will be made of special materials, and yet won't be "a one-time product" like the Adamo -- it will allegedly be a consumer product with a sub-$1,000 price. It's a juicy rumor, but we're inclined to believe it's true. Why? Dell's in-house blogger Lionel Menchaca confirms that Dell's working on just such a 15.6-incher, and says there are "more models to come."