ThinAndLight
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Gigabyte shows off thin-and-light Booktop M1305 and super slim Myou netbook
Apparently people are really falling hard for this whole "thin" fad, and Gigabyte's design department is the latest victim. The new Booktop M1305 (pictured) sports a CULV Intel processor and a 13.3-inch screen, putting it squarely in the land of MacBook Air and ThinkPad X300-style thin-and-lights, while also managing a disc drive and room for up to 8GB of RAM. Meanwhile, the new Myou netbook is actually Gigabyte's ThinNote S1024, which weighs under two pounds, measures less than an inch thick, and still leaves room for a 10-inch screen and 6 cell battery. It should be shipping in the next few months for an estimated $600 pricetag. Video of the surprisingly excellent form factor is after the break. Read - Booktop M1305 Read - Myou
Dell Studio 14z hands-on
We got a quick look at Dell's new Studio 14z thin-and-light, budget-friendly laptop, and were mildly impressed. The thing is lighter than it looks, has a great blend of performance, price, inputs and outputs, and doesn't even look too frumpy to boot. The chiclet-ish keyboard is fine, though not great, and while the lack of Studio XPS-style leather frills and capacitive touch controls might be seen as a drawback to some, we actually like the no-nonsense approach. The inclusion of HDMI, eSATA and an ExpressCard 34 slot are pretty clutch for this form factor and price, and while a cheap external drive might be necessary for occasional use at the desk, the removal of it makes total sense for the target audience of students. Perhaps most astonishing, however, is that Dell has finally figured out that people care what the bottom of their computer looks and feels like -- and this one feels great. It's a whole new world, people.
Acer Aspire Timeline out of the box and loving life
While it's always a fun rush to see an unopened box in a Canadian store room, we're much more excited about what's inside the box, and friendly tipster James somehow managed to buy himself an Acer Aspire Timeline 5810TZ-4657 in Iowa about a week ago. For a scant $598 he got a 15-inch display, DVD drive, Intel U2700 1.3GHz processor and 3GB of RAM -- which makes most similarly specced "thin and lights" seem a little silly in comparison. He says he's gotten around 7 hours of battery on max power saving mode, and about 4-5 hours on max use, finds the 720p webcam comparable to a Flip camera, enjoys the keyboard and multitouch trackpad, and overall finds the system to be very quick and responsive running Vista. Acer still hasn't confirmed an official lineup, price or availability for these things, but we've gotta think it's gonna be soon -- if this is right, it's almost too good not to share.
MSI Wind U200 gets the hands-on video treatment
We already got a pretty good look at MSI's new 12-inch Wind U200 at its debut at Computex in Taipei, but the folks at NewGadgets.de have had a chance to spend a bit more quality time with the not-quite-a-netbook, and they've thankfully provided a hands-on video (in both English and German no less). While they aren't offering much in the way of actual impressions just yet, they do provide a fairly thorough overview of the device, and even discover a working SIM card slot in the battery compartment, along with a mysterious rubber plug on the side that may or may not actually conceal something. Head on past the break to check it out for yourself, or hit up the link below if you're looking to practice your German.
Albatron storms back with 10.2-inch ultrathin netbook
Nice timing, Albatron. With the whole world feeling that the time is right to enter the quaint and mysterious realm of "thin and light" netbooks, this just proves that you're totally vibing with money-hungry suits the world over. Truth be told, there's not much we know about the admittedly striking laptop above. It's got a 10.2-inch panel, weighs around 2.2 pounds and packs at least an audio input and output. We're promised that more images and even a video are on the horizon, so hold tight, vaquero.[Via Slashgear]Update: Hands-on videos are up! Check it after the break.
MSI's X-Slim X340 vs. X400 vs. X600 CULV laptops... Fight!
The big Computex show in Taipei is just a few weeks away and that means laptops, tons and tons of laptops. Specifically, CULV thin-and-light laptops that Intel's hoard of dutiful manufacturers have positioned between netbooks and super-expensive, ultra-portables like the MacBook Air or ThinkPad X301. Engadget Chinese is at the unveiling of MSI's full range of X-Slim laptops. We've already seen the X320/X340 up close, but this is the first time we've received official specs on the 14-inch (1366 x 768) X400 and 15.6-inch (1366 x 768) X600. Both feature Core 2 Solo CULV processors, an HDMI jack, hard disks up to 500GB in capacity, up to 4GB of DDR2 memory, and a 2-in-1 card memory reader. The X600 adds eSATA, options for 6 or 9-cell batteries (compared to the X400's 4 or 8-cells), and bumps the graphics from integrated GMA 4500MHD to ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330. Now we're just waiting for the ship dates and prices which should start at $699 to about $1,100.Update: Official press release says to expect these before June is through.
