Samsung has been showing of their new AMOLED, or active-matrix organic light-emitting diode, laptop concept. Unfortunately it is unlikely that these little beauties will show up on the market in the near future, yet it is an interesting development in laptop display manufacturing.
The AMOLED, just like the OLED display, does not require any backlight to display its image. This in turn allows for the display to be a lot thinner and hence make the laptop lighter to carry around. (more…)
Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) kicks off in just under a month, and big things are expected from Apple. Rumors about the second gen iPhone have been flying, but another big rumor concerns the likelihood of the arrival of a new MacBook Pro.
The New Macbook Pro?
Since 2001, the overall design of the MacBook Pro has not changed. Rumors of new aluminum cases being manufactured in Taiwan first sparked the rumor, but many are speculating that the new case will allow for a huge multi touch trackpad, a new chiclet-style keyboard, and an almost bezel-less screen, drastically thinning the size of the laptop. (more…)
So what is Splashtop anyway? Splashtop is an instant-on Linux-based environment that’s been loaded onto a flash chip on the motherboard itself. Press the power button on the computer, and in seconds the user has full access to the Internet (Mozilla Firefox) and Skype, with more functionality expected in the future.
Asus has revealed plans to “proliferate [Splashtop] across the entire motherboard product portfolio, starting with more than 1 million motherboards per month.”
Below is a video better explaining what Splashtop does.
Acer has announced that the Aspire Gemstone Blue notebook PC series is now available in North America. The company is touting the laptops as the first 18.4″ and 16″ form factor notebooks, allowing for true HD cinematic capabilities.
The laptops run Intel Duo Centrino processors and include second generation Dolby Home Theater technology allowing for 5.1 surround sound. They come with Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate or Windows Vista Home Premium pre-installed.
These laptops are expected to retail for around $1299 for the 18-inch Aspire 8920 and $849 for the 16-inch Aspire 6920.
Microsoft has created a lower cost version of its Microsoft Surface. The TouchWall refers to a system, not a specific product, of converting any surface into a multi-touch computer interface.
The TouchWall system consists of a projector, 3 infrared lasers, 1 infrared camera and a flat surface. Any flat surface will do. In the demonstration, Microsoft used a vertical plexiglass plate as the image plane, with the projector projecting the image from the rear – to eliminate shadows caused by forward projection. (more…)
The buzz these days is about the new WiMax technology being included in a rash of gadgets.
Why this rash of WiMax goodies? How about WiMAX having download speeds of up to 2-4 Mbps, and a radius of up to 2-3 miles(WiFi’s radius is just a few hundred feet.) It could also be because of the deal announced last wednesday that brings together Sprint, Clearwire, Intel, Google, Comcast, Time Warner and Bright House for WiMax services to millions of people.
One of these WiMax enabled gadgets is the Cloudbook MAX UMPC. This beautiful laptop boasts an 8.9-inch WVGA (1,024 x 600) display and it is running Windows Vista. It has 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, a 2 Megapixel webcam and a battery good for four hours. It also features an 80GB HD, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a 1.6GHz VIA C7-M ULV processor with the VX800 digital media IGP chipset, which touts full DirectX 9 support and video acceleration for MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV9, VC1 and DivX video formats. …Of course it also has WiMAX. This currently unpriced UMPC will be available in the latter half of this year in North America.
Next up,the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet – WiMAX Edition. It’s pocket-sized but it still gives you the full Internet without barriers, while on the go. (more…)
Just when you thought there are no more Tablet PCs bigger than 9″, NEC drops the bomb with the ShieldPRO laptop, which looks like it can withstand any kind of punishment. The model named FC-N22A, is offering something a little different in the rugged gadgets department. Its colorful casing gives off the impression of being “beautifully rugged”.
Not to worry, the brightly-colored exterior will still be resistant to dust and water (it is IP55-compliant). It even protects from being dropped on a concrete floor from up to 3′ high. (more…)
The new Wind by Micro-Star International (MSI) is slated to compete with the ASUS Eee PC 900 and a slew of other UMPC’s.
The Wind features a 10″ display at 1024 x 768 pixels and a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor. It has 1GB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, Bluetooth, WiFi, and a 1.3 Megapixel camera.
It is available in your choice of black, white or pink.
The feature packed Wind is pretty competitively priced at just $560 for the Linux version, and you can get it with Windows XP installed for $604. It is currently available for pre-order from the Expansys website. (more…)
Okay, so you have a brilliant idea but detest to use pen and paper to write down your short-lived inspiration? Don’t worry, get an IdeaPad. Hmmm, maybe that’s the kind of ad Lenovo would run, maybe not.
Anyway, the IdeaPad U110 is Lenovo’s debut to the 11.1 inch ultraportable laptop market, putting it head to head against the Sony VAIO TZ Series. It runs on a 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, combined with a 120GB HDD, 2GB of RAM and an Intel X3100 graphics adapter.
It also features a 1.3MP webcam, three USB 2.0 ports, a 6-in-1 media reader, ExpressCard slot, VeriFace face recognition, and a Dolby Home Theater audio system.
From the outside, the U110 is pretty good-looking with a sleek design. (more…)
Ultra Mobile Personal Computers (UMPC’s) can be thought of as mini laptops aimed at the more mobile segments of today’s consumer market. If you are a casual computer user, traveling salesman or a student, carrying around a heavy full-sized notebook is probably daunting and unnecessary.
That’s where the UMPC comes in: It’s slim form factor, light weight and low voltage processor make it ideal for those who need a thin and light road warrior.
While not all UMPCs have a long 3+ hour battery life, manufacturers are certainly getting there this year with Intel’s new Atom Processors which promise lower power consumption at the same clock cycles.
Scroll down to see 14 of the hottest UMPC models under 10 inches!
Asus Eee PC 900 (Available):
The Eee PC 900 is a larger screen version of the Eee PC 701. It is available in stores as of now. It runs Windows XP Home or Linux and features a 900Mhz Celeron-M Processor, 8.9″ Display at 1024×600, 1GB RAM, 12GB SSD (Solid State Hard-Drive), 802.11g WLAN, 1.3MP Webcam and a 37Watt/hour battery. It weighs 940grams and has dimensions of 225 x 165 x 35 mm.
Medion Akoya (Expected):
The Medion looks similar in design to the MSI Wind, however little else besides its specifications are known. It features a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom Processor, 8.9″ 1024×600 display, 80GB hard drive, 802.11b/g and option Bluetooth 2.0. It weighs 1.2kilograms and has a built-in webcam.
MSI Wind U100 (Upcoming):
Not much is known about the MSI Wind, but its rumored to a Windows XP UMPC that will cost between 450 and 1000USD. An official MSI press release indicates a Summer 2008 availability. It’s features are a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom Processor, 1GB RAM, Intel GMA 950 Graphics, an 8″ or 10″ display at 1024×600, 80GB Hard disk, 802.11b/g and a built-in camera. The unit may also come with an optional bluetooth module. It weighs 1.2kilograms and has dimensions of 260 x 180 x 31 mm.
Everex Cloudbook Max (Upcoming):
The Cloudbook Max is a Windows Vista UMPC that was announced at CTIA in April 2008 and will be part of the Sprint Xohm product range in the US. The Cloudbook will utilise the latest VX800 integrated chipset that supports DirectX 9 graphics and hardware decoding of common video formats. It’s specs are: 1.6Ghz VIA C7-M Processor, VIA Chrome 9 Graphics, 2GB RAM, 8.9″ display at 1024×600, 80GB Harddisk, 802.11b/g, bluetooth and possibly WiMax. The unit may also feature integrated GPS and front as well as rear cameras. The Cloudbook weighs 1kilogram and has dimensions of 240 x 175 x 27 mm.
HP 2133 MiniNote (Available):
The HP Mininote comes with Windows Vista Business or Linux pre-installed. Specs include: A VIA C7-M 1.2Ghz Processor, a VIA Chrome 9 Graphics Chipset, an 8.9″ display at 1280×768, 2GB of RAM, a 120GB Hard Drive, 56Watt/hour Battery and a built-in webcam. The device weighs 1.2kilograms and has dimensions of 256 x 165 x 33 mm.
The buzz these days is about the new WiMax technology being included in a rash of gadgets.
The new Wind by Micro-Star International (MSI) is slated to compete with the ASUS Eee PC 900 and 
