AMD Fights Atom with Athlon Neo Platform for Ultrathin Notebooks

thaitan@laptoplogic.com (Thai Tan) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:01:40 +0100

AMD has introduced a new mobile platform dubbed "Athlon Neo" for ultrathin notebooks. It aims to enable affordable, thin & light laptops which deliver better performance when compared to Atom-based netbooks. Don't act surprised as we did see this coming.

Previously codenamed “Yukon,” the new platform consists of AMD Athlon Neo processor and ATI Radeon X1250 integrated graphics (or optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 discrete graphics).

AMD generally does better in the graphics department and Athlon Neo is no exception. This AMD platform for ultrathin notebooks is capable of smooth 1080p HD playback even on integrated Radeon X1250 graphics.

The Athlon Neo platform debuts within the HP Pavilion dv2 Entertainment Notebook PC ultrathin notebook, which measures less than one-inch thick and weighs less than four pounds. The HP Pavilion dv2 also comes equipped with a 12.1-inch diagonal LED BrightView display, nearly full-size keyboard, and optional external optical disc drive with Blu-ray capability.

The Athlon Neo platform will be powered by 1.6GHz Athlon Neo Processor (512K cache with 64-bit support and 15W TDP) or 1.5/1GHz Sempron CPU with 256K Cache (8W TDP).

Although the HP dv2 is the first and only laptop right now powered by Athlon Neo platform, it's highly likely other manufacturers will adopt it very soon.

Apple Unveils 17-inch Unibody MacBook Pro with Non-removable Battery

thaitan@laptoplogic.com (Thai Tan) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:01:47 +0100

Apple today unveiled a brand new 17-inch MacBook pro featuring aluminium unibody enclosure (similar to the other MacBooks) and a new built-in battery that delivers 7+ hours of use and lasts thrice as long when compared to conventional ones.

The new 17" MacBook Pro sports a 1920 x 1200 LED-backlit display, glass Multi-Touch trackpad, illuminated keyboard and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated + GeForce 9600M GT discrete combo graphics architecture. Measuring just 0.98-inches thin and weighing 6.6 pounds, the 17-inch MacBook Pro is claimed to be the world’s thinnest and lightest 17-inch notebook. Powering the new machine, is the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processor (available up to 2.93GHz), up to 8GB DDR2 1066MHz RAM, slot-load SuperDrive, 320GB HDD or 128/256GB SSD. Similar to the other members of new MacBook family, the 17" MacBook Pro includes a Mini DisplayPort.

The non-removable 95WHr battery is custom made. Apple developed it using advanced chemistry, intelligent monitoring of the system and battery, and Adaptive Charging technology. The result? A battery which has enough juice to keep the 17-inch MacBook Pro running for 8 hours on integrated graphics and 7 hours on discrete GeForce 9600M GT. Depleted batteries can be replaced for $179 which includes installation and disposal of your old battery in an environmentally responsible manner.

Pricing & Availability:

The new 17-inch MacBook Pro will be available by the end of this month starting at $2,799 with a 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo Processor.

ThinkPad W700ds Dual Screen Mobile Workstation Formally Announced

thaitan@laptoplogic.com (Thai Tan) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:01:43 +0100

Lenovo has gone official with their newest W-series mobile workstation - the W700ds. The "ds" suffix in the model number stands for Dual Screen and the W700 part obviously suggests that this is an update to Lenovo's 17" ThinkPad W700 Mobile Workstation Notebook.

The W700ds boasts the same novel features of its predecessor like built-in digitizer & color calibrator. It's powered by Intel's latest mobile platform with mobile quad-core/Extreme CPUs, optional NVIDIA Quadro FX Mobile GPU, up to 8GB DDR3 RAM, optional dual hard drives with RAID configurations (SSD or traditional spinning drives). In other features, you can also customize the W700ds with DVD burner/player, high-speed UDMA compact flash reader, Dual Link DVI, Display Port and VGA, 7-in-1 multicard reader, WiMAX, fingerprint reader, smartcard reader, full-disk encryption and five USB 2.0 ports.

Second Screen:

The second display slides out from the PC cover behind the primary screen and it can also be adjusted to fit a user's viewing angle by up to 30 degrees. Measuring almost 40 percent of the 17-inch primary screen, the 10.6-inch second screen gives users extra screen real-estate measuring approximately the size of a Lenovo IdeaPad S10 netbook. The second screen complements the primary optional 400-nit WUXGA display which provides up to twice the brightness of earlier ThinkPad mobile workstations. The primary screen’s 72 percent wide color gamut enables more than 50 percent greater color intensity.

Pricing & Availability:

The ThinkPad W700ds Mobile Workstation range will start at $3,663.

Lenovo Reveals IdeaPad Consumer Laptop Range for 2009

thaitan@laptoplogic.com (Thai Tan) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:01:55 +0100

Wondering what Lenovo has in store with their IdeaPad range of laptops this year? Good, and you'd also be pleased to know there are updates across the entire lineup and in all sizes (from 14" to 16"). Three new IdeaPad laptops are scheduled to be available by March - 14" Y450, 15.6" Y550 and 16" Y650. All of them feature 16:9 aspect ratio LCDs which are ideal for watching movies.

The Y-series IdeaPad laptops will feature a soft-black design featuring an interlocked hexagon pattern on the top cover along with a discrete copper accent around the perimeter of the laptop. Detailed hardware specs, platform and other details have not been revealed but you can configured them with up to 500GB hard drive, 4GB DDR3 RAM, optional NVIDIA discrete graphics and Dolby Home Theater surround sound. Speaking of which, the IdeaPad Y650 will asport JBL speakers and an ambient light sensor for automatic adjustment of screen brightness. It's also claimed to be the thinnest and lightest 16-inch laptop (1" thick at the thinnest point and a weight of just 5.6 pounds).

Similar to the IdeaPad S10 netbooks, the above-mentioned IdeaPad Y-series laptops will also ship with VeriFace facial recognition and OneKey Rescue System.

Pricing:

MSRP for new IdeaPad laptop models starts at $1,199 for the IdeaPad Y650 laptop, $829 for the IdeaPad Y550 and Y450 units.

Lenovo Updates IdeaPad S10 Netbook

thaitan@laptoplogic.com (Thai Tan) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:01:17 +0100

Lenovo today announced an update to their netbook lineup - the IdeaPad S10 series. Weighing 2.4 pound and 0.9" thick, the updated IdeaPad S10 netbooks will feature 10.2-inch LED backlight display. Other updates include multi-touch functionality on the touchpad and VeriFace facial recognition for added security and ease to log-in. Another touted feature of new IdeaPad S10 netbooks is its LenovoSocial - a program which comes pre-loaded on the unit as a shortcut. Users can connect to a resource portal that will help them navigate the vast options for participating in social networking (like you need any help with that!).

The new IdeaPad S10 netbooks will also feature Lenovo's OneKey Rescure System which helps users to recover their data and restore critical system files after system failures, viruses and other mishaps.

S10 lineup will be available beginning in March with a retail price starting at $349. Color choices include black, white, red, blue or pink.

Dell Announces Affordable 15.6-inch Inspiron 15 Laptop

thaitan@laptoplogic.com (Thai Tan) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:01:21 +0100

Dell has just announced the addition of Inspiron 15 to its Inspiron range of laptops. Inspiron 15 is all about clean design, affordability and convenience when it comes to watching movies. Its simple looks, 15.6-inch (16:9) display and $600 starting price clearly suggest that.

Dell will offer customers the option to customize Inspiron 15 with the latest Core 2 Duo processors, up to 4GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive, Blu-ray, Webcam, Bluetooth, facial recognition software and more.

Dell already offers a 15.4" version of Inspiron 15 laptop (1525) which starts at $499.

Availability:

Expect the online availability of the 16:9 Inspiron 15 laptop on Dell.com by the end of this month. Can't wait that long? You can pick a retail version of the laptop from Best Buy stores in the US and PC World and Curry’s in the United Kingdom.

MSI Announces XSlim 320 Ultra Portable 13in Notebook

thaitan@laptoplogic.com (Thai Tan) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:01:02 +0100

MSI's new ultra-portable notebook is the X-Slim 320, a laptop with a 13.4" widescreen LCD and a very light weight of 1.3kg.

What makes the X-Slim 320 so special is it's thickness--or lack thereof. This PC is a thin 1.98cm at the largest point, and 6mm at it's thinnest point. In addition, this light machine boasts 10 hours of battery life with an 8-cell battery (4-cell also available).

The notebook will be launched in Champagne gold, pearl white, and stylish black. It's designed to look sleek, sharp, and stylish--something you'd be proud to take anyway, not just on business trips.

Unfortunately, MSI's being quiet on the spec-front, withholding the juicy details on what this machine runs and what exactly we can expect of it. Expect to learn more at CES 2009, later this month.

Source

Roku DVP Adds Amazon Video on Demand

thaitan@laptoplogic.com (Thai Tan) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:01:03 +0100

Roku, the digital video player allowing Netflix customers to stream Watch Now movies on their television, has added Amazon's Video on Demand service.

Roku owners will be able to use the player to rent or buy over 40,000 Amazon digital videos and watch them on their TV, all through the player. Any purchased videos will be saved and available to watch anytime on a TV or other compatible device, such as a PC or Mac.

Amazon's Video on Demand boasts HQ video via the popular h.264 codec. With auto bandwidth detection, the player will stream the best quality to match your Internet speeds, upto 1200Kbps.

“With the subscription-free $99 Roku Player that connects to any TV, customers can now choose and watch their favorite new-release movie instantly and access all of their titles from their video library,” said director of Amazon Video On Demand Roy Price. “Amazon Video On Demand’s large selection makes the Roku Player the perfect choice for hassle-free on demand movie and TV entertainment.”

The service will begin 'early 2009'.

Source

Android Market Updates Planned for Q1 2009

thaitan@laptoplogic.com (Thai Tan) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:01:03 +0100

Registered members of the Android Market have received an email that reveals updates slated to start in Q1 of 2009.

The paid apps rollout will be launched in stages with the first taking place in the US and the UK Q1 2009, with increased rollout for the rest of Europe later.

According to the email, rollout will fall in this order:

- US and UK
- Germany, Austria, Netherlands
- France, Italy, Spain

One of the unique features that will be implemented is the ability for developers to make apps for specific geographical regions:

"In mid-January, we will update the Android Market publisher website to enable country targeting. Please start thinking about which countries you want to target and begin preparing your products accordingly (e.g., localization).

Note that your apps will not become available in these new countries unless you specifically select them in the publisher website, after we update it."

Source

30GB Zunes Spontaneously Crashing on Dec 31st

thaitan@laptoplogic.com (Thai Tan) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:12:21 +0100

It seems that, for some unknown reason, the Zune 30GB began failing at 12AM this morning.

When turning the device on, it gets stuck at the loading bar and doesn't continue past the logo. The players began locking around 12AM on December 31st for no apparent reason - Z2K, Zune owners have called it.

Microsoft has announced that Zune developers are currently working to solve the issue. There's word on what may have happened to the players or how it could be fixed.

A temporary fix, as reported by users with spontaneously bricked Zunes, report that removing and reinserting the battery in the player will fix the issue, as long as you don't plug it back into the computer where it'll connect to the software and go back into bricked mode.

Source