Asus launched 8.9 Inch Eee PC 900

This new generation of the popular subnoteboook includes a 8.9 inch widescreen, a 1.3M pixels webcam, the new innovative FingerGlide and 12GB and 20GB storage capacities for Windows and Linux platforms respectively – catering to wider consumer needs while still maintaining the "Easy to learn, work and play" concept by keeping the overall weight under 1kg.

Mobility is one of the major factors attributed to the Eee PC’s success and this is in part due to the use of the built-in Solid State Disk (SSD) technology – which offers a quiet, energy saving and shock proof design for stable computing on-the-go. Traditional hard disks spin at 5400 RPM (Revolutions per Minute) – making them more prone to data loss or damage if shocks or bumps are received. Conversely, the Eee PC is able to protect against such incidents, and is the perfect tool for outdoor computing – suitable as an ideal companion for reporters, wildlife photographers and other like-minded outdoor enthusiasts.

"Vital feedback from a wide variety of users have been received, which has spurred us on to create more options to cater to different user requirements." said Jerry Shen, CEO of ASUS.

To suit differing user requirements, the Eee PC 900 comes in both Microsoft Windows and Linux versions.

The Microsoft Windows version allows more experienced users to seamlessly utilize the Eee PC through the familiar Windows interface, and incorporates Windows Live features like Windows Live Messenger for instant messaging; and Windows Live Mail for consolidated email accounts on the user´s desktop. Complementing this is Microsoft Works, which equips the user with numerous office applications to work efficiently.

The Linux version is useful for users who desire an icon-driven and easy point-and-click interface. Well suited for children or users without any computer experience, it provides a fast boot-up time– ideal for fast Internet access while waiting for public transport, or taking notes on-the-go.

More: Asus

Dell will ship laptop with GPS

As laptop prices continue their steady decline, Dell has come up with a new feature to tempt business buyers into paying top whack – integrated GPS (global positioning system).

According to Dell scoop site Engadget , Dell has pencilled in June as the launch data for its long-rumoured E-series laptops, which will feature the technology among a host of high-end accoutrements.

The top-of-the-range E6500 model will also include UWB (ultra-wideband) wireless thanks to the inclusion of Intel’s ‘Montevina’ chip, LED backlighting on a 15.4 inch screen, a DisplayPort (a rival to HDMI) for high-definition interconnect, an “all-day” battery system, and hard disk options including conventional hard drives, SSD flash drives, or – and this is imaginative – hybrid SSD drives.

Dell has added another interesting feature on the storage theme, namely a port for an external eSATA drive. These have been slow to take off but promise much fast backup throughput in comparison with the ubiquitous USB 2.0 and FireWire drives that are the road warrior’s current staple.

Encouragingly, Dell has realised that security is now a standard feature for business laptops, and has fully encrypted hard disks on the option list. Details have not been confirmed, but given the mention of Wave Embassy’s Trust Suite, used by admins to manage automatic boot encryption/decryption, we assume the hardware will be Seagate’s Momentus FDE.2 drives .

Support will also be included for smartcard/contactless smartcard readers, fingerprint readers, and TPM (trusted platform module) 1.2 at motherboard level.

It was probably inevitable that GPS technology would turn up on a mainstream laptop having found a home in at least one laptop from rival Asus, and, of course, a range of handheld computers. Exactly what laptop users will do with the technology, beyond providing a sort of SatNav-on-the-go, is harder to fathom. There is one security feature that might appeal however – letting security staff locate stolen laptops.

There will also be a more portable 14.1 inch model, the E6400. Prices have not been announced, but expect to pay a hefty premium for this laptop full of tricks.

SSD for laptops have high failure rate

Solid-state drive-based laptops are exhibiting alarming failure rates, according to Avian Security, a brokerage firm whose research covers the high-tech and aerospace industries.

Avian said that an unnamed large manufacturer is seeing return rates of 20 to 30 percent on SSD-based laptops, thanks to failures and performance issues.Returns due to technical failure ran at 10 to 20 percent, 10 times higher than failure rates for conventional drives, the report said. Another 10 percent were due to lack of expected performance gains, the report said. Flash-based SSDs are intended to be significantly faster than disk-based drives, due to factors such as the lack of moving parts.

The findings do not reflect well on the current trend toward SSD-based laptops. Offered by manufacturers such as Apple, Dell, Lenovo and Sony, they are significantly more expensive than conventional laptops, with the price tag justified by characteristics such as light weight, silence and fast data access speeds.

Dell, one of the manufacturers pushing SSD laptops most aggressively, declined to comment on failure rates, but a Dell spokeswoman admitted that "SSD technology is new and will have growing pains".

Nevertheless, Dell defended the technology and said its drawbacks are rapidly fading away. Capacity, at first limited to 32GB sizes, has now doubled, with 64GB drives available, and prices are expected to fall as the technology becomes more widely used, the company said.

In addition, while the first generation of SSDs performs near the levels of 5,400 RPM hard-disk drives, Dell last month announced out the faster Dell Flash Ultra Performance SSD, based on Samsung's SATA II-SSD technology, in 32GB and 64GB capacities.

The new drives deliver a 35 percent overall performance gain over a standard 2.5in 5400 RPM laptop hard drive using SYSmark '07, Dell said.

The latest generation of drives shows that manufacturers are improving performance and reliability without adding much to prices, Dell said.

MacBook Air is not fast

First benchmarks showed that MacBook Air is the slowest Apple machine on the block. Primate Labs recently benchmarked the miniature laptop, and found that performance was around 80- to 85-percent of that of a 2GHz MacBook. While the Air pulled ahead slightly in memory and stream performance, it was lacking in other areas.





See more info here:
Primate Labs
CrunchGear
Gizmodo
MacWorld
EndGadget

ThinkPad X300 challenges MacBook Air

The new ThinkPad X300 is one of the thinnest, lightest full-function notebook in its class.


The X300 starts at only 1.33 kg – just 1.42 kg including the integrated DVD burner.
Easy portability with convenience, too. X300 comes with 3 USB ports plus external display, headphone/line-out and microphone/line-in.


X300 uses a lightweight LED backlit display that’s easy on the eyes; the integrated camera option is an X Series first.
Legendary ThinkPad design on the X300 includes the full-size keyboard, TrackPoint and UltraNav pointing device.

Dual speakers give X300 rich, stereo sound not typical in most ultraportables.

The ThinkPad X300 is a 13.3" screen ultra thin-and-light notebook designed for the traveling business type of person -- the executive road warrior if you will. But let's be honest, suit or no suit, with the type of technology and cool engineering crammed into the X300 everyone's going to be a little bit curious about this notebook, and envious of anybody that has one.

Weighing started at 2.93 pounds (1.33 kilograms). Lenovo claims ThinkPad X300 is more feature-rich than Apple's 3-pound MacBook Air. Lenovo has included three USB drives and an ultrathin DVD burner, while MacBook Air has only one USB drive and no optical drive. With a DVD-RW drive, the X300 weighs 3.13 pounds, Lenovo said.


The laptop measures 0.73 inches (1.85 cm) at its thinnest point by 0.92 inches (2.34 cm) at its thickest point, bigger in comparison to MacBook Air, which measures 0.16 inches (0.4 cm) at its thinnest part and 0.76 inches (1.93 cm) at its thickest part.

Targeted at business users and consumers, the laptop uses 25 percent less power than previous ThinkPad models with a 64G-byte solid-state storage drive for data storage, a 13.3-inch LED-backlit display and use of a lithium-polymer battery, Lenovo said.

The lithium-polymer chemistry provides better battery life than standard lithium-ion batteries found in most laptops today, said Tom Ribble, director of Thinkpad product marketing at Lenovo. The system supports up to 4G bytes of memory and includes integrated graphics, a digital camera, and wired and wireless networking. It includes both touchpad and trackpoint scrolling capabilities.

The system will come with WiMax capabilities later this year with Intel's updated Centrino platform, according to Lenovo. The buyer may choose that the machine come preloaded either with Windows XP Professional or Windows Vista.

The X300 is powered by Intel's Core 2 Duo SL7100 LV low-voltage chip, operating at 1.2GHz. Like the Core 2 Duo processor specially developed for Apple's MacBook Air, Intel shrunk the SL7100 LV processor to make it 60 percent smaller than standard-sized processors belonging to Intel's Merom family. The chip is manufactured using the 65-nanometre process, like other Merom processors.

Although the size is the same, the SL7100 LV chip consumes less power. It uses 12 watts of power, according to processor details provided by Intel. The Core 2 Duo processor for MacBook Air uses 20 watts of power, while operating at 1.6GHz to 1.8GHz. Fujitsu also uses the SL7100 LV chip in its ultraportable LifeBook P8010 laptop, which started shipping in the US this month.

Lenovo has pumped the latest technology into its laptop that both consumers and business users will appreciate, Ribble said.

Prices for the X300 start at US$2,799, and it is available through Lenovo's website and through retail partners. It was not yet listed on Lenovo's website at the time of the announcement.

See more info here:
Lenovo Thinkpad X300 Series Confirmed
Backstory and Teardown of the Lenovo X300 (Components By Weight!)
ThinkPad X300 Now Available for Just $2,404
Lenovo ThinkPad X300 First Thoughts Review