Intel updates Atom lineup; Eyes second half Nehalem push

Intel on 08-2009 Wednesday announced two new Atom processors for Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) and rolled out new designs for the Chinese market.

The chip giant made the announcement in Beijing to coincide with its Atom chip’s 1-year anniversary. Atom is the platform that powers netbooks.

Among the items detailed by Intel (statement):

• Intel’s two new Atom processors are the Z550 and Z515. These chips can now reach 2GHz in using less than 3 watts of power.
• Anand Chandrasekher, Intel’s general manager of the Ultra Mobility Group, showed off new designs for the Chinese market.
• Laptops based on Intel’s Nehalem processor will be available “in the second half of this year.”
• Intel’s multi-socket Nehalem EX server processor will be in production in the second half too. Nehalem EX will offer eight cores for the so-called “intelligent server” market.

CES 2009: New HP Laptops

The tech industry is facing a slump, but for some that means innovation and will be the key to success. The annual Consumer Electronics Show 2009 saw a subdued reaction this year, but that had not prevented HP from revealing some new laptops coming out during the event.

In total there were five new laptops, being the Pavilion dv3z, dv6t, G70, a HP Mini 1000Mi and finally the Compaq Presario CQ60.

The most intriguing of the bunch is undoubtedly the Mini 1000Mi, which possibly stands for Mobile Internet and marks HP’s entry into the budget ultra-portable market competing with the likes of the Eee PC, Wind and others. It will be powered by a modified version of Ubuntu Linux, but I am sure most savvy consumers will have Windows XP up and running on these machines. The price is a cool $380, making it an affordable small computer, but the specs are notably absent from HP’s website. Wait and we shall see.

The next most affordable computer in the lineup is the CQ60, which will come in at a low $470 after an instant $200 rebate, and will be powered by AMD processor and a respectable 15.4inch screen. The price range makes it a good laptop to buy, but experience suggests that it will be big and bulky, not to mention heavy. But hey, it’s still a laptop!

The rest of the machines command even higher price tags and will be powered by different configurations, depending on your need. But in the end, they’re just simply yet another laptop, so there’s nothing much to say about them.

HP Pavilion dv2 is Available: Features, Specs and Price

We have been waiting HP Pavilion dv2 since it was announced, now it is finally available! Really good news. Some people it is the best notebook, I can’t agree, but I do think it is a wonderful notebook for many of us.

HP Pavilion dv2 is a 12-inch laptop, with its 1.6-GHz AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 CPU paired with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 graphics the notebook can handle high definition content (an external Blu-ray drive will be avilable) and a good deal of multitasking. What’s more, rounding out the impressive notebook is SRS premium sound, integrated webcam, and support for up to 4GB of RAM, 500GB hard drives, and mobile broadband options.

HP’s dv2 leads the pack of a new type of affordable ultraportable, this is why it is so popular during great depression, it will dominate the market quite soon unless other manufacturers do the same thing.

HP Pavilion dv2 Features:

• 12.1-inch diagonal LED BrightView display and nearly full-size keyboard
• AMD Athlon Neo Processor MV-40
• 320GB hard drive (5400rpm)
• HP webcam and microphone for staying in touch with friends and family
• HP MediaSmart software for enjoying photos, listening to music and watching Internet TV or movies in high-definition, including video content from MTV Networks television channels
• Lightweight, external optical disc drive
• 6-cell Lithium-Ion battery
• ENERGY STAR qualified and EPEAT Silver registered

HP Pavilion dv2 Specs:

• AMD Athlon Neo Processor MV-40 1.6 GHz
• Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit) w/ SP1
• 12.1-inch 1,280×800 LED
• 320GB HDD 5400 rpm SATA
• 4GB DDR2 SDRAM
• ATI Radeon HD 3410 Graphics w/ 512MB DDR2
• External DVD-RW Lightscribe
• 6-cell battery
• 802.11 a/g/n
• HP Webcam
• HP Imprint - Espresso Black

HP Pavilion dv2 Price: $749

As a 12-inch laptop, HP Pavilion dv2 is very good for students use, especially college students, and also it is a perfect choice for travelers, it is very convenient to be carried with you wherever you go.

So what do you think about HP Pavilion dv2 laptop:

Latest Dell Studio XPS 13 Laptop Review - Features, Specs and Price

Dell Studio XPS 13 is not for professional use, but it will be wonderful if you use it to deal with your daily tasks. It has very strong performance, relatively solid build quality and good wireless capabilities mean it’s definitely worth a look, this is how it can be loved by so many people in such short time.

The Studio XPS 13 is the smaller, 13.3-inch sibling of the Studio XPS 16, it is very light and so very convenient to bring with you wherever you go, it is most popular among college students. It is a good choice to bring it to your classroom so you can take note easily.

Dell has shown us 4 reasons to choose Dell Studio XPS 13:

• Premium design with genuine leather accents, anodized aluminum, “edge-to-edge” display and backlit keyboard
• The latest Intel^® Core™2 Duo processors for blazing fast performance
• Optional NVIDIA^® Hybrid SLI graphics deliver incredibly lifelike videos, movies and gaming
• Automated hi-def up-conversion allows you to watch all your DVD movies in brilliant HD

These are very wonderful features we can get from Dell Studio XPS 13 laptop.

The better things are: Studio XPS 13 is designed to be quicker and more efficient than the XPS M1330. It uses a range of “performance optimised” P-series Core 2 Duo CPUs, instead of the T-series “performance” chips used in the M1330. P-series CPUs have the advantage of a faster 1066MHz front-side bus (versus 667MHz to 800MHz on the T series) and a lower thermal envelope, meaning potentially longer battery life. Our sample uses the most potent core components available on the Studio XPS 13 — a 2.53GHz Intel P9500 CPU with 6MB of L2 cache, alongside 4GB of 1066MHz DDR3 RAM. Thankfully, Dell offers the option for a 64-bit version of Vista so you can use 4GB RAM and above effectively. With such high configurations, it can process complicated tasks very fast and well, so you don’t need to wait when you are using it for working.

Prediction: Nokia enters the laptop market in '09?

The laptops are aimed at buyers on tight budgets and include some of the latest storage, security and videoconferencing technologies. The laptops also support solid-state drive (SSD) storage, which is faster and more power-efficient than hard-drive storage.

Screen sizes on the laptops are 13.3 inches for the Vostro 1320, 15.4 inches for the Vostro 1520 and 17 inches for the Vostro 1720. The laptops include enhanced security capabilities to protect data, with fingerprint readers that can authenticate users to log on to the system and software from Wave Systems that encrypts hard drives.

The systems will come with Intel Core 2 Duo or Celeron processors and run on Windows Vista OS, with the option to downgrade to Windows XP.

Users have the option of integrated graphics or a separate Nvidia GeForce graphics card. The systems support up to 8GB of DDR2 memory with up to 320GB in hard-drive storage or 128GB in SSD storage.

A Dell spokeswoman couldn't estimate battery life on the laptops, as it depends on how customers configure the systems.

Starting at US$569, the 1320 laptop weighs 4.1 pounds (1.86 kg) with a 4-cell battery and no optical drive. The 1520 starts at $629 and weighs 5.38 pounds. The 1720 starts at $649 and weighs 6.8 pounds.

The products are available in North America and a few South American countries starting Thursday. They will be available in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) April 7, and in some countries in Asia in May

Dell frees latest Vostro laptops of bloatware

Dell introduced small-business laptops that will be free of bloatware, which could help improve system performance and protect storage space.

The Vostro laptops will be preloaded only with software that is requested by buyers, Dell said. Bloatware refers to trial software that laptop makers often load onto new machines. Software publishers often pay PC manufacturers to include trial versions on computers. Common types of trial software include office productivity and accounting applications. Bloatware can be a headache for users, as it takes away system resources like storage space and could potentially introduce unwanted security vulnerabilities.

Dell taking Art House laptops made-to-order in 2009

Dell's been taking its design new directions for a while now, but it looks the company's war on boring is about to get personal. Ed Boyd, Dell's new Industrial Design Director, told BusinessWeek that Dell also plans on launching customizable computers with "scores of colors, patterns, and textures," and options that will "go far beyond the handful of choices available" from most rivals. We assume he just means the exterior, though that's unclear, so we'll keep our fingers crossed for that hot pink keyboard. There are also no details yet on which models will be up for customization or their pricing, but the other Art House models range from $649 to $800, so our uncle probably won't have to break the bank to unveil his edgy laptop graffiti when these hit sometime next year. Can't hardly wait.

HP (Hewlett-Packard) Compaq Presario CQ60-210US Notebook

Manufacturer: HP (Hewlett-Packard)
Product: Compaq Presario CQ60-210US Notebook
Rebate Description: Offer NOT valid at Best Buy, Costco, HP Home and Home office, Office Max, Radio Shack, Sam's Club, Sears, Walmart. Requests must be postmarked within 45 days of purchase date. Allow four weeks before checking your rebate status online. Not eligible at all stores. Please see the form for a list of excluded stores. For eligible purchases, submit completed rebate form, copy of the dated invoice, sales receipt, or transaction record with purchase price circled, the original UPC and serial number bar code label cut from product packaging. For additional details or to check your rebate status online, visit www.hp.com/go/takethelead.
Expiration Date: 2009-06-27