Archive for June, 2007
Toshiba Corporation today unveiled that one of its notebook computers with a Sony battery pack recently caught fire, and announced the additional measures to encourage customer participation in the global Sony battery packs replacement program, which started last year.
?“On May 24, 2007, a Toshiba portable computer with a Sony battery pack caught fire. Toshiba immediately asked Sony to investigate. The investigation confirmed that the cause of the fire was the battery pack, as in other incidents reported earlier,?” the Company’s press release says.
Accordingly, Toshiba is now embarking on a new round of efforts to encourage customers to check their PCs and to get the battery replaced if it is on the list of affected products. The recalled battery packs will be replaced free of charge.
In the U.S. market, these units were sold as accessory, or as a main batteries
in select Toshiba Satellite, Portege, Tecra and Qosmio notebooks.
[Source: laptoping.com ]
June 20th, 2007
Toshiba today announced that its upcoming Satellite P205, Satellite X205, and Qosmio F45 mainstream laptops will feature HD DVD optical drives. In addition, Toshiba Qosmio G45 will be the first U.S. notebook computer with a writeable HD DVD optical drive, according to computer maker.
The Satellite P205, Satellite X205, and Qosmio G45 will have 17-inch displays, while the Qosmio F45 will feature 15.4-inch display. These HD DVD-equipped widescreen laptops will be priced from $1,449 to $3,199.
The Satellite X205, Qosmio F45, and Qosmio G45 notebook computers will also incorporate an HDMI port for high definition multimedia content output. Toshiba says the Qosmio G45 is capable of output resolutions up to 1080p, while the Satellite X205 will offer an output of up to 1080i.
According to press release, the HD DVD writer in Qosmio G45 notebook enables users to burn up to 30GB of data onto a single HD DVD recordable media.
Details, specifications, and exact prices for the Satellite P205, Satellite X205, Qosmio G45 with HD DVD and the Qosmio F45 with integrated HD DVD writer will be announced during the third quarter of 2007.
[Source: laptoping.com ]
June 19th, 2007
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today announced a recall of the notebook batteries used in some of Gateway 400VTX and 450ROG series notebooks, because of overheating problems.
These batteries could pose a fire hazard to consumers, which are advised to stop using recalled products immediately and contact Gateway regarding battery replacement. Gateway has received four reports of battery packs overheating, including minor property damage, but no injuries have been reported.
The recalled batteries were sold trough Gateway?’s professional and direct distributors and Gateway Country stores nationwide from May 2003 through August 2003.
According to CPSC, there are around 14,000 affected battery units.
For additional information you can visit Gateway’s website and read CPSC’s press release.
[Source: laptoping.com ]
June 19th, 2007
Toshiba today announced that its upcoming Satellite P205, Satellite X205 and Qosmio F45 mainstream laptops will feature HD DVD optical drives. In addition, Toshiba Qosmio G45 will be the first U.S. notebook computer with a writeable HD DVD optical drive, according to computer maker.
The Satellite P205, Satellite X205, and Qosmio G45 will have 17-inch displays, while the Qosmio F45 will feature 15.4-inch display. These HD DVD-equipped widescreen laptops will be priced from $1,449 to $3,199.
The Satellite X205, Qosmio F45, and Qosmio G45 notebook computers will also incorporate an HDMI port for high definition multimedia content output. Toshiba says the Qosmio G45 is capable of output resolutions up to 1080p, while the Satellite X205 will offer an output of up to 1080i.
According to press release, the HD DVD writer in Qosmio G45 notebook enables users to burn up to 30GB of data onto a single HD DVD recordable media.
Details, specifications, and exact prices for the Satellite P205, Satellite X205, Qosmio G45 with HD DVD and the Qosmio F45 with integrated HD DVD writer will be announced during the third quarter of 2007.
[Source: laptoping.com ]
June 19th, 2007
Intel plans to launch Intel Core 2 Extreme X7800 and Celeron M 540 laptop processors on July 8th, as well as Core 2 Extreme X7900, Core 2 Duo T7250, T7800, L7700, U2200, U2100, and Celeron 550 on September 2nd.
The Core 2 Extreme X7800 and X7900, designed for gaming notebooks, are clocked at 2.6GHz and 2.8GHz respectively. Both of these high-end processors have 800MHz front side bus, 4MB of L2 cache, and initial prices of $851, according to Intel’s mobile CPU roadmap published by VR-Zone.
In the mainstream class, the company will release the Core 2 Duo T7250 with 2GHz clock speed, 800MHz FSB, 2MB L2 cache, and a $209 price tag, as well as T7800 at 2.6GHz, featuring 800MHz FSB and 4MB L2 cache. The T7800 will be the fastest CPU in its class and will have $361 release price. In addition to this roadmap, the specifications of upcoming Dell Inspiron “Santa Rosa” notebooks revealed the details of another two new chips: the lower-end Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 (1.5GHz, 667MHz FSB, 2M L2 cache) and Core 2 Duo T5450 (1.66GHz, 667MHz FSB, 2M L2 cache).
The low-voltage processor lineup will be refreshed with Core 2 Duo L7700 (1.8GHz, 800MHz FSB, 4MB L2 cache) priced at $316, while the new ultra-low-voltage CPUs are Core 2 Solo U2100 (1.06GHz, 533MHz FSB, 1MB L2 cache) and Core 2 Solo U2200 (1.2GHz, 533MHz FSB, 1MB L2 cache). The U2100 and U2200, designed for small and light-weight notebooks, will be priced at $241 and $262 respectively.
The upcoming Intel Celeron processors for budget laptop configurations are the M 540 (1.86GHz, 533MHz, 1MB L2 cache) for $107 and M 550 (2GHz, 533MHz FSB, 1MB L2 cache) for $134. According to online sources, these Celerons are designed for Intel’s “Santa Rosa” notebook platform supporting up to 800MHz front side bus, although their FSB speed remained at 533MHz.
VR-Zone also revealed that Intel plans to lower the pricing of select mobile processors during this summer.
[Source: laptoping.com ]
June 19th, 2007
Asustek has published on its website the complete specifications of Asus C90 15.4-inch gaming barebone notebook, designed for easy upgrade and overclocking.
?“The ASUS C90 Notebook is designed to cater to a growing trend of users who want to combine mobile computing with top-of-the-line performance. With easy accessibility to key components, users can upgrade, repair or replace them with ease ?– providing options for future technologies,” the computer maker says.
Asus C90 uses Intel’s desktop processors compatible with LGA775 socket, and supports up to Core 2 Extreme X6800 CPU at 2.93GHz with 1066 MHz front side bus. With the assistance of ASUS?’ ?“Turbo Gear?”, CPU can be overclocked up to 20%. The notebook can operate under four modes: Overclocking, Gaming, Standard, and Power Saving. For reliable computing when the system is overclocked or when performing hardware demanding tasks, there are fan-control and multi-heat pipe thermal solution.
The notebook has a standard MXM graphics module for ?“high compatibility of different graphic processors from the industry?”. According to product specifications, this barebone laptop supports up to NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT video card, while its 15.4-inch widescreen display provides 1680-by-1050 pixel screen resolution.
The whole system is built on Intel 945 G chipset enabling a maximum of 3GB DDR2 system memory at 800MHz (two SO-DIMM slots) and features support for SATA hard drive and DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray optical drive.
Asustek’s new gaming barebone laptop has 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless, a Gigabit Ethernet, an optional built-in Bluetooth, and a 56K modem.
The C90 incorporates a variety of ports and slots, including HDMI, S-Video and VGA outputs, a MCX connector for TV-RF, an eSATA connector, three USB ports, and FireWire, as well as ExpressCard slot and 8-in-1 media card reader.
Additionally, Asus C90 has a built-in web camera, and optional factory built-in fingerprint reader, Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2, and a hybrid TV tuner.
With a standard 6-cell battery it weighs approximately 6.8 pounds.
Asus C90 is currently available for pre-order at eBay for around $950 with nVidia GeForce 8500M included.
Product Page
[Source: laptoping.com ]
June 18th, 2007
Pinnacle Systems has announced the retail availability of Pinnacle PCTV HD Stick, the sub-$100 USB TV tuner for watching high definition TV on laptop and desktop computers.
Pinnacle PCTV HD Stick enables HDTV watching via ATSC, which is the new digital TV standard. The ATSC comes over-the-air and for free in high or standard definition, with no required subscription fees. In addition, Pinnacle PCTV HD Stick supports standard analog TV (NTSC) via cable or antenna. This Windows Vista- and Windows Media Center-certified device enables consumers to view live television on their PC with pause, rewind and fast-forward time-shifting, as well as with recording functionality.
For more advanced features, Pinnacle also offers PCTV HD Pro Stick with a mini remote control, a portable high-gain telescopic antenna, and support for capturing from set-top boxes, camcorders or VCRs.
The PCTV HD Stick and the PCTV HD Pro Stick are priced at $99.99, and $129.99 respectively. Both are available at popular retailers and on-line resellers.
Pinnacle PCTV HD Stick
| Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick
| Press Release
[Source: laptoping.com ]
June 18th, 2007
Lenovo has unveiled ThinkPad Reserve Edition laptop, encased in premium leather. The Reserve Edition is based on the recently released 12.1-inch Lenovo ThinkPad X61s reportedly and comes with executive-class service.
The laptop’s leather casing is bound using the traditional Japanese saddle stitching. The reserve edition also has a unique system for ventilation so that heat is carried away from the machine easily and without affecting its leather cover.
According to Lenovo, member of specially-trained ThinkPad Reserve Edition support staff will answer your calls around the clock and will assist you in customizing your personal settings, optimizing system and security features and migrating information from your old computer. In most major cities around the world, an on-site warranty service will be provided within four hours, while in most other locations, an on-site service will be provided by the end of the next working day. There is also a Blue-Button Instant Access for instant-messaging with your support staff. In addition, Lenovo provides Accidental Damage Protection and Proactive Maintenance and Tune-Up with this exclusive laptop.
Regarding the basic hardware specifications, Lenovo ThinkPad Reserve Edition features Intel “Santa Rosa” notebook platform, Intel Core 2 Duo low-voltage L7500 processor, a 2GB of RAM, a 160GB 5400rpm hard drive, an external USB DVD burner, Wi-Fi 802.11n, and wireless broadband connectivity via Vodafone, AT&T, Verizon or Telus.
The ThinkPad Reserve Edition has battery life of about seven hours, and comes with Windows Vista Ultimate and Microsoft Office Small Business 2007.
Lenovo ThinkPad Reserve costs $5000 and is sold by invitation only.
Engadget | ThinkPad Reserve
[Source: laptoping.com ]
June 16th, 2007
Intel will lower prices of Santa Rosa-series high-end Core 2 Duo T7500 and T7700 processors in the third quarter by almost 24% and 32%, respectively, DigiTimes reports.
The price cut will stimulate the next wave of notebook replacement demand, according to DigiTimes’ sources at notebook makers.
In the meantime, Intel will roll out its highest-end X7900, high-end T7800 and entry-level T7250 processors reportedly. The T7250 is expected to be priced at $210 per thousand units.
Source
[Source: laptoping.com ]
June 16th, 2007
Recently announced Intel “Santa Rosa” platform-based Fujitsu LifeBook E8310 and E8410 desktop replacement (DTR) notebooks are now available for purchase.
Fujitsu’s E8310 and E8410 are offered with Intel Core 2 Duo T7100, T730, or T7500 processors featuring 1.8GHz, 2GHz, and 2.2GHz clock speeds respectively, and a 800MHz front side bus. Both laptops provide two DIMM slots for up to 4GB of system memory, and come with up to 120GB hard drive. These notebooks have built in optical drives and an optional Intel Turbo memory, which should work under Microsoft’s Windows Vista Business operating system.
The main hardware difference between E8310 and E8410 are their screen sizes and graphics solutions. Fujitsu LifeBook E8310 has 15-inch non-widescreen display with 1024?—768 or an optional 1280?—1024 resolution, while the E8410 is a widescreen laptop with 1280?—800 or 1440?—900. The E8310 is built on Intel GM965 chipset with the integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100. On the other side, the LifeBook E8410 provides a choice of the GM956 with its X3100 graphics or PM965 chipset paired with NVIDIA GeForce 8400M 128MB dedicated video card.
For Internet connectivity and networking, these notebooks provide a wireless LAN, Gigabit Ethernet, a 56k modem, and optional Bluetooth. In addition, E8410 series supports 802.11n draft Wi-Fi standard.
Regarding security, there are fingerprint readers (optional in E8310, default in E8410) , Trusted Platform Module 1.2 and Security Card slots in each laptop. The E8410 also incorporates Centrino Pro technology enabling advanced security and remote notebook manageability.
The new desktop replacements from Fujitsu have the integrated 1.3 megapixel camera, ExpressCard and PC Card slots simultaneously, four USB ports, SD/MMC card slot, Serial, Parallel, and Infrared ports, as well as S-Video and VGA outputs. Additionally, the LifeBook E8410 has Firewire port.
Fujitsu LifeBook E8310 and E8410 with their standard 6-cell batteries weigh approximately 5.68 lbs and 6.1lbs, and provide battery life of up to 4.5 hours and up to 4.25 hours respectively, according to specifications.
Both notebooks ship with Windows Vista Business or Windows XP Professional.
Fujitsu LifeBook E8310 starts at $1,249, while the E8410 basic configuration is priced at $1,299. These computers are available at Fujitsu’s Direct Store
.
[Source: laptoping.com ]
June 15th, 2007
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